FSE

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Behavoir

As stated before, there isn't that much cooperation between fennix, and they will rarely help out another in danger. There is an exception however. Fennix are rarely regarded and attacked as prey, but for one species. This species find fennix to be a delicacy. These creatures who prey on fennix go by the name of apakaxis. They resemble some kind of monkey, and move around on hands and feet like a gorilla. They are barely larger than the fennix, and are covered in a dark black fur with only the colour of their purple eyes piercing the black of their tenebrous coat.

They usually hunt fennix in pairs, they try to find a lone fennix as they are easier prey. One of them will distract the fennix by jumping and skipping in front of the fennix, the other will wait for an opportunity to strike behind the fennix. The fennix isn't oblivious, easily aware of the apakaxi behind, bsut it can't just turn around without exposing its flank to the other apakaxi. The fennix will start to breathe fire at both of them, but the apaxi generally keep enough distance to be able to dodge out of the way of the flames.

They keep doing this until the fennix runs out of fuel. The fennix can still spit out sludge. After enough provocation, the fennix will also attempt to hit one of the apaxi with the sludge. After emptying it's offensive substances, it isn't as risky for the apaxi to approach the fennix. They know it might still try to bite, but also know it takes too long for a fennix to properly bite due to the coating on their teeth. The one keeping the fennix occupied will start skipping closer and closer, the other doing so as well, until one of them can find the opportunity to jump at the fennix' flank. The apaxis have remarkable muscle strength, and will cripple the fennix by attacking the legs. The apaxis will never fully consume their fennix prey, only eating the parts safe for consumption, such as the legs and the tail. They will stay far away from the head and the torso, to avoid getting infected with the infernal plague.

During such an attack, the fennix who is being threatened will call out for help. Nearby fennix will feel compelled to answer this call as the apaxis are a threat to all of them, especially in larger groups. The apaxis are faster than fennix, and thus they will escape most of the time when being chased. When running to aid a fellow fennix from these predators, fennix will rarely engage in close combat, they will however try to set the apaxis aflame, or cover it in sludge. Fennix usually attempt to aid a fellow fennix in a group consisting of 3 or 5 members. They will sneak up on the apaxis, and try to attack from different angles and directions. Luckily for fennix, apaxis don't hunt them frequently. The apaxis will always fulfil their needs by hunting other prey which yields less risk first. Apaxis are only interested in attacking fennix when they have had a few days of plentiful hunt. In this case they are faster and stronger, and they will feel confident enough to attempt going after their favourite snack.

Fennix like to wander on their own, looking for new interesting things to eat. Although they will avoid large unknown structures or buildings, or crashed spaceships as they are unfamiliar to them compared to rocks and trees (expect for the ship rat subspecies, who are used to crashed spaceships). They will occasionally eat the stray object in the desert. Fennix in an area will come together in small groups at night to sleep, or when they want to visit the oasis to drink. Fennix who go on long trips may sleep alone, or drink alone, but this is a rare sight.

In scenarios where a fennix is trapped under a rock or tree, fennix will rarely come to aid, afraid of getting stuck themselves if they were to help a fellow fennix. Forcefully capturing a fennix isn't too difficult if you have the right equipment, as any nearby fennix will completely ignore the fact that one of them is being abducted. Cleaning another isn't dangerous or risky, this being one of the favourite activities of fennix when they gather in the evening to sleep. They will remove any sticky sand, or chunks of meat which came from dead corpses and are now sticking to ones face. They thoroughly enjoy doing so. There is still a lot of intimacy among fennix, they will often huddle together as well, looking to comfort each other.

The amount of fennix in an area depends on the amount of food available, in an area most of the fennix are siblings and thus related to one another. One area is usually not to far from another, but during mating season it can take fennix from one area to reach the other about 2-12 hours to a whole day or two. It mostly depends on the roughness of the terrain. Usually the smaller groups migrate to the bigger groups in the area, by communicating via howling, fennix usually know how many are going to one area. They will prevent massing too much to one single area. Typically an area contains between 10-40 fennix. During mating season an area can contain up to 200 fennix as they flock to massive crowds. In sparser areas there can be only 20-30 fennix in a single mating area. Almost every year fennix end up in different mating areas.

Young parasitic fennix will usually look to stay near other fennix, but in some cases they end up far away from other fennix due to their host having migrated during the time they were being carried. Some creatures can easily be driven mad by the act of a fennix mating with them, and the feeling of a parasite in their gut. These creatures will run for hours until they are completely exhausted, easily carrying these young fennix far away from others. Or sometimes the new fennix will be so different from normal fennix that it will have to migrate to an environment better adapted to their needs.

Folklore:

When sun god is angry, sun god send walking flames to burn our tents. We must keep the sun god pleased, we must not displease her or her walking flames. We shall not hunt her walking flames, her wrath makes it clear that they are not meant as prey, anyone who dares to harm one of her children, has to suffer disease and death. When Nuniku, our foolish elder, harmed one of her children, he avoided her godly wrath, a divine honour it is to capture the defiler, and expose them to her righteous punishment. He is to be buried with the child, to let the godly flames know of the crime this person had committed.

The dead have to be buried under rocks, so the walking flames can feed their mother, only these flames are capable of uncovering our dead, an honour it is to serve the goddess even after death. Her children shall protect us from darkness, her mother visiting them every dawn, till the moment she has to go visit the rest of them elsewhere, for she shall not neglect her young. She protects us from the dark, the dark envies her beauty, and envies her beautiful children. The dark attempts to strike her children, hurt our mother, it is our sacred duty to defend them.

I wish we didn't have to shoot tribesmen, but they didn't seem to like us taking one of the fennix living near their tents. We should have waited until they had moved on, as they are a nomadic tribe, constantly migrating in order to survive. It was not until the next tribe that we had gained knowledge to why they had attacked us. It is bad to be careless, the each with which the fennix let their fellow fennix get captured had made us overconfident. The morale of the crew must be held up high, they don't get paid enough to be attacked by spears and arrows.