Xixil ((Ziz-zil))

Basic Information

Anatomy

The anatomy, on the accounts of others, tends to be rather hard to pin down since the answer is different from everyone. It has been said they appear to be very similar to a chipmunk, a squirrel, a mouse, a bird, and all kinds of other mysterious blends of animal. These strange associations with other animals are not unfounded, due to the creature vaguely resembling them in a dream-like way. It has the overall anatomy of a squirrel or chipmunk, aside from missing its two forearms. They have small beady eyes, a small mouth, and small whiskers--which gives it a similar look to that of a mouse. As for a bird, this is mostly due to it lacking its forearms, though its feet are more reminiscent of a mouse's foot, rather than having talons. It also sports a short tail, which can appear like tailfeathers when fluffed up.

Ecology and Habitats

These creatures are exclusively found in the dreams of humanity, and are often nicknamed "dream walkers'' or "dream weavers" due to the role they play within these dreams. They are also known to fish people out of nightmares, though this is a bit more rare due to the threat nightmares pose to them. While they are an existing species, and don't soley exist within dreams, they seem to only present themselves to humanity through dreams. Not much is known about the xixil outside of the dream world.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The xixil exclusively feed off the ambient energy of dreams, especially good, lucid dreams. It's not really known if they require any extra sustenance outside of dreams, since no one is sure where the xixil exist in the real world, but it is assumed that they are, in some shape or form, divine entities that are solely interested in the dreams of mortals.

Behaviour

They appear to be guardians or bringers of dreams–which is both a natural role in the universe at large, and a way for them to survive since they require dreams to live. They also, in some way, appear to try and fight nightmares, but are also rather fearful of them due to their equivalent in nightmares being predatory towards them. While they feast on dreams, nightmares will feast on the xixil. As a result, fighting nightmares runs a high risk of their life, and thus is rather rare to see them crop up in the nightmare realm in order to save mortals within.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

It's not really understood if these creatures are intelligent, or even sapian, though they do seem to have an understanding of how to move around within dreams and manipulate them, and are equally understanding of the dangers of nightmares and how to stop them. This could be explained, however, by these creatures following instinct.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Despite looking small and frail, these creatures possess some form of omnipotence over the dreams they are found within. While this doesn't save them from predatory nightmares, which they can't detect, it does allow them to far more freely traverse dreams with safety from entities in the dream itself, should they be hostile.

Lifespan

Unknown

Average Height

5 inches

Average Length

11 inches

Average Physique

At first glance, watching the xixil hop around might give off this idea that their lack of forelegs is a hindrance, but this is not true. They appear to be capable of jumping several feet in the air, and due to their deep understanding of the dream realm, appear to be able to manipulate their surroundings to access locations that would otherwise require the ability to climb. Or, at the very least they know how the surreal logic of a dream works, and where certain doors or holes will take them despite the impossibility of those locations connecting.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

The body color of the xixil appear to be hues of varying types, but are solitary colors with very subtle gradients that fill the fur of the creature as a whole. Very rarely will they actually have distinct markings on their body, but it does happen on some occasions. Generally these markings will appear as a complimentary color or snow white.