Scaled shapeshifters

Scaled shapeshifters are shapeshifters with traits typically pertaining to fish, such as gills, strong tails, fins or fin-like appendages and webbed hands and toes.

Similar to some species of tropical fish, scaled shapeshifters, once they are sexually mature, are able to switch sexes at will, although how long this process takes depends on the individual. Times can range from a few hours to a few days.

Scaled shapeshifters reproduce through live birth, similar to sharks.

Scaled shapeshifters include Sirens and Mawja. both can grow to be comparatively large, upwards of seven to nine feet. Additionally, both have external gills in either beast or humanoid form, extremally sharp teeth and claws, fish-like scales and webbed fingers and toes.

#### Mawja

Similar to the classical mermaid, Mawja are large, serpentine-like organisms in their beast form. The Mawja beast form has a fish-like tail ranging upwards of ten feet, gills along their ribcages, many sharp, continuously growing teeth akin to that of a shark and webbed hands. Unlike Sirens, Mawja do not have legs in their beast form- instead, their legs transform into large fins along their lower abdomen and are used for steering while in the water.

In their humanoid form, Mawja are often taller than seven feet, with a human-like figure. However, there are often patches of scales along their arms and lower legs, as well as webbed fingers and long, powerful tails.

In both forms Mawja have ear-like frills along the side of their heads used for primarily for communication. Most Mawja range in colors from deep purples and blues to greens and yellows, and in some rare cases, pink.

#### Sirens

Sirens are often said to be the more brutal side of the scaled shapeshifters. Sirens in their beast-like form, although still humanoid, are described to be rather uncanny with extremely long, powerful tails, long, webbed legs and arms, and a webbed spine travelling down their spine as well as along their forearms and around their ears.

In their humanoid form, Sirens have spiny ear-like frills, patches of scales around their forearms and legs and long, digitigrade webbed feet, as well as long, web-spined tails. Siren colors range from deep green to orage, purple and red, and are often darker in color than Mawja. Sirens also have shaper teeth than Mawja, and although slightly smaller have more overall muscle mass.

#### society

Similar to most other shapeshifters, Scaled are extremally social semi-migratory races. This is commonly attributed to the instinctual urge for 'safety in numbers' impulse, although this presents itself very differently between species and social groups.

For example, Sirens raised in traditionally small, migratory groups are often fiercely and rather violently territorial towards not only the surrounding area, but fellow pod-members and possessions. On the other hand, Mawja, though still as fiercely territorial when provoked, seem to be more fearful and wary of newcomers as opposed to the Sirens' 'bite-first ask-questions-later' dynamic.

However, many instances of Sirens and Mawja being raised in land-dwelling towns prove this violent urge is more socially conditioned rather than instinctual. For example, most Sirens raised alongside land dwellers, although still territorial, are not nearly as aggressive as traditional sirens confronted near or on their home turf. Additionally, although sea-dwelling Sirens can be known for their brutal habits of killing or abandoning 'defective' runts both to prevent them from infecting the gene pool or holding the pod back, this seems to be a more and more rare occurrence as land-dwelling culture spreads to the sea, as some groups of Sirens and Mawja in seaside towns are as fiercely protective of neighbors' and adoptive young as they are their own. Moreover, there are some pods composed primarily or entirely of 'runty' individuals, who defend their own pods and their young as fiercely as any other pods, although perhaps with less bias.

Although both subspecies congregate in groups, Sirens have a tendency to lean smaller (>20 individuals) with more focus on hunting and defending territories as well as raising young while Mawja often gather in larger groups of more then thirty individuals, migrating throughout the year, raising young as they move.