Oh Wonderland, I love -- Open

[SirDio]

Medusa

Slowly but surely, those who initially turned Medusa away were taking her in. It was a painful process; she was still deemed a bit untrustworthy of a few things, like watching things during the night, though this was never of Rhinestonestar's doing - just clan members - clan mates, who were skeptical of her. She was already good at hiding emotions, as her face and absence of eyelids or brows didn't allow much of a shift in mood, so looking as though nothing had phased her was easy.

But during the nights, she found herself still woken up, and would move out of camp to sleep somewhere else. She didn't feel secure within camp, for some reason. Maybe it didn't seem home to her yet; despite being friends with some of the npc clan mates. She thought it was her snake behavior that favored cramped spaces, but her den was as cramped as one could get, and she still wasn't secure.

On a particularly beautiful night, which was slowly aging to dawn given a few hours, Medusa slinked out of camp again. Obviously there was no where to go but the shores - she wasn't too comfortable trying to walk the boardwalk, especially with her limited eyesight. Gentle pawprints led to the shores, and she was there at the end, watching the waves. She had done this before, yes, but that was during the day - where she was more noticeable.

Diurnal life was something to praise when you slinked away at night and pondered to yourself, coming back before dawn and still being tired. It was a privilege for her, not a right anymore. She didn't want anyone to worry, but she knew that eventually someone was going to follow her - heavens forbid a kitten or someone as small as Foam or Drift.

Shrugging aside the downess she felt, she stood up and stretched, then walked toward the waters. The salt water felt different to her as opposed to the fresh water she often swam in, but since the beach took up most of the territory, and at some point she would have to catch something from the beach, if not for the clan, then for her.

Getting to chest deep waters, she let the water lift her paws and she began to swim. It was a rough cycle - learning on her own to stand strong against the waves, or go under them and avoid undertow (to her that was impossible). But she got the hang of it, and before long, she looked as if she was dancing in the water, humming a gentle tune.

Palmclan was a wonderland for her - odd traditions she was willing to seek, an open mind was her, soaking words from clanmates like a sponge. Every day she felt like she belonged a little more. The swimming was clearing her mind, but her mind kept wandering. Words gently drifted into the night air, hitting deaf ears unless one was close enough.

"Not sure if anything's real, or a dream. But the only thing sure from the start, is the song that's inside of your heart. Don't let it leave. And if this is a dream, then at least I've got memories for when morning comes.."

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

If the world were truly controlled by Rhinestone, he would've made it so that nobody bothered Medusa a long time ago. He knew that the hybrid didn't deserve any of the scorn or suspicion that was leveled her way, especially not with how much she had proven herself already. He could admit that he had been somewhat unnerved by her in the beginning, but the leader was also willing to admit when he was wrong, as well. He was wrong to have ever thought of her as a threat, and he only wished he could make others see things the same way. However, he knew that he couldn't make change happen overnight. He could make all the announcements he wanted, and glare sharply in the direction of anyone who so much as coughed at Medusa, but he still couldn't make it all go away. He tried to help in the ways that he could, such as offering her extra jobs and hanging out with her quite often, but things needed to happen gradually, as frustrating as that really was. It was especially frustrating when one was leader, considering you were supposedly in charge of everything – although Rhine had never considered Palmclan such a straightforward dictatorship.

The tom wasn't exactly sure of what had woken him up that night, but it really could've been anything. A strange noise, a shift in the wind, a nightmare he could no longer remember... either way, Rhine found himself blinking open his pale eyes, gaze darting around the walls of his den. After several minutes of trying and failing to get comfortable enough to fall back asleep, the male just pushed himself up onto his paws. He figured he would go for a late night walk, just to burn off any energy that was still lingering within his system. Naturally, this walk led him towards the shore, one of the places where he had always felt the safest. Ever since he had been a kit, he had seemed as though he was one with the sea, knowing the ins and outs of swimming and aquatic hunting. After all, there was a reason that was where he had chosen to excel. Once Rhinestone reached the edge of the water, he was somewhat surprised to see that someone else was there, and that someone was Medusa, of all people. He wasn't sure he had ever seen her swim before, and she seemed to be doing it with surprising elegance.

