Children Of The Moon

The children of the moon are creatures similar to the traditional werewolves of myth. They Phase, or change forms, in response to the cycles of the moon. In their changed form, they do not entirely resemble actual wolves: their forelegs are more powerful than their hind legs and their still have usable hands with opposable thumbs. in addition, their stance is more upright, making their movement somewhat apelike, rather than entirely canine.

Children of the moon change form only at night, and during the fullest phase of the moon. While in their werewolf form, children of the moon are not aware of their human selves; they are feral rather than rational. 

Usually, they run alone, or with one companion of opposite gender. children of the moon cannot breed in their animal form; they can spread their species only by infecting other humans through bite. Infected humans who have children do not pass their abilities to their offspring.

In their animal form, children of the moon have heightened strength and speed that makes them both deadly and difficult to kill; contrary to the legend, these werewolves cannot be killed with a silver bullet, nor does silver repel them. Their amplified abilities make them capable of destroying a lone vampire; however, the vampire has the advantage due to the fact that he retains his logic and intelligence. One advantage the werewolf has, in both human and animal for is immunity to vampire venom, both the trans-formative properties and pain-producing properties. 

Because vampires and children of the moon share the same food source and because each is an exception to the others near indestructibility, they are natural enemies. Over time, however, the vampires have hunted the once populous werewolves into near extinction. 

In the Twilight Saga, Caius the Volturi had an encounter in the past with these creatures and vowed to hunt them all down, thus his interest in the "wolf pack" with whom Carlisle has a treaty.

Werewolf Transformation

Not every member of the Quileute tribe has the potential to transform into a werewolf. Only those who can trace a direct bloodline back to the first shape-shifter, Taha Aki, are born with the potential to become shape-shifters themselves. The first transformations occurs between the onset age of puberty and approximately age twenty-five, and is based on two factors:  heritage and the proximity of vampires.

The direct descendants of Taha Aki are born with twenty four chromosomal pairs rather than the twenty three pairs of a normal human. It was once believed that the extra chromosome could be passed down only to male descendants. but that was proven false; in eclipse, we saw the first female tribe member transformed.

This extra chromosome will not have any effect on the character if her or she is not in close proximity to vampires during all or part of the critical time between the onset of puberty and the age of twenty-five. If the potential werewolf is not exposed to vampires within the window of time, transformation will never occur. It is the scent of the vampire that triggers the reaction; a potential werewolf would not have to actually see or touch a vampire, only cross his scent.

signs of imminent transformation:

If a tribe member meets both conditions for transformation, he will go through a number of physical and psychological changes. First, a male will undergo a noticeable growth spurt, affecting both height and musculature. For a female, the physical changes are more subtle, mainly denoted by definition of muscle rather than bulk or height. Both males and females will then experience a drastic rise in body temperature, one that a typical human would be unable to survive. At the same time, he or she will begin to have dramatic mood swing and brief, sudden episodes of nearly uncontrollable rage. When the transformation is very close, he of she will begin to tremble and shake during these moments of rage.

Phasing:

After the shaking begins, the first transformation, or phase, can happen within seconds if the affected person does not calm himself. All the initial transformations are triggered by rage, until the werewolf can learn to control his reactions. The actual act of phasing last only an instant. There is no gradual shift, no in-between form where the werewolf appears to be a mix of human and animal. Because the wolf has more than four times the mass of the human, to an outsider the change looks explosive as the human expands to the size of the wolf. This impression can be intensified if the werewolf did not have time to remove his clothes before phasing; the clothes rip apart from the pressure of the expansion, adding a tearing sound to the otherwise soundless transformation.

Young werewolves are often unable to control their phasing, shifting forms whenever they feel anger. This unpredictability, combined with the massive size of the wolf form and the suddenness of the phasing process, makes werewolves dangerous to any humans in proximity to them during the change. Standing too close to a young werewolf during phasing can result in unintentional injury, or even death.

As young werewolves gain more control over their phasing, they have time to remove clothing, preventing it from being destroyed in a shape-shifting process. Most carry a leather strap with them so they can tie their clothes to their legs before phasing.

With experience, werewolves eventually master phasing and can control when they shape-shift.

