HELLBENT | DOVAH NEEDED/JOINING?

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

The wrath and worry filled call of Dovah's name was enough to spur Rhinestone into action, albeit slowly. Even if Dovah wasn't officially a member of Palmclan, the tom had to admit he had developed a fondness for the other. How could he not, when the other feline was still so wide eyed and innocent, even as he was seemingly an adult? It was rare to see anyone still have the same sense of childlike wonder that Dovah seemed to have, and that immediately made Rhine want to protect him. Although, it seemed as though Hircine clearly knew what kind of effect his brother could have on people, considering he seemingly ventured everywhere with him. Despite Dovah's earlier mention of having a brother, Rhinestonestar's blood was full of ice cold anxiety as he stumbled up to his paws, sand scattering beneath his feet as he got up from his laying position. So much for a nice nap near the middle of camp, it seemed. It wasn't too long before he was sprinting off in the direction of the voice, following the scent of Dovah that led there as well. Thankfully, Vaas's scent intermingled with it before long, providing the leader with at least a little bit of a sense of comfort. He trusted Vaas, both as a waverunner and as a friend, so he knew that the tiger wouldn't allow any harm to come to Dovah - not if he had the chance to, anyways.

It took a few moments for Rhine to finally arrive beside Vaas, gasping a little for breath as he came to stand beside the waverunner. His flank connected with the ground before long, falling into a sitting position because of the strain from going from a dead sleep to a frantic sprint. Thankfully, it seemed as though Vaas had the situation handled. Or, at the very least, he had seen more of what had happened already. His mention of Anna and Elsa made it fairly clear that this was indeed the brother that Dovah had been speaking about, which also explained the angered expression that twisted Hircine's face in an ugly expression. Or, at least, what Rhine assumed was an ugly expression, considering he had never really seen a creature like Hircine before. He had seen owls, yes, but nothing like the strange amalgamation of different animals that was standing before him. Shrugging those thoughts off for now, Rhine found himself muttering, jaw clenched from the strange chill that occupied the air around Hircine, "Hello there... I suppose this isn't exactly the best introduction you could've gotten to Palmclan. I apologize, although we have been taking very good care of your brother, I assure you..." Dovah might have been a bit confused by what exactly he was supposed to do while within the group, but he wasn't hurt. Besides, that could be corrected later, if the pair decided to stay within Palmclan for a longer amount of time.

The absolutely brutal cold that seemed to occupy Hircine's space definitely made Rhine want to pull away, considering he was far more acclimated to warm or hot temperatures, but he stood his ground. He didn't want the griffin to think that Rhinestone was uncomfortable around him - although he was fairly sure that the ice cold air around Hircine was meant to be intentionally uncomfortable for Dovah. Forcing his body to relax for the moment, the tom continued, his long tail twitching behind him as he explained to the larger male, "I can promise you that your brother has been safe here... and even if he wandered off, I'm sure he didn't mean to worry you intentionally. Mistakes happen." A brief flash of bashful heat passed over the rust red tom before he quickly continued, "I should... probably introduce myself. I'm Rhinestonestar, and I'm the leader of the group that has been taking care of your brother. It's nice to finally meet you, after having heard about you when he first arrived..." Of course, when Dovah had first arrived and explained his situation, Rhine hadn't been expecting someone quite so harsh. The other feline had spoken so highly of his protective brother... although he supposed that was natural, with all the other seemingly did for him.

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

— Reggan