Kivuuli

Calls, Vocalizations and Language

Kivuuli voices have a strange, otherworldly quality to them. They sound almost distorted, with a clear staticy crackling undertone. This is likely because of their interdimensional nature.

Their voices are often deep, with a growl or purr like sound mixed in. A Kivuuli speaking is much what a person might imagine a lion’s voice would sound like if it learned to speak. They tend to have emphasis on sharper sounds, like k, z, v, and such, and their r’s are often lengthened slightly in a slight growl or purr. They are fully capable of learning languages aside from their own and, in fact, Kivuuli learn incredibly fast. Despite their wild primitive ways, they are incredibly intelligent. They mainly keep to their wilder ways due to culture, and how volatile and ever-changing Between is. You can't exactly advance when the laws of reality around you are constantly changing!

Outside of speech, they have a whole range of natural vocalizations. When excited or friendly, they let out a sound similar to a chittering cat. Though much deeper and lower in tone. This sound is often used by playful kits, or adults trying to show they mean no harm. Kivuuli also purr. It’s a deep, heavy rumbling sound with a bit of static to it.

They chitter, chirp, chuff, rumble, growl, purr, hiss, click, snarl, roar, howl, and many other sounds.

Chirping is used to call and greet fellow members of their Colony. The chuff is similar to a chuffing tiger, and they use this to greet loved ones and family or close friends. The rumble and growl show varying levels of irritation and/or anger, eventually leading to a wild snarling or finally, their terrible howl or roar.

Purring is an expression of pleasure and contentment.

When injured, they let out soft whimpers and whines.

When sad, they will either be very quiet, whimper softly, or let out a heartbreaking wail when mourning the death of a loved one.

Their language incorporates all of these vocalizations. And they even integrate this when speaking other languages as well.

Kivuuli also rely strongly on body language. The position of one’s ears, tone of voice, and posture can change the meaning of what they are trying to say. Looking at the position of the ears is a great way to tell what mood a Kivuuli is in. When neutral, the ears are out slightly to the sides and in a relaxed position. When alert or shocked, their ears perk up and swivel forward. Their ears often flick and swivel towards any sound, and many times they detect sounds other creatures will not.

When angry, their ears go back, and they lower their ears when sad, or trying to show submission. Higher ranking Kivuuli generally tend to hold their ears perked higher than lower ranking Kivuuli.

Kivuuli can also make a strange tonal almost… droning sound. Somewhere between a thrum and a rumble, it can promote relaxation or healing. The sound is, indeed, very strange. And it is something that is rarely heard among Kivuuli so it is theorized that only a few of them are capable of, or know how to, produce this sound.

Culture, Customs and Heirarchy

Not much is known of Kivuuli culture and customs, but it can be very complex even if it seems deceptively simple. Their customs are a mix between their wild and feral nature and their sapience. In some ways they can be considered very primitive, though not savage. In reality, Kivuuli believe strongly in living with the land. When living somewhere, they are very careful to preserve the balance of nature. They do not chase other predators out of their territory, and never over-hunt. They only take what they need, and use as much of their prey as they can. They use the pelts and fur in their nests, make things from their bones, horns, or hooves, and eat every part they are able to.

Most Kivuuli do not mate for life. As such, they do not have any ceremonies or weddings. Among Kivuuli, a Colony is a family. They do not have surnames, nor do they need them. Reproduction has nothing to do with feelings of love, but rather to make offspring. Kivuuli do sometimes mate for life, but this is fairly rare. Even those who are lifemates will sometimes mate with others and this is not considered cheating. It is completely normal, since it helps spread out the gene pool.

Kivuuli hierarchy is very pack like. Their groups are referred to as Colonies, though some call them Clans. A Colony is lead by the Dominant Female, or Alpha Female. Males in higher positions are extremely rare. The highest ranking male or males are known as Betas.

