2011 Day 14 a scut, creature from UnderCity in my novel “Mentor”
A scut
Scut: an arachnoid creature with ten to twelve legs holding suspended a fleshy flattened ovoid cylinder of a body. Bulbous glossy black eyes on short stalks on top of the body draw the attention away from the cutting jaws and sucking mandibles underneath.
The body itself is fairly soft but the legs are hard chitin and can be pulled up and over the soft body to protect its self. Scuts will not attack a moving target. They are scavengers really but they have been know to attack the wounded, basically to feed on them.
They prefer to nest in the higher reaches of Under City laying their trap webs to catch the unwary Flitbirds that also nest up there. In turn the Flitbirds often feast on the flesh and ichor of the scuts. Turn about being fair play in the war to survive.
Often one of the multitudinous scuts will fall off their high nests to the ground very very far below. If they can get their legs into the defensive mode they may even survive the fall.
The scut pictured has been attacked by a predator and has lost some of its limbs, which are now regenerating. Often an injured scut will not survive, especially if it is immobilised, as its brethren will make short work of it.
Nothing goes to waste in the UnderCity.
Category: 2011, Drama, Fantasy, Scifi, Uncategorized
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Writer/Artist for "Aedre's Firefly" graphic novel webcomic and "Wheeler's Orbits", Science-fantasy webcomicSubscribe
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Congratulations are in order. At least, I think so. Or maybe severe censure. Both? You have made this creature, which to all appearances is something like a cross between a spider and tick, you have, in fact, succeeded in making it improbably cute. Who could resist those goggly little stalk eyes, the tiny twist of a tail, and that pudgy little body? Well, OK, the eyes and the tail anyway. 😛
Great background description. The Undercity is really starting to sound like a wholly different kind of urban jungle.
Oh! Oh! How about a flitbird? Can we see a flitbird too? Puhleeeeze!