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Post by Sharei on May 17, 2020 17:49:12 GMT -6
The Dams allowed Sara's exploration and even encouraged her by spreading their wings and lifting their arms. They thrilled in the exchange, making cooing noises and lovingly touching Sara's hair. If the shifter worried about being accepted into the tribe, she needn't have done. As far as the females were concerned Sara was one of them.
"Pretty good," Toko said with a contemplative nod. There wasn't really a 'normal' for a Surras and he struggled to express that. It was just something you knew, a way of life, where normal was relative and even the strange was accepted. One's behaviour more than their appearance was worth judging.
"Gold is not common," he said instead. One clawed hand flowed through his own shimmering silver hair. "Shiney is rare, so you got lucky."
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Post by tsukikoko on May 22, 2020 4:42:18 GMT -6
Sara nodded, taking mental note of each piece of presented information, while being unable to quite stop herself from emitting a pleased chitter; pleased that they had accepted her so readily and a simmering excitement she couldn't deny at her colours being rare. She would be able to study herself, later, to glean even further information of fur composition and the plates across her body, but for now she could focus more on the social and societal aspects. She was pleased that the Surras' size meant she would be able to remain in this form, theoretically indefinitely.
"Thank you." she said with a smile, before inclining her head towards the outside, "Would be alright -to see.. how you live? Hunt?" The dental structure certainly implied a predatory species, so she didn't think it would be an improper question to ask. Then, with a soft sound somewhere between a chatter and a bark, the closest to a self-deprecating laugh within her vocalisations, the newly shifted Surras admitted, "I... not always so good at.. flying, though." She found some animals easier than others, birds most difficult of all. With a glance over her shoulder and an experimental stretch of her wings (the colour and structure of which she took a few seconds to appreciate), Sara found she really wasn't sure at all how she would fare, in this instance. Would her tail be a detriment? Did they simply glide, which would be a bit easier? "Can practice, sometime?" She asked Toko, enthusiastic despite knowing she would be almost akin to a child in her skills, at first.
Now that she'd had a few moments to adjust to the new body, Sara began to stretch her limbs and took a few four-legged steps around the room, just to get used to her structure and the length of various body parts. She tried not to let her unruly tail hit anything or anyone, too. But her gaze always returned to Toko and one ear would cock in his direction if he started talking, so that she remained attentive and polite with him.
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Post by Sharei on Jun 6, 2020 21:27:36 GMT -6
Toko blinked his black and orange eyes at Sara. Blinked again. Fly?
"Oh." He shook his head, though a smile spread slow and wry across his face. "We don't fly, though sometimes you can get a little lift," he said. He flapped his wings clumsily, disrupting cloth and fur in the room with the sudden gusts of air. "Muscles don't work right for that. Aren't strong enough either. You just go from one spot to another and use the updrafts."
One of the dams took hold of the edge of Sara's wing and pulled it open with a gentle tug. "The air catches in the wing," she said, running a finger along the curving upper edge. Her touch ended just past the shoulder blade. "And you just lock this muscle, here, to keep the wing open for a long glide. Don't use these sets or you'll get a back ache!"
Toko nodded. "We'll take you gliding later and show you. A hunt wouldn't be a bad idea either."
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Post by tsukikoko on Oct 23, 2020 14:39:53 GMT -6
The shifter watched as her wings were extended, nodding and letting out gentle huffs of understanding. She tensed the muscles they indicated, testing the waters, proving to them that she had been listening. Gliding would likely be easier anyway; her track record of powered flight wasn't... brilliant. Though she wondered if her tail was going to cause problems where altering her trajectory was concerned.
Oh well, would just have to cross that bridge if she came to it.
Her attention turned back to conversation of a hunt. It had been a while since she'd partaken, but Sara was certainly no stranger to predatory instincts. Or indulging in them. After all, earning her food, having an appreciation for where it had come from and how hard nature had to fight, it was good for a person to understand, she thought. Certainly, she wasn't squeamish about it - too many predatory animals inside her for that. Well... until higher sentience was involved. Then the waters got a lot muddier - too much empathic human in her to ignore.
"Whenever time is good, for you." She said with a friendly chitter to Toko, not wanting to impose on their regular schedules or lives too much while she was here. Then, with a little, excited twitch of her tail that refused to stop, she asked the assembled Surras, "Any questions," one hand came to rest on her chest, "for me?"
