W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

If you meet up with one, prepare to hear some fascinatingstuff — just don’t let it give you any ideas about headingout to the Great Black Beyond yourself, fluffy-feathers.There’s stuff out there that would eat a little-bit like youwithout even needing to spit out the bones.Most of the time, though, even if a Sun-Lost comesback, we don’t hear about it first hand. We just get sigilscratchedreports of things they’ve seen. It’s almost alwayssomething important — you don’t wing your way backfrom the Black just to say “Hey, saw a Bane with threeextra toes today”. So if you find something like that —you tell folks about it.No one really knows how many Sun-Lost there are…I mean, time works different out there, and the rules areall wonky. One thing is for sure, though — when one ofthem dies, we know about it. A single black feather showsup at the spot where the lost one’s spirit egg hatched. Noone knows how it gets there. Wind-spirits, I’m guessing,or some sort of supernatural woodgie that makes at leasta part of them come full cycle back to their beginnings.But it happens.That’s why we’re pretty sure that Huginn and Muninare still alive, by the way. No one’s ever seen a feather forthem. And yes, we know their hatching places. Stupidquestion. Of course, we know. We’re Corax, ain’t we?TulugaqThe Tulugaq are found in the Pure Lands — that’slike Canada and the US… (Don’t look at me like that.They were pure, once upon a time. That’s another story,kid; can we get back to the one I was telling?)Anyway, the word Tulugaq is actually Inuit, and someof the folk who claim it are actually from up north. Butthey’re just as likely to be related to the Cherokee or theMiwok or the Paiute as the Inuit themselves. None of therest seem to mind that their name is co-opted though,so who am I to raise a fuss?The Tulugaq (you pronounce it just like it’s spelled,honest) are cool customers; at least that’s the impressionthey’ll give you right before you realize they’ve stolenyour shorts. They’re the trickster’s tricksters, and theytake the job damn seriously, which means they’re alwayspracticing — and pissing people off.Raven and Coyote are both big players in a lot ofAmerind myths, so it’s no surprise that the Tulugaq hangwith the Nuwisha more than most. What is surprisingis that they’re still speaking to one another after all thejokes they’ve pulled, but I guess you get pretty forgivingwhen you know it’s going to be your turn up to bat next,so to speak.As for the rest of us? It takes a while for a Tulugaq toopen up to outsiders, but once you establish some trust,they’re as chatty as anyone else. Spend a few weeks ormonths following one around and learning the way theythink — then zap them with a prank they can respect.One of the kind that teaches something, points out aweakness, or is just too clever to stay mad about. If youcan pull that off, you’ll be all right with the Tulugaq andthe werecoyotes both.FormsSpeaking of the werecoyotes… There’s a wholeschmear of other shifters out there, and we’ve gotsome similarities, and some differences, from all ofthem. Most of them have four or five forms they canchange into. We only need three: Corvid, Homid, andCrinos. And, truth be told, we don’t like going intoCrinos much. It looks kind of goofy, and you walkfunny while you’re in it.• Homid: Black hair, black eyes, black clothes.Most of us are thin and don’t tan well, which makes uskinda look like underfed Goths. But if you want to spota Corax in a crowd of wanna-be ghoulies, look at thefingers. No, not the jewelry — although we do have asoft spot for that as well. Check out the hands… Ourring fingers tend to be longer than our middle ones,for some reason. It’s not a sure-fire giveaway, but itcan be a clue.• Corvid: Corvid’s gonna come natural to you, cuzit’s what you were born to: big freakin’ raven. Hold yourhead high. We’re not talking wimpy crow here; we’reravens, not some wussy short-tailed, blunt-winged, flatbilledcorn-eater. We’re big, we’re smart, we’re fast, we’rebeautiful: what’s not to love?Oh, and by the way, if you get in a fight when you’rein Corvid, go for the eyes, then fly like hell. Trust me onthis one. It’s good advice.• Crinos: Like I said, Crinos form just plain looksweird, there’s no two ways about it. While we’re in it,we’ve got feathers — sort of. And a beak — sort of.Human body and legs, but we’ve got wings, rather thanarms, and our fingers are claws. And the feet? I don’teven want to talk about the feet.The only reason to go into Crinos form is to fight;the claws — on both hands and feet — are nasty business.[Corax in Crinos can claw for aggravated damage]. Butunless it’s life or death? Most of us don’t pop Big Bird.It’s hard to talk (at least to anyone who isn’t one of us)and hard to walk without flapping your wings aroundto keep your balance. It’s just… humiliating.98CHANGING BREEDS