Antelabbit

Antelabbit
Fauna
Official Name	Antelabbit
Common Nicknames	Antels, 'abbits.
Classification	Mammal.
Habitat	Ellador
Domesticated	No.
Current Status	Rare.

Appearance

Small, about the size of a large cat, Antelabbits (called Antels by professionals and 'abbits by common folk) are creatures best distinguished by their impressive leap, which can land them square in the face of a grown Avarr (though such has yet to be seen). Not to be mistaken for their close relative, actual rabbits, Antels are fully carnivorous. They have large, elongated, pointed ears and eyes that are solid black, giving them a fairly cruel and evil look. Their fur ranges from warm light chocolate brown (summer) to dull gray and ugly (winter), though they are confirmed to range from black to white during winter and from black to light tan in summer. They have a large, fluffy tail made of long threads of hair. Their mouths when closed seem small, harmless, and with their giant buck teeth are almos comical - but beware. Upon opening their mouths they reveal their buck teeth to be resting in front of rows of inward-pointing, razor sharp, needle-like teeth that force anything bitten or swallowed to be pulled into the throat. Bright pink gums give them a downright bloody appearance when howling (yes they do this) and devouring whatever they happen to be eating. In front of their teeth, and a bit above, is a large velvet-black 'nose', which in actuality sits below their actual nose (which cannot be seen) and is a hard, bony protuberance similar to a birds beak. This structure is used to break the bone of already dead prey, while the large teeth are used to remove limbs from small prey and to break apart bones of larger, sturdier prey. Their forefeet have short, shovel like claws (just a single large claw on each foot) with which they can bore through dirt with ease, and even through wood and softer stones/metals with effort. Their rear feet are powerful and good for leaping, though their main purpose is holding onto the inside of whatever hole is being used, which allows the Antel in question to pull back into its hole once it grabs hold of a prey item.

Natural Habitat

Antels generally live in grassland and sparse forest, preferring to have sturdy ground beneath their feet when they hunt and travel. For the majority of their lives Antels are loners who live in holes below the ground. They hunt prey by hiding in their holes or in clumps of grass or bushes, remaining stationary, and waiting for something to meander along and take a step to close to the hole. Upon doing so, the poor creature finds the limb that got to close cleaning broken and often ripped right off by the powerful jaws, sharp teeth, and mighty tug of the Antels head and body back into the hole. Smaller prey will often vanish entirely into the hole, and lament for the bird of prey that mistakes an Antel for its next meal. Prey as small as mice and rabbits all the way up in size to full grown Moose have fallen prey to these devious hole-dwelling creatures.

When something large, like a cow or even a human, falls prey to an Antel it will tip back its head and let out the most terrifying sound in the world - something between the howl of a wolf and the shriek of a dying Thylan. The sound travels for great distances, and draws in all the surrounding Antel - the tone, volume, and howl/shriek mix will alert others to the size of the prey and therefor if they should bother going for a snack or not. Strangely, Antel do not breed when gathered around a meal, and do not fight - it's always first come first serve, and they leave in silence when they've had their fill. The interesting thing about Antel is that they, once they've gotten to a food source, won't hunt at all while eating or upon having eaten recently, even if the prey dies or falls asleep right in front of their hole. So if one comes across a group (called a 'table' of Antel) while eating they can safely observe, though attacking them or attempting to take food will... end badly, to say the least.

Antel have a single month every 3 years where the entire species ups and goes insane. In that month, all other creatures in Ellador pretty much wish they were anywhere but there as the Antel become a ravenous, violent, massively aggressive hoard of leaping, running, and rapidly reproducing Antelabbits. This hoard has been recorded to have literally overwhelmed entire towns that were unlucky enough to fall in its path and not have sturdy walls and stone floors. No creature in Ellador can survive contact with the great hoards, and are often driven into the ocean, where the hoards always end up on the bloodsoaked beaches, drinking salt water (of all things) until most of them die and the rest pass out, to return to their tunnels (if they remember where they are) the next day and evening. They then remain inside their tunnels for around 2-3 weeks while the females kit and the males tend to both the young and to the females.

The young Antel do not leave the tunnels for around 2 months, at which point they are basically adults but slightly smaller and with softer fur. They travel out and inhabit the abandoned tunnels left by those Antel who died after drinking the salt water at the ocean coast. The parents will aggressively defend the young, and will hunt beyond waiting for their prey to arrive until said young move out. This is the time when Antel are most dangerous as lone predators, but also when it is easiest to avoid them due to their small numbers.

First Encounter

The first recorded encounter between Antel and another thinking race are the Dwarves, who were easy prey for the Antel due to their small size and general slow rate of movement. Indeed, the very first encounter with the creatures that Dwarves called "blood rabbits", or just blobbits (blow-bits), was of a small dwarven farming settlement where children who would go into the forest were disappearing inexplicably. After slowly killing off all the few undead, wolves, and other potentially dangerous creatures in the forest, the dwarves told their children not to enter. It was then that the village first encounter the Great Swarming. Being dwarves, they had many stone floored structures and a great stone hold... but even so, most of the village was wiped out in mere hours while the Swarming bored with teeth and claw through wooden doors. Only the iron doors of the Hold were able to withstand the monsters, and when the Swarming passed the village by those few who had survived in the Hold traveled out into the town to find their friends, families, and children almost all dead, many of them in too many pieces to be recognized. The dwarves fled the death and returned their mountain holds, where the Antel don't exist, and rarely if ever returned to their lowland homes.

History

Since the destruction of that village, Antel have been recognized by the dwarves as a threat. This said, humans, elves, orcs, tigran, thylan, and ur all found to their misfortune that the Antel are never to be underestimated. Several notable incidents were the Slaughter at Tradeport (Elven Town), the near disappearance (near because one survived) of a Thylan pack in the floating mountains, and the destruction of a small army from Regalia during the Swarming of 193, when a Regalian force attempting to hold back the tide was completely destroyed with no survivors from the army forces, but many who had been observing from the nearby fortress town of Depanit. These encounters, as well as others, have made the Antel into a nearly legendary creature that many 'heroes' attempt to slay, an that the greatest of hunters NEED to have stuffed or on their wall to prove their worth.

Trivia

The ears and feet of Antelabbits are considered by many Ur and Thylan alike to have spiritual properties, often being included in their religious gatherings. The teeth, on the other hand, along with the beak, are sturdy and have often been used to reinforce stone and wood weapons, causing them to become 'equal to steel' if done properly. The fur of the tail is extremely soft and downy, and is used in many articles of clothing by Regalia Nobles and other wealthy people.