#ill edit the others to have that tag when im able to access a computer again

[cinnamonest]

*smacks lips* could we get more on birb xiao, please? like fem!darling voluntarily holding him bc she’s tired or whatnot, and him just going “!?..….. ( ´͈ ᵕ `͈ʃƪ)♡”

Only the most suitable of posts for International Xiao Day. I'm gonna start adding a tag to these as well since I've had enough of them to be worthy of it's own tag lmao

Also this video popped up on my yt feed and when I tell you it made me think of those posts I audibly wheezed--

Internally, he's overjoyed when you initiate such a thing. An important mate retention behavior is physical affection! Leaning against one another and nuzzling their heads against one another is a sign of bond and love. They often rest this way, just side by side and leaning against each other, so don't be surprised if he just leans his weight against you and stays like that for a while. His instincts tell him this means you are finally accepting him!

...This also means you are adequately prepared to breed, then. He has done enough, all his hard work has paid off. The hundreds of textile objects lining the room, the two chests in the corner you got to fill with all the metallic objects and nice rocks he got you (since you didn't have the heart to throw them away), the room vigilance and scaring away threats to your safety (read: inn visitors), the grooming and preening (which you first kinda rejected, insisting there are no ticks or mites on you and you would know if there were, but he just had to make sure...), it was all worth it. You haven't gotten knocked up yet, but maybe now your body will be more receptive.

Once you do show him that affection, he feels more comfortable engaging in some behaviors you found made a weirded-out face to before... made him feel all embarrassed about it. But you don't mind now, right? So it's okay if he bumps his head against your neck and nuzzles into it.

You're still getting used to the sleep schedule -- he sleeps in intervals. You get awoken to said neck-nuzzling quite a bit. It's a mate affection behavior, but also quite literally a mating-initiating behavior. You've been conditioned to open your legs whenever you feel that nuzzling, sometimes going through the whole process groggy and half-asleep... Whenever he's initiating it, though, he also sort of sits straight up, puffs his chest out a bit -- this is a common male behavior to make themselves seem big when trying to impress (if he can't be tall, he might as well try his best to seem broad...)

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And yes I do have more from my research! Except it's... a lot less sweet and wholesome (violence warning for below cut). If my research has taught me anything it's that male birds of virtually any species are absolute bastards but male cockatoos and cockatiels in particular are literal demons. I love that this one site said like "the male is almost always the instigator of sexual aggression" like oh who would've guessed

Male birds of many kinds engage in behaviors known as mate guarding and mate retention. Mate guarding is exactly what it sounds like, the practice of a male animal maintaining constant physical presence near the female to prevent any other male from mating with her, and violent hostility to any outsiders approaching her.

Notably, for some (aforementioned demon bird species), one of the factors leading to stress that can cause the male to become aggressive (which breeders are advised to avoid by not putting two males in the same room) is e y e c o n t a c t with other males. As in, if they look another male in the eye, they will immediately choose violence. After said violence, they become so stressed the only outlet is more aggressive, repetitive mating, often to the degree that it incapacitates the female for a time.

Mate retention refers to acts the male does to himself or her to maintain her choice (or, sometimes, "choice") by maintaining the pair bond. Sometimes, this means the male makes continuous improvements to himself or reinforces her choice by re-performing mating rituals/dances, nest maintenance, lots of preening, etc, basically saying "look, I'm still your best option! I care about you! No need to go running off to someone else!" sort of thing.

Other times, it's a bit... less pleasant. Not so much seeking approval from her and more forcing her to have no other choice, such as blocking nest exits to prevent the female from leaving, or even incapacitating her by injury. Notably, this does not only occur in newly formed mate pairs, but will persist in even pairs that have been mates for years. The more threatened the male feels that the female is going to abandon him, reject him, cuck him etc, the more likely he is to be more violent and drastic on these measures.

One really intriguing method of... mate retention, if it can even be called such at that point, is a bird in which, to prevent the female from leaving the nest, the male forcibly plucks out feathers so that she can't fly. That way he can perform whatever avian tasks he needs to and come back to a nice sedentary bird wife...

Living in a dark room all day with nothing to do gets beyond simply "boring". It's mind-numbing. You've begged Xiao countless times to take you outside and he just refuses, huffs and grumbles and comes up with reasons as to why he can't. Too risky, he says, it's dangerous. You're safest tucked away in the nest. Which he put in a lot of effort to make just for you, you know.

It's a monotonous endeavor, but you quite literally have nothing better to do, so you simply wait for Verr, maybe sit at the door and see if she passes by to call out to her and get her to come in early. But today, you beg her to just unblock the door, whatever contraption he put in front of it that keeps you from opening it up. She's hesitant, understandably, so you tell her you promise you will find an excuse that doesn't make it clear she's the one who let you out... she finally sighs and agrees.

