LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Rhine had very little experience with drugs, as well as the more common and softer herbs that medicine cats made a habit of working with. He had never been particularly interested in medicine, besides learning the bare minimum in order to make sure that those around him remained safe. It was a shame, but the field had just never called to him, like a life as a warrior had. Of course, he had also never imagined himself taking up the title of leadership either, so life did have a habit of throwing curveballs at him. It was because of this that Rhinestone found himself silently glad that Vaas knew so much about these kinds of things. Sure, perhaps his specialty was in the more recreational drugs, rather than the medicinal ones. However, this interaction proved that he did know how to work with herbs that could end up helping people with health issues. This piqued Rhine's interest, especially as the tom had yet to find anyone to properly fill in the medicine cat position. The closest they had was Rosemary, but she was from The Typhoon, and Rhine didn't want to take her away from home more often than they needed to - even though it didn't seem like Rosemary would mind much. After all, she had already made a habit of just hanging around their territory, and she always seemed to enjoy her conversations with Vaas. Still, the tom found himself just shaking his head from side to side. It wouldn't have been fair, expecting her to practically become a fulltime member of Palmclan.

Long strides carried Rhine after Vaas, following the other leader with a sort of strained enthusiasm as they entered into the rows of cages and chaos. He was made glad at the thought of actually getting some proper sleep after that nightmare, but he didn't want to seem too enthusiastic. After all, he was basically receiving drugs from Vaas, and he didn't want it to come off as if he was an addict waiting to happen - not that the tiger could particularly comment on that. The tom listened intently to what the other had to say, nodding along with his insights about leadership before offering some words of his own, "Yeah... I've never been particularly great at resting, but it only became worse after my leadership. It's hard to get some decent sleep, when you're worrying about everything that you have to watch out for." Not only had he become a leader, but he had also become a father not too long afterward. First, Foamkit had become practically like a son to him, and then Quasar and Tree had come along as well. Even without any sort of romance, he had gotten the children he had wished for as a wide eyed and daydreaming apprentice, along with all of the responsibility that came along with that. It was a bit stressful, but he also never would've traded it for the world. He cared greatly about Foam, Quasar, and Tree, and if anything happened to them... he never would've been able to forgive himself.

Rhinestonestar was then broken from his thoughts by Vaas's voice, looking up into the other's eyes as he offered his concoctions forth. He nodded stiffly as he looked at the unbroken and sealed up catnip that the other had pushed forth. He grabbed at it, being careful not to break the seal or damage the packaging - he didn't really want to be up for the rest of the night. He chuckled lightly at Vaas's teasing, pale gaze glimmering in the low light as he responded casually, "Quasar has more of an excuse than I do, though. He's growing, and dealing with the stresses of apprenticehood. I've been leader for a while now... I shouldn't be having silly nightmares." The tom grimaced lightly at himself, his jaw clenched as he followed after the tiger once again, towards the bedding. The offer of blueberries was one that the feline took nearly immediately, a light smile coming to his face as he popped a few of them in his mouth. He almost wasn't used to the sweet taste, having mostly avoided the woods and berrypicking for the majority of his life. That was yet another fear that he would soon need to overcome, especially if Medusa remained out amongst the towering trees.

Once the bowl was pushed towards him, Rhine hesitated for only a moment before awkwardly lifting it to his mouth, tipping it back and wincing slightly at the taste. Vaas had tried his damnedest to hide the edge of it, but Rhine still wouldn't go as far as to describe it as pleasant. Thankfully, it seemed as though it worked, considering the sort of calm numbness that began to overtake the leader before long. He was almost sluggish, smiling and chuckling before he looked towards Vaas and spoke, "Vaas... thank you. I'm very thankful to you for doing this. If you hadn't come along, I probably just would've stayed up half the night." He gave another soft bit of laughter, leaning forward to press his head lightly against Vaas's jaw, in an extra silent thanks. The offer of a place to stay was immediately a positive one, considering Rhinestone wasn't sure he could even make it all the way back home in his current state. He gave both Vaas and Quasar a nod before moving towards one of the cages. He sank easily into the bedding beneath him, pale eyes falling shut and a smile sitting on his muzzle. It wasn't long before he entirely slipped off into unconsciousness, muttering lightly as he did so, "Goodnight..." And with that, Rhinestonestar was gone to the world around him.