A Damning Ritual {Thorn}

[Tessera Guldak]

The winter breeze had a nip to it that felt disorienting, and it rushed into Tessera's lungs and settled like daggers. She put a hand to her chest, as if the pressure could stop the cold, and she stood up from her seated position on the torn and shattered sidewalk in the park. It was her ritual. First she would sit, close her eyes, and see if she could remember anything from her past life. A grade in school, her first transformation, some bully calling her a name: anything. When she failed, and she started humming her song and mimicking the comb in her hair with her fingers, she would stand and start running. She tied her shoelaces, something she had to do a lot since they were rotting and falling apart, and she straightened with her hands on her hips. She stretched, looking where she could start running.

If Tess looked for a perfect spot to run in this place, she would never find it. The earth was disheveled and reduced to rubble most of the time, and any roads had an accumulation of dust and sand that hid cracks and made surfaces slick. However, the park was the closest thing she could find to "somewhat ideal." The park wasn't so pretty now, as the bushes and trees lay naked of their leaves and several branches, but she could run relatively undisturbed as long as she was careful. The proximity to her ring only served as an added bonus. She jogged in place for a little while before taking off, and the slamming of her feet into the concrete immediately led her mind to peace.

She did like to fly in her animal form, and it was a lot easier to find places to fly than run, but she loved these sounds: the rhythmic pounding of her feet as well as her inhales and exhales. Tess pushed her hair back although it dropped over her shoulders again anyway: it was too thick and heavy to lay still in one spot. It occurred to Tess that her hair had more spirit and fire than her, which was a depressing thought. She shook her head and fought the urge to close her eyes. Soon, her mind smoothed out the sea, and it was just her and movement, a meditation that pursued the most depressing of rituals. It would be a while before she started to feel the burn that made the experience complete, because she had been doing this since she was dumped in the Menagerie, and she thirsted for it.

She made her way past the rusted swing sets and monkey bars. Tess had never touched them, because she had no desire to, but she did want to know if she ever used them before her beginning in this place. Tess pushed aside the thought because she always pushed aside thoughts like those, and she chose to look at the sleeping plants and dead grass. She reached the end of the park and she turned to the left. She would run a circle, maybe two or three, before heading back to her ring. It wasn't like they would miss her presence much anyway.

OOC:((Bear with me. I am so rusty, it's not even funny. Hopefully the posts will get longer and better.))

[Thorn]

Thorn was hit was hit with a wave of nostalgia as she walked along the empty road.

It was cracked and bumpy, sure, but it was still the same familiar material that she had so often walked on before she had been sent to the Menagerie. She enjoyed the open, grassy space where the Nilda lived, but sometimes she wanted to feel the textures of the city under her paws again. And that's why she had come- she had hunted down a nice piece of food for her pack and wandered out this way. Was she even allowed to do that? She would find out, she supposed.

It didn't smell like the city she had come from- this place was older, worn down, clearly not maintained. Perhaps it was the scent of grass and water lingering on her fur, but she could smell plantlife, too. It was only after she passed between two buildings and the park came into sight that she realized what the structure was. She had been to parks plenty of times before, but it was somewhat surreal to see one so... Broken. There was another scent, too- a person, she could tell. They were likely a shifter, since it was the city and they didn't smell like any of the retromorph groups, although Thorn was not familiar enough with the shifter rings to tell which one they were apart of.

She wasn't particularly worried. She had experience with bringing down humans- granted, those who resided in the Menagerie were, for the most part, hardened survivors who could turn into animals, but running was always an option too. With that in mind, the dog walked towards the park, looking around curiously.

The children's play structure was clearly not meant for dogs. Thorn was used to stairs that were short and meant for human steps rather than dog leaps, but there were also things like poles and swings that would be difficult to scale with four legs and no hands. Playing like a human child hadn't been on Thorn's to-do list for this trip to the city, but she might as well. She had never done so before she had been sent to the Menagerie- she supposed that she could always slip away during the night, but a young woman playing in a park would probably look pretty suspicious. It was too late for that anyways.

