Bakeneko

Once living lives as mundane housecats, wandering bakeneko can shapeshift into humanoids that retain their catlike reflexes and qualities. Many are driven by natural curiosity to collect interesting artifacts, gather tales and stories, and lay eyes on all the world's wonders. Intrinsic travelers, the inquisitive bakeneko rarely stay in one place for long. Their inquisitive nature pushes them to leave no secrets uncovered, no treasures or legends lost.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Their cat form has the same dimensions and appearance of natural wildcats.
A bakeneko's humanoid form will resemble a typical hominin species, though some may have feline features in this form such as cat ears on the top of their heads and a cat tail extending from the spine.

Biological Traits

Claw Retraction: Bakeneko can project and retract razor-sharp claws from their fingertips for offensive purposes or dig into surfaces to climb them.
Feline Balance: As they are cats, bakenekos possess an incredible sense of balance, allowing them to walk or even sprint along a half-inch rope like it was a wide stone bridge. Even when humanoid, bakeneko are not only capable of walking and running on all fours just as efficiently as they can on two legs, but they are also remarkably fast and nimble when doing so, able to leap great distances in a single bound, climb up trees in the blink of an eye and tumble safely.
Cat righting reflex: Moreover, bakenekos are known to reflexively twist their body during a fall to right themselves and land on their feet, provided they have enough time to do so.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: This ability is gained once they pass fifty years of age. Bakeneko by default look like a typical housecat but can used their mana to take on the form of human species of the same sex. They can also opt to take on a less costly humanoid transformation that retains their feline ears, eyes and tail.
Poison Immunity: Bakeneko are not affected by poisons and toxins contained in what they consume, with the exception of those that can specifically kill cats.
Faux Fire Manipulation: Bakeneko can expend their mana to generate an illusionary fire that consumes no air, burns no fuel and creates no smoke. While mainly used for mesmerizing viewers it can also burn those that believe it to be real fire.
Mind Control: Bakeneko are adept in using their faux fire to put those who watch it in hypnoic trances. This is a form of remote possession, and a bakeneko can cause them to see anything the bakeneko wishes, or overlook things the cat wants them to. Once control has been established, the victim is held until someone can break the psychic connection of their fire.

Genetics and Reproduction

Bakeneko that reproduce with their own kind (either bakeneko or natural cats) make kittens who gain intelligence at the pace of humans.
Bakeneko who reproduce with humanoids in this way will have hanyou offspring that typically be their humanoid parent species but will have select bakeneko abilities.

Growth Rate & Stages

Bakeneko kittens are well known for being very playful and lively, rarely standing still without playing some sort of game with their friends or their parents. After 50 years, a cat born of a bakeneko or a natural cat in a mana dense area can develop sorcery and become a bakeneko.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Bakenekos are mainly carnivores with their diet consisting primarily of meat, particularly poultry, seafood and rodents. While they can consume fruits and vegetables, they do so generally only in small amounts to supplement their diet, as their digestive system isn't adapted to process large amounts of plant material. Onions and garlics, are particularly hated as they are very noxious to their health. They also have an aversion to theobromine, commonly found in chocolate products. Despite this, bakenekos are generally very fond of plants that contain high amounts of nepetalactone such as catnip, and some tribes even cultivate such plants for use in certain rituals.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

Sapient

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Feline Hearing: The hearing of a bakeneko is very acute and among the best of any humanoids species. While it is similar to humans on the lower end of the scale, they can hear frequencies up to 64.000 Hz.
Low Light Vision: Bakenekos have excellent night vision as well and can see at only one-sixth the level of light required for human vision.

Civilization and Culture

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Bakenekos living in settlements are used to using technology for solving their problems and tend to adopt the style of clothes, livelihood, and cuisine as hominins or faye, though their diet remain primarily meat-based.
Wild bakenekos form tribes around a source of food, with one usually being dominant over the others but how they are organized, however, differ immensely from tribe to tribe. They tend to prefer hunting in very small groups to stay as stealthy as possible. Wild bakenekos tend to look down on their civilized cousins, seeing them as much weaker from years of "taming" by other species.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Cat

Scientific Name

Felis catus obake

Lifespan

500 years

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Average Height

felid: 23–25 cm (9–10 in) humanoid: 158 cm (5 ft 2 in)

Average Weight

felid: (7.9-9.9 lbs) humanoid: 59 kg (130 lbs)