Long-tongues

Long-tongues are a group of mammalian shifters that are defined by their long, worm-like, sticky tongues which are used for eating insects. They often also possess strong claws and poor eyesight. The long-tongue group contains armadillos, anteaters, tamanduas, and sloths.

Basic Information

Anatomy

While individual members of the long-tongue group can have very distinctive morphologies, there are some traits that are true across the group. A primary identifying characteristic of the long-tongues is their eponymous tongue and a lack of forward dentition. Teeth are located in the back of the mouth or, in some species, cheek teeth developed to grind plant matter. Tamanduas lack teeth entirely, and use gizzards to grind up their food for digestion. The majority of the group are insectivorous aside from tree sloths, who are strict arboreal herbivores. All species of long-tongues have heavy claws on their forelegs - some are used for digging, some for breaking into termite mounds, and others for climbing, but the sickle-shaped strong foreclaw is a distinct feature of the group. Long-tongues typically have extremely poor eyesight with limited color vision if not monochromatic vision, but a keen sense of smell and sensitive noses.
When shapeshifted, the habitus of the long-tongue group appears to be hunchbacked or somewhat slouched over with their heads held lower than their shoulders, due to the additional articulation points in the spines of this group. They walk plantigrade and are known to be slow movers, especially sloths. Their eyesight remains poor, and scent is the main method of identification in both forms.

Growth Rate & Stages

Families typically consist of two parents and the youngest cohorts of their children. Twin births are the single most common gestation among long-tongues, but rarely triplets or singlets can be born, and armadillos may sometimes have up to four pups in a cohort. Although able to have a new cohort of young every year, most long-tongues prefer to space their cohorts out by 4-5 years, so that by the time new infant pups are added to the home, the previous children are old enough to feed themselves.
Infancy lasts for the first six months, during which time pups receive all their nutrition by nursing from the mother. After weaning, soft-bodied invertebrates are the first foods introduced to a toddler long-tongue's diet, and they will primarily eat worms, grubs, and larvae until their teeth or gizzards develop. In the case of the obligate foliavores the tree sloths, parents need to crush or grind up the leaves before they can be eaten by sloths of this age. Their wild animal counterparts do this by pre-chewing the leaves, but sloth shifters usually use a wooden or stone bowl and the backs of their strong claws to accomplish this task. During the first year and a half of their lives, long-tongue children are awkwardly mobile and are taken from place to place by clinging onto their mother's back.
When long-tongue children reach eighteen months of age, they begin to be able to walk or climb for themselves. Their teeth begin to grow, and parents will introduce insects with harder carapaces, such as ants, termites, and beetles. Sloth parents encourage their children to begin chewing on whole leaves. Children also begin to acquire coherent linguistic expression during this phase of life.

Mala has begun speaking, and will say only two words: "no" and "mash." How she has learned the word "mash" when she has not learned the word "mama" is simply beyond me, but our daughter has decided she will not eat her whole leaves, and they simply must be mashed. This was much easier when she could not speak. Toje was perfectly behaved and chewed his whole leaves until his sister began to say "mash," and now Toje also will not chew his leaves. Please return from the temple before I am tempted to let them both fall from the tree.

- Anonymous sloth mother

Between the ages of 18mo and 5 years, long-tongues are considered to be in their early childhood phase. They become more capably mobile and are able to follow their parents for longer foraging trips. They begin learning how to properly construct a hunting burrow, the optimal spots to break into termite mounds or anthills, or how to judge whether a climbing branch will support their weight. They have a much broader vocabulary by ages 5-6 and are able to mostly compose grammatically correct sentences and intelligible thoughts. This is often the age when a long-tongue will have their first encounter with others who are not their family, either other long-tongues or different beast shifter species entirely. It is not uncommon for a group of parent long-tongues to forage within a reasonable distance of each other and allow their children to play together in a central clearing or cluster of branches, where the parents can easily scent any sudden distress pheromones and respond if necessary.
Over the next several years, long-tongue children continue to grow. By 12 years of age most long-tongues are almost the size of their parents and close to reaching physical maturity. Long-tongues of this age often assist with their younger siblings by watching them at the residence while both parents work to provide food or upkeep the home.
Long-tongues are considered adults between the ages of 14 and 16, depending on the rate of physical maturity of each individual. At this time they will leave the home they grew up in and build their own nearby. If they were heavily involved in raising a younger sibling and the sibling bonded strongly with them, their child sibling may additionally move in with them and they will raise that child into adulthood rather than their parents.
The average life expectancy of most long-tongues is between 50 and 60 years of age. Elderly long-tongues can often be afflicted with clawbrittle, an age-related degenerative disease specific to the long-tongue species that causes the gradual decrease in claw density until claws become to fragile to use for their intended purpose. Elders who can no longer provide for themselves because of clawbrittle or other afflictions (arthritis, etc) will move into the home of an adult child or younger sibling for support.

