These strange creatures seem to have been blessed by Improbability with several advantages that aid in their survival.1)
Firstly, they have a natural camouflage that they possess from birth. A furble2), when curled up in a defensive position, resembles a small marble, not only in form but in coloration. Thusly, a herd of resting furbles or a mother furble and her clutch of eggs can resemble a pile of marbles strewn carelessly about.
Secondly, this natural camouflage is also an excellent defense. A furble's fur consists of small shards of the material of the marble they resemble3). In fact, the entire furble seems to be made up of inorganic components, which is enough to deter a determined predator. Chewing a mouthful of marbles is no pleasant task, though a few creatures on the Island do seem to show a preference for the inorganic materials that make up the furbles.
Thirdly, their defense mechanism can be altered to create an offensive one. If provoked, a furble will run at its attacker at high speeds before curling themselves into their defensive position. The force behind the blow is equivalent to a marble being hurled at a target at the full strength of an average Human. Though this may sound like a feeble attack, remember that furbles travel in herds. A whole herd of furbles attacking in this manner would cause serious damage to even the most protected predator. Additionally, furbles are able to stiffen their hairs, essentially transforming themselves from small, smooth marbles into tiny spiky orbs.
Fourthly, they are adorable creatures. Resembling small rodents, they possess cat-like ears, a squirrel-like tail, stubby forearms, long back legs, and small round black eyes. Their main form of communication is a chirping4)5) language that seems mainly to communicate mood, though I have yet to further investigate their chirps in more detail. Xorbius has provided me with helpful data in this matter, however. In any case, all of these things make them very cute, and more likely to be protected by other parties. (NOTE: it has been stated that furbles look similar to this. A sketch of a furble can be found here.)
With these in mind, let us delve into a more detailed description of furbles.
There seem to be four basic types of furbles in existence, with a few rare breeds. They are as follows:
It appears that furbles are able to display the properties of several types, as demonstrated first by Third's Kier.
Furbles are born as eggs, laid by a mother and watched over for a period of several weeks. Though they begin as hardly larger than an air rifle pellet, over those weeks they grow to near their adult size. After the incubation period is ended, the young furbles hatch. Their fur takes a few hours to dry, and during those few hours they are extremely vulnerable. Once dried, however, they are as durable as their parents and ready to learn from their mother about the world. After two weeks of what passes for education, they join the main herd. As of yet, they are still a young species, so I have not seen any furbles beyond the age of young adulthood.
Though able to survive in mild to tropical climates and various environs, furbles seem prefer a warm, grassy environment in which they can hunt. They are mainly insectivorous omnivores, though they have been known to feast on a fallen enemy of the herd. Additionally, they eat small amounts of inorganic material similar to the material of their composition6). I hypothesize that they require this additive to their diet to maintain the growth of their fur.
I have been given the task of watching over these strange creatures, and I have given a few to those that I thought would be able to watch them. A list of known furble-owners and their furbles is as follows7):
Sadly, some furbles' owners have left the island, leaving their furbles behind. Abandoned furbles are listed here; if you would like to adopt one, feel free to Distract Kuroiten.
One day, the alpha of my personal group of furbles, Steely, indicated that I should follow him into the Jungle. As he rarely asks much of me beyond scratches (with my metal hand) and socializing, I was curious what it was that he wanted me to see. In following him, I saw nary a Monster, though I did hear the staccato thumping indicative of furbles attacking something on a couple of occasions. The herd must have apportioned this section of the Jungle for themselves.
After a time, I was led into a clearing to the high-pitched and cheery greeting of a good portion of the furble herd. They had formed a large oval, as though waiting in anticipation for some great sporting event. At each end of the oval, an object was being tugged into place by a group of furbles. One group was hauling the skull of some long-dead creature, the other was positioning a large, smooth stone with a few rippling cracks etched across its surface. Between the two, a line was drawn across the center of the oval. A shrill whistle went up once the two objects were in place, which caused much excitement among the furbles. Two groups of eight furbles bounced into the ring, gathering by the objects and chattering with one another. From what of the language I could understand, it sounded like they were discussing tactics. Another shrill whistle, and some of the furbles broke off from the groups and gathered along the center line, appraising each other with their beady black eyes. As soon as I realized that this was going to be a game of some kind, a third whistle trilled, and then pandemonium broke loose.
From what I could gather, the object of the game was to attack the opposing team's object, with both teams splitting off into groups of defenders and attackers. The closest analogy I can think of is Capture the Flag, but instead of capturing it your goal is to destroy it. I had little time to get this impression, as the furbles launched into the game with blinding speed. I can remember brief flashes of individual actions: one particularly burly furble flinging a lighter one through the defenders to ricochet off of the skull with a reverberating ping, a speedy ceramic one juking and ducking through heavier defenders to score a blow on the rock, a surprising blast of ice from one of the defenders freezing another attacker in her tracks, and a coordinated strike through a weak point in the defense using the defenders of the stone team, a metal furble squeaking shrill instructions all the while. The watching furbles cheered on their teams with all the enthusiasm of human sports fans, and I found myself cheering with equal enthusiasm. Within two minutes from the starting whistle, both objects were crumbling under the blows from the attackers of both sides, and a daring gambit from the skull team resulted in a wide-open path to the stone. Seizing the opportunity, a crystal furble from the skull team flung herself at the stone, which then shattered in an impressive shower of pieces. The piercing whistle that announced the beginning of the action rang out, and the furbles stopped almost as suddenly as they had begun, helping one another up and gathering at the middle of the field.
A knot of three furbles stood in front of the teams, going over the various plays and determining something I couldn't quite make out. Then, with great ceremony, they distributed chunks of the inorganic materials that furbles eat amongst the teams, with the victors receiving a larger share. After a final whistle, the oval dissolved into a large group of furbles as the watchers flooded the field, congratulating the teams they were supporting and exchanging chunks with each other from what I imagine were wagers on the game. Steely made his way out of the group, and explained that occasionally neither team shattered the other's object, and so the judges would determine who had less damage on their object to see who won. It seems that Steely had made a tidy profit on his own wagers, as he was juggling a trio of metallic chunks as he related all of this to me. As the herd began dispersing back into their own tribes and heading their separate ways, I whistled for my herd and headed back towards the outposts.
As I did, I considered the possibility of formalizing the furbles' sport. Learning the rules from them, allowing contestants to sponsor teams and help them develop, making tourneys to participate in! My Timing was off that day, I can tell you.
