Ticanee Cub Guide
From FiranMUX
- Milk the cows, tend the sheep, play with the chickens, or check for eggs, maybe even find some honey - the communal farm on the northern part of the district is there for all Ticanee - heck, there might even be something to do in the loft.
- Hunting - Hunting is permitted in the vacant hunting grounds, usually the two south-western squares in the bottom of the district. Hunting and leaving carcasses gets a stern response, so always clean your kills and honor the totems.
- Learning from the Shamen - The Ticanee have a rich history, and the totems are a very important segment of that. Stopping by the Ticanee Temple and attending classes in the classroom there is a good idea; no classes? Bug them for it!
- Visit the Wolf's Den - While the Snake Pit inside is generally only used by the adults, some cubs do sneak in for games and play, but there's a dart board and a communal firepit, and some say it's the heart of the Ticanee district.
- Ask adult questions - Children are curious creatures and there's so much in the world to learn. Corner any adult and ask them about the ways of the world. From religion to cooking and love to death! The more it makes them squirm and pale, the better!
Contents |
Overview
Firans have their Firan stuff, but the Ticanee live in a whole other world. As a young Ticanee cub, there are many "facts of life" that any good cub would adhere to... if not at least bug the heck out of adults by asking about it. To help all new Ticanee players, we've composed this list of commoner Ticanee traditions in one neat, little package. Many of these are followed based on who you are and who's teaching you, so open yourself up for rp and find out more ICly! This is stuff very easily overheard in Ticanee society if not automatically known.
This should help people in both playing a cub and raising a cub.
Daily Life
The daily life of a Ticanee cub isn't much unlike Firans. They have chores to do and curfews. However, Ticanee children are often more dedicated to learning the ways of their people. They learn through stories of their history. From further back in the days of Totems before the Ticanee knew of the Firan Gods. Most Ticanee children learn hunting and cooking and camping from the adults. As a people, the Ticanee take care of each other, so any Ticanee adult is a potential mentor.
Spring - Summer - Fall -- During this time, many Ticanee cubs abandon structures and live in tents in front of their parent's homes. It's cooler than most of the long houses or Firan like homes, plus, well, it's just plain fun. Though it's considered really mean to knock down someone's tent when they're inside. Keep items in tents reasonable, as they're not infinite in space. Winter, alas, the tents tend to get stored and cubs forced into the furs inside.
Gender equality in most things is universal among Ticanee cubs. A boy or a girl hunting is not surprising, it's expected. A boy fighting a girl is not considered something wimpy - odds are she's learned more than a few tricks, and many of the legendary fighters of the clan are female.
Etiquette
It is traditional that cubs always greet adults when they come across them, as the tribal culture recognizes the contributions of elders, and when you're a cub, almost all adults are elders. Squeaky clean cubs is also a rarity - there's too much work in the day to do, and many a cub will smell strongly of barns or fields where they do their chores and labors. Helping your elders in their work is not considered a chore, but a learning experience, and generally Ticanee cubs are looking to learn all they can, lest it come back to haunt them on their Rite of Passage.
When it comes to greeting Firan nobility, some cubs catch on quick and some do not. Remembering "Lady" and "Lord" is just as difficult for young Ticanee as it is for young Firans. That, and some cubs have a hard time respecting Firan nobility. Children are encouraged that, though they may despire Firan nobility sometimes, it's safer for a Tic just to play along anyway. Silly Firans.
Above all else, every single Ticanee cub has a deep-rooted respect for the Oshta Family. This is bred into them at birth and never goes away. The Oshta is powerful and vengeful. The tribes are like the Oshta's cubs and if one Ticanee makes a mistake, the entire clan is liable to suffer!
Clothes
Children can only wear what has the word 'child's' in it. The only exceptions are sword belts and backpacks - loincloths are not on the list for kids. During the hotter months, Ticanee children are known to run around the District naked. However, this is frowned upon in Firan society. Though that doesn't always stop them from doing it.
Weapons
It's not uncommon at all for Ticanee cubs to have weapons. Real weapons. Knives, swords, spears, and bows are often seen on Ticanee children. Often used for hunting and training. Firans may be surprised to see children so young with weaponry, but Ticanee believe strongly in earning what you have and rarely are cubs allowed weaponry they do know how to use responsibly.
General guidelines are knives, clubs, wooden swords and other short melee weapons are for the youngest of cubs (8-9), though usually with adult supervision they'll learn the spear. Some young Ticanee prefer a sling. At around ten, they'll graduate to heavier weapons as their bodies grow, short swords, bows, quarterstaves. Only the oldest of children would consider a long sword to be a valid weapon, or an axe, as of the strength requirements to wield and use.
Religion
Before they encountered the Seven Heroes, Ticanee almost exclusively worshipped totem spirits. Totems are animal spirits, representative of certain qualities generally associated with those animals. The totem of the Wolf, for instance, represents loyalty, ferocity in battle, and other wolf-like qualities.
