Empyrean Iris Story Collection

Grooming and Dominance

The cameras viewfinder is clouded by dark grey steel, the tiny grains that run through the metal slowly inch past as the camera wobbles sideways and into a better position. A sliver of light appears, and then the camera focuses in on an image. Half of the camera's view is still obstructed by the corner, but the other half can see. Around the door frame, through the room, and into another door, the camera watches.

"Today I will be talking all about human grooming rituals. Primarily used as a status symbol for social hierarchy and to attract a mate, humans are known to be the only species that choose a mate based on these grooming standards rather than the physical health of the prospective mate in question." The camera zooms in a little further focusing on the tall powerful back of a human. In the glittering ambient light of the room, the muscles on its bare back churn and roll as taut cords below the skin, the same muscles that allowed the human to stand as a bipedal. Though the human's head is turned away, its face was reflects back into the light of the camera. As the camera zooms in, the human tilts its large head to the side using one large paw to, with surprising delicacy, drag a strange device down the side of its face cutting a trail of bare skin through the strange foamy substance.

"For those of you who don't know," Comes the whispered voice, "This is Vir, my favorite human, he is male and current alpha of this human pack. Now, as I can attest as the human's medical officer, he is in top physical health for a human male, and well within perfect mating age. Current human mating viability lasts anywhere from age 11 to 50, of course human pack practices generally tend to forbid mating below the age of 18. When I say viability, I mean only the ability to bare offspring, and not the morality of doing so." The human runs the strange device down the side of his face again, "By all accounts this particular human would be a perfect genetic candidate to pass on offspring, however, as far as I am aware, he has never participated in ANY mating related rituals known to humans." The camera leans out a little further form the wall, "This confuses me, and I am beginning to wonder if there aren't other extraneous factors that have caused this." He sneaks a little closer, and the human seems to remain unaware of his presence, "This particular grooming practice is an interesting one. Male and female humans can generally be identified by their ability to grow hair on their faces, the human male can and the human female cannot. Now in certain instances, human males use this facial hair as a dominance symbol to other males, a similarity you might find with wild Glorg Beasts and their horns. The larger the "beard" as one might call it the more masculine the human."

The human lifts his chin and drags the object down his neck, "However, this is not always the case. In fact many high status human males do not use beards to signify their masculinity. Generally in absence of a beard you may find a male using his social status, or his nest and territory as a symbol of masculinity. This human has social status to show his dominance and so removes the beard to maintain the visual. He will operate in this practice every day to fill the correct part." The human finishes leaning down to the basin of water to cup a glittering pool within his large claw-tipped hands, "Many human males and females, including this one participate in hunting practices to strengthen their body. Very few humans are able to maintain this particular pattern of musculature." The human turns around shaking water from his face droplets breaking to fall in all directions. His sides rise and fall with the powerful pull of the massive bellows supplying oxygen to his blood. The camera focuses on this movement, as the humans head swivels on a thick muscular neck above a wide chest. The sheer power of the human made his body appear bulging and thick compared too many other species.

As he turns his eyes fall on Krill immediately locking into place like a precision targeting system. The body immediately tenses and the head lowers chin covering the soft neck. The human's hypermobile face twists, and the line of hair above its single eye raises. The strange growling and grumbling begins as the human stalks closer.