Adult Female
Name: unnamed
Species: Bronze Pumpkin Wyrm
Birthday: Saturday, October 15, 2022
Owner: rallis
Element: Neutral
A pumpkin wyrm hatchling spends its day eating, resting, or playing. In a matter of a few weeks the dragon will be old enough to help with harvesting food. Pumpkin wyrm adults are very busy during the fall, collecting the food necessary to sustain them through winter. Of course, if these wyrms ever run short of food, the magi are more than happy to provide them with some. During most of the winter, pumpkin wyrms are found inside their pumpkin homes, deep in sleep. They will become more active as the seasons change and spring comes once more. There will be no more pumpkin wyrm hatchlings until next fall, though, when the new pumpkins have grown large enough to create the magical seeds that contain these wyrms. This growth is crucial, because even once they have reached adulthood, pumpkin wyrms do not mate. New wyrms are only born through these extraordinary pumpkin seeds. Despite their inability to bear children, adult pumpkin wyrms do choose mates. They also form loose family groups, selective to different pumpkin patches. Every so often, a pumpkin wyrm adult will leave their pumpkin patch and move to new territory. This is only done when their pumpkin home is dying. If a pumpkin wyrm loses its home, it too will slowly wither away. Luckily, this is a rare occurrence, as their pumpkins are hardy dens and last for many years. It is also rare that pumpkin wyrms are preyed upon, as they are quick creatures and are perfectly colored to blend in with their surroundings. These wyrms are nocturnal, and the scales that cover their bodies help them blend in with the night. The only bright part on their bodies is on their long tails, where there are several colorful stripes. The magi who tend to take pumpkin wyrms for companions especially enjoy autumn, for that is when these companions hatch.
Pumpkin wyrms live inside pumpkins, just as their name suggests. These little creatures love pumpkins so much that they refuse to be gone long from a pumpkin patch. The one exception is the night of All Hallow's Eve, when the little dragons swarm over The Keep, partaking in the festivities. On that night, all that can be seen of them is their bright eyes, or the occasional glimpse of a striped tail. If any pumpkin candies or desserts are left out on that evening, the little wyrms will make quick work of them. Not surprisingly, most of their meals consist of pumpkin. These little dragons always take care not to eat pumpkin seeds, though, as they are indistinguishable from pumpkin wyrm eggs. Their eggs are carefully guarded and tended to, and come only from the biggest pumpkins from special patches. Magi take great care that any roasted pumpkin seeds are from mundane, nonmagical pumpkins. If you look inside a pumpkin wyrm's home, it will be almost completely filled with stockpiles of pumpkin flesh and rinds, which will serve as many future meals. Pumpkin wyrm eggs are kept separate from edible seeds, in a hollow pumpkin far from the others. This special pumpkin is guarded carefully, and never approached by humans. A typical wyrm pumpkin patch will hold anywhere from ten to fifty pumpkins. These patches are easy enough to tell apart from normal pumpkin patches, as they are much larger than normal pumpkins, and are hollow inside. These pumpkins also survive harsh temperatures more easily, and continue growing for many years without rotting. Though the pumpkin wyrms rarely leave their homes, they do love to play and sleep inside carved pumpkins, and can be lured to one with a slice of pumpkin pie on the last day of October. It is a common pastime for the magi of pumpkin wyrms to carve elaborate patterns into pumpkins for their companions.
Sprite art: GlassWalker/Mysfytt (adult) | Description: Damien