The Shi-Thora

XDD What happens if my mind made a mix of pure über-crackness made of
- mystical creatures
- lion
- Navii from "Avatar"
- the Kabuki lion-dancer
- the significant "Iiiiou-sound" during a Kabuki-play
- Kumadori form One-Pice
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This hopefully interesing species named "Shi-Thora"
The name is kinda based and exotic-altered from "Shi-Shi" (lion) and "Tora" (tiger).
So it can be considered of an anthro-veriosn of a "Liger". XDDDD
Dudes...I´m on really really HAIRY trip right now or?
Anyways, here are some facts how these species COULD be like....enjoy.

general facts
This anthro-lion-like species lives in the deepiest places of a cherrytree-forest and they have a regulair life-span of 150 years.
Even they´re huge beeings, they can move lightly and silently trough the forest, nearly like spirits. Even in the language they have several feline features like purring and growlig, Shi-Thoras are easily able to speak different human languages. The voices are mostly deep but the females are slightly highter than male ones. During speaking a specific accent still remains which is noticeable by lenghened vocal-sounds mostly at the end of a sentence.
Examples:”I´m a Shi-Thoraaa.” “Who are yooouuu?” “Please be careful with my fuuur.”
When excited during fights, huntings, mate-dances or duels they do not only roar but often
shouts a deeply beginning and high-pitching long “Iiiiiioooouuu!” Sometimes this sound is misstaken with a wolf´s howling.
Male and female Shi-Thoras have an equal social status because the females are covering the hunting and direct fighting parts while the males covers the healing and indirect spritual-magical fighting tasksts. Shi-Thoras are omnivores but with a huge tendancy to flesh which is mostly eaten in a raw state.
Both genders are well balanced with the number and normally the pairs have a life-long-realtionship. But in rare cases some duels over a desired partner can occure which works differently. Surprisely the females´ fights are more brutal compared to the males´ones, because they literally have to show their strengh and skills in close-combat-fights. They often end with many injuries but never deadly. The males instead have to proove their stamina in long-thermed and very dynamic dance-like movements. Their significant fur and especially the long mane are playing the most important part between the rivals.
The mating-dance where mostly the male Shi-Thora has to attract the female one also is a spectaculair moment to watch.
The Shi-Thoras are living in small villages with a strictly organized ranking between eldest/leader, half-grown ones, and youngling.
Even the species are holding together very closely, in rare cases it happened that a member has betrayen the village. Because the Shi-Thoras refuse to kill their own specie´s, the punishments excluode the death but they still can vary differently. From being warned or imprisoned upto the highest punishments:
“The cut-off” (for male): Male Shi-Thoras mostly depend on their long manes because it´s the main-source for their magical powers but also for determinating their social status.
The punished one will loose three quarter of his mane. It´s also the endangered lengh which causes that the mane won´t regrow again. With loosing the mane, the traiter also will loose the most ammount his of magical powers. The fur also turns mostly black or gray and becomes morely fuzzy.
“The break-away” (for females): Because females mostly depends on their weapon, this will be broken in parts through this punishment. A normal falcion or staff as a replacement won´t work that well because of beeing unable to transmit the few magical powers.
In both cases, the punishemd one will be banned from the village and also aren´t considered as the species´ members anymore. Beeing a compleate outlaw, he or she souldn´t visit the village again, because of beeing killed by the eldest/leader because of NOT beeing considered as a Shi-Thora anymore.
Shi-Thoras are mostly pacifist, protective but very proud beeings who are pretty wary towards humans due several bloody huntings in the past. Many humans developed a large greed after mostly the males´ fur. This luxery-looking fur with the different colours aren´t only beautiful-looking, it also seems to repell most kind of dirt and hardly get messed up.
Even it´s quite hard to take down a fully grown Shi-Thora, sadly many lost their lifes though the huntings.
Only in the latest times the humans realized that the special effects of the fur get lost, because they´re only working through the magical power of a living Shi-Thora. Luckily there aren´t only greedful humans but also those who tried to so diplomatic appeacement-negotiation to regain the Shi-Toras´ trust soon or later for a cooperating living.

male Shi-Thora

The impressive appeariance of Male Shi-Thoras works the best because of the magnifying colored fur and long mane but also with the general height of 3 meters/9,8 feet.
Through the age the fur´s colouring changes too.The general colour-shemes worls like following but slight shading-difference can been seen too:
Younglings have a brown mane and a lightgreen part. During the years the aging mane changes from brown to red, pink and than finally to white. And the light-green parts darkens to a compleate black when beeing fully grown with around 35 years. The striped chest-fur also becomes longer which ends to a larger fringe between the legs.
The power of a male Shi-Thora is distributed in three-quarter of magical power and one quarter of physical power. Their significant weapon is a monk-staff-like pole. Three rings represents the basical powers: attack, defence and healing.
Not only using for magic, the pole can be used for direct attcking and blocking too, but with a much fewer damange.
Even they look heavy and they aren´t the fastes ones, they still can move silently and lightly.
An especially interesting appearinace of them works with a magical illusion. A swirling bunch of cherry-blossoms apperas before fully gaining the shape. When seen he silently moves away, but the waving mane and the striped body gives the impression of a forest-spirit.

female Shi-Thora
Female Shi-Thoras are only 2,50 meters/8,2 feet tall and also much more decent colored.
Mostly brownish-colored they´re well camouflaged in the forest. Only a small crest-like hair-part are showing their age which color-shemes are the same like the males´ ones.
Like humans, fully grown female Shi-Thoras (with 35 years) are carrying their younglings but with a duration of a full year before giving birth. Noramlly only one cub will be born and in rare cases two.
The power of a female Shi-Thora is distribited in three-quarter of physical power and one quarter of magical power. The falchion-staff is their significant weapon and it´s magic-transmitting gem changes the color depending on beeing offensive or defensive.
They also are much more lightened-shaped and really fast in their movemets. This suits perfectly for effective hunting-missions. They also protect their partners in close-ranked fights.