Roleplay- 4th of January

Sarah follows Lancaster, bounding behind him. She glances at the female that they've both found. She's doesn't really know Josephine, and she doesn't understand at all why Lancaster is acting this way towards her. One reason is she's a bit young to understand the concepts of what love is. Perhaps one day she will know, hopefully. Until then, Sarah looks at Lancaster and smiles. In a way, she's kind of Sarah's adopted mother, but the blue-silver female doesn't know it yet.

Ash Kitty chrrs as Pippin nips his paw, surprised, and nips at his brother's nose playfully.

Buckeye watches, a faint smile forming. She hadn't seen Lancaster this happy in ages. But with all the loss they've been enduring, seeing his cherished lady would be what he possibly needed to get through this suffering. She chuckles softly at Sarah. You'll understand when you're a little older. Before she looked back at the touching reunion between Lancaster and Josephine.

Once he was in touching range of Josephine, Lancaster wraps his arms around her torso, embracing her in a loving hug. He fondly caresses her right cheek with his left while emitting churrs of delight. The feel of his long lost mate's soft fur against his face sends waves of pleasure through his body. It feels so good to have her in his arms again! This is the happiest he's ever felt since the birth of his brother's pups. From then on, fate had been dealing devastating blows to the Willows. He was beginning to think they'd never be shown a sign that things would improve. Then, his cherished lady made an astonishing return. Could this be the sign of better things to come the Willows have been waiting to see for ages? He sure hopes so! It seems fate is finally having mercy upon them.

Takoda arrives in Willows territory and lays on the ground in the shade. He has had enough of roving for now and is thinking about joining this group -- that is if they'll accept him. He smiles as he watches Lancaster and Josephine. Looks like they're having a happy reunion of some kind. After watching them a bit, he approaches them, looking for the dominant male, unaware that the official dominant male has disappeared...

Overwhelmed with a sudden indescribable amount of happiness, Josephine in the embrace of her beloved hero Lancaster passionately groomed any part of his body she could reach. His muzzle, his ears, his face, she gently nibbled expressing her overflowing affection and the longing need to rekindle their former bond. Unaware of the new male Takoda entering the area, Josephine chattered away contently ignoring the once nagging pain in her back leg.

Lancaster continues to passionately groom the previously damsel in distress, focusing more on the top of her head, face, neck and snout than anywhere else he could reach. With an enormous amount of joy pouring out of him, he can't help but smother his beloved female with love after being seperated from her for so long. He doesn't know what he'd do without her. If he were to be informed she was killed, he would most certainly spiral into a depression and die of a broken heart. From now on, he'll be her dedicated bodygaurd and will defend her fiercely against any female who tries to split them apart, and will bravely defend her to the death against any predators or rivals. Engrossed on cuddling with his beloved lady, Lancaster doesn't take notice of Takoda standing a few feet from them.

Sarah tilts her head and approaches Josephine. She sniffs her all over, very curious about who she is. After this, Sarah tries to wiggle inbetween Lancaster and his love, wanting to be included in their cuddle session. She's not really aware that this could be ruining the moment, as she's too young to understand these things.

Midnight on the other hand does spot Takoda. Wanting very much to gain dominance still, he approaches the male a little, but hesitates. If he asserts dominance, it's likely that the group won't accept that quite yet... Yes, he'll work gradually towards that. Midnight instead raises the alarm.

Buckeye couldn't help but chuckle at Sarah. Silly little pup. She walked over and picked her up by the scruff. Let them be Sarah, this is something between adults for the time being. While she was nearby, she scent marks Josephine quickly, re-welcoming her back in the Willows. She'll have to keep an eye on Mozart, she was the one who chased Josephine and evicted her. She would not allow that to happen again. Subordinate females had no right to evict in the first place.

Ashtail hears Midnight and looks around, spotting Takoda. Who was this male? And what did he want? She watches him closely, her orbs narrowed in suspension.

Phantom continued sleeping peacefully, his tail twitching once in a while.

