Halfkin

'Important note: This species was created with vore in mind so there will be references to it throughout this (both fatal and non-fatal). If you don’t like vore this species doesn’t have to be used for it but please keep this in mind when reading, thank you!'

Halfkin are a race of humanoids that bear minimal traits of animal physiology, but are defined by presenting much more as human than their beaskin parentage. They first appeared around 150 years ago as a result of beastkin and humans discovering they could bear children together due to how closely related the species are.

Biology
The variety of different halfkin that can be found are quite numerous, making it difficult to get into a great extent of detail over what they can look like, but they are known to present with the noteworthy features of animals native to Earth. What can be said is that halfkin come in the form of many kinds of native Earth species but with human-like physiology and intelligence, they do differ in some ways from humans beyond their baseline appearances however. The average height of a halfkin is in line with a human, ranging between 5'-6' tall. The senses of halfkin are greater than humans, most commonly possessing keener senses of smell and hearing but in some cases they may possess more powerful vision as well. Halfkin do not inherit the greater sizes and strengths of beastkin, more typically bearing average human physiology.

Halfkin most commonly have the hairless bodies of humans but will typically have the ears, eyes, teeth, claws and tails of their beastkin side. In rarer cases the lower limbs of a halfkin may match with their beast half, this accounts for about 1/10 of halfkin births.

Behaviour
Halfkin are largely similar to humans in terms of their social behaviour. They are perfectly capable of living in a civilized society and adapting to whatever environment they live in, though their species preferences in terms of climate or social needs may lead to them preferring particular environments or living situations over others, making some species a more common sight than others overall.

As they're rather adaptable, halfkin can be found in most corners of the world making their way in the world as everyone else around them does. For the most part they are a social species and typically live in large settlements. Halfkin rarely go out of their way to build their own exclusive settlements, typically integrating themselves into existing settlements. Because of largely passing as human it is possible for a halfkin to gain citizenship in The Warren, though many living within the city have still been met with persecution for their bestial traits, though much like the beastkin halfkin will prefer to make their living in an existing settlement over building a new one of their own for themselves.

Halfkin are typically active during the day and spend an average of 7-9 hours at night sleeping, though some work or prefer to be active at night due to instincts so must sleep in the daytime. This is something that heavily varies from halfkin to halfkin.

Much like humans, halfkin have a wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals. Halfkin are generally quite flexible in terms of celebrating traditions and will often go with the flow of others around them rather than insist on particular traditions to be adhered to by others. Halfkin however have adopted some very strange behaviours and conventions of their own.

While halfkin are largely similar to humans, they are unique in one particular quality from both of their parents. Halfkin have a strange social behaviour observed where they prefer to live as the only halfkin in their settlement, though because this isn't always possible they will settle for being the only subspecies of halfkin within a given settlement or street in a larger settlement. This trait is most prominently seen in cat halfkin and other species who tend to favour solitary living, though it should be noted that the reason for this is rarely malicious, they simply like to feel special being standout and unique in their community though they may give a different reason for this behaviour if asked.

Halfkin are additionally known to have a talent for taking to a particular hobby or field of work and excelling in this singular interest rapidly, even as children they may become better at this one interest than many adults who have been at it for decades. This single interest could be something as simple as making bead jewelry all the way up to pursuing passions like science, philosophy, mythology, religion, and other fields of knowledge. Halfkin have become quite valuable to their communities for this reason as these talents can sometimes put a small settlement on the map or benefit people beyond their settlement. It's a well known social fact that if you want to become friends with a halfkin, it's best to let them enthuse about their particular interest.

There is a known cat halfkin, Dr Aurora Borealis, who is thought to be the most talented doctor in all of Malina, one of the best in the world at that. She is an elusive woman who is hard to track down as she became fed up with people constantly trying to kidnap her for her talents and became sort of a social hermit. In actuality she is living among the largest anuran swarm in Malina, The Chomp Swarm where she can still be found and have her services sought, if you can get through the Oskeli Badlands that is.

How the halfkin came to be so different from both of their parents is a complete mystery, one of interest to those studying the behavioural patterns of the many races of Faria.

