[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Making sure that he was properly clean, Umeme finally let Ubawa free from her firm but gentle grip when his bath was over. Sure enough, he took no time at all in escaping her paws, just in case there was another spot that Umeme would find that would increase the 'torture' for even longer.

Having seen what Marini had done, Ubawa also half crawled, half walked over to Muroki and scampered up to the top of his father's mane. While he didn't grab onto an ear like his sister, the longer fur of their father's mane was a great and comfortable place to relax in.

---

Having finally caught a couple of rodents, Delano felt that he finally had enough food for Lina to return. Wasting no time to get something for himself, he didn't want to leave Lina alone for any longer, so he quickly turned and headed back to the den.

Walking quickly, he slowed down in confusion when he saw Lina outside, but with two other lions as well. Was that-? Yeah, that was Kato. But who was the other lion?

Still, with Kato there, Delano thought that it was simply a friend or someone that the prince knew, so he resumed his walk. Setting the food down, he grinned at Lina. "I'm back! It's not much, but I think it will do." He nodded at the prince. "Hey, Kato." However, there was the question about the other lion. "Uh, hi... Who are you?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki couldn't help but laugh a short laugh when he noticed Ubawa do his best to run away from his mother as soon as she finished giving him a bath. Just watching Umeme clean him up as he squirmed about was amusing enough on its own. He just couldn't get enough of how adorable their children were, so he didn't stop his son from climbing onto his head. Since his head was placed down on his paws, there was no need to help the cub make his way to the top.

Briefly running his paw through Ubawa's fur as he lay there and purred in content, Muroki looked at his mate with a sheepish smile. With their son resting on his head and with Marini standing on her hind legs while snuggling into his mane in order to be tall enough nibble on his ears, it looked like he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. "Good morning, dear." he said with a chuckle, knowing that he couldn't walk over to her because he was being held captive by the two little balls of fluff. "Slept well?" If his brother were in his situation... The very thought of it was laughable.

~ ~ ~

Despite having his patrol to complete, Kato was more than ready to nod his head in agreement to the older male's offer and tell him to leave. After all how long it could possibly take Delano to come back? And even if it did take too long, the prince knew he'd always be able to run a little in case he found himself in a hurry. However, before he could politely tell the older lion to beat it, Delano came over carrying a couple of rodents for his mate. Talk about the perfect timing.

"Oh, now I know why you seemed so familiar." said the lion all of a sudden as he looked at Lina, much to her confusion. "You spoke up at the trail, as did you." he looked at Delano, who he seemed to obviously recognize. "By the way, I've been wondering, how is that little friend of yours doing?"

Lina looked at Delano for a brief moment and then back at the lion, confused. "What, you mean..." Was he talking about Hatari? Well, she and Delano haven't seen him since the trial nor have they thought of him, but would it be a good thing for Hatari if somebody knew he was still around by the border? That is, in case this lion was talking about the former member of the underworld.

The lion seemed like he was about to say something else, but Kato cut him short. "This is my dad's new Chief of Police." said the prince, a slight frown on his face. "You were just leaving, weren't you?"

"Oh, right." said the chief, looking as if he'd just been reminded of something. "Places to go. Things to do. I'm a very busy lion, you know. Besides, I wouldn't want to make the boy even grumpier." Kato groaned with obvious agitation. "Thank you for a most interesting and pleasant conversation. I must be on my way now." He turned to take his leave. "You have my congratulations, Delano. You too, miss." It appeared he did not know Lina's name. "Tell your father I said hey, little prince. If you see him before I do, that is." After saying that he left without saying another word.

[DGFone]

Umeme smiled and nodded at Muroki. "Yeah, I have. How about you?" She found it quite cute how Muroki was not complaining about letting their cubs use his mane as a plaything, and even despite the fact that Marini was still chewing on his ear. Muroki wasn't complaining yet, but perhaps that might change soon when the cubs will start teething.

"Hey, want to stop by and pay Lina a visit? She said that she is expecting very soon, and I would like to be there, but I don't know about bringing these two along." Umeme doubted that the cubs would want to see their aunt give birth, or even be around the area when all the adults would be distracted. Plus, it could easily be dangerous, because so far, Umeme and Muroki had yet to take the cubs out very far from the den.

----

Delano watched the... new chief of police walk off, not knowing how to describe him. "What a strange lion," he finally said, "what was he doing here, Lina?" Almost forgetting that the prince was here, Delano wasn't aware of why Kato was here as well. "And what are you doing here, Kato? Nothing bad has happened, right?"

As far as he knew, there were no bad news that he should be aware of, and Lina looked fine. Was it about Umeme and Muroki? But then Kato wouldn't look... well, not calm, more angry, but not like he was here to bring bad news. And speaking of Lina... "Oh, and I caught you some food. It's not much, but I didn't think it was a good idea to stay away for too long. I hope it's enough." He dropped his catch next to her, and motioned that he wouldn't have any of it.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki chuckled to himself as Marini, having grown tired of chewing on his ear, began to half walk / half crawl her way elsewhere. "Last night was actually not as restless as the previous one..." he commented with a grin. Every once in a while he and Umeme would get a night filled with less interruptions, something which they obviously appreciated. He was about to say something else when he suddenly realized where his daughter had wondered off to. She appeared to have taken an interest in her father's tail.

