the folk

• the seeing-eye - effectively the leader and spiritual guide of the community
• the ancillary - usually 2 cats in this position, a valorant and a mender. they are usually not immediate successors to the role of the Seeing-Eye, who hand-picks the cat to replace them; however, if a Seeing-Eye dies before selecting an heir, an ancillary is chosen for the position in a ritual. often a Seeing-Eye will put their preferred heir in this position so that they obtain leadership experience, but their inheritance is independent of being an ancillary. ancillaries are responsible for assigning apprentices, as well as making sure that upcoming warriors are fully prepared to receive their blessing.
• acolytes - the common rank, somewhat equivalent to warriors. it is broken into 2 separate branches, fighters (valorants) and healers (menders).
  ---- valorants learn the ways of war; their job is to explore the territory and fight off threats, which usually consisted of fighting predators and occasional ill-willed straggler groups - now, this includes repelling fox's group, forcing them into proper border patrols. they work in the forges and animal pens as well, which are managed by a senior valorant. most have solid meteorological knowledge. their patrols can sometimes take days and they are taught to know when and where to travel around the storm gods' minor spats.
  ---- menders learn the ways of healing; they are taught how to treat ailments, set bones, and harvest plants. they are taught how to tend the farms that provide herbs for healing and food for livestock. though they are not explicitly taught better hunting skills, they tend to be better hunters than valorants. scribes are more likely to be menders. there is a senior mender who maintains the primary medic bay; this cat, alongside whoever they choose in a specific circumstance, tends cats who are in severe condition or have persistent illness.
  ---- all cats learn very basic healing (cobwebs for bleeding, etc.) as well as hunting and fighting moves, whichever their specialization. it varies by individual whether they are also good at the skills they do not specialize in.
• apprentices - while they have an official mentor given by the ancillaries, they may have a secondary one if they are still unsure which path they want to take; this cat can become their main mentor if their preferences change. usually cats are fairly certain of their intended path from the start, and the respective ancillary chooses their mentor accordingly. due to the extensive nature of the learning process, apprenticeship lasts about 1 cycle, give or take. kits are apprenticed at 8 moons of age. they are considered fully grown at around 16 moons old; they finish their training as adults.
• scribes - there are only a couple of these cats at any given time, and the Seeing-Eye gives them discretion to choose successors for their specialty. scribes are responsible for recording and maintaining the records of folk history; they are typically the only cats who know how to write.
• elders - elders are a highly-respected group; cats retire as soon as they feel ready, or once they reach 8 cycles in age, whichever comes first. all elders are perceived as having given an immeasurable gift to the Folk by dedicating their entire lives to assisting their fellows in survival. elders are typically tended by their own families, though apprentices pick up the slack, or are expected to tend to those who have no living family.
• monarchs - cats are permitted to give up their primary roles to become full-time caretakers of kits; cats who have kittens are typically not considered monarchs unless they have fully given up their position, only staying temporarily in the nursery until their litter is grown. monarchs are taught pre- and post-natal medicine.

fox's clade

most roles are largely the same, with a few modifications and additions.

• the seeing-eye position has been abolished and its role split into two positions:
  ---- the trailblazer (taken from an epithet given to fox), who is the primary leader of the clade and manages most affairs, and the oracle, meant to replace the spiritual guide aspect of the defunct position. oracles are planned to select their own successors due to the nature of their role.
  ---- the ancillary position has been modified accordingly, now taking the role of a single cat who is nominated and, if more than one option is floated, democratically elected by the clan itself. the ancillary is now the direct successor to the trailblazer, alongside serving as the second-in-command.
• the role of excavator has been added - this is due to the discovery of the former sun clade's tunnel system, which they used as their primary camp and meetingplace. these tunnels have been disused for some time and require additional work to be fully explored and utilized. most excavators would have been valorants before joining fox. due to the complex and time-consuming nature of their work, they are not expected to take on other duties, making these cats distinct from the warrior class.
• counter to most decisions that have been turned into democratic ones, fox has pulled back on the flexibility of apprenticeships - an apprentice's training path is chosen based on the judgment of the trailblazer, ancillary, and the heads of the respective classes. this is considered 'temporary', due to the unique pressures fox's clade is experiencing - there are far more outside threats than before, so it is considered vital that the classes are kept balanced. if a cat is particularly keen to switch training paths, it may be considered depending on the circumstances.