#snakes are fearsome predators

[omg-snakes]

This idiot just scared me half to death by choking on water immediately after eating. I was still feeding other snakes and out of the corner of my eye I saw Mouse the Everglades rat snake take a sip from her bowl and then pull back like it bit her. Then I heard her sputtering and coughing.

I took her out and checked her mouth and then watched her for a while. Like most of my rat snakes, she tolerates handling but she's not keen on having her face touched so that was fun. She wasn't too pissed at me but she did conveniently open her mouth wide when I got near it!

She was definitely gurgling at first and I saw clear water come out of her glottis, but she seemed fine after a few minutes and was clearly still thirsty. I scrubbed her water bowl again (nobody wants to drink backwash) and refilled it. There was no mucus or signs of a respiratory infection so she's on observation. If I hear even a huff from her by tomorrow evening I'm making a vet appointment on Monday.

Oh, Mouse.

[learnyouabiology]

Fun Fact: Hognose snakes are dramatic lil guys!

I am particularly fond of the snakes known as hognose snakes, and my reasons are both understandable and correct.

This is a hognose snake:

(They received their name by having the sweetest lil snoot to ever require a boop – image source)

They use these adorable snoots to burrow under sandy soil using a sort of nuzzle-y motion. They then use these burrows as a place to sleep at night, hibernate in the winter, and lay their eggs. 

(you could say they’re into... the Underground Scene! ...ok yeah i’ll show myself out – image source)

Plus, they come in a variety of delightful colours!

We've got brown! Beige! Yellow! Black! Red! Orange! Tan! Kinda greenish! Orange again!

(pretty sneks! – Here’s all the image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

And, to be clear, the snakes pictured above are wild snakes. No selective breeding by humans in these noodly bois! At least, not in these specific individuals. probably. I guess a few of them could be escapees... 

But most importantly: These snakes know the true meaning of DRAMA

Hognose snakes are actors, first and foremost. When they feel threatened, the first thing they do is puff out their neck into a hood. 

(like cobras, this hood is made by FLEXING THEIR NECK RIBS. which: gross – image source x)

This superficially makes them look like a cobra, but what they’re actually trying to do is make themselves seem bigger, and therefore scarier. Possibly those dark spots on their neck helps with that! 

Any resemblance to real-life Eurasian cobras, real or fictional, is purely coincidental

Also, it makes its mouth do this:

(Snakes that SCREAAAAAAAM. – image source)

honestly, if I didn’t already know that hognose snakes were harmless, this would ABSOLUTELY make me leave it the hell alone 

But if all of that^ is unsuccessful at scaring away the predator, the hognose snake pulls its signature move: playing dead

If you think that is a lame signature move, then you are wrong, because hognose snakes put EVERYTHING into their performance and I love them for it.

(they’re serious, they’ll do it!  – image source)

((I’m actually going to stick the rest of this under a read-more, bc the pictures of the alive-and-physically-fine hognose snakes do kind of look like a legitimately-dead hognose snake, if you don’t know what to look for. 

So, uh: cw for a snake being too good at pretending to be dead))

Behold: a series of completely healthy, unharmed snakes!!!

(to help with their self-esteem, we ask that you at least pretend to believe that they are dead – image sources 1, 2, 3, 4)

Honestly, the photos don’t do it justice. Here’s my favourite video of the whole wonderous performance: 

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But to review:

There's writhing! There's dramatic noises! There's flipping onto their back and opening their mouth wide and letting their tongue hang out! There's excreting a combination of  intentionally smelly substances!!! Truly a master of the art of being left the hell alone (*^▽^*)

(yep. deeeeefinitely dead. not just faking it. nothing worth eating here! – image source)

Personally, my favourite part of this is how they insist on rolling onto their back, even when they are rolled back onto their stomach. 

Seriously, if you try to roll them right-side-up, they will flip back over. It's as though they believe that a good, proper dead snek MUST be on its back, obviously.

(truly fearsome – image source)

Sadly, the hognose snake may have made itself too scary, according to humans.

Out of fear, these snakes are commonly killed on sight 😔. I once heard someone proudly brag about how they’d killed a dozen cobras! In southern Ontario! Where cobras do not live! This is both extremely frustrating and deeply sad.

(safe enough to hold! although maybe don’t, just because this snake IS probably experiencing mortal fear, which is not a good feeling – image source © Dean Stavrides)

So just to highlight: hognose snakes are completely harmless. They’re just pretending to be fearsome!

(not that people should be killing venomous snakes either, imo. Let the danger noodles LIVE THEIR LIVES)

(i is baybee, pls do not hurt me – image source)

And now some bonus facts to help raise us out of that downer:

Hognose snakes are toad specialists! Their favourite food is toads, which is unusual, because toads are poisonous. Hognose snakes deal with this by force of will and also, at least two amino acid substitutions, maybe (Mohammadi et al. 2016). Possibly a few other things help with this, also (Feldman et al. 2016).

(is snek eat toad? or does toad wearing cape of snek? impossible to tell, really – image source)

Also, I have a confession: hognose snakes... are venomous. Technically.

(itty bitty little fangs at the veeeeery back of their mouth!  – image source)

They are known as rear-fanged snakes, which means they have fangs aaaall the way at the back of their mouth. The venom they produce seems to be toad-specific, and is considered to be harmless to humans unless you happen to have an allergy but that's the exception rather than the rule

(the two hognose species. They are both baybee, but in different ways actually there might be more than two species but these are the two i’ve actually learned about so ALL WELL   – image source)

Also, hognose snakes are big cowards NOT aggressive and I've never even heard of anyone getting bit by a one (outside of one feeding mishap, which we can all agree was an ACCIDENT). 

The series of events that would need to occur for you to be envenomated are so unlikely and bizarre that I assume you would have to be TRYING to get bit.

This has been Fun Fact Friday, bringing you the forbidden noodly boys to try and keep them a little more safe!

.....................................................................

Sources, because I know me and SO DO YOU:

Averill-Murray, R. C. (2006). Natural history of the western hog-nosed snake (Heterodon nasicus) with notes on envenomation. Sonoran Herpetologist, 19(9), 98-101.

Buchanan, Scott W.; Timm, Brad C.; Cook, Robert P.; Couse, Richard; Hazard, Lisa C. (2017). Spatial ecology and habitat selection of eastern hognose snakes. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 81(3), 509–520. doi:10.1002/jwmg.21218 

CHS: Canadian Herpetological Society https://canadianherpetology.ca/species/species_page.html?cname=Eastern%20Hog-nosed%20Snake

COSEWIC. 2021. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake Heterodon platirhinos in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. xi + 45 pp.  https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/eastern-hog-nosed-snake-2021.html

Cunnington, G. M., & Cebek, J. E. (2005). Mating and nesting behavior of the eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos) in the northern portion of its range. The American midland naturalist, 154(2), 474-478.

Feldman, C. R., Durso, A. M., Hanifin, C. T., Pfrender, M. E., Ducey, P. K., Stokes, A. N., ... & Brodie Jr, E. D. (2016). Is there more than one way to skin a newt? Convergent toxin resistance in snakes is not due to a common genetic mechanism. Heredity, 116(1), 84-91. 

 Jared, C., Luiz Mailho‐Fontana, P., & Maria Antoniazzi, M. (2021). Differences between poison and venom: An attempt at an integrative biological approach. Acta Zoologica, 102(4), 337-350.

Liu, C., Chen, Y., Zheng, Y., Bo, J., Yang, C., Xu, S., & Zhang, S. (2022). Wear Resistance Improvement of Keeled Structure and Overlapped Distribution of Snake Scales. Journal of Bionic Engineering, 1-11. Citing abstract.

Mohammadi, S., Gompert, Z., Gonzalez, J., Takeuchi, H., Mori, A., & Savitzky, A. H. (2016). Toxin-resistant isoforms of Na+/K+-ATPase in snakes do not closely track dietary specialization on toads. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1842), 20162111. 

 Nature Conservancy of Canada: https://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/what-we-do/resource-centre/featured-species/reptiles-and-amphibians/eastern-hog-nosed-snake.html

Plummer, M. V., & Mills, N. E. (1996). Observations on trailing and mating behaviors in hognose snakes (Heterodon platirhinos). Journal of Herpetology, 30(1), 80-82.

Rouse, Jeremy D.; Willson, Robert J.; Black, Ron; Brooks, Ronald J.  (2011). Movement and Spatial Dispersion of Sistrurus catenatus and Heterodon platirhinos: Implications for Interactions with Roads. Copeia, 2011(3), 443–456. doi:10.1643/ce-09-036     

Seburn, D. 2008. Recovery Strategy for the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Parks Canada Agency, Ottawa. vi + 24pp.

Schwartz, V. & D. Golden (2002). Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of New Jersey. New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

VHS: Virginia herpetological society http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/reptiles/snakes/eastern-hog-nosed-snake/eastern_hognose_snake.php#:~:text=Heterodon%20is%20derived%20from%20the%20Greek%20words%20heteros,meaning%20%22broad%20or%20flat%22%20and%20rhinos%20meaning%20%22snout%22

Young, R. A. (1992). Effects of Duvernoy's gland secretions from the eastern hognose snake, Heterodon platirhinos, on smooth muscle and neuromuscular junction. Toxicon, 30(7), 775-779. https://doi.org/10.1016/0041-0101(92)90013-U

Young, B. A., & Morain, M. (2003). Vertical burrowing in the Saharan sand vipers (Cerastes). Copeia, 2003(1), 131-137.

