Homid
Homid werewolf grows up in human society, but is never truly integrated with it. Pre-Change werewolves, as mentioned, are prone to behavioral problems and sensory quirks that make them strange. They understand that human society has rules and has a certain set of expectations, but they often find them strange, unfair, or just annoying. Some mask it better than others, but the end result is that
when the Change finally comes, amidst the blood and the death and the Rage, some part of the werewolf feels relief at finally being with her People.
That isn’t to say that the transition is easy. Years of education and indoctrination within the human world die hard, and what kind of upbringing the werewolf has had can make all the difference. If the werewolf’s father or mother was Kinfolk (and knew it), for instance, the cub might have had things a little easier. The Kinfolk parent might not have given full disclosure, but just instilled
the child with a love of and respect for the natural world. Understanding, even in abstract terms, that Gaia can see and feel what people do makes for less guilt and horror when the Change comes and the Garou sees exactly how much damage humans are doing to the Earth Mother.
Some homid Garou, though, feel that although humans have nearly killed the planet, they are also the only species on Earth that can save it. As such, for the Garou to have any meaningful impact at all, they have to be able to move in human circles. Since homid werewolves are best suited to understand and work within human society, and since they are the clear majority of Garou, some of them feel that they should, by default, be the leaders of werewolves. The discussion is moot in most tribes, since the numbers dictate
the leaders. But the effect of this imbalance is obvious. The Garou are losing touch with their wolf blood, and this can only herald disaster for the People.
Attitudes towards other breeds:
Lupus: It is common for homid Garou to be "sensitive" to the plight of the dwindling wolf population, though at times this concern appears to be nothing more than a tissue held out to assuage guilty feelings over the destruction of wolf packs and habitats. Extremely rare in the city and rare in the wild, lupus Garou are often treasured members of the sept and well-regarded. Despite that interest, there always seem to be distances in understanding between homids and the wolfen perspective of the lupus.
Metis: Homids are the least accepting of the metis Garou - tribes such as the Silver Fangs and Fianna will cast out metis children or even kill them, their hatred is so strong. Metis are only tolerated under the reasoning that any Garou is a valuable one, even when the Garou is defective and the value is limited by that Garou's infertility. Most homids will attempt to ignore metis and thereby forget the temptations that they face to break the Litany's proscription against Garou mating with Garou. When they fail at this, or the metis causes attention to be paid to himself, their guilt forces the most common reactions to be harrassment, insults or other abuse. When Renown and Rank are awarded to a metis, it is given begrudgingly and only after the metis has proven himself beyond what would be required of a homid or lupus. This prejudice against the metis is not quite universal, though. Almost all homids will recognize that metis can use their crinos form better than any other breed. Pack members and other homids who have close ties to a metis will eventually come to accept the metis in their midst, though even then the disfigurements that all metis bear outside and inside have an effect on their relationships with other Garou.
LUPUS:
A lupus werewolf is the child of a wolf and a werewolf, or, more rarely, two Kinfolk wolves. It’s rare, though not unheard of, for multiple wolves in a litter to breed true. In modern times, though, every lupus werewolf is a blessing. The ratio of lupus to homid Garou is roughly one to eight. Lupus, like homids, understand from childhood that they are different. Pre-Change lupus tend to be more intelligent than their packmates, though they don’t really come into their human intelligence and problem-solving skills until the Change. Once that happens, they develop the capacity for abstract thought and symbolic language, which can be either a tremendous relief or a terrifying bombardment of ideas and information. When a lupus werewolf Changes, she must go from the relatively simple concerns of being a wolf (food, water, shelter, mating) to the much more nuanced social considerations of being
Garou — not to mention dealing with humanity. Humans and wolves are both social animals, and the fact that humanity has subtle body language cues is not, in itself, too jarring. The specifics tend to be difficult, though. A wolf bares its teeth to show dominance or to initiate a challenge. Humans bare their teeth to put each other at ease or indicate pleasure. Wolves greet each other by sniffing, humans do it by making sounds and touching hands. When a human goes from one culture to another, he must learn the new culture’s customs or inevitably mark himself as an outsider. Lupus Garou are almost guaranteed to be outsiders when they enter human society. They were, after all, literally raised by wolves.
Language is a huge barrier for lupus. Wolves communicate, but even if they have what could be called “language,” it doesn’t work the way human language does. A human puts together a random assortment of sounds and assigns meaning to them, and the lupus werewolf has to learn that concept before approaching the concept of “name.” It’s no wonder, then, that lupus are cagey and nervous
around homid Garou, and even more so around humans.
