Stonecoat

Stonecoat is a Cryptid: a heavy, quadrupedal beast sheathed in overlapping plates of river-polished stone that look carved more than grown. It smells of wet rock, crushed moss and a faint mineral tang; it announces itself with a low, grinding rumble like stones shifting on a slope and a soft percussion of pebbles; the air around it registers a steady earthen warmth — the shell feels cool to the hand but a slow, muscular heat radiates from beneath. A field naturalist's note: when it moves the ground settles in measured waves and small plants along its path are pressed flat as if paying respect.