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 wasn't the best mentor. It brought up too many memories of Nycole, and with that being said... Well, he was renowned for picking up tenderfoots and dropping them like flies. He was either too abrasive, too difficult, or not tactful enough to actually teach. He tried to be patient. He really did. Of course, he had trained one Tenderfoot successfully--just because they had had an aptitude for what Grey had been teaching them. Iskander had told Grey to watch out for this girl, and take her out on a mission--her Hunter was going out on a more dangerous mission, it sounded like. Grey had asked who her mentor was, and Iskander had told him that it was Slansky Kirov.
The two of them, to put it frankly, had never seen eye to eye. Grey was wondering if his girl had heard anything about him. Because if so, it was doubtlessly bad. Not that he was particularly concerned about it. She could think what she wanted about him--it wouldn't change that she was stuck with him for the day.
Grey had found her that morning when most of Fallen was getting morning rations, and some groups of Scouts were leaving for patrols. He was surprised to see that she was actually pretty--but then he remembered seeing her in passing and, yes, he could remember her name. Akane Husher. Grey remembered hearing rumors about Slan and how he was robbing the cradle. Shit, I would be too. The thought prompted an image of Nycole, arching an exasperated brow at him.
"Hey, Akane." Grey shouldered into line beside her, waiting for breakfast. "Looks like you're with me today, kid. Can you eat breakfast and pack whatever it is you need? Its probably going to be an overnight trip." He introduced himself. "I'm Grey, Fallen Hunter, at your service. I'll explain more on the way back to your train-car." A bit of dry humor, in that.
His eyes searched her expression, trying to get a read of her. He didn't like introducing himself before he had a chance to gauge what kind of person an individual was, but he hadn't had much of a choice. He was handed his rations, and Grey turned from the crowd, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that the young woman was in tow.
It was early. Inexplicably, Akane had been getting up earlier and earlier to meditate and that particular morning she had awakened even before Slansky. She lay there, soaking up his warmth through her fur for a few minutes before sliding carefully between his arms and out of bed.
She shook her fire pelt, her fluffy twin tails flicking once before she twirled and shifted gracefully into the form of a girl. She stretched and regarded the man’s sleeping form for a minute thoughtfully. A fond smile formed on her lips before she shook her head and starting her morning meditation.
By the time she had finished, Slan was still asleep (which was quite unusual) and though she longed to play a prank on him her stomach growled. So, she slipped out the cracked door.
Once in line, she thought maybe she should bring him his breakfast. It had been a late night for him, so it had been later still by the time he had climbed into bed beside her and passed out. Akane had yet to go on such missions, but she knew that eventually she would have to … and that was when (as fate would have it) a man approached her.
With his greeting she turned, and her light eyes traveled his height twice before she could stop herself. She couldn’t help it. Not many people talked to her, though she didn’t know why. She was happy enough to stick with Slan-
Grey told her about her assignment (her first) and she was momentarily stunned before she grabbed her breakfast (mumbling a thank you) and hurried to follow him. Overnight? Pack? The side of her mouth lifted in humor with his dry joke, but introducing herself seemed stupid at this point. He knew who she was already.
She didn’t know what to pack, and her brow furrowed in thought as she followed Grey back to thei- Slan’s home. Respectfully he waited by the door, allowing her to use her stool and get in before he did. Good, then she could at least wake up … no need. Slan had already left.
Akane eyed the man who had not followed her in. Instead, he leaned against the car and pulled out a smoke (though he remained within earshot), and waited outside. She froze. What the hell should she pack?
Slansky had been bone-tired. He'd woken up without Akane, and his first thought was that something wrong. His second one? That the sky was already well in the morning sky. It turned out to be the second option, and so he stopped worrying. After a series of basic conditioning exercises, (reps of crunches, push-ups, leg lifts, etc cetera) he shifted into his horse form and trotted the distance between the train-car and where he would receive morning rations.
He had been working more and more the previous weeks--Fallen was on high alert, and there had been some raids by rogues a few nights previously. Slan and a few others had been sent to retrieve them, an unpleasant business that had ended in the death of the Rogues, much to his dismay.
Slan would have liked to say that he would have never thought about killing, before the Menagerie, but his first "murder" (he found it difficult to consider it such) was what had landed him in this shithole. Demaovich was a whole lot different than a few scrawny rogues, though, who were only trying to do what they had to do to live. The death was fresh on his mind. She had been a wild thing, with an Iberian wolf shift, and she had been hell to handle. Her death had been more an accident than anything else--Slan had found that he had not mastered his shift form nearly as much as he thought he had. He had trampled her, raw panic making him unable to control himself.
Guts and brains--he shuddered, no longer feeling hungry. He forced down the food, anyway, and then made his way back to the train car.
The smell of cigarette smoke was the first thing that hinted someone else was there. And then Slansky saw a silhouette leaning against his train-car. At first, he didn't recognizing the man. But then he got closer, and recognition hit him like a punch. He took a moment to compose himself before striding up to Grey. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Slansky asked in shiftertongue, with a distinct lack of politeness.
Grey glanced at him sidelong. The cigarette dangled in his mouth, and he inhaled a breath of smoke before turning to regard Slansky fully. His movement was slow, full of insolence. "Ask your hot roommate." It was a grating tone that Grey used just to piss the other man off--his words, too, were just for that.
And it worked. Slansky scowled but swung himself into the train-car."Akane? What the hell is going on?" He reigned in his temper. It was probably just a mix-up.
