Avowed - Kai Romance 1/?
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Avowed - Kai Romance 1/?
The real reason we didn't get an in-game romance for Kai. Those Aumauan teeth are something else.
My Aumaua Envoy, Ulalume 🍄🪻 Dreamy Court Augur with a penchant for frost magic and axes 💕
“…would it be alright if I fell in love with you?”
Stell and Kai stealing a moment from my fic, How the Sand Slips Through Our Fingers.
(Really proud of how this turned out!)
Sticking a few bullet-pointed aumaua biology + a couple of sociology headcanons behind the readmore (incl. some to do with birth/reproduction):
They have a nictitating membrane that deploys while swimming underwater and in combat, among other situations where the eyes might need protection.
They can also roll their eyes WAY back in their heads to protect them, though this leaves them temporarily blind (stealing from great white shark biology here because it’s fun - this adaptation probably exists because great white sharks DON’T have a nictitating membrane, but fantasy species = I can do what I want forever).
They have tapetum lucidum and can see quite well in low light. This adaptation allows Kana to carry on reading late into the night - and also to scare the shit out of his companions when they stumble out of their tents to be greeted by a pair of bleary, faintly glowing eyes.
They can see for long distances underwater and have better vision in murky/gloomy water conditions.
Their range of colour vision is narrower/less sensitive than most kith and they’re more prone to colourblindness.
An obvious one, but: the teeth grow back! It takes a couple of weeks to fully regrow a single tooth; longer if it’s a full set. They also come in very early, so babies are only on milk for a short period of time before graduating to solid(-ish) food.
They need a certain amount of meat in their diet to stay healthy. Fish is preferred, but other kinds can sub in if it’s not available.
Another obvious one: they can hold their breath for a VERY long time underwater, even longer if they dive regularly/have taken time to train their lungs. They’re less sensitive to pressure changes as well, so can dive deeper/surface faster without risking the bends (though they’re not immune).
A lot of aumaua-dominated cultures have developed complex systems of diving hand signals to communicate - these get used on land as well as underwater.
Their scales dry out extremely easily in certain climates and if they’ve been on land too long. Many, many potions and lotions of varying effectiveness exist to combat this. It’s a million times worse if you’re an aumaua fire godlike, so pour one out for my girl Ahimi.
Multiple births are pretty common among them - lots of twins, especially. They have far fewer fertile windows per year than humans do. Also, no periods.
Pregnancy and childbirth generally go a lot easier for them than for folk and elves, though complications can still occur. Death and life-changing injuries are incredibly rare; most people recover quickly.
The gestation period is relatively short and babies are tiny upon birth. They’re born wrapped in a translucent egg sac, which is then placed in water for a while so they can finish cooking; it’s part of a midwife’s job to first check the sac for perforations and then to keep an eye on the pool to make sure all is well. Guardianship of this pool tends to be viewed as a sacred task in Huana tribes, entrusted to the highest-ranking Mataru warriors. In Rauatai, the pools are communal; a lot of social status rests on how fancy your egg pool is and who you have to share it with. Giving birth in and/or immersing your eggs in luminous-adra-enriched water is a growing trend among the very wealthy.
in pillars 1 you meet kana rua
in pillars 2 you meet maia rua
all i'm saying is that if we don't meet a 3rd rua sibling in avowed i'm going to riot
various island aumaua portraits from pillars of eternity II: deadfire
Akona and Sîdha got a makeover, and then Onŵen will be the mage, because I struggle with liking Elaris - despite having reached Fior with her. 😅