The weak waves were gently lapping against Rhine's paws as he watched Medusa swim, eventually realizing he should probably say something. His muzzle opened, ready to say hello, but he found himself pausing when a strange hum reached his ears. Eventually, he realized that the hum was Medusa's voice. Her singing caught him even more off guard, although not in an unpleasant way. Rather, Rhinestone found a soft smile coming to his muzzle, and a strange sense of serenity passing over him. Sitting down against the sand, the leader waited until Medusa's voice had faded to clear his throat, speaking up so the hybrid could hear him, "Hello, Medusa. That singing... it was very beautiful. Where'd you learn that song?" He hoped that she wouldn't be too upset with him for hearing. After all, it wasn't as if he had intentionally followed her out here.

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

— Reggan

[SirDio]

Medusa

Flicking her tongue, she picked up the scent of cat before Rhine spoke, so she wasn't all that shocked - aside from the fact he was up at this time of night. She turned to face him, and made her way toward him, head casting a glance to the side in embarrassment. "Hello, Rhinestonestar - thank you.. I can't rememberwhere i learned it - but I knew someone who sang it to me. Her voice was... eeire, to say the least - she didn't make the song sound good." She sighed, sitting next to him. She strained to remember them - they were the strangest animal she'd seen all her life - sewn together of different animals, eyes stitched blind, her eerie pitch-changing voice, but she couldn't remember her name. She were far from normal - so far from it that she thought she was as normal as one comes, but then she saw other people, realized they weren't even remotely like that stranger.

"What are you doing up this late? I find it hard for me to think you followed me - you don't seem like that kind of person."

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Honestly, Rhinestone occasionally found it extremely easy to forget that Medusa didn't truly remember all of her past. She acted with such kindness and calm wisdom that it was easy for him to think that the hybrid had her entire life together, even if she'd probably disagree. Despite this, Rhine let out a soft hum of confirmation upon hearing Medusa's words, sitting down and wrapping his tail around his paws, "I'm sure that you make it sound far more appealing than she ever did, then. It sounded very nice when you were singing it." He enjoyed giving others compliments on their skills, even if some unintentionally thought his words took on unintended hidden meanings – he was starting to get real tired of people thinking he was flirting with them. Shoving that from his mind for now, the leader responded to Medusa's questioning with an awkward little chuckle, "Well... I can say honestly that I wasn't following you. As for what woke me up, though... I'm not exactly sure. I think I might've had a nightmare, but I can't remember it for the life of me." The tom shook his head in frustration, far too used to the memories of nightmares being ejected from his mind as soon as possible. His brain just didn't like to linger, knowing that thinking about such things would only make him anxious.

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

— Reggan

[SirDio]

Medusa

A gentle chuckle came from the hybrid - golden eyes looking at Rhine for a moment before she turned to face the ocean. "Thank you for the compliment - hard to get those sometimes." She tried to play it off as a laughing joke, but deep down she knew it was the truth - things like her found it hard to get compliments, so any simple nice word meant a lot to her. She shook the sadness gently off like it was an itchy bit of shed.

Turning her gaze toward Rhine as he explained his arrival, she couldn't help but smile. Nightmares weren't normal for Medusa - they were every night for the Stranger, so she was used to having someone show up nearby. But Medusa never had a nightmare - if she had, it wasn't impactful. "Wish I could say the same for me. I just couldn't sleep, oddly enough." Gently, more directed to the waves, but still loud enough for Rhine to hear, she added: "it's been going on a while." She shook her head, then gave Rhine a carefree smile.

