i keep seeing the idea that being a solitary predator means a monster is going to be vicious and unsocial. as a counterpoint, allow me to present:
the maine coon.
no one really knows how they came about, and there are rumors that their heritage includes some bobcat and/or lynx. ‘reputable’ sources dismiss that, but frankly, if you’ve ever seen a bobcat investigate the smells around a house with cats, that’s not prey drive you’re seeing. he’s tryna pick up.
even if they’re just the result of a mishmash of domesticated breeds, they self-selected for large size, thick coat, big huge snowshoe paws with fur tufts between the pads, fur-filled tufty ears that can resist the icy winds, and extremely focused hunting skills. they are the ultimate barn cat. whether indoors or outdoors, they’ll kill and eat half a dozen of whatever’s pooping in your grain bin while other cats are still chasing leaves. they’re the epitome of the solitary predator.
and yet they’re one of the gentlest breeds. they’re good with babies and make excellent therapy animals. they’re just. sweethearts.
so what i’m saying is, if you’re designing creatures for a fictional world, and you want one to interact positively with your characters, you don’t need to make them herd or pack animals. you just have to make them smart enough to know the difference between people and lunch. 😀
Okay but now I’m just imagining a dragon that loves belly rubs for some reason and it’s very good
Like look at Pocho, who was a croc that a man named Chito rescued. He loved Chito and they’d swim together. Imagine a dragon doing this:
in the thing i’m writing, i gave king gareth a baby dragon who basically acts like a cat. it’s adorable when she’s baby-sized. in a few years it’s going to be a bit alarming. 😀
This begs a very important question: When she gets too big to knock things off the counter, what does she knock over instead?
wupacing 