Felarya Park

Note: Maelstrom14 has written a chapter, apparently without informing any of us:
http://maelstrom14.deviantart.com/art/Felarya-park-Unleashed-156869831

Although he has some interesting ideas, there are a few inconsistencies or problems with it, as I've pointed out to him in a comment. As I'm going to be writing the next part, I'm inclined to disregard the mass killing of humans and harpies by the "Draconians", as well as the presence of an (easily accessible) gate to Felarya.

On it's own, I don't mind the story. However, I'm going to disregard the entire sequence as far as Felarya Park is concerned. In this type of group collaboration, people should not be making wholesale changes that severely affect every other story - and this one did more than that. Most of the humans are now dead - torn to bits or eaten. One of his characters "ruled" or "controlled" the entire island at the end and had the exhibit creatures running around doing his bidding (finding and killing the few remaining humans). And there's now a portal which goes straight to Felarya.

Xulia is not amused.

Well, to be honest, I'm not sure he's the brightest bulb in the box. An amusing little troll is he.

On this topic, as the collective story becomes more public, what will be the rules on accepting new writers and additions?

All right, then. I'd already let him know that we're going to have to disregard almost everything he's introduced, anyway (the presence of the "Draconians" and of the portal, the killing of the harpies and of the humans...).

Jætte_Troll wrote:

On this topic, as the collective story becomes more public, what will be the rules on accepting new writers and additions?

I would suggest that prospective writers be asked to submit an outline of their ideas, and be asked to check with us (here, if possible) before introducing major changes.

I had hoped that they would think to do so by themselves.

I feel like I opened a can of worms after posting my story for some reason >.>. I believe Turboman500 is also planning an exhibit heh, a tonorion hybrid- he has a bio of the characters up as it stands now. Not sure if you have seen it yet (I'm fairly sure Timing and I have at least) so just passin that info along if you wanted to take a look into it and talk with him at all. Here is the link to their bio:
http://turboman500.deviantart.com/art/Muti-and-Eviscera-Analysis-156672009

Turboman is a good writer so I figure he'll at least be respectful. But yeah, best to at least touch base with him, see what's up.

Asuroth wrote:

I feel like I opened a can of worms after posting my story for some reason >.>. I believe Turboman500 is also planning an exhibit heh, a tonorion hybrid- he has a bio of the characters up as it stands now. Not sure if you have seen it yet (I'm fairly sure Timing and I have at least) so just passin that info along if you wanted to take a look into it and talk with him at all. Here is the link to their bio:
http://turboman500.deviantart.com/art/Muti-and-Eviscera-Analysis-156672009

Thanks; I hadn't actually seen it.

And yes, I have no concerns about Turboman. He's a good writer, indeed; I'm interested to see what he's going to come up with, rather than apprehensive. But I've reminded him of the thread. We do need to stay aware of what we're each doing.

It might be a good idea to list things that have already been established in the stories so far in a more condensed form.

The basics...

The exhibited creatures, at least the intelligent ones, are supposed to be kept from learning language and even thinking. They are brought in as infants and allowed no contact with anyone other than their keepers. By park policy, speaking to or by the exhibited creatures is forbidden, though in more than one case this rule has been broken. The creatures are primarily meant to be shown off to the park's many guests and tourists who can safely view them from behind fences/rails/enclosures. Some creatures are even trained to "perform" for spectators - though the results of this training vary greatly.

There is some meager attempt made to clothe the hybrids. How this is accomplished, I'm not sure. The idea is that they would be outfitted with crude straps material to cover their genitals and breasts. That too has been ignored by some exhibits. I can't imagine it would be very productive trying to keep the highly active pantaurs clothed, for example.

Despite the expense of catching and keeping all the predators, the park's profit margin remains extremely high. Sometimes the business side of the park gets in the way of things - such as budgets cuts that reduced the effectiveness and reliability of the security systems. Because of the money involved, there is a powerful incentive to catch more and more spectacular creatures in an effort to keep people coming back.

Guests arrive via dimensional portals from many different worlds. The island itself is vast and surrounded by an ocean on a mostly aquatic planet.

The park showcases many creatures - some giant, some small, all exotic, and all from Felarya. The fact that most of the creatures are voracious man-eaters is hyped by the park.

There are dridders, nagas, slug-girls, mantoids, pantaurs, and at least one mermaid, just for starters. Dryads and harpies have been mentioned, but so far there are no stories that directly involve them. So the exhibits range from open areas to enclosed pens, open pits, gigantic aviaries, and aquariums. Not all the exhibited creatures are giant-sized. For example, some new arrivals were transported in a few days prior to the storm and included baby dridders and nagas from the Akaptor desert. Others could also be present.

There might even be a kids petting area for some of the more docile/smaller animals.

Not all of the exhibits need to be hybrid predators - for instance, there could easily be carnivorous plant exhibits. In addition, there may be "plain" beast exhibits for things like kensha beasts, giant frogs, mud slugs, spine beetles (basically anything from the Felarya wiki). There might even be indoor exhibits showcasing the smaller denizens of Felarya - bugle lizards, boom bees, silver scorpions, and more.

What has taken place so far?

The biggest event is the storm. A powerful storm, which appeared out of nowhere, has struck the island. It's been referred to as a "naturally-occurring dimensional rift".

It rolled in quickly (against the prevailing wings), unleashing massive bolts of lightning that were bluish in color and drained power of whatever they struck. Thus the electrified fences, which were the primary containment barriers in the exhibits, all went down. Even the backup batteries and generators failed as they too were hit by the strange lightning. Most (but not all) computer equipment in the park facilities is dead. In some cases the lightning did direct damage to structures (buildings, fences, etc).

