Species Information
History
"Fear is a primary emotion ingrained in all humans."
—Portmanteau
Phybia are creatures born out of the innate fears of humanity. It is unsure as to whether or not the irrational fear came first or the Phybians themselves created the feeling of irrationality. It's not known if they were originally of this world or came from the vast recesses of space and put into this world but they've stuck around. Their species so far have vastly remained hidden from most of human society's knowledge, which is for the best as Phybia are not aggressive predators. They're ambush hunters and are not equipped to deal with humans wiping out their entire species with heavy machinery. Think of Phybia as scary in appearance but not dangerous if an average human is equipped to deal against them. Like the case of the two human world wars resulting in the drop of Phybia populus due to the constant barrage of attacks from guns, bombs, and other man-made weaponry.
Phybia are aware that they don't belong in this world, whether they know their origins have not yet been documented. However, there are some instances that lead to the theory that Phybia are not at the peak of their evolution. Perhaps they are on the cusp of developing new traits, only time and their dwindling population can tell. If one were to think of Phybia, you could not separate them from their origins which is a Phobia. Each and every known encounter with a Phybia will always give way to Phybia being related to a fear of something. If a Phybia were to exist without needing to be born out of a fear of ‘something’ that is an amalgamation or a hybrid.
Reproduction
"Life is a cycle we can't escape."
—Portmanteau
Phybia do not reproduce sexually or need any sort of mate to have a newborn Phybia or otherwise known as Phyr. Reproduction of a Phyr usually only occurs when a Phybia emits a special type of hormone into a nearby human or animal civilization and gets exposed to it enough times that they congeal inside the living species and eventually turn them into a catatonic state that allows the Phyr to grow from the inside out.
During the Process
The living species hosting the Phyr will have slowly blackened skin and their insides being digested by the slowly growing Phyr inside them. If touched, the comatose host will emit a black ooze that seeps outside the skin will devour any living tissue that touches it. The black ooze will then solidify and form the outer layer of what will grow to become a Phybia.
After the Process
Once a Phyr is Born, their skeletal frame will be made up of the species bones and strengthened so as to not weaken the newly born Phyr who will make their first steps into becoming their own person in the world. The remains of the host will be completely non-existent, only leaving behind unusable man-made material.
Feeding Habits
"I love eating talkative humans, especially those that ask for a... manager?"
—Portmanteau
A Phybia is a very stealthy hunter as they have to expose their backs to catch their prey and trap them. Similar to that of a Venus Flytrap, their gastric acid works fast to dissolve their prey. If the prey is big, their stomach distends to accommodate. They usually hunt alone and ambush their prey before rushing to a safe location to hibernate.
The process of Phybia that hunts is similar to that of typical ambush hunters. Their Phyrrosis toxin stimulates the fear in their prey rendering them incapable of sound judgement, then when the prey has been left paralyzed in fear, they strike when the prey is vulnerable to its current surroundings.
However if the prey is still fighting and struggling for survival, Phybia can use a last ditch effort to use their feet like metal springs and leap, latching on to the prey and vibrating hard. Strong vibrations have been studied upon and known to create adverse effects on humans, with most effects being that the pain develops into injury or disease. But with Phybia’s fast vibration it can stun and downright kill their prey depending on the strength of the vibration and/or where they latched on to.
After the last ditch effort, the Phybia will then open it’s back and with tentacle-like appendages will bring the prey into its back and begin the process of dissolving the body and never having to feed again until they become hungry or if they want to. (Their stomach also expands to accommodate the dissolving prey inside them.)
Behaviors & Gestures
"We are solitary creatures and yet we can't escape learned behavior."
—Portmanteau
Phybia are known to shiver periodically from time to time. Different shiver intervals indicate different kinds of moods and intentions. If they move their body, doing small jumps while their body shivers, they are in a playful mood. If they are staying still while they shiver, they are on the hunt. Violent shivers indicate that they are aggressive or scared. They are carnivores but can go for long periods without eating. (the longest fasting period is 4 years) but they need to hibernate after 10 months without eating. Waking a hibernating, starving phybia is not recommended.
If Phybia becomes close with another phobia or if they’re in a pack, can form cuddle piles and emit soft vibrations that tend to release an alternative to the Phyrrosis toxin. The scent smells very pleasant and inviting due to the prey’s brain being rewired to find the scent. However, if prey were to enter the cuddle den be warned that they could be swarmed by Phybia and will become the meal for a dangerous cuddle party.
