Clowders & Claws: Clowders of the Ghost Town

WARNING! This page contains themes of eugenics.

The Ghost Town Clowders are the three main groups of Clowders & Claws.

Crow Hunters

The Crow Hunters are the friendliest and most casual of the clowders. An individual is called a Crowhunter.

Living Conditions

They live in the Rothouse. Cats sleep wherever they can. Many have preferred sleeping spots, but will share space with those who need it.

Ranks

They have no formal leader. Cats will take charge as needed.

If they ever do need a representative, such as during the seasonal meeting, they will have a vote.

Law

Representatives are elected by majority vote.
A representative serves from the seasonal meeting they're elected until the next one. A new representative is then elected for the upcoming meeting.
Representatives can be elected an unlimited amount of times.
There is only one representative at a time unless there is a tie.
Transition of power must be peaceful.
Honor duels are forbidden.
The killing of another cat is forbidden.
A cat cannot be sentenced to death or killed in retaliation for a crime.
The killing of a kitten is punishable by exile.
Cats who have broken the law within the last two seasonal meetings cannot become representatives.

Issues and Loopholes

There is debate about whether or not unborn kittens should be given the same status as born kittens. If they are, then the abortion of a litter through medical means would be punishable by exile according to rule 9.

Medicine

They have very limited medical knowledge. However, they do understand that other groups know how to use herbs, and often rely on the Tree's Leaves for treatment.

Religion/Philosophy

As a clowder that emphasizes freedom, cooperation, and individuality above all else, they do not have a common religion. Most members believe in some form of ghosts, especially since many of them are descended from cats who fled cities, where the existence of ghosts is a commonly held belief. They place more significance in the physical world and cooperating with those around them than in a higher power or afterlife. It doesn't matter what the afterlife is like when they're not there yet.

Power

They can sense others' emotions and intentions. Because they aren't consciously aware of this ability, it comes off to them as just having good intuition.

Naming

Kittens are named at birth. Their names are a mixture of the other two clowders', and can be almost anything.

When naming places, they will combine all words and make it as simple as possible. Ex: Squarestones, Plantfield.

Dialect

They have the most casual dialect. If there's a contraction, they'll use it. If they can drop a pronoun, they will. They use "ya" to replace objective case of instances of "you," if not all of them, and use "yer" in place of "you're" (but never "your").

Age Brackets

1 month: newborn.
1 month-1 year: kitten.
1-7 years: cat.
7+ years: oldie, silvermuzzle, or graywhisker, depending on who's speaking.

Alliances and Enemies

The Tree's Leaves — they view them as strong, caring allies and trust them immensely. If the Tree's Leaves need something, the Crow Hunters will stand by them. In return, the Tree's Leaves provide them with healing and sometimes even prey when they're running low.
The Mouse Catchers — they are cautious of the Mouse Catchers, and borderline terrified of them, though they try not to show it. The clowder could easily devastate them, and they know that the Mouse Catchers dislike them. They don't like the way the other clowder runs, but they don't say anything out of fear.

Mouse Catchers

The Mouse Catchers are a strict group that values efficiency. They generally don't trust other groups and keep to themselves. An individual is known as a mouser, after the nickname for their first leader. The lack of capitalization is important, as one doesn't want to confuse a mouser for the Mouser.

Rank System

Each Mouse Catcher has one of a few ranks. These ranks are as follows:

Heads lead the group. Traditionally, there is a maximum of three Heads and a minimum of one. Their word is law.
Hunters hunt for prey, mark territory, and guard the Two-Floor. They regularly practice fighting and are trained to kill, but instructed to only use this knowledge against enemies of the clowder.
Healers are trained in herb-based medicine. They are expected to make do with what they have when treating others. They conduct Goodbye Ceremonies and cull particularly 'impure' kittens at the direction of the Heads.
Carers take care of kittens and their mothers, often acting as midwives. Those with kittens often act as wet nurses for other kittens. Carers are assigned specific mothers and litters to look after.
Hiders clean and maintain the different rooms and structures. They act as janitors and are considered filthy by the other ranks, so most refuse to associate them unless absolutely necessary. However, they also have the most knowledge about the camp itself and the territory close to it. In the case of an emergency escape, they're the ones to lead it.

