Clouded Glass (Open)

[Deleted]

Everything was silent and dark outside. The dome blocked the pure twinkle of stars, dulling them to blurry dots in the black. There were few sounds to be heard; the rattle of wind through the trash on the ground, the occasional rustle of bug...or maybe beast. In the grimy darkness, little was visible. Silhouettes stood out as shadows in the gloom and gave the place a surreal and macabre look. Then something moved. A groan issued into the night as a shadow shifted, morphing out of a lump into something much more. Desmond had awoken. His sleep was drug induced; he had been dropped here by the Keepers. From how sore he was, they probably actually dropped him. Jerks. Carefully, eyes still closed, he took stock of his body position. His arms - wings - were wrapped around his chest, his legs splayed out awkwardly. Shifting a wing off of his bare skin, he let the cool night air wash over his chest. Breathing deeply, he opened his eyes. Dark. Of course it was dark. His ears swiveled to the sides, then to the front again. Normal night noises - nothing out of the ordinary. Well, other than the whole 'dome full of animal kids' thing. That could be considered out of the ordinary for sure.

With a last grunt, Desmond sat up into a crouching position. He braced himself with his arms, his two operational fingers resting on the ground while his wings flared out like a cape behind him. These big leathery things could get annoying sometimes. He blinked, unable to see anything more than shadows and...hey! More darkness! Closing his eyes, he decided to rely on his other senses. Primarily the whole echolocation deal. He still needed to practice using it; he hadn't been a bat boy for more than a week yet. Opening his mouth, he called out in his supersonic voice. His big ears twitched, swiveling. Okay....slowly a silvery picture took place in his mind. He frowned as the images came back, biting his lip with one of his jutting canines. A building of sorts to his left......heavy, very reinforced. Lots of refuse and stuff around in heaps. A few cockroaches, some flies....typical sort of thing. Opening his eyes, he stood up. Folding his wings behind him, he looked around. Even though he couldn't see anything, it was a habit. Cautiously, relying on occasional radar shouts to guide his way, Desmond got to the edge of the building. Being so low down made him anxious; anything could attack him down here on the ground! He looked up, shooting out another sonic call. Yes, there was a ledge there. If only he could get up on that roof....well, it was worth trying. Flaring out his impressive 16 foot wingspan, he leaped and flapped his wings hard. It was awkward looking, to say the least. He was offbeat, his wings flapping at different rates. Stupid giant leathery freak appendages! With far too much effort, Desmond managed to lift himself into the air above the roof. Then he crashed, landing a spectacular faceplant into the metal roof. Well that was stealthly. Ouch

[Deleted]

{ hope you don't mind if I join in :3 }

Nebuchadnezzar was quite bored, to say the least. The little Fulsi bird had given him a bit of fun for a while, but then she scared him away with all her threats of "Gonna Sick the Bigger Badder Guys on You". Hm, he wondered. Why did no one treat a King as he should be so rightfully treated? In this place, this Menagerie, it seemed that no one respected him. Hah. He'd had a better Menagerie than this one - all the things in this place were hideously misshapen, humans.

Oh,how right you are, My Liege. "Though, Blashazzar my good man, you must admit that some of them do turn into nice looking animals. Like that little sparrow...or was it finch?" At this, the antrho's stomach rumbled viciously. He clapped his two furry paws together as if ordering about a servant of some sort. "Right, then, infidels! Where is my food?!" He looked around, his eyes widening then narrowing as he searched the inky darkness, to no avail.

"BALSHAZZAR! Where are all my servants!?" he bellowed uproarisly, tossing his bath-robed arms in the air, causing his medallion to clank against his face. "What betrayal is this? An assassination attempt, oh, I see! Quick, Balshazzar, my minion, tot he Palace!" Yes, sire. This way, come quickly. Said the calm, soothing voice. Nebuchadnezzar looked to where he knew his hand wound be - why was it so dark? - and took comfort in the presence of his comrade, the small little puppet named Balshazzar. To him, the puppet was not a puppet at all, but another entire living being.

As Nebuchadnezzar snuck along side of the thick walls of recycled metal of the Hovel, in his mind it was the giant marble walls of his palace in Babylon, residing over the massive tower which he had ordered built. Now his servants were rebelling - oh, what tragedy was this? A loud thunking crash resounded from above, causing Nebuchadnezzar to soil his royal robes of rubber ducks and pink bubbles as he dropped to the ground, covering his fully transformed face with muzzle and all with meat-cleaver paws. His tail pointed straight up in the air, waving in his excited state of mind.

"Who goes there!" Came a muffled cry from his maw that rested so daintily in the dirt. "Identify your self in the presence of your King!"



