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
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I'm pretending the wall is the border, for lack of a better place to put this thread, and that the border is in the foothills.
It was a beautiful spring day, perfect for taking a tour of the borders. The sun was bright and warm against her skin, but a light breeze kept it from being uncomfortably hot, and the sky was a hard, cloudless blue. Charm wandered along at an ambling pace, not doing anything in particular. She had just wanted to get out of the city, into the peaceful quiet of the mountain foothills, where the only noises were the whisper of wind, the cheerful trill of birdsong, and the chatter of squirrels. She supposed it could be said she was patrolling, but she didn’t expect any sort of trouble.
Noon was approaching as she wandered closer to the Fulsi-Carna border, getting within a half-mile of the actual markers. It was then, as she descended a heather covered hill, that an angry buzz started up behind her. She whirled, startled and bewildered, and swore upon seeing a swarm of bees billowing up out of the ground. She’d stepped on their underground nest, and now they milled about in indecisiveness for a moment, before turning toward her.
Charm bolted, swearing colorfully in a multitude of languages, and shifted mid-stride. Her horse shape shot ahead, leaving the bees behind for a moment, a dark bay form that stirred the leaves in her passing. However, against all expectations, there was a sharp sting on her flank and the buzzing grew loud once more. She snorted at the pain and in surprise, and moved up the pace into a flat out gallop. There was another sting, this time on her side, and a sharp buzz told her the swarm was around her ears. What the hell?! Are they SUPER BEES?! Wasps couldn’t fly this fast, let alone bees! Where they some sort of mutation the Keepers had unleashed? She had to be going thirty-five miles an hour, how in the world were they keeping up? With a shake of her mane to disperse the bees some, she pressed herself faster.
Ground flew away beneath her hooves, and the bees continued to swarm around her. She could hear the persistent buzz, feel the little bodies bump against her. At least it seemed difficult for the bees to sting her while keeping up – they got her a couple times, but no more. However, what would happen when she had to slow down or stop? She could run for three miles at an easy gallop on a good day, but not so when going flat out. At the moment it seemed she could go another mile before exhaustion forced her to rest, so she’d need shelter before then.
Her legs were burning and her sides heaving when the sound of running water reached her ears. A flash of relief sent her a final flood of energy, and she forced her way through some brush onto a stream bank, shifted back to human, and plunged into a pool of water. The cold was a shock on her heated body, but she ignored it, twisting to look up through the clear water. For a few moments the bees swarmed agitatedly over the surface, then slowly began to move off. Lungs aching for breath, Charm made herself wait for all of them to drift away before bursting back into the air with a gasp. Breathing hard, she made her way back to the bank and hauled herself out, collapsing on her back on the sun heated rock and closing her eyes while waiting for her heart to slow. After a moment she lifted her head and shook her short, dark hair out of her eyes so she could look around, completely unaware that she’d crossed the border into enemy lands.
The line of scarlet streaked across the pallor of pale flesh—beaded ruby droplets descended the elegant curve of a forearm, ran tickling across the palm of his hand and curled about the tips of fingers. It wasn’t that deep of a wound. No—it was shallow, just a slight slit in his flesh momentarily. The only reason it bled so much was, perchance, because of the precarious position of the slit, across his forearm just at the crease of his inward-elbow. Lyric stared at the wound, brows slightly furrowed and eyes cast into shadow, wondering as to whether or not he had just cut a vein. Doubtfully, considering a moment or so later the blood flow slowed. It was think that he raised his hand, fingering the wound slightly. Doing such sent a sting of pain, though nothing near enough to deter him. Focus, Shikov… He told himself, somewhat heedlessly. He was already focusing, golden optics turned suddenly intent. He could accomplish this meager task. The Scout focused whatever energy he could muster upon the slight injury (one that didn’t even annoy him), wanting it to heal. Demanding it too. Had Lyric not watched it heal on its own, he would have never thought it possible. But keen amber eyes interpreted the movement, the way the skin healed itself and left him feeling drained, tired, feeling like he simply wanted to lie down. Shoulder slouched, but nonetheless an exhale of wonder was given. He looked at the healed skin… feeling somewhat accomplished. It was just a small cut… but… He was momentarily distracted by how his own blood gleamed against his skin, despite the fact the wound no longer remained. Hm. Interesting—arm raised, along with his hand. Tongue flicked between pallid lips, and in one motion the blood was cleared from his forearm and hand. Another lick and the crimson liquid surrounding where the cut had once been also disappeared into his mouth. Lyric tasted the copper in his mouth, a mixture between pleasant and metallic. The knife he previously had balanced between the three fingers he hadn’t used to press to the wound, now spun about in his left hand. The bladed tip was dyed slightly red, and thus Lyric lowered the blade to wipe it across the worn surface of his dark jeans. And then, despite unobvious fatigue curling within him, Ly started to walk forward again. His thoughts wondered—wondered back to the strange healing power he’d received after a “visit” to the Keepers. It was so utterly draining… But it captivated him nonetheless. It left him bemused, and interested. The first question that had surfaced was to whether or not he could heal himself. Something that went far beyond physical body and reached into mental acuity. Of course, the thought in question had been quickly dismissed for a wayward wonderment. Foolish and childlike—naïve: never outwardly admitted was the fact Lyric was broken. He himself knew it to be true—he had fractured, somewhere or another to never be repaired.
