\ Haven:Mist and Shadow Encounterlogs/Korinas Odd Encounter Sr Morgan 240829
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Korinas Odd Encounter Sr Morgan 240829

Korina, a member of a society with feline persuasions, enjoys a night by the poolside, contemplating a late swim when her peace is interrupted by a call for help. The caller urgently requests Korina to rescue an "important asset" who has been taken by monsters into the woods. Despite her initial irritation and a nonchalant attitude, Korina understands the gravity of her duty as a Peace Keeper. Deciding against waking her companion, Nikolai, she instead rallies her direcat, Asad, for a nocturnal hunt. Transforming into her snow leopard form, she and Asad set out into the northern end of the woods, guided by the distinct and out-of-place scent of the witch's perfume, an easy trail for the duo's heightened senses.

In the depths of the forest, Korina and Asad encounter a group of minotaurs dragging away the captured witch, hardly dressed for such a predicament. Opting for a strategic approach, Korina, still in her leopard form, initiates the attack, leveraging her protection ritual-boosted strength. Together with Asad, they dismantle the minotaur's defense, Korina dealing decisive blows while Asad plays a crucial yet cheerfully destructive role. After a swift and silent battle, the pair rescues the dazed witch, whom Korina bluntly advises against forest wanderings. Despite the witch's weak attempt to claim she could have freed herself and her unconvincing gratitude, Korina ensures her safe return to town, her actions cementing her status as a formidable and reliable Peace Keeper within her society. The ordeal concludes with Korina's expectation for the witch to inform "the annoying phone guy" of her welfare, showcasing Korina's pragmatic and no-nonsense attitude even in the aftermath of an odd and dangerous encounter.
(Korina's odd encounter(SRMorgan):SRMorgan)

[Wed Aug 28 2024]

In an outdoors pool built into the terrace

In what is sure to be a move hated by the downstairs neighbors, the rooftop terrace has had a large, refreshing pool built into it, filled with cool water to combat the summer months. Situated near the wall, the pool remains in the shade during the hotter hours of the day, though plenty of poolside seating is available on the terrace to the west if one wishes to sunbathe. Tall, floor-to-ceiling windows provide an excellent view of the kitchen and the living room from here.

It is night, about 78F(25C) degrees, There is a last quarter moon.

(Your target's been contacted to help find a civilian who's become lost in the woods.
)
A late Haven evening. For some, this would be much too late for activity. For this evening, one Korina is up usually pretty late, perhaps normal for her given certain feline persuasions. Enjoying perhaps a swim in the pool, a terrace to sunbathe upon or whatever it is she may be up to here. The moon hangs in an even quarter, the air is crisp and warm. And her phone rings. Or, perhaps failing the presence of a phone, someone from a society she is attached to arrives to disrupt this evening.

Korina is lounging by the poolside in one of those sunloungers even if there's no sun out, still bleary-eyed from sleep, taking in the outdoors air and subtly eying the pool every now and then like she's trying to muster up the courage to get in there. It requires /effort/, though, so she simply takes another mini-nap in her seat, letting out a big, big yawn- and oh, that's her phone.

There's an annoyed little 'mrrrr' as it always is when it's anyone except Nik calling - they should know better than to call Korina, really, considering how late she always is to answer - and she lifts the phone up to eye-level, squinting at it to figure out if the number is anything familiar at all.

It keeps ringing.

There's a narrowing of her eyes further. A glance back at the interior of the apartment - what're the chances she can wake Nikolai up and hand it to him instead? - and then another sigh at the beep-beep-beeping device.

She swipes up. "What."

Pools are a daunting endeavor one cannot simply rush into. A little...cat nap is more than reasonable as preparations. The person on the other end of the line sounds relieved when she picks up, even despite the tone on her what, not a question stated. Less what? and more what ever you have to say had better be important. The man audibly swallows. "Uh!"

"Well, you see, Miss Korina. And important asset has been reported to being taken through the woods by some monsters. They really need you to go rescue them! Nobody else can really handle an assignment like this right now. S-sorry!" The voice on the other ends seems duly aware of how important Korina's time is. Maybe that's mollifying.