Ecology and Habitats

Members of the long-tongue group primarily reside in the Tangled Jungle, with anteaters, tamanduas and sloths found in these jungle environments, and only their more distinct cousin the armadillo making its home in northern latitudes. Most members prefer to live in dwellings that resemble their instinctive homes of burrows or hollowed-out trees, but some species are arboreal and prefer treehouses.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The vast majority of long-tongues are insectivores. Ants and termites are the most commonly consumed insects by most long-tongues due to their prevalence, but grubs, beetles, worms, and the larvae of various flying insects are also a large portion of their diet. They are active hunters despite their slow speed, and will burrow to seek out insect prey or break into termite or ant mounds using their heavy claws. Some species of tamanduas use their claws to peel away the surface bark of trees to reach the insects underneath. The exception to this are the tree sloths, who are obligate folivores and spend their lives in the treetops.

Behaviour

Long-tongues are known to be slow-moving, and therefore have a reputation for being somewhat stupid. However, long-tongues are no more or less intelligent than most beast shifters; they simply give an impression of being simple or stupid because of their habit of speaking and moving quite slowly. However, due to their poor eyesight, long-tongues are easily startled and may respond rudely or aggressively if surprised.
Although typically soft-spoken and slow-moving, when threatened with danger each species of long-tongue has a way of defending themselves. Armadillos have the most unique ability among the group, able to utilize their hyperflexible spines to curl into a ball, where the thick armor on their backs protects them from harm. Tamanduas or sloths will often do the same if they are startled or attacked in the treetops, but if they are required to defend themselves they will swing with their sharp, heavy foreclaws. Anteaters are known to be the most aggressive when surprised, and will spread out their forelegs to display their sharp claws as a warning. If the attacker persists, they may find themeselves severely injured by the claws of a long-tongue, which are always sharp and sturdy.
Long-tongues may often come off to other species as inobservant, as they can often be seen having extremely understated reactions to all but the most severe danger. In reality, the sensitive nose of a long-tongue enables it to paint a scent-map of its immediate area, meaning they are very rarely surprised by anything and often have an unconcerned approach to anything that won't immediately effect them.

Civilization and Culture

Beauty Ideals

With their poor eyesight, visual beauty is largely lost on long-tongues. Instead, subtle and harmonious blends of scent are a large component of attraction. With their sensitive noses, long-tongues can easily pick up an individual's natural scent, but the key to attractiveness is carefully layering other subtle scent notes that blend with the natural scent to create a pleasant, but not overpowering, overall smell. Overpowering scents, or inexpert blending that leads to a confusion with the natural scent, are detractors to a long-tongue's attractiveness. Strong, well-cared-for foreclaws are another key part of long-tongue beauty standards, as is clean and well-groomed fur (or, in the case of armadillos, well-polished and strong armor). Tree sloths are known for allowing moss to grow in their fur, which many other long-tongues consider a sign of poor grooming but sloths consider a benefit to attractiveness as long as the moss growth is well-controlled. Lower vocal pitches are also considered more pleasant to the ear than higher-pitched voices.

Gender Ideals

There is close to zero difference between the roles of male or female long-tongues in their society. Since infants are able to cling to their mothers and allow them to be mobile, mother long-tongues have no need to confine themselves to the domestic sphere. Most long-tongue couples eventually settle on a natural division of labor that involves one partner tending to the majority of the in-home labor while the other partner tends to the out-of-home labor, but this division is not gendered, and there are an equal number of father long-tongues who remain in the home seeing to the cooking and cleaning as mother long-tongues. With very little dimorphism between sexes, both male and female long-tongues are physically capable of completing a broad range of labor tasks.

