[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Delano smiled. "You don't need to ask. You know I will spend every moment I can with you." He had a lot of things he wanted to tell her, but now was not the time for them. So he simply rested next to her, trying to ignore the ever rising feeling that this might be one of the last times he would see her.

Trying to clear his mind, Delano looked around. "This place certainly looks beautiful during the day," he said, "once you find the time to really look at it."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina found herself holding back a frown when Delano suddenly tried to change the subject by saying that the place they were at was beautiful. However, she ignored the urge to frown and smiled as well, also not wanting to dwell on the matter of him leaving any further. "It does." she said simply, before closing her eyes again. She couldn't help but hope that Delano would suddenly change his mind, but she knew that it won't happen. Instead of that, she hoped that he would return in one piece. It didn't matter to her when he would return, as long as he would comes back in one piece.

[DGFone]

Delano sensed that Lina caught his attempt to change the subject and did not like it. "I know you might be angry with me," he said, "and... I understand why. I wish that I wouldn't have to go... but I don't feel that it's safe enough to just wait for things to get better. I don't know if I will be able to handle it." He sighed. Even if Lina did understand why he needed to do this, getting her to accept it was another matter. "I want us to live peacefully, and right now, we can't do that. And the only way I know that we can do that is if I do something., and not rely on someone else..." He smiled a little. "And trust me, if somehow, it ends up that I won't have to go, I won't hesitate to stay with you. I don't want to do this, but I need to."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina let out a sigh. "I know, but I just can't shake off the feeling that I might never see you again if you go..." she admitted, even though she hated saying that out loud. Losing Delano has probably been her greatest fear lately. The same thing about her sister, but Umeme wasn't planning to go on a suicide mission like Delano was, and it didn't seem like she'd decided to do something like that any time soon. "Just... Take care of yourself and come back one day." that one day, she realized, could be any time. But as long as he came back safely, she would be happy.

[DGFone]

Delano felt like he had won Lina over, and she agreed with him. But it was a bittersweet victory. "You don't have to tell me to return," he said, "you know I will." He breathed into her fur, wanting to take in as much of her scent as possible. He could only imagine what being alone for the first time in his life would be like, and he wasn't eager to experience it. But if anything could keep him from going mad, Lina would be it.

He reached out and hugged her, not wanting to let go. "We might only have a few more days together," he told her, "I'm going to miss you." Delano saw that nearby, Kasi was trying not to laugh.

[TheWhistlerify]

If Lina also saw Kasi, she wasn't letting it show. She was too focused on Delano to care about anything else right now. She wanted to take this unknown number of days they had left and squeeze them like an orange until there was no juice left, as in she wanted to spend every single moment of those upcoming few days with him. "I'll miss you too..." she said softly, closing her eyes and resting against him. She then got an idea, "Hey, can we go to our special spot?" she was referring to the spot they found by accident a few weeks ago, the one they also shared with Umeme and Muroki. What would be the best place to spend those precious moments if not there?

[DGFone]

Delano hesitated. He loved the idea of spending the time with Lina by their waterhole, but he wasn't sure if Kasi was going to be alright alone. "Uh, hold on," he told Lina and walked over to his cousin. "Kasi, Lina and I, we want to go somewhere on our own, so will you be able to take care of yourself all alone? It might be better if you head back inside..."

Despite laughing at them just moments before, Kasi knew how much this would mean for both Delano and Lina. "Sure, I'll go back inside," he smiled, "besides, the others might want my company. Enjoy yourselves while you still can." He said as he got up and went back inside the den.

"Thanks, Kasi." Delano smiled as he walked back to Lina and gave her a quick nuzzle. "Ready to go?" He asked.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina smiled at Kasi as he left, "Thanks." after returning Delano's nuzzle, she looked at him with a smile, "He seems to be feeling better now." it could be just her imagination, but he didn't seem as depressed as he was before they left. "Alright, let's go." she said, giving him a loving nuzzle before beginning to walk alongside him. She wanted the next few days or hours to be their best so far and the place where they first spent time together on their own would be the best place to do so.

[DGFone]

Delano felt his spirits lift as he walked next to Lina. Next to her, he was even able to forget that he will have to leave Lina soon. "I'm so grateful that your here," he told her as they walked. "I have something to look forwards to in the future, and now."

He was so lost in his thoughts, that he was rather surprised at how quickly they came to the waterhole. "Look, just as we had left it," he told Lina, smiling.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina smiled and giggled at what Delano said, "Oh, that's so sweet of you." She was now more than certain that she would be fine while he was gone. As long as there was hope that he'll come back for her one day, she had a reason to be happy. When they arrived at the waterhole she went ahead and looked at the view before nodding in agreement at what Delano said. "It is." returning to his side, she pushed him over onto his back and lay down beside him, nuzzling him as she did. She didn't want to waste a single moment.