It's a surprise tool
Added 2022-11-28 21:24:00 +0000 UTCTavik getting the shivers and puffing up his fur when surprised is not a particularly common trait for a venlil, who'd rather make themselves smaller when under stress, but it certainly makes him more expressive in human eyes
Speaking of which, the horizontal/rectangular pupils make for very striking expressions when shrunk, while not even being clearly square when dilated and relaxed
https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/u19xpa/the_nature_of_predators/
