Night hunters are nocturnal predators native to forest regions. Solitary in nature, these beasts live most of their lives alone the moment they leave the nest. The only time they seek others out, is during periods of fertility. Otherwise, they are aggressively territorial, and will actively defend their space from others.

Adults are roughly one meter tall to the shoulder, and are covered in heavy plated scales across their backs and their sides, giving them a draconic appearance. Their underbellies however, lack this protection, instead being covered in a heavy fur. Their colouration is exclusively dark hues, normally black or dark grays, although some variation has been observed.

They are feral in nature, walking on four legs. Each leg has a large padded paw, allowing them to have a very quiet step, despite their size and their weight. Each paw has three large toes with retractable talons for gripping and climbing, and assailing prey.

Behind them, they also have two slender tails, about a half meter long when adult. Prehensile, they normally hang low to the ground, trailing behind them.

Their most curious traits are that their heads have no visible eyes. The Night hunter is entirely blind in the traditional sense. Instead, to navigate their surroundings, they rely on sonar. They utilize high and low pitched chirping to survey their surroundings, and have a specialized organ in their skull that interprets the responding echos. This is likely felt more than heard, as they have no visible ears either.

It’s worth noting, that they have two different types of echolocation. Their higher pitched chirps give a short range, but high definition view of their surroundings, and their low pitches let them see longer distances, at the cost of accuracy. With a combination of these two pitches however, they are able to get a detailed view of their environments, even through surfaces, and are able to navigate complex environments with surprising ease.

They don’t rely on echo location to hunt their prey however. On their backs are four long tendrils. Normally tucked close to their sides, these long limbs can extend out to roughly two meters in length.

These tendrils are prehensile, and can be used to grasp things, but are also used to detect electromagnetic fields around them, and are sensitive enough to detect latent electrostatic within living creatures.

At the end of each of these tendrils is a round “head”. These heads open up like small mouths, and feature three petal like jaws. The pink flesh inside is lined with small white thorn-like teeth, and secrets saliva.

Whilst they are proficient in chasing down and killing prey, often they rely on the properties of their saliva to incapacitate their prey.

Their spit has various compounds similar to alcohol, and causes heavy intoxication if it gets into the bloodstream of it’s prey.

Often, this is either through a bite, or through wounds caused by the teeth of the tendrils. However, the chemicals within the spit can be absorbed through skin, albeit slower and less effectively.

In small amounts, this “poison” will cause dizziness and disorientation. In heavier amounts, it causes nausea and inhibits movements. In sufficient doses, it will completely incapacitate a prey, and can lead to permanent injury.

It’s worth noting that due to how they hunt their prey, and navigate their surroundings, they are vulnerable to certain things that can disorient them.

Powerful magnetic fields can function as a “wall” that prevents them from seeing creatures past, and being submerged within, effectively kills their ability to track prey. This doesn’t hinder their ability to navigate however.

Disrupting their sonar will disorient them, and prevent them from being able to navigate their environment however. Whilst they will still be able to track their prey, they will be unable to find a way to hunt them effectively.

It’s worth noting that not just any sound will block their sonar however. They are tuned to “listen” for certain frequency ranges. A loud noise or explosion would likely do little to disorient them. However, a whistle within those frequency ranges, would be extremely effective at preventing them from effectively navigating.