Role Play- 8th of December

Keeko sat on his haunches, wondering just what was going on. His group was going out of control.

Damien sighs, worried he'll not ever be "truly" accepted my keeko. He pushes that thought aside and concentrates on limping to a bolthole, cuz in his current condition, he'll be carried off by a hawk or something.

Ooc: StormyMeerkat? Will you accept my friend request?

Lancaster supports Damien using his shoulder and helps usher him to the bolt hole. For a moment it appeared he had gotten lucky but he hadn't escaped the bite unscathed after all. Lancaster suddenly becomes fraught with worry. It's unknown how much venom Damien had injected into him but from how quickly his condition has taken a turn for the worse, it must've been a copious amount.

Damien lies down inside the bolthole, his eyes dull and clouded with pain, he's too weak to even lift his head. He remember the snake was making contact with his body for a full minute. That means it injected a deadly and most likely fatal amount of venom into him. Why am I not dead yet? Suddenly, he had a flashback of when the snake was attacking him. He had sensed this coming and though he could not dodge it, he moved out of the way just enough, so that the snake missed any major and/or central veins or arteries. He blinks, his eyes slightly duller now. He's still nowhere near being in the clear. Though the snake didn't hit any main veins and/or arteries, it hit others. So a fairly large amount of venom is pumping throughout his bloodstream. Poor Damien can't even lift his tail, for he is so weak.

Lancaster looks down at Damien frowning, feeling sorry for the deathly ill male. He looks so miserable. He may not be able to survive the night but he believes Damien is strong and will pull through this. Damien has to stay strong. The group could use him among their ranks and he could prove to be a great role model for future generations to come. He needs to be strong for the group, for the pups but he can't pull through this alone. He saved everyone's lives and now it's everyone's turn to help him keep his.

Damien closes his eyes, his brething shallow and raspy. He is in dire need of food and water. He is growing cold

Lancaster frowns with sympathy. He desperately wishes he could do something to make Damien's suffering instantly vanish but it'll take days maybe weeks of tending to him until he's 100% back to being in good and pain free health. The only thing he can do is keep Damien company and offer him some temporary pain relieving grooming as well as keeping him replenished while he's healing.

Jackie goes over to Damien, wanting to see if he was okay.

Snowflake looks around warily.

Meg also looks around.

Snicker is unaware of Buckeye's possible intentions to stay at a bolthole with injured Damien.

Buckeye hadn't given much thought to the babysitters until now. Perhaps some memebers could stay with Damien and the rest could come home.

Ashtail slowly opens her eyes, lifting her head up and looking around slowly. Triscuit and Snicker were asleep against her fur and it seemed Tank and Mozart were still outside on guard. She lets out a small yawn from her nap and carefully stretched her body so she wouldn't wake the pups up and repositions her body a little, before laying her head back down.

Lancaster gently nurses Damien's wound. He's careful so as to not hurt him further. He suddenly stops and glances at the bolt hole entrance wondering if Buckeye is contemplating on keeping the group here for tonight or risk transporting Damien back to the burrow. He votes that they stay here for the night. If Damien continues being mobile, the venom could spread and kill him within hours. However, he hasn't forgotten that there's pups back at the burrow with few protectors. He's worried about leaving them to face the trecherous night alone.

Tank constantly scans the area, keeping an ever vigilant watch for predators as well as for the arrival of the Willows. It's getting late and there's still no sign of them. He's starting to get worried but remains hopeful. Maybe something came up like a predator scare or they wandered far in the territory. They should be home soon....he hopes.

Triscuit is also unaware of the group possibly staying at the bolt hole for the night and is still sleeping, huddled against Ashtail.

Snicker is also asleep and completely unaware.

Snowflake, Meg and Buckeye look around warily.

Jackie stays by Damien and Lancaster.

Ashtail looks toward the burrow entrance, wondering when the forging group would return. She frowns a little, wondering what could of happened to the forging group. Hopefully, she was only being paranoid and that the group would come back. Little did she know, they were at a bolt hole with a injured male and were possibly not coming back tonight.