Along with the lightning came torrential rain and strong gusts of wind. The brunt of the storm blew over fairly quickly but it left the island drenched and battered. That makes the going rough anywhere other than the road system that the staff of the park use to get around between exhibits. There are at least some vehicles present that still run, despite the electricity-draining lightning. I assume the staff would use covered jeep-like vehicles to haul supplies. Larger vehicles could be required if the creatures themselves needed to be transported for some reason.

In the wake of the storm, the black clouds are moving in an ever-widening pattern that looks like a massive eye wall (like a hurricane) with the central portion revealing an almost solid black void of nothingness. What is it? A dimensional rift or something worse? Who knows?

Contributions so far...

French snack:
The story that began it all - it is the basis for the park, plus the storm that strikes the island. and catches the staff unaware. It involves a dridder and a slug-girl as well as an unnamed human female keeper who secretly taught the dridder to speak. The staff have only minutes to cope with the situation after a freak "storm" appears on their screens. After giving the evacuation order, things deteriorate quickly when the power drain begins. The dridder, watching the humans scurry about in a panic, sees a bird land on the fence that encircles her exhibit and realizes it is no longer active.

Jætte_Troll:
A human keeper named Simon is a janitor assigned to the aquarium section. Though not one of her "official" trainers, over time he developed a relationship of sorts with a young purple-haired mermaid there named Ione. She was not old enough or trained enough to be a part of the aquarium shows. Simon often spoke to her (not around anyone else, of course) and she seemed to enjoy his company, smiling and splashing happily. He was sweeping the floor of the exhibit area when the storm hit and everything went to pieces. Trying to go for assistance after seeing the level of water in Ione's tank going down, he slipped and fell into it. Unable to swim, he began to thrash as he went underwater.

Timing2 (me!):
One of the park's main exhibits was supposed to be a giant mantoid. The team that "caught" Xulia lucked up and found a giant orchid mantoid. Her pink coloration and massive size made her a favorite with the corporate sponsors who saw big money potential. Maria and Joseph, a husband and wife team that led the expedition that captured Xulia, took over her "training" from the regular staff. She was entirely too clever, thwarting the security systems and doing as she pleased most of the time, even learning to speak fluently in violation of park policy. Because of that, an ex-military man named Gower Cuthwill was brought in to take over her exhibit. He failed to make a difference. Just prior to the storm hitting, Xulia had made a mockery of a private showing involving several high-ranking members of the corporation behind the park. Just after the storm has hit, Maria and Joseph entered Xulia's exhibit to deactivate the poison gas failsafe that Gower had installed. There they met the mantoid face to face. When something unexpectedly crashes into to her exhibit, Xulia goes to investigate while Maria and Joseph check on the supply building to make sure it is still intact.

Wildthing:
The person who designed and helped program the park's containment and security systems (which means most of the park's exhibits, fences, cameras, etc.) is Jerald Watson. He's a man from Earth, taken to the island by a mysterious corporation (one of the sponsors of the park). He did an excellent job under a tight budget. Nevertheless, his contract led to him being effectively confined to the island for an extended period. He is furious that he had his pay docked by management due to the giant orchid mantoid named Xulia who almost escaped after a section of her fence accidentally lost power. Now that the storm has hit and panic has set in, he's involved in a scheme to steal one living specimen (a small desert naga) and escape through the portals to safety. He plans on selling her for a fortune and living in the lap of luxury. Of course, he didn't anticipate crashing his vehicle into what had to be the worst exhibit in the park - the mantoid attraction!

Asuroth:
A set of four pantaurs - two leopards, a tigress, and a black panther - was brought to the park as infants. They bonded into a pack with Nossa (the panther) as their leader. The playful predators are a park favorite with their constant antics and mischievous nature. An elf named Arch Mage Fedirre Sagenev, one of the investors of the park, has spent a great deal of time at the exhibit, watching the pantaurs at play and taking notes on their behavior. He considered it a once in a lifetime opportunity to observe the predators, even if they were enclosed in an exhibit, albeit a gigantic one. When the storm hit and the power went out, the pantaurs realized all too quickly they could now escape confinement. The sight of so many humans running around in a panic excites them to such an extent, they begin climbing out of their exhibit ... and Nossa has her eyes set on the blond haired elf who had spent so much time watching them.

So yea - I've developed an "Apex pred" for the park. Details can be found on deviant art. My next questions are as follows-
1. At what point should i write her in?
2. Does the idea of such a predator existing bother anyone too much?
3. What do you consider over powered or outlandish when talking about this type of predator.

Her name is Muti-Lantra (shorten'd version is Muti) Let me know what you think based on her bio.

In accordance with what i've read-as in Timing, wildthing, Asuroth, Frenchsnack, and jaette - (all very good writers ^^, I plan to work as much as possible with keeping her as the "T-rex" without letting her become as bad as the one in the movie... unless of course people can use that in their own stories for things like chases and other suspenseful items. She's not an insensitive brute but she's still supposed to be scary (that i may need some pointers and suggestions on. I want to add to the storyline, not make people go "oh boy what kinda crap is this?" You can tell me here or notes on DA - i dont mind and all input is welcome, I just honored that my idea is even being considered ^_^ i'll stop with the rambling now.

PS- YOU CAN ALL THANK ASUROTH FOR OPENING THIS PANDORA'S BOX! >.> because him saying raptor made me jump to tyrannosaur ^_^

turboman500 wrote:

PS- YOU CAN ALL THANK ASUROTH FOR OPENING THIS PANDORA'S BOX! >.> because him saying raptor made me jump to tyrannosaur ^_^

I regret nothing! XD

turboman500 wrote:

So yea - I've developed an "Apex pred" for the park. Details can be found on deviant art. My next questions are as follows-
1. At what point should i write her in?

