Species Name: Catalopes

Creatures' Specs. :
Frontal bodies of felines of any kind, with the hindquarters of horses, or vice versa. It is possible for the creatures to have hooves on their forelegs or hind legs, though they are never mixed and matched (such as one paw, one hoof on the same section of their body, it throws their body/bone alignments off-balance too much).

What is a Catalope versus a Cataline?
Catalopes are the semi-immortal forms of domesticated felines, with body proportions similar to that; however, they also have similar bodily traits to those of hoofed prey animals, allowing for larger brains, more intelligence and the ability to communicate telepathically and via any language they are able to learn physically.

Catalopes come from happy families, where they lived a long and full life, were loved and cared for, even when they became sick or were injured somehow. Appearance-wise, they tend to be colorful, with rich browns and red furs, even pinks, blues, greens and any other color that you can think of.

Many have markings in white or black throughout their fur that may have a special meaning to them or may just be decorations. Many Catalopes also decorate themselves with jewelry in silver or gold, gemstones and other natural products like hemp or cotton.

The Darker Side - Catalines: They are the same species. Catalines are much more violent and dangerous, they do NOT trust humans and are predators to the core...with the intelligence of humans. With good reason.

In order for a Catalope to be termed a Cataline....they must come from those pets and domesticated felines that were treated very badly. Shut in cages all the time, used in breeding farms, beaten often, used badly for television, abused or neglected, yet they still are kept alive for one reason or another until they reach an old age and are able to evolve.

These creatures generally turn into Catalines. Catalines do not have the bright, colorful appearances that Catalopes tend to have. Their fur is generally muddy, grey or black, subdued colors are what a Cataline feature and you will know to be wary of them if you see them.

Eyes:
Catalope eyes will always be a bright, light color, although they will NEVER be red. These creatures tend to have light colored eyes, with the gentlest and 'purest' of them having ice blue to white eyes(no worries, they're not blind, there is no such thing as a blind Catalope or Cataline).

Cataline eyes will ONLY ever be red, black or a different muddy color.

Patterns:
Their fur can be any length, with any color and any patterns EXCEPT ICE BLUE AND DARK PURPLE TOGETHER. ((this is for personal reasons, they were my best friends' colors and she is gone now so no one else is allowed to use these two colors together please and thank you)). The Catalopes can have any color of fur, with any patterns except for Ice Blue and Dark Purple together, in any pattern. The patterns are the same for Catalines, although their coloration are always dull rather than bright.

Feeding/Food:
Catalopes feed on the energy surrounding humans and other creatures who are intelligent enough to be able to hold emotions. They do not eat 'souls' or the equivalent to those things, they simple absorb emotions that come from intelligent creatures much like a sponge does at the edge of a puddle, it doesn't absorb all of the puddle, but just a little of it without drying it out entirely.

Catalines feed from humans more like a sponge placed directly into the puddle. They drain the energy from humans very quickly, sometimes to the detriment of the humans. Often, a person will be taken tot he hospital, with no medical reason for why they've ended up in a coma or suddenly dropped from exhaustion for no apparent reason. Often, they are able to recover, unless the Cataline has taken an interest in them, which often happens to the previous 'owners' of the feline before it evolved.

Age and Evolution:
Catalopes are an evolved form of domesticated cats of all sizes and types. They may be large or small. A cat generally becomes a Catalope - or a Cataline - once they reach the age of 20 (for a house cat) or 25 (for large felines like 'domesticated' or captive tigers, lions, etc.) depending on their mortal shells' lifespan. Once they 'hatch' as a semi-immortal, they will not die unless they are murdered, and they will never grow sick either.

Language:
Catalope throats don't take to the human language very easily, their vocal cords are similar to those of birds rather than humans, so their native language is actually closer to birdsong than verbal phrasing. It IS possible to teach a trusting Catalope to speak a human language that isn't too guttural (German is more difficult than, say, a sing-song-y language like Japanese) but it does take a while to learn the right wording and you have to be very patient with them during the lessons.

