Piu-Pius are mechanoforms with a round, metal body, four pointy legs and two round arms with light-focusing lenses. Covered from top to bottom in copper plating and nasty spikes, they make for poor pets when it comes to cuddling by the fire.
‍

In the wild, their behaviour is strangely irregular compared to other mechanoforms. Sometimes they live entirely alone, sometimes in enormous groups covering vast stretches of ground. Sometimes they seem to simply observe an ore deposit, sometimes they cut away at rock and stone by turning light into a thin, searing beam that can slice its way through most things, given enough time or enough Piu-Pius.
‍

Their name actually comes from the sound they make when focusing light in this manner, a “piu” sound unique to these mechanoforms being made every time they begin beaming something. Their light is a vibrant green, which combines with the earthy colours and copper hue to confuse beginners into thinking that they’ve encountered some form of lost, forest-dwelling mechanoform. However, with the Piu-Piu being common in many places with good access to sunlight, this mistake is growing rarer each year.
‍

They’re quite small and light compared to some of the mightier mechanoforms, though they are incredibly heavy for their size. In fact, an old, comedic tragedy among the [Redacted] tells the tale of Eyscul, himself a playwright who was killed when a Piu-Piu fell from a window and struck him in the head. Perhaps fortunately, there is no actual record of the event other than the play itself, and to most the idea of the event is the result of the play rather than the other way around.