The Very Best

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I wanna be the very best

It's called the Fairy Zone– named in honour of the tiny creatures that twinkle and glow on warm, summer nights, and gather in stunning masses above the tribe's lands. It is surrounded on all sides by cliffs and impassable thickets, and only accessible by fording a fast-moving current or navigating a small tunnel system. Our founder, Grassrustle, resides on a beautiful stretch of grass clearing in the heart of it. He's made this natural fortress his home and has found and tamed a number of rare, lovely creatures that previously roamed wild in these clearings and sheltered copses.

Now, my dear friends, he's extending a welcoming bough to you, inviting you to come with your pets, your familiars, your hopes and your dreams in order to eke out a more meaningful existence with the companionship of Matope's glorious creatures.

Like no one ever was

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To catch them is my real test

The tenets, ideals, and spirit of the tribe revolve around familiar culture. There is an emphasis on the capture, taming, or gaining the trust of Matope's wildlife, followed by bonding and training with your partners to unlock their greatest potential. Each kin sees different potential in the same creatures; where a Totoma may value an eagle's ability to spot and herd small prey, an Acha may train her to do stunning aerial maneuvers to 'dance' alongside him, or a particularly artistic kin may keep her plumage in excellent condition to harvest her shed feathers for use in crafts. Potential can be seen as a variety of things, and are prioritized by the trainer– the only wrong way to train your companions is to treat them with a dearth of love and respect.

The utmost priority is placed on the health and wellbeing of the companions.

To train them is my cause

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I will travel across the land

Although a great variety of wildlife are present in the Fairy Zone, large predators are not amongst them– and there are rare creatures hidden in corners of the swamp that cannot be found by staying in the tribe's territories. It's common for tribe members to travel away from their home in the heart of the swamp, to seek out its farthest corners, and find a place that suits their companions' needs.

The foremost of these trainers (known, rather appropriately, as Leaders) have set up small waystations of a kind. They are marked with two nested circles struck through with a straight line, to denote the connetion between trainer and companion. Meant to be off-site gathering places for the tribe members, companions are shown off and compete against each other, completing tasks of intelligence, fortitude, and perseverance. Trainers may compete to gain prestige and respect amongst the tribe– these Leaders' waystations generally have tasks for companions of all skill-levels.

Searching far and wide

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Matope's beasts to understand

All of Matope's creatures– tameable or not, edible or not, intelligent or not– are special, connected to the MotherFather, and deserve the utmost of respect. While it is true that a simple songbird may be less respected than its larger cousin the eagle, both have their respective talents and qualities, and all have a place in the tribe. It is up to the trainer to choose which sorts of companions to pursue and train– what one may find fulfilling, another may see as trite, foalish, or heavy-hoofed.

The tribe encourages all manner of respectful debate and boasting about which familiars are best, but strictly ban any forms of abuse or mistreatment– either humiliation of a trainer to dissuade them from training a certain breed of animal, or attempts to chase away a creature that one would consider to be unfit. Conversely, attempting to charm away or steal someone's companion is unacceptable behaviour.

Hostile behaviours against companions are not acceptable, and while it is acceptable to spoil your companion, it is commonly understood that undisciplined pets will run amok, and not be very well-trained.

The power that's inside

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Gotta catch 'em all

More important than anything else in the tribe, is the training of one's companions. Now that you have earned their respect and trust, what role will you try to have them fulfill?

Will you be the sort of trainer to carefully watch for their natural talents, using their aptitudes to best advantage to show off skills and abilities that other familiars couldn't hope to match? Or will you adapt to them over time, using their quirks to help them conform to the ideas you had in mind for them? Or, if they're completely untrainable, will you give up, or take their steadfast companionship for what it is? As many things in this tribe, the only wrong answer is the one that leads to the neglect or mistreatment of an animal.

It's you and me

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I know its my destiny

Unlike how some kin treat their pets and familiars, the Very Best seek to befriend their bonded. They are friends before they are pets, and are never to be treated as a simple means to an end, which is why they are called Companions. Trust is an invaluable thing, and it is important to foster a rapport with one's companions, as well as ensuring one's companions have a respect for– if not love and trust for– each other.

Some kin may find this distasteful or disproportionate, especially given that some tribe members fall to extremes of avoiding the consumption of meat, fish, eggs, and larger insects in the pursuit of better understanding and becoming closer to their friends. As always, the best approach is the one that works for you.

So come on

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Oh, you're my best friend

More important than anything else is the training of one's companions. Now that you have them, what role will you try to have them fulfill? Will you be the sort of trainer to carefully watch for their natural talents, and to hone and develop them into something unparalleled by any other species? Or will you adapt to them over time, using their quirks to help them conform to the ideas you had in mind for them? Or, if they're completely untrainable, will you give up, or take their steadfast companionship for what it is?

As with anything else in the tribe, the only wrong answer is the one that leads to the mistreatment of a familiar.

