Sleipnirs
HUGE Thanks To BatteredSteve For The AMAZING Art For The Sleipnirs!
It's Made Them Really Come To Life!
Not all animals on Ta Mando are FROM Ta Mando!
The Shift is a devious pandimensional process that can arrange any number of changes or additions and, by definition, normally brings a Prime with all manner of modern equipment and accommodations suited to their skill groups. However, people and machinery aren't the only things The Shift may present!
Sometimes it brings into the world new monsters the likes of which nobody has ever known! Sleipnirs, brought in with Roxanne Flagrare: The Counter Of The Earth... are one such monster! They Are TRULY Alien!
And They Have Been Brought To Fight Things JUST As Alien!
The Shift is a devious pandimensional process that can arrange any number of changes or additions and, by definition, normally brings a Prime with all manner of modern equipment and accommodations suited to their skill groups. However, people and machinery aren't the only things The Shift may present!
Sometimes it brings into the world new monsters the likes of which nobody has ever known! Sleipnirs, brought in with Roxanne Flagrare: The Counter Of The Earth... are one such monster! They Are TRULY Alien!
And They Have Been Brought To Fight Things JUST As Alien!
Basic Information
Anatomy
Terrifying to behold, according to most, Sleipnirs are completely alien to Ta Mando; possessing a body plan that has been seen nowhere on that world nor our own!
Possessing six muscular legs, each ending in four digits holding retractable claws for scaling trees or cutting open prey, The Sleipnir is an ideal predator domesticated from an even more terrifying ancestor!
Their bodies almost consistently made of compact, densely layered muscle, topped with dark, leathery flesh and ending in a semi-prehensile tail; Sleipnirs are able to run, climb and even swim for hours, housing a huge set of lungs and two separate hearts that pump oxygen rich blood through a remarkably resilient (Almost Overcharged!) but relatively simple circulatory system!
Overly Dense bones provide the structure for their imposing frames; their limbs with joints that are protected and supported by an un-earthlike mesh network of hyper resilient elastic proteins combined with cartilage much stronger than most examples found on Earth or Ta Mando. Tall and often possessing of firm, semi-barrel torsos, the body of the Sleipnir is covered in thick, loose, shaggy, multicolored fur that simply can't be tamed no matter what their masters do for them.
However, this fur serves a purpose; coming out in thick clumps when bitten or struck by potential prey items or fellow Sleipnirs competitors.
This avoids damage to the individual in question merely at the cost of some extra hair!
While this fur is MEANT to come out and leaves behind a thin, velveteen layer of transparent underfur that keeps the Sleipnir warm and comfortable, the splotchy shag can make them look quite hideous to some despite the fact that the animal in question doesn't care about how it looks!
Importantly, the long, shaggy overfur of a Sleipnir is able to be woven into textiles; coming together to make dense, warm, water resistant cloth of extremely fine quality despite being somewhat difficult to work with. With a wide, heavy, mastiff-like head, Sleipnirs would be able to easily produce enough force to crush bone provided their teeth were flat!
However, Sleipnirs do NOT have flat teeth!
Instead the Average Sleipnir has a mouth that houses two razor sharp rows of teeth on each jaw; the two rows often very tight against each other with one row's teeth pointing subtly away from the other along the tooth line.
Not unlike a modern, dual-bladed saw these jaws cut through almost anything no matter which direction they're going; the arrangement of their teeth allowing their jaws to cut while both pushing forward AND pulling away.
In a few simple chews a Sleipnir can easily gnaw through a man's leg and be sawing through the bone core in a short second or two.
Extremely Durable and dangerously sharp, it's rare that Sleipnir teeth break or crack but even when they do or their teeth are knocked out from injury they can grow them back over the course of a couple months; provided they have suitably nutritious diets. Twice the length of any Dog's, Sleipnirs possess incredibly long, prehensile fork tongues that have an amazing sense of taste which the Sleipnirs use to hunt and recognize territorial boundaries... as well as show affection much like any mundane Doggo!
Wild Electric Blue in color, (Like The Blue Tongued Skink) more mischievous Sleipnirs have been known to SLOWLY snake their tongues onto full dining tables while trying to be sneaky and grab food items with them to pull off and run away with.
Interestingly, their forked tongues do not help with sensing odors as Snake Tongues do.
Instead the forked prongs at the end are able to wiggle around like rudimentary fingers and grab potential food items.
In their native habitat this prehensile, foot and a half long... appendage is generally shoved down nesting holes in trees to pull out insect jelly, baby animals or small, tree dwelling creatures.
Slightly abrasive, A Sleipnir's tongue is somewhat like a cat's in texture; allowing them to better clean their shaggy fur and keep it somewhat in line.
Like Mundane Dogs, Sleipnirs pant to stay cool; unable to sweat. Perhaps the most unnerving part of the Sleipnir is their eyes, of which they typically have four; all of which are generally a brilliant blue.
These eyes are incredibly competent; able to track potential prey in motion at great distances even with considerable obstacles in their view to break up the picture of their moving target.
While the two main eyes face forward at all times much like any Canine and can freely move in their sockets, Sleipnirs possess a second pair of sideward facing eyes that grant them nearly 360 degrees of vision at all times!
