Ruiboryn

An aquatic mammal native to the Lightside of Atria, the ruiboryn is a small but stout predator of the scalding rock pools and sandy dells found beneath the eternal noon of the tidally locked planet. They are greedy hunters, who enjoy hunting for small fish and grazing on whatever plant species are found within their territory.

Ruiboryn are typically no larger than the average feracht, with two pairs of clawed flippers, pudgy rolls of fat that protect its head, neck and body, and a prodigious underbite which accommodates their stubby set of tusks. They have brightly colored scales and leathery, heat-resistant skin, often exhibiting a variety of warm colors including red, orange, yellow and brown, which their admirers use to delineate ruiboryn into many different breeds. Greedy and slothful by nature, the ruiboryn is an excellent companion for many Lightsider Decheerans, though their preferred environmental conditions make it quite difficult to keep them in captivity, and they are seldom found off-world. Due to their facial fat and underbite, they are often said to have a grumpy, angry or serious expression.

Popular breeds of ruiboryn include the 'cardinal red' who are more energetic and typically colored blood red, the 'mirian' who are typically yellow-orange and make for lazy but noisy guards, the 'honeg brown' who are affectionate and curious, and the 'jasper nag' who have attractive striated patterns but a tendency to bite strangers. One breed that has had relatively little popularity to date is the 'anar gold', who tend towards ochre-based colorations, but have a greater degree of tolerance to less than scalding temperatures.