[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Listening to what Hatari was saying, Delano was very much disappointed when he was told everything that he had basically heard before. It was because... he was hoping that Hatari would say something that would prove him to be a monster once and for all, to give him an excuse to attack once and for all.

However, Hatari didn't say anything of that sort, leaving Delano feeling lost. What did he want to get out of this anyways? This time, his emotions did finally get the better of him. Unable to stop himself from crying, Delano just about forgot that that he wasn't alone, too held up by the memories going through his head. Once more, the overwhelming loss and ache for his parents left him completely immobilized, curled up into a tight ball from the hurt that he had kept within him for so long that was let loose by today's meeting with Hatari.

"You killed them-" he whimpered out, not out of anger, but out of this very same grief, "what did they ever do to you? Why?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Hatari felt anything but better when when Delano lost control of himself and started to cry. There was probably nothing he, the very lion who'd taken part in orphaning him, could possibly say in order to rectify this - not even to get him to calm down. Why should Muroki's brother listen to any excuse or comforting words the killer of his parents had to say? "Because I was an idiot." he eventually said, head hanging low. "I thought I had no choice." He remembered saying something of a similar nature to Delano before the trial, telling him never to believe that there wasn't a choice because there always was one. Delano and Muroki's parents had never done a single thing to him. He hadn't even met them once before the assassination nor were they even from the kingdom Sanders was planning to take over...

[DGFone]

As though suddenly remembering that Hatari was near by, Delano forced himself to calm down. Somehow getting his emotions under some sort of control, he uncurled himself, but remained laying down on the ground. "There is always a choice," he said bitterly.

He tried to get up to walk away, but found it too difficult to walk any more than a few steps before having to lie down again. He was so emotionally drained that he even didn't have any physical strength left. Hearing Hatari walk over as well, Delano let out a low growl. "Don't come any closer! Stay- stay away."

[TheWhistlerify]

Hatari let out another sigh and slowly nodded his head as Delano either intentionally or unknowingly went ahead and quoted what he had told him before the trial. "I know..." he whispered, perhaps too quietly for Delano to hear him. When Muroki's brother got up and slowly began to walk away from the waterhole, the former member of the underworld also stood up and followed just as cautiously, coming to a halt as the other lion lay down and growled at him, warning him to stay away. It was impossible for him not to notice just how fatigued he looked.

So, after a short moment of silence, Hatari spoke up again. "I have some leftovers from yesterday..." he offered. Well, yes, Delano was definitely in an emotional frenzy, but it also looked as if he really was physically drained. Looking around, he spotted a sort of half a fruit shell. Since Muroki's brother had walked a little away from the waterhole... Filling the 'bowl' with water, the former member of the underworld set it down in front of Delano. "You look exhausted. Here, have some water."

[DGFone]

Delano looked up at the water filled shell, not knowing if this was supposed to be some sort of trick or not. Hatari sounded sincere, but he didn't know what to think right now. Glancing nervously up at the lion, Delano hesitated before reaching out with a paw and dragging the shell over to him, bringing the water close and drinking it up.

He was feeling very confused right now. He was lying on the ground, very much vulnerable, next to the lion who had murdered his parents, and yet... he didn't feel like he was in danger. Finishing the water, he placed his head back on his paws, feeling completely sick due to his confusion. Surely Lina wanted to have him come here to try and improve things, not... this.

Curling up into a ball once more, Delano hoped that the confusion and shock would go away soon enough, and he would be able to leave and get back home, to the security and comfort of his den, where Lina and Akili would be waiting...

[TheWhistlerify]

Hatari had actually strongly believed that Delano would refuse to drink the water brought to him, even expecting the lion to claw the bowl away or something of a similar nature. He was genuinely a little surprised when Muroki's brother went ahead and drank what was in the bowl, even though it wasn't unpredictable that he would do so very reluctantly. Feeling himself yet again at a loss for words when Delano curled up into a ball once more, the former member of the underworld headed into his den for a few seconds before coming back with a small chunk of meat that remained from something he'd hunted yesterday.