She shifted to her human form, her tawny hair falling to her waist as she carefully took a step forward and shifted her weight onto it. There was an unsettling creak as she did so, and she immediately moved backwards out of caution. She knew that her human form was quite heavier than her canine form- after a moment, she decided to shift back and climb up the stairs on all fours like she was most used to.

There wasn't much play equipment that she could use as a dog, but the slide was still an option. Cautiously, she set a paw on the slide- then she moved the rest of her weight onto it, barking with excitement. Before she knew it, she had reached the bottom and had not prepared to land. She fell rather ungracefully, at the last moment managing to roll over a little bit to absorb some of the impact.

She knew that she could've done that far more gracefully, but for her first time and considering the situation, it wasn't that bad.

((OOC: Don't worry about it! :D))

[Tessera Guldak]

There was a danger to running with your mind empty: it sometimes left a shifter woefully unprepared. In Tess's case, thankfully, this only meant a stubbed toe. The front of her sneaker skipped across the sidewalk and hit a raised crack in the surface -- she naturally tripped, her legs stumbling, and she exploded into a flurry of muttered expletives. Tess came to a stop to catch her breath. Her foot throbbed with the impact. However easy to ignore, it was annoying. She rested her hands on her thighs while staring forward, breathing out of her mouth, but movement near the children's playground caught her attention. She turned her head to the side -- that was the only movement she would dare, when she was woefully unprepared for danger -- and spotted a dog trodding in the gravel of the play area. She didn't miss the irony of the situation. It seemed just as likely that one would cut herself and obtain tetanus as actually have fun in such a place.

She straightened, slowly, trying to not make a sound. Don't be stupid, she castigated herself, this one probably already knows you're here, with the wonderful display you just showed. The thought depressed her, but it still made Tess feel better to be perfectly still and silent, an observer. It wasn't that hard for her to do when she tried: a barn owl was a silent flier, capable of catching the most elusive of prey with stealth alone, and Tess liked to believe the animal's traits passed to her human form. Of course, the dog could smell her, but maybe she would be too distracted to do so. At least, Tess thought it was a she -- and her thoughts were confirmed when the dog shifted into a girl with --

Her hair's as long as mine.

Tess thought she was crazy. In her ring, the girls either kept their hair short or at least a manageable length. She hadn't met someone with hair like hers, and considering all the looks that told her she was bizarre and unnatural, she didn't think a Carna existed with long hair. This creature clearly wasn't Carna, or in any of the other rings, and she clearly spent most of her time as a dog. Tess had never met a retromorph and she didn't think she would, but life insisted on raining on Tess's parades half the time anyway, why would this be an exception? Even with this mopey thought, Tess felt the muscles in her body softening. It was a kindred spirit, even if this being didn't see it the way she did. She would embrace it for now, and maybe she could ask why the dog kept her hair so long. If said dog didn't tear out her throat first.

It was this fascination that kept her watching on as the girl changed back into her animal form. Tess wondered what she planned on doing. It seemed asinine to pick now, of all times, to start playing, but that seemed to be the creature's intention. She watched as her company put a paw on the slide, inching forward like it required bravery to do. Of course, Tess might have reacted the same way. The thought made her angry: of course it wouldn't. She was Carna now. She was above such trivial matters. She jumped at the bark, and it sounded so excited that it even extracted a smile from Tess's face, and a flurry of fur and scrambling paws dumped out of the slide and landed in a rolling heap back onto the light gravel.

Tess couldn't help it. A series of snorts left her throat, which turned into giggles. She tried her best to catch them with her hands, but it was a moot effort. She calmed enough to transform: if the retromorph didn't know Tess was here before, she certainly did now. She had noticed a swing set before, and saw that it was just past the slide, and she took flight and soared over the dog. She flapped her wings several times to perch on one of the poles that made up the swing set. She tilted her head the way only owls can, and stared at her companion, waiting to see what she would do next.  

