A healthy morning dissection

Lilith was partially carried inside by Darren. Zilla hadn't spoken since she got here so Lilith didn't actually know if the girl was with them. It was good etiquette however and Zilla had no reason to avoid her.

When they entered the house Lilith was sat down on what she determined to be a sofa. "I'll return with refreshments in a bit. Go on dear, have a chat." Darren said gently and she heard a soft thump from his direction. He was likely pushing Zilla to talk with her.

Darren got away with a lot now that Lilith thought about it. His language was casual, he treated Zilla like his own and he was even allowed to touch her. Zilla absolutely loathed people touching her. She would react violently if you didn't inform her beforehand. Unless you were Lilith or Darren she would react violently regardless.

Lilith heard Zilla sit beside her but no 'chat' was forthcoming. Not surprising but certainly disappointing. Lilith always had to initiate any conversation with her. 'I should try to fix that.' Lilith thought.

Zilla wouldn't just talk to fill an awkward silence however. She was perfectly comfortable sitting silently in Lilith's experience. That seemed to be her preferred form of interaction actually. Lilith had always been curious why she did not but decided the topic was better not addressed. As much as she wanted to know, Zilla came first. Now though, it might be best to know.

"You need not answer this question if you do not want to. Much as I would like to know, I do respect your privacy. If the question is difficult to answer I do not want to cause you to be overwhelmed by it. You may simply remain silent." Lilith prefaced. She knew Zilla always answered her questions and she appreciated that. This time however her question could cause Zilla to have an outburst.

As much as Lilith could say she didn't mind those outbursts, that wasn't true. It might cause Zilla to be overwhelmed and confused but it also caused her to lash out at anything near her. Including Lilith. If Zilla hit Lilith hard enough she could break bones and that would take some time to mend.

"Why do you not initiate conversations with myself? It is not just me I imagine but I find myself fixated on my personal experience. Personal bias perhaps. Do you dislike conversations with me or perhaps as a whole? Or do you-" Lilith was cut off from her question by a forceful shout.

"I like having conversations with you!" Zilla's exclamation caught her off guard and Lilith suddenly paused. Her ear rang in it's aftermath. Regardless the awkward way in which Zilla inserted it into the conversation caused Lilith to pause momentarily and think over the statement.

Zilla's reaction was a surprise to her. Her denial was vehement. Perhaps more than it should've been. She was curious what would cause such a reaction from the girl but she would still wait for her answer. Zilla was the type to answer the question in full. Lilith merely had to wait.

"You make somethhing useful out of me. Dad and Darren couldn't do that." explained Zilla. Lilith didn't like the way Zilla said that. Something about it bothered her but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. Regardless she would have to press the matter. Or apparently not.

The door opened and Zilla flinched at the noise. Lilith didn't turn in it's direction but she paid attention to the sounds coming from it. "Sorry for interrupting girls but I got you some apple juice. Expensive stuff apparently. Before you say Lilith, I know you're not a child but you're not really a fan of alcohol right?" Darren asked as something clunked against the table.

"I have a number of issues with balance already. Alcoholic drinks are a social necessity at times but I would like to avoid them if at all possible when they are not mandatory." Lilith replied as she had a sip of the apple juice. She wasn't a child. She did prefer sugary drinks though as anyone with half a brain should.

"Thought so. Anyway there anything else you girls need? I'll be outside the door regardless but I might as well ask." Darren was already leaving the room and his voice was coming from the doors. Lilith thought about his question. She decided they may as well start actually participating in the reason she was here.

"I believe it's time to start working shortly. Could you bring the specimen in and place it onto the table? Coloured 05. I believe it should be labelled. Please do not place it on the food table. You should know this by now but I am simply reminding you as such." Lilith asked.

Darren's steps halted for a second but then he replied "Certainly." before walking out of the room.

"Ah. I forgot he doesn't particularly like what we do here." Lilith mumbled to herself. She turned her attention to Zilla beside her who wasn't making a sound.

