13632/Yule Cattery

Yule Cattery
Date of Scene:	24 December 2022
Location:	Rockefeller State Park Preserve
Synopsis:	Gabby calls in some JLD help with a large feline problem. Charlie Gage, Robbie Reyes, and James Proudstar head along to help rescue a pregnant kitty while drones track the giant Yule Cat poppa.
Cast of Characters:	Gabby Kinney, Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe, Robbie Reyes, James Proudstar

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Gabby Kinney has posed:
The holiday was fast approaching. Things had been relatively quiet on the JLD front since the run in with Big Foot. It's a bit unexpected when Gabby sends out a request for help to investigate a small incident in upstate New York. Nothing 'serious' she assures, though there were rumors of some happenings that she'd been tracking and ... news had suddenly gone quiet. It was worrisome.

Decked out in her holiday best (which is to say a warm, warm coat, boots, a hat with a pompom on top and some new mittens gifted by a certain crowe) she's already arrived at the area. There's a few sparse houses in the area where the 'rural' turns into the actual preserve. Usually old farms, or currently run ones, owned by those who didn't want to move further in to the city. It's one of these houses that she's staring at looking to what appears to be a small shed and fenced in area behind it that has... seen better days. The fence is knocked down, snow is trampled, and what appear to be gouges are run down the side of the house itself.

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    Charlie is absolutely not one to pass up a request for help and a mystery. Well Investigation technically. She is probably the absolute worst detective the Bat Family has to offer. Seriously. But how can she get better if she doesn't throw herself headfirst into every opportunity to practice her detectiving.

    So she shows up when called, with a slash of pinkish purple smoke (pinkurple as she likes to call it) appearing sitting on a one of the poor knocked down fences posts that is still firmly stuck into the ground. There is a distinct pop of chaos to those mystically attuned though. So there she is just kind of perched and looking around. She has her usual sturdy looking dark jeans, stompy boots, and instead of her usual wonder woman hoodie she has a Christmas hoodie. It is the equivilant of an ugly Christmas Sweater, with a Batmobile that has a missing wheel and Joker in a Sleigh getting away. It says Jingle Bells on it. Clearly a knockoff, or someone is getting really slack with the licensing work. She definitely isn't wearing it to the manor for Christmas dinner though. Babs would skin her alive. Jason would laugh though

"Okay that house got messssed up." because, as was established, not a great detective.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Despite returning to the JLD's regular roster of hunters of things supernatural and demonic, Robbie Reyes has been laying low. Gabe's taken a turn recently, health wise, and much of his time not spent in the shop has been tending to his brother.

Rather than walk (who would walk in this cold?) he's opted to drive. Which means it's a sleek black '69 Charger that rolls up in front of the shed before the engine's killed and its tall, lean and.. very chilly looking owner climbs out.

"Why's it gotta be so fuckin' cold all the time here?" he demands, digging gloved hands under his armpits, shoulders up to his ears, shivering visibly. Might help if he'd worn something warmer than that leather jacket, or the skinny black jeans with the shredded knees. Boots at least look practical. Like they were made for kicking the shit out of people.

No, he is not wearing any Christmas gear. Though Gabe made him put reindeer horns on the Charger, and he is never living that one down.

James Proudstar has posed:
James doesn't fit super comfortably in most vehicles, so he elected to bundle up and ride in the back of the truck. He has snatched a blanket and also whistled up a wolf dog friend by the name of 'Flurry'. The two dismounted from the truck bed wit a flourish of the blanket, James wearing his 'Warpath' uniform complete with the partial black mask that seemed very 'Gotham' in terms of vigilante fashion.

Towering at over seven feet tall, he makes for amusing juxtaposition beside Gabby. He kneels and pets Flurry, stroking her white fur as he mutters, "Kind of a mess, huh?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney draws a deep breath scenting the air. Trying to at least. She was still not as skilled as others in this area, and the icy, cold air certainly wasn't helping scents travel at all. If anything it just gives her a little chill of what might be brain freeze if she could feel such a thing. Charlie's little pop of arrival causes her to glance down to a simple stone necklace she wears and she reaches up to tug it a bit further out of her coat so it can hang freely.

