Backstory
Pre-game
Found by Keepers of the Moon while fighting a beastclan raid on a caravan in the Shroud, Z'phyr and Zifeara were adopted by the cat people. Their matriarch was named Pahwe Sekyii. The two were bound for an orphanage and thus had nametags attached to them from the get go. At first, the miqo'te were reluctant to keep an au ra child, but it quickly became clear that Z'phyr would display extreme distress upon being separated from her, working himself into an inconsolable panic. More often than not, he had a tendency to put the end of Zifeara's tail in his mouth when upset to settle down. He technically had four sisters; Zifeara and his adoptive mother's own biological daughters. His mother learned as much about Seeker customs as she could so that her new son wouldn't grow up oblivious to his own people, something that, in hindsight, she did an excellent job with. With a few glaring exceptions, Z'phyr can pass as a born and raised natural Seeker.
The fall of Dalamud occurred when he was hardly eighteen and he had been too inexperienced to think of joining the draft. He was out hunting with Zifeara south of their home territory, but had they been any further north, they would have been wiped out. The only members of his family that escaped are Zifeara and his oldest adoptive sister. He remains in the Shroud for five more years to help reestablish his clan for his sister's sake, but then traveled to Ul'dah with Zifeara to make new lives for themselves.
ARR
Personal Seeker Lore
There is so much here, I will get it all down eventually, I promise. I want to make clear that these are my own PERSONAL headcanons, just the rules I play my own miqo'te by; you don't have to agree with any of these, but it's important to Z's character to understand them as I see it.
Seekers vs Keepers
I imagine Seekers work similarly to lions and Keepers operate more like hyenas; patriarchal vs matriarchal yes, but with advanced sentience and a higher value on individual life. A young male Seeker may leave his family's tribe at any time, but can just as easily choose to stay, while male Keepers are encouraged to leave as soon as they come of age that they may find their place in the world. Males in both cultures are viewed with a wary eye as they wander, but Keepers are more likely to shelter one for the night, especially if said Keeper is a lady looking for a proper mate. Keepers may or may not know their fathers depending on if he chose to settle down with their mother or was simply a fling while passing through, but as tight knit as Keeper families are, there is often no shortage of help to raise a child. Seeker families also take a community approach to raising children, though they promote a loyalty to your mate much more fiercely.
Hierarchy (Tia vs Nunh)
Aside from the obvious societal differences, tias and nunhs differ physically as well. Tias have a lower testosterone level as a baseline and tend to produce less sperm outside of their yearly rut. Tias can remain with their tribal family so long as their sire remains the nunh, but though not forced to, are hard-pressed to leave if their father is dethroned. They of course can challenge the new nunh and should they win, they could cede control to their sire. If they lose, they must leave.
Generally, a dethroned nunh loses the rites to his females, though it is not the end of his family. More often than not, the tribe is taken over by a younger, more fit male and he begins his life as the head of the tribe by claiming his rival's daughters, not his wives. The wives of the disgraced nunh may leave the tribe with him, living as an offshoot on their own, but he is now by all means a tia.
Social Customs (Dancing)
Seekers of the Sun traditionally have a dance for everything, be it a standard celebration, a proposal of marriage, the ACT of marriage, the death of a loved one- you name it, there is a dance for it. It is customary for fathers to pass dances to sons, mothers to daughters, but should a young miqo'te wish to learn the opposite gender's dance, it is entirely up to the family to decide what to do. Some families are of course more accommodating and accepting of their children than others, but that is not always the case. Adopted Seeker children may or may not learn these dances depending on their upbringing, potentially putting them at a disadvantage amongst their own kind as adults.
Mating (and Marking)
Once a year on a Seeker's birthday, they will enter their mating cycle; either a heat for females or a rut for males, beginning at around fifteen years of age. Male and female miqo'te have very different experiences. A female's heat is often simple and short; she becomes much more fertile and receptive to a partner, abnormally wet and pliant for maybe two days with the intention being to all but ensure she gives her nunh a child. Females can easily choose to forgo the participation of a male at all, spending it alone with toys or even another female should they so choose.
Rutting is much more complicated. Male miqo'te go into rut with the intent to either claim a female to start their own tribe or more likely, challenge a nunh for control of his harem. They are flooded with testosterone and really, it turns them into a nunh for a time. If denied access to mating, their temporarily unquenchable sexdrive will build upon itself until it turns to aggression, primed to overpower a more experienced but aging rival and subsequently mating all his females. They become stupid animals, throwing themselves around until they are either victorious or exhausted.
Miqo'te settle into a very distinct position when breeding to secure a mate: the dominant mounts the submissive, right arm crossing their chest firmly to lock them in place, then sinks their teeth as far into the submissive's right shoulder (just between their neck and shoulder blade) as they can until blood is drawn. The resultant wound will likely be agitated throughout the mating cycle or honeymoon period with the intent to cause scaring- the lasting proof of a claimed miqo'te. If the mark does not scar, it is taken as a sign of a disadvantageous or cursed union and in most cases, the pair will separate. There is a MASSIVE weight placed upon a miqo'te's claim, to the point that a claimed miqo'te is unlikely to be taken up by another should they lose/leave their mate.
