(In sincere curiosity, because I don't remember and I don't see it on Sarna - how did the Bears vote regarding our Abjuration? For or Against?)
@parable - I think you've nailed it.
IIRC (though I do not always recall correctly), the vote for abjuration was unanimous. Star Adder wanted to annihilate us but were shot down.
As for the Ghost Bears in general? I think they were stung not solely because of our betrayal of the others of Kerensky's chosen, but because we were a dark mirror to them. The Ghost Bears crusaded to advance a warden cause, the Nova Cats were crusaders until circumstances turned us warden. We allowed ourselves to be subsumed into an IS power, they ruled theirs. For the deeply conservative Ghost Bears, Clan Nova Cat was a perfect foe because we represented all the things they saw as weakness. It also feels somewhat one-sided, with CGB holding animosity against their 'traitor' neighbors, while CNC is still working out how to recover from a genocide.
In another world, the Clan that doesn't treat old age as a liability and the one that still has family systems, both Clans preferring swift tactical strikes, both Clans liking to take their time and wait for the perfect time to strike, both Clans deciding to merge with the IS quickly after the Invasion...in that world, the Nova Cats and the Ghost Bears could've been brothers. But alas, we were everything CGB hated and we were -right there- and we know if angered sufficiently the Bears go berserk...
Clan Nova Cat would never not come into conflict with Clan Ghost Bear.