The ribcage was intact; there were no signs of damage whatsoever.
It begged the question: first, why would the undersides of the forelimbs have borne so much damage, while the ribs remained untouched?
And it answered a question, too... even if it were not one East had yet asked himself. It might occur to him now: the wounds to the limbs had likely not been incurred post-mortem, by a scavenger--not with the ribcage left untouched.
@East
Compared to the forelimbs he'd leapt from, this piece of the puzzle remained absent of any markings indicating similar harm. The fact cast the previous damage in a more peculiar light than before. Appearing more localized than initially believed to be, the possibility the killing was carried out in a haphazard fashion attributed to brute predatory force shrank. If anything, this was measured, almost ritualistic in execution. The victim had been disassembled for a reason not yet apparent to him. Maybe the other bones would yield a clearer picture.
Shuffling hops carried East up the skeleton's sternum. From there, he leaned forward for a peer at the underside of the skull positioned nearby. No backbone present for a connection to the rest of the body, perhaps he might find evidence of further lacerations indicative of its separation. Or another fascinating detail could announce its presence, bringing forth additional questions about the case; stranger things could happen.
Even a hawk's vision, keen as it was, had its limits. East's happened to be perching at a vantage point that didn't offer a stellar view of the skull's areas most of interest to him. Looking downward, he could see its yellowed surface just fine. Shadow, however, obscured the base from sight. With a clack of his beak and an internal roll of eyes for underestimating personal capabilities, wings outstretched, and he glided downward to land on soil again. Now on more level ground with the subject, there wouldn't be any excuse for missing an important clue. His head bobbed as he approached, and careful taps of a talon laid out a map of the confounding creature's braincase.
Isra shifted position, watching East with slight impatience, albeit tempered by curiosity. "What is it you are doing?" she asked, at length.
She wasn't sure if there was something in particular he was looking for, though it was an odd enough situation that she felt it warranted her remaining, for the time being. Her eyes flicked to the flowers. "Maybe this was a Plant-element Gembound?" she mused aloud, her tails hissing some of her words in repetition. "It might have grown something out of its own control." If she'd seen the wounds on the arms, she didn't mention them. To her, the idea of the hallucinations being deadly was likely enough of a cause of death.
The skull, however--East would find--told a different story. There was a hole at the top of the skull. It was small. And if he examined the interior, he would find that it was a single wound; the weapon, or claw, or fang, had not punctured upward from within. Either it'd punched downward, or... maybe that's where its gemstone had once been.
It was as likely a cause of death as any; if the creature hadn't already been dead before the injury, it certainly was now.
@East
Pleasantries and combing corpse bits for clues didn't exactly mix. Much as a carrion eater wouldn't fuss about making their messy gulps more palatable to an audience, neither did East attempt to preserve any dignity during the hopping and pecking necessary to conduct his inspection. Preoccupied by his task, remarks weren't as carefully guarded as before, and so amongst blunted points resided some that might've pricked like rose thorns.
"Well, I can't exactly ask old bones here their story, can I?" he explained, a foot positioned on the skull's lower jaw tipping it forward for a better examination of its shiny dome. "You can pluck me for invasion of personal space later if that's a criminal offense round these parts."
Finding a hole in the oh-so-important barrier that shielded the brain from damage on a regular basis, a deft nudge upended the skull so its bottom faced the ceiling. Perched on its rim, a balancing act confirmed the presence of the ominous opening from the other side. Tiny, if this was evidence of penetration, it would've had to have been a clean punch through bone to the thinking matter housed within it. No, precise strikes to the forelimbs aside, he leaned toward more toward the possibility of this being the deceased's gem site. Though the killer's intentions remained murky, the current profile in progress was shaping up to be a collector of personally extinguished lives. Sick, but not entirely unprecedented; most aspiring parents without a willing partner kept their acquisitions to the occasional Lesser donor or a stray stone instead.
"Would have to be a very sharp vine to worm all the way inside of this," came a wry comment at the morbid sight. East took advantage of the skull's rounded surface and rolled it toward Isra, his backward launch from it providing the momentum needed as he lifted off to fly toward the far end of the skeleton. He didn't expect much difference from the femur Bentley had recovered for him, but overconfidence could murder an investigation. Better to leave no bone unturned than dread missing a crucial detail.
Isra peered at East, then laughed, short and harsh.
The snakes that formed her tail echoed this, cackling in a chorus.
