Biology (Revised)

At a quick glance, Avali are bipedal, digitigrade, semi-upright standing creatures with two arms, covered in wing-like long feathers. They possess four long rabbit-like ears at the back of a rounded triangular head. In their head they possess two large black-ish eyes, that take up a decent portion of their face. In place of hair, between and amongst their ears, they often have various lengths of feathers that can be doctored into most any shape, and wildly vary between individuals. At the end of their arms they have have three-fingered, claw-tipped graspers. At the ends of their legs they possess large three-toed, claw-tipped, raptor-esque feet with one dewclaw.

Detailed Description
From the bottom up: The standard Avali with no augmentation starts with two wide-toed raptor-esque feet with three thick toes, tipped with curved, steep claws capable of gripping into packed ice for sturdiness and one dew claw, raised about 3-4 inches, used for climbing or holding prey. Each toe bridges into the raised ankles, and along the bridge, there are hardened pads of skin (purpose unknown) resembling scales. The entire leg, aside from the undersides of the feet, are covered in a coat of downy feathers that continues up to the hips. Avali thighs resemble somewhat of a drumstick section of a turkey, most of their leg remaining quite thin until reaching the thigh where they plumpen up. Connected to their thighs, extending behind them about a foot or more, a ridge-supported 'skirt' of a triangular shape, sprouts a thin tail at its tip that can extend even further 2-3ft (3-4ft whole) at the tip of which is a single large feather that serves as a horizontal stabilizer during gliding. The skirt's underside is filled/covered in extremely soft, voluminous heat-insulating downy feathers. This triangular skirt, and its ridge, continue up the body where it connects at an angle about 1/3ft up the back, along the spine.

The midsection of an Avali, similar to the legs, is covered in this coat of down feathers that serve as insulation, almost like a light fur. They possess a very smooth, mostly featureless abdomen. Travelling up from the abdomen to the chest-area of an Avali, the downy feathers grow thicker, where the chest forms a plateau, showing an almost human-like pair of bony ribs. Placed upon this chest is one large section of warm fluff much like that which is under their skirt, most likely used to keep the most vital organs insulated and warm in colder environments. At the top of the chest, where the ribs end, Avali continue to show similarity to humans in anatomy. A collarbone sections off the vital chest area from the lower neck, and splits to two lithe shoulders. Each shoulder extends to form a single-jointed arm, also covered in the coat of down. The ends of the arms are capped with a three-fingered hand, each finger tipped with sharp, short claws. The fingers and wrist areas, much like the feet, are dotted with small patches of hardened scale-like skin. Along the posterior of the arm, there's an an array of 1-1.5ft long feathers, interspersed at even intervals with half-length feathers. These feathers are thick, flexible, and robust, allowing for unpowered flight (gliding) and many social displays, whether that be in a refined cultural sense or a more primitive manor. Returning to the collarbone, Avali possess a lithe and study neck, capable of stabilization and fast tracking movement for predatory engagement or stabilization during flight.

The Avali neck is about 1/3rd the length of their chest. Their jaw-line juts forwards angularly from the neck, perpendicular to the throat. It rounds out near the end where a flat under-snout containing two front-facing, slitted nostrils, above a hard-to-notics pair of lips. Above the snout, a shallow ridge forms, and travelling up and back to a round, aero-dynamic forehead. Below the forehead, and on either side of the ridge, are two large, shining black eyes with a barely visible pupil and iris. Behind the forehead, at the top, just behind and above the eyes, two large rabbit-like earlobes sprout back from the head, on swivel-able soft tissue allowing the normally down-facing lobes to be turned to the sides, or even entirely forwards, when needed. A twin pair of ears is just below the first, at the back edge of the skull just above and behind the jaw. The first pair of ears is capable of hearing a very limited section of frequencies, from further away, usually low-pitch, low-volume sounds that are telling of predators and prey. The second, lower pair of ears is capable of hearing a limited range of more moderate, recognizable sounds, like human speech, or Avali squeaking. Amidst and between these four ears, covering the back of the head, is a large bouquet of feathers that often grow out of control if not kept in check by the individuals in question. These feathers are often trimmed, trained, and decorated to make socially and aesthetically pleasing shapes and displays, much like human hair.

Internal physiology
Starting from the head: Avali, much like humans, possess a central nervous system; 'Brain' encased in a compact skull. The skull has two large, shallow sockets in which the eyes rest, and four equally shallow orbits where the ears connect to the back of the skull. The muscles for the ears connect to circular ridges along these orbits. The 'teeth' of an Avali are razor sharp plates that mesh in an overbite, causing the jaw to settle into place just behind the upper teeth, inside the mouth. These teeth are constantly growing, much like nails, or rodent's teeth, and will regenerate over time when lost. Because of this, Avali must eat to wear down their teeth, to keep them sharp, and avoid letting them from growing too long. It is normal for Avali children to be given tough toys to chew on, which help wane their teeth back. Even adults are known to possess 'stress toys' on which to chew, when their food is not tough enough to do the job. Travelling down the neck, Avali possess a spine, connected at the base of their skull, much like a human, that continues all the way down to their tail, where it continues into the skirt of feathers for about half a foot. A lightly-muscled esophagus connects to the back of the mouth, and is capable of pulling small-to-medium sized food items down the throat, without need for chewing. The entire throat and mouth is lubricated in a thick ammonia-based fluid, which helps food make its way to a stomach, and keeps water from being lost to saliva evaporation. Avali are observed eating things without chewing in any matter, instead, using their teeth to rasp off manageable pieces of meat and fungus, then simply swallowing those pieces whole without further processing.