[Thorn]

The slide was clearly not meant to be used with four paws- Thorn had of course known that, but she hadn't realized exactly how impractical it was. A few times, she had seen children playing on them- their legs must've caused them to slow down at the end so they could get off without tumbling onto the ground. She could always shift into her human form, of course, but the structure didn't seem to be particularly stable. After all, she was just doing this for fun.

Then, the dog heard giggling from behind her. She whipped around as quickly as she could to look for the source of the sound. It was just in time to catch a glimpse of the person before she shifted into a bird. She flew over Thorn's head, and landed on the pole of a swingset. The dog took a few steps forward and inspected the owl a bit more- she was definitely the shifter that Thorn had smelled earlier.

She was a lot closer than Thorn had expected, the retromorph realized as she cursed herself silently. She was supposed to be able to tell when somebody was nearby. Back before the Menagerie, it was her job, and in the Menagerie, she had to know where others were in order to make sure that they didn't kill her. Another stupid mistake like that could get her killed and she knew it. Heck, this mistake could be the one to kill her if this shifter decided that they wanted to kill her.

Thorn knew that she couldn't run faster than a bird could fly. Even if she could, a bird had no physical obstacles in the way, compared to the ground at least- Thorn would have so many cracks in the ground and fallen objects strewn across her path. The bird would have none of those. Although she was confident that the bird probably couldn't kill her as a bird- unless it had a knife in its talons and tried stab her from the sky, which was likely a pretty futile tactic, it would have to shift to human form if it wanted to avoid her teeth, which would then give Thorn the chance to run.

But the shifter didn't seem particularly hostile. Of course, they could just be waiting for the right moment to make a move, but if they were particularly keen to do so, they likely could've sank their claws into Thorn's back when they flew over her. It probably wouldn't have been dangerous so much as annoying, but it would've caught the retromorph off-guard and given them an opportunity to attack.

Or, they could be trying to avoid conflict. Thorn wasn't sure how shifters and their "rings" worked, but maybe they didn't want to waste time and resources driving off somebody who would leave on their own. That would probably be the best case scenario, although she wasn't sure if she was going to be lucky enough for that to be the situation.

She might as well see which one it was, so she could prepare an adequate response. Once again, the dog shifted into her human form. Keeping a close eye on the owl, she walked along the edges of the play structure for a few moments until she located a small set of steps leading up to the place where the children would play. She sat on it, facing the owl, and mimicked its head tilt as well as she could.

"So..." It wasn't the best way to start a conversation, and Thorn knew it, but she had to stall a bit as she came up with something else to say. "I bet you're wondering exactly why a retromorph wandered into a park and tried to use a slide. Note the word tried."

[Tessera Guldak]

Retromorph. Tess nodded to herself, satisfied. She guessed it right. At first, smelling and identifying was her worst quality. A couple of Carna had a good laugh about it, which, of course, just made her more determined to be better. Her wings sagged by her sides a little. Granted, she probably just got lucky. She watched the dog for a little while, and then she started talking. Tess stiffened, mostly because she wasn't expecting it, and she let out a little huff through her beak. Was this dog trying to distract her, while planning an attack? Was she insulting her intelligence? Or did she really feel like shooting the shit in the middle of a children's playground? Tess was baffled, too baffled to be angry quite yet, but she felt her darkness stir inside. She felt it start to chew through the ropes of her control she constantly had to replace. She was just stressed, she told herself. Being mauled by a fierce dog wasn't high on her list.


"Well, yeah," she said sulkily, fluttering her body in the way birds do. She pulled a few loose feathers out of her right wing and let them float to the ground. She only shed feathers when she was nervous, really, but hopefully making it seem natural did something to make this retromorph believe it. Of course, Tess sighed, her smell would give her away. "I mean, I was kind of under the impression that playtime was over the moment we were dumped in this place." This suggested a sort of kinship that Tess immediately rejected. She didn't ask to be landed here. She didn't ask to lose all her memories. Tess's chest began to puff out, and her breaths shortened. What did this being do to offend her? She couldn't think of anything, and it just made her more frustrated.