Ranks aren't necessarily born into. When a cat reaches two months old, they are able to leave their Carers and practice skills. At four months, they take an aptitude test and are placed based on personality, looks, and the skills they show. A cat may be reassessed by the Heads at any time if sufficient reason for reassessment is given.

Living Spaces

Where a cat lives is based on their rank.

The Heads sleep on a shelf on the first floor.
The Hiders sleep in the attic.
All others sleep on the first floor in whatever space is available.

The Aptitude Test

The kittens are tested on strength, speed, stealth, temperament, and appearance. Appearance is judged based on the Heads' understanding of purity, which has been passed down from generation to generation.

The common results are as follows, though assignments can differ:

If they meet the purity criteria and impress/charm the Heads, they may be trained to become one of the next Heads.
If they score high for physical skills (strength, speed, stealth), they may become a Hunter.
If they show a patient temperament, especially if they score low on physical skills, they may become a Healer.
If they show a patient temperament, score high on strength, and meet some purity criteria, they may become a Carer.
If they meet none of the parameters to a satisfactory amount, annoy the Heads, or score extremely low on purity, they may become a Hider.

Purity

The standards for purity have been passed down from generation to generation. They were made by Eli the Loyal after the death of Mouser. They are as follows:

Being able-bodied.
Having a normal-length muzzle with a clear airway.
Being tall and long-legged.
Having soft fur that doesn't mat when groomed.
Having a long, feathered tail.
Being solid or near solid white. Failing that, being as pale-colored as possible.
- Fur color rankings from most to least preferred are as follows:
  - Pure white
  - High white with any color (>75% spotting; ex: van pattern)
  - Medium white (>50%) with solid cream or orange
  - Medium white with gray or dilute tortie/torbico
  - Medium white with black or brown
  - Solid cream
  - Low white (50%, ex: tuxedo) with solid cream or orange
  - Low white with gray or dilute tortie/torbico
  - Solid orange
  - Low white with black or brown
  - Tortie/torbico with no white
  - Solid brown/brown tabby
  - Solid black
Having blue or 'unnaturally' colored eyes.
Being charismatic, attentive and/or charming in some way.
~~Not being a threat to the Heads and not being considered annoying by them.~~

Pairings

Though cats may get together, they cannot have kittens without permission from the Heads. The Heads choose pairs to create the purest and most skillful kittens possible, regardless of whether or not the two in the pair are in a relationship. All pair matings are considered consensual under Mouse Catcher law, regardless of the willingness of the participants. To the inverse, non-pair matings are all considered nonconsensual, regardless of the participants' actual willingness.

Pairings are made every Spring. Only cats that have experienced or are experiencing their first heat, if female, or are at least 8 months old, if male, are allowed within the pool.

Mating outside of heat is frowned upon even within pairings, as it is considered 'nonproductive' due to an inability to produce kittens.

Law

Heads are the rulers of the Clowder. New Heads are appointed by the previous Heads and take their position after the Head that appointed them dies.
Heads must fit the standards of purity.
If a Head is unable to serve, their position may be taken from them. A Head is unable to serve if:
- They no longer meet the standards of purity.
- They are past the maximum age.
- They prove themself to be a poor leader and the clowder agrees that they must be removed.
Only a Head can execute a clowdermate.
A cat who kills a clowdermate without holding the power of Head is considered tainted, and therefore unable to hold authority.
A cat cannot mate outside of their pairing.
A pairing cannot be made of a Hider and a non-Hider.
A pairing must be able to produce kittens.
Pairings must produce at least one litter each year unless excused by a Healer due to medical concerns.
Mating outside of a pair is punishable by death.
- If the mating is forced, the one who did the forcing is the only one who will receive punishment.

Issues and Loopholes

For 2, purity is determined by the Heads. So, theoretically, a Head could just declare a cat previously considered "impure" is now "pure" before appointing them.
- This is what Tabith did for Keth to appoint her as Head, taking advantage of Keth's altered pigmentation caused by her vitiligo.
For 6, cats can still court cats of the same sex as long as they can produce kittens in their pairing. However, it is generally frowned upon and can result in social consequences.
For 4, Deaths from Goodbye Ceremonies don't count as killings/executions.

Religion/Philosophy

The Mouse Catchers scorn the idea of an afterlife and claim to believe in no gods or spirits. However, one can argue that Mouser is the equivalent of a god. They hold him above all else and make presumptions about what he would want, often using how they think he'd perceive a situation as admonishment or praise. The Heads are given power under the assumption that they're upholding his will. It is believed that if their pairing program succeeds, Mouser will be reborn.

