Cinya, Return to Me: Calixa's Resurrection

[CallieO]

The Cataclysm, as Tennibrook had taken to calling it, had happened two days ago. The four-tailed vulpine paladin cleric doesn't remember what she'd been doing at the exact moment the sky had fallen; she can only assume she'd been working on paperwork, because Adarok had told her he'd found her in her office, pinned beneath her desk, blood dripping into her eyes and mouth from a blunt force impact; papers scattered every which way. The vixen hadn't lost consciousness immediately, but she *had* gone into shock. Adarok, who'd been in the vicinity of Nanthalion's Portal Park at the time of the Cataclysm, had thought only of getting to Tennibrook as fast as he could, and he'd made his way to the castle in record time. It was a good thing he had, too, because Tenni had been on the verge of bleeding out when he'd found her in her third-floor office in Dethsiris.

He'd lifted the desk off her broken, but still alive, form, and instead of saying Adarok's name in recognition, she'd murmured, 'Father?', who had passed a couple of years ago Beyond the Veil. Adarok had quickly gotten her to a surgical team. In the middle of surgery, Tenni's heart had stopped, and she'd ceased to draw breath, but they'd been right there to do chest compressions and artificial respiration. While stitching her back together, Tennibrook had had a vision in which her mother, father, brother, and sister had all appeared to her. They'd told her she couldn't stay long, but in the meantime, her brother and sister, who'd died before their Naming Days, shared with her the names they'd been given finally when their mother died-- Toby and Mia. Those names had been on Tennibrook's mind ever since.

Tenni hadn't stayed long in Dethsiris. Promising that she would return within 24 hours to aid in Dethsiris's recovery, Tenni had set out to take care of her own. She hadn't been able to contact Brussk, and Calixa hadn't answered her Message spell, so she contacted Ray`el, and heard the horrible news. Calixa had been dashed against a stone wall by the Cataclysm, and was very much dead. Ray`el still had some heavy carts that were undamaged, so he'd transported the corpses to the Healing House.

Walking through Nanthalion now, Tennibrook braces herself for what she's going to see. The town proper has been brutalized. Callista's Vulpine Cuisine, she'd been told, had been wiped off the face of the earth. And the Healing House doesn't look much better. It's basically a tent city. Tennibrook reaches one of the volunteer workers. "I'm here looking for Calixa," she says.

Amethine-HH had not quite arrived yet. She had been elsewhere in the Healing House grounds tending to someone with a punctured lung. The Healing House itself definitely didn't fare too well in the magical blast that rocked the Empire, turns out having an unkept basement didn't make for the most sturdy of foundations, who could have guessed? Thankfully the more important areas of the Healing House were intact and used to house the most grievously injured people coming in and of course, the dead. The worker Tennibrook stopped looked a little overwhelmed but was holding himself together. "Calixa...?" He leafed through some papers on the clipboard he was carrying for a few moments. "Ah, yes there was a Calixa brought in to be resurrected. The Headmistress wasn't scheduled to perform it for a little while yet but if you make your way towards the Anchored Savior Room and wait outside the door I'll signal the Headmistress now.". He indicated towards the building up the path that now had tents lining either side of it before giving a sharp whistle. From the roof of the intact end of the Healing House, a slightly larger than average raven suddenly called out in that distinctly raven voice they have when mimicking words "Thine! Thine!". Not a minute later, the sound of clinking glassware approached as Amethine stepped across the wooden boards bridging any gaps in the floor now as she made her way towards the Anchored Savior Room.

Despite the circumstances, Tennibrook looks glad to see Amethine as she stands outside the Anchored Savior Room. And quite frankly, the vulpine paladin cleric can use all the cheering up she can get. "Tongra," Tenni says, greeting Ammey with a curtsey. ["Mentor."] At Arothiel's request, Amethine had tutored Tennibrook to become a master of first aid and triage shortly after she'd arrived in the empire. She'd even given her several free herbs and a copy of Lindor's healer's handbook. Tennibrook reaches out to embrace the catgirl now. "I apologize for the circumstances in which I greet you," she says. "How are you holding up?"