Grey turned to glance into their little "home'. He arched a brow at Akane, and after a second, shot her a friendly smile. On the way there, he had explained the circumstances--Slansky and a group of hunters and scouts were being sent on a recon of the Carna border. They were to watch the patrols, count the numbers, just in case something happened in the future. And Grey was stuck babysitting--well, that's not what he had said, word for word. Instead, he had gone ahead to say that, "I'm supposed to train you some in intel gathering. Kirov put in a few good words for you. Says your clever, small, and fast on your feet. You would make a good spy if you learned a little more. Its just a basic training session--we're going to go to Bellator and see just how much you can learn about the heard from watching. I'll grade you on it, I guess."
Grey exhaled a breath of smoke, stubbed the remainder of the cigarette on the edge of the train-car, and listened as Slansky let out an annoyed groan. He didn't have to look to know that he was packing the back for her. Anything to leave sooner, Grey thought.
Last Edit: Jun 18, 2013 21:50:14 GMT -5 by Slansky Kirov
Akane was still frozen mid-pack. What should she take? Most of this stuff was Slan’s and if he was going on a mission too he needed things. A thumbnail went to her teeth as she pondered what to take with her, fiercely wishing Slansky was home.
Akane! Her head snapped toward the door. It seemed she got her wish. What the hell is going on? The initial smile faded from her face in the wake of the anger and irritation that rolled from him in waves.
There was an edge to him that she had not seen before, he was intense and suddenly quite close to her – blocking her view of the door. Grey’s smile was lost on her in the face of Slan and Akane’s half babbled explanation, and he groaned in with irritation and turned away from her.
She blinked rapidly, and let out a breath she had not realized she had held as he snatched up her pack and began stuffing things in with abandon. Akane was confused for a moment … why was he so angry with her? Those light blue hues shifted to the man outside as he snuffed out his cigarette.
Her gut said there was something that upset Slan about that man, Grey was his name, and her head turned slowly back to Slan. He was in the corner, tossing clothes here and there before turning and stalking across the room again. She was at a loss as to what to do. In fact, she was reminded of that day when Skye had been killed.
Impulsively, when he stepped to the side (where they would be out of eyesight of Grey) she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his middle from behind and laid her head between his shoulder blades. She took a deep, deep breath then let it go. One palm was placed on his chest, and the other his middle.
There was a small part of her that was fearful he would leap away from her, but it was a much lesser fear. The greater fear was that she had not gone so long without seeing him since she had been in the Menagerie, and she wanted to be able to say goodbye without judgmental eyes.
He wasn't trying to be irritated with her. He was just worried--he had looked out for her since the moment she had been released, and Slan didn't know if he trusted anyone else with her care, least of all Grey.
He tried to calm himself, but instead resolved to make sure that she would have everything necessary--he packed her a change of clothes and something to sleep in, as well as some matches and a blanket. From what she had said, it would be a fairly relaxed trip. He hardly thought about it when he seized the shirt she had borrowed a few weeks ago, and he put it in the bag with more care. Actually, that was a lie. He did think about it. And what he thought was, that son of a bitch better not touch her.
When her arms wrapped around him, he stilled rather than stiffened. His breath was quick in his lungs, but her touch calmed him, and Slansky let the stiffness of his limbs abate as he relaxed into her hold. He was anxious. He didn't want to let her leave, and he certainly didn't want to go on the recon mission that he was supposed to. He just... He what? You can't stay and play house, he told himself, fiercely. You both have to do things. The bear bone of it was, though, that he did not trust Grey with her. He turned slowly, until he faced her, and after a pause Slansky pulled her into a tight hug. He didn't know if he trusted anyone with her, and the realization startled him.
She was slight enough that her head curled under his chin, and he felt as though he might crush her--a distant part of him noted how she fit against his chest and abdomen, comfortably. He loosened his hold reluctantly, and held her out at arm's length. "Be careful, Akane." Slan handed her the bag, and made as if to move away. He thought better of it, and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "And have sweet dreams tonight." It almost seemed like a strange thing to say, so early in the morning--but she would know what he meant.
With one last glance at her, he jumped down and out of the train-car. He and Grey locked eyes, and there was a silent stare-off. Finally, Slan said, "Grey." There was a warning in his tone, but the Mackenzie wolf shifter merely nodded. Slansky started off, pausing only to shift. As an Akhal-teke, he trotted over a nearby dune, glinting like burnished gold--he had to show up for business, too.
He had never hugged her like this, crushing her against him. The plains of his body were hard with muscle, and he was warm – very warm. Whenever they slept she always remain in her foxform and feeling him in a human form was completely different. She buried her head in his chest and took another deep breath.
When he pulled away slowly it was with effort she did not cling. She looked up when he held her away and her blue eyes were huge in the dimness of the car. She took the bag, kissed her forehead and wished her sweet dreams. He knew. He knew that she was scared to sleep without him – but they had things to do.
As he looked back, she gave him the best brave smile she could before he turned away. She followed him to the door in time to see the silent stand-off between the men. Akane’s breath caught again, as she had not seen that expression on Slan’s face before and he almost growled Grey’s name before he turned, shifted, and was gone.
Her eyes stayed on the hill, then slowly moved to look at Grey. She was packed and ready, and pulling her hair up into a pony tail she set her jaw and leaped down to the ground next to the tall man, then nodded to him and gave him a devious smile.
”Ready. Lead the way,” she said not quite cheerily. Her eyes lifted again to where Slan had disappeared. Stay safe, she had not gotten to say. If you die, I will so kill you.
