#rossetian

In the DRSS, human kids are required to have a decided name from the parents within 3 months of their birth (that exact time varies a bit between states. A few insist upon it at birth for medical records).

For Rossetians, the timing depends on if the kid is from an established faction, is from a new one thats splitting off, or from a family that's splitting off from the House as a whole. Names are very important to them since they make it clear your alliances to the House and Faction (important for your Job and future as a whole) so the sooner they can be given the better (such as if your Faction house already has a chosen/documented Faction middle name to give). Some like those from a new Faction may have to wait a few months to get their middle name (as the setting up of the new faction name/allocation of the Houses property and money/documentation goes through), and those from a newly formed House may need a year or more before they can get anything other than a first name (the new House has to establish and prove that it can pay for property space, utilities, etc etc and wont immediately get reabsorbed.)

Prectikar (Drah specifically) are given their full name (with the unique given name+ lineage mentions) by their family's elders at birth, but only get the common name most others know them by that they use in everyday contexts later (their given and/or full name is very intimate and formal). Back when they had an even more crazy infant mortality rate, this naming method was connected to keeping the pup close even after death and a short life: The spiritually significant+highly personal and rooted in the family name remained the only one used for them and therefore made those who knew it "closer" to the pup and the family when they died; there was no "abstraction/distance" between the person and the people around them.The common name creates a polite distance between strangers and family members and is usually given by family or friends as a nickname or descriptor based on appearance, personality, or skills, such as "Bent".

Kixel are also given a name at hatching for record-keeping purposes, and continue to add to it, discard it, etc later.

Cerest larva aren't named until they pupate, being referred to under a code (usually a number or letter string) for organization, records, and documentation. Once they pupate, they share their very private silent name (unique pheremone identifier+scale sign intrinsic to them; it'll show itself on instinct when they emerge) with their unit mates and learn the private names of their Arch, clutchmates, maybe some workers in turn. Titles/class and what else is used for the less-private silent name comes later based on their job position etc etc, while the name they use with xenos/outside the unit (the public spoken name) is often chosen on a whim or simply just the word "Dorest" or something (though technically the public name could sometimes also be considered "given" at pupation, though not personally by the Arch. Some Arches have sweeping preferences for how their workers refer to themselves to xenos, some have everyone go by the same name the Arch decides on and others allow for different spoken names to be decided by the individual, such as Kerik and xeir clutchmates.)

Kixeli teeth are thin, and while they aren’t exactly brittle they don’t do well under sharp impacts from anything harder than them . Unlike humans, their teeth are present at hatching, but like humans they lose their baby set and grow an adult set later. Broken teeth happen frequently (again, they’re meant to snare fish not gnaw or pull at anything too much, the beak does that function ), but the tooth can be kept in if the damage isn’t too severe since it’s often more of a hassle to remove the whole tooth. “Snaggleteeth” are also common, caused by genetics or injury that misalign the teeth. Their adult teeth are mostly made from calcium+phosphorus like the rest of their skeleton.

