[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Delano didn't know how much time had passed since after he fell asleep, but when he woke up, Lina was still by his side. Judging by the fact that Akili wasn't around either, he guessed that not too much time had passed, but... better than nothing. "Lina?" He was able to see her react out of the corner of his eye, signaling that she was still awake.

Groaning, he slowly tried to get up, and finally succeeded after a few attempts. Despite the rest he still felt quite bad, although certainly better than in the morning after the sleepless night. "Come on, let's go get Akili..." he grunted. While he had missed seeing Akili meet Nyoka the first time, he could at least be there for part of this first day... even if he didn't feel in the best of shapes to do so.

---

Purring, Umeme allowed Muroki to pull her closer to him. "Yeah, today was really fun," she agreed, "I was beginning to forget how great it was to just have it be the two of us." She eyed Muroki playfully, "Remind me again why we chose to have cubs and force an end to that," she teased, "of whom speaking of which, we will have to very soon get back to the grind."

As much as Umeme enjoyed having Ubawa and Marini around, at the moment, she really did want to spend a lot more time alone with Muroki like before. Things are so much easier without the pressure of parenting and having to constantly watch over someone.

[TheWhistlerify]

Obviously glad that Delano had fallen asleep, Lina certainly did not expect him to wake up so quickly. He seemed rather tired when she'd arrived back earlier and, judging by the looks of it, he still was. While he did look a bit refreshed, she could tell that the short rest he'd just risen from hasn't been enough. Still, everything was better than nothing. "Are you sure you want to take the walk there?" she asked with a slight hint of concern in her voice, standing up as well.

Personally, she wouldn't mind if he came along. That is, if he was capable of doing so and was feeling well enough. "You don't have to if you're still too tired for it." she said softly, giving him a gentle lick across his muzzle. "I can bring Akili back on my own." However, the look on her mate's face informed her that he'd already made up his mind, so it looked as if discussing his choice any further would be rather pointless. "Alright..." Smiling, she licked him again. "Let's go."

~ ~ ~

Chuckling at his mate's teasing, Muroki gave Umeme a quick lick on the top of her head. Hearing her remind him of how it had been when it was just the two of them, before their cubs were born, kind of burned a little, in a way, but it also brought back some very pleasant memories. These memories were what made days like this one so much better. "Yes, the two little balls of fluff have become quite an inconvenience." he said, in a tone which showed that he was obviously kidding.

"Well, very soon is not now." Grinning flirtatiously, he began to gently lick and nibble on parts of her neck. He was rather fond of that area, and Umeme so far was proving to be fond of his fondness. "If you ask me," he said in between his affectionate gestures, "perhaps the reason we haven't left Ubawa and Marini under somebody else'e watch often so far is because we're still new to this whole thing, at the end of the day." It seemed to make sense. "I guess that, as fun as being on our own is, we prefer to always know exactly what's going on with them."

"But they're not nursing anymore, for example, and your parents or my aunt know how to take care of cubs. I think that we shouldn't have a problem taking some time for ourselves more often if we feel like it." Smiling, he withdrew from her literally vibrating throat so that he could look at her, giving her a quick kiss as he did. "So if you feel like a short break is needed, don't feel nervous about suggesting it." He grinned at her. "I know I won't."

[DGFone]

Without saying a word, Delano lead Lina outside the den, mainly because it took him most of his concentration not to stumble and fall over. Lina's offer of staying in the den and simply having her go and collect Akili did sound very tempting, but he really wanted to go and meet his son.

Stumbling on forwards, Lina was immediately by his side, allowing him to lean on her so that it would be easier to walk. Delano smiled at her, grateful for the help. As much as he would have preferred to be able to walk normally and unaided, he was not refreshed enough to so. "Thanks, Lina," he said, smiling at her to show his gratefulness. "I guess I'm not as well as I thought I was."

---

Umeme giggled and grinned back at Muroki. "That would be nice. Don't worry, I think we will be doing this more often." She shrugged a little. "Besides, something makes me think that the cubs also enjoy doing something when we are not around. I know Ubawa can always wait a bit longer until the next bath, for one."

Knowing that they still had a little bit of time left, she leaned back into Muroki's mane. "Eh, let's not talk about what we will have to go back to doing soon. Let's enjoy the time we have left together."

[TheWhistlerify]

In a way, Lina felt as if she should have known Delano would have trouble walking right away, but no harm seemed to have been done by the time she'd made her way over to his side so that he could lean against her for support. "Still tired?" she asked quietly as they made their way, hoping that this was the result merely of fatigue and not of anything else as well.

Sure enough, as was to be expected, the fact that she'd brought his father along earned her a very excited reaction from Akili, who immediately ran over to greet the two of them when they arrived at their destination. Laini was also surprised to see her nephew there, but it didn't escape her attention that he looked rather tired. "Hello, Delano." she said, giving him a quick hug. Looking on as Akili affectionately rubbed himself against her nephew's legs, she couldn't help but chuckle. "How are you?"

