The Manx Den

For quite a while now I’ve been considering an original idea – a three-gendered species, called the Hrra or Hrra’aen.  Here’s the info! It’s not my fault if you think this stuff is weird  – likely it is just plain weird, but what fun is life without a few original ideas around?

Just so you’re totally clear on this:

-this isn’t a story-

-this text outlines an idea-

-this text has subjects of an adult nature-

If you’re squeamish about that, browse to other material on my homepage. Just about all of it is PG-13 or lower in rating, and I try to make it clear when I’m broaching more mature territory. Why have it up at all, you ask? Because most readers are in fact capable of deciding for themselves what they’re comfortable reading, and, given that there’s fair warning in advance -note, it’s right above this paragraph!- … I consider it fair that my readers have a choice of either reading it or just browsing on! There, I said it. Blah! If you gripe, it’s yer own fault.

• Hrra’aen (Species-info)
• Hriaou (Male)
• Hrria (Primary Female)
• Hrra (Secondary Female)
• Hrra-Kittens (Fluffballs!)

—– Hrra’aen —–

The Hrra’aen, or simply the Hrra, are an anthropomorphic feline species from a particularly wintery planet where an ice age has demanded cunning and adaptability from it’s inhabitants. Most would mistake the Hrra for a variant of the clouded leopard, their bodies built for stealth and warmth. The common male and female are between four to four and a half feet tall, equipped with large, expressive ears and a very feline brainpan, but eyes human in pupils, whites and adaptation. They are capable of excellent night vision, but many of the northerly variants have very pale irises to deal with arctic snow-glare.The species as a whole ranges both north and south, all but the rarest of arctic locals bearing rosette markings upon their backs, tails, arms and legs. They range from a very dark mahogany brown, sand color, gold, and white, and the upper body is very human in arrangement of an upright posture, strong neck, long arms, five-fingered paws and retractable claws. Below they are endowed with partially digitigrade hindpaws, the ankles long and mounted in part behind their knees. Their hindclaws are nonretractable, a tribute to their distant savannah ancestors, though very few of their ancient relatives remain. Of their most notable attributes is a very long tail, extending the same length as their total height, large ears included. All Hrra are equipped with summer and winter coats, the shedding seasons a great excuse for social gatherings, thread-weavings, the exchange of information and trade. Their most common marking is a complete white ‘apron’, a stripe of white down from their lower lips, jaws, front throat, chest, belly, and down below their tail.

As a people the Hrra are pre-technological – in fact, their way of life is best described as tribal or pack. They are nomadic hunter-gatherers, traveling in seasonal circuits about their lands and often changing location so as not to deplete their territories of resources. Family groups are the smallest unit of the Hrra hierarchy, rarely topping seven or eight members and headed by a trio of adults – the Hrra, Hriaou, and Hrria. Above the family units are the clans, which formally hold the borders of the different territories – but clan conflicts are rare, as spring and fall communal gatherings are the traditional time for the seeking of mates, the coming-of-age of kits, and the reassurance of old ties. The Hrra are very much in tune with their home and nature, in some ways more clever than their alternate-universe human counterparts, but they are capable of the same vices and twists. Instinct, tradition and intuition plays heavily into their choices.

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—— Hriaou —–

Hrra males are just a little taller than their female counterparts, testosterone giving them greater muscle mass and aggressiveness despite their very cuddly outer shell and fur. Shorter by at least two heads than most otherworldy males, they can be a little daunted by interaction with taller creatures, but they are by no means fearless. They are by far the dominant members of their family groups, deciding the seasonal migrations of the group, the prey which will be hunted when, what materials will be produced and traded at the spring and fall gatherings, and other practical details.At times a Hriaou will gain aspirations above his traditional calling and attempt to claim more than two mates. In Hrra’aen history this has created territorial disputes and social inequalities, and the Hrra elders do their best to quell this by training and caring for the childbearing youths, keeping records of matings and holdings.

The Hriaou despite his short stature is unusually endowed for his proportions – anywhere between two to three inches thick (not including vestigial barbs at the base) and seven to ten inches long with two ‘sheath-inches’ when fully erect within his pliable sheath. A young hriaou however can be mistaken for an underdeveloped female if the viewer is unfamiliar with Hrra’aen anatomy – testicles are retained inside the body for protection against the long, harsh winters of their home. Despite this there is a propensity for a Hrra male to produce between two to three pints of seed at a mating, and retaining the strength to follow it up with repeat sessions. In the Hrra’aen evolutionary history there was high competition between makes to fertilize females, even if intraception was not guaranteed after the primary female’s fertilization.

As one of the spokes in a three-gender parent group, the Hraiou is not the only provider, often coupling up with his partners and older kittens for hunting work. He is a caring father and attentive teacher, intensely proud of his progeny and chosen craft. Many a Hriaou is an adept storyteller and skilled craftsman, and in spring and fall gatherings often group together to trade discoveries, tales, and spirited tellings of their newest kittens.