Prectikar teeth are derived from their ancestors beak, and grow right from living pulp in their skull, lacking a closed root like human ones. Outer teeth aren’t present at birth and only grow in later, and can be regrown as long as the pulp in the skull is undamaged/most of the tooth is still there. Aside from the lower canines, the other teeth don’t grow continuously and will only deposit new material if the nerves sense damage. The growth is structured with ridges etc into the shapes we see breach the gum line (ie, the lines I draw on their incisors aren’t because they’re multiple teeth growing close together, it’s one tooth with raised plates that form the broad edges of the incisor. Does that make sense, like they can’t floss between the lines it’s just a single ridged structure, the gums form around the planes of it coming outta the skull. If we’re looking at it liberally all their teeth other than the lower tusks are ONE connected structure to their skull again like a beak but super specialized shapes with gums and lips ok you get it tangent over) They have flat incisors and sharp crushing molars (omnivores) which need about the same care as human ones do. Their upper and lower canines are more specialized, with the upper ones being splayed to sharpen the lower ones when the jaw is opened and closed or when the tusks are positioned forward. The lower ones are the big ol tusk things, which are partially retractable/extendable. These ones are held somewhat loosely in a conic socket in the jaw. If they want to, they can lock the tusk in place in the skull using the bone socket wall+retractor muscle for sturdier action like goring stuff, these days they’re mostly there for display during the courting season and for emoting. The lower tusks grow continuously (if not very slowly) throughout their life, usually ending growth at around the end of their fertility, capping out at around the length of a human forearm+hand or longer! Their teeth have an enamel covering but are otherwise like the rest of their bones, mainly **non-brittle** biosilica mineral composites+protein bonds enriched with manganese.Manganese is deposited on the bone as a binder between special amino acids+proteins in the bone, making them more durable by pulling the chains tighter together! Still wip.

Once they’re old enough to stop drinking milk, Rossetian teeth start growing quickly and do not stop! This quick continuous growth (depending on the individual, up to 5 inches in a year if left unattended!!!!!) means their teeth need a lot of daily maintenance. The teeth are extremely sturdy and insensitive (having a thick layer of protective enamel over any living bits, blood vessels, or nerves) which helped them broaden their available food sources to include Anything I can Crack Open or Chew Apart With My Metal Teeth and helped them gnaw rocks into pieces to supply their digestive system with gastroliths. Nowadays, processed food and commercially available pre-sized gastroliths don’t pose that much of a dental challenge, so they have to go in and shave down the excess themselves. Denying someone a tooth file or other way to artificially grind down teeth is seen as a cruel and unusual punishment or torture method, as the incisors and molars will keep growing until they’re jutting into the face and preventing the jaw from moving to eat or drink. Humans didn’t really take this claim seriously, thinking of it like a non-critical brush your teeth type thing in the early days of the Great War. Every Rossetian they had seen before has these dull little rabbit teeth and the different hygiene habits of the aliens was hardly common knowledge or anyone’s concern, not to mention officers were wary of providing a potential weapon or escape method like a rock or file tool to the enemy. The quick deterioration in physical state of the DRSS’s Rossetian prisoners changed that policy (there’s only so much you can do by grinding your own teeth against each other or trying to get them on a wall or corner. It gets ugly quick). As I’ve mentioned before, Rossetian teeth are coated in an iron+other metal-rich enamel that gives them their strength and durability, alongside some ethnicities’ black or gray colored teeth (white teeth like what is seen in Bicts is due to what other elements it’s bonded with+less oxidation). The rest of a Rossetian’s skeleton uses calcium+phosphorus minerals etc like us and Kixeli :)

Rossetian names come in 3 parts similar to English ones, a first name, middle name, and a surname. The first name is a unique name, the middle name like a sub-surname is meant to show what Faction you are part of, and the last name is the surname that shows your relation to the House line as a whole. The Faction heads choose their own middle name to give to their kids once they got married and split off, and those kids will pick their own middle name (if they're a jack) to use for their new Faction when they grow up and get married, but everyone still keeps the overarching last surname of the grandparents/Heads of House. People with only a first and last name are unmarried and/or kids. Staff may be given a new last name based on what Faction/House they are working in if they’re going to be living there long term. Houses have long standing history and often have reputations associated with them!!!The surnames are passed down paternally, since the patriline is how House property/roles are inherited. Using your mother's surname (from whatever House she was at before she married into your House) is a common way to distance yourself from your own House. The wife takes the husband’s name when they get married and it’s the male Head of house whose last surname is used. Last name changes arise when Houses split.

