"I say she's a girl, but some might not even have a gender." AL shrugs. "She doesn't mind I call her female, so she's female. And, no, she's just big enough to sit on your head and block out the sun, which she does a lot. Helps if you're trying to do something outside and forgot your hat." She laughs.

"Nope, that's how he looks. He's friendly, even though he has a kind of self-important air to him." She scratches her head sheepishly. "A few of them that I've named after real people - so to speak - are, so it's kind of my fault." She shrugs. "Anyway, the Whorl apparently does a lot of weird things to whatever is in there. Believe me, he is not the weirdest looking Whorling living on Alnilam."