[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Delano let Lina count to three before he finished the count for her. "Go!" Together, they tore off in the race. As expected from someone who did far more hunting than he did, Lina was faster off the start, and was able to maintain an easy lead. Too easy. "Come on Lina!" Delano gasped as he struggled to stay behind her. "Since when did... you get so fast? That's... not... fair!"

Lina didn't reply, and didn't fall for it either by slowing down. If Delano wanted to get past her by the time they would get around the water hole, which was for some reason now far smaller than it looked just moments ago based on how far they had already gone, then he had to do it the hard way.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina knew that she would naturally be the faster one right off the bat, being smaller and lighter than Delano was. However, it wouldn't be long before her mate would start to catch up, although she could present him a challenge in doing so. "Everything's unfair to you!" she exclaimed teasingly. True, her head start before really was cheating, but it still seemed as if the lion said that a little too much. "Or did I just tire you out too much a few minutes ago?" As she asked this, she stole a quick glance at him and shot him the most teasing smile she could manage, knowing that this comment wouldn't go ignored.

[DGFone]

Delano's eyes widened at Lina's last comment. "Alright, that's it!" She was asking for it now. Even if it was going to be hard to do, he forced himself to run faster so that he can finally get in front of his mate, to show her that no, she did not tire him out because of what they had done earlier. Slowly gaining on her, and now by her side, he allowed himself to grin as he got closer and closer to leading in front of her.

Then, just for fun, he changed direction to run a little to the side - down the slope of the oasis towards the water below them. He didn't want to run into the water, just right up next to it on the bank. And when Lina followed him, he knew that she agreed enough with this change of plan to go along with it for now.

[TheWhistlerify]

Her mate's reaction to her little remark made Lina burst with laughter. Hadn't they been in the middle of running all over the place, she might have ended up rolling on the floor laughing. A part of her was disappointed that she hadn't seen his face just now, not to mention that she'd clearly given him motivation that was most likely going to cost her the entire race, but she wasn't regretting anything at all. After all, her goal was to have fun, not win. True, winning was fun, but enjoyment could be achieved by other means as well. Chuckling to herself, she continued to run alongside Delano as he changed course, running on the shore. The option to surprise-push him was even more tempting now, but she decided to wait and see if she really wanted to do it or not.

[DGFone]

His confidence completely regained now that he was in the lead, Delano allowed himself the luxury to turn his head around and tease Lina in turn. "See what happens when you don't cheat, Lina?" he asked, a wide grin hiding the fact that he still in the end had to work hard to stay in front of his mate, "you can't beat the greatest lion ever!"

In a show of pride, he held his head a little higher than he would normally want to so that Lina could see just how confident he now was. That also meant that he was no longer looking at her, and more importantly - what she was about to do. So it came as a complete surprise to him when he felt one of her paws right in front of his, causing him to stumble. The next thing he knew, Lina used her weight to expertly guide him to the side, and before he could prepare himself, he crashed into the water with a yelp of surprise and fright.

[TheWhistlerify]

[spoiler]Alpha and Omega reference? :p [/spoier]

Truth be told, Lina had actually been about to abandon her little idea of tripping Delano into the water but, when her mate then added that boastful remark, along with that grin of his as well as the way he held his head up afterwards, the temptation grew to a level she just couldn't resist any further. So, easily executing her evil master plan, the lioness came to a halt by the water's edge closely to where the lion had met his so called demise. She waited for him to resurface, holding the air inside her lungs as best as she could, before losing control completely as Delano's head finally appeared. As a sign of sympathy of some sorts, she jumped into the water as well, embracing him and licking his face in order to control her giggling.

[DGFone]

Spoiler: show

Not when I started the post, but yes.

Breaking through the surface of the water, Delano wasn't entirely sure whether to be angry or Lina or to join in with the laughter, due to just how much her tripping him had frightened him. Therefore, he din't really need to fake anything when he shouted back at her, "Lina! What did I just tell you about trying to murder me?" He moved his head to the side when she splashed into the water next to him, but instead of attacking him, she embraced and licked him, calming Delano down.

"Okay, perhaps I did deserve it," he muttered sheepishly when he was able to overcome the shock of being shoved into the water, "not entirely... Just a little."

[TheWhistlerify]

Still as amused as ever by the way her mate was acting, Lina took the liberty of ceasing her display of affection when Delano calmed down from her 2nd attempt at supposedly ending his life. "A little?" she asked teasingly, raising an eyebrow in a way that made it very clear that they were not on the same page in that regard. "If you say so, Mister Greatest Lion Ever." With a playful giggle, she gave the male another quick lick across his muzzle before separating from him and swimming towards the shore. The best thing about being wet was lying in the sun in order to dry off afterwards (unless Delano had another idea that involved water, in which case getting dry now would be rather pointless).

[DGFone]

With a sigh, Delano followed Lina to the shore, laying down next to her. "Oh, and you think I deserved that more than just a little?" he defended, "do care to explain then." He ignored his very embarrassed ears, knowing exactly why Lina insisted that what she did. She did just repeat him for a reason, after all...

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina smiled when Delano decided to simply join her on the shore, nuzzling the lion as he lay down by her side. She chuckled and playfully rolled her eyes as he then insisted to get an explanation from her as to their little disagreement, even if the look on his face suggested that he already knew more than well what her reasons were. "Well you were just asking for it with all of your boasting, weren't you?" she asked teasingly, giving her mate a quick lick across his muzzle.