Takoda lays on the ground in order to indicate that he has no intentions of causing trouble and is in fact willing to submit to whoever the dominant male is at this time.

ooc: I feel like starting the plot with Midnight and have him accept Takoda... Do you guys think that's a good idea?

ooc: Sure, go ahead :3

Feeling something fuzzy pressing against his stomach, Lancaster ceases passionately grooming Josephine to take a moment to see what it is. He glances down to discover it was his adopted daughter Sarah and can't help but chuckle with adoration. He guesses she wanted to include herself in the cuddling. He's fine with that. He doesn't mind if she wants to be included and he's sure Josephine won't mind either. He's actually delighted to have her by his side at all times. He's got his beloved lady back in his embrace, his adopted daughter at his side...what more could he ask for? Things seem to be looking up quite quickly and he's beginning to become convinced that brighter happenings are on the way for this previously distressed mob.

Tank takes notice of Takoda and bobs his head. What's this? A foreign meerkat? He rose onto his hind legs, keeping his eyes trained on the intruder, trying to determine what his intentions are. He doesn't notice the reunion between his brother and long lost lady.

ooc: What I'm worried about is the mob hating him for doing it... That's why I'm not replying yet. >.< I want him to take dominance successfully but I'm not sure how...

ooc: You could still have him accept Takoda. No other non natal male is willing to step up to the responsibility of dominant male so the mob has no choice but to allow Midnight to grant Takoda acceptance.

Midnight walks over to Takoda, observing him. After smiling a little he scent-marks the male, a sly expression on his face. That's normal though. He's a shady, mysterious male. Even so, Midnight is really kind deep down, the rest of the group just doesn't realize it yet... But they will, hopefully. Midnight sits down. The near-black meerkat stares at Takoda with his deep blue eyes...

Lavander narrows her eyes a little bit at Takoda and pulls her sister Daisy close to her, growling. She's one of the more vicious members of the Willows and very untrusting, especially after meerkats such as Ghost. She also hisses quietly at Midnight...

Sarah chirps and quickly gets back in to cuddle with Lancaster and Josephine, really ignoring her biological mother for now. She's sure he wouldn't mind... She closes her blue eyes and smiles, chrring continuously, similar to a meerkat version of a cat's purr. She opens her eyes and looks up at each of the adults.

Grace meanwhile, turns in her sleep... This causes her to fall off Phantom and onto the ground. She wakes up with a startled peep. She shakes herself, spreading dust that had gotten onto her fur during the fall into the air in the form of a cloud. She glances over at Phantom and tilts her head...

Ash Kitty continues to play with Pippin and rolls onto his back and nips at his brother. He then peeps. What about Merry?

Buckeye shook her head in amusement. All right Sarah, you win. She backs off and decides to keep an eye out for trouble, unknown that Midnight had accepted a new male into the group...

Ashtail bares her fangs a little as Midnight scent marked Takoda. What gave him the right to do that!? But she sighed. No other male was stepping up. They may, unwillingly, have to accept Midnight as a new dominant male...

Phantom feels Grace fall off and opened his eye groggily. Yawning and exposing his K9s for a brief moment, he stood and stretched his somewhat bulky body. He notices Grace and smiled, giving her a nuzzle.

Takoda immediately begins foraging on the foraging grounds of his new group and manages to find a skink which he quickly eats. After having eaten something, he decides to introduce himself to the other meerkats. He goes over to Lancaster, Sarah and Josephine and chirps politely. Hello there. I'm Takoda.

Lancaster's heart melts as for a moment Sarah's beady blue orbs made contact with his hazel orbs. Of course he doesn't mind if she includes herself in his touching moment with Josephine. He loves his adopted daughter to death and finds it cute she follows him everywhere and wants to be included in what ever he may be doing. However, if that includes following him into a dangerous situation, then he'll insistantly prohibit her from doing so for her own saftey. He wouldn't want anything horrible to become of her. If he were to lose her, he couldn't bare living without her there by his side.

Tank emits a vicious toned low growl as Midnight usurps the responsibility usually reserved for Keeko. But he's not here and it's uncertain when/if he'll return so he should at least try to be grateful someone had taken it into their responsibility to decide Takoda's fate. Since none of the non natal males are willing to establish male dominance, they may have no choice but to follow Midnight. Who knows? The Willow meerkats may grow to like and respect Midnight. However, only time will tell.

Meanwhile, at burrow grounds, Saja had witnessed Grace's adorable tumble off Phantom's back and can't seem to stop laughing in amusement. It was so cute! She's really starting to enjoy watching the bond between her and Phantom grow. They seem touching together.

