Roleplay-24th of December

ooc: Ok. If you want to, Flower, you could edit your posts having Saffron showing the egg to someone in the foraging party.

Occ-There i edited my posts

Conker watches in amusement as the juvenile yellow mongoose becomes spooked by Saffron intruding its space then vanish into a thicket of grass. He looks over at Saffron when he heard her chirp at him. Seeing the strange looking egg she discovered, he walks over, sniffing it curiously. What kind of an egg is this? He's never seen this kind of egg before. It looks nothing like a tortoise egg so it obviously isn't one of those. They're much smaller than this one and lighter in color. He bobs his head with curiosity at the egg.

Mischka is diligently keeping watch for predators and is unaware that Saffron and Conker have discovered a strange egg.

Saffron pushed it with all her might but it wouldt budge

ooc: Then ignore my posts...

bic: Comet glances at the egg curiously. His first question is whether it's edible or not...

Saffron looked at comet it was her egg if he ate she attack it was her egg but her a conker wanted too know what it was.

ooc: I guess we could say it's an ostrich egg.

Conker attempts to nudge the egg with his snout but it fails to budge for him as well. It's too heavy and thick shelled to really do anything with it. He stares at it still wondering what animal this egg could be from.

Occ-Ok

BIC-Out of nowhere a huge creature came saffron ran behind conker

Conker gives out a startle squeak when the giant 6 foot ostrich plodded in close proximity to them. He watches the flightless bird with his fur bristled, standing protectively in front of Saffron. If it tries to hurt her, he'll defend her with his life.

Saffron chirped to the adults not wanting to leave her egg behind

*Velmarie went over to Saffron, sniffing the egg curiously. She wondered what kind of animal was inside...*

Hearing Saffron's chirp, Mischka ceases following the group and glances over to see the strange egg she's situated a few inches from. He blinks his eyes in amazement, recognizing it almost immediately. That's an ostrich egg. Quite a rare sight. He's only seen them a few times in his life. The first was when he was around Saffron's age. He trots over to get a closer look as he's really never gotten a close up view of an ostrich egg before.

Conker looks at Saffron feeling doubtful. He doesn't believe they'd be able to transport the egg back to the burrow. It looks to be too heavy to move and will most likely be a pain in the grass to roll along the ground. They can't afford to waste that much time, especially when they have a critically injured pup they need to get below ground as soon as possible.

Aliya doesn't slow down. She was more focused on getting Ponda back to the safety of burrow and have his injuries checked on. Not to mention clean them of any dirt or anything else that could cause infection.

John also keeps going, being like Aliya and wanting Ponda to get to the safety of the burrow. If Ibis dared showed her face there, she'll have to answer to not just him, but the rest of the Jumaa. If this male learned anything, the Jumaa were very compassionate and loving to all their pups. Harming one would result in harsh punishment, especially eviction.

Root looks over at the graves, noticing Ninji and Petal. Instantly seeing Petal was crying, he rushed over. He began to nuzzle his sister comfortingly, knowing she still was upset from Kumi's pup being murdered before her eyes. He looks at Ninji, noticing she was curious about the graves. Listen well Ninji... These are called graves... Its how we give our love and regards to those who died. Did you know you actually had two more siblings? Your father told me about what happened to them... Mercilessly attacked and killed. They never even got to see you nor your other siblings... But, they're watching over you as we speak. They're in a wonderful place called Heaven... Where pain and suffering doesn't exist...

Petal instantly nuzzled against her brother as soon as she felt him nuzzling her. She laid her head on his shoulder and listened to his explanation. She would nod once in a while, and watched Ninji through her teary eyes. Hopefully, the little pup would understand why she was crying now.

Mischka notices the distance between him, Conker, Saffron and the Jumaa is rapidly lengthening. Not wanting to fall behind and risk predation, he gently nudges the youngsters, encouraging them they must move on. There will be more eggs to play with. This egg is a sign that an ostrich is nesting near by so eggs will be plenty around here for a while.

Conker nods to Mischka, understanding the risk they face by lingering by the egg, failing miserably to move it, as the group marches forward. It really isn't worth the gamble since it's obvious they're unable to make the large egg budge even an inch. It'd be foolish to risk their lives for a useless egg. He chirps to Saffron, encouraging her they must catch up to the group before an oppurtunistic predator detects them.

