Adult Female
Name: unnamed
Species: Jerboa Rat
Birthday: Saturday, April 24, 2010
Owner: safara
Element: Neutral
Jerboa rats are highly prized because or their unique talent: a form of psychic ability that allows the creatures to share senses with their magi, enabling the creature's keeper to see, hear, smell, and even taste the things that their Jerboa rat is currently experiencing. This power is especially useful when in wars, where spying can divulge information that may lead to victory. This possession only lasts for a few moments, though, and takes years of training to master. Because of this strong relationship, if a Jerboa rat's magi passes away, it will never bond with another human again. It is for these powers that jerboa rats are taken in by tribe's people, given refuge from dangerous deserts and jungles. When brought to The Keep, jerboa rats first explore every inch of their new home before digging their own. These burrows are all over, and one can never tell when a jerboa rat will pop out of the ground. Though food is plentiful, these creatures create separate burrows where they store food, usually grains and seeds. They love fruits as well, though, and the garden is constantly being raided by these small animals.
These rats are able to comfortably live in deserts or jungles, wherever some people still live primitively. They are curiously tame by nature, choosing to live near humans for protection and to hone their powers. Jerboa rats may be diminutive, but their great speed enables them to escape predators, as well as their unique markings that allow them to camouflage. The males are more red than the females, though they bear the same white spots that blend in so well with sand. Female jerboa rats are more tan, and it is they who raise the young, teaching them how to forage and evade harm. Like most magical creatures, these animals do not bear more than one offspring at a time, and therefore value their young greatly. It is not until they are nearly full grown that adult jerboa rats begin to take hatchlings on serious outings. Because these creatures live in the presence of humans, hatchlings are seldom bored enough to wander off into danger. Adult jerboa rats are extremely alert and careful. For those that live in the desert, they create burrows where they remain during the heat of the day, coming out at night when the most dangerous predators are asleep.
Sprite art: Niwer (adult) | Description: Damien