The Resurrection of Emily by Lisa Medaglia, 1998 The Agreement Pantera leaned back in her seat and peered at the young black feline that sat across from her. She brought her paws together and sat there, with her narrow eyes as if she could see past the fur, the very flesh and bones of Sootica, to catch a glimpse of her very soul. She knew her thoughts, her next actions, even her very purpose of why she had come to see her, but still, the large pather peered at her with her slitted eyes through her... Sootica sat uncomfortably in her seat, with only a plain wooden table separating the large cat from the small. She shuffled in her seat and cleared her throat. "Um...Can you help me?" she asked nervously. Pantera gazed her as a wry smile dragged across her muzzle. She reached over and grabbed her staff and rested it upon her lap; the long wooden staff, which had a mystical orb at the top, held in place with the wooden clows of the staff. Her eyes grew narrower as she smiled more, pretending that she couldn't read Sootica's thoughts. Her voice was a low rumble, which was harsh and unpleasant for a female black panther, with a hiss with each 's' and a long growl with each 'r' she said, she pronounced her words slowly and carefully, as if reading each and every sylobol. "Ssssso, little one," Pantera spoke, "You ssssseek a rrrrrresssssurrrrrectorrrrr, yessss?" Sootica swallowed hard and nodded. "And whom, may I asssssssk, am I rrrrrrraissssing?" Sootica looked around nervously and fiddled with her paws, gathering the courage she needed to face such a powerful creature, for even Sootica herself, knew not to cross the wrong path of the great Pantera Atra-u. "M...m...my sister..." Pantera raised her eyebrows at the response she already knew. "Your ssssissssterrrr?" she played dumb. The small feline nodded slowly. A dry smile came across Pantera's muzzle again. "Ah! Emily! I have not sssssseen herrrrrr in many moonsssss! Why wassssss I not inforrrrrmed of herrrrrr death? What wasssss the causssssse of it?" Sootica took a deep breath, "I only found out about you just recently...honest! She was killed by another feline..A warrior feline...not me! I didn't do it, I swear!" Pantera's eeys returned to her narrow slits, "And why sssssshould I resssssssurrrrrrect herrrr? The both of you dessssspissssed one another!" "I know Emily and I fought with each other," she began, "but she's the last true family I've left. I...I.." "Missssssss herrrrrr?" Sootica nodded slowly. Pantera nodded in agreement, "I ssssshall perrrrrforrrrm yourrrr rrrrresssssurrrrection. Do you have the body of the deceasssssssed?" She already knew the answer from Sootica, but she waited for her to shake her head. "Three thousand gold for the rrrrressssurrrrrrection, and one thousand gold to crrrrrreate a new flessssssh and furrrrrrrr." Sootica's eye's wideded with craze, "Are you mad?! That's roadway robbery! Where am I going to come with that amount??" Pantera leaned forward on the table that separated the two cats from each other, baring her fangs at the small feline for raising her voice at the Shamoness-Mage. "My offerrrrr sssssstandssssss!", she growled, "I give you a barrrrrgin becaussssse Emily issssssss frrrrrriend of Panterrrrrrra! Take it, orrrrrr away with you!" Pantera knew Sootica had the money...she loved to scare those who had the money, played hard-to-get. Sootica placed a pouch on the table in front of Pantera. The large, sleek panther sniffed it, knowing there was alot of gold in it. "There's a thousand for Em's body; you'll get the other three when she's alive well." Pantera continued to sniff the pouch as she looked up at Sootica, again with her piercing, ice-blue eyes. "Agrrrrreed! Do not fall back on yourrrrrrr worrrrrd, little one....or I ssssshall ssssssend Emily back to the Worrrrrrld of Death....and herrrrr only ssssssisssster sssshall join her..." The Ceremony Days had passed since their meeting, and Sootica, along with her adoptive parents, Ricky, a wolf, and Ivy, a snow vixen, and a few other close friends, gathered outside a cave while Pantera prepared the room inside for the resurrection. "If you ask me," Ricky said to his wife, "I think this cat's full of it!" "Give her a chance," Ivy reassured her husband, "if she's Emily's friend, I'm sure she's the real thing..." Pantera cracked the blunt end of her staff along the ground to catch the attention of the ceremony-goers. The slim black panther stood tall, her fur was darker than night itself, and glistened a highlight of blue in the sun's light. her hair was long, and lightning blue in colour. She wore only a simple tanned robe, that fit from her neck to her ankles, tied at the waist with a simple rope. A white cloth was wrapped sparringly around each foot-paw...and oh, those narrow, piercing eyes! She gazed over at the small crowd, dwarfing them all by a few feet. "Come!" she called, "And mind yourrrrrr mannerrrrrsssss!" 