RP:The Arch-Mage Regains Mortality

Part of the Venturil's Bane Arc

The Thorne Estate, Vailkrin

Whether the gates had chosen to be obliging today or not – the latter being the most likely scenario but who can really tell, with psychotic garden accessories? – Tene was pacing the garden, looking for a certain bobtailed druid. On her brow, aside from that eerie diadem, was a deep frown, and on her shapely frame hung darkly decorated robes – hardly her style! – littered with runes guaranteed to make one’s eyes ache. Tinker was, oddly, nowhere to be seen.. but by the trail of deceased burrowing shrews leading out into the glade at the garden’s rearmost portion, it may be assumed the wight had gone off to sulk. Which it had! Despite all the apples. Or because of them, perhaps.

Daisy iscommingiscommingiscomming!!! Vailkrin just doesn't really care for her happy little skip, is all! So it gets in the way and tries to trip her and keep her from prancing about. 'Be sullen' it says! 'Why are you so cheery?' it demands! Well. Through dangers and blight and everything else that this place is, our fear(ful)less kitten has arrived! Through those gates and right towards the lovely that is Tene. The frowning Tene at that. Were you supposed to come yesterday, kitten? I told you that pecan grove could wait! "Am I late?"

Tenebrae stared at Daisy, all at once relieved and just a little bit confused. “I thought you were already here..” But that made sense - the garden’s horridy guardians had not once made hungry sounds, and no kittenish cheer had been discerned all day. The Estate had once more been morbidly peaceful… Tene sighed. “You can heal things, as I understand it. Tell me - to what degree? Are you proficient with humanoids, as well as..” her pale hand swept to indicate the lilies, which were back to being properly, starkly white.

Daisy 's corgitush swishes that little tiny bit that it can. Habits are so hard to break, aren't they? It's not like a cat can just stop swishing something she's always swished just because it isn't there to swish any longer. There's a smile and a nod and an opening of her bag since presents for the house's mistress are hidden inside. "I am." Once the bag is opened, a dozen butterflies escape into the air. Black ones with intricate silver patterns on their wings. They swoop around the druid and then Tenebrae before landing on those lilies with dainty little feet. "Are you hurt?"

Tenebrae eyeballed those butterflies. They were pretty, she must admit. Unlikely to live long in this garden of unearthly delights, but then the living can often be so.. tenacious, can't they? Daisy earned a fleeting ghost of a smile, though, for the thought. "No. The dead do not.. take well, to your kind of healing. And the patient is question is.." here, a silence. A long one. "... only sort-of dead. Or rather .. not-alive." A skerrick of her fluster slipped to the Necromancer's grim surface. "I need a healer with power. One capable of connecting with .. " another pause, not as long. "… divinity. This case is, you might say, a little bit tricky."

Daisy is just a bit lost in the flutterness of those insects. As if she'd react in any other way to them. No pouncing now, listen to the woman already. She might be saying something important. The druid winkblinks out of her daze to turn her attention back to Tenebrae. It really should have been expected that was the kind of healing the necrolady would want. Snoozle should be close by, hm? She doesn't travel far. Unless the Butcher is around. We do take care to keep the little stygian unicorn pony far, far away from the Butcher. "Show me?" Because the kitten will try. She isn't so powerful when it comes to healing the undead, but experiments with Snoozle has taught her a few things. First things first! Injuries must be seen. She takes a step back to let Tenebrae lead the way.

Tenebrae coughed, and didn't move at all. "Not here.." Her green gaze settled on the little druid, a slightly critical gleam in that gaze - was this prancing creature up to such a monumental task? With no other course of action available, Daisy would have to do... Tene grit her teeth, and shifted that potent look toward the house. "Too many things are apt to go awry, here. Opposites colliding, and wotwot. Explosions.. The patient is being transported to the Xalious tree, I'm sure you'd know where that is."

