Tarsials
Alien species description
Tarsials live on a planet with deep, wide oceans, a fairly porous soil and dense forests of towering arboreal life, the circumstances of which make the redundancies built into their sleek, aerodynamic physiology uniquely adapted to.
Tarsials have thin, partly hollow, light but deceptively hard and resistant jointed, bony poles coming down from their shoulders, the first segments of which usually hang down by their sides all the way down to their hips and the second segments of which are usually kept neatly folded alongside each other behind their backs. Stretching down from their "elbows" and from halfway across each segment hang three thin strips of cartilaginous flesh on each side. When Tarsials are standing or walking, they remain contracted and trail behind them somewhat like wet feathers would. When they dive, they can expand the strips toward each other to form a hermetic membrane giving them the same function as fins.
Although Tarsials don't have the ability to fly, whenever they're leaping from tree to tree, they can also expand their strips into membranes that double as pseudo-wings allowing them to change direction in mid-leap, to slow their fall or to glide over brief distances. Their poles end in short, pointy, spiraling bone cones which they have the ability to rotate at a high enough velocity to drill into the ground fast enough for them to be able to dive into it and move through it as easily and as quickly as they could through water. Tarsials are amphibious, and they can ingest and expel dirt as effectively as worms can.
Tarsials have a beak solid enough to do the same work a pickaxe or a shovel could. They can crane their neck back to make it the first thing to hit the ground after their pole-drills do when they corkscrew into the ground headfirst. The bones in their necks are strong enough to absorb the impact without negatively affecting their health. The short crests starting from their forehead going all the way over their heads down to the small of their backs culminate in a cartilaginous cone behind their heads oriented in the opposite direction that the beak is in, pressed against their upper back when their neck is craned back and pointing up when they bend their heads to press their beak down on their chests.
They have one leg oriented right-forward, one leg oriented left-forward and one leg oriented back, starting down from where a tail would be all the way down to the ground, with two clawed toes pointing back-left and back-right, and one opposable toe facing forward, much like the two front legs do with the proper directional adjustments. They can walk with their left or right hip forward to invert the triangle their feet form on the ground one way or the other, advance by alternating between one side or the other or by rotating while keeping an eye over their shoulder. They can rest their weight on any one leg with the other two raised with the feet aimed at two possible adversaries' faces in the two directions which the supporting leg isn't in to defend themselves with. They use their feet to use tools, fight, climb, paddle, kick back dirt, write and operate the minimalistic machinery they put together, saving their poles for transportation purposes only.
Tarsials have three different colors on their bodies, one for their crests, one for their skins and one for their cartilaginous body parts, which alternate from one to another and are usually lime, turquoise, reddish brown or firey orange.
Tarsials build spherical straw nests in treetops, dams underwater and complex interconnecting subterranean networks. Their writing system is made of spirals, triangles and zig-zags. Their language is made up of clicks, hisses and trills ranging from the top to the bottom of the scale. Their subject matters for writing fall into three usually distinct categories: satirical, lyrical and objective, striving to convey the three basic emotional states of ire, admiration and indifference.
The basic Tarsial counting system is based around the number three. Before making up their minds about what their opinion of a person is, Tarsials with always wait until after the third distinct occasion on which they'll have met someone, because they believe that any judgment made any earlier than that can't possibly have been made with enough data to have an informed opinion on a person. A widely shared Tarsial philosophical concept is that not only is there never only one way of dealing with a given situation, there are never only choices between two opposite extremes either, and that if two alternatives look as bad as each other, there has to be a third way of dealing with a situation that you simply have to find a way to think of. Tarsial philosophy is non-dualistic, they're naturally adept at lateral thinking, and the conversational tactic of presenting one choice they dislike then another they dislike even more to make the first one seem better by comparison is not only ineffectual, but using false dichotomies is moreover the quickest way to lose their respect.
The basic model for Tarsial mating arrangements contains three representatives of their species. Seeds grow inside their bodies throughout their lives, and they prgressively accumulate trace amounts of substances which contribute to plant growth. When they die, they're buried somewhere where the other two members of their arrangement is, and the intermixing fluids their decaying bodies secrete underground make the seeds from inside their bodies start to grow. After several years will have passed, they'll have grown into brand new, fully functional members of the Tarsial race. They often become more risk-taking after having become mated rather than less, because their perpetuation's been established without them having to be around to look after any offspring. If they die, they're not leaving either of their mates alone.
Tarsials believe that people are composed of three combined but separate segments: their bodies, their emotions and their minds. When they're grown anew, those three segments are individually maintained, but rearranged between their three offspring so that no single one of them will have two of the same traits that a single one of its ancestors will have had. There's some controversy over whether Tarsials should seek out other Tarsials which have bodies, emotions and minds similar to their own to make the most out of their existing advantages or contrasting with their own to make up for their deficiencies, with the basis for the debate around having revolved mostly around ergonomics.
Tarsials have a spirituality based around conservation, adaptation, complementarity, renewal and memory. Tarsials have a strong sense of self-ownership, and although they can and will help each other out on occasion, they have no sense of being responsible for any other individual than themselves. Tarsials grow up with no one around whose expectations they have to live up to. The only flaws Tarsials feel guilt over are allowing significant events to be forgotten or failing to live up to their own potential. If one solution to a problem doesn't work, they move on to trying another one. If they can't find a way through, they find a way around. If they lose something, they make sure to have kept backups.
Tarsials play an instrument called the Heptalo, composed of seven circles about twice the usual distance between their feet surimposed on top of each other and connected by three poles attached to their outer sides at equidistant intervals. All seven circles have strings strung across their inner sides. Tarsials will stand on the upper circle with one or two legs, and reach down with one or two legs to pluck at the strings to play. They only form loose affiliations, but a strong dedication to showing off that they're living up to Tarsial principles motivated by the advantages of good public perception contributes to keeping a moderate sense of social cohesion between them.
Tarsials value displays of physical prowess, good craftsmanship, intellectual achievement and creative works of art. They attach little value to material possessions, and strive to be methodical, confident and elegant in all their endeavors.