Vocabulary

General Terms

Colony - A group of cats that believe in the seasonal deities and follow the sacred decree.

Colonies of Old - The collective name of the colonies that were destroyed during the Final Light.

Colony Cat - Name of a cat who lives in the colonies.

The Final Light - Name for the day the nightmares appeared, and the colonies were destroyed.

The Sacred Decree - The laws the colonies follow. According to legend, the original set of laws were set by the seasonal deities, but many more rules have been added over time by the colonies.

Ruling - A unit of time referring to the duration a deity is in rule; a season. One 'Goat's Ruling' is roughly 2 weeks, but after the Goat's exile is a term thats rarely used. A Full Ruling is one year.

Settlement - Where a colony lives; Their home. A settlement will often have several dens, a cooking space, a meeting place, and places to relax and gather.

The Seasonal Trials - A ritual where several cats attempt to become leader of their colony. A cat must gather four fragments of an artifact (one for each god) to receive their title and blessing from the gods.

Religion and Legend

Seasonal Deities - The four deities the colonies worship, who control one season each.

Ancestors - The collective spirits of colony cats who have passed away. They 'live' within the Squirrel's embrace, with a select few having the honor of acting as the gods' servants- acting as messengers or even minor deities that perform tasks for the gods. Unlike the gods, who are prayed to in formal settings (like shrines), cats will pray to their ancestors in a more casual setting.

Squirrel's Embrace - A vague term to describe the afterlife, as well as a saying. The squirrel is the god of death, and it's known that the Squirrel rules over the dead and 'provides' for them, but it's unknown exactly what the afterlife is. To be embraced by the Squirrel or to be in the Squirrel's embrace is to die, typically with peaceful implications.

The Horned One / One With Many Eyes - Alternative names for the Goat. Often used when one wants to avoid invoking their name.

Monsters and Creatures

Tall One - An old fashioned term for 'Human'. The term is rarely used, as the colonies learned their 'proper' name from the city cats and began using it.

Nightmares - Large, deformed creatures that vaguely resemble humans. They have long limbs and walk on all fours, and often appear starved or injured, moaning and wailing awfully. Despite their appearance, they are fast and aggressive, their skin has hardened into a leather that is difficult to pierce. Universally feared, and to be avoided at all costs. Many cats believe that nightmares are associated with the Goat in some way, and are literal nightmares made real.

Clickers - Refers to the creatures that humans used to control; Robots. They appear in a variety of forms and bodies, although can all be identified by their smooth and cold shells, lack of eyes, nose, ears, or mouth, and the clicking sounds they make. Typically not aggressive or harmful, but post-Final Light, they have become dangerous due to malfunctions and lack of maintenance.

Settlement Locations

Lodgings - Where cats of the colonies live, although also used to refer to any sort of shelter or home. Each denning will have their own lodging with small nooks for each cat to sleep in, and a central space meant for relaxing.

Commander's Lodging - Where the commander sleeps, passed down between each one. The commander's lodging has room for the commander's family, as well as a separate room meant for tracking previous commanders. Many of the decorations inside are decades old, and are obviously old and worn.

Oracle's Lodging - Where the oracles live, and where rituals or ceremonies are performed. There are three rooms in an oracle's lodging: the main room where general worship and prayer happens, the ritual room where the oracles perform various rituals, and the living room where the oracles live and rest in. The oracle's lodgings are one of the largest areas in a settlement, and have traditional decorations in each room except the living room (where the oracles may instead decide what decorations are used).

Trainee's Lodgings - Where the trainees live, split into four rooms- the average number of trainee groups pre-Final Light. There is only one central room to relax in however, and trainees often complain often about a lack of space. While there is nothing stopping them, many choose to not decorate the lodging since they will be promoted eventually.

Nestings - Where mothers and their kits sleep, separate from the rest of the colony. Nestings are covered with moss and separated into two rooms to give nursing parents access to a more quiet and dark nest if they wish.

Sick-den - Where the sick and injured rest, some colonies have a separate lodging dedicated to the sick-den, while others choose to share it with other lodgings (such as with a healer's lodging).

Communal Cookspot - Often known simply as a Cookspot. This is where all cooking appliances, such as ovens, pots, fire starting equipment, smokers, etc can be found. Carcasses, veggies, and spices are also stored here, with some colonies choosing to keep gardens.

Sayings and Phrases

Soft-Belly - Insulting name used for house cats. Can also mean weak, untrained, or a glutton for attention.

Rotbrained - Dumb, slow. A harsh insult.

Mudbrained - Confused, slow. Similar to Rotbrain but less harsh.

Hungry mouths bare the sharpest fangs - Originally used to warn of the dangers of a hungry outsider. Now it is often used to mean that those who have been hurt will be more likely to hurt back. Rarely used by nursing mothers as a joke.

Chasing birds - To do something completely wrong, or to apply a technique in the wrong way.

Talk one's fur off - An old wives tale about how talking a lot can thin out your fur. Talkative cats are often warned their fur will grey and fall out, and kits are warned that if they talk too much they'll start looking like the seniors.

Blood cannot quench the parched - Violence can't solve every problem. Sometimes can be used to mean to stop being hard on oneself.

To be bad for the rabbits - Either means that someone is an extremely good hunter or is extremely duty focused.

...Means to be hungry come winter - The common response to "To be bad for the rabbits". Means that exhausting oneself to accomplish something isn't always a good idea, and will sometimes cause more harm than good.

Like weaving wood - Used to describe something as impossible, or at least extremely hard.