I saw a similar marking on the large one, he thought. And in the book she gave me, all the big ones had different marks on them, too. As much of their language as I’ve learned is alphagraphic, rather than symbols. Do they identify themselves by these marks? The only ones that didn’t have marks were the little ones, so maybe it’s a coming-of-age ritual for them to get these tattoos—assuming that they grow bigger with age. Would they even be called tattoos if they’re dyed into the fur? And if they are, do they have to be re-applied? Does she paint it on, like the makeup in Blade Runner, or do they have a way to change the pigment color at the roots? I suppose if they can use nano-technology to make color-changing hair like the big white one had, anything’s possible.