The latest report from the Kotlis Convention, currently deep in the interior of Great Tendor, is that the kotlis named Susu, beloved for her consistent wins in races, is pregnant.

This was the hopeful, yet far from certain, result of 560 kotlis attending the traveling convention, with all the staff and elven companions excited to welcome her little one into the galaxy.

Kotlis have a difficult time breeding due to their biology. A kotlis’s lifespan is about 30 years, but once they reach 30, they will revert to an egg and metamorphosis into their next of 15 forms, with each individual kotlis having their own sequence. The smallest form can fit in a small cup while the largest have the strength and temperament to be a peldak’s favored hunting partner. Every time they undergo this metamorphosis, they switch genders as well. So, for the kotlis to mate, they must find another kotlis who is in the same form, the opposite gender, and the female must be in heat with the male in rut during the same small window of opportunity.

These compounding factors ensure mating is a very slow and relatively rare process, with some kotlis waiting hundreds of years between breedings. Though with such heavy punishments for harming the national animal of Pelda, their numbers are slow to rise but almost never fall.

Susu’s pregnancy will be celebrated as the convention’s focal point for the next quarter-year. She’ll be laid on a padded pedestal in a quiet, dim tent, and visitors will be welcome to come say hello, give her a treat, and look at her forehead’s orange diamond as it pulses in rhythm with her baby’s heart.