Pãrwe (ˈpãrwe)

pãrwe, pãrwen (pl.)
Pãrwen are a species of shapeshifter found throughout the jungles and forests from Ganbon to Taifhan. Among the most intelligent of the of shape-shifters, pãrwen are most often found attached to family groups of lũmchiin - lemur-like creatures that are endemic to the area.
Like their host species, their diet consists mainly of fruit, leaves, shoots, and insects. They have a high tolerance for toxic plants, and are able to consume large quantities of cyanohydrins and urushiol without complaint. Despite this, pãrwen have a low tolerance for alcohol and they are frequently found aseep under fruit trees or at the side of fields during the high summer, having become drunk on rotten and fermented fruit. Like other shapeshifters, they lack the ability to change their form once mature but, when inebriated, their shape control becomes impaired and they assume the form of things that have caught their attention, often melding two or more objects or appearing duplicated or blurry. Unlike lũmchiinen, they are rarely belligerant when inebraited.
Details of their reproducion are largely unknown, but the young are placed, cuckoo-like, near a host family or in the nest, where they mimic the shape and cries of the target's young. Lũmchiinen are highly social and nursing parents often adopt lost, abandoned, or orphaned babies as their own. As settlements and farmsteads encroach on the pãrwe's territory, there have been more documented incidents of pãrwen attempting to mimic human infants. The species' young have baby-like faces, large eyes, and are highly sociable, making them endearing to both their host species, but also yutaaq and especially ialy. Although they integrate successfully with lũmchiinen young, pãrwen lack the intelligence and mass to successfully mimic yutaaq past one year and ialy children past two years old.
Attempts have been made to domesticate pãrwen as pets, capitalising on their baby-like appearance and playfulness, but their natural curiosity, high sociability, and frequent vocalisation makes them poor companion animals. They are easily bored and become destructive if understimulated, have a tendency to bond strongly to whomever they interact with most frequently, becoming agitated and even agressive when separated, are largely nocturnal, and communicate in whoops and yells.
As adults, pãrwen retain a childlike playfulness and neotenic features, and can be distinguished from their hosts, especially through prolonged observation, as they persistent in an adolescent role in the family group, never appearing to reach sexual maturity. If they remain undetected, their host family continues to care for them well into old age. However, too many successful integrations can destabilise the family group, as a surfeit of dependents supresses the lũmchiiinen's breeding cycle. New males joining the group pose a threat, especially to juvenile pãrwen, as non-breeding adults are less suceptible to being taken in by their appearance and may find their presence to be disturbing. A new male joining the family may result in an implanted pãrwe being ousted or killed.
An ousted pãrwe may follow the family group for a while; if they are not permitted to rejoin, they eventually drift away, congregating in groups and begging other animals and each other for food. They seek out easy food sources, often gravitating to settlements and raiding crops, refuse tips, or even homes, shops, and storehouses.
Pãrwen frequently appear as tricksters in mythology and folklore, and have gained popularity as the title character in the popular children's book series, Ā Rāfnēw. In divination, they tend to symbolise change, deception, the need for play or the need to embrace an inner child. In urban and suburban settings, they are generally considered benign creatures, despite the damage they can cause.

Scientific Name

Dholdolenadah fataifhan

Geographic Distribution

• North Erwa