Hurrah for punny names in poorly-conjugated Dog Latin!
Literally 'Alien Monkey'. How much more creative can I get?
Iwii are long-limbed, fluffy, herbivorous lanky, monkey-like critters with a body shape not unlike a greyhound's (thin with large hips and shoulder blades) and a posture not unlike a frog's. Or Tarzan's. Or Greninja's. Also, they evolved on a rainforest world and will feel comfortable in most areas with lots of vegetation.
They have faces reminiscent of small dogs, like terriers, but only because of the fluff - which could as easily make someone think of a cappuccino monkey. Their tails are long, prehensile and curved at the tip like a spitz dog's whole tail would be. Their ears could be floppy or pointed depending on the subspecies. Large, curious-looking eyes are set in the midst of all this adorableness - and when I say large, I do mean large enough to make the most alien-hating human squee with cuteness. Their shoulder blades and hip bones are prominent.
Around the eyes of males is a very thin circle of color only present otherwise on the tail curve of both sexes of the animal, and females can be identified by their smaller size, slightly smaller ears and the fact that their extremely long and thin legs have dewclaws, which those of males do not.
Highly intelligent, they were domesticated on their homeworld to work on transport - spaceships, planes, blimps, anything you can think of. The subspecies are genetically engineered and hybridized for specific tasks - 'mechanics' are small and slim to squeeze into small spaces and preform repairs, those used as 'rescue dogs' are larger, better suited to dangerous areas and have sturdier bones, etc. They must be raised and kept in groups, because a lone iwii without at least one other will become depressed, and some were even found to commit suicide if lonely for extended periods.
Iwii enjoy puzzles and riddles, and have an inborn obsession with shiny things. They will disassemble anything they find interesting and then reassemble it again if left bored for too long, often incorrectly or with explosive results. Wild ones will often go into human settlements to swing from the power lines and generally cause mayhem, and domestic ones can be sterilized to prevent such behavior. Though, it's wiser to get a jungle gym or something because a now-technically-genderless Iwii could become angry in the days immediately following surgery and attempt to do the same to its human, normally not in a very safe way.
Typically, they are ill suited for hard physical work because of the fragile nature of their bones, so it's unwise to try to get them to do something like move a house, because the domestic variety all have a particularly strong drive to please and
will hurt themselves trying. You could circumvent such by teaching them to control an earthmover, but they may become excited with their newfound skill and attempt to level your whole city, so... are you
sure?
In the wild, they live in troops like Earth monkeys, led by the oldest female (more like elephants in this case) - who can be identified by the fact that she has aged so much, the markings she once had have faded out entirely and she is now one color. If such a female lives past the age of 50 (they live approximately that long on average before dying), then she will become entirely grey. These are especially respected, arthritic and grumpy though they may be. Males who live that long lose some mental stability and are believed to be able to commune with the dead, for which reason the oldest male in a group acts as a sort of 'shaman'. Should he die, his apprentice takes over the role (whatever gender he or she may be, though usually a he), not the second-oldest male (or female if the previous shaman was so). Said apprentice might be of any age, and if young, then it takes awhile before the tribe will begin accepting their verdicts - though accept them they will, because it's believed that as long as one's offspring or students live, then one's spirit and name lives on because they are still remembered. Now we know what Rafiki actually is and why he can talk to Mufasa...
They believe in reincarnation, and that the dead become the plants they eat so that the species is always connected (circle of life, anyone?) - therefore, most or all iwii are considered someone's reincarnation, because their mothers had to eat while pregnant, right? That's why some names are unoriginal, being just some dead relative's name with a prefix or suffix slapped on.
They are born blind, pink and helpless, but the fur begins to grow in within an hour of birth. At the age of four days, they begin exhibiting recognition of the external environment and may coo or chirp. Since all Iwii have good mimicry and can be taught to speak human languages rather than their 'language', any iwii infant with domestic or once-domestic parents may pick up human speech from them.
The full list of vocalizations they can make normally, without learning human speech: Growls, barks, hisses, chirps, twitters, barks, roars, rumbles, screams, a snappy sort of noise, clicks, stutters and coos. As well, they can emit a keening sort of signature whine that sounds like ''Ii-wiii...'', giving them their common name.
Adolescence is approximately 2 years, which can be tiring as before this age is reached, baby iwii will ride their mothers' backs when travelling long-distance, because their limbs are still even more fragile than adults' and a fall could kill or maim them. As well, the stamina of an iwii infant is not something you want to use when describing Olympic athletes. Not at all. They can get tired after toddling around for ten minutes.
They age quickly for the first part of their lives, and then settle into steadier aging.
They do get fat, too, but iwii mothers are extremely dedicated; if the group leaves her and her child behind, she will attempt to survive on her own and keep the baby alive rather than going after them by herself. This doesn't normally work out well, and sadly troops rarely retrace the paths they just took to find one individual and risk the whole group's lives to save her. They are extremely gregarious, however, and it's rare for them to intentionally abandon anyone; an iwii troop will carry a heavily pregnant or wounded individual the entire distance to the new grazing grounds if need be and they aren't desperately fleeing a natural disaster. Sometimes, even then.
As for mating, they're not monogamous at all. They will mate if the urge hits them with whomever and at whichever time they find suitable, though typically a female will reject strangers and a male will probably attempt to scare away or maim the hell out of a clingy female he hasn't met before (outside of season) or doesn't consider to be good future-mom material. They're very friendly creatures normally, but mothers are aggressive towards strangers and, as outlined above, mating season (mid-March to the end of July) does things to them... horrible things.
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Tutorials: Coming eventually. For now, how to make one is strictly between those I know online and me. If you wonder about them, then find Akatariel or Spottedclaw in-game and ask before making one. Remember to ask, because otherwise it's theft! And, though only nubeees might understand this joke, I'll sic an Inshani-Erzjra on you. And you know how those guys feel about thieves, being a mercantile society...
Example names: Kishu, Reesa, Nuumi, Sarwi, etc. Generally two-syllable names, though if named after an ancestor they will have the same prefix as the ancestor's name before the prefix of their own name.
(For example, one named 'Newu' would have the ancestral name 'Kinewu' if their ancestor's name began with 'ki')
Domestic ones can pretty much be named anything their owner can contrive, even Simia or Cheeseburger or whatever else.
That's all for now, folks!
