The Leopard and the Tiger.

Around the world, various families of shapeshifters exist, some becoming felines, canines, birds, sea going mammals, reptiles ectera. Usaully dimorph children change around eleven or twelve, or at least they should...

When Jack was four a accident occured. Nobody's fault really, just a nasty car accident, Jack had severed arteries, broken legs, and a crushed arm. Certainly enough to trigger a premature first change. Sadly a newly changed tiger will certainly be confused and scared, to the misfourtune of Jack's dad.

Around the same time Jack's close in age niece was mucking about with a friend of her's, they knocked over a pot of scalding water on Piper (the niece), her poor friend never walked again, considering she came face to face with a clouded leoperd she's lucky...

Now it's disatrous for four year olds to start shifting, they can't control themselves. So the two were isolated in the wildnerness until they were nine (although they look more twelvish, due to maturing at their animal form's rate while tranformed), in order to learn control. Now they're being reintergrated into society.

edited 2nd Sep '11 8:40:59 AM by Zolnier

Looks interesting. What year of school are they going into? As if they were big ten-year-olds, or immature twelve-year-olds, or were you just planning on splitting the difference?

Immature twelve year olds. They struggle.

What exactly this means? are they left completely alone? or are there adults were-people around?

They had a caretaker, she was a decent mother figure. Also how can I explain why bird therianthropes and reptile therianthropes have super strength, speed, agility like the others?

edited 26th Jun '11 7:20:05 PM by Zolnier

why would you need to explain?

Because it seems odd that a being who turns into a fragile creature with hollow bones would have those? On the other hand most animals don't have ultra powerful healing factors...

Also any reasons why premature shifting could be awful?

Their bodies are smaller and still "developing" making the change more drastic, adults bodies are already developed and fixed, not undergoing adition changers, or any blablablah like that.

Hollow bones aren't more fragile, that is a myth.

Also, a four year old really has no ability to control themselves, Jack spent most of his first year in a tantruming state, shifting out of his control until he only had enough energy to scream. Also, what powers would you expect a tiger child and a cougar one to have?

edited 27th Jun '11 3:04:18 AM by Zolnier

So anyone have any suggestions on shifter growth, although I doubt that there's any thirteen year olds among them being mistaken for twenty somethings, Jack and Piper are rather unusaul cases by the way; it's not normal for their kind to look twelve at nine? Also what could be some terms for different shifter kinds? Like felines, reptiles, birds, canines, aquatic mammals, primates?

edited 28th Jun '11 11:11:08 PM by Zolnier

First thing I noticed; the shapeshifters die early The average lifespan wouldn't be higher than fifty, I think.

As for terms, you mean scientific like therianthrope? If not, why not just use were<animal> for everything?

Do you have a better outline for the story yet?

Well it's primarily about Piper and Jack's teacher discovering and wanting to exploit their healing factor. Where did I indicate they'd die early?

edited 27th Jun '11 4:34:40 PM by Zolnier

I think he just meant because they age quickly. Is that balanced out by the healing factor? Do they live even longer because of it?

Like I said, shifters don't spend enough time in animal form for the difference in maturination to make much difference. And the healing factor has basically made them immortal.

The latter seems more important than the former.

So they live forever unless someone delivers a one hit kill?

Yeah, your best bet with killing them is dismembering, decapitation, or some kind of explosive. Also, any issues Jack and Piper being eight in the bodies of near adolescents could have?

edited 3rd Jul '11 5:46:04 PM by Zolnier

Attraction without the maturity to develop any sort of romantic relationship? (ie, sexual attraction without romantic attraction)

So likely difficulties they'd have with their family?

Growing up quickly probably means that they want to have the agency people their "age" do, but lack the maturity for it.

So any problems living in the wildnerness for years could cause?

Poor social skills, because they essentially built their own culture and mannerisms from the ground up. Culture clash. Are there any traditions they built up that they can't continue? Mid-morning runs through the wild, for instance.

edited 27th Jun '11 5:43:09 PM by RedWren

They like to go hunting with tooth and claw, skinny dipping in a nearby lake, sleeping in a clearing.

Huh. I wonder what losing those energy work-offs will do to them.

Speaking of, what do they eat? For instance, can they only eat raw meat as cats?