Human predator. Blood-eater. Watusi were blood-eaters. Relict population that must expand to survive. Chromosome fusion. 30-60kya Pulling out blood is fast, when big cats and canids show up, they scurry into trees, leave the corpse for consumption - distracts the other predators. We could see - not smell. They stole our food. We became enemies. When we became herders, they'd steal blood from our cattle - kill the guards - the guards became prized meal./span>
PHYSICAL
H. sapiens rapaxus australus (southern hunter)
H.sapiens rapaxus borius (northern hunter)
22 CHROMOSOME PAIRS - 44 chromosomes
(Essaps 23 pairs with 46 chromosomes)
Most traits within the limits of normal human variation.
- If living on blood alone, must consume 2500ml or 2.5 liters per day. (2.6 quarts of the 5-6 quarts the average Essap holds. Removing this much blood is always fatal to the individual prey.)
- Longer-lived. Average lifespan 117 yrs.
- Higher IQs, average 37 pts higher on all scales.
- Women fertile between 14-15. Then into their fifties. Girls reach physical/sexual maturity at 14, physically resemble 18-19 year-olds.
- Boys reach physical maturity at 16, but not sexual maturity until 25-30. While intellectually gifted in relation to an Essap, they are emotionally like perpetual ten-year-olds. Once they are fertile, they stay that way all their lives. However, they are unable to withstand the rigors of the Ritual after age 70 or so.
- Upper incisors razor-sharp for slicing
- Lower incisors flatten for stable base during feeding. They have a deep lateral groove into which uppers fit when mouth is closed. The upper incisors are sharpened by sliding into the lowers. Saliva is thick, protective, like the lining of the stomach protects from acid, helps protect inside of the mouth from being cut. Rapax do not lick their lips. Rapax do not kiss, it's considering obscene.
- Mandible unhinges to reach the back of the neck while the incisors cut into the common carotid. The lower incisors form a stable platform against which the uppers can apply the very strong force needed. The mandible is relatively larger on average than an Essap's. Overdeveloped temporalis and masseter muscles.
- Low levels, 4% or less, of body fat normal.
- Deceptively strong - Can easily toss an Essap through the air 75 feet.
- Can run very fast short distances.
- Proportionally longer arms, large strong hands.
- Hearing acute
- Eyesight very good in low light. Sensitive to strong light. High rates of macular degeneration.
Modern western rapaxians run charities. Blood banks. They do real good. They also feed themselves.
They live in controlled subcultures, gated suburban communities, apt high rises or complexes that they own.
They have no spousal abuse, no child abuse, no violent crime amongst themselves in their own Households with the notable exceptions of the Rite of Election and The Frenzy. The last being very rare in modern times.
They are dedicated to their own subculture but mix easily into the common culture where they live.
The children are home-schooled until physical maturity.
Because of the danger of Rahkrosa, ("blood madness" - see Lexicon) the males are protected constantly by the females. The men never work in jobs that carry a common incidence of bodily injury (such as police officer or firefighter or construction worker.)
MATING AND FAMILY
At 14, the girls are traded. The only male allowed in their presence is the new Adotar, in almost all cases, the Sadique of the Household to which they are sent. Being around him triggers estrus: ovulation and receptivity. Estrus triggers testicular emergence and sexual ability in males. Women in estrus show marked melasma, over face, chest, stomach, down to pubic area and thighs. It is this physical manifestation of fertility, coupled with pheromones, that causes erection in a male. It is pheromones alone that can cause males to attack one another and take the female until she is fertile.
The first time, a woman can become very aggressive. During actual mating, she is more physically powerful than the male. Nesting, the time leading up to estrus, makes a female stronger. She increases her blood volume by 20% and has a raging appetite during this time.
The nesting process which evokes significant morphological changes in the man, weaken him over time. Males, because they only respond at the time of full estrus, have little time to adapt to the changes which place great stress on their bodies. Neurological changes and lowered blood pressure cause the males to be physically vulnerable. In extreme cases, males have been killed during mating. The Caretaker system was developed to protect them.