"Of course you can," she answered dismissively, with a shake of her head. "You need someone with the right magic for it, and it may take awhile. But seeing into the past, through touch? It's doable. If it interests you enough." She shrugged, a gesture that looked odd with her feline build. It was clear it didn't interest her enough to bother, although... "If you do find out, let me know." That was more seriously said.
She wasn't bothered, exactly, but there was something about all this that didn't quite add up. Or maybe it did, and she wasn't seeing it; but better to know if there was a potential threat around her Palace.
The hind leg showed nothing, as East had suspected would be the case; it was healthy, its bones strong, untouched by injury.
@East
"Huh. That so?" East lifted his eyes from the latest subject of his examinations. Beak inflexible, the deep frown of consideration he held stayed entirely internal. Magic was an avenue he acknowledged but rarely bothered exploring. Too many uncertainties plagued the practice while honed observational skills tended to yield more consistent results in his experience. Its use did sometimes bridge certain gaps, though, more mundane methods couldn't. Therefore, interest sharpened his gaze despite misgivings about its use. "Maybe I'll see if anyone wants to take a glimpse for me. Somebody tone-deaf enough to accept a little amateur birdsong for services rendered."
Ever sardonic, he whistled a short, shrill melody. Sweet and simple, any bird harboring a shred of musical appreciation could execute the tune.
A concerned glance tossed toward slashed forelimbs cemented that thought beyond a possibility. While he could speculate on the cause of death—the current leading theory being bleeding out from sliced major arteries—the chance of hearing eyewitness testimony straight from the deceased's disintegrated throat was an opportunity hard to pass up. He stabbed his beak with a sharp jerk of the neck toward where most of the gathered bones remained in careful arrangement. "Don't think I'll be able to find that somebody quick though. You planning on keeping these on display somewhere? Or could I borrow a few of the more suspect parts to bring back later after they've received that magic touch you've mentioned?"
The fires in Isra's eyes flickered, as if she'd blinked at East. Her faint snort of humor at his joke and his whistle gave way to silence for a moment.
She had been about to blurt something, it seemed, but rephrased herself before ever speaking: "I have no... use for this." She nodded her tusked face toward the dead body as a whole. "Leave it, if you wish. The scavengers will deal with it otherwise. Or take it with you." Obviously, the room's guardian had absolutely no interest in claiming, disposing of, or otherwise involving herself with these bones any further.
@East
Allowing the weight of his gem to carry it down, East's head bobbed in a comprehending nod. In the midst of eyeing the bones further, the brief pause after his wisecracking had not gone unnoticed. Other matters, however, seized the majority of his attention for the present. If he couldn't resolve these concerns, they might drag him down to earth should he ever attempt flying out of Cepheus in the future. Forelimbs likely weren't as heavy as femurs, but those belonging to a comparative giant to him just as surely could be hefty weights dangling from his talons. Add on bringing along the skull, and a bird of his size might as well be transporting an entire burial ground even if he was only robbing a mere fragment of it.
A hop and glide landed him beside the deceased's arms. He lifted one in talons, this time not for close examination and a quick jest, but to test whether he could manage the journey without aid. Then he rounded back to where the cranium sat, rolled closer to Isra, and flew over to do the same. Looking the part of a vulture scrounging for tender parts long since rotted away, his beak hooked within an eye socket and experimentally lifted it before withdrawing.
"Maybe I was little hasty in asking for just that drink," he admitted with a meek shrug of shoulders. "I'll still take you up on that if you're willing, but I wouldn't mind something to cart this off later too. Not enough flight power to take everything interesting in one trip otherwise."
"Course, I take it that gust I heard wasn't just the breeze. So that's a no if I tried tossing any chirps in to compensate for the trouble? Or did you just remember someone who can't tell apart their high notes from their lows?"
Isra stared for a beat, and then blinked. "I'm not sure what you're asking," she said after a moment, bluntly. "I was laughing at what I assumed was your joke." She wasn't impolite in her response--just a little bit confused. East's speech patterns were a little floral for her; he was well-spoken, but he seemed to address his points in a slightly metaphorical, roundabout way, and Isra had things to do.
...But his manner now was too charming for her to grow irritated with.
So she sighed and nodded. "I can send someone out with a cart and have the remains brought to a private room, if you wish. -Not for too long, please; a day or two at the most. I do not want any rot stinking up the place. But you're free to use the room for a few days--the beds are comfortable, at least. Come. I will show you to the kitchen, and Nedies can get you that drink. And a meal, if you wish."
It seemed East's smooth talking, confusing as it might have been, had upgraded him to a suite.
@East