It wasn't fae territory, but it was beautiful. A perfect compass rose of tamed wildness. The otherworldly feel came from the magic of an artists hands. The garden was a perfect circle quartered by well maintained paths into sections facing the four cardinal points. Each section had a strong elemental theme. There was a grotto with a mermaid fountain for water, a forest full of gnomes for earth, delicate wind chimes hung from every branch in the section for air, and the section for fire felt warm and cozy with red brick ovens scattered between clusters of rose bushes concealing hidden benches.

And in the center of it all was a castle in miniature. It was a rather delicate seeming building, lots of glass and pale pink granite. It was occupied mostly by women in delicate little fairy costumes serving tea to customers on little floral plates and cups.

Suri had been working at the tea house for longer than she had ever worked anywhere else. The women who owned the place had been very kind to the little cat, making her feel welcome even when she made a mistake. Which happened often. Today she had dropped a tray of berry tarts in the courtyard in front of the castle when she had been distracted by the birds suddenly leaving the trees around her. She gave a wary look around before shrugging and fetching a broom to clean up the mess.

"Suri, could you lock up after you finish taking out the trash?" The rotund figure of the pastry chef appeared in the doorway, pulling on her coat. "Everyone else has left for the night, and I'm late for my granddaughters birthday."

The little cat looked up from sweeping up the remains of the pastry. "Mew! Suri can do that. Suri needs to leave soon anyway. Batosai promised Suri bunnies for supper."

The chef chuckled and hustled off down one of the paths out of the garden.

She didn't usually mind being left on her own at the tea shop, but she still felt a little uneasy for some reason. Suri emptied the dust pan into the trash bin just inside the doors and moved inside to collect the bagged trash from the kitchens.

The Hunter knelt to the ground behind the teahouse, fingertips dipping into a drop of liquid there and bringing it to his nose. A deep inhale confirmed it, Suri. She'd been injured here, likely attacked judged by the damage to the door. A low snarl began in his chest, rising to his throat, and finally causing his lips to quivver over his fangs. Someone had attacked his mate, his Suri!

******************
Twenty minutes ago
******************

Batosai finished cleaning and dressing the five rabbits he'd taken down for dinner. Smiling slightly as he thought about what delightful ways Suri might prepare the meat, she had such wonderful cooking talent. In the moments like this one, when he actualy had time to pause and reflect on his life and recent events, he would wonder at his fortune in meeting Suri. Somehow, the innocent-seeming neko had managed to wind her way inextricably into his life and his heart.
He'd given up long ago on ever having a mate or a family; Hrrakiir who became Hunters were forbidden from taking a mate and bearing offspring who would be similarly tainted by their Hunger, and Batosai was no exception, he would never become a father. Still, here on this alien world, Batosai had found someone who accepted him for who and what he was, even the death that inevitably followed in his wake.

So here he was, getting ready to head back to the teahouse where Suri worked, when something in the wind startled the birds from the trees. The predator's head snapped up and his nostrils flared, trying to discover who or what had spooked them. Nothing smelled out of the ordinary, there were no new scents which had not been their moments before, but *something* was most definately different and... and *wrong*.
After that moment's rush of... well it wasn't quite fear or panic, but the closest he'd ever come to such things, Batosai calmed his heart down and thought. It had not been a physical event or presence that had caused the birds to take flight. It was something else, something less tangible.

Closing his eyes and bringing his hands up to his chest, Batosai formed a series of hand signs with his figners. The Shii'Koh energy within his body responded, flaring throughout and settling in his brain and eyes. His senses expanded beyond the purely physical realm and into things less seen than felt. When he opened his eyes, the irises were tinged with red flecks that glowed. Looking around the game trail, Batosai still saw nothing untoward. It wasn't until he turned his attention to things distant that he saw it.
A faint aura, glowing an ugly shade of red, off in the distance. With this other-sight, Batosai could only see things which affected himself, and there were only two things on this world which he had allowed to affect his life; one of those things now worked at a teahouse in that specific direction: Suri!

Instantly he was in motion, the rabbits fell to the ground, forgotten...

******************
The present, at the teahouse
******************

The growl which had started in his chest and rose to his lips was growing louder, rising in volume and ferocity as the Hunter stood. Suri's scent led away from this place, up and across the rooftops. The trail was faint, and only Batosai's Shii'Koh enhanced senses had managed to pick it up in the cold, wet weather. The decay of the scent trail also told him that whoever had taken Suri had a formiddable lead on him.

Finally he could no longer contain the rage building in his body. His mane shook, his arms and shakti splayed out behind him as his head whipped back to the sky, letting out a feral roar that would make a lion quake in abject fear. Someone had stolen this predator's mate, and he now let the world know that he would not stop, would not rest until he saw that someone's heart beat it's last in his jaws!

Calling upon every ounce of Shii'Koh in his body and poured it into his muscles. When he moved, it appeared as if he was teleporting, flickering in and out as he leaped to the rooftops and set off in pursuit of Suri's scent trail.
Before this thing was done, blood would pour, and someone would die...