While unable to move or turn, as they are functionally flat, these side facing eyes form images with similar clarity to the forward facing ones and have specialized nictitating membranes that allow them to stay open even while the Sleipnir sleeps!
However, most Sleipnirs prefer to "doze" with their side facing eyes while they sleep; only opening them every now and then to check their surroundings before relaxing again, as they sleep best with all eyes closed.
Capable of seeing almost perfectly in the dark as well as in the daylight hours because of this extremely effective, visually oriented biology, Sleipnirs can even register body temperature through their incredibly unique peepers in case of complete blackout conditions! Large, doglike ears standard to the average canine body plan sit on their heads just above their side facing eyes; perhaps not as sharp as the best of dog ears but easily ranking in with a typical retriever! Their keen noses, used to functioning anywhere from cliffsides and cool woodlands to fetid swamps and muggy jungles, allow them olfactory abilities comparable to any bloodhound!
If properly trained they can even smell dead bodies through concrete, tell how you are feeling, identify ailments in the human body by scent or detect if someone is pregnant.
Perhaps more important than their mundane olfactory skills, Sleipnirs come from an alien world and have a genetic disposition toward smelling out threats that wouldn't otherwise be detected by any earthly animal!
For example, Sleipnirs not only seem to be able to smell out if someone is possessed by the foreign entities of the Spirit Isles but are indeed quite aggressive toward such entities; naturally attacking them to protect their more sublunary charges!
Rather than be incapacitated by the abilities of these hosts, Sleipnirs will respond to otherworldly attacks by becoming EVEN MORE violently aggressive and otherwise ignore the deleterious effects of such powers!
Their bodies almost consistently made of compact, densely layered muscle, topped with dark, leathery flesh and ending in a semi-prehensile tail; Sleipnirs are able to run, climb and even swim for hours, housing a huge set of lungs and two separate hearts that pump oxygen rich blood through a remarkably resilient (Almost Overcharged!) but relatively simple circulatory system!
Overly Dense bones provide the structure for their imposing frames; their limbs with joints that are protected and supported by an un-earthlike mesh network of hyper resilient elastic proteins combined with cartilage much stronger than most examples found on Earth or Ta Mando. Tall and often possessing of firm, semi-barrel torsos, the body of the Sleipnir is covered in thick, loose, shaggy, multicolored fur that simply can't be tamed no matter what their masters do for them.
However, this fur serves a purpose; coming out in thick clumps when bitten or struck by potential prey items or fellow Sleipnirs competitors.
This avoids damage to the individual in question merely at the cost of some extra hair!
While this fur is MEANT to come out and leaves behind a thin, velveteen layer of transparent underfur that keeps the Sleipnir warm and comfortable, the splotchy shag can make them look quite hideous to some despite the fact that the animal in question doesn't care about how it looks!
Importantly, the long, shaggy overfur of a Sleipnir is able to be woven into textiles; coming together to make dense, warm, water resistant cloth of extremely fine quality despite being somewhat difficult to work with. With a wide, heavy, mastiff-like head, Sleipnirs would be able to easily produce enough force to crush bone provided their teeth were flat!
However, Sleipnirs do NOT have flat teeth!
Instead the Average Sleipnir has a mouth that houses two razor sharp rows of teeth on each jaw; the two rows often very tight against each other with one row's teeth pointing subtly away from the other along the tooth line.
Not unlike a modern, dual-bladed saw these jaws cut through almost anything no matter which direction they're going; the arrangement of their teeth allowing their jaws to cut while both pushing forward AND pulling away.
In a few simple chews a Sleipnir can easily gnaw through a man's leg and be sawing through the bone core in a short second or two.
Extremely Durable and dangerously sharp, it's rare that Sleipnir teeth break or crack but even when they do or their teeth are knocked out from injury they can grow them back over the course of a couple months; provided they have suitably nutritious diets. Twice the length of any Dog's, Sleipnirs possess incredibly long, prehensile fork tongues that have an amazing sense of taste which the Sleipnirs use to hunt and recognize territorial boundaries... as well as show affection much like any mundane Doggo!
Wild Electric Blue in color, (Like The Blue Tongued Skink) more mischievous Sleipnirs have been known to SLOWLY snake their tongues onto full dining tables while trying to be sneaky and grab food items with them to pull off and run away with.
Interestingly, their forked tongues do not help with sensing odors as Snake Tongues do.
Instead the forked prongs at the end are able to wiggle around like rudimentary fingers and grab potential food items.
In their native habitat this prehensile, foot and a half long... appendage is generally shoved down nesting holes in trees to pull out insect jelly, baby animals or small, tree dwelling creatures.
Slightly abrasive, A Sleipnir's tongue is somewhat like a cat's in texture; allowing them to better clean their shaggy fur and keep it somewhat in line.
Like Mundane Dogs, Sleipnirs pant to stay cool; unable to sweat. Perhaps the most unnerving part of the Sleipnir is their eyes, of which they typically have four; all of which are generally a brilliant blue.
These eyes are incredibly competent; able to track potential prey in motion at great distances even with considerable obstacles in their view to break up the picture of their moving target.
While the two main eyes face forward at all times much like any Canine and can freely move in their sockets, Sleipnirs possess a second pair of sideward facing eyes that grant them nearly 360 degrees of vision at all times!
