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
_______________________________________________
It was about the time that she realized there was nowhere else to run when Sorcha decided that if she didn’t have bad luck, she’d have no luck at all.
The day had started well enough. The rising sun lit a soft golden hue over the Hospital, where the form of a lithe girl with long dark hair slipped from shadow to shadow. It had been about three days since she had eaten, and with the Fulsi – much depended on your own abilities. Sorcha was hungry.
In pursuit of a rat, Sorcha had been taken by surprise. One minute she had been alone and the next – they had shown up. Usually she was more observant than getting caught by four Carna, or perhaps her hunger had narrowed her senses. In fear she had shifted, hoping to elude them easier in her smaller form.
She watched them now with begrudging light eyes, her small feline ears pinned flat and her tail flickering in irritation. Oh yeah – four Carna and one Fulsi. Sure, she was gonna get out of this. They had her backed against the Hospital wall and though she hated to admit it – she was scared.
"Hello gentleman," she started with the humor of nervousness. "Nice day for a walk, down through the park might be nicer?" The growl of a Carna dog made her tremble from whiskers to claws. For practical reasons canines terrified her.
Her blue-grey eyes widened in fear and she shrank against the building. This was it, she knew her demise would be in the jaws of a dog. It was too ironic not to.
What was that old saying? About the early bird and the worm? Or was it, early to bed, early to rise? Well, whatever it was, it was early, and the bird was already on the wing. Hunting, as nature dictated, came quite naturally to a bird of prey like Sully. With sharp clear sight, lightning quick reflexes, and strong wings to lift prey right off the ground, there were very few things that escaped his razor sharp talons. Flexing them against the warm breeze that kept him aloft, he would have smirked slyly if his beak allowed it, those cool green eyes of his scanning the ground below for any sign of prey activity. The one problem with hunting near the ring borders was that it became a little harder to tell what was truly prey what was another shifter traipsing about in animal form. He'd only made the mistake once in the many years he'd been cooped up under the dome. He had planted his talons square in the hindquarters of a delectable looking rabbit, which then turned out to be one very pissed off Carna girl.
Speaking of which... He had just about crossed into Carna territory when he spotted a small pack of scouts leaving the waterfront. Making a sharp banking turn, he decided to follow them, curious as to what had caught their eye. The four men slipped into their shift forms and broke into a chase, the object of their pursuit unknown for the time being, but Sully made it his business to find out. Staying relatively high in the air above the hospital he kept his keen gaze on the pack of Carna as they eventually came to a stop, cornering whatever they intended to catch. Finally getting an unobstructed view of the ground below, his gaze narrowed in slight as he noticed their quarry was nothing more than a tiny cat, hardly what one would call a snack, let alone a meal for four. Then again, knowing the Carna, it probably wasn't a snack at all.
Betting on the chance that it was a someone rather than a something, Sully sprang into action. The niggling feeling that he would regret this later was washed away by a swell of heroism and a little bit of stupidity as he tucked his wings in close and dropped into a dive. Shooting downward and through the sparse trees that dappled the landscape around the hospital, he kicked out his feet and spread his wings, tilting into a sweeping turn and rushing straight past the four beasts in something akin to a black and white blur – or at least that's what the adrenaline and his overactive imagination lead him to believe. Taking care not to let his own predatory instincts kick in he snatched up the little cat and gingerly closed his talons around it, hoping he wasn't turning the poor thing into a pincushion in the process.
Its weight – however slight – immediately caused some drag and he had to beat his wings hard to gain altitude, but he was well out of the reach of the Carna before they had time to retaliate. Aloft once again, he banked in way of Fulsi territory and set his sights on a vacant lot overgrown with grass and weeds. While it was no problem at all to keep carrying the little cat, it was squirming so feverishly he was worried he was losing his grip, and he really didn't want to tighten his grasp any more than he already had trying to keep it still.
There was no way out of this one. Sorcha’s back arched as the Carna hound drew closer, and her eyes closed to brace herself against the jaws of death. There was a hush as everything slowed, and a sudden rush of the wind … and the teeth descended, reaching for her insides. She hissed and squalled as the teeth lifted her high into its mouth.
Sorcha flailed as the fangs scraped fur from her coat, and she wriggled all the more as her eyes opened in terror. The rush of wind hit her ears and what she thought was growling and roaring was … was … looking up to a body of feathers Sorcha was thoroughly confused.
