Flight Rising Discussion

Okay, but hear me out... turtle Snappers. To me they've always been pretty clearly turtle-based.

Some things to think about:

- wings. Shorter, rounder wings mean more agility/easier to takeoff, likely being used in forest environments. (eg faes and nocturnes)

- guardians do not look very streamlined despite being aquatic?

- bogsneak color changing confirmed? (see emojis)

- the proportions of skydancers suggest they're very speedy, at least on land



A theory: coatls and imperials have wings designed for thermal winds. The wings are sorta slotted/separated (whereas the coatl has feathers, obviously) and this slotting makes passive soaring on hot thermals easier. Makes extra sense for the coatls given their fiery origin.

Oh boy biology headcanons!

Mirrors are my faves, so I've had several thoughts on them:

• Although they specialize in running (and likely endurance as well, since their native Flight is often barren), their lithe, finned design and Plague's emphasis on adaptability lead me to imagine them as open to a semi-aquatic lifestyle (and potentially a more aerial one as well, although they're canonically weak flyers. Not incapable, though!). This would match their diet, as they are capable of eating marine delicacies as well as various meats. Plague shares a border with Water, and two of their neighbors- Nature and Shadow- have swampier biomes (pockets of which exist in Plague itself), making them the perfect infantry to lead expansion into new areas.
• Between their ravenous nature and pack lifestyle, I tend to imagine them being akin to carnivorous locusts; efficient eaters that pick territories nearly clean before moving on to the next environment, leaving time for the wasted habitats to recover. Since Plague at least appears to have some degree of biofilm over certain areas, it could be possible that they mimic herbivory in regards to the meaty mats and tendrils of some of Plague's territory. Alternatively- or perhaps in tandem- I can see them following massive herds of herbivores as they flee their advances... Or, more realistically, simply risk running out of food in certain locales.
• There was an Ask The Team a while back that confirmed Mirror crests are primarily cartilaginous, meaning some could be born "lop-eared," in mammalian terms! I doubt their crests are used for hearing, though, and they seem too firm to signal with effectively; I'd imagine they're either a display trait and/or used to regulate heat like elephant ears.
• Certain genes highlight their skull structure in a way that seems to highlight a potential hardening of tissue; for example, they could have a keratinized plating of sorts across the face. This would suggest that, while not as facially expressive, Mirrors could be blessed with a natural hard-hat of sorts! Perhaps they could use this for intraspecific combat via headbutting? Sort of like a goat- or, more specifically, certain hypotheses in regards to pachycephalosaur behavior.
• Mirror tails are very long and whip-thin! Depending on how flexible they are, I imagine this could be used to direct prey while hunting, or even direct each other to coordinate pack movements. (Whether they're directly whipping each other or just striking at the air to make noise and/or aiming at the ground to nip at each other's heels or indicate direction is up to personal taste, I suppose. I'd imagine it probably depends on how thick their skin is!)
• Mirrors totally pant. Their tongues aren't particularly wide, but they're long; plus, even birds will pant in hot enough weather, which I'd say matches their weird little beak-snouts! (They're a little beak-shaoed, right? ...Right?)
• Speaking of their tongues, I imagine Mirrors as using them to smell/taste the air, similar to Coatls... As well as items, animals, and even other dragons. It's not as accurate as a Tundra, but they're pretty good at locating food and water, at least! Of course, most dragons find licking everything a little uncomfortable, and probably wouldn't appreciate being tapped by a wet tongue themselves. Therefore, when Mirrors adapt to mixed-breed lairs, they often take up the habit of tasting the air just above whatever they want to sniff, rather than licking directly. A Mirror pack has plenty of mlems to go around, though- sanitary concerns and all!

Thanks everyone for your contributions so far! I have incorporated all of the animal references, and am still reading through the last couple of comments!

I read one post that was describing imperials as just very elongated dogs.

specbio heck YEAH obelisks while we dont have their encyclopedia entry yet, they do remind me of bears? could be liek that? spirals have basically cat eyes also im pretty sure pearlcatchers spit out the mucus. the old ask the team threads have a lot of extra info on the biology of dragons [quote name="ADCymru" date="2021-06-21 17:40:15" ] - bogsneak color changing confirmed? (see emojis) [/quote] i dont think thats ever been mentioned anywhere officially

[quote name="PixelSpiral" date="2021-06-22 07:17:55" ] specbio heck YEAH obelisks while we dont have their encyclopedia entry yet, they do remind me of bears? could be liek that? spirals have basically cat eyes also im pretty sure pearlcatchers spit out the mucus. the old ask the team threads have a lot of extra info on the biology of dragons [quote name="ADCymru" date="2021-06-21 17:40:15" ] - bogsneak color changing confirmed? (see emojis) [/quote] i dont think thats ever been mentioned anywhere officially [/quote] OH!!! Since Spirals tunnel, their eyes could work like cats' eyes to be able to see in their dark tunnels!!