1x2 A Final Breath

The day starts normal, the sun rising, the members of the Currents family one by one emerging to enjoy the new day of the harsh Kalahari desert. But all is not well, and by the end of the day, the family will be without one of them.

Meet The Currents
Zaphora, Dominant Female
Walker, her partner and Dominant Male
Gwen, rebellious,
Adalla, Loyal
Thing one and Thing Two, the Twins
And the curious pups

Walker and Zaphora are busy grooming, or sharing affections in the rising golden sun of the desert. A week has passed since the first visit to the family- Zaphora's three pups, Azura, Acacia, and Marley are growing strong below. Marley is the only male and by far the largest of the litter. Acacia is quite and weak. Zaphora is worried she won't survive much longer. One pup already died in this litter, Zaphora doesn't want to loose another.
Adalla is loosing weight quickly. She's often staying behind to provide milk for the three new pups below ground. She is lactating from a litter she had concieved a little bite over two weeks ago, which her Mother killed, being so close to the birth of her own precious pups.
Willer stands sentry. He is the youngest member of the group, only seven months, with his sisters Cally, Snowdrift, and Silver. He's still making a strong reputation as a good sentry, but he's thin and not very fast.
Zaphora stands and suns herself after the morning grooming session with her partner. She lets the sun warm her slender belly before issuing lead calls, ordering her family to head out for breakfast. She heads out into the desert, her family following in a straight line, Adalla included. Trixie and Silver will babysit today.
Walker is facing problems of his own- Zaphora is able to mate again, and he wants those pups to be fathered by him. He's stuck at the back of the foraging line. he can't get anywhere near his mate. He trusts some of the older males to defend her if he can;t be there to do so, but it doesn;t put his nerves to ease. He doesn't know that he shouldn't be worrying about being the Father of her next pups today.
Meanwhile, straight ahead of the fastly moving Currents is one of their many neighbors, the Skeletons. This mob is a large mob, larger than the Currents. The Currents don't often visit this border, which gives the Skeletons way to the territory. The Skeletons are thick skulled and sly. They will sneak away territory for themselves any chance they get.
Dominant Female Lalidia watches the area closely. She's thinking of taking it for herself and her family. Her stomach is slightly bulged, a sign that she's pregnant again. Every meerkat in this mob besides her mate and Dominant Male Jackson are her children. Lalidia's sly and greedy mob has been around for much longer than the Currents. They have a larger territory and more members.
Zaphora stops at a foraging patch that she seems to like. It's filled with flowers of the wet season. The greenery doesn't tower over the foot tall family, which gives them a good advantage point to scan the area for danger. Zaphora drops and finds a spot to dig. She starts to work her front paws furiously, working at something delicious tucked in the dirt. The group instinctively start to fan out around her to find breakfast for themselves. Zaphora is foraging right in the middle. A relief for Walker, who shouldn't need to worry about rovers when his mate was right in the center of the group.
Pluto stands sentry on a fallen log. He's known for having the eye of a sentry. He stands on his back legs and scans the surrounding desert. he doesn't see anything unusual until he looks to the border with the Skeletons. He issues loud and urgent alarm calls, alerting his family that their rivals are lurking inside Currents territory. And it seems like they mean business.
Many heads bob up at once from the foraging meerkats below. They all bunch their mussels, preparing to bolt if a threat is nearby. but soon it becomes clear that it's a threat they should be able to handle- the Skeletons.
Zaphora's furious. She's had enough of these rowdy neighbors. They've had many fights with them recently, and have lost territory with these rascals. She barks, telling her group not to run. She's arrogantly determined to teach this mob a lesson. She begins to wardance, but stops after about five yards, waiting to see what the Skeletons will do next. Walker hisses beside his mate. He doesn't want to loose sight of her if they go into battle. Even though most of them will be fighting, a male might take his chance from the rival group...
Suddenly the Skeletons start to wardance back. they stop after their own display and acrobatics and wait for Zaphora to make her move. The hot headed female doesn't wait, and charges straight for the larger mob.
The two rival families plow right into each other. Meerkats tackle each other, jaws snap, claws slash, all hell breaks loose. This is a fight for territory. Whoever wins this fight will get a great stretch of the territory. The Currents are smaller than their tricky neighbors, but are feisty and more hot headed than the Skeltons, who are greedy and secretive. Walker slams into Jackson, who was already busy fighting off Pluto and Saturn. Pluto whimpered and darted away from the larger male, his cheek gushing blood. Saturn snarled and bit Jackson's cheek before Walker barreled the male away from his son's grip, sending the male's blood rocketing through he air.
The fighting goes on. Zaphora beat up one of Liadila's daughters pretty bad. She shouldn't have been fighting. He belly was swollen almost to the bursting point.
Seemingly just as quick as it had begun, the battle was over. The Skeletons retreated, defeated. They headed back. Liandila's pregnancy might be endangered if they kept fighting the violent battle, and many others of her mob had suffered painful wounds. Zaphora barked with victory and scent marked the new land. Walker joined his mate, and soon the territory officially belonged to them. Zaphora, proud, issued more lead calls. It was getting late, and she needed to get home to feed her week old pups.
Upon returning the injured mob is greeted by the shocked babysitters. It was an uneventful day at the birthing burrow, but it had clearly been violent for the rest of the family. The Currents sit and begin to groom each other while Zaphora heads below to feed Azura, Acacia, and Marley. Walker sits off to the side, quietly looking over everyone, checking to make sure everyone was accounted for. the victory had come at a price. Back at the battle field lay Willer, only seven months old, dead. Slain in his first battle.