Ey'tis (Lora Lupalagus Cunyicaratacus)

Sometimes referred to as “the Lorath rabbit”, ey'tis are large warm blooded mammals with a build similar to that of a human giant Pyrenean Mountain dog: Massive, fluffy and often stark white. They earn their nickname due to their large long ears which resemble an elongated version of those seen on desert foxes, their pink noses, often blank states (micro-sleeping through the day with their eyes open) and their short stubby tails giving them a rabbit-like appearance. Unusually, they have six limbs. Despite their large size, they are very fast, often known for sitting upright and often move in groups and packs.

A sketch of Albert, Aiesu Kalopsia's Ey'tis and room-mate (she didn't like it when we said he was a pet, and neither did he)

In spite of his cute appearance, he's actually 5'9 if he stands up on his haunches. And the females are even bigger! ~Art by Eistheid

Ey'tis are warm blooded mammals. Usually they are around the same size as a wolf or larger, with thick fluffy fur which can be black, gray or white and eyes which can be blue or a dark red. In terms of physical shape, they sit somewhere between a wolf and a bear: able to switch between walking on four to walking on two. Their front-appendages used for climbing and striking can be folded back to reveal a third set of appendages with small grasping hands complete with thumbs which are devoid of claws seen on larger arms.

They are known particularly for their long and very sensitive prehensile ears (which sit lop to hear in all directions or forward to search), their eyes which can look forwards or either side in the same way, rounded almost snoutless faces which resemble that of a house-cat and a small bushy tail.

A thick membrane sits between their larger front-legs from the elbow, leaning back to the flanks of their lower legs. Normally used to absorb striking blows or to smother prey or conceal an object of interest held in their grasping arms, the membrane can act as a parachute – ideal given that Ey'tis are climbers. Leaping, they glide surprisingly well.

Surprisingly, Ey'tis can only pick out a few hundred thousand smells (though do so excellently), verses the millions upon millions dogs are capable of.

Ordinarily, Ey'tis tend to slumber through most of the day, often being nocternal animals though can often be seen breaking the habit if something of interest rouses them. They are by definition pack animals who insist on staying in groups, pairing up with a 'best friend' of either sex. The two seem to act in harmony as if aware of eachother's thoughts: testing with psionic blocking devices has proven this to be the case.

Generally when hunting, Ey'tis will coordinate in meshnet pairs as part of a sort of biological decentralised intranet of decision making, with the command-pair making decisions from the front. Common tactics include singling out the weakest member then attacking from above.

Their natural habitat is the Oua woodlands of the Northern hemesphere of Lor: Large scattered mossy woodlands with heavy rainfall and cold hard winters. They move through this dense environment by leaping from tree to tree: Lorath trees often being tens or hundreds of times larger than Human trees. To this end, they often burrow and live inside trunks and are famous for climbing, leaping and even gliding.

In spite of their potentially dangerous strength and the danger of their claws and bite, most are extremely tame and friendly enough to make most people uncomfortable and are largely tolerated because they exterminate vermin and are very clean and docile animals until disturbed by force: Known for ignoring being pulled. shouted at, carried or moved around and only becoming problematic if struck with a blunt object or shot at at which point they tend to group up against their percieved threats in big numbers.

Ey'tis are largely social pack hunters of large game but are known as not only oppertunistic hunters but also as omnivores who if pressured, are as happy to eat berries, fruits, nuts and seeds as they are large animals. Pressured, they are known for hunting vermin like Kanns (Lorath rats), birds or ferretting for nests of eggs (a favorite), digging for worms and other insects beneath the ground, grubs or even Kaka nests (Lorath wasps) – where the thick fur and natural resilience of Ey'tis allow them to bring the nest down, crack it open and eat eggs, grubs and honey alike with their long tongues. Incredibly masochistic given the pain involved, perhaps but Ey'tis are large fans and no amount of pain will deter them – given that the honey is doped with opium.

Often, they are particularly known for digging up or pulling down duqs and hoarding them inside tree branches to hibernate for a particularly bad winter and Ey'tis have a natural weakness for opioids not shared by most Lorath animals.

Pack dynamics of Ey'tis are similar to Hyenas and Lions: A dominant female, a few males and females who are tasked with fighting and a few others tasked with mating and finding resources or constructing simple cover, similar to the dam of a beaver. Those who are cast out from one brood or clan commonly seek to kill a catch a group would normally have trouble with (ey'tis usually being very conservative and safe about their assaults): Going all out life or death to bring down a rare catch, then roll itself in the blood of the catch and bring a part of it, then seek another pack to try to win their approval. They are known for demonstrating a vast variety of primate-like behavior.

Mating habits of the Ey'tis are generally very forward and open, with sex itself being viewed as a component of basic social expression: Socially speaking, it serves to share comfort, to demonstrate submission or dominance without a fight (which would harm the pack) and so forth. Females are known for their habit of mounting the smaller males, flipping the males' genitals up into themselves or using their long prehensile clitoris to penetrate the male forcibly: either via the anus, urethra or orally. Males themselves feature a second urethra of sorts located beneath the anus: They are often used to carry stones or other smooth but heavy objects when swimming (allowing them to defeat their boyancy to sink well enough to catch fish) but their primary purpose is to carry the eggs produced by females, to keep them warm and save as a sort of mobile nest.

