History & Physiology
Originally from Tárakyna, the Tufta are a hybrid breed of cat, wolf and horse, created by the Wyldmagic fluxes involved during the Sealing. The Tufta reigned as the best of the mid-sized omnivores for many centuries, until Man came and cleared out their homes to make room for themselves. Those that were not killed immediately or driven out lived a life on the run; the Tufta that migrated to other realms suffered worse fates, becoming enslaved by Man. Though Tufta slavery is banned in the homerealm Tárakyna and its sister-realm of Kynn, it continues in the outer realms, and refugees of cruelty return there all the time.
Ex-slaves and the descendants of slaves are recognizable by one of four slave-marks. The most common is the mark of the southern realms; pack defender T'Raith bears this mark. All kits born of an ex-slave are tattooed upon adulthood, but more as a mark of pride than anything else - it shows that their bloodline was strong enough to defy the slavers, escape into the wild and survive against the odds.
APPEARANCE/PHYSIOLOGY
There are two distinct breeds of Tufta: the Tárakyn Tufta, which are more numerous and are the original breed, and the recently recognized Kynnese subtype.
ENVIRONMENT
Depending on a Tufta's aspect, they may prefer one environment over another. Most Tufta, however, are at home in any of the common places: forests, plains, and meadows. They are a temperate species and normally wish to live in places that do not have many extremes in temperature. (There are exceptions to this rule, of course - the Ice-aspected Tufta, for example, love the cold.)
The average Tárakyn Tufta is the size of a large wolf, with hooved hindlegs, canine clawed forelegs and a feline head. There are many variations on this theme, however; the Tufta are a genetically diverse species, and mutations are relatively commonplace.
The dominant genetic body-type is that of a wolf; most Tufta are therefore the size of large wolves, although as a rule horse-bodied Tufta are larger and huskier, while cat-bodied Tufta are smaller and sleeker. The forelegs are also dominantly canine with non-retractable claws, but retractable-clawed feline ones are also commonplace; hooved horse ones are becoming rare. The hindlegs, on the other hand, are mostly hooved, with feline feet occurring sometimes and canine feet hardest to find.
Of the Kynnese Tufta, the only major difference are small leg flares and an overall lengthening of fur. Kynnese and Tárakyn Tufta are interbreedable.
Unless a certain Tufta possesses a mutation of some kind, they have short fur year-round that can have any colour of the rainbow. Odd markings, such as bands of colour or contrasting stripes, are commonplace in this species. Because of their creation by Wyldmagic, the Tufta are more inclined to be mutated; because of this, the mutations have their own appendix.
Tufta are omnivores, and as such should be placed somewhere where they will have easy access to both ruffage and red meat. A particular Tufta will have differing tastes, depending on both aspect and personality; for example, an Earth-aspected Tufta will eat a great deal more greens and berries than red meat, while a Fire-aspected Tufta will want to cook their meals.