Daisy is quite familiar with where the Xalious tree is! She may spend a lot of time in Frostmaw, but that doesn't mean she never gets out. So she nods and moves closer to Tene again. Perhaps she won't be needing the pony after all. Which is probably a good thing. That sort of magic has its chances of not working at times. Lucky for the kitten, that vampire didn't mind losing an eye. "Do you want to go now?"

Tenebrae nodded, the diadem on her forehead shifting as a new kind of frown appeared. “In a moment. I need to be absolutely sure, though, Daisy, that you are equal to this task, and also willing to accept the risks just in case you are.. not. What is required is something a bit beyond your average sword-poke or broken limb. In fact, our patient has no wounds to heal, at all. He’s just.. not very alive, at the moment. It’s a very delicate state to be in, and he’d be dead properly.. “ she left out the word ‘still’, for the moment, “.. if it wasn’t for the alchemical fluids he’s basting in right now.” Allowing Daisy a moment to respond, Tene filled the silence with a long, hard glare at the wildling grove at the property’s rear, where grew the mandrakes and strangler vines. As if that glance had summoned it, the Necromancer’s mount came shambling onto the moonlit lawn.

Daisy doesn't make promises when it comes to healing. Especially when it comes to healing the mostly dead. Super especially when it comes to reviving the all dead. Bad things happen and fingers are pointed and blame is placed and even though kittens are just trying to help and she told them he said 'to blave' but no one cared if he was bluffing or not. "I am absolutely sure I will do my very best." Of course she'll know better once she sees what is actually going on. Alchemical fluids? Ah that one could be tricky.

Tenebrae chewed her lip - and with teeth like hers, this wasn't a comfortable gesture. She licked the resulting drops of blood off with her forked tongue, and nodded again. "Very well. Just.. do your best." So much was at stake here. So much... The manure would really hit the windmill for all concerned if things went horribly wrong... and they might, if Thea did not respond in time, or refused to help.. and might anyway, seeing as Daisy was not exactly of the same calibre… but time was the greatest peril here. Those fluids would last only so long - or more accurate to say, the patient's body wouldn't last too much longer in them. She stared at Daisy for a time, and said, "Would it help, perhaps, were you to purify yourself, before we commence? We shall.." what she means here is -Daisy- shall.. ".. be dealing with some powerful, holy energies, after all." And really, who knows what kittens get up to, while prowling the back fence of night?

Daisy looks up at the dark Vailkrin sky. How long would it take, kitten? Two days? Three? A good cleansing can be done in a day if you include the traditional form of feline bathery. A twitch of her whiskers is noticed if one happened to be paying attention. Rainbow pools with waterfalls are available. Are you sure you want to do this? Do you really think you have the kind of power this woman wants? Needs? You don't owe her anything and she's likely to kill you should something go wrong. Her chin lowers again, flashing that foreversmile of hers. "I need a day. Then we can meet."

Tenebrae's uncomfortably sharp perusal ceased as she closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. "Thank you, Petunia. I can't tell you how grateful I am, that you would do this for me. You may ask of me a favour in return, once our patient is hale and hearty. One day it is. I shall meet you at the Xalious tree, then." The necromancer was anxious to check on the transport of the body.. uh.. patient, and swung herself onto the wight's back forthwith. "I have a few things to prepare, myself, so we shall say farewell for the moment."

