((((This will either be an rp or a story written by me.  I prefer interactive stories, but if no one responds, I’ll turn it into a story.  So that you can get a small idea of what my idea is for this story, I will briefly explain the situation.  Our characters will be animals at a zoo, who can talk.   My own character will be a fox that was taken out of her forest home and introduced into the zoo.  Your characters can be any animals of your choosing, and can be recently captured animals, or animals who are long time residents.  My hopes for this story is that whatever animals are new will be welcomed and comforted by the zoo animals and that friendships will be developed.  Maybe they can even find a way out of the zoo…. We won’t know until the story is developed!

I don’t have any limits about animals you can choose or not choose.  Also, because the whole idea is to interact, we’ll pretend that this zoo is unique.  In this zoo, there’s one large landscape which is fenced in and the outer walls are glass.  Trails weave through the glass walls so humans can see the animals.  In other words, it’s sort of like an aquarium, but with animals instead of fish. All animals will be in this viewing area, no matter what type they are.  This way, our characters can easily and sensibly interact with one another.

Also, even though I’m posting a lengthy starter, you do NOT have to post a whole lot.  In fact, I don’t mind if you post just one paragraph.  I simply ask that you write more than one sentence, each of which is at least around 15 words each. I don’t think this is too much to ask, and I think it will help the story progress nicely.))) 
 
Selyna smiled, watching her young cubs play around in the grass.  Their father had died a few days ago in a poacher’s trap, but death was a normal part of life and not something to mourn for a terribly long time.  Of course Selyna was saddened by her partner’s death, but at the same time she had to move on.  Life in the forest was not so easy when you were small and your choices of food were limited. 

She yawned and stretched her front legs as her youngest, Jesslyn, rushed forward to nip at her mothers’ near and tug on it.  “Mommy, mommy!”  Jesslyn cried out around mouthful of ear.  “Mommy come play with us!” 

Selyna tried not to grimace too much as her head was jerked to the side by the tiny teeth in her ear, and she let out a playful growl. 

“Jesslyn, what did I tell you about talking with your mouth full!?”  She got to her feet and gathered Jesslyn to her with tail, licking the top of her head. “I’m too tire to play right now sweety.” 

She listened to Jesslyn grumble in frustration, and watched the other two young foxes as they realized their sister was getting a bath. Laughing and rushing towards the mother and daughter, Chalsen and Gronora teased their sister. “Jesslyn’s dirty, Jesslyn’s dirty!”  they teased, and Selyna grinned, swiping a paw out to tousle the boys gently.   

"So are you two young cubs!"  Here tease came with a cost, however, as it caused her to change her grip on Jesslyn, and Jesslyn took the opportunity to dash away. Selyna sighed. 

“Jesslyn, get back here!”  She quickly got up and barked to the boys,  “Stay in place, you hear?”  She quickly ran off after Jesslyn, who had disappeared into the bushes.  Following her daughter’s scent, she was about to call out when there was suddenly an overwhelming scent that almost knocked her out.  It was one that she didn’t recognize, and before she could call out in fright to Jesslyn, something hit Selyna on the back of the head, causing her to pass out. 

*****

When she opened her eyes, it was dark and humid. Selyna could hardly breathe, and the space she found herself in was confined....  cramped for her bushy tale and quivering whiskers. A small panic rose up in her throat, and she tried to turn around, her paws hitting the corners of the crate fruitlessly. Where was she?  

It was a thought that invaded her mind, and her heart rate rose with every bump and jostle of the small space. Her ears twitched... what was she hearing? There was a strange humming sound like none she had heard before, and little clinks of metal also filled the small space.   

"Hello?' she cried out timidly, her voice more wavery than she cared for it to be. All four of her paws clung to the wood below, but she still felt as though she didn't have a firm enough grasp to keep from slipping around.  

"Hello?" she tried a little louder, terrified by the lack of sounds from living things. "Help! Where am I?" She couldn't hear any of the normal sounds she was accustomed to: the rustling of the leaves in the trees, the yips of her young cubs in the den, or the crunch of a twig under a rabbit's food.  The smells, too, were completely different. Gone was the smell of moist dirt, green leaves, or musty weasels. Instead every odor that attacked her sense of smell seemed so.... fake. It had a hard edge to it and burned in her nostrils.  

Something suddenly changed as she was trying to understand the shifts in her environment. The sounds outside of her dark prison became quieter and less frenzied until finally, they stopped altogether. There was a small hissing noise that reminded her of a snake, and her body tensed in the case of an attack.  Instead, she heard noises of foreign life. The sounds were clear and unadulterated by the prior rumblings and clankings associated with her trap, and they were very unlike anything she had heard before.  It was definitely the sound of something living however.  The noises were more flexible, and she had a hard time fathoming what they might be, so it only caused her to panic more. 

“Just be careful,” she heard, though she couldn’t understand one bit of it.  “This one’s a biter apparently.  She had a den full of kits she was trying to protect.” 

“Did you take the kits as well?”  Selyna could tell now that there were at least two living things moving around her, and the noises were getting louder.  New smells suddenly hit her as well, and they made her stomach churn.  A red fox in a meadow after all, has never been exposed to ballpark hot dogs, lavender laundry detergent, or brawny cologne.  She yipped out in defense and a loud scraping noise came into existence just feet away from her crate. 

Suddenly, light flooded her tiny little space.  She was too busy turning in the wooden prison, now frantically clawing at the wood, to listen for the beings outside her space.  Scritch scratch scratch!   Her tiny little paws tore up the tiniest splinters, and she dug harder and more incessantly.  It was as though the wood laughed at her attempts. 

“See what I mean?”  one of the voices chuckled with a small laugh.  The smell and sound of them became so strong that Selyna was afraid she might pass out.  Instead, she found her whole body tensing as the crate she was in suddenly lifted up and her center of gravity was forcibly changed.  Trying to keep her balance, she found herself falling against the side of the crate and barking again. 

“Help!” was what she wanted to cry, but the events passing were so overwhelming that she found darkness overtaking her senses as she passed out. 

***

The next time Selyna awoke, she wasn’t in the wooden crate.  Instead, she was in a foreign piece of land she had never seen before.  The shift in landscape was just as confusing as the crate had been, but at least now she could move around.  The fur on the back of her neck rose as she slowly got to her pas, curling her tail around the back of her necks.  She kept her crouched position with her ears pinned back. It was eerily quiet. No birds chirped, no twigs cracked, and the air smelt stale.  Her eyes quickly glanced around, and she was immediately aware of the fact that she was still missing her kits. 

She could tell she was still in an enclosed space, but this one was much larger than the wood had been. She could tell, also, that there was –something– also breathing in this space.  She didn’t know what it was or even where it was, but she could definitely sense it. She sat in place for a short while, waiting for something to jump out.  However, nothing happened.  She didn’t sense the strange beings from before, which both made her nervous and relieved at the same time. 

Finally, she deemed it might be safe to move.  Creeping forward, she licked her lips and called out quietly.  “He- hello?  Is anyone there?”