[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

"Our waterhole?" Delano asked, his mind blanking out to what Lina was referring too. Based on her snort of surprise and what sounded a lot like disappointment, he had said something that he shouldn't have. Finally, he realized what she was talking about. "Oh, our waterhole! That place! Yeah, we can really go there," he said hurriedly, "it's been a while since we've last been there..."

He frowned, realizing that he couldn't remember the last time the two of them had been to the little waterhole that they had discovered together. "You think we should take Muroki and Umeme there as well?" Delano added, and received another paw to the nose, although this time much more gently than before. "Yeah, you're right, Lina. Just the two of us! Bad idea..." Delano grinned at Lina, chuckling nervously at having suggested of inviting someone else to a day they had just agreed would be only for the two of them.

[TheWhistlerify]

Honestly, just how flighty could her mate be? How could he possibly require any time at all to figure out just what she meant by "our waterhole"? Heck, sometimes Lina liked to believe that he was too distracted by her in order to think clearly, but she knew that a big part of it was because of Delano being Delano. In a way, as amusing and cute this often was, it could be just a little bit annoying at the same time. But, the lioness soon found herself chuckling as the lion suddenly got her drift and quickly agreed with her idea in order to make up for his delay.

Giving him a playful frown and another paw to the nose as he made his own suggestion, this time much more gently than before, of course, so to not repeat her earlier mistake, Lina decided not to say anything about her mate's silliness. "Then it's settled." she said, nuzzling him lovingly. Still, though, how could Delano possibly even consider suggesting asking Umeme and Muroki to tag along? A day just for the two of them was meant just for the two of them! Besides, Akili would be happy with having his grandparents' attention all to himself.

[DGFone]

Deciding to keep quiet otherwise he would prove himself a fool again, Delano sat next to Lina, allowing her to nuzzle him as he wondered just how in the world he had forgotten about that place. Well, the morning for him wasn't exactly the best one he had, with going over to Hatari and all, and he had other related troubles on his mind lately... So perhaps it was understandable that he wasn't completely himself, but Delano had sworn to himself that he would never forget about that place.

Well, as long as he remembered in the end, perhaps not recalling it right away was not the end of the world. Although now that he had thought about it... "Um, Lina..?" Delano waited for his mate to mutter a response to show that she was listening before continuing. "About this morning, and Hatari... so what are we going to do about it in the end? Do I just... not come along when you take Akili over?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Truth be told, Lina had completely forgotten about the whole incident with Hatari which, even though she hadn't been there, had taken place just that very morning. It had completely escaped her mind, what with them playing with their son and spending some well deserved time together while Akili was safe elsewhere. "I don't think that's a good idea..." she said eventually. "I mean... Akili and his cousins will eventually wonder why you're not coming with us..." This could easily lead to what they were all trying to avoid... "But, even if things didn't get better, you can stay calm enough around him, right" Surely Delano's visit to where the former member of the underworld lived didn't make things worse...

[DGFone]

Delano let out an uncertain sigh. "I... I don't know," he admitted, "after today, well... I think I will need some time before I will feel confident enough to go there again." He was starting to think that bringing this up was a bad idea as he felt his mood dampen. He really didn't want to tell Lina what had happened hat morning, but she had seen how he was when he came back, so he hoped that she knew not to ask.


"Look... if Akili asks to see him, I won't stop you from taking him. But... I would still like to not have to come along, at least for now. I'm sure I will be able to think of something as an excuse as to why I won't be able to be there, at least for one time." He looked at Lina, his gaze hopeful. "All right? Just once?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina looked slightly surprised to hear that, all of a sudden, while Delano hasn't had that much of a problem tagging along during those two times where the cubs were taken over to see Hatari, he now hesitated too much in order to join them. Well, yes, he's always been reluctant, but now it seemed as if he felt more than just uncomfortable about coming. "Okay, fine..." If her mate was suddenly feeling worse about seeing the former member of the underworld, then she wasn't going to force him into it. Surely Akili and his cousins wouldn't think much of not having him there for a few times. "Yeah, I don't think the cubs will be too suspicious..." As long as it wouldn't drag on and on... "Just... Take some time if you need it." She gave him a soft lick on the cheek before resting her head under his chin.

[DGFone]

Delano felt that he had disappointed Lina by telling her how he now felt. He just hoped that the next time they will have to visit the lion, that it won't be too soon, and he would finally be able to build up the courage to actually go there. He did wonder why she had sounded confused though: Didn't she remember what he had tried to do just this morning? Perhaps Lina did forget, and that was why she was confused about this new information.

However, as his mate placed her head by his, Delano felt some comfort come to him from knowing that she was still there for him, and that she wasn't going to force him to go if he really didn't feel ready to visit that place again. Wrapping a paw around her body, Delano hugged her lightly as he rested against her, letting himself relax in the comfort of her presence.

[TheWhistlerify]

As always, Lina began to purr uncontrollably when she felt Delano wrap one of his forelegs around her. There was just something about his embrace that always made her calm (snuggling and what not aside). Even if it was just the two of them, alone, not far from their own den and definitely not in some sort of danger, something about being embraced by her mate made her feel safe and protected. Not that she'd felt as if they were both in some life risking situation or something just moments earlier, but it still seemed to have that immediate effect on her. She was already starting to forget about what they were talking about or at least push it to the back of her mind for the time being. After all, there would be no point in discussing the unpleasant matter again until after their next visit to Hatari if not even after the one or the two that would follow. The cubs shouldn't think too much of Delano not coming along if it didn't end up happening more than a few times.

[DGFone]

Hearing Lina begin to purr brought a smile to Delano, but other than that, he didn't move any more. He liked sitting here next to his mate, and didn't see any reason to change anything in their current situation. The knowledge that they were planning to spend the entire day tomorrow together was also something he was rather looking forward to, and thinking about it...

...It felt nice to actually look forward to the next day for once. Sure, he really only missed a good rest the previous night because he was worried about what ended up being a horrible morning, but it still felt like such a long time ago...

"Hey, Lina, I was just thinking," Delano muttered dreamily, "tomorrow morning. How early are we planning to get Akili up and over to your parents?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Truth be told, Lina hadn't really thought about when they should take Akili over to his grandparents the following morning so that she and Delano would be free for the rest of the day. Well, the answer to that was rather obvious. The sooner they dropped Akili off the more time they'd have to spend together. She, however, being the heavy sleeper that she was and considering how she usually slept in, couldn't really be counted on in that regard. Her son and mate were almost always awake before her. The real question, though, was whether they should wake Akili up in case Delano ended up being the first one to open his eye after the night's sleep or whether they should let the cub wake up on his own.

Sometimes Akili was the first to wake up, but not always. Given how much he ran around and how exhausted he was to the point where he'd fallen asleep quite early, perhaps it would be a better idea to let him sleep for as long as his growing body required. Lina had a feeling that the cub wouldn't be the first one to rise the next day. "Akili's really worn out." she pointed out quietly. "I mean, when was the last time he'd fallen asleep so early?" That question didn't have an answer. The fact that their son has already been slumbering inside the den for some time was a first. "I think it might be a better idea to wait for him to wake up." As tired as he was, surely he wouldn't wake up before her... "As for me, well..." she chuckled sheepishly. "You know me. Wake me up once Akili's awake." Knowing the little hairball, he'd probably wake her up himself...