Feral (What happened to the humans?)

Based on a book I plan to write sometime...

.:Story:.

It has been years since humans have walked the earth, and most of the land has been reclaimed by nature. Ivy covers dilapidated buildings, walls have crumbled, and an eerie wind whispers through once-crowded squares. There are a few areas that remain clean and populated: major cities like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, as well as their suburbs. Outside of these spots, the lands are nearly deserted. But who maintains the inhabited cities? And if the humans are gone, who inhabits them?

The animals, of course.

Animals have come an incredibly long way from the time when humans strode the lands. Before then, they were stupid beasts, unaware of their own lives. They fought and ate and survived just for the sake of surviving. But something happened long ago, and that something might be linked with the disappearance of the humans. Though no one around today was alive for it, the legend has been passed down through generations of animals.

They call it "The Great Shift". It swept the earth, enabling animals to think and become aware. It also enabled them to change back and forth between their original forms and new, acquired human forms. These new forms were also affected by the species of animal. These forms would often carry traits of the original animal, though the amount of traits and how noticable they were tended to vary. The human forms might have looked quite normal, or they might have had very distinct and apparent animal qualities. Some had animal ears and tails, patches of fur or feathers, fangs, or claws. Wings sometimes extended from arms or attached at shoulder-blades.

Not every living creature was affected by The Great Shift, though. Fish, bugs, and any rodents smaller than a rabbit remained unintelligent, and they served as both pets and sustenance, a position that remains today. As for the rest of the animals, they picked names for themselves, and many of them traveled to main cities. They repaired the damage done by the years and took up residence there. Numerous animals found that they were adept at certain crafts, and they offered their services to others. Scholarly individuals poured over books and tomes, and they became professors. The animals started families, and a long era of peace and progress began.

Animals after that generation found that they could not shift like their parents could, at least not until some time around the age when they began to mature. They found that the first shift was usually caused by an emotional or physical stressor, and the practice of sending young animals out into the wild to find that first shift was started. For years, this was always a generally safe event.

Recently, however, things haven't been so safe outside of the cities. Roving bands of roguelike characters lurk in the shadows, exiles and vagabonds who snatch the juvenile, defenseless monsters looking for their first shifts in the hopes of getting ransoms from worried parents. On top of that, there have been rumors that whatever had caused the disappearance of the humans is beginning again.

Many questions persist in the minds of the common folk and philosophers. Why did the previous inhabitants of the world vanish? They left no bodies, no clue as to why they suddenly stopped existing. Why do the animals undergo the shifts? And if a real danger is rising again now, what can be done to stop it?

Notes:
-There are no hybrid animals, aside from mules and the occasional zorse or liger. If two different types of animals interbreed (which can only be done in human form, mind you), their children will resemble either one or the other parent.
-When animals choose a name, there is nothing arbitrary about it. It seems to them as though one name is just perfect. It calls out to them, and when they decide that it is in fact their name, it seems to click. Is there a reason for this?
-No two human forms look the same.
-The altername forms of animals match their genders.
-You had best keep a set of clothes in a sack with you while you're in your animal form to be worn when you shift to your human form. You won't have anything to wear, otherwise. Granted, this isn't required...and if that's your thing, I won't tell you how to live your life.


.:Character Sheet:.

Code:

Name:
Gender:
Species of Animal:
Appearance of Animal Form:
Age:
Appearance of Human Form: (Be descriptive; provide at least three sentences.)
Personality: (Optional. I like to discover character personalities as I go, and if you do too, you can leave this blank.)
Background: (Not a history, but a rough background. Profession? Home life?)
History: (Like Personality, this is optional. More depth can be added to characters if their histories are discovered later on. Still, I don't want five million orphans whose homes burned in a fire that also killed their parents, so if you're not going to say your history right away, promise me that you'll be at least a little original if/when your story is revealed.)
Other: (Whatever else you'd like to add.)

sooo........are all animals mushed together now? Like.....a polar bear and a lion can live in the same area?

((Pretty much In the book, cities are mainly populated by certain kinds of animals (New York is a bird city, for example) but I feel that that would be a little too complicated for a C.C.))

ok wait so do we have to explain their emotional change and stuff?

((Nah. Unless they aren't changed yet and you want that to happen after the chat starts, of course :3))

'Granted, this isn't required...and if that's your thing, I won't tell you how to live your life.' ROFL I love this idea so much. Not the not wearing clothes thing, the chat xD

((Are you planning to join it, then? ))

hm... I have a tendancy to drop out of chats...

((D:))

So, when do we start?

Name: Violet
Gender: female
Species of Animal: wolf
Appearance of Animal Form: the same color as her hair in the link i gave for her pic, medium size, violet eyes
Age: 16
Appearance of Human Form: http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgxxbbPTc11qaunyyo1_400.gif
violet colored eye(thts how she got her name) in human form she still has wolf ears and tail

Personality: guarded, can be timid at times, pretends to be more confident then she is
Background: lone wolf...
History: when animals started changing into humans, wolf packs decided to keep pack laws meaning same rank and such. violet was choosen by alpha male to become alpha female but her parents knew his cruelty and tried to run away with her. during their escape her parents were caught and told her to keep going. she ran and ran until she couldn't run anymore. she doesn't know if her parents are dead or alive but she plans to try and save them if they are.
Other: carries an old tan side bag that holds her clothes and her weapons of choice, her many knives.