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Medusa's comment about compliments caused Rhinestone to sigh, even if it initially had been meant simply as a joke. It stung, mainly because he knew that the hybrid wasn't entirely just kidding around. He felt the need to say, glancing back at camp with a little bit of a withering glare, "I can imagine... I'm not sure how many times I can say I'm sorry before it stops being words." Deep down, the leader knew that Medusa didn't think it was his fault that she occasionally faced some less than nice opinions of her. However, the tom still felt as though he should've been able to wrangle people better – or at least scare them into being nicer. Much like Medusa herself, Rhinestone wiped this from his mind for the moment, tilting his head before he questioned her, "Sounds like a case of insomnia. Have you tried asking anyone about any herbs or anything to help with that? I know that Featherear isn't around at the moment, but we're got other people around here who are medically inclined. Or at least, enough that they'd be able to recommend something." Rhinestonestar wished he could've recommended something himself, but medicine was hardly his strong suit. He had considered getting lessons from Featherear, but that unfortunately wasn't an option at the moment.

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

— Reggan

[SirDio]

Medusa

She hummed in response to Rhine's words, knowing that at some point, something was going to break, and hell would be loose. She prayed that it wouldn't happen soon.

Lips twitched gently at the words he spoke next: insomnia? She looked at the sands at her feet. "I don't think insomnia would make me feel insecure of my surroundings. Even if my sleeping space is cramped, I still feel unsafe and insecure. Some nights I kind a nice rock to sleep under outside of camp, and it works." She hated to admit she didn't feel safe in camp, and didn't want Rhine to get the wrong idea... whatever that wrong idea was.

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Unsafe and insecure. The words caused Rhine to sigh, a feeling of guilt spreading through the leader's chest. He knew that Medusa didn't intend for him to take that as his fault, but he couldn't help it. The only thing the tom could hope was that he could circumvent things before anything got worse, and things really did break. Rhinestone briefly dug his claws into the sand below him, glancing back towards camp before he spoke, "I see... I wish that I could be of some assistance, Medusa. I've tried to make this place feel as safe as possible, but I can understand why you might feel insecure." He then suggested, lifting one of his paws and pointing it back towards the boardwalk in the distance, "If you really don't feel safe within camp, perhaps you'd be better off finding a place on the boardwalk? After all, it is part of our home now. I wish I could make camp feel more welcoming, but if you'd like to stop losing sleep, that's always an option." He had considered getting a home of his own on the boardwalk, but had ultimately ended up deciding against it. After all, the main camp was his home, and it was difficult to think of remaining anywhere else.

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

— Reggan

[SirDio]

Medusa

A soft sigh escaped her scaled lips, her gaze, too, drifting to the boardwalk. There was something.. off about it to her. It didn't seem safe, brought an unpleasant feeling to her chest. Like she'd been somewhere familiar to it before. Medusa shook her head gently, "I would feel better making my own den outside of camp, close enough so that I can hear when a meeting or announcement is called. I feel safer when I'm not surrounded by other dens, for some reason. Instinct, I suppose." She rolled her shoulders in a shrug. Was it really just instinct, or did she truly feel unsafe among so many judging bodies? She didn't know, so she didn't say.

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

As sad as he was to hear that Medusa didn't feel entirely safe within camp, he couldn't deny that her idea was a sound one. It wasn't as if she'd be completely isolated from everyone else, and she'd easily be able to hear when there was a meeting, or some other kind of gathering. He initially hesitated, not wanting the hybrid to feel as though they were "kicking her out", as it were. Eventually, he just nodded his head, speaking in soft tones, "Well... if you'd truly feel more comfortable with a den outside of camp, then I won't stop you. I'll even help you dig it out, if you want. I just want to make sure you don't feel as though we're forcing you out. I'd... I'd never want anyone to feel like that within Palmclan." Part of him wanted to march right back into camp and scold everyone for making Medusa feel this way, but as she herself had said, it wasn't entirely the looks, or the words they said. It was also her instincts, and the general way she struggled with her memories hidden away inside. The rusty red tom just wished that there was some way to help with that, as well.

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

— Reggan