Lemon Behavior

This is to keep track of how the Lemongrabs interact, behave, and communicate.

Normal Behavior
Lemonkind is different than that of other candy people.

Calls and Sounds.

 * TTTing- Similar to the sound a fox makes while chattering, it's mainly a basic call, trying to locate someone, or trying to check on someone.


 * Screaming- Used for many reasons, the main ones are to show displeasure or alarm. On rare occasions, they will scream to show affection, but only to those they are close to. It's usually accompanied by screeching. Ranges from normal lemon screaming, to amimalistic rage.


 * Screeching- In different tones, it can be used for different purposes. The first is to show severe alarm or pain. The second is used WITH screaming, the pitch varies and dims slightly to take the alarm off of it. Similar to Barn Owl screeching.


 * Snarling- Only used with severe displeasure, disgust, or out of pure instinct. Similar to a Jaguar snarl.


 * Growling- This has two meanings only. The first is the obvious, which would to use it in alarm, fear, rage, etc. or used in mating, to establish "alpha" rank. Similar to a Tiger growl.


 * Purring- Most common used. Basic purring is for happiness, contentment, pleasure of any kind (i.e. belly-rubs, petting, nuzzling, preening, mating etc.), or just for a loved one to bring comfort. Alarmed purring is very rare, only used when near death or severely injured to try to calm one's self. Similar to a Leopard purr.


 * Whimpering- Used in confrontation with an alpha to show lower rankage and not trying to threaten. Pain, sadness, discontent, loneliness, distraught, scared, or alarmed. Similar to a Dog or Wolf whimpering.


 * Snorting- Showing displeasure, discontentment, anger, rage, or disgust. Similar to how a Bull snorts air out.
 * Hissing- A sign of displeasure, fear, anger, distress, and panic. Similar to a Alligator hiss.
 * Whining- To indicate basic whining for something, sadness, neediness, used in mating as a noise of overabundant pleasure or arousal that needs to be taken care of. Similar to Wolf whining, where their voices can mingle with the whining.
 * Clicking- Used as a sign of discomfort, aggrivation, or anxiety. Similar to owl clicking or parrot clicking.

Body Language and Behavior

 * Pacing- Used when distraught, alarmed, or uneasy.


 * Shifting- Showing how uneasy they really are.


 * Head Bobbing- More of a focus tool than anything, they sometimes use it to show happiness. Similar to Owl bobbing to focus vision.


 * Back Arching- Severe alarm and surprise, this is also used in play, similar to how Cats arch their backs and play wrestle.
 * Eye Dilating and Contracting- Used often. Response to light changes. Focusing on a singular subject. Dilation occurs when they see something they're fond of/care for, also occurs out of fear or surprise, also when screaming particularly loudly. Contracting happens when confronted, scared, surprised, shocked, fighting, or even just basic light changes. They have full control when needed over how their eyes dilate.
 * Jaw Unhinging- Used only in defense or in outright aggression. Usually accompanied by a low growl, a hiss, or a snarl. Similar to a Snake unhinging it's jaw to consume prey.
 * Head Swiveling- Used to adjust vision, scope the area around them, or used in play as a means to show their guard is low enough to expose their neck.
 * Poofing- They take in more air, expandng their lungs and abdomen, and tense their muscles, to appear larget than what they are. Used as a defense tool, out of shock/surprise, in play, or as a dominant factor, to scare competitors.

Social Order
Their social order works in a way animals do, the most common used is the "alpha to omega" ranking.

~ Lemongrab is the original alpha male, and king. All who are under his rule submit to him, he asks out of respect. If one wishes to get violent with him, he has no qualms about unleashing all hell on them. The only ones he withdraws his strength and violence from is his mate, or his biological children. He bows to no one, and will not submit to anything/anyone unless he is in full critical danger, or incapable of functioning properly in any situation.

~ Lemonsoft is the second alpha male, also a king. He rules over most as his elder brother does, but has no control over Lemongrab. He is only slightly less powerful than Lemongrab, and holds the same rules to challengers. He submits to his brother out of respect for his birthright and his strength.

~ The mates of the two alphas come in third, holding no physical control over either of them, unless unconventionally overpowered (I.E. Magical ties, guns, etc.) They hold a great amount of emotional control however, due to the males seeking affection and companionship. They hold the same rules over everyone except their mates.

~ The biological children come in fourth, placing them in the "beta" rank. They're not controlling anyone, and are usually sought to be looked after. The only ones they are above are the "omegas", which doesn't make much of a difference between them however.

~ Other residence hold the beta ranks as well, (ones such as Scotty, Andra, etc.) and there aren't that many that are fully tied to the rankings, most going as "loners" When you begin talking to Lemongrab or Lemonsoft, you start as a beta, regardless of your previous ranking.

~ Omegas are ones who have succeeded in either betraying, hurting, manipulating, or fully annoyed the alphas. They are looked down upon by everyone in the social order, and are to be ridiculed when passing. Examples of these are Princess Bubblegum (Beaten into the omega rank by Lemongrab and Lemonsoft themselves, tired of the manipulation and pain.), Foop, Aislin, etc. These rankings are indeed great to know, especially when interacting with the Lemongrabs. Their social order works on "Give-get". This means if you treat them with respect, kindness, or love, they are going to respond the same way. However, if you give them attitude, violence, or annoyance, they will reciprocate the feeling and you will most likely be either ignored or hurt.

Social Behaviors
-Loud noises- Not always meant as a sign of anger, irritation or otherwise, it is sometimes used to just be vocal with other members of the species, giving off a wide variety of emotions. They use these quite often in groups.

