Yourbody is at home one day. What is a day? What is home?
Home is where the heart is. Not really. Home is where you spawned or it's where plan to be when you attempt to spawn... you know like a salmon?
Let's say you have recently chosen a spawning place, a hearth, a home. You spend the day sprucing it up a little. It is in a good spot because it is safe, sheltered, and close to a food source. But is has drawbacks too, it is not the best temperature. It is too hot because it is near a heat source. That's normal because heat vents are commonly associated with good food. But you can fix this by getting cooling pets to live in your home.
The other problem is the smell. This is also related to the proximity to the food sources. Now you can fix the small as well by collecting things that smell nice. But don't collect things that smell like food or else you'll attract scavengers to your home. You want your home to be attractive to potential mates, and you want it to be hidden from predators. It should also be safe and comfortable for your children when you finally have them.
So you set out to go gathering. You aren't sure where to start. You have not before seen the things you need to collect. But you have heard about them. Actually you saw them in your old spawning home. You should have taken some with you. So now you think maybe you should return home. Mother is probably still alive. Maybe she will give you some? Or maybe not. She might try to eat you. Hmm. Dilemma. Classic.
Well you could try to call out to her from a safe distance and see if she remembers you.
You do that. Maybe the journey was exciting. Maybe one day later you will write a story about the journey. But for now lets skip to this part: you call to Mother.
"Mother!" you call out using speaking sounds. Words. You haven't spoken like this in years.
You wait.
Nothing at first. Then a rumble. Then you can feel and hear deep vibrations and sounds coming from your old spawn point, your nursery, your old home. Mother is there but she's not speaking back. She is signalling:
"BEWARE!"
Mother is approaching. You can hear her and feel her moving boldly towards your position. She shows no sign of recognition. She is angry and hungry. She pings.
You don't need to ping because you remember her and know how large she is. Her pinging will inform her that you are small and easy to catch. If she doesn't recognize you will she eat you? If she does recognize you will she eat you anyways? You could run, but you smell something now. The sweetlings. Just the thing you were looking for. The sweetlings are growing all over and around the bower, the creche, Mother's cradle. You want them.
Maybe you could grab some and get away before she gets to you. Maybe not.
You try. If you don't take these now you might have to search a long time before finding more. A long search is dangeous too. So you act now. You release a strong scent hoping it will distract Mother. Then you dart one way, towards the nearest sweetling. Mother stops.
She is stays still a moment and then she begin to vibrate. You can feel the waves coming off of her. She is vibrating with great strength and frequency. What is it? Wait! You remember this feeling. She is laughing! Now you're confused. What is so funny? You wonder why she hasn't spoken to you. At least she doesn't seem angry anymore.
Finally she signals with a scent and sound while continuing to vibrate with laughter.
"NEGATIVE MATING; NOT COMPATIBLE; MY CHILD"
Now you begin vibrating with mirth of your own. You realize what you did and, as embarrassing as it was, it probably saved your life. Your scent glands are so new and you are only barely mature so the mistake is not surprising. In your panic you signalled an invitation to have sex! Such a scent carries with it enough information to confirm close relations. So even though you've lost your baby language and cannot talk with Mother, she was able to recognize you through your offer; which she thankfully rejected.
"PEACE; MY CHILD; SAFE"
She signals again. You will likely never be able to talk as you did with her as a baby but she will not harm you. Her signals put you at ease an you feel she will not object to you helping yourself to a few sweetlings. To test you theory you tentatively gather one near you and then pause expectantly. The sweetling releases a strong waft of its delightful smell in response to being moved. She must know now what you're doing. What will she think?
"GIVE; MY CHILD; PEACE"
---The End---