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
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FULSIRING
Fulsi has a standing treaty with the Nakoma, granting limited access to their fresh water.
NAKOMA TRIBE
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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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Grey didn't know what they were thinking; that maybe some young fox would be able to turn into a serious spy? Grey knew that the other Rings had "intel operatives", as they had been called in Imperium, and he had figured that Fallen must have had them as well. Christ, he thought. Why not just give the job to me? Wouldn't have to do all this damn training. Not that he was really all that exasperated. Suck it up, buttercup. Time to focus. That was what Nycole would have told him, and now Grey forced the snarky comment on himself. They had left Fallen that morning, and reached Bellator lands in the late evening, where there had been just enough light for them to observe the herd for an hour or so. Their numbers weren't particularly large, and rumor had it they had recently lost another leader. Which was why Grey figured that the retro-morphs would never be much of a threat, aside from (perhaps) either Nilda or Analoya, particularly with their alliance. But Fallen probably outnumbered them five to one.
He brushed these thoughts aside and began to set up their camp. After observing the herd from the highlands, on the edge of Lawaii territory, Grey had concluded that the herd was moving towards the southern edge of their territory, still protected by an outcropping of trees but not in the midst of the thicket, where Grey had positioned them. He said little to Akane about their whereabouts. He was testing her, in a sense, to see if she noted the potential dangers--they were camping in hostile territory, in the dead center of it, and Grey was going so far as to make a fire. But he had already checked. The wind was blowing east, and the most they had to fear was probably from a scout, scenting the smoke. And even then, the Bellator would be forced to trek through thorns to reach them. They were well into the thicket--Grey had been forced to slip inside using his second form, to avoid getting too bloody from the thorns. Akane had had no such problems, with her small size.
In a matter of minutes, he had a small fire burning. They would only have it for an hour or so, he decided. He glanced at Akane from over the flames, leaning back on his haunches. He reached out to warm his hands. "So, Tenderfoot. What did you learn today?" He thought that what Kirov had said was true. She was bright, and a good learner. Grey would not have minded teaching her.
Throughout the day, some of her similarities to Nycole were startling. Not the Nycole he had known during the past few years--but the young one he had first met, with all her observation, quick wit, and cleverness. Once Akane had relaxed some around him, it had been easy to joke with her. He waited for her answer, gnawing on a strip of elk jerky. He had collected a few handfuls of blackberries, after discovering the thicket was full of them. Grey's eyes never stayed in one place for long, although he did not seem anxious--they moved from Akane, to their surroundings, back to Akane. He rarely gazed directly at the fire. It affected his sensitivity to the dark, and after looking at it and then looking away, it would have taken too long to adjust, if there was a threat.
Usually, Akane was the kind of person to make her own decisions about a person based on her own experiences with them. However, for the first time another person’s dislike of someone had left a bad taste in her mouth. Slan did not like Grey, no question. It made her uneasy, causing her to observe him with an expectation that he might do something to explain her roommate’s fierce aversion to the man.
After some hours she relaxed. Though it was obvious Grey was not thrilled with her tagging along, once he realized she paid attention and was quiet he seemed to relax a little himself. Eventually they spoke more freely, even jesting with one another now and then.
When night had come and they had shifted to scribble through the pointy brush to make camp, and her optimism dropped. She could not deny that in part, it was the apprehension of sleeping without Slan. It made her quiet, her light eyes following Grey in the darkness wearily. There had to be a reason Slan was unhappy about her being out here with Grey. Maybe she would find out why tonight…. Alarm reflected in her eyes as the sparks went up into flames. Was it really that smart to start a fire?
So Tenderfoot, what did you learn today? Akane thought back. The intel they have collected had been contradictory at best. While they had almost tripled their scout rounds it had been with inexperienced members. It was more than once than they had delved well past the territory line to observe the herds within earshot of the Scouts and they had never even noticed them.
What was more, they had a lower herd count … but she guess that because of the rumors of the Carna attacking the Fallen and killing Skye, they had been frazzled into more thorough protection. It was safe to say that their efforts would be thorough enough to alert them to any more than a dozen shifters traversing the territory, but the two of them slipped right past the rookies.
