[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

"I don't know," Delano said truthfully. "As often as I can..." He hoped that that meant at least every day, but he was seriously doubting it. "I don't even know how often I'll be able to get close to here." He sighed, and placed his paw on the ground, and then scratched out the print that he left. "This will mean that I won't be able to talk to you," he said quietly. "I hope that I'll never have to sue this."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina looked at the new scratches and then at Delano, "You mean, for a while, right?" she didn't want to see a shape which would mean she would never see him again. Then again, Delano might be able to tell when he will not be able to leave a message for a long time but he won't be able to tell whether he will be able to come back one day or not. The only reason for her to be worried was if she sees this mark and then doesn't get a message for a long time or, even worse, when she doesn't get a message without Delano telling her that he won't be able to leave any messages.

[DGFone]

Delano nodded. He was so afraid of the concept of not being able to be with Lina again, that he refused to even think about it. "Yeah, just awhile... Not forever." He then scratched a heart next to Lina's. "But this one is my favorite," he said, smiling, "because I love you too." He leaned against her, purring contently. "I think we'll be seeing a lot of those hearts," he said, smiling.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina smiled, also leaning against Delano. "Yeah, me too..." she giggled, "Or maybe not... I don't think I can give you those hearts because you stole mine." she said in a joking manner, nuzzling him while purring. She tried not to think about the fact that Delano would leave at one point and instead tried to focus on the moment and enjoy it. She wanted this moment to last forever.

[DGFone]

Delano grinned. "I didn't steal them," he said, and encircled the two hearts, "See? You and me, together. Always." He hugged Lina tightly to him, not letting go. And together, they spent the rest of the day at the waterhole, until the sun started to set, and they had to return.

--------

Umeme laughed at a joke that Muroki told her, but stopped when she heard voices coming in from outside the den. She watched the entrance anxiously, and misled when Lina and Delano made their way in. "Hey, you're back! How was your day?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina smiled when she saw her sister inside the den. She went with her to one corner of the den and left the two brothers on their own, "It was amazing. We..." she didn't really have to describe what exactly happened did she? But she did feel like Umeme should know about the messages she and Delano were going to leave for each other while Delano was away, since she would obviously need someone to go with her whenever she'd go to check for new messages from Delano. After all it was dangerous to go on your own. She carried on talking regularly as if she wasn't about to say something else. "We decided to leave each other messages at our spot so we can tell how the other's doing." She smiled as she said that.

Muroki meanwhile looked at his brother with a slight smile, "So how did it go?" Lina seemed to be rather happy, so Muroki didn't see a reason for Delano to be feeling the other way around. Still, he wanted to know whether there was anything wrong.

[DGFone]

Delano grinned. "It went well," he said, but then his grin dropped. "I was serious about going. Lina tried to stop me, but I didn't let her... She understands now, but neither of us like it." He explained how he was going to leave in a few days if things will quite down enough for it to be safe enough, and how he will return as soon as he can. "But on the other hand, we made up these symbols to communicate while I'm gone," he said, "Should make the separation more bearable."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki smiled, happy that Lina wasn't making a big deal of Delano's future absence and also happy that they'll be able to communicate with each other while he was gone. "That's good to know." of course that he had no idea what sort of symbols did they agree about and how they were going to pull the entire thing off. "What do you mean?" it was interesting to know what exactly did they plan because as far as Muroki was aware neither Delano nor Lina knew how to write.

[DGFone]

"Well, we only have a few symbols, so it's easy to remember." Quickly, Delano explained their system to Muroki. "...So in the end, it's rather simple, and I'll use it as often as I can."

But explaining the writing to Muroki made Delano realize another thing. "When I'll leave, I'll be on my own for the first time in my life," he said, "I'm going to miss you. All of you." he placed a paw on his brother's shoulder. "Don't ask to come with me, and stay with Umeme... I have to do this, but you don't."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki listened carefully as Delano explained the way he and Lina were going to write for each other, not only because he was curious but also because maybe he could also leave messages for Delano too and so that he could understand the messages Delano would leave. "That's actually a smart idea." he admitted, smiling. To be honest he didn't really want to leave Umeme, not with all of what was going on lately. He thought that if he wanted to protect her that he should be there with her and not somewhere far away. "Well... I can only wish you good luck... Do you already know when you'll leave?"