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Soul Liberator:

Chapter One - Discovery

For centuries the tomb sat beneath the endlessly shifting sands of the Valley of the Kings. Countless moons had waxed and waned since the great stone slab had been sealed in place, resin filling each and every crack preventing anything, not air nor water nor even light from trespassing inside the nearly empty stone room. The workers of the small space had been killed the second the tomb was sealed to prevent any from knowing its location other then the priests who had paid with temple funds for the tomb's construction. Before they left the lonely spot at the top of the eastern most mountain of the valley the priests carved a warning into the face of the monolithic slab of white stone sealing the tomb, beneath the symbol of Sekhmet the hieroglyphs chiseled into the rock and painted in the blood of the workers who crafted the chamber red, "Open not this place of rest for it is a prison for she who would slay the gods."

After that ominous warning was left emblazoned in drying blood upon the stone, no eyes beheld the place again. It faded into the past, never to be written of aside from a few small texts here and there warning of a tomb never to be opened, of the day Sekhmet fell before they eyes of her very followers, and most of all, of how this truth must be suppressed at all costs. The texts themselves also faded into oblivion as time went on. A fragment preserved here, a scrap there, until barely enough for any to think that the Tomb of the God Slayer was anything but a myth. A myth that all but passed from ledged thanks greatly to the priests work in keeping their religion alive.

However the truth has a way of being found out which no mere mortal can suppress. The work of countless human hands, anima paws, and reptilian claws for thousands of years can't hold back the truth once it decides to come from the depths of time and bask in the light of the sun. Thirty three hundred years dead, a force long hated, long hoped dead, sat beneath the sands within walls of limestone weighting for the time in which it would be released to finish its seemingly endless task; a time which came closer and closer with every tick of the watch upon Leila's wrist.

~

Professor Leila Lefchik Dickow, or Professor Dickchow as most of her students called her sat in the cargo bay of the military surplus C-130 which her investors had purchased and converted into a mobile outpost for her proposed expedition into the Valley of Kings in search of the so called "Tomb of the God Slayer" referenced in a number of old documents dug up in other ruins in the area. The feline archeologist had spent three years arguing as to the importance of finding the ruins, adamantly stating that the lack of information about the tomb aside from its location east of sites KV 20 and KV 43 was "a gap in the knowledge of Ancient Egyptian culture large enough to bring shame to not only people who refused to entertain the possibility of its existence, but to all of archeology." and that "any site which seems to be intentionally forgotten about, and anyone called 'God Slayer' must be of importance to Egyptian culture equal to that of the Pharos... With his fame and renown an inverse to them of course."

Eventually Leila's pleas, insistence, and perseverance paid off and Cambridge University along with a few private benefactors donated enough funds to take her and a small team of graduate students into Egypt to the Valley of the Kings to begin looking for the tomb. She picked a small team of 15 undergraduates from her own university to assist her on the dig. After all the valley was already well explored, quite safe for amateurs and well it would be good field experience for her students and an opportunity to see a foreign culture. Aside from herself, the rest of the crew was made up of humans, mostly boys, a few girls, and one herm who wasn't shy about her intersex gender at all named Lilly. Of all of the students on the dig Leila was glad to have her along, Egypt was after all natively reptilian and lacked the medical facilities to treat other species in a lot of areas Lilly had a major in Anima Medical Treatment, Archeology being her second degree. That girl could fix anything that broke in Leila on the dig, and was quite cute once she forgot about the other girl's male parts.

The cargo bay of their plane was highly converted, the front half acted as a two floor laboratory complete with clean room and analysis equipment while the back half was normal cargo space. The C-130 had been converted for VTOL in its last days in military service, effectively making for an exploration vehicle which could land in any space big enough to fit it into and then deploy a good amount of people and cargo to handle any expedition. This was to be its first outing and it had made Leila's coco colored fur stand on end when she heard that one of the major reasons her trip had finally been funded was to test out the new plane for other more important expeditions. As such she had been ordered to keep a detailed log about the plane's functionality as a research vessel. She had instantly given the task to a male member of her team, she couldn't remember exactly which one which was bad because she realty wanted to make a note that painting everything white in the converted lab was rather irritating to deal with on the ride over.

Said ride was nearly over, the pilot announcing that their decent would begin within thirty minutes depending on how quickly the newly formed African League's flight council could find their landing permit. Ever since the War of Unification in 2020 the African continent had been running rather smoothly under the banner of the Tyrant Queen Eslis, a dragoness who previously had taken over the Congo. This event was a boon to archeologists and anthropologists as the new ruler ha opened her Empire to science probably in an attempt to make the more economically stable and militant nations like her enough to let her keep hold of the new territory.

