( brothers in arms | rhine )

[TOADWHISKER.]

GOTTA TAKE SOME TIME TO REALIZE

THAT MY FRIENDS THEY COME

AND THE LINES THEY GO BY

Adoration and hatred. Two distinct faces present upon a singular coin, interwoven among the ventricles and arteries.

Cruel the irony that dictated afflicted he with both in imbalanced measure, core of the matter singular individual time had reduced to dying embers among blocked memory. Yet, no matter how he tried to push the other from his thoughts forth did he creep with the certainty that lifted sun from the horizon, perhaps it was to be expected. All the same jarring the notion his entrance had been conducted with a lack of fanfare, simple words expressed with an air of undeserved warmth.

There was always more, caged against carefully tempered tongue words neither wished spoken for reasons their own. The wind down of their prior meeting was one that had necessitated invitation, as forced as it had been, departure silent. No point had been present in sharing the turbulent thoughts that filled his head, arising forth with each word from other, tempered by what little he had picked up. Always observed, curious onlookers hidden among nooks and crannies, vultures that may see fit to feast on the festering hole that was left in his chest.

Via a window lacking all but a few remaining shards did Toad lead Rhine, beyond a store left to disarray, chaotic the frantic search of those seeking anything among the wreckage. Encumbered by bitten paw there was a great deal of annoyance when the dark smoke was forced to settle among scraped together newspaper and pieces of fabric, averted his gaze though nonchalant the manner he addressed brother. "I guess I owe you an explanation."

Rueful the smile that settled along dark toned lips, finally rising his eyes, imploring even as forced a calm tone into voice that wished to waver and break. "You won't accept I had to answer the call to adventure."

code by Reggan

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

It was impossible for Rhinestone to ever truly lose the love that was present within every interaction with his siblings. No matter what happened, they were all his family, and he would love them unconditionally until the end of time. However, that didn't mean that the leader couldn't find himself downright pissed at them at certain times. For example, the rusty colored feline really didn't want to be as upset with Toadwhisker as he was, but he couldn't help it. This whole time, he had been left with two of his siblings missing, and the other one dead. He had been forced to put his sister to rest all on his own, and while he could forgive one of them for their disappearance – it was most likely that they had been caught up in the hurricane – Toad's absence was harder to defend. Especially when it had eventually turned out that his littermate was here, only a short distance away from the place that Rhine had called home for so long. He found himself wondering if Toadwhisker just would've remained hidden on the boardwalk, a distance mystery, if Rhinestone hadn't led the expedition onto it.

For now, however, Rhine held his tongue, and tried to keep an open mind. He didn't want to snap at his brother immediately, not so soon after their impromptu reunion. So, as soon as they had slipped into the messy building filled with newspaper and fabric, he had just dug his claws into the mess beneath him. His pale gaze was focused directly on Toadwhisker, watching expectantly as the other began to speak. His words, however brief, caused Rhine to let out a bitter little laugh, shaking his head from side to side. Behind him, the leader's tail twitched and thrashed, the only sign of the anger that he was keeping holed up inside. He meowed simply, a heavy sigh leaving his muzzle, "No, I can't. I might've accepted it had you come back moons ago. Or if you had even come to visit. As it is though... I can't accept that answer. I need something more. Straight from your mouth." For the moment, his voice held no malice towards Toad. Instead, it just held a sense of urgency, as if he was pleading with the other to give him a good reason for why.

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

— Reggan