"Hey Charlie. This is James, old friend of mine," she explains tipping her head toward the very tall fellow. Robbie's own arrival as well gets a grin. "Robbie. You really need to wear more than that. Probably got one of dads flannels stuffed in the truck if you need to borrow it." Even as she offers she reaches down to give Flurry a little scritch.

"And... on to the task at hand," she shifts the topic with a sigh, and lift of her chin toward the house. "Okay so... far as we know, this is a cattery. Just got in a very fancy Norwegian Forest Cat that was expecting kittens which is adorable and all, but there's been some rumors the past few weeks of odd sightings of a house-sized cat roaming the woods. Aaand then ... This happened. Best as we can figure a few hours ago."

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    Charlie looks James and the pupper over "Pupper!" is who gets greeted first with a cheerful grin and then she lifts a hand revealing she has a pair of distinct blue gloves, that look weighted for punching people really, but must also be warm. Her finges wiggle in a little wave to James "Nice to meetcha big guy." just trusting that if they are a friend of Gabby's they are a friendly to her too.

    "Wait... so a cattery is where cats are raised.. ok .. and ... there was a sdighting of a giant cat... and then a giant cat maybe demolished this house?" she blinks a couple of times. "Are we talking prison break or ... like what happened to the pregnant cat?"

    "Oh.. and how does a cat get house sized?"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie does not need to be mothered. Except in this particular instance, he's forced to acknowledge that Gabby's right. So he toughs it out another minute or two before huffing an annoyed breath and trudging over to her truck to dig out said flannel.

Which, once he pulls it on, makes him look like a Mexican lumberjack. Classy.

His leather jacket's shrugged on over top, and his hood tugged up and over his head as he observes the house in question. "A cattery?" He grimaces a little. "Guess I'm gonna be the tank here, tonight." Flurry gets some side eye from the kid, like he's keeping tabs on the animal.

James Proudstar has posed:
James offers brief nods of greetings to others then finds himself soothing a growling Flurry when she takes full notice of his arrival. He hushes the wolf-dog, "Hey hey... Calm down, or I'm putting you in the truck. I wanted a second set of instincts, girl. Not a little hot head."

Flurry offers Charlie a cursory sniff but doesn't seem in a particularly friendly move. James does his best to offer a polite enough smile but offers no other words of greeting. Shy? or maybe just a little awkward around strangers.

"House sized." He reiterates and looks concerned as he glances toward the worn down shed. He starts stalking around his immediate surroundings looking for 'house-sized cat' shed fur or whiskers.

Robbie gets a half-smirk for his Mexican lumberjack look before he looks to Gabby, "Any other details on the cat besides 'Big as a house?'"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney gives a thoughtful 'humm' as she tries so very, very hard not to laugh at Robbie's decision. It was better he be warm after all. This would just require a lot of explanation on her part later for Logan. It was work related though. The questions of being house sized are where she reaches up to rub at her neck with a sigh.

"I'm hoping it's exaggerating a bit. My research came up with a very likely explanation though: The Yule Cat. Apparently in Norway there's a legend of a cat that prowls around and will eat people who aren't wearing the clothes they were gifted for Christmas. So our options are that this 'Norwegian Forest Cat' is actually a Yule cat and yes it is a jail break, OR poppa is a Yule Cat, and jail break."

"Either way the sudden arrival of this foreign cat seems to be the trigger for it. I'm kind of hoping it's the father cat though because a pregnant momma cat is a scary idea. I mean." She pauses, considering. "Not that a huge people eating cat isn't scary to begin with, but the two mixed seems very no bueno," she adds with a shrug.

"Either way, it's snowy out, and there's some very obvious prints," she points out gesturing to the woods where the trail of smooshed snow seems to be leading.

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    Okay. Charlie is definitely a little disappointed at the big pupper only giving her a curious sniff but not in any sort of friendly manner. Dang.

    "Awesome. Right on with the deductive guess work.. if it is a jailbreak I get to brag about actually getting it right for once." she blinks "Ooh.. also I am glad I am wearing my Christmas hoodie someone got me... maybe less chance of being eaten then.. which is excellent... I would rather not be eaten." she is very ADHD.