-Touching- Poking, patting, "papping", petting, nuzzling, cuddling. These are all highly useful social behaviors, and used in very commonly in communication. Hugging is rarer, but used, along with hand holding. These are used by familial status and mate status alike.

-Sniffing- This is used all over, as a form of memorizing the scent of whoever they're greeting. They don't have big noses for nothing, as they can smell a wide variety of things, and it comes in handy mainly for memory. They can remember the scent of someone for years after!

-Claiming- Higher ranked ones with "take" things by scent marking, or visually marking something. When they claim it as theirs, it usually refers to also sharing it with the lower ranked. "Gives by taking" is a simpler usage of the definition, referring to claiming things that could have been hoarded away for themselves. This is also used as a way to claim a mate. When they say "Mine" about a mate, they're, in turn, saying that because they belong to them, the reverse is also applicable. They belong to their mate, and their mate belongs to them.

-Play- If they are comfortable with you, or are closer to their heat, they will become more playful. Trying to swat, bat, "bap", screech, scream, chew on, or poof at you. They also roll during this, not out of fear/submission, but out of pure silliness.

-Grooming- Just what it sounds like. Grooming is used as a way to bring families/mates together, just by basic touch. Preening (gentle scraping of teeth/licking after on the skins surface) is used to clear dirt or debris off of another, but is also used to show gentle affection. They also use their cat-like tongues to their advantage, mixed with their naturally cleansing acidic saliva to wash away dirt and grime.

-Fighting- This is rarer to use, considering not too many stand up to the alphas, or otherwise. If a legitimate fight breaks out, they will use claws, teeth, and pure strength to damage their opponent. It will start with slow movements, cautious and precise. After a while of sizing up their opponent, they both will choose whether to submit or challenge. If they submit, they look to the ground, bow their head away, turn their bellies/necks at, or make themselves appear smaller. If they choose to fight, then both with use basic human fighting techniques, along with clawing and biting at whatever they can get close to. A blow to the nub, underside, or sheath is usually enough to make one stop momentarily, but some go through it anyway, determined to win. Once a winner has made himself/herself known, the loser with crawl/slink away, avoiding eye contact.

Emotions
These are quite important to take into account in the society, and play a massive role on their judgement, the few listed are the ones that need to be watched for the most, as it can affect how they respond to you.

-Anger- Usually seen as the utmost important emotion by many outsiders, it is actually quite commonly confused with being hurt, sadness, or otherwise. Deal with true anger carefully, because as shown in anatomy, the lemon race is not one to mess with. This is usually shut down easily by genuine kindness, and calmly talking to them.

-Sadness- This emotion is usually covered by anger, or no emotion at all. They tend to shut this one down, in fear of getting ridiculed or hurt while they're vulnerable. This emotion is usually subdued with kindness, understanding and familial petting/grooming.

-Hurt- Either brought about by physical pain, loss, fear, or betrayal, this emotion is hard to work with, and is usually shown by a draining of real color in their eyes, making them appear darker, sometimes to the point of blackness. It can take quite some time to get over being hurt, and requires a lot of effort, and patience. Please note, if they respond coldly, or they are yelling for no reason now, it is likely you caused something to be triggered, or you said something to hurt them. It can take weeks, months and years to earn their trust back, sometimes you can't.

-Fear- Fear comes in many varieties for the lemon race, as they are a naturally anxious and depressive people. They fear losing what they love, getting mocked, shunned, ridiculed, rumors, and sometimes each other. Fear is taken care of easily if handled properly. Submission to them (even if you don't mean it at the time), calmness, and respect are generally the easiest way to handle social anxiety for them.

-Confusion- Easily dealt with, just make sure not to seem threatening, as they will poof, growl, sniff, click, and headbob at whatever they are curious about. All that's needed is to keep your polite attitude, and show basic human respect to them, you will be dealt with according to your actions from there on.

Feral Behavior
Feral Behavior is common when a small window of mating opportunity comes up. When they are in heat, the desire can become strong enough, that they revert into animalistic behaviors. Most of the time, clothes will be taken off to avoid annoyance and overheating. The mind is much more clouded at this point, to allow instincts to take over, and it's usually easier to treat them more as an animal than it is to try to communicate as a person. Some have been noted to take commands much easier this way, Lemongrab being the only half exception. He still takes some, but isn't as willing to, due to his alpha rank.

The feral behavior is linked to there very few lemon females, if any. They take what opportunities they can. However, Lemongrab and Lemonsoft never mated with any of the females, not only to avoid inbreeding, but they still see them as their children. They mainly stayed far away from any of them, and avoided any contact with anyone during heats.
 * Marking- Used in large territories by ALPHAS only, if a challenging scent is detected, they can and will fight. The alpha however, allows any others to mark their own homes, out of respect. There are various marking techniques.
 * Scent marking- Most common, executed by rubbing their faces and bodies on things that they want their scent to stay on. It can range from a claiming scent, to a aggressive scent.
 * Urine marking- Least common, normally used for territory claim.
 * Chewing- Teeth scraping, gnawing, and chewing. Used to visually mark something.
 * Licking- Used as a affectionate marking tool, it can range from a friendly mark, a familial mark, or a mating mark. All normally based on where the lick was placed. I.E.: Neck and chest would be a mate mark, but a face lick would be familial.
 * Rolling- Mainly for themselves, they roll to alleviate the physical tension. Now and again it is simply used for pleasure, enjoyment in rolling in the grass or soaking up the suns warmth.
 * Advertising calls- Used only when seeking a mate or to attract their mate. It's a mixture of screeching and TTTing, along with some purring.
 * All fours- They will normally walk around on all fours to save energy, to mark easier, and to mount easier.
 * Mounting and/or bucking onto (Sheathed)- Used only as a sign to establish Alpha status.