The Change:
As a mortal feline begins to reach the end of its life cycle, many people begin to notice that the feline becomes listless, or loses weight. If a person uses their 'third eye' or some other form of magic to really look at the soul of their pet or family feline, they will see that their soul is gradually becoming a new shape - a cocoon of sorts. As the cats' life fades in its mortal shell, the cocoon will become more 'real', and as the feline takes its last breath, the cocoon DOES become real. The cocoon does not always form where the body is however, often a soul will travel as the mortal shell reaches the end of it's lifespan. The Soul Cocoon will form when the life ends, wherever the soul may be. Which means you may need to explore a little bit in order to find the cocoon if your pet tended to wander in life.

No matter what type of Catalope or Cataline the creature turns into, the cocoon is always a grey-white color, with a faint rainbow of color if you turn it over in the light.

Times:
It generally takes around 10 days before the cocoon splits, generally with the help of teeth and/or claws if the forequarters are clawed or hoofed. The creature that will spill out will be much like a tiny, super chubby version of a fully grown Catalope or Cataline. Its horns will be small, generally rounded and will not form points(if there are any sharp points that form) until a few months later as it grows.

Young:
Young Catalopes and Catalines are entirely self-sufficient, even just moments after birth, unlike their mortal selves, they won't die of starvation, and their chubby little bodies have enough fat reserves to last them 6 months before they need to figure out how to feed from energy. Essentially, they do not need humans or emotion-bearing creatures until that point.

Adults:
Adults are generally the same size as a small pony, around 50 inches (130 cm) in height at the shoulder, so they are not really meant to be ridden and none will allow that indignity to occur anyways, even the most trusting Catalope.

Horns:
There will NEVER be a Catalope or Cataline without at least one horn. They can have as many as is possible, but never less than one.

Hunting:
Catalopes hunt normally from the shadows, they are able to travel using the darkness, and can reach across the world within minutes of disappearing. However, they rarely use this ability except to help their friends.

In order to feed from humans, the Catalope must be within 10 meters of someone in order to feed from them. Most Catalopes can form a friendship with a human, generally their previous owner/family, and can feed from them without going hungry. They are able to also feed from anyone in a crowd at will, and often help with disputes or issues by making those who are angry or excitable to lose some of that excess energy.

Habitat:
Catalopes and Catalines both live in a separate dimension from our own, similar to what a human would know as an alternate dimension. Everything is the same land-wise, except in this dimension there are no humans.

Centuries ago, there were humanoid creatures that existed in this dimension providing energy in plenty to the Catalopes. Therefore, they didn't have the ability to transfer dimensions. They didn't need to do so after all. Then, some creature, perhaps a rat, perhaps a human, perhaps some other creature or circumstance occurred that introduced a strange, viral disease to the humanoid creatures that were the companions and friends to the Catalopes. Within one generation, they were destroyed, and Catalopes were forced to adapt. There was one specific Catalope who discovered the ability for the species to travel between dimensions, an adaptation of their normal ability to travel in the shadows of the land.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask questions!



RL BEGINNINGS


This species has been in my mind for a very, very long time, longer even than the BahkehValley have been. Ever since I got the very important gift of a best friend...who happened to have 4 paws, a tail and a very sassy attitude. Saphyre was a Siamese-Tabby cross, with very Siamese features and the most beautiful ice blue eyes. Her eyes and her collar, a dark purple that made her eyes stand out even more, are the reason why those colors are not allowed for the fur in this species together.

The hoofed aspects of the species I also got from Saphyre. When she was a little over a year old, she came across a deer in our back yard. I didn't have a camera at the time, so I only have my memories, but the way that the two interacted was beyond amazing, and I will never forget it.

Saphyre sparked the idea of these creatures in my head that day, with a lot of different revisions since then of ideas; I have papers drawn with a multitude of different ideas for them, but none the last couple of years as Saphyre's health began to go downhill.

Saphyre was my best friend, even when I had human friends, and she will always remain in my heart and mind. These beautiful creatures are, in a way, her legacy.

From my heart,

Dana
CuteyCreations