Otter Inu AKA Osanalgi

'Bout time this sub forum got a breath of life!  


Osanalgi
(Ah-San-all-gee)

Osanalgi or “River Inu's” as they are sometimes called are a type of industrious semi-aquatic demi humans who, despite having very little in common with Inu's are a loose offshoot as they share a number of characteristics common to Inus but in lesser degrees.  For example they have a slightly elevated sense of smell but not anywhere near as powerful as their land dwelling cousins. Their hearing is fairly close to the average Inu but they unlike their cousins is able to hear nearly perfect underwater due to protective hairs keeping the water out. However the most unusual feature about them to they can ingest and process chocolate!  This makes them seen as unholy abominations by the majority of their Inu brethren. This is not helped by their love of tricks, pranks and gags that they often play on passing merchant ships and their propensity to 'borrow' things without asking and never returning them further paints them as deviants of the waters.

Biological Traits
They have many of the same features of their Inu cousins: Small ears that move and re-position themselves based on their emotions, fur that often lines their hands and legs as well as a short tail as well as sharp canine fangs. Their fur does however seem to have extraordinary resistance to the cold ranging from being able to survive a maximum of Sixty Five Degrees Fahrenheit. Their river dwelling cousins prefer depths of less than one hundred and thirty feet but their sea dwelling cousins can live in areas almost twice that deep!

Despite spending the majority of their time in the water even sea dwelling Osanalgi are unable to live exclusively in water and have to return to their makeshift homes called Holts to rest and dry off or take shelter from predators. They do adore the water though and fish it almost constantly having to eat fifteen percent of their body weight daily and pregnant females must eat twice this. Their diet consists mostly of fish, crustaceans and especially shellfish. However being a mostly opportunistic species of demi-human they do sometimes feed on other sentient races. The human sized variety is known to be particularly found of Neeras and Carbunkles on the land and miniature mermaids and chaelanas under the water. However their prized meal above all others is the succulent clam which they are known to pound open in particularly cute way of laying on their back and smashing a rock against their armored prey to get at the tasty inner creature but they don't just toss the shells away! Both genders wear necklaces, bracelets or belts made of shells and females are known to place them over their bust like armor. How they get them to stick there is anyone's guess though. Some speculate a hidden type of magic passed down from mother to daughter from many generations back. Though both sexes seem to find little use in clothes and wear harnesses or skirts made form river weeds.

While you mostly see colonies of human sized Osalangi there has been incidents where merchants ships claimed sightings of ones ranging from thirty to seventy feet tall. A Negavian Marine Biological Research team recently uncovered a still partially intact Holt large enough to be be mistook for a small temple littered with the bones of Silver Mycorpe and the clothes of various humanoids. Though due to their size it's speculated they are more solitary creatures and keep to themselves as they might prey on their smaller cousins. This however is refuted by many smaller Osalangi who say their larger brothers and sisters are always welcome in their communities and it is said that Osalangi migratory patterns do seem to keep them close to giant Osalangi's Holts often in a lose spiral spanning miles in diameter.


Behavior and Culture
While they are a sentient race they tend not to make villages or cities living in loose colones of close together Holts made from materials harvested locally and mostly socialize with one another in a very tight knit community while at home. This being said every Osanalgi possess a desire to explore and play with other races outside of their community and are quite adventurous if only for a limited amount of time. They aren't xenophobic however and often bring home friends or potential mates to live in their communities but many find it hard to keep up with their active aquatic life style and sometimes even their never ending playful sides to be irritating after the initial charm has worn off. Land dwelling mates are often refered to as Holt-Wives regaurdless of gender.

Despite not being found of making lasting settlements they do have a sense of culture and often embazlon the shell jewelery they own with local river or sea dwelling creatures. They also record stories on fish scales, stones and leather when they can trade for it. One such carving dating back to before Negav has particully nasty picture that bearsa striking resemblance to Anko and aludes to her devouring dozens of Osalangi. One of the reasons they see nothing wrong with preying on smaller mermaids in order to prevent them from becoming like the “Blue Glutton” as her name loosely translates to using Myxheli runes. It said this could be the reason in fact she devoured some many of them in the first place.

They sometimes build constructs in their environments to assist in their recreational pleasure seeking that can prove problematic for adventurers. For example a favorite of theirs is water slides which they tend to leave in place near well used paths so that everyone can enjoy them! Most often mermaids or fish when an unsuspecting human finds themselves slipping down the hidden slide right into water where they are subsequently preyed upon. Also being a race that adores pranks and horse play they sometimes will stalk a human from the shore and then leap out of the water like an adventurer-seeking-missile landing on top of the humanoid in question telling them how they are going to be their best friend! Whether they want one or not. They also share something in common with the Trapper Fairy Melany in their love of building traps, often just for fun, and leaving them on the river's shore accidentally hindering adventurers.

I should be noted that they are excellent fishermen and often offer to shepard fish into the nets of Negavian fishing boats sometimes leaving their home to follow the boat and their new found friends all the way to the city. However their amusing antics, while tolerated in the wilds of the Jungle, are seldom amusing to the NPD who often finds that Osalangi have distressing tendency to take things that don't belong to them citing that they were merely borrowing it and will return it!….One day. Their apatite for tinies has also seen more than one clash with the followers of Minacala. Strangely this often makes them able to get on with most nekoes well enough though! Well the ones that don't mind a swim in the Motamo now and again anyway. Also that they do tend to adopt clothing and get used to the idea of how to barter and exchange currency. They very often will trade you every Skevol in their newely aquired pockets for a good stone and a bag of clams. This has lead to many beign exploited by con artists.

Magical Capability
Strangely not allot. Even water magics are a rare thing amoungst Osalangi. This is thought to be because Osalangi don't bother with much studies other than pranks and deviancy. It is speculated in fact they could be extremely powerful innately but just don't really see magical combat as a necessity. It should be noted all Osalangi have two innate powers born to them that they never seem to hone but apparently is genetic type of Innate Magic.

Frost Resistant Fur
To an extreme. A vicious ice spell would find itself rolling off a Osalangi's fur where it shruck it. This has proven to be a deadly defense for many giant Osalangi who adore punking ice using spell casters for fun before gobbling them.

Pastie Shells
Innate to females more than males or least they don't seem to display the tendency as often. It should be noted this magic seems limited to shells but attempts by Negavian Anthropologists to learn of this magic have been met with a shell stuck to their nose or mouth and the Osalangi in question laughing as they tried to figure out how to remove it.


--- Credits ----

Wanna thank DarkHourglass/Saen Kel for helping to develop this lovely race I had been tinkering with for a while but hadn't done anything with. XD He pretty much inspired me to finish the race bio and improve on some stuff but if you see something that can be further improved? tell me! I always love to improve my ideas.