The Elders are the oldest and wisest members of the Colony. Just being old does not make you an Elder. Elders are story-tellers, legend-keepers; and even the Dominant Female often goes to them for advice or help. An Elder must always be respected. Kivuuli have a written language, and the Elders write their history into the caves their Colony dwells in. Their claws carve the stories and names of all Kivuuli in a Colony into the stone. The Halls of History, as a Kivuuli calls the dens and caves the Elders keep and dwell in, are considered sacred and must not be damaged in any way. Only the Elders are allowed to carve the stone within. Because of this, Kivuuli Colonies are VERY hesitant to leave their homes, even if threatened. They are incredibly sentimental of their history. When an Elder dies, their Heartstone is placed within the Hall with the Heartstones of all past Elders in a place of ultimate honor. The Dominant Female’s Heartstone are placed within the Halls as well.

The highest ranking male is considered the Colony Dominant Male, or Beta Male. He usually leads with the female, but is completely subordinate towards her. He is dominant towards the males in the Colony, but not towards the females. The Beta Male is usually the first one a female in heat will choose, and most often is the chosen mate of the Alpha Female, simply because he is the strongest and most clever male in the Colony and has good genes.

There are mid ranking males and females, who fight out their dominance among eachother, and Omegas.

Omegas are not treated badly, but they have no authority within the Colony and are almost never chosen as mates. Female Omegas are extremely rare, and generally only crippled, severely injured, or terminally ill females end up as an Omega. Omegas often act as nannies for the Colony, and often induce lactation to keep kits calm and fed while the stronger and higher ranking Kivuuli hunt and carry out other tasks. Kivuuli who play the part of nannies are treated very well, and given plenty of food so they can continue to produce milk for the kits they help care for.

Lactating Kivuuli will often allow weak, sick, or elderly members of their colony to feed from them, for the strengthening and healing properties their milk has. While a human would consider this taboo, gross and strange, it is completely normal in Kivuuli society.

Kivuuli take very good care of the less fortunate members of their Colonies. The crippled, the weak, the runty, the stunted, the injured, the elderly… all of them are well cared for. The entire Colony will pitch in together to insure the survival of even their weakest members. Weak Kivuuli may not reproduce, but they live comfortable and happy.

Lower than Omegas, are the disgraced Kivuuli. They have done something terrible and lost their honor and are hated by the Colony and not treated well.

Disgraced Kivuuli are those who did something shameful. Not deserving of exile, they keep their name and aren’t chased away, but they are generally ostracized by their fellows and can’t fight their way up in rank even if strong and dominant. A Disgraced Kivuuli must provide for themselves and are not allowed access to the Colony’s food stores or hunts. They must prove themselves worthy to get out of this status and become Omegas, but they will never rise above omega status and will never be fully trusted again.

Exiled Kivuuli are those who have committed the highest of crimes in their culture. Rape, murder, killing other sentient beings unprovoked, hurting innocent kits, and betrayal are among the crimes deemed worthy this fate worse than death. An Exile is called Itz’hil. This word means many things at once. “Exiled, Nameless, Shamed One, Marked One.”

The Marking is sentenced by the Alpha Female and the Colony’s Elders. If the accused Kivuuli is not remorseful of their crimes, or their crimes are unforgivable, their teleportation ability is temporarily knocked out and they are chained to a pillar of stone that they can not escape from. Legs and arms clamped down so they can not move. The Alpha Female makes the first mark. She slashes into his chest a symbol, reciting the word “Itz’hil!” with each slash of her claws. The Elders are next, speaking something along the lines of “As you threw away your honor, I take away your name. You are Exile. You are Itz’hil. You are Nameless. You are Nothing.” followed by the family their actions hurt the most, then every other adult in the Colony. Children are not permitted to view or participate in these Ceremonies. The mark and word is repeated time and time and time again until the Kivuuli’s healing ability slows and the slashes form a scar, a mark that will forever mar their chest. This can take weeks of constant torture. Once the Marking Ceremony is complete, the exhausted exile is released from the chains, and viciously chased away by the Colony. Any Colony who sees these marks from that time on will not allow the exile into their territory. Exiles live a lonely and miserable life, and generally don’t last long since Kivuuli are such social creatures and depend strongly on eachother for survival and emotional wellbeing.

