MORE THAN A NAME
The story of Borrowbit.
The Borrowbit line carries an oversized repaired shell above its busy walking legs. Its coastal reputation centers on making room: mature forms often choose shelters with unused cavities, allowing smaller neighbors to rest nearby without surrendering their own retreat.
After a hard tide swept through Shellmender Pools, a Hearthcrab began dragging an awkward shell across the strand. The shell was too damaged to offer the shelter it apparently sought, yet the creature repeatedly returned to it. A mender discovered a young Puddlep resting in the remaining hollow and realized that the crab's smaller former shell could not accommodate the stranded guest. She supported the broken opening while the Hearthcrab examined replacement pieces.
The repair grew slowly around the shape of the surviving hollow, leaving separate exits for both animals. Once the tide pools recovered, the Puddlep departed, but the crab kept using the larger shell. Shellmenders now teach apprentices to preserve spare cavities instead of sealing every irregular opening. The Bastionclaw that later crossed those pools remained selective about its neighbors: generous shelter was a choice supported by space and trust, not an obligation to carry everyone it encountered.
Origins & background
Pebblehearth menders sort abandoned shell fragments into open shore baskets, keeping them above the wrack line until the next suitable tide. They never remove an inhabited shell for repair materials. Citadelcarap's architectural name reflects its impressive carried home, but the animal remains mobile and particular about its resting ground; a decorated shell does not turn it into public coastal infrastructure.
A PLACE TO BELONG
Life in Glasswater Coast.
Pebble beaches and tide pools.
Behavior
Borrowbit tests a potential home by circling it, probing the opening, and withdrawing repeatedly before committing. Older forms settle on firm ground and rearrange small stones around the entrance. They tolerate familiar neighbors but move away when visitors crowd their exit or repeatedly handle the carried shell.
Diet
Algae, stranded plant matter, small shellfish, and soft scavenged remains form a varied shore diet. It sorts food with its claws and leaves hard repair fragments uneaten.
Place in the ecosystem
Scavenging returns stranded coastal material to the tide pools' food web. Reused shell hollows provide temporary refuges for smaller shoreline animals, while careful menders preserve this natural cycle by offering abandoned material instead of taking occupied homes from other creatures.
Neighbors & bonds
Hearthcrab may share a repaired hollow with a resting Puddlep, but each needs an independent retreat. Coilhelm occupies lower flooded chambers nearby. Their different shelter requirements help coastal menders distinguish a tide-pool home from a shell suited to the deeper reef.
ONE BOND, FOUR CHAPTERS
The Borrowbit lineage.
Evolution combines experience with a meaningful milestone. A WildKin may keep its current form until its keeper is ready.
Borrowbit ↗
A small copper body, soft hooked claws, and long eye stalks project beneath a rounded carried shell. Six busy legs give Borrowbit a lively scuttle. It frequently inspects discarded fragments, learning which openings admit its body without leaving the softer underside exposed.
Hearthcrab ↗
The shell develops a clearer helical outline and its first raised crown support. Stronger claws help Hearthcrab inspect and shift repair pieces, while the eye stalks remain expressive above the entrance. It begins favoring homes with a comfortable spare recess beside its own retreat.
Bastionclaw ↗
Layered shell supports rise behind a broader pair of gripping claws, and rounded repair pebbles become part of the home's familiar appearance. Tide now joins Stone. Bastionclaw selects firm tidal resting places where its enlarged shelter can remain stable beside a smaller guest's refuge.
Citadelcarap Current
A towering spiral shell carries several curved buttresses above the alert stalked eyes. Heavy claws frame the protected entrance, balanced by sturdy walking legs. Citadelcarap moves deliberately between established shore resting places, carrying a home whose irregular repairs reflect its own history of chosen neighbors.
INSTINCT & ELEMENT
How it holds its own.
Homeward Brace
Its shield improves while stationary, within the normal power budget.
Shelter Scuttle
StoneAdvance while protecting a nearby ally behind the carried shell.
A WildKin equips up to four moves. Its secondary element joins at Prime, alongside its signature move. Read the battle and evolution rules →
FROM THE KEEPER’S NOTEBOOK
Meeting in the wild.
- 01
Check every shell opening for an occupant before collecting repair material.
- 02
Offer several suitable fragments and allow the crab to choose its own fit.
- 03
Build the rescued companion a separate exit when helping repair a shared shelter.
“The empty-looking doorway may lead to a second occupied chamber. A good repair leaves room for the resident to change its mind about its visitor tomorrow.”— Hearthwild field notes