Preparations

Daisy heads on out of Vailkrin on a mission of purity. She wouldn't really consider herself as being dirty, but lady Tenebrae thinks a cleansing would be best. Mmm. Could be. So the feline heads to the cleanest place she knows: a forest, of course! Somewhere off in Sage where no one goes. Somewhere quiet and undisturbed by the noise and pollution that happens sometimes when you're in town. Plants carry life energy, you know. And since life is what we're after... ah perfect. A clearing in the thick flora, making way for a quiet little waterfall only about ten feet high that spills into a clear pool. So pretty and peaceful and perfect and positively pristine! There on the water's edge, everything is dropped. Hat. Bag. Dress. Everything. So that the kitten can wade into that pool free of all those things that don't naturally happen. She goes under for a moment before allowing herself to just float there in the water. Long breaths relax the druid. Eyes partially closed, she can see the forest's energy swirling around her. It dances in soft shades of green, but only two or three because this is not that kind of story. Go on, kitten. You have to ask. "Cleanse me?" There is a deep breath and that energy pounces, surrounding her like hornets do when a kid pokes their hive with a stick. It drags her beneath the water's surface, holding there for what seems like an eternity. Daisy doesn't flail or thrash about as the energy washes over her within those waters, scouring her aura free of negative energy. Satisfied, those shades of green release the druid, allowing her to break through to the surface with a gasp for air. There is no panic or fear. Only a lazy smile as she drifts towards the water's edge. On all fours, she crawls to a plush patch of grass there by the trees. A branch moves out of the way, lifting its curtain of leaves to let the sun warm and dry the feline's fur. She stretches in that way only a cat can do and you're jealous because your stretches will never feel that good. Sprawled out in that bit of grass, she lets her body absorb the forest's life. Maybe later she'll have some tea, but for now? She rolls to her belly and stretches again. Now is for napping and letting nature fill her with positive energies.

Tenebrae, after having ridden off on the barrow-wight, found the transport of the coffin-like vat smoothly underway. The wagon it was drawn on was nondescript, the vat itself covered with rough sack-cloth – hardly the fanfare the cargo deserved, but secrecy was vital – not that Tene was particularly inclined to care about fanfare, anyway. Unless, of course, it was her own... As Tinker’s split hooves plodded beside the vehicle, the small but elite guard remained unobtrusive, disguised as happenstance peasants. And still without disruption, they had all finally reached the Tree.

Here, Tenebrae had the vat laid upon a trestle of fine timber, and covered with a scarlet swathe of silk. Tinker and the guards were ordered to keep their distance – but be watchful for disruptions, and were given instructions on what to do should such a thing occur during the most serious and lofty undertaking (no pun intended) to come. So then, it was just Tene, a vat and the Tree whiling away the silence and song of passing birds. There was nothing more for a necromancer to do here other than keep guard and wait.. Tene frowned. Still no word from Thea… and where was Daisy? All would be lost, were both druids to fail to appear.. So she paced back and forth, pinching her lip, frowning, for however many hours that silence would reign.

The Xalious Tree

Daisy said she needed a day and a day it has been! Rested and clean and clear headed - well. Maybe not clear headed. These sort of purifications always seem to put the kitten in a daze. Could be the cleansing. Could be something in her tea. At any rate, she is ready to go! The druid skips through the forest for some time before a draft is felt and the fabrics of her dress are bunched up in her bag. Who says a feline has to wear clothes all the time? But for modesty's sake, you should dress. So a very light, very white, very flowey little sundress is pulled over the woman's head. There is more skipping and a little singing and oh! Peaches. "I'm here." Those Teneguards are used to the kitten by now, so they let her through. Fruit in paw, she has a bite and sneaks over to the Tenebrae.

Tenebrae, apparently having not long before grown tired of pacing and frowning, now had her forehead pressed against the trunk of the Xalious Tree and was .. was she? Talking to it. ".. we haven't exactly been close in the past, what with me being so busy and you being…a tree, for all intents. But if you -could- see fit to do me this one solid, I promise to.. uh. Water you. And leave offerings, and so forth. Whatever you like. Just...." A kittenish shout had her pull back abruptly, clearing her throat. There was a little bit of tree-bark caught in her hair. "Daisy! Thank the stars." Tene stepped away from the trunk with two long strides, "All is ready. Have you...?" But oh, the little feline was so shiny, her aura gleaming like a newly polished crystal. Squinting, Tene continued, "... never mind. We still have a little time before the alchemical fluid fails, so I intend to wait and see whether the Queen of Enchantment might join us."