"I would prefer to hear more about your fascinating view on our interactions but I'm afraid time is something I am constantly trying to extend. I would rather not waste it. Perhaps you can talk as we work? Oh and I know you won't ask but I shall confirm. Yes coloured 05 means we're working on the poison project. So do be careful." Lilith explained to the girl while she got up and tried to walk over to the experiment table.

She had to place her arms out in front of her and wait until they came into contact with the table. Upon finding it, Lilith's palm glided across it's metal surface. She attempted to find the best place on the table to dissect the specimen.

"This shall do." Lilith confirmed out loud and waited for Darren to return. She could hear Zilla walk up to the other side of the table.

"You're welcome to start your explanation before Darren gets back. If you prefer to wait however, I do not mind." Lilith reminded as she continued running her palms across it's surface. The metal was cold and smooth. Her hands had an odd leathery sensation after they left it. There was no dust on them however.

This was excellent as Lilith had recently learned how much a sterile environment mattered in such experimentation. Without such an environment a multitude of external factors could interfere. Wind hitting projectiles, other creatures walking into experiment sites. There are even texts about miniscule creatures that can interfere in results without disposing of them in history books. Unfortunately Lilith didn't know anything about them.

Zilla apparently chose to stay silent until Darren came and went. Which happened shortly after they found themselves at the table. "Here." Darren said courtly as he placed something fleshy on the table. It immediately lost colour once Lilith's mana found it. She could see it now.

A colourful amphibian creature with an enlarged larynx used to create various calls lay still on the table. Lilith didn't need to see it to tell it was dead. The smell gave that away. The creature was still colourful and slick with an odd reflectiveness to it's skin.

It was red with black spots and white feet. The body would be squishy if one prodded it but doing so was likely to result in death. These frogs produced something the ancient society called Batrachotoxin. It would adhere to nerve cells and result in paralysis or death.

This was how the ancient texts described the poison but Lilith did not know what nerve cells were yet. She had discovered they had something to do with how the human body's sense of touch worked. That was unfortunately all. Regardless they appeared to affect brain functions as well given that batrachotoxin was referred to as a neurotoxin.

Lilith would need to research this later. For now however she was trying to determine their habitat and this specimen had fallen into her hands. This was something of a gift from a territory in the south. They were a seaside viscounty and Lilith had helped them deal with a small food crisis.

They had over-hunted the local ecosystem and Lilith had helped re-introduce creatures and let them grow. She did this by teaching the noble about different fish. He in turn would teach his fisherman and they would go catch them.

Apparently the noble and his people only thought a single type of fish was edible. This was why they had been over-hunted and no longer lived there. Lilith had Douglas catch a number of these fish for her and re-introduce them into their habitat. Then she placed a ban on fishing them.

Instead she taught the noble which fish could be eaten including arthropods such as octopus and shrimp. Many were vehemently opposed at first but Lilith was a princess. She had some political sway. With a bit of pushing they believed her and they had been enjoying the sea's bounty ever since.

As a sort of recompense, Lilith had been gifted this wonderful specimen. Apparently it had come from the coast and had a poison that could kill a number of their sailors with a touch. Lilith had examined the creature shortly after. She came to the conclusion that the creature was a poison dart frog and there were very few records about it.

After a bit of research she found the name of the toxin and supposedly what it did. Regardless this specimen was with her. If she could find out where they lived and how they produced their toxins, it could be helpful. Not only to her sister and the military.

"I appreciate that you do not like what we are doing here Darren. If you wish to leave, I shan't reprimand you." Lilith said. Darren's curtness hadn't gone unnoticed.

"It is my duty and penance to watch this process. What you are doing to the dead is horrid and frankly, your nonchalance in this whole process reminds me you are your father's daughter. Though I thought Zilla was raised better than this." Darren replied harshly. Zilla flinched at his tone and Lilith could hear her feet shuffle.

Lilith's eyes would've narrowed if she remembered she had them. Instead her face merely contorted in a strange manner. "I do not appreciate the insinuation but I understand your position. I know that my morals and opinion on this matter are somewhat abnormal." Lilith's reply was cold and a polite smile was on her face. Comparing Lilith to her father was a sore spot, as it was with most of his children. Barring perhaps Wyatt.

