Third part of the "Changeling/Mimic Sky Kid Creature" Series
HIDDEN FOREST
I am happy to present you the Creatures living in the dark and misty depth of the hidden forest!
The hidden forest is a dark and vast maze of trees, shallow rivers and many caves to explore. The heavy rain and the sun being hidden behind dark clouds and gigantic trees cause the forest to be cast in a constant dimness.
The dark habitat and the constant rain reminded me of the rainforest so what better adaption for the little critters would it be than the one comparable to amphibians?
Most of their features are inspired by frogs plus a bit of a snake like behaviour here and there.
The Frog-Kids live in every nook and cranny of the hidden forest. They climb to the highest top of the trees, crawl through the many dark caves scattered throughout the realm and swim through the shallow rivers and ponds formed by the constant rain.
If not being on a hunt, Frog-Kids wander the land as pairs, picking one companion during their young years and staying with their choice for the rest of their life. Together with their chosen second half they patrol the woods, climb the hills and trees and sleep together in the shallows of the rivers and ponds.
Because of the constant rain, the capacity of normal hearing got quite useless, the continuous pattering of water drops drowning out most of the sounds. As consequence, the Frog-Kids ears changed over time to help filtering out the most important noises. They are most comfortable to move around on all fours, making it easy to jump onto higher places or into the water quickly, if someone would be walking into their paths.
If they do decide to walk on two legs, when disguised as normal Skylings, they tend to walk hunched over, keeping their arms in the front to fall back on all fours at any moment.
Compared to an average tall Skyling, Frog-Kids are often half a head or a full head taller than them. Combined with them rarely wearing moth clothing, it doesn't pull any attention to them, thanks to the fact that vets or butterflies tend to change their hight during their journey. As a result, they are being perceived as one of them.
Due to the generally wetter environment and their adaptation to spending quite a lot time in the water, their hands and feet developed webbing. As consequence of this, they are incredible fast swimmers, unbeatable if you would try to escape them if you are unlucky enough to fall into the murky waters.
Because of the webbing, their gloves are not able to properly hide those features and you'll be able to see the webbing even through their disguise.
Because of the generally dark atmosphere in the rainy forest, the Frog-Kids especially pick out Skylings with dark clothing and masks to steal their disguises from. The dim colours letting them blend in better than the brighter orange-beige of the moths.
They are not able to wear any capes as those tend to melt in the rain of the Hidden Forest, it being one of the reasons that this realm is known to be dangerous to venture through for young Skylings.
Additionally, the absence of the cape is causing older, more advanced Skylings to feel a need of protection if they cross paths with the Frog-Kids, and they tend to stay on the ground to help them, making it easier for the Creatures to guide them into uncharted parts of the forest, just to either eat them or leave them lost in the dark as entertainment.
Even if Frog-Kids are venturing the Forest as a pair, if it´s about hunting for food, they exclusively do it alone. It is not just being more efficient but also prevents any competitive behaviour between themselves, which could cause a fight about resources and end in attacking each other.
The Frog-Kids have no teeth but instead use their long and extendable tongue for hunting. Their jaw, similar to that of a snake, is able to dislodge and widen their mouth significantly, making it easy to swallow their victims whole.
The tip of their very strong tongue can light up brightly, comparable to the few lanterns scattered around the forest. When hunting, they usually position themselves higher up on one of the mushrooms growing on the trees and let their tongue lure some unsuspecting Skylings to them, which just think they found a light source to recharge their own light.
As soon as the Skylings get close enough, the Frog-Kids tongue shoots out and envelope their pray. Once they have you in their grasp, it is impossible to wiggle your way out of it again. Just seconds after capturing you, they swallow you whole and digest you over the next days.
Their diet consists of Skylings exclusively, but due to the way of consuming them, they keep their hunts for them to more or less once every 2 weeks.
Frog-Kids are sinister, dangerous beings. If you are encountering a single one, it means they are on the hunt for food. If you cross paths with a pair of them, it means they want to have some fun getting you lost in the darkest, unknown corners of the Forest. Either way, meeting any of their kind is a bad sign for moths as well as vets. If you venture the forest during the night and see a bright light slightly moving between the trees, it is advised to keep your distance, even if your own light is at its lowest. After all, you´ll never know for sure if you´re not being watched from above, observed to turn your back and open up a chance to snatch you from the muddy floor of the forest...
Signs to distinguish a Frog-Kid from a Sky-Kid:
no cape
webbing between thumb and hand visible
walking around lightly hunched over
wearing dark masks and clothes
skin color is a musky dark green
> Reference of the Hidden Forest <