"I mean, what kind of question is that?" she snapped, flying over to the playground. She forgot how dangerous this could be when she shifted on the steps, ignoring the creaks. "What's to gain from doing something as childish as this? Of course I'm wondering!" With one sweeping motion, Tess slid down the slide. She felt it crack under her weight, and when she looked back, she saw a small line forming through the plastic. It was designed for children. That was the point she was trying to make. But she didn't expect the small bubble of pleasure that formed in her stomach. Her darkness receded, and Tess found herself sitting at the end of the slide with her legs sprawled out. She puzzled over it. Was it too much to ask for her to grow up? Tess remembered her situation and shifted again, this time taking perch at the top of the slide. She cleared her throat.


"It's a lot better in human form," Tess said quietly, embarrassed as she often was after an unwarranted outburst. "Not that I recommend trying it. It... has a crack in it now." She fluttered her wings to try and shake off the uncomfortable feeling of... well, this entire conversation. She really wanted to leave. She tried to limit her interaction with others for this reason. But she did have a question, and it would bother her forever if she left now. 


"Why do you keep your hair so long?" Tess asked. "I've never met anyone else who did that. Other than me, obviously."

[Thorn]

"I mean, I was kind of under the impression that playtime was over the moment we were dumped in this place." That was a great point. The retromorph tilted her head to think it over for a moment. She had never really thought of it that way before- perhaps "play" meant something different to those who had been raised as humans rather than animals. Play was something you did to make you better at something. Thorn had been raised playing "chase the bad guy" and "find the toy" because that would teach her to be a good police dog. She had always played that, even after becoming a fully-fledged police dog, because it helped her retain her skills even when she wasn't catching criminals or sniffing out drugs. But perhaps that had all been practice for the Menagerie and after that there was no more time to practice. But nobody had ever known she was a retromorph, nobody other than the vet, so that couldn't be it.

Then, the shifter was angry. She moved over to the slide, a movement so sudden that it immediately caused Thorn to stand up and back away in one swift motion, and slid down it. For a moment, the retromorph was incredibly confused- then the shifter's anger was made clear through her words. "What's to gain from doing something as childish as this? Of course I'm wondering!" Then she slid down the slide, an action so hypocritical and strange that Thorn simply stared for a moment before it occured to her that violence could happen. She knew that even if she tried, she couldn't outrun a bird- she'd just have to hope that whatever she'd done to offend the shifter could be resolved through simple explanation.

Although the shifter suddenly seemed to be much more docile again, and even asked a question about Thorn's hair. Was that her way of saying thank you? The retromorph, being quite familiar with humans, knew that some females took great pride in their hair, but had never heard that particular phrase before. However, she didn't see another reason to suddenly change the subject and ask that. Reaching out her arm a little bit to touch her own hair, the dog nodded and smiled appreciatively. "Thank you." She replied.

And now, the shifter was probably expecting an answer to Thorn's original statement. "Well, uhh, you know, playing is pretty useful." She began to explain. "Like, I guess you could say I was trained through play. I was a police dog back outside the Menagerie, so I was basically raised on games of hide and seek so I could do my job. Admittedly, I was just using the slide to have fun, however. I miscalculated your distance from me, so I figured there'd be no harm in sliding down a slide to see what it was like. Never got to do it outside the Menagerie, so might as well do it in the Menagerie. Why not, y'know?"

