Strigis

The monsterous strigi, also called Drekavac, Saukari, or Skrihundri in various languges, are described by those who see them and survive as dog-like creatures with a dappled, elongated, and spindle-thin body with a disproportionately large head. While they closely respemble dogs, they walk on their hind legs the majority of the time.

## General Information

### Subspecies

* Arctic
* Desert

## Sociocultural Information

### Distinction(s)

* Elongated, thin body
* Disproportionately large head

## Physical Traits

Strigis stand on their hind legs at 4'6 on average, the largest recorded which are not of the dire variety is a staggering 6'3, when running on all fours the strigis only come up to about 2'11 at the shoulders and 4'0 at the head. Their body is thin and gaunt, a deception of the true strength they hide beneath their average 78 lbs, as they have been known to be able to lift a humanoid well over 400 lbs with little effort. In addition to its thin shape, Strigis often have a pelt dappled in blacks and browns with their overall fur color being a pale tan; there are rare variations which have an entirely black or brown coat or even those with an inverted color patterning. A Strigis skull is oblong in shape, a larger than a wolves by about 11 inches, their eyes are large and entirely black, and they have abnormally long upper canines resembling a vampire; some believe that strigi are vampiric creations though these are merely myth and legend used to scare small children though the strigi are known to favor small plump children. The upper paws of the strigi more closely resemble a hand than a dog or wolves paw, though they still have soft padding on the side which they use for running, and the upper arms of a strigis are longer by about 2 feet compared to their hindlegs; strigis are able to preform extremely simple tasks using their "hands", with similar tool comprehinsion to a gorilla, they can open doors and windows if they have witnessed it being done before. At the ends of each hand are long and thick claws 3 inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick, these are primarily used for combat and hunting and can be retracted to 1 or 2 inches for when the strigis is running. While the "hands" themselves have a similar appearance to humanid hands, the arm itself is bent backwords to allow them to better run on all fours.

## Behavior

As described before the strigi are extremely monsterous in appearance, and will often strike fear into those who see it. They are predatory by nature, hunting in packs of 4-6 usually formed when an adult female leaves her previous pack to find a male mate and they begin their own pack. Additionally, they often lack fear when it comes to humanoids, showing no fear and even attacking unattended infants if their is lack of other food avaliable or they see it as easier.

## Ecology

As mentioned before, the Strigis live in close-knitt hunting packs of 4-6 which they share everything with. Strigis are similar in behavior and ecology to wolves whom share a close kinship with their fellow packmates and a certain disdain for those who are loners. They are typically found in more mountainous regions, though if there is a lack of territory in an area weaker Strigi will settle for other motes of terrain and some have a preferrence for more desert-type climates. They have a mutualist relationship with ravens, similar to wolves in this regard once more, in which they leave ravens alone and allow them to eat alongside them; even engaging in playful activities and living together in some cases.

## Diet

Strigis largely consume a diet of large-hooved animals such as elk, deer, bison, moose, and crippy's. In more difficult times or if they desire just a quick bite they'll eat smaller animals like beavers, rodents, and hares. It's estimate an adult strigis needs a minimum of 3 lbs a day to survive, but require 8 lbs per strigis to reproduce successfully. The most an adult strigis can eat at once is though to be about 50 lbs and they can survive a number of weeks without food if they have to.

## Abilities

Strigi have keen hearing, able to hear a footstep from several miles away and can smell something up to a couple miles away, making them apex predators as if they are left unattended they will hunt any and all sources of food to near extinction in the area, forcing themselves to starve as they also will eat the children of prey animals. While their hearing and smell are excellent, the strigi have diminished eyesight to the point where they can see only about 100-200 feet in front of them when in light and about half to a quarter of that when in the dark. They are able to move extremely quietly despite their odd proportions and could often hunt a target for many miles without alerting them to their presence. The only way to know if a strigis or pack of strigi are in the area is to hear their howl, typically preformed at night in order to locate lost members of the pack or during a hunt to communicate a kill, a strigi howl is higher in pitch than a wolves sounding more like a woman or young boys scream and can spread hundreds of yards out from the strigis itself even to the average ear. In close proximite the howl is sometimes used to disorent attackers or temporarily remove their hearing.

## Combat

Strigi hunt similarly to wolves, using their pack to their full advantage their is the leader of the pack; often an older female, the one who started the pack in the first place; who takes charge and decides if the pack will stay and fight or cut their loses. When actually fighting the Strigi prefer to surround their target in any given direction, forcing them to fight or die trying, communicating effeciently when they note a weakness or if they think the target might attempt to attack a certain strigis. They fight on their hind legs most often, utilizing their claws, sharp teeth; particularly their large upper canines; and allies.

## Subtypes

**Desert:** A line of strigis has survived in a desert-type climate for a number of centuries and thus have slowly gained more and more traits associated with creatures that live in the desert. The main differences between normal and desert strigis are: elongated and hairy ears, thicker and hairier skin, shortened claws.

**Arctic:** The main differences between normal and arctic strigis are: thicker and denser fur, shortened claws, a nictitating membrane, and thicker paw padding.