Hunterheart

Hunterheart is one of the sub-types of the Beast seeming. They are fearsome predators and hunters. Theirs is the Blessing of the Tooth and Claw.

Overview
Ever since the Cro-Magnons huddled around their fires and told stories of the Wolf outside their caves, the True Fae have reveled in their hunts. The Hunterhearts are those who were caught up in those hunts, yet managed to escape before they became beasts irrevocably. They are a kith of near-infinite variety, drawing on affinities with all manner of predatory beasts and even the more abstract nature of the animalistic hunter. All Hunterhearts  share  the  aura  of  the  predator,  something that can bleed through the Mask and make humans uncomfortable. Sometimes, though, it comes across as a vibrant sexuality, which can be either intimidating or attractive.

Beyond that, Hunterhearts show the expected variety for a kith with many  possible  animal  aspects. Ears, teeth  and  eyes  are some of the most frequently altered physical features, and some display small claws or patches of fur along the shoulders, forearms or shins. Those Hunterhearts who are imbued more with the spirit of the hunter than any particular beast may take on features akin to multiple animals, or feral traits akin to old legends — antlers, pitch-black skin, long nails, shaggy hair and the like. The most common feature is that their teeth, claws or horns are always more distinctly dangerous than those of other Beasts.

Durance
These Beasts  were  absorbed  into  the  wild hunts of the True Fae. Some Hunterhearts were kept as hunters themselves,  running  before  the  horses  of  their  Keepers to  catch  a  scent,  flush  prey  from  the  bushes  and  finally  to fall on the quarry with tooth and nail. Other Hunterhearts were the hunted, developing their bestial traits as a survival response. Breaking the chain of predator and prey was the most difficult thing, but it was also the gateway for human reason to return.

Not all Hunterhearts actually had to hunt, of course. The kith includes  those  Lost  who  were  kept  as  vicious  animals without  knowing  the  limited  freedom  of  the  chase. These were the  lions  and  bears  kept  for  pit-fighting, the  shackled guard dogs, the monsters in the labyrinth. They may not have learned how to hunt, but they developed a vicious streak all the same.

Folklore
Fairy tales abound with the intelligent predator: the Big Bad Wolf, Puss in Boots and Tom Tildrum, Reynard the Fox and Old Man Coyote and so many more. Practically every known culture has some tales about the predatory animals that  were  closest  to  them. Sometimes they’re  the foolish animals that are undone by the clever tricksters, but these animals can also be the ones playing the tricks.

The demonic huntsman is also a common element in folklore. The most  famous  example  is  of  course  the  Wild Hunt,  particularly  appropriate  because  those  humans  the demonic  huntsmen  hunted  were  often  said  to  be  forced  to join the hunt themselves. In some cases, the huntsman was said to seek human or animal prey; in other cases, he hunted other fae, such as Odin pursuing the huldra.

Frailties
Repelled by cockcrows, cannot cross running water at  night,  repelled  or  injured  by  monkshood,  cannot harm dogs, must eat raw meat, immobilized by a ribbon tied around the neck