Gella, Furdinyth, and Waokinth

Name: Gella
Race: Ground Squirrel ... Mole?
Gender: Male
Size: remains right around 4'8" at the head but does vary a bit between Squirrel and Mole; he doesn't weigh very much, even for his height, he's mostly fluff
Appearance: as shown in his birth-form of squirrel kin with slightly odd coloration for an otherwise normal physical appearance; heavy fur, nimble fingers and toes, large tail; has large gnawing teeth and they must be used or filed since they do keep growing.
His alternate appearance is that of a large mole; it has slightly smaller eyes and bigger fingers with hefty digging claws, he loses the big fluffy tail in favor of a longer, bare one. Notably too, his coloration shifts to be more turquoise than brown. His eyes remain a brilliant red-pink in either shape
Personality: as skittish as one might expect but with a twist, this squirrel has an army... and he's not afraid to use it for fun! (... nefarious? nah, too distracted for that). Gella is fun-loving and usually light-hearted, though he knows the serious nature of life on Planet Twenty indeed.

Abilities: Gella is not only a shapeshifter gifted with a form that easily adapts to arboreal and underground use, he has control over both moles and squirrels.
He has squirrel like abilities normally, his teeth can chew through virtually any soft wood or material, and with some effort can gnaw through harder woods. He must do this constantly, so there is always a trail of sawdust around him or on his lush fur. He can easily climb rocks, trees, sheer walls, and even cling upside down if and only if there's enough soft material to dig fingers and toes into. He can scamper quickly through the underbrush and up trees, and can take very bold leaps across open spaces as long as there is a branch or area sturdy enough for him to land on, and yes he does the 'superhero landing'...
His mole-like form (only while in it) can then burrow into soft soil, dirt, sand, and clay, having changed out the nimble little fingers for extremely sturdy nearly-spade like claws and tough hands. His eyes can only see close up in this shape but do have membranes so he can be tunneling and still know where to go and not be filled with dirt. He can traverse virtually any location if there is dirt deep enough, without even being noticed by anyone except if they have a ground-sensing power. He'll go about 4 to 5 feet below the surface and moves about 10 meters every 5 seconds at full speed provided nothing like big rocks or huge roots are in the way.
His shifting power can be triggered by surprise or fear, but is usually under control.
While he is in either shape, however, he can sense and summon, and subsequently command, up to 20 individual squirrels and moles at once. Usually there are 2 squirrels and 1 mole lingering nearby, just in case he needs to use them to scout or sense things. He can understand them to a degree, though they're not typically sentient enough to communicate in words, he can get their urgency or calm, and triangulate the locations of important things by sending them out in different directions. His use of this power is actually quite clever in that regard, since he knows how to distract small prey, lead away enemies, confuse invaders, and the like, all with just a few small animals acting as one.

History:

Gella's life did not start out particularly pleasant, since he was born to two obviously-different parents, a mole father and a squirrel mother. That is typically not how things work in the star faring colonies using these people as slaves, normally they can't just interbreed like that. Whether this is changing over time or an effect of the mining that the pair were doing (of some strangely glowing substances, he's unclear on it now) who even knows. But it was obvious from the start that while he was born a squirrel in shape, his fur coming in turquoise and brown rather than tans and buff reds was a big hint that something else was amiss. He had to watch as his parents were abducted and he was taken from them when he was barely able to toddle around, not more than 1 year old. To this day he doesn't know whether they were killed or simply punished and moved apart. He suspects the former.

Gella however was of interest to some of the Human scientists on Planet 12, where this was going on. How could life forms be affected by their environment like that? Would it be dangerous for humans? (Always thinking of themselves, first... since they never did stop mining the stuff using slave labor.) At some point the leadership of the mining colony decided that it wasn't worth dedicating too much effort or time to this research, and not many if any other such oddities had occurred among their slaves. So by the time he was 5 or 6, old enough to be equitable to a 'tween' human, he was packed up and routed to the prison colony of Planet Twenty.

Thankfully people there were able to save him from local wildlife, and help raise him into a young man properly. It was during his maturation into adulthood that his powers actually began to appear, and everyone has told him it was good that he waited - because the experimentation would have continued if they'd shown up earlier. The creatures on Planet Twenty are more than similar enough to the uplifted creatures he resembles, there are always rabbits and deer and dogs on most worlds with earth-like land masses and climates. He tends to stick with what he knows - the trees and rocky forests north of the Zekiran colony on Planet Twenty. Ideal for such boreal creatures, his family consists of a number of Deer kin, even a few Squirrel and Fox among the tribe, and they occasionally meet up with the larger Moose and Bear kin to the north.

But it was on a trip southward, down into the less towering woodlands, that he first spotted a dragon flying overhead. He'd known about the dragons coming to this world, it was hard to miss because they had been there longer than he was alive, and plenty of people had stories of being rescued by them, or seeing them fight off the Incursion above their tribal lands.

