The Hoarders have an innate fear of sticky-tape. It’s true. Of all of the things in all the worlds; not the mysterious Crookhound, nor the vicious Khalawks; nothing quite sets them shaking as much as a reel of sticky-tape.
The Hoarders, however much they desire it, will never (ever) touch an item if it is taped down. Of course this is a modern problem, I believe it was honey that got them trembling before or any such sap, however, they’re nothing in comparison to sticky-tape. They see it in their nightmares.
The Hoarders are small squirrel-like creatures, without the elegant tail and much, much larger ears & eyes. Omnivorous; everything about them is engineered to survive as scavengers. Their hearing is impeccable, their eye-sight perfect they speak in a frequency that no other living being can hear (not even dogs!). They move fast and they work together to steal all that they need (and want) before moving on.
Their culture is tribal, never standing still enough to develop any form of civilisation, heck I don’t think they even have homes? They collect and they go. They have developed a penchant for all things stationary, predominantly for the fact that a lot of it can be weaponised – have you ever stopped to think how dangerous a stapler could be in the wrong hands; doesn’t bare thinking about does it. In their culture, the more they have festooned about them, the more they are respected; wars have been fought on no less than that of a want for a particular shiny button. The Hoarders are the ones who take your socks, who take your pens and who move your jewellery and other odds and ends around just to ‘have a look’. They of course mostly visit the human world for the stationary and trinkets, humans have an excessive amount of ‘things’ don’t you think? One tribal leader of note is the captain of a particularly hardy bunch; Canu Weermay, at least that’s what The Scribes have come to understand through his efforts to communicate voicelessly. He has risen in reverence due to his band of followers being particularly resourceful.
The Hoarders are marvellously good at hiding. They can run and swing much like a monkey crossed with a human-athlete and all with the grace of a flying-squirrel. They are skilled at staying out of sight, particularly around humans to avoid being mistaken for the ‘pests’ that they are. Their covert nature is in enhanced by their gift for finding ‘gates’ to other worlds so easily. They are renowned as great travellers with no allegiance to any but themselves. They have seen a great many things on their travels across the centuries, though are not quick to share their stories unless one has a shiny nugget to exchange. They have been seen to visit the human world from time-to-time, and they were the first to discover -and probably the only creatures to favour such a portal – through people’s shoes. Shoes provide a balance of open space and space that is hidden from the eye unless looked at directly. It is in this hidden space that a ‘twixt’ is able to form and the small Hoarders are able to pass through with ease.
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