A sigh was blow out through nostrils, expelling any gathered scents into the air before an equally deep inhale of breath was taken. That single knife remained dangled in his grip, fingers curled about its hilt nondescriptly as though it where an everyday event. Lyric was bored, quite frankly. He preferred it when his mind was unable to wonder, and was instead focused upon one thought. Now was not such a case; instead he seemed incapable of focusing upon any one thought. His mind kept flipping through different words and images as though sorting through a deck of cards. It kept landing on his brother and the annoying girl he’d encountered. Frankie, was her name he thought. A slight smirk curled at the edges of his lips due to the fact Dmitri had practically mauled her… whereas Ly had stood by unharmed, just as he always was. Although… his damned shirt was still ripped. Subconsciously his unpreoccupied hand raised to his shirt, fingers toying about the thin slit in the fabric, briefly gracing over the curve of his collarbone before lowering. His head snapped up, suddenly acute. What was that sound? The slap of flesh against water and the spray of said liquid against itself? He remained answerless, standing somewhat frozen. He’d simply been doing a run over of the boarder, greatly hoping for some sort of preoccupation. Honestly, he turned lackluster when it came to socialization with his own Ring. Lyric knew not why—perchance it was simply clashing personalities, and despite the fact he acted unbothered he truthfully was. The Carna-boy plunged forward, towards the direction of the sound. After a moment of walking, he caught a glimmer of water. After a moment more he caught site of a human shape. He squinted at the silhouette, standing stationary. The knife was still grasped securely in his left hand, whereas his right twitched towards the twin blade. Ly started forth once more, fully aware that the stranger was now glancing about herself. It wasn’t as though he attempted to obscure his approach—in fact, he strode directly towards her. Posture spoke somewhat of hostility, though inwardly Lyric was hollowly amused. Why was she soaking wet, and in Carna territory? Surely that went against anybody’s decent senses. At his approach he decided against immeadite offense, and thus he sheathed the knives into his belt (albeit somewhat insecurely, do the fact they where balanced between his belt loops and the belt itself, it was a makeshift sheath due to the fact he seemed unable to find any proper ones) and cautiously made his way towards the girl. Caution curled within his muscles, stoic expression directed towards the stranger as he would come to crouch only a few yards away. He continuously gazed towards the stranger, snake-yellow eyes intent. His eyes where monotone—desolate even, though his lips quirked in the slightest to express a sense of amusement. Odd greeting for a trespassing Fulsi, for he know understood that this stranger was a Fulsi.
”Look at what the cat dragged in.” Expression remained the same, his kneeled position adjusting slightly as his elbows where leaned into knees. His town was spoken in a murmured drawl—dripping sweet, honey-laced, but the acid was unmistakable in those few words.
occ;; Sorry for the rambling fail-post. Next one shall be better D<
Immediately she stilled in surprise, dark brown gaze landing upon an approaching stranger. It was clear that he wasn’t of her ring – she’d never seen him before, and his attitude spoke of hostility tinged with a kind of sardonic amusement. She remained unmoving as he came closer, tense and prepared to flee, but still taking note that he returned his knife to his belt. Her own hand started to move, to reach for the bow she had always carried, but she halted the movement with a silent curse. She didn’t have a bow – it had been taken from her when she was put into the Menagerie, and she had yet to find the materials to make another.
The blond boy crouched a few yards away, expressionless as he fixed her with odd yellow eyes, except for the smirk playing at his lips. “Look at what the cat dragged in.” The soft words were sickeningly sweet, but with an underlying iciness that bespoke of cruelty, or something like it. Keeping her expression neutral, Charm raised one brow coolly. “It was bees, actually. And it was more chase than drag.” A simple sentence, but hopefully one that would make it clear she hadn’t crossed the border with ill intent, if it wasn’t already obvious. After all, who in their right mind would enter enemy lands just to take a swim?
Not that the reasons would matter to the Carna. She was on his land, and even if she wasn’t, it was almost ingrained nature for Carna to try and kill every Fulsi they came across. And vise versa, she thought dryly. The two simply didn’t mix well. Even on neutral or home land, no place was safe. There was always a chance that the next person you see could go for your throat.
Pushing herself up into a sitting position, and ignoring the smarting pain of her various beestings, she ran her fingers through her wet hair to push it back from her face. While doing so, she didn’t give overt attention to the Carna, seemingly ignoring him all together. However, she could see him in her peripheral vision, and would know if he moved. Placing her palms on the warm stone, she pulled her legs under her in a crouch and paused, then stood, grimacing slightly. Her legs felt rubbery and uncooperative – ideally, she’d have laid there for at least ten minutes before trying to move, after a run like that.
Now, though, she had no intention of taking a rest. Not with a Carna lurking nearby, one that would no doubt slit her throat at the first opportunity. Or something worse – the rumors surrounding the Carna weren’t pretty. After stretching and shaking herself like a dog to remove the excess water, both actions performed to give the air of unhurriedness, she started strolling away, turning her path back toward the border. Turning her back to the stranger was dangerous, causing the back of her neck to prickle uncomfortably, but she trusted that innate sixth sense to alert her if he got close.
