Lil Hoods

It is often said that children have almost infinite potential. As such, Spirits born in the places where once there were many kids, such as kindergartens, schools, and playgrounds tend to be formed incomplete but able to take on characteristics of other Spirits easier than normally. They are little sponges of the essence, ready to grow and change. The longer they stay in their place of origin (and they tend to move a lot), the more potential to grow they amass.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Immature form

Just like their name suggests, Lil hoods are small humanoid beings wearing hoods that seem to be a little too big for them. They don't possess faces, and looking under the hood reveals only darkness. They measure between 60 cm and 140 cm high. Some of the individuals possess long, bony limbs, while others seem to simply be a hood floating in the air. At this point, they are completely passive.

Mature form

Once they absorb enough essences from their surrounding (either from emotions/concepts locked in the area or from "eating" other Spirits), Lil hoods start to both grow and change, their form reflecting the shape of what they ate. The only thing that stays the same are the hoods they are wearing, although they might get stretched out or move to some awkward position. Depending on what they "ate", they can become extremely aggressive, intelligent, or stay as passive as they were before.

Dietary Needs and Habits

While normal Spirits tend to feed on the emotions or concepts they are made out of, they are similar to or the ones their original concept feeds on itself (most common in the case of animal-based Spirits), Lil hoods don't restrict themselves, absorbing the essence of anything they encounter. As such, they often become a mish-mash of concepts in their adult form. In that case, they are often avoided by most of the Spirits, who consider themselves pure and them as abominations.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

In their immature form, Lil hoods seem to be completely unaware of their surroundings, even ignoring the danger just in front of them. At that time they are manifested only visually, so they cannot be interacted with (unless something can interact with a Spirit in this form) and can ignore most of the obstacles.
As they grow up, they start to become more and more material, and to survive, they start to gain senses adequate to their new form. While most of them gain sight, there were individuals that moved around depending on echolocation, sensing vibrations, or even using their appendages to sense the world around them.

Origin/Ancestry

Humans, child's potential to grow

Taboo:
Before they grow, Lil hoods don't really have any taboos. It is only once they soak up other essences and take on characteristics of different types of Spirits that they obtain taboo similar to those Spirits.
Reproduction:
Spirits cannot reproduce.

A great potential

Lil hoods are often attacked and devoured by other Spirits, as consuming their essence gives other Spirits their potential to grow and get stronger. This makes them a target for any Spirit that wants to quickly grow stronger and bigger.
However, consuming them is a double-edged sword as just like it is for hoods, the growth caused by eating them isn't limited to one "direction", potentially turning a "pure" Spirit into an amalgamation of concepts. Because of that, only the most greedy and power-hungry Spirits decide to feed on the hoods. But those that do, tend to slaughter the entire buildings full of them.

A revenge of a Spirit

The Lil hoods that survive the slaughter committed by other Spirits often start to feed on the aggression that happened in their place of origin and on the pain of their brethren. They grow up, becoming manifestations that seek out the Spirit that invaded their home. On their journey, they consume anything they can, turning it into weapons they could use against their target. And once they find it, they get their revenge or die trying.
The ones who manage to succeed devour the tormentor of their kin, becoming more like them. Though at that point, there's almost no essence of potential or need to grow left in them.