Ryuutenshi Biology

Aside from the anatomical differences, the Ryuutenshi do have a few other major differences
from humans. Generally speaking, male humans and male Ryuutenshi are so close
in their make up that there aren’t any real differences; when it comes to the
females, however, the differences become clearly apparent.

For one, they only menstruate every
three months (or once a season). It lasts for a week. During this period, the
act much like their human counterparts with rapid mood swings, cramping, and
irritability. They are quite secretive about this and it is never discussed
with men or outside of the family. The first menstruation shows up around the
age of 13 or 14.

The Ryuutenshi gestational period is
about seven months. Babies are born with small winglets. They will develop
their full size wings between the ages of eight and twelve years. Children tend
to mature slowly as a result of the shorter gestation period.

On average, physical maturity is
reached between the ages of 17 and 18, but aren’t considered an adult until
they’ve reached their 20th year of life. The ideal age for a
Ryuutenshi is the mid to late twenties. By that stage, their magic is fully
developed.

In her lifetime, a Ryuutenshi will
have, at most, four offspring. There is normally a gap of several years between
siblings as once a woman has delivered a child, her body cannot carry a fetus
to term for several years afterwards even if she manages to conceive. Her body
doesn’t have the energy to care for a young child and deal with the stresses of
pregnancy simultaneously. Biology aside, the different development don’t mesh
very well.

Twins are extremely rare and are
universally dreaded by every woman. Not only is there the problem of keeping
the babies healthy in the womb, there is the problem of maintaining sanity once
the babies are born. Additionally, there is the fear of loosing one of them to
childhood illnesses while the other remains alive. The surviving twin will
forever be only half a pair, irreparably shattered. These ‘lost twins’ as they
are called are very quiet and subdued. It’s highly likely for these ones to
Bond in order to try to heal that rift. Those with twins in their lineage are
undesirable as mates by most people.

## Development

0
– birth; wings are covered in a thin, soft down. They are sightless and mostly
bald.

1
week – sight develops, eyes are a pale blue, hair starts to grow

3
weeks – eye color develops, head covered by a soft cap of hair

6
months – crawling stage

7-8
months – words begin to appear, replacing babble

10
months – first walking attempts, teething usually begins

1
year – more feathers develop, fully walking

14
months – running

2
years – teething ends

2-5
years – Most children begin to develop normal childhood illnesses at this
stage. If they survive the next few years, they’ll be fine. Most, if not all,
childhood fatalities occur during this period

6
years – wing musculature begins to develop, full speech and vocabulary skills,
schooling begins

8
years – flight feathers begin to develop

8-12
years – full wing development

13-14
years – onset of puberty

17-18
years – physical maturity is reached, schooling typically ends around this time

20
years – adult status reached