#teamprototypeoc

A Hospital Visit

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Nido ducked beneath one final prickly bough before his eyes laid upon his quarry.

A rock!

A lone, white rock laid nestled in the verdant clearing before him, inviting the needlix to take the weight off his feet. And without much thought, he obliged! Onward he lumbered to his craggy throne, his eyes meandering across the canopy hoping to catch glimpse of small acquaintances he’d made previously.

No one seemed brave enough to peek out just yet, but all the same! A tilted grin knew that the etiquette was for him to sit first before any meet and greet could begin.

The stone now just beneath his nose, Nido quickly turned about-face and plopped his heft down as his legs splayed out before him – the heels of his boots caught the earth as his weight settled between the points of contact.

Nido braced his hands on either side against the stone and leaned back as he drew in deep the amber scent of pine, humus, and morning dew with a pause. And soon the atmosphere returned warmly through his teeth in a contented huff.

Straightening up with hands on his knees, he drew his heels closer to him letting his boots press flat on the ground as he took a deeper scan at the stillness around him. The sentient rags on either side of his head also began flagging down any signs of life calling through the forest air.

Still no visuals on any natives making themselves known, Nido peeked over his shoulder to check in on the space behind him where his tail rested. As expected, new blades of grass had long bandaged up the previous wound in the ground he’d made some weeks ago.

The needlix’s ears fluttered with anticipation as he leaned forward up off the log, positioning the four-pronged tip of his tail ready to strike into the earth… and with a schuff, his ornery pitchfork drove well into it.

He closed his eyes.

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Seems like two nests became three! Two of them still abandoned, and the new one was a good few meters higher? Ambitious! Or… perhaps there’d been new dangers afoot as of late. None that the needlix could sense at that point in time. Nido looked up at where the new nest felt like it was situated and he swayed his head back and forth to help pinpoint any visual. Nope, couldn’t really see it. With a slight grin he nodded approvingly, silently congratulating the parents on choosing a fine property.

The trees also felt… heavier. Made sense! It’s spring, so they’d been growing and it did rain in the area a couple days ago. Nido took another deep breath as to further confirm the smell of a well-watered forest when he closed his eyes again and took a moment to really focus and make sure he was clear of any civilized life encroaching on his evergreen sanctum.

A string of very distant caws prompted Nido to mark his survey clear within a half mile as he leaned forward taking a look at the ground beneath his boots. He began tamping the leg space around him being sure to level any grassy protrusions. And once he was sure the area was leveled, Nido began to shed his boots and socks.

Placing his footwear off to his right, he planted his freed stompers into the indentations his boots had left. Nido flinched for a moment as his face fended off a throaty titter as some rogue blades of grass brushed against his soles in the process.

His legs then firmly coupled with the ground, he pulled his headset free of his skull and perched it askew over his boots. And with that he closed his eyes and leaned his weight forward, his elbows anchored atop his knees. His mossy mane fell forward in its natural state obscuring his sight. However, his seismic vision was ever clearer – his spirit now wove freely through the trees and delved ever deeper into the depths below.

Being grounded, for him, was to fly! _______

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Hope ya enjoyed the picture and lil story that I wrote above!  As a courtesy, I’m reiterating some lore/design tidbits regarding Nido’s keen senses below:  -Nido is highly attentive to sound and vibration

-This is part of the reason why he’s always wearing his headset as a passive filter to surrounding noise. His clarity of hearing with it on is above average, and with it off is downright sharp!

-He’s developed a tendency averting his gaze/closing his eyes when listening to someone because he can get distracted with watching how mouthsounds are being produced instead of actually comprehending a sentence/thought. This has made him look rude/uninvested to people who don’t know him very well.

-he has legitimate TREMOR SENSE but he doesn’t do the stomping technique a la Toph from AtLA. Instead he tends to simply remain still to hone in on his surroundings.

-His clarity and breadth of tremor sense is highest when planted barefoot and tail fork is nestled in the ground

-If he’s busy with physical or interesting work, it’s easy for his mind to not pay attention to listening through his feet.

-While he legitimately likes rocking them, he wears cushy closed-toe boots and thick socks because it also helps dampen any tremor noise.

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So I decided to take the afternoon/evening working on sketching out lots of EARS. This time without the troublesome mane and headset just so we can see them sentient head flaps of his more clearly. 

Nido’s ears are very, very active/expressive. In their relaxed state, they’ll usually sit perched with slight arch before draping over the earcups of his ever-present headset. If Nido is actively listening or there’s a sudden loud noise, the ears often lurch towards the source before Nido’s eyes/head follow. 

The base of the ears sit at level of the brow-line instead of eye level as compared with typical needlix depictions. They also are a bit longer and floppier. I’ve decided that he now has tufts of hair that creep down the midline on the backside his ears. I’ll admit that I’ve lifted that lil design aesthetic off a certain fellow’s style.