Noticing the chill in the air, Darren decided to stay quiet. Lilith focussed on her work ignoring the constant sense of disapproval Darren was giving off. Lilith made sure to have place another set of gloves over her own and grab a nearby scalpel. She then proceeded to cut into the frog's chest.

Blood didn't spurt like it would in a living being. Instead it oozed from it's wound slowly. It was as if a suction force was several metres away from the creature and the blood was crawling towards it. Lilith ignored this sight and focussed on the blood.

From her previous dissections Lilith could tell how long something had been dead by it's blood. The blood darkened within 2-3 hours, started drying within 5 and had formed a dry layer over the top of itself by 8.

This frog's blood had already formed a dry layer around itself. The blood that had already exited it. The frog itself was already cold, blue colours were starting to appear around the parts of it touching the floor.

"Beginning dissection. The body appears to be rather old given that algor mortis has long set in. Zilla would you mind confirming?" Lilith asked and Zilla placed a gloved hand against the frog. She could likely not feel the temperature through the glove and that was proof in and of itself that the body was colder than expected of a fresh corpse.

Zilla nodded and took her hands away from the corpse. Lilith nodded in turn and the post mortem began. As Lilith's scalpel dug into it's flesh there was some resistance she took note of. Rigor mortis had set in some time ago and the muscles were now considerably stiff. It wasn't bad enough that Lilith would abandon the specimen however.

She opened it's insides with her gloved hand and started to rummage around. She was looking for it's stomach. If they could find out what it eat, perhaps they could determine where it lived. Lilith pushed up the frog's lungs and moved the kidneys aside.

She pulled the stomach from it's corpse and she could feel Darren's disapproval turn to disgust. She ignored this of course. Making a small incision in the stomach, Lilith attempted to retrieve it's contents.

The acid burned away at her gloves slightly so Lilith had to be quick. She rummaged around looking for anything solid that remained. Surprisingly there was something. It was small and hard, akin to a metal plate. Lilith pulled it from the stomach and cleaned it with a nearby cloth. The cloth melted but Lilith didn't mind. She had more.

It did look incredibly similar to a metal plate, though it had lost it's lustre. Lilith was fairly certain this was some sort of carapace. Lilith didn't know to what the carapace belonged. She was becoming more and more certain by the second however that it was a carapace.

"It appears to belong to an insect of sorts. I shall have to examine this later. In fact, I should consult Candace for this particular piece. Let us put this aside for now." Lilith stated aloud as she placed the now cleaned carapace to the side. Hopefully Candace could identify it.

Lilith now rummaged around the frog's insides looking for some sort of poison gland. Something that synthesises the poison. She found the kidneys where she had moved it and the lungs had been moved upwards. In between the lungs was a small heart no bigger than a grape.

Below that Lilith found where she had disconnected the stomach. The intestines contained a variety of it's meals partially digested. Looking inside she found a number of similar carapaces. Some of them had different colours but they were all similar in shape. Lilith had to guess they might have been different insects of the same species.

Under the mess of intestines Lilith found the urinary bladder. She decided not to poke that part. Looking up once more, Lilith searched around any sort of glands that might be present. Yet there were none that would fit the description of a poison gland. Strange. Did this not produce it's own poison? Then how exact-

Lilith stopped. "Do not touch the carapace without gloves. It may be coated in poison." Lilith stated firmly. She couldn't see Zilla's nod but she understood that was exactly what the girl had done. Satisfied with her examination, Lilith began sewing the frog back together for the moment.

"We have a clue as to it's habitat at least. For now that will have to do. Apologies Zilla but it appears this is Candace's speciality not your own. I merely assumed an amphibian would eat sea creatures." Lilith told Zilla.

"Ok." Zilla replied shortly.

"Is something wrong? I suppose we cannot have our conversation now that Darren is here." Lilith turned to Darren.

"If you would not mind?" Darren nodded and left the room, his duty finished. He would bury the frog later and give it a proper grave no doubt. Lilith almost snorted at the absurdity. She did not believe that the dead were conscious and thus believed that they did not get a say.