Example: Neera’s whole name is Neera Callough Gentmy, meaning she was a part of House Gentmy, faction Callough (gentmy being her grandfather’s name/the House name, Callough being her father’s chosen middle/faction name). Gentmy is associated with teachers/the academic realm in the local area she grew up in because most of them have held those jobs, but its mainly because the name sounds similar to bigger academics-famous Houses. Xers wasn't very famous or big/long established (xer great-great-grandfather split from xis House to make this one, so they're fairly new compared to others).

Prectikar usually use a first name followed by multiple family 'surnames?' based on the groups in the tribe your family is connected to, usually coming out to 6 parts in the common convention used by Drah and Drah adjacent groups (Jell, Ew, and Jaw). That is as follows: a given first name followed by naming the mother’s family/the family you were born into (determined by the Matron, based on her name), naming your mother's mother (your Elder), naming your father's family, and then naming your father's mother. It varies a lot, though, for example Leki also add their occupation to their names and Or’ add a self-description to theirs (ex. Describing a feature they have been told is prominent about themself). Introducing yourself, most only use a nickname. Using your actual given first name is seen as too personal/too casual for most. Using your full first name in addition to adding on the family relations is used in formal settings or during the season so people can tell each others' Matrons the respective groups of the people theyre interested in to see if theyre allowed to pair or take the other as a partner. When looking at Rossetian names, they see it as weird to take the fathers name, first of all, and second of all they think it's weird that the mothers House isn't mentioned either!!

Example: Ralaoh's name that they use around most people literally does just mean "Bent", cus of xeir tusk (xey decided to just make peace with it lol). xeir big full name is: Aghjel"l-g'Eguibo'l'Halaj--gh'R'ueh"l'Baogh (Aghjel, daughter-son of Eguibo family, elder mother H'alaj, fathered by R'ueh family, elder mother Baogh) which represents two of the four families in xeir tribe. Most prectikar languages are gendered and there isn't a nonbinary person category, so xei added the l-g/ -son bit to mix it up) I'm not too sure on how it's written yet but yeah.

Kixeli are given a name when they hatch for record-keeping convenience and add parts to it themself over time with influence of the nicknames/descriptors their community mates give them. These parts vary on the community but normally follow a convention where you state the community/communities you are a part of or travel to first, then the name you go by, your given name at hatching, other names you have been known as, your occupation/skills, and often your status as a caretaker/your sexuality and gender identity (more common for Arasit since coming into a community during spawn season to clown around is a big part of their whole traveling thing).Often, because they are very long and meant to be spoken rapid fire like this, names are structured to sound good when said all together (changing to bitonal or adding bits to the word to make it rhyme, for example). Giving your full name isn't done unless you're going to be a permanent community member or are an Arasit performing your entrance to the community with your name song.

Example: WaraWara. This is not xer community's name, she is using her chosen name here and normally only introduces herself as that even to other Kixeli because xes not big on group things. She could introduce xerself as (same with the kar Im spelling very badly in English I don't have the real phonetics down here bear with me): Sawawaktat (current community name)-warara (call me this) waojara (what I was born as so youll know if youre related to me)-Sooaktit-taktitjara (flier, dredger, daring)-oopajiktat-tooakhikara (not a caretaker but down to hookup), spoken in ascending then descending tone for each word. Idk

