LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Starclan, he was tired. His body felt oddly heavy, and he couldn't help the slightly stuffed up feeling that lingered in his face, disorienting him and leaving him slightly clumsy. He was fairly certain that he was getting sick, but he also knew that he needed to ignore it. Palmclan needed him at one hundred percent, and if he was feeling anything less than that, then it was unacceptable. Not only did they have two battles to prepare for, but they were also getting low on prey, and their entire territory was still a snowed over wasteland. He needed to inspire them, and he couldn't do that if he was feeling like shit. Taking a deep breath, the ill leader leaped upwards onto the meeting rock, trying to ignore the way that he slightly stumbled forward, his claws digging against the stone in order to stabilize himself. He felt a rush of heat come to his face, sincerely hoping that no one had seen him do that. After letting out a light cough, the tom shook out his pelt, turning back towards camp and calling out, "All those old enough to brave the waves, please gather for a meeting!" Immediately, others began to gather around, some with bright eyes wondering what it was that Rhine was going to discuss, and some with slightly worried gazes on him, clearly noticing that he wasn't feeling the best. He pointedly ignored those looks, not wanting to get into his own health for the moment.

Once a decently sized crowd had gathered around, Rhinestone allowed himself to settle, feeling significantly more stable once he was in a seated position. He took another steadying breath before he spoke, a smile curling on his muzzle even through the wind hitting his face, "First of all... I'd like to welcome in everyone new that has arrived in the last couple of weeks. So, everyone give a big welcome to [member=16583]| HIRCINE |[/member] , [member=16558]DOVAH[/member], [member=16554]LEWIS G.[/member], and a proper welcome to @Honeypaw, since she didn't get one back when she joined with the rest of the boardwalk." He felt bad that the winged pup hadn't gotten a proper welcome at the time, but his mind had been pretty clogged back then - not that he didn't feel pretty busy at the moment. Once initial welcomes had been handed out, he moved on, trying not to move too quickly and knock himself off of the meeting rock, "In addition to this, I'd like to give a shoutout to Foamkit, Quasar, and Medusa. You've all done very well with being active, even through... all of this." He gave a vague gesture towards the snow, trying not to wince as he said Medusa's name. He felt bad about everything that had happened with her, ever since the whole power discovery thing.

His gaze briefly moved through the crowd, wondering if Medusa would even be around for this meeting. He was hopeful that she would be, considering she had showed up for the last one, but things still felt... off. Sighing, he decided to just continue on, eyes closing briefly as a wave of nausea came over him, "Uh... I'd also like to ask Dovah to step up as a waverunner, considering he has shown interest in how our clan operates, and has been very active. He isn't the only one who I'd like to ask to step up, however. I'd also like Vaas to step up as either a senior warrior, or as clan medicine cat, whichever he finds more suitable. Initially I thought you'd be more interested in the senior warrior position, but... you've shown an aptitude for healing and taking care of your clanmates, so if you'd rather take up the medical position, I'll be happy to let you have it." It seemed baffling, that one as strong as Vaas would be interested in healing, but Rhine wasn't about to complain. If Vaas wanted the job, then that was all the better for them all, considering they didn't have anyone in the position yet. After a brief roll of his shoulders, he then muttered, "I've got more to announce, but... I'll do so once we have more familiar faces around." He then paused, taking the opportunity to close his eyes as he waited for more of a crowd to gather.

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Rhine watched as familiar faces continued to gather around, reacting to the news and expressing their thanks, congratulations, or worries. He smiled slightly upon hearing Dovah, a ragged chuckle tearing forth from his lungs before he spoke, "I trust you, Dovah. I know that you still have things to learn about this clan, and how we work as a whole, but that's part of why you're being made a waverunner. It'll help you learn, and also help me to see if youre ready for more responsibility in the future." He offered the young male a little smile, before his pale gaze drifted over to Vaas. He nodded as the tiger confirmed he wanted to work on the medical side of things, something that Rhine had honestly been expecting. The former boardwalk leader seemed to have a natural aptitude for herbs and healing, and Rhinestone had very little reason not to take advantage of it. Especially now, when the sudden winter chill brought with it a wave of unpleasant colds – something that was clear in the leader himself.