Intrigued, he followed the course of one of them, until they noticed he was down there. Eventually, that led to him being brought to the Zekiran colony itself, for a full checkup and medical exam, and plenty of people oohing and aahing about his shifting abilities! They oohed slightly less when one of his teams of squirrels started making off with the gathered berries for a festival nearby...

But the long and short of it is that now, Gella is a candidate at Lantessama! How they got there, he was a bit too scared to look up while they were in the depths between, it was cold and scary. But he knew he'd probably have to stomach that another couple times, coming home at least, maybe... Maybe even with his own dragon that could do it!

** (some from hatching)

While he was still apt to be distracted by things, Gella dedicated himself to learning bits here and there about how best to adapt to a 'dragon lifestyle'. Having a mind nestled up close to his own, for instance. A variety of dragons helped in that regard, almost accidentally teaching him how that worked by asking him plentiful questions and offering suggestions as he did other things.

Like bathing, eating, scouting, and controlling his little friends (newfound friends locally!)... There was always a dragon wondering how he was getting on, did he have a pouch, what about his cheeks? Didn't dirt get in his -- He quieted those thoughts with chuckling and concentrated on offering them visuals of his own. His eyes were protected by being quite small in mole-like form, and he likened it to dragons sometimes coming with a third eyelid for keeping wind and grit from their eyes during flights.

However that one day when everyone was gathered at the dragonry's sands, he wanted his 'big' eyes, that's for sure! The chittering attendants of squirrels along the rafters and moles that nosed through warm dirt and sand helped him concentrate. He was starting to learn to see through their eyes without being confused or dizzy with the perspectives. So he saw from at least three sets of eyes as several of the shells on those sands broke open!

The first hatchling to get up and make their way to the candidates was orange with pink wings. Bright, cheerful and social, the baby male was quite interested in the skittish furry shifter with all his little friends.

Are they coming with us? Furdinyth asked.

"Ehm... probably not." Gella admitted.

Furdinyth's excitement dimmed and Gella soon followed up with: "But there are always squirrels and moles nearby and they come when I call. We can always make more friends."

I love that! his new bond exclaimed.

He would get used to this, he would! The attentive mind within his own now showed him how cramped shells could be, but Gella countered those memories with 'squirrels could easily make a nest in your shell', and the dragon's suggestion would be followed up later... He'd take home the shells! What a memento!

But while the other two unusual bonders also found their pairs, there were four eggs. And only three bonders? It seemed like there really should have been more here, these beautiful dragons deserved it.

People watched as the last dragonet, a green-winged purple, sat on the sands. Calm and pensive, he'd waited for his siblings to bond. Now there were no candidates left... but that wasn't how Waokinth saw it. There was someone with plenty of hands left. Plenty of little hands that could get in those hard to reach places and would be able to scritch and scratch any itches he might get. Getting up, the hatchling stretched, flexed and then headed over to Gella.

Do you have room for one more? Waokinth asked.

"The more the merrier." Gella nodded.

Cheers and applause followed the newly formed pairs as everyone headed for the waiting buffet.

The pair of young dragons teamed up easily, apparently their formation in the same clutch of eggs proved to be valuable in that regard. They could anticipate each others movements even without talking to one another telepathically! Gella however could feel them communicating, it was just so far above his ability to detect the actual contents - he let them have their dragony-secrets, he had plenty of his own right?

You have few secrets, except where you store your winter foods... Waokinth jibed, causing Gella to roll his eyes and laugh.

"I know, I'm not like, trying to hide things, just keep them safe from other people taking them!"

Furdinyth glanced at his sibling and all but raised an eyebrow at their bond. Gella that is what hiding things means...

(the weyrlings are in scale with each other)

As the trio was preparing to learn to teleport, the dragons both sensed the trepidation of their bond.

I have practiced, Waokinth said. We will be fine and safe on our journey. Besides, we have a guide!

The presence of the larger and older dragon - he wasn't sure of their name, nor their rider, but it was one of the cheetah-kin - did seem to make both of the dragons feel at ease. So, it was time to make himself relax. He could ride either of the dragons, but usually it would be Waokinth since he was smaller. He did note that a fair few local Lantessama ground animals had nested in those shells Furdinyth carried, along with a pack or two of gear and goods he'd traded or earned while being at Lantessama.

It was good to have different perspectives, he pondered. The Humans that he'd experienced, the Kin, and the Dragons... All of them mixed now with the folk at this place. He knew that not every Human was 'bad', though he would never be truly comfortable among them. Likewise he also knew that the dragons had their druthers about where they lingered and who with.

When they did get back to the Zekiran colony it was to another party, though he did... seem to sense that it hadn't been nearly the two years he'd been over at the other world. In fact didn't he recognize the bowl of fruits that had been right there? On that table with the slightly torn drape?

"Why waste time," the cheetah winked at him, swaying away as she laughed.

"You can do that?" Gella said, baffled. This time at least, the dragons understood. They realized only on arrival, and only thanks to their bond's wonderment, that they had gone far in distance as well as 'back' into time. They might be able to use that to their advantage... some day...

(not to scale with each other)