Arbori

## Physiology

Hunkered tree-like husks of birch, oak or darkwood, these creatures have skin as pale as snowwhite and dark as a shadowed grove. Their sizes range from 4ft - 13ft tall, making up for their thin frames. As food is difficult to come by, not many are wide at all. Dark ridges that crawl up their legs, body and arms will mimic the look of rough bark, but flesh can till peek through beneath the upper-skin. Their legs and arms are long and spindly- often seen harmless when swaying as they stand still. The ends of their branches curve as hands would, finger-nails crooked and long, the easier to grasp with. A few of them have dents, here and there, on the centers of their bodies or faces - places where they allowed small creatures - birds, squirrels to burrow into them for false shelter...right before snatching them up to eat. They have little black eyes to the sides and their eyelids are similar to their skin, often closed when they are luring prey. They also have two small slits for a nose and a carved mouth full of teeth to consume carnivorous food with. A few have horns on top of their heads or shoulders that take on the appearance of smaller extending branches.​

From far away, they often look as if someone carved a mortal face into the top of a tree. Occasionally, they adorn themselves with vines and greenery to camouflage among the rest of their surroundings.​

## Habitat

These creatures prefer atmospheres where they can thrive- near moist soil, temperate waters, and sunlight. Their favored terrains include forests, valleys, and swamplands. They prefer to live among the many trees of any forest, near lakes or cold landscapes. Or when they're raising young, they seek seclusion in shallow caves for shelter.​

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Most often, they plant themselves in shallow water, or moist dirt, pretending to be willow trees. Albeit, their physical appearances are long and spindly, their skin adjusts to the trees around them, camouflaging to better cope in finding meats to eat. When it is time to mate, a pair will move to dryer land to birth younglings. Younglings grow to 2-6ft, before maturing and branching away from home to find their own territories.

### Migration

If there is a lack of food around them, they will slowly make their way to find a more damp and abundant landscape, following the moon. Most tend to not wander far from their wet lands.​

## Diet

Omnivores - they lie in wait for prey to walk close into their spindly grasp. In some cases, it’s small birds, squirrels.. but they do have a special taste for the rare flesh. Larger Arbori would go so far as to snatch up people with their spindly grasp, then bash them around to unconsciousness. They'd break their morsel to pieces, tenderize them in a body of liquid, before consuming in small portions. If meat is not found, 70% of the time, they eat the algae, kelp or greenery from trees and bodies of water near them.​

## Behavior

They are mostly still creatures, using their appearances to lure in prey. If they sense any movement through the winds or the earth, they'll stand still to avoid being noticed. They are prone to hunting and mating in pairs. Once their children are raised, they continue to work with their mate, to hunt for food and protect each other. They eat, birth, and survive. Their purpose is to settle in a territory that they can thrive in and make their home. Then allow their offsprings to expand and migrate. They are simple, dangerous, creatures that live away from noisy societies. If they are aggressively disturbed, they will deal with nuisances with their spindly arms or legs...and if need be, a bash with their heads. Their more active movements are awkward, as is their physiological nature, but they do their best to make do.​

## Lifespan and Aging

There are a limited number of Arbori - a single one may go into seclusion with another where there is sufficient dirt to burrow and bear smaller spindly creatures. Once nursed to a young age at about 2-3 years, they spring up from the dirt, and seek their own territories and natural habitats for the rest of their lives. They begin to mature at a young age- in about 2-3 years, they grow to be 3-6ft tall. As they grow older, they show more cracks among their bark and look wilted at around 15 years. They can live up to 30 years.

## Other Facts

They hate fire with a passion. Although they are flammable, fire does not instantly kill them. It is a slow burning pain and they would groan loudly as their bodies catch in heat. They are inclined to douse themselves out by drowning themselves into water if they can fall back, forward, or sideways.. then seek their enemies in fury. If they are found during their mating season and raising-of-young times, then they would be on land, and prone to dying by fire, but a bit more aggressive in protecting their own. Arrows do little damage unless vital spots of movement are chipped away at. Their skins are sturdy hacking away at them will do as much damage as hashing at a tree that screams would.​