[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Umeme chuckled at Marini's comments. Deciding to let Ubawa free, she let him go, well, she stopped bathing him, but kept him in between her paws. "You know Marini, staying clean and pouncing are two mutually exclusive things." The young lioness just stared back in confusion, causing her to laugh. "It means that you can't do both at the same time."

Muroki, with his lower standards, finished cleaning Marini and now was good a time as any to head out. Leading the four of them, Umeme began to walk in the direction of her parent's den. There was one thing about this where Muroki was right: she really was looking forward to being alone with him.

---

Delano just rolled his eyes. While he knew that Lina was just teasing and being Lina, the lack of sleep meant that his temper wasn't the best. "You call just about everything cute or adoring, Lina. What makes me so different than that tree we passed that other day?" It was almost as though he didn't realize that Akili was awake, despite Lina very much cleaning him. "It would be nice if you called me something else as well."

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini giggled loudly as her mother gave her an explanation. "But that's the whole point, mommy!" she said as the four of them began making their way towards the residence of her grandparents. "First I'll show them how clean I am and then I'll show them my pouncing!" she explained, confused at how the greatness of her plan wasn't obvious to the lioness. "And then I'll need another bath!" Perhaps she could use Ubawa as a target so that he would need another bath as well.

~ ~ ~

Lina, continuing to bathe Akili, replied calmly but with a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Such as being unaware of your own surroundings?" she asked, clearly not liking the way Delano was raising his voice in front of their son. "But I suppose a tree is just as oblivious." she added.

"What's cute about a tree, dad?" asked the cub innocently, wondering what could possibly be adorable about a tree. The tall ones were definitely cool, yes, but cute?

[DGFone]

Umeme eyed Marini with a face that told the daughter that Umeme was not entirely impressed. "So that's how it is, is it?" She knew that Marini enjoyed baths, but if she would start to willingly get dirty just so that she can be cleaned again... "You know, us adult lions don't have someone else to give us a bath. Most of the time we have to clean ourselves, but when we get too dirty, there's another way." Grinning, Umeme knew that Marini would most likely not enjoy what she was about to tell. "There's always jumping into a river to get clean that way. I think you're big enough now to try that out."

In between her paws, Ubawa found it quite amusing. "You should really try that, Marini! Cold water cleans you up very well!"

---

Delano let out a defeated sigh. "There's nothing cute about trees, Akili," he muttered and rolled away from them to his side. He wasn't feeling very well right now, so trying to argue with Lina will end badly. He didn't miss her tone that told him she didn't approve of his temper, so why make it even worse?

"Feel free to take Akili out today. I'll stay here for now." Perhaps he will even be able to get back to sleep.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini was rather taken aback by her mother's suggestion. "And if I don't get dirty on purpose?" she asked hopefully, before looking at her brother with a sly grin. "Let's find out together, Ubawa." If she were old enough to try jumping into a cold river, then so was he.

Muroki, meanwhile, was finding the little argument of his cubs to be rather adorable. While his daughter often gave off the impression that she could barely see past her own nose, she was actually pretty clever for her age. "Yes, 'Rini, if you don't get yourself dirty just for the sake of a bath." he said, feeling like giving her some reassurance. "Our day doesn't have to revolve around constantly keeping you clean, you know."

"Do you give each other baths?"

"N-no, Marini, we're adults." He was about to say something else in the defense of his and Umeme's privacy when the den of Umeme's parents came into view. "Here we are." Sure enough, the cubs squealed in excitement and ran forward.

~ ~ ~

Realizing that Delano was having one of his bad moments again, Lina let the matter drop. Her mate clearly needed some time to calm down, so taking Akili out sounded like a nice idea. It would also give Delano an easier time going back to sleep, and fatigue was obviously the main reason he was agitated. "Come on, Akili." she said with a smile. rising to her paws and walking towards the entrance of the den.

The lioness couldn't help but giggle as her cub eagerly followed her. She nuzzled him as he rubbed himself against her leg. "Where are we going, mom?" he asked, sounding excited.

"It's a surprise."

[DGFone]

Moto was talknig with Fadhili when he was interrupted by a pair of familiar sounding screams of excitement. Glancing up, sure enough, there were Marini and Ubawa running towards them as fast as they could, Muroki and Umeme behind them, taking their time. "Well look who's here," he said quietly, and then raising his voice, "Marini! Ubawa! Come here you two overgrown balls of fluff!"

The two cubs ran towards him and his mate, and ran into a hug from both. "So how are you two?" Moto asked, "Not getting into trouble with your parents, I hope." It didn't look like they were, which was always good. When Muroki and Umeme finally came over, Moto asked them, "So what brought you two here?" Focusing on Umeme, he added, "your mother was beginning to worry that you forgot about us."

Umeme felt herself turn red. "I didn't forget about you, mom and dad," she defended herself quietly, "it was my idea to bring them here today."

---

Hearing Lina and Akili leave, Delano tried to quickly sound like he wasn't in a bad mood. "See you two later! And behave yourself, Akili!" When they left, he let his head collapse on the den floor. The combination of fatigue as well as feeling very restless was just about driving him insane at the moment, so in many ways, he was glad that Lina and Akili had left him alone, no matter how much later on he would want to be with them.

