To All

[a_better_man]

I have a query for the masses, if you'll take a moment or two and indulge me.

Tell me about animals from your world. Or your favorite of the animals from your world. Or the most interesting. I'm curious. Friends in the Horizon have shown me critters I've never even heard of before, and even been kind enough to create one or two for my domain. And I want more. I want a vast menagerie of amazing creatures.

I've got plenty of animals I know well - foxes, badgers, rabbits, sheep - and some I don't think exist outside of this world that I've seen in Thorne. But so many of all you fine and lovely people come from amazing and vastly different worlds and I would be honored by a contribution to my little project.

Of which there is to be more than just a showcase of odd animals, and I will share with all when it's finished. But for right now...

It's all about the animals.

Comments

[princessvegas]

You just want weirdo animals? I mean, there's lots, but maybe y'all have some of them.

Narwhals
Platypus
Pangolins
Kangaroos aren't rare but they're kinda weird if you think about them

Plus mogwais. Definitely need a mogwai. [ Sorry, Mat. ]

[a_better_man]

Well, interesting or beloved, I suppose. They'll all be odd and rare to me, if I've never heard of them before.

And I've never heard of any of those! What are they? Which one's your favorite?

And you must describe a mogwai, if I need add it to my Domain.

[princessvegas]

Narwhales are like whales but with a unicorn horn. They stick the horn up through holes in ice, and I think they fight with them too.

Platypus are like a bunch of other animals all smushed together. Body of like, maybe a beaver or an otter? They're water animals, they have little flippers and a beaver tail. But then they have duck bills instead of a nose. And they lay eggs, but they're mammals.

Pangolins are... I barely know how to describe them. They're these little guys, they walk on all fours but they stand on their back legs when they're still. They're covered in scales, but they're still mammals. At least I'm pretty sure they are. But when they stand up, they put their little hands together like they're too shy to ask a girl to dance. Super cute.

Kangaroos are like, six feet tall. They stand on their back legs and tails, and they jump to move around. They have real cute faces but they got arms like the most muscular man you ever saw. And they have a big pocket on their belly, the babies live in the pocket until they get too big. They only live in one place in my world. I think they used to catch them and train them to box people, a long long time ago.

You know what? I'll send you a mogwai. There isn't anything you need to know about it that you can't understand from seeing it.

[ Much, much later tonight, a teacup-sized unicorn will trot up to Mat's domain, pulling a little wagon. In the wagon is a very cute little guy, and a handwritten note that only says "His name is Gizmo."

As soon as he can, that tiny unicorn gallops away. It's not foreshadowing at all. ]

[funbreaker]

Why such an interest in fauna? Do you simply have a fondness for them?

[a_better_man]

I just like animals. I want to add more to my little bit of the Horizon and I thought to myself 'why be limited to only what you've seen and known?'.

[funbreaker]

Fair enough. There are all sorts of creatures where I'm from, I would hardly know where to start.
Do you have any idea what a nutkin is?

[provenforce]

I was always fond of happabores. They were a large animal with very thick skin and a sort of puggy nose and four eyes. They were used on Jakku for hauling scrap, for anyone who could afford to keep one. They were very gentle creatures, I befriended one that belonged to the junk boss.

[a_better_man]

Never heard of them. We use bulls and horses to haul things. Which are often gentle creatures, if raised domestic, but don't piss them off.

Are they big like a bull?

[provenforce]

A bull what? That's usually a term for a male in several different species I know of, happabores included, in fact. They're quite large, um. Bigger than any of the horses I've seen here in Thorne.

[shadowthief]

[When she sees the message, it's an instant, visceral reaction to the word menagerie that has her pausing in a too-still way– the sort of way that gets Jesper's attention, and a quiet murmur of reassurance that makes everything in her relax-- 'Breathe,' he'd said. 'He means actual animals, Inej.'

Would it ever stop? And what would she do without Jesper in this place to keep her sane?

She takes a bit to answer him, but does eventually come in to do so, though her answers aren't all that fantastical, in her opinion.]

I don't know if my world has particularly strange or unusual animals.

There are dragons, though I can't say I've ever seen one. Big, winged reptiles who fly and breathe fire. Sort of like a lizard, but giant! They tend to be hostile, though you could skip that bit in your horizon, very fond of shiny things and they live in caves.

