Onza: the Cougars

The cougar is the largest cat species still extant in North America of the Bright Future, and also extends through Central and South America as well. The cougar, also known as the puma, panther, mountain lion, or catamount, is the equivalent of the leopard, being a highly adaptable, generalist hunter whose range spans an enormous variety of climates. The various aboriginal groups of the Americas have very different feelings about the puma, ranging from acute distrust and fear to crediting the animal with a protective, almost maternal, instinct toward a given tribe.

Cougars are mostly solitary creatures and the Onza (or the Cuitlamiztli, the Aztec word originally used as their name), their shifter cousins, reflect this. The Onza will only rarely, in extreme circumstances, seek out other Onza for help in anything other than the teaching of Gifts. This may be why their numbers suffered so badly following the original slaughter of the Bastet by the Garou, and again during the Long Night. It took the greater part of the Long Night for the younger Onza to break free of this millennia-long habit and begin to emerge from the woods and mountains to assist in the downfall of the vampires.
The Onza are known for their deep connection with Wind and Earth, and their Gifts reflect this association. They are the mystics and communicators with the Wyld and Gaia among the Bastet.

Onza Gifts

Rank 1

Catfeet: Able to walk silently over any surface in other forms than feline.
Cat Sight: Able to see in the dark.
Hear the Mother: Have an innate sense of the lay of the land, major geological features, and, with experience, be able to foresee earthquakes and other geological events.
Lick Wounds: Can lick wounds (own or others) and heal them.
Mockingbird: Mimic any natural sound or voice.
Pathfinder: Can (eventually) find your way out of a maze, labyrinth, or other tangled navigational mess.
Perfect Balance: Can walk or run along even the narrowest of ledges without falling.
Razor Claws: +1 dam to claws.
Sense Corruptor: Detect Corruption in an area or on a person.
Sense Magic: Detect magic in an area or on a person.
Spirit Sight: See spirits of all sorts (spirits, ghosts, spirity creatures).
Taste the Wind: Sense the weather, incoming weather, changes in the environment
Treeclimber: Can use claws to scale any vertical surface.
Wanderer's Boon: Adapt quickly to new environmental conditions, go without food and water for extended periods.

Rank 2

Call Spirits: Summon nearby spirits.
Cat Fall: Land on feet every time, even in homid.
First Slash: Strike with blinding speed before the opponent can attack.
Gallop: Move very fast over distances of up to a mile.
Groom: Remove poisons and other nasty substances from self and others without harm to self.
Leap: Can leap seemingly impossible distances without harm.
Sense of the Prey: Can track prey if it's known and it is not actively hiding as rapidly as you can travel.
Sense Silver: Detect the presence of silver in the area.
Shriek: Deafens people in the area, friend and foe alike.
Sprint: Blurringly fast sprint over a very short distance.
Staredown: Cow lesser beings with your disdainful stare.
Whiskers: Navigate an environment blind (blindfolded, in darkness without Cat Sight, actually blind) without running into things, tripping, falling down holes, etc. Is not true sight, however, and can't be used as such.
Raincalling: Summon rain ‚ tends to be more like a cooling drizzle than a thunderstorm.
Stonework: Shape small amounts of stone, glass, and dirt into whatever shape you want.

Rank 3

Ignore Pain: Ignore the effects of wounds.
Earthscrying: Can see visions of past events by sifting through the earth or sand or rocks of an area.
Summon Material Spirit: Call an elemental-type spirit of the type to which you are most attuned. For instance, if you're from swamplands, you might summon a swamp spirit (dripping with mud and plants), but if you're a desert type, then you might summon a desert/sand spirit.
Summon Wind Spirit: Call a spirit of elemental wind of the type to which you are most attuned. Mostly cyclone-type spirits.
Thunderbolt: Call down a lightning bolt from any cloud in the sky.
Toxic Wounds: Poison any bite or claw wounds.
Walk the Wall: Run up or down vertical surfaces.

Rank 4

Bring the Winds: Summon a windstorm (unfocused, so not a tornado).
Den: Create a Den Realm attached to your territory.
Hungry Earth: Open the earth under the feet of an opponent.
Spirit Claws: Attack something in the Umbra without going there.
Tame the Wind: Fly at the speed of the wind for as long as you can concentrate.
Walking Between Worlds: Enter the Umbra.

Rank 5

Earthquake: Summon an earthquake that can be felt for miles.
Jump to the Moon: Leap any distance, any height, without harm.
Perfect Passage: Pass over or through any obstacle, leaving no trace.
Thunderbird: Summon a vicious thunderstorm and tornadoes.