Egg (couldn't decide between these):
- This egg seems to be water logged.
- This egg has a rather hard shell.
- This egg occasionally spit clean water at you.
- This egg seems to have a hole in it.
Hatching:
As the shell flakes away, you are surprised to find that the actual eggshell was fairly thin. It would seem that the hardness was coming from the patterned shell that the bewildered hatchling before you is hiding in. Shyly, it peeks its oddly shaped head out to look you over. As you reach out to reassure it, however, it lifts its head and spits at you. Laying some fresh fruits before it and pretending that you have lost interest in the strange little creature awards you a honking bleat of apology and a timid nuzzle to the hand. You can tell already that this baby will be a handful, but affectionate and loyal as an adult. For now, its spindly, finned legs are too weak to hold it up, so it crawls along on the inside flaps of its legs.
I'm not really sure how to word that but the basic idea is that it is a camel inside a sea turtle shell with a blow hole in the top sort of like that of a whale. I imagine the hatchling as laying on its belly with its fins splayed out on the ground as it crawls and its tail swishing to one side. I'll try to get a sketch up later.
Adult:
What once was as small as a mid-sized Dire Wolf, all shell and knobby kneed fins, now stands before you as a loyal and steadfast companion standing only slightly taller that a pegasus. Though it has not stopped it's spitting habits or the unexpected showers, it has learned not to aim such attacks at you unless specifically requested to do so. During the day at the Keep you can often find it watching over the young. At night it likes to retreat to its shell for a nap, blending in almost flawlessly with the sand or nearby rocks. Long fins flapping gently along the length of its legs, neck and tail, provide it with a smooth swimming ability, as well as an internal warming and cooling system that allows it to adapt to most any weather, except for the extreme cold.
For the adult I imagine it sitting up so that its hind legs/fins are flat on the ground and the front legs are propped up like it is about to stand up. Its head is turned towards its blow hole as if it is trying to get a drink of the water it is spraying. I guess that would be more cute for the hatchling though... The other pose I could see the adult in is fully standing, with one hoof lifted in a defensive pose and its head reared back against the shell as if it were spitting at something. Again I'll try to get a picture up soon. Although I am kind of crappy at drawing the legs I have in mind.
General:
The Turmelcus is a generally shy creature who has a talent for drinking unreasonable amounts of water and retaining it for long periods of time. They had been believed to be extinct until just recently. In olden times, one could find them roaming through the sands of the Etain desert or swimming lazily in the oases. They were best noted for their knack as finding unfortunate creatures and people who had become lost and/or were without water in the desert. By spraying water from the blow hole in the top of their shell they would shower such wanderers in cool water that was later discovered to be drinkable and slightly sweet tasting. Since the recent rediscovery of this creature, studies have also uncovered that the Turmelcus is also capable of purifying poisoned liquids upon drinking them and later spitting the poisons out as a defense against attackers. Magis' are now finding that these abilities make them excellent companions and mounts.
