Quietus
Hunting Again
:::Stipkips:::
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
+ Hyper-Sensitivity. Their florifs (head puffs) play the role of sensory extensions, granting Stipkips ultra sensitive awareness of their surroundings via vibrations through the air caused by both sound and movement.
+ Sticky-Feet. Their hands-feet provide excellent dexterity and grip and are rather strong for their size. Stipkips are sure-footed because of this and rarely ever take a mistep through the trees. Their tiny fingers are fully capable of manipulating objects be it natural or man-made.
+ Safety in numbers. Because of their ability to reproduce at an alarming rate, Stipkips are rarely ever alone. They travel in bands called Kipperies that can number into the hundreds.
- Overly curious. Stipkips, especially young ones, are prone to bad decisions where curiosity comes into play. They are noted thieves that will steal anything new, shiny, or unusual - the good news is their Kippery has a centralized hoard location where most all stolen things can be found eventually.
- Appetizing to everything. Stipkips are snacked upon by just about everything on Thral that can manage to reach them in the upper-level canopies... which is a lot of Thral creatures.
- Cannot swim. Stipkips also dislike water in general, opting to find cover and hide when the rains come. You won't find them near large bodies of water, not even for a drink. Stipkips typically get all their necessary moisture from the fruit they feed on. During times of low resources they will drink from rainwater pooled in leaves.
- Terrified of fire.
CULTURE
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Aside from their propensity to annoy the crap out of most anything else in the jungle, Stipkips don't have a particularly long or colorful history. Most notably they were first discovered by Moross Crusade explorers who quickly identified the creatures as inappropriately cute and disarming. They quickly learned to avoid the tiny monkeys and warded them off with torches and campfires.
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To expand on the creatures of Thral, Quietus' new home planet.
- Image Credit: "Creature Design Griggies" by Lip Comarella
- Canon: N/A
- Links: Thral
- Name: Stipkips
- Designation: Non-Sentient
- Homeworld: Thral
- Language: N/A
- Average Lifespan: 3 - 10 years
- Estimated Population: Rare
- Description: Tiny marsupials that inhabit the upper-levels of the Koryn Wilds, they are noted for their puffy, bulbous bodies, snatchy little finger-feets, annoying chattering, and excessive numbers. They provide nothing more than a nuisance to the inhabitants of the jungle, a small and quick meal when said inhabitants are hungry, and their luxuriously soft skull-puffs and tails as decorative accessories to the discerning fashionista.
- Breathes: Type I
- Average height of adults: Approximately 40cm
- Average length of adults: Nose to tail end, approximately 90cm
- Skin color: N/A
- Hair color: Males: White/Gray/Orange/Red/Tan, Females: White/Sage/Blue/Red
- Distinctions: Stipkips are smallish little nuisance puffs that spend their days preening their florifs (skull puffs) and tails. Aside from the variation of color between the genders, males boast a very robust, striped tail that is used as part of the mating ritual. The longer, puffier, fuller, and more vibrantly colored the tail - the better their chances are of getting a female. Both genders boast four limbs with curiously dexterous little finger-feets capable of snatching, stealing, taking, opening, unfastening, unbuckling, unlatching, breaking, and all other manner of annoyance-inducing verbs once can think of. All the things. They are fairly evenly distributed across the Koryn Wilds, and the jungles are the only place you will find these creatures as they are the only place that provide their choice diet of fruit and insects. Colors are fairly uniform as such, varying slightly in shade depending on the gender, age, and health of the Stipkip.
- Races: N/A
- Strengths:
+ Hyper-Sensitivity. Their florifs (head puffs) play the role of sensory extensions, granting Stipkips ultra sensitive awareness of their surroundings via vibrations through the air caused by both sound and movement.
+ Sticky-Feet. Their hands-feet provide excellent dexterity and grip and are rather strong for their size. Stipkips are sure-footed because of this and rarely ever take a mistep through the trees. Their tiny fingers are fully capable of manipulating objects be it natural or man-made.
