Category:Craihs

Pronounced Kray.

Physical Characteristics

Craihs are a native Cyantian species that closely resemble sharks. Most of them can only live in the oceans. and only in more recent generations have some been genetically modified to be able to walk on land.

Craihs have the very rough skin typical of sharks, but on most Craihs it is not quite to the point of shredding anything that lays against it except for the skin along the back - they do have dentricles (scale like protusions found on shark skin, which is smooth when brushed head to tail, but cut like teeth when brushed the other way) along the back. You do NOT want to rub up against a Craihs' back because you risk damage to your clothes, fur, feathers or skin: it's like falling on extremely rough sandpaper and provides the Craihs with almost as much protection as light Kevlar. This is found only on the back, tail and fins - everything else has a leathery texture and is thicker than normal skin, but smooth.

Craihs have a single spine along each arm, containing a neurological poison. The spine is angled backward such that it is not likely to accidentally strike someone, and most Craih keep the spines trimmed or capped as well.

The half circle projection extending from their heads is more or less a cartilage extension for the purposes of fluidity and seamlessness... and to protect their necks from above. When swimming, it covers the back of the neck because most creatures don't swim upright.

Craihs bodies have a lot of cartilage in them. Their fins, nose, the last digit of each finger, their tail and ribs are solid cartilage, whereas the rest of their skeleton is bone. The spinal column is bone then gives way to cartilage in the tail.

Gills are located on the chest in both male and female Craihs, with the bulges being less evident on the wider chests of the male.

The Landwalker Craihs (those who have been genetically modified to walk on land), due to their dentricles, could go a week without immersion and suffer no ill effects. They could probably go longer, but would be hurting. The Craihs are overall the hardiest of the three aquatic species.

Landwalker Craihs get between 6 and 7 foot in height, and are surprisingly the most adapted to land so far, doing much better on land than in the water. Non-landwalker varieties grow much larger.

They are oddly colored, with most being prominently black with brighter stripes, spots, or markings that can be any color. The front side is usually white or a paler version of their marking colors.

They have lower sonar abilities than the Raieys, but higher electrical/magnetic field detection abilities than them.

A kick between the legs would not cause the same reaction for a Craih as a male mammalian due to the parts being located lower in the tail, and only noticeable if one is 'up close and personal'.

Culture

Craihs have historically been the most aggressive of the aquatic species, and only the presence of the Neefla as intermediaries between their deep water homes and the shallow water homes of the Raiey has kept them from overrunning the Raiey.

Their aggression is not the territorial kind, it is inquisitiveness and prevalence of mouthing everything they come into contact with to since they originally did not have arms and hands to do this with.

Family and Mating

Craihs bear multiple 'kits', live birth, up to six at one time. Mortality is high for the young, for despite the Craihs being good mothers, they have excessively active and mischievous kits. There's too many kits to keep them all within eyesight at all times when they're young, and they are VERY prone to wandering.

The children require living in the water for the first year or so, including the Landwalker varieties, while the lungs develop.

When in season, the pheromones they produce are powerful, but only transfer through the water, and are effective only at certain temperatures. Fortunately, Craihs can't SMELL, nor are as affected by cycles while out of the water. Battles for females in the oceans tend to be excessively violent due to the overpowering nature of such scents, especially in relation to unattended females.

Natural Non-landwalking Craihs are much larger than the Landwalkers, and while they're intelligent enough to communicate, during mating season any that are paired usually go off to a secluded area to avoid any trouble from other males following instinct. They are not naturally monogamous due to this situation, although it's not unheard of. The above water variety would only experience a lot more aggression towards other males without him realizing he's doing it as well as making him easier to be ticked off and irritated and protective. Female Craihs get snippy as well towards other females, and even more so towards males they don't particularly like.

Non-landwalker varieties can only mate in water, Landwalker types can mate out of it, but wouldn't enjoy it - the water helps reduce their weight and inhibit friction that could cause physical damage. Biting occasionally happens during the act, although rarely hurts or leaves scars due to the tough scales.

It's possible for a native Cyantian to fool around with a non native. Although, not quite sure how much fun it'd be with the difficulties in positioning, size differentiation, and issues with fur and rubbery skin.

They cannot breed with other Aquatics, nor can the Landwalkers breed with the Non-landwalker varieties.

Technology

Craihs are the least advanced aquatic technologically. It is only very recently (about 300-400 years) that they have been able to do genetic modifications to possess arms.

There aren't many Craihs older than Ciphyr who are Landwalkers. They used gradual genetic manipulation to make sure that things went well in stages, first altering the way the bodies worked, giving them lungs that could process air and water, altering the rib cage and bone structure, making them lighter. Gradually, you end up with Paddock, Angel, Ciphyr and co. They had to be trained to walk, but any kids they have *And they can have a LOT* will retain the changes. They were all volunteered for the process.