Just as he expected, the stranger’s eyes found him and watched the boy’s progression with something bordering shock, although it seemed to quickly become caution. Such a thing amused Lyric somewhat… everyone always seemed so cautious in the Menagerie. The only thoughts when one ever saw another stranger where “Who is this person? Are they going to disembowel me?” Not to say that he himself didn’t look upon others with the utmost caution—not to mention there was usually a decent amount of space placed between himself and others. Nonetheless his eyes glinted with a sort of hollowed, dead amusement. Almost as though her where recalling a humorous memory, one that was half-faded and no longer all that amusing. Such an emotion quickly faded in favor for one that was expressionless, although his smirk remained intact. It was almost eerie, the way Lyric was grinning. Without emotion, despite the fact his face had risen to accommodate the normally light-hearted expression… unnatural… just empty. Smiles weren’t supposed to be like that. It didn’t even begin to touch those dark gold eyes of his. The stretched, soulless smirk remained as he examined the other, somewhat cautiously. No matter how amused about the fact Ly was, he still never allowed his guard to go down. Moreover this was an adequate reaction for dwelling in Carna, he had more room to be wary than most others. Elbows supported in the crooks of his knees, face withheld in the grips of artistic fingers he thought such things over briefly before the thoughts where forgotten and dismissed as nondescript and rambling. She’d said something about bees, but already Lyric’s train of thought had broken away from the Fulsi. Such a thing seemed to happen to him a lot lately, almost as though life had lost its interest in favor for the dark recluses of his mind. He felt more broken than ever prior, more withdrawn, more distance. And more than anything else, he began to stop caring. That carefully considered act he had formerly put up began to drop now, if only in the slightest. A wary voice in his mind stated that Ly no longer cared about what other’s thought about him, nonetheless, his habits where ones that die hard.
”Bees, hmm?” In return to her own expression, Lyric’s brows raise almost sardonically. ”Don’t most normal people avoid stirring up bee’s nests?” He scarcely would have believed it, had it not been for a few crucial facts. One of which was the fact very few people in their right mind would trespass on Carna territory completely and utterly alone, not to mention more or less weaponless. His eyes narrowed slightly as he examined the girl furthermore. Perchance she wasn’t completely weaponless. Many people appeared to be although they were not. Lyric himself, more or less, appeared weaponless save those two knives gleaming at their makeshift sheaths… but many had more things to use other than pointy blades. Ly’s eyes never strayed from the girl as she began to stand, if anything they only focused moreover. That smile didn’t falter yet, and instead remained glinting at his lips. The boy remained positioned in that kneeling posture, balanced somewhat precariously on his heels with head in hands. If one didn’t know better, it was almost a childish stature. Those eyes filled with falsified innocence and that body supported with lackluster limpness. But Lyric was perfectly prepared if the girl ever made a hostile movement towards him—he’d quickly react in retaliation. But she seemed, more or less, content to ignoring him. Lyric just assumed the girl was lucky she’d run into him and not some other Carna, lest she be beaten to a bloody pulp. His grin turned a little bit sharper, eyes turning partially slit as though he were turning thoughtful, but truthfully those snake-gold irises just hardened. It was needless to say that Ly had his violent moods, or intolerant ones, or simply stressful ones. Now was not such a time—he simply felt indolent, or at least as much as he could feel so. Childishly bored, in a sense at least—and thus he found himself watching her, eyes scarcely ever straying with their feral gleams. She stretched, shook herself out (would’ve shed water upon Lyric had he been sitting any closer, luckily though he wasn’t) and then began to walk away like she’d forgotten he was even there. The Carna sprung up, a mock scowl on his brows. For the first time his smile finally dropped, true expressionless crossing his face as soon as his brows relented their furrowed position.
He walked a fair distance away—still a few yards, though easily within hearing range if he chose again to speak. But he was looking at her again, eyeing her up and down. Was the girl an idiot? Turning her back to him… Lyric almost wished he could find some sort of throwing blade for such occasions when people dare turned their back on him. Teach them a new meaning of being “stabbed in the back”. The thought amused him temporarily, as he subconsciously fingered the two K-BAR knives at his waist, almost as though he were considering to thrown them. No. That surely wouldn’t work… they weren’t weighed right or anything. Head cocked to the side he trailed carefully behind her, noticing idly they were trailing towards the border. Low laughter was given, submerged deep within his throat so that it was almost inaudible, resembling more a growl than a snicker. ”Mm… I should probably kill you know, shouldn’t I? It is my job after all…”
A flickering, ephemeral, fading grin crossed his face but briefly. This one contained as much eerie emotionlessness as prior, if not more so. Lyric had found something to do after all.
It was only at the last instant that she restrained herself from rolling her eyes at the question. Although generally a harmless gesture, she wasn’t yet sure how touchy this particular Carna was, and didn’t want to risk some sort of imagined insult. How it could be insulting, she had no idea, but peoples’ minds worked in odd ways. Really, though, it wasn’t as if she’d thought, ‘oh look, there’s a beehive, I’m going to step on it.’ If she’d had a choice in the matter, she never would have aggravated the vicious little pests. However she wasn’t going to check every single patch of ground she was about to step on for the tiny hole that would signify an underground bees’ nest.
Now, especially, she wasn’t overly focused on where she was putting her feet. Her main goal was to get away from this rather creepy Carna, back to the relative safety of the Heights. She could tell he was following, hear his footsteps as a quiet echo of her own. She was tempted to shift and book it, hopefully easily outdistancing the boy, but held back. As of yet she didn’t know what his shift was, and she had no wish to be caught because she wasn’t at the top of her game. It would be better to keep walking for a few minutes and get her second wind before taking off. And staying human would keep him unsuspecting, so he wouldn’t be ready for her to suddenly make a break for it. Until she felt ready to do so, she just needed to stall.
A low laugh slid forward as if in answer to her thoughts. “Mm… I should probably kill you now, shouldn’t I? It is my job after all…” Charm did roll her eyes this time, as her back was to the stranger. It was clear that modesty was abundant in the Carna. Not. Turning her head slightly without altering her pace, she looked at him sidelong, gaze calculating and amused, the latter feigned. “What makes you think you could?” Once again she wished for the comforting weight of a bow in her hand – even at this close range, she could have an arrow on the string and pointed at his chest before he could cross half the distance. Resolving to make one soon, she ducked under a low hanging branch and continued on toward the border.
