I'M SORRY MAMA / open, paint making

[RHINESTONE.]

[glow=#b8dcf8,2,300]▶ NATURE'S CORRUPTED IN FACTORIES FAR AWAY ◀[/glow]

If there was one part of Palmclan's culture that often went unnoticed, it was their warpaint. It was through no fault of their own, really. They just tended to be a rather reclusive bunch, and without the interactions with others that had a tendency to turn sour, they also remained without many enemies. Despite this, Rhinestonestar had little intention of just letting the tradition fade away. After all, as of late they had been having more and more strangers coming onto their territory. While, for the most part, the strangers that had shown up had turned out to just be joiners, eager to immerse themselves in Palmclan culture, there was no guarantee things would remain that way. They could end up having some enemies very soon if they weren't careful, and while Rhine wanted to avoid that happening, he also wanted to be thoroughly prepared. The warpaint had been a tradition that Palmclan had taken up back when they were travelers, looking for a permanent home to stay. Back then, they had to worry about attacks much more often, since they were smaller and less organized. It was an intimidation tactic, down to the very core of it.

Now that Palmclan did have a permanent residence, they had a very specific war of making their warpaint. It was often taught to the senior warriors, so that they could carry on the tradition after the leader passed away. Seeing as Rhine had been the last senior warrior remaining after the hurricane, he was the only one who still knew of the whole process. With this in mind, along with the knowledge that they were having more and more trespassers as of late, the red feline had decided that it was time to make some more of the stuff. The first step had been gathering some glass jars, snatched some time ago from the human boardwalk. He intended to mix the paints within them, gathering up the rest of the supplies – water, some berries, and various colored sands from different parts of the beach. Bundling all of it up in a sack made of palm leaves, the leader had made his way back to the main camp.

Sitting down near the center of the sandy hollow and taking the jars full of water. He began to mix the berries into them, crushing it all until it was a somewhat smooth liquid. He then added in the sand for the pigment, mixing the paint around with his paws until it was a smooth consistency. By the time he was done, his paws and the front of his body were a mess of different colors, including a deep red, a golden color, and a sort of light blue. He chuckled softly as he inspected himself, muttering, "I guess I'll need a good bath after all of this... it's worth it, though." Turning his head towards the rest of camp, he called out curiously, "Would anybody like to come and practice what their pattern of warpaint might be? I just made a new batch, and I know it has been a while since we've needed any..." He doubted that most around here actually had a pattern in mind for their paint.

[Luciferr]

STORMSPINE - male - spinosaurus - palmclan - warrior

He’d slowly been learning the ins and outs and the routines of his new nest - and he had loved learning them! Even if some sometimes confused him (like the thing about the soothing claws - medicine cats - not being allowed mates and children, it seemed odd but he guessed it made some kind of sense if they really only had one primary soothing claw at a time).

So it was when he heard Rhinestar speak up about war paints, the great beast had slowly and carefully shuffled over to lie down in the sand with his leader, a curious glint in his reptilian eyes

”I’d love to learn!”

[RHINESTONE.]

[glow=#b8dcf8,2,300]▶ NATURE'S CORRUPTED IN FACTORIES FAR AWAY ◀[/glow]

Truth be told, Rhinestone wasn't entirely sure of why they didn't let medicine cats have mates either. The previous leader had attempted to explain it to him when he was younger, but it had never made much sense, especially when they had two medicine cats at a time. However, Rhine had never been one to question tradition – especially not so early into his reign as leader – so he hadn't really expressed an opinion either way on it yet. He supposed it would become more of an issue when they properly had a medicine cat, really. For now, they were just stuck with those of the warriors that knew how to heal fairly well. Just the thought of how they didn't have a proper medic caused an itch of anxiety through the male's pelt, and he hastily refocused his attention on Stormspine, giving him a wary smile.

Storm had, thus far, proven himself to be fairly loyal to Palmclan, and that was fine with Rhine, who was glad to see he hadn't made a mistake in letting the other in. However, the other's size presented... a bit of an issue. The rusty tom had never had to make paint for such a massive creature, and he had little idea of where even to start when it came to covering the dinosaur's large scales. After a moment of hesitation, Rhine found himself muttering, dipping a paw into the homemade sand paint, "Well... things might be a bit different for you, Stormspine, given how large you are. But that's alright. I'll just show you what kind of patterns Palmclan warriors usually have, and you can pick what you'd like, alright?" He offered the other a reassuring smile before he lifted his paw up, beginning to draw on his fur with the paint. He made a couple of wave patterns beneath his eyes, several dots going down the line of his nose, and a large descending ring around his fluffy neck. When he was done, he explained, "Palmclan warriors most often have a pattern that is unique to them, but still calls back to our environment. So, for example, the pattern I just made has the dots, representing the moon rising and falling, and changing the tides. The wiggly pattern beneath my eyes is the waves, and the ring around my neck is the rising crest of a wave. Do you get it?" He then tilted his head to one side, watching Stormspine curiously. It wasn't too complicated, although it could be depending on what a particular warrior chose for themselves.