Daisy really is all shiny, isn't she? She has another bite of that fruit in her paw and passes Tene on her wandering over to the Xalious tree. Maybe her smile comes off as odd when she spots that bit of bark in Tenebrae's hair. Daisy always has something in her hair. Leaves. Twigs. Bits of flora you've never seen before. So it is warming to the druid to see such a thing, even if it wasn't meant to be on purpose. "Is she nice?" The mentioned Queen is one of the few Daisy actually hasn't met. The tree is sat under and leaned against with a soft little hum of approval.

Tenebrae opened her mouth to reply - and then closed it. Hmm'd. Opened it again, "She's nice.. to those she deems worthy of it. We have been friends for a very long time, Thea and I. Been through thick and thin.. It would be well worth your while, Violet, to petition her for apprenticeship. No druid is more powerful or... " Wise? Tene's priorities would show, here: ".. able to hold her liquor.”

Daisy is pretty sure the necromancer is going to call her every flower known to anybody before she gets her real name right. No matter. She can call her flower if she wants to. She doesn't mind. "Queens are busy, mostly." But maybe they can have a drink sometime. The peach is finished and the pit is carried over to a specific spot to be shoved into the dirt. Throwing is not an option for the kitten. Just look at her arms. That pit would go maybe two feet. "If she is helping, what am I for?"

Tenebrae’s lips pressed into a prim line briefly, “In case she doesn’t arrive.” Blunt, maybe, but that was the truth of it. “If she does arrive, your task will be to offer her… “ Support, in case things don’t work, while Tene high-tails it to.. somewhere Thea isn’t. But, “.. assistance, should she need it,” is how that sentence finished. And with that less-than truth offered, Tenebrae thought to give her feet a rest, and lifted the hem of her un-Tene-like robes so they wouldn’t get smirched as she sank to a seat on the grass below the branches of that magical tree. “I have never seen a cat without a tail before,” the Necromancer observed idly. Perhaps she was weary of all the silence, as well.

Daisy is fully prepared to support and assist with anything she may be needed for. The peach pit is given a little pat and a blown kiss before Daisy whips around to face Tenebrae with both paws covering her corgitush. "I. Oh." She isn't too sensitive about it, but having no tail -without being a bobcat- certainly is a little odd. "A drow named Kuzial cut it off." And then had himself a bite or two. You deserve those hairballs, y'mean ol' drow. "And then Daisy (of the bovine variety) took it from me before I could reattach it." She walks back over to the tree and has a seat beside Tenebrae, curling her feet up under her.

Tenebrae didn't quite break out in laughter. Though she did make an odd choking noise behind her hand, followed by a little cough and, "Pardon me. The air's so dry here.. Kuzial, you say? I am very.. familiar, indeed.. with the Patron Stavret." Anyone else might ask what Daisy had done to upset him, but Tene knew well that the drow didn't need a reason to be cruel. Adopting a mask of polite concern, she nodded toward Daisy. "You're lucky that's all he cut off."

Daisy has been told on more than one occasion that she is quite lucky to be alive after an encounter with that particular drow. She owes her life to Snoozle, really. There is a little sigh and a smile of thanks. "Yes, I know." Comfortable kittens are comfortable and this one decides she needs a lap. Conveniently enough there is one just there. So without regards to personal bubbles, the kitten curls up on her side with her cheek resting in Tenebrae's lap. Arms against her chest, little paws clasp under her chin as her eyes close in relaxed contentment.

Tenebrae’s had many... things… in her lap, over the years. But nowhere among any of them had been the head of a kitten. At least, not one that was still attached. She stared at this development. Opened her mouth. Closed it again. Then said, in a tone which threatened to shrivel the leaves off even that most sacred of trees, "I trust you are -quite- comfortable there, Pansy?"

Daisy either doesn't hear or ignores the tone in that voice. Foolish kitten. But yes. Yes she is quite comfortable now that it is mentioned. Rolling to her back, she beams up at the necromancer. "You have nice thighs." And she rolls to her side again, shifting up just a little so most of her upper body can curl up on the Tenebrae's lap.