Name: Tare (like 'care' with a t)
Gender: M
Animal: cat
Animal Form: http://catdetails.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/japanese-bobtail-cat.jpg?w=400&h=400 - yes, no tail
Age: 19
Human Form: http://images.ados.fr/bd-manga/photo/hd/1727304172/shugo-chara/ikuto-1877380306.jpg
Personality: clever and playful
Background: a loner and likes it that way, though still enjoys some company
History: eh make something as i go along...
Other: his trait in human form: has deep emerald eyes, elliptical like a cat's

Name: Ai (pronounced like 'eye')
Gender: F
Animal: kestrel
Animal Form: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://web4.audubon.org/bird/stateofthebirds/hi-res/kestrel.jpg&imgrefurl=http://web4.audubon.org/bird/stateofthebirds/birdpics.html&usg=__WtIOHRw29SMcO1ha8AKVUH5IcX4=&h=1143&w=750&sz=183&hl=en&start=0&sig2=z_dtwIOs3smZwVk2MVSyTA&zoom=1&tbnid=oKiYka0V5EFwbM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=64&ei=s3SOTc7QDMuitgfujriFAQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkestrel%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D888%26bih%3D374%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C150&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=344&oei=s3SOTc7QDMuitgfujriFAQ&page=1&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0&tx=38&ty=43&biw=888&bih=374
Age: 18
Human Form: http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/65566/65566,1240204082,1/stock-photo-closeup-portrait-of-pretty-teenage-girl-with-long-blond-hair-and-big-brown-eyes-smiling-28795369.jpg
Personality: quiet but not shy, keeps to herself most of the time.
Background: went out on her own at seventeen, reasons yet to be determined
Other: her trait in human form: her hair is adorned with kestrel feathers. around her eyes she has a feather like pattern on her skin

do u wanna start or wait for winter...?

hm. we can start, i suppose

kk

Violet: I had traveled for awhile. I had recently went through a valley where off in the distance was a old broken down city. I was in my human form as I drew closer to the outside of the buildings. I took a breath and walked the streets. I saw no one, not animal nor semi-human figures. I was starving and my tummy grumbled. I rubbed it looking around.

Tare
I look up from the ally way i laid in, eying the new comer. I stand and stretch, jumping up onto a dumpster and watching her with piercing green eyes, lick my paw once or twice in the meantime.

Violet: I jump hearing the noise, and look to my side seeing a figure on a dumpster in an alley way. I take a step back unsure of him, I saw his ears and him licking his paw. I sniffed the air, cat for sure. I held tightly to my bag for a little confidence. He's just a cat, calm down Violet...

Tare
I meow lightly, jump down again and walk over to her purring. I sniff her leg, my ears pricking up as i hear her stomach growl again.

Violet: I licked my lips, I was so hungry. No Vie....it could be a person too....you don't know. I sighed ignoring my hunger, "Hey kitty." I pet its head softly.

Tare
Kitty? Well, i couldn't exactly shift yet. I walk away, back to the alleyway, slinking into the shadows.

((Doll: Please to be not changing my universe. Perhaps some wolves might try to form weird little cults (I guess anyone could), but it would be highly frowned upon. This is modern society, here. Also, (although this could just be my computer, I doubt that it is) purplish-blue wolf = not gonna fly. Wolves don't actually look like that. She could dye her human hair whatever color she wants, but her entire wolf pelt? Also, all animals save for the ones specified in the story are sentient. I believe I made that quite clear. Also also, would you walk up to someone, call them "human," and pet their head? I don't think so.

BW: I do hope that his hair is dyed blue in his human form.

Both: I said three sentences for human appearances, nay?

Anyway, I'll stop being mean and post my character now.

Name: Tabitha
Gender: Female
Species of Animal: Hawk
Appearance of Animal Form: She looks like any typical hawk.
Age: 17
Appearance of Human Form: Tabitha has soft, black hair that falls to her shoulders and side bangs combed to her left. Her eyes are bright green, and her skin is quite pale. She's about average height and rather thin. There are some hawk feathers in her hair, and she has giant wings in the place of her arms. She does have hands, however, emerging from the feathers at the wrists of her wings, much like a bat's fingers (only it's the whole hand). She typically wears sleeveless tops, jeans, a long, cream scarf, and sneakers. Her daily outfit might change, but the scarf is always there.
Personality: You'll learn
Background: Tabitha was born to working-class parents. Her life really hasn't been hard, and Fate has been pretty decent to her thus far.
History: See above. That's pretty much it.
Other: Tabitha tries to avoid her bird form because she can't carry clothes for her human form. Her human form has somewhat hollow bones, so while she has to be careful not to trip and fall for fear of breaking something, she's capable of sustaining flight for a while, and she can glide effortlessly. She's allergic to dust. She prefers being called "Tab."

I'll jump in momentarily sometime soon.))

sry i didnt get it at first and yea i guess she just has her hair dyed and i thought tare was in human form but then when he rubbed violets leg with his head i assumed he was in animal form another confusion on my part

only anime, Win. >.>

I've got another character, if you want to join in now, Winter.

((Doll: The fact that he was in animal form doesn't affect whether or not he's a person Here, all animals but the specified ones are people. Actually, reverse that. All the people are animals. They were born animals, but they were born sentient.

BW: Lol. You know me, I'm a nit-picker. Also, I've got it. I had actually already typed up this response, haha.))

Tab
I was perched on a rooftop, as I often liked to be. It was a bird thing, really. I looked down with mild interest at the people interacting below. This was, for the most part, an abandoned section of town; a majority of the animals lived closer to the heart of the city. I usually came here for solitude and some time to think. It was easy enough to do, seeing as the derelict streets remained empty from dawn to dusk. Well, at least until today.
I leaped off the edge of the building and spread my wings wide, raising one higher than the other and expertly corckscrewing to the pavement below. I touched down lightly, my sneaker-ed feet hardly making a sound.
"Lost or something?" I asked. "People don't usually come around here."

Violet: I looked at the girl and didn't answer her. I had never been here before so I was guarded. I look around, she was right, it didn't look like many people came here.