LIFECYCLE
BIRTH
Lepitsunes are genderless, asexual creatures and rely on the meadows of flowers that populate their home star in order for new lepitsunes to be born. It is the stardust that makes up their bodies that pollinate them, and flowers that have been sufficiently pollinated will close up, in time reopening to reveal a lepitsune pup within the bud with a flower growing atop their backs.
Adult lepitsunes who stay on the star act as nursery guardians, watching over and raising the pups as they play and explore in the peaceful gardens. The gardens are safe but boring, and eventually, the pups will begin yearning to learn and see more of the world outside their quiet star. Every pup comes of age when the flower on their back begins to wilt and eventually sheds petals one by one to leave a single pair. These stiffen and form the lepitsune's wings, and once they gain them it signifies they are ready to leave for Earth (in rare cases, more than two petals remain and this leads to multi-winged lepitsunes).
The year they earn their wings, the young lepitsunes travel to earth on a bridge of stars built for their annual festival. Any lepitsunes who don't feel quite ready yet have the option of remaining on the star until the next festival, or in some cases, as long as they want. However, this is typically looked down upon, and such lepitsunes will remain forever young and never grow nor gain the earthly experiences all their peers will have.
LIFE ON EARTH
The main stage of their life. When they first arrive on Earth in small flocks, young lepis are given a chance to familiarise themselves with the nearest community settlement as well as each other, before scattering across the area in search of someone in need of help. Those more uncertain about venturing out on their own are assisted by special helpers, left at doorsteps in glass jars or bottles. From there, they begin their quest to grant their first wish, and an older lepitsune may check in on the young lepitsunes in the area, helping to answer their questions or give them guidance in what to do.
In a world away from everything they once knew, the support of more experienced lepitsunes is crucial in the young lepis' development. As a result, lepis are encouraged to spend more time with their own kind while young, at least until they have a better handle on their powers and a bit more knowledge about the world (some decide to rebelliously strike out alone anyway). Lepitsunes are naturally sociable and tend to cluster together in groups, often in established settlements somewhere secluded, out of sight of prying human eyes. While lepis can make themselves at home anywhere and adapt to any habitat and climate, or even amongst humans, they maintain special gardens in secluded places scattered across the world, made up of flowers and plants brought from their home. In this way they build small communities on earth, though they must be maintained or the flowers will wilt. These communities are often built near areas with a strong association with wishes, such as wishing wells, or shrines, and new resources are brought back from their home star every year during a certain festival.
These communities are most important for younger individuals, as more experienced lepitsunes tend to partner up with younger lepitsunes to show them the ropes in granting wishes, giving them guidance while teaching them about the world in a kind of mentorship system. Generally, lepitsunes who are friends with each other may work together to grant wishes for a higher chance of success, or simply for the fun of it. As they grow older, many may choose to venture on more solitary paths as they explore further and further abroad, but lepitsunes will generally always have a home to return to when in need of company or community.
GROWTH
The experiences lepitsunes have on Earth directly shape their growth both emotionally and physically, as the nature of the wishes they grant have an impact on their appearance. The emotions and intent behind the wishes a lepi chooses to take on will develop a variety of traits that can be categorised in three different ways. These three types - Sanguine, Melancholic and Choleric - can be considered a measurement of the nature of their granted wishes, rather than a concrete form. While it's up to the individual lepitsune what they choose to grant, different emotions and intentions behind the wishes lead to different kinds of growth. For example, an undiscerning lepitsune who grants any wishes they can, solely so they can grow up faster, will grow differently from one who selectively grants wishes that it believes are more significant.
It is rare for lepitsunes to have the traits of only one variety, unless they have only been granting wishes of those particular emotions for a long time, usually over years. Most tend to only develop traits to varying degrees of the three main types - for example, a sanguine tail with melancholic ears. Those granting wishes made in negative emotions and intent tend to be darker or duller, and those made in positive intent tend to be brighter, but a lepitsune's colouration may also be inspired by experiences that have moved them, or an aesthetic they've taken a particular liking to. For example, a lepitsune deeply moved by the sight of fireworks may develop markings resembling a spray of sparks, one who is particularly fond of a candy shop may develop sugary, pastel colouration, and a lepi affected by the sadness of wishes they grant may grow gradually dull and blue.
Sanguine
Sanguine traits tend to contribute towards a small, unthreatening appearance, manifesting in smaller sizes, fluffy curly fur, and rounder, shorter ears and tails with rounded wings. It is the most common variation among young lepitsunes, getting rarer with age, though that's not to say some manage to retain this state for most of their lives. Sanguine traits stem from primarily granting wishes based on emotions of happiness or hope, or those that are materialistic or carefree.
