welcome to your new hell, Welcome to the Menagerie. Or as we like to call it, Dome Sweet Dome! We are an eight-year strong futuristic shapeshifter and sci-fi creature roleplay, dedicated to bringing you a world unlike any other; a world in which your character has become an experiment and must fight for survival in a domed city, cut off from the rest of the world. Choose to be any animal in your fight for survival in an artificial world built by the Keepers as they subject you to experiments beyond your control. Choose to wander the world inside the walls alone, as a Rogue, or find safety in numbers in one of the groups known as Rings. How will you survive?
60 - 65 ºF
blustery with scattered showers spotty sunshine
YEAR 2309
shift bans.
» Cougars (aka Puma, Mountain Lion, Panther)
» All Tiger Species
» All Lion Species
» All Wolf Species
» African Leopards
group bans.
none.
encouraged !
FEMALE CHARACTERS! create a RETRO or ANTHRO and get 250 CP + a free skill! read me for more info!
last updated: april 19th, 2016
Click on each Ring or Retro group image to view their ranks!
GROUP UPDATES
CARNARING
Jocelyn Edelwolfe is the new Alpha! Seija Mulviene is the new Beta, and Grey is the new Delta. Lead Hunter is now Boone Haywood, Head of Border Patrol is now Noelle Ndango!
FALLENRING
-
FULSIRING
Fulsi has a standing treaty with the Nakoma, granting limited access to their fresh water.
NAKOMA TRIBE
-
ANALOYA PRIDE
a while back, the Analoya suffered a suspicious poisoning of their river, luckily with few casualties; the Bellator are suspected of having taken part in it, and there are whispers that Pride leader Wanderer is talking alliance with the Nilda for access to their clean water.
BELLATOR HERD
As new leader of the Bellator, Loril has instituted some rank changes. See this thread for more information!
LAWAII FLOCK
no updates!
NILDA PACK
no updates!
CARNARING QUICK STATS
ALPHA -- Jocelyn Edelwolfe, Clouded Leopard, played by IronChild
BETA -- Seija Mulviene, Spotted Hyena, played by Seija-chan
DELTA --Grey, Mackenzie Valley Wolf, played by Kriss
_______________________________________________
Post by Adison Sotero on Dec 30, 2014 0:30:30 GMT -5
Adi plodded along, paws aching under the strain of carrying a passenger. The tiger glanced over his shoulder to check on Adelina, who clung to his back unsteadily, exhausted from her healing injuries and the long journey both behind and ahead of them. Despite having left the studio the day before, they had only made it to the edge of no-man’s-land. It was a hard, slow walk, and they still had a long way to go to get to the Fallen ridge, to the Carna cliffs, and eventually over the Lawaii mountains. It was going to be a long trek, but Adison was determined. He lifted up his tail proudly and trotted forward at a renewed, brisk pace.
But this wasn’t going to do, at least not if they wanted to get there anytime soon. Adison kept his eyes out for anything that could improve the situation, but so far he hadn’t seen anything. He looked up at the Inn, just on the horizon and slowed his pace a little bit. “Do you need a break?” He asked, his voice a distorted grumble in this form. Their breaks had set them behind already, but Adison was concerned that her wounds might be hurting her.
They made their way toward the building when a prey-scent caught his attention. His fur rippled with excitement at finally being able to get them a good meal. He closed his eyes and followed the bright orange scent marks that appeared in his mind; a clear visualization that came with his carefully honed sense of smell. Adison followed it until he could spot the creature.
He opened his eyes and before him saw the tall, four-legged answer to their problem.
“Lina,” he whispered, “We have to steal that mule!”
Last Edit: Jul 1, 2015 21:48:36 GMT -5 by mo money
She had never chafed so much in her life, not even when she’d thought that wearing those all leather pants she’d stolen from a Fulsi were a good idea. But really, who in the hell knew that tigers chafed? She was pretty sure his stripes had rubbed off onto her legs, but as she was lying nearly flat across his back with her legs tucked high and tight on his striped flanks to keep her feet from dragging, she was in no position to check. She was hot and sweaty despite the fall chill in the air because goddamn if tiger fur wasn’t hot. Adelina cringed with each of Adison’s uneven, jarring steps and came to the conclusion that tigers should not, god not ever, be ridden.
