Species: Welkin

Habitat: Sky

Diet: Water & Snow; doesn't need to eat anything

Lifespan: 100 years

Community: They tend to be mostly solitary, even leaving their young at birth, but they don't mind being near others of their kind. In fact, they act very much like a family when together. They communicate with chirps and whistles similar in sound to an elk.

Personality: Welkin are extremely docile and friendly. They are a bit overly trusting and are extremely curious. They are also extremely dedicated to their responsibilities and fiercely loyal. They are wise and clever, too. However, they are a little hot headed and easy to anger. They can get very lazy as well, letting the wind carry them as they nap on clouds. Welkin have also been known to be a large prankster, getting a good laugh by being mischievous and making people flustered. They enjoy having a good time and love to go with the flow as they drift from place to place. When annoyed, their fur turns gray and black and lightning flashes about them, but they are easy to forgive so the change lasts only a few moments. They can also be quite stubborn and set in their ways.

Appearance: Being part cloud, the majority of the Welkin are white with cloud like fluffs of fur for the tail and near the paws. These fluffs can change in appearance, as can the color of the Welkin, depending on the cloud type it is apart of. For example, a cirrus cloud Welkin will have wispier fluffs and may be a light gray, or a Cumulonimbus Welkin will be whiter and fluffier. As a pup, the Welkin had this fluff around their necks, but as they grew into adulthood, the fluff disappeared and wing like markings appeared. Although it is rare, some Welkin do end up with the neck fluff in adulthood. The wing markings are the same color as the eyes,although their appearance can change. The eyes have no pupil and are a solid color. The eyes also have a black triangle marking at the corner that can vary from Welkin to Welkin. Their ears are long and thin, often creating an antelope horn look, yet this also varies from time to time. The markings on the ears can be any color and the markings themselves can be different for each Welkin. They have rounded muzzles and undefined paws. The females are smaller and rounder than the males, and the pups are even rounder which changes the shape of the eye. Some Welkin have markings of their own that aren't shared between the species, such as stripes on the haunches. Their mouths are hardly visible when closed and when open reveals no teeth or tongue, just a black pallet. When upset, the Welkin turns into a darker gray and black creature who is surrounded by hissing and flicking lightning.

Abilities: They have the ability to control clouds and the weather dealing with clouds. They can make it rain, snow, sleet, even fog up. They can create dust clouds and lightning as well. However, they cannot control wind or anything else dealing with weather outside of clouds. They also have the ability to leap from cloud to cloud no matter the distance as long as it is visible. They have the ability to turn invisible at will. If a person does see them, that person gains good luck for a week.

Lore: Long ago there were 7 beings who created a world. They were the God of Earth & Life, the God of Water & Fertility, the Goddess of Lightning & Instinct, the Goddess of Age & Wind, the God of Fire & Warmth, and the God and Goddess of Light and Dark/Death. Each had their roles to serve the life forms Earth created, and all was peaceful for many years. However, Fire eventually grew bored of his job so he decided to have some fun. Orange flames devoured the world the Gods had created and all Fire did was laugh. He loved the destruction, it was new and interesting. Earth was angered and the two quickly fell out, as one would create and the other would destroy. Light and Dark started fighting as well, each wanting to control the day/night cycle. Water tried to help Earth by putting out Fire's flames, yet with each flame he put out Fire would send another. Wind grew angered at this display, creating large gusts to try and blow the others away. Lightning, distraught, did the only thing she could. She used her beautiful flashes of light to brighten the sky and distract everyone from their squabbles. But their response was not expected, as they complained about the noise and called her useless and pathetic. Lightning didn't let them dishearten her, though, and she continued to make her show in feeble attempts to brighten the mood.

Water, who had said nothing about her show or her place, said he'd stay by her side as he continued to rain on Fire's Flames because he liked the fact that she was trying to stop the fighting rather than joining in. The war only grew worse and worse and the world they built became unlivable. Eventually, a compromise was made. A new world was to be created with set, agreed upon rules before the Gods go their separate ways. The rules included life must be created and eventually destroyed, day and night will cycle 12 hours each, and the world will be filled with peace and chaos all at once. And to keep this balance, guardians were created.

A guardian of life, a guardian of death, a guardian of age, and a guardian of fertility. The guardian of life lives in an unseen world filled with spirits and souls that they place into newborns.The guardians of death live in the same realm and they have set rules on taking those spirits, such as if one dies young another must die old, and those spirits are recycled and given back to the guardians of life to be reborn. The guardian of age controls the wind and is responsible for making sure each creature ages without being immortal. They inform the guardians of death through their wind when it is time for one to die.

Then, of course, there's the Welkin, guardian of Fertility. Controlling the world's water system means they control the very essence of the continuation of life and growing populations since everything needs water to survive. They live within our realm, just as the Guardian of Age does, and they watch from above. They go where rain or snow is needed, gathering with others to create storm clouds. However, not having enough water in an an area, extreme heat, or the Welkin themselves not being hydrated could mean a drought. The drought could last a long time due to their perception of time being much slower than ours. For example, a week for us is a month for them. That mixed with the fact that they cannot and do not control the wind so travel can be very difficult. For this reason, they are very adaptable and free-spirited, granted them the mark of wings to symbolize a bird out of its cage adapting to the world around it.

Other: if a person befriends them a Welkin will bond with them and try to protect them. They will visit that person as often as they can and will give that person good luck (especially in terms of romance and family), rain, or snow depending on their requests during the visit. When upset, their quick appearance change affects the weather in an area and creates random storms that may be powerful and destructive but that dies down after a few hours. They can only eat or drink snow or water that's on land (or lake, river, ocean, etc.) and need to use fog clouds to get to it. Their paws are undefined because they don't need traction to get about. Their round appearance and flat, thin, long ears help with aerodynamics allowing them to leap from cloud to cloud without much resistance. Their cloud like tails are light allowing them to drift along the slightest of breezes if unable to get to a cloud or if unable to make a cloud. The lighting around them also affect their appearance just like a cloud

Rules***

-Must include wing markings if an adult character (wings can be varied in size, color, and appearance)

-Must have the wing markings match the eye color

-Must be part cloud (whatever cloud is up to you)

-Must have eye marking (can be altered)

-Must include ear marking of some kind

-Extra markings are allowed but please keep the species recognizable

-The character can be a different color other than white, but please keep it relitive to the cloud you chose

-Please ask to have fluff around the neck, as that's a rare trait for adults

-The female reference was there to show the difference between male and female. Please don't copy her markings as I used my own character, Ziarre, for this species as the female ref.

-Please credit me if you make a character

-Please link me at least one thing of your new charrie, I'd love to see ^^

-Lastly, have fun and be creative!