~ ~ ~

It was impossible for Muroki not to snicker as Umeme mentioned how much Ubawa most likely enjoyed getting longer breaks between one bath to another. That definitely sounded like their son, alright. "And Marini enjoys herself no matter where she is or what she does, really." he said, allowing the lioness to lean against him as he embraced her and held her close. Because of how energetic their daughter was about every single thing, it was almost next to impossible to tell whenever she was enjoying something more in comparison to something else.

Deciding to follow his mate's advice and stop talking, the lion let out a soft and relaxed sigh as the two of them lay closely together. True, they were just lying there without doing anything, but sometimes he valued those little moments of silence just as much. It never ceased to amaze him how they were able to enjoy each other's presence so much, even without talking.

[DGFone]

Delano was rather surprised at how excited Akili was to see him, not that he minded. "Hey! How's the little guys doing?" he asked as he sat down rather heavily. He hated to admit it, but the walk had proven much more difficult than he had anticipated, and he was now feeling close to being as tired as before he was able to fall asleep back in the den.

As Akili rubbed himself on Delano's leg, the older lion also found himself hugged quickly by his aunt. "I think I'm all right, Aunt Laini," he replied, struggling to hide from Akili just how tired he really was. "Couldn't sleep well, that's all." Although, mentioning sleep did make him think that perhaps walking back to the den wouldn't be such a good idea. It was so far...

---

For the remainder of the time they had together alone, Umeme and Muroki simply lay together in silence. It was great to relax like this, and Umeme was already starting to think of the next time they will take a day off like this. However, eventually, she was able to see that the sun was beginning to set, and they really needed to head out and collect their two cubs.

"Alright, Muroki, time to go," she giggled and licked his cheek when he protested over having to move. "Come on now, you don't want Marini and Ubawa to worry, do you?" Deciding to take the initiative, she got up and walked outside, waiting for Muroki to finally emerge behind her. Flicking her tail beneath his nose, she walked off in front of him, grinning as he finally realized yet again that he should keep up.

[TheWhistlerify]

Still smiling warmly at how happy Akili was to see his father, Laini also sat down where she was. "Nyoka's doing great." she said, briefly looking at her cub who was looking at them and, therefore, completely unaware of his father who was sneaking up behind him with a rather obvious intention. By the time Kasi figured he might as well warn his little brother, however, it was already too late. Giggling, she looked back at her nephew.

"You really do look very tired..." she commented quietly, wondering what was potentially causing Delano to have difficulty sleeping. However, knowing him, he was probably just as clueless. "Why did you come all the way here, then?" He probably wanted to see his son again, but he wouldn't have had to wait very long for Lina to fetch him on her own. "You look as if you won't be able to take another step."

~ ~ ~

To Muroki's annoyance and disappointment, the small amount of time they had left ended up running out rather quickly. Way too quickly for his liking, that is. Unless he and Umeme wanted to make the walk back with the cubs in the dark, which they didn't, they were going to have to head out very soon. Groaning in protest, but chuckling heartily when his mate gave him a pleasant lick across the cheek, he ever so reluctantly stood up as well before walking outside, coming to a halt next to her.

It was rather amusing how a day of doing next to absolutely nothing with Umeme had left him feeling worn out like that. As he yawned and stretched, his attention was again caught by his mate when she flicked her tail beneath his nose, reminding him once more that they should be going. Chuckling, he walked back over to her side so that they could walk together. On the bright side, he really was looking forward to seeing his cubs again. And to giving Ubawa a bath.

[DGFone]

Delano simply lay down on the ground where he had sat down, allowing Akili the opportunity to climb on his back, even though that wasn't what Delano's intentions were. "I don't why, I just wanted to come here, Aunt Laini," he replied, "I didn't think that it would have been so hard."

It felt so good to just lie here that he was already feeling himself starting to fall asleep, which was good news in his opinion because of how much he had been struggling to do so earlier. He could vaguely hear Lina and his aunt discussing something, but he was paying so little attention that all he could understand was a muffled echo from both of them.

---

As they walked back towards her parent's den, Umeme started to realize that they would most likely have to deal with her mother's teasing. Well, it's not like she can avoid it forever, and they did need to go and collect their cubs, so there wasn't a choice in this matter.

With the den appearing in sight, she hoped that perhaps her mother would at least tone the teasing down at least a notch because of the cubs. Even a little bit less teasing could be so much. Well, here goes nothing. "Mom! Dad! We're back! How are Marini and Ubawa? Did they behave?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Watching Akili climb onto his father's back enhusiastically, Lina's attention was soon caught by her mate's aunt. "I didn't think he was this tired when you told us that he hasn't slept much since yesterday..." she said, getting a nod in response from the younger lioness. Lina has easily noticed Delano's fatigue - it already looked like he was starting to doze off even with Akili running about all over him. Considering how lively the cub still was (even if he would lose his energy very soon and become sleepy), that was quite impressive. "Perhaps you should stay here with us for tonight?"

Lina looked at Laini, obviously surprised by her offer. "Here? With you?" she asked, receiving a positive answer.

