Overview

Aurotters are mustelids with a third eye and a patagium that allows them to glide.

Physiology

Aurotters are fairly petite, measuring around 3-5' tall when standing. They have long sleek bodies with a thick tail, short legs, and longer arms. Aurotters are omnivorous, and do more gathering and scavenging than hunting- their diets largely feature seaweeds, plants, berries, shellfish, eggs, and the occasional fish or poultry.

Webbing

Aurotters have a Patagium, a furred webbing between their limbs that allows them to glide. The patagium stretches from their arms, starting at the wrist, along the sides of the torso, and down their thigh, terminating at the knee. A secondary membrane begins at the heel and stretches across to their tail. The primary webbing provides the majority of the lift, and the tail webbing gives them agile steering in a glide.

Aurotters also have webbed handpaws, which, despite offering negligible lift, they use to aid their mobility while swimming. Aquatic locomotion doesn't involve much paddling- instead they move in an up-and-down sinusoidal motion, generating thrust with their powerful tail. Their footpaws lack webbing, and are more adapted for walking and climbing. Land based locomotion tends to be bipedal, as the mismatch in limb length makes quadruped locomotion a bit awkward.

Third Eye

Aurotters have a third eye set into the middle of their brow. The function of this eye is different from the other two- rather than reacting to visible spectrum light, it seems to grant aurotters a "third sight"- they are able to see the ebb and flow of auras, or magical energies, in the world around them. The qualitative perception of these auras can vary significantly between individuals- some report seeing scintillating colors, others might see abstract shapes, others might perceive a non-visual stimulus, like sound, vibration, or texture. This third sight generally doesn't interfere with regular sight, unless the auras are unusually strong. An aurotter can tell the difference between the local color of an object and the 'aura' color of an object, even if both are overlaid. That said, aurotter art often explores the individual perception of these auras, over the literal depiction of objects. Despite significant differences in the qualitative perception of auras, aurotters will generally agree about what the auras mean or entail- though, sensitivity to specifics varies between individuals based on experience and domain expertise.

Quills

Aurotters often have long, distinctive hairs called Quills, ending in a thicker bulb. Individual aurotters will grow quills in different areas, but common placements are the 3rd eye eyelashes, the brow and muzzle as whiskers, and along the shoulders, back, and hips. These seem to function as a sensory organ, aiding in detection of airflow or water flow over the patagium. Aurotters report that the quills feel sensitive to the flow of aura around them as well. Discarded quills are valued as a material in arts and in crafting, both for their material strength and their symbolic connotations.

Chest Pouch

Aurotters of all sexes tend to be fairly sleek and flat chested. Female aurotters will experience pronounced mammary growth during pregnancy, with their breast size shrinking significantly afterwards. Popular herbal teas used as a contraceptive can produce hormones that fool the body into a simulated pregnancy, and this can also cause breast growth, depending on the dosage, so the presence of breasts is not necessarily a reliable indicator of pregnancy.

Their primary breasts develop inside a pouch on their chest, which keeps them sleek and hydrodynamic. Aurotters often wear very little in the way of clothing, due to the issues with tailoring around the patagium, but exposing the breasts from within the pouch is considered mildly taboo outside of intimate contexts, similarly to nudity.

Culture

Aurotters historically have settled in lush areas, with plenty of food, drink, and mild climates. As such, they don't want much for their basic necessities, and are able to spend a large portion of their time in leisure. Aurotters tend to have a fairly weak attachment to wealth and accumulation of personal property. Their culture revolves around games, sports, public art projects, and mutual aid.

Habitat

Aurotters prefer to settle in places where they can make use of all their locomotion options, which usually means seaside or riverside cliffs. They will make small dens out of clay, stone, or driftwood, generally opting for natural materials in the area. Their freedom of locomotion can make aurotter settlements a bit tricky for outsiders to reach or navigate, which keeps them out of competition for shared resources with many of their would-be neighbors- however, aurotters tend to be welcoming to anyone who actually manages to reach their community spaces.

Leadership

Aurotter communities are fairly loose knit, without a central organizational power. Aurotters will tend to defer to each other on the basis of cultural experience- a trained builder will be respected in building decisions, an artist in artistic decisions, and an organizer in group organization decisions. Aurotters will step up for leadership of their domain of expertise, but rarely is one individual considered a general leader above the rest.

Craftsmanship

Aurotters are often quite good with their hands, and take well to weaving, carpentry, stone carving, painting, and many other crafts. They tend to prefer simpler tools, and favor experience and execution over industrial or mechanized approaches.

Mythology

Aurotter culture is steeped heavily in mysticism and mythology. Due to their third eye, every aurotter has a personalized experience with magic. While this doesn't give them a huge edge over members of other species that choose to pursue magic as a discipline of study, it does lead to a very high rate of aurotters incorporating magic into their personal repertoire of skills.

Aurotter legend goes that, just as they can traverse air, land, and sea, so too can they take to any domain they choose- be it Above, Between, or Below. And indeed, aurotters are able to find footing in whatever magical discipline they devote themselves to.