(S) Shailonderi

The shailonderi (/ʃaɪlɒnˈderi/) is a small, skin-like stranger which lacks an interior. Its surface is rubbery, and is highly vulnerable to outside marks. Even gentle touching leaves fingerprints behind on its surface, with any attempt at cleaning off these marks only serving to scuff the shailonderi further. It has no regenerative ability, and is intermittently vulnerable to flame, electricity, and water, with different individuals displaying higher or lower levels of resistance.

The shailonderi is mute.

The shailonderi makes its home in tranquil, non-residential interior areas. Quiet chapels, unused auditoriums, and empty schools are all likely sites for a shailonderi infestation, with its likelihood further exacerbated by thin skins of dust across the tops of furniture, light that is neither bright nor absent, and tall ceilings with numerous cobweb-covered beams. Older buildings are more likely to support its manifestation.

The shalonderi forms in piles of dust, from which it rises up with a whisper. Due to its point of origin, it remains covered with a layer of dirt, soot, and other particles, which appear to stain its appearance¹.

Proximity to the shailonderi causes the eyes to grow dry, as though aggravated by dirt particles. This effect can range from mild to moderate, with mildly affected individuals feeling a moderate pain when blinking, and more severely affected individuals experiencing a persistent scratching sensation upon the cornea for up to several hours after physical proximity to the shailonderi ceases.

The shailonderi adjusts its route to circle around a sensitive within its environment, but beyond this single loop, does not interact with them further.

Proximity to the shailonderi causes sensitives to see, when rubbing their eyes, the vague impressions of images. These images resemble low-fidelity photographs taken from the surrounding area, albeit with an unpredictable angle of viewing. Sensitives may see a top-down view of the room, a detail of a piece of furniture nearby, or a close-up of a wall. These images fade away within a half-second after rubbing ceases.

The shailonderi possess a disposition as silent and tranquil as the areas in which it lives. It behaves as a voiceless observer, investigating its environment with long glances and slow raising and rotation of its head. It is unresponsive to its companions, though individuals do tend to remain nearby one another even as they each explore.

Over the course of its short life, each shailonderi makes a small journey throughout its environment before settling on a specific location, upon which it grows inert, its body softening and breaking apart into the same dust from which it appeared.