There was a change in speed and altitude, and the black cats claws scribbled at the scaled feet that held her captive. The ground came rushing closer and closer and she shifted in panic. The lithe girl’s hand gripped the talons with all her might – and they dropped like a stone ... down, down.
The next thing she knew she was on the ground. Her body hurt in a deep bone ache and as she moved - her ribs flash in searing pain. Still she pushed herself up to sit and looked around. What had happened? Her vision was doubled, and she was panting.
Closing her eyes she drew her knees in and buried her head to stop the spinning … she felt nauseous. Teeth tore at her, red eyes glaring with hunger. She took a deep breath to calm herself as her heart raced like a cheetah. Then another, and despite her best effort a few tears slipped down her cheek.
I’m alive, she almost laughed but not quite. The material of her pants soaked up the salty drops, and when she felt more balanced she looked up… into hazardous raptor green eyes.
She squeaked, and half-crab walked backward, scuffling through dead grass and dirt. A stone bit into her hand, but she barely noticed.
As the little cat squirmed more, this time it was with purpose, and suddenly tiny claws sent pinprick sensations through the thick hide of his scaled legs. It didn't hurt as much as it felt weird, almost tickly, but in an annoying way like he had landed on a particularly spiny cactus. Shifting the angle of his wings Sully began to descend toward the grassy lot he had spied earlier, eager to let go of his fidgeting – and no doubt terrified – little passenger. He was curious to see if his hunch had been right about it being a shifter rather than an ordinary cat, and while it had occurred to him earlier the he could have just spoken to it, his words would have been lost upon the rushing wind around them.
Then all at once the little cat shifted into a girl and her frantically grabbing hands yanked him right out of the air. A high pitched avian scream shot from Sully's beak in protest as he flapped frenziedly trying to get free. It seemed selfish, like he was trying to save himself, but his intent was far from such. When he finally wrenched his feet from her grasp he quickly tucked his wings into a dive and put himself between her and the ground, shifting out of his bird form just in the nick of time. Sully connected hard with the grassy earth below and managed to take the edge off the fall of the former cat, but it was still quite painful regardless.
Hey, at least they got where he was going.
Allowing the dazed young girl to roll off of him on her own Sully let out a pained wheeze and rolled into something akin to a fetal position, clutching at his ribs and gasping for air. The impact had knocked the wind right out of him, broke two ribs, and bruised another, but he was lucky. They weren't too far from the ground when she had shifted and almost all the way into the vacant lot. Otherwise they could have ended up dead – splattered on the pavement, on the roof of some building, impaled on a fence... Okay, enough of that.
With a moan the man rolled over onto his back and sucked in a lungful of air, finally catching his breath, but succeeding in aggravating his injuries which quickly sent the air back out in a whinge. He turned his head to set his gaze upon the girl, who seemed to have recovered much quicker than he did, and all at once she recoiled away like he was going to eat her. Sitting up with much effort and releasing a mix of a growl and a groan as he did so, he quickly gave himself the onceover before looking back at the girl. "Hey..." He turned to face her fully now, a hand rising to brush his shaggy hair from his eyes. "Hey lass... Are you alright?"
Harpy Eagle & Striped Hyena
+ Vision
Lighter | Bazza
There were so many things that Sorcha was just now grasping (besides bird feet) and belatedly she realized an important one was she had not landed on dirt. The other was that she was not dead.
The man pushed hair from those eyes that at first Sorcha had thought was a predators, and when the accent rolled off his tongue she blinked stupidly. As his question sank in, she looked down trembling lightly. Her hands and knees were scraped, a palm slashed, and her ribs … well she would look at them later.
He was a … man, who was a bird – yes yes this was normal for the Menagerie. However, a rescue from a perfect stranger was not. The previous moments were broken as she tried to make sense of them, and her blue gaze narrowed as she pointed up incredulously.
“Di … did you just pluck me into … I was … but the Carna,” her eyes grew large. “and then there was flying.” Her head hurt and when her fingers rose to her temple she hissed and withdrew it to find blood.
“I think I squished you,” she said absent mindedly as she looked up again for the all world as if the Carna would drop right atop them from the sky. Finally her muddled attention settled on him again, and her focus seemed to level out.
