Protectors of the Temple IC

OOC: In ancient Egypt, the goddess of protection and divine mother, Bast, was said to watch over the Pharoah. Her children; her kittens, were those who watched over her temples and did her terra-bound work. Her temple was filled with statues and figures depicting the goddess, as well as small figures depicting her children.

As time passed, the developing modern world began to grow outside the temple, the felines becoming less and less important in lives until they were finally forgotten. It wasn't until an expedition group uncovered one of these temples that the goddess' children rose once again, reawakening in modern day New York City where their mother's figures were brought to be displayed at a museum.

Though niave about the world of today, the felines are quite intelligent in most other areas. The felines have the ability to appear like any other human, but only for a limited time. Their usual appearance is adapted from their feline goddess mother; a humanoid cat.

Note- Just because I refer to all the cats as Bast's children does NOT mean they are all related.

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IC:

It was late at the Museum of Natural History in New York city. The guards at this time were back in the lounge having a game of paperball hockey while the rookie was supposed to watch the cameras. There had been a new exhibit that opened up just two days earlier on the Goddess Bast. Bast had had many followers being one of the most popular and powerful goddesses in history. But when the world began to modernize and science took over the people who believed in her became few and with that came a decrease in power.

In an attempt to perserve the morals and values that she held so dear she sealed herself and her children away so that they might rise again in the future to help when people were looking to the Gods once again.

Unfortunately now was a time of great dispair and the belief in God, let alone gods and goddess, was faint. But there was that voice... her mistresses voice calling to her... and that was what pulled the Kalliope from her deep sleep. She was up and... something was different.

"Where... where am I?" She asked as she pulled herself from the 'tomb' that she was in. It had opened when no one had been able to. She saw the statue of her Goddess and fell to her knees to give a quick prayer before she found another tomb that had been opened next to hers.

It was a male cat...

"Hey..." She said poking him... "Hey... wake up..." She hissed. "Get up!" She said shaking him.

Admetus was quite happy dreaming. He had been placed in a deep sleep and sealed in a tomb until the day came for Bast's children to rise again. In his dream he heard a voice saying:

"Hey...Hey... wake up...Get up!"

Something not in his dream was poking him and shaking him.

Ad woke up and yawned.

"Hey, Hey" he said to the girl shaking him "I'm awake, calm down, give a guy a break sweetie."

He stepped from his tomb, wondering where he was, it certainly didnt look like egypt where he was entombed. Seeing a statue of the goddess, he bowed his head and mouthed a prayer before turning back to the girl that had woken him. He looked her up and down, she sure was fine, her blonde fur all neatly groomed, her brown eyes twinkled back at him. Her clevage was mesmerising, particularly for a cat that had been entombed for thousands of years. Her stomach was exposed and her skin seem so silky smooth, and her legs were long. She was damn sexy. His eyes returned to hers, he was drawn to those brown eyes.

"Who are you anyway? And where are we? The why, I'm guessing, is that it is time."

Maximilian Sterling was late. He was supposed to be at the museum two hours prior, but he had been busy gathering materials. The new exhibit on the Temple of Bast was almost ready, and he had yet to inspect it. He had intended on doing some research on it, as well as gathering anything he'd needed, but he hadn't expected it to take him more than an hour. So as he finally arrived at the museum, and was shown in by the guard, he didn't even have time to go up to meet the curator. He shouldered his backpack and carried the duffel bag next to him as he walked towards the wing that the exhibit took up. At first, he thought he heard voices, but dismissed that thought as improbable. Still, his own footsteps echoed loudly in the quiet halls as he got closer to the exhibit hall.

Sammy had to blink to get the dust out of his eyes, even behind his glasses it was a bother. He reached into his pocket protector, getting some Visine out. He had hoped his allergies wouldn't get the best of him, but even as the delivery guys were unloading the large crates he could feel the first signs of them.

The two guys had offloaded several large crates, some almost twice as big as he was. He watched with utter fascination, checking his watch again and again. He had been told by the curator that someone might be coming in tonight. Since he hadn't arrived on time the curator himself had gone home. He was an old man, who enjoyed watching his stories. Sammy was surprised he had tried to stick around in the first place.

This guy might not even show up. The curator had said perhaps his flight had come in late or something, but Sammy would check anyway. Being the Curator's assistant, Sammy wanted to make a good first impression.

He had to deal with the overnight deliveries though. Many crates, most were small, but a few here and there were huge. He saw the symbols of egyptian text, and could read some of the inventory.

"We've been waiting on these for awhile. This will nearly complete our Bast collection. I wish I would have been there when they uncovered this."

He pushed the glasses further up on his nose, sneezing three times in succession as the two delivery guys handed him over the invoice to sign. They seemed to pass a funny glance between the two of them.

Sammy signed and left them, rolling down the large back bay door, and eyeing one of the larger crates.