Tenebrae was very, very vain. Which was probably what prevented things from getting ugly, about now. "That's what Stavret says," she smirked, the little jab at Daisy's tale of tail-lessness her only counter to the assault of cute upon said thighs. "He cut something from me, too, you know," though the happy sigh she gave at that point may indicate Tene owned no chagrin over it. The Necromancer tugged her hood up a little, then - for even the idyllic dappling of the sunlight under these broad branches was no good for her kind, if too long exposed to it. "Have you a lover, Daisy? You seem to me..." a bit gormless. ".. less world-wise than some I know."

Tenebrae 's actually getting the druid's name right was sheerly random.

Daisy knows some things about some things, even if she doesn't know everything about a lot of things. Though knowing things doesn't have anything to do with most things, one of those things being intimacy. "Once." And that is all she will say on that. The druid sits up with a little stretch, wondering how much longer they will have to wait.

Thea , having received the message from the rather unsavory messenger makes her entrance to the wood where the Xalious tree resides. Immediately the Druid begins the visual inspection for the one who sent for her, finding not only Tenebrae, but another as well. The Pixie's approach hastens, verdant stare darting between her old friend and the feline briefly, "Tene..what is it?", she asks flatly, expecting something so worthy to send for her must need immediate attention.

Tenebrae 's relief at Thea's arrival was palpable, probably for more than one reason. "Pix.. " Was Tene a bit more pale than was even proper for one undead? She was certainly flustered as she hauled herself to her feet, hurrying toward the trestled vat, under its coverlet of silk. "I need your help. And it won't be.. easy," was her rushed reply, before Daisy got a summoning gesture to come stand closeby. "I was worried you wouldn't come. So I brought .. Petal, here, as a stopgap measure." Enchantment's Queen and the Darkness had not seen each other in what seemed an eternity, and while there was much.. so much.. to say, time was their foe now, and so she did not pause for niceties to be exchanged before adding, "Perhaps she can assist you? Learn something.. But first.. I must tell you the story of the man who rests in this.. vat." She tugged the silk away, revealing a coffin-like metal box. Then it occurred to her to cease speaking, for the sake of introductions.

Daisy kind of just watches Tenebrae with a curious tilt of her head. Flighty and nervous and uncertain are not words she would have associated with the necromancer. Especially not after the way Valentin talks about her. Get up, kitten! That's royalty there, you know! She stands without brushing the grass from her dress and offers Thea a smile and a little bow of her head. "Daisy," she mentions in that moment Tenebrae decides to stop talking.

Thea gives pause long enough to offer Daisy a bit of acknowledgement before turning her attentions once more to the necromancer, and that box. Something felt wrong here, though she has no idea why. Despite the unease of the very thing she disliked the most, that which is not natural in undeath, the Pixie inhales deeply and listens to what her old friend has to impart about this metal vat and it's contents, "Aye then? What of the contents?", she queries..not really wishing to speak of it as if it were a man, given the circumstances.

Tenebrae drew in a deep breath, her two pale hands coming to rest palms-down on that metal container. How to begin..? She figured, just diving in was best. "Some time ago a man.. a vampire.. came to my manse at my summons, to talk. He is.. an old friend. One to whom I owe several debts. I had noticed in a prior meeting that he seemed…" she frowned, offered Thea a flicker of a glance that may also have been a wince. "… not quite himself. It happens, as I am sure you know, that time and power can grind the best of us down to dust, and I was concerned.." That pale green gaze dropped back to the vat. "Anyway, we spoke. And during this, he revealed to me that indeed, he was weary of his present state. You see, he was.. is.. very much in love with a woman in possession of living flesh. And he told me that the burdens of his existence were many, and all he wanted in this world was to be a proper husband to her. Settle down. Have some heirs. Give his wife the love of a man, as she deserves. You must know, Thea, what happens to a heart when it dies… " her mouth was dry. So dry… but she went on. ".. and so I agreed to make the attempt to help him regain mortality, for both their sakes. I prayed and sacrificed for.. a long time, and finally I was answered. The curse was lifted from him, and he was no longer a vampire. But I am a Necromancer, Thea. I have no power to bring life back to this body. It is not dead, and it is not yet properly alive. So my friend is .. in a kind of limbo. And I hoped you, and Daisy here, could help to.. " Tene was sounding positively meek, at this point. ".. help."

