* I would like to note that she's slightly too old for the full-blown native-language-acquisition to take hold. Still, she's young enough that she might have some of it. (5yr is the usual cutoff, iirc)
* I think you may be possibly thinking of the situation in not the most helpul of terms. Instead of thinking of broad terms like "trauma" and "isolation", think instead of what she can learn and what she can't lean. For example, she does not have any reference humans, and she's probably going to be very distressed when reintegrated into human society: she was abducted at such young an age that she'll very, very little reference of other human beings being Like Herself. She's also going to have severe difficulties with social regulation, as she was not raised in a society, and cerainly not one in which she was supposed to mature into a member. Think also of tiny daily details - what to wear, how to wear it, what is food, how to eat it. Think of, oh, cultural schemas - on the most basic of levels, she was raised with no gendered,
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Those are some very helpful pieces of advice there. Thank you!
To answer your questions, she is not clothed but her owners recognize that being furless means she'll have trouble with cold temperatures and leave blankets in easy-to-reach places for her to carry around and burrow in. She's allowed access to her companions' heated terrarium for the same reason and because their interactions are considered cute.. Her food is bought from the smugglers, who have cornered the market on "exotic pets" and are very good at keeping competition away. It's marketed as high-end food, but lacks regulations and is fairly low-quality overall.
As for your edit, now I'm wincing at how I worded it. Kindly allow me to facepalm at myself. And I'm sorry for not thinking the phrasing through enough.
She may remember that she's supposed to be clothed (that people are supposed to be clothed), but i'd still expect her to have difficulties actually being clothed (and being comfortable clothed) upon her re-integration. A pervasive chill is something you want to pay attention to, because it's as powerful as hunger or sleep deprivation in reforming behavior
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There's more to language than speech. You've already hinted at gesture, and why it might be problematic, but don't forget writing/drawing (or any other means of communication by manipulating the environment).
What I have to say might not actually be relevant, because for one thing, my experiences are a pretty mild shadow of hers( I had access to reading material, for one thing, which was HUGE, and later a typewriter and eventually a computer and word processor when those were invented), and for another, my brain works differently from a normal human's, always has and always would. BUT, I'm possibly also the only one here who relates to your character in a very direct sense( maybe that's actually what you're writing about obliquely
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Emotional outbursts are a thing I could fit into the story well enough. Would they be the type that starts with a sudden feeling of being overwhelmed, if you don't mind me asking?
I was actually trying to decide whether to include a start-of-menstruation thing in the story, or just say her conditions mean she's hitting puberty late and it won't be an issue until after she's rescued. I'm thinking that her owners would have done some (sponsored by the smugglers) research and realized that it happens in the early teens, but be unprepared for the visceral reaction to her suddenly starting to bleed. The girl herself would be completely unprepared and go into panic-mode.
Teachers -- yesh, what fun. Mine slotted me in the lower ability class on the grounds of a speech defect -- anyone who talked that badly had to be stupid.
One thing that isn't being mentioned is that she's quite likely to be emotionally attached to her owners (as well as her fellow pets). Children (humans in general, really) are geared to emotional attachment, even across species (and even towards non-living objects, as soliders who manage drones can attest) and the fact that they don't see her as intelligent, and she couldn't communicate well, wouldn't change that.
With this as her world, she may not see it as wrong - she has little comparison.
Also, I think that she is not too likely to have attachment disorder, if she was kidnapped at 7, attachment happens in the 2 year range and if she had decent parenting at that age she's capable of attachment.
I had planned that something would provoke her into the "oh crap gotta get out of here" line of thinking, possibly meeting another, less fortunate human whose owners had his thumbs cut off to prevent escape attempts. Do you think that would be a big enough upset?
It would depend on the closeness of her relationship to her owners vs. her own sense of independence. I'd kind of assume she feels somewhat emotionally like they are her parents - who else would she have for a parent child relationship bedsides them? But, if she has close relationships with others - say the aquatic pets, she might be more independent from her owners. It'll depend on how you frame it, I think.
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* I think you may be possibly thinking of the situation in not the most helpul of terms. Instead of thinking of broad terms like "trauma" and "isolation", think instead of what she can learn and what she can't lean. For example, she does not have any reference humans, and she's probably going to be very distressed when reintegrated into human society: she was abducted at such young an age that she'll very, very little reference of other human beings being Like Herself. She's also going to have severe difficulties with social regulation, as she was not raised in a society, and cerainly not one in which she was supposed to mature into a member. Think also of tiny daily details - what to wear, how to wear it, what is food, how to eat it. Think of, oh, cultural schemas - on the most basic of levels, she was raised with no gendered, ( ... )
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To answer your questions, she is not clothed but her owners recognize that being furless means she'll have trouble with cold temperatures and leave blankets in easy-to-reach places for her to carry around and burrow in. She's allowed access to her companions' heated terrarium for the same reason and because their interactions are considered cute.. Her food is bought from the smugglers, who have cornered the market on "exotic pets" and are very good at keeping competition away. It's marketed as high-end food, but lacks regulations and is fairly low-quality overall.
As for your edit, now I'm wincing at how I worded it. Kindly allow me to facepalm at myself. And I'm sorry for not thinking the phrasing through enough.
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I was actually trying to decide whether to include a start-of-menstruation thing in the story, or just say her conditions mean she's hitting puberty late and it won't be an issue until after she's rescued. I'm thinking that her owners would have done some (sponsored by the smugglers) research and realized that it happens in the early teens, but be unprepared for the visceral reaction to her suddenly starting to bleed. The girl herself would be completely unprepared and go into panic-mode.
Spaying would be a risk, yeah.
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With this as her world, she may not see it as wrong - she has little comparison.
Also, I think that she is not too likely to have attachment disorder, if she was kidnapped at 7, attachment happens in the 2 year range and if she had decent parenting at that age she's capable of attachment.
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