-Poul Anderson, A Circus of Hells IN Anderson, Young Flandry (Riverdale, NY, January 2010), pp. 193-365 AT CHAPTER FIFTEEN, p. 315.
"The man held forth his hand in Terran wise. Tacheyr clasped it between warm dry fingers and leathery palm. They had no further amicable gesture to exchange, since Flandry lacked a tail."
-Poul Anderson, A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows IN Anderson, Flandry's Legacy (Riverdale, NY, March 2012), pp. 339-606 AT IX, p. 454.
"'Farewell, my lord.' The Shalmuan knelt, coiled his tail around Flandry's ankles, crawled out and was gone."
-The Rebel Worlds, CHAPTER THREE, p. 395.
"[Rovian of Ferra's] ponderous tail, the claws on his feet and fingers, the saber teeth in his jaws, could deal murderous blows; he was also an excellent marksman."
-ibid., p. 398.
There is no suggestion that the ferocious Rovian uses his formidable tail to express inter-species affection! But who knows what the Ferrans do among themselves?
8 comments:
Rovian always seemed like someone who would rather "hug you with his teeth."
Kaor, Paul!
Of course Ferrans would have their own gestures of affection and friendship!
Ad astra! Sean
I get the impression that Ferrans are social, but less so than human beings. More like lions than wolves.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Yes, but lions are far more social, say, than tigers.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: yes, they are, but in a different way and smaller scale than wolves. Wolves are in many ways behaviorally very similar to human beings in a 'state of nature'. It's not an accident that wolves were the first species to move in with us, by many thousands of years.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
No surprise! Many, many people have dogs for pets, but not many of us are foolish enough to have pet lions. For amply obvious reasons!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: if cats were the size of lions, they'd be radically unsafe. Or even the size of leopards or large dogs.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree, cats are miniature tigers!
I have read that cheetahs are the only large felines it's safe to have more or less like pets.
Ad astra! Sean
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