Lepitsunes with a high concentration of sanguine traits tend to:
- Be often overly optimistic or naive (or perhaps, simply turn a blind eye to the negative side of the world)
- Typically pastel colours
mELANCHOLIC
Melancholic traits tend to manifest in lepitsunes as long flowing tails and lopped, drooping ears, often with longer fur to keep them warm from cold feelings. Melancholic traits stem from primarily granting wishes made with the emotion of sadness or to ease pain or sickness.
Lepitsunes with a high concentration of melacholic traits tend to:
- Have duller or cooler colours, and are are most likely to fall to bouts of depression or despaire compared to other lepitsunes.
- May be more apprehensive of company and tend to be loners, though some may in fact crave it to keep their minds occupied and distracted.
Choleric
Choleric traits usually result in lepitsunes that grow to be the largest and most aggressive of the variations. Often seen larger manes and longer ears, wings and bodies, they most resemble fully mature lepitsunes. Choleric traits stem from primarily granting wishes made out of anger or envy, or those who seek revenge or to do harm.
Lepitsunes with a high concentration of choleric traits tend to:
- Be more unpredictable and chaotic in nature, or have a surprisingly strong sense of justice
- Often have darker colours or contrasting 'warning' markings.
INTERACTIONS WITH HUMANS
While lepitsunes may grant the wish of any living creature, the species that usually catches their interest the most is humans. Lepitsunes are naturally drawn to the intricacies of human society, their daily lives, and most of all their emotions and relationships. In fact, they tend to be attracted to cities, for their lights at night remind them of the stars. Though many lepitsunes prefer to stay with their own kind, choosing to emerge for shorter periods to grant wishes and returning to the local community once their job is done, some individuals who are more isolated or perhaps simply more curious about human society may take to living closer among them, studying them with fascination and the patchworks that make up their cultures and societies.
It is common for lepitsunes to "partner up" with a human they've chosen to bond with and assist them with events in their life, usually resulting from the lepi getting invested after granting a first wish. They both get to enjoy each other's companionship, and additionally the human benefits from the lepitsune's aid in their wishes and aspirations, while the lepitsune in turn gains deeper insight and understanding into life's experiences and emotions. Before their wish is to be granted, though, the human must promise not to speak of lepitsunes to anyone who has not yet interacted with one, and a lepitsune can vanish at will if in danger of being discovered (only visually - physically, they are still there).
To protect lepitsune society, however, a human who has breached this promise and revealed, intentionally or otherwise, to others about the existence of lepis, must be abandoned at once. This is to allow their memories to fade, as a prolonged absence from a lepitsune's company will lead to the human's memories of them fading (though particularly strong bonds may prove impossible to fully erase). All the same, individual lepitsunes may often be resistant to the idea....
ADULTHOOD
The matured form of a lepitsune is the dragon lepitsune. It takes many years of wish granting for them to attain this form, and many experiences spanning the emotional spectrum. Striking an imposing but elegant figure, with enough strength to make return journeys to their home star alone, the dragon lepitsune is usually the end goal for all lepis in their childhood. However, it tends to creep up on older ones as they mature, and once they've achieved this state, many are unsure as to what to do. Usually, they're expected to return home to attend to their star's Home Tree and nursery gardens, but many have grown so attached to Earth at that point that they often choose to stay where they are, continuing to do what they've always done - granting the wishes of others.
DEATH
As beings made of stardust, lepitsunes are technically immortal and have the potential to live for hundreds of years. Some may succumb to corruption, but others may just continue living on as long as they please, or simply choose to pass on should they grow too tired. When this happens, they dissolve into stardust, which will either be returned to their home star by special helpers or blow away in the wind to be lost forever. Lepitsunes captured for selfish intentions would as a result quickly waste away and die.
There are also occasions when one becomes so attached to a single person, they would give up the rest of their life if it means their human can live a few decades longer. While the magic store that lepitsunes have is usually enough to cure small illnesses and injuries or boost recovery for more serious ones, it is not enough to heal someone with a terminal or fatal wound. However, a lepitsune's life is. In extremely devoted cases, they can choose to spend all their life energy into a person's full recovery from such an ailment. However, this is a risky process with low likelihoods of succeeding, and often result in intense corruption for the lepitsune instead as their stardust will begin to destabilise too rapidly for them to retain control over their remaining power.