FRIC — Viewing Species: Vitrevern

This fragile-looking egg could be easily mistaken for a glass sculpture. Though it has a glassy texture and feels fragile, the egg is surprisingly sturdy and resistant to scratching. Inside there appears to be a developing embryo, though the shell isn't quite translucent enough to see detail.

The egg has hatched into a winged serpent, its scales smooth and glossy, interlocking to form a watertight coating. Since hatching, it's had an increasingly determined tendency to hoard shiny objects, particularly anything made from glass. Though it can be kept relatively entertained during handling, the moment it's left alone it returns to its playthings, often breaking something in the process as it tries to lift something larger and heavier than itself. Of course, this only serves to give the hatchling smaller shards of broken glass to play with, but it never seems to injure itself on the edges.

Vitreverns are a common pest that nests along the Chroma Coast, stealing anything that looks shiny as soon as they can get in a researcher's blind spot. Though not aggressive, they are incessant and unafraid of larger creatures and rely on their numbers to swarm and annoy those creatures—and researchers—away from the object of interest. The demeanor of a wild Vitrevern changes depending on the size of its swarm; in large numbers, they are gregarious and bold; an adult is fully willing to land near a non-hostile creature and look around for pretties. A lone Vitrevern, however, becomes skittish and flighty—darting into the air at any creature approaching, chirping loudly in an effort to call its swarm. If cornered in this scenario, the Vitrevern will deliver a painful nip to its attacker and fly away.

Despite their appearance, Vitreverns are not actually made of glass. Rather, they have glossy, translucent scales that are smooth to the touch and refract light, making them difficult to see in large swarms on a sunny day: each individual will reflect light on its peers, and it can be difficult and painful to attempt to look directly at the swarm and focus on one creature. They use a similar tactic in their nests; Vitrevern eggs are also reflective of light, and create this effect in nests of glass and anything shiny the parent was able to gather from the surrounding area. Originally it was unknown how these reptiles found the glass needed, until a wild specimen was seen spitting out a bright, sparkling substance reminiscent of white fire in order to melt nearby sand into glass. They only seem to use this sparingly, rarely using it in defense and never when hunting. Vitreverns are carnivorous scavengers, content to steal the kill of a larger predator, but will willingly attack small reptiles for a quick meal.