Minuskla Casadistos start their mornings early and fill the predawn silence with a myriad of barks, chirps, and howls. These miniscule canids are remarkably light, even for their size, and are amazingly agile on the ground and in the air. Minuskla Casadistos live in small family groups, called packs, that usually consist of a breeding pair and their offspring. Packs nest in dens that they’ve dug out for themselves or that other animals have abandoned, and they tend to nest near other packs. Neighboring packs will often flock together, especially while hunting, and coordinate their attacks with chirps and barks. These flocks can reach much larger numbers, and it’s common for them to successfully take on prey many times the size of a single Minuskla Casadisto. While neighboring packs generally keep to themselves outside of hunting situations, individuals will still alert the larger flock to danger with alarm calls. Despite their small size, Minuskla Casadistos are particularly intelligent and can remember where food tends to be most abundant from season to season. They will even tolerate a human’s presence if they know food will be readily available.

The creatures that dwell in this rather desolate world still display some diversity in appearance, eating habits, and social behavior. Whether they have fur or feathers, skin or scales, their unique genetic makeup allows for a variety of colors and markings within each species. Despite limitations in food sources, herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores are all present in the food chain, and each species requires specialized care within a laboratory. Although the artificial setting of housing units and breeding pods precludes most opportunities to study true interspecific behavior, the interactions within and between species has been studied extensively in the wilderness by scientists daring enough to venture beyond the outpost’s walls.

Creature Notes

• Pair-bonded with Thalassa (oqnXl). Apart from them, Critias rarely seeks social stimulation from others of his kind. He enjoys attention from his keepers, but is largely quiet and reserved, uncharacteristically for a Minuskla.
• Upon Thalassa's introduction to the lab's small Minuskla flock, she became interested in Critias, who accepted the company. Thalassa frequently sang and chirped to him. Before long, Critias began to groom Thalassa and share his food.
• Despite being reserved, Critias is gentle and paternal to the other Minusklas, alert to any signs of distress or any needs they may have. This may have contributed to his bond with Thalassa, attentive to their flightlessness (not that it stops them).
• Recently, the pair has begun to serenade the lab each morning with a duet. This behavior seems unrelated to the morning hunting-calls of a wild flock, and does not include the rest of the captive flock. The song seems to be reserved for one another.