Honor Families
Why are some friends part of my honor family, but not others? This is a very good question. It is tied to the nature of the Wookiee family and Wookiee society in general.
First of all, what is an honor family? An honor family consists of those friends that are so close that they are like blood relatives. In my village, we would refer to this group as our "fur family". A "fur brother" is someone who is a brother in all but blood.
Think of a Wookiee community as the cross section of a tree. The individual Wookiee is at the center. In the next layer out you would find the Wookiee's immediate family -- the parents, grandparents, and siblings. Cousins, aunts, and uncles would be in the next layer out. Then, you would find the honor family. Clan relations would be in the next layer out, followed by close friends, then casual friends, associates, etc.
So, you may ask, what is the difference between a close friend and a fur brother? How does someone make it to that layer? Well, there is no prescribed path or method. It is a deeply personal thing.
For me the difference is this: my fur family knows my heart, my soul, my mind. They can tell from the look in my eye what type of mood I am in. They know the things that I most value in life. They understand my sorrows, by frustrations, and my joys. They are there for me when I need them, and even before I need them. And, I think most importantly, they know that they can count on this Wookiee for anything. They know that my loyalty to them runs very deep.
Perhaps the best known "fur" relationship is that between Chewbacca and Han Solo. It started with Chewbacca owing a life debt to Han for saving him from a life of slavery. But, long after the life debt was repayed, Chewie stayed at Han's side. Why? Because they had become fur brothers -- family in all but blood. They are always there for each other. And please understand that this is not always the case with life debts. Once the Wookiee feels the debt is repaid they can move on. These relationships do not always end up as "fur" relationships.
So, you might wonder, who are Moya's fur family and what did they do to become part of that group? My first two fur brothers were two Wookiees I met in Tyrena -- Agaar and Alich. I literally was fresh down from the trees and had never lived in an alien culture before. I was afraid and very alone. These two helped me to understand that people of other species were not so different from myself. I soon met two Twi'leks who eventually became part of my honor family. Xie and Creeva started out as my teachers, but as our relationship matured I began to think of them more as family than as my masters. Finally, there have been a few humans that I have valued as "fur" relatives. NeenaMari, Yesti, and Mazzic from my old days in Tyrena would be the first three.
The last, and most special I think, would be Imcus. My first memory of Imcus is from when I was grinding musician in the Coronet cantina. I hate big cities and was only there because I felt I had to be. There was not a master in sight and I need training. I sent a message to Xie. She was off planet. I sent a message to Creeva -- so was he. In walks this guy named Imcus and he says "Creeva sent me to train you". So, I did not see much of him until one day Xie says "hey, we are going to start a city. There are only three of us so far, do you want to join us?" That is when I first got an opportunity to get to know Imcus. The months went on, we created DEF, we gathered resources to build our city structures, we recruited citizens. Throughout it all, Imcus worked tirelessly. He gave all he could, plus even more. He never seemed to think of himself -- always of the guild and the city. As Symphonia was born he and Creeva planned out the city and worked out the details. I did whatever I could to help. Then, it happened. Creeva was dead. Xie had disappeared. We were alone, but not alone. That is when I knew that Imcus was my fur brother. That is when I recognized that we were joined as an honor family. I honestly do not believe that we would have made it through that if we had not had each other. And, the thing that delights me about my fur brother Imcus is that he seems to have a Wookiee soul. He understands my Wookiee heart and loves my culture as much as I do.
So, I hope that this helps you to understand the concept of "honor family" or "fur family".