The vicana are a mountain-dwelling race that look almost like a llama-canine cross with excessively large ears and pleasant dispositions. They are omnivores, meaning they eat the local mountain fruit and plantlife, as well as small rodents or lizards, as well as insects. Larger prey is nearly impossible due to their small size. They are completely sentient, though they do not speak. Audible sounds include barking, howling, or yipping, like canines do. They can speak mentally to others of their race, however. Their names are two parts long. The first is a call name given by the parents, or a bonded. The second part of the name is a true name they know from birth.
Traits
This specimen is known for large ears, a long neck, large paws, and a soft, almost downy fur coat. They have sharp teeth, though they aren't exceptionally long and visible. A normal vicana's coloration is grey or brown, also occasionally white, and is rather plain. However, if under the influence of a bonded from a young age, the aura of the bonded can alter coloration and other traits slightly, which can include shorter ears, different tails, longer canines, as well as many other things. Being mammals, vicana females give birth to live young in small litters, ranging in size from two to four offspring. Breeding cycles are very rare, however.
Bonding & Growth
At birth, a vicana has it's eyes closed. After about a week, the eyes open, and the youngling imprints itself mentally to the first thing it sees, normally it's mother. An abandoned youngling with no one to imprint on will die. Should another sentient be there to imprint upon, for they only link to sentients, this is called linking. The bonded acts in place of the mother vicana.
However, vicana are easily influenced by the auras of other sentients. Being linked to a sentient other than another vicana, the youngling is prone to change as it grows, and will often take on different traits which may appear similar to his or her bonded. Unlike other bonds, these can be broken upon reaching adulthood, as wild vicana parents sever the links with their offspring once adulthood is reached. Only the bonded can break the link between the younger vicana and him or herself. Abandoned adult vicana do not rebond and may choose to live elsewhere, though aura-influenced traits will remain.
Also unlike other bonds, if one of the members of the link dies, the other is not affected in the same way. The link is meerly severed.
Life & Reproduction
Large groups of vicana living together or hunting and protection are called hives. A vicana hive can be any size, and have any proportion of genders within it, since it has nothing to do with mating. Unbonded vicana are a bit shy towards outsiders, though bondeds have little trouble dealing with travelers. Hives are often located in secluded places in the mountains.
Vicana pair off into couples. Hives have nothing to do with this. When a mating season comes around, pairs are produce litters of offspring ranging from two to six kitts. Wild pairs with kitts that are susceptable to outsider bonding often hide until the kitts are successfully imprinted by them, instead of by other sentients. If a parent is a bonded, the litter can sometimes be located more easily.
Backgrounds By Ann