Daisy has already promised to help -to do her best to help, at any rate-, but this is magic far above her head. Hopefully the pixie will help. If not. Well. She'll give it the ol' feline try anyway! Curious as she is, the kitten stands up on her toes to try to peek into that vat. Who the heck is in there? Such a sweet story of romance was told. Staying quiet, but listening too, she peeks inside.

Tenebrae snapped the lid down - watch your fingers, kitten! Not that there was much to see, the thing being filled with a murky liquid. Tene turned her gaze on Thea, then, waiting for the Queen's response.

Thea stood there listening to this all too familiar tale, finding it a little more than too ironic and similar to her own plight with Rheven. The Druid holds her suspicions but keeps them to herself hidden well beneath a smouldering stare and gracious smile that often found its way across her striking features. The Pixie glances through her facade to the metal hold, chin jerking in Daisy's direction, "I don't know that she will be strong enough for such a task, Tene. Normally, three are necessary but we can give it a go..", she says in a casual, almost cool manner.

Tenebrae released a huff of breath so violently that it might just ruffle kitten-fur. "Thank you." And she gathered herself, then, "I know about the.. three. But this is, I guess you could call it a special.. case. Coming from as far into the depths of undeath as he was, the trio of Maiden.." she eyed Daisy, and perhaps the question of lovers was more pertinent in meaning now, "Woman.. and .. Crone.. is appropriate." Her lips thinned. Tene surely did not -look- much like a crone. But magic is, as magic demands. "I have done my part in it. All that remains.. " she knocked on the lid and shrugged. "Perhaps I ought to step back a way, then, Pix? Being that I'm.. you know." The crone. And quite happily dead.

Daisy eeps and pulls her little paws back just in time. Almost lost a whisker there, girl. Her yellow locks do flip a bit from the necromantic huff, tossing them in a more fashionable style too, I might add! Vanity aside, the druid darts over to the other side of the vat. "I can pretend." Do Maidens have to be virginal? Ah, what is one small detail? Small details never cause any problems. Right? *cough* Right? Right! She taps a claw on the top of the vat. "We have to take him out of the liquid."

Thea 's right brow lifts slightly toward the feline then she gives a subtle head nod, "Aye, -it- should be removed.", There is no doubt the Pixie has no wish to refer to this being as anything other than an object for the now as she motions to the box then stares at her old friend, "And aye..you should likely be a good distance away."

Tenebrae said to Daisy, "No.." and her look was venom incarnate. "We do not. It'll kill him.. " again, she didn't add. "He must stay within it, until this is done."

Thea said to Tenebrae, "You cannot remove it from the liquid? How are we supposed to feel its energies or infuse it with our own, Tene? This isn't how we work normally..."

Tenebrae’s tone was a great deal more kindly as she repeated to Thea, "He must stay within the waters. He was.. no ordinary vampire. The liquid is preserving his flesh from certain decay. I hope this won't prove too inconvenient." Few people could command the embodiment of the Dark. But Tene obeyed Thea, stepping back to a safer distance.

Tenebrae called to Thea from... over there, "You could put your hands in?"

Daisy frowns a bit in thought and then smiles again. Always the bright side. Always positive. "I'll get in there." Gross, kitten. Just. Gross. She waves a paw at nothing either of the other women can see then pets both paws down the side of the vat, pressing her nose close -but not against- the side of it. "I'll hold him."

Thea peers to the vat, looking down her pert nose to the strange box then affording a sidelong glance to Tenebrae, "I -could- opt to go and play with venomous snakes as well, but I do not. What..is it?", she questions further.

