( a merry chase | open )

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Toadwhisker. It was not a name that had passed through Rhine's mind in many moons, although that wasn't from hatred, or disgust. The leader still loved his brother dearly, although he couldn't help the pain that festered in his heart at the thought of his littermate. On some level, he understood why Toad had decided to do what he did. He needed to go, and find himself, and mature, and evidently he couldn't do that within Palmclan. That did little to soothe the sting that Rhinestone had felt in his heart when the other had walked away from them all, however. Especially not when that sting had been followed up, some time later, by the hurricane devastating the territory. Rhine had been forced to wonder if Toadwhisker was okay wherever he was, or if he had been swept up in the winds, dragged off to his death. That was why the tom found it better to simply not think about Toad, because if he did, he knew his mind would be clouded, and he wouldn't be able to focus on the task at hand. Or paw, rather.

Thus far, Rhinestone's travels about the boardwalk had been... complicated. Things certainly weren't going exactly to plan, especially with the collapse of Palmclan's most reliable exit back to their territory. That wasn't even mentioning the members of the other group that he and others had noticed in the shadows – or in some cases, in the broad daylight. It was clear that the boardwalk held a lot more secrets than the clan had ever bargained for, and Vass was the big bad leader of one of those secrets. Rhine still wasn't sure what he thought of the male, but he certainly knew being around the other provoked some level of anxiety – both because of the mystery surrounding the boardwalk group, and because of the other's massive size. However, Vass could be a valuable ally, especially considering Palmclan still didn't know of a safe way to get back to their territory. That was a discussion for another time, however, when he wasn't looking straight at the face of his brother that had left many moons ago.

At first, the rusty colored male was hesitant in his approach, as if he half expected Toadwhisker to just disappear if he got too close. With a bit of distance between himself and Vass, the Palmclan leader came to a stop nearby, feeling his breath faintly hitch when he saw that, no, he wasn't imagining Toad's presence. Nor was he imagining the litany of curses falling from his sibling's mouth in response to the bite that he had been given. Rhinestone hesitated for a moment before he spoke, his voice cracking a little bit before he quickly steadied it, "He's right, you know. Rats can have... diseases. Rabies..." He hesitated, wondering briefly how to proceed. It wasn't as if there was a manual for reuniting with the sibling that had left you a year ago. So, he just continued, smiling weakly, "It's... good to see you again, Toadwhisker. I had no idea that you were so close." There was a small part of Rhine that was just burning inside, with hot flashes of anger that wanted to lash put desperately at Toadwhisker for leaving him. For leaving Redpond, the sister that he had been forced to grieve all on his own. He forced those urges down for now, however. This wasn't the time to go screaming at his brother, not when he was trying to hold a clan together.

NEVER OPENED MYSELF THIS WAY
LIFE IS OURS, WE LIVE IT OUR WAY

— Reggan