Skinwitch

Skinwitches are a species that has developed alongside humans. They are characterized by their general similarity to humans, but the added ability to extrude a "cloak" from the backs of their necks and shapeshifting. This cloak is vital to their health and magical ability.

## Culture

Skinwitches are reclusive and paranoid of humans, after a long history of humans stealing their cloaks and holding them hostage to get what they want from the skinwitches. They live in isolated, magically protected villages, with the exception of those rare few who risk living in the human world. They are intensely clannish and dedicated to the protection of other skinwitches, and two skinwitches who have never met will instinctively trust one another. By the same token, skinwitches are inherently mistrustful of humans, although they aren't violent unless directly threatened.

In villages, nearly every skinwitch learns to fight, although most simply learn as an exercise in discipline. Skinwitches are inherently magical, and the training helps focus that ability. Most skinwitches move on to other roles in the village once they're of age. Villages have no official leaders, but there are always certain members who are widely respected and looked to when a crisis emerges.

When a skinwitch dies, they are buried, unless their cloak is missing. A skinwitch buried without their cloak will become a restless spirit, so the corpse is burned.

## Magical Biology

Skinwitches are mostly identical to humans, except for the inherent magic in their systems. The most obvious way this develops is their cloak. Depending on their animal aspect, the cloak can take a number of aspects: Feathers, sealskin, bear fur, to name a few. Their cloak contains the essence of their existence, the bulk of their life force, and their magical ability. They can separate from their cloak for a few minutes at a time without ill effects, and will often do so to clean it. However, if their cloak is stolen, the skinwitch will quickly start to deteriorate, slowly dying over the course of weeks.

## Known Skinwitches

### Lark, Owl, and Robin

Three adoptive sisters, and the first skinwitches the New Guardians ever met. Lark, the oldest, is headstrong and a protector. She's dark-skinned and has vitiligo, and has long tied-back silver hair. Her bird form resembles a woodlark. Owl, the middle sister, is instinctual and a rash fighter; she has pale, freckled skin and short, dark hair. Her bird form resembles a snowy owl. Robin is sensitive and an artist, who pushes her sisters towards less violent means of ending confrontations. She's dark-skinned like her sister, with a golden discoloration on her throat and chest that changes every time she shifts form. Her bird form resembles a golden bush robin. Lark and Owl specialize in combat magic, while Robin specializes in charm magic.

### Isabella

The mother to Lark, Owl, and Robin. Isabella is a lovely older woman with dark skin and hair, and eyes with black irises and sclera. Her bird form resembles a raven. She's incapable of having biological children, and so she adopted her three children, all orphans who had been born in human cities. Her cloak was stolen while she was preening, prompting her children to go on various schemes to try and save her life. She specializes in domestic magic.