Dion (Dee)

❁ They are tiny (approx. 3"-4" ) nature sprites that take care of the land, and sometimes act as pollinators, gathering pollen from plants and sprinkling them around.
❁ They have four fingers and toes, and males typically have shorter tails.
❁ They all have some amount of chub on them due to excess amounts of glucose in their bodies, though the degrees of it vary on their activity and appetite.
❁ They DO NOT have human sexual organs.
❁ What they look like "IRL": click

They are made almost completely from their plant/fungus**, and they eat and reproduce the same way their respective plant does . For "eating", the plant sprites photosynthesise through the leaf/leaves on the end of their tail, and sometimes through other petals/leaves if they have them. Some are better photosynthesisers than others, and all enjoy plenty sweet foods and nectar to help sustain themselves in addition to photosynthesis. Fungus sprites consume dead plants and insects/animals, however, and carnivorous plants hunt insects/animals.

**Their bodies reflect the plant they are. All Votani are somewhat squishy, but more rigid than a human body since they are plants, and their hair are plant fibers that can be thin or thick. Flower sprites will have velvety skin like a flower petal; tree sprites will have more rigid skin, anything from a plant stem to a leaf stem, to bark; fungus sprites will have spongy skin like a mushroom.

 

BEHAVIOUR
They can be rather jealous creatures, and they love attention. They also love shiny objects, and will decorate themselves in jewellery and other accessories to make themselves look prettier or fancier than the others. Their general mindset is the prettier your things, the better you are. They can hold grudges forever, so if you mess with their plants or litter on their property, you could wind up with a tiny sprite terrorising your yard or stealing all your shiny things. Despite that, they take very well to kindness. If you leave out sweets or sugar cubes for them, they'll take care of your yard and garden, and sometimes might even drop presents on your window sills.
Sprites in relationships tend to be heavily decorated due to them bringing each other gifts to show their love.
They don't "mate for life," and may go through several partners during their lifespan if they so please; however, if they decide to reproduce, the Votani that grows the offspring will become infertile for the remainder of their life if they don't have any flowers left. Some Votani choose not to have children in order to keep their pretty flowers, while others decorate their tails in order to make up for the loss of them.
Votani also do not usually have sex for pleasure, though there are rare cases of them engaging in sexual behaviours for fun. Generally, the act is very sensual and used as a way to bond with a lover.
Sex for them is very sensual and emotional, and usually slow. They may embrace, but the actual act is done by touching tails.

REPRODUCTION/BIRTH OF VOTANI
Most plant sprites can reproduce asexually or sexually. Attempting to reproduce asexually is much harder and potentially disastrous, and is usually only attempted under dire circumstances. Depending on their plant, they can reproduce regardless of their physical sex because they use the flowers/spores on their tails (i.e., male+female, male+male, female+female can all reproduce). They do not have human reproductive organs. Meaning: No penis/vag, and no nipples.
Their reproductive systems are the flowers (spore sacks in the case of fungi) on the tail.
The number of flowers on their tail is an indicator of how many offspring they can produce, but usually only one is born at a time. When successful, the flower will close up and a baby sprite will grow in the ovary of the female flower. When they are ready to be "born," they will force their way out and the flower will fall off, leaving the parent Votani permanently infertile.
It is also possible for flowers on a Votani's tail to wilt and die if they are too stressed out or depressed, but these can grow back in time.

If not of the same species, offspring may have both distinct plants(/fungi) from their parents, but this is rare. It is more common for them to take only one of their parents' plants.
These double-species Votani will only pass ONE plant to their offspring.
In addition to reproduction, sprites may also be born randomly from the essence of plants if the conditions are right. Sometimes the creation of new cultivars (usually man-made) will result in the birth of a Votani. These hybrids are very rare, however, because they are infertile and cannot reproduce to pass on their genes, since the essence of these hybrids are made in a lab rather than naturally.

DEATH
Votani rarely die from old age, but from "starvation." Plants who don't get enough sunlight/water/food will wilt and die, and fungi will die from too much sunlight. As such, fungus sprites may become nocturnal or spend most of their time in caves or other dark places.
They could potentially live for hundreds of years if they are capable of finding enough resources or are less delicate (i.e. trees), but it's not always easy with humans around.

ELDERS
While Votani have no hierarchical system beyond their arrogance over material goods, there are those they call "Elders," who are Votani that have lived very long lives. These sprites are typically trees or fungi, but may be other kinds as well. They are not found easily like others, instead hiding among the oldest of trees or ruins or in the backs of dark caves, making it harder for them to come across any sort of dangers that will threaten their long lives.
Elders hold no legitimate authority, but many Votani consider them such, seeking out Elders when they need help or any sort of guidance, since they have lived long and are wise about the world. Some are even believed to have magical traits...