LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

For some time, Rhine had firmly believed that the Twisted Forest was not a place for anyone within Palmclan. He saw it as somewhere that they could access prey such as squirrels and mice, and nothing more beyond that. Or rather, he did see beyond that, but nothing that he saw was overwhelmingly positive. Maybe it was just because of his childhood memories of the forest. He could remember many a day where he had heard rumors all around him, warriors and apprentices alike talking about what lurked within and outside of the Twisted Forest. Some of the tails were more farfetched, such as evil spirits or massive beasts that had been assigned to watch over it, killing anyone who took prey from there. However, some of the rumors were far more believable, and petrifying. Stories of wild and vicious groups that would tear Palmclan children to shreds if they got their claws on them, or hungry and powerful wild dogs that were just waiting for the right feline to fall into their clutches. Those stories were the ones that had really gotten to a young Rhinestonepaw, the quiet and timid apprentice that had done anything he could to avoid the forest. Hell, he excelled in aquatic prey because that put him as far from the forest as possible.

However, that had been a long time ago. In a time where he had been young and afraid, and everything seemed so intimidating and big. Now he was a warrior. Not only that, but he was a leader. He held a great amount of power within the group, as well as a great amount of responsibility. That meant that he needed to seriously think about every part of the territory, and the threats and benefits that came with it. Nowadays, the Twisted Forest still somewhat unnerved him, but he also knew it to be a base of valuable prey. Not only that, but it was the perfect barrier between Palmclan and the outside world, as well as a natural labyrinth that they could use for cover in case of invaders. Not that Rhine found himself too worried about invaders. Even with the outside groups that had begun to pop up, such as Alithís Evgenis and The Typhoon... they seemed friendly. Or, at the very least, non-hostile. Which meant that, for the time being, they weren't threats that Palmclan needed to worry about. Not that the leader intended to get too buddy buddy with them. He liked Bai Shi and Alithís, but an alliance could turn sour just as quickly as it had become good.

The rust colored tom had been pondering all this when Medusa came into camp, her light and excited voice causing Rhinestone to look up from his meal. Not that he had been particularly absorbed in it, considering how he had been totally zoning out. When he heard that the other was doing her Warrior's Plight, he couldn't help the grin that curled onto his muzzle. With how she had been worrying about being perceived as of late, with her hybridization and how others looked at her, it was good to hear that she wanted to take such a big step in becoming a true member of the clan. Pushing himself up to his paws, Rhinestone eagerly followed after the group that had gathered behind Medusa, staying a little close to Vaas – glad to see that the other was at least engaging with the ritual as well. When they began to delve into the forest, Rhine initially felt himself tense up slightly, pale gaze flicking around to the towering trees that surrounded them on all sides. He managed to take a deep breath, calming himself as the pads of his paws slipped over the smooth stone of the path. The coolness of it almost caught him off guard, having never stumbled across the clumped together stones before.

When they reached the actual house, the feline found his eyes growing wide, a soft gasp leaving him as he began to wander around. His paws explored freely over the ruins of the house, taking in the remains of the fire as well as the strange boxes full of wilting – and some not wilting – plants. The downstairs intrigued him most, with the statue that lingered there seeming almost like a comfort and a threat all at the same time. It looked so realistic that Rhine wasn't sure he'd be surprised if it came to life and sprang forth. Despite this, he still found himself calmed within the sheer presence of the building, a small smile curling on his face as he returned to where Medusa was. He purred to the hybrid, fluffy tail flicking behind him as he spoke, "Medusa... this place is wonderful. I'm so surprised you happened to just stumble upon it. And that thing you said about the stones... very inspiring." He spared a glance downwards, as if trying to look through to the bottom floor, before he questioned, "What do you suppose that statue was for? Just decoration? It's so ornate..." Rhinestonestar didn't really expect Medusa to have answers for him, mostly just musing to himself.

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

When Medusa mentioned Palmclan warriors missing the path for the towering trees that made up the Twisted Forest, Rhine felt a soft bit of bubbling laughter leave his muzzle. He nodded, admitting a little hesitantly as he glanced about, "To be honest, you may be right there... I've never been a real big fan of the Twisted Forest, myself. When I was just a kit, rumors of horrible beasts out here ran rampant, and I was never sure of what laid beyond the trees, even as an adult. I doubt every warrior is the same way, but I can certainly see why others would end up missing out on the path." He was glad that Medusa had managed to find it, however. A new significant landmark to add to the list was always fascinating, and this one certainly seemed to be pretty damn unique. As time went on, Palmclan was becoming more and more intimately involved with the architecture and old lives of the twolegs, taking old human homes for themselves and claiming the boardwalk as part of the territory. Still, seeing such an odd stone building all the way out here... it really made Rhinestone wonder about what twolegs must've inhabited it.

Rhinestonestar then felt a shiver run down his spine as he heard Medusa speak about the statue, and how uncanny it was in its lifelike appearance. The hybrid certainly wasn't wrong, but the rust colored feline couldn't help but be unnerved at the thought. Even wirh Vaas on the scene, one of their own big cats, Rhine wasn't particularly keen on attempting to fight a lion. Thankfully, he also knew that it was just Medusa's imagination, and he quickly reassured himself with a nod before he spoke, "Worship... I suppose that would make sense. I wonder what type of God it might've been for. Perhaps twolegs know something about Starclan...?" Although, if they did, Rhine doubted that they would've made a lion statue to worship the great clan in the sky. Even with the legends of ancient clans that fought like lions, Rhinestone was fairly sure Starclan consisted of mainly domestic felines.

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Medusa was right about one thing – well, he actually considered her to be right about several things, but semantics – and that was that rumors were just rumors. They very rarely had any factual truth to them, and when they did, they often came to light fairly quickly. Rhine just wished he could've been more confident of that when he was a child. With that in mind, the tom just laughed and said, shaking his head a bit, "Don't worry, I won't go searching for monsters in the woods. I have no interest in putting myself in danger – especially since that would put Palmclan in danger as well." Once he was finished speaking, the rusty red feline had begun to let his gaze wander, taking in his surroundings again, when he heard Medusa beginning to explain about statues, and their significance. Rhinestone's eyes widened a bit, seemingly just as surprised about Medusa's knowledge as she was. Eventually he found himself muttering, smiling, "Wow, that's quite the wealth of knowledge you've got there, Medusa. I can't imagine a being with an animal head and a twoleg body though... sounds rather uncomfortable." A soft shiver went down his spine before he shook his head, disturbed by the thought. He preferred his animals and humans separately, thank you very much.

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

I wish I remembered where I learned all of it. Medusa's statement just seemed so wildly confusing to Rhinestone, even if he understood the explicit meaning of it. Maybe it was just because all apprentices were – or at least, normally were – taught by one warrior most everything that they came to know in adulthood. Obviously this didn't mean that they couldn't learn from other sources, but it was pretty easy to know where you learned something from, in their current system. Medusa's missing memories, meanwhile... they were a complete mystery to Rhine, who wished he could've helped somehow. Feeling curious, the leader smiled a bit at the hybrids laugh, letting out his own little chuckle before he questioned, "You really can't remember where you heard all of this? That must be so odd, remembering the actual information, but not where you got it from... annoying, too. At least it seems as though you didn't miss out on any additional lessons from whoever taught you." Medusa seemed quite knowledgeable on the subject, which almost made Rhine wonder if she had been taught directly by humans. Although that would obviously be ridiculous, it was difficult for him to completely discount, given how many strange things he had seen that he had thought to never be possible before.