(The black is his imaginary friend talking XD if you need to know more feel free to read his bio.)

[Deleted]

(Not at all!)

For a few seconds, Desmond lay on the cool metal, his forehead sore from where he had whacked it on the roof. Well that was stupid he grumbled to himself, Note to self: flying........don't try to lift straight off the ground. It just doesn't work. Well, at least he was up here now. Shaking his head, thin strands of black hair brushing over his eyes, he looked up. Still dark. Surprise. At least now nothing could sneak up on him. At least, not from the ground. He knew from being with the Keepers that there were bird Shifters....maybe there were bird Anthros too. However, he knew that the Shifters were the ones to watch out for. Especially the Carna. Sitting up, he braced his bare feet on the metal, tapping the two fingers of his right hand...er wing...on the roof. Then a voice called out. A king? Okay then. He hadn't heard of any such thing. Then again, the Keepers didn't interest themselves in the individual personas of their experiment children.

Cautiously, Desmond slid himself down to the edge of the roof, pinpointing where the voice had come from. Ears swiveling, he heard the sounds of shallow breathing. Calling out with his supersonic voice, he searched for the source of the cry. A silver image came to mind: a tail, wavering slightly, a body pressed against the dirt....someone had obviously heard him and hit the deck. The tail meant it was another anthro. Definitely male, too, judging by the timbre of the voice. He decided it would be best to make friends with the guy. "Well.....king....." he said in a normal voice, not wanting to yell, "it's just me - Desmond. It's okay, I'm a friend." It was always best to play along with those who you did not know - if he thought he was a king, then Desmond would at least call him such. If he was slightly crazed, Desmond didn't want him to be on his bad side. Crazy people were usually better if they were your friends.

[Zephyr Woodwind]

Ooc:// I was wondering if maybe I could join in with you guys as well? 8D -will delete if not, will post if I can- xD

[Deleted]

He should have known his spectacular landing would have drawn more attention than this one Bestia. Most of the Anthros had very good hearing thanks to their strange half-shifted state. Sometimes it was a benefit, sometimes a curse. He hadn't decided which one this situation was yet. As the stranger approached, he flicked his ears, sending out a supersonic search call. She had a tail - it seemed most of the Bestia did - and ears that stood up from her head. Tails and ears appeared to be the first Anthro traits to show up. Bats didn't really have tails to speak of.....so Desmond had escaped that long and, as he imagined, cumbersome piece of anatomy. However, he had apparently traded them for these giant leathery wings. He decided he would rather have the tail.

This newcomer was female - he knew that as soon as she opened her mouth. Was that a flash of fangs in the dim light? Maybe he wasn't the only one with the giant pointy teeth protruding from his lips. She seemed friendly with the strange king/man. Nezzar......interesting name. It seemed like everyone in the Menagerie had a strange name of some kind. Well, Desmond wasn't exactly a normal name. Still, he liked it. The newcomer seemed kind enough, but instinct made him wary of her distinctly feline scent. Instincts were terrible sometimes, especially when he encountered anything with livestock genes. Horses, sheep, cows, donkeys...all of them were open game for vampire bats. However, Desmond, or the human part anyways, won out every time. It was weird to feel an urge to bite someone though. Hopefully he would get used to it and just ignore it.

Desmond crouched on the edge of the roof, keeping his wings folded close to his chest. He didn't want to freak out the girl too much. In the dark his wings were probably not visible right now. His ears were, but that was "normal" around here. At least the Keepers hadn't thrown him into Carnia territory. That would have been disastrous, especially since he wasn't exactly comfortable with flying yet. "I'm fine," he admitted, watching the strange man who called himself a king and the girl with the white hair, "my face suffered no damage from the roof - but I think I freaked him out a bit." Desmond smiled apologetically, unashamed of the long canines that protruded below his lower lip.

[Deleted]

Nebuchadnezzar snorted as he heard Zephyr's question. He scooted himself up from the ground and leaped up dramatically, walking rudely into Zephyr's space bubble. "I don't scare people away! And if I did then I would do so because of my Kingly power! NOR am I scared by them! What, what insolence!" He snorted again and glared at where he imagined Desmond would be. "And you! Who are you to try and assassinate the King!? I should have you put to death! TO DEATH!"