Predation
With the many different species that encompass halfkin, predation is a common thing to expect among them. Perhaps owed to their animal roots, they seem to hold some sense of instinct for predation or being wary of predators themselves depending on the species, and thus have a keener sense for danger. Predation among themselves is not unheard of due to the balance of predator and prey being present, but other species can fall under the umbrella of potential predator or prey to the halfkin. Without the full physical capabilities of their beastkin roots however they can often be quite vulnerable to predation themselves.

Halfkin as Predators
While any species is capable of eating another person around them, the act of predation is more common among predator species of halfkin. While they are quite capable of resisting when called for, their instincts and hunger may compel them to act on the urge. Prey species halfkin have often fallen victim to this loss of control but other species that commonly wind up being eaten such as humans or lyres have been on the menu. Most halfkin see eating others as taboo but it may often be practiced behind closed doors between lovers using a safer approach to it as a means of expressing affections for one another, or indeed some halfkin may indulge themselves in full predatory desires, unafraid to claim victims through doing this.

Halfkin as Prey
Prey species of halfkin are not unheard of but their existence is filled with danger. While there can certainly be exceptions, prey species halfkin will often find themselves eaten by predatory halfkin or other species like wild predators or other sapient species inclined towards predation like anurans. All halfkin however are more vulnerable to significantly larger predators like rock aghrahns. Due to their greater resemblance to humans, many halfkin may have little sympathy shown toward them or even be seen stereotypically as food by other races.

Diet
Halfkin are largely omnivorous and capable of consuming a wide variety of plant and animal material. They are capable of this sort of diet regardless of their species though some may have a natural inclination towards a diet closer to the needs of their individual species, so predator species will often prefer to eat meat while prey species may prefer a more plant or fruit based diet, but these preferences are hard to distinguish by observation, otherwise looking no different to the average diet of humans.

Weaknesses
While this can vary from species to species, the halfkin are just as vulnerable in their own ways as any other species, so if for whatever reason you need to fend one off there are tricks others have found to be effective in a pinch. While halfkin have keener senses than some other races, these senses can be made useless by overwhelming them. Sensitive hearing can be used to blare a whistle in a predators ears to momentarily stun them, a dog whistle used to ward off anuran attacks are especially effective on some halfkin too. Alternatively their nostrils can be filled with a cloyingly foul odor such as a smellingsalt. It's worth noting that while many halfkin have sharp teeth and claws these are not usually as strong as a beastkins but may still be used to protect themselves in a pinch, though many will favour a conventional weapon.

While a halfkins senses are far from poor, many predators outperform them in senses of smell and hearing as well as seeing in the dark better, which can make them vulnerable to being caught off guard, especially in the dark/at night without an adequate light source.

Spirituality
As halfkin lack any distinct traditions or beliefs of their own, they tend to just believe in whatever higher power their family raises them on or whatever belief feels right to them that they have picked up from others such as beliefs that were introduced by humans, The Family or more rarely that of the titans. Of course not every halfkin is strictly spiritual in nature and just as many might either passively believe in a higher power or have no belief at all. If a halfkin took a particular interest in religion however their whole life would revolve around the study of their particular beliefs or perhaps even believing in every religion they can learn about at once regardless of the conflicting information this would present.

Overall
While there may be exceptions at times, the overall relationship halfkin have with other races is fairly amicable, with few races harbouring any real dislike or prejudice towards them barring some particular or individual exceptions. Halfkin love to live among other species due to their nature of wanting to be a unique individual in their community, so they easily fit into most settlements and rarely make enemies.

Humans/Beastkin
Halfkin are usually received well by humans due to the more positive relationships some humans hold with beastkin. Humans who find the animal-like beastkin to be attractive are the entire reason halfkin even exist. Of course because of this most humans and beastkin see the halfkin in a positive light as many of them are parents of halfkin themselves.

Close-minded humans and beastkin who are opposed to such unions tend to see halfkin as a lesser race and treat them rather harshly owing to the fact that they are a union of species who were not supposed to cross paths with one another due to how wary the beastkin of Laissez Faire are of humans and their more judgmental natures for anything different than what they understand. Of course these close-minded individuals don't like each other either, but they can make life especially difficult for a halfkin trying to live their life peacefully in a new settlement.

Despite all of the above, halfkin prefer not to hang around with other humans and beastkin much due to their odd nature of being more interested in other races more than their own, and since humans and beastkin are most commonly their parents halfkin find the idea of hanging around with others of these species to be "cramping their style" in a sense. Of course these barriers can be broken by taking an interest in the halfkins unique ability and connecting with them over it.

