Plot Idea: The Hike To Find The Meerkats, Hostile Encounter

This is a story I've been meaning to write for approximately a year, but haven't summoned the motivation to commence typing it up yet. ^^' Any way, the story is about how I use the Star Rod (Paper Mario fans should know what I'm talking about. =P) to shrink myself down to twelve inches, the approximate eye level with a meerkat and get teleported from the Mushroom Kingdom (I write stories about me embarking on adventures with the Mario Brothers a lot. X3) to the "real world" Kalahari Desert, where I embark on a week look journey to find and immigrate into a meerkat group. Once I gain the trust of the individuals in the group, I'll experience what it's like to live like a meerkat, partaking in tidying up the burrow, keeping a look out for threats, raising and protecting the young and assisting the mob in thwarting their rivals' attempts to steal territory and murder their young. Inevitably, I'll also endure the multitude of tribulations that threaten to claim a meerkat's life every day. While I'm in the process of formulating the story, I'll introduce you guys to some of the plots I've formulated so far. 83

I hike merrily across the flat terrain, enjoying the feel of the soft, warm sand and low level vegetation between my toes and beneath my bare feet, a sense of pleasure permeating my system as I listen to the beautiful ambience of Kalahari nature around me. It's been approximately a week since I manifested in the Kalahari Desert, and so far, I haven't been having any luck in my search for a group of meerkats. I'm growing increasingly frustrated, but I refuse to cancel my search. I'm certain that my mission to locate meerkats will be accomplished eventually, possibly before the day is over. Just approximately an hour ago, I saw numerous meerkat paw prints and holes carved in the ground several yards back, so I'm positive they're must be a mob in the vicinity somewhere. The further I travel, the more potent my instincts are telling me I'm getting closer become. As I scan the foreground and distant terrain for a sign of a meerkat mob, I make visual contact with a majestic herd of gemsbok located approximately one hundred yards away, my attention instantly captivated by their pulchtritude.

"Oooh, a herd of gemsbok!" I exclaim ecstatically. "They're absolutely beautiful." I added, mesmerized by the graceful motions of their bulky forms across the feild of grass.

I watch them as they graze at steady intervals for a few moments before I avert my hazel orbs from them, my gaze drifting across the vast, sublime landscape before me.

"Wow, the scenery here is just...utterly breathtakingly beautiful..." I complimented in awe. "I'm... actually glad I'm risking punishment for this. I've been yearning to visit South Africa for years and thought I'd never get the opportunity to until... I learned the Star Rod has the power to grant any wish after all, not just wishes for physical strength. Thank the Seven Star Spirits the Mushroom Kingdom has a brilliant device with such awesome capabilities. Nnng, no doubt the Mario crew will be pissed once they discover I used the Star Rod without any of their permission, though. I'll be given a harsh punishment for sure once I return to the MK!" I exclaim shamefully, squeezing my eyes shut and clenching my fists. " But it'll be worth it because I'm living my biggest dream, visiting Africa!" I exclaim, clapsing my hands together and grinning ecstatically.

Suddenly, I feel the cold, wet nose of something press lightly against the back of my neck, the warm breath of the creature exhaling down my upper spine, startling me into involuntarily wirling around and emitting a startled yelp as I see it's a juvenile bat-eared fox, not expecting to be snuck up on like that. The next thing I know, I'm positioned on my back, making eye contact with the mammal, my pulse racing and respirations shaky and rapid. In response to my reaction to its abrupt appearance, the juvenile bat-eared fox tips its head to the left, more or likely curious as to what I am. Reminded the bat-eared fox is merely a meerkat friend, I relax, and soon find myself growing fond of the adorable mammal.

"Awww you're so adorable, but you gave me quite a scare, little fella. I thought you might've been a predator or something. But how could I be mad at something so cute? I bet you wouldn't harm a mammal any way, but beware insects, hee hee" I giggled impishly.

I suddenly have the urge to extend my left hand out to pet the juvenile bat-eared fox but refrain myself from going through with the action, not wanting to scare it off. However, the bat-eared fox boldly grooms the top of my head, catching me by surprise.

"Aaah! H-hey, that tickles." I said, giggling. "You're very bold for a young bat-eared fox. I didn't expect to be approached like this by a completely wild animal. It's exhilerating" I added.