"It's must be a sarcophagus," His mind reeled in anticipation. He could open it now, to make sure it was still intact. He called in on his walkie talkie to the guards on duty.

"Did the professor make it at all?"

Two of the guards looked up from their game only for a moment, before getting lost in their own world. The rookie only half woke from his nap as he spoke into the walkie, "He just arrived. I pointed him in the general direction."

"Good," Sammy said. The professor wouldn't need him right away. He could open up one of the crates, and then go help the professor, "If he needs anything, you just let him know, all right?"

"Will do, you suck up little geek," The guard chuckled, he hadn't pressed the talk button on the walkie, but the other two guards seemed impressed by it.

Sammy adjusted the glasses once more, getting out a crowbar to pry some of the boards loose from the crate. The pop came off, and another wave of dust and hay came towards him. He climbed up into it, fighting off the need to sneeze. His eyes watered so bad it looked as if he were crying.

"It is... it is a sarcophagus. Oh, one of Bast's children," He saw the face imprint, the feline contours to the body, the figure. It looked beautiful, he climbed into the crate, his hands running over the delicate eqyptian language scrawled over the tomb. He could read some of it, but only pieces here and there. An ancient seal... waiting... Bast. He could see that one easy enough.

"You've never been opened," He ran his hand along the side, intact. No robbers, no marauders, no one to disturb this one's precious slumber. Who knows what secrets you hold?"

The professor would love to see this. A sealed up tomb, delivered here and frozen in time for thousands of years. An archeologist's dream. He wished he had discovered it, wished he was there, under some wide brimmed hat, going through ancient passages that had not been seen in centuries. To dig through the last bit of wall, to emerge in a room with trinkets and gifts left here for the dead to await their next life.

"To sleep... perchance to dream," His eyes were closed as he imagined himself, on a real hunt for treasure, exploring the ancient tombs of forgotten kings.

"Awake, awake from your dream, oh child of Bast," He said, his eyes open, reading the final passage on the sarcophagus. The child will be awakened when it is in need.

"Boy, if we ever needed you, it would be now."

"Boy, if we ever needed you, it would be now."

It was right then that the beautiful Sheila pushed the largecover off of her tomb. She pulled herself up and looked down at what appeared to be the speaker. She was a beautiful girl. She looked to be about 18 and she had very deep red hair that fell just below her shoulder blades and atop her cute little head sat a very cute set of ears. She smiled warmly at him.

"Can you tell me where the mother is?" She asked thinking that he was just one of the men that served her and the other children. She moved from her bed chamber and looked around at this strange place. Her tail flittled back and forth as she seemed to be in deep concentrated thought.

"Where am I?" She asked. "And who are you?" She asked as she looked at the man.

At first he thought it was some strange earthquake. It had to be, he felt the tomb rumbling underneath him. He jumped away, falling down hard and scrambling toward safety. It wasn't until his feet were on solid ground did he realize the entire building was not shaking, only the sarcophagus.

And then he just stared hopelessly at this... this.... cat thing as it emerged from the place. His brain lost all response, unable to compute whatever it was that was just happening. He tried to make sense of it, some prank, some weird joke, he'd hit his head and had been imagining some...

She looked like the picture on the tomb, the beautiful child of Bast.

"It's over..." He had collected enough of himself to speak, enough to understand, before she turned around and he saw her tail flicking this way and that. It sent him into another tiny shock.

"You're a child of Bast, aren't you?" His words were short, simple, he didn't think he could do anything more complicated than that.

"My name is Sammy. I'm the curator's assistant. I was... just looking at your... and you... how did you? Who are you?"

He sat down, his legs wobbly and unable to control his weight any longer. He must have hit his head, it was the only real answer.

"You know, for a fantasy, you're very pretty."

A sparsely fur-backed, graceful, and long nailed hand lifted as she surveyed her surroundings with interest, unconsciously sifting fingers through her dishevelled red hair. Talk about bedhead.... this job required two hands.

"You're a child of Bast, aren't you?"

Finishing with a smoothing of palms against the fur on her ears, one of which flicked in his direction when he spoke, she turned to face him, stretching leisurely.

"For a servant of the temple, you seem surprised." Sleek musculature, once set in motion, rolled smoothly beneath skin as she approached him, her naturally calm gait broken by the occasional stiffen-and-shake of one leg, then the other. Something was nagging at her. She must have been asleep a very long time.... nothing looked familiar and she felt stiff as a log.

"My name is Sammy. I'm the curator's assistant. I was... just looking at your... and you... how did you? Who are you?"

"Kyur.... Curator? What rank of priest is this?" With a cant of head on slender neck, her freshly combed red hair tumbled to one shoulder, her large, dark eyes regarding the young male curiously. She smiled at him when he said she was pretty, the curve of mouth managing to light up her entire face... as well as expose sharpened canines and bicuspids.

