Physical Description

Ovauts (oh-vawts) are medium-sized mammalian quadrupeds, made for running, with a long tail for balance. They are facultative bipeds, being capable of sprinting on their hind legs if the front legs are occupied, but tend to vastly prefer being on all fours, and could never stay on two legs permanently. An ovaut's legs are long, with an extra 'segment' that can make them appear unguligrade at a glance, though their paw structure is otherwise similar to digitigrade legs. Each paw has two curved front claws, and one smaller back claw, reminiscent of anisodactyl feet.

Possibly the most obvious thing about an ovaut's head is the 'beak'. This is not a true beak, instead being made up of large, specialised incisors of a dark colour, but is frequently referred to as such anyway. An ovaut also has two large, bat-like ears, and four eyes. The main pair of eyes are in the expected place, granting the ovaut vision to the front and sides, while the smaller secondary pair are on the back of the head. Ovaut eyes tend to have pale sclera, with a rounded pupil and a distinctive 'starburst' pattern. The ovaut eye has a translucent nictitating membrane, beneath the main two eyelids, though this sees little use.

An ovaut's tail is fairly plain and standard for a tailed quadruped, with the exception of the fact that it has two large claws on the end, facing inwards, towards each other. The bases of these claws are similar in structure to the toes of the paws. It is believed that these were originally used for grabbing prey or eggs, and, indeed, it is common for an ovaut to use their tail claws as an extra hand, or for grabbing an opponent in battle.

Ovauts are naturally covered in a coat of bright, colourful fur, though the underside, face, and limbs are bare, exposing pale, desaturated skin. While reds, pinks, and blues are common colours, ovauts seem to come in any colour of the rainbow. The majority of ovauts have pale patterns of some kind, usually stripes or dapples, once used for blending in with their environment on Yokviv. An ovaut's snout and the tops of their paws have long whiskers, the same colour as their fur. Male ovauts' shoulder fur tends to grow longer than females', forming brightly-patterned 'shoulder frills', used for display purposes, but the two sexes are otherwise almost identical in appearance to non-ovauts. Before reaching adulthood at around 15 years, young ovauts are entirely identical externally, having short, pale fur.

Most ovauts posess a large keel similar to that of a bird's, though their wings have long since been turned to legs. This keel is easy to notice on an ovaut of average weight, but an increasing number of ovauts are hatching with reduced keels. Ear tufts and tail frills are similar ancestral traits, though more decorative.

Ovaut fashion tends towards the plain in shape, many wearing simply cloak-like garments, commonly with vivid patterns. These patterns can vary, ranging from abstract symbols to full, realistic pieces of art, and commonly incorporate an emblem of some sort. This is usually specific to that individual ovaut, though family emblems are also acceptable, with closely-related ovauts having similar emblems. Hats are also common and acceptable in Yokviv ovaut society. Most spacefarer ovaut clothing is based on other species', following similar trends to the rest of the universe, though some enjoy keeping aspects of Yokviv ovaut fashion.

Personality

Ovauts are egg-stealers. There is no way to entirely ignore this - they are, fundamentally, a species designed to grab nutritious eggs and subsequently flee as fast as they can. Thus, one of the deepest instincts that every ovaut has is to steal any eggs, or, if the ovaut is already in a safe place, to protect and brood over the eggs until they decide to eat them. This urge extends not only to real eggs, but also to egg-shaped objects, egg-sized rocks, and, in extreme cases, egg-sized living creatures. It should be stressed that the average ovaut is capable of ignoring this urge entirely, and that this does not mean that every single ovaut is a terrifyingly quick thief destined to become a pirate. In fact, this urge has led ovaut society in a rather different direction.

Ovauts are mostly known for their skill with animals and wide range of domesticated fauna. Whether as livestock, biomachines, or simply aesthetic, ovauts tend to adore their pets. Stealing a wild animal's egg to hatch and raise as a pet was once common and expected for young ovauts, though attitudes have changed, with most leaving this to the experts. Ovauts tend to show a preference for egg-laying creatures, though there is one particular category of alien fauna that their society seems to be fascinated by.