But the chafing was preferable to the sharp ache in her forearm, which was clutched tight against her in a make-shift sling. The woman at the Studio had given her some healing sessions that had driven off infection and done some mumbo-jumbo with the crushed bone. Her ankle was almost completely healed and had been a lighter flesh wound than she'd first thought and she could walk on it, but not for long and hell if it wasn't slow going. She was no stranger to pain, hell it had been her constant companion as long as she could remember, in some form or another. She was used to a life of sweat and blood but she had never once been hurt to the point where she couldn't take care of herself. She had always been smarter, stronger, faster. But Manic had nearly killed her, and now here she was being tended to by his son. Funny, that.
“Do you need a break?”
She nearly jumped out of her skin at his sudden question, having gotten used to the silence that long, stealthy travel required. God she wanted to get off his damned mother-of-all-chafe-inducing back but she knew they needed to push on. “No,” she said through clenched teeth as Adison stepped over something in his path and it jarred her arm. “Keep going. Gotta get more distance ‘tween us ‘n them,” she murmured, her voice a quiet rasp. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the various twinges and burns and the persistent voice of fear in her head that said the Carna were dogging their trail and even now got closer and closer; it made it feel as if every day, hour, minute, even second counted.
She’d nearly drifted off into an odd state of half-awareness when Adison’s voice cut in again, something about a mule? She cracked her eyes open, grimacing at the high-noon sun. She pushed herself up, fingers curling into the thick fur of Adison’s neck, careful not to touch the strange burn wound further down. A few grunts and groans later she was sitting up straight, her feet planted on the ground and clearing the dirt from her eyes to make sure she was actually seeing what she was seeing.
“I’ll be damned,” she said, a crooked smile lighting up her dirt smudged face as she took in the beauty that was the mule. It was a red roan, ears as long as saw grass and a face to match. It was ground tied and all loaded up with a few saddlebags that looked decently full and a blanket that looked as soft as a cloud. There was some blood on the ground a yard or so away, and Lina figured if the owner of this beauty got herself killed...well then Lina and Adi would be doing the very best thing by taking care of this poor, abandoned creature. “Yep,” she said with a decisive nod as she delicately stood and swung her bad leg over to get off Adi’s back. "She's ours now." She limped over to the mule who did nothing more but flick an ear her way. Lina grabbed the dangling reins of the rope bridle, patted the gal’s neck and in one quick jump vaulted onto the mule’s wide back. She sidled nervously for a moment before Lina’s soothing croon and gentle touch calmed her, and Lina nudged the mule into a walk, then a trot. “She’s pretty well trained,” she said, surprised at how docile and cooperative the creature was; she circled the roan back toward Adi and pulled her to a halt with a dopey grin. "Let's call her Atlas." Her legs already felt better and so did her back now that she could sit up straight. She offered Adi a hand up, grinning down at him like a five year old. “Shall we, my Prince?”
» Gen M - 4 yrs (19 yrs) - impulsive, passionate, violent, altruistic, loyal, self-destructive, volatile - crazy in love with Adi - mother to Mila Rose «
Post by Adison Sotero on Jan 10, 2015 19:01:51 GMT -5
Adison hissed as Lina finally rolled off of his back. He glanced over his shoulder to see his fur a completely matted, flattened mess. The tiger gave himself a good shake, which poofed back up most of the disheveled fur. Satisfied for the moment, Adison turned back to see Lina already atop the beast.
It was probably the greatest asset they could have hoped to find, and Adison silently thanked their luck, for the mule couldn’t have come at a better time. Perhaps now they would finally make some headway and put some distance between them and the Carna that were surely looking for them.
