There are an awful lot of stories about the Qualmi. But there's some I like better than others, especially those about the first Qualmi. This one's called "How Lynx-Boy Stole Wendigo's Sight."
There are other Lynx-Boy tales that happened before this one, like the one about how he stole smarts from the salmon. That's why folks say the Qualmi are slippery and always swimming upstream instead of down -- backwards wisdom, we call it.
And then there was the story about how he stole his thick fur from the Polar Bear. But it was too big and didn't fit just right, so his paws were thick and his ears long. Some folks laughed at him for that one, so he tried to dirty the coat up, so it wouldn't look the same. They still laughed -- until that bad winter happened and they all died of cold, while Lynx-Boy was warm and snug in his big coat.
Well, this story egins with Lynx-Boy wandering around looking for food. Since he was the first lynx changer, he could hunt as a human or a lynx. He had broken his spear the last time he tried fishing, so he figured he'd hunt as a lynx. Trouble was, snow was all around. Those tasty hares were white as snow, so to speak, and Lynx-Boy couldn't see them. He needed help, 'cause any lynx that can't hunt rabbits is a hungry lynx.
He wandered about wondering what to do when all of a sudden a fierce cold wind hit. He snuggled up in his coat and looked around to see why the wind was so strong. Over the hill, he saw Wendigo coming, angry as always.
Nobody else was around, 'cause everybody always runs from Wendigo. But Lynx-Boy, with his salmon smarts, figured out just how he was going to hunt those hares, using Wendigo's help.
He laid down in the snow and played dead. Smelling meat, Wendigo plowed through the drifts straight toward him. He grabbed him up and swallowed him whole -- without chewing or nothing -- and kept on plowing through the snow.
Lynx-Boy hung onto a tooth and crawled out of his coat, letting it slip down Wendigo's gullet. He was awful cold in there, and knew he had to work quick. He jumped to the tonsils and climbed up the sinuses. From there, it was easy to reach out of the nose and pluck out the Wendigo's eyes. That's what he did, and the Wendigo bellowed in rage -- it doesn't know how to anything else, 'cept eat -- and clutched its empty sockets.
Lynx-Boy slid down the throat and leapt out of the mouth as the monster bellowed. He dove into the snow and hid himself. Wendigo wandered around, looking for his eyes, but then the wind came and gave him new ones. Ice collected in his sockets and froze solid into balls. Wendigo could see again and went about his business.
As he was leaving, he stopped to shit Lynx-Boy's fur coat into the snow. When he was gone, Lynx-Boy slipped back into his coat, no warmer for traveling through Wendigo's guts. But now he had two eyes made out of wind, and nothing sees cleaer or farther than the wind. He plucked his own eyes out and put the Wendigo's eyes in. From then on, he could see white hares in the purest snow.
That's why folks say the Qualmi can see far, but it's a cold sight -- calculating and intelligent, not warm and friendly. It's also a hungry sight, always searching for new things, spying out secrets. It's also why baby lynxes have blue eyes.
Later, when Lynx-Boy went back for his own eyes, he'd found that a raven had taken them. He chased that bird around for an awful long time, over the course of many stories, always stealing something and there. Byt the time he found the bird, he realized that he didn't want his old eyes back anyway. So he stole the raven's secrets.
But that's another story.
TRIBAL BACKGROUND
Just as the lynx changes its coat to match the season, the Qualmi werelynx adapts to her surroundings. Enigmatic masters of animals and disguise, these Native American Bastet cloak their secrets in misdirection. Riddles fascinate them, and few of their kind offer straight answers to any question. For anyone with a literal mind, dealing with these Riddle Dancers can be fruitless an infuriating. It's not wonder they live alone!
Unlike the wandering Pumonca, this tribe remains largely at home in the wildernesses of Canada, Alaska and the northern United States. Solitary by nature, Qualmi often surround themselves with animal companions but shun the company of other people. They attend taghairms occasionally, but more out of curiosity and manners than out of obligation. In spite of their hermetic tendencies, Qualmi are generous Folk; a chance encounter may be taken home, fed and given presents if the Riddle Dancer likes him. A person or animal in need will be sheltered and fed for months at a time if necessary. This generosity may be a tribal trait, or it might stem from the customs of the northwest native peoples. Either way, it's common to all Qualmi.
The price of such hospitality is the werecat's riddling nature. Guests will be asked endless question which seem to make no sense, will be given equally nonsensical answers to their own queries, and have to endure long periods of empty silence. Most of these questions have deeper meanings, but quite a few of them are just asked for the Bastet's amusement. As a rule, a lynx loves to see what kidn of answer her guest supplies, and she'll judge him accordingly. Clever people are valued companions, while dolts who must be spoon-fed are quickly driven out the door. A Qualmi enforces solitude in subtle but relentless ways. Sooner or later, a guest move on, if only out of sheer frustration.
Puzzling out the "history" of the werelynxes is impossible, even for the cats themselves. Their caliah are convoluted affairs, with no real points of reference. Every Qualmi tells her tribe's story differently; some point to a human tribe called the Snoqualmie who hunted and fished along the coasts, while others claim to have been born from the mating of a pine cone, a salmon and a burst of sunlight. Some ancestors figure prominently in many tales: Strange Owl Woman, who fought the Wyrmcomers in the Old West; Weeping Skunk, who fooled Coyote himself into giving up his Gift of shapechanging; Glowing Bundle Leap, who swam to the bottom of the sea to feed her children with shelfish, and many others whose legends seem fantastical to literal thinkers. Qualmi lore has the feeling of a huge joke with a serious punchline, but very few outsiders have the patience to puzzle it out.
