Feathered shapeshifters

Feathered shapeshifters are a subcategory of shapeshifters categorized by all forms having feathers and reproducing via hard-shelled eggs. The instinctual language specific to Feathered (a dialect of Shift) is called Alis, with Feathered also instinctually speaking Shift. Most Pureblooded Feathered have brown to extremally dark skin due to their native habitat being the desert. Types of Feathered shapeshifters include:

### Flyers.

Flyers are the only species of shapeshifter able to hold an in-between form as consistently as humanoid or beast form or be able to actually fly (as opposed to the gliding of some types of bat or lizard-shifters). Flyers are recognized by:

Beast- having a bird-like body with four legs instead of two, a long, bird-like feathered tail, wings with talons, a curved, extremely sharp beak and a feather crest. Beast flyers have extremely large wings, and many beast flyers that have been recorded of flying upwards of 150 km/hr in a steep dive.

In-between- the in-between (or semihumanoid) form is bipedal with large, taloned two wings, scaled arms with extremally sharp claws, a long, bird-like tail, large ears and digitigrade, eagle-like feet.

Humanoid- the humanoid Flyer form has two sets of arms, with the lower pair being in the midsection of the ribcage. The humanoid flyer also has long, digitigrade legs with raptor-like feet, a long, feathered tail, and long, feathered ears.

### Sprinters

Sprinters are a subcategory of feathered shapeshifters known for their agility, balance and speed. They are the tallest type of Feathered.

Beast- Sprinter shapeshifters look rather like a cross between an Emu and a secretary bird with long legs, pronounced necks, and medium-sized proto-wings that, in extreme cases, may be used to glide short distances. The beast sprinter has extremely sharp raptor-like foot talons which are used to 'stomp' the prey to death, and an extremely sharp, hooked beak. Sprinter shapeshifters can run upwards of 50 km/hr in beast form.

Humanoid- a humanoid Sprinter can be recognized by their long, digitigrade legs with raptor-like feet, tall stature (upwards of 6 feet for females), long, elegant tails, feathered ears and sharp talons.

### Raptors

Raptor shapeshifters are a subcategory of feathered shapeshifters known for their immense strength and extremely colorful feathers.

In beast form, they look similar to feathered dinosaurs with long ears, thick tails, a curved beak, muscular legs with large talons and proto-wings. Although they are not the fastest or tallest, they are the strongest of all the feathered shapeshifters.

In humanoid form, raptor feathers are often very muscular with sharp teeth, eagle-like talons, a thick tail and long ears.

## Biology

Feathered are an extremely sexually dimorphic race- females are taller and stronger than males, and males are smaller, more colorful ad faster than females. Feathered reproduce by laying eggs, with an internal gestation (egg and fetus developing within the mother) of about three months or moon cycles, and an external (fetus develops inside the egg) of about seven.

Feathered are unusual in that genetalia and sexual dimorphism does not develop until 15-20, depending on subspecies, with Flyers developing the latest at 18-20 and Sprinters developing the earliest at 15-17. Sex is determined by the environment of an individual- if a Feathered is around more males, then they will be female, and vice-versa. However, stress is also a factor in sex development- if an individual has been though more stress or injuries, then they will be female, and if they have gone though starvation or had a bad illness in their life, then they will be male. If a Feathered grew up in a completely neutral environment (males to females are equal or they have been injured *and* starved in their childhood), then there is a 50-75% chance they will have both or neither sex characteristics.

Feathered bones, although porous, are not easily breakable, and their lungs are typically larger than average races. Feathered 'moult' (shed) about twice a year, around the spring and winter solstices, with spring feathers growing in lighter and thinner to expel heat easier and winter feathers being denser and darker to retain heat (this is typically in more mountainous environments where the temperature swings more- in the desert, springtime feathers grow in more colorful and winter feathers are less thick). Also regarding feathers, Feathered at a baseline do not actually have true 'hair'- what appears as hair is actually feathers that have convergently evolved for the same purpose, such as body hair, head hair, and eyelashes and eyebrows. These are not shed during moulting season.

Feathered diets are primarily carnivorous, as they need plenty of protein and calcium for proper feather and protein growth. However, they can be herbivorous for up to about two months before nutrient deficiency sets in, depleting feather growth, dulling claws and beaks, and in extreme cases causing organ damage. Because of this risk, many colonies have large designated gardens where designated food-plants are grown (as well as plants used for dye) for times where prey is scarce, and often have large amounts of dried meat or fish in storage.

## culture

Feathered shapeshifters are instinctually social, and as a result often congregate in gigantic colonies within their native habitats (desert, mountains). Often, colonies are made of hollowed-out mesa spires or mountains, containing upwards of 150-200 individuals of all Feathered types. A Feathered colony could be classified as a communist society in that no one individual or family is richer than any other, although this isn't enforced and is more a social norm. However, in periods of starvation, genetic relatives are encouraged to share food only with each other, to ensure at least one bloodline stays intact.

