A/N: There will be a more descriptive A/N in the third chapter. THIS STORY IS UN'BETAED! ALL MISTAKES MADE ARE MY OWN. FEEL FREE TO NOTIFY ME OF ANY ERRORS!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I just like to twist the characters' lives around a little bit. Okay, a lot bit. All rights belong to Stephenie Meyer. The formers, however, are mine.
Werecats (technically the formers) are very different from the shifters in some ways. First off; they're obviously called formers, as stated first. Instead of phasing, they alter.
Second; they can go for long periods of time (a week or two) after eating a meal the size of a small breakfast (i.e two pancakes and a tall glass of... milk) without food (though when given the chance, they will eat as much, if not more, than the wolves.) However, they must drink some sort of liquid AT LEAST once every two days or they will dehydrate.
Third; they are ALL female- not one male has altered on the face of the planet. At least, not yet...
Fourth; the altered forms are not all one specific feline breed- i.e one pride member may be a lion, another may be a tiger- but they are all similar in size.
Fifth; they are not all full Quileute. In fact, not many of them are. The original formers were, but the following formers are a mix of palefaces and Native Americans, though they must have some Quileute blood in their veins.
Sixth; they don't smell so significantly bad to other supernatural creatures. Instead of smelling like a wet cat, as expected, they smell more natural, sort of earthy, though that smell may be disgusting to other species.
Seventh; being as big and heavy as they are, they can still climb normal, forest trees. It's only instinctive, isn't it?
Eighth; their Alphas can communicate with all other supernatural creatures. They act as a link between their pride and the opposite species or act as a 'translator' between two different species altogether.
Ninth; their normally very fast metabolism has the ability to slow down when it is not getting enough food or nutrients, unlike the wolves, who just eat. And eat. And eat. The slowing of a cats metabolism will bring down the energy and stamina level of the former.
Tenth; when the formers alter back to human form, they still have their clothes on. No one knows why, it just is.
Eleventh; the cats do not look nearly identical to other formers in human form like the wolves do, although the cats share many physical qualities, both in human and feline form.
Twelfth; the length of the formers hair does not affect the cat forms fur. If anything, longer hair helps keep the cats fur healthy and strong.
Thirteenth; some formers come with powers, kind of like the vampires. It is not uncommon for a former to have two.
Fourteenth; formers can gain scars, though the wounds that led to the scars heal quickly, just like a wolf.
Fifteenth; they do not believe in imprinting, though they do have mates (if that makes sense). Their True Mates, however, are always some other mythical creature, so True Mates are very rare. Once the formers mate marks them, they are bound together until death does them part.
Sixteenth; killing vampires is not the formers sole purpose. The formers sole purpose is to make sure that their peoples' lives aren't disrupted, meaning that formers can get along with vampires normally. It is thought that they were created out of jealousy or indignation coming from the women of the Quileute tribe. They sort of balance the wolves out.
Lastly; most of the wolves were okay with the Cullen's arrival in Washington as long as they didn't trespass on tribal land. If they didn't bite any humans, the shifters didn't mind the Cullen's staying. The formers, however, minded very much. None of them wanted anything to do with the vegetarian coven; the cats wanted them off of their land or killed, no questions asked. That resulted to many fights (a whole pack of shifters and a large coven of vamps; who wouldn't lose?) which resulted to the endangerment of the former species.
The cats are similar to the wolves in many ways too. Yes, they run an abnormally high temperature, yes, they are pretty tall, gorgeous, and weirdly muscular, yes, the alter is triggered by vampires or other supernatural creatures in the area, yes, their cat forms are as big as the shifters in wolf form, yes, the formers stop physically aging as long as they alter, yes, their senses are exceptionally sharp, (especially their sense of smell because they have extra scent glands on the roofs of their mouths, being a cat and all), yes, (contrary to popular belief) the cats and the wolves both catch things (like colds) and other stuff that make them feel like crap (but they aren't so severe that they can't skip patrolling, etc.), yes, there are some exceptions to supernatural allies and enemies, yes, the formers are thought to be a 'cult' (but they embrace it so some of them look and act like they would be), yes, there are different prides like the packs, yes, there are Alphas in the prides, and yes, all the cats in one pride are like one big, happy family.
The formers were created after the shifters were, sort of like a guiding hand for the wolves. Of course, that meant that the wolves were prized above the cats, leaving the formers to slink around in their shadows. The Council always praised the shifters, showering them with attention. With the formers, however, they were just barely civil, believing that since they were female, they were weak.
Formers are one of the two Protectors of the Quileute Tribe. Many differences and similarities may create a rift between the formers and the shape-shifters, but they work in perfect harmony... At least, they used to. The Cullen's arrival had created a major separation between the two species of Protectors. Will they learn to work together or succumb to there desires of ripping each others heads off?