Ae is an odd little bird, though it’ll take a moment or two to pinpoint what exactly is so odd. The first thing you’ll likely notice is aer beak- it’s split vertically instead of horizontally, as if someone didn’t screw it on quite right. Second are aer eyes- large, unblinking, insectoid eyes that can be quite unnerving if aer staring right at you. Ae have two sets of odd, twiggy arms, though these are almost always tucked tight to their chest and hidden within their mess of downy feathers. Both their arms and their legs feature a thumb, and are plated with armored chitin instead of typical bird’s scales.

Ae have a long, feathery tail that’s decently flexible, though not anywhere near prehensile. On it’s tip, sits a large chunk of clear quartz. This weighs down the tail greatly, causing it to drag on the floor most of the time.

Otherwise, ae is just a chick- all downy white fluff accented with the dark blue-black of their beak, arms, legs, and eyes. A splash of iridescent blue-green sits across their face like a mask- the only splash of color in their otherwise monochrome palette. Ae is quite large for a chick, as well- the size of an adolescent newly hatched, and ae will only grow from there.

Cycle 2

Several new growths have made themselves known, though all fairly small and unobtrusive. First are tiny nubs on the top of aer head, the same blue-black their limbs are. They can move and twitch, and seem to be some sort of insectoid antenna. Second, and much more noticeable, are the squishy black nubs running from the base of aer skull to the tip of aer tail like a mane. The tips of these little growths grow a greenish-blue, and touching them inflicts a nasty little surprise. Poison, which at first inflicts little more than a furious itching, will soon strengthen into a painful sting that can last tens of minutes after initial contact. Ae will now be the size of an adult bearded vulture, and ae still continues to grow at a steady pace.

Cycle 3

More new things have started happening to this increasingly strange child. The little nubs have lengthened into full antenna, greatly improving aer sense of smell. The poisonous cerata have also lengthed, and the poison continues to increase in potency. Perhaps concerningly, ae have grown several rows of sharp, pointed teeth within their sideways beak. This coincides with a ravenous hunger and incredible, rapid growth. Ae will grow several feet over the course of the cycle, continuously molting during the whole process.

Cycle 4

Fully grown, ae are roughly 5 feet of nearly unrecognizable insectoid parts. Iridescent off-white chitin paired with snowy, downy feathers that coat their underside and chest. All this white is contrasted by dark blueish-black limbs- two pairs of arms, one pair of legs, and a pair of diaphanous, insectoid wings. Aer glossy eyes, beak-like mandibles and the poisonous certa that run along it’s spine are a similar color, though the latter have a greenish-blue glow to their tips. Ae has a tail that’s nearly the same length of aer body. This is segmented, and surprisingly flexible for being covered in armored chitin. Generally, it’s used for balance but it’s strong enough to pack quite the punch if you get smacked with it, along with the poisonous certa that cover it. Ae has simple, short antenna much like a bee’s, and, perhaps unnervingly, teeth line the inside of aer mandibles. Typically, ae keep one or both sets of their arms tucked into their belly-fluff, and their hide is more often than not smeared with a variety of colored dyes.

Aer wings, in particular, are odd. Positioned like a bird’s wing, the ‘arm’ of the wing is a bony structure covered by chitin in which the delicate, diaphanous membrane attaches to.

Aer stone is a chunk of clear quartz embedded into the tip of it’s tail, surrounded by clusters of poisonous certa. The glow from the tips of the certa refract into the gemstone, making the otherwise colorless stone glimmer with hues of blues and greens.

First is that the world is seen as a canvas, a rough block of stone to do with as ae pleases. This is just as literal as it is not. Being a child of an already artistic gembound, aer certainly fond of dyes and paints- give ae a palette of crushed berries and a blank cave wall and you’ll have what some may call a masterpiece. Aer white feathers are the perfect canvas, so their artistic escapades will not be limited to simply their surroundings, but Aerself as well. But ae also have a boldness of someone who’s not lived long enough to make many mistakes, and all the ego that comes with that. Not necessarily narcissism, but something that may or may not be tamed as ae grow.

But, truly, ae is also a blank canvas to be shaped by what ae experience. Life in The Bonebound is no doubt going to give ae a sense of community, and maybe even a sense of duty. Besides that, the aforementioned artistic aptitude, and perhaps an early-taught distrust of Order, very little is truly set in stone.