——— ~:~ ———-

—— Hrria —–

The Hrria, or primary female of the Hrra’aen gender-triad, is in every outward appearance a short snow-leopard anthro with digitigrade legs and hindpaws and a very long tail. She bears perhaps smaller breasts than the Hrra, her secondary-female counterpart, but she herself is incapable of bearing offspring to full-term. She is able to reproduce with impunity, fertile six times a year despite the season and every bit as eager for the act as her male counterpart. Should she conceive she bears the fertilized egg for a period of five days, and, should she fail to find and intracept (deposit her egg within the Hrra) a childbearing member of her species, she will pass the egg in her sleep. The five-day period of carrying is an intense period of almost desperate search for a Hrra, her drive to reproduce almost as intense as her male’s drive to fertilize her during her heat. The Hrria is the only egg-producing female of the two in the Hrra’aen species, but bearing only an immature womb and no cervical cap, she must rely upon a childbearer to nurture her young to full size for birth. Her vaginal passage itself is a lengthy affair, twelve inches up into her open womb, and the front wall of her canal bearing a clitoral ridge internally, within one inch of their entrance and lasting approximately two inches deep into the passage.

.In heat a Hrria gives off powerful pheromones that can, if not properly claimed by a male, draw unrelated species to her area in the interest of reproduction. Her scent is heavy but not unpleasant to most creatures, but her draw is easily strongest on the Hriaou and secondarily, the Hrra. Hrria often pairbond early with their first mates, venturing early into the sexual enjoyment that nature has provided them. When fully matured a pairbonded Hrria and Hriaou will seek out a Hrra for the beginning of a family – many a pair can be found at spring and fall seasons speaking with experienced Hrra or eyeing the immature childbearing kittens in the caring arms of their elders.Once fertilized the Hrria will do all within her power to seduce and intracept a Hrra, a lengthy and intensely intimate process in which the fertilized and already developing egg is transferred from womb to womb. The lock of intraception can last between one to two hours, in which the females engage in foreplay and, in the first hour, press belly to belly. The Hrria bears a small slit upon her belly, approximately an inch above the navel which is approximately two inches long and painful if excessively touched outside of fertility. From this slit, only in contact with the receptive organ of a Hrra, the female extends a sixteen-inch long organ down into the very beginning of the Hrra and locks with the childbearer by means of a small knot at the base. Over the next eight to ten hours the fertilized egg travels down the locked tendril, until it is deposited within the receptive womb to stay and develop to the end of it’s gestation. The tie breaks only when the egg is passed, and the male, primary and secondary female form a mate-bond that often lasts through the lifetimes of the male and primary female.

Should a Hrria fail to intracept with Hrra, the egg passes much like in a human female’s menses – a day’s discomfort and cramps, and the heat and fertility period passes. Should, however, a hrra and hrria be interrupted in passing an egg, the results can be fatal for the hrria. The intraception organ does not withdraw and expose itself through conscious effort, and an exposed tendril is vulnerable to infection or injury. It is usually settled between vital organs in the body, and damage to it is catastrophic. It is not unheard of for a hrria to bleed to death in her attempt to reproduce if she is violently separated from the powerful grasp of her mating partner. Again as with the hrra, it is considered highly disrespectful to prod or attempt to open the slit at her belly.

In answer to this danger the Hrra’aen zealously guard their mating bonds and take intraception exceptionally seriously. In their early evolution the Hrra’aen species faced a possible extinction due to this vulnerability, and pack behavior is highly ingrained into their society.

——— ~:~ ———–

—– Hrra —–

The Hrra, or childbearer (Literal translation) is the very foundation of the Hrra’aen family unit and in a very basic sense, culture. As opposed to the majority of species across the worlds and universes the Hrra’aen are a triunal-sexed species – that is, they have three genders as opposed to two. The Hrra is in a way a secondary female and is always respectfully reffered to as Mother or she by each member of her family unit.A Hrra is basically a small feline taur, body-base being almost a literal translation of a snow-leopard’s form complete with long tail, large paws and low-set barrel. The upper body is that of a common Hrria (primary female) though with more gracile arms and neck. Her lower body is the absolute pinnacle of evolution for hunting and speed, all four paws equipped with retractable claws and sinewy muscles – a balance of power and swift. All of the Hrra’s vital organs are situated within her upper body, and the lower is dedicated to reproduction – the bearing of children, carrying of loads, nurture of small forms beneath warm bellyfur, and the load-bearing spine that often helps in the carrying of earthly goods when transferring from location to location. She also bears extra reserves of fat for her lengthy gestation periods, Hrra’aen kittens born more fully-formed than many creatures in an adaptation to their harsh environment.

