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
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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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This was the third morning in a row that Akane had found herself behind the train car, calling to the dinosaurs. One hand to her stomach and the other braced against the cool metal, she spit the horrid taste of bile from her tongue and wiped her mouth.
Just breathe, she coached herself mentally and slid to the ground in exhaustion. Pushing her dark hair from tired eyes, the girl looked to the distance where the rising sun painted orange and deep purple across the dunes.
What had she eaten? Had to have been that rat the other day, she knew it was a little questionable but her foxbelly had no problem digesting even more unpleasant dinners in the past. Her nausea had her ducking behind bush and sand dune without warning and she was beginning to get worried. She took a drink from the canteen she’d taken to bringing with her everywhere, then chewed on a bit of green plant from the oasis that seemed to settle her stomach and clear her mouth of the foul taste.
Akane heard her name called. Slan! She thought excitedly and rose to her feet unsteadily. She quickly kicked sand and dirt over her leavings and slipped into her foxform, scrambled under the train car, and appeared among the rusted wheels. Diving between a pair of legs she wheeled, and chittered loudly - her tails waggling excitedly with her ears back.
From the ground she leapt, slamming into Slansky as a girl and hugged him tightly. Her take off was shaky, her body lighter and bonier than she was used to but the thought disappeared the instant she took a deep breath of his scent. It had been almost a week since he’d left for patrol and each time the celebration of his return was no less than it had been the first time he’d gotten back months ago when they’d first paired.
Life in Menagerie was no vacation, and there was always the unsaid but undeniable possibility of injury, capture … and death.So she hugged him fiercely as her head buried into him, leaving words for those that needed them. In this moment, she did not.
Slansky could not say when he had begun to refer to Fallen as "home", merely that it now seemed fitting if only due to the fact the he missed it so much when he was gone. Or, more aptly, he missed Akane. This was his thought when he returned to the desert, trotting in his horse form with pieces of an elk carcass tied across his back. It was uncomfortable, sure, but it sure beat dragging the meat. Not to mention, they had at least reaped some form of reward for their efforts. They often came back from a week of hunting with empty hands.
Slansky checked in with the "officials" and left the carcass with some of the omegas who would prepare it for eating later that evening. He said goodbye to the fellow Fallen he had been working with for the last five days, considering them comrades. There was something to be said for hour after hour of hard labor, spent in the company of the same individuals--it forged bonds not found easily.
Now, after impatiently going through the motions, Slansky was home. It had been biting at the bit since the moment he'd returned to the desert--he wanted to see Akane. When he was gone, he was plagued with worries that he largely considered irrational. She may not be there when I get back, Slansky often thought, which he knew was ludicrous. For the most part, she stayed in Fallen territory. Cole and Husher both took good care of her, as did her friends. "Akane!"
He stood there, his hands in his back pockets, waiting for her to answer him. He was always slightly nervous at this moment, waiting for her to answer--but then she came excitedly in her fox-form. Slan could not help but laugh, smiling ear-to-ear. When she became a girl, all he could do was embrace her. Slansky spun in a circle, her legs coming clean off the ground.
"Akane! Miláčku, ya skoochal po tebyeh!" He kissed her between the brows first, and then on the nose, and then on the mouth. He set her down so as to look her in the eyes, his calloused hands rising to either side of her face. His smile held fast. "How are you?"
Translations____ Miláčku - Czech, "darling"! ya skoochal po tebyeh - Russian, "I missed you"!
Akane returned his affection with interest, rewarding him with a wide smile of her own. When he swept her off her heels she laughed, and when he set her down her hands searched him unconsciously for injuries. She found one, but it seemed it would keep for the moment.
His large hands on either side of her face made her smile again, her hand reaching up to cover one with her own. ”I missed you. Welcome home, anata.” She slipped into his arms again for a hug before rising on her toes to kiss him sweetly.
”Good! Good!” she said in shifter-tongue. ”How was the trip? Are you okay? Everyone come back safely?” Akane almost ran over her own words asking so many questions, but she managed to stop at three. This had taken practice … she wanted to know everything, and NOW. Luckily Slansky had taken it with humor instead of irritation, and after a few trips she’d stopped probing for every detail.