While unable to move or turn, as they are functionally flat, these side facing eyes form images with similar clarity to the forward facing ones and have specialized nictitating membranes that allow them to stay open even while the Sleipnir sleeps!
However, most Sleipnirs prefer to "doze" with their side facing eyes while they sleep; only opening them every now and then to check their surroundings before relaxing again, as they sleep best with all eyes closed.
Capable of seeing almost perfectly in the dark as well as in the daylight hours because of this extremely effective, visually oriented biology, Sleipnirs can even register body temperature through their incredibly unique peepers in case of complete blackout conditions! Large, doglike ears standard to the average canine body plan sit on their heads just above their side facing eyes; perhaps not as sharp as the best of dog ears but easily ranking in with a typical retriever! Their keen noses, used to functioning anywhere from cliffsides and cool woodlands to fetid swamps and muggy jungles, allow them olfactory abilities comparable to any bloodhound!
If properly trained they can even smell dead bodies through concrete, tell how you are feeling, identify ailments in the human body by scent or detect if someone is pregnant.
Perhaps more important than their mundane olfactory skills, Sleipnirs come from an alien world and have a genetic disposition toward smelling out threats that wouldn't otherwise be detected by any earthly animal!
For example, Sleipnirs not only seem to be able to smell out if someone is possessed by the foreign entities of the Spirit Isles but are indeed quite aggressive toward such entities; naturally attacking them to protect their more sublunary charges!
Rather than be incapacitated by the abilities of these hosts, Sleipnirs will respond to otherworldly attacks by becoming EVEN MORE violently aggressive and otherwise ignore the deleterious effects of such powers!
Genetics and Reproduction
While hideously alien at first glance, Sleipnir reproduction is remarkably similar to more familiar life, as Sleipnirs possess all the same sexual anatomy as earth mammals; Sperm, Eggs, Uterus, Penis, Mammaries, etc.
While they do not typically experience estrous and may breed at any time, Sleipnirs most often breed in the spring and fall of temperate regions; requiring at least two months before they can conceive again but normally waiting at least six months if allowed. Not unlike the African Painted Dog of Earth, Sleipnirs go through GREAT lengths to avoid inbreeding and will refuse to breed with any individuals that they share a great grandparent with.
Fortunately, as of Sleeping 1, 1633, all Sleipnirs on Ta Mando are no more closely related to each other than any random individual of a specific species is to any other of the same species. Typically giving birth after a roughly fifteen week pregnancy, the average litter size is generally 5-6, though it is not unknown to have litters as small as 2 or as large as 15!
While Sleipnirs are generally considered to be an extremely active species, in the last month of pregnancy they tend to settle down in wooded areas and dig lairs in the roots of great trees within which they might give birth in relative security.
During this time the entire pack is known to settle down so as to protect their future generations.
While they do not typically experience estrous and may breed at any time, Sleipnirs most often breed in the spring and fall of temperate regions; requiring at least two months before they can conceive again but normally waiting at least six months if allowed. Not unlike the African Painted Dog of Earth, Sleipnirs go through GREAT lengths to avoid inbreeding and will refuse to breed with any individuals that they share a great grandparent with.
Fortunately, as of Sleeping 1, 1633, all Sleipnirs on Ta Mando are no more closely related to each other than any random individual of a specific species is to any other of the same species. Typically giving birth after a roughly fifteen week pregnancy, the average litter size is generally 5-6, though it is not unknown to have litters as small as 2 or as large as 15!
While Sleipnirs are generally considered to be an extremely active species, in the last month of pregnancy they tend to settle down in wooded areas and dig lairs in the roots of great trees within which they might give birth in relative security.
During this time the entire pack is known to settle down so as to protect their future generations.
Growth Rate & Stages
Like many animals, Sleipnirs are born with their eyes closed and take around two weeks to open.
These baby Sleipnirs are called "Foals" During this two week period they live entirely off of milk from their mothers or some other lactating family member.
While a single mother only has six nipples to feed her children, nursing females seem to overproduce more often than not; seen with consistently swollen breasts and dripping nipples even after having fed over a dozen children so their young seldom need to compete for milk.
A Single Lactating Sleipnir can produce up to three gallons of milk (11.35 Liters) every day to overfeed her freshly born offspring!
The Clan will work hard during nursing periods to provide for new mothers; hunting more frequently and going out of its way to take on larger, more dangerous prey for the good of the mother and her young! By the time the fourth week of their life is beginning, however, Sleipnirs have already started eating meat; softened by their parents pre-chewing it.
The very next week the clan will start moving again and the young will be expected to keep up... though most Clans move slowly for the first few months after leaving the foal dens. At about twenty-five weeks old a Sleipnir's weak, comparably soft single row of teeth on each jaw usually break off or fall out as the individual in question begins to eat more bones and cartilage; quickly replaced by harder, sharper, more mature teeth growing underneath the old ones.
It is at this point that the mother universally cuts her children off from the milk supply for reasons that should be obvious.
At this point a Female Sleipnir is called a "Filly" while a male Sleipnir is called a "Colt." Within fours weeks after their baby teeth fall out colts and fillies will be expected to start sharing the labor; hunting, foraging, keeping lookout when the pack sleeps and scouting ahead of the Clan when they move to help guarantee the safety of the family as a whole.