SARA: threatened https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry.html

[uncharismatic-fauna]

A Shoo-in Shoebill Stork

The shoebill stork, also known as the whalebill stork or Balaeniceps rex is in fact not a stork at all, but a long-legged wading bird belonging to the family Pelecaniformes. This species can be found in the central African tropics, from southern Sudan to northern Tanzania. Within this range, they mainly inhabit freshwater swamps and dense marshes, particularly those with deep water large reed beds.

Balaeniceps rex is often referred to as a dinosaur among birds due to its fearsome appearance. The average individual stands 1.1-1.4 m (3.6-4.5 ft) tall and has a wingspan of 2.3 to 2.6 m (7.5 to 8.5 in). However, adults are quite light, weighing only 4 to 7 kg (8.8 to 15.4 lb). Males tend to be larger than females, but otherwise the two sexes look identical. Adults have dark grey plumage with a lighter belly and darker wings. Their most striking feature is their beak, which is extremely large and can be said to resemble a wooden show (hence the name).

The shoebill's beak is very useful for catching its primary prey: fish. B. rex consumes a variety of species, including lungfish, catfish, and tilapia, as well as non-fish items like water snakes, frogs, turtles, mollusks, and even young crocodiles. Shoebills typically stalk their prey, or stand perfectly still and wait for their prey to come to them, before quickly snatching it up and decapitating it with the sharp edges of their beaks. Because of their large size and strong bills, adults are seldom prey for other animals, and they defend their nests fiercely from predators like snakes and other birds.

Outside of the breeding season-- and even during it-- shoebills are extremely territorial. Not only do they chase potential predators away from their nests, both males and females will fiercely defend their territory from other shoebills.

Breeding begins in the dry season, typically in in May, and lasts until about October. Once a male and female form a pair, they remain together for the duration of the mating season. They build a nest from floating vegetation, and 1-3 eggs are cared for by both parents; in addition to being incubated for warmth, one parent may also occasionally pour a beak-full of water over the eggs to keep them cool during the hot summer day. The eggs hatch about 30 days after being laid, and young are fed continuously-- though usually only one chick survives to adulthood. At 125 days old they become fully independent and leave to establish their own territories. The average individual can live up to 35 years in the wild.

Conservation status: The IUCN lists the whalebill stork as Vulnerable. Current wild population estimates sit at about 5,000-8,000 individuals. Primary threats include poaching for the zoo trade and consumption, habitat destruction, and pollution.

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Photos

Santiago Caballero Carrera

George Amato

Mana Meadows

[alexstarksblog]

!!Gang bang!! Meet the gang of punk predators!

A'gena - scarlet leader of this trinity. A cunning, selective and insidious lady. Badass bitch in its purest form💅

Varak - slimy swamp snake and a brilliant tactician. Has the largest aikyuu of the trio🐍

Gov'ther - purple brute and a fearsome giant. The main bouncer of the trinity 💪

[libellule-ao3]

The Snake's Duality

🔞 | One-Shot | 2 049 words

Also on AO3

Summary: Sebastian has just been released from Azkaban after more than three years in prison. 1 223 days to be exact.

His first instinct is to find Ominis, whose weekly letters rekinkled in extremis his desire to live, drained by the dementors, and he realise that a shadow reeking of malevolence is following him like a shadow.

Relationships: Ominis Gaunt/Sebastian Sallow => Friendship/love

⚠️ This story is rated 🔞. It contains graphic descriptions of violence & torture (Cruciatus curse, torture method inspired by lingchi, also known as "death by a thousand cuts", etc.), dark themes that may be disturbing to some readers.

Dark!Sebastian deserves his own warning: ⚠️

tags: ambiguous relationships, dark drama, sebinis, gauntlow, Sebastian is so protective he's dark, if that makes sense, POV Sebastian, Ominis Gaunt's father mentioned

Masterlist

Sebastian's wand whips through the air and an orange flash of magic strikes this bastard full force, his legs collapsing as if made of jelly. Then ropes spring from the end of his wand and bind him tightly. Sebastian glances furtively towards the entrance to this dark cul-de-sac that leads into Knockturn Alley, barely lit by the yellowish streetlamps that turn onlookers into shadowy silhouettes. None of them notice them. Proof of the effectiveness of his magical protection. Then, with unhealthy glee, the wizard watches the agony and contained rage wring his prisoner's bruised face.

This guy should have known better than to bother Ominis Gaunt.

An unbearable image of his oldest friend being followed down Diagon Alley by that dark wizard flashes through his agitated mind. He saw Ominis' haunted eyes again, tense with the anguish of feeling spied on, stalked like a beast. Unable to bear the situation any longer, the blind wizard probed his immediate surroundings with his echolocation magic and flushed out this invisible predator. For a moment, hope lit up his face as he muttered the name "Sebastian", before fading away as he realized that the man following him was not the one he had hoped for. The stunning spell he cast missed its target but offered him the opportunity to flee into a dark vortex of transport magic without being followed.

Sebastian clenches his fist around his aspen wand as it whips through the air again, letting the anger of this image perforate every nerve ending nestled in his target's tender flesh, like a thousand incandescent needles. Screams more excruciating than those of a prisoner tasting a dementor's kiss tear through the night and pierce the hermetic bubble of magic surrounding them.

"What did you intend to do? Why were you following him?" growls Sebastian for the third time.

Part of him doesn't give a damn about his motives, which he guesses effortlessly, but another, far more fearsome part yearns for them. Sebastian needs to hear the aims of this nuisance, so that they fuel his hatred even more. So that they give this destructive feeling a solid reason to exist!

"I don't know what you're talking about," replies his prisoner, denying any involvement in malicious schemes.

Sebastian's freckled face cracks into that boyish grin that makes some people want to kiss him, and others want to uppercut him. The anticipated pleasure of breaking through that resistance spreads like an oil slick through every cell of his being.

"Don't take me for a moron. Did you think you were being discreet? You've been following him around for at least a week. At work, on walks, at the opera... everywhere!"

Sebastian knows all about it. On his release from Azkaban, his first instinct was to find Ominis, whose weekly letters rekindled, in extremis, his desire to live, dried up by the dementors, and he realised that a shadow reeking of malevolence was following him like a shadow.

First flaw. The man turns deathly pale as he realizes the implications of his words..

“What do you want with him? Who sent you?" insists Sebastian.

The prisoner's stubborn silence is broken by a succession of cracking bones, then by the inhuman-sounding howls that emerge from his throat. This guy doesn't know that the sharp pain of fractures is nothing compared to the pain of their healing - the paradox of a pain as sharp as it is stabbing brought to a climax. That's why the bone-healing potion is always accompanied by powerful analgesics, of which this bastard will of course be deprived.

The nobility of his cause legitimizes all the dark, unhealthy tendencies of a sorcerer overtaxed by years of imprisonment in Azkaban and who has only managed to preserve a few remnants of benevolence from the dementors.

Sebastian grabs hold of his captive's hair, pulls his head back and shoves the vile contents of a vial of Skel-gro into his mouth. He then rubs his throat to force the swallowing reflex, keeping his mouth closed as he would with a small, recalcitrant animal.

Then he waits patiently for the potion to work on his broken skeleton. Beneath the skin, the bones realign, then re-solder. Inconvenienced by the unpleasant noise, Sebastian winces, without looking away.

The man is tough. Despite the excruciating pain, he still finds the courage to spit in his face.

"How could you know I was spying on him if you weren't spying on me? Me, I'm acting on the orders of a powerful person, but you... Look at yourself, boy! You're just another maniac on the streets of London..."

A punch shatters the man's jaw.

"It was Charon* Gaunt who commissioned you, wasn't it? Why? What does he want with Ominis?"

The man spews unintelligible insults and spits out a molar amid bloody mucus. Right on Sebastian's shoes!

The Gaunt name sends shivers down everyone's spine. It's a name synonymous with mysterious disappearances, Dark Arts and atrocities beyond imagination. The head of this family, Charon Gaunt, is a cold, ruthless man. The king of pure-blooded wizards and the dark arts. The one no one dares defy. Except his own son, Ominis, whom Charon wants at his command... And by extension, Sebastian Sallow.

"What did the dead man on probation say?" asks Sebastian, lifting his prisoner's chin with the luminescent end of his wand.

If Sebastian wasn't there, this guy would have hurt Ominis. Too bad for this guy, now that the gates of Azkaban have opened on his freedom, the wizard will always be there. And like all those who tried to hinder the well-being of his loved ones, this man will die under his wand.

But this one is a privileged one who will receive special treatment.

An invisible fire devours the prisoner's clothes with a crackle of sparks, then a severing charm sharper than a scalpel incises his naked body. Then another... The cuts are clean, precise. Superficial. His hand doesn't tremble, the fruit of inflexible determination. The blood beads, then trickles, creating a crimson lace against the pale skin.

At first, the man threatens, curses, promises a thousand abuses in retaliation for standing in the Gaunts' glorious way. But nothing works. As the incisions follow one another, relentless, his pride disintegrates and fear seeps through his bloody wounds.

The wizard doesn't stop as this henchman pisses piteously on himself, mingling the acrid smell of his urine with that of hemoglobin. His bloody agony feeds the relentless monster that consumes every cell of Sebastian Sallow.

Impotence now overwhelms the bastard, smothering his last glimmer of hope. He begins to beg for mercy through his tears, his nose full of snot. This predictable change of attitude stretches Sebastian's lips into a sinister smile. Let him take it out on himself and face the consequences of his actions with dignity, as Sebastian has done by facing each day for three long years. It was his punishment for killing Uncle Salomon, driven by rage against an intransigent authority figure who had dashed all his hopes of curing his sick sister. A man devoid of any understanding when it came to his rebellious nephew.

