Female Hatchling
Name: unnamed
Species: Giant Thelyph
Birthday: Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Owner: Mykestri
Element: Neutral 
A thelyph nymph is small and fragile for their first few days of life, living off of fat reserves they hatch with. However, once their exoskeleton hardens, they become much like small versions of the adults, able to hunt for themselves by instinct. They are surprisingly gentle when they're small, and can be acclimated to magi with enough patience and attention. They will let a magi hold them, and some magi have even been known to feed their giant thelyph hatchlings by hand. However, one has to be attentive, especially around larger thelyphs, as their acid grows stronger with age.
Thelyphs are small creatures found throughout the world under leaf litter, but one of their number stands out for its unusual characteristics. The giant thelyph grows many times larger than its miniscule cousins, reaching the size of a large sheep. Instead of springtails and fleas, the giant thelyph hunts birds and mammals, terrorizing rabbits and jackalopes in the southern deserts by ambushing them from under the sand and spitting noxious acid at them. The thelyphs bury themselves during the day, and at night, if nothing has wandered by, they will emerge and stalk the dunes, looking out for any creatures large enough to sate their hunger. Desert travelers know to give these arthropods their distance, for they are not picky about their prey, but lack the speed to chase down anything wise enough not to come too close.
Sprite art: Mysfytt (hatchling) | Description: PKGriffin