Formation
In the beginning time, when the papillon race was still very young, there was a rift forming withing the Asahiko. Some of the younger papillon felt wings were useless. They found their wings were too fragile to last for very long, that the rewards of flight were fleeting, and energy a papillon body spent regrowing wings could be more wisely spent in other pursuits. During its time, this idea was heresy. Wolves that refused to regrow their wings were badly beaten by upstart juveniles... upstart juveniles who'd been encouraged by their elders.
Some of the papillon who believed in the radical idea fled their packs, choosing to live freely in the shadows of Firesky rather than living in constant fear within the watching eyes of the packs. One day, one of these lone "heretics" was found by adolescents wanting desperately to prove themselves. The loner's persecutors went to far... by nightfall, the papillon was dead.
Those who had been living as exiles were furious. They cried out into the night for their comrades. The sound of their howls made the trees tremble. The pack wolves grew anxious, for it was only now that they realized how many of the shadow children (as was the polite term for them at the time) there were. The renegades ran together, searching to avenge their fallen brother... He was the first papillon ever killed by another...
They found the group that did it. Four others joined the first in rejoining the Great Cycle of Being... Still others were injured in fights that night, and many, many more were killed or wounded in the skirmishes between the two clans that followed. It was the darkest day the young papillon race had ever seen... it was the bloody emergence of the Jitsuko.
The other clans like to pretend the day never occured, and indeed, many have forgotten it. The Jitsuko alway tell the tale, remembering the day their race lost their innocence, but they gained their freedom.
Beliefs
Each papillon believes in what they call the Great Cycle of Being. They accept that everything that is has its own place in the Cycle, and that reaching one's full potential is only possible when one accepts one's place. To keep the Cycle continuous, Balance must be maintained. When a soul is recalled to the Cycle (death), then it is encompassed within the very heart of the Cycle, in which the soul knows nothing but bliss. Then, depending on how much a soul has grown or regressed, it is sent back out to one of the many realms to fill a position the Cycle needs for the continuation of the Eternal Rotation. Should a soul ever reach its full potential, then it shall become a part of the heart of the Cycle, and a new soul will be born to take its place.
Of course, different clans interpret these basic beliefs differently.
The Jitsuko do not see things as black and white, good and bad. They tend not to even believe in the concepts of good and evil. Even pain, to them, is a neutral force. It is, obviously, not a pleasant experience, but without pain, could one even know what pleasure is?
In conflicts, the Jitsuko perfer to remain neutral, aiding whomever will come to them for aid. In fights they are forced to choose sides on, though, they will pick the side losing the most ground... even if other Papillon clans are on the opposing side. They do this to maintain Balance, though this sentiment does not make them any less feared by the other Papillon clans.
It is not to say that the Jitsuko do not have their own moral code. Jitsuko pups are taught to only kill for food and for self preservation, that actions must not be made in simply in spite, ect. They believe their moral code is not to be forced on others; that their moral code is a part of their place in the Cycle, and to force another into it would be maladaptive. But, like all mortal creatures, they are fallible.
A popular Jitsuko saying is, "there is no one true way". This is one reasons why they can ally themselves with people they do not share the same beliefs of; each way is valid. To protect Balance, and hence the stability of the realms, each way must be guarded, whether it counters the Jitsuko one or not. This basic belief is also one of the reasons why the Jitsuko is the most accepting of all the clans.
Attitude Towards the Other Clans
Hikari: As their rival clan, relationships to this clan are the most turbuent. It does not help that the Hikari have a condecending attitude towards the Jitsuko. Due to this, Jitsuko wolves often grow up thinking the Hikari are, at best, stuck up, and, at worst, closeminded idiots. Fights between these clans are most often started due to Hikari aggression. When the Jitsuko are the attackers, though, it is usually do to Hikari provication: basic Jitsuko beliefs make fighting due to clan differences of of the worst offenses there is (but fighting Hikari in self defense or to maintain Balance is perfectly acceptable). Still, fighting between these two clans is at a minimum today, especially with the thiness of the papillon population.
Duuyo: These two clans have a somewhat strained relationship, due to the fact their beliefs are very much at odds. While the Jitsuko are accepting, the Duuyo are often not sure what to make of the Jitsuko. At times Duuyo have hidden entirely from Jitsuko (due to fear and/or shunning), other times they celebrate with them. Despite rocky relations, there is no history of violence between these two clans.
Kenjin: By far these wolves have the best relationship with the Jitsuko, even if they, at times, are as afraid of them as everyone else. There is some understanding between these two clans, due to the fact they tend to be seen as the 'rebel' clans. They also have some common ground, as both clans do not really believe in the concepts of "good" and "evil". There is no history of violence between these clans, and, rarely, a Kenjin pack's territory has overlapped with a Jitsuko pack's territory.
Relationships With Other Creatures
Two legged species: These creatures barely raise the intrest of the Jitsuko. Twoleggers are not a part of the Jitsuko diet, as often their meat is no good, and they're often too much trouble to kill (as killing a twolegger, no matter the helplessness, often incurs the wrath of nearby twoleggers). Hunters are usually the only reason the Jitsuko even interact with two leggers, and then only to defend themselves.
Sentient Creatures: are valid food sources for Jitsuko. While every other clan has some qualms about devouring sentients, the Jitsuko have no taboos against this. Of course, they do not go out of their way to eat sentients; a meal is a meal, whether self conscious or not.
Suicide
Jitsuko attach neither think of suicide as noble or it as a terrible sin against the Cycle. They believe in some cases, wolves know that they must move on within the Cycle... other times, they feel it is only a wolf's inability to deal with their current place in the Cycle... and sometimes wolves are just confused. Whatever the case, Jitsuko believe that it is an induvidual's decision to make, therefore they do not try to stop suicides, and they do practice mercy killing.
Neuters
Neuters are the best treated by the Jitsuko clan, as they are usually thought of as equal to male and female wolves. The Jitsuko clan is the only one where neuters can raise to the ranks of alpha and beta, but this is only allowed when a pack is large and there isn't a need for both the alpha and beta to be able to mate and raise pups. Neuters never occupy both the alpha and beta positions of a Jitsuko pack. Prejudice against neuters is usually only seen from Jitsuko wolves that have switched from the Hikari clan.
Naming
Jitsuko are never named things like "Frostfire", "CrimsonStar", "Scar", "Joey", ect. Examples of acceptable names are: Amani, Kalini, Sakul, ect..