Hello, hello! If you were a magical, living creature made of clay, sticks, and sap for blood, what would you eat?
It sounds like a "nature" creature, so I would say natural things such as plant life, water rich in nutrients, etc.
Roasted glowworms, with a glittersauce made from fairydust found on mint leaves. A nice vintage dandelion wine poured in a chestnut cap. To follow a dessert of thistle blossoms and mushroom tea.
Something containing cellulose, dirt, and other vital nutrients. Perhaps, I would have a compost heap that I tended to. If I was an evil creature, my compost heap would have humans and stolen farm animals in it as well.
sticks and sap = 'tree' so their diet should be what sustains trees [i.e., water, minerals from soil, oxygen, sunshine]
Erasers. And Footwear. The protagonist's frustration at gnawed pencils and missing slippers might get a few chuckles.
@Thomas Kitchen @mammamaia That was my first instinct too! My only reservation with doing that is that my novel is going to be a little gritty, and I worried that making an earth based creature would detract from that. @Garball That's an idea that I didn't think of before. There's going to be a city filled with these creatures and having a compost that they tend to would indeed be interesting! If I go the compost route though, could trash also be a form of sustenance? @Bryan Romer I'm doing that too. They have to visit their creator often to refresh themselves, but I wanted some kind of "food" to tide them over and make it so that they don't have to visit as often. @ChaosReigns I can't tell if you're kidding.. Thanks a lot everyone. You all gave me some good ideas that I'll have to think about.
Since the fluid that binds the mud and sticks together is sap, and it is likely to dry/evaporate/drain away, that would be the logical item to need replenishment first.
After some discussion with another forum, I decided to go with metal. Metal is found in the ground, so I figured it'd be okay. Thanks for all your help!