FRIC — Viewing Species: Neon Racer

An egg with a glass-like texture, full of a strangely luminous fluid. It was mostly buried under damp sand and covered with grass by the creature that laid it, and it feels warm to the touch.

The egg hatched into a small reptile with strange metallic fused scales covering portions of its body, and two tubes on its back that appear to be filled with fluid. It is extremely anxious when separated from its handler, and tries to follow them everywhere. It is also very fast for being so young, and sticks its nose into all sorts of things. It happily eats any meat it is offered, and will also eat berries, but if it sees its handler eating something, it chirps and paws at them like a dog begging for a treat. It is very receptive to training, and learns rather quickly.

Neon Racers are medium-sized creatures that fill a similar ecological niche to Earth's cheetahs. They are predators that rush down prey at an incredible speed, rivaled by almost nothing on land, and grapple on with teeth and claws before delivering an electrical shock through the conductive plating that covers much of their bodies. The Racer must then rest while they recover from the exertion, cooling down using the biomechanical cooling system in their backs, during which time they are rather vulnerable to having their prey stolen by larger creatures.

Neon Racers are quite rare, but can be spotted in any biome with sufficient open grassy terrain. They were first discovered in the Galeful Marsh, as it does have open saltmarshes with tall, albeit wet, grass. They are extremely shy and anxious in the wild, and very difficult to approach. Many other creatures prey on them, and they do not seem well-adapted to many of the areas in which they appear.

In captivity, Neon Racers form extremely close bonds with their handlers, and display various affectionate and complex social behaviors, such as nuzzling, waiting to eat until their handler has begun eating, and showing aggression towards someone who displays ill will towards their handler even if the individual in question has had only positive experiences with the Racer previously. They are capable of executing very complex commands, along with associating names with faces, and while they display significant separation anxiety if not socialized to multiple people, they appear to be eager to please. Research is still being done into their intelligence level.