Still, her jaw leveled. Her father had taught her well, but something didn’t want to give it all up so easily. She regarded him across the fire, his expression for some reason bothering her and she looked down first in mock submission as she shrugged her shoulders.
”I dunno, there were a lot of herd members …” she started slowly as she delved through her pack, as if looking for something.
His eyes swept across her, devoid of expression. He said nothing at first, merely made a noncommittal grunt, one that sufficed for an okay. After she had finished digging in her pack (what was she looking for? anything?) Grey handed over the other half of the jerky. "Hungry?" He was silent for a few more minutes, finishing off his meager meal with meticulous care. He ate it in sections--first the meat, followed by the berries.
Grey didn't believe her for a second. She had been too attentive during the day, listening to what he said and following any of his orders without too much question or hesitation. Responsive, was the word, that Imperium would have used. She is responsive to learning, and she sure as hell had picked up on a lot more than she was letting on.
His eyes flicked to their surroundings again, and he listened above the crackle of the fire. There was nothing but the wind sweeping through the thickets, however. He figured that they would need to kill the fire soon, and get a good night's rest. He couldn't decide the better approach--to have "turns" keeping watch, as the other slept, or not. He was a light sleeper, and he wasn't particularly worried about his own well-being. But it might be smart to train her to keep watch, and have a mentality that allowed her to stay awake, if it were necessary--
Grey cut off his thoughts. He had waited long enough to make it appear as though he would not pursue the topic of conversation. He stood, stretched, and began to stomp out the embers of the fire with an air of nonchalance. He sat down again, glanced at her, and then into the darkness. "I call bullshit." He was frank about it, at least. "You would have to be a total idiot to only gather that, and you're not an idiot, so quit acting like one. I don't want to have to pull intel out of you like splinters; this is a leanring exercise." He was not disrespectful. He spoke calmly throughout the duration of the little "speech". "Elaborate. What about the scouts, the patrols, the numbers?"
As he said it, Grey pulled out his knives. He laid them meticulously on his folded jacket, and proceeded to inspect the blades, one by one. He wondered why it was taking some convincing to get her to speak. He had noticed, through quiet observation, that she didn't seem to trust him completely. The quite conversation that she and Kirov had shared that morning flashed through Grey's thoughts. That's probably it, he thought. She cares about what Kirov thinks about me. I've heard all sorts of rumors about those two, and I haven't seen this girl around very many other people. She's sociable enough, I guess, but at the end of the day she always goes back to Kirov. He's her closet friend, and if rumors have any truth, her lover. And he doesn't like me.
He wanted to laugh at it. But he didn't. He just kept cleaning the knife, using calm silence as a means to get her to talk.
Bullshit. The word hit her ears, and whereas little would have grabbed her attention, she couldn’t help her eyes snap in his direction in alarm. When he started his speech, she looked back into her pack dismissively and her hands touched … Slan's shirt. The one she had borrowed for yoga one morning. His 'date' shirt, he had claimed. Her breath caught.
What about the scouts, the patrols, the numbers? Her attention was taken, but she had indeed heard Grey and her eyes rose from the shirt in her lap to the disgruntled man standing in the darkness.
She breathed, and her gaze leveled. What transpired in the next several minutes was a detailed account of what they had seen that day, including timing, lack of training in scouts used, the number of new offspring and that the old leader seemed absent, which was possibly the cause of the mess. While she spat the specifics at him, she had pulled Slan’s shirt over her head atop her clothes and pulled her arms inside to remove shirt, bra, and pants.
Untied, Slan’s shirt went down to her thighs as a decent night shirt and she was going to be comfortable if nothing else.
”Does that suffice … sir?” Her tone was insolent on the last note. If anything, she had given him more information then was strictly relevant. Part of her was jabbed that he had used such a tone with her. She didn’t do well with being spoken to in such a manner, the other was she was a spitfire by nature.
During the process she had been almost flamboyant about her show with the shirt, arching a brow and pulling on a pair of shorts before sitting on her camping roll and snorting once and gazing into the night.