Amethine-HH recognized the vulpine as she approached the Anchored Savior room, though it was her particular choice in greeting that reminded her exactly why she was so familiar! Amethine accepted the offered embrace, responding in kind briefly before moving to unlock the door and allow them both entry. "I think it's officially worse than during the Wildgrowth Plague. At least the Healing House wasn't half destroyed!" Amethine certainly looked just as tired and harried as she had then, clearly there was a lot of demand on her right now and she was shouldering the familiar weight of it. "Luckily..." Amethine trails off as she opens the door, revealing the interior of the room. "... this held up as the safest room in all the Empire.". The Anchored Savior Room was a powerfully magical room and stepping inside it was easy to see why. With no windows, the only source of light was the lanterns spaced around the walls (which proved quite sufficient). When the door closed, a calming aura enveloped them both as the chaotic hustle and bustle of the noise outside was silenced. It was very easy to feel at peace in this room, as though the very soul was soothed. The room had many beds and tables inside it now, more than usual, all playing host to bodies waiting for resurrection. One such table was in the middle of the room, where Calixa's naked body was covered by a sheet, exposing just the halfling's head. Amethine moved to the side where a small cupboard was, already stripping off her clothes, revealing that she wore a gambeson underneath, along with mithril greaves and mithril bracers. "I'll begin in a moment, I just need to change into something that will be suitable for the ritual."

"Yes," Tennibrook says in agreement with Amethine's comment comparing this to the Wildgrowth, "and the danger may not yet be behind us." Tennibrook had changed into the robes of the High Priestess for this journey, along with a mithril dagger; she comes here today not as Warmaster of Dethsiris, but as one of The Lady's Chosen Representatives on this earth. She knows that under Ammey's tender loving care, Calixa will soon be restored to them. To her. She longs to hear her voice again, to hold her tightly, to tell her that everything will be all right. To tell her how much she loves her.

Amethine-HH slipped on the white dress that was in the cupboard after extracting herself from her gambeson, her pile of clothes kicked to one side for now. She left on her mithril gear as she couldn't be bothered to undo all the straps, though she did take off her wrist crossbow. Last thing she needed was to accidentally shoot poor Calixa! "No it's going to be a while to fix everybody... and with the sky the way it is, there's going to be alot more injuries and deaths as panicked idiots do panicky idiotic things. But let's not focus on that right now. In here, there's only one thing to focus on." Amethine approached the table Calixa was laid upon, wheeling over a smaller table with various reagents placed upon it as well as a big bowl of water with a rag. "Restoring life." With that, Amethine removed the sheet covering Calixa and took up a pestle and mortar that had recently been used to prepare the necessary paste. She dipped two fingers into the paste before making curved strokes across Calixa's forehead and then a circle around it, drawing an identical symbol over her own forehead. If Tennibrook was eagle-eyed enough, she might spot that it was the same symbol that Amethine had on her armband, the Healing House logo. "Here we go..." Amethine gently said, before gripping her necklace in one hand and pressing her other into Calixa's chest, chanting in her native Catfolk tongue the spell to link her and Calixa's bodies together, using her own body and soul as a sort of 'anchor' in preperation for the next part. The spell was clearly uncomfortable to Amethine but she was doing quite well. [Linking the Bodies, 1 sta]

Tennibrook braces herself for a horrible, gruesome sight when Calixa's body is uncovered, but thankfully, her body had been healed. Of course it had. That needed to be done before resurrection could take place. Of course, it could have been done right *before* resurrection, but apparently Ray had made sure to have Calixa's body healed before being transported. The small kindness is greatly appreciated by the paladin cleric. As Amethine starts the work of bringing Calixa back from the Great Beyond, or wherever it is halflings go when they die, Tenni lifts her head to the ceiling, thankful that she can't see the shattered sky that lay beyond. And she begins to pray silently, as tears stream down her face.

Amethine-HH seemed to pause, breathing as though she were about to submerge underwater. Positioned so that it looked as though Amethine was using Calixa's body to hold herself up judged by how much her hand was pressing into her, the other gripped tightly on her necklace that was held close to her own heart. Soft wisps, spectral looking trails of dusty light that looked both blue and gold at the same time appeared around Amethine and Calixa. Vaguely humanoid silhouttes might be seen among them, or perhaps it was a trick of the flickering lantern light? While Amethine's physical form was stood over Calixa's body, chanting her spell, Amethine herself was once again fading into the spiritual realm to look for Calixa's soul and bring her home.

