siren's whispering songs .. new body + return

[RHINESTONE.]

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A REAL ONE, YEAH, SHE'S A STUNNER

One moment, Rhinestonestar had been on the boardwalk, looking down. At that time, she had felt a sense of hopelessness filling her, brought on by the fact that she had watched Laeglin sink down, into the depths below. The rotting wood right in front of her paws brought no comfort, and she had been wondering what she would do. Would she have to hold a double memorial, for both Laeglin and Medusa? How would Ares cope with it all? Could she even help the girl cope in any way? The legate had never exactly been the master of her own emotions in the best of times. She was all about strategy, not addressing the dents in her armor constantly inflicted by the troubles of life. However, it wasn't as if she could just leave Ares alone to face things. It was a long journey from Tanglewood to the Glades, and the thylacine didn't want either Ares or her mother – or pair of mothers – to have to go back and forth just to provide her with some form of comfort. Rhine felt as though she were stuck between a rock and a hard place, and that wasn't even addressing her own grief over what had happened to Laeglin. With a shaky sigh, she reached up to press a paw against her own eye, trying to still the growing headache she could feel.

However, it seemed as though she wouldn't be given too much longer to ponder their current situation. Just a moment later, a figure began to emerge from the water, causing Rhinestone's head to snap up in surprise. She stared downwards as Laeglin dragged himself from the waves, before standing on the shore. It was certainly a shock to see him in such a bold new form, especially when she had become so used to his past disability. She couldn't even imagine how he must've been feeling, considering he had lived for so long without his legs. It took a moment before she was able to spurn herself forward, turning and rushing past the edge of the boardwalk and down onto the shore. Her paws slipped slightly against the wet and rotting wood in her frantic rush to get down to the sand, and she was sure she'd have to watch out for splinters later. For now, however, she didn't care. All she cared about was that Laeglin was on the shore, and he was alive, and talking. He wasn't just some figment of her grieving mind.

Similarly to Ares, Rhinestonestar made no effort to even acknowledge Sauvignon as she passed, although she did make sure to let her wagging tail whip right past his face as she moved around him. Even if he hadn't meant the comment as an insult, he had to know how ridiculous it was to call someone who had nearly died a bumbling idiot straight to their face. However, even Sauvignon's inappropriate behavior could do nothing to temper her joy, a grin on her muzzle as she came up beside Ares. Looking down at the girl, Rhine hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, "Ares... I'm pretty sure this is Laeglin." The thought of being wrong was a crushing one, but... it didn't seem that way.

Wanting – no, needing – some kind of confirmation that this was indeed Laeglin, Rhinestone turned her brightly colored gaze towards the "stranger." She offered the other a calm smile, hoping that she didn't look too desperate as she spoke up, "Laeglin... that's you, isn't it? You look... different. Very different. But not in a bad way. It must feel... new." Her gaze drifted down to his legs, wondering how he must've been feeling. Would he be glad to have a new way to walk around, and experience life? Or would he consider it to just be a simple change from before, perhaps even a negative one? Laeglin had never seemed like the type to be proud of his now-vanished disability, but Rhinestone certainly wouldn't have blamed him if he was. After all, even if he had felt as though he were somehow useless, or lesser, the legate had never felt that way about him. Instead, she had seen him as a great person, and a valuable member of the Glades. Either way, a wide variety of questions were swirling around in her head, all held back as she waited for some kind of answer from the clearly confused other.

RHINESTONESTAR – PALM GLADES – PENNED BY STILLY – BIO

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