Despite the fact she went into a very detailed account about the day, Grey couldn't help but feel as though he were still pulling splinters. This annoyed him. He had done nothing to warrant her behavior, save for "offend" her little lover. His eyes noted the shirt that she was putting on, unabashedly. He was "gathering intel", not looking at her for reasons one might expect. He had no doubt that it was Kirov's, and he snorted.
"Happy to see that you realized 'sir' is an appropriate way to address me." His tone was sardonic, not that he was particularly offended by her insolence. Honestly? Grey didn't give a damn about this girl. Her similarities to Cole were enough to make him simultaneously attracted and bitter. He watched her without expression, noting the arched brow. She had wanted him to see, he was thinking, the shirt and the way that she wore it, with nothing between her skin and Kirov's little "gift". He snorted again, and shook his head with some disbelief.
"Kirov told Iskander that you were mature for your age," Grey said, dryly. "I'm questioning that, with the way you seem to be basing your judgments of me off of Kirov's." Grey finished cleaning the KA-Bar's, and removed the boot-knife from its position. He examined the blade meticulously, and found it suitable. He returned it to its place and flicked his eyes back to Akane. "He dislikes me because we are similar men, and there isn't room for two of us half the time. We disagree on moral aspects of missions--he tempers his blows, and I don't have the tact--or interest--in doing the same. I also like women. So does he." Grey arched his brow at this, uncertain if she had heard. "Fallen isn't a very large pool from which to chose from, if you know what I mean. There was this woman that we both had an affair with. It ended with some blows. His pride was hurt, I guess, or something like that."
Grey stretched again, and rubbed at his right hand. It had sustained an injury years ago, and it had a tendency of getting stiff. "So, if you're going to dislike me, do it on your own principles. Not his.
She laughed. Simply put, she could not help it. He was even easier to ruffle than Slan on his worst day and it humored her. She settled herself again on her camp roll, and gave him an expression of combined humor and tolerance.
”Sir, I never mentioned Kirov. You did. If you have somehow trespassed my quite obedient data as per your request of the intel we have gathered today with my roommate, I don’t know how you managed to make the leap,” she said indifferently. Akane would be damned if he thought intimidating her would work. ”And I applaud you on the effort. However,” she amended displaying ease and patience.
”I could care less about your issues with Kirov, and your bringing him up is quite beside the point don’t you think? Maybe … just maybe I don’t particularly like you sir. Sorry sir. Would you like me to take the first watch sir?” Her ease was monstrous, her smile daggers. She had not missed his use in cleaning knives, and would not fall into his show of bravado (though she did not doubt his skill).
There was a fearlessness about her that was maddening. ”I also applaud you on your taste for women, sir. If I would have been able to stomach their … drama,” she said casually, though she was quite obviously accusing Grey of such performance. ”I might have been drawn to them as well. Too bad,” she said sighed but her eyes did not leave his.
Oh, this was cute. Grey smiled a wide smile, one that showed his teeth. It was a genuine show of amusement, however. He had to hand it to her. She could hold her own, and she was an outspoken little... woman? He didn't know. Grey reclined, flicked his gaze at her, held her eyes, and listened without interrupting. He was gauging what he thought of her. He wasn't so annoyed anymore, merely humored. Regardless, he felt as though his leap from his evaluation questions to Kirov was not as uncalled for as she seemed to be thinking. Grey had a talent for watching, and noticing minute details. One of them was the difference between someone meeting and interacting with you while maintaining an open mind, and someone how interacted with something held in the back's of their mind.
For some reason, he didn't doubt that Kirov had an influence on the girl. Maybe not a drastic one, because Grey had difficulty thinking that Akane would do anything that was not in her interest (not calling her selfish; but she seemed to be outspoken and self-reliant, if nothing else). Or maybe he was just assuming things, like Kirov's influence on her.
"Happy to be amended on my mistakes. Excuse my stupidity, ma'am, and mine and Kirov's shared interest in... pastimes." Grey commented, idly, while he watched her demeanor. He arched his brows and continued. "Obviously the guilt of mine and Kirov's past encounters has clouded my thoughts about you." He wasn't ornery--no. There wasn't any sarcasm in his words. Merely cheerful contemplation.
