The tapir comments of @launchedjy20 and @kiabugboy somehow amused me all day so I sketched a Kanerophan and a tapir during a serious talk on the commute – or so I thought after looking up the real shape of tapirs at home. XD Have a too-slender, too-long-legged, hairy tapir and a clamouring Kanerophan.
Man’s Best-Made Friend
There’s no household companion more common in Tarrun than the lovable, eyeless Toku! Publicly released by Kymaera Industries nearly thirty years ago, these chubby, brightly colored creatures were designed to be perfect pals. With no hair, feet, bones, or external sensory organs, they’d be best described as “oddly perfect”. Tokus are hypoallergenic and have zero need for grooming, can’t scratch furniture, barely track mud, and are exempt from most common medical conditions like cataracts and arthritis. With no teeth or claws they’re also certifiably safer than other pets, making them an ideal companion for children, elders, and the disabled. Tokus are available at any licensed pet store or breeder, and can even be custom designed from scratch at Kymaera’s interactive Joy Lab division!
Unorthodox Origins
Going forward with their creation, Kymaera’s number one concern was that the outward appearance of the Toku might not be well received by the public. Objectively they are, arguably, not the textbook definition of cute. This is because, in Kymaera’s pursuit to create a natural looking creature with all the desired traits, popular options like mammals and birds had to be ignored. They would have to leave the comfort of the fluffy, big-eyed norm to make their vision a reality. The result was an undeniably weird combination, but one that worked like a charm. Taking genes from a wide variety of small and slimy creatures, Kymaera chose to form the bulk of their creature’s identity through a combination of cephalopod and salamander DNA. This no doubt lead to the colloquial nickname “cuttlepuppy” (cuttlefish+mudpuppy), which while admittedly quite cute, is a touch misleading… most of the Toku’s amphibian DNA actually comes from blind cave salamanders, not mudpuppies!
A Cephalopoid for All Seasons
Because of their half cephalopod heritage, Tokus enjoy many of the same benefits as cuttlefish and octopi. They are remarkably intelligent, able to solve complex problems and memorize verbal commands, and can be trained just as easily as any mammal. Their demeanor is naturally amicable, and if anything negative can be said of it at all, it’s that they can sometimes be a little too curious for their own good. Tokus love to play, communicate, and explore, and if deprived of interaction can become quite mischievous in their eternal quest to figure out the world around them.
The other advantage of being part cuttlefish is color. Tokus come in a wide variety of hues ranging from drab to eye-popping neon, and with chromatophores on every inch of their body they can even alter those colors or animate their markings! Besides being one of the main drawing traits, this propensity for display is also an important part of how they interact with one another. Tokus, despite lacking eyes, are not at all blind: their skin cells are highly sensitive to light, able not only to distinguish between light and dark, but to interpret a wide range of color. Combined with their ability to show off varying shades and shapes, this makes the entirety of their body equal parts eyeball and billboard!
The Walking Garbage Disposal
One of the most commonly asked questions about the Toku besides “how does it see without eyes?” is “how does it eat without teeth or jaws?”. The answer usually comes as a surprise to people, but it’s actually pretty straightforward! The simple truth is that the part that looks like a mouth isn’t a mouth at all, and that the Toku, just like any of its naturally occurring cousins in the sea, chews up food with a powerful, shearing beak. Since such an apparatus would obviously be dangerous in the event of a bite, Kymaera designed the Toku’s chewer to rest inside the body, nestled in the back of a long esophagus and leading directly into its stomach. This prevents even the most cantankerous of Tokus from biting someone, and puts it’s true mouth at such a distance that even sticking your finger down one’s throat is safe (not that we recommend it)! With that fear out of the way, Kymaera was free to leave the Toku with all the food processing power of its more formidable ancestors. They can chew through virtually anything their owners give them, and their robust amphibian-style stomachs take care of the rest! This makes Tokus famously hardy, adaptable, and easy to feed.
What Do They Need?
As outlined above, the Toku is a fantastic beginner pet suited for just about anyone! It is a living thing, though… so surely it has needs, right? Right! Here’s a handy list of all the species-specific things you should have on board before taking home a cuttlepuppy!*
-Access to at least one shallow bathing pool. Tokus are less dependent on water than most of their ancestors, but still need a good regular soaking to stay at their best. If deprived of a dip for any span of time longer than a day, the poor little guys can suffer dry, splitting skin, and eventually death by dehydration. Owners should also be mindful of the size of their Toku, since too much water can be a problem too- they do breath air, after all, so please don’t let them drown! A good rule of thumb is that their baths should never be deeper than half their overall height.
-A way to have fun! Tokus aren’t picky about how you choose to entertain them, but please, by the gods, do entertain them! To avoid depression or any unwanted behaviors, make sure you keep your inquisitive little friend occupied with some form of enrichment. Tokus will play with virtually anyone or anything, so as long as they’re given some safe outlet for their curiosity they should be happy and alert for all of their days!
-A way to work out! Like any other pet, Tokus can become overweight if given too much food and not enough exercise. To prevent them from getting too plump to move around the house, Kymaera recommends a good old fashioned collar and leash! If getting outside isn’t easy to do where you live, they’ll take equally well to treadmills and giant hamster wheels. Regular play or another Toku to run around with are solid ways to kill two birds with one stone, though!
*Government mandated requirements such as vaccines, microchip implants, and leash laws vary by region. Owners should familiarize themselves with local legislation before purchasing a Toku or any other domesticated species.
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