Half-humans

The creatures that Gruntle called Half-humans were somewhere between apes and Humans.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.515-520 They were small as adolescents, lithe and sleek, with luminous brown eyes and fine fur thickening at the armpits and crotch. The females appeared more robust than their male counterparts, with wide hips and deep ribcages.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, US SFBC p.795-796
Their preferred habit was the ocean shore where food was plenty. In the jungle, they were prey--hunted by tigers, leopards, and other large carnivores. They made their homes in caves, whose entrances were barricaded with rocks at nightfall, whose ceilings were darkened by the soot of their fires, and whose walls were decorated by paint. As prey, they remained quiet and still to avoid predators, and even children refrained from the squealing excitement expected for their age. Their language trilled, punctuated by clicks and glottal stops. 
Although they seemed to be a matriarchal culture, women past their childbearing years appeared to be considered of less worth in an environment that demanded individual utility.
They wielded fire-hardened spears smeared with poison, broad-headed flint axes, and short curved batons inset with teeth of a large carnivore. 
They seemed to belong to the Malazan world's distant past when it was home to K'Chain Che'Malle fastnesses in the mountains, Forkrul Assail pit-cities along the rivers, solitary towers of lone Jaghut, villages of Tartheno Toblakai, and tundra-dwelling Neph Trell.
==In Toll the Hounds==
While dreaming, Gruntle found himself stalking the jungle as a tiger. He soon stumbled upon a group of five creatures he dubbed half-humans and was startled to realise he had memories of hunting and eating them. The eldest female called upon him for their protection from a leopard that challenged his territory and had already eaten all their children. She offered to sacrifice herself to him, if needed. Gruntle ran off, finding the leopard and discovering she was another dream rider like himself. After Gruntle requested she spare the jungle's human inhabitants, the two went their separate ways.
Picker encountered a similar group when her soul was torn adrift from her body during a rash use of the Deck of Dragons at the Finnest House. She found herself roaming a frozen mountain stalked by Togg and Fanderay before escaping to the relative safety of the jungle lowlands. A leopard that pursued her was driven off by a band of five females and four males wielding spears. The group then drove Picker to their cave with their spears, sending her down a shaft in its depths.
==Speculations==
The people Gruntle and Picker shared some characteristics of the Eres (such as their hairy pelts), but they do not appear to be the same species. The Eres were specifically referred to as the "Tall Ones",The Bonehunters, Chapter 15, US SFBC p.608 while these humans were noted for their small stature.
==Notes and references==
Category:Races