Alqati are a species originally found on Ebrya. They were discovered thousands of years ago when Ebrya itself was discovered, and a lot of them were forcibly experimented on and killed. They were also experimented on and killed by the Lycaurican government during the 1800s and somewhere in the 1960s.
Due to the Lycaurican government experimenting on and killing them multiple times, they painted the species as "monsters," which still affects the Alqati today. This is why most Alqati born on planet Varahi choose to live on Ebrya.
Most Alqati look very similar to one another. Their most common colors are dark purple or blue, unless they're albino, but that's very rare. They usually have three eyes (or more) with no visible pupils that are bright unnatural colors, the most common are purple to yellow-green to green. Despite their furry look, they don't have fur on most of their body, they have smooth skin and bits of feathers, however older Alqati do get a bit of fur fuzz on their snouts.
Hybrids of alqati and other species do infact exist, and are surprisingly common, and unfortunately receive just as much discrimination. Hybrid examples include alqati-bunny hybrids, alqati-goats, and alqati-cats. Additionally, those who have multiple eyes but are not alqati most likely at least have alqati in their bloodline.
Some alqati have subtle differences in their appearances from evolving to have features similar to whatever animal they've interacted with or seen the most.
Alqati that've evolved a bit to slightly resemble animals they've been around the most. In order: Cat, Horse, Frog, and Goat.
The creatures live incredibly long, up to 400 years. Considering this, they age very slowly and differently to other animals. Signs of aging are the fuzz that grows on their snouts and purple spots taking over their original eye color.
The life stages of an Alqati. With how aging for Alqati work, this timeline would be something like 0 to 10 to 20 to 40 to 60 to 80 to 100+ years old.
Alqatis are usually very tall and can be intimidating. They have claw-like feet, however, they are closed together, so they appear as hooves. They have a very scarce amount of feathers, but they do gain a winter coat. This coat consists of surprisingly few feathers, but it is way more than the amount they have in other seasons, additionally, there is an abundance of feathers near their arms, legs, and stomach area.
Originally, before the hundreds of alqati were abducted, they looked very different. They had an abundance of feathers, different tails, and different hands and claw-like feet. But, when they were forcefully brought to Lycaurica and then escaped, most (if not all) alqatis appearances changed to adapt to the completely new environment.