As a solitary species, Phybia don't have a lot of gestures that solidify a meaning but there are a few universal gestures that indicate a specific kind of emotion or thought process that Phybia possess.
Curling their claws towards them or into closed fists close to their chest
This indicates that the Phybia is signaling that they are not being aggressive or threatening. It means that they are peaceful and are not looking for any fights, but usually Phybia are quite non-aggressive but they can still be dangerous. This gesture is to help solidify that uncertainty.
Swaying while moving side to side slowly
This gesture indicates that they are either sick, fed, and will need to be left alone. If they stop swaying, be warned as what happens next is unknown.
Wriggling their claws
This indicates that they are scared or it's used to warn other Phybia, or other species in general that there is something dangerous/scary in the area.
Social Habits
"I am a different sort of creature, I adore social interaction with the little people."
—Portmantaeu
Phybia as mentioned is a solitary being. They don't do "socializing" however they are willing to follow a rare Phybia to protect it and help keep the rare ones alive as a sort of deity. They don't procreate but will adopt a new Phybia spawn if they feel the need to be parents or if they can't hunt on their own or are dying. They usually ignore other Phybia in their area but will be wary of established Phybia groups as they are more intuned with their fellow allies and some desperate packs have been known to cannibalize in order to survive.
They usually stick to their own secluded community but will go out of their usual roaming territory to eat. Some Phybia can create communities in groups of 4-10 but they usually are born out of different phobias to avoid hunting the same type of prey and lowering their feeding pool. If by some chance a human gets to domesticate or befriend a Phybia, they become very affectionate and playful. Do be careful as their method of playing might mean the friend, running in a dark area while a creature that emits fear pheromones runs around "playing" with them.
Communications
"I am one of few that can speak human languages. Though it's quite difficult to keep track of them."
—Portmantaeu
Phybia communicate using sound, they can often be heard tapping in a morse code-like method or physically emulating certain actions that they are trying to communicate to. The majority of Phybia are non-verbal communicators. Often relying on their own sign language or body language to communicate what they are feeling, doing, and possibly even the emotion they want to express.
Mythical Phybia has been thought to be capable of using the human tongue or any other species to mimic their distress calls and manipulate their prey to come closer to the Phybia in order for them to eat the prey. It is unknown if they understand in a civilized manner the words they are mimicking or if it's just pure instinct.
Clothing
"Hmph. Utterly pretentious, what a Phybia needs are good bowties and nothing more."
—Portmanteau
Phybia does not wear clothes but will wear accessories that appeal to them. But it is noted that there has been a recent trend of cape/coat/robe-wearing Phybia running amok here and there. It might be because some Phybia (usually solitary ones) are very cold and capes/coats/robes provide that warm sense of touch without having to be surrounded by another Phybia. They have a keen interest in accessories that are thematically related to them or items that have been with them during their Phyr cycle.
Anatomy
"... That's what we look like on the inside?!"
—Portmantaeu
Phybia are humanoids that have a couple of unique features. These tidbits usually highlight the importance and purpose of the species.
Talis (plural: Talix)
This functions as a tail however it's made of material similar to that of cartilage. It has no noteworthy functions but is occasionally used to swat away dangerous objects near its mouth. It can grow to very impressive width and length! If it's cut off then their Talix regrows akin to that of a lizard. The amount of Talix they have is an indicator of how old and/or rare they are.
Face
The face is purely for predatory mimicry. The bone structure of the head is either circular or human-like. In some cases it is used as a weapon to bash/injure prey.
Mouth (see Feeding Habits for illustration.)
Their mouth is located in the back. Their stomachs can expand to fit the prey until the gastric acid dissolves the prey. If the prey struggles, it'll use it's 3 hook-like teeth on both sides to sink into the flesh of the prey to drag it into their mouth.
Hands
The hands are used to stun or disorient prey by injuring them with their sharp claws. They are also used to grab or dig things. Some are born with opposable thumbs.
Skin Texture
Phybia have the textured feeling of either a snake, leather, or varnished wood. They don't have any hair or feathers, but Mythical Phybia do. Most of the time, any feather/hair on their person is either a cosmetic or a trophy. Some Phybia are also known to have spikes, scales, and bioluminescence!
Senses
They use electroreception to detect movement in land or water. This is why they are good at detecting the vibrations caused by the movement of living beings. This is their primary way, aside from being able to sense the biochemical responses of living beings (fear) to detect/hunt down.
Hands
The hands are used to stun or disorient prey by injuring them with their sharp claws. They are also used to grab or dig things. Some are born with opposable thumbs.
