Sallows

## Overview

Sometimes classified as either humans with an odd condition, sickness, or sometimes even labelled as a subspecies, Sallows are pale-skinned humans with a very odd way of functioning. Those who are medical professionals have described this condition as Congenitally Analgesic Ectodermally Dysplasic Alexithymic Atrichicia, or CAEDAA, while others believe that they are a human subspecies, usually referred to as Homo Sapiens Lentus, "Tough Wise Man".When it comes to their physical appearance, Sallows are characterized by their sickly-yellow gaunt skin. This condition of sorts also affects the growth of hair on their skin, making them lack a majority of hair follicles, except for a few in the ears and nose and in some cases, eyelashes. Their overly thin and fragile skin noticeably takes longer to clot blood, and is more sensitive to sunburns. The thinness of the skin tends to reveal ribs and bones, or if they are strong, will reveal even more muscles. All Sallows also possess the inability to feel any physical pain, caused by noticeable mutations in their SCN9A gene, allowing them to survive dangerous injuries, but many unfortunately bleed out before being able to heal. Their body seems to be much more sturdy and naturally resistant to wounds, and some even manage to keep fighting while being shot several times. Although due to the weakness of their skin, wounds take even longer to clot.

### Physiology

Sallows also have less growth hormones such as somatotropin and androgen, causing the majority of Sallows to reach heights of up to 4’11 to 5’11, with the average being 5’2 for females and 5’5 for males. It is exceptionally rare for Sallows to get taller, although some with disorders causing an overproduction of growth hormones can lead to Sallows with gigantism, causing some to reach a towering height, the tallest Sallow recorded being 6’11. Dwarfism in Sallows is known to be dangerous in some cases as those with Dwarfism can sometimes end up becoming even shorter compared to Sallows’ already stunted height, which can sometimes lead to issues with their internal organs and bones.

Although, due to Sallows usually being of a short stature, this has granted them the ability to waste less energy than most humans, who are usually taller. Sallows who are very skinny usually tend to have very low metabolic rates, sometimes even allowing a few to survive without water for an entire week, and live without food for an entire month, although this requires the Sallow to be bedridden in most cases.

Although this may be the case, many Sallows do become muscular as well, training their bodies well. Most are described to look bulky due to their short stature, but also are very tough. Their muscles are usually much more visible than a human, sometimes managing to make them quite threatening, even to those taller than them.

### Notable Qualities

Although they still usually conserve much energy and tend to be more slow than others, Sallows sport the innate ability to control their highly developed adrenal glands, allowing them to have short bursts of extreme energy. While this occurs, the brain’s limit to muscle power becomes much more lenient, causing muscles to operate at a much higher power, at a maximum extent in some cases. Although this cannot be done for long, as it can sometimes cause the muscles, ligaments and bones of a Sallow to tear and crack due to the immense exertion of energy. Usually, after the episode, Sallows feel very exhausted and tired. Due to this, Sallows usually refrain from using this ability unless absolutely necessary. This extreme adrenaline-filled episode is termed as an Adrenal Episode, and occurs in all Sallows. It isn’t known how Sallows control their adrenal glands to do this, but Sallows described it as being a “Subconscious order for the body to release adrenaline.”

Their full lifespan is 60 years, but most make it only to 20-30 years due to not realizing they have caught infections or been injured severely. Those that are well trained in checking their body for injuries, or are being constantly cared for tend to live for up to 50-60 years. In a few cases where a Human-Sallow relationship occurs, the offspring is known to exhibit milder sallow traits. Sallows and Humans intermingling is usually frowned upon by many, while others disagree, saying that Sallows are just a different race of a human, and should be treated as such.

### Psychology

Although quite similar to that of a human, when their brains are observed, they exhibit many traits of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Although their brain structure tends to slightly differ from person to person, all Sallows exhibit all of the following.

* An inability to properly understand social cues, sarcasm and emotions.
* Lack of any ability to read someone’s mind or properly predict the following action of any person.
* Inability to express emotion either by using facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice.
* Inability to properly let out emotion, which sometimes causes sudden odd emotional outbursts where Sallows will let out their emotions by doing certain repetitive and sometimes dangerous activities (to others or themselves), or sometimes by stimming.
* Low executive functioning.
* Difficulty in verbal and non-verbal communication.
* Wishes to socialize, but an extreme difficulty in being able to do so.
* Highly logical thinking, sometimes being too logical which can be unhelpful in social situations.
* High intelligence, but inability to properly express it in social environments.
* Social awkwardness.
* Monotone tone of voice and emotionless facial expressions.
* Ability to feel empathy, but a difficulty in expressing it.
* Ability to tear up, but not cry, unless in extreme distress.

In some cases, Sallows can also exhibit some of the following.

* Sensory processing issues, and abnormal reactions to certain stimuli.
* Very aggressive behavior while defending themselves or loved ones, usually consisting of threats.
* Selective Mutism.
* Emotional balance issues and sometimes mental instability due to struggles in properly letting out emotions.
* Anxiety Disorders usually due to overthinking.
* Vivid imagination and creativity.
* Ability to physically adapt to events at a quick rate, but may struggle mentally.
* Other kinds of neurodivergent disorders such as ADHD/ADD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Tourette’s Syndrome.
* Viewing certain tasks as mundane or extremely difficult, while viewing others as extremely easy and fun.
* Stimming, commonly used as a crude way to let out emotions.
* Dissociative Identity Disorder (Commonly seen in lab-escapees who have experienced several similar traumatic experiences as a child.)

Strangely enough, Sallows seem to severely struggle in expressing and understanding emotions, usually needing people to explain the emotion they’re feeling for them to fully understand. Although being able to feel emotions, they do not know how to express it, as they lack all social cues. This can make socializing with Sallows very difficult, and most usually require patience to understand them. Due to this, Sallows were simply stereotyped as unempathetic and robot-like, causing many people to withdraw themselves from Sallows. Ultimately, this has caused many Sallows to find it even harder to communicate due to the treatment done by humans.

Due to their odd behavior, many people have gone out of their way to call them “Vermans”, “Ghouls” or “Zombies” due to their gaunt, yellow appearance, inability to feel any pain and the way that their minds operate. Although stereotyped as mentally disabled and incapable, Sallows are still incredibly intelligent, and excel extremely well in their skills and interests. Many Sallows have formed complex societies from scratch, with little to no understanding of previous civilisations. And although struggling with emotions, many Sallows seem to often understand each other much more and can easily relate to each other’s problems. In general, Sallows are very welcoming to each other, while a few live in extreme solitude.

### Public Views

Sallows generally have neutral views on humans, believing some humans are good people, while others are the opposite. Although, in some cases, Sallows have harmed and killed humans, especially those suffering from extreme prejudice and mistreatment. In rare cases, some Sallows have lost their minds due to isolation, becoming hostile and or feral.

Due to the very humanoid appearance, Sallows tend to disguise themselves very easily and blend in quite well as long as their body is covered. However, their lack of social cues can easily give it away that they are not human.