Roleplay- 16th of December

Bravo decides to follow Tank.

Tank begins to search the bushes, grass and hallowed out trees in the vicinity of the Willow's location in the hopes of finding him under their protective covering. If Snicker went off to find somewhere he could pass in peace, he'd most likely find a place where he'd be safe from predators. Tank would be devastated if he loses Snicker. He's still reeling from losing Triscuit. If Snicker dies, he doesn't know if he could go on. He'd most likely spiral into a debilitating state of depression. It'd be like having half his heart ripped out of his chest. Thinking about the dreaded possibility he'll find his son dead, Tank growls with fury. Ghost will pay with his life for messing with his family!

Jackie feels sadness overcome her as Tank tells her of Snicker's absence she decides to help him with looking for him. She begins looking around for any sign of the young pup and smells the air, hoping to find his scent on the breeze, but it's hopeless. The Midnight's smell is overpowering and she can't see him anywhere.

Snicker is still conscious but barely. He can feel the world around him spiraling. No... He couldn't die... His family needed him... He had to heal and get home to his family....
Meg stands by Snicker, watching him with sympathy. She nudges him, hoping to get his attention, but he is too dizy to notice her. He stares at the burrow wall. It appeared to be the only way now that he knew he was still alive.

Tank nods with gratitude, grateful for Jackie and Bravo's help. Maybe with the 3 of them searching for Snicker, they'll stand a better chance of finding him than if Tank were to look for his son alone. Confidant he'll find Snicker with the help of his reliable search team, Tank trains his nose to the ground, sniffing thoroughly in the hopes of picking up his son's scent trail, but it's in vain as the only scent he can detect is the Midnight's potent aroma, which the air and earth are heavily drenched in. He refuses to give up though. He MUST find his son before....he doesn't even dare to think that his son will die. With siblings and his father to live for, Tank believes Snicker has the willpower to survive. He won't die! Tank is confidant his son will fight for his life and win! He's absolutely positive of that!

Ashtail watches as Tank, Bravo, and Jackie search for Snicker. She stands on her hind legs and scans the area, hoping to spot him. Ghost didn't finish Snicker off like he did with Triscuit... Maybe Snicker could pull through and survive.

Failing to pick up Snicker's scent trail, Tank resorts to giving out contact calls, in the hopes his son will hear them and direct him towards his location. He's taking a big risk. If the Midnights hear him, he could be killed. But he has no regards for his own safty at the moment. For now, he's determined to find his son, hopefully alive, and he won't let anything stop him.

Jackie continues looking around, still hoping that their search wouldn't be in vain.

Snicker can not hear the contact calls, as he has fallen unconscious. The darkness that surrounds him in what felt like a dream confused him as he tried to find a way out of the dark area. He felt no pain, no emotion and had completely forgotten his previous plight as he desperately tried to find somewhere safe. A small dot of light appears in the distance. As he ran towards the light, hoping he would be guided out, light flashed around him and everything disappeared... His slow breathing finally ceased and his body went limp...

Meg stood outside the bolthole, looking around desperately, hoping that by some chance they would be found. As Meg goes below ground to check on Snicker, she notices that he was lying on the burrow floor, his face away from her. As she closes in on him and nudges him, trying to wake him up, she notices something. His fur was unusually... cold. He also moved effortlessly as if he weighed nothing. She gets closer to him and paws at him. He still did not move. As Meg continued trying to wake Snicker up, she failed to realise that Snicker had like Triscuit, succumed to his injuries and would not respond, no matter what Meg did.

(ooc: Thanks guys, I've read up everywhere now and made the list ammendments and think am getting back into the swing on things again.)

(On a previous question Yoshkat 'Do you plan to have Josephine return to the Willows on this RP day Little Maybelline? Or do you plan to have her return there in several RP days? I kinda came up with a plot where Lancaster will rove to the Jumaa on the next RP day after he finds out she's alive if it's ok with you:3'.......
I'm happy to follow this plot if you still want to, It would be a bit random if she just turned up at the Willows on this RP day. Wether she encounters any of the Willows back out searching for Snicker, she'll likely still head back to the Jumaa's to face the concequences of 'losing' Saffron once her search comes up with nothing. )

Blinded by distress of losing Saffron in the middle of battle, Josephine hadn’t heard Aliya’s calls to retreat back to their territory and paced across the sand in random directions trying to follow the many crossing scent trails.
Unaware that the young female had found Ninja and the rest of the family and was safely back at the burrow, Josephine rose onto her back legs and began to call out. If Saffron was lost or worse..Dead because of a quick moment of accidently neglect she’d never be able to comfortably live amongst the caring Jumaa’s.

