[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

As he continued to play with Akili, Delano for some reason started to feel rather paranoid, as though someone was watching him. Looking around, he didn't see anyone, but the feeling didn't go away because of that. When Akili was finally able to catch his paw, mostly because he wasn't focusing on keeping it away from the cub, Delano realized that he really should forget about that feeling.

He did find it ironic that the same day after he struggled to get Muroki to calm down from his own paranoia, that Delano himself was now acting differently for very much the same reason. Resuming the little chase between Akili and his paw, Delano hoped silently that Lina would come back soon, and help elevate at least some of his worrying.

[TheWhistlerify]

Akili, obviously not focused on anything besides his father's sneaky paw, obliviously carried on with his little game, gently nibbling on one of Delano's "fingers" upon successfully catching the paw as result of the lion's lack of awareness. The cub also didn't think much of it when his father then easily freed his paw from his grasp and restarted the chase, once again not allowing him to catch up to it. This just carried on and on for some time, until the little hairball seemed to have gotten bored.

Coming to a halt, Akili stared up with Delano with his big, innocent eyes. "Dad, I'm hungry..." Has he already forgotten that his mother had left earlier, saying that she was going to go get some food? Well, no, he wasn't that inattentive to what was going on around him (most of the time), but perhaps his father knew when Lina would be back. As a matter of fact, it was quite a surprise that he was only complaining now, seeing how he hasn't eaten at all since the previous evening. Letting out a small yawn, the cub curled up into a little ball of fur between the lion's paws.

[DGFone]

Looking down at his son, Delano didn't really know what to say as Akili curled up between his paws. "Well... you're mother is getting food right now, Akili," he finally said, "The'll be some when she'll return. I guess you'll just have to wait until then." While Delano had expected the cub to complain about food a while ago, he was still surprised to hear the complaining start now of all times.

Placing his head down next to his son, Delano could only wait for Lina to come back, hopefully after a successful hunt. While it was very likely that she might come back without having caught anything, he didn't want to have her need to go hunt the next day again just so that Akili can eat.

[TheWhistlerify]

Akili must have dozed off despite his hunger because he remembered snuggling closely against his father's muzzle and the next thing he knew, he was being nudged awake by his mother and being told that there was food. Normally he was very sleepy upon being woken up, especially if it wasn't in the morning, but the word "food" got him up alright, much to the lioness's amusement. At least falling asleep made the waiting short, something Delano in particular was probably glad about the most. Cubs sure could get loud when they were hungry.

Having already torn off the skin at one area in order to give her son an easier time because of his still developing teeth, there really was nothing to delay Akili from digging in right away. After calling her niece and nephew over as well, Lina went ahead and settled down next to her mate. The amount of meat the cubs would eat really wasn't going to amount to much, which only meant that the dead zebra should pretty much suffice for their parents as well. Even if they all wouldn't entirely have their fill, it was more than enough until the morning when hunting again would become an option.

That is, if the others were hungry as well. Lina herself felt like she wouldn't mind helping herself once the little ones were finished and she saw no reason for Delano to not be having the same thoughts. The last time he'd eaten was along with her their son, in the previous evening. While he wasn't a cub, he was also bound to be hungry again by now, not to mention that he was in a much better mood so his appetite was most likely normal as well. Umeme was probably not going to protest either, but the one Lina was unsure about was her brother in law...

[DGFone]

Delano was also in the process of falling asleep when Lina came back, and he looked up eagerly when he noticed her coming back. While the sight of a zebra was something to see, seeing his mate looking no worse for the wear was what really allowed him to finally relax. As much as he tried not to be concerned about her, he still did, and now that she was here again, he was able to let go of the worrying.

Letting the cubs get at the meat first, Delano was content to let Lina sit down next to him and wait for the little ones to have their share. "I'm glad you're back," he told Lina as he gently nuzzled her, "I guess I was more than a little worried about you." Especially with it now rapidly getting dark, he didn't want to have had to worry about her through the night.

With Lina having come back with a fresh kill, Umeme felt like it was time to wake her own mate up. "...Muroki? Wake up honey," Gently nuzzling him and licking his muzzle, she slowly prodded him into groaning awake. "Lina came back with some food," she added after waiting for him to wake up some more, "I thought you might be hungry." Plus, it would most likely be a good idea to relocate somewhere warmer for the night, so having Muroki wake up while there was fresh food was most likely better for his mood than to wake him up after the meat was gone.

[TheWhistlerify]

Feeling more than content with simply lying closely to her mate as they watched the cubs eat, Lina purred softy when Delano nuzzled her, happily returning the gesture. "Oh, you shouldn't have." she said, almost dismissively. "As you can see," she added, a little playfully, "I'm fine." In her point of view, the lion was just being paranoid. After all, as far as she was concerned, there was no longer any potential threat to them now that Sanders was truly out of their lives.

