Linilha (MC)

Name: Linilha
Planet of Origin: Mira V
Characteristics: --Average Height: N/A (Amorphus) --Average Weight: 5-10 lbs (depending on age) --Basic Anatomy: Fleshy Slime --Skin Color: Varies between Brown to green to blue --Eyes: N/A
Temperament: Considerate, Compassionate
Level of Advancement: Interstellar Flight
Notes: (These notes are on both the Symbiote and their effect on the host): Linilha Symbiotes resemble puddles of slime, usually green, but sometimes blue, or even brown. They tend to bond with dying individuals, although nothing has disproven the likelihood that they could bond equally well with healthy individuals. The Linilha themselves can live outside of a host, and nothing suggests that they are better or worse off with one: they tend to see a bonding as a form of companionship, and they consider their host a friend and equal.
It's theorized that the Linilha originally evolved the ability to take hosts as a means to combat a predatory race. This species of predators, however, is mostly gone, as the Linilha have since been able to spread far across their homeworld. The Linilha's rise to sentience occured shortly after.
They'll bond with an individual by entering their body through an opening in the body, mostly through an open wound (the Linilha Mirana bonded with a 10-year old girl who'd been stabbed multiple times by entering her body through her stab wounds). Otherwise, it'll access the body via the host's eyes, slipping through directly to the brain. It will then interface with the individual's nervous system and begin transmitting commands to the brain. A Linilha also leaves a slime trail. While this slime is mainly used for locomotion, it also has excellent medicinal properties: in fact, it's used to help clot and heal wounds in a potential Linilha host, stabilizing them until they can get 'true' medical help.
While most hosts are technically non-willing in the most literal sense, Linilha are not like the more parasitic Methuselah in that they bond with them for selfish means: more like the more symbiotic Methuselah, they'll bond with an individual out of compassion for the host's situation. They also tend to be somewhat picky: if they had to choose between saving a known criminal and an innocent person, both of whom are dying, they'd immediately save the innocent. Even if the criminal was the only one dying, a Linilha will refuse to bond with it. The fact that some hosts are non-willing is merely due to the fact that they are unconscious or comatose at time of bonding.
While reported cases of this outside of a lab are nil, research confirms that a Linilha, given sufficient time, can separate from an originally mortally wounded host, even a century after they bonded, and the host will be able to live for as long as they would have normally, had the mortally-wounding event not occurred. Other hosts can be separated from their Linilha symbiote with minimal side-effects.
All Linilha have telepathic powers, powers that are then given to their host upon bonding. Some Linilha have telekinesis as well, also given to the host upon bonding. While the powers are available to a non-bonded Linilha, though, any Psionic abilities possessed by a Linilha Symbiote are exponentially increased when bonded with a significiantly compatible host. Without a host, Linilha can still communicate telepathically, but can only communicate within a few meters, far less than the tens of meters, sometimes kilometers, one can in a host. Also, those Linilha with Psychokinetic Powers would only be able to lift smaller objects, such as only a pound, compared to the tens to hundreds of pounds a Linilha in a host can lift Telekinetically.
Most of the time, the host's and symbiote's minds are combined, although the symbiote can either back out of the mind, giving the host full control, or move in entirely, making it the dominant mind, as the situation demands. Examples of such time could be, for letting the host have full control, when the special touch of the host race is needed, while the symbiote's full control could be for if the host mind is far too exhausted and is dragging the duality down. Both situations tend to be temporary, and the duality is usually the most commonly seen mindset. The easiest way to determine who is in charge is to look at the individual's eyes: a Linilha, while in any amount of control over the host, gives off a chemical that gathers in the host's eyes, and has no effect other than changing the tint of the eyes. If the color of the symbiote tints the entire eye, the Symbiote is completely in control; if the eye is only partially tinted, the duality is, meaning the symbiote's only in partial control; if there's no tint, the host is entirely in control.
While combined, the mind of a Linilha and its host tend to merge, and this merge forms a duality. Therefore, while the minds are combined, the 'host' will refer to itself as 'we', 'us', or 'us both', refering to both it and the symbiote, rather than 'I' or 'Me'. However, if either the Host or Symbiote is fully in control, they will refer to themselves as 'I' or 'Me', as they would only be refering to themselves.
The Linilha Symbiote reproduces through asexual reproduction, dividing itself into 2 symbiotes. Both of these symbiotes keeps the mind and memories of the original. If bonded to a host when this reproduction occurs, the 'original' symbiote will force the host to vomit the new symbiote out. If the host race has instincts that involve some form of parental instinct, the Linilha will take on these instincts and be almost impossible to stop when searching out their 'offspring'. Usually, this following of the 'offspring' either takes a day or until the symbiote bonds with its first host (whatever comes first).
The lifespan of a Linilha symbiote is unknown, supposedly for public relations purposes, but Linilha have been rumored to be able to live for long periods of time.
Linilha religion, in the early days, was centered around 'ancestral worship', and therefore, elder Linilha are widely respected as a result, even in the modern day. This stemmed from the fact that a divided "Elder" would ensure the survival of the offspring, so they could live to carry on the knowledge of the Linilha, while sacrificing themselves. This made them rarer in the old days, and also much more respected, due to this.
Many historical figures of theirs also tend to be ancient Linilha. One example is Ethelm, a Linilha that's been said to have been around since the rise of Linilha Civilization.
==Subraces==
Green Linilha Symbiote [img]http://www.funkyplanet.com.au/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/slime.jpg[/img] These are the average symbiote, with only telepathy and, rarely, psychokinesis.
Blue Linilha Symbiote [img]http://rookery.s3.amazonaws.com/856000/856370_25e3_625x1000.jpg[/img] These symbiotes tend to have clairsentience and psychokinesis, in addition to telepathy. Unlike other symbiote types, in which psychokinesis is a rarity, all Blues have access to Psychokinesis. However, the Blues are also the rarest of Linilha: for every 1000 Greens and 250 Browns, there's only 1 Blue.
This rareness has to do with the fact that Linilha Blues are the slowest and weakest of the Symbiotes, and were nearly hunted to extinction. When the Linilha developed Psionic capabilities, the Blues developed those that were most potent, making them powerful foes for predators. While the Blues remained the rarest of the Linilha, they also became the most powerful, their small numbers balancing out their power.
Brown Linilha Symbiote [img]http://www.dotd.com/mm/oozeslim.gif[/img] In addition to telepathy and the rare individual with psychokinesis, these symbiotes have access to abilities known as psychometabolism, with means it can modify bodily functions via its abilities. Symbiotes without hosts will usually use this to modify its appearance to appear as mud. Symbiotes with hosts can use this to increase the host's healing capabilities.