Tank abruptly halts his contact calls, utilizing his audio senses to listen for a response from his son. A few minutes pass of absolute silence....nothing. Tank continues this pattern for 10 minutes, which is to be in vain as his son is unable to hear his distressed contact calls. Realizing his contact calls are futile, Tank whines, feeling hopeless. What if he's....No! He won't dare say such a terrible thing! Snicker's alive! He's known his son to be strong physically and psychologically. He believes his son's willpower to live is strong as well. Tragically, Tank is unaware that his son had lost the battle to stay alive. Determined to find his son, Snicker, Tank briskly advances deeper into the Midnight's lair, sifting through any kind of vegetation that meets his eyes in hopes he'll find him occupying their protective shade. Unwittingly, he's closing in on the bolt hole where Meg and his lifeless son are sheltering in. He's so focused on finding his son that he fails to pick up on his brother's mate, Josephine's, distress calls.

ooc: You're welcome Little-Maybelline and that's good to hear:) We're glad to have you back:)

I was thinking after Tank discovers his son's fate, he'll encounter Josephine on his way back to the Willows.

Bravo follows right behind Tank.

Finally unable to contain her worry, Ashtail goes after the group and starts to help them search for Snicker. They had lost Triscuit, they had to help Snicker! They just had to find him! If anything else happens to him... Ghost was going to pay with his life if Snicker dies! Little does Ashtail know, Snicker had already succumbed to his injuries and has passed on to the afterlife.

Tank's panic sky rockets as it seems every scrub, bush, tree, log and hallowed out stump he sifts through, no evidance of his son being there turns up. He whines, pacing around a bush he just searched. Where could he be?! Could a predator have already gotten to him!? Please no! Tank looks over his search and rescue team. His heart sinks seeing they too are coming up empty. The odds are stacked against them considering they're scouting a large piece of land. Snicker could be anywhere in Midnight's territory. It's like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. They could be searching for hours, maybe even days, taking a risk of having a vicious encounter with the deadly Midnights. But he's willing to take that risk if it means finding his precious little relative. But by then, his son would most likely be dead, killed off by a predator, infection, starvation, or the dreaded rival Midnight mob. Still confidant his son is still alive out there somewhere, and fueled by the adamancy to find him, Tank proceeds with his search. They WILL find him...hopefully soon and still full of life.

Jackie continues looking around, still helping Tank in the search for his son, Snicker. Hopefully he would turn up soon. She is also unaware of the fact that he has now succumed to his wounds.

Meg stays by Snicker's lifeless body, still believing if she stayed by his side, maybe he would wake up. She sobs quietly, confused. She didn't want him to leave her side. Then she would be alone. If he didn't wake up soon, she'd be forced to abandon him, or face certain starvation.

Buckeye passes into Midnight's territory, hoping to find her missing Willow members. She looks around, trying and succeeding to catch the faint scent of the missing members on her nose. She continues walking in the direction, hoping to find them alive and well.

Snowflake follows Buckeye, hoping that Jackie in particular is safe.

Suddenly, Tank spots a bolt hole. Could Snicker be in there? It'd make more sense if he was. The bolt hole would provide him more protection than any of these vulnerable bushes, grass thickets and hallowed out logs would. Tank isn't getting his hopes up yet though. This is one of many bolt holes in the Midnight's territory. The chances of finding Snicker inside are slim but the determined father doesn't let that prospect discourage him. He'll search every single bolt hole in the Midnight's land if he has to! He rushes right over to the bolt hole and discovers it's drenched in his son's scent. Wow what are the odds!? By sheer luck, he's located his son's whereabouts. Tank barks, alerting the others that he's found where Snicker is. Tragically, they're too late in coming to his aide.

Hearing Tank's bark, Ashtail feels her heart shine with hope. She runs toward where she heard Tank. However, her happiness would soon be shattered when she learns that Snicker was already gone.

Bravo rushes over also, eager to bring Snicker back to safety.