[TheWhistlerify]

Having too been unable not to notice the rather loud ruckus caused by their grandchildren, Fadhili beamed at the sight of Ubawa and Marini eagerly running towards them. She embraced the cubs alongside her mate, finding it absolutely adorable how the two were so excited to see their grandparents. "What a pleasant surprise!" And an unexpected one, too. Sometimes she really would get the impression that her daughter and son-in-law were forgetting to bring the cubs over. Of course, as the two's grandmother, she wanted to see them every day, but it's not like she was asking for that much.

Muroki would have shot his mate an "it was your idea but you wouldn't have thought of it if I didn't want to spend some time alone with you" look but he held back from doing so. It was true, though. "Well, you know how hard it can be to be away from these two." he said with a smile, chuckling at how his son and daughter were showering the older lion and lioness with their tiny displays of affection. "We always find it so difficult to hand them over."

"Well if that's the case then you could always stay here with us." said his mother in law innocently, though she spoke rather quietly and the cubs failed to notice. She, however, did notice the pair slightly tense up and look at each other for a brief moment. She had them now. "I'm sure the cubs would love that."

Then, noticing her look down at Marini and Ubawa, most likely with the intention of proposing the idea to them, Muroki quickly said "We barely bring them over... We don't want to get in the way..." It was true. It's not like he was lying that him and his mate being there would get in the way of her and Moto spending some quality time with their grandchildren.

"Nonsense, I'm sure Marini and Ubawa would love that." continued Fadhili, still smiling.

"Uh... We insist..." What about their, well... plans?

"You will also bring them here more often." she suddenly said, looking at the younger lion and lioness. "Won't you?" It took all of Muroki's self restraint not to blush like crazy as it finally hit him. Oh. Good. Lord... In front of his father in law, too?! Really?! This had to be a new record for embarrassing. He wished the earth would just swallow him right then and there. Perhaps Moto wouldn't realize what his mate obviously has and was taking advantage of. Maybe he was too busy with the cubs and not paying any attention...

[DGFone]

Knowing that the cubs were watching, Umeme tried her best not to look too embarrassed. Putting on a straight face, she said. "Alright, yes, we can bring them here more often." Trying to turn the attention on her parents, she then added, "you know, if you like to spend time with the cubs so much, we could have come here sooner. All you need to do is ask." She eyed her parents, but Fadhili specifically. "Right mom?"

Ubawa, clearly not understanding what was going on, didn't know that the adults were talking about something completely different. "Yeah, we love to visit you, grandma!" He motioned at Umeme. "If mom says that you just need to ask, I don't think mom and dad will complain. Right?"

Umeme grinned. "Of course not, dear."

[TheWhistlerify]

Not too imressed by her daughter's words, Fadhili did her best not grin or chuckle in a way that night make the cubs too suspicious."Oh, but we do ask, Ubawa." she said with a small smile, gently bringing the cub closer with a paw as he purred at the attention. He was simply too cute for her to handle.

"Do you, grandma?" asked Marini, taking a short break from wrestling with her grandfather's paw. When the older lioness nodded in approval, the little cub giggled and looked at her parents. "Why don't we come here more often?"

"I don't know, sweetie." said her grandmother, smiling ever so teasingly. "That depends mostly on your father." Muroki felt the heat climb to his cheeks, and hoped that it wasn't showing.

"How come?"

"It just does, dear."

The cub giggled again. "Daddy, you're so silly!" She then playfully pounced at her brother. "Like Ubawa!"

Muroki, meanwhile, was obviously growing more and more uncomfortable by the moment. He wanted nothing more than to leave, because the teasing of his mother in law has officially reached a new level. "S-so, uh... W-when would you like us to pick them up?"

"Oh, Muroki, do take your time... There's no rush..."

[DGFone]

Noticing that Muroki was close to getting ready to panic, Umeme decided that it was a really good idea to leave. "Okay then, if you want us to take our time, then I think we won't make any plans just yet about when we'll come back." She noticed Marini light up immediately. "Except that it will most certainly be in time for us to come back home before dark!" In the meantime, she was busy glaring at her mother the entire time, jsut to make sure that Fadhili knew that Umeme was not in a teasing mood. And then just one last thing, so that the cub won't get suspicious. "We need to catch some food anyways, and now I won't have to leave Muroki to watch over you two, so he can help me. But behave yourselves, or we won't be coming back here more often!"

Bidding their goodbyes, Umeme and Muroki left the den. When they were far away enough, Umeme let out a frustrated sigh. "I didn't know mom would go that far!" she complained, "and in front of the cubs too! Some nerve!" Then to Muroki, she said, "since we actually do need to catch something, how about we do that first. I can use that to burn off some temper."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki was more than glad to leave the presence of his mother in law. At least Moto hadn't joined in on his mate's teasings, so Muroki could at least try to hope that the older lion hadn't been paying any attention to the conversation. "Well, at least she didn't say anything they're too young to hear..." he said, trying to find some comfort in that fact. It was obvious that he, too, was just as dumbstruck at how far Fadhili had taken it this time. At least it was behind them now, and he was certain that the older lioness would listen if they asked her later to at least not tease them in front of their cubs.

Deciding to forget about that for the time being, he turned his attention back to the subject of getting some food. "Alright. We could do that first." He wouldn't mind eating something before starting their day, and they'd be able to take the remains to their den so that both them and the cubs wouod be able to eat from it later as well. Now all they had to do was find something to hunt. Muroki was hoping that this would help him take his mind off of his embarrassment.