Hides the sun, lies the snake | Open, Intro

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

It was sort of a wonder, in a way, that Rhinestonestar had so many children, despite having never taken on a mate or had any of the biological variety. Perhaps he just had a naturally parental nature to him, something that pushed him to take in all those that needed guidance. That certainly appeared to be the pattern, considering his taking in of Foamkit, Tree and Quasar, Fujita, and now Onyxkit. Hell, in a way, he even offered his parental guidance to Drifting as well, although he wouldn't go so far as to call himself her father, not without her saying as much first. It was because of this taking in of children that Rhine found himself in the nursery often, to the point where the various queens practically referred to him as one of them. Unfortunately, his visits had been more spaced apart lately, mainly as he didn't want to get any of the little ones within the nursery sick. His condition only appeared to be worsening, and he wouldn't dare risk anything happening, especially considering how freshly hatched Onyx still was.

Despite his hesitancy, Rhinestone would never just stop visiting any of his children, considering he didn't want any of them to feel abandoned. It was because of this that the ruddy feline found himself moving towards the warm den that day, feeling better than he had in a while. Still not good by any stretch of the imagination, but the illness had decided to give him a moment of peace, at least for a little while. Of course, it didn't seem as though the children of the group would do the same. He got as far as two pawsteps into the nursery when he heard the various clashing of voices, including Fujita's awkward tone, Drifting's jovial one, and Foamkit's unexpectedly sharp one. Rhine couldn't help but snort, moving further into the den and touching his tail briefly to Fujita's back before he spoke, "You don't need to hide away... Foam can catch people off guard sometimes. Besides, most of you haven't properly met Onyxkit yet, have you?" Rhine's purr was rough with tiredness, but there was no less of a happy feeling to it

With those words, the leader moved over to where Onyxkit was, chuckling softly as he saw the pile of blankets that she had amassed. Reaching out a paw, he tapped his daughter lightly on the head, careful to avoid her horns as he spoke, "Onyx? Do you think you'll be able to introduce yourself, little one?" He wasn't absolutely sure if she was ready yet, considering he knew that they were still working on language. He certainly wouldn't blame her if she wasn't yet, considering how complex learning to speak really was for the little ones, even just a simple introduction.

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

— Reggan