I decide to engage in affectionate physical contact with the juvenile bat-eared fox and gently scratched behind its right ear, causing the youngster thump its left hind foot repeatedly against the ground.

"Awwww, so cute!" I exclaimed in adoration. "It amazes me how amiable you are. I thought you'd be timid and tentative about approaching me."

With my right index digit, I gently scratch under the juvenile bat-eared fox's chin. As my hazel orbs gaze across the landscape, I notice the young bat-eared fox's kin is nowhere in the vicinity.

"Hmmm, that's strange. I imagined your family to be in close proximity to you. Could it be this little guy got seperated from his clan?" I questioned to myself.

In my right peripheral vision, I see a larger bat-eared fox vanish into what appeared to be a hole in the ground nearby, prompting the juvenile bat-eared fox to prick his ears and turn his head in the direction of the hole, his interest piqued. I watch as he gallops towards the hole and descends into it, making me frown in disappointment.

"Awww, I wanted to keep doting and fawning over the adorable little guy. He's just sooo darn cute! But I understand that hole over there must be his den and that large bat-eared fox I saw descend into it must be his mother returning to feed her young. It makes me feel relieved his clan was close by after all. Well good luck little guy. I hope we cross paths again in the future." I wished, smiling jovially.

"Well, I should get moving. I wanna try to locate a mob of meerkats before dark. I'd really hate to spend another eery and frigid night alone in a stump or unoccupied burrow. I've had a few nocturnal predator scares already. It'd be tragic to have my mission be terminated by a predator when I've come so far in my mission" I cringed indignantly.

I resume my trek across the sandy Kalahari terrain without being subdued by the scorching heat. Having been in the Kalahari for a week, I've developed a high tolerance to the heat and don't permit it to prevent me from accomplishing my goal to locate a mob of meerkats. I bravely push through patches of a variety of vegetation I encounter in my path, paying no mind to the prospect there could be virulent puff adders concealed in them, poised to plunge their hypodermic like needle fangs into the flesh of any mammal that's unfortunate enough to step into their striking range. Every now and then, I'd pause to admire the sublime scenery and to observe the variety of animals. I exhale a sigh of pleasure as I felt the gentle, warm breeze blow through my hair, heard the relaxing chorus of crickets and a variety of birds chirping nearby. As my hazel orbs gaze across the distant landscape, I notice it to be dotted with a variety of wildlife. Giraffes, antelope, zebra, there's even a small family of ground squirells engaged in a game of tag a few yards from me.

"It's such a gorgeous day in the Kalahari" I said in delight.

As I turn to the right, meerkat shaped figures slowly moving across the sandy, vegetative terrain enter the center of my vision, prompting a sense of excitement to flow through my system, my eyes wide and mouth agape in euphoria.

"Omg, omg, omg, it's... it's a... mob of meerkats! Hell yeah! Finally, I've found them, the mammals I've been seeking for the past week! Yaay, yaay, yaaay!" I cheer, leaping up and down ecstatically.

Clapsing my hands together, I try to maintain control of my composure so I can concentrate on devising a plan to rationally approach the group without risking a brutal mauling, or worse, losing my life. Despite not being a meerkat, the matriarch may still be able to identify me to be a female and chase me off her mob's premises. The chances of foreign females gaining acceptance into a mob is very minimal, so I won't be surprised if the mob's initial reaction to me is to reject my desire to join and flush me out of the area immediately, as I could be percieved as a threat to the matriarch's dominance. Not only will meerkats chase off foreigners, but they may not hesitate to kill them to protect their young, if any exist currently in this mob. I watch as a burly male courageously climbs to the apex of a small tree located a few yards from his group, exhibiting fearlessness as the flimsy looking top bends as his entire weight is applied to it, causing my heart to palpitate, thinking it was going to snap and result in a potentially fatal fall for the male.

"Oh scorpions, looked like the top of that tree was going to buckle under that large male's weight. Hopefully it's strong enough to hold him. Yeesh! That male must either be reckless or extremely bold to perform sentry duty that high up. I'm terrified of hieghts, so if I was in his position, I'd certainly be having a panic attack. I'm going to guess he's either the dominant male or the bravest subordinant of the group." I guessed, starting to admire this male's possible quality of extraordinary bravery.