Satisfied that they would be on their way now, Adison shifted back into his human form and gave his limbs a good stretch. “Much better,” He laughed, taking Lina’s hand and hauling himself up onto the mule behind her. Atlas gave a little grumble and shifted on her hooves, making Adi throw his arms around Lina’s waist and cling to her to steady himself. “Ugh, for a Prince, you’d think I’d be better with horses,” he grumbled, refusing to let go of Adelina as they started down the road. Adison had always been one for keeping his feet on the ground; if they weren’t so sore, he might have run alongside the mule.
Behind them, he heard the frantic shouting of a man, and Adison turned to see a rogue hopelessly running after them, arms outstretched for the mule that was no longer his. Adison cackled, but was suddenly cut off as Lina urged the beast into a canter that ripped a high-pitched scream him. “Warn me when you’re going to do that!” He whined into her back, for in his terror he’d buried his face into her shirt. When he finally managed to glance behind again, the man was just a speck in the growing distance. Soon, he realized, the Rings and their past lives there would fall out of sight as well.
----------
Last Edit: Jan 10, 2015 19:02:24 GMT -5 by Adison Sotero
Post by Adelina Russovo on Mar 7, 2015 0:05:22 GMT -5
It had all seemed to happen so fast, like the world was rushing past them full steam ahead, and it was all she could do to hold on for dear life. She tried to remember everything that had happened in the past week. The plan to bring retribution to Crash, unexpectedly sticking her knife into Manic's back to stop him from killing both her and Adison, her rushed recovery, Adi's blank eyes staring at her like two dark hollows--everything had happened so quickly, it almost seemed as if it hadn't happened at all and she felt as if she hadn't been able to breathe without the whole world rushing past.
But now, each breath seemed to measure a a year. Each dull thud of their newfound mule's hooves was painfully, desperately slow as her roan body swayed beneath them in deliberate, plodding steps steadily rising upward. Adelina wanted to look over her shoulder to see how far up the mountains they had made it, but she risked catching Adison's eye. The brief flash of excitement they'd garnered from their prize find of Atlas had waned quickly, almost instantly; their light banter had dwindled into silence, utter and complete in it's stifling presence. The chill in the air seemed to settle in her bones, and she wasn't sure whether that ache was from the coming winter or the coldness at her back, a coldness despite the warmth of his skin and the beat of his heart.
She was sure it was just her imagination at work again, the fear that she had managed to smother snaking its way into her stranglehold grip on happiness. She would have it, they would have it. But still there was quiet, eerie and chilling. She didn't know what to say, and hours, days even, had passed and precious few words had been shared between them.
"It's getting dark. Might rain," she said, her voice raspy with thirst. "We should find somewhere to make camp."
It was another twenty minutes or so (or maybe twenty hours, who could tell) before she saw the sharp outline of a cliffside just up ahead; her eyes trailed down to the shadowed underside of a rocky overhang jutting from the cliff. She slid off Atlas' back and patted the mule's neck before leading her over to the overhang, and turning expectantly to Adi. She grabbed a canteen from the saddle and held it out to him, jerking her chin in the direction of the woodlands. She could hear the soft babbling of a steam somewhere, and she trusted Adi to find it. With that, she turned back to unpacking the mule and prepping their temporary campsite for the night.
» Gen M - 4 yrs (19 yrs) - impulsive, passionate, violent, altruistic, loyal, self-destructive, volatile - crazy in love with Adi - mother to Mila Rose «
Post by Adison Sotero on Mar 21, 2015 13:21:13 GMT -5
Adison stared down at his arms as they rode, now crossed over his chest. He was finally used to the beast trodding along, and even though it was less secure, he didn’t dare hold onto Adelina again. Every so often he would look at the back of her head, hoping that she would glance back at him and give him some sort of way to test the water. But she never did, and Adison knew that it was a conscious choice. Defeated, he eventually gave up and rode in silence until he decided to try again.
Despite all that had happened, the pain and hollowness that had engulfed him for the past week, Adison still wanted nothing more than Adelina. Her attention, her arms to hold him when he thought of the gravity of their situation and just wanted to crumble. He could hardly remember the brief instance that he had the passing thought that it was Lina’s fault they were here. It was his fault for being so naïve for so long. If he hadn’t been such a fool, perhaps he would have run away to be with her long ago. They were together now though, despite everything. In some strange, sick way, Adison wouldn’t have changed it for anything.