When he's finished, the guy is unrecognizable, bloodless, lying on the cobblestones draped in his own blood. Inert. Death has reaped him. Or rather, it has ripped his life from him, shred by shred, without anesthetic.

Sebastian turns away from his abominable creation, cleans his soiled shoes with a spell and brings the tip of his wand up to his own temple. Then he gently pulls it apart to extract a luminescent trickle of the last few hours' memories, which the sorcerer deposits in a vial destined for the Gaunt household. A warning that Charon Gaunt could fully appreciate in the Hogwarts pensine, providing him with a pretext to invite himself between the asses of the Headmaster, Phineas Black, unbeknownst to their respective wives.

Most people would probably feel guilt or disgust after torturing this man the way he just did, but Sebastian feels nothing. Or rather, he simplifies things by choosing to feel nothing.

Nothing except relief.

The wizard sighs, his chest lighter with the disappearance of this threat. Ominis is much safer now that Sebastian has annihilated him. And that's all that matters.

Although a reunion is impossible due to a soul too dark, intoxicated by the blackness of Azkaban, the wizard makes sure no one harms the only lingering light in his dull, dreary world. Not even him!

This scum deserves no burial, so Sebastian makes the body disappear into nothingness and leaves the scene.

He reappears on the outskirts of a modest residence, in the heart of a large clearing, surrounded by tall trees. Powerful protective spells surround the building, but they have never hindered Sebastian's incursions as he wraps this cocoon in his own magical shields. From the edge of the adjoining wood, he watches the room glow with a warm light and Ominis' silhouette, against the light, stops in front of the window, his face pressed against the glass and his blind gaze fixed on him.

It's as if he knows...

The thought fills him with emotion and his throat knots.

How long can Sebastian watch him live before desire consumes him? Every day, the wizard must fight against the intense need to find him again, which eats away at his every rational thought.

Forcing these impulses to recede before they take root, he looks up at the stars hanging from the velvet of the night, lingering on the gibbous moon slowly gliding across the sky. Then he turns his attention back to the house, where all the lights are now out.

Taking a few steps towards the building, he almost gives in to the urge to sneak inside, but as always, he clenches his fists to prevent himself from joining in and contaminating him with this gnawing darkness. It takes a Herculean effort!

Ominis is pure and vibrant, even though his family has long since stripped him of his innocence. Sebastian's darkness could dull his light, suffocate him... and that reminder alone keeps him away, but never too far. He remains in the shadow of Ominis Gaunt.

It's the only place where the sorcerer can be himself without harming him.

With a flick of his wand, he wraps himself in a veil of magic to conceal his presence and approaches his bedroom window, plunged in half-light. Moonlight caresses his sleeping figure. His gaze wanders over his pale face, where long black eyelashes spread like crescent moons over his prominent cheekbones. His lips, pink and dry from nervous nibbling, are parted in sleep. Looking at him like that, you'd think he was an angel. Sebastian doesn't know how much longer he stays watching Ominis Gaunt, looking at his forehead wrinkle in thought. He turns onto his other side, his back to Sebastian. The position reminds him of the time long ago when they slept together, curled up in the same bed at Uncle Solomon's, nestled innocently together like two spoons.

Every cell, every atom, in Sebastian is drawn towards his latest friend, and when he can't bear the tension any longer, when the pain in his chest becomes too overwhelming, he gently places his hand on the cold glass and steps aside. Even when everything inside him is screaming to satisfy his instincts.

It's a torture he submits himself to almost every night.

Ever since his dear sister died without having forgiven him for killing their uncle, his affection for Ominis Gaunt is the last good thing left in his life. So Sebastian will never again cause him the slightest grief by involving him in his criminal sins. Because if he ever did, he would lose Ominis forever - in the same way as if he let his sinister family target him. Then there would be no light left in Sebastian and darkness would engulf his whole soul.

Without a sound, the wizard leaves. Each step heavier than the last.

His best friend deserves a peaceful life, the carefree existence he's always been deprived of.

For that, someone has to protect him from the malevolent family he can't see. Wizards who won't bow to reason, let alone morality. Only to an implacable power that outclasses them.

And who better than Sebastian to fight evil with evil?

A/N: Charon was the ferryman of the Underworld in Greek mythology, so he's linked to the passage from one state to another. Considering that in my HC, the birth of Ominis' father marks the decline of the Gaunt family, this name is almost metaphorical, hence my choice of naming him so.

Thank you for reading!

[cheapsweets]

The Wily Hreksong

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge from @maniculum - two pictures this week, the first, the forest-dwelling Hreksong;

The second, the type of Hreksong that lives in your house;

Jinhao shark fountain pen with fine, hooded nib, with Monteverde Raven Noir ink, over initial pencil sketch.

Reasoning below the cut;

"The Hreksong is called [etymology redacted]. It is cunning by nature; when it has produced its offspring in its nest, it carries them from place to place, settling them in a series of different locations. It hunts snakes and mice. There are two kinds of Hreksong. One, of very different size from the other, lives in the forest. The Greeks call these [redacted]; the other roams around in houses. Some say that Hreksongs conceive through the ear and give birth through the mouth; others say, on the contrary, that they conceive through the mouth and give birth through the ear; it is said, also, that they are skilled in healing, so that if by chance their young are killed, and their parents succeed in finding them, they can bring their offspring back to life."

Firstly, what sort of beast is this? We have a mention of ears, so it must be a beast rather than a bird, serpent, or any other type of animal (I know I've used the mention of 'nest' as an excuse to draw more birds before, but I don't think this works in this case!).

They roam around in houses? That means they either they have been domesticated, or they are sneaking around when everyone is asleep (I suppose if they were big and/or scary enough, they might be wandering around when everyone is awake too… it's their house now 😮 ). There's no mention of domestication, and I would hope that there'd be a bit more knowledge about the mating habits of domestic animals (though at this point I feel like the scribes writing these entries are probably terminally obtuse when it comes to sex…). Thus, we have the smaller, urban Hreksong sneaking around the rafters and beams of the house, trying to steal your snacks…

We also have the forest Hreksong, carrying around one of its babies by the scruff of the neck. It has large ears (to give birth out of, I suppose), and as we know this is a fearsome predator of rodents and serpents, so a body plan resembling mustelids or mongooses (not particularly closely related, just convergent evolution into the perfect mammalian body shape!).

This also ties in to what I (now) know of mustelid magic from the Lays of Marie de France…

I really wanted some more practice drawing people (and clothes, oh my goodness clothes are hard!). I'm coming to the conclusion that, to start with at least, less is more; once I'm a bit more confident with the basics, I can start filling in more of the details!

[xxkitty13]

The Serpent's Den

Buggy x Fem Reader

NSFW

Will you take a bite?

Birds sing during the pouring of the rain. The weather is hot and humid. Sticky to the human skin, perfect for those with scales. The vegetation is plentiful, the rain showers provide a lush landscape, green expands to the horizon.

The trees are the holy land to the habitants, offering food and shelter. The streams below are dangerous. Even to the alligators, the waters are not safe.

In the dark cave that the river ends to, a scaly beast lies dormant. The animals avoid the area despite the pleasant scenery.

He has been stalking a particular prey, following their every move. The victim happens to a human. A woman to be specific.

The woman’s beauty caught the eye of the snake. Enchanting him with her soft laugher and smile. He’s only seen her from afar at the outskirts of the large river. He watches over her, eliminating any predators who dare take his prey.

He tried luring her with different baits, but all failed. The villagers know not to cross the rocky parts of the river. In that section of the jungle, a fearsome predator resides. Nothing is known of it. No one has survived to tell the tale. For once, that bothered him. The reputation he upholds prevents the woman to travel any further. Wise choice indeed.

Even so, he waits patiently. A true predator takes their time.

The snake sleeps in the shallow parts of the cave. The waterfall that empties over the large opening, soothes his sleep, the crashing sound tunes off the voices of the jungle. But a distant laughter awoke him.

It’s the woman.

He jolted from the water. This is closest she’s been to his hideout. A devious smile plasters on his face, it’s time to make a move.

“Come,” a voice hisses.

Y/n stopped her tracks. She’s down the river looking a medicinal herb, risking going deeper in the beast’s territory. The words continue.

“Come closer.”

The voice lured her. She knows not to cross behind the large rocks, but curiosity won the battle. Who is calling out to her?

She is careful to not slip on the wet rocks as she holds down her thin long dress. Each step takes her through larger rocks and an opening comes across her at the edge of where the river spills. The large bush shakes next to a boulder. She goes to see what caused the movement and is met with a descend to the bottom.

The rugged stairs are old, the steps are made of the tree roots that line with the slope. As she heads down, she comes across a beautiful sight.

The waterfall ends at a plunge pool. The body of water houses varies plant species. Ones she’s never seen before.

Y/n eyes set to the apple tree. The fruit of the tree is absolutely beautiful. The bright red glistens from the small of the sunlight that spreads down the jungle floor.

"Take a bite, don't be shy," someone whispered.

Following its orders, she walks to the tree. A large apple hangs from a branch, almost teasing her. She reaches for the fruit, twisting off the slim twig. The red apple barely fits on the palms of her hands. It’s heavy and juicy. Her lips barely touch the skin, the smooth leathery texture soothes her with the cold touch.

“Go ahead.”

She suddenly stops her trance. Sweat forms, dripping down her forehead. “What am I doing?” Her body is stricken with an unknown fear. Adrenaline pumps through her blood vessels, something is wrong.

The apple she holds in her hands is no longer appealing. She drops it. In a panic, she looks around. Her heart racing. There’s an unprecedented danger nearby, she knows it.

