EIGHT YEARS OLD TO THE DAY // baby in the ocean

[RHINESTONE.]

RHINESTONESTAR ❝ RHINE ❞ LEGATE
"TALKING" || "TELEPATHY"

In a way, Foamkit delving into the ocean was a big event for Rhinestonestar, who couldn't deny the pride that he felt over it. After all, the legate had always considered himself to be a master of the aquatic prey division, and he had only gotten that way because of his affinity towards the sea. Even when he had been just a child, he had been eager to throw himself into the waves, and allow the water to rush over his ruddy fur. Nowadays, swimming was significantly more difficult. He had to grow used to the fact that he couldn't dive down as deep, or for as long, into the water as he had previously. His eyes prevented those old escapades, bloody gaze burning and stinging unpleasantly whenever the pressure came to be too much. It didn't entirely prevent him from going out and hunting – thankfully, since he thinks he would go insane without the touch of the deep blue waves – but it did make everything harder. He needed to be more careful, and go out on shorter trips. In a couple of cases, he needed to take a few immunes with him in order to have them dive for the deeper fish, while he went after the ones that were higher up. Although, those incidents were infrequent, since a pack of warriors in the water often drove the fish away quickly.

In another way, Foamkit being in the ocean was a massive source of stress for Rhinestone. After all, Foam was very much a son to him at this point, and while the sea was beautiful, it also presented endless dangers. The deep blue's riptide could easily grab Foamkit and drag him out to the deeper part of the water, where he was liable to sink, and drown. Alternatively, a strong enough wave could bring in an unsavory and predatory fish, ready to chomp down on the poor child that got tossed close enough to it. Those, plus many other untold threats that lurked within the waves, were what drove Rhine closer when he noticed the top of Foamkit sticking out of the water, his heart suddenly hammering in his chest. He didn't want the anxiety that came with the thoughts in his head, but he couldn't help it. He worried similarly for all of his groupmates, and that was part of what made him such a good leader. However, Foamkit's young age did make him more vulnerable to threats, even if the other was growing at a surprising – and vaguely upsetting – rate. It wouldn't be too long until Foam was an apprentice, and Rhinestone wouldn't be able to watch over him every second of the day, particularly when whoever was chosen to mentor him was teaching him to swim in the deeper waters.

Once Rhinestonestar found himself at the edge of the water, he momentarily hesitated, blue paw pressed down against where sand met sea. He wanted to go into the water with Foamkit, but he also didn't want to upset the other. Nor did the legate want to accidentally irritate his eyes, leading to another unfortunate event that would leave him hopeful up in camp. However, his hesitation was only momentary. Foam's safety came before everything else, and as far as the serval was concerned, the boy needed some sort of life guard around, just to make sure nothing went wrong. So, taking a deep breath inwards, Rhine took several long strides into the water, lowering himself and letting the sea soak his belly, and his legs. As he grew closer to Foamkit, he spoke in a friendly and affectionate tone, "Hey there, Foam. It's good to see you out here. Are you practicing your swimming for when you're an apprentice?" He tried to keep things casual, hoping that the child wouldn't catch onto the fact that Rhinestone was out here to watch over him.

tags + roleplayed by stilly + the palm glades