[Tessera Guldak]

Tess thought about what she said for a long moment, and while she did so, she twisted her hair between her fingers. Tess had no memories of fun: she was deposited in the Menagerie without much preparation or a thought, and when she joined Carna, her life became a theme of survival. She hunted, she ran, she slept with the others to keep warm, and she never did much else. Sure, she had her one pleasant memory: she started humming it, softly, not remembering she had company. She could almost feel the comb in her hair, and like it did a thousand times before, it made her feel safe. Slowly, she shook herself out of her thoughts. She did run, yes. But that wasn't for fun. That was also for survival. Survival from herself.

"I can't really play for training like you can," she said abruptly, looking up at her company. She shifted again -- jeez, she seemed to do this a lot in this particular encounter -- but she wanted to give an example. She opened her beak as wide as she possibly could, which wasn't much. She was equipped to eat mice and snakes, maybe the occasional larger rodent in this form, nothing else. Things that a dog played with -- a ball, a stick, something like that, she couldn't play with. "See? It doesn't work. I can't fetch or chase or anything like that. Even hiding and seeking doesn't really work." She shifted back to her human form; it was easier for her to talk that way. "I guess we're just different." That was fine by her. She couldn't imagine a life where everything had to have a point, even fun. Even if Tess thought fun was a vain hope in a place like this. But if, say, running had to produce some sort of outcome, Tess thought she would go crazy. Well, at least crazier. She did just try to throw herself down a slide in an effort to prove a point, and then ended up disproving it anyway.

Tess couldn't help but laugh at what she said next, because who was she kidding? "I think you would have been fine even if I wanted to kill you," she said dryly. "What am I going to do, poke you with my talons?" Tess knew she could do damage, especially to the eyes, but she couldn't kill the dog. Infections could be treated, especially by medics, and if this dog was a former police dog, she knew what she was doing already when it came to survival before she got dumped here. All Tess could really do was escape, unless this dog actually offended her -- then maybe she would be tempted to go for the eyes. In Carna, she felt almost like a kindred spirit. There were some even more violent than her, even more erratic, and if she even mentioned fun, she would get quite a few odd looks. This one was a different interaction, and Tess wasn't sure if she liked it or not. It fascinated her, to a degree, at least.

"Well, how was it?" Tess asked at last. "Sliding down a slide. When you're used to training and other important things."

[Thorn]

The retromorph tilted her head curiously as she listened to the shifter speak. She had known that humans didn't quite learn through play like animals did, although she had never actually gotten a chance to talk to a human- as in, somebody who was human more often than animal- about the topic. Occasionally, the younger members of her pack would play to try and train, but Thorn had never gotten a chance to observe the younger members of the Rings. She'd seen children outside of the Menagerie, of course, but considering how different the inside of the Menagerie was from the outside, that was not something to compare.

"How different is it?" Thorn asked. It was almost immediately that she realized just how vague her question was. "I mean, life inside of the menagerie versus outside of it. It must be a pretty jump, going from living inside houses all your life and school and work to having to fight for your life... I mean, I was domestic too, but a step closer to wild than most domestic dogs. And I know that there are some wolves and other wild canines in my pack who came directly here from the forests and plains and such, but I've never actually talked to a more... Human... being would be the correct term, I suppose, about the menagerie versus the world outside."

The retromorph glanced around. She could smell the sea air from here- it was kind of familiar. She hadn't smelled salt water in a long time, since she had been on patrol with her handler, before she had been sent to the Menagerie. It was strange, really- Thorn didn't actually mind the Menagerie as much as she had seen others hate it. Sure, she'd prefer having a nice warm bed in a cozy house in the suburbs of New York, but how many others got to experience something like this? How many dogs got the chance to just be wild and free, and walk as an equal to wolves that had lived their whole life wild? Sure, the conditions of doing so sucked, and sucked pretty badly, but at least there were plenty of positives.

The shifter's next question fascinated Thorn. "Well, I guess it's... Interesting." She stated. "I mean, for me, back outside the Menagerie, play was fun. Inside, well... I still consider play to be fun. I just don't get to do things for the sake of curiousity anymore. I guess I never did outside of the Menagerie either- well, the day after I discovered I could turn into a human, I went to a party and got drunk as hell because I was curious, but I couldn't do things for the sake of curiousity under most circumstances. You get it, right?"