Older, stronger Kivuuli can assert their dominance without a fight, simply with posture, ear position, and growling. Or, even, with confidence alone. Smaller males are generally more submissive than larger ones.

The female is in charge; though she lets the males set up their pecking order however they want. If it gets to be too much, she’ll step in, assert her dominance, and put a stop to it.
Battles for dominance never end in death. They fight until one backs down. Sometimes this doesn’t even get past the snarling, growling, circling eachother, and displaying their strength and ferocity.

Simply watching and listening to a Kivuuli within a Colony can give you a ton of clues on their status. The dominant leaders move with their heads high and ears alert and perked up. When addressing others, they stand tall and look down at them with their hands out to the sides. Submissive members take a lower submissive posture with their claws crossed in front of them and eyes turned to the side. Their ears are held slightly lowered. Direct eye contact is considered a threat, thus lower ranking Kivuuli must not look higher ranking Kivuuli directly in the eye without permission.

Kivuuli have strange ceremonies when a member of their Colony dies. First, the dead Kivuuli is mourned. Mourning can last days, and is not done until the family of the dead Kivuuli says it is. Those closest will wail and howl their grief on and on, a haunting and heartbreaking sound. Almost a haunting and heartbreaking song. Especially at the death of an Elder or Alpha. The entire Colony howls and mourns. But the time for Mourning does not last forever. Once the deceased Kivuuli is mourned, they have a special celebration.

A feast is held, with dancing, singing, storytelling, and laughing. For such a sombre thing, there is great joy. The Colony remembers their deceased member fondly. They talk about their life, their effect on the Colony. The Heartstone is then placed in a special antechamber within the Halls of History. The Elders carve the shape of the Heartstone out into the stone, gently place the gem within, and carve the name of the deceased Kivuuli beneath with their claws to be remembered forever. All deceased Kivuuli in a Colony are remembered unless they are Disgraced when they die. If disgraced, the Heartstone is set aside and ignored… a strong enough crime has the Heartstone being thrown off into the blackness surrounding the strange floating isles the Kivuuli dwell on.

Kivuuli are very matriarchal. The female is entirely in charge; the dominant female is submissive to none. A Colony lead by a male is considered unnatural and weak.

They tolerate mistakes in children more than in adults. Children are still learning, and can be taught. Adults know better.

These colonies can harbor anything from a small handful of Kivuuli, to hundreds or in some rare cases, over a thousand of them. The Elder position is not limited to just one; if there is more than one elder, they are all looked up to and view eachother as equals.

Kivuuli live as a community and share everything. Their homes, their food. The strong help provide for the weak, those not strong enough to hunt do other tasks within the Colony, such as helping care for kits. They respect eachother’s homes and belongings. Theft and stealing is frowned upon, but not enough for alphas to get involved. The one stolen from is in charge of getting their belongings back. This often results in a spat. If it gets severe enough, the Alpha or one of the Betas will step in.

Kivuuli are territorial. Not against others in their own Colony, but towards those from other Colonies. While not common, some alpha females and the highest ranking beta males will use urine marking to mark the edges of their territory.

Kivuuli are a mixture of supernatural and biological.

They have very little concept of personal space. Kivuuli are very touchy with eachother. They spend a lot of time cuddling and generally being near eachother. They are VERY fond of touching. They often stay very close to those they care about. Communal grooming is very common and reinforces bonds within the colony, and among friends and family.

They have no concept of doors. They have no shame in nudity. Kivuuli do not wear clothes. Some, though, may decorate themselves with gems and things they have found. Their homes are open, and they come and go as they please.

