Charlie


(CHAR-lee)

Picture the sweetest, fluffiest, kindest Subeta pet you can imagine - one with big, gentle eyes, a puffy tail, and little wings. Now forget that image, because the charlie is most certainly not that pet.

Charlies are not known for being endearing - in fact, they have a reputation for being the exact opposite. Although they are small, standing about 16 in (38 cm) tall and weighing 15 lbs (6.8 kg), they are feisty, devious, and quite strong. Charlies are one of the few bipedal creatures in Subeta, though they will occasionally take to all fours to make themselves look more fierce or intimidating. They are quite clever, and they have sharp teeth to go with their sharp wit. A charlie's wings can help it become airborne with a running start, though they are only able to fly short distances, often into trees to help escape a predator or to look for a victim of their own.

Charlies are found in nearly every corner of Subeta, and they have adapted readily to many different conditions. They eat just about anything, but they seem to be especially fond of large, meaty insects and nuts. They are quite adept at digging, and will make their homes anywhere that have soft enough soil to burrow into if they are not stealing the burrow of some other creature! One interesting feature of charlies is the ability to store large amounts of food in their cheek pouches, especially useful to carry nuts and seeds back to their burrows. Charlies are not known for staying in groups, nor for building lasting relationships as mates. Mothers stay around just long enough for their young to develop fur, and siblings rarely stay together much longer than that. In fact, some charlie parents have been known to set their babies in the nest of other similar animals, giving up the responsibility all together! It is believed that these misplaced young often become parasitic, taking over an entire nest often at the cost of the original inhabitants.

Keeping charlies as a pet can be very challenging, and does require dedication and persistence on the part of the owner! They need to be kept busy, or they will find undesirable ways to keep themselves occupied instead. Although they are solo in the wild, they tend to do better in pairs in the home, where their antics will help wear each other out. It is long believed by some scientists and anthropologists that charlies share a distant relative with torreys, though due to the extreme personality differences, some are a bit skeptical of this idea.


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