“Eat the fruit.”

“No! W-who are you?!” she shouts.

No answer.

“Why do want me to eat the apple?”

A long tail slithers through the plants.

“I’m surprised. No human has been able to resist my commands.”

Coming from the side of the apple tree, a set of pierce yellow eyes lock with hers.

“Why couldn’t you be like the rest,” he hissed.

All of the sudden, he lunges at her and uses his muscular tail to constrict around the woman’s body. Her lungs slowly crush in at the tightness.

“Just eat the fucking apple!” He grits, forcing the apple over her mouth.

“No!”

With all of her might, she managed to free an arm and slap the man right across his face, knocking the apple in the process.

“You bitch!” he hissed with anger. His scaly tail tightens its grip, trying to stop the air flow in her lungs.

“P-please. . .stop,” she cries. The constriction is inevitable. She hitches at the overwhelming grip the tail has over her body. Her breathing is labored and heavy. A tight feeling on her chest becomes insufferable. Her world fades to darkness as she drew her last breath.

“Sleep.” Is the last thing she heard.

⋆｡°✩𓆙⋆｡°✩

A sharp pain strikes her head. Y/n groans as her eyes fluttered opened. Her vision is foggy as a stinging sensation throbs against her temples. She adjusts her eyes to the darkness around her. The cold wet rock sent shivers down her spine. The obnoxious dripping wound from the roof drove her insane.

“I see that you’re awake.”

Y/n turns her head to take a look at the owner of the voice. The reveal is shocking. Emerging from the deeper end of the cave, a mythical creature presents itself. A half human and half snake man.

She does not know where to begin to describe the creature. His long luscious blue hair is wild and messy. The locs that cover his face and transcend down his torso. He wears nothing, but his bare hairy chest, every muscle defined and abdomen with tone abs. Thick hair trails down to his groin and ends at his waistline. His muscular snake tail makes up the bottom portion of his body. The vibrant blue scales shimmer from the light emitting from the other side of the waterfall. The color blends to the white under belly of the tail. The appendage is long and clearly strong.

He is beautiful and frightening.

The snake man pushes his hair out of his face, finally revealing himself completely. The first thing she notices is the large red nose. It is round and bright, taking the space of his face. But behind the unique nose lies a handsome man. His yellow eyes are fierce and are paired with long lashes. Stubble fills his sharp jawline, finishing off the manly features he holds. Everything about him is alluring and threatening.

The mere gaze of the man makes her body tremble. She scoots back, her hands almost slipping off the edge and into the pool of water behind her. Looking back, the waterfall goes over the opening of the cave. She’s not a good swimmer, escaping would not be easy.

“Don’t move and I won’t hurt you,” he says, a lisp present in his voice.

“Y-you already did,” she barely whispers out.

The snake man only smirks. “If you would have taken a bite from that apple, you wouldn’t be hurt in the first place.”

The man slithers closer, the movement of his lower half amazed her. Each muscle of the tail worked together to provide locomotion. He circles around her, almost dipping into the pool behind her. Although the maintained his distance, his cold tail slides against her bare legs.

“Are you going to kill me?”

The woman’s eyes are big and shiny, glazed with tears from fright. The snake man chuckles in return, it’s evident that he is amused. The tip of his tail trails higher up her leg, going between her inner thighs. He lifts up the dress, exposing what lies underneath. She quickly puts down her dress, taken aback at the action. He continues to chuckle, his deep voice sending goosebumps over her skin.

“Will I kill you?”— he pauses— “No, no. . . I would have done that earlier.” The tip of the tail slithers out of her dress, slightly passing by her sex. The motion caused her to hitch.

She gulps. Before she passed out, he was constricting her, it would have been easy prey.

“I was hoping you would consume a piece of the fruit. It would have been painless and less risky. You’re lucky I know my strength.”

“What do you want from me, if you’re not going to eat me?”

The man stared at her with his intimidating glowing eyes, his tongue protrudes out and back in his mouth. The soft organ is a combination of human and snake-like, with the tip of it split in two. A cunning grin appears on his face, revealing his sharp curved canines.

“I want to eat you in another way.”

He slithers closer to her and wraps his tail around her right inner thigh.

“In another way?” Her eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean by that?”

“I want to make you mine, will you let me. . . pretty woman?” He smirks, hinting about her name.

A light bulb lits in her head as her face turns bright red. The tail coils up higher, the scaly tip dangerously close to the edge of her panties.

“I-it’s y/n. . .”

“Buggy,” he responds back.

Y/n admits that Buggy is hot and exotic. She feels her sex begin to throb as the cold tail trails higher to it. Her stomach begins to feel light and tight. This would be so taboo.

The snake man cannot help, but take a whiff of her arousal. It excites him. “I’d say you’re aboard with it.”

She hides her face with her hands. It’s questionable, but it intrigued her. Making love with a snake will be a new experience. However, a possibility of venom scared her.

“Will it be safe?” she points at his fangs.

He touched one of his fangs with his thumb. “I’m not the venomous kind. I’m a constrictor species.” His tail tightens against her leg.

Y/n exhales out in relief. Buggy laughs at her worries.

“Well then, are you ready love?”

He lets go of his grip of the leg and uses it to softly push her down. Y/n uses her arms for support, feeling her back lay on the hard cold rock below.

“It’s cold and hard. . .”

Buggy tilts his head. He’s used to the hard surface, but the human is not. An idea pops in his head and looks at the pool of water. He dips in the water and nudges her to get in. She looks at him puzzled.

“We’re doing it in there?”

“You can just dip your legs inside if you want. The temperature is warm.”

She hesitates, but scoots to the edge. Lifting the hem of the dress, she adds her lower legs into the clear water. The warmth is pleasant and soothing, eliminating the presence of the cold rock.

Buggy slithers in front of her legs, letting his face and arms rest on her thighs. His tongue protrudes out, showing his long-slit muscle. He winks at her, making her blush hard.

The snake man proceeds to lift the dress, exposing her undergarments. He pulls down the trim of the panties and guided them down her legs, she lifts them up, helping the removal. The cold air hits her lower region, her bare bottom on the cool rock. He balls the fabric in his hand and throws it away from the water.

He rubs his coarse hands over her thighs, making their way up. Her core tightens at the touch. His hands part her legs open and an extravagant view appears before him. The eye contact does not break between the two. His thumbs spread the delicate folds apart and a long lick from her hole to the clit brought delight to the woman.

The tongue is surprisingly cold, snakes are cold-blooded, but she did not take it to consideration. The cool sensation against her hot pussy is a nice combination. Buggy fangs carefully slide against her skin, making sure the sharp tips do not cut the thin tissue. He begins to suck on the wet hole and inserts his tongue in the entrance. The taste is addicting and wants nothing more than to have her juices squirt all over his mouth.

She lets out a soft moan, biting her lips at the tongue work. He fucks her with his long appendage, swirling around her warm insides. His tongue slips out and trades it with his index finger. It is more solid and rugged, nothing she can’t handle. The slits run across her needy bud, each side sliding around it.

“Oh, t-that feels-” y/n moans out.

Another digit slides inside of her, stretching her out. His fingers work magic, moving at a fast, but gentle pace. The other hand holds her folds apart as he uses his thumb to play with her clit, devouring her with his skilled tongue.

“Mmm, more-” She throws her head back, enjoying the man’s devotion to please her.

She grabs his head, pulling on the long hair for support. Buggy proceeds to hum against her pussy, providing a blissful sensation. He adds a third finger to her hole, fingering her just right. The woman’s moans are music to his ears. His tongue continues to flick her throbbing clit, making sure no area goes untouched. She feels her own sex become hot and beating with blood.

The buildup of pleasure becomes unbearable. Her legs shake at the overwhelming touch of his slick tongue. Her fingers grip tighter on his hair, he does not mind the slight stinging pain. The fingering inside fastens, hitting her hard. He sucks on the little abused bud and gives it no mercy. With everything going on, there was no more holding back for y/n. She screams out her orgasm, letting her juices paint his lovely tongue. Buggy laps all of it in an instant, holding onto her trembling thighs.

The snake man wipes his face and stares at the panting woman. She’s absolutely beautiful in his eyes. He wants to fuck to oblivion because of that. The sounds of the waterfall mix with her heavy breathing, he gives her some time to relax. But he cannot wait any longer.

He emerges out of the water and hovers over her body, using his arms to avoid crushing her.

“Did you like that?”

Y/n opens her eyes and nods, looking into his bright yellow orbs. He nears his face to her ear and licks the earlobe. His tongue trails down her jaw and down her collarbone. He suddenly rips her clothing; the fabric shreds fall beside her. She gasps and Buggy’s mouth attack her hard nipple. He nibbles on it gently and squeezes the other one. The soft tissue feels nice under his grasp.

He stops momentarily and towers over her. His hand slides down his abdomen and over his groin, he taps on it, and something springs out.

The woman’s eyes widen. “H-how is that possible?”

The snake man laughs. “Surprise.” He holds his hard erection with pride. The member is his human skin tone, and the slit is already leaking of precum.

“The fun isn’t over yet love.”

He drags her back to the edge of the pool and uses his tail to level himself over the water. His large cock intimidates the woman, but he assures her that will be okay. He strokes himself and guides the wet tip inside of her. Immediately he is met with the tight warm walls. Everything constricts around his member.

“Fuck,” he groans.

Y/n grits her teeth, it feels like she’s been ripped to shreds. Buggy notices her pain and slowly brings her to the pool of water. He holds her up against his toned arms and allows her insides to slowly take him in.