While these activities are normally light for the youngsters, they are also extremely important for their social and mental development!
Sleipnir Youths that work hard and are dedicated to their pack duties, even going out of the way to endanger themselves to get their jobs done, will be nurtured and encouraged by the pack while slackers and those that work to avoid lookout duty will inevitably be alienated from the group and exiled. While Sleipnirs typically reach sexual maturity around a fifty-two weeks, most Sleipnirs will not breed until at least twice this age due to the competitive pressures present in any clan.
To avoid such competition and potential inbreeding, young males will often leave the clan and integrate into another clan in hopes that they will be able to fight for the attention of more interested females. Thereafter the life of a Sleipnir "In The Wild" is about the same from day to day.
The Dominant Matriarch decides where the clan will go, scouts go forward to make sure things are safe, hunts continue and life moves on as it always does.
Overtime, like with most animals, Sleipnirs simply slow down and gradually become weaker until they are overthrown by their betters or die in the line of duty.
In a state of nature Feral Sleipnirs generally live no more than twenty years at best but in companionship with a sapient, properly taken care of, they can live to thirty Ta Mando Years!
These baby Sleipnirs are called "Foals" During this two week period they live entirely off of milk from their mothers or some other lactating family member.
While a single mother only has six nipples to feed her children, nursing females seem to overproduce more often than not; seen with consistently swollen breasts and dripping nipples even after having fed over a dozen children so their young seldom need to compete for milk.
A Single Lactating Sleipnir can produce up to three gallons of milk (11.35 Liters) every day to overfeed her freshly born offspring!
The Clan will work hard during nursing periods to provide for new mothers; hunting more frequently and going out of its way to take on larger, more dangerous prey for the good of the mother and her young! By the time the fourth week of their life is beginning, however, Sleipnirs have already started eating meat; softened by their parents pre-chewing it.
The very next week the clan will start moving again and the young will be expected to keep up... though most Clans move slowly for the first few months after leaving the foal dens. At about twenty-five weeks old a Sleipnir's weak, comparably soft single row of teeth on each jaw usually break off or fall out as the individual in question begins to eat more bones and cartilage; quickly replaced by harder, sharper, more mature teeth growing underneath the old ones.
It is at this point that the mother universally cuts her children off from the milk supply for reasons that should be obvious.
At this point a Female Sleipnir is called a "Filly" while a male Sleipnir is called a "Colt." Within fours weeks after their baby teeth fall out colts and fillies will be expected to start sharing the labor; hunting, foraging, keeping lookout when the pack sleeps and scouting ahead of the Clan when they move to help guarantee the safety of the family as a whole.
While these activities are normally light for the youngsters, they are also extremely important for their social and mental development!
Sleipnir Youths that work hard and are dedicated to their pack duties, even going out of the way to endanger themselves to get their jobs done, will be nurtured and encouraged by the pack while slackers and those that work to avoid lookout duty will inevitably be alienated from the group and exiled. While Sleipnirs typically reach sexual maturity around a fifty-two weeks, most Sleipnirs will not breed until at least twice this age due to the competitive pressures present in any clan.
To avoid such competition and potential inbreeding, young males will often leave the clan and integrate into another clan in hopes that they will be able to fight for the attention of more interested females. Thereafter the life of a Sleipnir "In The Wild" is about the same from day to day.
The Dominant Matriarch decides where the clan will go, scouts go forward to make sure things are safe, hunts continue and life moves on as it always does.
Overtime, like with most animals, Sleipnirs simply slow down and gradually become weaker until they are overthrown by their betters or die in the line of duty.
In a state of nature Feral Sleipnirs generally live no more than twenty years at best but in companionship with a sapient, properly taken care of, they can live to thirty Ta Mando Years!
Ecology and Habitats
While they can fare perfectly fine in flatlands, Sleipnirs truly shine in mountain forests where they can make the most of their ability to climb almost any surface and can better utilize advanced pack tactics to hunt over consistently differing, three dimensional terrain.
Working hard to get the most precise and powerful members of the clan OVER the prey while the weaker members of the clan wear it out below, Sleipnirs love to use their arborial prowess to drop onto extremely large prey and aim for weak spots like the spine, neck, shoulders and limb junctions. However, this sort of complex group coordination is not limited to the trees, as Sleipnirs are able to perform at their best almost anywhere where there is no shortage of vertical terrain differences; cliffsides, jungles, forests, coastal highlands and river valleys all being places where Sleipnirs are found on Shangri La (their home planet) in abundance. Though an otherwise highly nomadic species, Sleipnir Clans expecting to start raising young tend to settle down and dig extensive burrows and lairs under trees and in the crevaces of mountainsides.
While staying so low to the ground might seem dangerous, Sleipnirs arrange this by design, as watchful guardians stay high above; ready to drop down on unsuspecting potential interlopers who seek to attack the pregnant females while they are vulnerable.