((OOC: Sorry about all of the dialogue! Just posting it to show I'm still alive. xD It'll be better once I'm able to dedicate my time to this site more.))

[Tessera Guldak]

Tess didn't plan for this encounter to get tense. She figured police dogs could be dangerous: strong jaws that could lock, tear flesh like paper. She could escape quite easily, but only if she was prepared. Living with the Carna helped her flesh out some common sense as well as the ability to read a situation. This wasn't going badly, and they could probably walk away at the end with no injuries or anything similar. It should have been all what Tess wanted, but a darkness had started stirring inside of her the moment she woke up in Keeper labs and continued to fester when she was deposited in the Menagerie. She tried to play the song the woman combing her hair sang in her head, but it didn't drown out the darkening helpless fury inside.

How different is it?


Tess's fists clenched until her nails, ragged from biting them short, cut into her skin. Blood ran from one of the cuts in her palm, but she barely noticed it other than the warmth in her hands. Warmth. It should be impossible in the winter cold, but she could feel the hair along her arms stand up from it. Tess realized she was shaking, but the realization didn't stop the images coming forward. She couldn't make sense of them: an empty room, screaming, curtains tangled, more screaming. Needles jammed into her skin, white walls, metal tables... constraints around her wrists. No please stop stop stop...


She stood abruptly, her mouth forming into a snarl she couldn't stop or help, not that she wanted. "I don't know," she snarled, the words forcing themselves through her teeth. "You want to know why? I don't remember. The Keepers ensured that." Tess grabbed her hair, twisting it in her fingers but not pulling, never pulling. "I'm sure it was a 'pretty jump' but I don't know anything about not fighting for my life because I don't remember anything else!" She had to fight herself to not shift, but it could happen anyway. Tess knew nothing of self-control.

It shouldn't have made her so mad, but it did, thinking about how she should have memories, or at least not scattered ones that couldn't arrange themselves, outside of the Menagerie. This girl had no idea what she had, even if she was a police dog, a life she could at least look at fondly. Tessera had nothing. She had no purpose to keep going. Her fury mounted. "At least the Keepers let you have that," she added, malice infecting her tone. "They didn't let me have my past. I can't even remember if I went to school or what my parents looked like." She had to stop talking. She had to. She would start crying or something equally pathetic. Anger was better. It made her alive. She wanted to change form. Attack or fly away, something, something to get this ugly emotion out her soul.

But something the retromorph said somehow penetrated her clouded thoughts, mostly because it was so absurd. She got drunk when she discovered she could turn human? Seriously? Her anger melted away as a laugh tore out of her lungs, and Tess felt the normal exhaustion she felt after one of her freakouts. She slumped a little and sat down on the playground, ignoring the creaks. Soon, she was in full-fledged hysterics, her laughter hurting her ribs. She kicked her feet a little, sand and gravel shifting in a dust cloud. "Drunk?" she repeated. "Isn't that kind of problematic since you're supposed to be saving people? Damn." She continued to laugh until she was spent, and she shook her head. Focus on that, she thought to herself. But she could still feel the festering wounds that wouldn't heal lurking beneath the surface, pacing, waiting to strike.

OOC: ((It's fine. The dialogue helped me let Tess go insane, which is always fun XD))

[Thorn]

Just as soon as Thorn thought she could feel safe, if only for a moment, there was a reason to be scared. There was something about the question that had affected the shifter pretty strongly- and although she didn't seem to be violent, the retromorph wasn't willing to let her guard down. A metallic scent suddenly hit Thorn's nose, and the source soon made itself known. Blood was running from the shifter's hand from her own nails. The old instincts kicked in, and immediately Thorn wanted to make sure she was okay, lick off the blood, something.