Through tear-rimmed eyes, Tennibrook watches as the spirits of the afterlife appear around her mentor and the remains of her girlfriend. "Bring her home, tongra," Tennibrook murmurs sotto voce, barely loud enough for Amethine to hear even if she were paying attention.

Calixa is aware suddenly of meat. A shattered empire like the empire shattered outside, had she been aware of it. Devoid of sun and stars, with just the faintest echo of luminosity. It formed the outline of caverns within herself- still palaces and workshops, silent and empty. Or- not quite empty. She felt the stagnant blood within them- the decayed chemicals, the listless nerves. It felt *wrong*. It felt claustrophobic. It was like a nightmare- a prison of meat, with an awful foreboding that at any moment she might detect the twinges of rot in this shell, like a still pond stirred into putrescence. Was there any escape? Any hope of staving off the rot?

Amethine-HH stayed quite still as she continued to chant her spell, though her voice strained for a moment. She was vaguely aware of Tennibrook's brief request, or perhaps it was her imagination. Amethine's focus now however, was the protection of the path she had just created. There were many souls, far more than normal, all wanting a chance at life once more. It was Amethine's focus and will that kept them back, they were not who she was there for. It was a strange thing to call to spirits, each time she did this was different. Amethine didn't so much as move anywhere as *want* it, her will and focus keeping her spirit from becoming lost. Light, sounds and smells abound, or perhaps there were none and it was all darkness. She was looking for a mystery, inside an enigma. She was thankful then, when she focused through the haze of busyness and found her prize. Amethine drew near a scent of flesh, a sense of foreboding entrapment that was not her own. Was Calixa trapped in her own fears? Amethine drew closer to her.

As a cleric, Tennibrook has no small amount of magic at her *own* disposal nowadays, but the vixen restrains herself from using any of it, as much as she wants to reach across the void separating the light from the dark and thrust Calixa back into the world of the living, by physical force, if necessary. She knows that any spell cast in this environment could have drastic repercussions. Not just for Calixa, but for Amethine as well. Every time Amethine brings a soul back from the Great Beyond, she's risking the loss of her own soul. But that doesn't mean that Tennibrook can't be here and continue to pray. "Calixa, come back to us," she murmurs, wondering if the halfling is back enough to hear her yet. "Come back to *me*. I love you."

Calixa hovers in the darkness of the caverns of meat, remaining as still as she could. She was afraid to stir. Then, something sifted through the walls- a light. No- a spark? one that wouldn't quite fade. Life. She recognized it immediately- something alive, bringing a red glow to the unoxygenated blood that it touched, like the traces of a bright light across the retina. It wouldn't be enough- she was sure of it, it was too distant, too small to prevent the rot. The space was too vast, the machinery too complex. But still, that red ribbon traced through the stillness gave her- hope. It proved *something* could be done. She would see. After a moment, she went out through the crenellated spaces, weaving through the network of nerves that she *knew* to be the fastest path through the meat. There was a lot. But one had to start somewhere, right? She would start- she decided- with the endocrine.

Amethine-HH stilled, she was there. She knew she was. But she couldn't quite reach Calixa properly. There was a maze before her, but physical limitations meant little here. Amethine focused harder, to be the beacon for Calixa to follow. There was movement in there, a lost lamb trying to find her way back. There was a familiarness to this place, Amethine sensed it, biology. Calixa's soul trapped in a purgatory of her own body. Amethine took a guess, she figured what might be happening. The catgirl tried to sense out, where the spirit was moving. An idea formed and so with a great deal of focus moved her physical, real hand from Calixa's chest and up to her neck before cupping around the base of her skull to be near the brainstem. No. No that wouldn't work. Amethine had to remember her training, it was why she drew the symbols upon their foreheads. Symbolism. For rituals such as this, symbolism mattered a great deal. her hand moved now from the back of Calixa's head to her face, covering her eyes and focused again, to urge Calixa to follow. It was up to Calixa to free herself of her own prison so Amethine could take her back.

