[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Umeme grinned at Lina again. "Well, you will see him soon enough." Not having anything else to say, she walked alongside with Lina.

The group walked in almost total silence for the rest of the way to the cave system, only stopping at the entrance because of guards. Umeme watched in interest, as this was her first time here. Moto said something to the guards, who parted to let them through. They walked through a long series of tunnels, where Moto stopped them next to what looked like an entrance to a large cave.

"We wait here," Moto said, "until they call us in. Which I don't know when that will be."

---

In the cave, Delano was muttering and moving around in his sleep, experiencing another nightmare. His muttering turned into whimpers, and soon after, he woke up, staring widely into the darkness around him. He calmed down a little when he realized that he was awake, but it only offered a small amount of comfort. He reached out and clung onto Muroki tightly, trying to hide from his memories.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina smiled slightly at what Umeme said. Seeing Delano was the only thing she wanted right now. Not knowing that he was still alive was killing her inside. Even if Muroki did see him and tell her that everything was alright and even if he was with Delano right now, she still wanted to see Delano with her own eyes. She sat down once they stopped and waited with the others. This wait was the only thing that was keeping her away from seeing Delano again, and she already felt that it was going to take a while until she finally saw him.

[DGFone]

Umeme sat down next to Lina. "Just remember what I said about when you see him again," she said, "don't smother him to death." Her grin widened after she said this. "By the way, dad, how long are we going to wait here?" She asked.

Moto shrugged. "I don't really know. We go in when they come out to get us, and when that will be... Well, we just have to wait."

Kasi moved over so that he was next to Lina and Umeme. "Be prepared to wait for a while," he said, "knowing the police, they would like to keep us waiting."

---

Even though Delano was holding onto Muroki, he was growing more afraid by the moment. "Muroki, wake up," he said quietly, right away bursting into a cough as his throat felt like it was tearing. Once he overcame his coughing, he shook Muroki slightly, not wanting to talk again.

As he continued to try and wake Muroki up, he heard something from outside the cave. He froze, not knowing what it might be, or even if he was simply imagining it. Again, he heard some voices, muffled, but not those he recognized. Panicking, Delano turned back to Muroki and shook him violently, wanting to have Muroki be there when they would finally come and get him.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki had obviously fallen asleep since Delano did, and was quite thankful when he and Delano's rest didn't last for only a few minutes this time. It had to end eventually, because soon Muroki was able to feel something nudging him. At first he grunted and ignored, being also tired from the restless night, but as the shaking became harder, he had no choice but to wake up. He was about to ask Delano whether something was wrong, but he too was then able to hear the talking outside. He knew that some of the voices were not the guards'.

[DGFone]

Delano crawled around Muroki, hiding himself behind his brother from the voices. He shook slightly when the voices grew louder, not knowing what was in for him, and fearing the worst. As much as Delano didn't really like the idea of hiding behind Muroki, he was too scared to care about it now. And even more unusual, as much as he wanted to get out of the cave for good, the idea of seeing others outside made him want to crawl even deeper into the blackness.

[TheWhistlerify]

Considering that Muroki was feeling far less tired than the last time he woke up, he took liberty of guessing that it was already morning, and that the voices belonged to those who were responsible of bringing Delano to the trial. "Calm down Delano, they won't hurt you." he knew that his attempts at comforting his brother until now were fruitless but he still felt like he should at least try. "This will all be over before you even know it."

[DGFone]

Delano heard someone walk into the cave, and despite what Muroki had just told him, shrank back in fear. "No.." he managed to mumble quietly, despite the pain it caused him. "No! Please don't..." He crawled as far back as he could until he hit a wall.

One of the two lions that walked into the cave frowned when they heard Delano. This was the lion who was going on trial this morning? The lion expected more. "Come on, Delano," the lion said, "come with us. We're not here to kill you. Come with us willingly, and it will better for all of us." To the other lion he muttered, "unless we will have to drag him out."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki held back a sigh when Delano backed up towards the other side of the cave when the two lions walked inside. "Come on Delano..." he said quietly, walking over to his brother. "They won't hurt you..." or at least that was what Muroki was hoping. What he did know for sure was that they better not get on the two's nerves. He went ahead and nudged his brother, hoping that he wouldn't cause a problem by upsetting the two lions.

[DGFone]

Delano tried to shrink back, still afraid to go with the lions. "I... I can't..." He whispered, hoping that Muroki would understand. "Make them... go away," he tried to hide, but Muroki still nudged him forwards. He continued to try and avoid having to go with the lions, but Muroki didn't allow him to give up. Still, Delano persisted. He wasn't going to go with the two lions, no matter how hard Muroki tried to get him to go.

Next to them, the lions were losing their patience. "Delano, you need to come with us now," one of them said again. "We can't wait for you forever."

Delano froze when the lion spoke up, before moving over further behind Muroki. But Muroki only moved away, so that Delano was no longer behind him. At first, Delano waited next to the wall, hoping that the lions would go away, but when they asked him to go with them again, he knew that they would not leave without him. Delano grabbed onto Muroki, trying to find the courage to go with them. "Come with me," he whispered, "please..."

[TheWhistlerify]

As much as Muroki wanted to help his brother, he didn't listen to him. The sooner Delano cooperates the sooner he'll be able to leave this place for good, but it wasn't going to ever happen if he continued hiding. Not to mention that the two lions were starting to lose their patience, which was not good at all either. "Come on Delano, don't be afraid." he took a short step forward while Delano was hanging on to him, trying to silently show him that he was coming with him.