Mafupa Bruje
Element: Neutral
This spotted egg chitters constantly.
Spoiler
Your bruje is a loud little creature, constantly chirping and giggling to let you know how it feels. Already its teeth are sharp and its bite is strong, but it knows to be gentle around you and the other creatures, and learns faster than most other companions. When it isn’t at your side, the cub likes to play with the other young brujes in the Keep, tumbling around in games of play-fight that will one day become much more dangerous. The youngsters have a pecking order established and will often compete with their siblings for food scraps, but magi are careful to keep a close eye on the youngsters and may feed them separately if they grow too rowdy. Within a few weeks, the female cubs are larger than the males and much more aggressive, claiming higher ranks in their social group than any of the other males, including their own fathers. Regardless, the cubs are quite dedicated to their magi and look at their owners as friends and companions, rather than masters.
Spoiler
The intelligence of the mafupa bruje is comparable to that of great apes, and is matched only in the skill with which the creatures use their impressive noses to hunt prey. Although they look like dogs and have large teeth build for crushing bone, brujes are in fact most closely related to mongooses, and often compete with other large carnivores in the Foenaran savannahs. They can track prey for many miles and are not at all averse to eating the corpses of other animals, devouring more of the carcass than most other carnivores their size on account of powerful digestive juices that can dissolve bone. But although they readily scavenge, mafupa brujes get over half of their food by hunting, either alone or in small family groups. When many brujes cooperate, they can bring down prey as large as zebras and wildebeest. The pecking order is established well before the hunt, and somewhat unique among large mammals, bruje packs are dominated by the largest female in the group. This dominant female feeds first, then allows the other females to feed by order of rank, and only once they’ve eaten their fill can the dominant male brujes move in. Pack dominance is also determined in bruje groups at the Keep, though these are often mediated by, and sometimes even include, magi who tend to the creatures.
Nyama Bruje
Element: Neutral
This brown egg chitters constantly.
Spoiler
Despite all ominous-sounding legends, you have decided to take in your care a small nyama bruje. It is a loud hatchling, constantly making all sorts of noises as if to let the world know about everything it discovers. Smarter than most hatchlings, the nyama bruje appears to understand the things you say, following orders easily. It behaves most of the time, knowing its sharp teeth can easily pierce through flesh and bone if not careful enough. Although it enjoys playing with the other brujes outside the Keep, your bruje seems to yearn for the lands of the savanna. Not caring about its size difference from the other bruje hatchlings, your nyama is ready to fight for food, even the largest of mafupa brujes. You feed your bruje alongside the others found and the Keep, but once in a while, your cub will prefer to scavenge on its own. Even if the bruje hatchling becomes more aggressive as it ages, your cub remains loyal to you, considering you a friend as much as a companion.
Spoiler
Said to be as smart as great apes, your adult bruje companion watches you with intelligence in its eyes. While it remains forever loyal to you, the bruje gives in to its yearning, often visiting savanna and desert lands for extended periods. You need not worry, as the bruje always returns to you once summer arrives. Now more behaved than it used to be as a hatchling, the bruje scavenges on its own. It uses its impressive sense of smell to find food miles away from its current location. When larger prey is found, your bruje has to join a small pack so it can succeed in the hunt. Whether it joins a small family or other stray nyama brujes, they work together to take down the prey. Their teeth can tear through seemingly anything, flesh and bone alike, making them dreadful creatures. Until it makes a family of its own, your bruje will never stick with the pack after the hunt is over. As it was raised at the Keep, your bruje is more independent than wild ones. It is more comfortable with your presence than with the one of an untamed bruje.
Chikumba Bruje
Element: Neutral
This striped egg chitters constantly.
Spoiler
Your chikumba bruje hatchling is louder than birds in the morning. It will bark and chirp at you, sometimes even giggle, as if to ask when the next trip in nature is going to happen. Your little hatchling seems happy at the Keep, where it plays with the other young of its kind. When not around them, the bruje hatchling will busy itself with your cloaks, biting the hems and leaving large holes in them. You try to teach it some manners, but the bruje hatchling always wins. There is a small part of the hatchling's wild side that you know will never be tamed. You know that sooner or later you bruje will leave with the others, to explore its native lands but until then you enjoy its company as much as you can. Feeding the bruje can be a disturbing sight since the hatchling tends to drag its food all over the place before settling down to eat it. However, you are proud to notice that your hatchling is not only strong, but fierce as well. It never backs down from a fight with any of the other bruje young, ready to prove its mightiness.
Spoiler
Smaller still than the other brujes, the chikumba is just as fierce and loyal. Maybe not as bright as its relatives, your chikumba bruje can have its moments of silliness, especially when around you. Trusting you enough to know no harm will come, the bruje will lay on its back, with its belly ready for scratches. The bruje is not interested only in your attention. It will also protect you with all of its might. Although it enjoys being fed by you or anyone else at the Keep, the bruje will be absent for several days taking its time to scavenge on its own or even hunt. There are a few months each year when the bruje leaves your side to venture into the Scarlands, but you know, without doubt, it will return to you. You suspect one day your bruje will return with a partner of its own, chirping and giggling with joy. Then again, the chikumba bruje is more solitary compared to the mafupa or nyama, so finding a partner in one of the brujes living at the Keep is just as probable.
Mtima Brujine
Element: Neutral
This striped egg barks constantly.
Spoiler
As strange as it may seem, brujine hatchlings are deeply attached to their magis. You can never leave your sleeping quarters without your little brujine tagging along. Its howls and cries are usually so loud you can hear them from rooms away. The brujine hatchling throws such big tantrums that it's easier to have it with you all the time. Comfortably fitting inside a pocket, the hatchling will sleep soundlessly in your coat the entire day as long as it feels your presence nearby. Once the night has fallen, the brujine will leave your side to hunt for termites and other insects. You try to feed it yourself, but the hatchling always insists on hunting on its own. As cute as it may be, the brujine hatchling is not a creature one would want to disturb, with its sharp fangs easily piercing skin.
Spoiler
Even when it reaches adulthood, the brujine is small for its size. Still feeding on termites, your brujine is more independent than it used to be, often leaving your side to explore the Keep's surroundings. Although it sometimes sleeps outside the brujine loves it when you give it old clothes. It piles them up and makes a burrow, happy to be around you. Although it appears to lack any sort of magic, the brujine makes for a valuable companion. Its loyalty has no limits, the brujine always being ready to protect those who face harm. With its sharp fangs, the brujine will never hesitate to bite those who threaten it. With a sensitive nose, the brujine is able to find anyone no matter the distance or the obstacles that come in its path.
No dimorphism
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