The sun is half way behind the mountains. Tank twitches his tail in a worried way. Where is the group?! He scans the area frantically, hoping to see them appear over the small dune in the distance but as several minutes pass of waiting, nothing. He sighs and plops down on his haunches, unnerved. Maybe something bad happened of which he and the other babysitters may never find out. Not knowing if the Willows are safe or in grave peril is nerve wracking.

Buckeye decides that it would be best to bring the group home. There were pups at the burrow after all. If anyone wanted to stay with Damien, she'd find them tommorrow. She makes lead calls and reluctantly starts walking home.

Jackie decides to stay with Damien.

Snowflake stays by Jackie.

Meg reluctantly follows Buckeye, even though she'd rather stay with the meerkat who saved her life.

Lancaster is still conflicted. He wants to stay with Jackie and Snowflake to help them protect and comfort Damien but at the same time he wants to know if the babysitters and pups back at the burrow are safe. He sighs unsure of what to do. Seeing the Willows moving off he realizes he only has seconds to come up with a decision.

Ashtail looks back at the burrow entrance. She was feeling restless now. Something kept telling her something was amiss. Sighing, she didn't know if she should go out or not. Still having Triscuit and Snicker sleeping against her fur, she didn't want to disturb them. She laid her head down, deciding to wait for a little while more. If nothing, she'll go out. She'd just have to be careful to not disturb the two.

Triscuit sleeps on. Might as well since the night has arrived. At least by tomorrow she'll wake up feeling refreshed and vibrant having gone to bed earlier than a usual meerkat.

Noting the moon peering over the mountains gives Tank the gist that something is seriously wrong if the Willows aren't home by now. His tail and front claws twitch in a fidgetty matter. Nervously, he constantly scans the horizon, feeling desperate. What's taking the Willows so long to get home? Did something tragic happen to them? He really hopes not. He has the urge to set off and look for them but at this late time of the day he'd be taking a massive gamble with his life.

Damien is already fast asleep. He constantly twitches and winces in his sleep, at least by morning he might feel better. He wish that this suffering would just ened. He didn't want to die, he just wanted to be healed. He curls into a tight ball, trying to get warm

Lancaster has finalized his decision, he's staying at the bolt hole with Jackie and Snowflake to help them watch over Damien and offer him companionship. He's optomistic that the babysitters and pups are just fine back at the burrow and will soon be surrounded by the comfort and security of the rest of the group. His ultimate main concern right now is to make sure Damien remains as still as possible so as to not quicken the spread of the venom through out his body and to keep him warm. He'll also need to be under tight gaurd. He could easily attract predators in his weakened and vulnerable state so they'll have to have their wits about them tonight.

Buckeye returns home and looks around.

Meg returns home, relieved.

Jackie and Snowflake are both in the bolthole, near Damien.

Tank's worry is replaced by relief as he sees the Willows arriving home. He sets about greeting everyone with a series of happy friendly chirps and curious sniffs, intrigued by the mix of scents that soak their coats. He hasn't yet noticed that Jackie, Snowflake and his brother Lancaster aren't amongst the group.

Buckeye chirps back, greeting Tank.

Snicker is awoken to see it is now nearly night-time. He's relieved to see the group are now home.

Meg also greets Tank and walks over to the burrow entrance. From there she looks out at the horizon, distant. She hoped Damien and those who were caring for him were safe.

Tank smiles at Buckeye and Meg. As he looks over the group, he realizes something is amiss. He doesn't see Jackie, Snowflake or his brother Lancaster anywhere. He glances at Buckeye a little frantic, wondering what happened to them.

Buckeye peeps to Tank, assuring him that they are find. They are caring for an snake-bitten male who joined the group earlier.

Ashtail could hear the others have arrived and feels relieved. Guess she was being paranoid before. Little does she know, some of the mob wasn't among the group.