Stenza Body Language

Pups, who lack the ability to speak, rely very heavily on nonverbal and pseudo-verbal cues to communicate with each other and Stenza adults. The pseudo-verbal side includes calling for attention (the æ sound from which pups get their Stenza name), a croaking/chirruping sound akin to human laughter, and growling and hissing at the "enemy" (whomever that happens to be), among others. Nonverbal communication, however, is chiefly governed by the movements of the ears, from the resting state, to twisted back against the head as a show of aggression or anxiety, to twisted forward or outward, often used when a pup detects something interesting (sometimes, depending on the direction of the interesting thing, one ear will move before the other). A specific indicator, ears twisted back-upward, is an almost universal response to changes in air pressure that indicate bad weather on the horizon.
Post-Shifting, Stenza retain many of these signs (although a bipedal posture eliminates behaviors like pouncing or scuttling on non-horizontal surfaces), although as they age into adulthood, certain things change. The pitch of the croaking laugh drops, and certain sounds are reserved for mimicking the pups who produce them as a form of acknowledgement. Ear movements are mostly involuntary, however, and frequently serve as an indicator of how a conversation is going. (Interestingly, the use of insulating mesh and battle armor in various settings has had a scientifically measurable impact on the way certain signs are used: pups indicate distress in part because they become mostly unable to move their ears, and therefore express themselves freely; adults who wear armor for long periods begin switching to pseudo-vocal signs and slightly exaggerated head movements to compensate for their ears being both covered and pinned.)