The morning was... unsettlingly quiet. There was no sound save for the crash of waves against the sandy shore, and the faint creaking sway of trees from the forest. All seemed peaceful within Palmclan's camp, with the entirety of the group still deep in slumber, save for a couple of warriors assigned to the night watch. Rhinestonestar was one of those still asleep, curled up in his nest and drifting in and out of sleep as the time to wake up slowly approached. He hoped it would be an uneventful day, considering all that had been going on as of late. Unfortunately, it seemed as though Starclan was not keen on granting his wish, considering the peace was soon to be disturbed. Palmclan had caught a brief break after the tragedy of the hurricane, but things could not always be calm, and relief was not an easy thing to be found. Thankfully, the clan was strong, and they'd be able to face any sort of danger that came their way.

This time, the danger began with a rumble. The very ground seemed to quake, but not from the usual culprit. No, instead, it was the rumble of many tiny feet, rushing towards Palmclan at a shockingly high speed. Unbeknownst to the group as a whole, the huge mischief of rats had come from the boardwalk, driven out by faces still yet to be seen. Needless to say, the peace in camp did not remain for long, as rats began to flood into the sandy hollow that the clan called home. The few guards that had been left to patrol were shouting, yelling over the rapid patter of feet as the rats spread out, grasping for anything and everything they could get their hands on. If anyone even dared to try and touch them, they lashed out with sharp fangs, bodies shooting forward to sink teeth into flesh. Rhinestone was woken up by the commotion, stumbling groggily from his den and out into the open air of camp. He recoiled at the sight of the mischief, his claws digging against the earth. He opened his muzzle to shout, only to feel fangs sink into his leg. Letting out a yelp of pain, the leader lifted his front leg, slamming the rat that dangled there into the side of the meeting rock. It let out a strangled squeak, falling from his limb and allowing him to climb upwards.

As soon as he was atop the rock, and he let out a large yowl of anger, calling out to all that could hear him, "EVERYONE! We're under attack! Try to drive the rats out, and make sure to protect the kits and the elders! If you can fight no longer, get to higher ground!" He would not allow this to be a repeat of the last disaster that had taken place. No one would die today, not if Rhine had anything he could do about it. As soon as he saw warriors begin to rouse from their rest and get to work, the tomcat leaped back down into the fray, sinking his teeth into one of the rats as he headed towards the nursery.

( welcome to the first part of the palmclan boardwalk plot! not only will this rat attack lead into the other parts of the plot, but rats will also linger in the territory after this thread, and anyone can make open threads involving them! these threads could be simple, such as rats trying to steal your character's prey, or destroying something your character cares for, or may be more complex, such as a rat hunt drawing out snakes from the cliffs! either way, feel free to get creative and have fun! )

RHINESTONESTAR - PALMCLAN - PENNED BY STILLY

Confusion. That was all Lovekit could feel as the earth beneath him began to rumble, with no discernable reason as to why. He had only been in Palmclan for a brief time since discovering it, but he was fairly sure this wasn't normal. Pushing himself up to his paws, the hybrid stumbled a bit, looking around the nursery in confusion. He could see all of the queens getting up, or curling their tail protectively around their children, their eyes wide with fear and similar confusion to himself. With his ears pinned down against his head, Lo turned towards the entrance of the nursery, only to hear Sugarspice's desperate, yet reassuring call. He was surprised that his name was called alongside the names of kits that he had learned lived within the clan, but not disappointed. It felt nice to be cared about, even if he wasn't exactly unfamiliar with the concept. After all, his mother – only his mom, now – cared about him very much, but it was still odd, being cared for by someone he barely knew.

The young male stumbled over his own paws as he went padding towards the entrance to the nursery, a soft squeak leaving him as he fell onto his belly. Behind Sugarspice, Lo could have sworn that he saw the shadows of several somethings rapidly scattering around the camp. Feeling both fear and excitement rush through his limbs, Lovekit said with bright and wide green eyes, "A game? Follow the leader? Okay! But where are we going? It looks like there's a lot of people behind you... is Palmclan having visitors?" The child stepped forward a bit, trying to look over Sugarspice's shoulder and see the swarming rats that were all around. The boy was frightened when, suddenly, one of the rats slipped past Sugar, squeaking and hissing loudly as it infiltrated the nursery. Panicking, Lovekit brought his paw down upon the rat's back, only for it to twist around and snap its jaws onto his paw. Letting out a squeak, the kit shook his paw around desperately, eventually knocking the rat into the wall and causing it to release its grip on his foot. As he held his slightly bleeding paw against his chest, Lo whined weakly, "These visitors aren't very friendly! You should kick them out!" He wished his mom was here. She'd make sure that they left immediately.