How do humans perceive emotions in each other, when emotions don't (much) alter colouration? Body language, content of speech, actions, etc. Same for trolls.
>
> Lets say Auntie Girren, the XU priestess, has out of pity warned you of
> the situation just before sending you to work in the side pantry. You're
> very nervous. You+ve just finished arranging the dung beetle grubs en
> ball and are starting to skewer mastadon roaches for the centerpiece
> when a hulking figure stomps into the room. It doesn+t greet you.
>
> Time slows to a crawl. Do you dare ping it?. Is it Auntie Crush? How do
> you find out?
>
> What is the mechanism for idendifying individuals by sonar?
>
> Let+s say you can somehow tell that it is Auntie Crush. You can tell
> that she+s hungry. Is she angry? More important. Is she irrational?
>
> Your life depends on figuring out the answer right now. What is the
> sonar mechanism for doing this?
- -..
I have (at home) a book about domestic cats. Apparently cats don't like to
be stared at, because it is threatening. I think the reason is that, if you
are going to attack something, you want a good look at it, so you stare at it.
I dimly recall also that dolphins increase their rate of pinging when
attacking fish, to improve their `picture'.
A troll intent on attacking something might ping it often, so it has a good `view'. A target might be sent louder or more directional pings too. An aggressive and angry troll might do the darksense equivalent of `glaring' at people: pinging them at a high rate and volume.
An angry and irrational troll might be too emotional to restrain their pinging, so their emotional state would be clear to all trolls present.
If so, our hapless trollkin would have some clues from _Auntie's_ sonar signals.
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