BESTIARY

Just some dumb plant that I stumbled across on the way to Zeppy. Pretty harmless as long as you stay out of its reach. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure there are a few careless animal-kin out there who don't know any better.

I'd always see this thing off in the distance, floating about and looking silly, but lately I've been wanting to learn more about it. I have no idea how it stays afloat like that. Must have something to do with the air pressure it creates between its tail and blowhole. Not to mention, with Kaz inside, I'm sure it's filled with a lot of hot air!

I met these guys recently, and they seem pretty cool! Gayle checks out the junk Zeppy gathers, Terra takes care of the monsters, and Kaz seems to be their boss. Doesn't Gayle just have the cutest ears? I just want to give them a tug!

Supposedly these things are pretty good at cleaning up whatever they ingest. But I have no idea how they manage to change the clothing of whatever they suck up. I'm not sure I should feel impressed or disgusted.

They're capable of shooting out their tongue a great distance, and are pretty good shots. Its tongue can stick to everything, which is good for when it hits its prey, but bad when it snatches a tree or boulder.

They hang on the ceiling, and just wait for animal-kin to pass underneath before they start sucking them up. It's often known that if a traveler doesn't know to look up now and then, they should count on living half their life expectancy.

They are the most dangerous in caves or at night. Wanderers will often mistake this monster's lure as either a hanging lamp or exit to the cave, but when they've come too close to see its giant maw, it's too late to keep from being sucked right in.

Of all the critters I've seen, these are the most symbiotic with others. Heck, some animal-kin even keep them in their homes to keep the place tidy. They're usually seen latched onto whatever they're attempting to clean, while the 'snorkle' off the top of their head purifies the air.

A common pet, a common scientific experiment, and a common delicacy among animal-kin. Pretty much the type of critter that pulled the short straw in life.

Kaz says these are part of the Zeppy's filtration system, but I've seen them all throughout the creature's body. My best guess is that these are a special kind of immunity system, meant to clean out the crud that builds up inside Zeppy. Strange thing is, they don't seem to work very well, and even need cleaning themselves. I've heard that's where Terra and the other monsters come in.

Kaz's all around desk chair and bed. Don't know if it should feel honored or ashamed.

Despite being covered in thick scales, this creature is supposedly very light. It's often seen flying over the territories, but usually around the same times of the year and in the same direction, leading many to think it often circles the globe. Its scales are incredibly valuable, and sold to repay the damage caused when they crash through someone's home..

Gayle helped me to describe this one. Apparently it's a new breed of monster, that needs a 'host' inside of it to keep its form. Very exciting to hear about a new species of monster.

I haven't a clue how these things work. Their tummies are somehow connected to one another, so when someone gets sucked into one, they get burped out the other. This seems to nourish them, and those who have gone through this process come out either worn out or nauseous, so maybe they are just unable to process larger creatures?.

Said to come up only once a year to fill up its lungs. As I think about it, it's a little weird to have so many underwater creatures dependent on oxygen.

This extremely large version of the common slug has been domesticated by a few companies in the animal-kin world. Originally travelers would sit in its mouth to be bussed around the country, but the latest advancements in monster harnessing have ensured travelers don't need a shower when they reach their destination.

These long-legged quadrupeds walk along plains areas, their large stomach-mouths hoovering up anything that ends up underneath. Being stepped on is the least of your worries.

Bad enough to be watching out for monsters during a trip through the woods, and now you have to worry about the trees themselves inhaling you?

It seemed to take a liking to Terra, and followed her all the way to work. Looks to be a relative to the common slug critters, but it's so much prettier!

He... uh, she... uh, it, thinks it owns Zeppy! Wait, what the heck is this thing, anyways?

Has a somewhat symbiotic relationship with Epicena, who uses Hatch as a vacuum pack on her back. Wait... I get it!

D'aw, this guy just loves trees, and gives them great big hugs (to get the critters hiding out inside!)

Uses the element of surprise to catch prey. Lays flat to the ground in the jungle, and when prey walks by, shoots out its tongue to engulf the target.

A common pest in swampy areas. To get around, it attaches itself to larger monsters or animal-kin and is pretty tough to pull off.

Puffins are the worst. They're not dangerous; they're just annoying. Puffins move fast and are a pain to get rid of. Having a puffin sneak into your house at night means getting very little sleep.

Slow moving, despite how many legs it has. Also has a tendency to crawl up inside people's pants for shelter.

I didn't know what to call this one, so I called it Ted. Always looks spaced out. Probably eats too much haze fruit.

A common cave dweller that is more fearsome looking than he actually is. Doesn't go out his way to terrorize people, because he's actually pretty shy. Sure, has the lung power to inhale everything in an entire cave, but is too afraid to hurt his friends.

The ung-hale's defensive mechanism is to balloon up and inhale whatever is bothering it. It doesn't actually eat what it inhales, it just spits them out much later when they have exhausted themselves, and runs away.

Why bother hunting down your prey when you can just wait for it to come to you? I'm not sure I'm looking forward to more monsters that prey on naivety, but who would be dumb enough to walk up to one of these?

Uses its large nose-like second mouth to inhale anything in hard to reach areas. Walls and alleyways aren't going to do anything with this guy.

Terra's roommate. I expected Terra would have been like Gayle, without a roommate, but he seems like a good fit for her, strangely enough.

The tar-like center is a lot sweeter than it appears, and has potent effects to animal-kin and monsters. While the effects vary person to person, the effects of a monster consuming it lead to a decrease in population.

