Hane Clan

Nomadic by their very existence, the Hane clan of ancient times shares few similarities to that of their current day representatives. Back before the formation of the Hidden Villages, the Hane clan lived off of the land and the resources they could scavenge. In those times the Hane used bird companions to do the bulk of their work, including hunting, scouting, and as a basic guard for when the clan entered hostile areas. The bond between human and bird intensified during these years as some members and birds would bind together, choosing to serve each other than others. Some Hane even started sharing in traits of their feathered companions, their personality matching that of their bird. It was a common rule that a bird once bonded to a human would never be poached by another clan member. Children who came of age were often sent out into the open fields or forests or wherever the clan was located to search for a partner. It was proof of value for both human and bird. And for much of this time the Hane continued their way of life, opting not to make pacts with foreign clans and countries. 

Unfortunately for the Hane, while they may have kept clear of wars and tension between the forming villages, their birds did not. Many of the Hane companions were caught for a village’s use. Stolen away and with no way to communicate to their captors, the Hane birds were trained to deliver secret messages across the land. The birds were chained down, forced to live in mews and unable to migrate with the clan as it moved on from the battle torn land. It was at this point in time that the Hane clan knew they had to change their life, their bonds with their birds, in order for both man and avian to survive.  

In an act that would change the Hane forever, the top minds of the clan came together with the leaders, devising a way to combine the chakra of the bird into the human's body. While some clans preferred to keep their companions as separate entities or house them inside of their bodies to live as a nest, these options were not available for the Hane. If they wanted to live they would have to reach for radical ideas. And they would need help. While the Hane had visited and stayed in villages before, they never lingered and they rarely, if ever, asked for help. But fear of perishing in the aftermath of the war made the clan desperate and in doing so they went to the nearest village located to them: Kumogakure.

The Hane's arrival, however, could not have been more ill timed or rather, ill timed for Kumogakure. Tragedy had struck Kumogakure via the Gold and Silver Brothers and a failed coup. With the village's reputation blackened by this moment of history and the state of all the land's weakened by the First Shinobi World War, Kumogakure was in need of more shinobi and more defense. And while the failed coup and the end of First Shinobi World War brought Kumogakure low, it was the perfect time for the Hane to approach the village in order to seek out the assistance they needed. From that moment on, after speaking with the Raikage and forming an alliance that would last as long as both sides existed, the Hane received what they needed.

With new materials and a safe place to conduct their experiments, the Hane finally achieved what they'd been working on for nearly half a year. They successfully combined the chakra of a bird companion with that of its human master. The current clan leader and the first ever ancestor to current day Hane was that successful attempt. But in the process of the combination, the bird companion itself was lost, it's physical body fading inside of the stronger human host. Through practice and help of the Raikage and Kumogakure, the Hane practiced their techniques and jutsu, eventually figuring out abilities that allowed usage of the bird's body at certain time.

Forming a transformation jutsu that allowed a Hane to turn into his 'bird form' the clan managed to pay back their debt to Kumogakure by acting as messengers and scouts along as skilled ninjas. Because the Hane can turn into the bird they bonded with and look exactly like a mundane bird while keeping their human minds, they were the perfect ninja to send on scouting missions and could deliver messages with more security than a regular bird.

Now the Hane are a respected clan in Kumogakure, stationed in the village since the First War and working with it ever since. Hane are incredibly loyal to Kumogakure and the Raikage, knowing that without the village's generosity and understand they would have long died out. 

After generations of Hane absorbing their bird companion's chakra, they have now started to take on the coloring of that bird or species. Hair and skin color often relate back to the bird sealed inside of the Hane in question. If a bird has white feathers then the hair of its Hane would be white; if it has darker wings then the hair would be darker; there is rarely ever a mutation in this process unless the Hane has bonded with a tropical bird, but even then they will stand out in the natural and muted colors of their fellow clan mates. 

What really makes the Hane stand out from other clans around them is a reaction that sometimes happens when the human's and bird bloodline have been paired together for a few generations (Hane birds often raise one nest of offspring before merging into a human in order to allow for this process to happen). The reaction makes it so the human eyes look more like bird eyes with bright yellow, blue, or brown sclera and a perfectly round pupil. So if the Hane has a child and the child bonds with the offspring of its parent's bird then the chances of this affect happening increases. (For example, the clan's leader and his bird's pedigree has been kept pure since the very beginning meaning all heirs to the clan have this eye feature). Sometimes hierarchy and discrimination come from this as the Hane view this reaction as a powerful and prized thing and those bird eyes are treated with more respect than those without. Because of this many Hane, despite what their eyes look like, wear coverings or glasses that conceal their eyes in order to maintain equality. Eye coverings are an important part of this clan- they are part of the social hierarchy- fc with covered eyes are encouraged but not required. 

Outside of cosmetic appearance, the Hane often have a lifetime of moderating and controlling their chakra and they can communicate with other avian creatures. Because of this the Hane make excellent scouts and Kanchi Taipu, or sensor types that can read lifetime of moderating that know how to detect the presence of other people by reading their chakra. Medical-nin and any skills that require precise chakra control are abilities that Hane thrive in.

On the opposite end, Hane tend to have fragile bones since avian bones are hollow and Hane are more easily injured.

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Hierarchy: One thing that has not changed since the Hane abandoned their nomadic way of living is their hierarchy. There is always one leader and ruling family who has a very strong bloodline and connection to their bird companions. This ruling family can trace its roots back to the first Hane to be successfully adopt a bird chakra into his body. Beyond that the ranks in society is broken down into different bird types that the Hane bond with. Underneath the ruling family are Hane who can transform into birds of prey, then seabirds, followed by common land birds and songbirds that make for the easiest scouts as they are common to most lands, followed by the last and lowest group that is only defined as 'other'. These exotic birds like parrots, toucans, etc, are easily spotted by enemies and make for poor scouts- they are on the bottom totem pole of the clan. Respect is often given to Hane who have bird eyes and thus can prove a pure bloodline but many Hane choose to cover their eyes regardless of what they have.   

Diet: While there are no dietary restrictions or anything along those sorts of things, it is known that a Hane will eat birdseed and grubs when they their emotions or chakra is unbalanced. 

Migration: Once every year all who are physically able and those who are not on missions embark on a week long migration that takes them away from Kumogakure. Each stop the 'flock' makes they pay homage to their ancestors and the loss the clan suffered with the final stop a few miles away from the village where they throw a great feast that celebrates the first successful combination of man and bird. Any babes or chicks born on that night are especially honored and are believed to be destined for great things.   

Bonding: When a child is first born they are taken by their parent(s) and/or guardians to the mountains and offered up to the Hane birds. A bird will then pick to bond itself to the infant usually within a day of the human child being born. There have been rumors that Hane babies who are not chosen by a bird to bond are cast out of the clan.

Wanted

Characters:
Leader of Hane- bird of prey- bird eyes (can be covered or not)- proud, favors daughter, see Benawia if interested
Wife of Leader-any bird-any eyes (can be covered or not)- very motherly, tries to reconcile Kiyoshi and father, see Benawia if interested

Bird Types:
Black Skimmer- seabird Also cute and derpy as heck. They look like they're wearing suits and have no eyes.