Working hard to get the most precise and powerful members of the clan OVER the prey while the weaker members of the clan wear it out below, Sleipnirs love to use their arborial prowess to drop onto extremely large prey and aim for weak spots like the spine, neck, shoulders and limb junctions. However, this sort of complex group coordination is not limited to the trees, as Sleipnirs are able to perform at their best almost anywhere where there is no shortage of vertical terrain differences; cliffsides, jungles, forests, coastal highlands and river valleys all being places where Sleipnirs are found on Shangri La (their home planet) in abundance. Though an otherwise highly nomadic species, Sleipnir Clans expecting to start raising young tend to settle down and dig extensive burrows and lairs under trees and in the crevaces of mountainsides.
While staying so low to the ground might seem dangerous, Sleipnirs arrange this by design, as watchful guardians stay high above; ready to drop down on unsuspecting potential interlopers who seek to attack the pregnant females while they are vulnerable.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Surprisingly, Sleipnirs are functionally Obligate Omnivores, gaining significant benefits from regularly consuming plant roughage, some fruits and vegetables and all manner of nectars and animal byproducts other than meat!
Bred for tens of thousands of years by the Camahueto to essentially eat their garbage and descended from donkey sized, bone crushing super predators, Sleipnirs have remarkably powerful stomachs that can harmlessly digest almost anything from spoiled meat to poisonous fruit pits to the teeth of Xylophagous rodents if given enough time!
There's almost nothing organic that their digestive systems can't eat!
TRULY Ravenous Creatures in their natural state, if a pack of Sleipnirs kills and eats something the unfortunate victim will be lucky if the pack doesn't lick clean the very blood stains on the ground. Naturally this means they can get nutrition from almost any source, though savvy owners know that a Sleipnir's Diet should be at least 50% meat to keep the individual healthy.
Experts, few as they are, regularly insist upon Honey to be AT LEAST 5% of their diet, (For Enrichment And Proper Metabolism!)
While not at all picky in any way, as mentioned above, Sleipnirs seem to universally appreciate deep green, non-leaf shaped vegetables like Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Heads of Cabbage, Artichokes, Green Beans and Peas.
It is said that no more than a quarter of their diet should consist of such things, though!
It's mostly for ruffage anyway!
Spicy Foods seem to affect them similarly to Earth Mammals but they find the burn incredibly entertaining and regard Spicy Foods as special treats for enrichment; often yelping, whimpering and crooning in excitement while dancing about when they eat something hot before promptly coming back for more! Keenly evolved to climb trees and cliffs, all Sleipnirs LOVE eggs and consider them only the finest of treats, since Shangri La has no domesticated birds and egg gathering is a challenge even for the most skilled of foragers!
Some Sleipnirs, upon seeing one in the hand of their master, will go through their entire repertoir of tricks without being given a single command in hopes of a delicious, raw egg straight from the chicken!
Young Sleipnirs still being trained need to be kept away from coops and barnyards, as they will absolutely sneak in to devour all of a farmer's eggs if allowed. However one feeds their Sleipnir companion and whatever combination of meat, honey and ruffage they use, it's generally accepted that the average Sleipnir requires AT LEAST two pounds of meat every day to live healthy... and more is often recommended!
Reproducing And Growing Sleipnirs might eat up to four times this amount!
Bred for tens of thousands of years by the Camahueto to essentially eat their garbage and descended from donkey sized, bone crushing super predators, Sleipnirs have remarkably powerful stomachs that can harmlessly digest almost anything from spoiled meat to poisonous fruit pits to the teeth of Xylophagous rodents if given enough time!
There's almost nothing organic that their digestive systems can't eat!
TRULY Ravenous Creatures in their natural state, if a pack of Sleipnirs kills and eats something the unfortunate victim will be lucky if the pack doesn't lick clean the very blood stains on the ground. Naturally this means they can get nutrition from almost any source, though savvy owners know that a Sleipnir's Diet should be at least 50% meat to keep the individual healthy.
Experts, few as they are, regularly insist upon Honey to be AT LEAST 5% of their diet, (For Enrichment And Proper Metabolism!)
While not at all picky in any way, as mentioned above, Sleipnirs seem to universally appreciate deep green, non-leaf shaped vegetables like Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Heads of Cabbage, Artichokes, Green Beans and Peas.
It is said that no more than a quarter of their diet should consist of such things, though!
It's mostly for ruffage anyway!
Spicy Foods seem to affect them similarly to Earth Mammals but they find the burn incredibly entertaining and regard Spicy Foods as special treats for enrichment; often yelping, whimpering and crooning in excitement while dancing about when they eat something hot before promptly coming back for more! Keenly evolved to climb trees and cliffs, all Sleipnirs LOVE eggs and consider them only the finest of treats, since Shangri La has no domesticated birds and egg gathering is a challenge even for the most skilled of foragers!
Some Sleipnirs, upon seeing one in the hand of their master, will go through their entire repertoir of tricks without being given a single command in hopes of a delicious, raw egg straight from the chicken!
Young Sleipnirs still being trained need to be kept away from coops and barnyards, as they will absolutely sneak in to devour all of a farmer's eggs if allowed. However one feeds their Sleipnir companion and whatever combination of meat, honey and ruffage they use, it's generally accepted that the average Sleipnir requires AT LEAST two pounds of meat every day to live healthy... and more is often recommended!
Reproducing And Growing Sleipnirs might eat up to four times this amount!
