freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
How about this?
A walking egg is a type of creature sages call the alkada, a group which also includes the wingless wonder. Alkadas are short-sighted, curious and fearlessly stupid. They often make a high-pitched chittering, and redden when angry or excited. An alkada is attracted by red or purple, the brighter the more alluring, and are fascinated by sparkly translucent objects, which they swallow and carry around in their stomach. An alkada must be cut open to extract these shiny trophies, which may include a few gems or pieces of valuable crystal among the polished pieces of glass and pretty pebbles.
An alkada's favorite food is ripe fruit, but they can eat almost any living (or once living) thing they can fit into their mouths. Most of their diet is fruit and vegetables, supplemented by whatever small animals come within reach of their tentacles. Alkadas also eat carrion: they can live off kitchen refuse and animal wastes provided they occasionally dine on fresh vegetation (leaves, grass, and flowers). Alkadas do not attack other alkadas, but will feed off the corpse of an alkada if they are sure it is dead and rotting.
Alkadas are hermaphrodites. Whenever a solitary alkada meet another of their species, they entwine tentacles and chitter passionately for several minutes, exchanging fluids that fertilize pea-shaped eggs inside their alkada partner. They usually then separate and continue their solitary lives but may wander together as a mated pairs. An alkada can carry up to a dozen eggs but only fertilizes one each time they meet another alkada. After six or seven months, the alkada excretes a fully-developed egg, rubbery and as large as a human head, which splits open to reveal a juvenile alkada. A newly hatched alkada can live independently; it often accompanies its parent for a while but is expected to fend for itself. Pregnant alkada radiate faerie fire, which may flicker out when they use their psionic abilities.
A walking egg stands about 4 feet tall, including a nest of tentacles about 18 inches high. They weigh about 40 pounds.
Alkadas do not speak, their chittering carries no more meaning than an animal's cries.
A walking egg is a type of creature sages call the alkada, a group which also includes the wingless wonder. Alkadas are short-sighted, curious and fearlessly stupid. They often make a high-pitched chittering, and redden when angry or excited. An alkada is attracted by red or purple, the brighter the more alluring, and are fascinated by sparkly translucent objects, which they swallow and carry around in their stomach. An alkada must be cut open to extract these shiny trophies, which may include a few gems or pieces of valuable crystal among the polished pieces of glass and pretty pebbles.
An alkada's favorite food is ripe fruit, but they can eat almost any living (or once living) thing they can fit into their mouths. Most of their diet is fruit and vegetables, supplemented by whatever small animals come within reach of their tentacles. Alkadas also eat carrion: they can live off kitchen refuse and animal wastes provided they occasionally dine on fresh vegetation (leaves, grass, and flowers). Alkadas do not attack other alkadas, but will feed off the corpse of an alkada if they are sure it is dead and rotting.
Alkadas are hermaphrodites. Whenever a solitary alkada meet another of their species, they entwine tentacles and chitter passionately for several minutes, exchanging fluids that fertilize pea-shaped eggs inside their alkada partner. They usually then separate and continue their solitary lives but may wander together as a mated pairs. An alkada can carry up to a dozen eggs but only fertilizes one each time they meet another alkada. After six or seven months, the alkada excretes a fully-developed egg, rubbery and as large as a human head, which splits open to reveal a juvenile alkada. A newly hatched alkada can live independently; it often accompanies its parent for a while but is expected to fend for itself. Pregnant alkada radiate faerie fire, which may flicker out when they use their psionic abilities.
A walking egg stands about 4 feet tall, including a nest of tentacles about 18 inches high. They weigh about 40 pounds.
Alkadas do not speak, their chittering carries no more meaning than an animal's cries.
That revision looks fine. Should we put in the bit about flickering in the wonderblast?
