Image of Mourners + Tears?? I have nothing specific for this except pretty
The Mourner Species
Adult: Mourner
Young: Tear
Group: Lament
Plural: Mourners, Tears
Mourners are the dominating species of Avaka, and while abundant, are quite mysterious in nature. Possessing highly-adaptive capabilities, and capable of things that would seem other-worldly.
Height Comparison for Mourner + Tear
A Tear's form is more reminiscent of a raptor's, with small arms, a hunched body, and strong back legs for running and jumping. Aside from some variations such as size or weight, most Tears are about the same stature-wise.
Adults, however, vary a bit more. More commonly, Mourners will grow out of their Tear-stage's raptor body to favor something more straight and upright. Their irises seemed to take a more pointed shape, and they grow tendrils at the base of their ears, males only growing one while females grow two. Their arms also significantly lengthen! almost to make up for what they could have been in their childhood.
Throughout both stages Tears/Mourners keep their prominent magic tears and tufts, though the tufts seem to grow a bit in adulthood.
- Diet
Despite their clearly jagged set of teeth, Mourners are naturally omnivorous, eating all types of odd things! Many obviously have their preferences of course, from meat to fruits and vegetables, nuts, berries, and even Insects!
It is odd to eat these things raw, however. Most healthy Mourners are capable of adapting to such, but to do so is considered... well, feral, and comes with its risk of disease. Why would you eat something raw compared to enjoying a warm meal, anyway?
Communication -
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Mourners have come up with many different languages throughout their era, from their primitive days of simple chirps, screeches and growls, to the more sophisticated languages of today. However, young Tears are known to naturally make these sounds until they grow older.
Aside from verbal language, like other creatures, Mourners also display a specific set of body language!
Ear Expressions! + Tendril thing
Mourners are very expressive with their ears, so much so it can be a little embarrassing! While signals can vary between individuals, most adhere to the following:
Perked Ears - Surprise, Happy
To the sides - Neutral
Lowered - Anger, Shame, Fear
Drooped - Ill, Sadness
Additionally, An Adult Mourner's tendrils can be more or less expressive depending on the individual. They naturally curl and rest in that position, but sometimes they can move with a Mourner's hand and arm gestures. They can also unconsciously wrap around things, especially those they are rather close to. As a sign of affection, two Mourners will wrap their tendrils and entangle them with each other.
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An adult Mourner's Irises are naturally sharp, but they may slit or widen depending on their current emotion. Slit when they are angry or scared, and big and round when they're sad, calm, see something they really like or around someone they... particularly like.
There's a few extra signals that are common among the species!
Purring - A sign of contentment, happiness, or affection! This tends to happen unconsciously and can be difficult to control, much to the dismay of most Mourners.
Tail flicking/lashing - A sign of irritation.
- 'Change'
Mourners are a highly adaptive species, as they have the phenomenal ability to go through frequent and rapid evolution. While odd to some other creatures, Mourners have treated it as their normal, and in some ways, a blessing. In other ways, a curse, depending on whom you ask.
These changes can happen overnight during the Mourner's slumber, or grow in slowly over the course of days, maybe even weeks. Some may feel nothing while others may feel itchiness, pain or soreness, or even bleeding. This is determined by a Mourner's health, and some studies suggest even their genes, as some families have been shown to grow Attachments at a similar pace. This also depends on the attachment itself-- Wings will take longer to grow in than, say, fur.
Innate Connection -
A Mourner's magic tears are core to their very existence. Without it, they would not be tethered to their world and evolve the way they do. Additionally, because of their special connection, they have the capabilities of harvesting raw mana and expelling it into unique talents, otherwise known as Magic. In order to
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- Tear Development
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When a Tear is born, one thing is imperative-- that they immediately cry. This is not only a sign that their breathing is strong and well, but these first tears are not normal tears-- instead, what comes out of their eyes is an ooze that eventually hardens into their magic tears. While access can safely be whipped away, it is important to leave the ooze on their face to form-- without the magic tear, they will die.
Aside from this, Newborn tears are born with able hearing and eyesight. They will, however, need time to learn things such as walking and grabbing things. Their bodies are very fragile and soft to the touch, especially their claws and face. Their ears are little flaps by this point, and most of their feather tufts have to grow in overtime. Their teeth also need to grow in!
As a newborn Tear begins to be more active and talkative, with a better sense of the world around them, it officially enters it's Toddler phase-- lovingly nicknamed the 'Ankle-biter' phase. True to their name, these Tears are growing their teeth in and are testing them out on just about everything! Along with this, they generally have trouble regulating their emotions and end up acting out more often than not. They're very impressionable at this stage-- getting emotionally attached to just about everything and everyone, and tend to imitate the mannerisms of others they look up to.
Ankle-biter Tears may be found walking normally on two legs, or walking around hunched with both their legs and arms, though most seem to favor the former as they get older. While their bodies have adjusted to be more active, they're very clumsy!
Their tufts are also in a bit of a 'poof out' phase by this point!
Toddler Tear
'Tear' Tear
The final stage of an actual Tear's growth! Their tufts have calmed down significantly, they're a bit more elegant in their mobility (as well as children can be) and most should be able to speak pretty well! (again, as well as children can be) They are still young and need guidance on how to navigate the world, but depending on the Tear they're mostly out of their Akle-biter stage.
Most will be walking on two legs by now to run, but some like to occasionally walk with their legs and arms like on all fours, some do it all the time! Though those can be expected to be discouraged by Adults, afraid they'll experience 'back problems' as they get older.
It's also at this time that Tear may find a speci
process.
Maturing -
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- Origin Of The Willow
This one's been ripped out too... Who's been doing this??