Appearance and anatomy

Kivuuli are somewhat humanoid in appearance, but have some very clear differences. They are long and lean, with elongated torsos and limbs. The average Kivuuli stands around nine to nine and a half feet tall. They have pawlike digitgrade feet which have four toes, or four toes and a dewclaw. Being interdimensional creatures, they often appear with a strange dark aura around them with what seems like tiny sparks or glimmers of lights appearing and floating aimlessly around them and vanishing again. This aura and glowing particles usually matches the basic color of their eyes. It only shows when they are using, or have recently used their reality bending abilities.

Kivuuli skin is incredibly tough and thick. It takes some strength and a sharp blade to pierce it. They have a coating of fur that is short, but dense and soft. Their natural body temperature is around 105 degrees Fahrenheit, and thus they are very warm to the touch. The fur is usually longest around the shoulders, down the back, and in small fringes around the ankles and wrists.

The fur on a female's ruff is longer and thicker than that of a male, and the skin there is looser and thicker and tougher as well. This serves as a protective barrier against the male's fangs, since they tend to bite during mating. Even then, he does often draw blood though most females don't mind this. It actually feels good to them.

Being interdimensional creatures, Kivuuli are extremely light. Even standing around nine or more feet tall, they rarely weigh over one hundred fifty pounds. This is due to them being made up of something like solidified energy. Light, but incredibly strong. This not fully physical nature also manifests in their spines, claws, and fangs. When angry, they actually extend out and get longer and sharper, and when calm shrink back to normal size and sharpness.

They have scale like spines on their forearms pointing back off the elbow with membranes between them. Similar scale like spines go down their spine, also having membranes between them. These spines flare up when frightened, angry, or threatened. They are also used in dominance displays.

Kivuuli blood is a dark nearly black purple and thicker than human blood.

Males are far more common than females. There are about five males for every one female hatched.

Diet and Feeding

Kivuuli are obligate carnivorous. Their diet consists almost entirely of meat, though they might eat other things if no meat is available. They will sometimes add other things to their diet, such as fruits and similar for vitamins, minerals and fiber. Kivuuli tend to love sweets, but they aren’t fond of sour things.

Abilities

Kivuuli have many special abilities they are capable of using.

Teleportation - Kivuuli are able to teleport, though their methods are strange and unique. They are able to bend the fabric of reality around them in minor ways, the most pronounced being the ability to literally tear a crack in reality and step through. The crack always heals itself right after the Kivuuli steps through. Not ALL Kivuuli can do this. It is something that must be taught. Kivuuli can see and sense the flow of energy around them. They can also completely silence their steps, even at a full run.

**Note that they teleport by jumping through the dimension - or, within the bubble. They can not break out of the bubble into greater between, but they do, in a sense, touch Between when teleporting.

Paralyzing Stare - The Paralyzing Stare is an ability Kivuuli developed for hunting and self defense. They stare you right in the eyes, which has a hypnotizing effect, rendering their prey or enemy unable to move. As long as your eyes are locked with the Kivuuli’s, you can’t move. When eye contact is broken, you can move again. Most Kivuuli ONLY use this ability when absolutely necessary. Generally if they are attacked. They catch the person’s gaze, causes them to freeze up, and teleports away to safety as they recover.

Intimidating Howl - The Intimidating Howl is a horrible unearthly howl, laced with the Kivuuli’s reality bending power. It sounds somewhere between a feral howl, savage snarling, horrible shrieking, and radio static. It forces feelings of terror into the one hearing it, giving them the desire to run away. Most can not handle it, and either faint where they are or run in horror. This terrible howl seems to come from every direction at once, making the Kivuuli’s location hard to determine.

Reality Bending - This ability is the underlying cause to many other abilities Kivuuli have. They are able to bend reality around them in minor ways, stifling the sound of their footsteps, stopping you from hearing their breath or smelling them or sensing their presence. They can also leap through cracks in reality to teleport and many other small, but useful applications.

