The Queens New Clothes

THE QUEEN'S NEW CLOTHES

One-Shot: follow up of Mab’s former Master's execution.

IC: Mab Bathori, Je’daii Grand Master

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Music: “Wasted Nun" by; Cherry Glazerr

https://youtu.be/YLZYJ-u3WMo

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161 ABY, Batorine

For nearly two days the witch had slept. Taking the life of her former Master had been taxing both physically and mentally.  Mab was finally free of the monster who had tormented her for years but It had left her unbalanced, unhinged even as darkness surrounded her. On the outside she looked calm, part of her felt calm, relieved, but inside there was still much anger that needed to be addressed. The Je’daii Master knew she would have to go to Bogan eventually but first she had to finish something, the chapter was over yet. The S’kytri was dead, not much left of them; their wings were placed in stasis, their flesh and organs sent to Amilia West to feed her Master’s former pet Kath Hound Kronus, their bowels and genitalia were incinerated. All that was left were their skin, brain and bones, and Mab had plans for those.

The S’kytri skin and brain lay in the freezer, ready for tanning while the bones were buried outside to let nature eat away the soft tissue that was left. Being skilled in the art of taxidermy, the Iktotchi knew how to work with skin and bones, making them last. And she \*would\* make them last, the pompous dread Sorcerer would be on display.

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Three days after ending Skyllan’s life, the Iktotchi witch took the ashen grey skin out of the freezer and went into the woods. She followed the stream near the house to a spot where the water was calm. Tying it up, Mab submerged the skin, leaving it to soak. Tiny fish would begin nibbling, starting the fleshing process as the skin would soften in the freshwater. After two days the witch returned and hauled the skin out of the water and spread it out over a fallen tree trunk. The bark was gone as Mab had often used it for tanning hides.

S’kytri weren’t known to have hair, but still it was important to remove everything including the grain as any patches or streaks left on the skin would become dry and stiff. She used the hump rib of a young Falumpaset for the scraping. Drops of sweat formed on her forehead as she thoroughly removed all the hair, the follicles and the grain.

When she was done with the graining Mab turned the Skin for the membraning. Again using the Falumpaset hump rib the Iktotchi began scraping, removing the first layer of mucous membrane from the fleshy side of the S’kytri skin. Like the graining it was hard and meticulous labour, but seeing the perfect skin underneath was satisfying to see and motivated her to continue. After several hours, covered in sweat, the witch was done and began wringing the S’kytri hide with a large stick and rolled it up to take it home for the next step

Back at the villa, Mab took the S’kytri brain out of the freezer and defrosted it. For the brain tanning solution she put it in a blender, adding the egg yoke of an Endorian Chicken and some warm water. When the slush of brain was done she filled a large bucket with lukewarm water and added the solution. Putting the hide in the bucket she swished it around to make sure all of the hide would be covered with the solution leaving it half an hour and then wringing it, folding and storing in the cooler overnight.

The next day, Bathori took the hide and wringed it again, removing the moisture before putting it on a rack. Outside, near the house Mab had built a large rack on which she often stretched hides. Normally it was animal hides, it was odd to see the humanoid skin on it.

As Mab was short compared to her former Master she had to use a step ladder to hang the skin from it’s neck. Then she tied it from the legs and began weaving the cord around the edge until the hide was evenly stretched over the rack. The warm wind already began to dry the skin, stiffening it up. With a firm dull scraper the witch worked the hide on both sides, working the brain tissue deep into the hide until after several hours it became soft and fluffy.

When the S’kytri  hide was completely dry she took it off the rack and began hand stretching it over a cord. Working it with both hands to soften any hard spots such as scars, which there were plenty. When that was finished all that needed to be done to finish the tanning, was smoke the hide to make it waterproof as well to trap the brain tissue within to keep it soft.

After days of hard work, Mab held the soft leather in her hands. It wasn’t ashen grey, the smoke had turned it into a beautiful brownish hue, but Mab the witch wasn’t satisfied yet. She decided to dye the  leather blue, as the skin once was when she met the S’kytri for the first time.

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With the leather done Bathori decided to go to the Bogan, to find balance again. There on the dark abandoned moon of Tython, Mab meditated on Ashla, on the light side of the force, shedding herself from the darkness within her. She was relieved that it was over, she could finally let go of her past as a failed Sith and become what she was truly meant to be. For two weeks she stayed on Bogan, all by herself before she returned to finish the rest of her job

One-shot about her time on Bogan:

https://m.facebook.com/groups/617734192232084/permalink/704552646883571/

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For three weeks the bones of her former master lay buried in the forest. Nature had eaten away the remaining soft tissue. When the witch returned to Batorine she dug the bones up, as she planned for those as well. Feeling more calm after her two weeks on Bogan, she could detach herself and was able to work without dark emotions filling her up.

Mab took the bones to her lab under the house where she would clean them. They were discoloured and therefore she decided to whiten them. Firstly she began cleaning them with soapy water and a brush, removing all the dirt before she would degrease them by soaking them with solvents. For large fatty animals it could take months to fully degrease the bones, but the S’kytri bones weren’t greasy at all and therefore a week was enough.

After the week was passed, she rinsed the bones and went over them again with a brush. She then began to whiten the bones, placing them in a large container, pouring hydrogen peroxide over them and topping it with water. It didn’t take long for the bones to foam, this merely meant the process was working. Covering the container, she left it for twenty four hours to soak, until they were white.

She took the skull aside, and packed the rest into a large crate. Moments later Mab sat down at a workbench in her lab, she began by fixing the jaw, as Terrogate had ripped it off. Using wire she attached to the jaw socket, not too tight so that it could still move. Then the Iktotchi began drawing a floral pattern on the whitened skull. When she was satisfied with the design the witch took out her engraving tools, even though for most of the next part she would use the nails of her Ultrachrome claw. Mab smiled as she began carving into the skull, thinking about how her former Master and even the Emperor referred to her golden arm as a punishment. She knew better, she had asked for it, it was a gift that had helped her a lot over the past few years.

For the next couple of days the witch worked on the skull of her former Master, turning it into a piece of art. The result was beautiful and she placed it on the altar, smiling proudly at her work.

In the corner of the room stood the crate with the remaining bones. For the plans she had, she needed help. Mab was skilled at preserving skin and bones, but didn’t have the skill to turn it into armour. Mab took the blue leather and neatly rolled it up before placing it in the crate. She would pay an old friend and colleague from the time she worked for imperial propaganda, to help her make what she had envisioned...

(Note: armour made  Imperial outfitters)