#vlassk

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1.) Born partially blind and know their parent of guardian by their psionic signature, touch, and smell. Their vision will gradually adjust over ten to fifteen weeks of age.

2.) Self soothing: Newborns are prone to suckling on their own tentacles!

3.) Internal yolk. A newborn Illithid will "nurse" on its parent's psionic energy for the first six to eight weeks of life before adjusting to a semi-solid diet.

4.) Cranium bones are still soft and not yet fully fused. This makes the birth easier for not just the parent, but the child as well, whose delicate brain can be easily damaged until the skull hardens.

5.) Limbs are soft and extremely weak. It takes months for a newborn to learn how to fully use its limbs, with their tentacles being the first to gain full mobility and dexterity.

6.) Claws are not yet developed. Fingers and toes and very soft and delicate and may be prone to injury if the parent is not careful. Grip strength is extremely weak compared to the tentacles.

BOTTOM TEXT: Extremely soft and fragile, but frighteningly intelligent and curious. Newborn Illithids may gain a higher vocabulary in under a year if they are cared for properly and fed a rich diet of sapient brain mush. At roughly a year of age, they can be given cut pieces of intact brain. After eighteen months, they are big enough to eat a whole half brain. They are able to walk, speak, and levitate around two years.

Other HCs not included due to limited space:

juvenile marks and spots vanish over time.

newborns cannot lift their own heads for at least five months due to the size and weight of their own brains.

teething. Newborn teeth come in at around ten months of age, then shed them at two years, gaining juvenile teeth. These fall out at five years old and they gain their first sub-adult set.

the internal yolk is visible until the newborn fully absorbs it and moves onto brain mush. The translucency of its belly also becomes opaque over their first year of life.

Newborns are entirely reliant on their parent or caretakers for the first two years of their life due to their weak muscle and delicate bone structures. Their fragility makes them precious to a colony, and they take almost as much precedence as an Elder Brain.

I don't know, I just thought this was fricken adorable and like I said, entirely Wisp's fault. I need baby Omeluum in my life being a curious and extra squishy little bean that can't stop putting things in its mouth and is ENAMORED by glowing mushrooms.

It breaks Mar'reen's heart to hear and feel her sweet little squidling whimpering and sobbing against her chest. He is trembling and shaking; his mind tight and tense and wailing in agony.

“You're so strong, my sweetheart”, Mar'reen coos and pulls him closer; cradling him safely against her body because there's nothing else she can do to soothe his pain. Her arms and tentacles embrace and blanket him and rub slow, calming circles over his back and head.

Vlassk is one of the more unusual illithids. A pair of delicate and very expressive frills circle around his head and – as Mar'reen had found out roughly a week ago – he apparently also had a set of tails. Which were currently in the process of regrowing after being brutally cut off by his former guardian.

Vlassk's life prior to meeting Mar'reen … hadn't been nice, to say the least. The tiny boy had been severely neglected and abused when she'd found him – abandoned and frightened and hurt.

He had lost his right eye to that life, but not his kindness nor happiness, even if the latter was a shy little thing that had to be carefully and patiently coaxed out.

Mar'reen didn't dare think about all the horrible things Vlassk had to endure during those dark, lonely times. She just couldn't imagine how someone could do something like that to a child – their child, presumably. Mar'reen prayed that she never found out who it was and met them, or else she would go on a rampage, consequences be damned.

Vlassk moves. His little body wriggles and shuffles closer and a tiny and awfully weak tentacle reaches and curls around one of hers. His grip is barely noticeable. Another lasting reminder of his past.

Mar'reen's face and mind soften as she returns the gentle touch. “I'm so sorry you have to go through this”, she whispers and leans down to carefully nuzzle the top of his head. His frills flutter and tickle her cheek. She smiles.

Vlassk doesn't answer, but she feels a shift in his mind. He tries to push the pain away and appear strong – for her. It makes Mar'reen both proud and sad and she softly presses her forehead against his.

“You're the bravest soul I know”, she praises and means it, because she can clearly feel in just how much agony her squidling is. His skin is parting and breaking; muscles staining and bones aching. And she can't even give him painkillers to make it easier for him.

Vlassk is almost entirely resistant to analgesics of any kind – thanks to his former guardian using them excessively on him to keep him calm and quiet whenever they weren't in the mood of taking care of him. Which – judging by his blood tests – had happened a lot.

Oh, if Mar'reen would ever meet them, she would- …

The tentacle holding onto hers gives a light but insistent tug and interrupts her thoughts.

“I'm sorry”, she instantly says with a fond but apologetic smile; her mind gently brushing and wrapping around Vlassk's. “You're right. They don't deserve to be thought about.”

Shifting, she adjusts both their positions; allowing Vlassk to comfortably lie down on her chest as she keeps rubbing his back and caresses his tired mind.