The Saraneeks:

Since the Zeewoks are the artistic tribe, they need to get their paint from somewhere! I have created a creature called a Saraneek. This creature is like a very skinny bird. Its feathers are naturally white but when they are exposed to sunlight, their feathers change colors. When they are exposed to the rain (they like getting wet, by the way) their colors dissolve into the air, looking like a colorful mist. These mists turn into liquid after 48 hours, so what the Zeewoks do is take these mists in a tool that they have, which is very similar to a vacuum but smaller, and they wait for it to liquify and they use it as paint. The Saraneeks usually stay in their caves unless they see rain or a very hot sun. Then they feel attracted to it and go outside. Saraneeks eat mice and some vegetables and fruits.

How colorful! Are they like birds of prey or like a crane?

I imagined them as skinny toucans. Do you want to draw them as well?

... Maybe...

It is alright! I give you total permission to draw them! Just like I did with the Corinths.

Do the Saraneeks have any predators?

No, because they spend most of their time in the caves.

The Saraneeks sound so neat! I love the idea of colorful mist! Great job, Misty!

I got the mist idea from my name.

*Chuckles* I kind of guessed that might be the case.

These are really creative!

Maybe the fact that they don't have any predators could because of the mist that comes off of them repels animals from them. Kind of like a skunk or those poison frogs.
(I'm a big fan of having things for reasons other than convenience. It helps to make it a little more real.)

Thank you!

I am so envious!!! This is so creative, Misty!!! Wow, you outdid yourself on these ones. I am very impressed. I've never seen this done in a book before.

Awww, thank you so much Airianna!

Thank you!

I have been thinking about your idea, and I don't think it will work. Don't get me wrong! It is a great idea, but after the mist forms, the Saraneeks don't hang around it, so it wouldn't make much sense if that was the reason that they don't have predators. And if you look at the earlier posts, it say that the reason they don't have predators is because they are always in their caves except when it rains, and most predators don't come out when it rains.

Very cool idea! I have a couple questions...

1) If Saraneeks have no predators, what limits their population? Is it competition over food, or perhaps competition over space in the caves?

2) What is the natural function of the color/mist? Do they secrete it to protect themselves from strong sunlight, since their feathers have no pigmentation? Does it play a role in attracting mates? Do both male and female Saraneeks produce colors? The same colors?

3) I'm a little unclear on how the colors dissolve into mist in the middle of a rain. Normally, rain actually clears mist and dust out of the air, as particles are caught in the falling drops. Perhaps the rain simply wets the colors, which then spread as mist after the rain ends? An alternative (simpler in my opinion, but perhaps less glorious than the mist) might be that the color runs off with the rain. In this case, Zeewoks could put Saraneek food on a stick in the middle of a basin, and spread these basins out whenever it rains. A Saraneek would enjoy a meal while the rain washes the dyes into the basin.

1. Competition for space in the caves.
2. When they go out in the rain and the mist comes off, it's like they are cleaning themselves. Kind of like the colors are "waste" to them. Males produce dark colors and females produce light colors.
3. I'm sticking with the mist idea, but thank you. Well, the particles in rain act like a chemical reaction against the Saraneeks' skin which makes the colors repel the skin. It might not make much sense but that's how I see it in my head...

I agree.