They use their self-proclaimed lack of faith as another reason they're superior to the other clowders, believing that it helps them view reality as it truly is.

Power

Members of the clowder heal at a greatly accelerated rate compared to the typical cat. An injury that should take weeks typically takes a few days to heal, and members often come back from injuries that should have resulted in a slow and painful death. For most cats, only the most severe and life-threatening injuries cause scars, though injuries caused during moments of trauma or severe stress tend to leave scars regardless of their severity.

Of course, the Mouse Catchers don't pay much attention to this and assume other clowders heal more slowly than they do because their pairing system is inherently superior to the other clowders' desire-based chaos.

Age Brackets

These are the age-based landmarks and how each age is viewed within the clowder.

2 months: kitten.
2 months-6 months: senior kitten.
6 months-6 years: cat.
- Cats capable of undergoing heat are considered cats upon their first heat. Those who are not are considered cats at 8 months.
6-8 years: senior. Past this age, cats are expected to either leave the group or have a Goodbye Ceremony. Generally, it's the latter.

Goodbye Ceremonies

Past the age of eight, cats are no longer considered useful due to the deterioration of their bodies. However, this can happen to a younger cat that becomes too ill, injured, or disabled to heal.

At the beginning of the day, the cat's impending death is announced by the Heads.
They are allowed one final wish (within reason).
At the end of the day, they take a specially-made poison formula. This formula was perfected for a quick, painless death and all Healers learn how to make it. It is made using a mixture of foxglove and lily.

A similar method is used for non-violent executions, but without the wish granted.

Naming

Kittens are named at birth. Often, names are shortened, altered, or misspelled versions of the names typically given to domestic cats.

When naming places, they use separate words, but will drop articles when they can. Ex: Moss Home, Two-Floor.

Dialect

The Mouse Catchers will use contractions but still maintain a degree of formality (ex: they'll use "won't" but will not use "wanna").

Alliances and Enemies

The Tree's Leaves — they despise the Tree's Leaves. Throughout their history, many Heads have tried to destroy them, but they've yet to succeed. They view them as impure lunatics, as the two clowders' beliefs differ in almost every way they can.
The Crow Hunters — they are cautious of the Crow Hunters, but generally don't care enough to do anything to them. Like the Tree's Leaves, they view them as impure, but consider them too stupid and disorganized to be a threat.

Tree’s Leaves

The Tree's Leaves are a clowder that began long before the humans died off. An individual member is known as a Leaf, while multiple members are known as Leaves.

Living Conditions

They live in and under the Jagged Oak. Young and fit cats sleep in the branches while the injured, ill, old, newborn, and motherly sleep in the cave underneath the tree.

Ranks

The Presider leads the group.
All adult, fully trained cats are known as Full-Rankers. In order to be a Full-Ranker, a cat must have knowledge of hunting, fighting, culture, and medicine.
Young cats in training are known as Half-Rankers.
Storytellers are a well-known but rare rank. Often, the eldest cat assumes it unless a kitten or Half-Ranker takes particular interest. They learn the traditions, myths, origins, and history of the clowder inside and out, and often are sought out for advice.

Laws

The murder of a clowdermate is punishable by exile.
A new Presider is chosen from candidates picked by the previous Presider through majority vote.
Cats cannot mate or have kittens until they are full-rankers. If, despite this rule, a litter is born between half-rankers, they must be taken in by willing full-rankers as soon as possible.
If a full-ranker mates with a half-ranker, the full-ranker will be exiled.

Medicine

Each member receives training in herbal medicine. However, some know more than others. The Presider in specific is expected to have full, up-to-date healing knowledge at all times.