Tenebrae ventured closer, for the sake of not-shouting, "Alchemy. These waters offer the boon of preservation. Stasis, you might say. But their effect is wearing thin, the liquid's power dies to keep him alive. It should be mostly inert by now. Hence.. the need to make haste, in case they fail too soon, and he rots or turns to.." her nose wrinkled. .. mud, probably."

Thea inhales sharply and bites her lower lip before offering to plunge a hand in alongside Daisy's, "It will require my hands, dear. This is a rather large task, even for me.", Thea wasn't really trying to be rude to the feline, she simply knew nothing of her or her prowess as a healer. She only knew that if this..being..were to ever take another breath, she'd best get focused and begin the process. With that said, the Druid motions Tene back away from the box and the aura slowly growing around her winged frame as she begins a slow mantra. She focuses on Daisy briefly, wanting to insure the feline knew of the chant of their ancients, or could at least follow her lead and repeat the lyrical cadence. Together, her hand and the paws of the feline set the liquid aglow and the encompassed 'man' is enveloped in the cerulean light emanating from them.

Daisy knows it will be centuries before she is as good as the Queen and that might not even happen. So she backs off, so to speak, and simply clasps both paws around one of the man's hands. Let the professional do her thing, kitten. Chant with her. You know the words. There is a soft purr in her throat, carrying her magic through to help Thea the best she can.

The diadem on the Necromancer's brow sent a bolt of agony through her skull.. it was reacting to the powerful magics here, both that channeled through the druids, and the Tree itself. Tene yelped softly and regained that safer distance, one hand clamped over the god-wrought gem. "Stop it." she pleaded, in a whisper. Doubtful that this had any direct effect.. it was more probably coincidence that the pain ceased. Wincing toward the scene of the healing, Tene could only watch now... and hope it all went as planned.

Thea 's tongue moved swiftly, full lips serving to spill forth the ancient rites of passage only to contradict their commands moments later and beckon life back to this liquid held mummy her hands now hold residence against. The Druidess's eyes go closed, the Phoenix pendant swinging against her breast flickering with the growing intensity of the situation. Growing too, was the need for more energy, which she manages from deep within, feeling her feline counterpart offering the same. And then, the first hint of an actual 'being' can be felt, though complete restoration is such a ways yet and the Pixie knows this. She paces herself, breaths moving in a steady, though labored cadence now with the chanting.

Daisy 's chanting is taken over by the purr in her throat. The words are still there, just in a voice of her own. More. Thea doesn't have to say it for Daisy to know. She looks up at the Xalious tree for silent guidence. It smiles at the kitten with soft encouragement, all but swatting her on the corgitush with a low-hanging branch. Maybe it actually does. The other women won't notice. "It isn't enough..." she mutters. You know what to do. There is a nod and she lifts a little foot into the liquid without sloshing around too much. It is cold, but warm with energy so she doesn't mind too much. Placing both paws on the man's chest, she lowers herself into the liquids, keeping only her head above the surface as she develops a new closeness to this man she never met. If you're gonna do something, put all of you into it, right? So there she is, every bit of her. Every ounce of magic she has flowing from her into the flesh of that man. A tiny voice barely escapes between her lips. "I want you to be alive."

Tenebrae.. didn't quite facepalm. Mainly, as another shot of pain seared through her head like a cross-bow bolt, as the Tree responded to the presence of Druidic power, Thea's practised magics and Daisy's .. efforts, too. Once the agony ebbed, she peered toward the vat again, lip bitten between sharp teeth. No.. all was well. Or it would be, for the man inside the vessel. Perhaps things -might- get a little odd for Daisy. Tene would chalk it up to collateral damage, later. Right now, she was concentrating on keeping the Eye from popping open, which she suspected would prove utterly disastrous for all concerned.

