Hirudoi

Since I saw no entry like this on either the Wiki or on the forum, here is my contribution:

Hirudoi
Size: 7 feet head to posterior sucker
Threat: Medium
Location: Common Jungle

Hirudoi are a half human, half Leech race. Much like many other semi-humans, they have a (mostly) human upper body but also possess the lower body of a leech. Main features to look out for are the sucker on the tail end of their leech half, which gives a very strong grip on their prey, and the hundreds of tiny teeth in their mouths that, especially so in combination with the posterior sucker, give a near unbreakable grip. Their name is derived from their scientific name, Hirudinea.

While not large enough to swallow anything but the smallest of creatures whole (which they do whenever possible), they act in a very parasitic manner by gaining most of their nutrients by feeding on the blood of larger creatures, although humans may be fed upon as well if that is the easiest option. If a human is fed upon, they will most certainly die from blood loss as the human body will not contain enough blood to slake a Hirudoi's hunger. It is because of this, humans are seen as being a tasty snack rather than a meal.

When feeding, which they may do inside their prey if swallowed, they will clamp on tightly using their mouth and, if possible, also latch on with their posterior sucker. Even with the strength of a Naga, you are more likely to tear the Hirudoi in half than detach them from their prey when they have both ends secured onto their meal, who they will only detach from when they have had their fill. Much like leeches, Hirudoi will use a local anaesthetic in their saliva to insure they are not noticed when biting (although some creatures will notice anyway). Only the very hungry or stupid Hirudoi would try to feed off of a naga or other such predators, as that would insure death either when the naga tries to remove them, or when they are swallowed when they are finished feeding.

Larger predators must be wary of swallowing a hungry Hirudoi as their tiny teeth can penetrate the lining of the oesophagus or even the stomach. Although in these cases the Hirudoi will still perish from being digested, the small internal bleeding is sure to cause some discomfort to the one who swallowed them.

Edit: added a bit more info to second to last paragraph.

DeviantDiscordian wrote:

Larger predators must be wary of swallowing a hungry Hirudoi as their tiny teeth can penetrate the lining of the oesophagus or even the stomach. Although in these cases the Hirudoi will still perish from being digested, the small internal bleeding is sure to cause some discomfort to the one who swallowed them.

I bet it can be awfully painful.

My sadistic side screams:

HELL YEAH!

Not bad, actually there was a lack without a leech-human concept, a good parasitic solution
But still. If they are attached outside of a predator, they are usually ripped away (at least, human part [sadistic part: DOUBLE HELL YEAH!] ) If they get swallowed, they die digested, attached to the esophagus (by salivation) or stomach (by acids).
Their only fate seems to be death everytime they want to feed themselves properly! They surely would get a Darwin award.

It does seem like they always die doesn't it? But remember that not everything of considerable size in Felarya is a predator, and leeches tend to use anaesthetic so they are not noticed when they bite, these would probably do the same. A naga would always notice with those senses of theirs though.

Hmm, I should put something like that in the main description...

So it's sort of like grab some blood and then run?

Yeah, that's pretty much the idea. Although if your human, they may want to play a little before they feed hmm? Best to avoid the teeth though.

I added a bit more description so they don't seem to always die by targeting large predators. They might not be the smartest of creatures, but they aren't stupid enough to always go after things that could swallow them.

Quite a sacary creature but also original and with a nice design
Nice work ^_^

nksrocks wrote:

My sadistic side screams:

HELL YEAH!

Not bad, actually there was a lack without a leech-human concept, a good parasitic solution
But still. If they are attached outside of a predator, they are usually ripped away (at least, human part [sadistic part: DOUBLE HELL YEAH!] ) If they get swallowed, they die digested, attached to the esophagus (by salivation) or stomach (by acids).
Their only fate seems to be death everytime they want to feed themselves properly! They surely would get a Darwin award.

i have the same opinion as nks^^

Thanks. ^^
It took a little while to get this idea off the ground because I had to research leeches a bit first. Naming them took a while too, since I wanted to call them something other than 'Leech-girls'.

DeviantDiscordian wrote:

Thanks. ^^
It took a little while to get this idea off the ground because I had to research leeches a bit first. Naming them took a while too, since I wanted to call them something other than 'Leech-girls'.

hehe, research is alway good^^

Ooh, these look cool, and kind of like a slug-girl variant on the Obdelae (Link here) that I came up with waaaaaaay back when. What they lack in stealth and psionics, they probably make up for in power and numbers.

A bit like them, although they use a slightly different method to attach. A big difference between them and your Obdelae, besides appearance, is that Hirudoi have little chance of survival against the smarter and more aware giant predators.