Korina is listening. She really is. It's just that her yawn is entirely audible through the mic of her phone, transferring through to the other end. With some effort, she finds her way to her feet and back into the apartment proper, looking for her gear while she speaks into her phone, "What is 'important asset'," comes the question first of all, even if it's still not quite phrased as a question. She's not /too/ annoyed; this is a part of her duties as a Peace Keeper after all. "And which part of woods? There is no report from scouts watching gates yet."

Korina pauses at the doorway to her bedroom, eying the sleeping man like she's considering whether to wake him up, and then decides against it. He needs his beauty sleep. She /does/ usher her cat/minion along though, the large, blue-gray direcat in the mood for a late-night hunt as well when she tells him, "Come, Asad. We are going on a walk."

"W-well," the man is frazzled. That yawn sets him on edge, what if she just says no, what's he going to do? Tell on her to his boss? Yeah, great plan. There are stories about her. Things that happen to people who cross her. Though, they hardly need be true! He explains after some fumbling, "It was a representative of the Black Council, some witch who was here to pick something up from White Oak prepared for them. In the north end of the woods." His words tumble out hastily.

Carne Asada is quick to hop to, eager for any kind of activity. The little terror on four furry feet pads over , peering about with an unusually gifted feline inteligence. That he mostly uses to destroy furniture and arms.

There's a furrowing of Korina's brow at the answer, and she tells the phone-person, "Not a good witch. Tell the Black Council to get better, they can learn from Black Circle if they are new," before hanging up on them. Maybe there's just a new witches' council she doesn't know about. It's not like Korina keeps up-to-date on the latest supernatural news all the time. She didn't quite state an agreement out loud to the person on the phone, but if they're really that worried, they can just trace her phone to see if she's going. The Hand has done worse than a little bit of spying on their members, surely.

At least it's the northern end of the woods, so she doesn't need to wrangle Asad enough to make him fit in the basket of her bicycle all the way down south; no, instead, they're just going to take a walk off Elm's Bane and sniff around until they smell something interesting and witchy enough to catch Korina's attention.

The man stammers on the phone for a moment, perhaps trying to clarifying that he made a mistake, and then thinking better of it? At any rate, Korina's already hung up long before he makes up his mind. As Korina makes her way, with a much more pleased Asad than might have otherwise been available had she tried to force him into a basket takes off Elm's bane to sniff around. It doesn't take her too long before the scene becomes apparent. No newt's eye scent or brimstone or anything interest. Just a unique perfume that hangs in the air. One not sold in town, an easy assumption fitting circumstances and the trail is left open for Korina. Seems a moment off the road was all it took, beset by monsters. Heavy footsteps, something big maybe? If she hurries she might stop them before they make it to the portal elsewhere. The scent is fresh enough that there is a chance, if she's quick

Korina wrinkles up her nose at the scent of the perfume, shaking her head to herself in utter disappointment. Worst witch ever, having such an easily traceable scent, even if that's working to Korina's benefit at the moment. There's a glance down at Asad, contemplative - he's not really a cat who listens on the best of days, but he's more amicable to working with another cat, that's for sure. With that in mind, she's shifting into her furrier form and both big cat and slightly-smaller cat are making their way through the woods, following that trail to wherever it leads them.

Asad is perfectly amiable with Korina(snow leopard). Especially in such a more familiar form. He likely still has a cat-like superiority, after all, he's -always- a cat. And that counts for a lot. It doesn't take the pair long, especially with their incredible perception and tracking prowess, before they discover a group of four...minotaurs? They seem to be dragging a woman dressed in a kind of business casual looks. If not disheleved from fighting. Witches don't even wear pointy hats anymore, for crying out loud. Mid thirties, brown curly hair, and a nasty scrape on her forehead. But, she doesn't quite escape notice. The turn, snorting and begin to examine around. Thankfully, she is just a big cat right now, with another big cat. They could hardly be faulted for taking her lightly.

Maybe that's the reason neither of them have tried to eat the other yet; Korina(snow leopard) has much too much cat-like superiority for one person. Maybe it's to make up for her not being a cat some of the time. Overcompensating?