In anatomy the Hrra only bears milk on her upper breasts, and has no nipples on her lower barrel – like her primary female mate, she bears the responsibility of nursing kits. Upon her belly she bears no navel, the mark of an umbilical cord barely visible at her lower barrel. Rather, a few inches below where a proper navel should be, she bears a vertical slit that is closed except within scenting range of a gravid primary female needing her services. At that time the slit pouts open, exposing vagina-like flesh within but unpliable for the insertion of penile objects. The receptive slit is but an inch wide, the beginning of a long canal that leads the the beginning of her womb and exceptionally sensitive to touch. Trying to pry or open it outside of the effects of a primary female’s pheromones is a painful affair, and most Hrra consider even a prod to be an insult.

Contrastingly the Hrra have a common birthing canal, well adapted to mating and bearing the same erogenous zones of primary females. Hrra’aen females have enlarged clitoral ridges within the bottom (front) of their vaginal canals, and mating is a heavily pleasurable affair. For the childbearer female there is a cervical cap, preventing the intrusion of seed or shaft into their delicate reproductive organs, but it lies approximately twelve inches within their bodies.Hrra are generally exceptionally motherly in their personalities, the transition to parental desires taking place after their laborious puberty. After a period of nuture between two to five years with elder Hrra they seek their mates, remain for the duration of their childbearing years, then return to their elders to continue the tradition of nurture and training. The Hrra are both privileged and in a way enslaved – they are infertile, bearing no eggs of their own, but long for children; they live a third longer than their male and female counterparts, but they are irrevocably tied into their society. Independent childbearers are rare, but every so often one will stand out as a scolar, scribe or storyteller among them. Hrra are born rarer than Hrria and Hriaou, thus sought out and often given a bride-price for. In the service of those mates which cannot afford a lifetime mate, childbearing priestesses will offer their services in three-year periods – from intraception to the end of the infancy of the kittens.

——— ~:~ ———-

—— Hrra-kittens —–

Can you take cute, bundle up into a small ball of fuzz and meow and top it off with two perky ears and a long tail? That is a Hrra’aen kitten. They are non-morphic at birth, remaining on four paws through their short childhood of five years until puberty. At birth and until puberty a kitten’s gender is either male or female – there is no telling the third gender until they hit that tender age. They neither speak not have the hands to manipulate objects until the age of maturity, at which they go through one year of turbulent bodily change, their pelvis, shoulders, forearms, neck and hindquarters transforming from non-morphic to anthro.

During this change the kitten’s first words are often complaints of hunger and ache, to which they are often quieted with a breast or a chunk of meat. Hrra priestesses specialize in herbs to ease the natural pains of these growth periods, but they are often unavailable except at spring and fall gatherings. A Hrra kitten from year one can understand language and in part express his or herself in inclinations of purrs, trills, chirps, mews and growls, though the kitten once beyond the sixth year is a terror to most parents. Their sexuality develops in the seventh year – should a kitten turn to a Hrra, it is now that a third pair of limbs begin to develop from their midsections along with a secondary set of shoulders. When such a kitten develops, they are quickly ushered to the care of Hrra elders no matter the season.Hrra kittens are almost always born in pairs – the Hrria only deposits one egg into the Hrra at intraception, but within the womb the egg divides in two. Even though the two should technically be identical twins, a same-sex pair are rare, and are always called littermates. In particularly harsh years either one, or both of the unborn kittens can be absorbed into the Hrra’s system to prevent babies born into harsh circumstances. Hrra’aen littermates are playmates all through their years until sexual maturity, where their interests begin to diverge – incest is uncommon but possible, even between parents and children. It is as much a part of Hrra’aen everyday life for Hrra to be unabashed about sexual activity, as their dens are not separated into rooms and divisions to block off the sight of mating from kittens’ eyes. It’s natural, commonplace, and as necessary as eating and sleeping. Mate bonds are constantly reaffirmed in this way, and it would be a sad Hrra’aen family group that refrained from it.

——— ~:~ ——–

———- Hrra-Family ———–

Fanily structure: females almost always stay with their families – males join their primary females after mated, until they find a third.

Primary females born from their Hrra Mother will not attract their relatives when fertile, due to their genetics being too closely related.

——— ~:~ ———–

——— Hrra-Anatomy ———–

A hrra is born a single kit, with extra cartilage in her body to develop later into extra limbs, pelvis, vertebrae and ribs.

A hrra develops slower than her siblings, and stays a toddler until age 5, not age 3.

A hrra baby is always born a single kitten.

A hrra mother does not contribute genetic material to her children (in debate), but effects if they become male and female, or hrra, by her hormonal influences on the egg. She effects their personalities, etc.

A hrra can mate with her sister and carry her sister’s eggs, because she does not contribute genetics.

A hrra has a higher status, even though she cannot produce her own children, she effects the children eavily behaviorally.

The hrra lower body holds her intestines and womb. She has an extremely long tract to take all the possible nutrition from her food.

Hrra are not exactly clan members. They are a respected society of their own, until they actually become a part of a family.

Hrra priestesses have a levite society – clans pay tribute every time hey visit.

Hrra kittens are able to pick out their own mates – priestesses often act as matchmakers on meetings. No bride price.

——— ~:~ ———–