I observe the large male for a few more moments, watching admirably as he conscientiously scans the area for aerial and terrestrial predators, emitting the 'Watchman's Song" vocalization every now and then to inform his mob it's safe to forage, appearing not to be worried one bit about the prospect he could fall and get critically injured or killed.

"What an altruistic male, putting his welfare in potential jeopardy to protect his mob. This is why I adore meerkats. They're extraordinarily brave, altruistic, tenacious and maternal. They inspire me to be like them, to defend my loved ones with my life against adversaries, to remain strong-willed in times of tribulations, to participate in supervising and protecting the adorable pups, to partake in adrenaline rushing fights over territory, to partake in mobbings, I wanna be apart of everything they do or experience in their daily lives . Nnggg! I wanna be apart of their society and to have the honor of contributing to that mob right now!" I holler impatiently, putting my hands to my mouth, thinking I've just alerted the mob to my presence on the periphery.

Fortunately, the mob hadn't audibly detected me and are still engrossed in their search for sustenance.

"Okay, let's get back to the task at hand here, shall we? How to approach the group, how to approach the group, how to approach the group... Hmmm..." I said, devising a plan. "Oooh yes, I'll try that!" I exclaimed, as I was struck with an idea.

I got down on my elbows and knees, exhaling a nervous sigh, the muscles in my extremities constricting and my pulse at a rapid rythym as adrenaline floods my bloodstream. With as much courage as I can summon, I began to approach the mob, keeping my belly low to the sand, my shoulder blades back, head low and my composure under control, hoping for the best. If I permit panic to commandeer my emotions, the consequences could be fatal. Suddenly, an alarm vocalization reverberates through the air, causing my heart to palpitate and me to pause, the muscles in my extremities constricting a bit more as I saw the entire meerkat group make visual contact with me, low urgency vocalizations emitting from their maws. I've been visually detected! No turning back now, although the instinct to retreat is kicking in. I decide not to comply with my instincts, for fear fleeing could trigger a pursuit and possible brutal attack if I'm not quick enough to escape intact. Instead, I collapse to my belly and spread my upper extremities out in front of me, trying to appear as innocuous as possible in an endeavor to convince the mob I genuinely mean no harm. However, I know gaining the mob's trust is going to take a tremendous amount of time. For meerkat researchers, it's taken months for them to gain the trust of a mob. Ugh, I sure hope it doesn't take that long for me to gain the complete trust of a group of meerkats. At the longest, hopefully it'll take a mere couple of weeks, but I won't know until after this situation is over with. I watch as multiple individuals scramble to gather what appear to be pups among the mob, two of the tykes I see gallop to two different adults for protection, making visual contact with me fearfully.

"Aww crap! This mob does have pups. This may get intense" I said dreadfully.

A sense of trepidation flows through my system as I watch some of the individuals of the mob congregate while the individuals that volunteered to protect the pups shield them with their bodies, poised to defend the youngsters with their lives if necessary. I have a foreboding feeling my first meerkat encounter is about to go horribly awry. However, I maintain my composure, not wanting to escalate the situation. Perhaps if I just lay here, composed and submissive, the mob won't initiate a wardance and may just make a tentative approach to investigate me. For now, the individuals of the mob are just staring me down, erect straight postured on their hind legs, fur bristled along the back of their torsos and bunched together in an endeavor to frighten me into a retreat, but I just bravely hold my ground, trembling from trepidation and the adrenaline coursing through my system. My heart palpitates as I heard several individuals elevate their alarm vocalizations to high urgency, but I refuse to retreat. I maintain my determination, wanting desperately to be apart of their mob. I simply refuse to let my strenuous week of searching for these guys be for nothing. I believe that I'll be apart the mob eventually. Suddenly, the largest female of the mob, possibly the matriarch, leads her mob into a war dance towards me, their tails erect, fur along the back of their torsos still bristled and emitting ferocious chatter vocalizations. At this point, my heart feels as if it's going to catapult out of my chest, knowing the mob has decided that I'm not welcome on their premises. I immediately scramble to me feet with a cuss and run as fast as my legs will carry me, praying I escape with my life.