[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Hearing the queen deliver the bad news caused Delano to shrink back. He had to close his eyes as he struggled to control his emotions. "He can't die..." Delano begged, suddenly feeling somewhat angry at the queen. "You can't let Muroki die!" He collapsed on the ground, crying as he felt the despair of the possibility of losing his brother. "You all said that things would get better..." he whimpered, "I can't... I can't lose Muroki..."

Lina gently embraced him to try and calm him down, and Delano completely broke down then. He clutched onto her desperately as he imagined once more what it would be like to lose his brother. However, what made it worse now is that he was completely helpless. When Muroki was in danger in the gorge, Delano ran as fast as he could, knowing that taking his time would post a severe danger to his brother's life. Now... Now he was immobile, and his brother was very close, but also at the edge of death.

Feeling sick, Delano had to break his embrace with Lina. Placing his head on the ground once more, he felt the too familiar sensation of his vision fading, and he fell unconscious once more.

[TheWhistlerify]

The queen wished there was something, anything she could do to make things better, but she knew that she couldn't keep information like that from anyone, even if the chances of anything bad happening weren't high. "He should get better..." she repeated, not blaming Delano for getting angry. "But I can't say for sure at the moment..." She would have said she was sorry again, but what good would that do? As Delano passed out once more, Kato's mother let out a sigh before heading outside.

With the others now there, Laini and Dakari looking like they were worried sick and Desta doing her best to calm Kato down, Lina knew whe wouldn't be leaving Delano alone as she got up and headed deeper into the den. Umeme had been there to support her while she'd been taken care of Delano, and now it was time for her to return the favor. It was darker in there, but she could see the outlines of her sister and brother in law. "Umeme?" she asked quietly, lying down next to her. "How are you holding up?"

[DGFone]

Umeme looked up from her slumber when she heard Lina walk in. She smiled at the sight of her sister. If Lina felt like coming over here, it meant that she trusted enough that Delano would be alright to leave his side. "I'll be alright, I guess," Umeme replied to Lina's question. "The queen was just examining Muroki. She said that he'll be fine, but..." she glanced at the sleeping form of Muroki. "He hadn't woken up yet since he fell unconscious after the attack. He lost a lot of blood you know, I'm really worried for him. But the queen did say that he'll be fine, so..."

She glanced at Lina once more. "What about Delano? How's he doing?" Lina did look quite worried from what Umeme was able to see in the low lighting from where they were in. She did feel bad for Lina, for as soon as it looked like they will be able to finally calm down and start living their lives together again, both Delano and Muroki got attacked.

---

Dakari noticed Lina walking to where Umeme and Muroki were, and glanced at Laini, feeling somewhat nervous. Was it safe to be leaving Delano alone? "Let's go check on Delano," he suggested. He knew that while he was worried for his nephews, Laini was much more worried than him, and seeing Delano might do her some good. Escorting his mate over to where Delano lay, he sat down next to the sleeping lion as Laini sat down next to Delano's other side.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina was slightly surprised at how well her sister was coping with the situation. Hasn't the queen told her that there was a chance that things would take a turn for the worse? Or was Umeme simply focusing on the fact that the chances of that happening weren't high? "He woke up a few minutes ago," she said. "But he passed out again... Still, it's a good sign." Looking at her brother in law and listening to his gentle breathing, she dearly hoped that he would be alrght.

~~~

Laini was obviously worried sick because of Muroki's condition. It's not that she wasn't concerned about Delano, but his situation was far worse than his brother's after all. Slowly nodding at her mate's suggestion, the two of them sat down next to Delano, followed by Kato who also seemd to want to know how h was doing. "Anything knew, Kasi?" she asked, looking at her son who has been keeping an eye on Delano with Lina the entire time.

[DGFone]

Umeme smiled a little and placed a paw on Lina's shoulder. "Hey, Delano and Muroki are the strongest lions in the world. They'll pull through." She looked down at Muroki, both worried as well as reassured by the gentle motion of his body as he breathed in his sleep. "They'll have to pull through," she added, almost as an afterthought.

Then there was someone else who Umeme was worried about. "How are you doing, Lina? Are you going to be alright?" For some reason, Umeme found it easy to worry about Muroki, but somehow was not able to think that he might die. If anything, this made it easier for her to concentrate on others, especially Lina, who did not have the greatest past several days to say the least.

---

Kasi looked up at his parents and Kato. "He uh, well, he did wake up briefly," he answered, not knowing how much they knew about Delano's condition. "He spoke to the queen and Lina for a little, but he did... well, you can see." He motioned at his cousin, who hadn't moved since passing out a second time. "How's Muroki?" Kasi then asked. He really found it hard to believe that both his cousins were attacked, especially since he was right there when it happened. "I think Lina went just now to see how he is, but I really hadn't heard much..."

He glanced at Kato nervously. "You... you're parents are the king and queen, right? Is there any news on what will happen now? I err... Are Muroki and Delano still in any danger now?" If a random lion could possibly be an assassin, it would be very easy to finish off either Delano or Muroki in their current weakened states. Or even both of them.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina couldn't help but smile at her sister's optimism, which she often wished she had more of. "That's the spirit." she said, placing a paw on Umeme's shoulder as well. "I'm fine, really." she added after a short silence. Yes, it had been quite a shock when Muroki and Delano were attacked, but she was reoieved by the fact that Delano was okay. Her sister appeared to be okay as well, which was also a comforting thought. If only Muroki would wake up...