Cerest have a public spoken name, a less private silent name, and a very private silent name. The spoken name is used around non-Cerest, widely considered your " very public" name and one that has little importance inside your unit/clan because from their view it has very little information about yourself or your relation to others. Often very simple/only one part and only containing syllables they can pronounce (lots of R, K, S, and T.) so that even untrained vocalists or those without an implant can use it around other species. Many also opt to use a sign name (in a sign language the aliens can use), or even just not even share a name with the xenos around them (preferring to go by "the Dorest" or "Rox" or similar), it depends. The highly private silent name involves their unique pheremone self-identifier and scale sign. This is what your unit/clan mates refer to you as, though how they do it depends on your status vs. their status and the purpose behind the name sharing. Using the whole thing for someone is for equal status or above-you status people since it is more direct and personal, and is rarely done outside legal documentation or between lovers or introducing yourself to a new family/new family members for the very first time. For example, no one in a Drecu unit is calling their Arch by xeir full private name or even a part of that name, theyre using just the "Arch" title to respectfully note xeir position (the sires can use xeir name though ❤️). They also have the slightly less private silent names for use in identifying themselves with Cerest not of their unit. For example, if a Dorest were out on behalf of their Arch, they would introduce their Arch using a piece of their name+ title (ex. Arch [X]), information on the unit the Arch runs (ex. Of unit (X]), the Arch's original birth unit if applicable, the location Sector/Unit [X], then their units class. Same for if introducing another Dorest etc etc. Using more of the name means closer in status/closeness to the other person; so something like scale signing out most of their name or mimicing their self-identifier signal means youre close to them/is done in private (in public youd refer to them as like the first 3 letters and their title). Drecu spoken names are shorter for lower class and longer for higher class (it could just be a one syllable vs two syllable difference though, the idea is to show that youre more skilled at speaking as a higher class person because youve had the privelege of time, lessons, or an implant).

Sundyne spoken names follow a similar convention to Drecu, except shines/Crowns have much longer names than sights/Prongs. Male's silent names are also longer, meaning it's much more personal/a sign of status to use more of their name than for someone to use a sights full name (which is shorter/easier to get "close" to).

Example: Maro's spoken name is "Maro" (obviously) and her mother's spoken name is Ekes; even with the "Empress" and "female heir" honorific attached both are very short in comparison to her father's name: Vresskik-Savfrees (the inclusion of an "f" sound in xis name is very special too since it's hard for them to make with their beak and such. Mr. Pretty Emperor over here with a fancy pretty Emperor name).

Drecu Example: Kerik uses "Kerik" as her public name, but has a completely separate private name. Some of her clutchmates spoken names are Sei, Cet, and Tesk for reference on the significance on her two syllable name/Primary status. Xei have shared their semi-private and very private silent names with the other Cerest at the public housing xei stay at.

Muttreazik are kind of similar to Cerest in that they have multiple names for different uses, even Easterners who follow more of their host's structure. There's usually a given name from the host family (if they wanted to keep that) or a chosen name/nickname, plus a "worm name" which you say with your eye (kind of like your own special song, basically acting as "me" "my" "I" etc conversely to how we do names). Westerners have a bigger culture around identity/concealing it and use different names in different Soverign states outside of their own, in different social groups, and even for use with different people. It's just a matter of if they want the other person to "know" them or not. Many names are not even unique words and instead just "bird" or "deer" "gray eye" in relation to what features they have if they want to be very impersonal with someone/don't trust or like them. They also have a "secret" name they don't tell anyone even if they are very very close (seeing it as their truest worm-self name, deeply inside and personal/connected to your rebrith)

Kixeli are the most open to living with other species, though you kind of have to play by their rules because in their community, youre always the minority (so you need a role in the community, participate in chores, participate with everyone, etc). Their open/accepting lifestyle seems like a dream to some but you still have big responsibilities related to supporting your group/fitting together with them, not to mention other species besides Cerest don’t spend all their time more or less within arms reach of each other and everyone else has trouble navigating the arboreal-centric design of most communities. It can get overwhelming fast.

Many wealthy rossetians have surrogates to carry their pouchlings for them while they’re at work etc, and even people who can’t afford to have people on payroll for that often transfer childcare to their unmarried siblings or use artificial pouches. Humans are the “easiest” cross species adoption choice for rossetians because they don’t grow super big like kar and don’t need to come in pairs like Cerest or Kixeli.