Any time, really. I'm doing the next part, if that's ok. After that, I think it's Jaette Troll's turn, so it would depend on whether he has ideas he'd like to bring in at that point, or what. In any case, we can slot you in soon enough.

Quote :

2. Does the idea of such a predator existing bother anyone too much?
3. What do you consider over powered or outlandish when talking about this type of predator.

Those two questions go together, really. I had some slight initial doubt, because I'm always wary of characters who are more powerful even than other giant Felaryan predators. I wouldn't trust an unknown writer with it, but I know you'll produce something measured and interesting - rather than mess up the whole Park, as some would do in such cases. Besides, there are supposed to be scary beings on the loose, so it's in keeping with the general theme.

As long as you don't limit it to a destructive rampage which would make her the only focus of everyone's attention in the Park, it should be fine.

I think it would greatly detract from the story if i did that ^^. the t-rex in every movie is obviously there-but only at the right times/places to make things hectic. i planned on doing that when she escaped. along with comical interactions where ever possible.

The new chapter. (The idea of "dryad signposts" is by Malahite.)




Ghern Marresh strolled idly down the wide pathway between the cages of the park. Although he had been hearing about it for a while, this was his first visit, and he found himself more impressed than he had expected to be. He could only imagine the amount of time and effort which had gone into its construction. The world these creatures had come from was shrounded in sinister mystery, which served to titillate the park’s visitors. Large signs beside the cages informed them that these giant, hybrid beings would feed on human flesh in the wild. Although they had been captive and tame since infancy, the implication was clear: ‘Only these bars separate you from these exotic, man-eating beasts. You can watch them safely, with a little shiver of make-believe danger’. It was all quite simple, yet cleverly done. And it was exactly what the public wanted.

Unlike most visitors here, Ghern had not come only to see the hybrid creatures. A botanist –by training, trade and hobby–, he had been interested in the sections of the park reserved for Felaryan plantlife. He had the impression they existed mostly to give the park a veneer of respectability, the pretense of scientific value. The buildings and grounds housing the most exquiste alien flowers were mostly deserted, save for occasional mothers dragging their children round. Only the flash-eating plants attracted one or two groups of youths, who duly proclaimed them ‘cool’. Most people just wanted to see the half-naked carnivorous demi-humans.

Not that Ghern could blame them. Having spent several hours in the botanical sections, he had finally turned his attention to the major exhbits, and he had to admit that they were fascinating beyond compare. He had seen giant snake women rearing up, their hair and face as smooth and beautiful as any woman’s, their breasts barely concealed by thin straps of material. A pack of pantaurs, fast and graceful, playing together. A centauress, statuesque in her beauty, eating the leaves of an alien tree, paying her onlookers not the slightest attention… The helpful sign outside her cage had pointed out that centaurs were particularly voracious, having a much larger stomach than other giant predators. Visitors had glanced at the notice, and gawked, while the object of their awe gracefully devoured her meal of thick, chewy leaves.

Strolling with no particular direction in mind, Ghern found himself close to a cage containing a giant slug girl, beside that of a dridder – her chitinous body sleak and dark. He watched them for a while. They were facing each other, with only the electric fencing between them, and their stance was relaxed rather than hostile. Perhaps they were curious about each other. Did these creatures have any concept of friendship? They were, after all, part-humanoid, even though the park brochures emphasised that they were incapable of human thought. He watched them, mildly intrigued, as they looked at each other.

Where to next, then? He had not been to the aquariums, yet, and the mermaids there were supposed to be quite a sight. Or what about the miaxi – the bee girls? Some of the shops, he had noticed, sold the Park’s very own miaxi honey. Found nowhere else in the pluriverse, or so they said. But he imagined the bee girls’ compound might be rather noisy ; all that buzzing… Right now, he would have preferred somewhere quiet. Even the chatter of the crowd, the shrill voices of children, were beginning to tire him. Perhaps the aquariums, indeed, would be quieter.

He could find out, easily enough, by asking the helpful tree-girls on the corners of the major pathways. He smiled a little at the thought. The ‘signpost dryads’ were another of the park’s strokes of genius. They were only as tall as humans, and appeared as friendly as the giant predators were awe-inspiring. Dressed in long, colourful t-shirts which preserved their modesty, enhanced the natural colour of their bark and skin, and of course displayed the park’s logo, they were the only Felaryans here who had been taught to speak, and were there to help visitors find their way around. His own interest in them had been motivated in part by his background as a botanist ; the concept of a flesh-and-blood being hybridised with a tree was utterly fascinating. He had chatted for a long while to a pretty, slender specimen with pink flowers on her light beige branches, and the loveliest of smiles. She knew nothing of her own origins or biology, but she had directed him to one of the shops, which sold books on Felaryan flaura and fauna. Like the other dryads here, she was well trained in getting customers to spend.

He was about to turn and make his way back towards the nearest dryad when he felt raindrops spatter against his skin, and heard their patter on the ground. Almost immediately, the initial drizzle built up into a steady downpour, and he looked up, surprised. Thick black clouds were massing overhead, and a first rumble of thunder promised a worse storm to come. How had that happened? The sky had seemed clear mere moments ago.

He did not notice that the clouds were gathering from different directions, as though herded by some force more powerful than the wind. His attention was drawn, rather, to the first bolts of lightning. What he did notice, though, was energy sizzling over the fences, while the giant dridder and slug girl moved back from them in alarm.

“Attention, attention!” A deep male voice called out over loudspeakers. “Would all visitors please make their way back to the portals? I repeat, visitors please make your way back to the portals. Thank you.”