But she was scared of him. Or resented him. Or just plain hated him. Adison didn’t know. For now, he just remained silent behind her. Adelina’s voice suddenly cut through the silence and he felt a flicker of hope in his chest. “Right,” he responded. He sat quietly again, but relished the comfort of her voice echoing in his mind until they finally found a place to make camp.
He hopped off of the mule after Adelina, glad to be done for the day. Every day they spent travelling just made him hate riding more and more. Adison looked around the area and surveyed the meager shelter. It was better than nothing, he supposed. A bit small. Adison could already sense a long, tense night coming on. He sighed and could only hope that this feeling would fade with time. All he wanted was for things to be how they used to be, back when things were simple and the only thing separating them was distance, but never each other.
Lina broke him from his thoughts and Adison took the canteen from her. He took it and opened his mouth to say something, anything, but Lina promptly turned back to unpacking. He stood holding the canteen for a moment, watching the back of her head again. Stubborn as ever, he thought, when she didn’t give him a second glance.
Finally he turned left, following his ears until he found the small mountain stream. He kneeled beside it and took a moment to splash the cool water across his face. It was refreshing, but more importantly kept him grounded to reality. There was no use getting lost in his head out here. He filled the canteen and trekked back to camp, trying his hardest not to think about going back to the chilly silence.
When he spotted Adelina setting up camp, he froze a few feet away. “I got the water…” he spoke, his voice sounding foreign from the long day of quiet. “Here, you should drink,” Adison added, inching forward and holding out the canteen.
Post by Adelina Russovo on Apr 10, 2015 13:25:09 GMT -5
The forest around them was growing quieter still as dusk slowly began to settle over its branches, and Adelina basked in the feeling of utter isolation. She knew it wasn’t real, though. You were never alone in the dome, not with the Eyes outside the walls always watching, always listening. And even within the walls there was always something waiting just around the next corner, friend or enemy. But even that lingering realization eased her tense muscles, and she breathed deep in the comforting silence that truly was just quiet. It wasn’t the uneasy, forced stillness between she and Adison. The silence wasn’t heavy with all that was left unsaid. It simply was. And it was liberating.
After she stood for a few moments, leaning against Atlas’ flank and enjoying the warmth from the mule’s body and watching the sun start to sink over the crest of the Citadel, she knew she had to get camp set up. She sighed and hauled the saddle off their stolen mule’s back, unrolled the few blankets they had managed to scrounge up (alright, stole), and made a semi-decent bed for them under the overhang. If it did rain later that night, it wouldn’t provide much protection from the elements. But it would do for the night, at least. And where would they go in the morning? And the next day?
She didn’t want to think about the fact that they had no idea where they would end up. Adelina had absolutely no doubt in her mind that she and Adi could survive the rest of their lives in the Retro lands. They were built for this world, raised tooth and nail, claw and fang, to survive. But what Lina was so unsure of was if they could make it together. As a family. After everything they had been through, after everything she had put him through…
Could they be together, after all of it?
She ignored the plague of worry and doubt and redoubled her efforts to get camp set up. She walked Atlas to cool her down after the long ride and ground-tied the mule to graze to her heart’s content as Lina gathered kindling. Within a few minutes she had a fire started. She went about skinning the few squirrels she’d shot from Atlas’ back during their ride and was already roasting them on a make-shift spit when Adison returned. She kept her eyes on the roasting squirrels, almost too afraid to look at him in case it all came exploding to the surface. This wasn’t the happiness she had wanted, or the freedom. They were running, just running; from the Carna, from what she’d done in the warehouse, from…each other.
And then Adi handed her the canteen. She glanced up, hearing the rasp of his voice. She saw how tense he was, too, how stiff he moved as he inched closer to her. As if he were afraid of upsetting her. She realized then that they weren’t running from each other. She was running from him. She had been since Reagan had died. She had pushed him away, pulled him closer, and now she was pushing him away again. How could she be so cruel to him? All he had ever done was love her, and she him, and now they were together with nothing left to keep them apart…and here she was, keeping them apart.
