[Fauna]- Gliding Murderweasel

Gliding Murderweasel

Warm-blooded w/ endoskeleton. Furred gliding carnivore with a primary diet of smol mamono. Native to forests and jungles. The yellow furred pack hunters inhabit trees and live in groups of up to 12 members. They have patagia (skinflaps) that allow them to glide easily, despite their weight being an apparent contraindication. The average adult weights ~30 kg. Aggressive and migratory across the quantum slipstream followed by ancient smol mamono, they have special adaptations against their preferred prey. The torso of an adult is ~62cm and is linear and bisymmetrical, ovoid in shape. 4 stubby limbs, each with 4 sharply clawed toes allow for both tree and ground locomotion. The eyes are bulbous and set on the side of the head for a large range of vision. The neck and tail are both long and prehensile, around 25% to 30% of the torso’s length, ~16 cm each. The ends of the tail and head are covered with armored shell segments. The shell segments differ in color depending on sex, and are either blue (females), or blue striped with yellow (males). This is the major sexual dimorphism in the species. The females lay brood eggs and produce around 1-3 young per litter. The species is non-sapient, but possesses a strong enough animal cunning to engage in successful instinctual pack hunting techniques.

The patagia that allow gliding shouldn’t be enough to support their acrobatic hunting. Their long history of hunting smol mamono across the unusual quantum migratory route used by the sapients may have introduced an abnormal adaptation accounting for this discrepancy. The armored head and tail are used clublike both in mating displays and in hunting. Technically the animal should be within the limits of a single Fairy's ability to teleport (Siz 3, 93cm long). However, the armored segments of these bludgeons are known by the Fairy to be the cause of the predator’s resistance to the various powers of the smol mamono. Generally, a ratio of 3 smol mamono to 1 predator is required to directly effect the animals psionically.

The female’s blue armor segments are more highly prized among the smol mamono, likely as a encouragement at eradication of the predatory species. The typical method for the predator is to bludgeon and bind its prey before piercing the neck or skull with the sharp needle-like teeth that fill its mouth. The animal is an opportunistic hunter that can coordinate in ambush and stalking behaviors. The common tendency for the animals to kill and store prey in excess is indicative of the high metabolic cost of its unusual resistance to psionics. They have been known to prey on non-sapient herbivores, some much larger than themselves. Nonetheless, they prefer the smol mamono as prey, for some reason.

Perhaps due to the long history of amity between the smol mamono and the murderweasel, there are various legends ascribing bizarre magical abilities to the animal. This extends to harvestable parts, for the smol mamono lucky enough to survive a meeting with the durable and unnaturally quick predator. The most common myth regarding the animal is the claim that the yellow fur and hide of the animal somehow retain a portion in durability of the wounds it inflicts. This has reached the status of a widespread and near universal myth among the different smol mamono species (For each 3 HP the animal inflicts, it gains a single additional HP to its total for the purpose of defense). Naturally, this claim is difficult to verify as the hide and fur are both rare, and less resistant to the ravages of time than other elements of anatomy. Enough specimens of armored segments have been retained to verify the resistance against psionic powers.