'Come! And mind your manners!' Ricky whispered to Ivy, in mockery of Pantera. The large beast looked over her shoulder and growled at the smart-allek, winged wolf, and continued to guide the crowd down the narrow corridor of the Resurrection Chamber. The Chamer itself was a large room, and was very unexpected for a cave; there was a circle of pillars with, what appeared to be, an ancient symbol on the floor in the centre of the circled pillars. To one side, was a small platform, and outside the circled pillars, were enough seats to sit each guest, minus one. "Ssssssit everrrrrryone," Pantera said, "except for you Ssssssootica, you arrrrrre to sssssstand by me." Everyone obeyed the Shamoness-Mage, and Sootica stood nervously next to the large panther. "Therrrrrre will be no talking!" she demanded, "I need sssssilence except forrrrrr the Furrrrr that sssstandssssss next to me," and she turned to glance at Sootica, referring to her, and only her. Ricky shook his head in disbelief, "If you really were good at this, you'd be able to perform this with a pedlar's band in here!" He truely believed that Pantera was a fake, and he stood up to his feet-paws, challenging the giant cat. Pantera moved in front of him, glaring down at him, her sharp eyes began to penetrate his soul, for she couldn't hurt him, since he was Emily's father, and she spoke to him, "You WILL sit down!" A trance came over Ricky as he became lost with her hypnotizing eyes, "I will sit down," he repeated, and he then obliged to go back to his seat, and sat down next to his wife. Her narrow eyes watched him, "You WILL NOT move or say a thing!" Again he repeated what she said, and he sat there, as if nothing had happened. Pantera looked at the other guests to make sure they wouldn't be as difficult as the winged-wolf, and she continued after waiting a few moments. "I ssssshall crrrrreate the body firrrrrrrssssssst, ssssssso that the sssssoul ssssssshall have it's home rrrrrrready forrrrrr when I rrrrrrretrrrrrieve it. Upon rrrrrrrretrrrrrrieving the sssssspirrrrit, therrrrrre will be NO interrrrruptionsssss! Underrrrrrrssssstood?! Not even frrrrrrom you, Ssssssootica!" Sootica bent over from Pantera's thunderous voice, and nodded with understandment. With that, Sootica and Pantera together stood on the platform, as the guests let out any last whispering among themselves before the great black panther began. With that, Pantera held her arms high towards the cieling, her staff in one paw, and she called out loud, "MIRRRRTAC! SSSSSSHRRRRROLARRRRR! PURRRRRTAHK! The words of her native language echoed throughout the cave as if they were black magic chants. She closed her eyes as the mystical orb from her staff glowed a brilliant purple, and a mist crawled from it, seeping from all parts of the orb, until the mist hit the ground at the exact spot where the ancient symbol laid. "Take yourrrrrr sssssstone, and place it wherrrrrre the missssst layssss!" she demanded to Sootica. She obeyed, and aimed a small gem stone and threw it at the enchanted spot. The mist immediately picked up on it, and it electified all around it, as the guests wached in awe as the gem transformed into a beating heart. As the heart continued to beat madely, Pantera continued to chant in her native tongue, and everyone watched in amazement as the flesh continued to grow, as if it were sprouting from the heart itself, building it's own body. The lungs had formed, then all the veins and arteries, then the interal organs formed as the heart continued to beat, and Pantera continued her chants. It was a bloody mess, and gruesome sight, and even Ivy herself, who had a stable stomach for nearly anything, had turned her head and emptied her lunch on the floor. The being continued to grow, to build itself, as the skeleton formed before their eyes, and then muscular structure. Another one of the guests turned his head and lost his lunch as he witnessed the eye balls form by themselves. The skin then creeped over the miscles, concealing them, and then the fur grew in, more on the top of her head where her hair was to be. Her fur, hair and eyes where then turned to the colour they were to begin with: a rich cream colour for the fur, golden blonde hair, and deep, intellectual green for the eyes. Pantera lowered her arms, as the mist began to settle down, to reveal Emily's new body, as it lay on it's back on the floor. Sootica looked up at Pantera, "Is that all you need me to do?" The large cat peered down at the little one, "No," she replied, "I've yet one thing forrrrrr you to do...When I call upon the sssssouls, you, and you alone, musssssst identify the ssssspirrrrrit of Emily. You will know it's herrrrrrr." Pantera looked over the new and lifeless body on the floor, feeling quite pleased with it, she said, "The sssssshell hassssss been made, and now, let usssss brrrrring back Emily." With a sudden and loud clap from her enormous paws, the body lifted off the floor with a jolt; the shoulders hung with the heavy, lifeless arms, the legs and tail swayed helplessly only a few feet from the ground, and the head rested peacefully to one side, against her chest. A whirlwind of mist formed over the hanging body, and rotated slowly as Pantera chanted: "Frrrrrrom the ssssssoul to flessssssh, frrrrrrrom the Heavenssssss, unto the Earrrrrrrrth, I give thee, and demand thee life! Frrrrrrrom thissssss new birrrrrrrth!" A crack of thunder burst through the cave, and lightning shocks weaved in and out of the floor. The twirling mist above thickened into a swirling cloud, and it expanded downward, and it formed what looked like a tunnel, spiraling around the new and lifeless body of Emily. The guests inched towards each other, comforting each other while the sorcery that appeared in front of them, as the mist cleared awa, and revealing