The Species Itself
Welcome to the Species page. On this page you will find all the information about Geokins themselves, how they look, what they eat, and so on. Younglings and younger Juveniles are referred to as Geodes, while older Juveniles and adults are referred to as Geokins
General Design
For Information on what you need to look out for when creating your own Geokin please refer to Design Rules.
===Head===
Geokins are anthropomorphic fluffy Drake-like Creatures. Their snout ranges from medium to short length, with relatively wide round ends as Geodes and more narrow and sharp as adults. They also feature distinct jagged jaws used for crushing and breaking down the crystals they consume and 1 slightly angled slit on either side representing their nose.
Geokins have amazing vision in the dark. As Geodes their eyes are big and round, while adults have smaller narrower eyes. Every Geokin features a set of 2 ears, usually long and pointy with a wider base. 2 horns in variable design and size and a generous amount of cheek fluff. Their horns are a good indicator for their age, since they slowly grow larger over time.
For a representative of the family of Drakes, Geokins have very short necks, more akin to those of humans, featuring a modest amount of neck fluff.
===Arms===
Geokins have human-like arms with 4 claws as fingers and a singular large paw pad in their palm. Here Geodes don't differ much from adults, mainly being more slender, less muscular and featuring shorter claws. These claws are mainly used for digging, burrowing and climbing
===Legs===
The Legs of Geokins are typically digitigrade with either 3 or 4 toe paws, paw pads included. Geokins don't have any sort of claws attached to their toes, as their paw pads give them enough grip to safely and swiftly traverse the rough terrain of caves.
===Tail===
Geodes feature a shorter very plush tail, akin to a very oversized nub tail similar to that of a bunny. Tails of Adults are longer and more streamlined, but just as plush and thick as those of Geodes.
===Body===
Geodes feature a softer, pudgy body structure while adults have slimmer, toned, muscular body structures.
===Crystal Deposits===
This is the distinguishing feature of Geokins, their Crystal deposits. These show up in their ears and on the base of their tales, optionally on their shoulders, elbows and ankles. What kind of Crystals grow on a particular Geokin largely depends on their exposure to them while they were developing in their egg and on their diet early on in the Geode Stage.
===Coloration===
A Geokins color scheme entirely depends on their crystal deposits, meaning their fur color represents the colors of the crystals they consume. With multicolored crystals or diets consisting of multiple different crystals, the colors are represented in markings or different colored sections of their body, for example their belly, arms, legs, or head. Their eye color also derives from their crystal deposits, in rare cases even effecting the color of the sclera.
=='''Development Stages'''==
In general there are 4 Development Stages in a Geokins life.
===Egg===
The egg starts out small and grows to roughly 5 times the size of that of an ostrich. Each egg picks up the coloration's which the Geode inside will have once it hatches. The eggs need to be surrounded with crystals for proper development. This stage lasts between 5 and 10 years.
===Geode===
Once hatched a Geode is born, these little critters are not much bigger than your average house cat. During this Stage the Geode will consume an immense amount of crystals to grow, strengthen and develop further. What kind of crystal is consumed is not too important early on, although the Geode will prefer and seek out the kind which it was exposed to during the previous stage. This stage will last quite long, usually ranging from 200 to 300 years. The crystal deposits of Geodes are smaller and limited in where they are located.
===Geokin===
Geokins are now fully grown and considered adults. During this stage they will consume a considerably smaller volume of crystals, basically enough to sustain themselves. They will only consume more if they desire to grow larger / stronger, or if their occupation requires it. This stage lasts a couple thousand years, theoretically infinite if the Geokins crystal deposits are of a common type. Their crystal deposits are bigger and spread over larger areas.
===Elder===
Elders are recognized by significantly bigger horns and larger crystal deposits overall. Elders also need to closely watch their diet, as consuming crystals that possess molecular differences too great to those of their deposits could risk their lives.
=='''Personality Characteristics'''==
Geokins are very social creatures, communicating with subtle "bwah, bah" and deep purr-like sounds. They can often be found in large communities located in underground cave cities. They have a great sense for community and are always happy to help other members of their community. Geodes specifically are very playful and don't miss any opportunity to cause mischief.
=='''Food'''==
Geokins exclusively feed on crystals or crystalized minerals. Basically if a certain material can occur as a crystalline structure in nature Geokins will see it as food. The restriction to what Minerals Geokins eat also applies to the crystal deposits on their bodies. FORCETOC