Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Behavioral Observations

 A miracle has occurred! For the first time since childhood, Kratos left the island, completely on his own! I was very surprised to find him out for a walk in the jungle. He is now over seven hours old -- at least six of those hours were spent on an extended island vacation! Unlike many of the other first generation norns, Kratos doesn't have an unique genes that would discourage or encourage him from spending time with the others. I guess it's just his personality! Not all Norn behavior can be chalked up to genetics, after all. Maybe he just learned that I would bring him all the carrots he could eat while he was there.

Speaking of odd Norn behavior, Presea is one of the worst eaters I've ever had in C1! Her life force regularly drops into the low 60s or even the 50s, but she always comes around and eats before she would starve. Presea has also turned into quite a loner, spending all her time between the wishing well and cannon. She doesn't even seem interested in the lift or any company aside from the goldfish in its bowl. Remember that she has a genetic alteration that makes her become lonely more slowly than normal, but I didn't expect her to be a hermit!

Raine made her way to the island, where she met up with Mithos. Unlike Kratos, Raine seems to be smart enough not to munch on weeds every few minutes! Maybe it's her Forest Norn genetics at work -- her breed has some additional instincts that make herbs seem attractive and weeds repulsive. Purple Mountain Norns and the three breeds that came with the game all lack these instincts, although I have tried to teach everyone that weeds are bad news!

Seles also has a tendency to keep to herself, although she spent some time with Raine, riding the boat back and forth between the island and dock, before the later got seasick and returned to land. She seems to like the area around the Great Tree the best -- I hope she's smart enough to avoid the deathcap mushroom at its base. Seles does seem slightly more inclined than the average Norn to slap, but she isn't exceptionally violent at all. She has yet to show any interest in boy Norns though -- maybe it's for the best for now, if she's a tad slap-happy.

On his way through the caves under the music room, Kratos encountered Zelos, and the two seemed to be sizing each other up. Zelos even stood as tall as possible, no doubt trying to make himself look tough! Kratos had no need for such showiness and soon moved on. Notice the copious amounts of cheese at their feet -- I was experimenting with cobs and ending up with a ridiculous surplus of it! I have no doubt all these hungry Creatures will eat it up sooner or later. Zelos and Colette in particular are excellent eaters and have been hanging around in this area.


Kratos completed his circumnavigation of the world... and ended up right back on his island! Luckily he brought some company this time, in the form of the second-oldest Norn, Regal. The two of them took ill shortly after arriving in the island caves. Luckily, they had already quarantined themselves! They both recovered quickly enough that I'm not even sure what illness they had.

Sheena has been hanging around the beehives for some time. She often gets company from Lloyd, Colette, and most frequently Zelos. She still slaps him on a regular basis, but it seems to make her happy and doesn't discourage him at all! Note that his life force still hovers around 90%. There's no genetic reason for it. Seles, the other Wood Norn, shares almost all of his genes and has a normal life force. Is he just that good at taking care of himself?

It wouldn't be Albia without another birth (egg?) announcement! Colette laid her first egg, fathered by Lloyd. It has a very cute red and yellow shell, like its father, but unfortunately I didn't take a picture of it! Colette's life force didn't drop below 75% the whole time she was pregnant, and then only dipped into the high 60s after she laid her egg. I was very impressed, as the other girls -- especially Sheena and Presea -- suffered much more from their pregnancies.

I had to separate Lloyd and Colette so they could get some sleep. They are constantly distracting each other when they're together! Lloyd spend his nap time in what I'm sure he thought was a better way, playing with a ball in the music room. He did eventually try out the harp, but he didn't seem as enthused as he was over the ball! As expected, Lloyd does seem to be more distractable and easily amused than the other Norns. It's both annoying and endearing.

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