Back to the portal? Was it that bad? He sighed a little. It seemed his day out in the park was about to be cut short. Around him, visitors hurried this way and that in the rain, most of them going in one direction. His first impulse was to follow them, but he had never been one to run off, worried, without a clear cause for concern. He looked over, instead, towards the caged creatures. The slug girl looked very nervous, but the dridder had a pensive expression on her attractive face. Her black hair –framing smooth, sun-tanned features– was already wet, and she brushed it from her forehead before stepping tentatively towards the electrified fence. Her eight multi-segmented legs carried her forward with surprising fluidity. Ghern watched, but it was not until the dridder had almost reached the fence that he noticed the bird perched atop it. The bird which the dridder was looking at too. Something in his mind whirred, and clicked. His heart leapt in his chest.

If a bird could land there, it meant the fence was no longer electrified.

Which in turn meant the only thing separating the dridder from the public, beyond the now harmless wall, was a narrow, shallow ditch and a second, much lower fence.

He stood still, amidst the few visitors running past, and stared, as the gigantic spider-hybrid seemed to hesitate. Then, she reached out, and touched the fence.

As he expected, nothing happened. The dridder withdrew her hand. A curious little smile graced her lips.

* * *


“Evacuation. Would all guests please get to the nearest portal immediately. Would all staff please get to the nearest safe house unless required elsewhere. Evacuation.”

Upon hearing the call, shortly after the unexpected storm had unleashed its fury on the park, Nwea Rim’s first instinct had been to head for one of the safe houses. It was, after all, procedure, and as she had been taking a late lunch break –alone on a bench–, she was not currently required anywhere. But seeing many visitors running around in confusion and uncertainty, she had decided she could make herself useful, after all. She had stood, popping the last of her nutribar into her mouth, and turned her attention to guiding the disoriented visitors, directing them towards the portals. The drayds could help them with that, of course, but she found they seemed reassured to obtain guidance from a human staff member. Even from one who barely seemed to have reached her mid-twenties.

“Yes, madam, that way,” she told a middle-aged woman, clasping two pre-teen children by the hands. Although she was not primarily trained to interact with visitors, she applied the same soothing, helpful tone as she used on the predators. “Just turn left, then right, and you’ll be on one of the main axes leading to a portal.”

“Does it matter if it’s not the same as the one we came through?”

“No, no. For now, we simply want to get everyone out of the park. Then we’ll get you back to your world of origin as quickly as possible.”

“All right, thank you.” The woman gave a nervous smile, and hurried off with her children.

“There’s no danger, is there?” A trio of teenage girls approached her, one of them looking a little worried, while another rolled her eyes, impatient.

“No, miss,” Nwea assured her. “You’re quite safe. This is just a standard precaution.”

“I mean, because, we saw, I think, electricity crackle over one of the cages. They can’t get out, can they?”

“No, don’t worry.” Nwea smiled – an easy, practiced smile. “There are backup generators. And the preds wouldn’t think of trying to get out, anyway.”

“Oh… OK, good.” The girl breathed a little sigh of relief. “You’re quite sure? ’Cause, like, the signs say they’re really dangerous in the wild.”

“They’ll stay contained, miss. Now, you should be getting to the nearest portal. You’ll find one by going down to the left, then right again, and follow the other visitors.”

“Right, thanks.”

“About that…” As the women walked off, a young neko man, perhaps a few years older than she was, approached with a look of mild concern on his dark face. His ears, with dark grey fur matching his hair, twitched as thick raindrops splashed over them. “I heard someone say the portals weren’t working. Or some of them, at least.”

Nwea paused, taken off guard for a moment. She soon pulled herself together. “There are backup generators, sir. If there was a problem, I’m sure it’s been solved by now. The staff at the portals will tell you what to do. If you’d like to make your way towards the nearest one, please, it’s just that way. Left, and then right.”

Seeming only partly reassured, the catman moved off, his hurried pace due perhaps mainly to his discomfort in the rain. Nwea continued to direct the flow, walking part way with an elderly couple who seemed a little dazed and disoriented. In so doing, she found herself close to a familiar cage. Seeing that the flow of people was dwindling, she hesitated a moment, then turned, and hastened over to her favourite exhibit. The giant, nameless dridder, whom she had secretly taught how to speak.

The pathway close to the dridder’s cage was emptying, as people hurried on towards the portals. A lone man was standing quite still, his eyes on the spider hybrid, and Nwea followed his gaze to find the dridder standing up close to the electrified fence, looking thoughtful. She walked quickly to the smaller fence behind which lay the ditch separating the cage –and its higher fence– from the visitors’ path. Much to her pleasure, the dridder smiled at her in recognition.

“Hey there,” she greeted the giant predator, gently. The dridder responded by folding her legs, neatly, and lying on her belly to bring her face closer to her level. She really was a beautiful creature. Her black hair –damp now with rain– gleamed like the dark carapace of her spider body, contrasting with her intelligent, forest green eyes.

“Hello,” the dridder said, keeping her voice low enough not to be overheard. They knew they were not supposed to talk to each other. But in the current confusion of the evacuation, who would pay any attention? Except that man, but he was just a visitor. Nwea doubted he would report her, or anything. She ran her hand through her long, damp ginger hair – which she always thought looked so awkward against her green uniform.

“I came to see if you’re all right. And to tell you not to be afraid of the storm.”

“Storm?” So that’s what this was called. The dridder nodded, filing that word away into her growing list of vocabulary. “I am not afraid.”

“Good.” Nwea smiled. “I suppose I should have known it would take more than a few bolts of lightning to scare you.”

“The humans are running.” The dridder tilted her head a little, questioning. “Are they afraid of the storm?”

“They… We weren’t expecting it. We, humans, can be worried about the unexpected. But everything’s all right.”