You don't do much. You get Yanxiao to make you some food, you stretch your legs, you wander out to the balcony and lean against the railing and look out at the nice view the inn provides.

And suddenly, you just... go stiff.

It's very silent. You don't hear anything. You just... feel. Your skin crawls and you feel your chest suddenly tighten, as if even without actually sensing it, you know exactly what you're going to see when you turn around.

Not that you actually get time to turn around. Xiao just grabs your shoulders, spins you around, looks you up and down. Why are you out here? What are you doing?

Nor does he actually give you time to respond, he doesn't need to hear your excuses. It makes a bit of a scene as he picks you up and whisks you back to your room, shutting the door behind you before throwing you back down onto the... well, the floor, which is now one big soft bed area.

But then, he kneels down on his knees, pulling you to sit upright and looking you all over. What's this?? A bruise?? How did you -- wait, no, he gave you that one, disregard that... okay, other than that, you seem to not have any injuries. For which you are very lucky. What were you thinking? He scowls as he speaks. He was only gone a few short hours, and you were out there trying to get yourself killed! He can't turn his back for one minute without you doing something stupid.

You manage to convince him that the binds tying the doorknob to a hook on the outside wall just came off... No matter. He will simply have to move a cabinet or something to barricade it instead. Simple. He's frustrated (makes sure to rail you a few good times to get out said frustration), but forgiving.

The second time you convince Verr to help you out -- to move the thing blocking the door -- she's hesitant. You have to convince her you've memorized how long it takes him to complete certain tasks.

And that time, it goes over smoothly -- you take a nice walk outside, you drink some tea, and then you reluctantly put yourself back in your dark little prison before he'd be back, and he's none the wiser. It works a third time, a fourth time. You get a little more confident with each time. You stay out longer each time.

You're not sure which time it is -- somewhere upwards of ten -- that you finally get caught. While talking to another person, no less. Just some nice man that was asking you about how long it takes to get from here to the harbor, you were politely responding and then you saw his smile fall and he got a confused look on his face, looking just over your shoulder.... You feel yourself stiffen.

You don't get time to speak or anything either -- he's not the type to argue with you in front of others anyway, but besides, just seeing you outside your nest sets off some sense of alarm in his head, especially seeing that you were interacting with a human male in his own territory. Voluntarily, too.

Which is why he's not just mad, but hurt when he scoops you up without a word and pulls you back inside once more. You were being nice to him, he thought he had done enough. Clearly, he's done something to upset you, or... No, he just hasn't done enough for you to be content.

And you insist that it's just because you wanted to go outside, but that only proves his point, and mostly gets disregarded. If you were satisfied, you wouldn't have this "urge" to go outside. You only have such an urge because there's some condition that hasn't been met.

More gifts, perhaps. He doesn't bring as many as he used to prior to nesting. You've likely begun to doubt his provider capabilities. Or perhaps you're insatiable, your body wants you to go out and breed with other males because he hasn't bred you enough. He'll have to come back more regularly. Okay, so that's an issue resolved, now he knows what to do and can relax a bit.

But he's still mad. Pries your legs apart... Okay, you don't appear to have been mated while he was gone. What a relief, he managed to get you in time before you did. You huff and pull yourself back, say some mean words about how he's too overprotective and mention that nothing has happened all these times--

You clamp your mouth shut too late. All these times? You've done this multiple times?? Well, now he's really mad, and how, then, is he supposed to know if you've been out mating with others this whole time? You probably, no, definitely have been. There's no other reason you'd be doing such a thing, leaving the safety and comfort of the nest he built for you.

You feel some sort of dreadful sickness in your stomach when he goes quiet, glaring, and looks down at your feet. Premonition, but of what you're not certain.

He's silent about it. Sort of shuffles over. Grabs your leg with one hand. Grabs your foot with the other. You kick a bit, but to no avail, you open your mouth and are just about to question what he's doing when you cut off in a screech when he twists his hands.

Your thrashing and flailing and crying at least convinces him the second ankle isn't necessary. He can't trust Verr to not let you out, but he supposes she can be consulted for medical assistance... So he gets her help fixing you up. Thankfully, it's just a fracture, not a break... but he makes sure to inquire that you still won't be able to stand on it, right? This is very important, he says.

She nods, and just sort of works without speaking, knows better than to do anything at this point, and gives you painkillers with a silently mouthed sorry before leaving.

It's perfect. He won't have to worry. Now you can't fly away... But he'll still block the door just to be safe.