Ship Kin

aka Imps

Overview

Imps are a common pet on most Zhu'Myak ships. They double as alert pets and pest control, guarding the entire ship as their home and loud should unfamiliar faces be spotted. Highly intelligent, imps are able to remember and recognize entire crews and attach themselves to the vnou like they’re family – though they are highly selective in this family process. Imps prefer living on ships, sitting on the shoulders of vnou they are close to, and hunting things that do-not-belong. They’re largely considered an annoying pest at best in port cities to anyone not Myak, or familiar with the name, and can be down right obnoxious when they’re left wild.

Domesticated

It is primarily Myak ships, or those associated with the family, that have imps. They’re considered good luck, a source of entertainment, and help keep the ships ‘pest free’. They generally live in small groups of 3 to 5, a random assortment of males or females that get along, and have extremely long periods between mating – which is often prompted by a stint off the ship. They can be incredibly easy to train, given their high intelligence, but are still very willful and individualistic. They like attention and respond to their name, and most swear they can tell when you’re insulting them.

Wild

Wild imps are incredibly rare, as they are social creatures drawn to vnou, whose survival instincts have long been bred out of the species. They don’t fear anything until it’s been proven they should, such as a vnou being particularly cruel, and are more apt to steal from a vnou they find appealing and follow them home than run away when yelled at. Any wild imps in an area will flock together and act as a small family unit. Because of their noise and lack of fear, many imps don’t remain wild for long – either picked up by a well meaning vnou or a Myak-associate.

Origin

There are no real wild ancestor of the Ship Kin left, though there are genetic cousins that live in the rainforests. Their origin has been documented as Myak – entitling the family to the entirety of the species.

Conservation

While not especially protected, it is considered bad luck by most crew to be cruel to one and rude to Myak in general. Breeders live in port cities and maintain small family units of imps since the animals don’t tend to mate at sea.

Physical Characteristics

Imps are almost always a variation of orange and maroon, though they can lighten to white or cream. Markings are uncommon. They reach 12 to 22 in in length with tails that are just as long as their bodies. On average they weigh from 3 to 9 pounds and live up to 30 years.

Dietary Needs

Imps can eat almost anything organic – they’re ship scavengers – and are not too picky about how fresh their food is either. Another benefit to having them around.

Behavior

Trained and kept ship kin can be loud, but they’re extremely loyal and protective of their home ( the ship ) and their family ( the crew ). They fight off other pests and like to chase birds, though they restrict this to the ship they live on. They can be incredibly obnoxious to strangers, stealing food from their plates or anything that’s not tied on. Pockets aren’t safe. They present these stolen tokens as gifts to their favorite crew members.