His gaze remained locked on the Fulsi, optics taking on a hooded and almost shadowed appearance as his face tilted downward in the slightest. Truthfully, he half-expected some sort of sarcastic retaliation. Had he been in her position, Lyric would have said something equally snarky in response. Yet she didn’t say anything, to his unobvious disappointment. He almost wanted to know how she’d been chased into Carna territory by bees. Besides that, who would be more afraid of bees? Had the thought of meeting a member of a notoriously vicious ring never crossed her mind? Ly was almost curious. Almost—yet, his mind was only really focused on the fact he’d found something to amuse himself with, not the actual source of amusement… Rather, it was like a child who had finally found their lost toy only to discover they could no longer remember how to work it. As a result, it was placed carefully on some shelf to be examined slowly with each passing day. Golden optics remained focused on the stranger, and he continuously kept his distance. He was caution, numbly inquiring as to how far he could go with this conversation before annoying her. Perchance he already had. Lyric mentally shrugged, hardly bringing himself to care all that much. He noted with uninterested at the fact they were heading towards Fulsi territory. He supposed that there, the odds would easily be turned in favor for the bee-stung girl. He stifled the slightest burst of laughter, easily controlling the noise and converting it into silence. However, flickering yellow eyes expressed his amusement with the situation. Or at least, the expressed about as much emotion as they ever did—and now, the hollowed optics strayed from the girl for the first time in favor for the landscape.
The silence didn’t particularly bother him, but it failed to quench his thirst for something occupational. I must be one of the Menagerie’s worst Scouts… He thought quietly to himself, a smirk sparingly cocking at his lips. I wonder if I’ll get punished for wondering off like this. I suppose I could say it was in pursuit of a trespasser… Not that punishment mattered to Ly. In fact, he could care less. Perchance it was a remnant of his prior self—his self that was reckless and the rebel. The one who scarcely ever listened to others and, rarer still, ever follow the rules granted upon himself. ”What makes you think you can?” She asked in retort, and as Lyric focused his gaze on the stranger once more he saw her sidelong gaze. He also noted, dryly, the looks in her eyes. The Scout’s lips quirked once more, the grin almost taunting. A challenge. But as quickly as the smirk appeared, it vanished to a more serious appearance. ”What makes you think I can’t?” Came his reply, the only one that was really right to say in the situation. But then the smirk returned, the challenge now drained and in its place surfaced prodding mischief. Of course all he was feeling was idle interest in the entire situation. When he next spoke, Ly’s voice had become velvet. ”You know something, Fulsi?” He murmured, almost inquisitively. ”I actually don’t like killing unless it’s necessary.” There was truth in those words. He spoke them lightly, shoulders slouched and hands inserted into his pockets. Ly still felt the remnants of that slight healing he had preformed—tired, weary. He shrugged off the shrouded sense of indolence that was beginning to settle over his mind like a curtain. His trail of conversation had broken off for quite an extent of time, giving one time to ponder as to whether or not he was going to continue speaking at all. ”I mean…” Again, the Carna broke off in favor for silence. He didn’t know particularly what to say to that. He had dead-ended himself, cornered the words in his mind and given them no escape. Again, the Scout shrugged slightly. His walk had quickened in the slightest, the amount of distance between them smaller than prior. Lyric, nonchalantly assumed that his definition of “necessary” and others’ definitions of “necessary” could vary greatly, however he wasn’t about to tell the Tenderfoot ahead of him this. Instead he simply let out an unsatisfied sigh, the airy breath barely audible. Lyric shook his head in the slightest, pale blond locks falling carelessly across those snake-gold optics. So, now absent of other things to say, the black mamba shifter muttered out; ”I’m Lyric Shikov, by the way.”
He almost laughed at himself. At his own sudden indolence and oddity. His sudden, and strong, desire to talk to someone else that wasn’t another Carna; or his brother, or anyone else he knew. For once, just once, Lyric Shikov greatly desired to speak with someone who knew nothing about him but a name.
xxxxx
the notes;; Such a fail-post… I had fun writing it, nonetheless. Lyric is being talkative u.u And I got to use my smexy new table 8D the muse;; Very, very good the music;; Daughtry the word count;; 810 the marionette doll;; Lyric Shikov <3
“What makes you think I can’t?” Well that was the point, wasn’t it? They were unaware of each other’s abilities and weaknesses - it was a fifty/fifty chance that he could kill her, because while she had training that many didn’t, it was quite possible that he could be one of the few that did. It was best not to take chances while she still had other options.
“You know something, Fulsi? I actually don’t like killing unless it’s necessary.” Charm felt a flash of irritation. “I suppose you think that makes you a good person.” She had no doubt that when he did kill, it was ruthless, with no remorse. Ruthlessness she could understand; she had no qualms about killing to keep her family safe. But she was always sorry for the life lost. While she could agree with the Carna on the ‘don’t kill unless necessary’ policy, Charm didn’t fool herself that they were anything alike.
Vaguely aware that Blondie was getting closer, she lengthened her stride, grimacing at the wet tug of her clothing. It was uncomfortably cold and clingy, making the idea of shifting very attractive, where her short coat would dry in minutes. Speaking of shifting, the time was approaching when she would do so. It was anyone’s guess as to if the Carna would follow. At the moment he didn’t seem particularly interested in detaining her, but that could change in an instant when she bolted.