Modern ovauts are widely immersed in the alien pet fancy scene, primarily notail capture creatures, whether for the creatures' looks or for their uses. If there is a creature used for fighting or teaching children a lesson, it is almost certain that there will be at least one ovaut-owned animal fancy society for its pet form, and plenty of creature contests. Some, however, prefer keeping capture creatures that are still used for teaching a lesson of some sort, as a challenge. But most ovaut-owned capture creatures are for show, selected for their looks or ability to learn tricks - there is a general sense in ovaut society that those who battle with their creatures are to be looked down upon, with capture creature fights being banned in most ovaut-owned places, and notails themselves treated with suspicion (and caution) as any other species would. Despite their origins, and despite keeping the title of 'capture creature', it seems that the majority of ovaut-owned notail capture creatures are purely used as pets.

There will always be those who disagree, however. Some ovauts prefer to use capture creatures in the same way as many aliens, selecting their pets for ability in battle, with many of these fight-focused ovauts moving to places with a culture more happy with capture creature fights. No matter their views, it is common to see a spacefaring ovaut travelling with their own personal capture creature. Capture creatures have become a part of modern ovaut culture, just in a rather different way from the notails.

As can be assumed from this, ovauts are very fond of decoration, in strange contrast to their love of stealth. The shapes of their garments may be simple, but almost never the patterns. This is not to say that ovauts are quite as fond of unnaturally bright colours, but with Yokviv's vibrant landscapes, the lines between natural and unnatural colours can become quite blurred. It is thought that this may be the main explanation as to why ovauts are so interested in the varied patterns of alien capture creatures in particular.

There is, however, arguably another 'faction', though not exactly within ovaut society. Some ovauts have embraced their instincts and natural skills as thieves, becoming pirates and using their agility for crime. Whether or not these outcasts make use of capture creatures can vary.

Due to events in their past, ovauts tend to be overly wary of outsiders, particularly those carrying disease or parasites of any kind. An ovaut would at once leap at the chance to come to a notail capture creature show and keep their distance from everyone (and every animal) there. The younger an ovaut is, the more likely they are to be less wary, and more willing to accept new things from the rest of the universe again.

History

As previously stated, the ovauts are a species that has evolved to be exceptionally good at stealing larger creatures' eggs. Before ovauts were really ovauts, when they were proto-ovauts, they were still communal creatures, stealing eggs to keep in the flock's hoard. This, combined with their habit of passing down knowledge to their children and the nutrition from the eggs they ate, likely helped ovauts on the path to sapience.

Of course, while they were happy to steal eggs to eat, with ovauts becoming smarter and better at providing for their flock, some eggs went uneaten. Many would have either died in the shell or been eaten shortly after hatching. For one to survive to adulthood would have been a one-in-a-million chance. With enough numbers, though, that one-in-a-million becomes more common.

It is believed that the first ovaut livestock (known as the gallvindics) were, despite their large size, in fact brood parasites. They were not designed to be raised by ovauts, but somehow, they managed it. The domestic gallvindics are still used as egg-laying livestock today, highly different from their wild equivalents. Though they may have been the first, they were by no means the last - early ovaut history (and later history) is highly intertwined with that of their domesticated fauna. From their pets came food, in the form of meat or eggs, materials for various purposes, and, of course, decorations. Some fauna were far more difficult to tame and domesticate than others, and yet the ovauts persisted.

Ovaut history seems to have progressed normally from here, though with an increased focus on pets compared to other species'. Wars happened, famous figures hatched and died, and, eventually, they reached the point of developing spacecraft.

In a strange coincidence, it was as the first ovaut spacecraft was being designed that their introduction to the universe began like so many others' - with an alien ship finding them first.

It seems that the introduction went incredibly well, the ovauts opting to send some of their own out into the universe to obtain species status. It was on this trip that one of these ovauts, Gallus-Velox, a diplomat, learnt of the truly incredible variety of notail capture creatures. The more Velox heard, the more curious they became, seeking out every piece of information on laws on capture creatures and husbandry of capture creatures, to share with the rest of their species. Many consider it an amazing bit of fortune that Velox never caught any life-threatening notail illnesses, even more so that, when they brought some capture creatures back to Yokviv, there was no sudden epidemic. Ovauts are as subsceptible to illness as any other species, so it appears that this really was a stroke of luck.