Evolutionary Background

Their society is very wild in many ways. They are sapient and intelligent, but far more ruled by wild instincts and feral tendencies than humans. This has not changed because it works for them.

Between is a dangerous place, and Kivuuli reproduce slowly. Smaller Colonies are much more likely to breed faster. They also breed faster is there is plenty of food around. During times of famine females will actually stop having heats entirely. This is natural; it allows a Colony to grow strong and maintain their numbers. More babies born means more Kivuuli likely to make it to adulthood. A lone Kivuuli female is several times more likely to become pregnant than a Kivuuli in a big Colony. When a lot of Kivuuli populate one area, or food is less plentiful, their fertility as a whole drops dramatically. The reason why is unknown, but a hormonal response is the most likely candidate. Kivuuli in smaller Colonies are also more likely to go into heat more often. Kivuuli can go into heat every one to three years. Smaller Colonies' viable members will go into heat once a year; bigger colonies often every three years and sometimes even five.

Kivuuli leave Between to hunt for food not available in their homeworld, gather resources, and explore. They usually go in small parties.  There may be a small number of Kivuuli with the ability to not age or die of age, but there are plenty of other things killing them and keeping their population balanced.

All of this together has honed their intelligence to a fine point, but also nurtured their wild side giving them human intelligence coupled with bestial behaviors and instincts.
Their ancestors are, in fact, extinct. Natural selection made sure of that. Kinda like we don’t see neanderthals or proto-humans running about. Some of their earliest ancestors were sleek, quadrupedal spiked predators that used teleportation to hunt or escape danger. They were fast, strong, and fierce, forming packs that were highly territorial.

Lifespan

Kivuuli have very long natural lives; generally living up to 1000 years. As they start to grow older and approach the end of their lifespan, their Heartstones get less and less effective. This leaves them unable to feed as efficiently or teleport since their bodies stop being able to handle the discordant energies in the rifts they create. Their healing ability starts to slow down as well; and eventually goes away completely. Eventually, their body can no longer repair the damage done by age, and they grow weak and tired. Their fur will begin to gray around the eyes and mouth, and tips of ears as well as on their hands and feet. Once they reach a certain age, they are no longer capable of producing milk, even if they spend a lot of time around kits.

When they sense their time is near, they surround themselves by friends and family. They say their goodbyes, before slipping away peacefully. Most often in their sleep.

Some Kivuuli, though, can live on way beyond this time. It seems to be a strange mutation. A Heartstone that can actually slowly repair itself; thus negating the effects of aging present in most of the species. Those who have this mutation will need to sleep more and rest more once they reach a certain age, and their fertility drops. While less fertile, they are still able to have children. They just don't do so as often and females are harder to get pregnant. They will not show any visible signs of aging; they will not grey or dull in color.

They are not affected by aging, at all, and they will live on, healthy, until they are killed by something other than age. This tends to be genetic; so those of their line have a chance of getting this ability. The oldest Kivuuli to have ever lived is an Elder named Kaitu, a member of the rare and isolated ‘Maltese’ or ‘Blue’ subspecies. Severe damage to the Heartstone can overrun this ability, causing an ancient Kivuuli to age and die very quickly after being hurt, within a year.

Below is an elder Kivuuli, showing the greying. He is also scarred up.

Mating and Reproduction

Kivuuli males and females look quite similar. Genitals are internal, though gender can be told through differences in their bodies, demeanor, and voice. If one sees a male and female Kivuuli standing side by side, first glance won’t reveal many differences. But if you look closely you can tell. Kivuuli do have the occasional hermaphrodite, this is a rare mutation.
Sexual Dimorphism

Male: Kivuuli genitals are internal. Males are slimmer and smaller than females, and generally hold themselves lower as well. They are naturally submissive since even a very strong male wouldn't stand a chance against the physically bigger and stronger female. Males do not have much curve to them, if any at all and have narrow waists and hips. They have semi defined pecs, and the fur on their lower belly and inner thighs is not any longer than the fur on the rest of their bodies. They have teats on the lower belly, usually small and not very visible. They tend to have thicker and longer chest fur as well as slightly longer/fluffier fur around their neck. This can sometimes amplify their cheek fluff, too.