Lowering to her flats, her head tossed to the side to clear her hair from the way as she turned his arm over where she’d felt extra material . There was a wrap around his arm, and her fingers feather over the cloth. She needn’t as him what it was from and did not. She'd look at it and clean it later.
Translations and OOC___ anata - darling (not often used in Japan, but Akane doesn't care lol)
He was accustomed to this by now; her concern and questions and the way that she could not stop touching him once they were reunited, as though to affirm the fact that he was real. Slansky could not help but be reassured by it as well, as though it did affirm the fact he was real and nothing had changed between them. Relationships were always fickle; there were times when he feared, no matter how irrational it may have been, that he would come back to discover that she had eloped with some younger Fallen. He never voiced his fears, due to the fact that he did trust her--but he could not keep from the insecurities.
"It was a good trip," Slansky replied, also in shiftertongue. "We got in a scuffle with some Nilda, but everyone is alright. We only received minor injuries... you've already found mine." He said that last bit with a bit of dryness, although he always found her tendency to fuss over him endearing. "Alright, before you have any more questions."
There was something mischievous in his eyes. He kissed her suddenly, not with the gentleness of prior, but with passion instead. When he pulled back, his lips still brushing hers, it was to laugh. "I have to steal all I can get when you're dad isn't looking," Slansky informed her crisply, before straightening. His eyes scanned her from head to toe. He cocked a brow. "Christ, girl. Have you been eating since I left?" He prodded her hip with his finger.
She looked thinner and, now that he thought about it, she also appeared to have an almost sickly complexion. His brows furrowed with concern and he raised a hand again, this time to press the back of it to her forehead. She did not feel hot. "You look a little pale. Are you feeling alright?"
Akane was silent in anticipation as he told her about their trip, but the moment he stopped her mouth opened in a breath to talk, but he cut her off quite effectively. She did not protest, and in fact made happy noises through her nose. When he mentioned stealing in the absence of her father, her eyes rolled and the side of her mouth kicked up. He was so good.
Out of left field the subject changed and his finger went to her side. With the poke she squeaked and half-heartedly swatted his hand away ”Yes,” she said a little too defensively. It just doesn’t stick around very long, she omitted. With his hand to her forehead she laughed lightly and pulled his hand from her head and smiled. ”I’m fine, I’m fine – but we have more important matters to discuss.”
Grabbing his hand she led him over to their little box car home, and she helped him settle in (in more ways than one). An hour later saw Akane in one of Slan’s old castoffs she used as a night shirt and Slan pulling on his pants. Her nose quirked and she bit her lip – she loved his butt. Her head tilted, he too seemed a bit skinny. Akane tended to feed him up a bit after a long patrol, or hunting trip, as he always got a little ribbie. She snorted mentally in half fondness, Look who’s talking knuckle head.
Her fingers traveled through her hair, and she stood up to put her arms around his waste from behind and kiss his shoulder. She always missed him so-
She froze. ”Oh no …” her stomach roiled, the nausea suddenly overwhelming and before she even had pants on she’d dashed out of the train car and between the cabooses to retch violently into the dirt. Gasping she made a strangled noise she failed to stifle as she vomited again and again, panting as unemotional tears streamed down her cheeks.
Slansky could not quit grinning, particularly when she came up behind him to press her face against his shoulder. He paused what he was doing--getting dressed--to look at her mischievously over his shoulder and smile. "Is this a sign I shouldn't put on my pants?"
Out of his peripheal, he saw something strange in her expression. Oh no. Before he could grab her, she had rocketed out the door. Slansky rubbed the back of his neck, bewildered. Shit, did I say something wrong? With that in mind, he followed more gingerly, onto to pause again when he heard the sound of her retching. Slansky hurried after that, drawing her hair back into his hands so as to keep it out of her face. Once she had finished, Slansky helped to draw her up, his hand pressed against the space between her shoulders. He had blanched some upon seeing her sick, not because of the sickness itself but because of the reason.
