BRAND NEW BEGINNING ☆ o, nightmare

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

It felt so... cold. The air around him was bitterly cold, cutting through his fur and digging into his very bones, making him sputter and gasp from the shivers that racked through his body. Everything around him was a deep white, swirling and suffocating in how the wind howled, filling his ears and making the feline let out a desperate and useless shout. Despite the fact that he had no idea where he was, he could tell that there was nobody coming to help him. He couldn't see any signs of the shore that he was used to, nor could he see even the smallest glimpse of the friendly faces he often woke up to. There was nothing but white, along with an overwhelming sense of menace. Thankfully, it didn't seem as though the confusion and terror that gripped him would last for long. The leader took a deep breath inwards, chilled air filling his lungs as he prepared to shout once again for help – only for a snarl to break his concentration. He recoiled back in horror, only able to see a pair of piercing eyes cutting through the all-encompassing blankness. He was given no time to retreat or escape, because he could already feel jaws digging into his flesh, and those same piercing eyes, glaring right through him.

The nightmare ended rather abruptly after that, and Rhine found himself jerking upwards, a startled shout leaving him as he displaced the seaweed and moss that made up his bed. His breath after that came out in slightly pained gasps, pale gaze darting around the inside of his den, taking in the darkly colored walls and the usual scent of Palmclan that surrounded him. There was no more overwhelming whiteness, nor was there that same sense of menace, and fear. It caused him to let out a sigh of relief, getting up to his paws and heading towards the entrance of his den, climbing upwards until he could sheepishly poke his head out. He wondered if anyone had heard him yell, able to see from the faintly orange sky that it was still the early hours of the morning, before most were up at all. Sighing at his own ridiculous fear, Rhinestone took a few steps out of his den, settling down into a seated position nearby as he scrubbed at his face with a paw. He muttered softly to himself, seeming frustrated, "Come on, Rhinestone... hold yourself together..." He felt so silly, getting scared by vague nightmares that gripped him in the middle of the night. That was something for kits to worry about, not the leader of the clan.

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

— Reggan

[METEOR]

These days, Quasar struggled to sleep. Well. More like this entire month. Sometimes, sleeping in Vaas’s warehouse helped. At others, the familiar building became a prison of living memories. Tonight had been one of those toss-and-turn fits where he gave up entirely on sleeping in one bed and needed to try another, if only for one hour’s worth of sleep.

Eyes red and head drooping, the sparkledoggo stifled a yawn as he picked his way into PalmClan’s camp. He cared less about waking people than someone confronting him on being out so goddamn late. He found lying easier to people in the morning easier. If anyone noticed his strange sleeping pattern, he’d tell them he’d indeed gone to bed in this camp and fake confusion if they insisted otherwise.

He froze mid-step when he saw Rhinestonestar rubbing his face. Quasar’s paranoia immediately supplied up a list of options: run away (high probability of being spotted), pretend he just woke up (contradictory evidence: fresh boardwalk smell), dart for cover in a den (low risk), approach Rhinestonestar first with a misdirecting dialogue (high risk, high reward)…. He inhaled until his chest hurt and breathed out silently.

Quasar headed for Rhinestonestar. “Can’t sleep? Cause I can’t. Stupid insects, you know, being loud and all.” He winced internally; his imaginary conversations with Rhinestonestar sounded much smoother in his head.

© LEXASPERATED

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Quasar's approach caused Rhinestone to lift his head, blinking his bleary eyes at the pup as he processed what the other had said. It was difficult, especially when memories of his nightmare still lingered in his mind. Luckily for Quasar, Rhine was far too out of it to put together where he had been, or why he had been there. Even if he had been, he probably would've understood it. He had similarly been unable to sleep after both of his parent's deaths, too distraught and focused on his memories with them. In addition to that, Quasar didn't have an entirely unbelievable alibi. The cicadas that dwelled within the forest could sometimes grow unbearably loud, although one had to have pretty acute hearing in order to hear them all the way within camp. Regardless of any of the possibilities, Rhinestonestar's tired mind just pushed him ahead, his head shaking from side to side before he spoke, "Less... less can't sleep, and more got woken up from sleep. Just had a bad dream, is all. I know it's a little silly, but I was just taking a little breather to try and relax." In reality, the thought of trying to return to sleep after that dream was... less than appealing, to say the least. However, the tom didn't really want Quasar to know that.

