[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

As much as Delano would have liked to spend as much time as possible tomorrow with Lina, he had to agree with her that it would most likely be better to wait for Akili to wake up first, rather than waking their son up. "Yeah, we really ran him around today," he agreed with a slight grin, "poor guy didn't know what he had gotten himself into by insisting to run after us."

While it was amusing, Delano was also rather impressed by how much Akili had improved and gotten stronger compared to even not too long ago. Their son would not have been able to run as fast for as long as he had today back then, so even if he was so worn out that he was already in the den fast asleep, Delano still felt that the cub had accomplished quite a lot, especially for one still as young as Akili.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina chuckled slightly at Delano's words, feeling rather amused by them. They really did run Akili quite a bit, in a manner of speaking, even if he was the one who chose to chase after them. "Yeah..." she agreed. "Poor little fuzzy maraca..." In her opinion, the way their son was always trying to impress them, his father in particular, was very adorable. "You do know why he insisted, though." She really doubted that her mate didn't. His occasional teases showed that he was aware of the cub's little pride. But it's not like he ever took his little comments too far, so that was alright.

[DGFone]

Delano raised an eyebrow at Lina's question. Sure, he knew the answer, but he still felt like perhaps playing along. "Well of course I know, Lina," he replied, "but..." he grinned, "I would still like to hear it from you." He was very much aware of how much Akili looked up to him, after all, it sometimes made him feel very much embarrassed by how much Akili would go out of his way to make it seem like Delano was the best lion in the world.

While it made him feel very proud and glad to know that he was succeeding as a father, it also made him somewhat afraid of what would happen when Akili would realize that he really is not the perfect lion that the cub thinks he is. Delano didn't like hiding things from his son, but he also knew very well that some things, Akili just can't know. Not yet at least.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina couldn't help but playfully roll her eyes at her mate's little request. Of course he would like to hear it from her, with that smug, handsome grin of his... Giggling, she went ahead and did as she was told. "He was trying to impress you, silly." she said, licking him once across his muzzle. Sure, the cub was always thrilled to hear a compliment from her, but they both knew who he was really trying to show off to. That adorable little hairball... "I have a feeling he's going to get worse as he grows bigger..." Of course, she was joking by saying "worse", simply implying that their son would most likely get more competitive and what not.

[DGFone]

Delano pretended to be offended by Lina's last comment. "What do you mean by 'worse'?" he demanded playfully, "surely you mean that Akili can only get better, not worse!" As though in punishment, he reached out and gently pressed onto Lina's side until she fell over to the ground.

"You shouldn't go around and saying things like that, Lina," Delano teased, "you might give Akili the wrong impression. I'm sure you don't want that as much as as I don't." He pinned his mate on her back, figuring that he would only let her go when Lina would convince him that she hadn't meant that Akili behaving like him was a bad thing.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina grinned playfully as Delano began to tease her, letting out a surprised yelp when he suddenly rolled her onto her back and pinned her down. That handsome devil... "Well, surely, he's going to get better at running and what not." It was to be expected of a cub growing up, especially one as ambitious as Akili. "But the bigger he gets, the more he'll try to show off his stuff." She giggled playfully. That was what she'd obviously meant by worse. Not that she really believed it would be bad. "He'll tire you to death one day!" With that anything-but-serious threat, she wrapped her paws around her mate's neck and gently pulled him downwards, causing him to fall onto her. "Good luck with that!" she said, giggling as she licked the lion across his muzzle.

[DGFone]

Delano laughed at how Lina made it sound like having Akili no longer be a tiny push-over was a bad thing. "Ah, but won't that mean that you will actually have to struggle to outrun him?" he argued playfully, "I'm very much certain that he will tire you our long before me!" He winked at his mate, silently telling her that she would suffer the affects of Akili growing up before he would. "After all, compared to you, our little fuzzy maraca will not be so small and fuzzy in good time compared to me."

Pulling Lina into a hug, he rubbed his muzzle on her's. "It looks like you got the short end of the stick with this one, Lina."

[TheWhistlerify]

That was Delano alright. Always wanting to be the winner of their silly, absolutely pointless arguments. Yeah, this was actually happening. Apparently, they were now arguing over who would "suffer" more as a result of their son's competitiveness. "But don't you see it's going to work exactly the other way around?" she asked tauntingly as she returned his nuzzle while purring softly. What? Just because the subject of their discussion was dumb did not mean she couldn't enjoy retaliating as well! "He'll always want to compete with both of us. she explained. "But since I'll obviously lose first, as you've so kindly pointed out, he'll stop trying to beat me way earlier than you!"

[DGFone]

Delano simply shrugged off Lina's last comment. "Guess I'll get to enjoy the competition for longer then," he said simply, "I don't see how that's a bad thing." Grinning at his mate, he chuckled and nuzzled Lina. "Anyways, we still have plenty of time before that happens, so even you will have an easy time staying ahead of Akili."

He glanced in the direction of their den. "You know, it still feels just like yesterday that he wasn't even born then. It's amazing how fast time can go by sometimes." Looking back at Lina, he hugged her close to him. "Which is why I think tomorrow, I will make sure to make our day feel as long as possible!"

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina was feeling rather certain, should Akili remain just as excited and eager about trying to impress her and his father as he grew older and more capable of doing so, that Delano would end up tiring out rather quickly because of their son's antics. But, if her mate was so sure that he would enjoy the competition, she wasn't going to try and persuade him otherwise. Yes, it obviously wasn't a bad thing, but the little fuzzy maraca was sure to exhaust the older lion eventually. "Yeah, time really does just fly by..." It was a little difficult to believe that Akili had been smaller than he now was, even if that wasn't all that long ago at all. The lioness giggled and returned her mate's nuzzle, purring as he embraced her. "Well, I'm sure it will be absolutely amazing now that you've said that!"