Lycan
Touch is an extremely integral part of all lycan societies, but especially so for wolves. They crave touch; it is almost a vital need. Therefore, it's not surprising that a large amount of communication and social signals are transmitted by various forms of touch.
When furred and quadruped, the social rituals between werewolves look very much like interactions between bestial wolves, although for werewolves these interactions are driven by intellect and emotion as well as instinct.
All social customs have two and sometimes three variations, depending not only upon rank but also upon bodily form and whether or not there are any non-wolf onlookers.
Greetings:
The all-purpose werewolf way of saying hello is to slide one's cheek against the other wolf's, along the bone back to behind the ear, and then to inhale deeply there. That is the point of the purest, strongest personal scent. Usually, the wolves grip each other by the tops of the shoulders, if in bipedal form.
When around non-wolves, this gesture is altered into a rather European exchange of kisses to the cheeks, hands on shoulders or upper arms.
A submissive greeting in public is a soft kiss, fingers lightly holding their face. In private you run your tongue across their lower lip.
Alphas greet subordinates first.
When two alphas greet for the first time, the one who is dominant will often bite the other's neck after the cheek rub/ear sniff. This is to cement the ranking between them. In front of nonwolves, the bite is altered to a "playful" gripping of the back of the neck, with a little shake. A back of the neck grip often follows the bite also if the wolves are in furry but bipedal form, regardless of onlookers.
Betas will often rub against an alpha's chin and lick across their lips before doing the cheek-rub/ear sniff. This is an appeasing gesture that goes back to the way pups will lick and rub their parents' mouths, begging for disgorged food. It tends to trigger the protective instinct in a psychologically healthy alpha, or at least to mollify any current foul mood.
In front of nonwolves, this extra appeasing gesture will often be altered to a light kiss at the corner of the mouth.
When Pack members meet while in quadruped form, their greetings are merry and uninhibited: nose to nose, wagging tails, whole body wiggling in joy.
Even while in humanoid form, friendly greetings between Pack members are always more effusive than those between most human friends or family members. Only werewolves on unfriendly terms would pass with merely a monosyllable or the flick of a hand exchanged between them.
Dominant Postures, Quadruped form:
-Head held high
-Eyes directed towards another wolf's
-raised hackles
-growling-side swipe or body slam to subordinates, sometimes pinning them to the ground
-bared teeth
-upright ears
-tail partly erect
-rigid posture, almost on 'tiptoes'
Dominant Postures, Bipedal form:
-Head held high
-Eyes directed at another wolf's
-Raised hackles, if furred and bipedal. Alphas in skin often speak of feeling their hackles raise, as a tingling, itching or prickling across the back of their shoulders, even if their pelt is not visible. When nude, goose-pimpling of the skin covered by the hackles can be often observed.
-Growling, outright or as a deepening and coarsening of the individual's normal vocal range.
-Shoulder-checking to outright body-slamming, control holds.
-Bared teeth, very different from a normal smile. Often some degree of fang and/or dental shifting is evident, depending on the alpha's degree of control over both their emotions and their body.
-Eye color altering to that of their lupine form. This is the most common reaction to strong emotion, and is often not entirely under an individual's control. Most are aware of it because of a shift in visual acuity— color vision fades to near grey-scale, but perception of contrast and movement is greatly enhanced.
-Extremely erect "military" posture, shoulders thrown back and chest fully expanded.
Submissive Postures, Quadruped form:
-Lowered tails (very submissive: tail tucked between the legs)
-Folded ears
-submissive grin, peeling back of lips
-crouched or lowered body position
-Subordinates will lick a superior wolves muzzle or lie on its side raising one hind leg to expose the groin to the dominate.
-may bend head back to expose the throat
Submissive Postures, Bipedal form:
-Bowed head
-Avoidance of eye contact
-Whimpering or whining
-Slouching to full prostration and crawling
-Licking at dominant's mouth or hands
-Exposing the throat
A submissive seeking the protection of a dominant will press themselves against the other wolf, who will either step in front of them or at the least, touch them if in front of non-shifters, if the dominant is willing to take on the role of protector.
Active Submission- A friendly display towards a dominant. This is usually when the lip-licking behavior is used.
Passive Submission- The response of a lower ranked wolf when approached by a dominant, especially a disgruntled dominant. A more submissive display is usually used here, using body posture and a hesitant approach.
Subordinates often solicit responses from more dominant pack members in order to reaffirm their status and position in the Pack.
Pack to Pack Interaction:
Wolves are fiercely territorial creatures. A Pack-less wolf had better contact the ruling pair of any territory he wishes to cross, or he may pay for that breach of etiquette with his life.
Pack-to-Pack interaction can range from an alliance (normally an uneasy arrangement) to armed hostility. Territories have been known to be annexed by outright war between Packs, though this is less common now that human encroachment and more reliable law enforcement is widespread.
Pack to Nonshifter Interaction:
Unless you're related to or very intimate friends with a werewolf, you'll never know of their other life. You better hope you never know, because anonymous meetings between humans and werewolves often end like the Lady of Niger's ride on the tiger-- you'll return from the encounter on the interior of the wolf.
Lycanthropes may have a precarious legality now, but a few new laws don't do away with millennia of mutual suspicion and hostility between Homo sapiens homo and Homo sapiens lupus.
Werewolves are a bit more open with other shifters, as they both are assumed to have equally dangerous secrets to keep from the Mundanes. This varies according to the individuals involved, of course.
In this game, alpha/beta/omega are more descriptions of personality than Rank. A strong beta can be given a rank that puts them above an alpha judged unsuitable for the rank (or any rank), and the alpha must submit to the authority that particular rank conveys.
