[a snoozing skerple]

i'm not sure if these are actual existing names with different meanings somewhere, but in this case, "nikti" is derived from "nyctea", an obsolete scientific term for snowy owls, and "maclat" comes from from "maculata", the ending latin name for a type of glowing mushroom... it also has something to do with spiders, apparently- but the shroom fits better.
squeak squeak.
Base (c) ♠Plague♠
nikti is a lesser-known mythical being who sprung into existance from the belch of an ice gryphon in flight over the northern sea; her first contact with mankind was when she was scooped from the frigid waters by a norwegian fishing crew. the crew found her appearance way out in the middle of the ocean to be somewhat baffling, and kept her along out of good humor. though they certainly were neither warriors nor explorers, not by a long shot, her time with them was made up of more than enough adventure to keep a little critter excited for every new trip out.
she found herself out-living her seabound 'parents' when a southerner warship that had been holding nearby was joined and assaulted by another. though likely neither side of the conflict was at all interested in the puny fishing boat, it was taken down in the crossfire. with her humans drowned, she fled into the water, and headed back to their most frequent port.
arriving more than a week later, she ran straight to their former port contact, who recognized her almost immediately. she had returned without her caretakers, whiskers singed, fur matted, and soaked to the bone. with the news of a war in the south, the merchant assumed the worst of her lonesome arrival, and urged the guards to send for her crew. the sour news and the presence of a rodent were hardly grounds for them to stretch thin their forces, so of course this suggestion was ignored. but they were never seen again, and that, along with the rat, was enough to convince the town of the crew's demise.
being a tame rat of rather unusual lifespan, she was bought, sold, and otherwise passed on many times after, most often to or from men at sea. the time she spent with each crew varied, and she stayed with some owners until they were too grey to sail and eventually passed on, but the majority of her caretakers met a similar fate as her first. they would be attacked, they would crash onto land or ice, there would be disease, famine, storms, serpents, and stupidity of impressive degrees. but no matter how the ship was destroyed, she would always return to the town most favored by its crew, and by her return their contacts would know that they would not be doing business with them again.