While the ovaut government was, naturally, suspicious, Velox appeared to have been charismatic as well as lucky, and pets that were once capture creatures became a greater and greater part of ovaut society over time. As common as domesticated pets native to Yokviv still were, notail capture creatures were simply increasing in popularity.

There was, however, one event that permanently changed ovauts' ideas of notails and their creatures. An outbreak of disease from an imported capture creature grade mallon, spiralling out of control in a way many others have experienced. An oversight, but one it was expected the ovauts would one day make. Gallus-Velox's luck had run out, along with several other important figures in ovaut society. This epidemic did not end the ovauts entirely, but it was quite catastrophic otherwise.

The ovauts learnt their lesson, and even years later are still feeling the lingering effects. Yokviv went from accepting notails in the same way as they would any other species to being far, far more suspicious, more careful, treating imported creatures with the same amount of suspicion. When capture creatures were too adored to be eliminated entirely, there was a certain effort to change the way they were used from the notail way, an effort that appears to have succeeded - mentioning the words 'capture creature fight' on Yokviv will almost certainly get someone quiet gasps and looks of suspicion.

Now, ovauts are a somewhat damaged species, keeping their head down and treating all others with suspicion, even the creatures they adore. Especially the creatures they adore.

Home Planet

Yokviv (yock-viv) is the temperate home planet of the ovauts, a fairly average species homeworld. The land mainly consists of two large landmasses, slowly splitting apart further, with ovauts coming from the dry grasslands, though there are ovaut cities scattered all over the land regardless of biome. Perhaps the most notable thing about Yokviv is the flora and fauna - the plants are bright and colourful, with grasses tending towards pinks and blues, and the fauna are coloured to match this. Whether or not the fauna can see the full range of colours of their environment varies, but ovauts themselves certainly can. The dirt of Yokviv tends to be pale and silver-ish, desaturated. Most Yokviv fauna lay eggs, with live birth being exceedingly rare, perhaps partially explaining ovauts' especially huge success compared to ovivores on other planets.

Proto-ovauts lived within burrows with separate chambers for different purposes, and modern ovaut cities mirror this. Though now there exist buildings that extend above ground, particularly in larger cities, the majority of an ovaut city will be underground, with easy to spot entrances and exits. For many settlements, the land above a city will instead be primarily used for storage of animals. Even ovauts hatched off-planet will share the instinct to hide in burrows, with many being nervous in tall, 'exposed' places like high-rises, or being unable to completely ignore the urge to dig a way out of a place they consider too small.

While Yokviv still contains many of its native species, escaped pets are a real problem. Herds or flocks of feral capture creatures are as common as they are invasive, making living in certain places on Yokviv shockingly dangerous. It is theorised that this is another reason why ovauts are so focused on looks over actual ability of any kind - in case an ovaut's capture creature happens to be the one that is far too happy to escape and live in the wild.

Subspecies

Terr: Some of the ovaut population are hatched with more desaturated (or entirely grey) fur, and called terrs. Some of these terrs, 'true' terrs, have better front paws for digging and are more inclined to stay below ground, though most only have the unusual colours. Both groups are labelled as terrs. Opinions on them have varied throughout history, though currently they're seen not in a positive or negative light - simply as different from normal ovauts.

Special

Egg-stealer: All ovauts have the instinct to steal any egg-like object, and are extremely good at achieving this goal. How much the ovaut is able to ignore this instinct can vary.

Trivia

• Strangely, despite seemingly fitting them in every way, arises are extremely uncommon as ovaut pets. This is likely due to the ovaut circadian rhythm, which varies immensely between individuals, and can shift over a lifetime - properly diurnal ovauts are rare.

• An ovaut interrupting a ball game to steal the ball is more common than any would want to admit.

• Traditional ovaut names tend to be comprised of the family name at the front and the individual name at the back, connected by a hyphen, for example Gallus-Affin, Gallus-Velox, or Strig-Rhythm.

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