This is mostly a starting out bit combined with an intro. It's designed to flesh out my character (personality/species history/physical appearance/personal wants&needs) and it's mainly for my own purposes, but if someone really wants in on it I don't think I could say no. Just PM me beforehand if you'd be so kind.
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//Yet another fine molt// he thought to himself in tired ecstasy as he lay cushioned by the loam and sweet grasses which ringed his favorite, bubbling spring. Dappled gold and green sunlight dripped through the elm leaves above, shifting patterns of shadow across the breadth of his body as delicately as the brush of a gossamer dragonfly's wing. In a haze of contentment he lifted his head up a few inches to look down the length of his own body, admiring its beauty, its newness, its potential. Not far from where he reclined lay his old shell; a translucent mass of bio-architecture, resplendent with the afternoon sun softly accentuating the flying buttresses of its legs and the wide cathedral's dome of the abdomen from which he had burst forth.
He wanted to laugh, so he did, a velvety laced laugh giddy with equal parts exhilaration and exhaustion. Lovingly, he ran a hand through the soft, downy fur on his thorax letting it linger there for a moment before bringing it back up to caress the carapace which covered the entirety of his back and wrapped over to snugly hug at the edges of his hips. Gently he applied pressure to the segmented plates, marveling as he always did at how their bone hard rigidity softened to flesh-like elasticity after a molt. It would be important to do exercises over the next few hours to ensure the plates would be stretched enough to allow for movement when they hardened, but he couldn't bear to leave his supine position just yet. Not when the best was still to come.
Nearly trembling in excitement he flexed his tail and brought it forward to cup the tip of it in his pale, slim-fingered hands. His lips parted in childlike glee as he leaned forward to drink it all in - the powerful tail muscles encased by beetle-bright armour, the dark thorny spur gracing its club-like end, and the single pearlescent drop of venom, redolent with power, quivering at the very tip of the thorn like a half-formed thought. Catching the droplet on one oval nail he slowly brought it to his lips, the poison heady on his tongue as he licked it away. The sheer delight of it made him smile so widely that two of his three rows of sharp little teeth could be seen.
Finally feeling he might be able to stand up, he set each of his six slender legs into motion. Despite a sudden wave of weakness that threatened to overcome him, he made his way over to the babbling pool. Tying his long, dark hair out of his face with a leather thong, he inspected himself critically in its reflection. His long-lashed, almond shaped eyes and their six little eye-lets blinked as he drank in his new body. His fur was more sable than he remembered, richer now in color and complexity, with little tinges of opalescent green where the fickle light struck it just so. Although he knew many of his people sported more eye-catching coloration than himself, he wasn't bothered by its relative plainness: its subtleties matched well with his pale skin and fine features. He was disappointed to find his nose was still larger than he would have liked, but he had to admit that the haughty look it affected suited him, even if he didn't find it attractive.
Spinning around once more for himself in the pool's reflection he stretched his arms upward, taking care not to tangle his forearm spurs in his hair as he stood as tippy-toe as he could manage on his legs. Relaxing from his stretch he leaned forward and caught his reflection in the pool once more. Jauntily he gave himself a half salute and said, "Has it been three months in molt already, you fine thing? We missed you you know. Welcome back, Nkchitil??tl."
He wanted to laugh, so he did, a velvety laced laugh giddy with equal parts exhilaration and exhaustion. Lovingly, he ran a hand through the soft, downy fur on his thorax letting it linger there for a moment before bringing it back up to caress the carapace which covered the entirety of his back and wrapped over to snugly hug at the edges of his hips. Gently he applied pressure to the segmented plates, marveling as he always did at how their bone hard rigidity softened to flesh-like elasticity after a molt. It would be important to do exercises over the next few hours to ensure the plates would be stretched enough to allow for movement when they hardened, but he couldn't bear to leave his supine position just yet. Not when the best was still to come.
Nearly trembling in excitement he flexed his tail and brought it forward to cup the tip of it in his pale, slim-fingered hands. His lips parted in childlike glee as he leaned forward to drink it all in - the powerful tail muscles encased by beetle-bright armour, the dark thorny spur gracing its club-like end, and the single pearlescent drop of venom, redolent with power, quivering at the very tip of the thorn like a half-formed thought. Catching the droplet on one oval nail he slowly brought it to his lips, the poison heady on his tongue as he licked it away. The sheer delight of it made him smile so widely that two of his three rows of sharp little teeth could be seen.
Finally feeling he might be able to stand up, he set each of his six slender legs into motion. Despite a sudden wave of weakness that threatened to overcome him, he made his way over to the babbling pool. Tying his long, dark hair out of his face with a leather thong, he inspected himself critically in its reflection. His long-lashed, almond shaped eyes and their six little eye-lets blinked as he drank in his new body. His fur was more sable than he remembered, richer now in color and complexity, with little tinges of opalescent green where the fickle light struck it just so. Although he knew many of his people sported more eye-catching coloration than himself, he wasn't bothered by its relative plainness: its subtleties matched well with his pale skin and fine features. He was disappointed to find his nose was still larger than he would have liked, but he had to admit that the haughty look it affected suited him, even if he didn't find it attractive.
Spinning around once more for himself in the pool's reflection he stretched his arms upward, taking care not to tangle his forearm spurs in his hair as he stood as tippy-toe as he could manage on his legs. Relaxing from his stretch he leaned forward and caught his reflection in the pool once more. Jauntily he gave himself a half salute and said, "Has it been three months in molt already, you fine thing? We missed you you know. Welcome back, Nkchitil??tl."