Due to the nature of the Dra’gal, the Dra’gal can eat almost anything safely, with no harmful effect to the creature. Furthermore, the Dra’gal will often find it healthy to vary their diet heavily, including the ingestion of harmful materials, as it allows the Dra’gal to “learn” about their structure. Certain materials are more favoured however. Biological materials, crystals, metals, and material with “high energy content” are all heavily favoured.
Due to the lack of harm ingesting can bring, the Dra’gal does not have a sense of something tasting “bad”, but instead things only taste different. Whilst Dra’gals will prefer certain flavours, or gravitate towards materials they are lacking, it is not safe to assume a Dra’gal will NOT consume something.
The Dra’gals maw has several distinct features that set them aside from other species. Unless actively disguising their nature, the Dra’gal will have these notable features regardless of their outward appearance.
The most notable feature of any Dra’gal maw however, is their splitmaw. Instead of an upper and lower jaw, the Dra’gal will instead have four “quadrants”, two upper and two lower. Both sets will often be interlocked into a single jaw, giving the appearance of a more traditional jaw, but can split effortlessly. With the bone being made of softer “joint” material, these jaws can flex in ways no other jaws can, folding back and spreading much like the petals of a flower. With the joints at their roots also being flexible, these jaws can unhinge from each other, giving the Dra’gal an unmatched bite in terms of size.
Between the upper and lower jaws, are often smaller curved teeth. Sharp hooks that are less for chewing, and more for gripping, allowing the Dra’gal to bite into flesh and bone easily, preventing escape for larger prey.
As for the more traditional teeth, these will likely follow the species a Dra’gal hides as, they are able to enjoy both beaks and teeth as desired. However, they will often use a strange hybrid sets that bridge the gap between the two. All their teeth, beaks, or other are highly durable, and resilient against damage and wear, often simply ‘healing’ anything that does make a dent in their silvery surfaces.
When allowed, the larger teeth will follow a curved triangular design, upper and lower sets interlocking together. Front edges are often razor sharp, whilst the flatter backs utilise serrated edges. This gives them potent cutting abilities whilst retaining a powerful hold against struggling prey.
Occasionally, some teeth may be hollow, for the injecting of venoms into prey, these teeth often sporting a different design to others, being slender, smoother, and longer then the others, although barbed designs that ‘break away’ to remain in prey should they escape are not uncommon.
Often, the Dra’gal will have two tongues within their maw, one that settles in their lower jaws, whilst the other settles in their upper jaws. These tongues will often mirror each other, in terms of appearance.
Most commonly, these tongues are covered in soft barbs, that when erected, can pierce through flesh. This allows for easier gripping of prey during ingestion, or allows them to simply “lick” away softer material such as flesh.
Both tongues will normally feature a fork, and whilst the upper does not always feature this next attribute, the lower is often hollow in nature. Powerful internal muscles allow the Dra’gal to suck fluids through the tongue, drinking as if it were a straw. With tips that are often sharp and hard when erected, this allows the Dra’gal to pierce through shells and such to drink fluids, or simply drink when their maw will not allow them.
These tongues are heavily prehensile in nature, as well as being durable and flexible. This allows them to be as dexterous as hands, gripping, holding, and manipulating things with precision and even care. Long lengths of tongue will often be folded within the throat and neck, allowing these tongues to extend far beyond the limits of the jaws.
Lastly the Dra’gal’s throat is ridged in nature, with wedge-shaped rings of muscles lining the passage down. This shape allows for a powerful grip over prey, that makes escape far harder for anything still living. The flexibility in muscle allows for these muscles to “wave” back and forth, rippling almost like cilia increasing swallowing potential.