Bastet
Overview
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The Bastet are obsessed with secret knowledge and are always pursuing and hoarding it. Many are great magicians, others are great warriors, but they are rarely pack animals and generally work alone. Some of their tribes suffered greatly during the War of Rage. The Bastet, like the Kitsune, were created by Luna (whom they call Seline). Rather than given a specific purpose, each tribe attempts to fill a gap where others didn't quite catch on. Garou (and some others) refer to them as the Eyes of Gaia, since much contact comes in Egypt where the Silent Striders once allied with the Sorcerous Bubasti against the Vampire Set, and in North America where the Wendigo and Uktena have regular dealing with the enigmatic Qualmi.
Despite the wide geographical range of their animal Kin and divisions within the Tribes, the Bastet have a fairly consolidated system to track renown and share many spiritual aspects. All Bastet speak a common language of chirps, meows, howls, cries, snarls, and rumbles, as well as a more elaborate system of sniffs, licks, stares, whisker twitches, and postures. This ancestral tongue, while limited, crosses all cultures, breeds, and forms, enabling a Nigerian Simba in Crinos form to speak to a British Khan in Homid.
It's hard to express abstract or complicated thoughts in this language (Kheuar, pronounced "kew-arr"), but simple warnings or messages aren't difficulty. More complex conversations demand a shift to Homid or Feline forms for clarity. Bastet lore claims Kheuar came from the original conversations of the First Pride, and its subtleties are passed to new kittens by their Kuasha. Thus, a Bastet who hasn't been taught the ways of the Folk won't be aware of the subtleties of the group language, although communications like "Get out of my way" are always clear enough.
Unlike Garou who learn most of their Gifts from spirits, Bastet most often learn from other werecats, or by “stealing” them from other shapeshifters. They have a much easier time instructing one another in Gift-use than do the Garou; it generally only takes a single night of instruction for one werecat to impart a Gift to another.
In addition to the usual heightened senses, Bastet possess padaa, a sense that combines smell and taste from a distance. To use it, a Bastet opens his mouth, flares his nostrils, and inhales. The air passes across his tongue and an organ in the roof of his mouth, allowing him to perceive multi-sensory details about the world around him. WeaknessesEdit
All werecats have a Yava, a three-folded tribal weakness that is a highly guarded secret of the tribe in question. Abuse of a Yava could result in the annihilation of the tribe.
