THE SNAKES BEGIN TO LAUGH ☆ o, MEETING 11/07

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Rhine watched as familiar faces continued to gather around, reacting to the news and expressing their thanks, congratulations, or worries. He smiled slightly upon hearing Dovah, a ragged chuckle tearing forth from his lungs before he spoke, "I trust you, Dovah. I know that you still have things to learn about this clan, and how we work as a whole, but that's part of why you're being made a waverunner. It'll help you learn, and also help me to see if youre ready for more responsibility in the future." He offered the young male a little smile, before his pale gaze drifted over to Vaas. He nodded as the tiger confirmed he wanted to work on the medical side of things, something that Rhine had honestly been expecting. The former boardwalk leader seemed to have a natural aptitude for herbs and healing, and Rhinestone had very little reason not to take advantage of it. Especially now, when the sudden winter chill brought with it a wave of unpleasant colds – something that was clear in the leader himself.

There was no time to dwell on that, however, as he had more to discuss. Clearing his throat to hopefully mitigate the scratchiness of his voice, he continued, "Now... as I'm sure you're all painfully aware of, we recently had a pretty major snowstorm hit us. And while the snow is finally beginning to melt, it seems as though this winter will be far colder than any that Palmclan has experienced in some time. Unfortunately, this also means that a lot of prey is beginning to retreat underground, and there's a chance that any water may freeze over. Because of this, I would like us to start more heavily stockpiling prey. We should try to get as much caught before everything is gone as we can, and I'll make sure that we have plenty of storage space for it all." A soft cough then left the leader, causing him to wince. He grimaced as he swallowed down bile within his throat, lowering his voice before he added on, "In addition to this, I would like everyone watching out for any possible signs of sickness they may be having. Cold weather naturally brings colds along with it, and with Vaas around to help out now, we don't want things spreading." He couldn't help but feel like a hypocrite, given his current situation.

Shaking that off for now, Rhine lightly pressed a paw against his own chest before he moved on, to some fairly important things, "In addition to preparing for winter, we will also have to prepare for two coming battles. I know that doesn't sound great right now, given our current state, but both will be beneficial. The first battle is Alithís Evgenis's raid on the bandits that have been plaguing them. Not only will we be assisting with some of our own force, but we'll also be taking in their children while the battle is going on. Alithís has been one of our closest allies, and we'll be able to hunt on their grounds in exchange for this, so I don't think there should be any issue." The next battle... well, that would certainly be a harder sell. However, Rhine still pressed on, "As for the second fight... we're going to be assisting the Coalition of the Condemned, in raiding the Typhoon. I know that this hardly sounds desirable, but I haven't made this decision lightly. In exchange for our help, Stryker has promised us free reign of Tanglewood's hunting grounds during this time, in order to keep ourselves fed. In addition, if this winter truly does end up being inescapable, he has offered us Haven Island as a home." It was a big offer, and not one that Rhine could just pass up. However, he could already see a few uneasy faces in the crowd.

"I understand that this might not be the most popular decision. However, do not mistake me agreeing to this as me entirely trusting Stryker. The man clearly thinks that he has a silver tongue, and that's never a good sign. So, if he puts even a paw out of line, or doesn't hold up his end of the bargain... we will not be kind to him, if you catch my drift. And trust me, if that ends up happening, you'll know my signal." He already felt uneasy about this whole raid things, and Stryker didn't help with his false smiles and glittering eyes. Hopefully, all would go well, but if not... well, there was a reason why Stryker needed them. Feeling a crawling feeling up his spine, Rhinestone hastily continued, "I... I would also like to tell everyone, that if you hear rumors regarding Starclan and myself... do not listen to them. Starclan has expressed no displeasure with me or how our clan has developed, and these recent power discoveries are not part of any curse. If anything, they're a boon to us, since we can use them for very useful things." He shot a cold glare out to certain members of the crowd, mainly those that he knew to be spreading these rumors.

Knowing that the meeting was getting to be a bit long – and feeling rather unsteady on his feet – Rhine concluded as usual, "In the end... I would like to thank everyone for their continued activity. Even through everything that has happened, you've all been amazing, and I'd like us to keep that energy going. Now, unless there are any questions, consider this meeting... dismissed." His voice grew a bit weak at the end, in a way that caused him to wince. For now, he stayed atop the meeting rock, as if he was waiting for any sort of questions from the crowd. In reality, he just didn't want to attempt jumping down until less people were around to see him stumble.

meeting summary:

– Welcome to Hircine, Dovah, Lewis, and Honeypaw! I hope you enjoy your time in Palmclan <3
– Shout-outs to Foamkit, Quasar, and Medusa
– Dovah has been promoted to waverunner, and Vaas has been promoted to medicine cat
– Prey is going to grow scarce soon as a result of the cold weather, so Rhine recommends that everyone joins in on an effort to stockpile before things get really bad ; he also warns of possible sickness brought on by the cold
– Palmclan will be assisting Alithís Evgenis with the raid on their bandits, as well as keeping their children safe in camp, in exchange for prey and the ability to hunt on their territory
– Palmclan is also helping out the Coalition of the Condemned with a raid on The Typhoon, in exchange for free reign of Tanglewood's hunting grounds, and Haven Island as a possible temporary home ; However, Rhine does not trust Stryker, and is willing to turn on him in an instant if anything goes wrong
– Rhinestone warns not to believe the rumors about Starclan being displeased with them, and says that the recent power discoveries are gifts, not curses
– Finally, we end with a big thank you to everyone for your activity! We're now over 650 posts, and things are going amazing, so get hyped up for gold status very soon! <3

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

— Reggan