"I am Masika. Bast's blessings upon you, child, for your service to the temple." Laying a hand on his arm in a perfunctory gesture, she smiled again, though less brightly this time, and withdrew her touch. "How long have I been asleep, and where are the others?"

She moved like water, slipping and sliding through well worn rocks, her hips curving and rolling in a way that more than just caught his eye. He saw the long delicious curls as they emerged from between her fingers. It was imaginery how she changed so much in just a few short steps.

Somehow, he found his own footing. As weird as this all seemed, Sammy didn't think he could have this conversation on the ground.

"Level of priest?" He honestly didn't know the answers to her questions. She wanted to know so much, but he knew so little. He had been studying, and studying, but his nose had been permantently stuck inside of numerous old dusty books.

"It's been thousands of years," He didn't know how more specific he could get, maybe the Curator could, or the professor. Someone could know more.

"The others... I don't know where they are. Some might be inside, but I am not sure. They could be all around the world. There are museums all over with relic's from the Bast cult."

He wondered if telling her what he was about to say would confuse her just as she did him. Maybe. Who knows, he might just be crazy, and talking to himself in an empty room of crates. In either case, he would tell the truth.

"Your religion, your priests are gone. Egyptians have moved on. No one remembers the children of Bast, save for a few historians who research archeology. Your culture, your memories are all ancient relics, either lying in deep dust, or in museums like this. I am not really a priest of Bast... I'm just a... what would you call it? A caretaker."

He smiled, weakly, his hand going out to hold hers, "But, if you really are who you say you are, then that makes me your caretaker. And, I will do whatever you say. I am in your service."

He didn't know why he said that, but a wonderful rush came to him as soon as they touched. Her skin like tingling touches dancing all over him. He smiled, knowing that the words he said, he meant fully.

[OOC Note - If Max is approaching Sammy and Sika, Dragon, feel free to make a small post to get our attention.]

"It's been thousands of years," he began, seeming to choose his words carefully, but stumbled over them, nonetheless.

"The others... I don't know where they are. Some might be inside, but I am not sure. They could be all around the world. There are museums all over with relic's from the Bast cult."

She mulled this over, her ridiculously large, dark eyes thoughtfully withdrawn over a tiny, almost kittenish nose and wide, generous mouth. What he said made sense. These 'museums' he spoke of must be new temples, she surmised, since he made it sound like that's where her kind were safeguarded. His next words, however, were like a slap in the face to that assumption.

"Your religion, your priests are gone. Egyptians have moved on. No one remembers the children of Bast, save for a few historians who research archaeology. Your culture, your memories are all ancient relics, either lying in deep dust, or in museums like this. I am not really a priest of Bast... I'm just a... what would you call it? A caretaker."

He must have seen the thunder that darkened her brow and the misting of her eyes, because he tried a comforting smile and reached for her hand. "But, if you really are who you say you are, then that makes me your caretaker. And, I will do whatever you say. I am in your service."

"Ooh," she murmured faintly, the hand that he didn't hold moving to her temple. "I need to sit down."

Without further ado, she plopped unceremoniously onto the floor right where she had been standing, most likely dragging him down with her since she had forgotten to let go of his hand.

"Thousands of years..." she whispered to herself, her tail swishing in bewilderment. "I'm sorry.... Sammy, was it? Sammy. You have already been an invaluable help."

For a long moment, she sat silent, legs in a loose lotus, her face pale and stricken as she tried to work all of this new information like pieces of a puzzle. She just needed to get all the pieces together to see the answer.

Thousands of years, he had said. That would explain the strangeness of him and their surroundings. She couldn't quite imagine a world that was insolent enough to ignore the teachings of the Gods and Goddesses. A world without their Mother to protect them, and to deal out Ra's wrath.

This must be why she was awakened. The others must be as well. If not, they would be soon.

"Sammy, I will need your help. I have missed very much. Can you help me to understand this time?"

He kneeled down next to her. She seemed lost, as lost as him. He wanted to comfort her, but was drawn to her strange features. Those ears which moved on their own, catching sounds he must have missed. Her nose, so similar, but so different. Even her hand felt different under his.

He let his fingers move across her skin, loving the feeling.

"Of course I'll help you. I will tell you everything you need to know. Our time... it, isn't that different. Not really. Just some advancements, electricity, things like that."

He could tell he was already moving too fast.

"Energy, we've harnassed it, like lightning. It can do lots of things. Watch."

He moved over to the light switches, turning them off, and then on again. With the lights out he could see her large cat eyes reflecting everything in the room. It almost scared him, had those eyes not been fillied with curiousity.

"You can do lots of things with it, not just make light."

He sat down with her, reciting history of the Egyptians. How they lived for so long, but then died off. How Romans and other conuerers came, how the world moved on, first a dark age, and then an age of light and reason. The light bulb, the automobile, and finally computers.