Although, even if he did give chase, she could always lead him over the bees’ nest. She hid a grin at the thought. Planning ahead aside, there was no definite evidence that he would follow in the first place. It all depended on his shift, and if he was willing to cross the border into Fulsi lands. There wasn’t much to stop him, though - it was well know this area was generally empty but for the wildlife. Which made it unusual and extremely unlucky that she’d run into him in the first place.
“I’m Lyric Shikov, by the way.” Good gods, was the Carna actually trying to be friendly? Was it not completely obvious that while they might not be leaping for each other’s throats, they certainly weren’t on amicable terms? She would fix that. Charm abruptly wheeled, crossed the distance between them in a couple quick strides, and briskly patted his cheek, giving him her most charming smile. “Good for you, Blondie,” she said in her most patronizing and encouraging tone, as if she were talking to a child. Then she was walking away from him again, not giving him the opportunity to restrain her.
Moments later the border came into sight - scores on the tree bark, piles of rocks, cloth tied to the tree branches. It was as good an opportunity as any, so Charm broke into a sprint, shifting as she did so and finding her stride as a horse, racing away from the stranger. The walk had allowed her to catch her breath, and she ran without effort, glancing back over her shoulder to check for pursuit.
ooc; hmm, dunno where this goes from here. O.o words; 513
Upon Charm’s next comment, the snake shifter had to bite back a sudden burst of laughter. As it was, his meticulous grin widened considerably, a flash of white teeth. The humor built in his throat, hollow and void of anything save mock amusement. He shrugged his shoulders; stride remaining evenly paced as he replied. "Of course not, Fulsi.” Came Lyric’s voice, unabashedly brazen. ”I know I’m not.” For her thoughts were correct—Lyric Shikov held no remorse, no shame, no moral ties to hold him back when something so grotesque as manslaughter needed to be done. Immoral as it was, the snake shifter was detached from such sensations; he would be unable to bring himself to truly care for loss of life if he tried. The first time he’d felt snake fangs imbed themselves in human flesh, whatever humanity he had had up to that point died. It withered, wilted with shock and dismay, into something stunted, hollow, and black. His yellow eyes flashed at the memory, sunlight turning those twin-hued orbs shades of molten gold fire.
The stranger lengthened her strides in tune with his own, and Lyric held back a growl or aggravation—hadn’t she realized that he wasn’t going to suddenly attack; although, in such away, Ly was very much like his serpentine counterpart; one moment completely lax, the next preparing to strike with deathly venom. Perchance she had reason to want to elude Carna territory. The more he thought about it, the more reasons he got, which only seemed to brew empty frustration in his stomach and leave him completely vexed. He knew that they were nearing Fulsi territory, and he knew that at the border he would not follow her any longer—then again he might, out of sheer annoyance at her escape. He found himself thinking dryly that he should have killed her the first moment he picked up the scent.
Charm, upon the introduction of his name, spun around on her pathway and approached. At the sudden change of direction, Lyric found himself jerking to an abrupt halt, wincing backwards at the close proximity that she suddenly stood at. He wondered if he’d pushed her slightly too far, but could not bring himself to find the sensation of anger or fear that she was going to slaughter him—for all he knew, she had some monstrous shift. Maybe she was a tiger or a bear, or something of the like. Maybe she would slay him down in an instant, and Ly wouldn’t even be capable of conjuring some feigned emotion such as disdain or, even, surprise. Only hollowed, void irritation—such an exasperation was multiplied sevenfold as she patted his cheek and congratulated him. Such a thing only made Ly’s lips brush back from his teeth, an animalistic bear of his eye-teeth. He was about to rebuke when she spun around and started towards the border again. So, instead of restraining her, he said sharply; ”Do not touch me. The breath he spoke in was a serpentine hiss.
A growl built silently in his throat, brows furrow tightly as he began his senseless pursuit once more, only to discover that she was beginning to sprint. Damn it. He began to sprint as well, realizing that he would be able to outrun her in human form… so long as she stayed that way. Moments later, however, she shifted and finally revealed what kind of animal she was inside; a horse, nonetheless, which provoked a groan to leave unbidden through his lips. It was needless to say there would be no outrunning that, and after a sparse amount of time, she was far ahead of him and as good as gone.
Speed was a glorious thing. She raced ahead through the trees, silent except for the rhythmic thud of hooves and rush of breath. A brief glance over her shoulder confirmed that her pursuer was rapidly falling behind, soon lost to sight among the leaves. It would seem like he didn’t have a shift capable of keeping pace. However, it was better to be safe than sorry, in case he was a bird or something else that could catch up. Satisfied, Charm settled into a canter, curving around the base of a slight hill as she crossed the border.
She swung around the rise to head back toward the Complex, moving at a good clip, and suddenly found herself faced with a swarm of bees that looked annoyingly familiar. “WOAH.” She threw her weight backward, skidding to a halt with fetlocks nearly brushing the ground, then scrambled to turn and bolt back the way she’d come. The faint hum that had been emanating from the swarm increased to a furious buzz, and a look back confirmed that they were streaming after her.
Swearing fluently, she pressed herself faster, ears flat against her head. This time, at least, she had the advantage of knowledge - knowing how quickly they could move, she set off at full tilt right from the start, without giving them time to catch up. Charm was able to but a gap between her and the angry mob, and maintain it, though not without one or two stings from the few that managed to reach her.
Racing away from the swarm, without considering which direction she was going, she didn’t realize she was headed directly for Lyric until he came into sight. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she risked another look back to judge the distance between her and the bees. Considering that she’d rather be miles from them, they were closer than her liking. “Carna, run!” Whether she liked him or not, leaving him to a swarm of what seemed to be killer bees was simply cruel.