~~~

Laini was obviosly relieved to hear that Delano had woken up, even if not for long, but she didn't say anything. She simply looked at her nephew, hoping he would wake up again soon.

Kato looked at Kasi, unsure of how to answer his quesion because he was still quite shaken up by everything himself. "Uh... I'm no healer, but mom said they'll be alrght... I heard dad say something about nobody being allowed to go in here without his permission, and there are a lot of guards outside..."

[DGFone]

Umeme grinned back at Lina, and then embraced her sister in a hug. She felt Lina huge her back tightly, and knew fully well that Lina was much more scared than she let on. "Done worry," Umeme whispered to her, "before you know it, both Muroki and Delano will be back on their feet, and we will have loads of trouble keeping up with them. Just hold on until then." She slowly allowed the hug to end, before leaning back, still smiling. "You might want to head back to Delano. If he woke up once, you don't want to miss him waking up again, do you?"

She motioned at Muroki, and more specifically, how that he was still breathing. "I will be fine looking out after him. I can holler when he wakes up if you want." For now, Umeme had no problems with staying alone with Muroki as she waited for him to wake up. After all, Lina had already basically done that almost non-stop for the past several days. And Umeme got to run around with Muroki in the meantime. It was now time to let Lina and Delano have their fun together that they missed out on, while Umeme would let Muroki recover on his own terms. But as she glanced at her mate, Umeme knew that Muroki would need to wake up first. She gently ran a paw through his fur, brushing it slightly to make him look a little less messy.

---

Dakari nodded at Kato's explanation. "That lion that attacked them, he didn't get to Hatari. I don't think Delano and Muroki are in any danger while there are guards outside." He frowned. "But we will need to keep a very close eye on them when they get back home. They will still be very vulnerable for quite some time... a lot like cubs." He glanced nervously at Delano as his nephew whimpered in pain in his sleep, but didn't move otherwise. Dakari only allowed himself to relax a little when the whimpering stopped and Delano lay still again, apart from his shallow, but still noticeable breathing.

[TheWhistlerify]

Hearing what her mate said, as well as agreeng with every word, Laini nodded. "Perhaps it would be a good idea for Muroki and Umeme to temporarily move back in with us and Umeme's parents for a while..." Because of how vulnerable her nephew was going to be for a while now, she eidn't like the idea of yim and Umeme living on their own. "Just until he fully recovers?"

~~~

Lina smiled at her sister's reassurance, obviously wanting what Umeme had just described to happen already. "Are you sure you'll be fine on your own?" she asked. "I don't mind staying here a little longer..." However her sister shook her head and Lina realized that there was no changing her mind. "Alrght... Make sure to call if he wakes up or if you need anything." Getting up, she made her way back towqrds the others. "Did Delano wake up while I was gone?" she asked, gettng a negative response.

[DGFone]

Laini's suggestion made perfect sense to Dakari. After all, it seemed that as soon as he and his mate stopped watching over their nephews, that Delano and Muroki started really getting into trouble. Or perhaps it simply felt that way, but he knew fully well that keeping Umeme and Muroki close by was a matter for their safety, not comfort. "Until he recovers," he agreed, "but... not before. It'll be too risky otherwise." He looked up as Lina came back. Naturally, she wanted to know if Delano had woken up again, but as he did not, she only got a negative answer.

Kasi, having heard his parents discussing about watching over Umeme and Muroki, decided to break the news to Lina. "Hey, Lina, listen, mom and dad just mentioned," he quickly glanced at them, and they nodded that he can be the one to tell the news, "so they suggested that Umeme and Muroki stay with us until he recovers." He grinned sheepishly. "It will be crowded just like old times, but they want to keep a close watch on Muroki... and Delano." He hesitated, then shrugged. "I can tell that to Umeme, but uh... would you be fine with that? With having your sister and Muroki stay with us again?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina looked at her cubhood friend as he explained his parents' idea to her. There was no way to miss the logic behind what her mate's aunt and uncle were thinking. "Of course it'll be fine with me." she said, smiling at Kasi. Not only was the den technically not hers, but who was she to deny her sister and brother in law from staying with them, especially if it was for their safety? "Oh, and Kasi?" she added all of a sudden. "Thanks for staying here with me and Delano while everybody else was with Umeme and Muroki... You're a great friend..."