Kopelaan are speices created by Reed Wulf, and appearing in various pictures of his as general creatures of interest and a part of his creative mythos.
Overview[]
Kopelaan appear as roughly normal beings until feeding or reproducing, at which point they melt down into a viscous liquid form. Though each has a unique spirit and mind and shows clear signs of life, they are have no lifeforce of their own and must feed on living creatures and absorb theirs, or "starve" and collapse into an inanimate pile of slime. Combined with the fact that each kopelaan is "reborn" from former prey, they are technically undead.
Physiology[]
Kopelaan can appear in almost any shape and colour through most of their lives (whenever not feeding or reproducing) and blend in extremely well with the rest of the any population. Each kopelaan was once another sentient creature that fell prey to another kopelaan, and each tends to feel most comfortable in a form similar to what they were before being changed. Upon feeding or reproduction, a kopelaan's colour will change to a
translucent shade of blue, and their body will melt into a heavy, viscous slime. When not in solid state, the slime can move to some extent and will maintain its shape to some degree, but is highly given to the influence of gravity. When solid and disguised as a normal, functioning member of society, their extremities may seem smooth, even plastic-like, and things like hair will thicker and more easily clumped together than usual. Experienced kopelaans develop tricks to avoid these issues and continue to blend in. Their eyes are always blue.
Behaviour[]
Kopelaan live as though in a never ending spy game. Normally, they try to blend in, make friends, form a life, get others comfortable enough around them that they can engulf and assimilate their pick with ease, move on before suspicion can even be raised, and repeat. Often, they will try to emulate features and demeenors of females to better lure prey and lower guard (society specific, of course), though they lack any true sex. They will try desperately to avoid other kopelaan from different lineage, provided they can even identify their own kind.
Abilities[]
Kopelaan can engulf and and absorb prey, not only in body, but also in spirit. Sentient preys' minds will merge with the kopelaan's "as though a dream where they are the creature themselves." Non-sentient prey will give them the lifeforce to keep functioning, but gradually make their mind fuzzier and more instinctual until they become feral if devoured too often, effectively forcing kopelaan to seek sentient meals whether they want to or not. A kopelaan can take virtually any solid shape as long as their body has enough mass to make it, and they are allowed a window of time in their slime form to reconstruct themselves.