Slowing as she shot toward him, she grabbed his shirt in her teeth and pulled, hauling him along with her as she kept up a trot. “Let’s go,” she growled around the fabric. Wincing as she was stung on a back leg and her neck, she snapped her tail to fend off the tiny attackers. “Move, Carna.” She released him to shove him forward with her nose, forgetting his earlier warning in her haste, and leaped after him.
In all honesty, Lyric Shikov was not expecting his Fulsi fascination to return—once she had fled from him, lacking any sort of pursuit, the thought of seeing her in the future was a very far away idea. Rather, he accepted that she was gone, and even began to turn around after swearing savagely in his native language; Lyric was just beginning to trail his way back towards the depth of Carna territory when he heard something in the distance, the faint pound, pound, pound that was familiar to him by now. Horse’s hooves, shoving into the loam of the earth as they frantically moved with a ridiculous amount of speed. Ly, bewildered, began to turn around just in time to hear the other sound as well. A buzz, buzz, buzz that remained unfamiliar and unplaced. He, quite frankly, stared at the Fulsi as she barreled directly towards him in a flurry of movement, with his head cocked to the side and his blond locks falling in disarray. By the time the thought of run occurred to him, it was already too late—thank whatever god’s existed that she had slowed by the time she reached Ly, because otherwise he would have quickly been trampled by her.
He was shocked when her teeth grasped his shirt, and when words where growled around the blunt of the fabric in the gravelly tone of shiftertongue. His face, in all honesty, was molded into an expression of unabashed shock that the world rarely seemed to be able to put there; he hardly ever allowed himself to be surprised, and when he was, he didn’t usually show it. But the oddity of the situation had struck Lyric, and for once he was showing a true, real emotion on his face—it was gone in a heartbeat though, and in its place was furrowed brow. ”What—“ Lyric began, only to be sufficiently broken off as she shoved him forward. His hesitation did not last long, however, for that was when the first bee reached him. It stung the exposed skin of his forearm, and he winced from the sting like it was a blow—in all honesty, it hurt, and swiftly compelled him to turn tail and run, breaking into a sprint as swiftly as he could. Lyric’s frame was one, more or less, constructed for speed. It always had been, but even with this, he didn’t think he would be fast enough to escape the sharpness of their wrath. Nonetheless, he was thrown forth with frantic purpose and need to flee, and he momentarily found himself thanking the Keepers for his two mutations; perchance that Endurance and Healing would come in handy soon.
He finally caught on, and broke into a run. Charm kept pace with him, but it was nothing more than a slow canter for her, and she didn’t know how long the Carna could keep up his headlong sprint. The bees continued to harass them, peppering them with stings. After a few moments, she couldn’t stand the agonizingly slow speed at which she was being kept by her own stupid refusal to leave the other shifter. Stupid, but she knew she couldn’t stand to leave him to face the swarm alone.
“Up, Carna! Running jump, no way I’m stopping.” She nudged him with her muzzle, then accelerated for a moment to bring him level with her side. After a pause, there was a familiar scrabble of hands and legs, and she reached her head around to help shove the boy onto her back. Without waiting for him to get a perfect seat, she kicked the pace up to a rapid gallop, momentarily leaving their tiny assailants behind.
Thankfully, he wasn’t outrageously heavy, and that combined with the lack of tack meant he barely slowed her down. Charm shot through the trees, dodging trunks and ducking branches, searching for the stream that she knew was somewhere nearby, driven to a reckless speed by sharp stings. When the rush of water finally reached her over the sound of her own heaving breath, she swung toward it, bursting out of the trees onto a stone ledge poised a foot or so above a particularly deep looking pool.
The depth gave her confidence that she wouldn’t bash her head, so she dove fearlessly off the ledge, shifting as she did so. The Carna’s weight dropped upon her now-human form, shoving her deep into the water. This was the second time within an hour that she’d been in this particular brook, and it was just as shockingly cold as the first experience had been. She twisted away from the other shifter, not wanting to be in such a position where it would be easy for him to hold her under.
For the moment, she was holding herself under, gripping a rock at the bottom of the pool while watching the bees swirl agitatedly over the surface. She was on the verge of passing out when they finally moved out of sight, allowing her to kick off from the sandy bottom and burst into the deliciously sweet air. Gasping, Charm swam over to the ledge and hauled herself up, streaming water, to collapse on the stone. She hissed as pressure was applied to her hip, and quickly sat up. “Owww.”
Twisting at the waist, she peeled the wet fabric of her shirt off the back of her hip, and grimaced. The skin was raised, red, and angry, peppered with stings. The afflicted area extended past the waistband of her pants, and across her lower back, wrapping around to the point of her hip - places most exposed in her horse shift. Other stings were scattered across her body, but not in such a concentrated manner. However, they all hurt. Charm looked from her soaked clothes to the Carna, and felt a grin crack her expression. The entire event was absurd. She began to laugh, wrapping her arms around her middle, realizing the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.
ooc; sorry for the powerplaying! was going to ask you, but you weren't online. let me know if I need to change anything. 83 words; 542
”Chyort voz'mi!” The words slipped out of Lyric’s mouth before he could stop them—the first of the bees had reached the Carna, stinging him on the exposed skin of his neck. It brought the Russian swear words to his lips, and his voice slipped into its national accent fully, lacking any trace of Americanized lilt. He felt the searing ache of his lungs as he ran at the suicidal speed—he was beginning to understand what she had meant about the bees, and for a moment, he realized how unfair it had been to inwardly laugh about the notion of being chased by bees prior in their encounter. In fact, he was beginning to regret it. Karma held no remorse, after all. He huffed out a hard breath, a jolt of stiffness running up his spine as Charm muzzle touched him. His mind’s first reaction was to immediately classify her and her touch as another threat, but then she spoke words and he realized that she was attempting to help him.
