Velyr on Earth are exiles from the home planet. They were deported once they developed a sense of individuality which kept them from being good, functioning members of the hive mind. In short, they’re infected and quarantined.

As part of their punishment, the nearly one-thousand velyr sent to Earth were separated across the planet’s land masses so they could not re-group and perhaps form a rebellion and return to the home planet. Thus, much of their Earth culture concerns finding one another again and forming a viable colony. Most of them have no desire to return to the home planet, but are satisfied with life as they’ve found it on this one.

Velyr on Earth tend to keep their distance from humans, though many have discovered how to pass at first glance as one of them. It’s fairly easy to trim the tips of the ears and shave your back, after all. You can hide any number of differences beneath several layers of clothing.

Velyr females resemble adult human males, and usually don’t bother to try to pass as human females. They’re larger than velyr males and speak in lower voices. Velyr males look more like immature teenagers, being small and wiry.

Velyr, in addition to hiding their pointed ears and spinal manes, must also hide their feet, which involves folding the “thumb” toe beneath the bottom of the foot and wearing larger shoes than a normal human of their size would wear.

Velyr can interbreed with humans, though the offspring are typically sterile. Hybrids usually inherit many of the dominant human traits such as rounded ears, human feet and hands, and a human hair pattern.

Velyr on Earth have learned to eat cooked meat, though they do like it rare. This helps them to fit in better, as it’s virtually impossible to socialize with humans without at some point eating together. Velyr do wear specially designed false teeth which fit overtop of their pointed ones and give them a human-looking mouth. The dentures don’t rip the meat into satisfactory slivers, but it’s possible to eat with them.

Velyr also have learned to appreciate the variety of liquid refreshments humans have developed. They all love coffee and tea, the stronger the better. They drink milk as well, of any sort. Many velyr also enjoy alcoholic beverages, though their digestive system metabolizes the alcohol before they have a chance to become drunk. They simply like the flavor and “buzz” the drinks have.

Velyr, as obligate carnivores, do not have tastebuds designed to register sweet flavors, so they don’t enjoy sugary food or drink. Some have developed an appreciation of things like hot chocolate, however, savoring the other flavors within the foods. They do eat protein-rich foods like cheese, and enjoy the various flavors humans have perfected in those.

The home planet has approximately 1.5 times the gravity of Earth, so velyr have a little trouble walking and running “normally” in their new home. They tend to shuffle, otherwise they’d “bounce” the way humans do when moving on the moon.

Velyr, with denser bones and muscles, do not swim well, though many of them use swimming as an excellent form of exercise, maintaining their muscle strength on a lower-gravity planet. They also use more traditional human exercises for the same reason, especially weight-lifting.

They have no real defense against our yellow sun’s strong ultraviolet rays, so most velyr are nocturnal. They can withstand short periods of sunlight before burning, so dawn and dusk are acceptable, but they cannot withstand the full force of the sunlight. On Earth, velyr within the colonies make use of red filters to screen out the harmful end of the light spectrum.

Velyr and Kyr typically smell pleasant to humans, similar to such spices as cinnamon and cardamom. Hybrids have a musky undertone to this scent that is also fairly pleasant unless they have been sweating and have not bathed recently.

You can spot a velyr by looking first for the appearance. They look somewhat like live anime characters: somewhat Asian-looking, with lots of hair, big eyes, and pointed chins. The males will be easier to spot, so look for a youngish person with six fingers and big feet.

If you do spot a velyr, don’t rush right up and accuse them. Remember that military training they all have, and the claws. We don’t want any humans injured because of a hasty misunderstanding. Just email the author and let her have the velyrhorde contact that velyr safely.

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