Venjra (singular and plural) (venj-ra)
Common name: venjra
Collective name: a haunt, cloud, or swarm
Young name: wisp(s)
Collective young name: a mist
Unborn young: droplet(s)
Normal "ground" state has soft, cool "skin" that's a bit squishy when poked, and will eventually part with enough pressure - this does not hurt them. Paler and misty colors are common, though in any color of the rainbow. Markings are extremely rare. Slightly transparent body, no visible internal organs. Defined front half trailing into a simple wispy "tail" beyond the front limbs. Little horns over the eyes and a small, undefined crest down the neck that disappears at the shoulders.
Adults: 6" to 16" long nose to "tailtip"
Wisps: 1" to 5" long from nose to "tailtip"
Sizes for an individual can be malleable, as they can thin their body out and become longer or thicken their body and become shorter, though the range is usually only a few inches either side of their base state.
Venjra continue to grow as they age much like a lobster, but after age 6 their growth slows down significantly. Another five years of life may add another inch of length, and it slowly decreases from there.
Wild Venjra: 6-15 years
When well cared for: 20-? years
Sexual maturity happens around 3 years of age
Much like lobsters, the older a venjra gets the more food they require to continue living. After a point, a wild venjra can no longer meet those needs and will die. A venjra who is a pet/companion will live as long as their owner is able to supply the necessary food.
Energy, be it magical energy, spiritual energy, life energy, fragments of soul, anything of that nature. They do not need to kill their prey to feed themselves, and can often simply take a nibble of their owner - venjra in the first decade of life usually need so little that their owner may not even notice, unless they've been using their powers extensively. They can also take energy from any other living beings or even things like wards, magical traps, and empowered artifacts so long as the energy powering it once came from a living being. (A large enough swarm of venjra can be used to bring down wards or destroy artifacts, so long as the thing they're draining doesn't replenish itself faster than the venjra eat it.)
Venjra can also eat other venjra. Unlike when feeding upon living creatures, this can and will kill the venjra that's being fed upon.
Similar to a border collie, venjra are highly trainable and often need things to do or investigate, or else they'll start getting into mischief.
Emotion-based telepathy - can be used with anyone, bonded or not
Intangibility - ability to turn fully intangible and phase through solid matter
Solidity - can expend energy to become more solid in order to interact with the world easier (this requires more power than turning intangible does)
Float - venjra neither walk nor truly fly, but rather float. Their movement tends to look like swimming, with their tails moving them along. Venjra can also extend that ability to float to other beings and things around them, though anything larger than the venjra requires cooperation between multiple venjra to successfully float it.
Venjra will bond with anyone who expresses interest and allows them to feed. The bond is thin and doesn't ensure loyalty, and a venjra can form and break multiple bonds without harm to themselves or those they're bonded to.
It's easier for them to feed off of anyone they're bonded to, so even wild venjra will often create bonds with whatever life is around them. Bonded venjra will often attempt to assist their bonded - in the wild, this may look like the venjra helping their bonded to find food and shelter, warning of approaching danger, etc. It's not uncommon for a wild venjra swarm to form around pack or herd animals, like wolves or deer.
Bonding as wisps will ensure a deeper loyalty and increased desire to assist their bonded, especially if the venjra is bonded to someone who cares for them and shows them love.
Venjra have no preferred swarm size, and can be perfectly content on their own or in the midst of hundreds of others.
Venjra in the wild tend to gather in locations where there are significant amounts of energy for them to eat. Cities, lively towns, mage towers, powerful ruins, and similar locations tend to attract one or more swarms.
Venjra reproduce whenever there's an excess of energy available to them and the local area can support more venjra. They reproduce via turning partially intangible and overlapping their bodies with one or more other venjra, mingling their essences together - the result is one or more droplets, which float in the air wherever the mingling happened and slowly coalesce over the next three weeks into the recognizable form of a venjra.
Droplets require no care from their parents, and are often simply left near a source of energy that the newborn wisps can feed off of. Venjra are born with instinctive knowledge of how to feed and use their abilities, and everything else is learned through personal experience.