After finishing the suturing of the corpse, Lilith made the effort to actually turn towards Zilla. She was now waiting on the girl to speak. Lilith had finished her work for today. Digging around a frog's corpse wasn't as enlightening as Lilith would like but it would have to do.

Zilla was her priority now. After several seconds of staring from Lilith that she didn't notice made the girl uncomfortable, Zilla spoke. "You make me useful." Zilla said it again as if Lilith was supposed to understand from that alone.

"I find it hard to believe you are not useful on your own. Your knowledge on sea-creatures is valuable is it not? Do fisherman not require such knowledge to catch them?" Lilith replied. She still didn't understand why Zilla wanted to be useful. Assuming she did however, Lilith was confused why her existence should matter.

Zilla shook her head so violently Lilith could hear it. "I am deficient. You make me useful. I like that." Zilla said. Lilith frowned at that word. Deficient implied an inherent wrongness or lack of capability to fulfil a specific task. Humans were not required to fulfil a specific task.

"In what way is this related to not engaging with me regardless? I shall simply allow you to deal with your own self-esteem issues, I'm aware you have endured far more than I. Yet I cannot understand why this means you need me to engage you?" Lilith replied. She knew from personal experience that dealing with self-esteem was something that unfortunately could not be dealt with by one person.

Zilla had latched onto Lilith apparently and that was acceptable. Lilith would give her as much praise as she desired for her work. She deserved it. Yet this did not help her understand why Zilla only passively engaged in any conversation they had.

"If you ask the question then I become useful. I always ask the wrong questions. Yours are always better." Zilla replied. Lilith's brows furrowed. She didn't like that attitude. As someone who was attempting to uncover the mysteries of the entire world at large, Lilith would never dismiss a question.

"Regardless of whether a question is good or bad, personal or work related, I shall always answer it. Especially if it comes from you. Do not feel the need to hold yourself back as such because you feel inadequate. Your questions shall often enlighten yourself to the truth of that fact. If I truly believe a question is pointless, I do not mind informing you. Though I personally believe no question is pointless merely inopportune." Lilith explained as passionately as her somewhat mechanical tone could get.

Zilla hesitated for several seconds. The thoughts going through her mind were clear. This was not how Zilla lived her life until now. She didn't like change. She didn't like being responsible for her own questions. Most importantly did she have any?

With several more seconds of hesitation Lilith merely waited for the girl to speak. Eventually Zilla asked a single question. "Why?" It was the first question she asked and Lilith couldn't quite understand it. To what was she referring.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be a bit more specific Zilla. Why what? Why do I believe questions are never pointless? Why do I believe asking them will enlighten you? That is many questions and I unfortunately do not have the time to answer them all." Lilith explained.

"Why is my knowledge valuable to you? I like the fishes. That is all I amount to." Zilla said bluntly. Lilith once again didn't like this outlook but she had to answer.

"All perspectives and knowledge are valuable from my point of view Zilla. Yours is more extensive than most and thus more valuable. People's likes and dislikes are all they amount to in the first place. Without such concepts, humans are merely machines for surviving. Such is the philosophical argument than some subscribe to." Lilith explained. She wanted Zilla to feel more comfortable but most of all she wanted to answer her questions.

"Fishes." Zilla murmured for some reason. Zilla and Lilith sat down on the sofa once more since their work was finished for the day. Zilla began to ask a number of questions she had seemingly been holding in the entire time she had known Lilith.

Why was Lilith searching for knowledge? Were the nobles right about her? Why was her father nice to her? A number of questions popped up and Lilith did the best she could to answer them all. Some she couldn't answer and she simply told Zilla that she did not have the answers to those questions. These were often about people and their actions.

Why did x person do y action? Lilith could give her a breakdown of their psyche and thought process, she could even give a behavioural analysis in a manner similar to a psychologist. It wouldn't answer Zilla's question. She merely told Zilla that she didn't have the answers she sought and zilla should find them herself.

They passed the rest of the day talking until a knock came at the door and Darren let someone into the room. "Excuse me Your highness. A messenger has arrived for you." Said Darren formally. Guessing what that might mean, Lilith got up from the couch and said her goodbyes to Zilla.