Magpie

Magpie wears its skeleton on the outside. White markings are inlaid over a jet-black base — a blaze up the muzzle, tooth-root slashes along the jawline, rib-like dashes tracing the cheek — every one of them sewn fur-on-fur rather than painted, so the pattern will never crack or fade. The nose is poured glossy black, big and wet-looking against all that matte fur.

The eyes break the monochrome: pale mint-green irises ringed in soft yellow, sitting under a sharp black brow. Drop the jaw and you get two full rows of sculpted white teeth against a dark palate. A grey and white ruff and a spiked black crown finish it. One-of-one, finished, and quietly unsettling in the best way.