He definitely understood why Umeme wanted to be there with her sister, but he too wondered whether it would be a good idea to bring Marini and Ubawa along. True, the cubs couldn't run off just yet and nothing bad should happen as long as he and his mate kept an eye on them, but they've never taken them that far from the den before. Also, would Delano be okay if his niece and nephew were just brought to his den like that? "Yeah, taking Ubawa and Marini with us might not be the best idea." he said. "But they might become hungry while you're gone." True, he would like to be there as well, but it's not like his brother was the one who was about to go into labor soon. So, if anything, he should be the one to stay behind with their cubs.

~ ~ ~

Lina also watched with some confusion as the chief of police left, not sure of what to think of what has happened in the past few minutes. He really was a rather bizarre individual. "He just passed by from the looks of it." she said, looking down at what Delano had caught for her. It wasn't much, but it would do for now. Besides, she really did prefer to have him come back to her side sooner rather than leave her on her own for longer. True, she did have Kato around, but Delano obviously hadn't known that while he was out hunting.

"Yeah, strange is one way to describe him..." said Kato with a roll of his eyes. "I just happened to pass by, I'm patrolling at the moment.

[b]"You don't seem to like him very much." Lina couldn't help but comment. That did confuse her a bit because, as weird as this lion was, he didn't seem rude or anything else of the sort.

"He always treats me like a little kid." said the prince. "I mean, like you guys sometimes do, but not jokingly... Kind of like he's looking down on me all the time." He looked at the direction the chief had wondered off in, frowning. "Besides, I just can't help but feel uncomfortable whenever he's around, regardless of that. I don't know how to explain it..."

Deciding that it didn't matter very much, Lina smiled at her mate and gave him a loving nuzzle. "Thank you for bringing this for me..." she said, referring to the rodents he'd hunted for her. So far this was looking like one of those days where she was relatively calmer in comparison to others.

[DGFone]

Truth be told, Umeme wanted Muroki to go with her, but the more she realized that he too wouldn't have much to do. So it only made sense that he would stay behind with the cubs while she would go on her own. As much as she didn't particularly like the idea, Umeme knew that it was the best. It wasn't like she was going to trust someone else to watch over Ubawa and Marini. Perhaps her parents, but they were too far away. "Alright then," she told Muroki, finally relenting to the idea, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

She got up to leave, giving both her mate and the cubs a nuzzle of goodbye. "Now you two behave," she told the two newest family members, "don't chew up daddy too much. And listen to everything he says." She waited for them to nod their heads before she smiled, reassured that they listened to her and understood. "I won't be gone for too long. I'll be back before the sun sets at the latest." She just hoped that they won't get too hungry while she is gone. Or, she could come back in the middle of the day and leave again.

Bidding another goodbye to Muroki and the cubs, Umeme left the den, determined to get over to Lina's.

---

Delano was still watching where the lion had walked off to. "He does seem to be rather creepy," he agreed with Kato. He was then distracted by Lina when she finally seemed to notice the food he brought her. "Oh, it was nothing," he muttered sheepishly. And it really was: he could have spent much more effort trying to catch something bigger, but decided not to.

Turning his attention back to Kato, he asked, "So how did that lion get the job? Does he know your father or something like that?"

[TheWhistlerify]

While Muroki would have obviously preferred to tag along and check up on his sister in law, even if it did mean taking Marini and Ubawa along, but at least he had the two cubs to keep him company until their mother would return later today. If there was anybody who could make a day without his mate by his side bearable, it would be their children. "See you later, Umeme." he said with a smile, returning her nuzzle before watching her take off. He then looked around as his daughter continued to chew on his tail.

Deciding he might as well make things more entertaining for her, he started to flick it about randomly, forcing her to chase it around. She seemed to enjoy pouncing at it as if she was hunting. The lion then brought a paw over to the top of his head, smiling as he ran it through Ubawa's fur. His son seemed quite peaceful and quiet. Too quiet, perhaps. But, knowing how much of a handful the two siblings could be when they combined forces, Muroki wasn't going to complain.

~ ~ ~

Kato shrugged his shoulders once at Delano's question. "I suppose. He must have already been highly ranked in the police back when Sanders was in charge or something like that..." He doubted his father would have picked some random lion without prior experience for a job as important as that. At least, it seemed logical to think about it that way. "I haven't really worked with him yet, or with the police in general for that matter. I suppose he gets his work done because he's been in that position since the underworld has been disbanded. At the end of the day, that's what's important. Even if he is annoying..."