+ Safety in numbers. Because of their ability to reproduce at an alarming rate, Stipkips are rarely ever alone. They travel in bands called Kipperies that can number into the hundreds.
- Weaknesses:
- Overly curious. Stipkips, especially young ones, are prone to bad decisions where curiosity comes into play. They are noted thieves that will steal anything new, shiny, or unusual - the good news is their Kippery has a centralized hoard location where most all stolen things can be found eventually.
- Appetizing to everything. Stipkips are snacked upon by just about everything on Thral that can manage to reach them in the upper-level canopies... which is a lot of Thral creatures.
- Cannot swim. Stipkips also dislike water in general, opting to find cover and hide when the rains come. You won't find them near large bodies of water, not even for a drink. Stipkips typically get all their necessary moisture from the fruit they feed on. During times of low resources they will drink from rainwater pooled in leaves.
- Terrified of fire.
CULTURE
- Diet: Tree-born fruits, nuts, berries, and insects, primarily. They also feed upon some leaves and flowers. Generally anything else is poisonous.
- Communication: Screeches, chirps, chattering, squeals, squeaks.
- Technology level: N/A
- Religion/Beliefs: N/A
- General behavior: Stipkips are highly social creatures that grow up in large colonies call Kipperies. An average Kippery numbers into the high dozens with larger Kipperies totaling into the hundreds. They spend their days socializing, preening themselves and one another, gathering appropriate foodstuffs high up in the jungle canopy. Living communally means they share resources with one another and take turns over various "duties" within the colony. Each Kippery is lead by an alpha male determined by which male can manage to collect the most females - which can change several times in a month depending on circumstance. Mating season is year-round due to the consistently warm weather of the Koryn Wilds. Males will spend a great deal of time preening themselves and their tails before performing a mating call and dance within the trees that shows of their butt-ties. Females that are presently unencumbered by pregnancy or Pips (baby Stipkips) will congregate around the male of their choice.
Stipkips are capable of reproducing at 6 months of age with a gestation period of about 60 days. They give birth to up to three Pips with a survival rating to full maturity at around 50%. While they do not mate for life, Stipkips will generally remain with their family Kippery for their lifetime. Very large Kipperies will naturally break off smaller colonies as young males approach full maturity and lead females off to other canopies. While violence is not a common thing between Kipperies, Kippery wars have been noted over resources where invading Kipperies will steal from a larger colony's food hoard and throw unattended rival Pips from the treetops.
They are not particularly brave creatures in general, but the larger the Kippery the more likely they are to become emboldened. Stipkips have been known to harass local predators by throwing twigs, nuts, and feces - as well they will dive-bomb interloping creatures that get too close to their Kippery hoard by battering them with their numbers and screeching incessantly. A large Kippery in full-blown alert mode is enough to give even larger predators a migraine with their high-pitched squealing.
Stipkip hoards are the collection of food and shinies they find. Hoards are typically located within hollowed-out trees, vacant nests or dens of larger creatures, and sometimes just as a random mound in the middle of the jungle. Rest assured if you have a local Kippery, anything that has gone missing will likely turn up in their hoard pile.
Raised from a Pip beyond a natural Kippery, a Stipkip can easily be tamed and domesticated. Lone Stipkips have shown to be far quieter and calmer, often mimicking the personalities of their caretakers. While not sentient, Stipkips can be taught numerous commands much in the same vein as a dog. Given their food-driven nature, reward-based training provides the best results. Lone, domesticated Stipkips are hard pressed to deny their instinct to hoard, however, and owners are cautioned to keep their valuables under close eye.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Aside from their propensity to annoy the crap out of most anything else in the jungle, Stipkips don't have a particularly long or colorful history. Most notably they were first discovered by Moross Crusade explorers who quickly identified the creatures as inappropriately cute and disarming. They quickly learned to avoid the tiny monkeys and warded them off with torches and campfires.