    "So we find the yule cat or poser yule cat and send it back to Norway?" she stands from her perching still balanced on the fence post and then vanishes with a slash of smoke and pops to the treeline, keeping a tree trunk between her and deeper in where the trail of smooshed snow leads as she reappears. "Coming?"

James Proudstar has posed:
As Robbie goes to secure the perimeter, Flurry seems to grow calmer. James releases her scruff and lets her roam. She pads in Charlie's wake toward the trail of smooshed snow.

"Yep... very obvious. I don't think my tracking expertise is going to be very relevant in this situation." He shrugs, blinking in response to Charlie's teleportation. "Ooh. Really glad that doesn't come with the scent of brimstone. Someone needs to give Nightcrawler lessons."

He trudges through the snow behind Charlie and Flurry. "Don't get buried Gabby."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Yep, we're coming!" Gabby agrees after Robbie heads off. She hurries through the snow trying not to be a drag on the other two. Charlie could teleport, James was... heckin tall. She cracks a grin a bit at that and nods toward Flurry who has calmed down.

"Sorry, Robbie's got a 'passenger' with him. Demon that turns him into a Ghost Rider. Animals are kind of iffy around him. Which is why he's not coming further in with us right now," she points out. Better he keep an eye on their backs than piss off a large cat. "You'd be surprised how many teleporters I know that don't do the yucky smell."

The large trail starts to taper off after awhile. It was easy to follow at first, but when arriving near some thicker trees and rocky terrain it seems as if the Yule Cat may have changed size to shrink down. Or else it took a massive leap and left it's prints unavailable to track.

The wind has picked up a bit, swirling the topmost layer of snow around in dizzying flurries that settle down between gusts. It wasn't actively falling just that powdery sort which shifted like sand dunes.

And a low 'rrrrrrowwwwwr' of warning sounds out in the wind the nearer they get to the rocks.

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    "ooo spooky vengeance..." is Charlie's quip there. To be fair, she knew that and knows the explanation was for Jame's benefit. "It is probably a good idea he keeps watch and holds a perimeter than confronts a giant animal in the woods with his sidekick like that though..."

    She waits for everyone to catch up and honestly the short teenager lets James head into the treeline first. "Also no brimstone.. I don't get my juice from a demon or hell... though I'm told my stuff is pretty loud if you know what you are listening for." which is one of the main problems with her trick. One of. The main problem is way messier unfortunately.

    "Oooh..... was that the wind.. or a warning of an angry kitty..." she considers. She stopped cheating a bit ago with the teleports and is just following after the other two through the snow. She has no idea if legendary cats can sense chaos, so well she is playing it safer.

James Proudstar has posed:
James and Flurry both go to sniffing around. The Apache inspects his surroundings carefully gazing upwards from where the prints disappear. He looks for any evidence that the beast might have climbed a tree or took a big bound, displaced snow from branches, broken branches, scattered leaves and pine needles.

He doesn't cast any comment on Robbie's situation, just absorbing the information.

"Pretty loud, huh? Guess I don't have that kind sense." He responds to Charlie giving her a quick look over his shoulder.

Flurry circles a nearby tree and seems to blend with the snow. The low 'rrrowrr' cause both Flurry and James to go completely still. They begin to move slower more deliberate within the snow.

He gladly leads the way. His hands momentarily reach for his sheathed knives, but he reconsiders and just balls his fists.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
It's a very big, very loud, rumbly growl. It repeats after a moment only to taper off into a much milder whimpery sort of mew like one might expect from a cat out in the cold. There among the shrubbery near James and Flurry's approach was a very rotund long haired kitty that was currently huffing in discomfort in a little carved out space among the snow and branches.

No giant Yule Cat in sight. Just regular kitty full of multitudes being very upset at being out in the cold.

It's eyes widen with a hiss as it becomes aware of the dog nearby, and it tries to burrow deeper into the brambles but doesn't get far. It just ends up tucking it's face against the base of the bush in a typical 'I can't see you so you can't see me' fashion.

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    "Eyes on the momma kitty." Charlie notes as she looks around very slowly now. "I have no eyes on giant house wrecking kitty.... so uh.. .either momma kitty got real big then real smol... or we are missing the cat for the trees?"

