( a merry chase | open )

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

I can explain. Toadwhisker's words were enough to cause a wince to flash across Rhine's face, his pale gaze darkening briefly. He quickly shoved aside the bile that rose up in his throat, accompanied by the raw anger and the cacophony of different words that threatened to spill over. In most cases, Rhinestone was calm and collected, trying to approach things with the rational thought that was expected of a leader – even before he had actually been one. However, there was a part of the tom that often went unnoticed, intentionally kept hidden away by the flame colored feline. That small part of him that wanted to rip, and tear, and truly be furious at Toad for not being around. That wanted to scream in his brother's face, and ask him, where the fuck have you been? Or, if you've been here the whole time, why'd you never come to visit? He wanted desperately to ask why he had been left all alone, with the responsibility of not only the clan itself shoved upon his shoulders, but also the responsibility of putting his sister to rest, all alone.

Now wasn't the time for that, however. There would be plenty of time for such things when they weren't in the presence of another. Or when Toadwhisker wasn't bleeding, and Rhinestone wasn't looking for a way to get half of his clan back home. Looking down briefly, Rhine closed his eyes, silencing the sickening static in his mind and sinking his fangs down on the inside of his cheek. As he felt the tension in his body release somewhat, he finally looked back up at Toad, making a valiant effort to keep his voice steady as he muttered, "Save it. For another time... you're hurt. You should... you need to get that looked at. Not spend a bunch of time talking to me..." It was the leader's not so subtle way of saying that he wasn't ready for that conversation yet, especially with all of the emotions it would entail. While he didn't think of Vass as an outright bastard – after all, if he had been, he probably would've killed Rhine and the entirety of his party by now – but Rhinestone also didn't exactly want to have emotional family conversations in front of him.

Turning to the man in question, Rhine hesitated briefly before speaking directly to Vass, questioning, "You and your group... you've got medics?" It made sense that they would, especially with all the vermin the leader had seen scampering around, yet it still caught him off guard. With how loose the boardwalk's structure as a whole seemed to be, it seemed odd that anyone would take it upon themselves to be the dedicated "medicine man," so to speak. Although he supposed he could understand it on some level. After all, he enjoyed caring for others, and he imagined that any sort of medic type must've enjoyed it too – why else would they be doing their jobs? With that in mind, Rhinestone turned his gaze back to Toadwhisker, voice slightly hoarse as he meowed, "Should probably... go with him. Just to make sure that doesn't get any worse... an infection can be deadly anywhere." Rhinestone considered going along, but found that he was still mulling it over. On one hand, he was pissed at Toad, and still found Vass's presence slightly unnerving. On the other hand, Toadwhisker was his brother, and it'd probably be best not to show fear to the face of the boardwalk group.

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

— Reggan