[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Smiling at having Lina accept her offer, Umeme gave her sister some time to wake up some more before walking outside with Lina in tow. As they passed Delano, she thought about whether it would be a good idea to take him as well or not. However, seeing Muroki outside watching over the cubs, she thought that he can keep an eye on his brother as well.

"Muroki dear, would you mind watching over the cubs as Lina and I go over to the king?" With Muroki already knowing why they wanted to go, she doubted that he would need much convincing. It would be better if one of them stayed behind with the cubs rather than taking them along. "And we left Delano inside the den. I don't know if you'll need to watch over him as well or not..." Umeme took the fact that Delano only looked tired as a good sign, rather than him losing his mind again from a lack of rest. "We'll be back soon then."

Giving Muroki a nuzzle for goodbye, Umeme also added, "I'll make it up to you later, all right?" Turning towards the direction to where the king would be, Umeme began to walk. "Come on, Lina! The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you'll get to sleep!"

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki had hoped to get a more proper explanation as to just what was making his brother and sister-in-law so sure that Sanders was still a danger to them (because, as certain as Lina was about what they'd seen, he himself hadn't been there to share the sight with the two). But surely, once everything was brought up in front of the king, Lina would realize that she was mistaken and put that silly matter to rest already.

He doubted Delano needed anybody watching over him so he quickly made up his mind to stay outside with the cubs so that Delano could rest. Perhaps, if the two hairballs became too bored or curious about their cousin's whereabouts, he'd wake Akili up so that the three could play together. The younger cub was bound to wake up on his own sooner or later anyway. "That sounds nice." he remarked with a grin in response to his mate's comment before turning his attention back to their daughter and son as she left with Lina.

[DGFone]

Leaving Muroki with the cubs, Umeme lead Lina towards the king's den. As they walked, she was able to tell that her sister was still very much uneasy about the whole ordeal. She at first thought of trying to calm Lina down again, but knew that there was nothing she would be able to say that will change Lina's mind. She will have to let the king do that for her. But as they walked some more, she felt like she really needed to say something.

"Listen, Lina, about seeing Sanders... Are you really sure that it was him? Where did you see him that you are so sure that it is him and not someone else?" From what she could remember of Sanders, the lion did not have much in terms of unique visual characteristics, and for the most part, looked like an average lion. Somewhat on the larger side, but still very much a normal lion.

[TheWhistlerify]

As they walked, Lina was carefully trying to think of what she'd say to the king once they got to the royal den. Because she wasn't going there to get reassurance. No. She was sure of what she'd seen and her goal was to not make the king think that she was just imagining things. So that he'd do something about it. But what did the lioness have other than the fact that she felt like it really was Sanders? Surely that wouldn't be enough for somebody who hasn't been there and saw it all like she had...

Her train of thought was then interrupted by her sister. Lina looked at her and nodded. "Of course I'm sure it was him." she said. Was that not obvious with how nervous she looked and what not? "Like I told you, we were running along the border when we saw him... But that didn't have anything to do with it... He just looked too much like him, and Delano thought so too..."

[DGFone]

While Umeme wasn't having any luck convincing Lina that what she saw was nothing, she herself was also not going to get convinced that it was Sanders. What Lina was telling her made it all too easy for her and Delano to confuse someone else. "Listen, Lina, you know that Delano was never really able to get over all of this... What I am saying is that, well, could he have jumped to conclusions after seeing someone who only looked like Sanders? Could both of you have jumped to conclusions?" If that was the case, Umeme was still understanding as to why Lina would get so worried: It was something they all feared in the end. Never the less, Umeme was still certain that Delano and Lina were getting worried over nothing.

They were nearing the cave where the king is at, so Umeme decided to allow Lina to take the lead. "Well, you know what you saw, so you should do the talking."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina really didn't need any reminder as to just how difficult it had been for her mate to get over the entire mess including the underworld and that Delano wasn't actually fully over it. She remembered all too well and, hadn't it been for her own presence there when Sanders was spotted, her opinion would have been just the same as her Umeme's. "I was there." she said eventually. Convincing her sister that she was right wasn't her top priority. It was the king's reaction she was more concerned about...

[DGFone]

As they walked over to the entrance of the cave, Umeme and Lina were stopped by the guards outside, although it wasn't anything they didn't expect. "Can you tell the king that we want to talk to him?" Umeme asked after giving them her's and Lina's names, "It's rather important..." She said this eyeing Lina, because while she didn't think much of this, she knew that Lina did, and would not be happy if Umeme didn't stress any urgency with this.

As one of the guards went inside the cave, most likely to tell the king that they were waiting, Umeme and Lina were left waiting outside, but hopefully not for too long.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina allowed her sister to do the talking when they arrived by the entrance of the den, mostly because she wasn't in the mood to talk much and wanted to get straight to the point but also because she didn't want any of the guards to wonder why she was so agitated and waste their time. Doing her best to stand still and not move about too much as they waited and waited, she almost ran inside when the guard returned and told them to enter.

The king was there alright, sitting next to another lion who Lina didn't recognize. However, the two weren't in the middle an important discussion because Kato's father appeared to be waiting for them. He smiled when they approached. "Ah, hello." he said, sounding as friendly as ever. The only time Lina recalled seeing him really angry was when he'd seen the clear lack of evidence for which Delano had been imprisoned for a long time during the trial. Compared to that, even Sanders's trial couldn't be considered as a time where he'd really lost his temper.

Waiting for her sister to get the whole greeting back and what not thing out of the way, Lina hesitated for a brief moment before finally finding her voice. "I, uh... I need to talk to you..."

Kato's father seemed confused as to why she was so nervous. "Why, I should be glad of your company. What can I do for you?"

[DGFone]

Luckily for Umeme and Lina, they didn't have to wait for very long. Still, Umeme was able to see that her sister was clearly very impatient about it, despite Lina's best attempts to hide it. So it was no surprise that when they were finally called in, it was Lina who rushed in first.

"Hello. Uh, Good morning your majesty," Umeme greeted the king, eyeing her sister who didn't bother with any sort of greeting. Well, Umeme couldn't really blame her, but at least Lina could at least try. "We wanted to talk to you about something... rather urgent. Lina, want to tell him?"

Umeme was able to see that the king seemed somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of needing to talk to them in private, most likely because of the meeting he was holding, but in the end, he nodded and motioned to a small inner cave where they can talk before leading them there. Sitting down next to Lina, Umeme let her sister do the talking for this part.

[TheWhistlerify]

After a few moments of trying to find the right words, Lina came to the realization that there was no supposedly good or better way of saying what she had to say. She needed to put things as they were; plainly and to the point. "You see, your majesty, Delano and I were running along the border yesterday evening..." Way to go. Surely the king took great interest in his subjects' jogs. But that would inform him where it had all happened.

"We saw this lion and..." The lioness was finding it harder to speak with every passing second. "I know this might sound ridiculous... Very ridiculous... But, to us, he looked a lot like... Like... We think it's Sanders..."

To say that the king looked very surprised was an understatement. "I am finding it to be ridiculous..." he remarked, not in a disrespecting tone or something else of the sort. "You do remember the trial, do you? And the verdict?" Not only had Lina been present at the trial, but she'd also come up and spoken in Hatari's defense.

"I do, but we both saw him..." said Lina with a look of uncertainty on her face. "And yes, I know it may seem like we overreacted to seeing a random rogue, but..." She fell silent.