    First she pulls some goggles down over her eyes from under the hood of her christmas hoodie. The orange lenses hiding a variety of instrumentaiton and A HUD, enhancing her night vision with low light technologies. Then she does teleport again, so anything mystically sensed will feel the loud crack snap of chaos as she moves herself up into a tall tree to get a better vantage around this part of the woods. Maybe it is hiding behind some large rocks she thinks to herself.
    

James Proudstar has posed:
James kneels beside Flurry once more and puts his hand on her chest. He whispers into her ear and soothes her. They'd already done some training to address the predator drive. When she behaves, he reaches into a satchel and produces a small dog treat for her.

"Gabby, I think you might have to be the one who snatches the kitty. I'll keep Flurry over here... unless our teleporter friend has a trick up her sleeve." He gazes upwards, "But it seems like she's scouting things out."

He looks toward the smaller person, "You can probably scurry through those brambles better then me anyway."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney glances up when Charlie scales the tree with her gear out. At least it would come to good use and probably work better than regular old eyesight in this weather. "Anything?" She calls out curiously. Further out and away there did seem to be more footprints leading away from the area. Perhaps the Yule Cat had gone to try and seek food, or something similar. Though that in itself was a worrisome thought.

Looking back toward James calming Flurry she can't help but smile. At least he knew what he was doing with the animal it seemed. The mention of the bush crawling gets a little sigh but she nods, and gets down on hands and knees to delve in deeper. "Small person service as requested," she jokingly remarks. "Just keep an eye out for if we have a return visitor."

She's rather thankful she has her newly gifted mittens on when she reaches for the cat because it's an extra layer of added protection. Not that scratches would matter, but she wasn't trying to hurt the cat either.

There's some hissing and worrisome yowling at first before... Suddenly... the cat seems to sniff at the gloves. Then LEAN into Gabby's hands with a happy little kitty chirp. That however leaves a small problem.

"Um. Okay so... Hands are full. I'm not sure I can crawl backwards with cat."

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    "Well...." she calls down. "There does look to be a trail of some sort out there heading away from here.... maybe it is hunting for momma cat... I wonder how many deer it can catch... or people without Christmas clothes... disturbing." yup she went to the disturbing place.

    The young woman pulls her hoodie up and reveals a yellow utility belt tucked under it, hidden away. She fishes into the biggest pouch and pulls out a black shape the size of an old VHS tape, which she flings into the air. It unfolds almost like magic, just the technological kind, and hovers. She indicates the big footprint trail. "Track whatever is making that please ORACLE." as a small PiP opens in her HUD with the video feed and the drone zooms away into the night.

    When next she calls down "Have a drone tracking the footie prints to see what the biggun pappy kitty is up to."

James Proudstar has posed:
James stands in front of Flurry and gives her the command to stay along with another treat for reinforcement. He then turns toward Gabby and quips, "Small person extraction request noted and accepted."

He takes a few strides toward Gabby and the kitty, then reaches in with a long arm. He grabs a handful of Gabby jacket and then hoists her out pretty effortlessly.

Looking upwards through the trees, he spots the drone. "Well, that's handy. Cool toys."

He plops Gabby back on her feet beside him in the snow then reaches toward the cat... but seeing its fearful state thinks better then trying to sooth it with a touch. He smelled like wolf-dog anyway.

Flurry doesn't seem particularly impressed by the gesture either. James quickly returns to her to keep her managed.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney gathers up the cat close to her. It was a laaarge cat for a cat, floofy and massive, but no where near house sized like the footprints that lead off. Perhaps size changing was a thing among these creatures after all. When hoisted out she takes care not to squish the cat unnecessarily and thankfully she only ends up with some apprehensive claws dug into her coat and neck.

"I'm glad I can't feel pain but could you release your hooks miss kitty?" Gabby jokes when James sets her back on her feet. A grin is given, and she glances off down the way the drones went. "We should probably head back with momma cat for now. Maybe we can get some tranq darts or something to put the big one to sleep and figure out what to do from there." Looking down to the cat in her arms she points out, "I'm really hoping these aren't going to be massive sized kittens once they come out or like foals and able to bounce around immediately after birth. That could be problematic."