For these reasons, the sexually mature males are scrupulously separated from females 14+ except for pregnant or nursing mothers in whom it is impossible to trigger estrus.
The first mating triggers a chemical change in the brain that bonds the couple for five-six years. The first mating with the Sadique in the presence of Caretakers also results in Attachment, if it hasn't already taken place. These processes bind the woman to the Household as well as the Sadique.
The mating is highly ritualized, overseen by the Caretakers. Includes touching foreheads, the most intimate gesture the Rapax have. The rate of pregnancy from the mating ritual, which can extend over several days is over 95%.
Daily living: females prefer to be with the other women and the males prefer to be with other men. Rarely, pairs form bonds. A woman can choose a different mate in the Household once she has born offspring to the Sadique. She can refuse the Sadique and be sent to another Household or stay in that Household but mate with another or not at all. Women have complete freedom in all matters relating to reproduction.
INTERBREEDING
Rapax and Essaps are sub-species of one another. Male Rapax cannot mate with Essap females because those females cannot trigger sexual response in them, no fertility, no erection, no desire.
Rapax females can, and have, mated with Essap males. But those males cannot trigger estrus in the Rapaxian female. She can approach her Sadique, who is duty-bound to nest with her until she is in estrus. When fertile, she can allow an Essap male to have intercourse with her. It is safer to use a sperm sample.
This is the only time Rapaxian males other than the Sadique/Adotar are allowed in the Ritual. Six adult, non-sexually mature Rapaxian males, usually 16-23, must be present. Only they are strong enough to restrain the Sadique who would kill the Essap to get at the female. A Rapaxian Adotar must be present during mating to insure fertility for the female. While the Essap strives to achieve ejaculation within the Rapaxian female, the Caretakers apply a collecting device that functions as a surrogate vagina to the Sadique. The sight of the female, the penile manipulation with the Collector s usually result in ejaculation for the Sadique and trigger a Rapaxian Primal Mating Vocalization that stimulates orgasm in the female at which time a chemical is released which breaks down a protein "shell" surrounding the ovum, allowing the sperm to penetrate.
If the Collector fails to induce ejaculation, the Sadique is then given a drug to induce unconsciousness. (anesthesia) This must be forced on him. A Rapaxian physician extracts the ejaculate which can otherwise lead to inflammation and infection. Rapaxians originally were adapted to resorb ejaculate when surviving the Clash for the female, but many have lost this ability over time.
No estrus can be wasted, however, and the ejaculate taken from the Sadique is also inserted into the female as mating with an Essap results in pregnancy 37% of the time. Even though this process is done immediately, it only increases her chance of impregnation to 65% as Rapaxian ejaculate degrades very quickly outside of the body.
There have been reported (but unconfirmed) cases of an Essap female being present with whom the Rapaxian male has intercourse when triggered by the melasmic display. It being highly unlikely that she is fertile at the exact time as the Rapaxian female (and Essaps having such relatively low rates of pregnancy per incidence of intercourse) the reports are considered mythological and bordering on pornographic.
The Sadique is then removed to seclusion for one week. Once out of the presence of the female in estrus, his fertile state recedes. For a Rapaxian male, the quickening leading to estrus and the act of intercourse are not pleasant times. More akin to a slow-developing migraine where you finally vomit violently and get relief. For an Essap it can be compared to having a erection constantly for 3-7 days before having a few seconds of intercourse followed by a painful extended ejaculation. However, Rapaxian males don't have an actual erection at this time, only a lot of discomfort in their testicles as sperm production, normally dormant, begins and reaches a peak. Penile tumescence is only triggered by the sight of the melasmic coloration on the female's body coupled with pheromone release.
Interbreeding is not encouraged, though valuable mutational strains can arise from it. This amount of effort is expended because "Ever as you wish" in matters of reproduction is a sacrosanct concept amongst the Rapaxians and if a woman wishes it, they do all they can to oblige her.
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