In a world we must defend

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Gotta catch 'em all

The ultimate goal of the tribe is for a trainer to work in tandem with their companions as a unit; a flawless working team. After one has proven their aptitude with a single familiar, they are generally encouraged to begin forming a team to better-meet their goals with the tribe– whether that is to experience everything that the tribe has to offer, participating in contests from every discipline, or whether they will attempt to specialize their group to one very specific purpose.

Still, this is by no means necessary, and no consequences befall those who would choose to focus their energies entirely on a single partner. As a matter of fact, many of the most spectacular familiars trained in the tribe are those whose trainers put all of their attention into them and no others– though some will choose to tame and train other familiars to help in the grooming, care, or assistance of these spectacular specimens.

A heart so true

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Our courage will pull us through

This is more than a simple group of pet enthusiasts. Both companion and trainer must be carefully shaped into a disciplined and caring member of the community. The Elite and Leaders, as well as more senior trainers, take on a role of mentorship and guidance to the younger, more inexperienced, though time and age are taken precedence by natural aptitude and discipline– there are cases where younger kin, being more malleable and openminded, may achieve the badges of trainer discipline and excellence at a faster rate than those who have joined as adults.

Trainers are encouraged to participate in seeking out and challenging the waystation set up by leaders, in exchange for special painted knots being put onto the tribe member's leg band. These knots are badges of success, and denote the trainer has, with the help of their companions, completed an exercise of merit, patience, discipline or strength.

Each one gets successively harder– an attempt to earn one's third badge will see a significantly harder challenge than one's first– and one is said to have completed their badge training by the time they have earned their eighth. This is partially a matter of practicality– the lengths of string hanging from the band would be far too long and cumbersome were one to seek out more– and partially a matter of making sure that further challenges are attainable.

Once one has met this meter, they are considered a leader, and may set up a waystation of their own. Should they wish it, they may also challenge one of the elite to prove their superiority, and therefore take their place as one of the foremost authorities in the tribe.

You teach me and I'll teach you

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So come on!

There would be no new companions in the tribe without capture forays. The fairy zone has carefully-cultivated clearings that attract all number of wildlife to attract and tame, and breeders take care to help maintain the populations, often releasing offspring back into the wild when they are old enough to fend for themselves.

This is a cornerstone of the Best's culture– trainers wait for their opportunities to seek out animals and prove themselves. Some kin will leave bait, or gradually expose the creature to their presence until the animal is comfortable. Others take more direct, confrontory roles and actively try to gain their would-be companions' attention– kicking up mud or tossing stones can sometimes be effective with the boldest familiars. As with many of the other disciplines, the approach that's best is the one that works for the trainer. As long as the companions are not mistreated or badly-injured in the process of capture, it is considered sporting.

It is believed is that the method of attracting and taming a partner will affect their temperament and the trainer-companion relationship. It's recommended that every trainer learn the basic methods, even if they do not personally hold one as a useful tool. Common knowledge holds that certain companions only be approached with certain methods– a foxbun could be very badly injured by a rock, say, and an eagle would likely not be impressed by a stranger hanging around where it nests.

Gotta catch 'em all

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Every challenge along the way

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1. The wellbeing and happiness of companions are paramount. Those who fail to take this into account, by abusing or neglecting their partners, will have their companions seized, if possible, and will be driven from the tribe. The treatment of other animals is seen as an extension of this: if a hunter treats wild animals cruelly or allows them to suffer needlessly, they may be driven from the tribe.
2. Charming away or stealing other kins' familiars is absolutely not tolerated. Any actions like that will result in being ejected from the tribe and banned from traversing the tribelands.
3. One must obey the heirarchy of the tribe. Leaders have precedence over trainers who are still in training, the elite help guide and advise leaders, and the champion acts to break ties when the elite cannot come to a consensus. The day-carers and groundskeeper are considered leaders, but are often consulted by the elite and even the champion when it comes to important tribe decisions.
4. No Trainer may have more than six pets or familiars in their active training rotation. Anyone who gets another may rehome one of theirs to a Junior Trainer, a would-be tribe member, or leave them with the groundskeeper or day-carers.
5. It is permitted to be a member of other tribes, as long as your priority is still to your companions and their needs, and not to your personal studies or lifestyle. Members of tribes whose philosophies condone or encourage violence against animals are companions are not permitted to join unless they recant those violent philosophies.

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With courage I will face

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I will struggle every day

Please Stand By.

To claim my rightful place

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Come with me, the time is right

If you wish to join the tribe, or please post with this form! Day-Carers will ideally work in pairs, such as twins or lifemates may.

[size=14pt][color=#cb2a22][b]I WANNA BE THE VERY BEST![/b][/color][/size]

[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Kin Name:[/b] link to mato.pe page or to cert, if they are not yet on mato.pe
[b]Familiars:[/b] list familiar/s, linking their certs, or say 'none'.
[b]Position:[/b] please link the associated roleplay/s if one is changing a member's rank!
[b]Role:[/b]

There's no better team

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Side by side we'll win the fight

It's always been our dream