I am overreacting, he thought. "Akane, honey. Are you alright? How long have you been getting sick?" Slansky disappeared shortly so as to return with a canteen full of water, offering it to her while also brandishing an expression of concern. "... this was not one of the things we had to discuss, was it?" Now this was the reason he had blanched. It was still early in the day and there was something to be said for unprotected sex. Slansky knew that there could be repercussions but, for the most part, they had not had difficulties. His face was still flushed from their last romp.
But it was the first thing that he thought of. Food poisoning? Slansky could handle that, and it was just as likely as anything else... right? I am overreacting, he reminded himself.
She relaxed a touch when his hands found her hair. Akane couldn’t help it; there was a part of her that would always feel better when he was near. When he helped her up, her balance was off and she caught herself on his shoulders. Once steady again he disappeared and she did her best to regain her composure.
This is stupid, I’m fine … I’m fine. ”I’m fine,” she insisted in light humor when he returned with the canteen.
Leaning against the train car she sipped the water. Her hand tried to wave him off but he caught it and gently tilted her chin up, fixing his dark eyes on her hazel-blues. She was stubborn and just as gently pulled her head away. What they had talked about … well, they had started a ‘what if’ scenario a few months back. However, Akane had not wanted to think about it and quite effectively – shut him up.
Taking a breath her attention returned to him and she half smiled as she shrugged her shoulders.
”I....” she began, but was only half sure. Knowing her cycles she’d always been on time. Her mind slipped into thinking on the days and her expression changed as she realized … she was late.
The expression in her eyes were a paradox of fear and bewilderment. He wouldn’t want her anymore; he wouldn’t want to deal with it … who would in this hell hole? Maybe the healer could do something? What if … her thoughts tumbled over each other until her lips had parted to begin a million difference sentences, a million different thoughts. Nothing came out. The canteen dropped to the ground and she began to shake.
_____TRANSLATIONS
Last Edit: Oct 13, 2013 14:58:21 GMT -5 by IronChild
Slansky knew this feeling of fear well enough. It was this cold clenching of the gut, a twist that made his heard hammer in his throat rather than his chest. He had felt it the first time he'd been forced to draw his gun. He had felt it when a match was lit and thrown haphazardly in his direction.
This, though. This was different by far. The fear on her face mirrored the fear on his. Slansky didn't know how to deal with this. His first thought was how would he provide for them in the Menagerie? How would he find enough food, enough safety? His second thought was what Husher would think... and his third thought was what Husher would do.
That in mind, Slansky reached out and drew her close, swallowing his trilogy of fears so as to stop her shaking.
"Dorogoy, do not look so afraid! It will be fine." He reached out, stroking the hair back from her face. Slansky's eyes met hers. The prospect of a kid scared the shit out of him, but he didn't let it show. "Between the devil and the deep blue sea, I will take care of you both."
Slansky could promise them that, no matter how terrified. Shit.
There was apprehension for less than a breath, but when he pushed the hair from her face she looked up to him with fearful and believing eyes. Between the devil and the deep blue sea, I will take care of you both. Her lip trembled, but she refused to cry. Instead she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face, immersing herself in the trust she had in him that he was speaking the truth.
”Baka ne,” she whispered in Japanese, almost to herself. An affectionate form for ‘idiot’ she used often. He was corny, but the man could say he liked toast with peanut butter and pickles and she’d find it enduring.
”I’m … I didn’t mean …” she wanted to apologize, but could not find the words. If she apologized for the conception, it would also suggest a regret that she was with him, and no matter what -he was never a mistake to her. She took a deep breath to collect herself and nodded as she pulled back gently and took his hand.
The thought of her father had just settled in her mind, and she didn’t want to think about it. She was still thrilled just to have Slansky home and lead him back to the train car where she cleaned out her mouth again and snuggled in with Slansky. After several moments of silence, she finally broke.
”What … what am I going to tell Husher?” she’d taken to calling him what everyone else did though she was unsure why. She looked over at him with worried eyes again.What the hell were they going to do? Husher had just barely began civilized conversation with Slansky that was unforced. They'd even gone on a few patrols together (though they both avoided the subject of Akane like the plague.) What would happen now?