Additional Information
Social Structure
Being strongly domesticated animals, shaped by tens of thousands of years of artificial selection at the hands of their Camahueto masters, Sleipnirs have been bred to be extremely social creatures!
Often comfortable in artificial packs up to a thousand members strong, (Called "Clans") all the while alongside sapient masters that they seek the affection of, Sleipnirs have an extremely complex and extensive set of distinct sounds they can produce to communicate with each other; from extremely low noises that they can hear at great distances to high pitched whimpers and yips to their long, well known, melodic attack croons... of which they have many!
While certainly missing the appropriate structure to be a proper language, Sleipnirs are quite talkative with each other and regularly play fight, sing and dance around in a fox-like manner while chatting excitedly.
Particularly gregarious examples of the species will even insert themselves into human conversations; trying to mimic human words in adorable "He Thinks He's People!" Moments! While Competition Between males in order to impress potential females is common, seldom do these saw-toothed monsters actually hurt each other while showing off.
Instead competition between "Stallions" usually ends when the losing party has no more excess overfur and has to run off looking mostly bald and unimpressive; as an excess of shag is a clear sign of a capable potential parent who is canny enough to avoid the overt danger that would otherwise rob them of their impressive armor. A Deeply Matriarchal Species, Females have their pick of the best males and often form expansive harems of capable fathers to help add to the pack.
While they do not necessarily compete for males, they do compete for dominance over the pack structure and authority of where the Clan goes and thus indirectly compete to have the largest and strongest harems by claiming the role of most authoritative matriarch.
More importantly, however, a head female must constantly fend off potentials who believe they could lead the clan better than her!
And between females, for supremacy of the clan, fights regularly become bloody, sometimes deadly affairs where the prospective matriarchs would rather tear each other apart than potentially risk the safety and security of their family!
Sometimes going on for hours with gnashing razor teeth and quickly swiping retractable claws; "Mares" competing for dominance over the Clan isn't a terribly common occurrence but when it does happen it's a terrible sight to behold! Most packs are consistent of family groups, though males leave and join other groups rather regularly to avoid inbreeding; integrating into new clans based on the approval of the dominant females therein. While Intra-Clan competition can be fierce, Inter-Clan warfare in the species is exceedingly rare, as Sleipnirs rely on other clans to avoid inbreeding and often ancestral territories and hunting grounds have fluid boundaries that many clans share and change as the seasons slip by.
On rare occasions several clans will even meet up in a relatively bountiful woodland or jungle and exchange massive portions of their populations before going their separate ways once again.
This sort of periodic genetic interchange does well for the species and regularly injects new blood into the gene pool of any given clan! Sleep time is a particularly special process for the Clan!
Since Sleipnirs can only sleep at their best with all eyes closed, Dominant Matriarchs of any given family decide each night who will sleep with their side eyes completely open as lookouts, who will doze and who gets to properly sleep.
The most responsible Dominant Matriarchs alternate lookouts, dozers and sleepers regularly to avoid overworking and exhausting certain family members; thus keeping the clan at its best at all times.
Some Matriarchs are particularly dedicated to their clans and maintain a doze over half the time, some only truly sleeping as little as 10% of the time!
Often comfortable in artificial packs up to a thousand members strong, (Called "Clans") all the while alongside sapient masters that they seek the affection of, Sleipnirs have an extremely complex and extensive set of distinct sounds they can produce to communicate with each other; from extremely low noises that they can hear at great distances to high pitched whimpers and yips to their long, well known, melodic attack croons... of which they have many!
While certainly missing the appropriate structure to be a proper language, Sleipnirs are quite talkative with each other and regularly play fight, sing and dance around in a fox-like manner while chatting excitedly.
Particularly gregarious examples of the species will even insert themselves into human conversations; trying to mimic human words in adorable "He Thinks He's People!" Moments! While Competition Between males in order to impress potential females is common, seldom do these saw-toothed monsters actually hurt each other while showing off.
Instead competition between "Stallions" usually ends when the losing party has no more excess overfur and has to run off looking mostly bald and unimpressive; as an excess of shag is a clear sign of a capable potential parent who is canny enough to avoid the overt danger that would otherwise rob them of their impressive armor. A Deeply Matriarchal Species, Females have their pick of the best males and often form expansive harems of capable fathers to help add to the pack.
While they do not necessarily compete for males, they do compete for dominance over the pack structure and authority of where the Clan goes and thus indirectly compete to have the largest and strongest harems by claiming the role of most authoritative matriarch.
More importantly, however, a head female must constantly fend off potentials who believe they could lead the clan better than her!
And between females, for supremacy of the clan, fights regularly become bloody, sometimes deadly affairs where the prospective matriarchs would rather tear each other apart than potentially risk the safety and security of their family!
Sometimes going on for hours with gnashing razor teeth and quickly swiping retractable claws; "Mares" competing for dominance over the Clan isn't a terribly common occurrence but when it does happen it's a terrible sight to behold! Most packs are consistent of family groups, though males leave and join other groups rather regularly to avoid inbreeding; integrating into new clans based on the approval of the dominant females therein. While Intra-Clan competition can be fierce, Inter-Clan warfare in the species is exceedingly rare, as Sleipnirs rely on other clans to avoid inbreeding and often ancestral territories and hunting grounds have fluid boundaries that many clans share and change as the seasons slip by.