“It’s okay,” he murmurs, kissing the side of her neck. He latches on her soft skin and leaves love bites. His fangs dig down her skin, it is quick. Before she could react to the pain, he was completely inside of her.

“Hold on tight babe.”

His cock slides out of the tight hole and thrusts back in. The penetration is slow and gentle. Y/n’s head lay on his broad shoulder as he rips her apart. The girth of his hard erection is enough to make her claw his back. The snake man picks up the pace, loving the warmth that surrounds him.

“Y-you take me in so nice,” he grunts.

Buggy cannot hold back any longer, the claps are hard enough to move the water around them. The extra “lube” allows smooth back and forth motions. His tail wraps around her body and uses it for assistance to maintain a comfortable momentum.

Y/n eases her body, trying to take in his blood rushed cock. She continues to claw on his back, fighting the burning sensation that occurs inside.

The thrusting picks up as Buggy hits her g-spot. A wave of pleasure spreads through her body. She gives into the harsh fucking. Screams of pleasure fill the cave, echoing loudly. He too moans out, getting lost in the immense pleasure.

The heat over his throbbing cock drives him insane. With each thrust, her sex swallows him and clenches around his sensitive tip. He bites her shoulder, tasting the blood drip on his tongue. She only moans, concentrating on the beating against her pussy.

His tail works up to her neck and tightens around it. He squeezed gently, cutting off a bit of her air flow. Her hands grip his tail, but she grins and reaches for a kiss.

The kiss is sloppy, but passionate. He inserts his tongue into the wet cavern. The two twirl their tongues against each other, but Buggy clearly dominates. She goes to suck on his longer tongue, moaning against it. He grunts and goes to bite her lower lip. She hitches at the bite as he tugs on it gently.

His core becomes tight and continues to attack her sweet lips. Driven by hunger, he plunges harder inside of her. He breaks the kiss and focus on his upcoming orgasm. His tail squeezes her neck, making her gasp at the tight grip. The thrusts are faster and faster, hitting her pussy with insane force.

Buggy moans out as his cum shoots out his slit and into her abused pussy. The grip around her neck loosens as his cock pulsates inside of her. Ecstasy washes over his body and the little energy he has left is used to bring the woman back to the edge. She lays on the cold rock once again and Buggy lays his head over her thighs.

The two pant at the hot session.

The snake man climbs out of the pool and scoops the woman off the floor. Her bare body provides him with warmth, he closes in the embrace. He slithers further in the cave and sits her down on his nest.

“Don’t worry, I’ll guide you back home after you rest.”

She lifts her head up. “Will we see each other again?”

A smile plasters on his face. “You’re mine."

Y/n blushes at the comment. She twirls her hair with her fingers. Buggy slithers next to her and wraps her body with his large tail. He brings her in closer and both lay on the soft material that made his nest.

“Keep us a secret. I don’t want to have to kill your kind,” he snickers.

“O-oh, I understand,” she chuckles nervously.

The snake man lets out a laugh and pecks her forehead. He will certainly kill those who will prevent their new love, but for now he wants to focus on the woman in his arms. She rests her eyes, fully trusting him, and drifts to sleep. He stays awake, guarding the cave they reside in. He will keep his new mate safe.

⋆｡°✩𓆙⋆｡°✩

A/N: I hope the apple part was clear to everyone😅

[missamyrisa2]

Miss Amy, you are so hot....you're my tickle crush 🙈

I'd do anything to have my royal pearl tickled by you, m'lady 🩵

Oooh sweeet 🩵 you flatter me sooo much I'm nothing special~!!

Annnnnd flattery is only going to summon more ticklesss~ sometime late in the night, in that twilighty stretch between night and day ~ you'll feel that little tingle sparkling between your legs, that most elegant of tiny tickles swirling into existence~ ooh it's probably nothing but the sheets ~ but then again maybe you've drawn a night visitor, an insatiable nocturnal predator who thirsts only for the sweetest of the giggle dew~

coochie coooo~ someone's coming for youuu~

fingertips brush your open palm ~ from the center up each of your fingers, a loving caress with a wicked intent~ the feather draws along your nose, back and forth filling your nostrils with an overwhelming scent. Your mind is coated with essence, coaxed out of sleep while your body is coaxed back in ~ too late, your eyes peel open and see my smirk and wavering visage as though I were steadily drifting in and out of existence. The threat registers far too slow ~ your limbs respond but only just barely for your body continues to dream and resist any motions of the waking world. My long plume of purple cascades from nothingness and caresses up your thigh~

the hour is late and your pearl grows weary ~ shall I free you, little strumpet?

My free hand wiggles and starts lovingly rubbing down your side from the last rib over your belly to your hip, getting your body nice and wiggly in reaction.

or shall you suffer the eternal tickles?

With a distant clicking as though a thousand knuckles just cracked, my backside quakes and my spectral form floating above trembles ~ and becomes spidery with six more arms unfolding, each tipped with long purple nails wiggling down towards your helpless paralyzed body - save for two which simply fold under my smiling face to make a taunting superior pose while I make you laugh and struggle. My hands massage and rub and stroke and wiggle in pairs, under your arms ~ over your upper legs, and under your toes.

ah, quite the persistent volunteer this pearl~

I shake my head and wag a finger as we both look down to see the affect of the tickles between your legs. Two of my hands wave an incantation to make your little button brilliantly sparkle in the shadows - and tingle madly. As I watch you desperately buck and shiver with sensation with my magic raising your sensitivity down the royal area, my appendages reach between the lines of reality to retrieve their equipment.

so haunted is my velvet heart so sweet is your nectar

Implements of otherworldly wickedness glow and hum fearsome as they are brought down to probe at your most regal zones. The feathered frilled vibrations of the purple tools glide and spin from your inner thighs to your girly lips. A snaking rod with a mind of its own curls and bends in a line across one hip along your waist and downward to split open and triangulate three unimaginably supple rollers over your pearl. I look down with contempt at your reactions, eagerly drinking up the desperation.

give unto me your gigglecum ~ you've no other path

And with a flurry of activity the brushes descend swirling and dipping around your pearl as it swells and protests my tickly incursion. The feathered frilly rods spin wickedly up and down your thighs to facilitate your motions. Twin flower buds bearing the deepest shades are deposited to your girly chest buttons whereupon they attach and tremble and kiss like a lingering lover~ The final arrival in my arsenal are another pair ~ silken clamps carried by two hands eagerly setting them to snap on your toes, caging them between and under with the softest of teeth to glide through all those intricately ticklish crevices~

surrender yourself to the tickles, fall into my abyss~ darling strumpet

The brushes encircle your pearl, caressing it into a gang hug for a tickly squeeze before pulling back and dancing about again. The humming tools work further up and out, tormenting your hips and hip dips before visiting the lips and then drawing back down the thighs. Your chest is teased relentlessly with licking strokes, your toes probed and bullied mercilessly ~ as your arousal grows and your body edged closer to give what I desire, my form glows brighter with a deep purple smoulder~

only a matter of time ~ she fights ~ but the gigglecumdrops are mine~

Your body arches and bucks and thrusts to meet my machinations ~ your pearl interrogated of all its secrets and more. I snicker as you start to drift into the fuzz, stuck eternally at your giggly desperate edge~

and with your eyes peeling open again, my form now entirely tangible and equipped with only two arms, kneels over your shivering writhing body. My single purple feather glides up and down your swollen pearl, I lay across your legs keeping you pinned and opened for my tickles~ that ultra soft simple tool needs only to wave up, and wave down, and tremble in zig zag patterns~

the hour is late, the sun will rise~ but only after you've surrendered all your nectar~

[ms-scarletwings]

Every Dredge Aberration (2023), Bonus II

A beastly lord slinks through cavern and cliff. He slugs through earth and time and the wind joins his bellow before he returns to his recluse. Eventually, a pestilent sound rouses him from his burrow. There is an interloper above his halls, and they will know his wrath. No trespass evades his infernal gaze, and no vessel escapes his collection. Well, maybe all but one. “Serpent” they call the cliffs’ master, a name which lends the mind to instance threads of devilry and epic mythos. Such analogies are definitely not inappropriate for the giant aberration that stalks the Gale Cliffs. For two decades, he has patrolled and altered their passageways with slow lurch, one burning coal of an eye scanning for food or foe. Armed with strength to grind through rocksides, petrified scales, and a toothed maw fit to cleave through the largest of the world’s mammals, not even the seasoned whalers of the region play challenge to this monster. No mere fisherman could hope to test his ire and return unscathed…none, save the very man who may have indirectly led to its birth.

Hatched in the Hollow

Unlike the hostile angler of the previous area, the Gale Serpent has had no shadow of mystery set over its creation. Originally approaching this, and gathering information, I assumed I was to theorize some horrible mutation of a local fish gone awry, as I did with the Marrows Angler. The conger eel aberration was of special interest for demonstrating the ability of the Entity’s corruption to transform flesh to crystal and rock. Howbeit, there is an obelisk to the Southeast corner of the Gale Cliffs which flips this original hunch completely around. The Serpent, in fact, was not life turned to stone, but lifeless rock given soul.

All it had taken was for the crimson sorcery to seep into a deep crevice, as it is adept to, far down into the hearth of the very mountains themselves until this great eel had breached through- The wyrm, sculpted my malice, and animated by a dark energy, is in fact the one behind the detriment of the settlements around its home. Its tunneling through the underwater crags was named as causing the collapse of an entire village, which also coincided with the disappearance of the whales that the neighboring town so relied on for a thriving industry. Stories told of both corroborate that, like all strange occurrence fanning out from The Marrows, the serpent’s creation was spurred by someone dredging up the Book of the Deep. This would put the age of the beast at 20 some odd years, likely the same as the other nightmares of the major islands. In all of that time, the Serpent has in turn sculpted the cliffs into a proper domain for his liking. One that all but the well-prepared and bold dare encroach upon.

