Smarties

(SMAR-teez - /ˈsmɑː.tiz/)

“Why'd this name have to stick? Everyone seems to see the oh-so-revered humans as our wise predecessors, but they didn't have the foresight to realise calling us 'Smarties' was idiotic. I can't see them being anything but assholes.”

— Sonny, Feralist, 'skilled debater' (in his own words) of Hominists.

Whether hunting with tooth and claw, or foraging for their next meal, Smarties are always looking for something to do. Once humanity’s pets, they are driven to action by base desires. Smarties are a diverse Kingdom, but all of them share their unavoidable need to find their next meal.

Smarties tend to be driven by their ever-persistent need for food. Some Smarties solve this by staying in Packs, giving them greater food security. Being in a Pack also provides more safety from wild predators, as although Smarties tend not to hunt other Smarties, their feral counterparts don't have any respect for sapience. Packs also help Smarties control a territory, giving them safer places to sleep.

While some Packs do only contain one species, it's relatively common to see Packs containing various species of Smarties, regardless of how their feral counterparts would exist. Most groups are split by the types of food they consume. Carnivores and herbivores can form Packs together, but they need different resources, so the benefits are fewer.

Some Smarties are significantly more solitary, existing isolated from their peers. These Smarties have a tendency to be more nomadic (though nomadic Packs aren’t rare), often sleeping in vastly different locations; however, some do still prefer to have a territory. While being solo does provide some risks, as there are no others for the Smarties to fall back on if they have a bad hunt, it does provide a lot more mobility, allowing them to search a significantly wider area each day. Additionally, for carnivorous Smarties, not needing to split the rewards of a hunt is often preferred, especially when they view hunting in a Pack as unnecessary, given their intelligence compared to their prey. Some solitary Smarties will visit Packs from time to time, sometimes trading with them.

Packs themselves tend to have quite varied structures. Some Packs are more hierarchical, with a formalised leader (whether followed voluntarily or forcefully), whereas some are much more informal, a more casual collective that shares resources and space with each other. The vast majority of Packs will assign different roles to their members, usually having a few dedicated to each need that the Pack has.

Other than being useful for survival, Packs also hold an important social role. The majority of social interactions any given Smartie will have is within its Pack. Older Pack members will often take on more socially focused roles, as the more physical roles, like gathering food, are more dangerous for them. Within Packs, young Smarties tend to be raised by the entire Pack collectively, instead of just by their parents.

Relationships between Packs can vary. Most of the time, they're relatively amicable, often involving trade. However, when a Pack's territory or resources are threatened, they can be hostile to neighbouring Packs. The way this looks differs; it can be anything from physical fighting to being entirely growls and snarls.

A lot of Smarties, especially members of domesticated species, tend to view humans favourably, seeing their sapience as a gift shared with them by humanity. Some Smarties (more commonly mammals) take pride in their biological similarity to humans. However, while Smarties culture generally holds humanity in high regard, a subset of Smarties are dissatisfied with humanity, due to the harm they did to the world.

Smarties view Triffids as their leafy counterparts. The two Kingdoms share a history together. Smarties generally don’t mind if Triffids are in their territory, as there is no competition for resources. Rarely, Triffids and Smarties can share a community.

Myconids and Smarties don’t have the best relationship. Myconids operate on a much larger scale than Smarties. Networks are an intimidating concept to most Smarties, and the Myconids themselves are quite dissimilar to Smarties. Myconids are generally contested within Smartie territory, but neither cares to expand, so relations don't tend to devolve into fighting.

The Emulated and Smarties are likely the two Kingdoms with the strongest relationship to humanity, historically. While they didn't share a past directly, this similarity in their history has led to some level of respect between the Kingdoms. However, Smarties often feel like their mechanical nature gives them an easier, simpler life.

The way Smarties look can vary; most Smarties stand on two legs, simulating a humanoid form, but there is the occasional Smartie that looks indistinguishable from their feral counterparts. Generally, Smarties that admire humans will try to have more humanoid features, such as standing on two legs (where possible), wearing clothing and accessories that humans used to wear.

Smartie anatomy tends to be very close to their feral counterparts (albeit slightly larger), though in the time since gaining sapience, the Kingdom has started having 'hands' better equipped for holding tools, and some animals that already had upright posture (i.e. parasagittal gait) have started to be able to balance and walk on their hind legs alone.

When creating a Smartie, be sure to include what species of animal they are based on.

• A scrappy dog, former runt of their litter, separated from their Pack, finding out how to continue without them.
• An evangelical bear, nearing the end of their life, spreading Hominism to all those who will listen.
• A cynical lizard, weary of all-promising figures, trying to keep the world from becoming too chaotic.

Names tend to be similar to human names, though some names sound more like how humans used to name pets – short, usually no more than 1-2 syllables, and often just a noun or adjective.

Example names: Softy, Max, Digby, Kit, Ruffles, Bartholomew, Heidi.