Very well put, My king. Cooed the voice in his mind. They tried to kill you, My lord. You should retaliate. And quickly, my liege... "Yes, yes, perhaps you are right Balshazzar. Now, onto business. Tell me one good reason why I should not have you taken to interrogation and immediately tortured?!"


ooc; Nezzarfail D:

[Deleted]

Well this guy was definitely crazy. Interesting to talk to, but still crazy. Was he talking to himself? It would appear so. Had the Keepers done this? Desmond wouldn't be surprised in the least. Before being put in the Menagerie, the mutated children were subjected to a number of tests. Desmond had been there for quite a while, but his natural friendliness and optimism had allowed him to escape unscathed. Some of the Keepers also developed a liking for the gregarious teen in their midst; he figured this resulted in less testing. However, many of the children weren't so lucky. Desmond's ears rotated around, listening, and then flicked to the front again. No one else was sneaking up on them. Caution was always a must in the domed prison. He had learned that much from all the talk in the lab.

Assassination? That was going a bit off the deep end. He decided it would be best to stay on the roof for now. Crazy people were typically simply delusional, but it didn't take much to make them dangerous. He sent out a few sonar calls to get a better 'look' at this Nezzar character. Tail, ears, and a muzzle of some sort. Curiously, he sniffed the air. It was still a bit strange to him, this whole 'animal senses' thing. His sense of smell was thousands of times stronger than any human. Nezzar smelled like a canine of some kind....it was a distinct scent. That would explain the muzzle.

Desmond decided it would be best to play along with the wolf/dog/boy. "Oh king, I pray that you will honor me with your benevolence," he said dramatically, "it was not I who attempted to prey upon your life; I was merely a victim of circumstance." That sounded regal enough, he thought. Hopefully it would do the trick. Just in case, Desmond decided it would be in his best interest to stay out of reach of the crazed Anthro. No need to get beat up by your own team.

[Deleted]

I do not like the one on the roof - listen, see how he mocks you. Obviously he is not that intelligent as to speak in such a manner unless he meant to dishonor you. "Balshazzar is correct, infidel. Come down from the roof and fight like a man of honor. Do not attempt to stone me to death." And the girl. Kill her as well. Rip her throat out, sire, display her head on a pike for all to see - let them know that to betray a King is to sign oneself over to Death himself.

"No, no, unacceptable. Lady Zephyr is an important dignitary from afar. India I think it was, hm? Much important ado with her country and whatnot." He t urned to Zephyr again, aghast at her...request. "Don't listen to him, Zephyr. Balshazzar tends to be a bit hasty to judge, yes? Yes. Now, you there, infidel. Come down at once and stand trial. We shall so see if you are innocent or guilty of crimes against the Crown!"

The full fledged mutant coyote anthro waited impatiently, crossing his arms over the medallion that hung around his thickly furred chest.The light blue bathrobe that had several holes and patches and little rubber duckies and pink soap bubbles as a design fluttered in the wind, although one wouldn't be able to judge him by his rather silly attire today. It was so pitch he could barely see his hand in front of his maw.

[Deleted]

Infidel? Wow this guy was suspicious. 'Playing along' strategy was a fail then. Who was Balshazzar? Desmond figured it was a multiple personality thing. No, it was too easy that he would only have delusions of grandeur. Nezzar also had some sort of alternate personality. What had the Keepers done to him? Or was he this way before the testing? There was no telling. Desmond doubted he would get a straight answer about this from Nezzar himself. But at least the wolf/boy's speech of sorts tipped him off a bit to the situation. The girl was Zephyr. Did everyone in here have strange names? The few he had heard were all odd. Here, Desmond was almost normal sounding. Maybe he should get a nickname too.

Stone him to death? Bizarre. Desmond couldn't remember making any such threats. Heck, there weren't even rocks up here! What sort of alternate reality did the boy live in? He thought this Zephyr was from India. Desmond couldn't be sure, but he didn't think she sounded Indian. This business of talking to insane people was confusing. What was truth? What was in the "king"'s mind? Another sonar call showed Desmond that for now Nezzar was not preparing to attack. He was in a regal pose, ready to see the person he assumed was an aggressor. Judging by the fact that it was blacker than tar out here, Desmond doubted that the wolf/boy was in any position to attack.

Sitting up to a careful crouch, Desmond made sure he kept his balance. Stupid cumbersome wings. It shouldn't be too hard to just jump off and flare his wings enough to keep from crashing. Then again, he hadn't thought it would be hard to get up on the roof. Standing, he balanced precariously on the edge of the roof, his bare toes curling around the gutter's edge. Spreading his 16 foot wingspan, he teetered on the metal for a second, then jumped. It wasn't a long leap, fortunately. Using his natural agility, he landed on the balls of his feet, crouching to absorb the shock. His wings beat automatically, following the circular arm motion a normal human would use to regain balance. The giant wings whipped up a good wind, swirling dust around the three. "I mean you no harm," he soothed, tucking his wings behind him, "My name is Desmond. I'm new in the Menagerie"