The dridder nodded again. “The slug girl is worried.”

Nwea glanced over towards the giant slug hybrid, in the adjacent cage. She seemed to be shivering a little, a look of uncertainty on her face, looking up often at the sky.

“Can you reassure her?”

“I will try.” The dridder paused. And frowned.

“What is it?” her keeper asked.

“There is… something coming.” Slowly, she unfolded her eight legs and pushed herself up into a standing position, wary. “I don’t know what it is.”

“What do you mean by… ‘something’?” Nwea tried not to sound too concerned.

“Something… A big person, I think, like me. But not like me. And not like her.” She nodded towards the slug girl. “I can… sense it. It’s a strange feeling.”

“Oh.” Now it was Nwea’s turn to frown. Somehow, she was beginning to feel very uneasy. Her own words about fearing the unexpected echoed in her mind. “Then… What do you mean by ‘coming’?”

She jumped, startled, at the sound of sudden screams. Turning her head, she saw several people running as fast as they could, out of a side pathway, dashing away from something unseen. Her heart clenched, with instinctive fear, and she felt the adrenaline begin to pump. Then there was the sound of hooves, far too loud. Before her mind could process the inevitable meaning, a gigantic centauress cantered into view, tension roiling from her majestic form. Nwea froze, standing quite still by the dridder’s cage, while the screaming visitors rushed on past her. The centauress looked round, uneasy as she assessed her surroundings, freed from her confines from the first time. She truly was gigantic –perhaps thirty-five metres tall–, and beautiful, with naturally graceful features, and long, chestnut hair matching her coat.

Nwea heard the dridder breathe in sharply, and turned to see her gazing at the the horse-woman in troubled fascination. Nwea herself was close to petrified, a dull throbbing of fear pounding inside her skull. This couldn’t be happening. It was like some perverse nightmare, come true. One of the predators, on the loose…

How will we ever get her back in confinement? she thought, then blinked, as she realised she had somewhat more pressing concerns. While horses were herbivorous, centaurs took after their human side, and were decidely omnivorous. She trembled, her fear escalating. Would this creature view humans as food? She had never been taught to – but would her instincts kick in? Would she been hungry? Surely she had been fed at lunchtime. Or had she?

The centauress breathed out a heavy sigh, almost an equine snort. Then she trotted forward, her hooves sending faint tremors through the ground. Her eyes were on the humans dashing out of her way. Nwea, struggling against the fearful paralysis of her mind, considered running too, but there would be little point. She would be trailing, and she could never hope to outrun this powerful being.

The centauress’ attention turned to the lone man standing still in the centre of the path.

* * *


Ghern had been watching the pretty redhead staff member apparently conversing with the dridder. He had had no idea any of them could do that, and the park brochures had definitely said the creatures were incapable of speech, but the dridder’s lips were unmistakably moving in what seemed like conversation. He looked round, but nobody else was paying any attention. Strange… and interesting.

He considered whether to move closer, and find some pretext to talk to the staff woman. He had just made up his mind to do so when the screams came – followed fast upon by the giant centauress. Free from her cage.

He stared, standing still as other visitors rushed past him, fleeing the predator on the loose. For some reason, his legs seemed rooted to the spot, and he could not bring himself to run. He gazed at the centauress, utterly fascinated – much as some creatures would gaze into the headlights of uncoming vehicles, too disoriented to move out of danger. Seen from up close, the centauress was beautiful beyond words. Her chestnut hair flowed freely over her bare shoulders, glistening faintly in the rain. Her face remained majestic, a classical beauty, despite her look of tense wariness. Her large breasts strained against the almost superfluous strip of material which the park administrators had strapped round her chest – designed to draw in spectators’ gazes rather than avert them. He gulped, his heartrate increasing. The horse-woman hesitated, then trotted forward, following the fleeing humans… and stopped, as she found him standing in her path. They looked at each other. He felt his legs go weak.

* * *


The centauress felt very uneasy. Breaking out of her confinement, she had not known what to expect, and all these little creatures moving about making loud noises made her all the more tense. She did not know where to go, or what to do. The storm had been bad enough – something she had never experienced, and could not understand. But now she faced utter uncertainty of purpose. Something inside was urging her to return to her cage, but an even more intangible impulse –a confused, primal urge– was spurring her to get away from it, and to go… where? The boundaries of the world she knew had been shattered, drawing her out into something vast and intimidating.

She did not want to be intimidated. Her instinctive fears troubled and angered her. There was no threat here that she could sense, and yet she was further on edge than she had been in a very long time. The unknown…

These impressions circled her untutored mind, incapable still of coherent thought, as she stood and looked down at one tiny creature standing still in her path. All the others like him were making loud sounds and running away, on those two things that looked like legs, but this one was just looking up at her. There was another, too, near a fence; and behind the fence, large creatures, intimidating in themselves; but she ignored them for now, focusing on this one small creature.

In a way, it was not unlike her. Yet the way it was built seemed grotesque; as though someone had taken her head and arms and chest, and made them tiny, and stuck them on two sticks, with all the rest of her body missing. It was strange, and incomprehensible, and that made her all the more tense.

Yet amidst her conflicting instincts, there was one –battling to be heard– which told her what this creature was. As she looked at it, she felt her mouth water, and a faint ache in her stomach, urging her to eat. This small thing was food. That instinct surged to the forefront of her mind, attractive in its simplicity, providing the answer to all her half-formed questions. Food. Well, she knew what to do with that.

The clarity of that knowledge was a tremendous relief. She reached down. Only then did the creature move, trying to evade her grasp, but it was far too slow. Her hand swept it up, her fingers pressing round its tiny form, and she raised it without hesitation to her mouth.