Rituals

Winter Weakening takes place during the last few days of fall. Within it, each Half-Ranker and Full-Ranker must find a stick. Then, they gather at the Flame Ditch and the Presider sets a fire the gathered sticks. Any uncooked prey is cooked and a feast is had. At least one cat must stay and watch the fire until it dies.
Half to Full. The ceremony truly has no name, but it's the one held when a Half-Ranker becomes a Full-Ranker. A gathering will be held and the Presider will call those advancing by name. They are then required to climb to the top of the Old Oak with a dead bird in their mouth. If they make it to the top with the bird intact, they can become a Full-Ranker and have their ear notched as a symbol of their achievements.
- This is based on the story of Feder and the Hawk, where the clowder had to move from their old home in the Two-Floor due to a flood (which only reached the Rothouse, though they didn't know this) and were unable to reclaim their home because the Mouse Catchers had taken it. They moved to the Jagged Oak, but it wasn't a perfect new home. A hawk lived at the top of the tree, and would take their prey and kittens. They allowed this to happen until a kitten was taken and their sister, Feder, had enough. She climbed to the top of the Jagged Oak and fought the hawk, emerging from the tree with a notch in her ear and the body of the now-dead hawk.
The Death Ceremony is held when a cat dies. The clowder cremates the body of the dead.
- It is believed that doing this ceremony puts a cat’s wisp (spirit) at peace and allows them to be reincarnated. The burning of the body frees trapped water, which rises into the sky with the smoke and heat of the fire, then joining the clouds so they can come to the earth with rain.
Kitten to Half. Has no formal name. During this ceremony, a kitten is named and begins their training. Every Full-Ranker must teach them at least once.

Religion/Philosophy

They believe that water is life force, which is composed of essence. Every being has essence within them, and an individual being's essence is referred to as its wisp. Essence can be neither created nor destroyed and is recycled infinitely. Essence is present in everything but is most pure in water, so the process of recycling essence is done by pregnant or expectant beings taking in water.

Essence does not have to be recycled evenly--an individual wisp can be mixed with others and divided into different beings. So, an individual cat could be a reincarnation of their grandfather, or they could be a reincarnation of their grandfather, their great-grandmother's closest friend, and some random cat from the distant past.

Power

The Tree's Leaves can create sparks off of their whiskers and cannot be burned by fire. Until they met the Mouse Catchers, they didn't know it was possible to be burned by fire at all.

Cooking/Diet

Due to their ability to control fire, the Tree's Leaves experimented with cooking. Now, they cook regularly. Eating prey raw is still an option, but it isn't typical.

Universal meal prep:

The removal of the intestines and stomach. This prevents them from catching many gastrointestinal parasites.
The removal of other internal organs. These are cooked separately from the muscle and are typically saved for pregnant cats, kittens, and elderly cats due to their high nutritional content.
The skinning of any furred prey, and the plucking of any feathered prey. Feathers and fur are saved for bedding. Scales are typically just eaten as is. Many cats enjoy using them as a sensory toy.
The removal of large, inedible bones such as the skull. Smaller bones are typically eaten, removed while eating, or chewed on.
Finally, the muscles and organs are cooked. They're typically placed on sticks and held above the fire until satisfactory.

They've yet to experiment with things beyond simple cooking, such as soup. This is mainly because they lack the tools.

Naming

Kittens aren't named until they reach 3 months, where their name is announced as part of the Kitten to Half ceremony. Usually, they're named similarly to animals or plants in the environment (these names may have started as the actual words, but were altered over time by frequent use and nicknames), or after characters in tales.

When they name a place, they don't combine the words, and will not drop their article ("the") when speaking about it. It will always be capitalized. Ex: The Low River, The Jagged Oak, The Old Pine.

Dialect

The Tree's Leaves are very specific with their words. Often, they are direct and leave little room for interpretation. However, this doesn't mean that their vocabulary isn't sophisticated—in fact, they have the broadest vocabulary of the clowders, they just use it to pick very specific words.

If a Leaf is being vague, they're extremely flustered.

Age Brackets

3 months: kitten.
3 months-1.5 years: half-ranker.
1 .5-8 years: full-ranker.
8+ years: elder full-ranker.

Alliances and Enemies

The Crow Hunters — they often ally with them. They have little reason not to trust the clowder, and frequently play a caretaking role for the Crow Hunters. Often, the Tree's Leaves can use this to get what they want.
The Mouse Catchers — they have an extremely troubled past with the Mouse Catchers. If there's any conflict, it's usually between them and the Mouse Catchers.