He didn't go into anything in detail, he couldn't. They would be sitting here on the floor for days if he had to do that. But, a general overview.

"To tell you the truth, we have no real links to Egyptian times. We haven't been able to decipher heiroglyphics that well, and not a lot of records survived otherwise. Many of your ways, your customs are foreign to us. In fact, aside from the basics of Bast, and her worship of cats, I do not know that much about her."

As he touched her, stroking the thin, soft fur on the back of her hand, she looked up into his face, blinking owlishly at the strange contraption he wore. One long, pointed fingernail tapped the round glass that covered his red-rimmed, watery eyes. The man had bad spirits in his head and chest. This wasn't the time to deal with them, though.

"Ellecktrissy?" Repeating the foreign word, she canted her head again at him, both ears swivelling in his direction as she gave him her undivided attention.

"Energy, we've harnessed it, like lightening. It can do lots of things. Watch."

Then he walked over to a panel on the wall with strange, minuscule levers, and flipped one. The light of Ra filled the room, and she gasped, first in fear, then delight as he mimicked the battle between Ra and Aphophis with surprising speed. "Amazing!" Like a child, she clapped her hands and grinned at him, eagerly taking his hands when he sat back down in front of her again.

She listened with rapt attention as he tried to explain everything to her, from the shadow of the Roman Empire (she had never trusted those outlanders) to the harnessing of energy like the display he had just given her.

"To tell you the truth, we have no real links to Egyptian times. We haven't been able to decipher hieroglyphics that well, and not a lot of records survived otherwise. Many of your ways, your customs are foreign to us. In fact, aside from the basics of Bast, and her worship of cats, I do not know that much about her."

"She is the Eye of Ra," she said, somewhat reproachfully, as though it should explain everything. Sighing, she withdrew her hands from Sammy's and stretched out on her hip, her tail only half heartedly flicking against her curled legs.

"It's time, then," she murmured quietly, her eyes unfocused. "Bast's temples must be restored, and the people must be made to remember..."

"Is that why you're here?" He said, looking up at her, distracted only a moment by her tail and it swished here and there. His hand went out to touch it, but he wouldn't dare. Instead, his fingers just trailed inches from it, before he stood up next to her.

"Is that why you woke up? Do you want to set up temples again, get people to remember you and your people?"

She had seemed just as surpised as he when she emerged. He had thought perhaps they were both part of some weird prank. Now though, her voice and stance looked bolder and determined.

"Sure, we can do that. I mean, we can set up temples. I don't know if people will come. People... with religion, people aren't very eager to change. There are no egyptian religions. Now there is only christians, jewish, muslims... the big three. And, they're pretty set in their ways. You can't just stand up in front of them and tell them to obey the eye of Ra."

He wavered over her, and her bold firm stance though, "Can you?"

Again, he was distracted by her swishing tail.

Bast exhibition room

While Admetus was waiting for a reply from the female infront of him, his eyes took in the darkened room. The light of Yah shone through gaps in the ceiling. It was clear to Admetus that he wasn't in a temple, nothing was in the right place, it all seemed to be mixed up, some of it old, some of it he didn't recognise. The floor wasnt sand or the stone he remembered, rather a different, slippery stone.

His ears pricked and he froze. He could hear a noise approaching them. He grabbed his new companion and covered her mouth, his senses alert. What should he do? Normally the Mother would tell him, or one of her voices, the priestesses.

Multiple screens flickered to different spots of the museum as the security camera's did their work.
The exhibits where quiet, the dusty dinosour bones remained still and every ancient parchment and writing remained locked safely away behind glass windows for every nerd and geek to try and decipher tomorrow.

"It's going to be another boring night" Derrick thought as he shifted around uncomfortably in his hard seat that overlooked the monitors.
It was late and the museum was closed down to the public now with the night shift replacing the day shift.

Derrick sighed heavily and was already regretting coming to work for the museum. It wasn't that he hated the museum it was just that he fond them rather stuffy and boring.
While it was good and all to learn from past events and mistakes made by man, Derrick was the type to believe that the past should remain "buried" as they say, and people should just try to deal with their everyday lives instead of someone else's tens of thousands of years ago.

"Hey you rookie" One of the other fellow night guards said in a harsher then needed tone.

Derrick looked backed with a frown but said nothing.

"That professor that's suppose to come is here, go let him in."

"ehh? me? are you going to watch the monitors then?"

"pfft do you really think anythings going to happen in the few moments your gone? This place is full of junk anyway, no one's going to steal from here. Just go let him in rookie." The security guard said and left before Derrick could get another word in.

With a sigh Derrick moved through the dark halls of the museum and couldn't help but to feel a little uneasy as the dead eyes of the museums animals and mysterious unknown creatures seemed to be staring directly at him.