Suddenly she sank to the ground, her hands gripping the dead grass and grinding dirt into her scrapes and cuts. She started giggling madly. “Oh ground, we were parted but for a moment …” she mocked a flawless Shakespearean accent as if she were in Drama class and sighed. “Alas it seemed like forever,” she whispered fondly and started cracking up giggles again with her cheek pressed the earth.
He watched her for a moment, rather amused by her various expressions – shock, disbelief, confusion, elation, confusion again. It really was quite entertaining, and focusing on her was the only thing that seemed to dull his pain for the time being, so he did his best not to let his attention stray even as his mind raced trying to make sense of everything. A lot had happened over the course of a few moments and even he wasn't entirely sure about the fine details, but he was glad to be alive at the end of it all. The landing had been rough but they both seemed to escape with relatively minor injuries, at least by what he could tell from a few quick glances.
Suddenly there was a finger in his face and the interrogation began, her broken speech intelligible enough in spite of all the missing words. He did his best to fill in the blank as she went along, an amused smile easing to his handsome features in spite of the circumstances. Did you just pluck me into..."The air..."I was..."Cornered..."But the Carna..."Did not get you." He said the last part with a greater measure of reassurance upon his smoothly accented voice, as if to say that everything was okay without actually saying it just yet.
A strained laugh escaped him at the mention of flying and squishing him, his hand rising to hold his ribs gingerly as he took a breath and released it slowly. "Aye, tha's usually what birds do, we fly. An' don' worry lass, I've had worse fall on me." His smile faded a little as he noted the blood and then a flood of confusion washed it away entirely as she began giggling daftly at the ground. As she went into her Bard-like monologue, he shook his head a little, a gruff chuckle escaping him as he keeled over and dropped onto his back, lying there for a moment as a wave of dizziness attempted to overwhelm him.
As he focused on the slightly distorted sky beyond the done, the details blurring in and out, he did his best to let his mind focus. He was no doctor but he knew a concussion when he felt one and he knew the last thing one should do was fall asleep. Forcing his eyes open, he spoke again once it seemed like her hysteria had subsided, his words hanging in the air above him as he had yet to turn his head to look at her again. "You're alive. You're safe. An' for now, everything is going to be alright..."
[/color][/blockquote] [/blockquote][/blockquote]
Harpy Eagle & Striped Hyena
+ Vision
Lighter | Bazza
Sorcha was not usually a dramatic sort, but the relief and fear had captured her in one moment causing the strange comical release of tension and fear. She sighed heavily and looked up as he reclined to his back. Her brow furrowed instantly, and whilst he was not looking she lifted her shirt to view her ribs.
His sharp talons had done a number across her side and based on the fact that as a human it looked as if something the size of a bear and snagged her she concluded that it injury was from her feline form. They were more cosmetic than anything, but it felt like fire. Keeping it clean and rest would be enough. It did not escape her that with less care, she could have been easily gutted. With his comment about having worse fall on him the corner of her mouth lifted.
The information was assessed with less time than it took for her to steal a glance at the blooded skin, and she immediately rose to her knees to move closer to her rescuer, retaining that same furrowed concern knit between light hues. His head turned and she jumped when he spoke, and by then she was almost top him.
Looking over him, she immediately went into Doctor Mode almost not hearing his words. Experienced hands when to his face and she paused before touching her fingers to his chin and directing his vivid green eyes to look at her. Assessment for malposition, she recited in her mind. Pupil response to light, her palm covered each eye for but a moment to judge the reaction as she re-exposed them to the light. She rose a finger and moved it horizontally across his vision.
”Follow,” she requested quietly and made multiple passes before nodding and shifting her fingers into four and holding them almost behind her head. ”How many?”
Her demeanor was almost stony with care, a complex combination of calm reassurance and quiet demand that only one who was accustomed to this work held. Dirt smeared her cheek - the blood from her temple a slow drip down the side of her face ... but all was ignored, her attention fully centered on her 'patient'.
At this point his speech started to slur just a little, his lids growing heavy over those normally brilliant green eyes, which seemed to have dulled ever so slightly. He wasn't sure if he had hit his head in the fall or not but the sudden overwhelming deluge of delirium started to convince him he had. The brightness of the sun overhead was almost painfully blinding and all the fine detail had blurred away. Raising a hand, he reached for the back of his head and sifted through his thick dirty blonde locks, the hot stickiness there an obvious giveaway.