Rossetians have concealed ovulation, where it's very hard to tell that it's happening, no changes whatsoever ( So, like kar and kixeli, they don't shed their lining). They have a very small uterus/very thin uterine lining because most of their kids' development happens in the pouch, so their cycles are very quick and covert. This allows them to be almost continually pregnant if they wanted to, since once the neonate is out in the pouch the next cycle can happen and they're freed up for another to form at the same time. Strange to humans, but evolutionarily adventageous for prey aimals who frequently lost their calves. They view our pregnancy/birth stuff in general with a bit of horror, since it's so horribly painful, dangerous, and time/resource consuming compared to literally everyone else (close second is hokar, who have to give birth through their pseudopenis, but even then thats not potentially life threatening like birth is for humans). They think it's interesting that our reproductive system sets itself up for success through menstruation but oh my godddddd is it gross to them, especially since they also share our iron-based blood and can 100% detect it in the air with their tongue's chemoreceptors (which immediately kicks their lizard prey brain into whowhatwhenwherewhyandhow because there's something that is very close to rossetian blood floatin around).

Kixeli and Prectikar only produce and release eggs during their season, and after which if they aren't fertilized they are reabsorbed (a Hokar's uterine lining wont thicken until there's fertilized eggs present, and Stripe's eggs won't fully form unless fertilized, so its pretty easy). Their hormone spike for both sexes is Intense, though, especially prectikar's (it causes all those feather and skin changes) so having mood swings is an understatement. Prectikar get growing pains/sensitive skin/itchiness as their display feathers and colors grow in, kixeli dont really experience much besides the sudden return of libido lol. It's already strange to them that we can just have kids or want to have sex whenever, the Bleeding adds an extra layer of weird because literally why is it doing that preemptively only to slough off afterwards. Major inconvenience and seems tiring to them. The workings behind it is not that widespread knowledge (not many people are actually that interested in alien reproductive anatomy beyond a passing glance), and if a xeno does know about it its often sensationalized (they BLEED from that HOLE for an entire WEEK!!!!!!) Many misunderstand it as some kind of genetic condition or mistake/oversimplify the function of it (ex. Thinking its juat like, cleaning itself and theres no tie to reproduction).

Cerest kind of come close with their estrus cycles, since those have a big effect on their behavior and physical state, but again their eggs get reabsorbed if not fertilized. These only happen in crowns+prongs (reproductive sundyne) and the arch+sires (reproductive drecu). Their cycle causes a wide array of mental effects( Rox and Prongs may get more easily agitated and impulsive, Sires and Crowns may be more broody and emotionally vulnerable. Yet more proof that this is your destined Role in cerest society, right? Your body reflects it perfectly!!) Physically, they can cause temporary achiness/sensitivity around their parts, nausea, and generally be a bit tiring (body put work into forming eggs and ramping up hormones, and is now keeping levels higher than normal+producing more of your nutrient-expensive pigments to look extra bright and shiny and more pheremones to signal Its Time and I am in the Reproductive In-Group with You+affecting your ability to focus on eating and sleeping). Normally, its once every few months (at most frequent, its once a month), but if its not reinforced by the pheromone/hormone stuff that comes with sex and being gravid, then the eggs will be reabsorbed and the cycle will happen less frequently or not at all (in the case of nonreproductive workers in a Drecu unit or Sundyne clan). The Drecu arch/sires and Sundyne Crown/Prong are characterized by their present and frequent cycles due to their exclusive reproductive rights, and everyone in a unit or clan is trained to recognize a 'cycle' or 'pregnant' pheremone smell in an instant (so anyone who wasn't in the reproductive group that has either of these is toast, thats a direct challenge to their position). Cycles are their specific window to have kids but are tied to activity/social reinforcement rather than temperature/time/etc like kar and kixeli, so the frequency can change as described above. They think its a major flaw in the human design; that is mostly due to how much of a nightmare for them it would be to, from their perspective, waste/lose a Lot of resources like that because of their fast metabolism, it'd have a much larger effect on them physically than it does for us. It's also majorly distracting because of their sensitive antennae, they can't really interpret any of our changes unless trained to but they can register that you smell weirder than normal and a lot. Kar can too btw.