&nsbp; Unlike most Bastet, Qualmi enjoy the company of wolves. The cats' friendship with the Uktena reaches back before either tribe can recall. Many Riddle Dancers hold position of honor in northern caerns, and trade secrets with the spirit masters. The Wendigo remain more distant; the Qualmi haev never been warlike enough for their tastes. While most werewolves find a lynx's riddling ways infuriating, Theurges and Philodoxes enjoy trying to puzzle out the werecat's true meaning. Many of these riddles find their way into Garou gamecraft.
To lessen their solitude, Qualmi befriend animals. Like the Garou, Qualmi associate themselves with beast spirits and often receive guifance from Gafflings of Salmon, Eagle, Whale or Elk. "There's wisdom in a hawk's cry and serenity in moose turds," sums up a lynx's outlook. Animals, at least, are more honest than people.
Qualmi see beyond appearances, and they loathe hypocrisy. Most can see right through deceptions, and punish liars with tricks of their own. These Bastet are slow to anger, and their rage takes a slower path than simple violence. Qualmi punish slights by setting magical traps and spirit lures. Gold prospectors in the 1800s often found themselves buried alive in shimmering dust, or were tricked into shooting each other by phantom voices and paranoid dreams. When forced to fight, a lynx explodes in a flurry of claws and teeth, then flees as soon as possible.
Tales portray the Qualmi as master magicians, but that may just be misdirection. They certainly seem more enigmatic than powerful, but it's hard to tell -- they're not known for showing off. The magicks they do demonstrate often involve shapeshifting into many different forms. Perhaps they gather their riddles by watching things from a hundred different perspectives. Maybe Qualmi only appear to be solitary -- when you can change forms, you recognize and appreciate the many different creatures all around you. Qualmi often depends on these associates for information, and sometimes for protectionl in return, they offer a never-ending stream of food, gifts and quizzical company.
TRIBAL HOME
Qualmi range across the northern American reaches, build solitary houses or dens, and -- barring crises -- remain around there until death. Some lynxes enjoy traveling, but they're the exception, not the rule.
CULTURE AND KINFOLK
From youth to old age, the werelynxes are a vigorous, physical tribe. Most of them enjoy swimming, even in frigid water, and fish, by diving through holes cut into the ice. Their friends and Kinfolk are celver and sturdy, with a fond humor and inquisitive minds. Their feline Kin wander further south and east than the Bastet themselves do, and occasionally appear in the southwest or even Europe.
Qualmi never mate for long; lovers part ways before the children themselves are born. These children are nursed through infancy, then given over to trusted friends for raising. If the Changing Breed carried through, the friends direct the kit back to her parent; otherwise, she many never know who her mother was.
ORGANIZATION
The only time Qualmi gather is when an elder takes a youngster in for fostering. The First Year often lasts about six months with Qaulmil they grow nervous in each others' company and quickly make their own space elsewhere.
SECRETS SOUGHT
Naturally enough, these cats seek out riddles. They enjoy elemental lore and native culture, but seem intrigued by modern mass media, too. Many lynxes have telecisions in their remote dwellings: TVs which get excellent receptions without cable access... and without power, for that matter.
YAVA
The power of a lynx lies in her riddles; to unravel them is to undo her magic.
The Qualmi share a soul with the salmon; poison the salmon and you harm the tribe.
No lynx can speak the truth about her parents. Confront her with their names and faces, and she will be confused for days.
APPEARANCE
Nearly all werelynxes descend from northern tribes like Inuit, Ojibwa, Cree, Mohawks and the occasional Sioux. A few modern Qualmi have white ancestors or lovers, but "integration" has been slow among this tribe, if only because of their isolation.
Generally, they're a small folk in both Homid and cat-forms, with dark, thick skin, deep-set eyes and wiry builds. Youngsters have gray hair, and they appear to age quickly. Even when she's angry, a werelynx always seems to be smiling at some private joke. Her cat-forms are thick furred, large-eared and big-pawed, often spotted but occasionally striped. Depending on the season, a Qualmi's coat may be either white, dirty gray, yellow-and-white or brown. In human form, she'll dress in rustic "outdoorsman" clothes, often with Western or Native American motifs. Fish, birds, mask and furs are common themes and decorations, but all Qualmi wear some insignia of the moon on their person at all times.
QUOTE
If I were to change my face, would it alter what I am? Appearances are deceiving, my brother, the heart sees better than the eyes.
STEREOTYPES
Bagheera: White cat, pretty white cat, walk from sun into shadow and bring with you the house of eternity.
Balam: Frog poison makes Two Hearts boil. They moon has fled your jaws and your hands blaze with fire. Quiet, Smoking Mirror. Your future is shattered glass.
Bubasti: Fishes die. They float for a while, then sink and decay. Then they are eaten by little fishes. There's a lesson in this if you care to look.
Ceilican: Dreams never die.
Khan: The judges are judges by their own clawed hearts. The verdict is pending, and the sun awaits an answer.
Pumonca: Fly, O children of thunder. The dust on your soles is our past and our future. Carry it wisely, don't sweep it away.
Simba: Voice of thunder, the death you foretell is your own
Swara: Wisdom is the wind. Like attracts like. A hero does not need a parade, only a blanket and silence.