A Dragon of the Depths

The concept of the Gale Cliff’s snake would appear delightfully inspired from a great shadow of the horrors thought of by men. From the biblical leviathan, to coiling Jormundgandr, to the many aquatic wyrms of Greek tales, the sea serpent has been a subject repeated through vast swaths of oceanic legend. Where landlubbers dreamed of great scaled predators that ruled the skies and earth, there were likewise the dragons of the seamen’s paranoia, equally as tenacious and fearsome. Through the power of the Deep, these fears were brought to reality in this massive eel. His length alone dwarves the fisherman’s boat by about 5 or 6 times, and his bite is twice as punishing as the Night Angler’s. With the whales he once feasted on no longer in range of his hunting ground, he’s more than willing to make meal of the pirates and sailors that are brave enough to return. Though having no use for human trinkets, he greedily drags our treasures down to keep in his lair, and he turns quick rage to those who venture to plunder his burrow. Like so many of the terrible dragons of men’s tales, he guards his hoard, he devours the livelihood of those living too close, and he lives in a labyrinth of his own design.

Tactics

Several factors about the Serpent make him a far less avoidable threat than the Angler, and many investigating the cliffs for the first time will learn this the hard way. Even still, he is far from an inevitable threat to one’s journey. For one, the light of day provides no protection from his attacks as can be expected in The Marrows. The serpent listens for visitors in the narrow wind tunnels between the mountains at all times. By the time he emerges from the cliffs, he has already began to hone in on the ship, making silence or shutting off the lights to hide a useless action. There is an amount of predictability to his charge, if one pays attention to the rockwalls throughout the Gale cliffs. There are a number of visible, gaping tunnels beneath the waterline, where he will reliably emerge from, or retreat into. Avoid passing directly by or over one of these if a quake begins. The landslides and shaking rumble are the telltale sign that he is both awake and hunting you. While he behaves no differently at night, the fog and its own effects make encounters with him all the more dangerous. The sudden rocks that will appear at high panic can slow down an escape or even present their own lethal threat. All except for his hateful eye, the fog makes him more difficult to spot at a distance, lending an even more sinister appearance to the monster in the darkness.

Another way to tell if one is being pursued is attention to the red tinge that will increasingly encroach on their vision. Its intensity can serve as an indicator of how closely he is approaching as well as a warning to quickly stop any fishing/dredging activity in order to make a getaway. As far as speed is concerned, it is the single weakness of the Serpent; this makes an upgraded engine or the use of the words of Haste most key in evading his attacks. Even a slower vessel might be able to corner him sharply enough for a near miss, but distance will be the greatest shield. Banishing words, when available, can also serve as a reliable deterrent.

Interestingly, the Serpent’s eye only opens when he is in a hostile state. If slinking away, or passive, it will remain closed.

The Serpent is such a sluggish swimmer, indeed, that any vessel with a base speed of 40 knots or more does not have much to fear from him even without the use of the book’s spells. Of course, it becomes no less important to still carefully navigate the passageways it will be traveling through. The maze of the cliffs and their frequent waterspouts make a panicked dash unfeasible, especially for boats possessing a weak hull integrity. In time, though, this mighty aberration will be left treading behind as the one before it.

[dragons-eat-people]

Incredulous

(Requested story by Anonymous: Angry Forest God & Hunter)

One could use so many words to describe humans, depending on who they are, of course.

Some, heroes. Others, villains. Even the general populous. What do they all have in common? They're all people, living life through malice or benevolence.

Our story takes us through the eyes of a Hunter. A fearsome man capable of killing anything that dare cross his path.

Today, he learns a true life lesson, one taken to the grave.

The Glitterhold Forest is home to a majestical species of creatures, all naturally born with some form of magic. Whether for dodging predators, catching prey, or just for merely showing off potential, these creatures were unique.

Anthol, the mighty hunter, finds himself traversing usual routes through the forest. He'd been here numerous amounts of times and times again, yet his goal was always the same. To kill, greatly disrupting the ecosystem.

Yet, after prolonged visits to Glitterhold, chimes of a sort seem to go off in his head after each and every kill. At first, he paid no mind. But as the chimes continue to sound, he grows weary for an answer.

"Why must I hear this dreadful noise after each and every slaughter? Can't a man work in peace?!" He shouts out to the forest around him, yet, no answer would be provided. It seemed he wouldn't be able to rid himself of the chimes. It's as if they were...bound to his soul.

Anthol tries to go back to what he was doing, when he was interrupted by a voice. One deep, rather guttural sounding. It comes from behind, which makes the man turn once again. Before him, however, is a large serpent, seeming much larger than the trees themselves. "Is that bothersome to you, human? I can tell you what is bothersome. Your repeated actions within my forest." The large snake hisses in a low tone as he approaches.

The large serpent was crowned with a combination of foliage and stone, which appeared as...well, a crown. That, and a large radiant glowing peridot inscribed in what seemed to be his chest.

Slitheren, The Snake God Of Glitterhold.

Anthol shakes his head, clearly in disbelief. To him, all he saw was another obstacle in his path. "Well? Make it stop!" The man protests.

There couldn't have been a poorer choice of wording.

"Very well." Slitheren responds. In the flash of merely a second, Anthos is met with a grim sight of large fangs, until the jaw completely envelops him. As expected, the man shouts in fear of the sudden shift in atmosphere. This snake was going to devour him!

Such didn't take long, either. The large snake gave Anthol no time to rest, as he quickly swallows the human down the tight pits of his esophagus. The hunter is squeezed beyond extent, taking his breath away almost immediately.

The bulge of the man sinks further and further through the snake, showing no signs of a struggle. Slitheren himself seemed to sap the energy from his prey, weakening them as they traversed his lengthy insides.

Upon reaching what seemed to be the belly, Anthol was already long gone. Set in stone was a warm and squishy fate, one that would take his life on the lines of digestion.

Perhaps he got what he deserved, becoming one with the ecosystem.

[cxpperhead]

❝ —AAHH!❞  Mat got scared by the giant snake, and rightfully so.

The sound of a wretched squeak reaches his ears. Copperhead glances down, the slitted pupils of his eyes no doubt looking positively monstrous to the little rat standing before him. Ah, of course. Rats were known to be prey to many types of predators, especially snakes so it was no surprise this one had reacted in a negative fashion. What did surprise Copperhead however was how... how intelligent this one sounded. Crouching down on all fours, Copperhead leaned in for a better look. He was still a behemoth in comparison to the tiny Mat but at least in this position, he might not appear quite so fearsome before this little furry bundle. Or would. Who could tell?

"Don't you worry, you wouldn't make more than a mouthful." Copperhead scoffed. Not to mention a distasteful one at that. Fruit and eggs were far more preferable but he doubted Mat would stick around long enough to learn that.

[tr-new-beginnings]

Here is my application! I'll be using @floofgryph to participate in this year's Tumblronpa.

Name: Joachim Ó hIfearnáin (real name), Morrígan (preferred name), Judith (name used amongst her gang)

Ultimate: Ultimate Gang Leader (fake), Ultimate Social Worker (real)

Birthday: October 13th

Age: 19

Personality: She possesses excellent interpersonal intelligence, a creative mind, an ambivert attitude, trust issues, and suicidal tendencies. She also possesses a charismatic, yet menacing presence and a rebellious, charitable, leisure-loving spirit. She tries her absolute best to treat people with fairness, strongly believing that everyone deserves equitable treatment. Joachim also tries to be fairly tolerant, but will act out when someone is unfairly mistreating another person or harming/threatening those she deeply cares about. She can be ruthless and aggressive, but that’s often targeted towards those she despises for a reason. She’s prudently watchful, street-smart, and persuasive, and she’s often considerably thoughtful about her words and actions around other people. She isn’t afraid to take on new challenges and potential risks, and she’s unflinching in the face of danger or difficulty. When it comes to new people, she’s timid and not very talkative at first, but she eventually shows more of her extrovertedness when she feels comfortable enough to do so. Despite being an ambivert, Joachim has more introverted tendencies, often spending her time alone, being reserved, and interacting with small groups of people.

Appearance: She has shoulder-length, curly golden copper brown hair that’s often tied into a ponytail and reddish-brown freckles on her face, neck, and chest. She has top scars and a healed slash across her face from the right side of her forehead to the middle of her cheek. She also has scars on her lower legs that she often tries to keep covered, pale ivory skin, greyish-blue eyes, and four black moles: one the right corner of her upper lip; one above her left eyebrow; one near her right wrist; and one on her left outer thigh. Joachim dons her father’s duck blue leather biker jacket with azure mist sheepskin outlining and hidden compartments. On the back, it depicts a white decapitated Gorgon’s head crying blood with hair of ten purplish, vermillion-eyed serpents and the Latin phrase “NATURA NON CONTRISTATUR” (nature is not saddened) above in shimmering gold. She has a barn red T-shirt, dirty brown, high-waisted jeans, and mid-calf black boots with bronze eyelets, teal blue laces, and silver spikes. She has silver snake bites, pink opal stud earrings, a left gold orbital conch earring, and a brass Celtic cross necklace. She also has an aquamarine hololith bracelet on her right, and her nails are often painted a yellow-orange.

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She honestly doesn’t care what people refer to her as in regards to pronouns, but she often goes for she/her and they/them.

