Werecat
INTRODUCTION
Werecats are one of the moon cursed supernatural species. They are “cousins” to the werewolves, and the only two species that must Change (shapeshift) under the full moon.
Werecats can be born naturally or Changed. Being Changed is much more common.
A human bitten by a werecat in their feline form will either die in excruciating pain or Change. A human is much more likely to die than they are to become a werecat. A human with one or two werecat parents had a higher chance of survival.
A werecat born naturally must have one or both parents be werecats as well. However, even with two werecat parents, a child can be born human (however, this is the rarest possibility). No one has found an explanation for this.
Werecat pregnancy is rare and unexplained, as female werecats do not have any sort of reproductive cycle that anyone can monitor.
Jacky Leon series – Arobi, Audrey, Carter, Coyotl, Everett, Fiora, Gaia, Ishkur, Lani, Lesna, Mikkel, Sam, Titan
Kaliya Sahni series – Lonan
Ancient & Immortal – Ekon, Nyota
Hearts at War – Wekesa
CULTURE
Like all people, each werecat is unique, but the curse that they’re under does change their personalities in noticeable ways. These are generalizations, but they are an undercurrent to every werecat.
They are also an extreme version of solitary cats seen in the modern world. They are not a natural feline, but a magically-created one and shouldn’t be approached as one.
Solitary by nature, werecats normally live alone, even if they’re in committed and loving relationships. They’re extremely territory with outsiders, which is strengthened by their magic (continue to Known Magic to learn more). Invasions of their territory are almost always dealt with violently. This echoes many solitary cats today, but takes it several steps further. Werecats have no wish or desire for a pride-like structure in their day to day lives. They are more like leopards than they are lions in this way. However, very close werecats can work together, normally an older werecat training one they have Changed. They will eventually go their own ways to live alone once again.
They can have very intense and strong emotional bonds, but it’s hard for them to form those bonds initially. Time or forced close proximity are two of the things that force werecats together. They can be clingy and overprotective once they do, possessive over their friends, lovers, and children, oftentimes saying and doing things to keep others away from their object of affection. Most werecats fight to keep their behavior from being too much for those around them. Some find it easier to share space and the people in their lives. Others can find it extremely difficult. This is further complicated by the dynamics of the relationship, who else is in the situation, and more.
Werecats find it easier to bond with children (who don’t pose threats like adults would). Many werecats adopt, raising children as their own and will die for that child if it’s necessary, considering the child their own, even though there is no biological relationship. They are highly educated and trained in the supernatural and human world to give them an advantage. These children are then given the chance to Change when they reach adulthood, commonly their mid-twenties. After the Change, the Parent will continue to train the werecat, normally for a decade, before sending them out to find their own territory.
Names and Relationships:
When a werecat Changes a human into one of their kind, they take on a parent role to the new werecat. Age doesn’t play a part in this. The new werecat is considered the child, and they bond with these roles or were already bonded in this way. Last names to werecats are unnecessary. They go by their first name and the designation of who they are the child of. This lets other werecats track who someone is, where they came from, and how far said werecat is from the original (which is sometimes used as social status).
Real Werecat Names- Jacqueline, daughter of Hasan. Jabari, son of Hasan.
Rogue Werecats:
Rogue werecats don’t settle down and create a territory of their own, going against the natural instinct of their kind. They are wanderers, and tend to be troublemakers. Rogues are often suffering in someway, something forcing them to keep moving, keep searching, and never slowing down. It could be a tragedy they suffered before or after they became a werecat. A settled werecat can go rogue if something happens that shakes their entire world.
GOVERNMENT/RULING CLASS
The werecats are a Tribunal Species, agreeing to follow the Laws of the Tribunal.
They have one representative on the Tribunal, one of the seven supernaturals that controls the entire shadow government.
Werecats have the Werecat Ruling Family governing all of them.
The Werecat Ruling Family is by far the largest and most organized family of werecats in the world. With a wide range of skilled individuals in their ranks, their control over the werecats around the world is absolute. They are effective at crushing any threat to their power and manage all relations with other supernaturals on a global scale, with their patriarch being a member of the Tribunal. They keep many secrets, knowing more about the supernatural world than they let on.
Current Members:
Hasan, member of the Tribunal and his mate, Subira. Believed to be the two oldest werecats in the world.
Zuri, the Politician. Jabari’s twin, and a biological child of Hasan and Subira.
Jabari, the General. Zuri’s twin, and a biological child of Hasan and Subira.
Mischa, the Rogue. Changed by Hasan.
Hisao, the Assassin. Changed by Hasan.
Davor, the Genius. Changed by Hasan.
Niko, the Traitor. Changed by Hasan.
Jacky Leon. Changed by Hasan.
Find out more on the page dedicated to the family.
KNOWN MAGIC
Feline Form:
All werecats are some sort of prehistoric saber toothed big cat.
They are excessively large, have immense physical strength, and are fast for their size. Considered to be physically one of the strongest supernaturals in the world, many don’t try to fight with a werecat when they’re in their feline form.
Werecats are varied in size and physical appearance. They are nearly always over 400-500 pounds, but can reach up to 900-1000 pounds, all muscle and well proportioned. Their incisors can be 3 to 8 inches long on average, but some are believed to be bigger.
Coat colors and patterns can be numerous like dark stripes over brown, spots on tan, flat coat colors, and more. Eye colors, while generally feline in origin, can be just as varied. Some werecats have more lion-like head shapes while others can seem more refined like the cougar or a leopard. Some male werecats develop the beginning of a mane, though none have full lion manes like we see today.
Very few werecats look exactly like original saber tooth cat species anymore.
Change (moon cursed term for shapeshifting):
Werecats can Change incredibly quickly from their human form to their feline form and vice versa.
Werecats can Change at almost any time they choose to as well, making them ferocious predators to anyone who decided to make one as an enemy. During a full moon, the werecat must remain in feline form from the beginning of the night to dawn. This is the only time they can’t control their Change.
Their ability to Change can speed up or slow down depending on circumstances. Injuries will often slow them, and being too injured can be detriment to their health if they try to Change.
Changing is very painful. Often described as feeling bones break, move, and reform in new locations underneath the skin.
Last Change- On rare occasions, a werecat can lose control over themselves. This is more than just acting more wild than human. Their form twists and becomes a twisted merger of their two forms. This is permanent and any werecat that has gone into the Last Change must be put down.
Territory Magic:
Werecats use a magic bond with the land to claim territory as their own.
To claim a piece of land as their territory, werecats must run the borders in feline form. It’s most effective during a full moon. Developing this bond with the land gives them the ability to protect the area they want to live in.
Once the initial boundary is formed, a werecat can feel any supernatural that enters their territory and what type of supernatural that is, with only a handful of exceptions.
The longer a werecat is in their territory, the stronger the bond becomes.
The older and more powerful a werecat is, the larger a territory they can keep protected.
Talents:
Talents are unique occurrences of magical ability in both moon cursed species, believed to be caused by the unique interaction of the curse and the specific individual.
Not every werecat or werewolf will discover they have a Talent.
Talents can manifest in different ways, but there are trends.
Always there- The Talent manifested immediately upon someone being Changed into a werecat or born as one.
Subconsciously Trained- The Talent slowly manifests and grows more effective over time, like a muscle that needs to be strengthened through exercise. Many moon cursed don’t realize they have a Talent until it’s fairly developed when it manifests this way.
There are also different levels of control. Some Talents can be turned on and off like a switch. Some are permanently on. Some flicker in and out, completely out of the control of the moon cursed that has said Talent.