Suddenly the girl was hovering above him, her hands all over his face and head, poking and prodding and examining him like she was some kind of doctor. Her hands flew over his eyes, blocking the light, then letting it in, the brightness excruciating as it shot into his eyes like a needle. A groan of discontent was all he could muster before she ordered him to follow her finger. "Which one...?" He said in a tone that sounded half-joking half-serious as the image of her hand above his head merged and split back and forth between one and two.
He followed it well enough regardless, his gaze straying back and forth in time with her movements. When the finger count changed from one to four, things got a little more complicated. Squinting slightly as she asked how many, he made a sound like he wasn't sure, his eyes shutting tightly as he took a moment to focus before exposing those bright greens once again to give it his best shot. "Four..." Gently nudging her hand away he moved into a seated position, a hand rising to clutch at his throbbing head as he took a breath and centered his focus once again.
"Look, I'm fine, just a wee bit dizzy is all." Turning slightly to look at her, he managed to summon up a smile. He wasn't used to being cared for, and even if he needed it, he wasn't about to let her ignore her own injuries in favor of his. A couple of pills, a little meditation, a good night's rest, and he'd be right as rain. "'Sides, you could do with some doctorin' ye'self."
Harpy Eagle & Striped Hyena
+ Vision
Lighter | Bazza
His head would take some healing, as would her own. She turned away from him and sat on the ground. Her hand went to the side of her head, and she bit the inside of her cheek as her fingers gently felt out the extent of her injury. They would need to be cleaned, as would his injuries.
She took a deep breath, winced from the slashes across her ribs and exhaled. She was alive. Alive. The thought that she had someone to thank because of it cause her blue gaze to shift over her shoulder to the man with incredulity.
”Thank you,” she said hesitantly and barely stopped herself from reeling at him a full force of questions. Who are you? Why did you bother? What do you want? The expression on her face said as much, but she could not stop the wide-eyed, if not mistrustful look from fixing on him for several moments.
Remembering herself, a shaky hand lifted to tuck a strand of long hair behind an ear and she struggled to stand. Once on her feet she turned in a slow circle. Where the hell were they?
She had no talent with aerial mapping, and the last thing she remembered seeing was a terrifying drop to the ground. She winced inwardly as she remembered she landed atop him. ”And, I’m sorry. I … I’m sorry I crushed you.” Her stance and acquired an awkward tilt as she crossed her arms in insecurity. ”I, I panicked …” Truthfully she thought she had been saved from one demise only to meet another …
”Heights tend to have that effect on me,” she tried to joke and failed. ”Thanks,” she said again lamely. How exactly did you thank someone for saving your life?
Her appreciation was acknowledged by a soft nod and that lingering smile. He really didn't have the words to follow her own, since, what could he really say? You're welcome? No problem? Anytime? Any conventional responses seemed strange and inappropriate for the kind of thanks he had received. Then again, saving someone's life quite literally out of the blue wasn't exactly part of the norm either, so he supposed he could be forgiven for not having a proper answer. Bringing his knees up, he leaned forward a little and rested his arms atop them, taking a bit of the weight off his aching ribs.
As her gaze strayed away, so too did his own, his attention wandering to the vacant lot they were sitting in, the empty street beyond it, and to the city in the distance. Having flown above the area dozens of times, he knew where they were well enough. When his gaze came back to the girl, he found her staring at him cautiously before she suddenly – and rather unsteadily – rose to a stand. He didn't make a move to follow just yet, his gaze lingering on her as she spoke again. A soft chuckle escaped him when she apologized for landing on top of him, but her attempt at a joke made her uneasiness a little more obvious. Nothing he did showed he had taken notice of it however, his features remaining soft and unassuming.
"Ahh, don' worry about it lass. Better you landin' on me than me landin' on you, aye?" He tried his own joke, a strained wince hissing through gritted teeth as he slowly rose to stand thereafter. Wavering a little, he extended an arm out to counterbalance, eventually steadying himself with a little effort. Once he was sure he wasn't going to keel over he took a breath and let his gaze stray once again, plotting a course in his head to get them back to the Gospel Complex. "The name is Sully, by the way." It occurred to him that he really didn't know who this girl was, only that she needed help, and since she seemed harmless enough bringing her home to the healers wouldn't be a problem, but getting to know her on the way wouldn't hurt either.
