The Xymokoxi

[Senior Pheonix]

The Beasts

The xymokoxi, often called koxi, are deadly creatures native to Pohono. They reside both on the Northern continent as well as on the Southern continent, where their numbers are growing despite the elevated simourv population. They are lizard-like in bodyshape and type, with a series of small, flexible yet extremely hard plates that act as armor. They are almost impossible to harm because of the strength of their natural armor. Not only do they have armor-like plates covering their bodies, they have spiney ridges covering their backs and tail. They are smaller than the larger simourvs, and most koxi are around the size of a rainbow or smaller green simourv. They are muscular, though, and as powerful as if they were larger. They are fast for a creature of their size, and outrunning a healthy koxi is almost impossible. They tend to be brown in color, and metallic, almost the color of brass.

Even though they are powerful and ruthless killers, the koxi are not as intelligent as simourvs. The destruction they cause is due to ruthlessness and massive numbers. They hunt in large packs, which means when they meet humans, koxi cause total destruction. They do actually have a low-grade empathy, not unlike the empathetic powers of the simourvs, which only connects them to each other, giving them the ability to attack in thoughtful, collected, and organized groups. They are fueled not by evil, but by animal instinct, their own desire to eat and kill programmed into their minds and hearts. Gunfire is useless against koxi, as are arrows, unless the rifleman or the archer is skilled enough to hit the koxi between their plates. Packs of koxi attack at any time, but loners tend to prefer late afternoon or sunset to attack. Even though koxi tend to hunt in packs, loners are not unheard of, and since they are almost impossible to harm, they are dangerous and deadly one their own. While loners appear in the South, they are much more common on the Northern continent, as in the South, the wild Kamrov packs attack and often kill loner koxi. Simourvs are the only animals capable of battling effectively face to face with xymokoxi packs.

There are four subspecies of the Commonlands koxi (described above) in the Southern continent. Each is well-adapted to its habitat, and each has their own fighting styles:

Forest/Mountain

Size: The largest of the koxi; about 13-14 feet at the shoulder, and 35 feet long.

Coloration: These koxi are mainly colored in bright to deep greens and dark browns, with bright red or orange undersides, and blue stripes along the tail on males. It is rare but possible to find these koxi with dark to medium gray coloring, primarily high in the mountains.

Behavior: Forest and Mountain koxi are the most aggressive and persistent hunters, and once they reach maturity, are rarely driven away from prey they are hunting through any means other than killing them. They do not share territories (with the exception of mated pairs, which stay together until their eggs hatch), but should a conflict arise, it’s almost always settled through display and threats rather than fighting. Similarly, immature koxi are tolerated in adult koxi’s territory, so most stay within their parents’ territory as they grow, slowly ranging farther until they reach maturity and begin looking for a territory of their own.

Desert

Size: The smallest of the koxi; 9-12 feet at the shoulder, and 28-30 feet long.

Coloration: Primarily grays and yellows, with occasional light brown, tans and golds. Males possess bright red and blue patches on the underside of their necks, the top of their head, and underneath their tail. The tail can flatten out into an elongated paddle shape, which is used by both sexes to disperse heat and by males to display the colors during mating season by raising the tail.

Behavior: Due to their smaller size, desert koxi are at much less of an advantage, or a greated disadvantage, than other koxi. As a result of this, they are slightly less aggressive, and can be frightened away much more easily, though they may remain nearby for some time, waiting for an opportunity. They also tend to function in packs; these packs have no order or organization, and fight simply by swarming prey rather than any strategy, but the members of a pack will not turn on each other, and may fight the members of another pack (including other koxi subspecies) that they encounter. Should this happen with two desert packs, the first pack to lose a member will flee; if a confrontation occurs between a desert pack and one or more koxi of another subspecies, they will flee when they lose a member, and possibly before, particularly against forest koxi.

Plains

Size: The second smallest koxi, about 11-13 feet at the shoulder, and 31-34 feet long.

Coloration: Plains koxi are mostly pale browns and greens, with spots of bright blue, red and purple on their head, shoulders and back, and their tail ends in orange. The older the koxi, the more of the tail is orange; young koxi have about an inch and a half of orange when they reach maturity, and it grows by about a quarter inch per year after that. Both sexes have these colors, however, the females use them mainly for territorial signaling, while the males use them for signaling and mating displays.

Behavior: These koxi are almost as aggressive as forest koxi, significantly more so than desert koxi, but much easier to scare off or drive away. They will, however, stalk any prey that they are driven away from and continue testing every time they get the chance at an opportunity, until the prey is killed, leaves their territory, or they find a different prey to hunt. The female plain koxi are highly territorial, and if they encounter another female will fight until one dies, or if they encounter a male when not interested in breeding, will fight until the male flees. Males are much less territorial and tend to form groups that hold a large territory, surrounded by smaller female territories, though they may or may not hunt together, and fights often break out over food.

Aquatic

Size: Aquatic koxi are the longest subspecies, being anywhere from 40 to 44 feet long once mature.

Coloration: These koxi are primarily light blues and grays, with a white or off-white underside. They have developed fins and flippers; while the original leg structure can still be seen, the limbs are primarily flippers now, and they also have a short fin running along their spine from the crest of their head to the end of their tail. Males have a slight crest at the top of their head, and a somewhat taller section in the middle of the back as well. This fin has stripes in bright red, purple, or green, and the inside of the mouths of both sexes are similarly bright green or purple.

Behavior: Aquatic koxi are the calmest koxi, and often the most dangerous. Mature ones will wait and check out a potential prey animal before attacking, and have been known to move so that they can attack an animal from behind, or wait in cover to attempt an ambush. They will, however, leave in search of other prey if driven off once. Young ones, fortunately, are not so skilled, as they live in packs until and sometimes slightly after maturity, and if one member of a pack attacks, the others will follow. Once mature, they split up and live solitarily for the rest of their lives, only meeting others to fight for territory or to mate.