#[fine.

Oracle knowing that she just thought about humping Mias leg:

Assuming I don't just scrap them in their entirety, I think I'll do an overhaul on how they work. I might scrap the whole "tribe" part of their name. They don't live near any other group to compare themselves to. So they might just refer to other cats in their group as their family. The clans eventually call them the Cats of Rushing Water or the Mountain Cats.

It bothers me immensely that they're smaller than Windclan yet large birds of prey are a staple in their diet (the ecological implications of that are...eeesh) and that they put mud on their fur to keep warm (this would make them colder) and to camouflage (most of you are brown or gray???). So yeah no.

Snow leopard inspired mountain cats with shorter legs, longer stockier bodies, long tails, strong back legs, and incredibly dense fur. They keep the two part names that they had in DOTC. Talon of Swooping Eagle -> Talon Swoop. They eat hare, rabbit, marmot, grouse, and occasionally roe deer.

As a group they're extremely curious, though a little wary, of those not from the mountain. They come into contact with the cats outside their group quite often, especially in the springtime. But the sundrown patrol comes from farther away than usual. They don't usually come across antagonistic colonies and prosocial behavior is of the upmost importance to them, so the concept of the clans fighting each other is... disturbing to them.

The healer + spiritual guide combo is staying a clan thing. On the mountain everyone does whatever needs to be done. Of course there are cats who will be more into healing and learn all the herbs and mostly spend their time doing that. In the same way that there will be cats who would rather spend more of their time hunting, or tanning, or building, or whatever.

However, there are practices that seem prevalent in specific lines. Kittens don't get official apprenticeships, they learn most things from their mothers and auncles. So if the family is especially skilled at, say, deer hunting then their kitten is likely to be knowledgeable about that. If they want to learn the specifics of something like healing then they'd have to go ask a cat skilled in that department to teach them.

Some cats will be preferred for specific jobs due to their talents or interests, but generally everyone is expected to at least know the basics of hunting, avoiding danger, and healing as those things keep you alive.

They're matrilineal and more serious matters are taken to the elders. They have no singular leader. Even the elders aren't leaders in the same way that clan leaders are. They're more sources of wisdom and help settle matters between cats when they can't do it themselves. But the colony runs by itself. Social pressure is mainly what keeps cats in line.

I'm thinking of keeping the Ancients who were originally settled by the lake being the ancestors of both the clan and mountain cats, and possibly other groups as well. Clans keep their toms locked down tight with their culture and the code, but it's not unusual for a young tom or a group of young toms to wander from Rushing Water. Sometimes they choose to return, sometimes they don't. Maybe they start their own colonies. Maybe they become pets. Maybe they stay wanderers. It's life.