Oakshallow was founded on Autumn 41, Year 8, by Oaksinger, Cirrae, Dove, Myrrh, Sage, and Sophie. Over the seasons to come, it more than quadrupled in size. While a bigger village meant more paws to work, it also meant more mouths to feed, and tension began to grow.

In the spring of Year 9, a fight broke out between Howl and Sophie. Sophie accused Howl of being a freeloader relying on the hard work of others; Howl maintained that his project of collecting dust in jars was of great value to the community. Exasperated by both of them, Oaksinger proposed a trial by combat to resolve the matter and decide who was right. Though the quick and wiry Howl put up a good fight, Sophie, a well-muscled miner, emerged victorious. Howl begrudgingly agreed to put more effort into helping his fellow villagers. Dove later called this trial The Incident, and that was quickly adopted as the unofficial name.

Though the initial conflict was resolved, the underlying resentment festered unchecked for seasons, and subtle divisions began to form in the village as not-cats chose their sides. What was once a petty squabble between two cats became a general resentment towards Oaksinger. Several of her decisions in the past had been unpopular, and The Incident was considered the final straw. In the villagers’ eyes, it proved that Oaksinger was more interested in power than the greater good of Oakshallow. Of course, they disagreed on what should have been done; Sophie’s group wanted more discipline, arguing that hobbies should come second to work, while Howl’s group were more concerned that Oaksinger’s involvement in a private dispute was the precursor to more explicit tyranny.

Although Oaksinger tried to reconcile the two groups, Howl’s supporters considered her to be on Sophie’s side because she had suggested The Incident and Sophie’s supporters were convinced she was secretly team Howl because she hadn’t made him stop collecting dust jars. Where not-cats had once met in Hallowhome to socialise, they now split between Snailshroom and Embering. Neither side would listen to Oaksinger’s pleas for peace, so the few remaining neutral villagers decided to take matters into their own hands.

Murmurous and Cirrae proposed a vote to appoint leadership of Oakshallow. Two candidates from each group were chosen: Neeko and Herea from Sophie’s group, and Havana and Myrrh from Howl’s. It quickly became clear that only one of these candidates would be a suitable leader: Myrrh was evidently more interested in designing beetle-wing glitter than managing a village; Neeko was too happy-go-lucky and airheaded to make serious decisions about important issues; and Havana kept talking about migratory bird flight patterns when asked about economic policy. By contrast, Herea was well-spoken, full of ideas, and promised to legalise catnip. In light of the evidence, not-cats on both sides decided to prioritise competence over coalitions. Herea won by a landslide, and on Autumn 1, Year 9, she was appointed mayor by Oaksinger in an impromptu ceremony at Hallowhome.

Her first act as mayor was to begin work on a lodge where not-cats could meet on neutral ground to sort out their differences. The entire village worked together to construct it, and this collaborative effort toward a common goal sealed the deal on reunification as the not-cats realised that a petty squabble wasn’t worth losing friends over. With over thirty not-cats on the job, the lodge was finished remarkably quickly, and on Autumn 4, Hallowtree Hall was formally opened.

The Autumn of Year 9 became known as the Season of Harmony due to Mayor Herea’s election and a sudden deluge of beans in Oakshallow. Nineteen beans were born in this single season: Alba, Aurilen, Birdie, Cari, Fairywren, Farley, Gwinn, Jester, Mercedene, Niv, Regla, Remus, Sagi, Sulia, Sylvi, Terence, Trixie, Vestra, and Violea. Faye and Warbler, Fairywren and Sylvi’s parents, nicknamed these autumn-born beans The Choir (partially because they were born during the Season of Harmony, partially because they were so dang loud!).


Wishlist:

CATS:

• silver mackerel longhair, WM P8
  
• solid red longhair, WM C1
  
• protective black longhair, WM 0
  
• gentle black longhair, WM <4
  
• solid brown shorthair, WM P6
  
• solid grey shorthair, WM P6

CLOTHING:
2x Blue Dragonflies #689
Crocus Tail Corsage #2208
Dark Sunflower Tail Corsage #3031
Falling Summer Leaves #318
Green Feather Anklets #189
Green Feather Pendants #185
Grey Geometric Shawl #2126
Horned Skull #126
3x Lavender Floral Shawl #2140
Left Crocus Headpiece #2204
2x Left Forget-me-not Headpiece #2211
Not-Holly Petal Whirl #2223
Not-Tasty Not-Holly #2217
Pan Scarf #1596
Red Geometric Shawl #2122
Red Polkadot Shawl #2130
Right Not-Holly Headpiece #2219
Sapphic Streamers #3226
Silver Glitterdust #2
2x Snowdrop Petal Whirl #1500
Violet Necklace #735
[Custom] Cloudy Moon #5061
[Custom] Glittery Grey Moth Swarm #4213
[Custom] Violet Petal Fur #3775