Molly giggled as she witnessed Grace and Phantom. They were so cute together. No doubt in her mind that the Willows would chase Phantom away now. He such a kind male, who would want to chase him away? And only because of his facial disfigurement that he was chased away before? Well, shame on those meerkats who mistreated him!

Daisy huddles into Lavender's stomach, watching Midnight scent mark the new male. Why was he doing Keeko's job? It scared her, thinking Midnight would be taking Keeko's place... What would Buckeye think of this?! She whines softly, burying her face into her sister's fuzzy belly.

Feeling Sarah snuggle between herself and Lancaster, Josephine smiled down at the youngster but failed to recognise her. Things will have changed dramatically at the Willows in the space she had been absent but with Lancaster by herself she was positive that she could adjust.
Noticing Buckeye approach, Josephine was glad to see that one thing had stayed the same and churred graciously as the dominant female accepted her back into the group. Buckeye was a strong, fierce and compassionate leader and as long as she stayed on the right side of the dominant female she wouldn’t have to worry.

Noticing Sarah leave and return again, Josephine nuzzled her cheek refraining herself from asking any questions. For now she would just accept how things were and enjoy being back within the safety of the family.

Ooc: I’ll respond about noticing Takoda in my next post.

Pippin stopped his nipping and shrugged his shoulders in a gesture at Ash Kitty. He’d been too busy keeping up on the fun and adventure to notice where his other sibling was. Pawing his brother’s side roughly he encouraged Ash Kitty to continue to play fight. Merry was only missing out for not being involved.

Having awoken, Merry stared at the dark walls of the sleeping chamber and wondered if it was any closer to Buckeye coming home. He hadn’t seen from his mother or anyone other than his noisy brothers for what seemed like hours.

ooc- Has Josephine told the others about Linda yet?

ooc: Not yet. She'll probably do so in the next post or so.

ooc- I feel like I'm jumping into a raging river blind, so work with me please if I'm not fully informed on events.

ic- Bravo spots Josephine and stares in awe. She survived? He approaches, happy to greet the lost member after all this time. He's blissfully unaware that Josephine has been in contact with his lost sister.

Ariel watches.

Lancaster grins joyously, grateful to Buckeye for reanointing Josephine as a subordinate, hopefully meant to stay within the Willows clan until the day Fate decides to send her up to Heaven. From this day onward, he vows not let any jealous female sabotage their relationship, especially Mozart. He'll be keeping a close eye on her when ever she's in their space. He isn't afraid to get nasty with her if she attempts to evict his cherished lady again. He just simply won't stand for it.

Tank is scrutinizing the area when his hazel blue eyes make contact with a familiar looking female meerkat. That meerkat...could it be? As he analyzed her pelt color and patterns from his spot, he determines her to be the long lost Josephine. Astonishment strikes the bulky male. Josephine?! His pupils dilate, unable to believe she's standing there in the flesh before him. He had presumed her to be dead. But obviously she's beaten the odds and has made a miraculous return. He canters over to the scene, anxious to know if she's intact physically.

Buckeye smiles as more and more of the Willows notice Josephine. Many had assumed the worse. But she was right here, alive and well. She surely was a fighter. Little does she know, Josephine has news of a certain female that all had though perished due to Ninja.

Ashtail looks over, her head titled. Who was that female? Whoever it was, it was clear the Willows knew her. Especially Lancaster. A lost mate maybe? She decides to stand sentry and keep an eye out for threats.

A 3-week-old dark brown pup from a wild mob has wandered onto the Willows territory... his name is Root Beer. This is the second day he's been out of the burrow and he has had a fun time. The babysitter had been distracted by this other meerkat and had gone behind the bushes to do something. So the most adventurous of the three pups had been free to wander about. But... oh no! This didn't smell like home at all. Was he... lost?! Panicking, Root Beer starts making loud distress calls.

Takoda opens his ears after coming out a foraging hole with a scrumptious pill millipede... just as he starts to eat his prize, he hears the pup noises. He hates to abandon his meal but he can't just ignore a pup.... he goes over to where the noises are coming from. His eye dilate when he sees how young this pup is. He's still on milk! The male immediately alerts the others, known that this little guy won't survive out here alone... Root Beer is a little scared at the moment... he doesn't know these strangers' intentions.