Parasitic Pals

Host Species: Hemicyon 

The parasite: 

Parasite looks like a combination of a scorpion and a centipede. It has large front pinchers and sharp needle like legs. It has a long scorpion like tail with a needle hook at the end. The parasite embeds itself in the host skin just below the neck where it laches onto the spinal cord using its front pinchers. The multitude of legs pierce the central nervous system. The tail exits the skin at the base of the neck and reconnects via piercing the hosts head and skull directly into the brain.

The parasite mainly lays dormant but has control over the hosts ability to feel things, mainly pain. It is also able to control the hosts movements and when in distress, can manifest large tendril like protrusions with sharp ends as a defense mechanism. This however causes the host to have an emotional reaction. Depending on the situation, the host will either feel intense anger, sadness or happiness. Often causing them to act irrationally. The parasite has the ability to heal the host “faster” but in reality the parasite is just blocking pain receptors and sending signals to the body to focus on healing that one wound. It takes a lot of energy from the parasite to maintain the host, due to this is lies dormant a lot.

The host and parasite are able to communicate

it’s kind of a symbiotic relationship but leans more towards parasitic and the host doesn’t really gain much. The parasite is the one with the control.