Courtship Ideals

Courtship among long-tongues is a much more casual affair than many other beast shifter species. Since divorce and blended families are commonly accepted, and there is very little expectation for a romantic couple to remain together for life, courtship is informal and has no specifically designated stages or rituals. Instead, courting long-tongues will spend time in each other's company. They will forage together, work on domestic tasks together, and engage in personal intimacies like grooming each other's fur or claws. Courting long-tongues often give each other gifts, either small textured wood carvings to decorate the home or gifts of food, but there is no standardization or requirement for the type of gift. Instead, courting long-tongues are expected to get to know their potential partner's own individual desires and preferences, and give gifts that show they have been listening and thinking about their intended.
The conclusion of courtship typically comes with a declaration of intent on the part of both partners, at which point they will enter into negotiations for a joint residence. This type of courtship and declaration typically happens around the Festival of Hearths, which provides a convenient venue for the new couple to approach both sets of in-laws and figure out where they ultimately want to live, then carry that to the elders of that family and work out the specifics of living space and insect farm access. It is a practical process with little emphasis on romance once the courtship proceedings have concluded, as most long-tongues view a romantic partnership as something that requires work, patience, and continual understanding by both parties.

Common Dress Code

Long-tongue clothing is typically simple and minimally adorned, since visual decoration has little use for the species. The most distinctive clothing item they make, which is often exported to other beast shifters who live in the Tangled Jungle, are the water-wicking hats made from broad jungle leaves, often harvested by sloths who can easily reach them high in the tops. The hats are typically made of 2-4 broad banana leaves, woven together at a peak using the strong stems. These hats drape down over the eyes, protecting them from the heavy monsoon rains.
Like all beast shifters, strong belts or bandoliers for carrying pouches of goods while traveling are a common piece of practical attire. Long-tongues may or may not wear skirts of woven grass, which are an agender article of clothing, or in rainy weather may don a waxed poncho, but may be equally likely not to wear clothing beyond belts and hats. Although they do not hunt, leather is often scavenged or traded for to make sturdy, laquered bracers that protect the wrists while digging or climbing. Claw caps are the most common piece of jewelry, and are worn day-to-day to protect the sharp tips of a long-tongue's claws. They are often made of polished wood, but some families might have one treasured set of silver or gold caps passed through generations, often in the possession of the family elder.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Although certain traits might make them seem similar to the Blind Burrower group, long-tongues do not form large interconnected communities and are not particularly social. They tend to live in extended families, constructing simple ground-level or treetop homes that stand apart from each other to allow individual family units their privacy. Family groups rarely venture farther than a mile or two from their residences, and long-distance travel is reserved for major festivals and important spiritual gatherings. They are monogamous, but divorce is not uncommon, with nearly 40% of long-tongue couples separating after they have raised one cohort of young together. Of the remaining 60% of couples, only half will remain married to the same partner for their lifetimes. When a couple separates it is not uncommon for siblings of the same litter to also separate, with one or two going with one parent and one or two going with the other, depending on who they share a stronger bond with. Long-tongues tend to form strong bonds with a very small number of people over their lifetimes, valuing a smaller number of deeply important connections than a large number of shallow ones.
Long-tongue culture values three primary virtues in individuals and family groups: Patience, contemplation, and minding one's own business. Anything worth doing or saying is also worth waiting for, which means that long-tongues are encouraged to think carefully before speaking or taking action, to ensure that the amount of time spent doing it will be worthwhile. In addition, long-tongues are extremely reluctant to become involved in another's affairs unless directly asked, and may be completely unaware of events going on within their own family group if they are happening outside the walls of their residence.
Elderly long-tongues are socially respected as the keepers of history (whether that be familial or species-wide) and holders of vast stores of practical knowledge. Adult children of a long-tongue reaching the later stages of their life might subtly encourage the aging parent to choose their home to move into when their physical health declines, seeing it as an advantage to have an elder's wealth of knowledge beneath their roof. Elders are still often quite capable of various domestic tasks around the home such as entertaining the children with stories, keeping the home clean, and other minor tasks.
Insect farming is a widespread practice across long-tongues, with the notable exception of the tree sloths, who do not eat insects. Ants and termites are the most popularly farmed insects. These insect farms are often found in a central location within a family group - equidistant from several homes, or at times attached to the family elder's home. A low depression is dug into the dirt and then lined with hard stone affixed with masonry. Then, a "starter" is placed at the center of the depression, typically a large dead tree stump or other food source. A queen termite is then captured from a wild colony and relocated to the starter, which lures the rest of the colony in. From then on, the termite farm is fed with dead wood foraged from the jungle. A similar process is utilized to start an ant farm, although depending on the species of ant the starter might be a mound of leaves or a decaying carcass. The purpose of the stone-lined depression is to attempt to contain the colony by creating a slicker surface that is more difficult for the insects to traverse, but additional methods of containment often include loose-sand traps at the edges of the farm that slope upward away from the stone depression, preventing ants or termites from easily climbing out.