Lina smiled as she gave Delano a quick lick of gratitude across his muzzle before lying down and grabbing one of the rodents he'd caught for her. Surely his catch, despite how small it was, would be enough to last until later today when somebody else would be around - be it Umeme, Muroki or her parents - meaning that she wouldn't be left alone in case Delano had to hunt for her again. "That's true, Kato." she said, taking a bite. "Besides, like you said, he hasn't worked with you yet. I'm sure he'll treat you differently once he gets the chance to do so."

[DGFone]

Bidding her family goodbye once more, Umeme finally left the den and hurried off. She didn't know when Lina might go into labor, so she wanted to be by her sister's side as soon as she could. If around the middle of the day nothing will happen, she will relent and run back to check on the family, but now that Lina was so close to giving birth, Umeme didn't want to spend any moments away from her sister that she didn't need to.

---

Delano frowned when Lina and Kato got into the topic of the police. For obvious reasons, he didn't like to discuss such matters. Still, finding the irony in what Kato and Lina were talking about, Delano felt like adding his own opinion to it. "Most of the poliece are up to no good anyways," he grumbled quietly, but loudly enough so that they can hear, "the less you have to deal with them, the better." He didn't want to explain why exactly, but just mentioning his opinion made him feel a little better.

Sure, perhaps insulting the police might not be the smartest of ideas, but it did make him feel rather cheerful. A little bit of harmless revenge for almost getting killed by them. No harm done, right? Delano grinned widely at Lina and Kato, just to make sure that they understood that he was fooling around.

[TheWhistlerify]

While Kato was aware that Delano had had some involvement with disbanding the underworld as well as of the fact that Delano had worked for the police once including everything the organization had ended up putting him through because of Sanders's made-up accusations, he was quite unaware of the details. Still, he couldn't help but chuckle at the older lion's remark. "Yeah..." he said, looking down at the ground. "I wish we didn't need them to begin with..." Rubbing the back of his head with a paw, he looked back at Delano. "But we do live in a very large pride so it's hard to keep track of everything that's going on here."

A short silence followed as Lina took no part in the conversation, still eating what her mate had brought her. "So, um..." said the prince at some point. "How long's it going to be now?"

Swallowing what was in her mouth, the lioness looked up at the younger male with a smile. "I dunno. It could be in an hour. It could be tomorrow." she shrugged her shoulders. "It could even be in exactly 5 seconds." Falling silent for a few moments, she then giggled "Or not." before resuming her meal.

[DGFone]

Delano simply shrugged at the prince's comment. "Yeah, well, maybe that's why mom and dad didn't live here." He looked thoughtful for a moment, thinking of what it would be like to live with Lina away from all of... this. But at the same time, he wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not. As far as he knew, most lion prides lived without such a complicated system in place if not flat out on their own, but at the same time... living alone did get his parents killed.

Lost in his thoughts, he was barely able to catch what Lina was telling Kato, but what he did overhear brought a smile to Delano. "We're just waiting for the moment now," he also added, "it's why I chose to catch her these snacks over here over taking more time getting a proper meal. I simply don't want to spend any time away from her that I don't need to."

"Lina! Delano!"

Delano turned his head and saw Umeme running towards them. Muroki wasn't with her, but she didn't seem to be worried. "Umeme? What are you doing here?"

Umeme grinned at Delano. "What do you think I'm doing here? I came to see how my sister is doing. So how are you feeling, Lina?" At this time, she also noticed the prince there. "Oh, hey Kato. Didn't expect to see you here."

Spoiler: show

Guess who is able to use a laptop? Because I will be mostly hiking and stuff during the vacation, I won't be able to post often, but at the very least, I think once a day is feasible.

[TheWhistlerify]

Deciding to not discuss about the police any further, not only because he didn't feel like it but also because he didn't want it to somehow get Delano too emotional about his parents, Kato decided to drop the subject entirely. "That's great. I'm sure you're both really excited." It was nice to see Delano smiling at the fact that his mate was supposed to go into labor soon. He was definitely not as nervous about the whole parenthood thing as he'd originally been. "Oh, hey, Umeme. I was just passing by on a-" he paused, face-pawing. "Oh dear, the patrol! I have to go! See you later!"

Lina chuckled to herself as she watched the prince run off. "Silly Kato." she said, looking up at her sister with a smile. "I'm feeling perfectly fine." Taking another bite from what Delano had caught for her, she swallowed before continuing. "Just waiting things out now, it seems..." She chuckled somewhat nervously, rubbing the back of her head with a paw. "So, um... I see you left Muroki alone with Marini and Ubawa. I sure hope they don't drive him nuts while you're gone." It was clear from her tone that she was joking. Also, she knew that, so far, her brother in law has never been really angry with the cubs before. As a matter of fact, she doubted it would even be possible for her niece and nephew to somehow get on his bad side.

Spoiler: show

That's neat. I'm currently waiting for a bus to the south. I take it the flight went well?
Also, how many cubs do you think Lina should have?