It definitely wasn't sufficient for a meal, but it could help Delano feel a little better. Even if not, Hatari very seriously doubted it would make things worse. "Here." he mumbled through the food he was holding, placing it down in front of him. Now that Muroki's brother had calmed down, perhaps this was a good opportunity to try striking up a conversation again. However, Hatari hadn't the faintest idea as to what the two of them could possibly talk about. He didn't want to accidentally make Delano angry again. It seemed like everything he had to say ended up leading to that same result...

[DGFone]

Unlike with the water, Delano didn't move towards the meat when Hatari brought it over. While the smell did remind him that he was rather hungry, he simply wasn't in the mood to eat the small meal. Remaining in the ball as he was before, he didn't move even after he heard Hatari walk away.

Eventually though, his mood began to lift slowly, allowing him to uncurl slowly. Eyeing the small bit of meat, he still decided not to eat it. It just... didn't feel right. Letting out a sigh, he got up and picked up the meat. Looking around for Hatari, he spotted the lion resting nearby beside a tree. Walking over, Delano dropped the remains next to Hatari before backing away a little bit and sitting down. "I'm not hungry," he mumbled, right as his stomach growled in protest. Normally, he would have been rather embarrassed by this, and while now he still partially was, he simply ignored the feeling.

[TheWhistlerify]

Unable to think of anything he could say that wouldn't possibly have any disastrous consequences, as well as remembering how Delano had initially asked him to stay away, Hatari decided to listen to Muroki's brother for a change and give him some space. He lay down in the shade of a nearby tree to allow Delano to eat peacefully and without being constantly watched. The former member of the underworld was about to tell him that eating something might make him feel better when he returned the meat to him but, as if right on cue, Delano's stomach suddenly growled. Hatari would have to be entirely deaf in order to fail to hear that.

So, eying the meat for a brief moment and then looking back up at the lion in front of him, Hatari allowed himself to snicker ever so slightly. He was moments away from making a random joke and saying that it wasn't poisoned or anything, followed by him taking a bite himself in order to prove his point, but he didn't know how Muroki's brother would react if he did and decided to not take any risks, not when Delano was finally starting to get more comfortable. Instead of saying anything that might be really foolish, he simply shrugged his shoulders a little. "Well, it's here in case you change your mind." There simply had to be something they could talk about that wouldn't remind him of his parents or of the 'inner assassin' that might suddenly try to hurt the ones he loved. Talking about anybody close to Delano seemed to have that effect...

[DGFone]

It was obvious to Delano that Hatari had heard the proof that he was very much hungry, he still didn't want to touch the meat. For some reason, it felt strange to even think about doing that. Even with the knowledge that Hatari wasn't going to take the meal back, Delano still didn't want to eat it, no matter how hungry he felt.

Still sitting, he simply stared at the other lion, trying to say something. However, much like Hatari, he simply couldn't come up with anything to say. His emotions were still far from normal, and while under control for now, he felt like saying something wrong would easily cause him to lose control again. So he simply sat there, waiting for something that even he didn't know what, with Hatari staring back in silence as well.

[TheWhistlerify]

To say that Hatari was finding the situation to be very much awkward would be quite an understatement to say the least. There he was, sitting face to face with a lion who was anything but fond of him and was only there because his mate believed that them talking about something would help ease the tension between them. Well, the former member of the underworld also thought that the only way for them to get "better" at interacting with one another was for them to practice it, in a manner of speaking, but that didn't make things any less weird than they obviously were.

As he continued to sit there without saying a word or even doing anything more than breath and blink, Hatari was still unable to think of something they could talk about that wouldn't potentially get Muroki's brother to lose his cool again. But, after a few more moments, he finally came up with something. It wasn't really a subject for conversation, but perhaps it could work. "You know," he said, "there's an amazing view from the top of the tree." He gestured at the tree he often napped on with with a paw. It was quite tall. "You can see the entire kingdom from up there, it's quite marvelous." The former member of the underworld had no idea whether Delano was fond of sightseeing, but surely this wouldn't get him agitated over his parents again. Worst case scenario, he'd just say he didn't want to climb it or that he was afraid of heights. Or whatever else...