Courtship Rituals

History

The social codes around courtship evolved out of male "peacock" behavior dating back to time immemorial, slowly building on top of each other. The sparring match is the oldest known custom, although Stenza are a social enough species to settle for one clear victor without the loser being killed in the contest. Developing perhaps concurrently was the method of allowing friends to screen potentials. Before Unification, this carried a lot of "clan alliance" implications, and shortly afterward it helped to bolster the newly-formed Stenza nation. Currently such a thing is no longer necessary, but the tradition persists.
Building on the "screening" process are a complex and ever-changing series of social rules, based primarily on the reputations of the individuals involved. For example, a brave soldier or skilled doctor would make an excellent partner, but dating an exile is steeply frowned upon (but not illegal). These rules have always had an interesting relationship with the chain of command in individual clan forces and later in the Stenza army more broadly, but the key thing to remember is that Stenza emphasize competence, so much so that the idea of an officer having any long-term power over anyone else rarely holds up under scrutiny.
Often, however, individuals look outside their clan for potential partners, so belonging to the same unit rarely comes up (and the health of potential pups is not as compromised as it could be through inbreeding). This has fluctuating taboo status, but is a generally accepted custom regardless.

Execution

The vast majority of Stenza matchmaking is done by proxy, and this takes two forms. In the first, an individual will notice someone else who appeals to them, and ask their blood sibling, litter mate, or other close friend to introduce them. In the second, these third parties know of someone the party in question might be interested in or attracted to, and make the introduction without being asked (for example, this is how Tzim-Sha introduced Ta'zhen and Testho). Although the idea of being introduced by a third party has echoes across time and space, the Stenza flavor includes a unique detail: the sparring match.
The sparring match is initiated by the close friend, litter mate, or blood sibling solely to demonstrate that the romantic hopeful is cunning and clever in combat. Victory in the match has absolutely no bearing on romantic success, as the goal is to show off the flashiest moves and combinations that one knows in hopes of impressing a potential partner. There is some evidence that historically the role of impressing was held almost exclusively by men, but in the modern era anyone of any description can vie for attention in this manner.

Participants

Besides the parties looking to hook up for the night, or longer, the key role goes to blood siblings and close friends (such as litter mates), who serve as wing persons in the initial stages of the affair. They read the room, look into potentials, consider questions either party might be asking (for example, if the other wants to have children), and so on. Occasionally they will also operate as informal matchmakers, if their assessment is their buddy needs to get laid.

On the Deed Itself

NSFW

Although it is rarely discussed outside of medical or scientific contexts, it is known that following a particularly flashy sparring match, Stenza females lead their chosen mates for the evening to as secluded a location as can be managed. He may either go down easily or spar her as a form of foreplay, although the outcome is always the same: him sandwiched between a wall or a bed and her back. In this tight position he must maneuver his penis into the vaginal opening in the small of her back. After his initial penetration, he is helped along by the movements of her vaginal canal until his penis is fully inserted. If he can manage it, he may attempt to supplement her movements with such acts as biting or clawing, especially if he has known her before. The act of congress culminates in the female's orgasm, which triggers, through poorly-understood physical or neurological (or both) processes, male ejaculation and a sensation many men have described as profoundly satisfying, if occasionally painful.
Fresh claw marks on a man's thighs are frequently met with knowing looks and chuckles from women, and it is not uncommon for long-term couples to each sport claw scars of varying ages. Eagle-eyed inspectors boast that they can date the age of the relationship by these marks. It is further said, typically by religious experts, that Iradae and Lan'tha also sport such scars, as a mark of their devotion and continued attraction to one another.

Primary Related Location

Mudewei