"Sarita..."
He couldn't believe it. He had seen her die. There was no possible way she could have lived through all of that! But they were still technically in the Spirit World.
The Golden Hellcat spread her massive wings and glided down from the tree. When she landed, she folded them again and looked at the group before her. Her two sons ran up to her and stood at her sides. Her daughter walked up more slowly, and the two felines rubbed their heads in greeting to each other.
Felina looked on in surprise and awe at the powerful winged feline.
"That's Sarita...? I thought you said she was dead?"
Nakela still couldn't speak. Chance looked on with a mix of hope and sadness, speaking softly.
"She was. I saw her die. We both did. She's... she has to be a ghost..."
The chatro jaguar looked up at the pair of kats and the Mokole, a smile on her broad muzzle.
I'm no ghost, my love. I have returned.
A shiver ran through the tabby as he felt her presence in his mind. Nakela finally lowered her hands to speak, though her voice cracked from being so choked with emotion.
"How...? How is this possible? Nothing could have survived that! Not even you?"
As they watched, Sarita's form shifted. She stood up onto her hind legs, and her form shrank down, her wings shrinking to remain proportionate to her body. She now stood on her sokto form, looking like a well-built, imposing she-kat with ancient Mayan clothing and jewelry, her tattoos clearly visible beneath the thin fur. Chance and Nak could both see that there were new tattoos, a line of glyphs down the inside of her left arm, and another line of them that wrapped around her right thigh.
The proud warrior then walked forward toward the kats and human. As she approached, Nakela suddenly ran forward, and wrapped her arms around the Bastet. Sarita smiled and held her friend and lover close for several long moments as Nakela cried, the first time she had allowed herself to do so since Sar's death. When Nakela finally loosened her grip, both women looked up at Chance, and Nakela took a step back with a gentle smile, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand. Sar took several more steps forward, stopping only a few feet from the tabby.
"Sarita, I... how...?
She smiled gently, her voice soft and soothing.
"It's called the 'Rite of Nine Lives'. My Jamak, Citlacoatl, taught it to me. It's very rare, and very dangerous. When I first performed the Rite, I didn't care what the consequences would be, so long as it would aid me in my quest for vengeance against Mason. But... I had no idea of the suffering it would force me to endure. For the first five days, I wished I had stayed dead! The pain..."
She looked down sadly, a tear in her left eye.
Chance placed a gently hand under her chin and lifted her head up so he could look back into her deep blue eyes.
"But you're back. And we will have vengeance."
She smiled gently, then suddenly threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. Chance held her tightly, fighting back his own tears.
Felina was the only one who didn't actually know the Balam, but she knew of her from Chance and Nakela. She knew that her friend had fallen in love with the warrior, and she knew that Nakela, and obviously the rest of the shifters, had great respect for her.
Sarita finally loosed her grip on the tabby and pulled back a bit, looking him in the eyes.
"I'm sorry, for everything. None of this should have ever happened..."
"Sar, I don't care. The only thing that matters now is making things right again!"
He then leaned forward, and kissed her gently. The Garou and two male Balam jerked their heads up, ears pricked in surprise. Nakela gave a soft, almost inaudible laugh. Only Bahati didn't react. But even though she couldn't see, she still knew.
.
Nakela was used to eating whatever she could, but Chance and Felina were both very grateful to be eating real food finally. The jaguars did closely resemble kats in their sokto form, and with Tommy having been born a human and spending his first seven years living in a city, he took the first opportunity to acquire some 'civilized' food.
The entire 'pride', for Sarita explained that a Bastet Pride could be made up of close friends and family, not just werecats, sat high up in the branches of the central home-tree. Felina knew it would take a bit of getting used to, but Chance and Nakela were both in much better spirits now. The she-kat was glad to see that her friend was more like his old self again.
Sarita remained in her sokto form, leaning against the trunk of the tree, with Chance and the homid Nakela sitting to either side of her. The younger of Sar's sons, Tommy, sat against the back wall in his massive crinos form, which he seemed to prefer. Sarah had re-taken her own homid form, a sixteen year old girl with fair skin, shoulder-length red hair, and green eyes, and sat against the wall a few feet from Tommy. The other two Balam remained in their felis forms, and Felina leaned against the side of the larger male, Akin. Despite his size and power, something about him was also very calming, and she rather didn't want to be too close to the younger brother with his multitude of dangerous weapons. Bahati lay stretched out near the center of the group, her ears twitching to catch ever tiny sound. Everyone but Sarita was enjoying a breakfast of donuts and ham & cheese rolls. The Enforcer decided she really didn't want to know how Tommy had obtained them. When Felina asked why Sarita wasn't eating, the were-jaguar explained that she was unable to digest anything other than raw meat. At length, the discussion began on what would have to happen next.
"Our biggest advantage now is that Mason is certain I am dead. We must be sure that no-one learns otherwise until the moment we strike and I finally reveal myself."
Nakela took a sip of her coffee, then looked curiously at her friend.
"Sarita, I have to know. Exactly how did you come back? I mean, Chance and I both saw you die!"
Chance and Felina both looked at the were-jaguar on that one. They both wanted to know the answer to that as well. Sarita sighed and looked down, her eyes unfocusing. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft and full of pain.
"Believe me, as I had already said, for a while I had actually wished that I had stayed dead! There is a reason why some should not come back. We are not meant to still be alive with no skin."
The kat's both starred in open-mouthed silence. Nakela gasped from the realization.
