LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

In the back of his mind, Rhinestonestar knew that he didn't really have to do the Warrior's Plight ritual. After all, he was the leader of the group, so who was going to question his devotion to Palmclan? However, even though he didn't need to, Rhine still found that he wanted to. If he was going to introduce an entirely new tradition to the clan, then he was going to do it right – although he wasn't entirely sure what he'd be doing when it came to getting the new shell and title. It seemed a bit awkward to give anything to him self, considering his position... well, he would cross that bridge when he came to it, he supposed. For now, he knew that the first step of his journey was territory exploration. Except... he already knew Palmclan's territory by heart. Even with the addition of the boardwalk, he had gone to practically every corner of his home, constantly checking for new things and different kinds of prey. Of course, there were certain things that his members had found or made, rather than him – like Hurricane with the warship, or Sugarspice with the bar – but other than that, he knew things quite well.

With this in mind, Rhine had chosen to simply skip to the next part of the first task – taking everyone to his favorite spot on the territory. He couldn't help but be excited for it, especially since he knew exactly where he wanted to take everyone. With a new sort of bounce in his step, the leader had gone into camp with a grin and a puffed up chest, calling out enthusiastically, "Everyone! I'm doing my Warrior's Plight, and I'd like to show you all to my favorite part of the territory. It's in the cliffs, so feel free to line up behind me and follow... kits can come too, but only if you stay very close to the adults." He only added on that last part because of the limited amount of children that they had in the group at the moment. It was hard to feel completely safe with them tagging along, especially given that the cliffs was a prime place for hawks to come swooping down, but... the kids would be fine, as long as they followed along with the group and listened to their elders. Something most of them were pretty good at doing, even if they were rambunctious.

Once a decent group had gathered behind him, Rhine began the journey into the cliffs, claws lightly scraping against tall stone as he led everyone to one of the highest caves in the cliffs – Connection Cave. Within the cavern, there was a large structure carved from the same stone of the cliffs, propped up in the shape of a massive shell right in the middle of the room. The "shell" seemed to shine in the low light, beautiful, and cool to the touch. Turning to those that had accompanied him, Rhinestone spoke with an excited grin, "This is my favorite part of the territory. The Starshell. It's my favorite part because I heard about it so often as a kid, and now, as leader, I know why it's so important. It's Palmclan's main connection to Starclan, and it's also where I ended up receiving my nine lives. Not only that, but... it's just really beautiful in general, isn't it?" Really, Rhine had brought everyone there more for the beauty of it all. After all, he wasn't really sure if all of the Starclan stuff was true. The group among the stars had never spoken to him, and the leader wasn't even sure if he had ever received his nine lives – not that anyone else besides him knew that.

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Truth be told, Rhinestone didn't actually care much whether the members of Palmclan believed in Starclan or not. He did appreciate the Starshell for its beauty, but when it can to Starclan themselves? Rhine had his doubts, especially since he had lost – or seemingly never had – any connection with them. That said, he knew that there were some within the clan that would've seen such a viewpoint as sacrilege, and would've been calling for his head on a platter. Seeing as how he didn't want any part of the clan aiming for him to be dead, he found it better to keep that viewpoint to himself. Although, as more and more outsiders came to join Palmclan, it became more clear than ever that there were less believers within the group than before. Those who worshipped Starclan were rapidly becoming the minority... still, Rhine didn't want to directly speak out against them. Not when they weren't helping Palmclan, and had done so much for the group in the past – although the leader struggled to recall what they had done, only able to remember feeling betrayed by them when the hurricane had hit.

Turning his pale blue gaze towards Medusa, Rhinestone was unaware of what thoughts were going through her head, but if he had, he certainly would've been sympathetic. He couldn't just expect the hybrid to worship Starclan when she had arrived so recently, and had seen no real signs of them. Still, to hear her comment on the beauty of the Starshell caused him to smile, his tail flicking behind him before he responded, "I first came here once as an apprentice... I wasn't actually supposed to be here, but I was just so tempted by the stories of it. Of course, when I finally did get here, I nearly ended up breaking something because I was so stunned by how pretty it was. I ended up slipping because of the brightness and nearly cracking my chin open. Wasn't exactly the greatest first impression I could've made." The leader then chuckled, shaking his head from side to side at the memory. As a child, the tom had been so unbearably quiet and polite, so when he had returned back to camp with an aching chin and a frown on his muzzle, it had been easy enough to say he had fallen while hunting.