#and lisaph has homotherine saberteeth too

[tysonfurybattlepass]

may i have a fun fact about lisaph?

her species is wildly different from ours in terms of both biology and lifestyle! not only does the red hellcat (hexelis sicarus) have three common sex morphs instead of two, they also don't really have "childhoods" in the way that we do.

if childhood is defined as the period of time during which a human is dependent on their parents, then hellcats are never children! they are born as nymphs, which start out looking much like a clouded leopard or margay (plus some extra limbs). they need no parenting, because as soon as these kittybugs are born they are ready to fight, flee, and kill their own prey! nymphs will spend their early years up in the trees, hunting small arboreal prey. meanwhile, the adults live more on the ground, hunting a variety of both small and large terrestrial prey. this way, the adults and the nymphs don't directly compete with each other for resources.

during nymphhood, the hellcats will form strong social bonds with a few other nymphs and learn how to use teamwork. when they grow into their adult forms, these duos or trios of youngsters will either join an existing adult clan, or start their own with some other new adults.

Lisaph had her home range destroyed when she was a very young nymph, and she was the only nymph to make it out (as far as she knows). so, while she never relied on her older companion Geneph to provide for her, because nymphs are perfectly capable of hunting and scavenging for themselves, she did especially cling to him because her social needs were not being met by having other nymphs to bond with. this kind of pair bond is very unorthodox, as fully-metamorphosized adults usually don't interact with nymphs, but something about both being endlings really saw them lean on each other. Lisaph calls Geneph her older brother, but he doesn't quite agree with that term as that sort of familial bond doesn't exist in their culture. a more appropriate label in his mind would be mentor and later, partner in crime.

as a reward for sitting through that spiel, here are the first concept images i ever drew of Lisaph and Geneph!

as you can see, they've changed a lot over the few couple years they've bounced around my head.