”Wait, what?” Lyric asked, the words coming out harsh and ragged. He glanced at her sidelong, but soon the question was answered. After all, what else could she mean? The Fulsi was offering him a ride, and Lyric momentarily felt thankful, before he shrugged off the feeling. Wasn’t she was the one who led the bees directly towards him> Why ought he be thankful for her saving him if she had originally brought the danger towards Lyric? However, the mental actuations were not heartfelt. As it was, Lyric graciously took up the offer of a ride, even though it involved much ungraceful scrambling—he had ridden horses in his youth on occasion, because his mother saw it a fit skill for him to learn. However, it had been years since then, and it was an awkward sort of attempt; Lyric hadn’t ever been very good at it. After a moment though, he managed it, and although Lyric had difficulties holding on –not to mention riding bareback—he didn’t fall off. The Carna held on for his dear life, shifting his head to glance momentarily at the bees as they continued pursuit. A good many had found him, but at least the swarm of insects was beginning to fade back as Charm moved swiftly through the forest.
The black mamba shifter wasn’t particularly expecting it when she leapt and when the ground fell out from beneath him, along with the body of the horse, replaced by the form of the girl again. All he could manage was a slight, “uff” of surprise before he hit the water. And god, was it cold water. The shock of this knocked the ragged breath from his lungs, and he opened his eyes to catch sight of bubbles and the blurry water of the brook. Lyric fought of the urge to inhale a deep breath, knowing that he would only breathe in liquid instead of much-desired oxygen. The Carna shoved back the onset of panic, knowing that it was best to stay underwater for the time being, waiting for the swarm of bees to pass. When his vision began to dance with darkness and his mind swarmed with hazy, indistinct thoughts, Lyric pushed himself up to the surface, gasping for breath when he reached it.
Thankfully, the bees had decided to leave by that time—Charm surfaced only seconds later, and Lyric realized he’d practically forgotten about her. As it was, he didn’t say anything yet, merely struggled to regain his breath and swam towards the shore. He was immediately aware of how uncomfortable his clothing was becoming when he moved—after all, denim was about one of the most uncomfortable things to wear when soaked through and through with freezing cold water, and he had both his jacket and his jeans made of the durable cloth. The Russian reached the shore scowling, wincing as soon as he sat down, and feeling the sudden, sharp pain of the beestings. The one on his neck was particularly painful, along with the ones on his arms—very few had gotten through to anywhere else, thanks to the fact he was fully clothed and hadn’t bothered shifting.
He glanced towards the Fulsi through a curtain of tangled, dripping blonde hair (now darkened in color), and realized that she was laughing. After a moment of hesitation, he could no longer keep his own amusement at bay. It came out in an absurd storm of laughter that rocked through his frame and shook his being. Lyric let a smile crack across his face, momentarily filling his yellow eyes with mirth. Who had heard prior of being chased down by killer bees? He laughed until his rib cage hurt, and until he finally couldn’t laugh anymore. Upon which point, he managed to stutter out a reply to the woman. ”I—thank you.” And for the moment, it sounded as if he meant it.
occ;! Chyort voz'mi! = Oh damn! Oh Shit! … also, not my best post and sorry for the wait D:
When she could manage it, she waved a hand in response to the Carna’s thanks. “You’re welcome.” She broke down into giggles again before managing to get a grip, taking a deep breath and straightening, though a grin hovered around her mouth. “Oh, the questions I’m going to have to answer.” While she spoke, she took another inventory of her stings, lightly brushing her fingertips over them. As she had expected, though contrary to her hopes, many of the stingers remained. She made a face, then glanced at Lyric consideringly. He hadn’t seemed interested in protesting her presence before, and she saw no reason that now should be any different.
With a mental shrug, deciding that either way she wasn’t inclined to go racing off again, Charm stood and unceremoniously stripped down to her bra and underwear. They were dark green, not white, so it’s not like they’d be see-through, despite being soaked. The clothing was rough against her irritated skin, and would only get in the way. After tossing her outer clothes over the branch of a tree, she paused to quirk a brow at the boy, then dove back into the water. The chill felt nice, soothing the sharp pain. She surfaced after just a moment, dark hair plastered to her head, then twisted slightly to begin pressing the tiny barbs out of her shoulders.
Only a few had been extracted when she gave up on riding herself of them while treading water, and boosted herself back up onto the ledge. “So you speak Russian?” she asked conversationally, pulling a stinger out of her hip. “So do I, but I haven’t practiced in ages. Not many speak it, and Greek is my first language. It’s in your name, yes? Shikov.”* She quested her fingers over her throat, removing another stinger. Continuing the process proved difficult, however, considering most of the few dozen stings were along her back, shoulders, and neck. With a frustrated growl, she threw her hands up. “Could you give me a hand?”
She knew he didn’t like to be touched, but hopefully that didn’t extend to this situation. She didn’t relish the idea of walking back to the Complex full of stingers, and then having to ask Tarrik for help in getting them out, in addition to explaining how she’d ended up with such a situation in the first place. He would find it far too amusing, and no doubt try something evil while he was at it.
