Lifespan

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Child nursing period

Wolfrider children will generally nurse from their mother for a period of about 18 months. During the last few months of this period, parents will start to feed the child on soft solid foods.

Child development of sending abilities (incl. dreams)

Children are able to receive the sending of parents and other adults from the beginning, but it is not always clear that they understand the contents of sending (except for basic emotions) until about the same time they begin to exhibit understanding of spoken words -- children may begin to heed a parent's sending as early as 12 months, but on average around 18 month to 2 years.

Children themselves will begin to send around the same time, but the content of their sending tends to mirror that of their command of spoken language. A child's sending tends to be simplistic and emotion-laden.

Because children have to learn control of sending, they are prone to "spilling" their emotions in uncontrolled sendings, and may disturb the entire tribe by sending vividly during dreams. This tendency may last through childhood and only end with the onset of puberty. The existence of their soul-name (whether they know it yet or not) will help to guard against "too much" being spilled.

First wolf-bonding

The average age for a wolfrider child to form their first wolf-bond is age 7, but actual bonding may occur up to 2 years earlier, and up to 3 or 4 years later, depending on the individual. Children most often bond with wolf cubs, but they do sometimes bond with yearlings and even adults.

Soul-name knowledge

Whether or not a child is born knowing his/her own soul-name varies by individual. Some do; others only discover it later, on their Very Long Walk or on a similar soul-name quest. It is unheard-of for an elf not to know their soul-name after the age of sexual maturity. Recognition will not happen to an elf who does not know their soul-name.

Sexual maturation

Wolfrider children reach sexual maturity between age 15 and 17. Once they do, they are capable of experiencing Recognition, and siring or bearing children themselves.

A child's scent changes distinctively once sexual maturity has been reached. Adult wolfriders are able to smell this change, and they will not respond to a child sexually until scent tells them that the change has happened. Culturally, the wolfriders have a strong taboo against approaching a child/young-adult for sexual relations until s/he has made the first approach. Generally, wolfriders know that a child is likely to become sexually curious at around two-eights of age (16), and to be considered fully adult at three-eights (24).

Overall outline of elf lifespan, growth, development

As the above numbers indicate, elf child development is similar to the development of human children, even though the gestation period is longer.

Once an elf reaches about age 30 (or in wolfrider estimation, four-eights of age, or 32), they will generally have achieved their full growth. After that time, they enter "the long afternoon of elven adulthood" -- a physical and mental peak that lasts for most of their lives.

The tribe considers anyone over about age 500 to be an "elder", but, since the elves do not count years in any precise way, this recognition of "elder" status is not exact. Males are considered to be elders pretty much when their facefur comes in, which happens at age 500 (+/- 25 years); females do not change in any physical way. The elves generally "just know" when someone has attained the right age and stature. But aside from males having facefur, elders are not physically inferior to other elves -- they are not slower or less strong. Elf bodies are able to maintain a peak of condition for a very long time, and the presence of a healer in a tribe will assist with this repair. (The River Twine tribe, having been without a healer for 700+ years, *is* seeing its elders exhibit some effects of wear-and-tear. Having a healer again will fix this.)

Unlike pureblooded elves, wolfriders are mortal. The River Twine Holt tribe is aware of this, having been informed of it by the pureblooded High One healers who were able to examine the half-breeds, as well as by Feverease, the tribe's 1st generation healer, who was pureblooded. They do not, however, know what the extent of their natural lifespan might be.

In theory, wolfriders may attain 2,500 years of age, or thereabouts. In practice, however, no wolfrider has ever lived close to that long -- even with healers, and with the option of being put into wrapstuff, their lives are just too dangerous. (Look up who lived the longest!) Living the wolfrider lifestyle, even the pureblooded elves who accompanied Wolfsister to found the tribe fared no better, and none survived past (look this up too).

The oldest member of the living tribe is now Kestrel, at age 931 (as of 2503).

Again in theory, were a wolfrider (or other mortal elf) to survive to the end of their natural lifespan, it is assumed that their ageing and deterioration would be similar to that of their childhood and growth. A wolfrider's life consists of a relatively short (30 year) period of growth, then a very, very long plateau of peak condition, and therefore is likely followed by another relatively short (probably 30-50 year) decline.

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