Not paying attention Derrick suddenly bumped into one of the glass cases and turned to see a pair of sharp fangs and claws reaching out to him. Giving out a startled yelp Derrick fell back onto his rear and reached for his pistol which much to his dismay was found missing and he remembered having set it down in the monitor room. Taking the time to see what he had bumped into he blushed as he realized it had only been one of the museums mythical life like creatures that resembled something of a female human with cat like ears, tail and claws.

"o..oh..damn statue...I'm glad no one was here to see that." Derrick said to himself while standing up and dusting himself off. Looking down at the information plaque he had only enough time to read the name of the creature which read "Child of Bast's". Leaving the statue behind Derrick continued towards the museums front doors where the professor was waiting.

~~~

It wasn't long before Derrick had let the professor in who hurriedly rushed past him and towards the Basts exhibit hall, apparently he was late for getting the preparations ready for tomorrows grand opening of the new Bast relics.

Derrick wasn't usually interested in what was happening to the museum during the day but from what he did hear the Bast exhibit had been recently opened two days ago but had already been undergoing modifications as more artifacts and relics where found and brought to the museum.

Sighing and seeing the professor finding his way on his own Derrick retreated back to the security room.

~~~

"He just arrived. I pointed him in the general direction."

Derrick had finally returned to the security room lounge where three other guards where currently resting..or rather playing around and one of them had his walkie.

"Good," came a familiar voice Derrick had heard before and he recognized it as the caretaker of the museums exhibits.
"If he needs anything, you just let him know, all right?"

"Will do" pssst "you suck up little geek" The guard said while chucking having said the last part without the walkie being on, which caused the other two guards to laugh.

Derrick only frowned again, he didn't care that the other guard had taken the credit for letting the professor in but he disliked anyone making fun of others for their profession, especially when those people enjoyed and worked hard for it. Moving over Derrick pulled the walkie from the mans hand.

"I'm back now so I'll be needing this."

"sure sure" the man said with a mocking sneer. "Just be sure to report to us right away if we're attacked by any sexy looking dead girls"

This caused another few laughs but Derrick ignored it. This was just another reason why he hated this job and he sighed knowing he couldn't just quit for stupid reasons like them.

Moving back into the security room Derrick leaned back against the chair and started watching the monitors again.

Still noth..."huh?" Derrick said out loud as he leaned closer to the monitor. Something had moved yet the lights weren't on. Maybe it was just the caretaker...or maybe the professor...

After a few moments of watching and adjusting the camera Derrick noticed more shaded movement.

"is that person opening one of the sarcophagus?" Derrick leaned closer to the monitor and then noticed another form stand up. Looking closely he could make out that one of the forms was slimmer and smaller, most likely a female while the other was broader and most likely a male. What struck him as odd though (other then the fact these two forms had risen from the sarcophagus's) was the shadowed things on their head and rear that twitched and swayed much like a pair of ears and a tail.

Blinking and rubbing his eyes so he wasn't mistaken for what he saw Derrick stood up and decided it be best to simply investigate. He started making his way to the other guards but stopped in his tracks as he thought for moment and then turned around to leave on his own.

Even if he did tell them they most likely wouldn't believe him and simply mock him for being paranoid. He was the rookie after all and didn't have much respect among the other guards. However Derrick was determined to do what he had been hired to do and not be fired within the first week like in his other job.

Moving out of the security, with his pistol in hand this time, Derrick made his way towards east side of the museum where the Bast exhibit resided.

”Is that why you're here? Sure, we can do that. I mean, we can set up temples. I don't know if people will come. People... with religion, people aren't very eager to change. There are no Egyptian religions. Now there is only Christians, Jewish, Muslims... the big three. And, they're pretty set in their ways. You can't just stand up in front of them and tell them to obey the Eye of Ra....can you?"

Frowning for several moments, she caught her tail in one hand and pulled it over her hip, stroking her nails through the soft, berry-red fur.

"Not by myself, no.. Sammy, we were all chosen for different reasons to serve Bast. I'm more of a..." She waved a hand absently, letting go of her tail. It immediately resumed its ticking, something she had only minimal control over. "I keep the peace between her Children, so they can do what needs to be done. We have to find the others, Sammy. Then we can begi--"

One ear twitched abruptly towards the door, and she rolled up into a crouch, her tail curling around her ankles.

"I hear something," she breathed in a whisper, both ears now straining towards the sound. "Someone is coming."

Muscles coiled and sprang into action - pushing off the ground with hands and feet, she leapt nimbly on top of a nearby crate and quickly climbed up a stack of them, using the gaps in the boards for purchase. Once on top, she pressed a finger to her mouth and bellied down low, peering towards the door as the steps grew louder.

Anael said:

While Admetus was waiting for a reply from the female infront of him, his eyes took in the darkened room. The light of Yah shone through gaps in the ceiling. It was clear to Admetus that he wasn't in a temple, nothing was in the right place, it all seemed to be mixed up, some of it old, some of it he didn't recognise. The floor wasnt sand or the stone he remembered, rather a different, slippery stone.

