Kushiban

Kushibans on Kushibah.

Kushibans were sentient lagomorphs, with two big ears and mood fur covering their bodies. This mood fur was white when the Kushiban were at peace, and changed colors according to their mood.

Biology and appearance

Members of the sentient alien species known as Kushibans were four-limbed lagomorphs. Their bodies were commonly half a meter long but could reach one meter. Like many smaller species, they were physically weaker than most humanoids, but they were also a difficult target due to their small size. They were also nimble, quick and stealthy when needed.

The head of a Kushiban was dominated by the two big, soft ears, which a Kushiban could rise or drop at will or to reflect changes of mood: when disappointed or tired a Kushiban dropped the ears, but they would revive if the Kushiban recovered interest in a subject or to focus his or her attention. The ears rocked when a Kushiban nodded, and fell to the floor when a Kushiban was sleeping.

The face of a Kushiban, which had apelike features, included a keen small snout, but was dominated by its big, innocent-looking, round eyes, with eyelids protruded for several centimeter. Kushibans were known to wink eyes and to watch people closely while silently waiting for the other person to talk. The eye color could change to mimic the eye color of the person the Kushiban was looking at or becoming a whirlpool if the Kushiban was not looking at anyone at the moment.

The body of a Kushiban, including its soft tail, was covered with surprisingly soft but straight-out, fluffy fur. While the Kushiban was at rest, its fur was frost white, but that feature was not fixed: the Kushiban could change the color of its fur at will emulating for instance the golden-brown of surrounding stones to camouflage itself for security or reflecting the Kushiban's mood, blossoming to pitch black when mourning, or desperate and changing to grey when upset. Due to this, a Kushiban's fur was known as "mood fur." The few people familiar with the Kushibans changing colors depending on their mood could use this knowledge to understand the real motivations of a Kushiban.

Kushiban fur could be, and was, curled, and individual Kushibans tended to brush their fur daily. If a Kushiban got its fur dirty, he or she could shake it off to get rid of dust or mud; otherwise, the fur tended to get filthy and matted.

While Kushibans were quadrupeds, their forepaws could be used as manipulative hands, allow a Kushiban to open a door, to hold an object, or to beat its chest while standing on its hind legs. Indeed, Kushibans could walk on two legs, but they were faster when running or ramming on all fours, and tended to walk on all fours as default choice. A Kushiban could also leap, reaching the shoulder of an eleven-year-old human, the upper dome of an R2 unit, or the frame of a window, and they could also climb up steep walls or up the body of a friendly humanoid.

Kushibans could speak either Galactic Basic Standard or other languages.

A Kushiban started adolescence at six years of age, and was considered an adult at thirteen. When reaching sixty years, the Kushiban felt the first ill effects of old age, which became more acute at eighty-five. A Kushiban's life expectancy reached one hundred and ten years of age, although a number of Kushibans outlived that span.

Kushibans were herbivorous creatures and ate all their food raw, but were known to bite while attacking.

Due to their furry appearance and a number of their behavioral patterns, Kushibans were considered cute by a number of other species.

Society and culture

The Kushiban people considered themselves to be a simple civilization, having developed a complex and peaceful society that lived harmoniously with their environment on the non-industrialized, lush green planet Kushibah, in the Gordian Reach of the Outer Rim.

The Kushibans shared their planet with non-sentient, clawed, fanged, three-meter predators known as Xinkras or Xinkra-beasts. The Xinkras preyed on the Kushibans, but the Kushibans had learned to use fire as a defense against all their natural predators. The pyrophobic Xinkras were also vulnerable to sharp weapons and to Force mind tricks.

Kushibans lived in family units, similar to Human's, in collective areas of weavers and farmers: Kushiban farmers grew silkweed which, when mixed with their own brushed fur, could be weaved to create clothes and tapestry. Kushiban fabric was famous throughout the galaxy, leading to a local industry and a number of traditions: the Silkweed harvest was a notable date in Kushibah. Due to the textile jobs, Kushibans used a number of specific tools including rakes, scythes, spindles and torches, but beyond that the Kushiban population held little interest for galactic technology. Kushibans had little need for tools, as they needed not to hunt or cook their food and used caves and hollow trees to protect themselves from weather. As Kushibah had so little technology, the world was almost worthless for the space-based economy of the galactic community.

Kushibans were commonly kind and generous, with a playful sense of humor and a penchant for practical jokes. They had traditional proverbs, such as the one saying that the path to success tended to be long. However, if betrayed or angered, Kushibans could be cruel or vindictive, and they had little patience for bullies, simpletons and misanthropes.

Only rarely a Kushiban showed interest in leaving his or her native Kushibah; the only Kushibans traveling through the galaxy were almost exclusively scholars and scouts. Kushibans rarely spoke Galactic Basic Standard language, instead learning only their own Kushiban. Kushibans outside the planet gathered credits and the planet itself had a "pool of credits" to be used by the species.

Due to the fur, short height and long ears of the Kushibans, other people tended to take them for pets or vermin. By looking helpless and cute, a Kushiban could trick even a Jedi community so that he could be considered the pet of a person instead of an intelligent person.