In writing my stories there are certain background details that I develop that are hard to work into a story without getting a little boring. Therefore, for the people who are actually so interested in my story that they want to know what's going on behind the scenes (who probably need professional help), here is a quick peek into my journal. It's a bit sparse, but later I will have character profiles and tell you a little about the SF universe that my stories take you to.
Just for the record, Old Dutironomy is the father of, in order, Azperighus, Grizabella, Vyktorea (not the one you know), and Skimbleshanks and Jenyenidahts. Munkustrap is the son of Grizabella (the outcast) and Martus (the previous chief). Jelilorum is the younger sister of the late Martus. Together she and Azperighus have three kittens, in order of age, Admeetus, Cazondra, and Ezotika. Skimbleshanks and Jenyenidahts are twins and mates; they have three kittens, Bombalurina, Demeetar, and Rhimara. Alahnso and Carbukety are brothers and are considered orphans like Munkustrap. Their parents were Vyktorea (who disappeared) and Bustoffer (who was killed on the hunt). Bustoffer was the brother of Martus and Jelilorum, younger than the former and older than the latter.
Munkustrap and Demeetar are mates and have five kittens at present, Plaetoh, Mungojery and Rumplteezer, Elektrah, and Jemymah. Admeetus and Bombalurina have four, Rhumpus (the loner), Tumblebrutus, Pouncival, and Etsetera. Cazondra and Alahnso also have five, Coricopat and Tantomile, Tughar, Mistoffelees, and Vyktorea. Carbukety and Ezotika have two so far, Petrah and Aurhyan. The only ones of the younger generation to mate so far have been Coricopat and Tantomile; they have one son, Quaxo.
Coricat tribes usually have a chief, a second in command, and an Old Wise One to make up the leadership team. The chief is both strong and smart, chosen by the previous chief and usually his offspring, though not necessarily the eldest. The chief is the main decision-maker for the tribe, consulting with his second and the Old Wise One as necessary. He leads the hunt every day and usually decides the main strategy.
The second in command is most often the chief's best friend, also very strong and smart. Besides leading the hunt and the tribe when the chief is unable to, the second is also in charge of trade relations with other tribes.
The Old Wise One is one of the older cats in the tribe, one who has great magical powers and vast wisdom gained from experience. He is as close as the Coricats get to a spiritual leader in what passes for religion in their culture. He teaches the kittens about the Everlasting Cat and the Heaviside Layer, helps settle disputes among tribe mates, and advises the chief as necessary. He chooses as his successor a kitten who shows great magic potential and begins training him as his magic powers start to surface.
Finally, any one of these positions can be filled by either a male or female, as the situation dictates.
There are two other tribes on Coricum, the Tyghurss (Macavity's tribe) and the Meraris. The Tyghurss' is a much larger tribe than the Jellicles', though in many other ways they are very much the same. This is due to something that happened many, many years before Of Cats and Men takes place, which is also the reason why there is such fierce enmity between the two tribes. In their respective tribes, Macavity and Dutironomy are the only ones who know of it.
Long ago on Coricum, there was no Jellicle tribe, only the Tyghurss. Then a dispute over leadership and territory created a rift between the tribe mates and several of the Tyghurss left the tribe to form their own. They might have done quite well for themselves, but the Tyghurss couldn't leave well enough alone and kept harassing the newly formed Jellicle tribe. It was the intent of the Tyghurss chief at the time to force the so-called Jellicles back into the Tyghurss tribe, and he passed this mission down to his successor. This is why the Tyghurss occasionally run catnapping raids of the Jellicle tribe.
The Meraris tribe, mentioned very briefly in Of Cats and Men, is a very large tribe, larger even than the Tyghurss. It is divided into sub-tribes that are scattered throughout the mountains in which they live. Each sub-tribe has its own chief and second, who answer to the head chief and Old Wise One. They are a neutral tribe, taking no interest in the dispute between the Tyghurss and the Jellicles, trading with both of them. They are primarily miners, harvesting metal and gems from the mountains, which they trade for materials and plants which obviously aren't as plentiful in the mountains. You will get to know both the Meraris and the Tyghurss tribes better in later stories.
Here's the deal with mating. A Coricat becomes sexually mature at the age of 14 or so. At first they just scope the prospects. Some already have a clear idea of whom they're aiming for, like Plaetoh with Vyktorea. Others, like Tughar, of course, prefer to shop around a little first. But even the shoppers tend to stick with the same mate after they've found the one they like. There have been a few occasions when one cat would have two mates, but this is rare.
Either the male or female may make the advances, which they usually do by extremely affectionate nuzzling, somewhat aggressive butting, and mrowling in a distinctive way. It is considered the height of bad manners for a male to continue to make advances to a female who has rejected him and vice versa. There is no pussyfooting ;~p in the mating time; advances, acceptance, and refusal are all very clear, though some are more polite than others. Since Coricats have a humanoid form, they do indeed mate face to face, which is all you need to know about it.
It should go without saying (but I'm going to say it anyway) that a male should only make advances to a female when she is in season, which they can tell by the way she smells. Female Coricats come into season only twice a year, as her body cycle dictates. After a female bears a kitten, it takes her body at least a year to become fertile again. For these two reasons, female Coricats stay fertile for much longer than, say, human females.
The female carries her kitten for eight months and doesn't get very big. Thusly, the kitten is born very small with eyes and ears still shut. Multiple births are rare, and more than two in a birth is practically unheard of. At the time of birth, only the healer is present to help the mother through, though the birth is not as difficult as we might expect, since the females are also huntresses usually. The father is allowed to see mother and kitten only after they have been made presentable, though sometimes, in emergencies, these customs are overlooked. A kitten nurses for a full year before more solid foods are introduced into his diet. Even then he may continue to nurse occasionally for the next four or five years, mother's milk being very nutritious.
Now a word about sibling matings. I have heard many people gasp over the idea of M&R (who appear very romantic) being siblings. Likewise C&T, who are obviously siblings, but who are so close, can you even imagine them accepting anyone else as a mate. Unless you want them to be celibate; it's happened before. Let me point out that we're talking about cats here, who tend not to be very picky about who they mate with. In the Jellicle tribe on Coricum, there are several sibling matings because it is a very small tribe and there aren't many mates to go around. In the case of twins, they have grown up together and have a special bond, so unless they are the same sex, they are very likely to also become mates.
Finally, let me address the area of genetics, or lack thereof. Any biology students reading my story (you know who you are) will have noticed (and sweetly refrained from mentioning it) that, for instance, Alahnso and Cazondra, who both have blue eyes (a recessive trait), have no fewer than three kittens with black eyes (C&T and Mistoff). My answer to that is, who says that Coricat genetics are exactly the same as ours? Of course, this creates problems for me if I want any Coricats to take humans for mates. I will probably end up suspending reality. Quoting here, "Reality was not so much suspended as it was hanged, drawn, and quartered!" But hey, that's what fantasy writing is all about.
©1999 Delilah