#kaneli

I know they have shorter life spans but that just means they age faster, not that they all drop dead at once. In every other settlement in BOTW and TOTK there's old folks but in Rito Village there's just Kaneli. Everyone else seems to be either a child, teen, or youngish adult.

We meet a handful of Rito outside the village and given the small number of huts my guess is that most Rito are somewhat nomadic. They live in the village to raise their children or if they have an essential job there (like guard duty). There's only 2 permanent childless adult residents whose jobs are unknown, the sisters Bedoli and Laissa but they probably have some crucial tasks.

Theories about the missing elders:

They're all on vacation (during both games for some reason)

They all died of old age and Kaneli is just really old

A mass illness that was especially hard on the old folks

Rito retirement village somewhere

First Kaneli: Pure, warm, wise, secure comfort, very big and lots of feathers. The ultimate Rito hug, I mean come on, he's giant owl Rito, of course he's going to win.

Second Tulin: Enthusiastic, maybe a little bouncy, but incredibly genuine and full of pure, positive, happy energy. A hug that makes you feel hopeful and showers you with affection. I'm also very convinced he's given a lot of hugs to Link.

Third and Fourth Teba / Kass (tie): Teba gives a strong, reliable, compassionate hug when it's needed. You'd feel safe and supported. Kass I feel would give a more soulful, and understand hug. Comforting in a different, deeper way. To me they'd both be excellent huggers, just different vibes, hence the shared spot.

Harth: Maybe slightly more reserved at first, but incredibly sincere and warm once he settles into it. A hug that feels like quiet gratitude and solid support, seeing as he's a lone parent.

I wondered recently about Owl ritos and the idea that their eyes are fixed in place and swivel their heads, then I remembered that in BOTW, Elder Kaneli, an owl rito I believe, does move his eyes.

We don't even see his head swivel, which is kind of a missed opportunity imo. I have one Owl rito oc, Huegen, and I have been thinking of how his case works.

I decided that he could move his eyes only a little. For upclose things, he has no need to move his head. For far away things, he'll turn, swivel, and circle his head around. And yes, he can turn it 180°.