His ears pricked and he froze. He could hear a noise approaching them. He grabbed his new companion and covered her mouth, his senses alert. What should he do? Normally the Mother would tell him, or one of her voices, the priestesses.

Click to expand...

Max sighed, as he finally walked into the exhibit hall. He heard the voice of one of the museum staff coming from one of the rooms on his way, but he hadn't bothered to check on him, even though he had heard a distinctly feminine voice conversing with the other one. It really wasn't any of his business. He was here to verify, catalogue, and coordinate the Bast exhibit. Well, technically the entire Egyptian exhibit, but he was focusing on the Bast section, since there wasn't much for the other sections that wasn't ancient in the modern term as well as historical. He had always been annoyed by the way his boots clicked on the floor like they did. His boots came from a punk store, of course, so they were leather, covered in buckles, and had hard soles. The source of the clicking was a metal monogram in the heel of each boot. It was one of the reasons why he'd bought the boots, in fact. It was the symbol of Tiamat, according to his research. Tiamat herself was one of what he referred to as the Seven Elder Gods. Essentially, the Seven Elders were the parents of the REAL religions, as he thought of it. He considered all monotheistic religions to be merely the work of the mind of Man trying to justify his existence. That, and he couldn't believe in the existence of a benevolent, allpowerful God given the state of the world.

As he entered the hall, he immediately knew something was wrong. He couldn't immediately see anything wrong, but something still felt amiss. He reached for a slideswitch on the wall, and slowly raised the brightness in the hall to a level that drowned out the light from the skylights. As he surveyed the room, his eyes came to rest on two sarcophagi. That wasn't very unusual. The museum had a great many, from various eras and cultures. No, what caught his eye was the fact that both were open, and their occupants missing. He walked closer to them, studying them, and realized that not only were the occupants missing, there was no forced entry, indicating that they had been opened from the inside. "That's interesting. Do we have a case of the Undead, or the Eternal?" He read the markings on the cover on the floor, and smiled, pulling out a piece of paper. He was one of the few people on the planet who could actually READ Egyptian heiroglyphics. The piece of paper was the museum's translation of the carvings. His eyes went over the marks on the paper, and he scoffed. "Buffoons. They couldn't do a decent translation if they had the Staff of Isis in hand. It should read 'Here sleeps one of My children, the protectors of Man. We, the children of Ra, bless these children of Bast, so that they may one day be able to heed their calling, and open the hearts of Men when they grow weak.' Amazing that the glyphs are perfectly intact. Usually there's a great deal of damage to them. But it doesn't say specifically which Children of Ra blessed them. I'd assume Bast herself had something to do with it, but this means she wasn't alone. Hmm, maybe she forgave Sekmet, or found a replacement."

Shrugging, Max stood, and turned to survey the rest of the room. He didn't see anything at first beyond what he expected to see. Then he saw the twitch. Anyone else would have dismissed it as shadows, but Maximilian Sterling had read far too many journals of explorers. He would have been one himself, except he was deemed far too valuable as a researcher. He sighed at that thought, then watched for the twitch again. When he saw it, he knew what it was, but not what it belonged to. It was definitely a tail. Long, slender, a cat's tail, but much bigger than an ordinary cat. He walked slowly around one side of the object that the tail was hiding behind, making sure to stay hidden. He figured whatever it was was watching him. But once he was sure he was behind the object, and couldn't be tracked, he waited a few seconds, hearing a slight shifting of feet, and then jumped around the side he had seen the tail on. It wasn't a very honorable trick, he admitted, but it was effective. Make your target think you're going one way, then go the other to get behind them. He landed right behind the two who were hiding, and studied them for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Visitors, or residents?" It wasn't the best of jokes, but given the circumstances and location, it seemed appropriate.

"Sika... what are you doing?"

Good God, look at her movements, they were silken, sublime. She eased through the air as if underwater, each step timed and choreographed. He only stared blankly as she climbed twenty feet in a matter of seconds, disappearing even from his view. Even those large circle of eyes, moon eyes, couldn't be seen.

Sammy shook his head, "I don't hear-"

But then he did. Faint at first, but growing louder with each step. The sound of hard boots clicking against the tile floor outside in the museum. He turned on his heels, looking for the door back into the museum. Someone was coming.

What would he do? What could he do? There was no explanation for why an ancient tombed goddess was running all over crates and hiding. The camera's would have seen everything.

"I'll take care of it," He promised, trying to see Sika once more, but catching only shadows. At the door, he opened it slowly, slightly, just a crack so he could see outside.

The footsteps were alreay receding though. Whoever it was walked right passed the storage area, and headed towards the Bast exhibition. He felt better, even now seeing the back of him as he turned a corner.

