Bwotyaxhugalla

On the shores, not far to the south of the city Varniv, a Bwiak is crawling along the rocks hunting for Eyaedroy cocoons. Before it has a chance to feast, however, a Briapway swoops down with intent to kill.

Bwiak

A predatory type of Vootuph, the Bwiak has a specialized tongue/limb that grasps and crushes its prey. This prey can be smaller Vootuph, but a real feast is Eyaedroy cocoons. Bwiak live solitary lives, making dwellings for themselves among the rocks, and protect their territory from others of their kind, only coming together when it comes time to mate.

Eyaedroy

An ancient species, not closely related to many other Gurxian animals still alive, the Eyaedroy has is born as an inchworm-like creature that moves inland to feast on vegetation. After about a year, if it hasn’t been eaten, it is full and returns to the shores where it can end its life cycle by going into a cocoon, but Eyaedroy cocoons are not solitary. Up to a dozen of the worms may cocoon up next to one another, forming a cluster in which genetic material can be shared. These clusters grow into the final stage of their life cycle: a sessile bulb that functions like a factory to pump out more of the worms.

Briapway

A Glounaph-of-Prey, if you will, the Briapway soars over the oceans along migratory routes, feeding on whatever sea or shore life it happens upon. The fore-limb of the Briapway is tipped with sharp piercers that it can puncture into the flesh of its target. The Briapway’s digits spread slightly causing the piercers, which are barbed such that it can’t easily be pulled out, to hold onto the victim while it bleeds out.

While I was outside of my apartment today, I checked my mail. Wacky, right? Mailboxes aren’t really that useful in these Internet Times, but I still check in there out of habit and to throw out flyers. It’s a boring chore. But not today! Today I got something of a surprise. I got something worth doing a post on this website!

Anyway. It’s like this. There’s a thing in the mail saying I had a month-old unpaid parking ticket. So far, this seems possible. I’m a delivery driver, I do a lot of illegal parking over the course of the night, but it was strange that I never got a ticket on my window. Then I notice that it says the ticket was issued at 9:27 am! What kind of PDR would I be if I were out and active at that ungodly hour? Certainly that’s not a time I’d be working. If anything, I’d be in bed, hiding from the sun.

But I can’t remember what I was doing on January 18th. What kind of sicko remembers things that far back? Well, I know that I send 75% of my errant thoughts to young Marq, so I open up our text conversation thread and scroll back a month to see what I was up to. It turns out that that was the very day I went out to get my Covid vaccine booster shot! Ah, so I had a reason to be out! It all makes sense again. BUT WAIT! I got my Booster at the Shoppers across the street from my apartment. I didn’t take the car. And anyway, the thing says the ticket was issued on University Avenue.

Still, I deserve a little comeuppance. And it’s only 35 dollars. My financial situation has been improving, this won’t crush me. I don’t worry about it while I work, though I do wonder if maybe I’d managed to get a ticket in my own parking space because someone didn’t know I lived there? And maybe some rebellious teens took the ticket away as a youthful prank? But that’s not on University Avenue. The contradictions are endless.

I figure that I can finally cease my wonderings when I get home from work and log onto the city’s website to look up the ticket. They have my plate number right there, sure, but the make and model shown are wrong. And to make things even more confusing, they’re showing the make and model and colour of my mother’s car. I wouldn’t have been driving her car a month ago, and even if I had it wouldn’t have had my plates on it.

Then I noticed they’ve got a picture. Obviously, I click that.

Sure enough, it shows a car of the same make and colour as my mother’s. And sure enough, it has a license plate one letter different from mine. Where one finds the letter “S” on my vehicle’s plate, there is, quite clearly, a “G” on this imposter.

Part of me wants to just ignore it. I’d love for them to take me to court when they have provided photographic proof that the car in question has a different make, model, and license plate than mine. But instead I’m probably gonna have to stay awake into normal business hours and talk to someone on the phone or something. Almost makes me want to just pay the $35.

A Few More Strondovarians

Bovadis

Bovadis was born to a parent fiercely loyal to the Ve Pwoora and was taught from an early age that all other Ve were inferior. Raised in a small compound in the slimelands, Bovadis has only recently had cause to interact with Strondos from other Ve, and has been surprised at how those strangers all seem perfectly reasonable. What’s more, one of them gave Bovadis access to the Knowledge Bank, and suddenly everything Bovadis had ever thought was true seems suspect.

Grexog

Grexog has come to Gurx in the hopes of working with a prominent team of entertainers, but was rejected because they thought Grexog was too ugly. Taking it personally, Grexog has worked hard at entertaining becoming a prominent entertainer on their own. Luckily, that sort of story plays well with the crowds, so plenty of audiences support Grexog just to see an underdog make good.

Nabel

Nabel lives in the city of Hoaubp and enjoys working as a poet. They also spend their evenings documenting the actions of the bwotel that live in the city. While Nabel’s notes about the animals aren’t excessive, they are certainly not something most Strondos consider noteworthy. It’s an especially niche hobby, but a Strondo has to have something that isn’t about getting esteem to keep themselves happy.

Chaluthiss

Chaluthiss is Nexvar combat mech pilot. Mech combat was once a big part of life on Gurx and Chaluthiss was extremely good at it. But now, in this “civilized” age, combat is only waged against aliens on planets far away. Chaluthiss knows that if they go into suspended animation they’ll likely wake up to be employed in a conflict on some other world. But Chaluthiss is atypically sentimental for a Strondovarian, and likes the homeworld. The living tools called Nexvar are rewarded by society for their devotion to their work, but how long can Chaluthiss partake of those rewards if they have no intention of going back into the toolbox any time soon?