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

— Reggan

[METEOR]

Quasar nodded in understanding—of course he knew, nightmares tugged at his sleep, when he could get it. The sparkledoggo bit the inside of his cheeks, restraining himself from saying the truth about that. The cicadas lie worked, hadn’t it? He didn’t need to speak the truth. He couldn’t speak the truth, even if he wanted to, but he couldn’t admit that to himself, either. Better to tiptoe around those thoughts entirely, least he wrestle with his spiraling sense of identity.

“Vaas has drugs for that,” he said, instead. He immediately regretted his decision, and felt like facepalming. But he schooled his reaction, forcing himself to keep a blank face. Rhinestonestar wouldn’t immediately think of weed, right? “It’s what works for me. I mean. With the cicadas. I don’t know if it works for nightmares. Personally, anyway.”

He shut his mouth, teeth clicking. Goddammit, he could lie better than this when he was three months old! Why was everything so hard when he already couldn’t sleep and he couldn’t think and he couldn’t just get his fucking brain to shut up for one stupid damned second so he could think. So he could feel more like himself. Like. Himself.

[sub][W]isker[/sub]

[VASS .]

speak of the devil, and he shall appear before you: wreathed in flame.

The night herald the-ex box no longer on his lonesome. Away from his nightly patrol's there wasn't much the tiger did when the sun fell, well- one could infer that he would sleep, but it was usually just before the dawn would break that the tiger could ever be caught resting. In fact if it wasn't for the strips down the edges of his eyes there might've been a permanent darken patch where his eyes have led over to the tiresome ways. Vaas was always some level of tired, it didn't do well for his reaction time but it fared so much better for his control. And control, was so important to the warrior.

Beside, there were drugs for that, if need be.

And it wasn't an addiction- before he got ratted onto it, he didn't trade addictions, but the yearning of home was so much easier to drown under the influence- he could look at the nightly wash of the shore and trick his mind into home, into thinking that the island was still the same as the small one he grew up onto- even if he knew far better than that.

one addiction for another

The tiger heard his voice, and through his hearing he pinpointed the wayward apprentice. Vaas knew the other still slumbered in his cage. He didn't mind, because there were plenty of other's who still did, it was a camp before the merger, and still other's might've refered to it as such. To Vaas it was a central place of meeting, to rest where the sound of other's sleeping would aid his own troublesome sleep. - Vaas was bemused by the change in shift of the conversation.

"you're not wrong either" He didn't take much offense to the comet either, dark eye shifting from the speck of purple on the dog's paws towards rhinestone's eyes. jade green watching the other for a reaction as he circled around, sitting down a little off but not too far away. "Catnip works as a soother for dogs, while on cats it has an... opposite effect."

The tiger hummed at the focus on nightmares, his eyes narrowed into consideration. "maybe nothing specifically for nightmares, but I've got something for sleeping without dreams" Vaas took that, a dreamless sleep was a well worth one. Valerian root smelt like shit but it worked well- and added a little bit of some of the more fouler liquid drugs Vaas had but refused to give out- ah well.

