Chaoda

Here we observe the deceptive Chaoda in their natural habitat. Very much an evolutionary offshoot of regular Chao, they initially seem identical on a glance, but have a few key differences that set them apart as a subspecies. Most immediately noticable are their size and consistency. Their size varies a lot, but are typically recorded at around two feet tall at the shortest and can grow as tall as four and a half. They also lack hard bones of any kind, padded in very large part with a jello-like substance that, with the exception of some flexible tendons to form limbs, bounces and flows freely within their bodies. One would think this makes them fragile, but quite the opposite - they are ludicrously strong and durable for their physique, and in fact enjoy being subjected to sudden bursts of extreme duress to an extent. Lastly, they are marginally more intelligent than regular Chao, though their grasp on language and dexterity is still similarly limited.

Chaoda are predatory by nature, and devour other creatures for a wide variety of reasons and benefits, to such an extent that Chaoda themselves are considered to have a wide variety of sub-species that intermingle and cross-breed with one another. The main thing that links them all together is that Chaoda will typically only eat a single living organism in their lifetimes, as it's either figuratively or literally their passage into adulthood. Most Chaoda think of it as a playful act despite indications to the contrary, but depending on their alignment, some will be caring or tormenting towards their charge instead.

Some known subspecies include:

- Chaoda that are incapable of digesting live prey at all, and take it apon themselves to - benevolently or otherwise - sustain their prey's life within them for as long as either of them can last.
- Chaoda that melt and convert their prey into more of the same jello-y flab that lines their bodies. All of them still retain sentience after the fact, most are still capable of movement, but only some are given the freedom to move beyond their belly region where they started.
- Chaoda that absorb and merge prey with their bodies, adopting physical and mental traits reminiscent of them. This is the most common variation of Chaoda and the one most closely reminiscent of regular Chao. The original prey's sentience is still preserved in all this, and the Chaoda will even obey their impulses and desires, but is limited in their ability to express them (eg: a former engineer can guide a Chaoda through putting a round peg into a round hole, but actually building things is much harder). Likewise, the Chaoda has a passive influence over its prey, and it's not unlikely that they'll find themselves becoming equally as simple and naieve as them if they struggle to resist it.
- Chaoda that compact their prey into a colourful slop within their stomachs. They then seek out another Chaoda that has done the same, and after the traditional Chao mating dance of eskimo kissing, combine both prey into a single egg, which eventually hatches into a new Chaoda with traits from both prey.

An alt of Yol's. My actual preferences are there - read them first, or you won't get an RP, period.