While Ninji listens inquisitively to Root's explaination, she'd tip her head from side to side occassionally and would transition through a chain of emotions. Disconcertion, to shock, to anger, to briefly sorrowful, which is shortly replaced with a feeling of comfort when the explaination concludes with her learning the siblings she never knew are in a pleasant place. Her eyes shift over to the 3 graves, her brain now holding the knowledge of death and where a being goes after their passing. Now she understands why Petal was sobbing, but she feels no sadness because she has learned her 2 siblings will always be with her in spirit and will never have to be at risk of being injured or killed. They will forever be safe and happy.

Ninja had watched Root explain the graves and what happened to the poor little infants under the earth to his daughter. He's surprised to see she took it better than he expected. He thought the explaination would either confuse her, devestate or traumatize her. But learning her 2 siblings are in a better place had helped see her death in a positive way. Though it's tragic a death is usually terribly painful in the Kalahari, looking forward to an eternal life free of pain and death will help you feel more peaceful when the time comes.

Saffron frowns she wanted too keep it but follows not wanting too be left behind

The burrow was soon in sight. Aliya felt relieved. Just a bit more... She looked over at Ponda with worry. He just had to hang on a little longer... She looks back ahead as the burrow grounds got closer.

John gazed around, and feels relieved as the land began to show familiar land marks to show they were near the burrow grounds. He looks at Ponda, frowning. Why would Ibis attack her own child? He'll give her a piece of his mind if she shows back up.

Root smiled, glad Ninji understood. And she took it pretty well. Pups her age would usually become scared or traumatized. But being aware her deceased siblings and Kumi's pup was in a beautiful place, it made death sound less scary.

Petal sniffs and slowly starts to calm herself. She slowly shook her fur, riding some sand that got caught. She looks back at the graves, hoping the pups in the Heavens above were doing just fine and watching over the Jumaa.

Mischka has caught up with the Jumaa and has situated himself behind Romeo, resuming his role as a body gaurd. When the burrow comes into view, he exhales a sigh of relief. They're almost home. He scans the foreground and trees, even more relieved to see there are no predators in the immediate area. Looks like their trek back to the burrow is going to conclude with them arriving safely. His focus now turns to Ponda. He hopes the poor little pup will make it. If he ever sees Iblis again, he'll make sure she doesn't get away unpunished.

Conker has also caught up with the Jumaa and is walking side by side with Mischka. He stares at Ponda, his eyes glazed over with concern. He mentally encourages the youngster to hang in there. They're a mere 200 feet from the burrow and a few minutes away from working on nurturing him back to health.

Ninji gazes up at the sky with wonder. So her deceased siblings could be watching her at this very moment? She tips her head to the side, finding this intriguing. She then smiles, hoping they're having a great time in their beautiful new world.

Ninja watches his daughter gaze at the sky happily. He's relieved the explaination didn't psychologically scar her for life. The less scary description of death taught her that it shouldn't be feared but looked at in a positive way. It's the begining of a new journey, a journey to a gorgious place where life is eternal and free of pain. He gazes at the sky himself, knowing his 2 little infants are watching over them and are forever going to be safe.

Saffron fell to the back of the mob

Comet follows slowly. He sees the burrow in sight and perks up, actually relieved... not just for Ponda's sake, but because he's having a hard time keeping up. He tries to pick up his pace the best he can.

Fly is playing with Phoebe happily, completely naive to what's happened...

ooc: Gah, why are all my posts so short? ><

I'm not sure what to post Ponda doing...

Conker notices Saffron straggling and matches his pace with hers, walking side by side with her. He doesn't want her to end up alone and face predation. He situates himself by behind her, acting a defense incase an oppertunistic predator attempts to attack her from behind.

Mischka looks from the burrow to Ponda every few minutes, worried he could die before they reach it.

Saffron smiles at conker but keeps walking

*Velmarie walked beside the ones drifting twards the back of the group.*

Conker smiles back at Saffron, then diligently scans the area, keeping watch for predators. When Velmarie meets their pace, he feels more at ease having a big strong adult close by.

Saffron feels a bite safer now that velmarie with them

*Velmarie smiled down at them, and looked in every direction for predators. Since there were none, perhaps taking a slow stroll wasn't a bad idea.*