"Oh great Gaia! You mean... she actually..."
"Yes. She completely skinned me. Every bit of it was gone. And my claws, fangs, and jaw-bones as well. You cannot possibly imagine the pain I was in!"
Felina couldn't believe that someone would possible do that to another person. She still saw these creatures as people, even if they could take the form of animals.
"She skinned you? WHY?"
Sarita looked up, meeting the she-kat's confused gaze.
"For a trophy. She takes the hides of felis and metis killi that she kills, and mounts them. I was lucky though. She's been known to take the other bones as well,
particularly the skulls."
Chance felt an anger and hatred begin to burn anew inside him, but he was still shocked at it all.
"Hold it. If she took your hide, then that means..."
"Yes. Somewhere, most likely her lair, is my old hide, stuffed and mounted. Along with Sawgrass, I'm sure."
Chance shivered involuntarily at the thought. He couldn't even begin to think of something so horrible. And he swore, he would get his revenge on that bitch of a vampire, one way or another.
In the back, Tommy laughed slightly and everyone turned to look at him as he began to take apart and check his gun. Sarita pinned her ears.
"Okay, who let Tommy play with a bazooka?"
There was a hint of stifled laughter, and Akin & Bahati exchanged glances. Tommy gave a loud, exaggerated sigh.
"It's an Uzi, mom."
"Do you really think I give a damn? And don't you dare let me catch you shooting that thing at your brother and sister!"
"But the bullets arn't silver!"
"I... don't... care...!"
Nakela placed a hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter. Chance and Felina glanced at each other curiously. Chance decided it may be best to stay out of it. Felina however sat up and looked over at the crinos.
"Exactly how old are you, Tommy?"
He shrugged and he worked to put he gun back together in working order with practiced speed and skill.
"Seventeen."
"Seventeen? And you're using automatic weapons and explosives?"
Chance's jaw dropped. Now he knew why Sarita didn't want her son handling the gun.
"Uh, Tommy? Don't you think you're a bit young for those kind of weapons?"
"No!"
Nakela was still trying not to laugh, as was Sarah. Sarita sighed, shaking her head.
"Killi tend to take their first shifts upon becoming teenagers. Puberty, if you will. And, unfortunately, that means having to grow up fast. Including learning to fight. However, that does include using a certain amount of constraint and maturity when using dangerous weapons!"
The crinos put his ears back flat, and he sighed again.
"Yes mom..."
.
The day had been spent mostly resting and planning. They now knew what they had to do. With the dawn, they would begin putting their plan into action. But the dawn would wait. Night had come again. Only Sarita, Chance, and Nakela now remained in the central tree. The others had gone into the other tree-dens for the night.
Felina was truly grateful to be able to sleep in a bed finally, even if it was up in a tree and formed out of the branches. Still, the pillows and blankets, not to mention the privacy since the four smaller tree dens were completely enclosed with cloths hanging over the doorways and window, was extremely welcome for the she-kat. The only other thing she really missed was a shower. Tommy and Akin shared another tree-den, with Bahati and Sarah each having their own as well.
In the central tree, Sarita sat on the edge of the platform, one leg pulled up against her chest, with her chin resting on her knee. The other leg dangling loosely off the edge of the branches. Nakela sat to her left, and Chance to her right. Nak leaned in and rested her head affectionately against the sokto's shoulder. Sarita smiled and put her arm around the bronze-skinned woman, kissing her gently on the forehead.
Chance glanced over at the two. Back in the pyramid, when they both believed the jaguar was dead, Nakela had finally told him the truth about them. He thought back on the were-dragon's words.
"Sarita and I have been alone for several long years, with only each other for companionship. After the murder of her pride, and Bahati's father, she had an emptiness in her heart that began to turn her cold. I suppose, she needed something to help fill that emptiness. And that something became me. I loved her, and always will. But I can also tell you this, though we both were lovers, we also both desired male mates. Especially Sarita."
"She firmly denied it, even to herself, no matter how many times Sawgrass and I teased her about it. But I know she was attracted to you from the beginning. It took time, but eventually her heart opened to you. I know she came to care deeply for you Chance, and the final day, she told me the truth of it. She was beginning to love you, and had wanted you as her mate."
Nakela's words repeated in Chance's mind as he looked at the two females beside him. He was finally beginning to understand them. To understand the way they think. They were ruled, not by logic, but by instincts... and by emotions. With a gentle smile, he leaned closer, and put his arm around both Sarita, and Nakela. If the two females were lovers, he would respect that. Especially since he now knew, that Sarita really did love him as well.
Nakela was eventually the first to finally get up, and headed toward the back of the den. The large bed was in the far back, the thirty-foot wide tree trunk hiding it from view of the opposite open wall. After a few more minutes, Sarita gave Chance a light kiss, then stood up and followed Nakela. He watched her until she disappeared behind the tree trunk.
'What the Hell...'
Sarita might literally have nine lives, but no-one knew what could end up happening once they began to retake the city from the vampire and her minions. Sarita was perhaps the most powerful warrior of all of them, but Angelida had succeeded in killing in her once already. Any one of them could die within the coming day. Might as well live now...
The two females were already curled up together, their clothing laying on the floor just outside the wooden bowl of a bed. Chance shook his head, then went ahead and stripped down to his boxers, crawling into the bed beside Sar and running his hand gently down her shoulder and arm. She smiled and rolled over to face him, then kissed him passionately. Chance never expected to be able to be with two females at once, and when he eventually passed out, he was more exhausted than they were.