I also like snakes. There were charmers in our circus growing up, it was always fascinating to watch them.

[a_better_man]

I think every world's got a chance of having animals that are interesting to outworlders.

Oh? That is not what a dragon is in my world. Though the symbol of the Dragon is lizard-like. No wings, though, and it's just a symbol. It's not a real animal. Dragon is the title for a person in my world.

Snakes are alright. We had some in the woods.

[shadowthief]

Probably. Ours are all pretty basic, I think? Horses and deer and rabbits, and forest creatures like that.

You don't think maybe they existed at some point, in the far reaches of your world's history? Is it a political title of some kind?

Oh, you should talk to Himeka about dragons, by the way. She has some small ones in her domain that look like nicer versions of the ones from stories in my world. Hers talk, at least a little which was fascinating all on its own.

[righteously]

Fiercest animal you're ever gonna get, hands-down?

Honey badger.

Honey badger don't care.
Honey badger don't give a shit.

[a_better_man]

What sort of badger is a honey badger? We've got badger-badgers in the woods where I grew up, I used to make friends with them.

[righteously]

The honey sort.
They're like miniature little crazy-eyed wolves.
I heard one could take down a full-grown gazelle. Straight for the jugular.

( Okay, yes, that last part he totally made up. )

[fourarmedandangerous]

The TaiGore is a warhound native to Outworld. Larger than Earthrealm ones, naturally, and hairless. Their hides run dark red with black stripes across the mid-section, and they grow spikes along their upper backs, as well as a pair of horns for goring. They also have four eyes to better track prey. Ah, and their tails are tipped by blades.

[Outworld is such a fun place.]

They are fierce and loyal beasts, if properly trained, and fine hunters. Two or three working in tandem can tear apart most anything. It's like poetry to watch.

[Goro should really add a TaiGore or two to the throne room of his domain...he had one millennia ago when he was a young boy, a present from his father for how well his martial training was going. Miss you, Lord Razortooth, you were the best of all TaiGore.]

[a_better_man]

Those sound fantastic! Though perhaps a bit violent for a pet, but the Horizon knows no limits so that's alright. How big is bigger than a regular hound?

Big enough to ride?

[enduringkestrel]

There are a great many unusual animals, a great many unusual creatures in my world. I've had no occasion to see most of them, but I've learned about them.

Dragons, for one. Huge scaled, winged creatures. There are different families of dragons, I suppose you could call them. The primary of which are Chromatic and metallic. Chromatic dragons are supposed to be... cruel, and greedy. Evil. For the most part. There are always exceptions. While metallic dragons are more inclined to be good. Or neutral. Kinder, towards humanoids.

Their colours determine their powers. Each colour dragon has a different breath weapon. Some do breathe fire, but others breathe acid, or lightning, or ice.

[And then, because she's just talked a LOT about dragons. Something a little less... involved.]

There are giant goats, too. Goats, just... four or five times the size of normal goats.

[a_better_man]

Not certain how unusual those are, lots of people from lots of different places have mentioned them since I got here. Seem to be on lots of worlds. We haven't got big winged fire breathing lizards where I come from, though.

Nor do we have any gargantuan goats, at least as far as I know!

[lackingtalent]

𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝒸𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒𝓈 𝒹𝑒𝓅𝑒𝓃𝒹𝑒𝒹 𝒽𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓁𝓎 𝑜𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒻𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇 𝒾𝓃 𝒷𝑜𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝑒𝒻𝒻𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑒𝓁𝑒𝑔𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓂𝒶𝓃𝓃𝑒𝓇.

𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒻𝒶𝓈𝒽𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝑜𝒻 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒! 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓁𝒹 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒶 𝓁𝑜𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝑒𝓋𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒.

[a_better_man]

Oh yeah? How did that work, exactly? Don't animals just...happen?

[unnecessaryflourishes]

The Source and her shards have a wide variety of creatures. But if you had wished to know of those not found on any other world, there are the amaro of the First.

[a_better_man]

What's that, then? Never heard of it.

Which is exactly what I'm looking for!

[supersoldier]

Have you ever heard of a cactuar?

[a_better_man]

I can honestly say I have not.