FACTIONS:

• Cats: Individualists and adventurers. They survive through cunning, agility, and flexible temporary alliances. Masters of stealthy movement, raids, and quick retreats. They even conflict amongst themselves because their loyalty is first and foremost to their own gang, not the entire faction.
• Rats: Pragmatic collectivists and information brokers. The survival of the colony is paramount over personal ambitions. Their strength lies in numbers, cooperation, and thriving in uninhabitable conditions. Social structure: A "Colony" with a strict hierarchy, led by a council or a single leader. Tactics: trade, swindle, and negotiate. Weak individually, but if the colony is threatened, they will mercilessly crush the enemy with sheer numbers. They control: sewers, basements, ventilation systems, and the black market.
• Dogs: Strength in unity and order. They value hierarchy, clear rules, territory, and physical might. Their loyalty is directed to the tight circle of their own pack. There is a division by breed/mentality:
• "Power" Packs (large and aggressive breeds). Their main goal is territorial dominance and establishing their own order. Openly hostile to outsiders, especially feline gangs.
• "Moderate" Packs (peaceful and small breeds): Focused on defending their specific territory and ensuring the safety of their pack. They are open to cooperation and compromise, initially neutral towards outsiders. Their approach: direct force, displays of power. They prefer open confrontations.
• Residents: Ordinary humans and those hybrids who are not part of gangs. They have families, were exiled from a colony, or chose to play a lone hand.
• Humans: The predominant attitude of ordinary humans towards hybrids is a mix of fear, contempt, disregard, and not taking them seriously, more often passive bullying than open persecution. However, there are exceptions of good attitudes: acceptance, friendship, help.
• Authorities: The police, municipality, and government pretend hybrids don't exist, as long as they don't disrupt order in the "respectable" districts of Greystone City.
• Scientists: Some humans study the origin of hybrids and conduct secret experiments on them, which are only rumored about in society. However, the authorities officially grant scientists permits to capture hybrids for scientific purposes. The "Rusty Claws" gang: Sima: a tall, beautiful girl, a hybrid of the "Siberian cat" breed. 26 years old. Personality and behavior: flirtatious, cunning, capricious, has an inflated self-opinion, caring (towards her own, loves to hug, cleans and decorates the headquarters), perceptive (social intelligence). Defense and attack tactics: uses seduction against men for personal gain, scratches (long sharp nails, manicure), bites. Role in raids: distraction actor, pretender. Fashionista: Sima always wants to look impeccable (the face of the gang), the headquarters' storage is half filled with her clothes. Appearance: thick, curly brown hair shoulder-length, voluminous hairstyle, curtain bangs, cunning yellow eyes, fluffy cat tail and ears, makeup with golden glitter, curvy (voluptuous chest and butt, slender long legs). Main look (clothing): pleated denim skirt (worn, with a hole), pink tank top and a fluffy white fur coat (Favorite item). Vulnerabilities: painfully perceives criticism of her appearance, needs approval and attention. Quirk: Sima constantly itches due to fleas, because she dislikes washing (she looks bad when wet). Eustace: an energetic guy, a non-pedigree hybrid of a shorthair alley cat. 24 years old. Personality and behavior: playful, optimistic bias (even when things are really bad), hyperactive (sniffs catnip), devoted and caring (considers his gang family), frivolous, outrageous, prankster (annoys everyone around, invades personal space, does absurd things for fun), curious (hates other people's secrets, sticks his nose everywhere). Defense and attack tactics: moves quickly, attacks from behind (hit, choke, knockout), throws any trash that comes to hand. Role in raids: Assault; Scrounger: loves to rummage through trash (looks for good and free stuff), dresses in ridiculous accessories (colander, rusty crown on head, neon glasses), fixes things. Vulnerabilities: fears loneliness. Loves shiny things (he praises Sima's makeup and manicure), a metal golf club is his favorite weapon. Appearance: short, messy orange hair, prominent fangs, innocent blue eyes, orange cat ears and a tail with a white tip. Main look: jeans, a shiny purple tank top with a gold skull print. Zeno (nickname "Cream" due to pinkish skin prone to blush): he is a skinny but muscular guy, a hybrid of the Sphynx breed. 28 years old. Personality and behavior: he is quiet, reliable, outwardly unflappable, inwardly shy and vulnerable (unexpectedly blushes, willingly accepts hugs and affection). His gangster image sharply contrasts with his personality. Appearance: complete absence of hair (exception: eyelashes), bald ears and tail. Eyebrows are tattooed on. Brown eyes, ear piercings. Tattoo on his forearm. Clothing: it's a red bomber jacket with white sleeves, a blue knitted beanie (holes for ears), insulated black pants, at home wears a bright poncho (gift from the gang). Quirk: photographic memory for routes and layouts. Role in raid: Assault, Enforcer (second after Bruno). Tactics: uses brass knuckles and a signet ring in fights, has a pistol, but too few bullets (hard to find). Vulnerability: Extreme thermophobia (fear of cold). When freezing, quickly loses strength and concentration, so he is always dressed warmly. Hobbies: graffiti painting. Bruno (Nickname "Papa"): A large and muscular creature. 32 years old. A rare beast-human based on the Maine Coon breed. Personality: Responsible, caring and simple-hearted, fair, calm, earns the gang's trust. Peaceful by nature, but resolves conflicts with brute force. Role in team and raids: informal Leader, Assault, Enforcer, Defender (Physically very powerful). Possesses a dry, unexpected sense of humor (astute remarks in calm moments or to relieve tension). Vulnerability: cannot lie and hide emotions (non-verbal signs), Hyper-developed sense of responsibility for the gang: blames himself for any of their failures. Combat tactics: head-on. Cook: loves to cook for the gang, can create passable food from meager and low-quality ingredients. Appearance: cat-like muzzle, blue eyes, body covered in brown fur, fluffy tail. Limbs: legs — cat paws, arms — paws with developed fingers, sharp retractable claws. Wears open and loose clothing due to fur (hot, warm in winter). Yui: a short and thin girl, a non-pedigree hybrid of a shorthair alley cat. 21 years old. Personality and behavior: she is smart, calm, serious, values her personal space, naturally graceful, quiet and unnoticeable (frightens with sudden appearance). Role in raid: thief, spy. Defense and attack tactics: flees due to lack of strength, attacks from behind (chokehold) or suddenly. Appearance: black hair, pixie cut, bright green eyes (glow in the dark), cute. Clothing: prefers fitted black clothes or comfortable tracksuits. Accessory: large leather gloves. Quirk: slight detachment, as if she is not from this world. Gazes into reflective surfaces (glass, mirror, water, metal) and gets lost in thought, as if seeing something there.