Leila gave herself a quick once over to make sure she had all of her things ready for getting off the plane and getting the camp set up. Her navy blue coveralls were nicely covering her body, just tight enough to be comfortable but not tight enough to restrict movement, much like a second, looser skin. The navy colored outfit was tucked into a pair of brown leather foot paw boots which laced up to her mid knee, finding good field boots for digigrade feet was really difficult thanks to those sort of feet being a recessive trait and it showed In how immaculately cared for the leather was, polished, clean, properly patched in three places, yet still old and worn looking. Those boots were the only things the feline had which didn't look new however, her pouch laden tool belt also of born leather looked to be just a few trips old, and the wrist computer strapped to her left forearm practically still smelled of Best Buy. The blue fabric clashed a bit with her coco brown fur, and especially with her creamy tan belly fur if she unzipped the suit a bit, but she was one for utility over fashion, and in her experience, jumpsuits were very hard to accidently come off, and tended to have more pockets.

Her ears perked up, disturbing her bound in a pony tail coppery red hair as the pilot announced, "Attention everyone this is your Captain speaking, the AL has cleared us to land and you can expect to be on the ground in less than ten minutes. This is our first time flying a bird this large so you might want to buckle up for the landing. No need to panic, we just expect a bit of a bump."

With a smile Leila stood up from the lab stool she had been sitting on and joined a few of her students looking out the window. The golden sands of the Egyptian dessert stretched on forever it seemed, waves of heat shimmering up from them interrupted only by the sprawling view of the city of Thebes a few miles off, a modern oasis in the old as time dessert. She became entranced by the view every time she saw it. The desert sands held great appeal to her, they seemed like home, awakening that primal instinct of the feline species a persistent reminder of their thousands of years extinct ancestors battling for supremacy in the world they wound up sharing with the other evolved species.

Leila was so entranced that she actually jumped a bit when the hydraulic sound of the engines rotating for landing kicked in. One of the male students laughed, a Englishman named Richard who had decided that a t-shirt and jeans with his normal sneakers would be fine enough for trapping about the desert in and who had an impeccable sense of humor, "Professor, relax! You're as high strung as the feral cat I had as a kid."

Lilly, who happened to be sitting next to the blond haired Richard, mostly to contrast him with her black locks sighed and rolled her eyes, offended as always by even the slightest of spiciest remarks. Leila however didn't care about such petty things, the task at hand excited her and promised fun and new knowledge. There would be time to attempt to deny certain feline aspects later. "When we hit the ground I want everyone to start setting up," Leila shouted over the whirring of the props to her team, "camp should be setup by sundown, tomorrow those of you who wish to go and see Thebes can take the van over. Remember only 8 may go per day, but we are here for 3 weeks so you each can go at least 4 times. Anyone who stays in camp will be helping find the tomb, we have the clues copied to the server so everyone can get it on your wrist comp, but I suggest writing them down. Signals can get a bit wonky out here. Remember if you find the God Slayer's Tomb come back to me right away! No one opens it with ought me there and a camera rolling, I want the glory, but also I'll be able to do a better job checking for traps then any of you will, Lilly can attest to that she went with me to Peru. Remember this is about fun in the field and learning new things. Be careful, take good notes, and be sure not to overwork yourself in this heat!"

Her speech finished the professor sat down and buckled the belt around her waist, curling her tail into her lap to await the plane's touchdown, bringing her to her beloved dessert once more. Unaware that this time, she would find more than just some old relics and a dusty stone room.

~

Setting up the camp took only a few hours. The students as well as Leila had started from the moment the plane touched down on the sandy floor of the eastern part of the valley, unloading carefully packed crates containing camping equipment. Everything from folding chairs and tables to large canvas tents the size of small sheds, to food and water as well as lanterns and solar arrays all quickly but carefully taken from the cargo bay and set up in neat rows behind the landed C-130. The camp looked just like something from a film, six tents setup for sleeping areas, with another in between of the two rows of tents set up as a kitchen and eating area. Lanterns hung on the corners of the tents as well as on the inside, creating a bubble of light in the darkening knight of the dessert. The cooling winds blowing through the valley ruffled the tents and kicked up sand in little clouds skirting about at knee height.

Leila padded softly across the sandy encampment's illuminated bubble, tail swishing happily behind her and ears perked, twitching at all the little sounds around her. She could smell the night air, crisp and clear as an air freshener's soft scents, her feline eyes picking up all of the little creatures moving out in the shadowy dessert lands. She lived for these moments. These sorts of places just felt so right to her. Even from birth apparently as her parents had first lived in the northern reaches of Canada but then moved south to the Mojave Desert in the United States. There she had according to her parents loved it, crying when brought indoors from playing outside no matter how intensely the sun had been piling on the heat.

As she walked, feeling her legs de-cramp from the long, long plain trip over the ocean and most of two cotenants the sound of someone moving behind her caused her ears to twitch in alarm before the scent of a duel sexed individual found her nose, prompting a relaxed swish of her tail before Leila turned around with a soft smile, "Hello Lilly. Enjoying the sunset too?"

The blond girl starts, jumping a little bit, a light blush covering her cheeks as she tries not to be embarrassed at her sudden surprise, "Whoa! How do you do that? Know who is walking up on you I mean?" She crosses her arms over the tan blouse she was sporting, her clothing fairly stereotypical for an archeological dig. Most likely this was out of a sense of fashion.

