Welcome to Gaia! ::

A cool wind whipped through the dense forest, sending newly-turned autum leaves swirling 'round their mother trees. The sun's first rays crept over a grassy hill, gently illuminating a slight form as it rose into the air. Small wings beat for the first time, newly formed muscles finding their place in the life of the creature. Suddenly, as the sun burst into full view, a larger version of the first being seemed to erupt from behind the hill, long wings pumping up and down to keep it aloft. Its long form gently surrounded that of its offspring, lifting it higher, until they both hovered just above the treetops.

The beings, named Scalla by the speaking inhabitants of the planet, had long, curving bodies that undulated in the air as they rose higher and higher; one could speculate that they could have once been related to the clumsy Earth snake, or the majestic Dragon, but both did no justice to what lived in this day. While the head of the Youngling was soft and undefined, its mother's curved cheek bones and pointed snout spoke volumes of how these creatures had evolved through hardship and pain, to become one of the dominant species on the planet.

The little one, having finally figured out the fine workings of its wings, was zipping 'round the larger Scalla, small raspy calls emenating from its maw, to be followed by the refined bellow of its mother. They played like this for a few moments, until a movement caught the mother's eye; a small, rodent-like creature, dubbed Marcii by the speaking ones, had emerged from behind a clump of bushes, and was busily sniffing at some seeds thrown down by a tree. Immediatly she nudged the baby to the ground, signaling with a small snort that it should stay where she put it, nestled close to the small cloud-like embryo it had come from not an hour ago.

Sliding away from her offspring, the mother Scalla clinched and unclinched the muscles in her stomach to move along the ground, much like her ancestors had done. She slid not toward the rodent, but around it, making sure it did not detect her presence; unlike the Earth snakes of long ago, the Scalla used a tactic much like the Angler Fish to catch their prey. When she was in position behind the bush she turned, pushing her tail slowly toward the Marcii; the Scalla had long ago developed a small tuft of hair on the end of their tails, which they used as a very effective lure for hunting. Raising its snout from the seeds, the Marcii turned, eyeing the tuft; unlike their decendants, the Marcii had developed a liking for meat as well as plants, which suited their ever-changing environment. Thinking the tail to be some sort of insect, it tensed its muscles, ready to pounce. As it's back legs left the ground, the mother Scalla lunged foreward, snapping her jaws around the Marcii, swallowing it whole. A thick lubricant covering the entire inner passage of the Scalla allowed them to swallow things whole in a matter of seconds; a useful evolutionary trait developed after too many Scalla were killed while trying to swallow their prey.

As she slipped back to her child, the snake-like being readied herself to provide nourishment. Small pores opened up near her belly, a digested version of the Marcii seeping slowly out, just in time for the baby to lap it up with it's long tongue. As the father Scalla had been killed defending his mate and child, there was only the mother to provide everything for her offspring. Usually, Scalla would mate for life, unless their partener died in some way; the remaining partner would either spend its life without a mate, and constantly thinking of its dead counterpart, or it would move on, finding another mate to help rear and produce the one to three offspring the Scalla produced only once a year.

There are several different ways to acquire one of the Scalla. Sales are mostly up to the artist who colors the Scalla, unless they turn it over to Tori or Tsuki. Sales will be handled in the following ways: