#dove + olive tree sprig

[mihrsuri]

I made this for me.

[nightly-ruse]

Another big jump but have a half finished draft for a cat based story I kinda really love

Before the sickness struck, before the whispers and the killings, cats were prized. Gifts from the gods. Bringers of good luck, peace, love. Their purr healing any emotional ail that struck into a hands heart.

They were dressed in white silks. Kissed on the heads. Adorned with flowers.

Breathing blessings.

And then the cough spread. Hands died in dozens. Cats were dragged from homes. Tossed into the streets to die on their own or burned for the sins they were accused of.

Where once black pelted cats were seen as the goddesses most beloved they now were the devil’s destructors sent to the town to bring the evil illness that spread faster than any plague that’d struck the town.

From here flew a new kind.

From Burnt Fur rose Black Feathers, and cats with soot clogged scars. As such the Ravens came to be.

Born in such a terrifying time the Ravens are a Clowder of cats that try to keep a distance from the humans who so easily betrayed them. They are colder but not cruel. Residing in a hidden haven that no hand could ever reach into.

They keep to the east side of town where less hands reside and the wild has taken over. The streets are less refined, the building even less so. Hidden in the old tunnels under the town.

The Ravens have a chosen Crown of sorts who cares for all under their caring claws. They are elected and can be taken out if need be but most often stay for the span of their life. They keep each other safe, protect their passageways, and take care of the environment around them. They keep the horror of their past alive. None under the Ravens will ever forget the terrifying tales of how those hands once harmed them. It will always be scarred into their minds.

* If a Crown has any kittens they are referred to as Jewels and are cared for especially but don’t get too much special treatment

* Most Ravens are either tortoiseshells or black cats since they most often aren’t from households. They tend to be more bony but still very strong with particularly sharp faces, noses, and eyes.

* All Ravens upon making it to an age where they can leave give an item of theirs to the fountain in the heart of their home as a way to always be a part of the passageways. Even after their death they still have a piece of themselves there. It’s often where all ceremonies are held after a cats passing and most grieve there.

* Near the fountain none are to speak unless it is a part of a ceremony but many will purr to try and send some sort of message to their lost one

* All kits who dies too soon are grieved by downy feathers being tossed into the fountain. Fragile but beautiful just like chicks. A feather is often kept by the parent/s to have a something to hold in place of their now lost child

But a lifestyle of isolating and protection cannot last forever.

And then the cats with love back in their hearts took roost in the crowded side of town, Doves with a sprig of an olive tree held out in peace

After generations have passed and wounds have healed over the relationship between hands and cats have gotten better. Not as severely revered but not murdered any longer.

And such the slightly more friendly fairing Clowder rose, donned as the Doves! They live to the west where hands sleep and sing. They live off offerings from the hands but also hunt.

A lot more loose in nature there is no strict loyalty to stay a Dove with many half there and half in the comfy care of a house. But those who fully reside in the Dove’s Domain are very welcoming to the fluidity in their home.

They have no clear home base but do follow a Crown of their own who keeps peace and keeps track of the needs of the cats.

[outerheavenbear]

The Raven belongs to the most intelligent of all the birds. to give some idea of its intelligence, if the average IQ for a human being is measured at the 100 mark, then the average IQ of a raven is 138. Its linguistic skills are legendary, and its possible that the raven can understand  as well as imitate human words. it is the Intelligence, and the playful nature of the raven, that makes it the ultimate symbol of the trickster.

In some societies, the Raven is as important as the eagle, and occasionally this black bird even surpasses the golden one in terms of its symbolic import. Like the Eagle, the raven has few natural predators except for man. Unlike the eagle, ravens will work together for the benefit of the group, and so have come to symbolize the benefits of teamwork. Conversely, in Denmark the term “Ravn-Mudder” or Raven Mother is a euphemism for poor parenting skills, and stems from the notion that the bird waits to see the colors of its chicks feathers before starting to feed it. 

Even if the raven has never been taught to speak in human languages, its voice carries a surprisingly human inflection and tone. This led to a belief that the bird knew everything , as personified by the ravens that belonged to the Norse God Odin. Called Hugin and Munin, from the words for thought and memory, the birds flew back to the god at the end of every day where they whispered into his ears all the doings of mankind. Odin--also known as the Raven God-- had daughters, Valkyries, who appeared as ravens and similarly,witches are able to shapeshift into the form of ravens,which is how they travel, anonymously, to thier meetings.

More sinisterly, the raven is seen as a harbinger of death, as personified in the Morrigan, the great battle Goddess of Celtic Myth who takes on the form of a raven. the raven is a carrion bird and was often seen at the sites of battles , making a grim meal of the bloody remains of the defeated army. In addition, the spooky black appearance of the bird certainly lends itself to the dark imagery posited by horror stories. In the Mahabharata, the bird is a messenger of death, but paradoxically to those of a western sensibility, this does not necessarily mean that the bird is a symbol of ill omen. However the idea of the raven as a bird of malice is promulgated by the bible story that Noah first sends a raven to find land; the raven never returned, and so was seen to be no friend of man. The dove, sent out next, returned with the sprig of the olive tree and has been a beneficial omen ever since. The ravens sent out by Viking explorers in search of new land seemed to have a better success rate than Noah’s bird,however, and in some parts of northern Europe, the bird is seen as a helper of humankind.

The ravens at the tower of London are a symbol of protection par excellence. Birds have been kept in this spot for over a thousand years, due to an ancient legend that the country would be safe from invaders while ravens remain there. Indeed, this idea is so firmly entrenched in the national psyche that when the raven population at the tower dwindled during the second World War, Winston Churchill arranged that ravens be “imported” from Wales to keep the country safe.

Despite its color, the Ancient greeks had the raven as a solar symbol, and it is dedicated to the Goddess Athena and the God Apollo. 

In Native american Belief, the raven is a symbol of the Creator and as such is a powerful protector of humankind. Myths tell that the bird not only made the Universe but also discovered and looked after the first man. the Shapeshifting abilities of the bird are mentioned here,too, and as such, the raven is the preferred bird of shamans, who converse with the birds in order to discover what the Gods have in store for mankind.  

[skwonkk]

Apple pie for you and me Honeydew, artichoke, hearts of lettuce Such as bread, cream, white sauce, and aspic "Ooh la la, ooh la la" chanted the traffic wardens but Steve was in no mood for Swedish Volleyball that day. He swore to himself that if Erica came home again dressed like a chicken, he would tell the Monopolies Commission who had really been putting cream cakes in the Lord Mayor of London's underpants. Then, the avocado dip would really hit the fan! Bacon blue bread dog eared... Buttered bagels and lox, cream cheese, rhubarb (Food) I'll never keep you waitin' like a green banana See what to do to all those healthy basil leaves I want a bean feast And I got myself a beer Well, those brownies oughta be just about ready now Caramel. With a carrot nose and hat on Extol your sacrifice with fine caviars and aspics Then maybe carrots and celery And they’re begging for a taste of my cherry pie Two squares of dark chocolate And you put some cinnamon, in a cup. Drinking coffee every hour until one You get cola from a nut Eating cookies when no one's lookin'! When the corn is past its prime Cotton candy clouds Cupcakes, icing pops Cream buns and doughnuts Think of the fondue that we’ll be sharin'! Pulling up the garlic Lots of gingerbread men At least I know about the grapes! Add the ham pieces Become the land of hamburgers and raisins that can sing? Hot dogs and baked beans and sauerkraut With a three scoop ice cream cone in his hand Ketchup and salt and ground beef Lemons growin' on our tree Lime and sugar, sprig of mint Sorrows lollipop lands stick-broken on a dark carnival ground Percy, the hapless FBI agent, disguised as a Russian reindeer salesman, slid into the sushi bar in downtown Frankfurt and realised with a start that the man with the macaroni on his head was infact his ex-wife Rosemary; herself disguised as a Peruvian professor of Chemistry. The boot was on the other foot however, when he showed her his Swiss Army pen-knife Pink macaroons We'll have biscuits marmalade, on a bench near the park Now I’m soft like a marshmallow She's had trouble with that milk and the moon ever since maybe it's a Chocolate cake, big milkshakes Peanut butter sandwiches, English muffins Black-bottomed mushrooms and chicken pot pie Door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove Omelette The layers of your onion, your emotional disease just Darth Orange Juice Do you like pancakes? Haven’t ever tasted a Georgia Peach But they still go for peanuts And sauté the onions and green pepper 'til they're tender When you're in a pickle and ya plum surrounded And pineapple patties to grill It helps us make pizza, it keeps things in line You bring the popcorn PotaTo potaTo potaTo If you wanna try Some Piggy Plum Pie Cakes puddings and pies White hat on a pumpkin Raisins come from grapes, people come from apes Over rice! Oh, the ricotta we'll be digesting! Like cooked meats, fruit salad, soil foods, and yolk! You love spiced salmon strudel. Fried egg sandwich, white bread, bottle of HP (White bread, white bread) Bacon, egg and sausage I like cake and scones, ice cream cones You bring the soda And some folks loves ham hocks and some folks loves pork chops and some folks love vegetable soup Spaghetti! He always ate in the Steak Bar. He loved to drive in his Jaguar. Oh strawberry moon She's a sad tomato Eat a bucket of tuna-flavored pudding, then wash it down with a gallon of strawberry Quik Vanilla chocolat Waffles! The look on your face will be priceless when you find that forty pound watermelon in your colon Whiskey bottles piling high I will drink the wine while it is warm Yogurt, butterscotch, granola