LIFE CYCLE
EGGS
RexBirbs lay eggs in nests, the most common ones are made out of dry leaves but some RexBirbs might rather make fur nests, cotton nests, leather nests and/or some other materials, it depends mostly on where they live and how far they would be willing to go to find exotic materials.
The eggs are usually 4 inches (10 centimeters) to 6 inches (15 centimeters) sized.
LAYING EGGS
Traditional RexBirbs usually sit on their eggs for them to be born, but some other RexBirbs use fire Gaia Stones or other kinds of technology to keep their eggs warm, yet all of them need to guard the nest to make sure nothing will steal their eggs.
When the chicks are born they already have their floating forearms and are usually so lightweight that they can float.
They can be born with the following sex: Male, female, intersex or sexless (more details about it in Reproduction section).
CHILDHOOD
During their childhood RexBirbs chicks must be often fed (see more about it in “Diet” section), since they use much of their energy to grow up and also to play with each other. While playing, chicks can learn how to better control the floating abilities of their forearms and start having more control over their flight.
There are two main rituals for RexBirbs when the subject is laying eggs: Family Nest and Community Nest.
Family Nest is when a RexBirb couple lay eggs they will raise as their children, it can be done with eggs they gave birth themselves or eggs that they found and decided to take care of.
Community Nest is when a lot of RexBirbs eggs are taken care of all together by a bigger group of Caregivers, those Caregivers can be either their biological parents or voluntary adult ones who wish to help raise those eggs.
RexBirbs couples that are not compatible with each other naturally can not have babies in a biological way, but they can adopt an egg from the Community Nest and have them as their own egg. If the new parents offer some special feathers for the great spirit Ultra and kindly energize the egg with their hands, the baby will be born with some features of their parents.
Sometimes two RexBirb chicks can be born from one single egg, which is not considered a good thing to happen since usually one chick is much stronger than the other, which is considered a second yolk RexBirb.
When a second yolk RexBirb is born, they usually don’t live for too long, so it’s common for some RexBirbs to abandon a second yolk chick, keeping the strongest one only, because RexBirbs are already considered fragile, being even more fragile is not good for them. Yet some creatures in Deep Lock think it’s a cruel culture and try to raise second yolk RexBirbs themselves even if they’re not bird-like creatures.
LEARNING
Both Family and Community Nest chicks are teached by Instructors when they reach a certain age, those Instructors are in charge of teaching them how to defend themselves, how to fight, how to survive in nature and they pass their knowledge about the Tepui and what they know about the outside worlds.
ADULTHOOD AND RELATIONSHIPS
When a RexBirb meets someone special they would like to start a more serious relationship, there's a ritual they always do to show their affection to the chosen ones, they search for a pretty branch with beautiful leaves and/or flowers and attach it in the hair of their chosen ones, braiding it together. If the chosen one allows them to do that it means they have accepted their new partner.
But things are way more serious when a RexBirb gives a necklace with a little glass bottle, containing an Eterner inside of it. If both share a necklace like this all RexBirbs and other intelligent anthro creatures in Deep Lock know that their bond is for their whole lives.
TEPUI LICENSE
All RexBirbs that live in the RexNest have a license to prove they were evaluated, tested and approved to live there. The License is given to them by the RexAlpha and when any of them commits any kind of crimes their license is taken from them and they can’t come back to the RexBirb’s Tepui, being called as Wild RexBirbs from the ones who have a License.
OUTDOOR CROPS
Even tho RexBirbs have their own culture and lifestyle, some of them can be very attached to other culture styles and attach it to their own, so it's not uncommon to see RexBirbs celebrating outdoor crops of culture and enjoying foreigner's music.
AGEING
All RexBirbs are ammortals, but not immortal, which means they can't die of age, but can die by other causes, such as diseases or unnatural death causes. When a RexBirb dies their forearms finally stop floating.
BURIAL AND MEMORY
When a RexBirb dies, their bodies are usually cremated and their ashes are blown away by the wind, so the spirits can judge if their souls will return as an intelligent creature or only contribute to nature's resources.
Usually RexBirbs build memory altars even if their beloved one’s bodies are not with them anymore, where they place the beloved one's special feathers and some of their favorite belongings as a way to always remember those who are gone.
--
Credits: RexBirb species created by Seosaurus. Lore ideas by LightGem and Gosetsuki. Written by LightGem. Sketches by LightGem and Gosetsuki.