The Mazrat
Yep, those creatures that keep showing up but I’ve only just now sat down and actually drew one. Technically, they were drawn before but I was kind eh on their first iteration. Much happier with this one!
Mazrat facts:
The most numerous species in the Confederation and Black Space. Despite this they have piddling representation in either area.
Fecund. A female can raise several clutches a year. There are entire planets that are solely Mazrat in population, many more than any other species.
Also: The smallest. Mazrats range between 3 and 5 feet, though seeing a 5 foot Mazrat is like seeing a 7 foot human; they exist, but are not common. Their size definitely affects how other species interact with them. Mazrats are often seen as cute and therefore not taken seriously (until they bite someone’s finger off).
Mazrats are omnivorous; a lot of their diet includes insects. 90% of the meat they do consume is scavenged and this scavenger behavior persists past their ancestral environment. They prefer rotten meat, actually, and this gives them a....dubious opinion among non-scavenger species, which is mostly everyone else.
They have six eyes, with the foremost ones being oriented more front facing and middle and rear eyes being more to the sides of the head. This is because they were very much not the top predators.
Highly social. Mazrats are fossorial, though some subspecies are arboreal. They prefer and enjoy cramped spaces; wide open spaces make them nervous.
They can walk and run, but when they really want to put the speed on, these aliens will hop like lemurs.
Females have small tusks, but male tusks are large and can actually be hazardous to a male’s health, growing into his face, through his skull, and into his brain if left unchecked.
Each eye can move independently, like a chameleon.
A Mazrat’s default color spans the range of brown and tawny. The arboreal subspecies, however, have evolved the ability to change colors, again like a chameleon. Some particularly talented Arboreal Mazrats have fine control over their skin and can communicate with skin-language aliens. Skin-language translating is one of the more luxurious professions a Mazrat can find themselves in.
Heavy presence in crime circles, but rarely do they rise above grunts. Sometimes they don’t even get that honor; being able and comfortable fitting into small spaces, Mazrats are often used for thieving and espionage.
Reptilian. Both males and females have cloacas; they reproduce in the same manner most avians do.
They can do this