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"take me into your heart , accept me as your savior nail me to the fucking cross and let me be reborn" — an antagonist with a silver tongue , a pirate with nothing to loose and everything to gain .  vaas montenegro ; he who lives to fight demons should be weary he himself does not become one ." it's not like i am fucking crazy — "

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[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Drugs. On some level, Rhinestone wanted to claim that he had never tried them, but he knew that wasn't entirely true. After all, most of the things that medicine cats provided were technically classified as drugs, since they had an effect on the body, or the mind. He had gotten injured before, and had eaten a poppy seed, or had his wounds wrapped. However, he was fairly sure that the drugs the pair were talking about simply weren't the same. Quasar was doing an awful job of covering for himself, but the tom found that he couldn't really be too terribly angry. After all, there had been a period before the merger, when the pup had been left alone, struggling without parents and needing to protect himself and his brother. It was only natural that he would turn to outside help, even if Rhine didn't approve of it too much. He decided to let it slide for the moment, not the least because he simply didn't have the energy to scold the boy. Instead, he just found himself muttering, "I suppose that could work. I've never tried anything like that for sleeping... never wanted to bother the medicine cats for something so trivial." They had more important things to do, like healing wounds and curing sickness. Not combating nightmares.

Vaas's approach was well timed, but not particularly surprising. The tiger had been around often as of late, something that Rhinestone very much appreciated. Not only that, but the other male also had a personal investment in Quasar, considering the apprentice also came from the boardwalk. Turning his gaze towards Vaas, Rhine cleared his throat before speaking, his claws briefly digging into the sand of the camp below him, "A dreamless sleep would be... nice. If only so that I could have energy for my tasks tomorrow..." It wasn't as if he really had important dreams. He wasn't the type to have Starclan visiting to deliver him prophecies, so he wasn't worried about missing out on that. The rust red feline's normally colorless gaze was a dark blue in the night, focusing on his own den as he questioned, "Does this thing for sleeping without dreams... does it have any side effects?" He needed to know, considering he didn't wanna deal with anything too adverse. If he was trying to have energy for tomorrow, he didn't want hallucinations, or anything like that.

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

— Reggan

[VASS .]

When Vaas had first settled into the newly set borders of palmclan, he was unstable, a tiger set loose without a care and all the power and knowledge of just how small the clan beside him was. He could claim ignorance, outwardly he would always do so, but seeing the fresh scent and the rot that was still currently setting into the boardwalk- Vaas knew that the edge of the isle's coast was weak, freshly drowned and Vaas was hungry, begging to push aside the feeling- need of being needed and instead took from them the opportunity to lead. When Rhinestone had come up to the boardwalk, with the rest of the boardwalk; there was a sense of unease, of suspicion directed at them- because of Vaas

Now, the tiger looked back, and if he was a waker warrior he would've wept in graditude for the tom. Vaas, was made to lead. Bread to become the leader, the perfect warrior, kept pet on a leash for his tribe. He was the false king of a now destroyed- utterly wiped people. He was made- built for leadership, and as thus he fell into it naturally here: This did not mean that Vaas wanted it.

So he thanked the tom the only way he knew how, Rhinestone, defeated, hollow cast eyes so brilliantly blue that Vaas felt his own breath stutter for a moment- Vaas pointedly did not ask the question. Instead took one careful glance inside the leader's eyes and accepted the burden there. His large form brushing against the other's in meager comfort as he rose up, walking slightly in the direction of the boardwalk's cage- his den.

"there might be some drowsiness, lethargy at most; but it too can be treated." Carefully slow was the tom's walk, as the tiger would set to lead the pair towards the place if they took the subte hint of him showing him towards his den. "I'll give you what to take in the morning as well, to help wash your system of the remnants of it."

Already, Vaas knew what to give them. Variant root was natural, and had little in the form of side effects beyond the allergic kind, but the other drug... could. A powder or liquid, odorless and tasteless, Catnip in the morning to help wake him up if he needed it. Maybe corked into a bottle to keep the scent and contain it.

"Just... make sure you sleep up. It'll help you knock out, but you'll wake up with a hangover-like state if you get up too early" The body's way of keeping them put under. Or rather the Tiger's only warning towards the kind of effects it could have. Vaas was clever, but he had never dosed a small cat- only himself on it. And what would make his sleep dreamless with effects was just a small few drops, with Rhine who was smaller- it might leave a little bit lingering in his system afterwards.