Male Kivuuli have lower, rougher and deeper voices than females. The growling undertone is more pronounced.

Female: Females are taller and noticeably stronger than males. Her body is thicker, and moderately curvy with wider hips leading down to long and slim, but strong legs. While a layer of fat beneath her skin makes her look softer, beneath that softness is a lot of brute strength and ferocity.

The fur down the back of a female’s neck, shoulders, and back is thicker and longer than a male's, and she also has thicker longer fur on her belly and inner thigh, which thickens further when carrying, or nursing young.

The female Kivuuli's voice is softer and higher in pitch than a male's. Her growl is smoother, but deeper and fiercer. Her purr is a low and smooth.

Heat and Mating

Kivuuli attract mates through scent and displays of strength and prowess.

Female Kivuuli go into heat regularly, but when observed in our dimension it happens roughly once every 1-3 years. A female raising a kit can not enter this state as long as she is nursing the kit. This is the only time she can become pregnant. It lasts for roughly two weeks or until she finds a suitable mate.

There are three stages to the heat.

Stage 1- Her scent begins to shift. This is not actual heat yet; she is not fertile. But her body is preparing itself for heat. She starts to become more interested in males, but also more hormonal and dangerous. She also becomes territorial towards other females, not letting them near her den. This stage lasts a few days.

Stage 2- Her scent grows stronger, and her body is almost ready to mate. This is the attracting a mate stage. The testing the males and letting them fight for her stage. She becomes actively interested in males and will actually pay attention to their squabbles. She can become aggressive towards other females. This stage of heat lasts about a week.
At this stage, her pheromones rouse the males into excited anticipation; causing them to follow her an attempt to impress her.

Stage 3 - This is the most intense part of her heat. This is when she is fully ready to mate and most likely to ovulate. Her heat scent becomes quite potent and easy to detect even from far away. She becomes extremely restless, unable to stay in one place for long. Many females will pace on and on, grumbling and becoming downright cranky. Younger females react more strongly to this stage; while older females can usually ignore it. Heat is very uncomfortable at this stage, but it's just a matter of waiting of the female isn't interested in having a kit.

Kivuuli females, like cats, are stimulated ovulators.

Pregnancy and Eggs

A Kivuuli female will know within a few days if she is pregnant or not.

Kivuuli are an egg-bearing race. They carry the egg for four to five months, growing large quickly. The male is expected to hunt for her and bring her food, since her appetite will increase as she packs the egg with nutrients it will need once it exits her body. The baby will also develop considerably during this time. By the time the egg is laid, the brain of the fetus is almost completely formed; the rest of the body finishes forming after the egg is laid. As the egg forms, the female’s fur grows thicker and denser, to make better lining for her nest. The fur around her belly and inner thighs thickens too; and she will not shed her guardhairs.

Their pelvis separates in two places, and is held together by springy, elastic tendons. Each separation contains a small bone bridge that breaks in the process of laying the first egg. This produces a small, sharp crack/pop, and is quite painful. The bone bridge never grows back and any eggs after the first are easier. Once the egg has passed through, the tendons will spring back, and the Kivuuli’s natural healing ability will repair any damage within an hour or two of laying while the exhausted mother sleeps. Males do not have the tendons or bone bridges.

While inside them, the egg shell is thick and leathery. It forms soon after conception and plays the part of the placenta until it comes time to lay. During the last few days before laying it becomes the egg shell, which and is soft and pliable. After laying, the shell takes roughly a half hour to harden. It becomes tough, hard and slightly textured. It is very thick and tough, hard to break from the outside. It is, however, very vulnerable until it’s fully hardened. The reason it develops so long inside the mother is so the brain can form properly; the mother gives it a kick start, and the hatchling finishes development within the egg.