A somewhat (barely) famous musician, who mainly performs in the town of Foxglove. I've heard her music can actually charm monsters, but that seems kinda scary. One bad note and they'll eat you in return!

If the quicksand of the swamps doesn't get you, this guy will. Though big in size, he's fast when he's in and around the swamps.

The luring tassels this monster has are great for making other predators think they're about to get an easy snack. Not really dangerous to animal-kin. You'd have to go out of your way to get caught by this guy.

Not really made of rubber. It's rare for a Class 1 to be dangerous, but the fact that the rubber snake can envelope a Class 3 monster is pretty scary.

A deadly monster, not for his demeanor, but for how tough it is to escape. Well, tough unless you know the trick.

Gets great reception, though usually at the cost of you ending up inside it. Makes the prey feel like they're inside the shows it picks up, but turns out, it's all just an illusion.

Doesn't have a reliable means of getting around, other than by bouncing. Not known to be much of a danger to animal-kin unless they get too close, as its vacuum breath is a bit weak.

Still technically kinda maybe a plant, so it counts! Gooey grass is like a more annoying quicksand, where the bare paws of animal-kin get stuck in it, and then they get sucked into the ground, where the grass gets its nutrients.

Squirrel guy is always nice and helpful and always in the right place at the wrong time. Seems to have a habit of getting sucked into tight spaces.

Seemingly as dangerous as he is loyal. Terra managed to make friends with him after a very intimate trip inside his tummy. A powerhouse that appears to be just as childish.

Attaches itself to the linings of a monster's stomach, and doesn't appear to be affected by stomach acid. Feeds off of the food of the leeched-onto monster, draining a bit of blood in order to maintain itself between meals.

Beware of the blob, it creeps and consumes all in its path with a mighty suction. The impression of all of its victims can be seen inside. I've never seen a creature like this before!

I have nothing to add here. I just wanted to draw him all flat again and stuff.

Wolf, Tenny, and Roger. Three animal-kin who supposedly lead the Monster Containment and Protection group, which is steadily gaining in power as more cities accept their 'protection'.

The cape beckons. The cape whispers, says nothing, but says everything. The cape is a force that fights against its greatest enemy: gravity.

Air sacs fill with gasses that allow it to take flight (much like Zeppy). The danger of riding it isn't really falling off or crashing, but instead being eaten by a much larger flying monster (not much like Zeppy).

Likes to wrestle, but has a habit to watch out for. When excited, it will uncontrollably gulp in large amounts of air, pulling in any animal-kin that have come too close to watch the fights.

Very few animal-kin have seen this Elder, and lived to tell about it. Much like the lungfish, it comes up for air once in a long while, but when it does, entire regions are changed in its wake.

One of Epicena's lackies, and packs quite a punch. Able to create powerful vortices with a single breath, and has no problem sucking in just about everything. Even simply breathing can stir the air about in an enclosed space.

An almost instinctual behavior in monsters of all kinds, especially when faced with the vacuum breath of a larger predator. When multiple monsters suddenly fall under the same place in the food chain, they'll use any means necessary to hold on, even to each other. Animal-kin use this method quite often if there's nothing else to hold onto.

Two blob-like nagas that join together to form one, that appear to be in sync with one another. Though they lack in size or power, they make up their threat with their intelligence. Well, at least one of them is intelligent.

Tumblers are innocent little creatures that exist in their own insular groups and just make themselves feel better by encouraging each other with affection. Not usually dangerous, unless a bunch of them come together and percieve a common threat, but their bark is usually worse than their bite.

I only know of this guy from a story I read in an online news site. The guy writing about him seemed to be really obsessed and it made me feel uncomfortable.

The world as we know it, or at least, some know it. Planet Clade may seem a bit creepy from far away but most animal-kin will never know of him. Hope this monster doesn't get eaten one day!

Mugs are often used to drink from, because their stomach enzymes react to certain alchoholic fruits, leading to stronger drinks. The danger of these 'mugs' is that the stronger drinks often lead to animal-kin walking right into the mouths of a passing monster.

Couch potatoes really like, well, couches. They often sneak their way into homes, take over their couches, and when animal-kin come by, often puzzled by its presence, they're too close and get sucked in or swallowed whole. Thankfully, the monster is pretty lazy and with a bit of effort, most animal-kin can escape.

A plant that mostly preys on insects, and is simply an annoyance to animal-kin. The stretchy tongue can shoot pretty far and has quite the tug, so depending on the stretch of the tongue it can be a little bit of a pain to get away from it.

Cat's Breath is not a fruit, but instead, the seeds that protect a piece of very sweet and rare Cradle Fruit. The seeds are not edible, themselves, and instead, have quite an adverse effect on monsters. The seeds will calm down the lungs of the monsters that inhale the dust of the seeds, preventing them from using their vacuum breath. Affected monsters can still breathe fine with most dosages, but a very high dosage of the dust can suffocate a smaller monster.

It was an urban legend that this plant could decapitate an animal kin that walks too close by. Thankfully the plant doesn't have the strength on its own to do this, and prefers smaller, easier to swallow, prey. Though, larger plants of this type could easily swallow an animal-kin whole, if they were unlucky enough to pass under.

Its name derives from its odd scent, which has a powerful hypnotic effect that lifts animal-kin up into the air. Once under the fragrance's trance, the animal-kin simply float over and into its awaiting maw.