Frozen Female Hatchling
Name: unnamed
Species: Decaying Mortifelis
Birthday: Saturday, October 31, 2020
Owner: Ayako
Element: Neutral 
You watch patiently after the egg, ensuring it is kept in optimum conditions, but despite your efforts it hasn't so much as wobbled. You fear the hatchling inside was never truly alive to begin with, and soon your worst fears are confirmed. The sides of the egg have started to rot and peel away, revealing a small kitten's corpse. The creature doesn't move, even when gently prodded, but its body refuses to fully decompose either, suspended in a state of perpetual decay.
All decessi fear one creature above all else, the dreaded mortifelis that devours them by the thousands come the autumn harvest. The mortifelis were produced centuries ago at the Keep, experiments to imbue a living cat with the ability to kill the hordes of undead rats that flooded the countryside each year. The experiments were an astounding success initially, but soon the magi who had created them started noticing that the cats were behaving oddly. They refused to eat regular food and appeared to stop breathing - yet they were still alive. Their skin would slough off in putrescent chunks, even down to the bone. Their eyes would decay and their noses would shrivel up, their ears eaten away by maggots and other insects that feast on rotting flesh, yet the cats seemed unaffected, clinging to life in much the same way as the decessi. Given free reign like other creatures of the Keep, these cats would occasionally come to scratch or bite other cats, spreading their condition, and their love of dead flesh. In due time, the existing cats were relocated to far corners of the world where they wouldn't pose a threat to living cats, but occasionally they find themselves back at the Keep with the onslaught of decessi.
Sprite art: Tekla (hatchling) | Description: PKGriffin