She reached out for the canteen, her fingers lingering on his hand for a moment before taking the canteen and taking a sip. “Thank you,” she said, her own voice mirroring the hoarseness of disuse. She glanced up at him, a smile slowly tugging at her lips. She patted the ground next to her, motioning for Adi to sit. “Medium rare,” she said with a stronger smile still, passing him one of the cooked squirrel kebabs. “Just how you like it.”
ooc |
» Gen M - 4 yrs (19 yrs) - impulsive, passionate, violent, altruistic, loyal, self-destructive, volatile - crazy in love with Adi - mother to Mila Rose «
Post by Adison Sotero on Apr 29, 2015 17:45:07 GMT -5
A cacophony of anxious thoughts swirled in his head as he waited for Lina to take the canteen from him. It was the simplest gesture to offer her water, yet he began to think about all the ways she might misread the situation or how she could take offense. Every millisecond the canteen remained in his hand felt like a millennia. And then just like that, she took it from him and drank. Adison tried not to let out an audible sigh of relief and just focused on the strange way his tightened chest unclenched until he was almost relaxed again.
He gingerly lowered himself to the ground next to her when she offered. His eyes darted to her every so often to make sure he wasn’t too close. She didn’t seem to mind him where he was, so he looked away so that his gaze didn’t awkwardly linger on her. It was strange, this feeling of walking on eggshells. Adison had never second-guessed every little action or thought so much in his life. Things with Lina had always been easy, natural. This was anything but. Any little mistake and he knew that this whatever it was could shatter, and then she’d be gone without a trace.
“Looks good,” Adison spoke finally, taking the food from her. He stared at the headless roasted rodent and smiled. She at least cared enough to feed him, something Adison never undervalued. He dug in, messily tearing the meat from the squirrel, gulping it down before he barely a chance to chew. He’d never had the best table manners, but then again, neither did Adelina. Adi chanced a peek over at her to see the utter mess she was making just beside him. He laughed, and then was suddenly taken aback by the sound of it. She looked at him, and he was sure he looked shocked, but her worried face with squirrel meat half-dangling from her mouth sent him into another fit of laughter. “You should see your face!”
Post by Adelina Russovo on May 12, 2015 21:25:56 GMT -5
More silence, more tension--but this time, with food! Which honestly made the situation feel a whole lot better now that her stomach wouldn't be snarling at her. And as she shoved the squirrel into her mouth with the reckless abandon of woman who had never before known food, she the tension ease for a moment.
Even so, she was so focused on tearing the gamey, greasy meat from the squirrel kebab that Adison's laugh caught her off guard, and she paused mid-chew with a bit of squirrel dangling from her mouth.
You should see your face!
She grinned around her mouthful of squirrel before slurping the rest up as you would spaghetti."Still cuter than yours by a long shot, babe." She wore her smug grin well despite the grease and flecks of meat before shoving the rest of the squirrel in her mouth and digging into the next. She was about to say something else when the dome decided to dump an ocean on them; their fire fizzled in what seemed two seconds flat and they made a mad dash for the rocky overhang.
Atlas brayed her displeasure in loud, honking notes and Lina hurriedly led her under the make-shift shelter, though the long-legged mule barely fit. The outcropping of rock was small and provided just a few feet for all three of them. Nearly soaked through in just that minute of downpour, Lina shivered against the chill already threatening to settle in her bones as the fall air turned to winter. Her still healing arm began to ache again from the hurried movements. She cradled it against her chest, glancing over at Adi. She reached over and wiped the hair plastered to his face from the rain out of his eyes, chancing a smile. "Hey, stranger."
ooc |
Last Edit: May 13, 2015 21:54:14 GMT -5 by mo money
» Gen M - 4 yrs (19 yrs) - impulsive, passionate, violent, altruistic, loyal, self-destructive, volatile - crazy in love with Adi - mother to Mila Rose «
Post by Adison Sotero on May 27, 2015 19:21:34 GMT -5
They were laughing. Together. Adison was actually, despite the chilliness between them even earlier that day, having a good time. It almost seemed like the old days when they used to goof around like this. He felt nostalgic warmth in his chest that urged him to be closer to her, to jump into the swing of things again and completely forget all of the terrible things that had happened. He wanted to forget more than anything, and this brief glimpse of what they had and could have again was like a siren beckoning to him.
