Umbra

Umbra

They are humanoid in proportions, with agile, lithe builds and a muscular tail as long as they are tall tipped with a bony blade. Their bodies are covered in scales ranging from fine to thicker plating on their shoulders and back. Their hands and feet are clawed, with thick serrated talons about an inch long. Their heads have a short muzzle filled with sharp teeth meant for a carnivorous diet along with a powerful hemotoxin for saliva, large eyes that glow a soft yellow-orange and allow them to see in near-total darkness, and a set of long, pointed ears which can swivel to pick up noises from different directions. Their ears are encircled by a pair of thick, curled horns like a ram‘s.

Umbra have “hair” in the form of downy, soft feathers that come in lengths varying from only a few inches long to those reaching down to their lower back.

Umbra have very uniform colouration. Their scales and plumage are always various shades of black and dark grey, with a pattern of slightly lighter, more muted scales reaching from around their muzzle to down their belly and along the underside of their tail.

Male and female umbra are built quite similarly; females have wider hips and breasts, but both sexes are lithe and muscular. Females also tend to have longer plumage than males. All the bodily fluids of the umbra (such as the eyes, blood, and saliva) are bioluminescent, glowing a soft orange-yellow that can last for several hours.

The reproductive cycle of the umbra is relatively quick; once impregnated, the female will spend roughly a month developing an egg. Once the egg has been laid, it must be incubated for another two months before hatching. A hatchling will be able to walk and hunt in only a few weeks, and grows to maturity in six years. The total lifespan of an umbra is roughly forty to fifty years.

Notably, female umbra are capable of regulating their ability to be impregnated. While partly subconscious, being based on available food and population pressures, they can also make a concentrated effort to suppress their reproductive viability. This allows for a very stable population; if it grows too large, births will slow down, and if it gets too small then births will increase drastically.

Umbra also have pheromones which help them communicate emotions to each other; these pheromones trigger a form of weak empathy connected to the current emotional state of the subject.