There's a chuffing breath that escapes Korina(snow leopard) through the nose while she watches the minotaurs from the underbrush, even if she hasn't escaped their notice, eyes flickering back and forth between the group while she formulates a strategy.

With Nik here, this wouldn't be a challenge at all between the two of them. Without Nik... it might be a little bit of a hassle. Minotaurs aren't to be taken lightly. On the upside, she's still got the effects of a potent protection ritual on her, boosting her strength for the next few hours, and she's got Asad by her side. If she shifts back into a human form, they're more likely to be on edge and all come charging at her, considering her weaponry. If she doesn't, maybe she can pick them off...?

A moment of silent contemplation, and then Korina(snow leopard) lets out a loud meow, her tail swishing through the air. Come and get her, minotaurs.

Asad would definitely agree with her assessment, but that's hardly important right now! There's a moment here, tactical consideration, a potent protection ritual, a full-time cat, and all the teeth and claws someone needs to rend a semi-mythological man-bull into little meaty bits.

They make a tactical approach, spreading out, slow advance, battle axes in hand. Larger than a human in size alone. Yet they leave plenty of time for Korina(snow leopard) to strike. Asad seems content wait, lowering into the ground, a deep growl, yet playful, a swish of his tail. This beats tearing into cushions. On charges from the side, attempting to distract before the others close in, but it just leaves one of them out of position

Korina(snow leopard) focuses immediately on the one that charges in, and there's a leap through the air at him to knock the minotaur to the ground. There's no time to waste at all, while the other three are close by - she's going to go straight for the throat with those sharp, vicious fangs while the man-bull-creature is knocked down, before he can gather himself back up, and if his skin happens to be too furry and/or too thick for her alone, Asad can surely help out.

This conflict is over swiftly. He's not so proud he can't steal success from Korina(snow leopard). It's only right that she supports him as the full-time cat. As she tears one down he springs in for the kill, tearing griveous wounds as she brings him down. The rest of the battle flows from the smoothness of the opening. Asad moves on to keep one of them busy, threatening with harrying snaps of his jaw and claws while Korina(snow leopard) deals with the remaining two.

By the time it's all over, Korina(snow leopard) has more or less handled the group alone, but Asad looks like he considers himself the chief contributor. Still, it's an impressiveely successful fight.

The woman is sitting up, rubbing her forehead and looking quite dazed.

To praise him for his valiant deeds, Korina moves over and licks the top of Asad's head, coming away with a tongue tasting like blood, but that's not really much of a difference from earlier, really, considering all the minotaurs she's chomped down on in the last however long it took to bring the minotaurs down. A bit of grooming herself just to get all the blood from beneath her claws out, and she then shifts back to her human form, peering over at the woman she's definitely forgotten about for a bit there. "Don't go into the forest," she tells her. While they're sitting in the forest.

Asad sits on his hind legs and grooms a little bit at himself, seeming pleased with the reward. He'll likely annoyingly return the favor at some other time with a sandpaper tongue. "I-" She scoffs. "Didn't intend to! Just, something caught my eye and those brutes! Well, I was about to free myself," lie, "But still, your assistance is most welcomed," she huffs a little bit and begins to sway a little bit as she stands, brushing herself off.

"Are you able to return me back to town...?" She asks, curiously.

Korina should say no just to teach her a lesson about lying to her and giving a bad name to witches everywhere with her lack of ability to fight off four minotaurs. She should. And yet, there's simply a huff before she's beckoning for Asad to come along while she follows the catly scents back towards the road where they'd come from. "Tell that annoying phone guy you're fine," she demands of the witch, expecting her to know who the annoying phone guy is, even though objectively, he wasn't that annoying at all.

"The check in, oh, of course." She seems to avoid saying anything further that might mess with Korina. She gives off the vibe easily enough. It's not a terribly long walk, while she follows behind hastily handling all of the paperwork side of things she can, perhaps trying to ingratiate herself with Korina The hand off goes without incident and Korina proves herself a capable and oft terrifying member of her society. What remains of her early morning returns back to her hands.