JUNGLE FEAVOR . Weekly task , open

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

In a way, Rhine supposed that he had a lot of metaphorical ghosts that could have been haunting him. The ghosts of leaders from long before him, all of whom were putting a great amount of pressure on his shoulders, trying to ensure that their clan would remain safe. The ghosts of those who had been lost in the hurricane, hoping that they would be held on to in memory, whether it be in his, or in the memories of others. The ghosts of his parents, and his sister that he had lost, forced to bury while he was all on his own, without a shoulder to lean against. He missed them dearly, and he could only imagine that they were watching on him from above, far within the sky that Starckan dwelled in. Of course, he could only imagine any of this, since Starclan hadn't communicated with him at all. Not before he had become leader, and certainly not afterwards. It made his heart ache, and occasionally he blamed himself. After all, this had to be Starclan's way of showing disapproval with his leadership, right? They weren't allowing him to see his loved ones, or those he had believed to be so important, all because they didn't see him as worthy.

Despite all the ghosts that could've ended up haunting him, Rhinestone tried not to let them have too much control over his life. Often, as he patrolled through Palmclan's territory, and took in the endless sights around him, he would think of how much the group had grown. When the hurricane had initially struck, there had been whispers. Terrified ones, wondering if they would ever be able to get back up on their feet, and whether they would survive. Now, when he surveyed the large expanse of their camp, and the boardwalk beyond it, he saw all the work that he had done. He had put his heart and soul into Palmclan, and he didn't intend to give that all up anytime soon. So, damn whatever spirits in the sky had to say about him, or how he chose to run the clan. After all, it wasn't as if they had been rushing to come down and help everyone after disaster had struck. Hell, with all of their infinite wisdom and power, why hadn't they done something to protect Palmclan? So many questions swirled around in his mind, and he found himself stomping away from yet another failed attempt to get in contact with them, leaving the Starshell glittering in his wake.

Truthfully, the leader didn't know where he was going as he moved through the territory, a metaphorical storm cloud lingering above his head. The feeling of warm sand beneath his paws was a comfort, but it did nothing to soothe his bad mood. Thankfully, it seemed as though something was coming to distract him from the ghosts – or at least, from the more metaphorical ones. As he drew near to the boardwalk, Rhinestonestar spotted an NPC dashing off, muttering to others that Vaas had asked him for some kind of torch. Curiosity piqued, the tom glanced off in the direction that the NPC had come from. Leaping his way up and onto the boardwalk proper, Rhine kept his head down as he made his way over to where Vaas was, not having a particularly hard time finding the tiger. He had quite the distinct scent, not to mention the fact that he also had a distinct presence. It was easy to tell where he was nearby, just going by the reactions of those that lingered around him. NPCs whispering about what he had done, or what he was doing.

It wasn't too long before Rhine happened upon Vaas, although his gaze didn't linger on the other male for long. Instead, it moved upwards, admiring the faintly glowing work of art that the tiger had crated behind him. The feline couldn't help the way that his jaw dropped, stunned by the show that Vaas had made of the task given to him. The painted ghost before him made Rhinestone's skin faintly crawl, but he supposed that was kind of the point of it, wasn't it? Tearing his pale eyes away from the artwork for a moment, the leader instead looked towards Vaas, jaws closing and forming a toothy smile, "Vaas... you really went above and beyond with the task given to you, huh? This is amazing... and certainly befitting of the season. Might spook the kittens a little, though." He grew closer to the mural of glow in the dark paint, barely resisting the urge to press his paws against it and smudge it. It really was wonderful, and he wasn't actually that worried about the kits. Most didn't live on the boardwalk unless their families did, and they didn't usually wander out this far.

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

— Reggan