But she wasn't a police dog anymore, and there were few under the dome that Thorn trusted enough to show her concern. She lingered from the same distance, hardly moving, hoping to whatever was out there that whatever episode the shifter was having would pass soon. A moment of shame passed over Thorn- that girl was distressed, and she was doing nothing to help her. Even worse, Thorn's question was the cause of the girl's distress, no matter how innocent she had thought her question was. Sure, bringing up life outside the Menagerie probably wasn't a great way to make people happy, but it didn't usually cause somebody to have an emotional breakdown.

"I'm sorry for asking." Thorn's voice was soft, unsure of whether or not it would offend the shifter.

After that, the retromorph was quick to change the subject, in hopes that the shifter would forget what she had just asked. Thorn took a moment to reflect on that first night as a human, that strange time she spent trying all sorts of human things and figuring out exactly how human bodies worked. It was a fond memory of hers- there was a bit of shame, considering how much that would be frowned upon, but it was a good night.

"Well, you see, they just thought I was sick when I got up in the morning." Thorn explained. "And although they trained me to take down the bad guys, I was mostly a drug sniffing dog. I went to parties like that on a regular basis to check for illegal drugs. So, if you look at it from a certain perspective, that night of partying and doing drugs gave me an insider's perspective on how they work. And because I was drunk and had been doing drugs, I had unique experience knowing how people acted in that state compared to what other police dogs knew. Right?"

The retromorph paused and cracked a smile. "Speaking of which, I hear some shifters have set up a speakeasy somewhere in the city. I can't imagine it's very good, considering the circumstances, but I've wanted to visit."

[Tessera Guldak]

At the retromorph's apology, Tessera stilled until she resembled a statue. That was new. Most, especially strangers outside her ring, reacted with fear and aggression when she had one of her moments. Tess didn't necessarily blame them, but she wanted a fight, and this one didn't give one to her. Instead, she apologized. "Do you even know what you're apologizing for?" she said so softly that she could barely hear herself. She sat down at the edge of the slide, wiping the blood from her palms on her pants. She didn't care, they were filthy anyway just like everything else in the dome. She took a look at her palms. They were already starting to scab over. They would be a nuisance for a few days, and then gone completely. She wondered if the "wounds" would show up on her wings or talons. That would be even more annoying. She let out a soft huff of air in frustration. Why couldn't she be normal, or at least more normal than a blight of amnesia? She felt herself trembling again, so she did the only thing she could: she focused on her company's words.

She let out another loud laugh. "That's one way of doing it, I guess. You're lucky you didn't get caught." She drummed her fingers on her knees. Not that she would know at all. She couldn't remember if she had ever met a police officer or not, not from her days before the dome. A wry smile captured her face. Well, she could say she met one now, in a sense. Not that it mattered here. This dog would not be capturing bad guys or sniffing out drugs anytime soon. Tess was sure she could find some in the dome, but nothing would come of it. Tess cocked her head. It was sad, in a sense, but this whole place meant tragedy for everyone. She crossed her legs, suddenly itching to transform. But they were having decent conversation, and Tessera didn't realize she missed it until now. 

"How would I know? I don't remember if I did any of that stuff. Sounds good to me, though." Tess didn't sound mad this time, only a slight sliver of sarcasm. An insider's perspective... Tess didn't have much perspective on that side at all, not that she had much of any subject. That was fine. Alcohol and drugs never appealed to her in the dome. It sounded only detrimental to survival. But maybe it was fun on the outside? She gave a slight shake of the head. This was too much to think about. Tessera had trouble when too many thoughts clogged her head. She stared off in the distance for a few minutes, her companion's words barely registering. A speakeasy... she hadn't heard of it, but she wondered why the retromorph was trying to make friends with her, of all shifters. They didn't share rings. This girl was kind and considerate, while Tess was anything but. Regardless...

"You should probably ask my name before inviting me somewhere," Tessera said abruptly. She let out a crooked smirk. "If that's your plan."