They look huge when they are carrying, but most of that is actually fluids that protect and cushion the egg as well as providing lubrication for laying. Nutrients are stored within the forming shell, though the hatchling has a Proteanct link to the mother until a few days before laying.

During the pregnancy, the Kivuuli will have an intense nesting instinct. She will take anything she can find. Fur of other shedding Kivuuli, blankets, any soft thing, and build a nest. During the last week of carrying, she will shed, and line her nest with her fur. Once the egg is laid, it will be watched over and kept warm by her while its father hunts for her. It will hatch in another 4-5 months. This can vary by subspecies, or location, or individual Kivuuli. Eggs can vary in color, but are usually smooth and black with slightly lighter colored mottling. This can change depending on the individual Kivuuli or their environment.

A hatchling Kivuuli is known as a kit, because they are very kitten like in their behavior. Kits are known to imprint on the energy signature and voice of the one who spends the most time around the egg. As such, they know their mother the instant they come out. While hatching, a mother will crouch near the egg, face inches away from it and make soft chirring calls to encourage the kit to break free of the egg.

Upon hatching, they will follow the scent of the mother’s teats. The scent and feel of the kit suckling will trigger a surge of hormones, and she will begin lactation. This surge of hormones will reduce the Kivuuli to soft, relaxed purring. Any Kivuuli can be triggered to lactate in this manner, be it male or female. Once lactation begins, the Kivuuli’s appetite will increase. They often feed their milk to older or sick individuals within the Colony to help them survive and stay strong.

In the pregnant Kivuuli, the teats poke out of the fur, as the fur sheds from directly around them.

The consistency is thick, almost like a probiotic yogurt shake, and the taste is surprisingly mild and a little sweet. It is highly nutritious, high in protein and energy; and everything else a kit needs to grow.  It is not at all uncommon for Kivuuli in a Colony to nurse eachother's young. Sometimes older members will play the part of nanny for younger, less experienced Kivuuli. Some Kivuuli will choose to never stop lactating for the purpose of playing nanny to the kits within the Colony.

Kivuuli are extremely protective of their kits. If you hurt a kit, the whole Colony will attack. Even one lone Kivuuli is far more ferocious and dangerous than any mother bear; you don’t want to know what would happen if you pissed off a whole colony of them.

Kivuuli are highly lactose intolerant. It causes a lot of digestive upset. As such, Kivuuli milk has no lactose in it.

It is not unusual for members of a Colony to nurse eachother’s young. In fact, this is a very common practice, though some Kits will not nurse on any but their mother. This depends on the individual. It is most common for the omegas to act as nannies for the Colony, helping to care for the kits while stronger individuals hunt and bring in food. Because of this Omegas, and especially nannies, while not given any authority, are not treated badly. Kivuuli tend to produce more milk than is needed. If it gets uncomfortable, they tend to empty their teats themselves. This keeps their supply strong, is relaxing and calming, tastes good to them, and is considered completely normal. While a human would find such activity odd, it is completely natural for a Kivuuli.

Kits and children

Kits are teeny when they hatch, a little smaller than the average human baby. They hatch with their eyes closed, but able to hear and smell just fine. Their ears are droopy and their bodies are pudgy and bellies round from the yolk of the egg still inside, being slowly absorbed to give them strength while their mother’s milk comes in and they learn to nurse properly. Kits open their eyes when they are between three and seven days old.

They are generally fairly quiet and don’t cry often, though do tend to make small chitters, squeaks, and mewling noises. They hate being alone.

Babies have a very strong instinct to not relieve themselves within the nest. When they feel the need to go, they will let their parent know with insistent screeching until taken somewhere. Like a newborn kitten or puppy, they will not eliminate on their own. There is a pressure point just at the base of the neck that can be triggered through a certain way of holding onto the scruff that triggers them to go reflexively; they will only go when held in that certain way until they learn to move about on all fours. Once able to move about on all fours they will always leave the nest to eliminate.  Young Kivuuli are fully mobile by the time they are three months old, and run about everywhere on all fours.