Likes: Riding her motorcycle at night, creative writing, reading dark fantasy, psychological horror, adventure, and cyberpunk manga and novels, stargazing, nature, mythological and legendary monsters, exploring abandoned buildings, tattoos, stuffed animals, and going to the beach.

Dislikes: Predators, oppression, cold and wet weather, watching and reading romance and purely exploitative media, being yelled at, people who harm or threaten her loved ones and friends, sexist remarks directed at her, massive social gatherings, manipulation, and most of her childhood.

Any extra info: She’s part of a nerdy, yet fearsome delinquent gang called the Lackadaisical Holofernes and they partake in vandalism, dangerous driving, street fights, and drug dealing. She attended Hope’s Peak Academy in order to obtain a proper education, meet real friends who would appreciate her as a unique and creative person, and find a potential partner. Joachim is half-Irish and she’s very interested in philosophy, mythology, ancient history, astronomy, art, religion, and biology. She secretly carries around a switchblade, pepper spray, her grandfather’s Desert Eagle pistol, and a package of .50 Action Express. She doesn’t like to acknowledge her real Ultimate as much, so she often uses her fake Ultimate to mask it and it’s quite conceiving.

Character triggers: Excessive alcohol, her private parts being touched, discrimination in general, suicide, and stalking.

This Student Application is approved and is on the list.

[goblinus-maximumbo]

Greetings, foolish denizens of Tumblr! I, DANKY KONG, Licensed Hog-Stealer and Level-E, Jokelore professor at the Darwin Institute of Hy-Yi-Yi, have migrated from the fowlest depths of Discord and Reddit to bring you a fascinating and seasonally appropriate file from the vagaries of the Darwin Institute. I bid all of you heathens a glorious Australia Day void of bushfires, feral rabbits, and political tension.

Creature Files: Bunyip

Place of Origin: Southern Australia

Habitat: Swamps, lakes, waterholes, or any landlocked water-body

Class: ???

Threat Level: XXXX (High)

The Australian bush is home to many strange and fearsome creatures, many of which are found nowhere else on the planet. From the dreaded Emu, a birdlike monster responsible for one of the bloodiest wars in human history, to the repulsive, frankensteinian Platypus, to the vast array of venomous snakes and spiders that lurk within the aussie underbrush. Among these terrifying creatures that call the dreaded under-down their home, lurks the enigmatic and elusive Bunyip, a beast so terrifying it could make the mighty Old Nick wet his trousers prematurely.

Unlike many creatures we list here, who can be at least partially classified into some kind of classification system, be it taxonomical or otherwise, some beings simply defy all logic. The Bunyip appears to be one such creature, as its anatomy and physical description is fickle to say the least. Some say the bunyip resembles some kind of pinniped with flippers, whiskers, and a flat face comparable to a bulldog, pug, or owl. Others however, are adamant it's a long-necked creature with wrinkly skin, a horelike-mane, and an equine or avian head. Other accounts describe it as being a giant starfish, a nessie clone, a shaggy, carnivorous cow, a clinically depressed, napsack-toting chimera, a snake-tongued, pig-nosed, big-eyed ogre thing, a beaked crocodile, or literally any description you can think of. The one feature that is consistent with bunyip reports (give or take) would be its behavior. The Bunyip lives in landlocked bodies of water. Bunyips are ravenous predators, mostly foraging for crayfish, as well as human women and children (though some sources say it was an herbivore). Bunyips tended to create underwater or riverside dens called Gunyah by aboriginal peoples. The Bunyip is mostly heard rather than seen, as it marks its vast territory by emitting deep, loud, bellows. Anyone foolhardy enough to ignore the bunyips warnings are quickly devoured or drowned in floods the bunyip conjures up. If one is to encounter a wild Bunyip (which you should in no way be in the position to do so), it is advised to curl on the ground in a fetal position and hope for the inevitable, for escape or defense from the bunyip is entirely futile. It is also strongly disadvised that one steals a bunyips calf, as this may result from the erasing of you and your community off the face of the earth.

As with most cryptids, much of the blinkered scientific board and general public do not believe the bunyip to exist, chalking it up to being nothing more than a misidentified mundane animal or purley mythical being. Personally I find this explanation to be absolute bullshit and is merely a cop out as to fit in to their conservative worldview.  After five whole minutes of rigorous research, I have concluded that the bunyip may be of the esoteric, lovecraftian persuasion. Its physical form is so inconceivable to the euclidean human mind, that it simply fills in the blanks with whatever bits and pieces it can conjure. But of course, until the racist old bastard himself rises from the dead to confirm my suspicions, there can be no way to truly validate this. 

This year, during your Australia day sacrifice to Old Nick and his malignant colonialist forces, remember to raise a bottle to the Bunyip, a metaphysical reminder of why we should spend time with those we love instead of screwing around in billabongs aimlessly.

[palettepainter]

Will we hear more about Anne and her pets? I love hearing about them and Anne's magic

I do have a comic in the works featuring Betty the snake and @meldoesthedraw OC Mari, it probably won't be finished till after Halloween though. As for her other pets I have a few mini headcannons with them but more or less been working on headcannons about Anastasia, since it'll be a while till I can work on more doodles with her have some notes

-Ringtail lemurs eat a varity of things: fruits, flowers, birds eggs, insects, leaves, herbs and bamboo. Trinket was the first of Anastasia's pets to grow fond of Teeth and ever since will randomly bring him pieces of fruit from Anastasia's kitchen or uprooted flowers. She's also the pet that sticks the closest to Teeth, being a lemur she's quick on her feet and is able to keep up with him. Baby lemurs cling to their mothers after birth so when Teeth was itty bitty Trinket was basically always at his side, it was just her mothering insincts. She's chilled out now that Teeth is bigger but will still leave him odd bits of fruit about his bus when he comes to visit

-Spike is a nile crocodile and despite being fearsome predators the are very gentle mothers. Spike took a little longer to warm up to Teeth, but since Spike is more or less the guard dog of Anastasia's shop (more than once Spike has chased out unwelcome thief's) it didn't really take her long to start getting protective of Teeth. Teeth as a kid always clambered over her like she was a jungle gym and Spike would just let it happen.

-Spike had a tendency to just...pick up baby Teeth by the scruff of his shirt and bring him back to the house, Teeth is bigger now she can't really do that but she will on occasion bite at the ends of his sleeve or trouser

-Gertrude the goose is a grump but actually took to protecting Teeth as a baby just as quickly as Trinket did. Geese are very good parents and each mate will help protect goslings. Gertrude, though a grump and at times didn't know what to do with Teeth, often rushes after him with distressed honks when he leaves her sight for too long and angrily chases away stray cats (Teeth is apparently allergic to cats) when Teeth starts sneezing. Gertude also did this thing during winter when she'd try to prevent Teeth going outside to prevent him getting cold

-From what I could find pythons do a bit of parenting with their young, they keep their eggs warm until they hatch and a few weeks after. Betty overall is the calmest when Anastasia brought this teenie baby into the home and declared it was staying. Betty most of the time would stay curled around Teeth when he was sitting in the sofa or in his bed, but otherwise she was chill to just relax and let Teeth do his own exploring. When Teeth visits, she has a tendency to curl up onto his shoulders cuz she finds the fluff of his sparkly coat and beard warm (she tried to eat Rizzo when she came to the studio so now Teeth makes sure to keep an eye on her whenever she's slithering about)

[harpagornis]

Multituberculate Earth: Marine Reptiles

Though mammals took to the sea in this timeline, they are largely still tied to the land due to their poorly developed newborns no they aren’t; this will be reworked in the future. The seas instead took a page from the Mesozoic, and various lineages of marine reptiles still rule the waters.

In our timeline, the Cenozoic’s seas started much the same ways. Dyrosaurids and sea turtles survived the KT event, while penguins and plotopterids quickly joined in as the first warm blooded vertebrates to occupy large predatory niches, some of these birds as tall as men. They were soon joined by gharials and giant palaeophiid sea snakes in the warmer oceans of the early Eocene; with the Azolla Event cooling the seas, many of these groups became extinct, and many more diseappeared in the Grand Coupure, though the seas of the rest of the Cenozoic would still have some gharials and various types of sea turtles, not to mention the elapid sea snakes that arose in the Miocene.

In this timeline, the Azolla Event did not happen, and this not only resulted in a prolonged survival of many of these groups (at least until the Oligocene) but also added another group to the list: the choristoderes. The oceans of the Eocene quickly came to resemble a new take on the oceans of the Mesozoic, only now instead of ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs giant choristoderes prowled the open oceans and instead of mosasaurs their palaeophiid snake relatives grew to massive sizes. The Grand Coupure did cause the extinction of many of these reptiles as global cooling distabilized oceanic habitats, but gharials, choristoderes, seabirds and sea turtles made it. While mammals quickly expanded to replace many ray-finned fishes, marine reptiles still remained (mostly) at the top of trophic webs, producing some of the most fearsome oceanic predators yet to exist.

Flightless seabirds will be eventually listed in the bird page. This one is mostly for non-avian reptiles.

Dyrosauridae

Dyrosaurids are a lineage of marine crocodylomorphs that evolved in the Late Cretaceous and survived the KT event by laying their eggs and rearing their young in freshwater habitats; this in turn allowed multiple neotenic retentions of freshwater habits, that even lead to terrestrial ecologies in some species.

Though superficially similar to gharials, they are outside of crown-Crocodylia (there is some debated if they are closely related to the fully marine metriorhynchids and other Jurassic marine crocs or if they are slightly more derived than that) and indeed differ from them in several respects, like forward facing eyes and massive limbs, acting both a flippers and a legs. Also unlike true crocodilians they are pursuit predators, not ambush hunters, and reduced their layer of osteoderms to lessen drag; marine species actually closely match the long gone metriorhynchids in terms of limb proportions, further indicating an active, powerful swimming lifestyle.

