House Racoon
House Racoon are the great architects and builders of Atchafalaya. Closely allied with House Armadillo, they ensure the shelter of all people in the city. Members of this house can often be found on their artificial terrace in the north of the city, sketching out new designs and optimizing the city layout further. Unlike many or the other Houses in the city, the core Burrow of House Raccoon is not formed of blood and bond family of the Elder; instead is it a collection of the apprentices that the Elder has taught after receiving their mastery, with the Heir chosen by the Elder as the most promising apprentice. There are also adopted members of House Raccoon, those who chose to apprentice under another member of the house, and presumptive members, those who are too young for a formal apprenticeship but count themselves as blood and bond of one of the existing members. Apprentices are welcomed into the house by the Elder in a ceremonial supper that centers around the family's Prayline Hereditary Recipe
Structure
Leader (internal affairs): Elder Racoon; a merit-based title in unbroken apprenticeship line from the first Racoon elder.
Leader (external affairs): Heir Racoon; a previous apprentice of the current Elder Racoon who has attained mastery and trained at least one apprentice themself. Can be changed by majority consensus of the Elder and all Venerable Racoons, with the Elder having veto power.
Core Burrow (main leadership): Venerable Racoons; all previous apprentices of the current Elder Racoon who have achieved their Mastery. When an Elder passes and a new Elder takes the title, the previous Venerable Racoons become Honorary Racoons and all Honorary Racoons who apprenticed under the new Elder become Venerable Racoons.
Auxillary Burrows: Honorary Racoons; all members of the House that have attained their Mastery. These form the day-to-day architects, city planners, civil engineers, and construction workers for the city, maintaining and improving on Atchafalaya's design. Apprentice Racoons; all members of the House that are learning under members that have achieved their Mastery. These students will have completed coursework to a secondary level before apprenticing, and then select one Master with a specialty they are interested in. Presumptive Racoons; children too young to be apprenticed, that are affiliated with Venerable, Honorary, or Apprentice Racoons, through blood and bond.
Leader (external affairs): Heir Racoon; a previous apprentice of the current Elder Racoon who has attained mastery and trained at least one apprentice themself. Can be changed by majority consensus of the Elder and all Venerable Racoons, with the Elder having veto power.
Core Burrow (main leadership): Venerable Racoons; all previous apprentices of the current Elder Racoon who have achieved their Mastery. When an Elder passes and a new Elder takes the title, the previous Venerable Racoons become Honorary Racoons and all Honorary Racoons who apprenticed under the new Elder become Venerable Racoons.
Auxillary Burrows: Honorary Racoons; all members of the House that have attained their Mastery. These form the day-to-day architects, city planners, civil engineers, and construction workers for the city, maintaining and improving on Atchafalaya's design. Apprentice Racoons; all members of the House that are learning under members that have achieved their Mastery. These students will have completed coursework to a secondary level before apprenticing, and then select one Master with a specialty they are interested in. Presumptive Racoons; children too young to be apprenticed, that are affiliated with Venerable, Honorary, or Apprentice Racoons, through blood and bond.
Culture
House Racoon prides themselves on their reliability. All decisions are considered and validated by a group of peers before being finalized, and nothing is taken in haste. They also pride themselves on their creativity, and would take a unique design over a pre-existing pattern any day.
Public Agenda
To ensure the structures of Atchafalaya serve the city's many needs while inspiring creativity and joy among the population.
Close Allies
House Racoon thinks that House Armadillo is the most reliable House in the city, barring themselves, as they are the only two houses with merit-based inheritance. House Armadillo thinks that House Racoon is a steady asset for preplanning before danger occurs. Their heirs are often aligned on matters of security and safety around the city.
Allies
House Egret thinks that House Racoon are great allies to have when you need something built, but too secretive for their own good. House Racoon thinks that House Egret is full of busybodies that should keep their noses out of intrafamily decisions. Their Heirs rarely have trouble agreeing on issues for the betterment of Atchafalaya, but when they do fight, everyone else should beware, for both Houses are incredibly stubborn.
Friendly but exasperated
House Crawfish thinks that House Racoon is kind of boring; they always want materials that work well within a much wider set of circumstances than what is strictly necessary. House Racoon thinks that House Crawfish is nice to have around, but that you should keep an eye on them to make sure they aren't cutting corners just for the thrill of it. Despite this, their Heirs work together well on projects that involve building new structures for Atchafalaya.
Allies
House Racoon thinks that House Gator is a bit more wishy-washy than ideal, but can't deny their results. House Gator thinks that House Racoon spends too much time on physical realities, and often fails to consider more nebulous concepts of well-being. Despite the fact that members of both houses tend to get along fine on an individual level, the Heirs are often at loggerheads.
Mutually Exclusive Desires
House Racoon thinks that House Turkey claims way more land than they need because of inefficant architecture in their agricultural practices. House Turkey thinks that House Racoon tries to expand the city beyond what sustainable agriculture can support, and does not consider the full needs of organisms. Heirs of these Houses will almost always vote in opposition to one another on land use decisions