“Well, I won’t argue with you there,” he agreed, wiping food off his own face. Even when she was ravenously devouring her food, she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Adison quickly looked back to his squirrel kebab when he realized he had let his dreamy-eyed gaze linger on her face for a bit too long. It was difficult when he was always so entranced by her features… those piercing eyes that jolted him every time she looked at him, the furrow in her brow that always betrayed her thoughts, her lips that could spout the sweetest honey or the most acrid venom, sometimes in the same sentence. Adison chuckled to himself as he thought of a few instances. She was a unique creature, and he knew no one could gainsay that.
And then suddenly the heavens opened up above them and he was jolted out of his thoughts by the freezing rain. He scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping over himself to reach the shelter of the overhang. It wasn’t much, but it was better than getting completely drenched. Adison looked over as Lina reached for him, bracing himself for her touch. It took all his effort to keep himself from taking in a sharp breath as her fingertips brushed the hair from his face. He smiled softly in return, hiding his confusion about his own hesitation. This was what he wanted, wasn’t it? Perhaps he was just scared to give in to this fantasy, in case in the morning she had changed her mind about him.
“Long time no see,” He answered, gently placing his hand atop hers. He closed his eyes and simply relished the feeling of her hand resting against his cheek, the warmth of her touch spreading throughout his body and blocking out the numbing cold. This would do for now.
Post by Adelina Russovo on May 30, 2015 0:04:34 GMT -5
His skin was warm to the touch despite the slick chill of the rainwater, and she could feel his heat spreading into her bones, warming her from head to toe. Her skin tingled with the sudden sensation, and she felt her cheeks flushing. She wanted nothing more than to take this feeling, crush it to her. Even as she thought it, she felt the cold chill of the world coming back, even as his hand slid over hers. The heat slowly diffused as she watched him close his eyes and lean into her touch. She didn't want to let the distance or the silence back in. She wanted the warmth, the comfort, and as her fingers slowly trailed down to wrap around his shoulders, she slid in closer. She would chase this feeling it down, dog it until there was nothing else but surrender, whole and unyielding. She slid her other arm around him and eased herself against his side in a hug, resting her head in the crook of his neck. She inhaled him; the smell of his rain-slick skin, the subtle musk of dirt and sweat and even after all their time in the woods, that salty, rusty tinge of the seaside.
"Adi," she breathed, surprised at a sudden trail of warmth from her eyes as they blazed down her cheeks. Her fingers curled into the collar of his shirt as she pressed her face against his chest, hiding her face. She didn't want him to see her cry. She wanted to sob, she wanted to scream, she wanted to run. She wanted to kiss him, hard and breathless; soft and tender. She wanted to curl up in his arms, She wanted to rake her nails down his back in a fit of passion. But mostly, she wanted to be safe. She wanted to sleep. "My Adi." She murmured into his shirt, quieter this time. She felt his arms wrap around her, and a shiver ran through her as warmth blossomed at his touch. In that moment it felt that his touch was all that could soothe her, a balm when all else seemed poison. He held her, and she let herself be held for the first time in years.
Her breathing eased into the rhythm of sleep, her lips still whispering his name as if enveloped her every sense. She grunted softly in protest when she felt him slowly, carefully untangle himself from her embrace, only to lay her down on the bedding she had prepared earlier. Adelina drew in a deep breath, eyes fluttering for a moment as if she were to wake. But a caress from him and her lips pulled into the faintest smile and she snuggled deeper into the bed roll as he pulled the blanket up over her shoulder before turning to gaze out into the coming night.
ooc | END THREAD alksmsdfg
» Gen M - 4 yrs (19 yrs) - impulsive, passionate, violent, altruistic, loyal, self-destructive, volatile - crazy in love with Adi - mother to Mila Rose «