Calixa experienced disappointment. it was like lighting a candle to boil an ocean. there simply wasn't enough to work with yet. You couldn't get moving without energy, but you couldn't create the chemicals to start the workshops either. It was all... inert. She needed a catalyst. A thought struck her. Somewhere in the caverns lingered that living spark. It was still within her awareness. Still twisting a red ribbon of life where it drifted through the meat. She gathered what energy she had, and made one systolic *push*- forcing a torrent of the still blood into life, its darkness turning the spark into a comet- or a meteor leaving a bright trail behind. Now- quickly- take that energy- spread it as thinly as she dared- into a pulse of sickly electricity, and a long terrible moment of stillness until its echo returned. The workshops had roused themselves from their stupor, and sent along a tithe- a sweet gift of chemicals. That had to be portioned off. Central nervous first- just enough to prickle the stem, joining a faint golden energy that lingered there- and then vascular- preparing the channels. There was a chance. it was frantic work- She would have to hope renal could simply deal with the byproducts as she burned what she had fast and hot.

Tennibrook had been present at the resurrections of seven colleagues in her time, including, most recently, Arothiel's, more than two years ago in Virelith. But she'd never actually been in the room, just waiting outside. This is the first time she'd be able to see the person take their first breath of their new life. If it works. She knows that every now and then, it doesn't take. Oh, please.

Amethine-HH furrowed her brow. Perhaps she had the wrong perspective on things. Was Calixa trapped and needed freed? This might be how her soul percieves her own body and desires life once more. The spark Amethine was noticing, that might be her own doing rather than the spark of Calixa's soul? Things often were so esoteric when it came to spirits. Amethine could tell that Calixa was fighting back against the death of her own body, but she would be trapped forever if she kept this up. Amethine breathed a calming sigh, keeping out the noise of the souls around her. If Calixa's soul hadn't left her body, then she had to get the soul to rest. Continuing to chant her spell, Amethine moved her hand to give Calixa's heart a couple of pumps. Then used her fingernails to give a gentle scrape along the skin. The idea being to signal to Calixa's soul inside that help was there outside by making signals she might detect. Amethine's spirit tried to call out to Calixa inside to be still. To sleep now and accept her current form. She is here to bring her back but Amethine can't bring someone back to life when their soul is so restless.

Calixa at first panics as something external works on the faltering machinery she'd been frantically pumping, kicking, and pushing into fitful activity. With all this empire of broken meat, she couldn't deal with any more external damage- but the push when it came was more like the rolling of a large bell- a wave of sunlight as slow as honey creeping through her body. Her body. Yes, that was right, wasn't it? She was loath to take her hands off her instruments, feeling at any moment that the balance would be lost, and the meat sink into quiet again. But reluctantly she accepted that something beyond her own skill was at work- and became still within her own breast.

Tennibrook's nerves are killing her. No pun intended. Had it taken this long to bring back Arothiel? It hadn't seemed like it. And he'd woken up screaming because his wings, shattered beyond the healers' ability to repair, had been amputated. Maybe it just feels like a longer delay because as cherished a colleague as Rothie had been, Calixa is someone who's worked her way into Tenni's heart.

Amethine-HH breathed an audible sigh of relief that Tenni would clearly hear as Amethine quickly grabbed the rag, dunking it in the water and using it to wipe off the marking she had drawn upon them both. A bit short of breath now, Amethine said "Her soul is back in her body. I just need to now bring the body back to life. Took longer than normal but I got there.... I should warn you now, people often come back from the dead with a strong vigor of life, which often manifests itself as being extremely horny." The catgirl took a couple of seconds to get her beath back, leaning over a little to get her strength back before standing up tall once more (or as tall as a 4'9" catgirl COULD stand) and laid her hands over Calixa's heart, pressing into it size times, at the same rate her halfling heart would beat when it had been alive. She then leaned over to give Calixa what could be viewed as a loving, sensual kiss as she breathed air back into Calixa's lungs; reminding her body what it meant to be alive. Amethine repeated this three times over before placing her hands on Calixa's body. "Your pain is mine to burden now, your body healed and soul returned, take a little of my own life so that you may live once more.", words uttered and she then began to cast the final spell. A glow of red from underneath her hands and Amethine made a cry of pain, legs crumpling as she gives up some of own vitality to give Calixa's body the kickstart it needed to live once more. "One last step..." Amethine said, lifting herself up to plant a gentle, loving kiss upon Calixa's forehead. Amethine called this her "kiss of life", to give the body a tenderness anybody might love to wake up to after a long sleep. [The Gift of Life, 10 sta]