The worship of the totems is much different than that of the Firan gods. There is no priest class, as the totems are called upon solely by the individual requesting their favor. There are men and women learned in the ways of the totem who can act as guides, but most interaction is done on a personal basis.
The totems are prayed to, but offerings are not made. Furthermore, they neither demand nor require a temple for worship. Much like the animals whose spirit they embody, the totems are free spirited and accept what is given to them. Though many Ticanee have moved away from totem worship, this spirit of permissiveness has continued to influence their culture and is, in part, the very reason they are so accepting of other gods.
Some of the hard-core Ticaness still believe that when you make a kill, you must eat the animal's heart to honour the Totem it represents; thus thanking them for the sacrafice. Bigger hearts get one big bite then the rest is buried. It's not uncommon to see adults and child alike eating the heart of a kill and whispering a prayer.
Rites of Passage
For Ticanee, there isn't just a Ceremony of Souls. When a Ticanee child is old enough, they go out into the world and begin looking for ways to prove themselves. As they are a proud people, Ticanee like to celebrate their achievements and life changing experiences with tattoos. Some even consider the first tattoo to /be/ the mark of passage into adult life. By decree of Clan Leader Taria Oshta, the tattoo that is received at the Rite of Passage has to represent some accomplishment achieved or hardship endured that entitles them to adulthood. If they cannot articulate both what they've done to earn adulthood and how their tattoo relates to that, they may not receive it nor become an adult.
Punishment
There is no such thing as "grounding" in Ticanee society. A grounding is nothing more than letting a cub relax and get out of stuff. Instead, punishment is swift and sometimes seemingly harsh. Double chores. Rationed meals. Whippings. In fact, in most families, if one cub gets in trouble, all the cubs get punished. No cub wants to be the reason everyone else gets punished!
The child who earned the most extreme punishment was a boy named Sren, though his name is not spoken among the Ticanee, nor will any recognize him on the street - he was banished for the clan, for threatening a clan heir, it is said, with a naked blade.
Courting
Boys are gross. Girls have flooties. However, as they grow older, they start to notice one another a bit more. In Ticanee society, if someone of the opposite sex gives you a dead animal, it is a sign they like you. The bigger the animal, the more they are trying to impress you. This usually starts late in childhood; closer to the Rites of Passage and Ceremony of Souls. Though some kids will send dead animals to their friends -- Firan and Ticanee alike -- confusing it to be a gesture of friendship.
Marriage
It's that weird time when a mer and a mes actually want to be together. Yuck. After a Ticanee wedding, the married adults go into a wedding tent and consumate the union. For cubs, this is very odd to them as it just sounds like a lot of moving and growling. This usually spurs curious questions from the kids and hasty dismissals and changing-of-subjects from adults.
For some reason, young female cubs are expected to learn cooking at an early age. Males generally don't learn such skills, though they might learn how to lean a bit of poultry against the fire, or dry out some meats for saving for later. It's also overheard that married men should never eat food made by other women. This is a curious concept to children as how does that factor in mommies and sisters... and why is it a big deal?
Language
All natural-born Ticanee can speak their native language. It's encouraged to be used constistantly in the district as that is their home turf. Very young Ticanee children (1-5) will likely speak mostly Ticanee. From there, most also learn to speak Firan. Though some parents who never opted to learn Firan choose, also, not to teach their children Firan. As a whole, Ticanee are bi-lingual.
Fighting
Cubs fight. That's just the way of things. If there is a dispute with another cub -- even a Firan cub -- Ticanee usually opt to brawl it out. The rule most are taught is that they got to make sure an adult is there to make sure they hurt each other too much or worse. Some adults won't like this at all, so it's great confrontational rp!
Common Lingo
- Old Wolf -- Ekenon Cottonmouth - Master trainer of the Ticanee
- Bobcat -- Okatik Swiftpaw
- Hawk -- Abayos Leafchaser
- Oshta -- Often referred to the current Clan Leader as well as referring to the Oshta Family.
- Cubs -- Children, usually of the Ticanee, though many a cub will use this in reference to any child, usually to poor response among the Firans who do not like to view their children as animals.
- Shaman -- Teachers and mentors of the Totems.
Entertainment
There isn't really a concept of "toys" to Ticanee children. The things a Ticanee child carries will always have some sort of significance as well as a learning tool. Once in a while, you will see a Tic carrying a doll, but rest assured that doll resembles something very important to their life. Cubs often travel light and find pleasure in the things nature provides. This, of course, includes worms, toads, and turtles! When chores allow time for a kid to be a kid, cubs love to engage in games of racing, swimming, scraping, building, hunting and fishing. All of these games, while fun, are preparing them for their adult lives.
Tribe
If your parents don't belong to a tribe, you're likely of the Wolf tribe. Most of the Ticanee tribes were wiped out when the Shamibelians first started invading north, and the ancestral lands of the Ticanee south of Ellish are still within the hands of the Goats.