But more footsteps, fainter now. Sammy squeezed the door almost shut, peering through. One of the guards walked passed now, looking if not confused, then bewildered. At least as strange as Sammy felt right about now. He made a beeline for the Bast exhibit as well.

The first person must have been the professor, doing his inventory. So, why would the security guard follow him? Had something been wrong?

He waited until they had both left before closing the door and walking back to Sika's sarcophagus.

"They're gone. They weren't coming here. It's ok... they weren't headed here. They were going for the Bast Exhibit we have on display."

He thought he was talking to himself. There was no one in the room, no one. No breathing, no footsteps. She seemed a true cat, hiding and sneaking around like some panther. He thought for a moment just how much like a frightened rabbit he must look like.

What if, after thousands of years of sleeping she had awoken hungry? She didn't know about McDonald's or anything, and what if he looked like a tasty morsal?

"Ummm, you don't... you don't happen to eat... I mean, what do you eat?"

Breathing shallowly through her nose so as not to make any noise, she trained her ears to listen past Sammy's footsteps to hear the further, quieter steps beyond. The distinctive ringing echo gave her a sense of dimension, and the second set of bootfalls only made a further impression.

Her ears twitched sensitively above her tight-lipped expression, neither relaxing until the steps faded beyond even her hearing.

When Sammy began to coax her down, she lifted her head, nodding once before beginning her descent down the crates. Nubile and surefooted, it didn't take more than a few seconds to climb most of the way down, and the rest was covered in a light drop. Landing in a crouch, she dusted off her stomach and smoothed the bristled fur on her crown, smiling apologetically at him.

"Sorry. I'm nervous."

His question made her blink, and she looked at him quizzically before laughing. "The same things you do, I imagine. But now that you mention it, I'm famished. Can we get something to eat?"

Scaling the rough crates had all but disintegrated what remained of her ceremonial linen sarong and halter. Untying the remnants of the sarong, she let it fall from her hips, stepping out of it as gracefully as though it were just a puddle.

Both hands moved behind her neck, the crumbling knot loosened. She couldn't reach the one on the mid of her spine, so she turned her back to him, tail swishing beckoningly as she glanced over her shoulder. "Will you assist me?"

The relief of not being on any sort of menu ran through him. Visibly he relaxed, his shoulders slumping, and his muscles easing what tension they had been holding in. When he got to see her again, things just felt better.

"Of course, there's plenty of things to eat. I even brought my lunch from home. Ham sandwiches with... cheese...."

She had slipped from what little clothing she had. He stopped in mid sentence, his mouth desperately trying to find out what word came after cheese. All he could think of was that perfect curve of her ass and how it met her legs so well. Perfectly tanned thousand year old legs.

"Chips, and water, and something else."

She moved back, asking him to help remove more of her clothing. She would be completely naked. Completely! He found himself moving though, not even pausing when she asked for help. The small loop of clothing untied at his fingertip's request and there she stood naked before him.

He took in a good healthy stare before speaking, "You can't walk around naked though. People... people just don't do that. We've gotten very ashamed of ourselves over the centuries. You can thank religion for that."

He took off his sweater vest, handing it to her.

"My car is right outside. We can go find you some clothes, and something to eat. Whatever you wish. I'm sure there are places open, even at this hour."

"Chips?" Prompting him to explain as he untied the knot, she casually flicked the old, crumbling linen onto the ground near the fallen sarong, turning to face him with that familiar, inquisitive head tilt.

He seemed flushed, and it made her self conscious. "What's wrong?" Peering down the length of her body, she twisted and rotated her hips and legs first one way, and then the other, brushing a hand over her stomach and then inspecting the backs of her arms. There didn't seem to be anything out of place.

Craning her head, she checked out what she could see of her backside, her tail drooping to the floor. His voice brought her attention back to him, and the sweater he was holding out almost defensively.

His explanation made her grin, and she laughed softly. "Oh...! I see." Then her brows, sweeping archs of gold-feathered crimson, knitted together, a frown taking place of her smile. "Well, not really, but I'll try to remember that."

She fumbled with the sweater, pulling it over her head, and wiggled her arms into the sleeves one at a time. Then she dragged its hem down over her breasts, navel and the reddish-blonde thicket of fur at the crux of her thighs. It only hung to just below her rump, and her tail kept twitching in annoyance at the constant irritant.

"Car... this thing with wheels that does not need man or beast to pull it?" She was trying to remember everything he had told her, but she couldn't remember if 'car' was the box-brain thing, or if that had been 'compewter.'

Part of him really didn't want her to cover up. Such beauty, tanned skin and the small definition of muscle. Everything fit on her just right. She had been carved out of clay from a sculptor's hands, precision lining even the smallest part of her. He had to turn away to keep from showing her how red his cheeks had become.

"Don't worry," He said, winking once and taking her hand, "I'll show you. I'll show you everything."