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"take me into your heart , accept me as your savior nail me to the fucking cross and let me be reborn" — an antagonist with a silver tongue , a pirate with nothing to loose and everything to gain .  vaas montenegro ; he who lives to fight demons should be weary he himself does not become one ." it's not like i am fucking crazy — "

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[METEOR]

Quasar, staying quiet, allowed the conversation to play out without any interruption from him. Let Rhinestone forget he saw Quasar out at night for no good reason. Allow the tension between the two to manifest. He’d ping-ponged between adopted father and idolized brother figure enough to speculate, and Quasar guessed a version of the truth. It was easier for the boy to believe Vaas and Rhinestone cared about him because they couldn’t admit their feelings for each other, so they engaged in a subtle battle for influence over him instead.

He arrived at this conclusion, in no small part, due to his own parent’s rocky relationship. His mother’d named him Quasar, after a magnificent, poorly understood astronomical phenomena. Yet she’d named his littermate Tree, after the obvious. In Quasar’s world, adults played mindgames with other people’s lives, including their children’s. Including their spouse. Because everyone was selfish and wished to further their own gains, he had never felt guilty about playing this game for his own benefit.

The vaporwave mess followed Vaas to the cage—back to the place he’d walked away from only minutes ago, as he’d run away from don’t think about it. His blue gaze glanced from Vaas to Rhinestone. He lifted the basic facts of the current scene and extrapolated them with mental simulations. Would it be advantageous, for him, if Vaas and Rhinestone began dating? Would it be safe if his adopted father engaged in an adult relationship? In Quasar’s current relationships, what would change? With Rhinestone? With Vaas? With Tree?

Quasar sighed. He simply hadn’t observed enough to answer most of these questions. His gaze lowered, and he blinked down at his paws as he walked along.

“I trust Vaas’s medicine,” he said, after a pause. The pastel rainbow explosion looked up, glanced between the two of them, and yawned. It was fake. He wasn’t tired, though he knew he should be. He needed sleep, but he didn’t want to ask Vaas in front of Rhinestone just yet.

[sub][W]isker[/sub]

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

In no way would Rhinestone have ever considered himself to be a savior. Of anyone, really. Despite taking the reigns of Palmclan after the hurricane's destruction, the tom had always just thought of his leadership as a matter of circumstance. His clan had recovered because of how strong they were as a whole, not because of him. He felt a similar way about Vaas, and the boardwalk tribe that had come along with him. Many had expressed their gratitude to him since the merger, infinitely grateful for him giving them new friends, new family, and a sense of purpose. However, he had never really considered himself to be the reason all of that had happened. Vaas, and those at the boardwalk, had been in complete control of their fate. They easily could've refused his offer, and continued on with their lives, but they chose not to. That wasn't because of him. He had just been the messenger, meant to carry the news and speak his offer with a silver tongue. Of course, this was partially because Rhine had never been the one to boast within his family. He hadn't been the flamboyant personality, nor the adventurer, like Toadwhisker had been. He had always been quiet, and contemplative, and had thought of himself as lesser. Many, who weren't him, had known this to not be the truth.

If Rhine dug down, and truly tried to understand the relationships between he and the rest of his group, he probably would've just been left confused, and pondering. Some of them were easier to understand, such as his relationship to Quasar and Tree. They were his adopted children, and he had sworn to care for them after their parents' deaths. Medusa and Suga were similarly easy – they were his friends, and people who he trusted. His relationship with Vaas was much harder to categorize, especially since the tom didn't truly knew where they stood. He trusted Vaas – trusted him enough to follow after him when he started towards his own home – but was he considered a friend? A confidant? Thinking about it for too long often left him with more questions than answers, so he instead focused on the motion of his paws beneath him, carrying him after the tiger alongside Quasar. A brief and grateful noise left his throat as he walked, glad that there was something that could help him rest.

He then listened intently to what Vaas had to say, his pale blue gaze lingering on the walls for a moment before flicking to what the other was offering. Rhinestone slowly nodded his head before he spoke, his tail twitching behind him, "I probably should get some more sleep than usual anyways... I've been lagging behind a bit as of late. I need to make sure I'm prepared, in case anything happens." This time his little noise was accompanied by a grateful smile, directed solely at Vaas. As Quasar spoke, Rhine nodded again, thoughtfully. If his son trusted in what Vaas had, then he could as well, right?

