User blog comment:Zephyr the Exalted/Make-a-Mutt Workshop/@comment-31779172-20150804202449

 Name of Mutt: Silverclaw

 Description of Appearance: As its name suggests, Silverclaws have silver talons. They’re sharp to the point where they’re practically thinner and more durable versions of curved daggers. They’re hooked and large, allowing for more gorier and “interesting” deaths. As for the pattern of their feathers, there are grey-white speckles that dot its orange underbelly and jet black back. Accompanying them are thin bars, most noticeably distinguished on its tail feathers. The ends for each plume are slightly clawed; enough to cut somebody’s skin but not enough to be an effective weapon. The inside of its wings are purely white, contrasting with the psychedelic orange on its torso. The beak is shaped in a similar fashion to that of the talons: Large and hooked. On its head are two ‘horns’.

 Abilities: Silverclaws have top-notch hearing, due to smaller feathers that create a facial disk to focus sound waves. In addition to this, their eyesight is challenged by so few mutts and organisms. This means that they have night vision for the nights. Furthermore, they can easily detect prey and victims and can rotate their heads 270 degrees. From behind, one could see that they are camouflaged quite well thanks to the choice of colours. Their feathers are soft and plentiful which is perfect for insulation against the cold. Due to their relatively small size, they can easily fly and dive through the tiniest of gaps with great agility without harming themselves. Silverclaws can do this stealthily. Poison seeps through their feathers so that if they were to dive-bomb a tribute or the tribute in question picked up a feather, batrachotoxin would enter their body system and affect the nerves, resulting in paralysis and, if unlucky, cardiac arrest. Finally, they work well in teams and are often encountered with at least 2 other Silverclaws.

 Weaknesses: If seen from the front, their orange underbelly means they’ll be more than likely to be spotted in daylight. Linking to this, they are purely nocturnal and will be asleep by the day unless a tribute disturbs their territory. Silverclaws are specially adapted to survive the cold and slightly warmer temperatures, so if they were found in a desert they would not bode well. Alone, they’re not the most impressive of threats. They would usually require on one Silverclaw distracting the prey whilst the others attack from behind. They also produce a foul stench, meaning that the tributes would be able to smell them before they saw them.

 How samples were taken into consideration: For the great horned owl appearance wise, the small speckles, eyes and horns were used. With their behaviour, some of the DNA was used to make sure they were territorial of their home. Their keen eyesight and night vision also comes from the great horned owls. The icing on the cake was their ability to rotate their heads, allowing them to see more.

 As for the harpy eagle, not much was done to make it look somewhat like one. Other than the 5 inch talons, the white inside of the wings and the black back, nothing else for the concept was too obvious. However, the wings were made to be small to make it more agile and faster. There were also smaller feathers used to enhance its hearing. Its DNA was used to make the Silverclaws agile whilst in their air. They would be able to dart through spaces quickly and quietly as well, further linking the two. They also had the strength to take down prey much larger than themselves so that was also included.

 When it came to the hooded pitohui, there was a lack of ideas as to what to add to its looks. The orange underbelly was decided on for lack of creativity, but then there came the idea of making the mutt small. It was at first taken as a joke, but as the mutts were created it soon became clear that it would be better to make it look harmless and not fearsome to trick the tributes. Thanks to its DNA, its feathers came to be able to tolerate all toxins apart from a few really powerful ones. Unfortunately, the smell came with it.

 Samples’ History: The first experiment was a flop. The mutt would only hunt smaller animals. The second time it improved decently, but it wouldn’t dare go through smaller gaps. Third time lucky? No. The mutt became hostile and its poison was too much. 4 scientists died before they could resize it for attempt number four. It was worth it, as the target qualities were met and some even exceeded their expectations.

 Additional notes: Docile unless its territory is trespassed or if provoked.