Now it started making a noise, and wriggling about, but the sound meant nothing to her. She opened her mouth, and popped the morsel in, sucking it in with one quick breath.

As it touched her tastebuds, her eyes widened a little in pleasant surprise. She began to shift it around on her tongue, saliva squirting over it, absorbing its flavour. It was delicious! She sloshed it about for a long moment, drawing out its taste, stifling a little giggle at the tickle caused by its squirming. She felt, all of a sudden, a lot better. Amidst all the confusion, here was a touch of normality. She was discovering a new type of food, and enjoying it quite thoroughly. She swallowed, almost reluctant to do so, and felt the wriggling bulge travel down her throat. Still a bit tense, but considerably more cheerful, she trotted off, in pursuit of the food running away ahead of her. This first one had tasted wonderful, and she knew there were a lot more of them about!

For now, at least, she could set some of her worries aside. She did not know what she was supposed to do in the long term, but for the next few minutes… It was lunchtime.

* * *


Nwea breathed in quick, shuddering, gasping breaths, as she watched the centauress move away, snatching up screaming, running visitors as she went. The park’s worst nightmare was coming true. One of the predators was loose, and was eating people. She choked back a sob of terror, and struggled against the weakness in her legs.

It was only by pure luck that the centauress had ignored her, and gone after the more numerous moving prey instead. She remembered what she knew about centaurs having huge stomachs, and she felt dizzy, a wave of nausea riding on a shiver of horror. Those people were helpless. And she had just seen a man being eaten alive. And she had done nothing.

“You should come inside.”

She turned, on weak legs, at the sound of the gentle voice behind her. The dridder was looking at her with unmistakable concern.

“You’re… What’s that word? Your face is all white. Come inside. You’ll be safer here.”

The dridder’s tone was caring, kind – kinder than she had ever heard. Yet Nwea experienced a sudden sickness in her heart, and in the pit of her stomach. Looking up at the gigantic flesh-eating spider hybrid, she was suddenly, shamefully, afraid. She had always trusted the dridder, but that was because she had had the park to back her up; the spider-woman knew she would be punished if she harmed her keeper. But now… In the chaos and uncertainty, and with the dridder having just seen a fellow predator gulp down a human and enjoy him… The fear hammered at her heart, powerful and instinctive, but worse still was the guilt.

She wanted to trust the dridder, the sentient creature she had always looked after. Yet she stood there, uncertain, grateful –despite herself– for the fencing between them.

In the span of a few moments, it was as though everything had changed.

The dridder looked at her, grave, almost reproachful.

“I will not do that to you.”

Nwea shivered. “I’m not supposed to just go into your cage.”

“You will be safer in here than where you are. If the woman with four legs returns?”

“I…” The sound of screams drifted, horribly, from where the centauress was feeding.

“I will not do anything bad to you, Nwea.” The dridder’s forest green eyes fixed themselves upon her, calm and solemn.

Nwea gulped, and nodded. With a trembling hand, she fished into her uniform pocket for her keys, drew them out, and made her way to the gated door in the first of the two fences. She had to force her legs to move. Fumbling, she inserted the key, and the door swung open. She locked it behind her, crossed the metal platform over the ditch, and opened the second door, into the dridder’s cage. She stepped in, cautiously, and pushed it shut behind her. The dridder approached, her eight segmented legs –far taller than Nwea’s entire body– moving in harmony. Slowly, so as to reassure the little human.

“You are safe here,” the dridder told her, gravely.

Nwea nodded again, still shaken. “Thank you.” She forced the words out.

The dridder smiled, reassuring her. “Sit down. You are… not strong?”

“Weak.”

“Weak. Sit down, Nwea.”

She did so. The dridder gave her another smile, before turning her attention to the slug girl in the next cage. The latter was looking exceedingly nervous, and making small whimpering sounds. Whether she was actually frightened, or merely discomforted at all that was going on, Nwea didn’t know. But she watched with interest –and even a little pride– as the dridder whom she had taught to speak tried to reassure the tense slug girl, talking to her in soothing terms. The slug hybrid listened, but fretted and fidgeted, and seemed unready to relax. Eventually –to Nwea’s great surprise– the dridder reared up and bore her strength down onto the fencing between their enclosures. Nwea leapt up with a cry of alarm, expecting her to be flung back with a jolt of electricity – but nothing happened. The fencing was no longer electrified. She stood still, shocked, absorbing the implications of that, while the dridder proceeded to smash the fencing down with unsuspected force. That done, she scuttled over to the slug girl, approaching her in her own enclosure for the very first time. Nwea watched, with strange emotion, as the dridder spoke to her fellow captive again, calming her. The slug girl finally appeared to relax.

* * *


The centauress gulped down the last of the little biped creatures she had caught, and slowed her pace to a more leisurely stroll. Whatever this place was, it seemed to have normal-sized creatures contained behind fencing –where they posed no threat to her–, and smaller food creatures running around between them. It was an arrangement which suited her perfectly. Much calmer now, she walked along, discovering her surroundings, while her recent meal wriggled and thrashed pleasantly in her belly. She gave no thought to the future. Her mind, undeveloped, was clouded in pure instinct.

After a brief while, she came across something new. It seemed like an odd fusion of a plant with one of the food creatures. Its top part was like hers –but tiny–, while its lower part was that of a tree. And as she approached it, curious, it began making sounds of apparent distress, much as the other food creatures had done. She sniffed at it, even as her instincts told her that anything that was both plant and flesh was unmistakably food. With little hesitation, she leaned down, opened her mouth, and engulfed the tree-creature’s top, clamping her lips round its torso. Then she straightened up, tearing her food out of the ground, its roots coming loose with a spray of earth. It thrashed about, frantically, yelling meaningless sounds. She sucked it in, roots and all, and savoured its new, exquisite flavour for a while before swallowing. A heavy gulp sent the little dryad travelling as a bulge down her throat, and she exhaled a sigh of satisfaction as the latest mouthful of her lunch reached her stomach. Her belly groaned, and rumbled, beginning to digest her meal.

