Basics
Vabbits are an underground dwelling species that have recently appeared on the islands' surface, they resemble rabbits and are covered in thick plating across their forearms and faces. The rest of their body is covered in a layer of insulated fur that protects them from extreme temperatures, something of a necessity as they appear to expel superheated steam from the vents in between their plating. They use this steam to soften dirt, rock, and various other tough substances to build large underground warrens and cities, which they call home.
Their time underground appears to have altered their stature, as they are quite a bit shorter than mhoats, standing at 3-4 ft whereas mhoats on average stand at 5-6 ft in their bipedal form. A vabbit's ability to stand is impaired by their top-heavy build, due to their heavy arms and a barrel chest that holds additional organs for the production of steam. As a result, most vabbits can only stand for short periods of time and prefer moving around on four legs. Some vabbits with longer tails can use these tails to maintain a bipedal stance longer than their short-tailed counterparts. Additionally, vabbits always have a high shoulder that slopes down into their back legs.
Given their insulated fur and the ability to release super-heated steam it should be no surprise that Vabbits have a natural affinity for fire magics. Additionally, they seem to be fairly in tune with the earth and able to pick up on this magic with the same amount of ease. Most other magics seem to be out of their reach or require an excess of effort to attain, a result of them being more stable in form than mhoats.
Vabbit Plates
Vabbit plates are thick layers of magic buildup bound to keratin that originates from the steam their bodies release. This latent magic woven into the plates allows them to withstand high temperatures and makes them exceptionally flexible and strong. Despite this benefit, these plates do require significant upkeep on the vabbit's part as they are constantly growing. As a result, these plates can begin to impede a vabbit's movement, and direct steam into sensitive areas such as the inner ear -- while ears have insulating inner ear fur, others require freedom of movement to protect the delicate inner flesh which excessive plate growth can impede -- or grow in a way that injures the vabbit. Due to this, vabbits require strong materials to trim and maintain their plates and while they can create tools that do the job, it is often their own teeth that tend to be the most effective for keeping their plates in check.
*A vabbit's inner flesh and plating match in colors, so the mouth and inner ear should always display similar colors to those displayed on the plates or a trait that allows multiple colors to be displayed should be applied to the design.