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Skii'r
The Skii'r is a common speedy animal, native to Vestinand. This animal is omnivorous, with a mostly meat diet. It It has several different coat variants from stripes to spots, horizontally laying across it's body.
This animal has a wild cat / bird style personality. Wild Skii'r are dangerous and will hunt herds, large insects, and unarmed or small groups of kilds. They are however rather wary of other Skii'r and armed kilds after experiencing failed fights. Having said that, it's not unknown to find Vestinans paired with Skii'rs, both as a way of travel, hunt, and protection. The skii'r can sprint up to 70-90 MPH for roughly 60 seconds, or pace at 15-20 mph for about 5 minutes. Sand and rock may effect their speed and traction, so they typically try to hunt in areas with more flora and grass. Additionally, that is also where prey tend to gather.
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Despite these animals being rather dangerous, Skii'r are relatively easy to tame for Vestinan's. so long as they are treated well, fed, and have a good even portion of both activity and slumber in their day, they will cooperate with their owners without much fuss. They are however known to have a mixed bag personality. Some have been known to be rebellious or tricky with their tamers,. Pulling tricks that might throw them off, misbehaving during late hours, and just generally pushing buttons whenever they can. Others have been known to be sweet and at times protective. Wanting to be pet and cuddled any moment they can, Often trying to curl up and cuddle. Some are even vocal about their feelings and opinions on their tamers and may let out loud rumbling purrs or chirps to express themselves and grab attention.
Skii'r typically stand at about 6 to 7 foot from ground to shoulder. They have long powerful legs made for quick controlled running, long non-retractable claws for gripping the ground beneath, and a long feathered tail to help them take sharp turns. A false beak at the front of their nose, not a realy part of their skull but rather a sort of mouth protection, just incase they get kicked or run into something head first and don't have their skull split open. The fanciful vibrant red mask and yellow feathers on their head are made as an attraction point for mating, A brighter mask and coat is most looked for by mates. Females and males are both equally vibrant, however, females tend to typically have a more darker coat than males.
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Details
The Skii'r have short feathers running down the top of their head, neck, back, and covering the tail. The feathers are light and airy, excellent for reliving or keeping heat. Their Front legs have three long toes with slight scales and a long digging claw at the end of each toe. Their kind feet have only two toes, one long ground gripping toe on the inside, and a supportive balance toe on the outside. The Jaws are their largest weapon of attack, used to crush the throats of their victims at 1,400 pounds. They are certainly not a bit to be played with!
Skii'r also have four sets of whiskers on their heads, to better know when they cannot fit in a place. two on top above each brow, and two on the bottom jaw.
Like stated earlier, The Skii'r have a variety of coats, all depending on their location and daily lifestyle. These coats can easily vary to darker the more shade they're in, or lighter the more sun they get. The Stripes run down their backs horizontally, and spotting is typically right at the ends of each stripe, but can be random, especially for the spotted Skii'r. Skii'r that boarder Kathiim, Sturr, and Naiij, typically have more red coats as the increase in flora increases. These Skii'r are called Fire Skii'r. They Don't have as much stamina or strength as the more common Clouded and Spotted Skii'r, but they are capable of withstanding colder temps much better. They have also acquired a small ability to climb trees, though this is a very basic evolution as they cannot wrap their toes around the branches, and can easily fall out. The Sand Skii'r is a possible offspring of the clouded and fire skii'r. They don't have the same Stamina as the clouded, but cannot withstand the cold like the Fire. They are just as strong as the Clouded and have slight tree climbing ability as the fire. Finally, The most uncommon Skii'r, The albino and melanistic. It is rare to find an albino alive or thriving in nature, these are most often found with nobles as show mounts. They struggle to survive in nature due to their albinism in the extreme heats, weak immune system, bright non-camouflaged coat, and inability to keep or relieve extreme temperatures. The melanistic Skii'r is even more so rare than the albino. It is much healthier and more likely to survive with it's rich coat, and still containing the full stamina and strength of it's kind. However, It's rich coat is very hot, and it is extremely easy for them to die of heat stroke.
Taming
Taming a Skii'r is rather easy for a vestinan, and is often the first creature they learn to tame when picking up interest in beast taming. Young Skii'r are the most easy to tame, requiring simple discipline, care, and training. Older more wilder Skii'r require a few extra steps since they won't see you as a parent like a young one would. Often Vestinans will "dance" with them. First, a sporty game chicken is often played to get the Skii'r to not bite or attack them. This is done by standing your ground when the Skii'r approaches, sometimes even running at them. They know they are not strong enough to take punches and will turn tail or back off from their attack. next is to approach them calmly, peaking their interest in your intentions. They may try to snap at the air loudly to warn you, hiss, lash their tails, fluff their feathers, and scratch the air or ground in protest. A vestinan should remain calm and keep their gaze strait into the Skii'r's eyes. Looking away, even just for a moment will provoke the Skii'r to attack. If the Skii'r does attack, the vestinan should spit a light bit of venom on the ground, just at the Skii'r's feet. The Skii'r will smell the strong scent of the venom and be put in a fearful haze at first, then, The scent will slowly get to their brain. The fumes of a venom that could easily paralyze them, is used to calm them. after the fear, they will settle down and become a bit sluggish and sleepy. During this time, The tamer can try to approach. They can muzzle the beast to keep it from biting during it's haze if it feels threatened, and pet it until it feels at ease with the tamer. Tamers may spend several days with the Skii'r, carefully gaining it's trust as they feed and care for it until it grows onto them. Once they are used to their tamer, they can be taken to the settlement, or to a professional beast tamer to begin training.
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Riding
The Skii'r are personal mounts, only being able to carry one kild at a time, and small amounts of non-fragile luggage. (as delicate packages will likely be broken at 40mph+ ) Skii'r saddles sit just behind the shoulder and end right at the end of the ribcage. The straps around the chest are the most tight, keeping the rider from flying off, and the straps under the belly are just tight enough to keep the saddle from sliding side to side, but not too tight to harm the animal. Skii'r do not require reigns of any type, as they are preferably trained by weight and sound. Riders will lean in the direction they want the Skiir to turn. Skii'r cannot walk backwards very well, so keeping out of tight areas is important, as backwards isn't much of an easy command and will result in you pushing and shoving them to get out. Skii'r are typically well acquainted with the sound of their rider's voice, knowing well when they should stop and go based on the command given.
The saddles are often built to lean forward and become as aerodynamic with the animal as possible, even having a bit that presses upward in the center for leaning on if needing to hold on tight through dangerous terrain that your skii'r may trip or fall on. The saddles also have two supportive pieces in the back, to better keep them from falling off given they lose their grip during fast paces or going up sharper angles.
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