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Post by Sharei on Nov 16, 2020 13:34:56 GMT -6
When Sara asked if any of the Surras had any questions, the dams' faces lit up like Christmas trees. Even Toko looked excited.
"What does it feel like to change?" "Does your skin always ripple like that?" "Why did you need Toko to lick you?" "Why doesn't your tail change?" "What's it like to live in the human trees?" "What was that thing that brought you?" "Do all humans have tails like this?"
It was impossible to tell which of them asked which quetsions. Some of them talked over the others, while others spoke rapid-fire, but all four of them had crowded in uncomfortably close.
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Post by tsukikoko on Nov 16, 2020 14:48:57 GMT -6
Sara let out a trilling, affectionate laugh, not at all put off by how close the group had gotten. It was nice, really, how unabashed they were - it suited the shifter's own personality. But, so that she could be heard and get a chance to answer any of their questions, she raised both hands and made a gentle gesture with palms facing down. An indication for them to hold the queries for just a moment.
Once the Surras were quiet enough, Sara answered their questions in turn with a cheerful expression and chittering tone. She was starting to get used to their language and her new jaw now. "Changing feels like... flexing a bunch of muscles and then having them completely relax at the same time. Yes, my skin always ripples. Toko needed to lick me because I needed... part of him, his... essence, in a way, to make a new version of me." Sara paused a moment, thinking how else she could explain the concept of DNA. "Like how you need part of him to make a baby? That same type of essence, but I can take it from spit, or blood. As for my tail..." she glanced over her shoulder, gently wagging the appendage, "-it's hard to explain, but.. because of an accident, it's stuck, like a defect." Her attention returned to the group.
"I like it, though."
The shifter chuckled good-naturedly, thinking on the planned gliding practice later. "It'll be interesting to see how it affects my gliding, hmm? As for human trees, if you mean cities and buildings they're... very different. Every single one is very different in size and interior, depending on what they're used for or the personal tastes of the owner. I can sketch you some pictures to show you, later, if you like. But we also have tree houses, built in actual trees." She gestured with one arm around herself. "Though no trees as magnificent as this one. As for the thing that brought me, that's a..." she realised she had no idea how to say the word in their language and tried her best to resort to human tongue, "-hel...eee...copeterr. It's a tool that allows humans to fly, since they have no wings. And no-" Sara's smile was rather proud now and a little mischievous, "I'm the only one with a tail like this, one of a kind!"
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Post by Sharei on Dec 20, 2020 12:26:10 GMT -6
"Ooooooh," said all the Dams at once. Then, in an excited chittering, the questions began again.
"Does that mean you're gunna have Toko's kit?" "Will the new kit be a human or a Surras?" "Are heeleecoopeters alive? It roared!" "How can you tense up and relax at the same time?" "I want to go see your human trees!"
Toko slapped his tail against the ground with a resounding snap. All three Dams immediately silenced themselves, though they looked like they might burst any moment with the held-back tirade.
"Don't pester her," Toko chided, trying to hold back his own questions. "More questions later."
The Dams deflated. "Awwwwhh..."
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Post by tsukikoko on Dec 20, 2020 16:55:56 GMT -6
Sara's eyes widened, just a touch, at the mention of kits. She should have guessed that any mention of 'baby' might lead the dams to jump to a conclusion, but she hadn't quite expected them to talk about it as though it were a given thing already. The shifter found herself smiling again at their enthusiasm, nonetheless. "Ah, no, not-" But before she found the time or need to explain, Toko intervened - again with that tail slap. Sara's eyes glanced down at his limb, taking mental note not to allow her own tail to slap against the ground, lest it be misinterpreted.
"Not to worry everyone, there'll be plenty of time for me to answer your questions, I'm here for a while, after all." More and more, their language began to flow off her tongue, coming more easily to her the longer she spent time in the Surras form. Now, though, she had a few of her own questions. "I must ask though," she said to the group, "on the subject of mating and kits; I'm aware you have mating periods, but are only alphas allowed mating privileges, do you have one kit or several per mating?" The shifter swished her tail gently, trying not to let it wag as her excited curiosity rose. "Just to satisfy some of my own curiosity before we move on to other things."
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Post by Sharei on Aug 17, 2021 16:07:38 GMT -6
The dams all looked at each other, then looked at Sara.