Calixa inhales sharply- it had been a wonder to see the golden honey drag all the mean into position, and play it like an instrument. Just as she had gotten comfortable listening to the music- she had been pulled into the golden light and thrust back at the controls. "GAaah!" her small body went rigid as every muscle tried to contract at once- Before she subsided- her chest rising and falling as if to make up for lost time. her dark eyes stare sightlessly at the ceiling, unblinking, unfocused. For a time all there was was breathing- feeling the crenellations in her lungs swell with sweet air- feeling the air twitch on every follicle of her body. It was intoxicating.

Tenni nods at Amethine's admonition. "I know," she says. "I've... performed that function before." She makes no further comment on the situation. As Calixa is brought back to life, Tenni's eyes fill with tears again, and this time she makes no attempt to wipe them away. "Oh, Calixa, karsha'dina, cinya," she says. ["Welcome back, darling."] "Kintay ra, shuka triesta. Kintay ra, tongra." ["Thank You, Our Lady. Thank you, mentor."] She moves to grasp both of Calixa's hands, feeling her life's blood pulsing through the vessels at her wrists.

Amethine-HH gave Tennibrook a smile as she stepped back to allow her room to dash in, reaching out to gently touch Calixa's head to cast one last spell, Cure the Senses, before finally collapsing into a nearby chair to catch her breath. She calls out to them both "Not all the rooms in the Healing House were destroyed. One of the ones spared is one we keep empty for just such occasions. There is a comfortable bed in there, feel free to stay until you feel better. 2nd door on your right when you leave this room." Amethine gave them both a knowing smile and started fishing around in her pile of robes for a particular vial, there were so many to sift through.

Calixa recognizes the voice, the scent- and yes, even the grip of the hands without being able to see at first. "Oh- Your hands are warm." The halfling's high piping voice was vague and a little raspy. "I did miss being warm. Hello Tennibrook." With the final tap on her forehead, her dark eyes focus on the tear-streaked face of the vulpine. "Oh- you're crying." With a grunt of stiffness, the nude halfling sits up, and pulls her colourless lips to those of the fox. She would just have to trust that love would forgive her breath.

"Hello, my darling," Tenni says, and when Calixa kisses her, she returns the kiss gently, but fervently. Her hand reaches to the back of the halfling's head, lightly grasping at her hair. Breaking the kiss, Tenni wipes her own tears. "Oh, how I worried for you. There's so much I need to tell you, so much I want to ask you. You've been dead for two days now. It happened suddenly, and as far as we can tell, to the entire continent at once. A massive impact of... something. It scourged the sky. We can't see the sun, moons, or stars anymore. It hit you and you went splat against a wall. It hit me all the way in Dethsiris, and almost killed me, too."

Calixa blinks slowly, a dreamy smile on her colourless lips. "Mm. Sounds like an awful bother. Mmm cinya- I'm *very* hungry. Think we could find something to eat? Oh- and-" she blinks, a flush of colour coming to her pale cheeks. "I... think I need something else from you too. After."

Amethine-HH had at this point stood up. Without the vials strapped about her, she was suddenly near-silent. How a catgirl who didn't spend years practicing the subtle art of subterfuge or thievery could so masterfully step with such little noise could only be speculated on. For now however, she had suddenly appeared at the door, the creak of the heavy oak wood betraying her locatio. She had a (very tired) smile on her lips, she didn't blame them for enjoying each other's company, but the Anchored Savior Room was not the room to do it in! "Off you get! You don't need me as a third wheel right now, and remember, second room on the right should you need it! Also, your personal effects that you were brought here with are underneath you on the little shelf below the table. Don't worry about the mehrials, the Empress said herself that all resurrections are to be covered by the Empire. And welcome back to the living." She sounded quite exhausted indeed, but she still spoke with that soft, warm tone she was quite known for.

Tennibrook nods at Calixa. "We'll find some food, and then some privacy." She turns to Amethine now. "Thank you so much. I can never repay you enough." And with that, they leave.