a swirling and inter-raced mass of spirits! Souls of the Dead, of each species of Furs, of all breeds, raced all around the body, the good and kindred spirits, with their eyes glowing a peaceful blue, while the demon and evil ones burned a red-orange with fire, in pleace of the peaceful glow. All the souls, both good and evil, danced about the body, each of them wanting a second chance at life, in which only one belonged to this new body. The good spirits drifted peacefully about the new body, gently touching it with their paws, while the evil spirits, swatted and clawed out at the peaceful spirts, at the new body. No harm came to the new flesh and fur, but if the wrong Fur were to enter the body.... Pantera chanted her native language again, and held her staff high, so that to keep both good and evil souls not too close to the body. She grimaced and winced, baring her full set of teeth and deadly fangs as she concentrated on keeping the spirits at a safe distance. She then called out to Sootica. "Now Ssssssootica! Identify the sssspirrrrit of Emily! Quickly!" Sootica's eyes widened with fear with this new responsibility on her shoulders. She knew that she had to choose wisely, or else the resurrection would be a waste, and the wrong soul would end up with the body. Carefully and hastingly, she searched the tornado twister of souls, until she found a faint soul, nearly unnoticable, one that had neither blue nor red eyes....but green...Emily's emerald green eyes! She pointed out the soul of Emily to Pantera, "There! The feline with the green eyes!" Shouting that at Pantera during this difficult time of concentration was the worse that any Fur can do. She lost her concentration while searching for the soul with green eyes, and a demon soul of a rat, twirled and twisted around the body, snarling and snatching at all who came close to him and the body. He placed his paws firmly on the shoulds of the body...He was going to claim it as his own! "NO!!" Pantera screamed. With her free paw, she formed a ball of energy and hurled it at the demon rat soul, sending it back into the twirling mass of souls, as the screams of it can still be heard over it's failure for a new, and misleading life. Pantera was growing tired, and time was running out...A soul will have this new body, whether or not it was the true owner or not. She quickly relocated the lost soul that needed to be in it's rightful place, and captured it inside her staff's mystical orb. After making sure that Emily's soul was safe from all the others that revolved around her floating body, Pantera then chanted again, in her native panther tongue, and the massive tunnel began to slow down, and reverse in the opposite direction. The souls of both the good and evil began to claw their way forward, they were all too familiar with this and they knew that they were being sent back to the World of Death for all eternity, waiting for yet another chance at life for another resurrection ceremony. They continued to helplessly claw their way back with no success, and a great wind began to pull them upward, twoards the source or the cloud mist. Up, up they wend, and disappeared within the great monster of the cloud. Thunder crashed and lightning struck in all directions, weaving itself throughout the clouds, as it slowly began to stop and fade away, as though nothing had ever occured here. Nearly exhausted, and well out of breath, Pantera rested against the staff to gather her thoughts. 'That was too close,' she thought to herself. Tired, she looked over at Sootica, the only blood family that Emily had, and she looked over at the still-levitating body that awaited it's soul. She pointed her staff at the hanging body, and began the last of her chants: "I have pulled frrrrrom the Heavenssssss, this trrrresurrrred and loved ssssssoul, to be brrrrrrought back to life, to make once again, whole!" A gentle mist seeped from the orb, with a pleasant gidggling sound coming from it, as the soul of Emily entered her new body. Mist sturrounded the entire body, and gave it a wonderul aura of blues, greens and lavendars, as Emily gently floated back onto the floor, allowing her to rest, sitting in an upright position. Using her staff for support to walk, Pantera walked over to the new Emily and smiled down at her warmly. "I give you new life, frrrrriend Emily....Usssssse it wissssely..." And with that, Pantera collapsed. The Here-After She awoke a few minutes later, with Emily, Sootica, and the other guests gathered around her. The party helped her up to her feet-paws and sat her down to rest on one of the seats in the cave. Sootica knelt before her, "Here's your money, Pantera, as promised." The large cat looked at the leather pouch and bowed her head to it, "No," she responded, "You have paid in full....Jusssssst...Let me rrrrrressssst.....Pleasssssse..." The small, black cat smiled warmly at Pantera, with tears in her eyes as she gave Pantera a comforting hug around her neck. Thanking her with a tearful smile, Sootica then re-joined her family: Ricky and Ivy, her parents, their close friends, and her long lost, and renewed sister, Emily. The exhausted panther watched drearly as they showed their own way out, the echoes of Emily and Sootica arguing and hissing and swatting at each other, a sign of sibling rivalry, can be heard off in the fainting distance. The End