Kites (Filii Mivan)

Kites get their name from their flying position - vertex raised above their head, with webbing going down to their arms. Their arms are put straight out, with more webbing going down to their crossed ankles. This gives them a diamond shape with a long tail trailing behind.   Kites have thin, hollow bones and leathery skin. These fragile creatures can be almost any color, although the most common are combinations of green, blue, and brown. A kite's front side is often a different color than its back. Males are often larger and more brightly colored than females.   In addition to their delicate structure, they are small creatures - on average, only two feet tall. With their vertex raised (a webbed extension of their spine that protrudes behind their head), an average individual may reach just over three feet. The webbing that encircles their bodies makes them very adept fliers. Their long, thin tail that is used both for balance and grabbing things while in the air.

Male kites are often larger than females and have brighter coloration.

Female kites lay 2-3 eggs once a year during the spring. After six weeks, the kitelets hatch. They must be fed and protected by their parents for the first few months of their lives, until they learn to fly and forage for themselves.

Kitelets all hatch a pale, mottled brown color, with their eyes closed and their beaks soft. After about a week, their eyes will open and they will begin to mimic the sounds their mother makes.   Within a few months, they will learn to speak and fly on their own - at the end of the first year, they will shed their skin for the first time, revealing their adult colors. Around this time, their beak will harden and they will have the strength to crush small branches and nuts.   They are considered adults after their first molt, and they are able to (as well as expected to) build their own nests out of branches and leaves.

Kites flourish in warm areas with lush vegetation. Not only do they eat fruits, nuts, and berries, but they use the branches and leaves to create elaborate nests.

Adult kites forage for nuts, berries, and fruit. Some of them enjoy grain or the occasional bug.   Baby kites cannot chew or process nuts or bugs and must be fed only the softest berries until their beaks harden.

Kite mating season is in the early spring, with kitelets being born before the heat of the summer. All but the youngest kites will shed their skin every year during midsummer. This week-long molt is an embarrassing event for them and many will stay in their nests to avoid being seen in such a state.

They are very social creatures and often live in colonies of 30-300 individuals. The colonies, as a whole, tend to migrate slightly with the seasons, following the areas with the most available food. The individuals return to their same nests annually, often making them more elaborate with each passing year. For this reason, it is not uncommon for a kite to have anywhere from three to five "homes."

Their face is dominated by a small, but strong beak. Their eyes are just above that, set somewhat far apart. Kite ears are small and point toward the back of the head.

Population density can be predicted by average temperatures. (They prefer warm areas.)

Brilliant linguists and great at spacial reasoning.   Not so great at logic puzzles.

Their magic is passive, allowing them to take off and fly or glide in almost any direction. They are even able to travel contrary to the wind, although this much use of magic will prove exhausting for the young or unpracticed kite.

None.

It is considered a terrible omen to give a kite a known name, both to the kitelet and the other individual. (It is akin to stealing their essence.) For this reason, kite mothers go out of their way to create lengthy, unique names for each child. Most end up using only the first two syllables of their name in conversation.   Examples: Krfleffletion (Kerfel), Fernelionessa (Fernie), Moxaralian -Terso (Moxar), or Tkazial-Ishwaxeppi (Tikaz)

Each colony has its own leaders but only the largest bother making it official. In general, each colony will stay within its own established territory.

Bright colors, strong skin webbing (not cracked or scarred)

Males are considered more attractive if they have thicker limbs, where as thinner limbs are more preferred in females. A long, agile tail is also attractive in both genders.

If both parties find each pleasure in each other's company, they will play what appears to be an extended game of "tag" to test one another's flying abilities. Only if they are equally matched will they become a pair.

Kites will often choose a new mate for each season; once the colony moves to its next location, it is not expected that any prior relationships will continue. Pairs do not create nests together. Any kitelets will almost always live with the mother, but they do not require any special care or feeding after the first few months.   Some individuals choose to have the same mate every season. Others have a different preferred mate for each season. Still others switch mates every season without ever repeating. Any of these methods are acceptable within the kite culture.

Kites have their own language, but they also pick up on other languages exceptionally quickly. Some are known to speak over a dozen different languages, depending on how far they travel.

One does not raise one's vertex unless in flight or initiating a fight.   One does not sleep on the ground. Don't even walk on it unless it is necessary.   One will not give their child a name known to belong to another.   One must always disclose the location of food if asked.

It is nearly impossible to wear any kind of clothing while flying or gliding, so most kites don't bother. Some may wear a necklace or a scarf if they so choose.

Sleeping on the ground.   Giving a child a known name.   Hiding food.

"When kites appeared, the skies were filled with song."   They have been around since slightly after the Six were created, having been created around the same time as the other sentient species. There have been no great wars or tragedies among them.

Kites are known by all other species and beloved by many. Some, however, distrust them for their propensity to gossip.