"Everyone mates," Toko explained with a light shrug. "Toms will take whoever they want, and dams want everyone. Sometimes many times. It just depends who you're near, I guess? Unless you want someone special."
"Mmmhh," hummed one of the Dams thoughtfully. "When it's the heat you don't really think. Males pick but females don't, not really. It's different."
"Yeah," said another of the Dams. "And when it's all over you get kits! Two or three."
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Post by tsukikoko on Aug 17, 2021 16:36:22 GMT -6
The shifter nodded with enthusiasm at every given answer, fascinated by every facet of the society she'd seen thus far. It was interesting, the route they'd taken, in which females didn't try to segregate off the 'best' males, or were taken by the fittest through a form of male-competition. Instead, it seemed the males could be the pickier ones.
"And what makes someone.. special? Do disagreements ever break out between Toms if they wish for the same female at the same time? Do females raise their own kits or do you all help each other?" A small pause followed Sara's latest round of questions, before she chuffed lightly, scruffing her own hair in a Surras replication of her normal habit. "Goodness, now I'm the one throwing too many questions at once."
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Post by Sharei on Aug 17, 2021 16:42:02 GMT -6
"That's okay!" said the coral-coated dam. "We don't mind, do we?"
The other dams shook their heads, eager to answer any questions Sara seemed to have.
"We raise kits together," the olive-colored dam said. "All of the females help. The younger dams that don't have kits of their own watch them, too."
"There's not usually any fighting," Toko said with another mild shrug. His tail swished lazily through the air. "Usually we just take turns, or go at the same time."
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Post by tsukikoko on Aug 17, 2021 18:03:37 GMT -6
At that final comment, Sara felt one of her eyebrows quirk, just slightly. The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, "Blimey, sounds like my kind of event!" A joking comment with, admittedly, a nugget of truth given the often rampant state of her own libido. But such a thing would be most inappropriate for a work outing, especially given her relationship status.
Given how they'd taken earlier comments at face value, the shifter was quick to move the conversation onwards once her brain caught up to her mouth's runaway comment. "Well, thank you for all you've answered so far! I have to say, I really do feel so welcomed, this is lovely." Sara smiled as much with her eyes as her mouth, everything about her expression exuding friendly cheer. "I'm curious if there's anywhere in particular you'd like to show me first? Something you're extra proud or excited to show off; aside from the housing you've already shown me." She gestured briefly around to the room she would be staying in. "I'm keen to learn as much as I can, but you are the experts and the student here, so I leave myself in your capable hands on this one!"
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Post by Sharei on Aug 17, 2021 20:15:23 GMT -6
"Hmmm..." Toko hummed, clearly considering what spot would be best to start with. His head bent forward and one ear angled sideways as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Oh, oh!" said one of the Dams. "What about the rearing spot? Since you were asking about kits!" she said.
"Or maybe the garden!" said another, the coral-pelt, and she clapped her hands excitedly. "There are so many nice flowers!"
"We could go to the trunk," the orange and pink one said. "The meeting place."
Toko glanced back at Sara. "Which do you want to see first?"
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Post by tsukikoko on Aug 23, 2021 14:51:35 GMT -6
Sara considered the proposals for a few moments, knowing that she would love to see them all in time but admittedly having some difficulty deciding on the first one. The tip of her tail twitched as she thought, before extending suddenly straight as the shifter came to a decision.
"I think the garden would be a wonderful idea," the odd-tailed Surras said with a gentle smile, "-then I think the meeting place and finally the rearing spot. Though I warn you-" her grin turned playful, mischievous even, "-if you have any younglings currently, it may be difficult to drag me away. I imagine they're incredibly cute."
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Post by Sharei on Aug 24, 2021 15:08:05 GMT -6
The coral-pelted dam jumped up and down excitedly, pleased that her suggestion had won. She took Sara by the hand and pulled her toward the stairs.
"Yes! Good, come! They're so pretty, you're sure to love it!"
They turned out to be a beautiful array of flowers lovingly planted along the outer edges of one of the tree's massive branches. The branch had been carved out several feet deep to make long rows of beds, which had been filled with compost and dirt, and planted with some of the most fragrant plants and flowers that could be found in and around Wathais. It was just a five minute upward climb from where Sara was staying, and visitors came and went from the patches, sometimes with water, others just to linger. To a human it was nothing special, but for a Surras it was a wonderland of scent.
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