Muroki, who was still sleeping soundly and peacefully at his mate's side despite all the noise the cubs had made around him throughout the majority of the day, naturally felt somewhat annoyed at having his rest interrupted. The fact that he'd been awake for over two days straight before finally being convinced to settle down lead to him still feeling quite drained, and it took him a few moments to fully regain his bearings.

When he did, though, the first thing that caught his attention was the fact that Marini and Ubawa were no longer in the spot where they had been playing when he'd gone to sleep. Quickly looking around, though, he soon relaxed when he saw them eating along with Akili just a short distance away, next to his brother and sister-in-law. They were okay... Looking back at his mate, he gave her a slow nod. "Yeah, I am..." he said softly in response, placing his head back down on his paws as he watched the three little ones have their fill. He really did feel somewhat hungry. Not as much as he probably should have been considering when was the last time he'd had any food, but still hungry.

[DGFone]

Delano found it odd how lightly Lina was taking the whole situation, but he really didn't have anyone to blame for that but himself. He had chosen to keep her in the dark about this other lion that was now causing both him and Muroki to behave rather irrationally, and so of course he found unusual that Lina wasn't. Well, now that she's back... "I'm just glad you're all right," he replied, "even just going on a hunt can be very dangerous, you know that."

While he was feeling rather hungry, he was still waiting for the cubs to finish up, and wasn't going to actually hurry them along, even if he really wanted to let out a nice growl to get them to move away from the meat, which was emanating a very tempting smell. But he wasn't like that, and instead settled to staring at the kill hungrily, waiting for his turn.

Seeing that Muroki was still very tired, and if not a little grumpy, Umeme felt it best that he wouldn't move for now. Moving over to the kill, she tore off a sizable piece and took it back to her mate, placing it down next to him. "Here you go, this should make you feel a little better." She grinned at him, but inside was still feeling rather nervous. "How was your rest?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina giggled slightly to herself at her mate's words, unable to not be somewhat amused by what he was saying. "Well, I appreciate the concern." she said, giving him a quick lick behind his ear. At the end of the day, it was true that hunting accidents could happen, even if rarely. Watching the cubs eat, the lioness easily noticed the way Delano was staring at the kill rather hungrily. "We can always tear ourselves a nice chunk if you're that famished..." she added teasingly.

Following Umeme with his eyes but keeping his head down on his paws, Muroki felt a small feeling of surprise go through him when she tore off a piece and brought it over to him. Usually they waited for the cubs to eat first before helping themselves to food, but perhaps she didn't want him to wait this time, something he quickly concluded from what she then said about hoping it would make him feel better. "Thank you..." he replied quietly, taking a small bite and chewing slowly before swallowing. His sleep? "It was nice..." And short. Mainly short. He didn't need to say that, though, because a loud yawn that then escaped his mouth conveyed the message.

[DGFone]

Delano grinned sheepishly at Lina, feeling somewhat embarrassed at being caught staring. "No, it's all right," he muttered, but then changed his mind when he saw Umeme do the same thing for Muroki, "well, sure, that will be nice." He waited rather impatiently as Lina went and also grabbed some meat for the two of them. It looked like somewhat of a small portion from his point of view, but he couldn't really complain about that. As be finally bit into the meat, he really felt like it had been ages since he last ate.

Settling down next to Muroki, Umeme waited to let him eat. She was glad that her mate was doing better, but she could still sense that he wasn't too keen on staying awake for now. "When you're done eating, we can move into the den for the night," she told him,"I don't think you'll mind." This time, he'll have the entire night to sleep through, so she was confident that Muroki would feel much better in the morning.

[TheWhistlerify]

After tearing off a piece of meat and carrying it back over to Delano, Lina settled back down next to the lion as he began to eat rather eagerly. "There's more where that came from, don't worry." she said with a chuckle, having noticed his initial expression as if she'd brought the two of them nothing more than the amount of meat that could be found on a puny little mouse.

There really was no need to worry about that. The cubs weren't consuming much, and a zebra was enough to at least make sure 4 adults wouldn't go to sleep hungry. She then joined him, also biting into the meat as she kept that in mind. It was really nice to be having a regular meal without having to almost force her mate to eat or to eat in an anything but cheerful atmosphere.

Slowly swallowing another mouthful of meat, Muroki stared at the food in front of him for a brief moment before looking at Umeme. The feeling of her soft fur against his was reassuring. It reminded him that she was there and not, well, anywhere else where there could be danger. "No, I probably won't." Being inside the royal den meant they would be much safer for the night. Also, it was a much warmer, more suitable place for the cubs to sleep in.