#### Family and flock dynamics

Pre-sexed individuals are often taught through a sort of communal schooling, where for their pre-teens and teen years they will be taken care of by the entire colony and taught as such. School includes basic languages (including Common and Hass) for the benefit of non-shifter traders, basic math up to algebra, the history of the colony and medicine. In addition, all pre-sexed Feathered are taught how to hunt and maintain their colony at a basic level. When they are sexed, feathered will often bounce from job to job until they find one they like, at which point they will be taught by the masters of said job. It is unusual but not impossible for any colony to have several masters of multiple crafts. Jobs include weavers, hunters, patrol teams, gardeners, construction, teachers, tailors, metallurgists and healers.

Flyers are extremely family-oriented, which is reflected though their techniques of raising children- couples are usually monogamous, but same-sex couples occur as or more often than heterosexual couples. As such, many children are adopted and then raised semi-communally- the community takes care of them and vice-versa, but they know who their parents are and more often than not go to them for emotional support.

However, after being sexed, most feathered typically leave their parent's nest or the colony entirely and migrate in groups of 15+ to another colony, or until they find a group to dub their 'flock' or family, and they will stay at that place for life. Race does not matter in the case of children or other flock members- essentially, if a child does not have parents within eyesight, that child will be adopted. As such, many colonies have mixed-race children or kids from war-torn or abandoned villages. Feathered without flocks are dubbed 'bloodless' or 'abandoned', because it is typically assumed that an individual without a flock was abandoned or kicked out for some bad reason or another.

In addition to being instinctually social, Feathered also *need* to be in some sort of social or family unit- there have been more than a few records of individuals going insane when in solitary confinement or socially isolated for too long.

Many Feathered live in designated colonies within their habitats, of which there are three main environments- mountainous/cliff-y areas, desert mesas, and plains/flat lands. Most feathered live in ‘colonies’ in mountains or mesas- designated hollowed out landmasses that can house up to about 300 individuals and can last for centuries, with the oldest known one being about 1,300 years old.

Feathered that live in plains areas are often known as ‘migrants’ or migratory groups, for their typical behavior of constant traveling (only stopping to care for recent parents or ill members, as well as extreme weather). Although migrants are most commonly found in plains areas due to the abundance of food, water and temperate-esq weather, any one individual group can be found practically anywhere remotely habitable.

Colony Feathered–due to their social instinct and need of near-constant socialization–often take in war refugees, adopt abandoned/orphaned children or simply assist villages in times of need. Due to this, many flyer colonies are mixed-race or have mixed-race members. In addition, many villages that are helped by Feathered have fierce loyalty towards them, which can include anything from trading with them and helping in times of famine to taking in refugees of an abandoned colony (although this is rare, as Feathered are less-than-eager to give up home turf and will only do so if the population is doo low ir if a major incident has occurred.

Similar to colonies, migrant groups often take in (or adopt) other social races, forming gigantic nomadic groups that are known for trading both information and goods. If a migrant group gets large enough, a subgroup may split off and form a small town.

#### gender

Because of the biological layout of Feathered, gender norms are lax at best. However, instinctually, males take care of children, and due to their tendency to be taller and stronger than males, female Feathered often do the hunting (these roles are not enforced either socially or traditionally and are not set in stone). It is common for unsexed Feathered to introduce themselves by their preferred pronouns, and this may continue into adulthood if their pronouns do not match their sex.

Same-sex (or gender or what have you) couples are extremely common in Feathered colonies or communities, both because of lax views towards gender and a tendency for community more than anything. In a Feathered's mind, as long as they love each other (romantically or platonically), it isn't an inappropriate age gap and they are willing to raise or take care of at least one child, everything's fine. This extends to polyamorous relationships and race as well- due to their tendencies towards adopting children, it isn't uncommon for biracial couples or polycules within communities.

#### The Great Dying

the Great Dying was a pnumonia-like illness that rapidly spread between colonies about 13,230 PE. This illness was identified by coughing, then a fever, then loss of energy and appetite, then eventual slow suffocation due to the lungs filling with fluid. The disease predominantly affected Flyers and Raptors--flyers due to their delicate lungs and raptors most likely due to their large hearts.

This disease eliminated about a third of the feathered population, leaving many colonies abandoned and many more migratory groups displaced. It is from this disease that many lone feathered spread the myth that Feathered were going extinct--in actuality, many colonies regrouped to form new ones following the deaths, leaving both many abandoned colonies and homesteads and little information about where they had gone.

Nowadays, Feathered more often than not have a genetic immunity due to parents being exposed to the disease. Although the population has rebounded, mostly due to crossbreeding with Sunfolk and other races, it is far from what it once was.