#aspenclan

The conventionally strong and brutish type, especially those with their own sources of fury or desires for justice and power after being wronged by the world, often gravitate towards Bolide’s posse— those able to fight for their territory and hunt for the collective’s meals fitting in within his ranks easily. However, it’s not just one type of strength that Bolide values. The physically weak may be granted the protection of his group if they are able to contribute in some other way, such as with intelligence, charisma, or other unique talents. If not, they can also get by if they have a strong ally who is willing to pull twice their own weight in order to earn their companion’s keep.

There is no overarching social concept such as "the clan" that keeps these cats loyal to a higher ideal. Instead, they exist as disparate groups of related individuals, united only by shared lineage and territory - as well as the important bonding activity that is hunting. The wider community of the posse itself only formed due to these families living in close contact with one another. Parents are expected to care for their own kits, the sick or injured to figure out their own way of caring for their wounds, and all other lone cats to look out for themselves. Cliques within the Posse are often formed as a means of protection from infighting or harassment. Favors may be exchanged between surveyors in order to borrow the strengths of others that they themselves lack— for example, a cat caring for a sick friend may offer extra food, protection, or a hit upon another’s enemy, getting a cat with medical knowledge to treat their companion in exchange. 

The presence of a cat within the posse's territory is not a sign of membership, as many cats are transient. Adolescents frequently leave the posse to fork out lives of their own. There are often temporary, unrelated coalitions of young cats who have banded together after leaving their own colonies. Romances with individuals from other communities are not forbidden, although clan cats and kittypets are frowned upon, due to their lifestyle being viewed as trapping and unfree.

The most unified form of bonding within the posse is the hunting process. Having broken the norm of hunting alone, the posse instead works as a coordinated unit, tracking prey for an incredibly long time before they find a good spot where they will execute a swift burst attack. This allows them to take down significantly larger prey than an individual cat could. Cats in the same hunting party as one another form very close bonds.

After relocating to the scrapyard, the posse's hunting strategy shifted to better suit their surroundings. Individual hunting is now more common, as it is difficult to find the wide open land necessary to chase down prey. However, hunting parties have still been able to collaborate when it comes to flushing rats and mice out of the rubbish, with one cat taking the role of the feinter, another the wrangler - to ensure the prey is heading in the right direction - and another the finisher.

As such, Bolide’s surveyors are a group of unique, ragtag cats, all bringing their own strengths to their makeshift gang. But they are united in their desires to carve out the life they want underneath their own power, to never be hungry, helpless, or disrespected ever again. No matter his flaws, Bolide has much of their respect, as he had granted them an avenue to do exactly that for most of his 40 moons of leadership.