Her patience was not forced, per se, but the ease with which she presented herself was... overwhelming. He felt like he was drowning in her show. Yes, sir. Don't you think, sir? The use of the "respectful" term was insolent, mocking. He doubted that she respected him at all. Ornery. No wonder Kirov liked her. The girl had probably turned the Akhal-Teke into her bitch.
He was unimpressed. "I wouldn't want you to dirty your nightgown, Miss Husher. I'll happily take first watch." Grey stood, but did not leave immediately. He wanted to hear what she had to say.
Her smile widened, and when he claimed happiness at being corrected it turned wolfish and when he suggested he take first watch she winked and pulled her knees to her chest. Grey was an interesting character she had to admit.
”Well lucky for me the clothes go with the shifting, so unless I’m tarred and feathered I don’t anticipate it getting … dirty,” there was another comment she wanted to make about what she should and shouldn’t do in Slan’s T-shirt but she kept it to herself. Besides, this man was nowhere near as fun to unscrew as Slan – so she saved it.
Still, she did not think sleep was an option. Occasionally she still had nightmares (though not as badly as that night) and the only thing that calmed her was the feel of Slan against her foxform.
When he stood she felt a tad abashed at her behavior. ”I’m sorry. I’m sure you just love having me here anyway,” she accused, though there was no self-victimizing tone just simple fact. ”How’d you get stuck babysitting anyhow?” she asked as she snacked on a bit of jerky. He wasn’t so bad, she supposed. Besides, he reminded her of someone ... she watched him, trying to figure out who it was.
"I could think of a couple ways to make it dirty," Grey replied, straight-faced. A part of him protested, saying, Jesus, she's only... what, eighteen? But she left herself open for that one. Grey, while standing, rolled his shoulders. He turned his eyes on their surroundings, and found that the thicket was well-protected--just like he remembered. He idly moved away, still within hearing and seeing distance, but he could do a perimeter check while they spoke.
"I don't believe in apologies," Grey commented, frankly, but not without amusement. "You can't just take things back, when you say them. But no hard feelings." It was a moral that he held close to his heart, but hated simultaneously--because, hypothetically speaking, if he ever found Nycole again he could not simply apologize. She knew his little "belief". Grey paused in his walking, turned to glance at Akane over his shoulder. "I'm experienced, and a lot of Scouts were occupied. Those are normally the people who deal with lessons like this. And you aren't so bad--you're just a little worthless as a Tenderfoot, no offense. A lot of people are saying that there is a war on the horizon." He shrugged. "At least you aren't just some snot-nosed hotshot thinking that you know exactly what you're doing."
With those words, he drew back to the "camp". There were no signs of activity out in the darkness, and he figured that they were relatively safe. He shape-shifted abruptly into his catwolf form, and trotted to where his jacket lay. He lay his head against the fabric, but kept his ears erect and his attention directed to their surroundings, despite the fact his pale eyes flicked to Akane. Damn Cole, he thought, not with force but affection. She's still got my jacket, I bet.
He did not stop to dwell on the fact she might not be alive. Grey's tail twitched lazily, and he lifted his head for a moment. "You remind me of someone I used to know," the tiger-wolf mused. "A long, long time ago..." He trailed off, uncertain as to whether he ought to elaborate. If nothing else, it would make a nice bedtime story, eh? "My... my wife, when she was a teenager, acted a lot like you."
Not quite, though. Not quite. Cole would always be Cole, to him. No one was close to her. No one could be her. And he was fairly certain that he would never, ever think of anyone in the way that he had thought of Cole. This girl just stirred his memories and made him nostalgic, something that he felt bittersweet towards.
The side of Akane’s mouth lifted in appreciation of the joke, (no matter how cheap) but her brow arched when he gave her a lame speech about apologies basically being pointless. Well! She knew who she was never apologizing to again. Her eyes narrowed as he continued about giving her credit for not being a snot-nosed hot shot … and right about the time he said, ‘wife’ she knew who he reminded her of.
