Waifs were small, wiry, frail beings with incredibly acute auditory senses. Waifs' large, batlike ears were capable of hearing everything, spoken and unspoken. This ability to hear thoughts evolved as the sole method of communication in the dark and treacherous Nightwoods, but was a crippling overcompensation in crowded, bustling places such as Undertown and Sanctaphrax. Waifs' skills were both despised and reviled by those whose minds were intruded upon and prized by those who used their abilities for evil purposes.