Been fiddling with this species. Inspired by a compination of Slightly Dammed's Jakkai and that larepin Donnie drew. Let me know what you all think!
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Longtails Primer
Environment: Though native to arid and desert regions, longtails can be found in almost any area, though urban and arctic numbers are in the minority.
Diet: Longtails are omnivores and typically subsist on a mix of insects, nuts, fruits/berries, and meat. Meat usually comes from small game such as rabbits or snakes, though they are known to take down larger prey due to how they hunt (see below).
Appearance: Longtails stand at 3” tall, not counting their ears which are large, peaked, and several inches in length. Their bodies are covered in a coat of short fur ranging in colour from a light tan to dusty red to dirt brown. The colour is uniform across the body with two exceptions: bands of darker fur are not uncommon along the muzzle and approximately a third of all longtails have a different fur colour on their hands and/or feet. The nose of a longtail is whiskered. Longtails do not have hair in the conventional sense, though some have thick tufts of fur between or around their ears which resembles a head of hair.
A longtail’s hands have three fingers plus a thumb. Each digit is shorter than would be found on an equivalently scaled human hand, and feature leathery pads along the underside. The ‘handpaws’ are tipped in thick claws which are more suitable for digging than tearing flesh—though the latter is also possible. A longtail’s feet share the same paw-like traits as their hands, though the claws are more pronounced and there is of course no thumb. Longtails use a bipedal digitigrade stance while walking but will often bound forwards on all fours instead of running. This stance enables the use of their tail to help propel them towards (or away from) a destination quickly.
The Tail: The longtail’s namesake limb is a thickly-furred tail which extends to a length roughly equivalent to twice the longtail’s height, with an average of six feet. The tail is prehensile and has multiple uses. The first and most direct is in hunting. A longtail typically hunts by first hiding either through digging a shallow hole or by concealing itself in brush whilst allowing the tail to extend across a given area like a snare. When prey comes within range, the longtail will lash out with its tail and wrap the prey in a vice. Depending on the size of the prey in question and where the longtail has grabbed them, death is accomplished by bashing or squeezing tightly. The muscles in the tail are the strongest in the longtail’s body by a far margin and are capable of easily supporting the longtail’s weight. A longtail will often stand up on its tail as a means of making itself appear bigger or as a form of punctuation when speaking.
Day-to-Day: Longtails live in small communities of anywhere from five to twenty others of their kind. There are no typical den arrangements, but are always within earshot of each other. Longtails are largely independent during the day and will wander as far as several miles from the community. It isn’t until twilight that they return home, at which point the community engages in a communal meal while swapping stories of the day’s events. This period is known as 'homecall'. Although an individual longtail can remain away from the group for any length of time, they will always wait until homecall before returning to the community.
Culture: Longtails are a very ‘busy’ species. They think quickly, act quickly, and speak quickly, which has resulted in some unique elements of their culture. Sculptures and artwork are very important to longtails. Figurines composed of items encountered during one’s day are often exchanged during homecall the way humans would swap anecdotes. Making sculptures also serves to instill longtail young with the patience they will need to properly socialize and hunt.
Government: Longtails have no true hierarchy but instead use a system of situational leadership. In any situation where a longtail must work with another person, leadership is quickly assigned to whoever has the most relevant experience. In communal matters, this usually means that one of the eldest lontails in the community is in charge. When dealing with outsiders, it is whoever has interacted with the most members of other species. This system can be frustrating and confusing to those unaware of the practice.
Clothing: With the exception of pants, clothes are largely optional in longtail culture. More worldly longtails wear a sash onto which they will fashion self-made pins and buttons to represent important experiences. Longtails become dismissive of those who criticise their figurines or buttons, since their purpose is expression of a personal experience—not to get approval. They are, however, very accepting of constructive critique regarding stylistic elements or construction. Just don’t question why one event is worth commemorating more or less than another. Tails are usually unadorned but it is not unheard of for longtails to tie ribbons or belts near the base or tip. Patterns may sometimes be dyed into the fur.
Language: Longtail use whichever language they are exposed most to, typically that of the region’s dominant species. Despite this, there are common elements in how all longtails speak. Objects and creatures are rarely identified by a proper name. Instead, the longtails use a shorthand reference composed of two words. With creatures, the first word is usually something descriptive and the second is some form of physical reference. For instance, a bee would be a ‘buzzball’ and a dwarf might be ‘stoutbeard’. Objects are referred to in a similar manner, though the first word is often an action or sound it produces. An airship would be ‘flysail’, for instance.
The reason for this type of naming has to do with the busy nature of longtails. They do not give much time to proper analysis, labeling, or identification and instead rely on quick judgements. Even though multiple longtails could each use a different term for the same creature or object, the naming convention is constant enough that in a conversation they would be able to tell they are referring to the same thing. In addition to how the words used in a shorthand name, longtails also deliver information through subtle inflection of syllables that emphasize or indicate other features. This quality makes longtails unusually skilled at condensing and transferring information among themselves. Several messenger services use longtails in deliveries.
Names: A longtail’s first name is usually something descriptive—typically related to a physical feature or circumstances surrounding the birth. This is the ‘hatchname’. On reaching adulthood at age 15, a second name is chosen based on a skill or event the individual is known for or considers important—called the ‘lifename’. The lifename takes the place of a first name and is how the longtail presents themself to the world. Using a hatchname when referring to an adult longtail is not considered offensive, but it makes the speaker appear to have only a superficial knowledge of the individual named. This is because the speaker is using a name based on surface-level traits.
Sample Names: Jumper Bushfur, Teller Shortfoot, Dash Skyglow, Snowstep Whitewater, Sentinel Two-Moons