There was no time to dwell on that, however, as he had more to discuss. Clearing his throat to hopefully mitigate the scratchiness of his voice, he continued, "Now... as I'm sure you're all painfully aware of, we recently had a pretty major snowstorm hit us. And while the snow is finally beginning to melt, it seems as though this winter will be far colder than any that Palmclan has experienced in some time. Unfortunately, this also means that a lot of prey is beginning to retreat underground, and there's a chance that any water may freeze over. Because of this, I would like us to start more heavily stockpiling prey. We should try to get as much caught before everything is gone as we can, and I'll make sure that we have plenty of storage space for it all." A soft cough then left the leader, causing him to wince. He grimaced as he swallowed down bile within his throat, lowering his voice before he added on, "In addition to this, I would like everyone watching out for any possible signs of sickness they may be having. Cold weather naturally brings colds along with it, and with Vaas around to help out now, we don't want things spreading." He couldn't help but feel like a hypocrite, given his current situation.

Shaking that off for now, Rhine lightly pressed a paw against his own chest before he moved on, to some fairly important things, "In addition to preparing for winter, we will also have to prepare for two coming battles. I know that doesn't sound great right now, given our current state, but both will be beneficial. The first battle is Alithís Evgenis's raid on the bandits that have been plaguing them. Not only will we be assisting with some of our own force, but we'll also be taking in their children while the battle is going on. Alithís has been one of our closest allies, and we'll be able to hunt on their grounds in exchange for this, so I don't think there should be any issue." The next battle... well, that would certainly be a harder sell. However, Rhine still pressed on, "As for the second fight... we're going to be assisting the Coalition of the Condemned, in raiding the Typhoon. I know that this hardly sounds desirable, but I haven't made this decision lightly. In exchange for our help, Stryker has promised us free reign of Tanglewood's hunting grounds during this time, in order to keep ourselves fed. In addition, if this winter truly does end up being inescapable, he has offered us Haven Island as a home." It was a big offer, and not one that Rhine could just pass up. However, he could already see a few uneasy faces in the crowd.

"I understand that this might not be the most popular decision. However, do not mistake me agreeing to this as me entirely trusting Stryker. The man clearly thinks that he has a silver tongue, and that's never a good sign. So, if he puts even a paw out of line, or doesn't hold up his end of the bargain... we will not be kind to him, if you catch my drift. And trust me, if that ends up happening, you'll know my signal." He already felt uneasy about this whole raid things, and Stryker didn't help with his false smiles and glittering eyes. Hopefully, all would go well, but if not... well, there was a reason why Stryker needed them. Feeling a crawling feeling up his spine, Rhinestone hastily continued, "I... I would also like to tell everyone, that if you hear rumors regarding Starclan and myself... do not listen to them. Starclan has expressed no displeasure with me or how our clan has developed, and these recent power discoveries are not part of any curse. If anything, they're a boon to us, since we can use them for very useful things." He shot a cold glare out to certain members of the crowd, mainly those that he knew to be spreading these rumors.

Knowing that the meeting was getting to be a bit long – and feeling rather unsteady on his feet – Rhine concluded as usual, "In the end... I would like to thank everyone for their continued activity. Even through everything that has happened, you've all been amazing, and I'd like us to keep that energy going. Now, unless there are any questions, consider this meeting... dismissed." His voice grew a bit weak at the end, in a way that caused him to wince. For now, he stayed atop the meeting rock, as if he was waiting for any sort of questions from the crowd. In reality, he just didn't want to attempt jumping down until less people were around to see him stumble.

I think I’m not quite ready to let you circle the drain. all the things we’ve broken can be puzzled together again, all your sums and your pieces are enough to clean up all the messes you’ve made