"Simple, only one of the students is a herm and you smell like a male and a female. Not with ne sent overpowering the other suggesting recent well... you can guess, but they are both your scents. Only one person with that smell in our group." Leila replies, her grin widening into a smile.

Lilly nods, she already knew that of cource, but enjoyed small talk. "So Professor, would you get upset if I staid in camp for the entire expedition? I mean I get its an opportunity to see other cultures, but I really would enjoy working on actual historical artifacts more than just seeing a modern city in an ancient place."

With a shake of her head Leila returns, "Of course not, I probably will only go to town if I find I need some supplies. Id be happy for some company. After all we spent 15 thousand credits to get this expedition together and over here, so I will find the tomb or at least prove its not here."

"Yeah why do you have such an interest in it? I mean most people regard it as a silly little myth." Lilly asks walking slowly so that the two could walk together on Leila's original course.

The feline sighs, looking up at the few stars just starting to appear in the sky as the sun sank lower and lower on the horizon, "Because my Grandfather loved to tell me the story as a kitten. I would hear it every time we visited him. He believed the place was real and that inside was something of such worth that it couldn't be destroyed, but of such danger to the Egyptian culture that it must be hidden away. He wanted to try and find it but well he was a mechanic, he didn't have the training or experience needed to comb the desert for some ancient ruin." Her tail droops behind her slightly as she adds, "So when he died just after my twelfth birthday I promised him I would find it for him. It's been my goal in life to find the answer to his one big question, 'just what is in that box?'" she chuckles a bit and looks over at Lilly finishing, "It's ok, you can make the joke."

"What joke?"

"Curiosity never got around to killing that cat." Leila quips with a wink.

Lilly gasps, a bit confounded by the other woman's joke, "Wh- but... that is such a specisist thing to say! Why did -"

"Why do I find it funny? Because well, we are a rather curious people. You know Lilly the only thing I don't like about you is how politically correct you are. You are such a nice person, but you are clinging to those old ideals so hard... Why?"

Lilly blushes a bit before looking around to make sure they were out of earshot of the others then whispers at a low volume, but well within Leila's hearing range, "Because I don't like humans, I prefer anima species... I think humans are an uncouth and frankly ugly species so I try and treat the people I like as best as I can... Am, am I not doing that?"

Leila nods understanding, both Lilly's dilemma and her reasons for keeping it hushed. With exceptions to the Eastern Australian Kingdom and Germany the religious frantic were well know to go so far as to kill humans who associated as anything more than a friend with non humans. It was one of the few rampant problems left in the world. "You actually sort of are doing the inverse of that idea. Equality means that no one is special, and no one is lesser. If you really wanted to treat people fairly make jokes about everyone... I don't share your feeling on humans though. I think there are a good number of nice ones, it's just that the as you said uncouth ones make for better stories on the net. After all you are quite nice."

Lilly hums for a second in thought then nods, "That makes sense... I guess your right but I still don't want to offend anyone."

"Bah you won't offend anyone with a few jokes based off of traits about their species unless they are overly sensitive," Lelia remarks starting to enjoy the conversation, "Really the only thing that probably dose offend people is how you make sure that people know you are a herm. Personally I don't mind that but I do know that a lot of people back at the University find you well, disgusting for being proud of it. But good for you for not caring about them, after all if a rational person like me forgets about the boy bits you have you're a rather smart, kind, and hot girl who I would love to da- eep!"

Leila stops dead, her tail sticking up in alarm as she realizes she just let the other woman know she was attracted to her, at least some of the time. Even if the relationship wasn't with a human Lilly's fellow kind would be in an uproar over a teacher student relationship and Leila would likely be fired over the matter.

After gasping in surprise Lilly quickly gives her teacher a brief, but tender hug, "Hey... Don't worry, I won't say anything... I had no idea you were a lesbian... You know I do think of myself as a girl... Sorry I shouldn't, we would both get in a lot of trouble..." She finishes with a sigh.

The two stop walking and just stand in science for a long moment, regret and sadness permeating the air between them before Leila speaks up, "Well... No one would be upset if we were friends right? So let's be good friends."

"But... we both would like to be more, I mean I sort of followed behind you longer then needed because when your tail swishes in that jumpsuit it makes your rump sway in a relay nice way." Lilly admits, her blue eyes sparkling mischievously.

Leila winks and grins, her fangs showing a bit with her rater pleased looking smile, "Good friends don't mind sharing a cot if there is a shortage of beds." Adding a wink to the end of her statement to try and convey her real meaning.

Lilly blinks in confusion once more, tilting her head a bit with a "Huh?" before giggling then nodding as she got it, "I get the idea! Sure! Let's be good friends."

With their deception plotted out, the two women hug, Lilly's chin resting on the top of the shorter Leila's head as the held the embrace for a long time, long enough for a spark of love to ignite between them. A spark which in the days to come would ether see them threw to the end safely, or doom them both.