Her fingers snapped, ”My DAD. Oh man you remind me so much of my Dad right now it’s stupid. I mean well first of all,” her eyes rose to the sky in contemplation and returned to him. ”Ew,” she said (obviously in reference to the making her shirt dirty comment). ”And second of all…” she stopped, thought better of it and shook her head. ”No there’s no second of all. Just, you remind me of my Dad and ew,” her thumbnail went to her teeth and she lowered into a semi-recumbent posture – quite relaxed.
Her mind had gone on a tirade of all the things that reminded her of her Dad in Grey, then of course on another round of where Husher was, and if he was okay. Then bounced to wondering who Grey’s wife was and if she had died or not …
"And I remind you of your wife?" She turned on her back and inspected a finger that had a thorn in it from the brush. "That's not creepy,"
[/color] she said sarcastically and not-quite under her breath. Snot-nosed indeed.
That was a low blow. He felt old, now. Of course, I'm getting up there. Twenty-eight, for Christ's sake. It was an ill-timed comment, however, falling in line with his entire "you remind me of my wife" revelation. He made a sound in the back of his throat, something that sounded like a growl but was more akin to laughter in its nature. He laid his head back down on his paws and flicked an ear in her direction. "That was bad timing," Grey admitted. "And I should probably explain. You remind me of my wife when we were young--your age, actually. Back then we were just friends. By the time we got married she was very different from you.
His tone was conversational, as per usual. Grey's mind flicked back to his wife, though, and he was... sad. He breathed out, one long exhalation. He hated this, really. He hated being tied to this group that he did care deeply for, but was nothing like his old home. He missed Nycole, and he hated himself because it was his fault she was gone. His expression, even as a lupine, darkened--and to avoid her questions, he rolled over onto his side, presenting her with his long back. His tail made idle circles. I was just being a good dog, he thought, not without bitterness. ... following orders.
"Goodnight, Akane. I'll wake up if anyone comes near." He was assured about that. It was likely that he would wake up, regardless, several times--as he always did. Grey closed his eyes.
"Jeez, you're being a grumpy wolf." Her fingers knotted in the fur at his neck, and Stark lifted his head to look her in the eyes. Cole leaned forward, pressed her nose against his, like he was a tame dog. They were eye-to-eye, and she was smiling--
"I hate you." Ravaged, broken. Her eyes locked on his one last time, before the tranquilizer pulled her under. It was the last time she saw him with true recognition.
Akane listened to him explain, and being honest with herself she was disappointed he had not taken the bait. Man, this guy was no fun. She sighed and yawed with a quiet ‘you too’ before rolling over and shifting into a twin-tailed fox. The show hadn’t been just to dig at Grey – no. It had largely been to distract herself. She missed Slan, and was afraid of sleep that night. Sweet dreams, he had whispered and kissed her forehead. Taking a deep breath and letting it go she fell asleep faster than she had thought she would.
Dream she did, but the visions were not sweet. She awoke suddenly with a jerk and sat up. Covered in sweat, she had shifted in the middle of the night into her human form, and looking across the fire she saw Grey open an eye, then close it dismissively.
Pulling her knees to her chest, she tucked her mouth and nose into the collar of Slan’s shirt and buried her head. She breathed, trying both to calm and stifle herself as she trembled. Akane didn’t even recall what the nightmares were about, but the smell of the Keepers were fresh in her memory and her fingers tingled.
The girl had been a suppresser all her life, just like her father had been. Do we talk about it? Nope – its cool just push it down, then push down more on top of it. Her mother had always worried over her tendency to be ‘fine’ all the time and warned her once that 'the mind had funny ways of dealing with things no matter how well you buried them.'
It was not the first time she thought with dismay that Sakura had been right. Still, there was no sleeping after this and her adrenaline coursed through her body like she was running from the Keepers all over again, and, without much thought she got up as quietly as she could, stuffed her blanket in her pack and shifted back into her lithe foxform.
Grey wouldn’t need her, and – she guessed – he probably would assume she got scared or hungry and headed back. As an afterthought, she slipped back over to where she had been sleeping and used her little fox claw to write ‘home’ in big letters into the dirt, and right under it ‘practice’. Hopefully he would get the idea that she wanted to see if she could ‘find home herself’. Satisfied, she disappeared into the thorns and headed back to Sla… camp … back to camp as her little black paws could carry her.