In arboreal species like the tamanduas, insects are not farmed but trapped. Beetle traps consist of hanging baskets of fruit or carrion. These baskets are designed with a narrow opening at the top which allows insects such as flies or beetles to enter, but can be difficult for the insect to find again to get out. Once the population of beetles and flies has reached a sufficient level to consume all the bait, the basket can then be opened and the adult insects or larvae harvested from inside before the bait is replaced and the trapping cycle begins again.
In either case, protection and maintenance of the farms or traps is a job for the entire family. Children who are out of the toddling stage are taught how to disecern the difference in scents between termites, ants, and various species like ant-mimic spiders, parasitic wasps, or butterfly larva. Inspecting a farm for the presence of these destructive mimics is a safe and occupying job for the young long-tongues, who are allowed to snack on any invaders they find. Ensuring that the farm is well-supplied with food is a task for the adults of the family group, who keep an eye out for food sources while foraging for grubs. Guarding beetle traps is a job given to adolescent tamanduas, who stay near the traps to chase off birds or other insectivores that might raid them. Rain can be detrimental to the health of an insect farm or the effectiveness of a beetle trap, as the depression or basket can quickly flood and the water has no way to flow out. A rain fly is typically stored near the insect farm, which can be raised on stakes and stretched over the farm in an attempt to protect it. Beetle traps are hung in places which should be protected from the rain by the dense tree canopy, but in particularly strong downpours the traps might be collected and brought inside temporarily.
With their strong, sharp foreclaws, long-tongues are excellent woodcarvers. Texture and shape is a much greater component of long-tongue art than color or other visual components, due to their poor eyesight. Geometric patterns are a common artistic motif on the doorways and windowframes of long-tongue homes, and young long-tongues can often be found whittling or carving when they are not occupied with other chores.
The vocal chords of long-tongue species do not typically have a broad range, and note-singing is not a common form of musical expression. Instead, long-tongues have developed a form of vocalization that trained individuals can produce to accompany music, a sound that can be compared to a didgeridoo or forms of throat-singing. To adapt stringed instruments to their strong, sharp foreclaws, gitterns, guitars and banjos were modified to be played on the lap facing upward, with a slide to press the frets and special caps on the ends of the players' claws to prevent them from snapping the strings while playing. Drums, hand bells, and other struck percussion are common in long-tongue music, while the slide guitar often carries the melody.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Long-tongues are slow speakers, and are economical with their words. They will never take many words to say something where few can suffice, and might communicate with each other in non-verbal vocalizations like grunts or humming sounds. The most common form of greeting between two long-tongues is to touch their foreclaws, which functions both as an acknowledgement of the other and a demonstration of goodwill. It is considered rude to approach a long-tongue who is sitting or walking by themselves, as it is acknowledged that this not only has the potential to startle them if approaching suddenly, but that the solitude is a form of silence to be enjoyed at the long-tongue's leisure. To politely approach, one is meant to call out to the other and gain their attention first. It is not considered rude to ignore the person who called out, but rather a signal that the long-tongue definitely does not want to be approached.
Scent is also extremely important to long-tongues, with certain natural scents considered pleasant. Vanilla, sweet pepper, hyssop, and juniper are common scents worn for their fragrance, and bundles of these dried plants are often found hanging in homes. However, young long-tongues should take care when rubbing scented leaves on their fur not to apply too much, or they will overpower others' noses. Scents are worn in the home and in social gatherings, but not while foraging, since they can interfere with the ability to sniff out insect prey.
Most long-tongues' lack of teeth makes cooking an attractive option to soften their food and make it easier to digest. Insects are often roasted or fried. Soft-bodied insects are sometimes ground into paste with mild spices as a sauce for roasted insects. Most long-tongues believe that the diet fed to the insects they raise in their farms contributes to their taste - termites are agreed to have a woodier, earthier flavor whereas ants can taste meaty, spicy or sweet depending on what food was provided to the farm. Tree sloths do not cook their food, as cooking the leaves typically removes a large portion of their nutritional value, but they do enjoy drinking tea of various kinds. The more omnivorous armadillos supplement their insect-based diet with some fruits and herbs, and are avid producers of candied ants.
Long-tongues tend to be individual feeders and can grow territorial over their food. While they do live in family groups, children are taught early not to feed from the same spot at the termite mound or take food from another's plate. Families are encouraged to leave the most choice selections for the oldest members, especially family elders. Most long-tongue families will eat their morning meals individually and will forage for additional food throughout the day, but the evening meal is often taken together. These family meals are an important part of the long-tongue family unit, and are typically where children are taught important lessons in conversational manners.