Eagerly, yet filled with uncertainty, Tank decends into the bolt hole. The moment he enters, the spine chilling scent of blood enters his nose. He shivers, disconcerted by the smell, but keeps inching deeper into the tunnel. His son is definitely in here and he must reach him so they can take him home where he'll be safe and stand a better chance of survival. He suddenly gets a forboding feeling. The scene he's about to walk into will certainly be horrific but to what extent? He suspects something isn't right and whines, showing his distress.

Ashtail follows Tank as well. A bad feeling hit her in the gut as she entered. Something wasn't right. She shook it off, just thinking she was being paranoid.

Bravo stays above ground and guards the entrance.

As Tank traveled deeper into the bolt hole, the scent of the blood becomes overwhelmingly potent. He shivers, feeling more disconcerted, but tries to stay positive. He's sure Snicker is fine. He's a strong little fellow. He believes his son will still be alive once they find him. Sadly, he'll learn Snicker wasn't strong enough to cheat death.

Ashtail follows Tank, her fear growing. What if Snicker was dead? The scent of blood was almost overbearing. She shook her head and continued to follow, determined to find out Snicker's fate.

Suddenly, Tank spots the silhouette of a small figure. Is it his son Snicker? Eagerly, and with a shimmer of hope, Tank briskly inches closer to the mystery form. As he shortens the distance between him and the figure, he notices another dark form is present. Huh? Who or what could that be? He's unaware it's Meg, who had loyally stayed by Snicker's side and managed to find this bolt hole and safely escort him inside. The scent of the Willows, as well as the potent smell of blood, is present in the air close to the figures. So it must be Snicker, but who's the other figure? It's hard for him to tell by sight since it's pitch black in the tunnel, but he knows by smell that it IS his son and some other Willow member. Yes they've found him! As Tank approached, he recognizes Meg is the mystery figure accompanying his son. He had no idea she went missing. She must've stayed back to help aide his son. He smiles grateful for her compassion and nuzzles the top of her head, as if saying thanks. As he gazes down at his limp son he notices something's wrong. Terribly wrong. He hears no breath sounds coming from his precious child, and as he affectionately touches noses with him, he realizes its dry and cold to the touch. No it can't be! Please don't be dead Snicker! He just can't be dead! Tank desperately nudges his son, trying to get him to wake up but it's no use. Tank burries his face in his son's fur and lets out a mournful yet furious caterwaul. His attempts to encourage his son to wake up is in vain. He's gone. Ghost will pay with his life this!

Ashtail follows eagerly behind Tank as the scent got stronger. Soon, she could smell Snicker and a secondary member. Meg? Yeah, it smelled like her... Watching Tank, she saw a figure laying on the floor. Was he alive?! Please, PLEASE, let him be alive! However, as she watched Tank attempting to wake Snicker in vain, the reality struck her like a tidal wave. Snicker... he was gone... Her heart felt as if it had been ripped out of her chest and ripped to pieces before her eyes. No... No.... NO!!! Ashtail collapses, weeping harshly. Why, why?! Why did Snicker have to die too?! It wasn't fair! She soon lets out an outraged wail. Ghost, you will pay for this!!! Of course, the wail would not be heard by the heartless male.

Buckeye and Snowflake continue looking for the missing Willows.

Jackie can see the bolthole. She enters after the others to where Snicker is lying dead and Meg is by his side. She sees Snicker and sighs sadly. It was awful what the Kalahari did to so many innocent lives. She felt sympathy for Tank. First, his daughter had been severly wounded by Linda and was lucky to have survived. Now his daughter and son were both dead. She wanted to reassure him, but knew she could do nothing.

Meg hears something coming into the burrow. She edges closer to Snicker's body, sobbing quietly, to see Tank appear. She sighs of relief, but then turns back to Snicker, feeling awful. She knew deep inside he was beyond help when she had escorted him to the burrow. She just hoped maybe, just maybe that he'd heal himself. Sadly her hopes had been shattered and now Tank had to see his lifeless son. Anger began burning through her. This was all Ghost's fault. He would pay for what he has done...

Taakah, suddenly emerging out of a bush, shook sand from his pelt. He looked over at the others near a bolt hole, and trotteed up, sniffing it. He almost fell down in shock when a sad caterwaul bursted up. Sitting down, he waited for Tank and Ashtail to emerge, who he had scented.