He was slightly worried about the professor at the Bast exhibit, but if nothing else they would be back in an hour or so. Nothing important that couldn't be answer then.

They went out the door and into the museum parking lot. This late at night only a few cars remained, the lot itself completely dead. Nothing but the parking lights flooding the entire area with its yellowish taint. He showed them to her, how cables ran underground to keep it going.

Then, he showed her his car. Some early 90's Camry. Nothing fancy. He opened the door for her, showing her how to use it. It worked on... well, he didn't know. A combustable engine, but even he didn't quite know what it means. It just ran, as fast as any horse, faster...

He showed her, going out in the street. This dead of night he was allowed to push the car a little, 40, 50, 60 miles an hour. Then, he saw a McDonald's, and smiled at himself, pulling around.

"This is a drive in, you just pull around with your car, ask for the food, and they bring it right out to you."

He showed her the menu. He didn't know if she could understand the words or not. She certainly understood the language. But, the menu had tons of pictures.

"What would you like?"

"Hello?" The voice cackled from the speaker in the middle of the menu, "Welcome to McDonald's how may I help you?"

The museum had been less of a shock to her than going outside. At least in there, some of what appealed to her senses had been mostly familiar - the smell of dust and volumes, dimly lit corridors, even the sight of some artifacts she recognized with delight, if not a little surprise at how old they looked.

Outside, however, there was strange, hard, rough black stuff underneath her bare feet, poles of Ra that towered above her casting orange pools of light, wires that scarred the night skyline, and a heavy, reeking, noxious thickness to the air that made her face wrinkle distastefully.

She held on to his arm, ears swivelling distractedly in one direction after another, her eyes doing much the same. When he helped her into the car, she was content at first to explore it, touching the dash, steering wheel, console and seats and asking him to name everything her fingers touched.

Then she slipped over the console, one leg on her seat and the other on his, peering into the back seat. When she was satisfied with her search, she sat back down properly and let him help her with the seatbelt, smiling and chattering excitedly.

That is, until the car started moving.

Her stomach lurched and she gripped the seat with both white knuckled hands, pushing back as hard as she could into the headrest. The faster the car went, the worse she felt, and by the time they reached the eerily glowing, squarish building with its magnificent glowing arches, she was practically hissing and spitting with terror.

The crackly, disembodied voice only made her jump, clinging against the door frame with abject horror etched into her features.

"What would you like," he asked calmly, as though this sort of thing happened all the time.

Forcing herself to relax, she reluctantly centered herself back in the seat, eyeing his window distrustfully.

"I.. don't know. A little of everything?"

Kalliope was less than pleased at the other's hand on her mouth, she knew when to keep quiet dammit but then the footsteps not far off had her panicking. Well, she had been asleep for a very long time and she was doubting her ability to fight anyone that might be disrupting the Goddess' sleep.

"That's interesting. Do we have a case of the Undead, or the Eternal?"

Her tail twitched at the sounds around her. She was freaking out and she was trying to get this other one's hand off of her mouth. She wanted to scream and bite him but that... at least for right now was just inappropriate. And then she heard or rather felt the man moving and so she followed the male cat...

It was instincts and habit really.

They, well she was ready to attack whoever it was that had stolen them... but then she heard a voice behind her which sent the poor cat girl springing forward knocking over another tomb.

"Visitors, or residents?"

"We guard this temple... and I don't know you so... Get out..." She huffed as she tried to smooth out her fur... it was standing on end.

Derrick had passed by the warehouse of the museme and noticed light comeing from beneath the double doors. "Must of be the caretaker" Derrick half thought to himself. The caretaker had been accepting a new dilivery of relics for the Bast exhibit so there was no surpise of him being in there and so he continued.

~~~

Further into the musem Derrick heard a crash just as he neared the entrance to the Bast exhibit.

Okay..knowing professors and archiogist they were generally careful around anchient stuff like this so unless the professor was clumsy someone was definitly in there and in the dark.
Moving closer Derrick turned off his flash light and raised his pistol as he put his back to the wall just outside the exhibit and listened.

"Visitors, or residents?"

We guard this temple... and I don't know you so... Get out..."

Derrick was able to reconize the professors voice however the second was alien to him and even a little hostile if not also confused. "Temple?" Derrick said quietly but outloud by accident."Damn it" he thought...I have to stop speaking my mind outloud. He hoped whoever the professor was with didn't hear him as he prepared himself to enter and find out exactly what was going on.

OOC: fixing

"Visitors, or residents?"

We guard this temple... and I don't know you so... Get out..."

"Temple?"

"You're too loud to be effective..." Eiren stated softly to keep him from entering the main chambers of the Goddess. "What is this place we are in and who are you?" She asked serenely as she stepped out from the shadows.

It looked like the beauty had paid a little visit to the hall of weapons.