On rare occasions several clans will even meet up in a relatively bountiful woodland or jungle and exchange massive portions of their populations before going their separate ways once again.
This sort of periodic genetic interchange does well for the species and regularly injects new blood into the gene pool of any given clan! Sleep time is a particularly special process for the Clan!
Since Sleipnirs can only sleep at their best with all eyes closed, Dominant Matriarchs of any given family decide each night who will sleep with their side eyes completely open as lookouts, who will doze and who gets to properly sleep.
The most responsible Dominant Matriarchs alternate lookouts, dozers and sleepers regularly to avoid overworking and exhausting certain family members; thus keeping the clan at its best at all times.
Some Matriarchs are particularly dedicated to their clans and maintain a doze over half the time, some only truly sleeping as little as 10% of the time!
Domestication
Not quite half the size of their Svadilfari parents, Sleipnirs are considerably more friendly and cooperative than their more wild ancestors.
Possessing of better social skills and higher intelligence; Sleipnirs are bred to respond well to commands, easily learn new tricks, recognize faces and scents as well as help when they think someone is in danger.
Bolstering the naturally social traits of their parent species, The Camahueto were able to make the Sleipnir an outstanding companion animal that has every bit as much personality as the most gregarious of standard earth dogs! Standing apart from their more wild ancestors, Sleipnirs have proportionately stronger and more flexible tails that the Camahueto have selectively bred for tens of thousands of years.
This tail, while not truly prehensile, is able to lightly grasp around limbs to provide a bit of support for Sleipnirs when they're climbing.
Using this dexterous tail alongside the six legs they inherited from their parent species, Sleipnirs are significantly better climbers than the average Svadilfari and are often compared to squirrels in their ability to maneuver through arboreal settings. Starkly different from their terrifyingly dagger-toothed ancestors, Sleipnirs have considerably smaller cuspids and more generally consistent dentition that works well enough for them and enables them a sense of fine manipulation with their mouths and teeth that Svadilfaris simply cannot possess.
While relinquishing the otherwise horrific blade teeth of their ancestors, the shortening of their main canines has worked well for them, allowing them to make more efficient use of the secondary, dual-bladed saw teeth that line their jaws!
Possessing of better social skills and higher intelligence; Sleipnirs are bred to respond well to commands, easily learn new tricks, recognize faces and scents as well as help when they think someone is in danger.
Bolstering the naturally social traits of their parent species, The Camahueto were able to make the Sleipnir an outstanding companion animal that has every bit as much personality as the most gregarious of standard earth dogs! Standing apart from their more wild ancestors, Sleipnirs have proportionately stronger and more flexible tails that the Camahueto have selectively bred for tens of thousands of years.
This tail, while not truly prehensile, is able to lightly grasp around limbs to provide a bit of support for Sleipnirs when they're climbing.
Using this dexterous tail alongside the six legs they inherited from their parent species, Sleipnirs are significantly better climbers than the average Svadilfari and are often compared to squirrels in their ability to maneuver through arboreal settings. Starkly different from their terrifyingly dagger-toothed ancestors, Sleipnirs have considerably smaller cuspids and more generally consistent dentition that works well enough for them and enables them a sense of fine manipulation with their mouths and teeth that Svadilfaris simply cannot possess.
While relinquishing the otherwise horrific blade teeth of their ancestors, the shortening of their main canines has worked well for them, allowing them to make more efficient use of the secondary, dual-bladed saw teeth that line their jaws!
Uses, Products & Exploitation
On the world they come from the Sleipnir is the closest thing to a "Dog" that anyone had or knew about until the arrival of humans and the introduction of the vastly inferior (if considerably more intelligent) "Fedinu;" regarded as the most useful animal in any culture that they become part of!
Able to carry reasonably sized loads, track, hunt, climb, swim and master all manner of fanciful tricks, the Sleipnir is the number one companion and furriest family member of any good Camahueto; regardless of where she lives or how far she's traveled!
While requiring high amounts of technical skill to work with, their shaggy overfur can be woven into high quality, resilient fabric that sheds water easily and Camahueto often use their discarded teeth as ornaments and jewelry! A remarkably flexible animal, The Sleipnir has as many uses as the Dog and perhaps a few more due to their arboreal capacity!
While requiring high amounts of technical skill to work with, their shaggy overfur can be woven into high quality, resilient fabric that sheds water easily and Camahueto often use their discarded teeth as ornaments and jewelry! A remarkably flexible animal, The Sleipnir has as many uses as the Dog and perhaps a few more due to their arboreal capacity!
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Presently on Ta Mando Sleipnirs only live in the tropical beauty of Ta Fanusia Hyanus, over 90% of them staying within the sparkling shores of Counter's Island.
However, they can thrive largely anywhere they are inserted into the local wilderness; being remarkably resilient creatures from a much more dangerous world upon which they can live in almost any clime from temperate to tropical. Within a few months of being in a particularly cold climate, provided appropriate nutrition and shelter, most Sleipnirs will grow in particularly thick overfur which can keep them warm even in rather intense snows.
