LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Rhinestone knew a thing or two about losing a brother, although his situation hadn't been quite the same. After all, Toadwhisker had gone off all on his own, into the great unknown because he felt as though he needed to. He had been lost to Rhine, yes, but he hadn't exactly been lost himself – although some would argue that Toad had lost himself the moment he walked away from Palmclan. Either way, the leader of Palmclan would be able to understand Dovah's situation better than most, especially since he had practically taken in an entire litter at this point that had lost their guardians. Part of him felt a little worried about how many unattended children or younger apprentices ended up on their border, but he supposed it wasn't all that bad. He would rather have them within Palmclan's camp and boardwalk, where they could remain safe, rather than out in the wilderness, all by their lonesome.

The rust red feline had been on his way towards the border when he ended up stumbling upon Dovah, briefly surprised by the other's appearance. It had been pretty out of the ordinary, watching someone come bolting out of the trees of the Twisted Forest like their tail was on fire. Not that Rhine really had any room to speak, considering the sprawling landscape of trees still terrified him, even in his older age and advanced position within the group. Rhinestonestar allowed Dovah a couple of minutes to collect himself, watching as the other feline began to dig around in the bag that he had brought with him. The tom found himself chuckling when he saw what the other pulled free, not entirely surprised by the bag's contents. It wasn't unusual for members of the group to collect things, even if the stork feather that Dovah had brought out was hardly common to these parts. Once he thought the other had calmed down a bit, Rhine drew closer, clearing his throat and speaking with a flick of his tail, "Hello there. My name is Rhinestonestar. Although, you can call me Rhine, if you'd rather do that." he kept his introduction short and simple as always, giving Dovah a moment to process.

Once he thought the other knew who he was, Rhinestone continued on, "This territory that you're on right now is the territory of Palmclan, the group I lead. Do you need some help? Because we can offer you shelter, if you do." He thought about asking for Dovah's name as well, but held back for now. The poor thing already seemed a bit confused, and he had just seemingly recovered from outright panic – he could use a moment to catch his bearings.

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Dovah. It was an interesting name, for someone who would evidently turn out to be quite the interesting kid. Or childish adult, rather. The apologies that spilled forth from the other's mouth cause Rhine to temporarily step back, caught off guard by how frantically remorseful the other seemed to be. The leader let out a slightly awkward chuckle, shaking his head from side to side before he explained, "Don't worry, it's alright. We're used to strangers wandering around here, and we're not gonna have any issue, provided you're friendly." Dovah didn't exactly seem like the type to go spoiling for a fight, so Rhinestone didn't expect him to be the mean type. As it turned out, he was extremely right, considering that the male launched right into introducing himself, next.

Smiling calmly as Dovah began to settle, Rhinestone shook his head from side to side before explaining, "Er, I don't believe there is such a thing as a Rhinestonestar, besides myself. Although a Rhinestone is a type of gemstone. My parents told me that they called me that because of my eyes, since they reflect all sorts of different colors. My warrior name was even Rhinestoneeyes, before I took over as leader." The tom then trailed off for a moment, evidently caught up in his own reminiscing, before his pelt grew hot with embarrassment. He quickly turned his attention back to Dovah, saying with a hum, "As for your name... well, I think your mother may have been right. After all, one of our allies has a dragon as their leader. Their name is Bai Shi." Bai Shi could be more than just a dragon, as Rhine had seen in the past, but the dragon form left the most lasting impression.

Number Nine's approach caused Rhinestonestar to halt in his speech momentarily, looking towards the jaguar and greeting him with a dip of his head. The other immediately launched into his usual friendly banter, causing the rust red feline to shake his head from side to side. Before long, the leader realized that he had gotten so distracted that he hadn't heard what Dovah was offering him. Turning back towards the other, he looked down at what the other feline had offered him, seemingly thinking it over. It took only a moment before he was frantically shaking his head, saying with a sharp-toothed smile, "Oh, my... Dovah, you don't need to give us these. We'll be more than happy to provide you with shelter, free of charge. The most we might ask of you is for a little bit of work, like hunting or patrolling. Nothing serious." He didn't want to take anything from the poor lost loner, especially since it seemed as though he valued those objects quite highly. It wouldn't have been fair to take them anyways, considering Palmclan had let others in permanently for no kind of price before. Nine's words rang through Rhine's mind for another moment before he snickered, reiterating, "Number Nine is right... I doubt you'd be able to cause any trouble around here anyways. You are free to join us, even if it is just temporarily until your brother gets here." The tom then flicked his tail back towards Palmclan's camp, as if silently offering Dovah a guide back towards their home.