Roleplay- 23rd October

Tank awakens from his nap feeling refreshed. He yawns whilst stretching out his stiff limbs then shakes off any sand that may have collected in his fur while he was sleeping. Tank notices that it's starting to get late. He should get in some foraging before Buckeye sounds lead calls to head for home. Tank pads over to a patch of grass where he forages at the fringes.

Linda grooms herself and scratches her neck with her hind paw. She may have picked up a few flees. One infested meerkat can spread the flees to the entire mob. She continues to scratch, trying to get rid of the pesky parasites.

As Tank forages along the fringes of the tall grass, he's totally oblivious to a deadly creature that is silently coiled up a mere 5 feet away from him. He digs into the sand, focused on finding something that should hopefully satisfy his hunger, unaware he's jeopardizing his life.

Linda concentrates on gitting rid of the flees in her fur, unaware of the danger.

Bravo is looking elsewhere, focusing on airborn predators for now.

Suddenly, Tank hears the eery hiss of a puff adder amongst the grass. He jumps back spooked by the sound. He observes the tall grass closely and spots the puff adder coiled up in its ready to strike pose. Tank sounds the alarm alerting the group of the deadly snake's presence. With a puff adder not too far from the burrow where the precious pups are this deadly predator must be exterminated immediately.

Linda jolts up from her grooming when she hears the alarm. She sees Tank focused on something in the grass and gets up, quickly coming to his aid. Her tail erect, starts to mob it, giving spit calls. She stays farther back though, as the venom could kill her pups.

Bravo responds immediately and starts to mob it as well, coming to the front.

Tank is positioned at the front of the mobbing with Bravo, making spit and growl vocalizations. Occassionally, he'd boldly lunge at the deadly serpent, endeavoring to inflict injury to compel it to retreat, but by making physical contact with the snake, Tank is putting himself at risk of being bitten if he isn't too conscientious or quick enough to dodge a defensive venomous bite. Apparently, he has no regard for his own safety. He's one who would willingly take fangs or other predatory weapons to his body for his mob.

Bravo tries to lunge at the snake, but pulls back before it can bite him.

Linda squeezes in between the two, trying to get her own shot at it, but with extra caution.

Again, Tank lunges at the puff adder and nips at the snake's side. He quickly pulls back as the puff adder catapults itself forward in a bluff strike.

Bravo stays up at the front, using less caution than one normally would.

Linda moves back. She should stay out of striking distance altogther. She continues to mob it, but keeps her distance.

Josephine continued to groom Lancaster caringly. She had groomed his body several times whilst they had been sat on duty, and now she considered him to be the c'leanest' tick free kat in the Kalahari.

Tank boldly makes a lunge at the puff adder's head and slashes with the claws on his left paw at its face but misses by merely an inch. He pulls back again to avoid being bitten. With his adrenaline pumping, he wants to see just how far he can push the puff adder's tolerance.

Unaware of his brother, along with Linda and Bravo, mobbing a deadly puff adder back at the foraging party, Lancaster is enjoying the sanitary grooming Josephine is giving him. It's helped to get rid of many ticks and flees he's picked up over the last couple of days. He keeps up with grooming Josephine, returning the favor by ridding any ticks or flees she may have in her fur.

ooc: I plan for Tank to be bitten by the puff adder then he'll go missing while the Willows are making their way home.

ooc- Okay. When would he return?

ic- Linda tries to mob the snake, but can't see anything. Bravo's in the way.

Bravo continues to make spit calls, unaware that he's blocking his sister.

Leon joined in the mobbing and growled at the snake.

ooc: He'll return after the next RP day.

Tank lunges at the puff adder while emitting vicious toned spit and growl vocalizations. He's so pumped up on adrenalin that one can easily see the fur along his back is bristled considerably and the muscles in his extremities are bulged. He gives the puff adder a cuff over the head with his claws. The venomous serpent responds with a hiss of aggitating. It's patience is starting to run thin. If using its venom supply is what it'll take to succeed in warding off these pesky meerkats then the puff adder supposes it has no choice but to resort to that drastic plan of action. It coils tightly, prepared to strike at the meerkat who lunges the closest.

Bravo makes a strike and nips the snake. He pulls away and barely escapes uninjured.

Linda can't get past the other mobbers.

Suddenly, the puff adder catapults itself into the congregation of meerkats and plunges its venomous fangs into Tank's left side. Feeling the serpent's virulent subtance flood his system, Tank's pupils dilate with horror and he becomes lightheaded from the shock rapidly setting in. After the serpent extracts its fangs from his flesh, Tank staggers back before collapsing to the ground on his side, stunned.

Bravo sees Tank fall but keeps mobbing the creature. He'll check on him later.

Linda doesn't see Tank get bitten. Bravo is still in the way.

Tank slowly sits up on his haunches then struggles to his feet, swaying a little as he works on stablizing himself. He staggers back dazed and in shock. Everything happened so fast that it takes a while for him to realize that he's just been bitten by one of the Kalahari's most toxic serpents. Feeling pulsating burning pain radiating from the left side of his torso, Tank's gaze is drawn to the 2 puncture wounds, his heart sinks, knowing he must have a massive dose of venom inside of him. He collapses to his haunches in excruciating pain and shock. He fears for his life as he starts to feel the effects of the large dose of venom that has been injected into his body.

The mobbing starts to work. The snake begins to head away in the direction opposite of the burrow. Bravo pursues it until it's out of sight.

Linda stops, seeing it get chased away, and their job done. She looks around, making sure everyone's okay, but notices Tank acting strange. She chirps, asking if he's alright.

Tank bends his head over, pressing his forehead against his belly as he hunches over. The pain becomes even more unbareable as the effects of the puff adder bite intensify. He looks up weakly at Linda still in shock. He's too dazed and in too much pain to respond.

Linda gets worried when he doesn't respond. She comes to the other side of him to see the bite mark. He's been bitten. She quickly rushes to his side, peeping nervously. She barks, calling out to the others that Tank's been bitten.

Bravo comes back from his pursuit of the now gone puff adder. He hears the bark from Linda and comes over, quickly realizing Tank's been bitten. He remembers Tank falling over after a strike while they were mobbing the snake. It must have gotten him.

Tank peeps softly expressing his pain. He lifts his head back up trying to stay strong through the pain so he can continue foraging but this is something he's never experianced before and fears it could get a whole lot worse over next couple of days. He attempts to get up but ends up staggering to the side and falls landing in a slanted sitting position. He's just too weak to resume foraging. What he should really be thinking about now is resting.

Linda sits by Tank's side, whimpering. Meerkats seldom survive a full dose of puff adder poison. They should get back to the burrow, but Tank might be too weak to make it back. She tends to the snake bite on Tank's side, trying to help in any way she can.

Bravo stands, keeping watch as they help Tank. He fears he may lose his newly obtained friend.

Tank jerks slightly from the pain as Linda starts to groom his snakebite. He smiles greatful for her nurturing concern. He remembers it wasn't too long ago that he was there for her when she was nicked on the side by the cape cobra. He was there by her side constantly making sure she pulled through the ill effects of the venom and it seems this time she's returning him the favor.