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