Entertainment and Pastimes, Hiver
From SOTS
All three of the alien races have music and dance in common, although of course they have very individual interpretations of what a "dance" is.
Hiver dances are very intricate and some of the best can involve thousands of individuals moving in perfect unison. They also prefer choral music and symphonic arrangements for up to two-hundred musicians. So far as entertainments which are unique to their species, they enjoy a language of perfumes and pheromones which is incredibly sophisticated and can create the olfactory equivalent of poetry and painting with scents. A Human in the area would smell a great many things, but couldn't possibly get the full effect. A dog, on the other hand, might go mad.
Hivers also love cooking and fine dining; workers in particular are usually capable of creating gourmet delicacies which are very strong on presentation—each individual makes the most of his food as their rationing tends to be tight and food is considered a clan gift. Hiver gourmands have a deep love of human cheeses, yogurts, alcoholic beverages, vinegars, and sourdough breads. They take deep pleasure in the variation of flavors and fragrances offered by our planet's busy little microorganisms. Hivers also enjoy sugar, but prefer fats over carbohydrates. The ideal human food from the Hiver nutritional point of view is generally some kind of triple fat super chunk frozen yoghurt—flavored with an alcohol, like rum. A thick egg nog flavored milkshake is considered particularly desirable.
Hivers can derange their senses, but alcohol is just a flavor to them; their neurochemistry is different enough that the molecule doesn't affect them. No human could outdrink a Hiver, if the drink was alcohol. For a Hiver, it isn't the wine that's intoxicating—it's the cheese.
Cultures of lactose and a few other random sugars are able to intoxicate a Hiver; the standard alcohol molecule that Humans enjoy, although it registers as "tasty" and "interesting", does not affect their brain chemistry the way it does a Human.
If someone wanted to "mess with the crystals" of a Hiver, they would need to either sample the native alkaloids and micro-organism waste from that Hiver's planet, or figure out which ones on their own planet give Hivers a buzz. The active cultures of yogurt, as it happens, are pleasantly trippy. Some cheeses also pack a kick.
Some Hiver warriors have made a challenge game out of eating the toxic plants we use as "spices"; their sensitivity to tastes and smells makes the consumption of hot peppers, garlic, etc. an intensely painful experience, and they eat this food to prove that they can endure and even enjoy it. It would be the Hiver equivalent of the Sun Dance rituals of the Plains tribes of North America.
If any Human were to eat Hiver food, it would best be taken in small portions. It is very rich, and usually quite sweet and bland to the human palate.
Hivers also posses a deep fascination with the human game of chess. For some reason, many Hivers feel that this game is particularly beautiful. They play it obsessively and have been known to carve sets which feature Hiver workers, warriors, princes and princesses.
Any sentient which nurtures its own young and practice any form of animal husbandry will keep pets of some kind. Hiver pets tend to be limited by caste. Workers sometimes have a very small and easily hidden pet—like a mouse or a tiny bird—which they will keep as a companion, share small amounts of food with, and train to perform tricks, carry messages, or do other amusing stunts. Warriors—depending on their duties—have been known to train and maintain various types of warbeasts as companions and guard animals; they are especially fond of raptors and other flying predators for this purpose. Princes may keep any sort of pet they wish, including quite large and impressive ones, if wealth permits.
A Princess or a Queen would likely be the exception to this rule—given the relationship they have with their own sons, keeping a pet of any kind would be redundant.
