Werewolves

Werewolves have existed for as long as humans. Their origin is unknown, but there are born werewolves and there are created werewolves. There are subtle differences between the two.

For example, a werewolf that is born lacks the learning steps a created one must go through. Born werewolves don't have to learn to control their emotions and generally have excellent control of themselves. A created werewolf must deal with a heightened temper that can set them off into a fit of rage and heightened emotions that can also trigger a loss of control.

Created werewolves are not looked upon favorably by those born because they are considered ticking time bombs and potentially dangerous to the pack's safety. Created werewolves can learn to control themselves, but even with a lot of experience and years they never quite fully gain full control like a born werewolf. Born werewolves tend to be stronger and have slightly more heightened senses in comparison to a created one. They benefit more from pack life, but they feel the need to be in a pack much more strongly than a created werewolf, who could live with being independent much easier.

It should be noted that werewolves mate for life. They can produce litters from 1 to 3 pups, but any more than that is rare and prone to problems.

Werewolves in packs are discouraged from biting and changing humans. It is more often than not a loner or another created werewolf bites a human.

HIERARCHY
Werewolves are creatures that strive to exist in packs. They are very social creatures and sticking together gives them strength, particularly to their Alphas. The more members of a pack there are, the more powerful the Alphas become. Age and experience also play a large role in things. Alphas either inherit their position by birthright, become the mate of an Alpha, or fight for it and overtake another Alpha. There can be up to two Alphas in a pack.

Aside from gaining strength from numbers, Alphas have other abilities as well. Being Alpha, their roar can stop pack members dead in their tracks. It is instinct for pack members to freeze in place. Alphas also have influence over their members, and their commands trigger something in their members that makes them want to obey. If an Alpha tells a member to do something, like sit, for example, the member will feel an intense need and desire to sit. This ability can obviously be overcome, but it's difficult to do so.

Other notable rankings in a pack are the Beta and Omega ranks. The Betas either are being trained and will take the place of the Alphas in the future, or they act mostly as an adviser and deputy to the Alphas. An omega werewolf can be either male or female and is the scapegoat, the lowest ranking member of the pack. The omega lives on the outskirts of the pack, usually eating last. The omega serves as both a stress-reliever and instigator of play.

Lone werewolves exist, but they may suffer from feelings of longing to belong. Some werewolves find a different kind of community to satiate their desire for companionship. For example, a werewolf could choose to live among humans instead of its kin.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
Human-wise, they come in all shapes and sizes. They are just as varied as humans are. They even vary in how aged they look. A werewolf can look very young or they can look more aged, depending on the wolf and the wolf's true age.

Werewolves have two other forms aside from their human one: a bipedal form and a full transformation. Fully transformed, they are abnormally large wolves resembling Grey Wolves. They can stand between 40-55” (102-140cm) at the shoulder.

STRENGTHS
Some strengths include: Heightened Senses: Werewolves can smell, see and hear far better than humans.

Accelerated Healing: Werewolves heal quickly from most injuries.

Enhanced Agility: Werewolves can jump, run, climb and react faster than humans.

Enhanced Strength: Werewolves are much stronger than humans.

Pain Transference: Werewolves can absorb and alleviate pain from other people/creatures and can "heal" in some cases.

WEAKNESSES
Mercury: Werewolf legends all say that silver will kill a werewolf. The problem with this is that when these legends were written the metal mercury was thought of as a kind of silver. It was called quicksilver. Mercury can form an ally with silver but it is completely unrelated to silver. Mercury is a relatively poor conductor of heat but is a good conductor of electricity and it can also be used in silvering mirrors. It turns out there was a mistake in translation and instead of silver, werewolves are actually harmed by mercury. Mercury will deeply wound a werewolf and if not removed, death is possible.

Destroying the Heart of the Brain: Piecing the heart is said to kill a werewolf. Of course, it isn't enough to just stop the heart from beating because werewolves have great regeneration abilities so the heart must be cut out and destroyed, preferably burned. The same goes for the brain. Any type of skull smashing blow should stop a werewolf just like any other creature. Then, the head must be removed and destroyed to finish the job.

Wolfsbane- A highly poisonous plant known to repel werewolves. If ingested or injected, wolfsbane will kill a werewolf in a matter of days.

Mistletoe - Mistletoe is highly poisonous to humans as well as werewolves. It acts similar to wolfsbane.

Mountain Ash- when used properly, mountain ash can form an impenetrable barrier to keep werewolves in or out.

THE REPRODUCTION QUESTION
Werewolves CAN reproduce with: werewolves, witches, and humans.

Werewoles CANNOT reproduce with: shapeshifters

Werewolves can obviously reproduce with werewolves. They will produce pups without any doubt.

They can reproduce with humans. If the mother is a werewolf, it is more likely the child will be a werewolf. If the father is a werewolf, there's only a slight chance it'll be a werewolf. It is more likely the child will be human.

With witches, if the mother is a witch there's more a chance the child will be a witch, but unless they live in a coven it is rare. Otherwise the child will almost always be a werewolf.