In stark contrast, if thrown into the tropical environment of Ta Fanusia Hyanus as they were when transported with Roxanne Flagrare to Ta Mando, their fur will quickly grow sparse, with larger individual strands that don't sacrifice protection just to stay cool. Overall this makes Sleipnirs incredibly flexible animals and, if set loose into the wild, they would easily find their niche and thrive!
However, they can thrive largely anywhere they are inserted into the local wilderness; being remarkably resilient creatures from a much more dangerous world upon which they can live in almost any clime from temperate to tropical. Within a few months of being in a particularly cold climate, provided appropriate nutrition and shelter, most Sleipnirs will grow in particularly thick overfur which can keep them warm even in rather intense snows.
In stark contrast, if thrown into the tropical environment of Ta Fanusia Hyanus as they were when transported with Roxanne Flagrare to Ta Mando, their fur will quickly grow sparse, with larger individual strands that don't sacrifice protection just to stay cool. Overall this makes Sleipnirs incredibly flexible animals and, if set loose into the wild, they would easily find their niche and thrive!
Average Intelligence
The Average Sleipnir Can Be Defined As About As Smart As The Most Intelligent Breeds Of 21st Century Dog!
They may learn any number of tricks, recognize faces and voices, track for their masters, understand the suffering of others, remember mistreatment for long periods of time, sense emotion and even possess the ability to plan ahead and utilize group coordination capable of helping them carry out long, complex hunts against difficult and often cunning prey. While perhaps not able to handle tools or weapons effectively, Sleipnirs have remarkably articulate paws and can use their long digits and retractable claws to press buttons, turn nobs, grab things and otherwise utilize a number of extremely obnoxious item handling skills; which they naturally seem to pick up very quickly!
Though a Sleipnir may never be intelligent enough to write on a keyboard... they WILL see humans typing and may sit on the same chair after the human is done and poke at the keys just as the humans did... as they realize that it must do something or people wouldn't be doing it! Sleipnirs are so socially apt that they are able to hold onto this sort of information and draw logical conclusions from social context for long periods of time; some able to understand many months after seeing a transaction that they can get certain things from certain humans if they give them shiny pieces of metal.
Particularly well behaved and trained specimens are even able to intuit the appearances of commanders in various military units and that they should be saluted to without prompting!
For Example; The Lord Of Spice's Four Sleipnirs consistently Salute officers when they enter the room, having seen that everyone else salutes them as well and copying the behavior. (The Average Kandia LOVE This!)
They may learn any number of tricks, recognize faces and voices, track for their masters, understand the suffering of others, remember mistreatment for long periods of time, sense emotion and even possess the ability to plan ahead and utilize group coordination capable of helping them carry out long, complex hunts against difficult and often cunning prey. While perhaps not able to handle tools or weapons effectively, Sleipnirs have remarkably articulate paws and can use their long digits and retractable claws to press buttons, turn nobs, grab things and otherwise utilize a number of extremely obnoxious item handling skills; which they naturally seem to pick up very quickly!
Though a Sleipnir may never be intelligent enough to write on a keyboard... they WILL see humans typing and may sit on the same chair after the human is done and poke at the keys just as the humans did... as they realize that it must do something or people wouldn't be doing it! Sleipnirs are so socially apt that they are able to hold onto this sort of information and draw logical conclusions from social context for long periods of time; some able to understand many months after seeing a transaction that they can get certain things from certain humans if they give them shiny pieces of metal.
Particularly well behaved and trained specimens are even able to intuit the appearances of commanders in various military units and that they should be saluted to without prompting!
For Example; The Lord Of Spice's Four Sleipnirs consistently Salute officers when they enter the room, having seen that everyone else salutes them as well and copying the behavior. (The Average Kandia LOVE This!)
Origin/Ancestry
Sleipnirs Are Domesticated From A Much Larger, More Dangerous Animal Called A Svadilfari From A Planet Known As Shangri La In The Galactic Halo On The Opposite Side Of The Milky Way From Earth
Lifespan
20-30 Years When Well Taken Care Of! Averages More Around 15-20 Years.
Conservation Status
All In All, there are only around five thousand Sleipnirs in all of Ta Mando, almost all of which reside in Ta Fanusia Hyanus, specifically on Roxanne Flagrare's Personal island and under her protection!
However, despite their small and relatively isolated numbers, several residents of Ta Hyanus have begged to breed the beasts and raise some for their own!
No less than five independent kennel masters have shown extreme interest in breeding them FOR Roxanne, insisting that the Sleipnir must be bred out and distributed to all on the frontiers of Kanda!
Average Height
3.5 Feet At The Shoulder (1.0668 m)
Average Weight
230 lbs (104.326 kg)
Average Length
52 To 60 In (132.08 to 152.4 cm)
Average Physique
A Perfectly Normal Four Eyed, Six Legged, Razor Mouthed, Shaggy, Alien Tree Doggo!
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Most often a Sleipnir is a mottled, chaotic pattern of brown, dark green, gray and black to blend in with their natural forest and jungle homelands in Shangri La; though the actual color of their flesh is normally a dark brown or even black.
Related Organizations
Discovered by
This regularly results in hilarity when a foreigner will regard a Sleipnir as a terrifying monster, only for a nearby Kandia of any class to idly comment that "It's just a dog..."
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