Before she could give much thought as to where she should go next, she heard an unfamiliar sound, and turned to see a fairly small something approach, fairly fast. Although she could not identify metal, she knew its material was similar to that of the thick fences which had, until recently, held her contained. Nor had she any concept of what a car was, but she dimly remembered having seen similar things pass by her cage on several occasions in the past. The little biped creatures which hurried out of it, however, were easily identifiable.

“Don’t move!” one of the humans shouted at her – a sound which meant nothing to her. They were pointing things at her. Tiny things, which could not possibly harm her.

She tilted her head, curious, and considered her options.


* * *


It had been Khas’ idea to visit Felarya Park, and Cilla had agreed with little hesitation. He had been talking about it for a while, and had looked forward to it once she had agreed. Besides, saying yes to her boyfriend’s idea of a day out meant she could pressure him to go somewhere she wanted next. She had a few ideas already. Such as the floral show in Prenia Ton. She had smiled slightly at the thought of dragging him round there.

And at first, she had had to admit that she was enjoying it here. The exhibits were impressive – a word which barely seemed to do the Park justice. They had strolled through the harpy aviary and seen a number of other deadly (but safely contained) predators, before having lunch in the restaurant built into the aquarium complex. The restaurant rooms held large water tanks interconnected with tubes, in which tiny mermaids swam and played. For a moment, Cilla was concerned that these little mermaids might be on the menu, but a staff members had soon reassured her ; each one of these mermaids was of inestimable value, and treasured in consequence. They were there to amuse and entertain diners. After lunch, they had been to see the giant mermaids –“who would eat any of you up if they got their hands on you,” a guide pleasantly explained–, and it was there that the call for evacuation had sounded.

She had been disappointed, but Khas had been downright annoyed. All the more so when they emerged from the building to find it pouring with rain. Being a neko, he disliked getting wet, whereas she, a human, had originated from an archipelago where downpours were frequent. She had assured him that the evacuation was no doubt temporary, and they had made their way to a nearby portal.

It was there that their troubles had begun. The portal was not walking. A staff member had assured them they were merely waiting for the backup generators to kick in, but as time passed, and nothing happened, the crowd of waiting visitors grew, and many were growing restless. People milled about in the rain, stuck beside a dormant portal. Some moved off, and eventually returned. Word spread that other portals weren’t working either. Questions were flung at the hapless staff, who could only repeat that they were waiting for the energy to come back on.

And then rumours started to claim that predators, somewhere, had broken loose. That was quite sufficient for the restlnessness to expand into something else. The prospect of being trapped on an island with man-eating monsters roaming about was enough to strike terror into any heart. Some in the crowd ran off – goodness knew where. Others demanded that the staff ‘fix’ the portal, which was far beyond their abilities. Biting his lip, Khas pulled out his park map, and unfolded it it partly despite the rain.

“What are you doing?” Cilla asked.

“If we’re stuck here… And if it’s true that there are predators loose…”

“Oh, you don’t think it is, do you?”

He managed a smile in response to her anxiety. “No. I think they must have safety measures. But if it is… We’ll need to go somewhere safe. Somewhere they can’t get at us.”

“Where?”

“I’m thinking, one of the buildings.” He pressed his finger on the map. “If we return to the aquarium…”

“What… Now?”

“No… Maybe not now.” He hesitated. “I don’t know.”

“What if we go off, and they fix the portal while we’re not here?”

“I know.” He frowned.

“What about that building?” She pointed to a huge complex within sight, closer than the aquarium. “What does the map say that is?”

Khas checked. “It says it’s a giant naga vivarium.”

“Perhaps… we shouldn’t go there, then.”

Before Khas could comment in turn, there was a crashing sound, followed by a second, much larger one. And then more, a succession of resounding bangs and crashes, carried through the wet air to the equally wet, increasingly nervous crowd… out from the giant building. A murmur of fear grew around them, as almost all eyes turned to the massive complex where several immense nagas were supposed to be enclosed.

“No…” Khas agreed, quietly, his worried eyes gazing through the rain. “Perhaps not that one…”

My bit. My thoughts on it have changed a lot over the break time and I think I want to focus most on Ione herself. Well, let's see how it goes...

----

Ione looked in distress at Simon. She had swum down to him, trying to follow. She had thought for a few moments he was swimming with her, but his thrashing wasn’t swimming. Ione was young and was not being raised for complex thought, but she wasn’t dumb by any means. She had pulled Simon out of the water and put him back where he had been sitting. However, he didn’t seem to be moving. She prodded him, then again, a little harder. Suddenly, he spat up water.

“Simon!” she said, getting a better mastery of his name.

“Ione… you… saved me.” He gasped. “Thanks.”

“Thanks!” she echoed enthusiastically. Simon looked around and then realized that Ione had managed to pull herself out of her tank. The canal doors had apparently been jammed open. She was lying in the shallow canal, her tail splashing in the water. He was on the edge. The canal was much more filled with water now – her tank was emptied to its level. If this had happened everywhere, the aquarium section would now be totally connected, each exhibit to the others. However, the water in general did seem to be rising and he could guess why as he heard the crashing sound of waves. The aquarium level, or at least the salt-water section of it, was set much lower than the rest of the park. This was to save from having to set up expensive pumping equipment to take the water to the higher levels. However, the system of locks and dams appeared to have shut down completely. As well, from what he could make out, the waves were much larger than he had ever seen.