The mating itself can differ hugely but tends to be a group activity: either an older female raping groups of younger males (primarily to make them stop hassling other females by placating them), groups of males doing the same in patriarchal packs or group exchanges where a single pair will link up but others will join in – sort of like an orgy with a nucleus pair. This is largely tied to the principle that like us, Ey'tis feel pleasure when mating and the strength of either party's climax is linked to how virile they are in that given moment.

As stated, packs can be patriarchal or matriarchal, depending on who gets to eat the most and who becomes the largest. While often females are dominant, any singled out Ey'tis regardless of gender will try to be dominant or get “something for nothing”, believing they are exploiting whoever they exchange with to receive something they want.

Often, estrus is triggered by the release of pollens specific to the south that Ey'tis are known to eat before they came to the North: That if they ate too much of the plants, they wouldn't breed as much and the plants could recover or vice-verca. To this end, seperating Ey'ts from the source, powerful currents lift pollen once every few years in the heat-waves of a late summer – triggering mating behavior. This consists of rutting, a dry soft lyrical growling, teething, gentle clawing and displays of worth (bringing back objects or prey thought to be difficult, rare or unusual to impress potential partners). Those aspecting after Ey'tis should take particular note of this.

In captivity, Ey'tis retain their pack mentality and seek to identify where power may lay in a family and to find their place. While they will try to achieve this pack-dynamic aggressively whether it is there or not, with proper training (which can be difficult and exhausting) they can eventually become very calm and well behaved. Many, if they think food is involved or they may be rewarded for their behavior can become quite docile in urban settings, especially around people, beginning with curiocity and eventually moving toward good behavior in exchange for somewhere nice to sleep and something good to eat: Many cities using them to exterminate rodents and keep birds away from buildings, as very very dedicated couriers of old-style physical letters and small objects, as guard-animals patrolling and even being trained to provide warning before reacting – and so on and so forth: Their intelligence quite sophisticated for animals.

Importantly, once part of a family and believing the pack mentality (whether calmly or aggressively), their basic urges still tend to come into play. For example, Ey'tis frequently pair off not nessesarily into mating pairs but protective pairs – like twins or best friends may in society. This bond can be defended aggressively: An Ey'tis following their favored person to the ends of the earth f need be, being utterly faithful and provided they're trained properly, surprisingly well behaved. They will however insist on sharing the living space of that person as their own: Sleeping on or in beds and usually desiring some form of proximity at almost all times. This can be rather troublesome, especially for those who work but can be incredibly rewarding.

At times, regardless of sex or appearance, more complex needs in this favored-person dynamic may come into play. For example, Ey'tis usually groom one another: Bath-time or shower-time to them is viewed as a communal activity, not something one partakes in privately. The same applies to sleep, eating times and even to a lesser degree, sex: with Ey'tis becoming very jealous of any attention their favored person or owner receives unless the attention is shared between them (viewing the pair as a single unit). For example, if someone is sexual with an owner, the Ey'tis themselves will expect some measure of physical attention, even if its just petting, approving, baby-talk and general affection which they're often large fans of if the owner themselves would enjoy the same attention from said person (whether they'd admit it or not)

A noteworthy domesticated breed is a poe'tis. Bred specifically to hunt Caua, a micilium similar to truffles known for its natural source of caramel and high concentration of opium (a common defence mechanism making many animals docile which has backfired in the case of the Lorath), poe'tis have an excellent sense of smell. They are unfortunately known for their love of sleep, physical gratification and poor impulse control. Their laziness translates into fattier bodies. There is some controversy as to whether they were bred to hunt caua or for a higher fat concentration and lazier muscle use translating into better tasting meat, with poe in some circles kept as livestock. They are often more intelligent than their ey'tis counterparts an they also tend to self groom obsessively - in some cases fur along their backs, about their faces and tails curling into ringlets. Poe'tis also produce far more of the breeding pheremones ey'tis are known to respond to, perhaps explaining the proliferation of the breed amongst populations (creating mutts) despite their poor survival instincts.

It is generally considered poor luck among l'manel who aspect after an ey'tis to be struck down with pairing up with an ey'tis with an impure blood-line (eg: a quarter poe'tis) as many pathological traits risk translating very thoroughly (laziness, addiction, a certain smugness). Those afflicted tend to be paranoid of themselves, working too hard to compensate, coming in swinging bouts of mania verses laziness akin to bipolar disorder. Those who physically mature with the aspectation also tend to have thicker bodies in many cases – and even those who cheat chemically to reduce her bodyfat often left with “sizable proportions” popular with foreigners.

Oddly enough however, ey'tis cross-breeds to make good pets: The sometimes neurotic habits of ey'tis calmed enough for them to live comfortably indoors though rendering them useless as herding or working animals. As such, those with the aspectation are viewed as having a poor work ethic.

Going back hundreds of thousands of years, Ey'tis have been one of the first species domesticated by Lorath. Their flexible genome, intelligence, strength and temprement lend them well to breeding into Ouns – a sub-species (Ey'tis specifically being the wild form as wolves are to dogs). In spite of this, Ey'tis themselves remain especially popular – being some of the first animals early L'manel would aspect with to deepen their bond with the animals in ways which today would often be considered social taboo such as taking the animal for a mate and then integrating to a pack and then either rising to the top and returning to society with them or as early on was all too often the case, submitting to the pack and eventually becoming all but indistinguishable as the aspectation entered dangerous levels.