Touch is an extremely integral part of all lycan societies, but especially so for wolves. They crave touch; it is almost a vital need. Therefore, it's not surprising that a large amount of communication and social signals are transmitted by various forms of touch.
When furred and quadruped, the social rituals between werewolves look very much like interactions between bestial wolves, although for werewolves these interactions are driven by intellect and emotion as well as instinct.
All social customs have two and sometimes three variations, depending not only upon rank but also upon bodily form and whether or not there are any non-wolf onlookers.
Greetings:
The all-purpose werewolf way of saying hello is to slide one's cheek against the other wolf's, along the bone back to behind the ear, and then to inhale deeply there. That is the point of the purest, strongest personal scent. Usually, the wolves grip each other by the tops of the shoulders, if in bipedal form.
When around non-wolves, this gesture is altered into a rather European exchange of kisses to the cheeks, hands on shoulders or upper arms.
A submissive greeting in public is a soft kiss, fingers lightly holding their face. In private you run your tongue across their lower lip.
Alphas greet subordinates first.
When two alphas greet for the first time, the one who is dominant will often bite the other's neck after the cheek rub/ear sniff. This is to cement the ranking between them. In front of nonwolves, the bite is altered to a "playful" gripping of the back of the neck, with a little shake. A back of the neck grip often follows the bite also if the wolves are in furry but bipedal form, regardless of onlookers.
Betas will often rub against an alpha's chin and lick across their lips before doing the cheek-rub/ear sniff. This is an appeasing gesture that goes back to the way pups will lick and rub their parents' mouths, begging for disgorged food. It tends to trigger the protective instinct in a psychologically healthy alpha, or at least to mollify any current foul mood.
In front of nonwolves, this extra appeasing gesture will often be altered to a light kiss at the corner of the mouth.
When Pack members meet while in quadruped form, their greetings are merry and uninhibited: nose to nose, wagging tails, whole body wiggling in joy.
Even while in humanoid form, friendly greetings between Pack members are always more effusive than those between most human friends or family members. Only werewolves on unfriendly terms would pass with merely a monosyllable or the flick of a hand exchanged between them.
Dominant Postures, Quadruped form:
-Head held high
-Eyes directed towards another wolf's
-raised hackles
-growling-side swipe or body slam to subordinates, sometimes pinning them to the ground
-bared teeth
-upright ears
-tail partly erect
-rigid posture, almost on 'tiptoes'
Dominant Postures, Bipedal form:
-Head held high
-Eyes directed at another wolf's
-Raised hackles, if furred and bipedal. Alphas in skin often speak of feeling their hackles raise, as a tingling, itching or prickling across the back of their shoulders, even if their pelt is not visible. When nude, goose-pimpling of the skin covered by the hackles can be often observed.
-Growling, outright or as a deepening and coarsening of the individual's normal vocal range.
-Shoulder-checking to outright body-slamming, control holds.
-Bared teeth, very different from a normal smile. Often some degree of fang and/or dental shifting is evident, depending on the alpha's degree of control over both their emotions and their body.
-Eye color altering to that of their lupine form. This is the most common reaction to strong emotion, and is often not entirely under an individual's control. Most are aware of it because of a shift in visual acuity— color vision fades to near grey-scale, but perception of contrast and movement is greatly enhanced.
-Extremely erect "military" posture, shoulders thrown back and chest fully expanded.
Submissive Postures, Quadruped form:
-Lowered tails (very submissive: tail tucked between the legs)
-Folded ears
-submissive grin, peeling back of lips
-crouched or lowered body position
-Subordinates will lick a superior wolves muzzle or lie on its side raising one hind leg to expose the groin to the dominate.
-may bend head back to expose the throat
Submissive Postures, Bipedal form:
-Bowed head
-Avoidance of eye contact
-Whimpering or whining
-Slouching to full prostration and crawling
-Licking at dominant's mouth or hands
-Exposing the throat
A submissive seeking the protection of a dominant will press themselves against the other wolf, who will either step in front of them or at the least, touch them if in front of non-shifters, if the dominant is willing to take on the role of protector.
Active Submission- A friendly display towards a dominant. This is usually when the lip-licking behavior is used.
Passive Submission- The response of a lower ranked wolf when approached by a dominant, especially a disgruntled dominant. A more submissive display is usually used here, using body posture and a hesitant approach.
Subordinates often solicit responses from more dominant pack members in order to reaffirm their status and position in the Pack.
Pack to Pack Interaction:
Wolves are fiercely territorial creatures. A Pack-less wolf had better contact the ruling pair of any territory he wishes to cross, or he may pay for that breach of etiquette with his life.
Pack-to-Pack interaction can range from an alliance (normally an uneasy arrangement) to armed hostility. Territories have been known to be annexed by outright war between Packs, though this is less common now that human encroachment and more reliable law enforcement is widespread.
Pack to Nonshifter Interaction:
Unless you're related to or very intimate friends with a werewolf, you'll never know of their other life. You better hope you never know, because anonymous meetings between humans and werewolves often end like the Lady of Niger's ride on the tiger-- you'll return from the encounter on the interior of the wolf.
Lycanthropes may have a precarious legality now, but a few new laws don't do away with millennia of mutual suspicion and hostility between Homo sapiens homo and Homo sapiens lupus.
Werewolves are a bit more open with other shifters, as they both are assumed to have equally dangerous secrets to keep from the Mundanes. This varies according to the individuals involved, of course.
In this game, alpha/beta/omega are more descriptions of personality than Rank. A strong beta can be given a rank that puts them above an alpha judged unsuitable for the rank (or any rank), and the alpha must submit to the authority that particular rank conveys.