in bloom .. belated birthday & death

[RHINESTONE.]

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A REAL ONE, YEAH, SHE'S A STUNNER

Rhinestone didn't know Laeglin all that well personally, if she looked back on things. She knew that the other was related to Bai Shi, and had once hailed from the now disbanded Alithís Evgenis – those were both positive things in her eyes, but that didn't mean she knew him. Not on a deeply personal level. She wanted to be there for him in his times of need, as she tried to be for all the members of the Glades, but that wasn't always possible. She was a busy woman, and considering the recent developments in her personal life as well, her free time was mostly spent with those she loved, familial or otherwise. Perhaps if she had been able to get away a bit more, and see what Laeglin was going through... maybe things would've been better. Maybe he would've been safer, in the long run. All she knew was that she would feel guilt over this incident for some time to come. After all, Bai Shi had once trusted her greatly as an ally, and she had offered to take in the former members of Alithís Evgenis as her own – she should've been able to see what was going on. She should've known the other's struggles.

However, all she could really do now was hope. Hope that, by some miracle, Laeglin was still alright. She knew that it was unlikely – had known from the moment she heard Ares's scream break through the air – but she still wanted to have some amount of hope that he would be alright. Either way, the legate's long legs carried her quickly towards the sound of Ares's voice, recoiling when she arrived only to see a chunk of the boardwalk destroyed and broken. Rhine had known that certain parts of the boardwalk were less stable than others, but this... she hadn't been expecting this. And from the looks of it, Laeglin hadn't been aware of the risk he was taking, either. Feeling a tight clench of pain in her chest, Rhinestone moved over to the edge of the sudden drop, pressing her side against that of Ares. She muttered softly to the girl, hoping that the other wouldn't blame herself for what bad transpired, "Ares... take a deep breath, please. You're going to make yourself panic, and I'm sure he wouldn't want that..." He could tell her as much himself, if he managed to come out of the water alive.

Turning her brightly colored gaze towards the shore, Rhine was just able to see as Valianté threw himself into the waves, no doubt going to retrieve Laeglin. Or, in the worse case scenario, his body. With her claws digging lightly against the rotting wood below her, the thylacine waited until the other started to head back towards the shore before she called out, "Hey! What... what does he look like? Is he...?" She didn't want to say it. Didn't want to utter the word dead while Ares was practically bawling right beside her. Still, she needed to know, and she wasn't sure if she had it in her heart to go down and look for herself, at least not at this moment. She already had a funeral and memorial for Medusa that she still needed to plan, she didn't want to have to make it a double occasion with Laeglin as well. She just... she didn't want to lose anyone else, not when things had been going so well. Not when she had a chance to make everyone happy, as she had always meant for them to be.

RHINESTONESTAR – PALM GLADES – PENNED BY STILLY – BIO

[sup]© tikki[/sup]