Translations and OOC___
Last Edit: Oct 12, 2013 14:43:59 GMT -5 by IronChild
After relocating to the train car, Slansky managed to settle himself slightly more. It was still difficult to comprehended, but he did it with dogged resolution. I am going to be a father, he thought, but then amended himself. There is a huge likelihood that I'm going to be one, anyway. They couldn't know for certain until she began to show more signs, but still.
They lay there quietly for a while. Slansky's face was pressed into the crook of her neck, his arm wrapped over her hip. He could not help touching her, even now. It settled him more than the silence did; so he played with her the hem of her shirt, his fingers dancing over her skin in a way that was not provocative as much as it was an affirmation that they were there, together.
When she asked the question that had been worrying him, Slansky grimaced. "We will have to tell him the truth."
He was quiet for a long moment, then, before he spoke again. He had been contemplating it since the moment he had seen the fear on her face. "I know that it is the Menagerie, and it is much different than the world out there..." The Czech-Russian trailed off. He continued after a moment of hesitation, stumbling over his words even as he spoke in shiftertongue. "But if you would like, I will tell him. And I will ask for your hand."
He kissed the arch of her beautiful neck. His fingers trembled nervously against the plane of her ribs and then drifted down to splay across her stomach, tenderly. He could not imagine that a child was growing there. "There is still right or wrong and... " He did not want to sound as though he was offering merely because it was the right thing to do; likewise, he did not wish to tell her he loved her just because of the situation.
"I do care for you, very much." the words sounded lacking on his tongue, inadequate. Slansky's fingers settled against her hip and clutched her to him, his face buried in the thick mess of her hair. He could not stand the idea that language would be a barrier between them. "I am bad with words, but you do see that, don't you? Miluju Tě, in the language of my mother. Ya tebya lyublyu in the language of my father." Then he hesitated and spoke a single, broken word in English. "Love."
He had never thought he would say it. But her fierceness and humor and sheer ability to be there for him, regardless of the circumstances, often rendered Slansky speechless. It was about damn time he told her.
Translations____ Miluju Tě - Czech, I love you. Ya tebya lyublyu - Russian, I love you
(homg this is the cheesiest post I've ever written I'm sorry but I'm not sorry)
We will have to tell him the truth, he commented and Akane nodded in response. She’d never lie to her father, it was simply how to tell him. She took a deep breath and kissed him, her eyes roving over his handsome face as she pushed his shaggy dark hair from his sweaty brow.
”Well,” she began and he gently cut her off. He would tell Husher… and ask for her hand. She stopped moving, frozen as he continued on, speaking of how he felt and I love you. It stilled her breath. Her eyes searched his, hoping – praying that it wasn’t something he thought she wanted to hear.
Her eyes closed and she pressed her forehead to his as she swallowed, then kissed him sweetly. ”I’ve, I’ve loved you for a long time Slansky Kirov,” she whispered and kissed his forehead. He was a special person, not like anyone she had ever met. He’d dealt with her father without flinching, dealt with her drama and sass without complain … he was Slan, and she loved him. ”A kde jsou dva zuřící požáry scházejí, oni konzumují věc, která krmí jejich zuřivost. Miluju Tě, Miluju Tě , Miluju Tě,”
There had been so much work that had gone in to that sentence from Shakespeare. There had been only one other person that spoke Czech in the campgrounds, and she’d snuck off to see her a few times to practice it. There was no real words that were often used for “I love you” in Japanese. They tended to keep those affections to themselves and even the idea of telling him that in her own mothers language made her blush.
She kissed him; with the same passions she quoted a second before and hugged him with all her might. ”I love you too,” she whispered in English then she pulled back to look at him with severity, ”Do what you want to do Slansky. What you think is right is very ridged, and I refuse to be a burden to you,” she impressed with sincerity. ”But know this. I’m not going anywhere,” she said in shifter as her thumb traveled down the stubble on his face. ”I’m not going anywhere,” she repeated softly.
Translations and OOC___ ”A kde jsou dva zuřící požáry scházejí, oni konzumují věc, která krmí jejich zuřivost. Miluju Tě, Miluju Tě , Miluju Tě,” - And where two raging fires meet together, they do consume the thing that feeds their fury. I love you, I love you, I love you. (Badly accented Czech but she tried lol)
