The Language of the Kopri

The Kopri don’t use voices like humans do. Instead, they communicate through rapid changes in skin color and texture—a living language woven across their bodies. Now, you don't need to have all this background to understand Tide Song, but since people have asked, I thought I'd give you some details to help make the world real for you.

Each color shift carries meaning: red might signal warning, green could mean peace, violet might express grief. But it's not just color—ridges, bumps, and flowing textures appear and vanish across their skin like moving braille, adding tone, emphasis, and emotional depth.

It’s a complete language, just as rich and nuanced as spoken words. The shimmer of a warning, the pulse of laughter, the flicker of doubt—it’s all written in living light and touch.     Learn more at our blog

Sign/Emotion/Description

Agreement, Green

Quick rippling green flashes spreading across the mantle

Amusement, All colors

Steady glowing multi-colors

Anger, Red, dark

Dark red, smooth and steady

Annoyance, Black and gray

Black and gray edging on other signs, indicating annoyance 

Applause, Orange

Flashing rhythmic orange spirals around the eyes

Comfort/Sympathy, Brown and blue

Field of brown skin, with blue dots and streaks

Command, Purple, pulsing 

Steady deep purple, or a deep purple with pulses to black

Decisiveness, Purple, knobs

Ring of purple knobs surrounding the eyes

Denial, innocence

Light Gray, nearly white

Despair, Gray-Black

Smooth gray-black on every part of body

Excitement, Violet

Entire mantle glows light violet, flashing on and off with the degree of excitement

Exhaustion, Dark gray/black

A deep gray covering the entire body, sometimes with streaks of black in random patterns

Fear, Jet black

The entire body turns deep jet black

Greeting, All colors

Mantle with crenulated knobs across all its surface, with rainbow colors flashing

Laughter, All colors

All colors randomly flashing on and off in random smooth patterns across the entire mantle

Love, Pink

Highlights edging other signs, or as a gentle glowing across the body

Names, Varies

Patterns of light and ridges scrunched into mantles, unique to each kopri

Pain, Crimson Red

Bright red splotches, knobs and ridges, flashing randomly, or rising as bright crimson crenulations

Pride, Pink and Yellow

Alternating pink and yellow rings, surrounding other signs or rippling down the mantle

Questioning, Orange and Turquoise

Alternating bumps of orange and turquoise forming a ring around the eyes

Readiness/serenity, Turquoise

Steady and smooth turquoise glow across the mantle

Resignation, Black and blue

Streaks of black and blue running down mantle and tentacles

Sadness, Blue

Dark blue crinkling skin

Silence, Gray, light

Smooth light gray skin, featureless in every way

Smile, yellow

Spiraling yellow around the eyes