Episode Three: Third Came Exile

Because everything came in threes.

Then seemed to be the peak of Sequoia's existence, suddenly dominant after barely surviving such a lowly existence within the Nebula mob under Astrael. Nearly all of the time when a low standing female meerkat gained dominance, it meant being permanently evicted and starting her own mob, and up-start mobs rarely survived past a few months, whether they disbanded or were killed slowly by starvation due to poor foraging conditions, or an insufficient number of meerkats to act as sentries on foraging trips causing gradual extinction by predators. But it took no struggle for Sequoia. Quill was out of the way, and if she returned, she would be chased off. Her former followers accepted Sequoia's place as dominant female but were frequently beaten to affirm their low place in the splinter group. The young female meerkat, now four weeks into her pregnancy, was displaying sufficient dominance to continue her reign. She lived well, and was not eager to regroup with Astrael. On that point, however, only Astrael herself could decide.

her's is the Nebula mob!
Astrael, the strict dominant female,
Bone, her feeble-minded mate,
Sequoia, our understated heroine,
Asiya, an unpredictable wanderer,
Grace, a female who sorely lacks her namesake,
Onestep, Sequoia's devious brother,
Many others,
and the Odessa mob, problem-posing opponents!
this...is the Story of Sequoia!

While the splinter group and their young leader lived well, Astrael's Nebula fraction suffered. She was a well affirmed leader, the mother of many in her mob and the splinter mob, and so faced no descent from Quill or the other subordinates, as Sequoia once had. Astrael was well aware that her daughter was pregnant, but did not evict her. Instinctively knowing this well could change, Quill instead kept low.

Astrael's latest litter, made up of one female, Auburn, and two males, Starling and Passerine, was now old enough to leave the burrow to forage. Regardless they were carried out by their scruffs; Idynn, carrying Auburn, slacked and dropped the pup halfway along to their currently used foraging patch. She struggled to keep up, and Astrael did not slow even as they came to their foraging patch. Their bolt hole was not fit for constant use. And now that they could, it was time for a move.

* * *

Sequoia seemed confident. She regularly scented and hip slammed Ashia, Rain, Leaf, Flow, Dawn, and even her mother Asyia whenever she came near to them in the foraging patch - though she didn't bother to chase them if they ran at her sight - and stole whatever grubs they had dug up rather than digging them for her own, as well stealing them from yearlings and even younger. There weren't any pups in the splinter mob, but when there were she would assure they were hers. It was a role far from what she was used to, and, as all meerkats ultimately would, enjoyed it, merciless for the low ranking females in the mob she now harassed.

Her brother Onestep had not lived such a lowly existence as his sister once had, and experienced little change in lifestyle after Nebula split, for better or worse. As dominant male was out of the question, he continued to live as any non-dominant male meerkat would within a mob, undiscriminated due to what he had done, who his parents were, etc. Only a virtually non-existent threat of eviction and the numerous risks of the Kalahari faced him, as always.
He was acting as sentry for the moment, balanced precariously on top of a dense, dead bush, peering out to the horizon, and glancing above for birds of prey. He was loyal enough about his duty, but gave up to instinct at seeing a lone female meerkat wandering the horizon. Onestep was the sort who would eventually become a rover, if only part time, and hadn't already simply because he was too young.

He climbed down his perch and ventured closer to her; she was moving towards him. Nearly everything behind her was obscured by mirage. She wasn't running away, and he gave out inviting chirps until he saw other meerkats walking behind her. First, a pup, stumbling along at her side. Then, a large male, a younger male carrying a pup behind him, and a mature female walking along by the older male's side. Lastly, two young females, one carrying a third pup, who ran up to the first female's side. There might of been more, but he bolted towards the foraging patch and the rest of the splinter group before seeing, giving off frantic calls of alarm. Sequoia, now emboldened enough to charge the strangers off their territory instead of run away, lead her group towards them. She ran in a threatening, leaping war dance, and the other meerkats joined in, until they recognised the scent of the strangers.

The first female was Idynn, along with her sister Augusta. Abandoning the pup Auburn, the pair ran towards the splinter group, but not in a threatening manner. The rest of the small Nebula fraction followed - save for Greensleeves, who gathered up Astrael's young pups and led them towards the splinter group more slowly. The meerkats of the splinter group dropped their war dance in turn - lastly Sequoia - and began grooming each other, the splinter group meerkats familiarising themselves with Astrael's new pups with sniffs. All save for, again, Sequoia, who dropped the role of dominance as soon as she had gained it, fleeing to the back of what used to be her splinter group, seeing Astrael and Quill among the group. Although she settled there, feeling it was safe, Astrael followed, pushing her way out of splinter group female meerkats desperate to regain their standing with the Nebula dominant female. Sequoia began backing away from her grandmother but was still followed until Astrael attacked. Many other meerkats followed to mob Sequoia. They were like sheep. Aside from a few - like Quill, and as of late Sequoia - they'd follow their leader's command, regardless of whether this leader was dominant female within their mob or not. And although many of the meerkats attacking her followed her in the splinter group, instinctively they knew that as long as she was alive, Astrael was truly dominant.

Sequoia slipped away from her attackers as soon as she could, not bothering to fight back. She ran towards the end of the foraging patch, hoping that they would accept her as long as she accepted her old role of sub-subordinate, but they continued to chase her until she left their sights.

She was evicted, for how long or for life depended on Astrael's decision. Although Astrael allowed Quill to stay in the mob despite her pregnancy, Sequoia herself had committed a far larger crime than simply baring pups, one that blood could not even save one from eviction.

At the beginning of the morning, Sequoia was at the height of her power, Astrael struggling as she hadn't before. Now, Sequoia was alone, covered with wounds received from what used to be meerkats of her own mob and Astrael again sole leader of one of the largest mobs in the area. She had no allies, not a single meerkat by her side.