In the chest, behind a set of 12 ribs, Avali have two hearts, two lungs, one of two stomachs, and two specialized organs for storing water. The hearts of an Avali are quite heavily muscled, and have two chambers, side by side. Each chamber works in sequence with the other, helping to pump the thick, dense blood throughout their body. Both hearts have their own pulse, one after the other, and must maintain this sequence for a proper blood pressure, thus, an Avali requires both hearts to survive. The blood of an Avali is purple in appearance, due to a protein called "Sanguinous-Argentum" (From Latin: "Sanguine" meaning blood + "Argenteus" meaning silver. Thus: "Blood of silver"). This protein serves the same purpose as hemoglobin in humans, and contains a few silver atoms within its molecule, capable of oxidizing, and carrying oxygen to the rest of the body. This oxidization is what causes the purple-blue appearance in Avali blood. The protein is suspended in small arrow-shaped blood cells, which themselves travel through a thick ammonia fluid, making their blood quite thick, and giving Avali a rather hemophilic nature when wounded.

The lungs are long, flat, inflatable pouches, secondarily attached to the throat. Much like human lungs, they allow air to enter the body, so that oxygen can be absorbed into the blood stream, and so that airborne waste products can leave leave the body on an out-breath. Unlike human lungs, Avali lungs are based off of a passive intake and output, relying more on surface area, for oxygen to dissolve into the blood stream. This works much like gills in fish.

The Stomach of an Avali is a two-stage setup, meant for dissolving fungus and meat without issue. The first stomach is a strong, bacteria-ridden trap, suspended in light acid. This mixture allows the destruction of fungus, fungal spores, and any unwanted pathogens contained in their food. The thick, ammonia coating in their throat ensures that most, if not all the contents of their meal make it down to this stomach, without any leftover residue in the throat. This protects the Avali from fungal infections, and makes them quite hearty when it comes to ingested invaders, which are quickly broken down before they have chance to enter the sensitive bloodstream of an Avali. The second stomach, which is in sequence to this first one, uses a fluid with a large amount of dissolved, singlet oxygen molecules, which burn and heavily oxidize the contents that come into contact with the fluid. This reaction produces a large ammount of heat for the body to then circulate through the blood, and breaks up the food by essentially 'cooking' it within the body, releasing all of the organic compounds inside the material (much like the juice that leaks out of beef when cooked).

On either side of the first stomach, their are two, basic organs, used for storing water. They are placed around the first and second stomach, and are filled with fibrous folds of absorbent tissue. This tissue, and the pockets of space between them, are capable of storing water in decent quantity. The organs are membranously connected to the blood stream, and can be activated to provide water to the brain for use, through blood circulation, or most importantly to provide some greater control over temperature. Depending on the internal temperature change of the body, these organs, henceforth referred to as 'vesicles' are used to circulate and dissipate heat, mostly through the feathers and ears. They do this by sending the water through the bloodstream, which interdicts and leeches heat away from the hearts, stomachs, and lungs. After the water leeches away this heat, special holes somewhat like spiracles, inside the hollow base of their feathers, open up and allow blood and water to flow inside, reducing blood pressure, and allowing the wings to radiate off excess or unwanted heat. This allows Avali to quite easily survive in hotter climates, though still results in some discomfort at higher temperatures (to specify, Avali climates range from -70 to -15 degrees Celsius. At positive temperatures, Avali can exist temporarily, and with great discomfort, but eventually they will suffer heatstroke).

The intestines, unsurprisingly, are much like human intestines. Though significantly shorter, they are just as, if not more efficient, and use a similar method of surface area to absorb and collect loose nutrients from the second stomach. Smooth muscle around the track will extend and contract to squeeze the contents, as well as move it along. Mingling with the intestines, is one simple kidney used to clean the blood. It has small volume, and produces very little waste, as the stomachs and intestinal track take care of almost all materials the body cannot use.

Lastly, Avali genitalia are observed to be much like reptilian/avian cloacae. The cloacal vent is a shared external hole, with one sphincter connected to the intestines. On the opposite side is placed a urethral vent, that dispels liquid wastes from the kidneys. In the center; Males possess a tapered phallus that is normally observed to be hidden within the lower body, and bordered on either side by entirely internal gonads. Females possess a recessed vulva, and vaginal entrance, which leads to a cervix, and voluminous womb, which produces unfertilized pigmy eggs in sequence, until appropriately fertilized.