The babies depend completely on their parents and the others in their colony for survival. They are unable to teleport. In fact, this takes a lot of time to get right and generally has to be taught though can be done autonomously if the Kivuuli feels that its life is in danger. Kits are weaned between 2-3 years old, depending on the kit in question. Some wean themselves earlier, some later. A mother will never force wean her kit, because if they are still nursing it means they likely still need to. Kits are able to move about by the time they are three months old. As kits get older and start to move around, they love to practice their hunting instincts and will often hunt, and eat, small animals once their teeth grow in. They generally start getting teeth when they are about a year old. They like to show their kills off to their parents, or others in the Colony.

Kivuuli grow bigger and stronger as they age. At roughly 15, they reach sexual maturity. They are not considered adults yet, more like a 15-16 year old human. Sexually mature, but not mentally mature. Around 18 to 23, they stop growing and achieve their full height. It is around this time they learn to effect reality around them both in silencing their steps and in creating and jumping through little dimensional cracks to teleport. They usually stay with their parents until full maturity, and after that remain with their Colony of birth.

Kivuuli children are incredibly awkward and clumsy until they grow into their long limbs. They spend more time on all fours than on two feet, though around ten years old they start getting up on two feet more often. Even into adulthod, they spend time both on all fours, and on two feet equally depending on the situation. Kits hurt themselves frequently, but this only kick-starts their natural healing ability.

Kits are known for getting themselves into trouble, constantly. They are mischievous, playful, energetic, and insatiably curious. The entire colony works to keep the children safe and alive. Just like kittens.

Female kits are a bit more energetic and feisty than males.

Young males love to playfight and spar among themselves. These playfights grow more intense once they near adolescence, roughly around 10-12 years old or so. Arouns 12 years old, a Kivuuli will begin to go th rough puberty. Sometimes, these playfights get a bit too intense, leaving one or both young males bloody. They step away to heal, which is usually finished within minutes. Once healed, they go at it again. Adolescent males are constantly tussling, wrestling, and play-fighting, which only grows more frequent and intense the closer to adulthood they get. While these bouts of snapping, screaming, growling, and snarling looks terrifying and deadly, they look far, far, FAR worse than they actually are. They never seriously hurt eachother and other Kivuuli in the Colony know very well the difference between play and real fighting, since real fighting is far louder and more vicious. As males get older, they mellow out considerably, and only face off against other males in contests of strength in the presence of a receptive female. They do this to try to impress her. They usually don’t mellow out fully until around 30 or so; around 20-30 they are fully mature, but have bouts of wild, child-like energetic kittenlike playfulness.

As a female reaches adolescence, she becomes fiercer and more commanding. If she joins a playfight, the males usually back down and submit almost instantly. Playfights between two females are far more vicious and noisy and dangerous-looking than playfights between males. They are practicing to take dominance someday; males just fight for fun or to pass on their genes. She starts to show interest in the male’s battles, and starts to show more interest in those that win these fights. Most of the time, she will avoid a mate when she has her first heat cycle, as pregnancy would be hard on her body at that age. The first heat cycle generally happens around 15 years of age. She usually won’t choose a mate until she is at her full size since a younger body is less able to successfully carry an egg. Most males will not attempt to impress a young female unless they themselves are young.

She will usually chase off any male that comes near while going through her first heat. The first heat cycle is usually short, and not too intense. She is not fertile for this cycle, it is simply her body announcing that it is mature. Her heats will gradually get longer until they settle at the normal length at around 18-20 years old. If a female is not ready to have a kit of her own, she will hide away and ignore or chase off any males that try to gain her attention. Most females prefer not to have a kit until they have gained more experience. Young mothers are far more likely to be aggressive and attack anything they see as a threat than older mothers who are more experienced in raising, guiding, and protecting a child.