Aquavians

Aquavians are seabird-humanoid shifters, and they belong to NS. Please ask on their wall with the form collapsed below if you want to make one or a halfbreed of one! All birds **must** be seabirds.

Please fill this out when applying for an Aquavian on NightStrike’s wall!

Name: required

Gender: required

Sexual/Romantic Orientation: required

Seabird Based On: required

Occupation: required

Location or Residence: required

Personality: required

Appearance: optional

History: optional

Friends/Family/Other Relationships: optional

Trivia: optional

## Other

### Notable Features

markings, light weight, glossy hair and feathers, gills

### Territory

prefer coastal areas or open ocean but can be found anywhere

## General Description

Aquavians are scattered across the globe and can often be indistinguishable from real birds when shifted into their avian forms, save for their intelligence.

They are mostly sea-faring and are typically guides, captains of ships, or heralds of land. Their human forms are easy to tell apart from normal humans, which is why they choose to remain as birds for most of their lives, or at least when dealing with humans.

They are typically wary of humans both for their hunting of birds and their distrust of their kind, despite the aquavians being guides to some human ships.

They are a species with a relatively small population, and only occasionally are there breeding pairs found in the world.

Any aquavian can breed with another aquavian, regardless of their seabirds' compatability. The children typically resmble one parent more than another but may occasionally have mixed traits.

## Humanoid

Aquavian human forms are human-looking in almost every way, save for the wings and tail feathers growing out of their backs, and the almost invisible gills running along their necks.

Aquavian humanoids can withstand immense oceanic pressure, and can dive to the deepest depths of the ocean. Their feathers and hair are all completely waterproof in human form and they are adept at using their wings as paddles.

They can see underwater and in complete darkness, and their eyes reflect light, similar to a cat's.

They are always lighter than normal humans of their size, which allows them to easily fly. Most can also survive in high altitudes and have large lungs with air sacs to optimize oxygen intake.

Aquavian human feathers and hair often look glossy and almost too-perfect compared to a normal human's hair, which can be a source of envy for the few aquavians who do associate with humans on a regular basis.

## Seabird

Aquavians in their seabird form are almost exactly like the real thing, save for maybe a slight color oddity or one distingished marking. No two aquavians look the same; there is always one distingishing feature.

Aquavian seabirds may also behave more intelligently than regular seabirds, and predator birds know to specifically avoid aquavians, as if by instinct.

Aquavians are typically larger than average seabirds, but exceptions are not unheard of.

Bird-form aquavians can also breathe underwater, but their feathers may drag them down so they typically swim deep with their human forms.

## Miscellaneous

* Aquavians have little to no specific culture due to their species being spread so thin, but they do have an instinct to travel and guide lost sailors.
* Aquavians mate for life, and have been known to frequently breed with humans, selkies, and other humanoids. However, wings are rarely inhereted in halfbreeds.
* Aquavians typically hang around other aquatic species and enjoy their company. Humans though, not so much.
* Aquavians can be regarded as exotic and as rarities to some, both human and aquatic. This can be a touchy subject.
* They have a lifespan of around 200-600 years, but they grow like human youth and simply stop aging when they're in their twenties or thirties until they near the end of their life cycles.
* Aquavians are said to be descended from a terrestrial bird-shifter species, but that species is gone now. Likewise, all ospery, eagle, and other bird of prey aquavians have been wiped out by human pesticides and hunting.