LIfestyle and Behavior

Tribe structure:

The members of the Quileute tribe live as a group in the Quileute Nation on the La Push reservation and are governed by the council of elders. The tribe consists of everyone who is a descendant of another Quileute. The Quileute pack is a subset of the tribe; every member of the pack is a member of the tribe, but the majority of the tribe are not members of the pack. Moreover, most members of the tribe are not aware of the reality of the werewolves. Only the members of the council and the pack are in on the secret. While the tribal elders work closely with the pack, only those individuals with the ability to phase are actually classified as members of the pack. The leader of the Pack is referred as the Alpha. The role of the Alpha wolf is Inherited; the oldest descendant of the previous Alpha as the rightful claim to the position. If, for any reason, the oldest descendant of the Last Alpha refuses the position, the Alpha title can be claim by either the next closest relative of the last Alpha or by the chronologically oldest member of the pack. In such situation, each member of the pack must initially choose to support this Alpha candidate. After that support is given, the Alpha has the ability to impose control over the members of the pack, and no members can refuse the Alpha's commands. According to the tribal traditions, the Alpha wolf is not only the head of the pack, but also the chief of the entire tribe. As the tribe is govern by the council, The Alpha takes the position of the most senior tribe elder, despite his age.

One Factor affecting which members of the tribe transform is the number of vampire scents in the area. Throughout Quileute history, the pack has usually consisted of of three members. With most vampires traveling alone of in pairs, there was never a need for more than three werewolves to defend Quileute land. However, with a large vampires coven settled in the area, the tribe memberswith the strongest blood ties to the former pack are not the only ones to transform, Everyone in the tribe who as a relation to past wolves has a chance of joining the new pack. As more vampires enter the area in response to the resident coven, even more tenuous bloodlines result in new werewolves.

Recently, as a result of the size of the Quileute werewolf population and the accompanying tension, the pack split in two separate groups. The first time in Quileute history, there are presently two Alphas, each with his own pack. There are presently seventeen members of the two werewolf packs.

Rank:

The wolf pack has a very complex system of rank that helps keep them organized and prepared for all eventualities. The Alpha's absolute authority over the pack makes them an effective fighting force, and if something happens to the Alpha, there is no debate about how to proceed. The pack does not lose effectiveness due to confusion.

Every Alpha has a second in command - referred to as his Second - who immediately assumes control if the Alpha in incapacitated. Ranking under the second is the Third, who is next in line to act as Alpha.

In case of a large pack, each Second and Third, and so on down, so that each wolf has someone in line to step into his responsibilities within the pack if something should happen to him. In a large pack, during a fight the werewolves tend to operate in three-wolf pods.

Imprinting:

Some werewolves experience a bonding incident called imprinting, in which they become unconditionally tied to a human of the opposite sex. There are several theories on why imprinting occurs: Some believe that imprinting ensures the passing on of the werewolf gene others believe that imprinting happens to produce larger, stronger wolves in the next generation. The werewolves do not know the answer for certain.

Imprinting occurs only after a werewolf's first phasing. It can happen with anyone, regardless of previous personal feelings. Imprinting happens the first time a werewolf sees the human object of his imprinting; if the werewolf does not react to a human the first time he sees her after he phases, he will never imprint on that human. If the werewolf does imprint, he is forever changed. From the second he sees the object of his imprinting, he will do anything to please and protect her. All other commitments in his life become secondary, even his commitement to the pack. 

The relationship between the imprinting werewolf and the human imprinted upon is one total acceptance and support on the werewolf's part. No matter the age or living condition of the human, the werewolf automatically becomes whatever the human wants him to be, at the loss of his personal free will. If the human is young, the werewolf becomes the perfect platonic playmate and protector. As the human ages and changes, the werewolf instinctively switches roles to fulfill the human's needs.

It is against pack law for any werewolf to kill the object of another werwolf's imprinting. Such an act would be devastating not only to the wolf who suffered the loss, but to the entire pack. Given the telepathic ability, of the pack, each pack member would suffer the pain of the wolf whose mate has been killed. Even if the death of a wolf'S mate was an accident, the two wolves involved would fight to the death.