Quori

Dwarf Truffle Spores Organics It's a baby truffle - you monster! 28

WIP - Warning for creepy decay, body horror, fungus, abandonment

Ancient Fungus Spores Organics These spores are a dangerous poison to smaller creatures, but present no hazard to larger dragons. 28

On one of his studies in a rotten cave, working with fungi and their properties, Leksik found a small hatchling in striking colours. She chirped at him from her place amongst the long dead detritus, as alive as the fungi growing off the walls. When he picked her up, she was...squishy. Her flesh didn't feel the way flesh is supposed to, too soft even for a newborn skydancer. There was a strong smell of something rotten about her as well. He had first thought she was a fire dragon, but upon closer inspection, realized she was of plague.
Upon properly picking her up, her body slumped, skin stretching and changing colour. Leksik panicked and nearly dropped her. She didn't seem disturbed, but he was. He gingerly set her upon his shoulders. Hurrying back to the lair, he would worry about her potential family after he figured out what was wrong with her and got her treated.
After much poking and prodding back at his lab (really more a glorified kitchen), he came to the horrific conclusion that she was more fungus than dragon. When he tried to remove some of the colonies growing from her, she snapped at him. He quickly stopped. She didn't move, didn't speak beyond chirps, and her skin began to crack if dried out, revealing gooey orange flesh.
No one in the clan knew what to do with her, least of all Leksik. He waited weeks, visiting where he found her to see if she would be claimed by parents or a home lair. No one did. It looked increasingly likely that she had been abandoned. He couldn't decide if her condition was something she had been born with, or if it had developed after she had been left in the filthy cave.
It was Leksik's husband, Faravald, who convinced him to adopt her as one of his own and care for her. Her flesh continued to stretch and pull as she grew, and Leksik took to maintaining her health. She had to be kept damp, and often he had to wrap her limbs in wet cloth to keep them attached. It became apparent that any organic surface she came in contact with for too long would begin to mold and rot, so he fashioned a safe, but hopefully comfortable, space for her. With the help of Faravald, he laid a stone platform down in the shade of his lab and layered it with old cloth that could be changed out easily. She spent the first significant part of her life there, watching Leksik work in his lab. Faravald would visit frequently, spending time with his husband, but also entertaining Quori. He was the one to suggest her name, albeit jokingly at first, as a reference to Cordyceps.

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She grew much more slowly than other skydancers. It took months of extra time for her to reach full size. Once she was fully grown, she had gained the ability to speak and move short distances.


Where are your bones, kid? Where are they
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