Worldbuilding

Yinrih lack the raging hormones seen in human teenagers, so what's an adolescent monkey fox to do with all that extra time and energy? Why poke his pointy wet nose where it doesn't belong, of course.

Urban exploration is a common hobby among older pups and young adults. Cheap respirators such as one might find at a hardware store are worn to prevent mold inhalation when rummaging through abandoned buildings. The masks have become emblematic of the pastime among the general public, and in the Commonthroat-speaking world, the word for respirator, qlqlg (pronounced /huff, short low weak grunt; huff, short low weak grunt; short low weak growl/), has become a term for urban explorers in general.

While most explorers are in it just to see where they can go before being politely asked to leave, there are other reasons why a young monkey fox might want to skulk (hehe) around areas not frequented by the public. There's a large overlap with the drug scene, as many explorers are looking for a place to trip on mind candy. In fact, many of the species of mold that their iconic masks protect them from produce spores that are hallucinogenic when inhaled, and there's a subset of so-called h Hqlqlg (no-maskers) that specifically seek out areas where this mold grows in order to huff it.

Among the Outlanders of Moonlitter and the Outer Belt, urban explorers are called spaprql (singular spapr, pronounced /yip, overlong dipping strong grunt, chuff/), which is a type of thick but flexible paw covering worn to prevent lacerations and punctures. The term spapr has a narrower meaning when used by explorers themselves, where it refers to someone who is new to the hobby or otherwise overly cautious. Yinrih avoid covering their paws if they can help it, so someone who insists on covering them in spite of the discomfort is seen as either exceptionally well prepared or overly cautious, depending on who you ask.