Traditions

Since most species of long-tongue reside in the Tangled Jungle, seasonal differences are measured in the wet season and dry season, rather than with a year-round calendar. The wet season, which can bring weeks of heavy monsoon rains, is the root of the family tradition of Raingathers. In the weeks leading up to the rainy season, the entire family pitches in to ensure the insect farms are prepared by erecting a more permanent version of the rain fly system that is used in the dry season. Homes are repaired, and gaps in the boards are patched with pitch or tar for waterproofing. Family elders spend this time ensuring the food stores are prepared for the long wet season, where foraging is made more difficult due to rain masking scent. The staple food of the wet season is mealcake, which is made by grinding dried mealworms into flour, adding water until a paste is made, and then frying on a hot griddle. When preparations have finished and the first monsoon hits, the Raingather properly begins. Elders, their children, and their childrens' children will pack into the largest individual home. There, the last of the non-preservable stores are eaten, stories are shared, offerings are made to the family ancestors, and the family stays awake late into the night, playing music, sharing stories, teaching children how to seek the guidance of the ancestors, and enjoying one another's company. It is commonly said that at the end of the Raingather, the extended family has become thoroughly sick of each other and close quarters, and all are happy to return to their individual dwellings to wait out the rest of the monsoons.
As the wet season transitions back into the dry season, the jungle begins to heat up significantly. The leftover moisture from the heavy monsoon rains steams into the air, creating a blanket of mist in the mornings as the sun rises. The long-tongues know this as the Season of Spirits, and it is said to be a mystical time where the spirits of the jungle rise up to embrace the sun god, who drives away the monsoons. Most long-tongues try to time their births for this time of year, since it is believed that a child born during the Season of Spirits carries the reborn spirit of a strong ancestor, which will bring them a prosperous life. Long-tongues who are approaching adulthood will spend this time of year in spiritual contemplation and solitude. Some go as far as to take a vow of silence until the mists lift, ensuring that they are focused internally during this important time of spiritual growth. If they have not vowed silence, it is still generally understood that during the Season of Mists a nearly-adult child will draw away from their parents and siblings and spend a great deal of time in the company of the family elders.
When the morning mists dissipate and the regular rhythm of life in the dry season resumes, it is marked by the Festival of Hearths, the largest gathering in long-tongue culture. Families from all over the Tangled Jungle migrate to the Sunspire, atop which sits the Temple of the Sun. However, the Festival of Hearths is not centered around the temple, but the community congregating at the base of the tall spire. This annual festival is when different family groups of long-tongues exchange news, trade with one another, and introduce their newly adult children around to different family groups. This is an important time of socialization for long-tongues and is often when most young long-tongues meet their future spouse. The goal of the Festival of Hearths is to determine who will be moving in with whom - it is not uncommon for dwellings to be swapped, as a couple who was living with for instance the father's family group may be persuaded at the Festival of Hearths to relocate to the mother's family group, and vice versa. New adults who enter a courtship at the Festival of Hearths are expected to figure out which family group they will reside with by the end of the week-long celebration. Negotiations are entered into regarding the construction of new dwellings for young couples or newly-independent individuals. The new adults are expected to take on the majority of the negotiating, which includes hagging with the family elder about whose house they will build near and what kind of space they will be allotted.

History

Long-tongues were initially left uncontacted after the Ritual of the Gift, and for the most part continued their lives with little difference from before, aside from beginning to take advantage of their bipedal forms and improved dexterity to build sturdier and safer dwellings. Shortly after the elevation of House Sunspear to High Nobility, the jaguars began seeking out other previously uncontacted groups of beast shifters throughout their territory. The long-tongues, with their slow movement speed and solitary tendencies, were not considered a priority by the jaguars, and after initial contact most were left to dwell as they pleased.
In the present day, families of long-tongue shifters can be found throughout the southern portions of the Kingdom of Aētheli, where they typically build their own dwellings and keep to themselves. Anteaters or tamanduas are sometimes found in larger settlements where they are employed to protect buildings from ants and termites, and sloths are very often found as temple monks or shrine keepers. Armadillos are considered to be the most shy and isolationist species of the group, and their small family communities are quite insular.

Scientific Name

Xenarthra

Geographic Distribution

• Amara