“How many times did they get you?” she asked belatedly, turning to examine the Carna. He’d been more protected than she had, but for all she knew the damned things were smart enough to fly under clothes.
ooc; 8'D -shot- words; 451
*Italics indicate Russian. No way was I trying to translate all of that, what with the Russian letters being different. xD
Lyric let a smile tug his lips at her comment—she was going to have a lot to explain, wasn’t she? And he imagined that he might have a little to explain too, with the scent of Fulsi on him now. Of course, the water had done a good job at washing that off. He watched her take inventory of her stings, while he himself gauged the damage done in his head—well, he sure as hell felt them, along his arms, shoulders, and neck, and when he lightly brushed his fingertips over them he couldn’t help but wince. During the time that he had been distracted with his own stings, Charm had stood, and when he glanced up again he caught a glance of skin-skin-skin that momentarily left him baffled. Then, however, he looked away and cursed his pale complexion as a light blush covered his face.
That’s great, Ly thought to himself, the sarcasm not lost to him. She’s just going to strip down in front of me now, isn’t she? Although Lyric really couldn’t blame her. The fabric of his own cloths clung to his skin unpleasantly, and he gingerly began taking off his jacket so that he could better care for the stings along his arms. He imagined that if he got the barbs out he’d be able to heal them relatively fine… they weren’t as big and wouldn’t require as much energy to heal as the cut had earlier, although he had to admit, he was pretty damn tired at the moment and the thought of using his own energy to accelerate the healing process of his wounds made his stomach flip.
His yellow eyes noticeably avoided glancing at Charm, and rather, he continued to stare and prod at the swelled beestings on his arms. He managed to pull out quite a few stingers on his own, but the ones on his shoulders and neck were going to prove difficult. ”Yeah, I speak Russian.” He replied, his voice monotone. At least the blush had faded. It’s my native language—learned it when I was young, before I even learned English. I was born in Russia, so it is to be expected that I know the language.”* Lyric lifted his gaze at the mention of his last name. Shikov—it doesn’t have any meaning here, that name. I could be anyone.
His thoughts, thankfully, broke off when Charm seemed to lose patience extracting the stingers and turned on him with upraised hands. ”Um… are you sure you don’t want to get them yourself?” Lyric inquired meekly, really not wanting to touch her. His brother may have been a womanizer, but Lyric Shikov was in fact very polite in that particular area. Rather, he wouldn’t even touch a woman if they didn’t want him to, and even that he was usually tentative or exasperated with the process. But it seemed that she was sure, and she turned her back to him. He methodically raised his hands and began to pick out the stingers were he saw them, suppressing the slight irritation that welled up in him.
”Not too many,” Lyric said in reply. ”Mostly just on my arms, shoulders, and neck.” He continued to pick out the bee barbs, ignoring the sharp stings of his own that protested the movement. As he took them out, he worked on Healing them with a brush of his touch—never too much. Not really even enough to notice. Just some to take the bite of pain out of them… after all, he did owe her for saving him. It left him feeling the grips of fatigue, and he knew that when he got back to Carna he was going to sleep, after preferably finding something to eat. Hm. That sounded nice at the moment—much better than sitting here soaking wet, picking out bee-stings.
His thoughts broke off when his eyes caught site of something that was in fact, not a sting, of even a birthmark on her bare skin. It wasn’t even that he’d meant to look, really, but she had stings all over her lower back. His eyes widened considerably, and it was a rare moment of surprise for Lyric Shikov. Incredulous, he spoke. ”… um… are you really sure that you want me taking out these stingers?” Ly inquired, staring at the words written just above the line of her underwear in a bold scrawl;
PROPERTY OF TARRIK
occ;; … xDDDDD … * italicized stuff if Russian o3o
His blush was adorable, but Charm suppressed a smile before it could show. She had no doubt that he wouldn’t appreciate the sentiment. Besides, he was doing her a favor by giving her a hand, and it would be tactless to respond by teasing him. It was the least she could do, since she couldn’t respond in kind. Well, technically she could, but she’d probably have to tie him down to keep him still enough so she could search him for beestings.
The pain eased a bit as the Carna’s fingers brushed over her skin, removing the stingers, and she sighed gratefully. His lack of enthusiasm was tangible, but at least he was doing as she’d asked. At the moment, she was willing to annoy him in order to get the barbs out. Putting her clothes back on with them still in would push the stingers deeper, something she wished to avoid. Still, despite Lyric’s discomfort, she expected him to continue once he’d already started the job. When he paused, she turned to look at him with a puzzled frown.
”… Um… Are you really sure that you want me taking out these stingers?” His gaze was downcast, refusing to meet her own. “Yes,” she answered patiently. “It’s not like I’m proposing marriage, I just want these damn things....” Charm trailed off, realizing that he wasn’t avoiding looking at her, but was instead staring toward her lower back, expression shocked. “Like what you see?” she asked dryly, gears turning in confusion. What was he looking at? There was nothing special to see - it was just a smooth expanse of skin, currently scattered with beestings. There was a tattoo inked across her upper back, between her shoulder blades, but he was looking lower.
She twisted her torso around, trying to see what had so claimed his attention. However, despite being quite flexible, she could only turn so far. Going to the right, she could just glimpse what looked like a K, or maybe an X, written in what appeared to be bold, black permanent marker. Turning the other way, a letter that could be either an R or a P. “Writing? What does it say?” she asked warily. There were only two people who would write something on her without her knowledge, in a place she wouldn’t easily notice, and neither of them would have anything good to say.
Silence was the only answer to her question, so Charm looked up from straining to see the lettering, and narrowed her eyes. “Carna? What does it say?” She was going to find out, his awkwardness be damned.
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