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

— Reggan

[VASS .]

Careful ignorance, Vaas had lived his life playing to his brute nature and hiding his true talents. Cunning, calculative, charming; it was easy to befall the tiger because of injury rather than his words, yet the wars of life had been far behind him now. In palmclan there was more peace than the pirate ever saw in the typhoon, in his own tribe. He was taught to fight, he learned to hide his thoughts, his feelings for the better of the tribe, and with the slow gait to allow the other's to keep pace, Vaas kept his mind clear through it all.

This was no longer his tribe, where expectations laid at his feet and chained him to the earth such as duty, or tradition. Here they were merly sugestions, careful considerations that Vaas picked and choose from. He found himself accepting the burden from the leader's shoulder without thought, and pushed the implications or the why out of his mind. "that's good to hear, real good. Leading is stressful, don't I fucking know it" He gave a low huff, not likeing where his thoughts drifted, instead he took a moment to blank his mind, breathing deep, in and out.

He imagined a rusted pelt, pale blue eyes, and let out a low huff. "I'm usually up most hours of the day, but when i was the boss, it was almost as if i never slept" There was a short time, if he remembered, he was awake purely because of the drugs he downed to stay awake. Aware and sharp and snapping, snarling. It had been a week of demonstrations, of ruthless efficiency, if he remembered it right.

He knows, if nothing else, without this clan, without Rhine he would be different, for the worst. As the cage came into view, he slipped inside the opened door, following the open cages to a far pushed corner where a storage crate lay half closed. Let the thoughts fade as he focused on what he knew, how he could help the one who had helped him.

"over here is most of it," Vaas spoke up. Pulling at the soft soil inside and stripping the fresher herbs from stems. Valerian flowers tugged gently until the roots could be pruned. Catnip cut with steady claw work and placed in a small vial and wet clay to seal it and break easily. "this is for the morning, just break the seal and take a whiff" He pulled more than just one dose from the crate. A large amount tugged into a linnen bag for Quesar' the other would need it if the night progressed without sleeping, a small bundle of root placed inside there as well.

When he turned back towards the pair, there was a smile along his maw, "such a sleepy pair you make" He geastured towards the top of a makeshift hill, made of cages and rates alike where a pile of soft bedding lay. "Rest is in my own bedding," he didn't wait for the other's to come after him, hurrying to grab it before the other's could discern where the gathered it from. "this one is... very dangerous, or it can be in the wrong paws." Vaas warned, as an explanation. he only had the liquid of it, and that would work for the use he needed.

A single drop of the drug, Valerian root came together in a bowl with a touch of sea water to cover the smell and taste. Valerian root was... in few words, disgusting. He was careful, pushing it into a paste, and then adding berries to sweeten it. "blueberries, Rhine?" the tiger offered him one before pushing the bowl towards him,

"here, cachorro." Vaas set the tied linen bag towards Quesar as well, giving a small nod "It'll help with your own nightmares, when you get them" Oh, Vaas knew the other's drug of choice, but this was something a little bit more... tame in comparison. Catnip and Valarian root at least wasn't something commonly known for smoking.

He gave a self satisfied not, tail swaying behind him as the tiger felt at ease to do so, in his own den: the cage of the boardwalk where most had taken to slumber, it now felt empty in comparison, quiet among the other sleeping members here. He nodded towards a pair of empty cages, lined with soft bedding for sleeping.  "feel free to make yourselves comfortable here for the night, I'll be up for quite a while still"

/Now edited w more gay

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"take me into your heart , accept me as your savior nail me to the fucking cross and let me be reborn" — an antagonist with a silver tongue , a pirate with nothing to loose and everything to gain .  vaas montenegro ; he who lives to fight demons should be weary he himself does not become one ." it's not like i am fucking crazy — "

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