Harpy Eagle & Striped Hyena
+ Vision
Lighter | Bazza
The corner of her mouth lifted at his equally forced joke, but when he attempted to stand Sorcha’s hands instinctively shot out as if to catch, or stable him. Her eyes were on his movement, and the wince whispered there was more of an injury than he was letting on.
Realizing her boldness, her head shook slightly as she came back to herself and her hands went behind her back in embarrassment. Yeah right, if he’d fallen off balance she’d have gown down with him. Her eyes took sudden notice of her shoes, attempting to be polite while the man recovered.
The name is Sully, by the way. His rolling accent was distracting, and Sorcha’s light gaze had risen to watch his lips move in enunciation. Fascinating, she thought to herself.Taking a step forward, her hand went out to him. Sorcha had very fervent ideas on most things, and this included introductions.
” Sorcha Maureen Juniper Depplamere,” she said as her eyes met his without fear. ”Of the Fulsi, very pleased to make your acquaintance, especially under such circumstances.” When his had met hers she shook it firmly and warmly, and almost in a delayed reaction she added. ”You may call me Sorcha,” and smiled.
The girl seemed to perk right up at his introduction and advanced toward him, offering her hand and her name in the most polite and formal of ways. With a warm smile he took her hand in his own and shook it just as firmly and warmly as she did, not inclined to give her the death grip he usually offered other men, especially those outside his ring. She was an interesting little thing this Sorcha Maureen Juniper Depplamere, oddly well-mannered and proper for someone of her age, especially in a place such as this.
As their eyes met and she mentioned the Fulsi, he let loose a small chuckle. "Well then, imagine that. I'm one o' the Fulsi m'self." He said quite proudly. Joining the ring so many years ago had given him purpose and some semblance of normalcy in an otherwise unforgiving and turbulent environment. For that alone he felt he owed his ring his utmost loyalty. "I s'pose it weren't coincidence then. I was meant t'save yeh."
His gaze strayed as a hand rose to brush back a few of those rebellious locks that kept defiantly falling into his face, his fingers dancing gingerly over the wound at the back of his head. Dismissing it for now he dropped his hand to his side and absently wiped the blood on his jeans, returning his attention to his ringmate without a change in his warm expression. "We best get yeh home then aye? Have them healers get a good look at yeh."
Turning his attention to the sky momentarily he referenced his mental map, something he'd fabricated from so many missions flying over the Fulsi territory and beyond. Orienting himself with the buildings around him, he turned a little and faced ever so slightly northwest. "That'll be it that way then. Not too far either, just a twenty minute or so trek. Can you handle that alright?" He wasn't sure just how hurt she was and he didn't want to push her too hard.
Harpy Eagle & Striped Hyena
+ Vision
Lighter | Bazza
Sorcha could not stop the smile that spread her face when he mentioned he was also a member of the Fulsi. It settled her considerably that he was a comrade. It might have troubled her that she’d not met him before, in fact he could be lying but she didn’t think so. His manner and intellect suggested an ability to manipulate, but not in habit or preference. Her hand was held up in protest at his mention of the healers.
”I assure you it is not necessary, however I will not protest if you agree to yield to the same treatment,” when he mentioned the walk she nodded. ”I’m sure I will be just fine as long as we take it slow.”
She allowed him to lead the way (as he seemed to know where they were going with confidence). Five minutes later found her with her head between her knees and breathing hard. The bump on her head seemed to have caused more damage than she had wanted to admit. Unaccustomed to treating herself, she had been ignoring signs of injuries in favor and interest of getting home.
It seemed once her adrenaline wore down, the damage was more obvious. Blast, she thought - feeling Sully loom over her. Rookie mistake Depplamere, allowing the excitement of the moment to hinder your judgment. Idiot, she chastised herself.
”I’m okay, I’m okay … I just need a moment. I’m so sorry to inconvenience you even further today,” she whispered. Sorcha felt a fool in general. First getting trapped, needing a rescue, not only hindering the rescue but damaging her rescuer in the process, and now being a pest further. Pathedic. Unacceptable.
She hated to think someone might think of her as careless, or overconfident about her abilities. That was not Sorcha Depplamere. In her mind, when she said she could do something it was not born out of ego or pride, but complete confidence in her ability to complete the task.
With another deep breath she focused her gaze and stood with confidence, her jaw clinched as she forced a smile. ”Lead on,” she said brightly, surprising even herself with the believable tone. Sorcha was not usually one to be overly cheery, and she was pleased to see that when she really wanted to be she could with effort.