Kint
Kint or kintas plural, are small gray thin humanoids no larger than one foot tall with features that resemble soaked dead wood but with protruding veins and leech like mouths and no eyes who excrete a sweet slippery mucus. Kintas live inside trees by squeezing inside using their mucus and lubricant. The mucus is harmful to plant life and so kintas end up staying inside dead trees which gives them away to anyone knowledgeable of their species. They also use the scent of the mucus to locate their own kind after they emerge from their mother. Kintas do not seem to have very high intellect and they only seem to communicate with each other in low volume clicks, However they are more intelligent than the average beast as they have been seen celebrating once a new kint joins the clique. Kintas usually only live in groups up to 5 and once a sixth is born is travels to create a new clique of its own.
The kint has a strange parasitic type of reproduction and feeding where during the night a kint find a pregnant female asleep, latches unto its stomach, and consumes the unborn. Once it has fed, It injects its own young into the surrogate mother and returns back to its clique. The surrogate then unknowingly nourishes the kint anywhere between 1-8 months while it grows inside. Once it is ready to be born its will penetrate through the torso while the surrogate is asleep to kill it, then feeds on its insides before chewing its way out of the stomach and venturing to its clique. Kintas, once fully fed, can go 5 years without needed to feed again. While kintas prefer to feed on humanoids, they can feed on any medium sized pregnant creature, however they cannot reproduce from non-humanoids.
Kintas navigate by smell and sound, As their leech like double as a nose making them able to taste smells. Lack of vision does give them a disadvantage if anything is intelligent enough to mask its smell to hunt them. They are also susceptible to loud noises as they hunt during quiet nights and listen for the sound of prey that may be heading home to sleep, Giving them quite sensitive ears. Their life in darkness does not give them a disadvantage in light, but their skin is sensitive to direct daylight, causing pain and if prolonged exposure is applied to their skin, Death.
Kintas live in wet and temperate climates where water is found easily as they can use it to escape if pursued as their mucus give them a swift speed in water, salt water is harmful to their body however. Pregnant women in these climates often rub mint or citrus on their stomachs to prevent a kint from feeding as the sharp smell and taste is said to repel them. Kint mucus is flame retardant given them resistance fire damage, potion makers and savvy hunters will drain a kint after killing it to save a flask of fire resistant mucus or to use it in similar potion recipes. The mucus's sweet scent can also be use to attract bugs, But it acts as a pesticide once ingested.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Kint skin is dark gray with a thick slick mucus covering their whole body, its looks as though slim dead wood was soaked in water with protruding veins along the body. They have two legs and two arms, They are humanoids who grow to around one foot and lack eyes and noticeable ears. Kint mouths are covering in leech like suckers with teeth to match for latching with one long prehensile sharp mouth tube in the center for penetrating its victims womb while attached. They have spindly looking limbs in order to disguise themself in as chunks of dead wood. Its mouth is used as a nose as well, and like snacks can taste the air around them.
Their skin is weak to sunlight which causes pain and if exposed long enough will result in their death, any light that is not sunlight has no effect however.
Genetics and Reproduction
Kintas find sleeping pregnant humanoids and eat the young within their womb using their prehensile tube mouth to pierce through the belly button or around it and replace it with their own young, then retreats back to their clique. In almost all cases the surrogate mother does not notice this change and continues taking care of her body while she nourishes the kint within her unknowingly. This process can take anywhere between 1-8 months and once the kint is ready to be birthed, they await for the surrogate to fall sleep before young their sharp prehensile mouth to pierce the heart. With the surrogate now neutralized in the night with little to no attention drawn, it begins to feast upon the surrogates insides before chewing its way through the stomach and following its mouth/nose to its parent clique.
There have been very rare occasions where a kint is birthed before is has decided it was ready, In which case the surrogate births the kint in a regular fashion and the mother survives. This usually results in the kint being terminated by the humanoids nearby, or escaping immediate death and being malnourished as it did not feed the correct way. Kint born in this manor rarely survive as they are in a weakened state and if unable to feed within a week, will starve and die.
Growth Rate & Stages
Kint reach full maturity anywhere between 1-8 months while in the womb and once matured exit the surrogate.
During its time in the womb, It starts as a single small tadpole like being and as it grows, morphs into its humanoid adult form within the surrogate.
Ecology and Habitats
Kint use thier mucus to climb within trees where they decide to make their clique, The mucus however is harmful to the tree and kills it causing them to live with dead trees. Their mucus allows them fast movement in water and with their wet wood like body, they thrive in areas where water is abundant. Swamps, wetlands, and temperate forests are the usual habitat but they have rarely been sighted in others. Kints prefer to make their homes near humanoid settlements for easier reproduction and feeding.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Kint eat the unborn children of all creatures but can only reproduce from humanoids. They prefer humanoids, but when humanoids are sparse they tend to search for mammals, and in the event there are no mammals, they are willing to eat any type of creatures young. They only form cliques of 5 in most cases so as to not out eat the food supply of the local area, and the 5 year long hibernation helps to keep prey population abundant while not over feeding. Hibernation leaves them vulnerable to losing the food supply as in that time the population could have moved on to another location leaving the kint to search for a new source of food with little time to do so after a full 5 year sleep.
Biological Cycle
Kint can survive five years in hibernation without needing to feed and most do directly after feeding if food is abundant in their area. When food is sparse, they usually only hibernate for 2 years after eating and if food is still sparse upon waking, they migrate to a new location.
Kint can live on average about 100 years, but with humanoids and certain predators hunting them while hibernating, many do not make it past 30.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Very sensitive hearing which makes them vulnerable to loud noises, but lack of visible ears.
Lack of eyes means they have no vision.
Very acute sense of smell which doubles as taste is their main form of perception.
Kint can communicate with each other through low volume clicking noises.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Genetic Descendants
Scientific Name
Humanoid
Geographic Distribution
Discovered by
Comments