Ione looked with uncertainty at the darkening clouds. Simon studied her. This situation was not only dangerous to him, but potentially to her as well. His mind raced.

“Ione.” He said slowly. “Can you get me up there?” he said, pointing to the top of the canal walls. Ione looked a little confused. “Simon, up there?” he tried. To his surprise she complied fairly quickly. He looked back down at her.

“Ione.” He said. “Please… please stay right here. This looks like some sort of emergency. All the power is off… ah, well, I don’t suppose that matters. But other predators might be out and they’ll…” he trailed off, realizing he needed to keep this simple.

“Please just wait! I’m going to try and get help.” Ione nodded and he set off running. He was heading towards the nearest portal. If he got through to the otherworld side, he could call in the authorities. He ran as fast as he could, following and pushing through the streaming crowds, which only now seemed to be suspecting something was wrong. He ran up to the portal, pushing through with the rest of the crowd, emerging on the familiar other side, the terminal. He looked back through the shimmering field. Then suddenly, the portal simply disappeared. He stood, dumbstruck. It had vanished. Shorted out. He felt a slow sinking in his stomach. Ione was trapped in that park with whatever else was. He shook his head. He needed to focus. Surely someone could fix the portal from this side.

----


Ione waited for Simon. Then she waited some more. She was starting to get worried, especially since the water had risen nearly to the top of the canal. She could easily slide across land to any of the other tanks if she wanted. She ducked slightly under the water, bobbing up and down. She was hungry. Now was supposed to be her feeding time. But no one had come. Surely Simon wouldn’t be mad if she tried to find out where all the fish were hidden? It was feeding time after all.

She suddenly began to realize the full implications of the flooding. She could go anywhere. She no longer had to wait for anything. She’d so often wondered what else was out there. Now she could see! Her worries gone, she heaved herself out of the canal, slipped across the land, splashing into another pool, ready to explore.

----

Mirinda knelt by the pool, coaxing the last of the small mermaids into the building through the access canal, before shutting the gate, which she had to do manually. Everything seemed to be not working, but she needed to get the smaller creatures into the inside pool. She sighed, straightening up. She was glad she was wearing her wetsuit, as it was unusually cold and rainy outside. She started to scoop some small shrimp into the pool with an exhausted look on her face. Last she’d heard, the water levels had cut the training facility off from the rest of the park. She’d likely be stuck here until the storm was over and the power was put back on. Until then she had to mind the fort. All of the technicians and animal monitors had been elsewhere. The only people in the training centre were the actually trainers. Unfortunately, the other girls weren’t even trying to help out. They were mostly moping about not being able to get off work. Mirinda had worked at other aquariums and this one frankly disappointed her. In her opinion it was only a slight bit away from a circus or, more appropriately, a strip show. Half naked mermaids jumping out of the water was what really attracted people. All of the “trainers”, or at least the performing ones seemed to be attractive young women as well. She didn’t need to guess what the plan had been while hiring, especially after seeing the outfit she was expected to wear during the shows. Though, even she had to admit that training the mermaids was rather easy. They caught onto things much faster than she would have assumed base animals would have been able to. Right now all she could do was keep the human sized ones safe in here. She couldn’t imagine any of them actually doing it, but she was a bit worried the big mermaids would take this opportunity to gobble up some of the littler ones. The mermaids were technically fish and that’s just how fish worked. There was always a bigger one around somewhere.

Well, I wasn't expecting a continuation that fast! Good to see how Ione is coping.

And it means we've now established that there are mermaids of all sizes. Giant ones, human-sized ones (in your latest part), and tiny ones (in my part just above). The tiny ones are in a closed circuit of tanks unconnected to the rest - or at least, some of them are.

Speaking of which... At some point, the different threads of these stories should start to interconnect. We'll need some guidelines for that. Personally, I don't mind anyone using my characters - just as long as you don't kill them without asking.

Who's next? Turboman?

Nice to see this thing up and running again.

Been a busy weekend...and two new continuations when I get back here, awesome! Good to see Ione again, and free now with the floods heh.

Indeed im next lol, and my mission (for now) is complete. There's a pack of raging (or playing depending on your perspective) pantuars, and a rather hungry and cranky tonoritaurus gigas making a b line to the heart of the park...

So who wants to do the next chapter?

I volunteer to pitch a story, of what yet I don't know... maybe a Chilotaur or cage of Harpies (an idea I heard in someone's comment) or maybe some Chlaenas or a couple of Razia... on second thought maybe not the Razia, they might be too much of a challenge to keep in line.

I'm fine for waiting on that before I make my next chapter, I kind of hoped Timing and Xulia's section would continue before I took another but I can work on one after you have done yours Sehoolighan if you want to contribute to it. Otherwise I may begin work once I complete two other stories I have had scheduled for a while first that are drawing closer to completion.

Wildthing has a chapter that is mostly done, but I believe he's bowed out of FP now. I intend on tweaking what he has written to a point where I can then pick up his characters and integrate them into my own part of the story. Once I get through working on Marsha's story, I'll probably dive back into FP, so don't wait on me to continue your own chapters. It could be a while.

Sehoolighan, have you got a clear idea to work on, or would you prefer Asuroth to go first (if he wants to)?

I've finished an outline and am starting to write the next section if that is ok, unless someone else had some secret plans they were going to go through with. It won't be done immediately but just a heads up that it's my next project. I'm still a sucker for this story series heh.

Asuroth wrote:

I've finished an outline and am starting to write the next section if that is ok, unless someone else had some secret plans they were going to go through with. It won't be done immediately but just a heads up that it's my next project. I'm still a sucker for this story series heh.

Very glad to hear it!