For all that awkwardness (and danger, when their fear is paired with a werewolf’s natural Rage), lupus bring an understanding of the natural world that homids can’t hope to understand. They don’t romanticize the wilds, they simply understand them. The wilderness doesn’t have an agenda, it simply is, and living with it means understanding its ebbs and flows. Homid Garou can learn this, but
don’t have the instinct for it that lupus do.
Lupus are also intensely aware that they are a dying breed. From their perspective, naturally, the humans are largely to blame, and the homids are accomplices. While a lupus may decide to join a pack with werewolves of other breeds, a few favor spending time with their own kind. Many such lupus either belong to the Red Talon tribe — known for its genocidal policies toward humans — or
they at least agree with its philosophy. Even a lupus who trusts the homids in her pack may be overpowered by the call of the wild. She may trust her packmates with her very life but still feel a longing for the company of wolves.
Attitudes towards other breeds:
Homids: Lupus will sometimes have trouble discerning one human from another, being thrown by the strong Weaver and Wyrm-smells on most humans and the customs of clothing - especially when it is brightly colored. Lupus tend to regard homids with a sense of disbelief, often confused by their constant quibbling over matters such as the Litany which seem, to lupus thought, to be quite clear. When homid debating doesn�t hinder the issue at hand, it is common for lupus Garou to watch homids as a humorous form of entertainment.
Metis: Lupus tend not to tolerate weakness, so they feel that metis should prove themselves. However, once they have done so to their (arguably more objective than homid) satisfaction, metis are more accepted, albeit grudgingly.
METIS
The Garou Nation could have a veritable army of warriors within a few years. The child of two werewolves, after all, is always a werewolf. They grow up with an instinctive understanding of Garou society and the spirit world, as well as an affinity toward shapeshifting. It would seem an easy solution.
Except, of course, for the fact that a child of two werewolves — a metis — is always deformed in some way. Some are born missing limbs, some are born disfigured and hideous, and some are born mad. Such werewolves are also always sterile, meaning that they cannot pass on the Garou “gift.” Even so, it would seem that up against letting the Wyrm destroy the world, breeding a few hundred
deformed warrior-children might be a worthwhile endeavor. Cruel, yes, but one has to look at the stakes. The greatest challenge metis Garou face, though, isn’t sterility or deformity. It is simply that thousands of years of Garou tradition marks them as unworthy, as
abominations, as the shameful result of two werewolves’ weakness. In years past, both the metis child of a werewolf and its parents would be put to death or, at best, ostracized and shunned from their home sept. Now, acceptance of metis Garou is common in all tribes except the Red Talons (though some tribes are much more accepting than others). Metis can even claim positions of leadership in some septs, which would have been unthinkable only a few generations ago. Traditionalist werewolves look at this as a sign that the Apocalypse is truly on the horizon.
Progressive Garou point out that it took humans a long time to come around to the notion that the disabled shouldn’t just be warehoused until they die. Metis are born in Crinos form, and may undergo the First Change anywhere from their first year of life to the onset of puberty. For this reason, they are raised within a sept, away from human eyes. This gives them the advantage of being well-versed in Garou society by the time they are ready to undergo a Rite of Passage, and it is not uncommon for them to learn rites simply by observing (provided they are allowed to).
That doesn’t mean their life is easy, however. With a few exceptions (Glass Walkers and Children of Gaia, notably), while modern septs might allow metis to live, they certainly don’t coddle them. Metis might be shunned by the sept as a whole; they aren’t turned out, but the job of training them is given out more as a punishment than an honor. Other septs shun the metis and her parents,
meaning that while the young werewolf has a family, she knows that her family is kept ostracized from their society because of her existence. Some septs treat the metis more or less as true Garou, but remind her whenever she steps out of line that she might be slaughtered at any moment, just because of what she is.
It’s no wonder, then, that metis tend to be resentful and paranoid. The Litany flat-out condemns them, and any recitation of the Litany with a metis in attendance is at least somewhat uncomfortable. Most metis grow up bitter, and while some might learn to blend in among humans, they never really have a place to belong.
Attitudes towards other breeds:
Homid: When homids aren't insinuating, insulting, or abusing the metis and call themselves friends, they still flinch when touched and change the subject when personal matters are discussed. Metis don't hold out much hope that the situation will ever change, but continue to push the "breeders" for acceptance.
Lupus: Metis who have not become so self-absorbed as to be on the edge of Harano generally appreciate and find sympathy for the lupus, who are now outnumbered by metis in most areas. The basic directness of lupus - the fact that a lupus will tell a metis he doesn't like him to his face, while a homid would just stare or look the other way - is much easier for metis to deal with.