HOME | DD

Description
~ Alternian species of flora and fauna are some of the most treacherous on all habitable worlds. Various organisms adapt to prey on the population of young trolls who live there, sometimes to the point of straying from classification as either plant or animal.

Grasping Drakes are one such species. Though the seedling sprout is small, an adult drake may weigh up to half a ton or more, and can occupy spaces as large as a room. They often take root in hard-to-reach places with access to passing bodies, like in rafters or under porches, making them difficult to expunge from a premises.
When the sensitive olfactory receptors sense an adolescent troll is nearby, the nearest tendrils will endeavor to snatch them up. Being immobile creatures that rely on trapping, drakes are instinctively good at ambushing. A troll will almost never know a drake is around until he or she is inexorably within its clutches.
Calling such hapless trolls 'prey' is potentially misleading, since Graspers are a type of Alternian life known as risavore; that is to say they do not eat their catch. Once prey is arrested, the drake will subdue its victim with varying degrees of restraint, but never full constriction. Depending on the level of resistance from the specific troll, a Grasper may seem almost playful with its captive, letting them twist and struggle while denying them any chance of escape.
The only other behavior exhibited toward the trolls it catches is also the most unpredictable: tickling. Instead of targeting nerve clusters in general, a majority of wild drakes have a biological imperative to seek out spots that encourage their prey to laugh and move, even going so far as to remove footwear and other protective clothing. Squirming does nothing to discourage a drake from continuing to tickle, and in fact may do the opposite, alerting it to a troll's vulnerable areas as it were. This odd and apparently purposeless behavior is often at the center of discussions on the mystery of Grasping Drakes' methods, since it's unknown how they ultimately obtain food or why they ensnare victims at all. Scienterrorists have posited multiple theories: that the drake takes nutrients from the sweat of its catch, that it absorbs minerals from the surrounding land and its predatory behavior is a benign left-over of evolution, or even that drakes are more intelligent than previously thought and simply take a pleasure in the capture.

This troll is one such unlucky captive, plucked from the hall of his own hive while doing server maintenance by a Grasping Drake living in the extensive cooling vents on the ceiling. Drakes take at least a few weeks to reach such sizes and only domestic negligence leads to a problematic specimen growing in a personal dwelling; perhaps the boy wouldn't be in this situation if he found the time to tear himself away from his computer and clean the place. He should count himself lucky the unwanted occupant hasn't yet decided to pull him into the bulk of its tentacle'd mass, from which it'd be virtually impossible to excise himself from without outside help.

Maybe if he stops struggling, it might let him go soon. And maybe he could, in a universe where he wasn't stupidly ticklish. ~

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Yes. I'm Homestuck trash.

This took so much work, and there's a billion firsts here. First non-human, first real full-body... The shading took ages. Nothing in this is close to perfect, but I'm proud of it anyways. I'd like to make this a series covering the Alternian boys, so stay tuned.

Sollux Captor © Homestuck

Description
~ Alternian species of flora and fauna are some of the most treacherous on all habitable worlds. Various organisms adapt to prey on the population of young trolls who live there, sometimes to the point of straying from classification as either plant or animal.

Grasping Drakes are one such species. Though the seedling sprout is small, an adult drake may weigh up to half a ton or more, and can occupy spaces as large as a room. They often take root in hard-to-reach places with access to passing bodies, like in rafters or under porches, making them difficult to expunge from a premises.
When the sensitive olfactory receptors sense an adolescent troll is nearby, the nearest tendrils will endeavor to snatch them up. Being immobile creatures that rely on trapping, drakes are instinctively good at ambushing. A troll will almost never know a drake is around until he or she is inexorably within its clutches.
Calling such hapless trolls 'prey' is potentially misleading, since Graspers are a type of Alternian life known as risavore; that is to say they do not eat their catch. Once prey is arrested, the drake will subdue its victim with varying degrees of restraint, but never full constriction. Depending on the level of resistance from the specific troll, a Grasper may seem almost playful with its captive, letting them twist and struggle while denying them any chance of escape.
The only other behavior exhibited toward the trolls it catches is also the most unpredictable: tickling. Instead of targeting nerve clusters in general, a majority of wild drakes have a biological imperative to seek out spots that encourage their prey to laugh and move, even going so far as to remove footwear and other protective clothing. Squirming does nothing to discourage a drake from continuing to tickle, and in fact may do the opposite, alerting it to a troll's vulnerable areas as it were. This odd and apparently purposeless behavior is often at the center of discussions on the mystery of Grasping Drakes' methods, since it's unknown how they ultimately obtain food or why they ensnare victims at all. Scienterrorists have posited multiple theories: that the drake takes nutrients from the sweat of its catch, that it absorbs minerals from the surrounding land and its predatory behavior is a benign left-over of evolution, or even that drakes are more intelligent than previously thought and simply take a pleasure in the capture.

This troll is one such unlucky captive, plucked from the hall of his own hive while doing server maintenance by a Grasping Drake living in the extensive cooling vents on the ceiling. Drakes take at least a few weeks to reach such sizes and only domestic negligence leads to a problematic specimen growing in a personal dwelling; perhaps the boy wouldn't be in this situation if he found the time to tear himself away from his computer and clean the place. He should count himself lucky the unwanted occupant hasn't yet decided to pull him into the bulk of its tentacle'd mass, from which it'd be virtually impossible to excise himself from without outside help.

Maybe if he stops struggling, it might let him go soon. And maybe he could, in a universe where he wasn't stupidly ticklish. ~

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Yes. I'm Homestuck trash.

This took so much work, and there's a billion firsts here. First non-human, first real full-body... The shading took ages. Nothing in this is close to perfect, but I'm proud of it anyways. I'd like to make this a series covering the Alternian boys, so stay tuned.

Sollux Captor © Homestuck