"He's exhausted. I don't think he would mind not having to walk all the way back."

Lina very seriously doubted that Delano would refuse to stay where they were, but... "We wouldn't want to bother you and Nyoka..." Just staying in Laini and Dakari's den, especially when considering the fact that they had Akili with them, sounded like too much to ask for.

"Nonsense!" said the older lioness with a smile. "What're you going to do, then? Carry him?"

Lina chuckled. While Akili would most likely find that funny, she knew that Laini was right. "Alright... Thanks." She was going to have to make sure that her son would behave and not disturb them during the night, of course. As for Delano, he already seemed like talking to him would achieve nothing. He really was worn out.

~ ~ ~

When Umeme and Muroki arrived at the entrance of the den they were looking for, they were greeted by Fadhili who came over to them. "Hey, you two!" she said, smiling broadly and giving the two a quick hug. "Did you have a good time?"

Muroki hesitated. Was this the start of another teasing spree? Was there a catch to the seemingly innocent and harmless question? However, looking at his mother in law, he couldn't see anything that might indicate she had any... bad intentions. "Um, yes, we did..." he said eventually.

"That's wonderful!" said the older lioness with a jolly smile. "I'm glad to hear that. Taking a break from the cubs sure is nice every once in a while." Chuckling, she turned around and began to lead her daughter and son-in-law into the den. "Don't worry about the cubs, they were just like angels! No trouble at all!" She laughed a short laugh as the sight of her grandcubs, as well as the mess they were making out of Moto's mane, came into view. "Marini, Ubawa! Your parents are here!"

As the two excitedly ran over to Muroki and Umeme, she went over to her mate and ran her paw through his messy mane once, holding back her laughter. Her granddaughter's excited giggling then reached her ears. "Now grandpa needs a bath, too!"

[DGFone]

When Delano woke up again, the different surroundings within the night time darkness confused him at first. While Lina and Akili were right beside him, the den didn't seem right. It was familiar, but also different than what he was used to... that was when he remembered that this was his aunt and uncle's den. Sure enough, the two of them were sleeping rather peacefully along the other end of the den, leaving the other half for him and Lina together with their son. For some odd reason, Kasi and Nyoka were gone, but perhaps they were simply spending the night over at his cousin's den.

For some reason, it felt really cold in the den, causing the lion to start shivering before he huddled up closer to Lina, desperate for her warmth. While it did help, it still felt very cold as he tried to get himself back to sleep. He really hoped that he wasn't coming down with something, because along with not wanting to deal with it, he really did not want to further burden Lina by forcing to have her take care of both their son and him at the same time.

---

Umeme was very amused at the sight of her father, but in order to turn Marini's comment at another direction, she said, "Dad doesn't need a bath. Just a few strokes with a stick will get him back to being clean!" Hearing this, her daughter shrank back rapidly, most likely not liking the sound of being 'given a bath' with a stick.

"Now come on you two. I know you had loads of fun today, but we really need to get going before it will get dark," Umeme added, sending Marini and Ubawa off towards Muroki who was waiting for them closer to the entrance. "Thanks for the help today," she then told her parents, "we also had loads of fun. Even caught a zebra that we can share with the cubs. It's not something they have often because one of us always needs to keep an eye out on them." She gave her parents a quick hug. "But Muroki and I really need to get going now. I guess I'll be seeing both of you around later!" With another quick hug, she trotted back to Muroki and the cubs. "Alright, let's go home."

[TheWhistlerify]

Smiling warmly as Ubawa and Marini ran over to him, Muroki leaned over and gave his two cubs an affectionate nuzzle when they rubbed themselves against his muzzle. Gently wrapping a paw around their little bodies as Umeme spoke to her parents, he licked their tiny heads once. "Looks like somebody had a good time today..." he said softly, grinning at the two little hairballs. "You did behave, right?" Chuckling as they quickly nodded with innocent smiles on their faces, he pulled them closer and nuzzled them once more. As much as he'd enjoyed spending some well deserved time alone with his mate, he was very happy to see their children again.

When Umeme trotted back over to him, meaning that it was time to leave, Muroki looked at his parents in law with a smile. "Thanks for keeping an eye on them." he said. "I hope they weren't too much of a pawful." Bidding the older and lioness farewell, he turned around and walked outside with his family. As they made their way home, with Msrini and Ubawa in front while arguing over something silly, he looked at his mate with a warm smile and briefly rubbed his head against hers for a brief moment. Their day had been absolutely perfect in every way.

~ ~ ~

As Delano kept trying to go back to sleep, his attention was suddenly diverted from his efforts when he felt something small and slurpy run across his nose. Opening his eyes, he saw his son standing in front of him and looking at him. "Dad?" Because of how small he was in comparison to his father, it was impossible for Akili not to notice the way the fully grown lion was shivering. "Are you cold?" The cub then nuzzled up to Delano, hugging his muzzle. But, of course, it hasn't occurred to him that he wasn't of much help as a result of him being so tiny.

Spoiler: show

I'm guarding from 21:00 to 01:00 this time, in case that's relevant.