Werebeasts
Werewolves are the most common of werebeasts around the world. They are also among the most disliked and feared creature of Kattenan.
Being contagious, and often pictured as violent beasts, they’re victims of many prejudices and stigmas. Most of the time, a lone werewolf refrains from telling people about it. In fact, after their wolf identity was revealed, several wolves lost their job, their family, their access to healthcare…
Werewolves suffers from a terrible, baseless reputation.
Transmission & ability to turn people
Werewolves are indeed "contagious", however, it’s not as easy to be turned as it’s usually said.
Popular belief is that a single bite/scratch can turn anyone into a monster within a few hours. But turning into a wolf isn’t nearly as easy as this.
Turning someone requires to go deep into their flesh: superficial bites and scratches have such a low chance of turning someone, one could easily qualify such things as safe interactions. For a single bite or scratch to turn someone is to literally shred apart their flesh.
In most case, you’d have to drink a werewolf blood (or to eat their flesh…) to be turned efficiently and without losing a limb. Doing so would result in the wolf nature sticking to you, but it does take several days.
However, a werewolf parent has 100% of chance to give birth to a werewolf child. Wolves’ genetic pools are highly dominating.
Basically, a true will to turn someone is usually needed for it to happen. And it just doesn’t happen.
People often see werewolves as monsters willing to spread their condition, to make their pack more powerful or what-do-we-know, but most of them simply want to live and don’t think about turning other people too much.
Most accidental contaminations are the result of something else, such as a werewolf who has rabies, an exchange of blood (transfusion, fight...) or a victim biting a werewolf in the panic.
Most other creatures with a strong genetic-pool can't get turned: A vampire couldn't become a werewolf even in the right setting.
Full Moons
Full moon is definitely linked to werewolves. However, this link isn’t as strong as it’s commonly thought to be.
Full moons tend to galvanize werewolves, to energize them. They can end up more excited, on nerves, and their emotion and reactions’ range usually widen more or less significantly. A good analogy would be the mood of someone on their periods: nothing completely extreme, high variation between individuals, and higher prone-ness to mood swings.
These can lead to unwanted transformations… But remains handleable for most wolves. In fact, it's mostly werewolf pups or very recently turned people who end up shifting into their wolf form without wanting to on full moons. And no matter what, full moon doesn't drive wolves bloodthirsty, or awaken their bestial instincts.
If anything, it’s proved that full moons intensifies all of werewolves’ abilities. Basically, they are “more powerful”.
Abilities & Transformations
i. Werewolf transformation
Werewolves can turn into several kind of wolf-like, canine forms. This usually includes : A fully feral form, a large anthropomorphic form (with specific proportions), and a human form with wolf features such as ears, tail, sometimes paws.
FERAL FORM.
An usually large wolf, according to each werewolf. This form is basically an animal with the mind of a human. It’s unable to speak.
ANTHROPOMORPHIC FORM.
An anthropomorphic wolf, with a human-like anatomy. Werewolves’ anthropomorphic form have specific proportion, such as much longer/bigger arms and paws. This form can usually speak human language, although its pronunciation of words might be altered.
OKAMIMIMI FORM.
A human with wolf ears, a tail, and sometimes paws. Most werewolves rarely uses this form, without even mentioning that this transformation might be a bit harder to master (on top of being completely useless). It’s perfectly possible to speak in this form.
Transformations are usually something a werewolf control to some extent. It requires firm handling on their emotions - but it’s widely doable with training and focus, and it's just a part of growth as a wolf.
However, it's true that stress disorder and traumatic disorders heavily affect a werewolf's control on their transformations.
Full moon is thought to trigger violent transformation. In fact, while it can actually trigger something, most wolves handle it quite well. As stated before, it just widdens and intensifies their emotions and emotional range. Since transformations control heavily rely on emotional management, werewolf who aren’t used to it or lack training can unpurposely shift form more easily.
ii. Regeneration
Werewolves naturally have, or acquire incredible regeneration abilities. They heal at incredible speed, barely scar at all (although scars will remain for a shorter period of time for very severe wounds), and this leads to a high/intense metabolism.
It’s very hard to physically harm a werewolf because of this ability: depending on the individual predispositions, it can take only a minute to heal superficial or light wounds.
iii. Sensibility to silver
Werewolves’ main weakness, not unlike many other creatures, is silver.
Pure silver blocks most of their abilities: it can prevent them from shifting forms, and repress their regeneration abilities.
“Treatments” against lycanthropy has been used in the past, relying on this sensibility. However, since silver also affects a werewolf’s metabolism, it can truly sicken them, make them weak, ill, and alter their mental health. “Silver therapy” became slightly more rare, however there are still many legal fights in militant space to make it fully illegal.
Customs & Habits
It's hard to talk about customs or culture for such a cosmopolite group: as werewolves (and werebeasts in general) can be found all around the world, from every group and population, they don't have their own "werewolf culture" so-to-say.
However, they do tend to be very prone to strong social / group behaviors. It's far from uncommon to have werewolves naturally sticking together, or taking in other "outcasts".
Without having clear explanations for these tendencies, a slight pack instinct would make sense, but it's probably mostly some kind of "flocking" behavior in-between marginalized people with similar experiences.
Basic Information
Genetics and Reproduction
Werebeasts genetic pool are highly dominant, meaning a werebeast of any-specie will systematically have werebeast children even in case of hybridation.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Werebeast are generally omnivorous.
Turned werebeasts keep the same dietary habits as their initial specie, with an eventual tendency toward they beast of affinity's dietary needs.
Wereborn are ominivorous with a tendency toward they beast of affinity's dietary needs.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Known for their generally highly developed sense of smell and hearing.
Werebeasts of variable animal base-species can have specific sensory abilities (eg. a wereshark developping electro-sensing)
