[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[TheWhistlerify]

As his leg were starting to ache from all the walking, Muroki wanted to ask his brother whether he knew where they were even going, but he said nothing. Did it even matter with their parents dead, without them ever saying goodbye? He knew that such a day would come, but he didn't expect it to happen like this, it took him completely by surprise. And to think that if they bothered to tell their parents where they were going the entire thing might have been avoided. The thought made him feel even worse with himself.

After what seemed to be more than just hours of walking, Muroki noticed some figures ahead of them. It was too hard to figure out what they were. He looked at his brother, who seemed to be as exhausted as he was, "Border patrol perhaps?" better than them turning out to be rogues or even worse the rogues who killed their parents. Not that he didn't want to find the bastards, but both he and his brother were too tired.

[DGFone]

With their weariness, Delano was surprised that Muroki noticed anything ahead of them before they stumbled into it. Wearily, he looked up and saw the lions, but couldn't make out any details. He squinted, trying to see though the darkness, but didn't see any more detail but the outlines on the lions.

Delano felt fear coarse through him. If those were the lions that killed their parents, neither Delano nor Muroki will pose a challenge for those strange lions. As much as Delano also wanted revenge, neither them were in any condition to fight now. "No, we can't get closer," Delano finally said. "We need to find a place to rest. And then we can continue. It's pointless to go now." He turned away from where the lions were, and headed away, looking for a place to sleep in.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki knew that they were already getting close to their uncle's pride, but he also knew that Delano was right, they couldn't take any risks considering how tired they were. He also turned away and followed his brother, keeping his eyes open for any place that might allow them to sleep without anyone seeing them. The urge to sleep only made the search seem like it was taking forever. Eventually, the two spotted an empty den and went inside. Muroki lay down with a sigh and closed his eyes. He usually said 'good night' but his brother would surely agree that the night was anything but good.

[DGFone]

The two brothers found a small cave and walked inside. Delano lay down next to Muroki and immediately closed his eyes. But despite his exhaustion, sleep didn't come easy for Delano. Whenever he would come close to falling asleep, he would again revisit their discovery of their dead parents. Eventually, a sheer lack of energy made Delano slip into a shallow sleep, but it wasn't pleasant.

[TheWhistlerify]

Next time Muroki opened his eyes there was already light outside. Out of instinct he looked around hoping to see one of his parents and to find out that it was all a nightmare, but he could only see his brother there. He recognized that this was not their family's regular den and let out a heavy sigh, now knowing for sure that the entire thing was not a dream.

[DGFone]

The warmth of sunlight woke Delano up, but this time, he didn't feel good from it. As he was forced to wake up from the heat, Delano closed his eyes tightly as emotional pain swept through him. He knew before he even opened his eyes that it was not a dream. The different scent and feeling of his immediate surroundings convinced him of the hard truth. He got up, and groaned as sore muscles protested his movement.

Looking over, Delano saw that Muroki was also awake. "Come on, let's go." Delano said gravely. "There's no point in staying here." He slowly limped out of the cave.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki got up, his legs still sore. The few hours of sleep were not enough for his legs to rest after climbing that hill for an entire day and then walking for half of the night, but at least it was something. He sighed and slowly walked outside with his brother, "Same direction?" when they saw the group of lions when they climbed that hill, the lions were too far away for them to remember their appearances. At least now they would be able to determine whether those they saw during the night were border patrols or not, that is if they saw them again.

[DGFone]

Delano nodded slowly. "Yeah. Same direction," he agreed. "There's no reason to go back," he added with disgust. As he said that, he again wondered why their parents had to die.

He looked at the direction where they would go, bud didn't see the lions from last night. "Alright. Let's go." He said simply, grunting as his legs pained with every step he took.

((goodnight))

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki nodded and slowly walked with his brother. As far as he was aware they had taken the right direction last night. Whether the lions they saw last night were patrol or not, he had no doubt that they were getting close. Their uncle and aunt lived in a large pride, so it was most likely that the lions they saw last night were part of it. Still, Muroki was glad that they didn't try their luck and approached.

(( Good night ))

[DGFone]

The two brothers continued slowly on their way. For a long time, they walked alone, with no sign of the lions they saw the night before. But eventually, as they walked, Delano spotted lions again on the horizon, but couldn't identify them.

He dropped to the ground, and Muroki did the same. "Lions up ahead," Delano said, "What do you want to do?"