Thea seems a bit distracted by the feline's move, watching her disappear into the hold with the man. She says nothing though, knowing her focus must remain on bringing him back and she too looks to the tree for support. As her own magics slowly begin to dissipate she draws from the Xalious tree what she needs to continue this task, offering the command of awakening to this sleeper within the box. A sudden wave of energy washes over the Druid and her eyes widen considerably as if realization of something unspoken had occured. Her eyes narrow and with sheer will she commands this life in her grasp to return.

As anyone might expect, the sheer volume of energies flooding the kitten's small frame, exacerbated by immersion in that magically-receptive liquid, would quickly pull Daisy into a faint. Whatever disruption of the proceedings that might cause is of no consequence now, for life indeed had been coaxed back into the body of the man in the vat, and his convulsing frame threw the little druid out of the vessel, to land with a soggy thump on the hallowed ground. Perhaps Thea would splashed by the flailing of limbs, but birth is rarely a peaceful event.. and this kind of rebirth was, by dint of the forces necessary to it, often exceedingly violent. Tenebrae, from beyond the tree's circumference, might be heard whooping at these first signs of success. But truth would come when the man lifted himself free of the waters -- would he draw that first, vital breath?

Rheven appears quite suddenly from the vat, surfacing for the first time since he'd first been confined to it. As predicted, his rebirth is not entirely pleasant; in the effort to breathe, lungfuls of fluid are coughed and spat up quite violently, almost as if he is drowning and dying rather than being reborn as a living being. In his vicious thrashing he ends up spilling out of the vat, the ground beneath offering little kindness as he comes to a rough landing. There he writhes about, still forcibly purifying his lungs in an attempt to breathe his first true breath. The perceptive can notice a color to his skin that had not been there before, however, and his once characteristic wings are entirely gone...

Thea 's eyes grow wider still, watching this violent emersion to the living from the man she had come to know as husband. And there as she stands watching him convulse and gasp for breath, her suspicions are confirmed. Once she is certain his lungs are functioning, and that pinked flesh is indeed intact, emerald eyes narrow towards the one now standing off in the shadows then on her spouse. The feline is the last to gain the Pixie's attentions as she offers a hand up to her fellow Druid.

Daisy was barely coherent, having over-extended herself magically she'd be sick as a .. dog is so the wrong word, but sick she'd be as she took the hand of the Queen and allowed herself to be drawn to a woozy stand.

The necromancer Thea was eyeballing - maybe Tene would later talk with her, about only being the vehicle for this transformation - was walking slowly toward the scene, the life-magics dissipating enough now for her to risk approach. "I can.." she looked at Daisy. ".. take care of her." Words were in short supply here. Tene had played her role, and was more than a little eager to leave the couple to whatever the result might be.

Rheven eventually expels all of that -stuff- from his lungs, his breaths coming slow and ragged, but drawing actual oxygen nonetheless. His body stops convulsing so violently, instead remaining eerily still, as if all life has departed his form once more; that is not the case, however, and such is proven when he finally stirs. The former vampire lifts a hand and settles it against the earth, trying to test whether his body has the strength to rise just yet...it doesn't, however, and he collapses to the earth with a muffled curse. With some effort he manages to roll to his side, hopefully to take sight of his wife throughout this ordeal...

Thea moves to his side slowly. Almost reluctantly. She proceeds to offer him the last of her healing energy, wanting him strong enough to stand, though not likely for the reasons many would assume. She calls out soon after to the departing necromancer, "You lied to me..", tongue laced with venom and eyes piercing the woman's frame. With flared nostrils, the Pixie scowls and proceeds to tend to the weakened man.

Tenebrae gathered the swooning Daisy into her arms, the little Necromancer far stronger than her small seemed to allow. She was indeed departing - both to tend to the kitten and to give the couple their privacy - but turned back at the sound of those angry words. "No. I didn't lie." And she hadn't. Whether Thea planned on shooting the messenger - or Necromancer, as it were - or not, there was a Daisy in need of care and awkwardness to avoid. So she just kept on trudging, back to the wagon and Tinker, and the road out of here.