In our timeline dryosaurids died out with the mid-Eocene cooling, their extinction perhaps helping the spread of early whales. Here, they continued to live across the time period, dominating fast dolphin-like niches in tropical waters, where choristoderes and flightless seabirds were rarer. Unfortunately, the Grand Coupure still got them, their extinction paving the way for choristoderes in fast dolphin-like niches.

Chelonioidea

The “true sea turtles” as they’re the only ones to have survived into our timeline’s present, though as we will soon see they were only one of many groups of marine testudines. Having first evolved in the Cretaceous, they diversified as giants like Archelon; though they didn’t cross the KT boundary, new giants in the form of leatherback sea turtles now cross the seas.

Their diversity in this timeline isn’t much different than in our time.

Pleurodira

Other groups of sea turtles are by contrast much more fascinating. Across the Mesozoic and Cenozoic many different types of side-necked turtles took to the sea, with the bothremydids in particular attaining great diversity across the world’s oceans. Though they technically only became extinct in the Miocene, the Eocene cooling trimmed most of their diversity in our timeline, and so in this timeline they are considerably more diverse, though declining severely in the Grand Coupure.

Unlike chelonioid sea turtles, most marine pleurodires lack flippers, and so are mostly restricted to coastoal waters, occupying essentially marine versions of freshwater niches. Exceptions nonetheless exist: Rahonachelys is a genus of Eocene bothremydids with large pectoral flippers, occupying a filter-feeding niche similar to that of manta rays, while Garriya is a genus of long-necked forms with pig-nose-turtle-like semi-flippers, slowly trailing their necks among fish shoals like the long gone plesiosaurs.

Pelomedusids were less diverse than the bothremydids (at least on the sea), but survived the Grand Coupure with fewer diversity losses. In the Oligocene oceans they were the most diverse turtles, occupying the niches left by their more specialised cousins, though largely remaining as conservative shore-huggers.

Sandownidae

Sandownids are an unique clade of ancient (neither pleurodire nor cryptodire) sea turtles that first evolved in the Cretaceous, but may possibly descend from Jurassic forms, the very first turtles to take it to the sea. Most of these animals were shore huggers, but a few developed flippers and joined chelonioids and some bothremydids in the open waters.

Unfortunately, they seem to have died out entirely in the PETM, so they didn’t get to become particularly diverse in this timeline. Oops.

Choristodera

Choristoderes are an archaic linage of freshwater reptiles of uncertain affinities. They diversified as a large variety of fully aquatic species from the long necked hyphalosaurs to the lizard-like Lazarussuchus, the latter the very last choristoderes in our timeline. However, the most iconic are the long snouted, superifically crocodile-like neochoristoderes, though functionally these were essentially more like reptilian fish or river dolphins seeing as they were fully aquatic; female Champsosaurus might still have returned to land to lay eggs, but other choristoderes are known to be ovoviviparous so this was likely an odd outlier particularly in light of other adaptations like forwardly facing eyes (instead of at the top of the head like crocodilians), flipper-like limbs, pachyostotic bones, smooth skin with non-overlapping scales and nostrils at the tip of the snorkel-like snout, all indicative of a fully aquatic lifestyle.

Neochoristoderes diversified in the Paleocene, producing a variety of large sized species across both Europe and North America. They in general preferred colder waters, suggesting perhaps an endothermic metabolism, and their extinction in our timeline seems to happen soon after the PETM. Luckily, in this one they found a refugium in the Arctic Ocean: covered by layers of freshwater and with abundant prey in the form of Iqiqquq, these reptiles quickly acclimated to a fully pelagic, marine lifestyle. Salt glands gradually evolved in their tongues in conjunction with larger kidneys, while a tail fin appeared, most species relying on a mixture of tail propulsion with sealion-like aquaflight, like mosasaurs before them.

While their prey became extinct as the Arctic Ocean expanded, choristoderes were now fully ready for life at sea, quickly shifting to prey on other marine reptiles, fish and newly evolved groups of marine mammals. In the Eocene they mostly were constrained to polar or open pelagic waters as dyrosaurids and palaeophiids ruled the shallows, but as the Grand Coupure removed these tropical species they were free to expand as they pleased, their warm blooded metabolisms giving them front row seats for the audiction of new niches in these colder but nutrient richer oceans.

By the Oligocene, they include some of the largest marine vertebrates yet to exist, some predatory forms exceeding 26 meters, such sizes possible thanks to a large diversity of marine mammals and birds to prey upon. They compete with large sharks as rulers of the abyss, though several also filter feed or specialise on squids like reptilian beaked whales (though both groups are comparatively rare; no fleets of “choristodere blue whales” here, just a few whale shark wannabees). Unlike most marine vertebrates they show no nasal retraction, keeping their nostrils at the end of the snout like sperm whales, allowing them to still use their jaws as snorkels. To compensate their nostrils are forced tight by some of the strongest muscles among all know vertebrates.

Some species have since returned to freshwater habitats. These are much like their earlier Mesozoic and Cenozoic ancestors, albeit with a more streamlined profile due to their recent marine ancestors. They also occur in most continents, including areas they were previously absent from like South America and Australia. They are effectively reptilia river dolphins, though their pre-marine-stage ancestors can more or less be considered as such already.

Palaeophiidae

Palaeophiids are a lineage of snakes related to Acrochordus snakes, and indeed basal members of this group likely lived like them, albeit both in freshwater and shallow marine habitats. However, more derived species developed higher metabolisms than any other snake, and attained quite large sizes over 9 meters. They were very well on the way to becoming serpentine mosasaurs, until the Grand Coupure killed them off.

In this timeline, they also died out in the Grand Coupure as ocean environments collapsed, but the absence of whales allowed them to become much more diverse in the Eocene. Several forms transitioned into fully warm blooded animals with fish-like bodies (still without flippers, but as some sea slugs show this ain’t a problem), occupying ecological niches akin to those of early cetaceans across shallow and open oceans.

However, by far the most impressive member of this group is the relatively more conservative Eubasilosaurus. Retaining a more serpentine body plan, some of these snakes grew up to 23 meters, the clear rulers of the Eocene seas.

Other Sea Snakes

Much as in our timeline Gigantophis cruised the seas of North Africa, but it didn’t amount to much.

Gavialidae

Several extinct gharials have ocurred in marine ecosystems across the Cretaceous and Cenozoic of both timelines. Opposite to dyrosaurids, these crocodilians developed short limbs and seal-like floppy bodies, thus being less competent on land and reliant entirely on the water. Some species attained large sizes in the Eocene, up to ten meters, but afterwards they mellowed out, mostly becoming marine versions of their freshwater forms (which evolved from marine ancestors). Still, they survived the climatic tribulations of the PETM and Grand Coupure with style, and remained common components of marien faunas across tropical and subtropical seas.

I’ll be honest, gharials are the most boring of the marine reptiles. I’m sorry but its true. Maybe some fan suggestions could change my mind…

[transroadwarrior]

Imagine, if you will, that you are a greater sage-grouse, that large and most noble of North America’s upland game birds. While there are certainly some fearsome predators that might make your life difficult, it is the middle of the cold, cold winter night, and golden eagles are likely roosting, while coyotes and bobcats are perhaps more liable to miss your scent in the snow or are themselves hunkered down from the frigid elements. Your thick, warm feathers are keeping you well-insulated as you huddle down into the snow under a large sagebrush. All is right with the world. 

But then you hear a roaring in the distance. Well, that’s not too much of a concern, really. You’re not that far away from one of those weird ribbons of black and yellow that snake across the steppe, and also not far from one of those odd riverbed-looking features that wind into the hills. More than likely it’s just one of those large rolling creatures that speed along such things.

The roaring gets closer. A blinding light strafes you. Well, now that is odd, but sometimes there are bright lights in the sky. Such is the way of the world. You are hidden, and your hiding place is safe and warm. Certainly nothing with big bright lights has attacked you before. The roaring dies. There! No problem here. 

But then, oh then, the roaring returns with a vengeance, coming ever nearer, the bright light is suddenly focused on you, twitching and holding your gaze. Louder and louder and brighter and brighter and then oh, oh! A bizarre creature leaps from behind the light and a gigantic web of fibrous material is closing over you and you are pinned to the snow even as you try to escape, far too late. And that being is holding you down.

It is tall, taller perhaps even than the sagebrush around you, and taller than a coyote or an eagle. It is puffy, its exterior hiding many features and rustling like leaves in the wind. Two of its appendages grasp you as another of the beasts falls on you, and grasps you as well. They make odd noises at each other as your eyes slowly adjust to the light. You must escape! You struggle and attempt to flap and maybe you get a wing out or maybe not, but even if you do, it is soon re-folded to your body and then a black nothing comes over your eyes and head. You freeze. What does this mean? The creatures still hold you, and they are doing something strange. Putting something over your body, securing it around your legs. What an odd sensation! The thing sits low on your back and is cinched tight. After a few more manipulations, they hold up some sort of shiny stick to your legs, beak, and wings, and then secure another odd thing around your leg. You are stuffed in a sack and hung suspended in the air for a brief moment.

And just like that, it’s over. Their grasp on you releases, and you stare around wildly for a second before running and the flapping away, adjusting quickly to the odd additions that the being made to you. Honestly, the audacity. Time to find a new bush to rest under, thank you very much. Perhaps a good rest will wash away this weirdness.

Anyway, sage-grouse trapping has gotta be wild from a grouse’s perspective