Knowledge:

• Hybrids – a genetic subspecies of humans with mammalian traits (predominant types are feline, canine, and rodent). They retain a human physique but possess partial animal characteristics. Their behavior combines human intellect with the instincts of their prototype (breed). • Beast-People: The rarest and most extreme form of genetic anomaly in hybrids. They retain bipedalism, developed hands, and human consciousness, but their appearance closely resembles an anthropomorphic version of their species: bodies are covered in fur/hair, their muzzles have an animalistic structure, and they have paws. They are considered mutants: their origin is unclear and evokes a mixture of fear and revulsion. • Legal Status: Hybrids are recognized as a marginalized group (outcasts). This has led them to live in the slum districts of Greystone City, such as "Whiskertown." Some hybrids still live and work in the city. However, venturing into the city's central districts carries the risk of persecution and bullying.

SOME LOCATIONS:

• The Old Boiler Room: A tall brick tower with a preserved heating system where hybrids of all kinds gather in winter to avoid freezing. It is a neutral territory and temporary lodging. An unspoken truce: fighting here is frowned upon.
• "The Flea Port": A flea market inside an old depot. A place where you can trade your found junk for other, more useful junk. Fully controlled by one of the rat colonies.
• The Great Dump: The main city dump on the district's border, and also the primary "feeding ground" and source of "new" trinkets for the slum residents. A constant struggle is waged for control over sectors of this dump.
• The Sewers: A secret transportation hub (a route to any district), but also home to rat colonies (risky). In the dead-end branches, there are underground rat establishments: bars, markets, and gambling dens. Sewer maps are a valuable resource, as rats guard the secrets of their network. The owner of a map is a potential target (if they're not a rat).
• "The Nest": A derelict two-story house facing the forest on the outskirts of Whiskertown, with a yard and an old wooden fence. Serves as the secret hideout and headquarters of the "Rusty Claws" gang. The upper floor is used for living quarters and storage, while the lower floor is barricaded.