Re: CHAT: Return of the Sal (was CHAT: Re: Zed)

Am 03/18 09:10  Sally Caves yscrifef:

> Well, if they have retractible claws, they might in some earlier stage
> have
> been predators of some sort.  Or tree climbers.  Unless these features
> have
I believe they are naturally evolved.  A keepsake from their ancestors.

> been engineered.  Are these sharp claws?  Such claws would be a constant
Keeping their claws sharp is considered fashionable among some of the
Hydrians (working name).  Some carry small knives especially for the
purpose of manucuring.

> source of social scrutiny.  When is it permissible to extrude them?
> When
> is it important to keep them retracted?  What expressions or idioms
> would
> arise from either retracted or extruded claws?  It seems that vocabulary
> would be rife with verbs like scratch, puncture, cling, grasp, hook,
> flay,
> shred, draw out, retreat, hide, expose, point, manipulate, indicate,
> make smooth, make pointed, lock into, withdraw, etc.   And that things
> or
> situations would likewise hinge on whether they are exposed, smooth,
> hidden,
> manifested, extended, extruded, pointed, or rounded.  :-)
>
Danger! Danger! thinking overload! :-)  Suggestions on the Conculture
list was that Covering or sheathing claws is an idiom for a peaceful
gesture - or maybe in the imperative it means Behave! <g>  Their script
is literally the Scratchings, which must be quite complicated.  I think
it is also written with brush strokes as well.

Like cats they also have tag glands in the corners of their mouths.  On
meeting they embrace to rub cheeks together to exchange scent.  They are
semi-nocturnal, although in sacrifice for night vision they have no
colour perception, seeing everything as graded shades.  They are
noticibly furry but curiously in the culture I am studying they prefer
to keep it trimmed close to the body and clothe themselves.  Because of
this they practice social grooming like other hominids.  It is
considered perfectly acceptable to do this in public.  They have
different taboos to us.


- andrew.
--
Andrew Smith, Intheologus                       hobbit@earthlight.co.nz

                          Takitimu - my mountain
                            Otepuni - my river