Anurans
Anurans have an unexpectedly good relationship with halfkin. Halfkin are very quirky, open-minded and usually more interested in other species than their own. Halfkin thrive on being the sole member of their kind in a group of other species, making the two species a perfect fit together. Anurans rarely welcome other species into their territory anyway, and halfkin can relish in all the attention and affections from the anurans for themselves. Halfkin often become a secondary/tertiary alpha alongside the group's current alpha male/female/pair, a famous example being the Chomp Swarm lead by Needle Chomp and cat halfkin Dr Aurora Borealis. Stories of swarms lead solely by a halfkin have been told but nothing has confirmed these to be true.

Treating Each Other
Halfkin are an oddity among the races of Faria. They love to mingle with other races more than their own and delight most in being the sole individual halfkin (or at least the only one of their subspecies) in a settlement providing their passionate hobby as a service to their community. This isn't to say that a halfkin would be hostile to other halfkin, it's just that they have very little interest in each other and find themselves to be boring for the most part, preferring the company of other races, sometimes even avoiding humans and beastkin for not being "exotic enough" for their liking.

Reproduction
The courting between halfkin is, much like their odd nature, also quite unique. Halfkin are capable of having children with other halfkin, beastkin or humans, but it's not species that a halfkin seeks out when they desire a partner. What a halfkin looks for in a romantic and potentially sexual partner is for them to have a keen talent or ability that compliments their own well. For example if one halfkin was passionate about making their own clothes, they would look for a partner who is passionate about making raw materials suited to their craft or who is passionate about running a shop to sell their clothing. This has been compared to a business marriage where families will marry off children into families who run businesses that would allow for them to unite their businesses together, but it's in many ways different to that.

Of course while this is a cornerstone of their interest, both partners still have to develop a mutual feeling of love for each other by spending time together developing a loving relationship. If these stars align then a halfkin can happily get together with this perfect partner for them, though they are known to go through many potential partners before finding "the one", so this has lead to a bit of a stereotype of halfkin being particularly promiscuous.

On average it takes about 9 months for a baby to be born, most parents have one child at a time but some species more commonly have twins or triplets. In some cases reptilian or avian halfkin may have eggs but this depends on how much they have taken after their beastkin parent.

Life Cycle
When the baby is born 9 months after a mother becomes pregnant, both the mother and the father provide care for their offspring who are helpless at birth without their parents care and protection. The kids are typically still halfkin but the bestial traits may be greater or lesser depending on their parents. Right from the moment they're born a halfkin is given the complete freedom to decide the sort of life they'll live, right down to being given agency over their own name. Indeed halfkin parents won't actually name their children themselves but instead will adapt to whatever name (and sometimes even gender) their children wish to be called in the moment. This can be rather difficult a concept for human and beastkin parents to get used to but halfkin are very good at insisting on having their way when it comes to their conventions and traditions.

The quirks of halfkin present themselves as early as childhood. No matter what sort of interests their parents have, halfkin children rarely adopt the same interests as their parents. This however is fully embraced by halfkin parents who want nothing more than for their offspring to flourish and become a unique individual of their own, though this may be harder for non-halfkin parents to get their heads around or accept if they are fixated on the idea of their children taking over the family business. This can sometimes result in conflict with parents but as long as they can understand the importance of investing in their children's passions, a halfkin child will have a happy childhood spent pouring every minute into their key interest.

Kids reach adulthood at 18 and will typically strike out on their own at this age to travel down whatever road will lead them to a life of impulsively pursued happiness, ideally they will want to find a community who will benefit the most from their talent. Sometimes they may only need to find a place of their own in the town or area they grew up, but some have a greater wanderlust and desire to meet people so they may travel for a few years until they find the perfect place to settle. It's usually by this age that halfkin have finally settled on an adult name for themselves after going through a few dozen different ones during childhood, usually picking out something with personal importance to them or that just has a good ring to it.

Halfkin have a potential lifespan of 80-100 years, though those living in The Warren live to be 120 due to higher quality healthcare. Halfkin living in poorly fortified settlements or roughing it in the wild barely see their 30's living due to predation.