Interclowder Law

Territory cannot be taken without explicit permission (verbal, written, or signed) from the clowder's Head, Presider, or representative (current acting leader/s). Surrender during battle does not count as permission.
When an issue affects multiple clowders, an interclowder trial must be held.
- The trial must be judged by the current leaders of all clowders.
Cats may not be taken prisoner by other clowders.
All refugees or fugitives must be returned to their original clowder if found.
Cats from one clowder cannot kill cats from another clowder unless in self-defense during a battle or premeditated duel.
A clowder cannot interfere with another clowder's matters of leadership.

Seasonal Meetings

The Clowders meet the night after the first storm of any season, unless it's unsafe to go. In which case, the meeting will be held as soon as possible.

Each meeting begins with a political discussion, meant to be a peaceful way to settle disputes. Aside from the leaders, most cats ignore this portion of the meeting to chat with out-of-clowder friends.

After that, they hold games. Games are weather and season permitting. They are as follows:

Winter/Fall Games

Ice Chase: Each participant has a dark zone (basically, a net without a net). There's a rock that can be tossed around or carried. To win, a player must take this rock into the other two teams' dark zones.
Forest Chase: Each team has a tree. At the top of that tree, they have a piece of prey. To win, a team has to have all pieces of prey at the top of their tree.

Spring/Summer Games

Water Race: A race in water. Typically, it's to a certain area of the lake and back (a small rock at the center of the lake is a commonly used landmark). It's dangerous to go across the whole lake, but it has been done in extreme cases.
Fishing Fight: A fishing contest. The cat with the biggest catch wins.

Any Season Games

Climbing Race: Exactly as it sounds. Each participant must climb to the top of a tree and back down. The fastest wins.
Long Run: A marathon on land.
Spar: As it sounds. The participants spar until only one winner is left standing.
Mimic: A cat moves while the participants mimic them. Any cat who trips loses. The most accurate cat or last to trip wins, as judged by the cat who is being mimiced.

Each clowder chooses a game. They send three participants, one for each game. A participant cannot compete in more than one game per meeting.

Ghost Town Clowder Slang

Multi-Clowder

"Keep your fleas to yourself" — used to tell a cat to stay away or to shut up.
"Has worms in [their] belly / is full of worms"— used to imply a cat is untrustworthy or deceptive. Can be shorted to just "has worms" but that is typically reserved for when a cat is actually infested.

Crow Hunters

"Get weaned / wean yourself" — used to tell someone to be more independent or to think for themselves.
"Clever as a crow" — used to imply that a cat is skilled or intelligent. A reclamation of the Mouse Catchers' comparison of dark-furred cats to crows.
"Fell off / falling off" — a way to say a cat is experiencing ill health.
"Give [you/them] a thorn" — to give someone "something to worry about" or to be annoying. Often used as "I don't want to give you a thorn, but—" or "I'll give you a real thorn!"
"Don't eat maggots" — in reference to rotting prey and the idea of forgetting to check whether prey a cat is about to eat is rotten or not. Used to tell a cat to be careful.

Mouse Catchers

"Dark as a crow / dark enough to hide among crows / crow-dark / crowfur" — used to insult a dark-furred cat by comparing them to what is viewed as both prey and a "lazy" scavenger. Fell out of use when the Crow Hunters were established because they reclaimed the usage, which took away its bite.
"[Adjective] as Mouser" — a compliment of one's skills or appearance.
"Don't be a Beedel" — in reference to Beedel the Peaceless's assassination of Eklis the Warmaster. Used to imply a cat is overreacting or being a sore loser.
"Returned to where they came from" — a polite way to say a cat was put to death. Typically used in reference to kittens who were born with deformities (as defined by the Mouse Catchers).
"[They] rot in the forest" — a disrespectful way to say someone has died.
"Lightfur" — used to refer to a light-furred/'pure' cat, specifically one that is a member of the Mouse Catchers.
"Darkfur" — used to refer to a dark-furred cat or a cat from outside of the Mouse Catchers.

Tree's Leaves

"Kill your hawk / kill that hawk" — based on the tale of Feder and the Hawk. Used to encourage someone or tell them to solve their problems.
"Drink [a dead relative/friend]'s water" — in reference to the belief that cats' wisps return to the water when they die. Used to tell someone to listen to the advice of the dead or to think of what they'd have wanted.
"Watching the fire / by the fire / is fireside" — in reference to funerary fires. A polite way to say another has lost a relative. Specifically, it is the living cat that is "watching the fire."
"One with the lake/river / will return with the next storm/rainfall" — a polite way to say that a cat has died.