Marissa

" floris vulpis marissa "

Until these days only one written record was to be found mentioning any details of these rare to be seen fox-like creatures. Half a century ago a member of the royal archaeological institute mentioned them in one of their reports about an expedition to the northern mountains. A small footnote mentions an encounter with a curious red fox-like fairy. The (reassumed) fairy was named after the archaeologists later -  Marissa’s kitsune, also known as “Marisune” or “Marissa”.

aura
A colourful colour of dust comes from the hole in their chest, laying around their neck like a fluffy collar. The colour seems to be connected to their most prominent character trait.

info. The aura can show multiple shades of the same colour. Multiple coloured auras haven't been seen yet.

Behaviour 
Marissa are extremely inquisitive, curious creatures, without any sign of timid behaviour towards strangers. Quite the opposite. They seem to be quite confiding, jaunty creatures, which enjoy studying (copy) other folks behaviour. Actually, they’re pretty good to ape people’s manners...
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info. Most fairies don’t know common language. Communication with other species work through telepathic pictures unless they decide to learn the other folk's language. But it’s more likely that visitors learn to guess what they want to say from mimic and gestures after spending some time with them...


Magic & diet
Fairies are creatures born from organic objects (for example blossoms, fruits, ... ) which got in contact with a stream of elemental energy ("magic"). They need to consume this energy in order to keep their form. Marissa seems to have a liking for water, which was infused with elemental energy.

• • Their body resembles a common red fox and is made from an unknown wooden material, which seems to be sanded very carefully to result in a very soft and smooth surface. Fine floral engravings “tattoos” are also not uncommon.
  • Fairies are known to be rather tiny creatures - around the size of a mouse for the most part. Marissa on the other hand are a bit of an odd case, being close to the size of bigger house cats.
  • Their ears shape is very similar to a fox, varying from oval to a semi-rounded square
  • Their tails can take resemble any kind of fluffy animal tail - such as fox, racoon or none at all.
  • A short fluff is covering most of their body, except for their face, the inner of their ears and their paw pads. The fur around their neck up to the top of their head can grow a bit longer, creating a fluffy mane. 

• Unlike other markings on their mask, -which are usually engraved their eyes are painted. It almost looks like they're removed and painted again with each new expression.

• • Their face looks similar to a traditional wooden fox mask attached with a fabric ribbon, but it's indeed part of their body. They don't like people to try removing it out of curiosity!
  • Colours and paint don't stick well on their body, often resulting in a soft, nearly pastel-like colour palette  - similar to how stained wood would look. Which makes the often bright-coloured blossoms on their back stand out even more.
  • They are born with one type of blossom growing on their back, but there sure are ways to add more blossoms and even other vegetation later! These Blossoms cover at least their spine and never their belly.

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