[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Still inside the den, Delano rolled over restlessly, trying hopelessly to get some sleep. A while ago Akili had decided that he wanted to leave the den to go play with his cousins, leaving the lion alone inside. However, no matter how desperate he got to sleep, his mind wouldn't allow him to relax enough to do so.

After what felt like an eternity, he heard someone walk back inside the den close to him. "Lina? Where have you been?" He was able to vaguely able to recall that she left somewhere with Umeme, but he couldn't remember where. Moving over to her, he curled up next to her, hoping that he would be able to get comfortable enough to finally get some rest.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina didn't pay much attention to her brother in law or Akili and his cousins (nor did her son notice she was there, because he was busy running about) and went straight inside, lying down next to her mate. She snuggled up against him when he did the same and rested her head in his mane. "Umeme and I went to talk with the king about what we saw..." she explained sleepily. "Someone will look into this..." It felt enough to get her to stop worrying, at least for the time being.

[DGFone]

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Delano tried to stay still so that at least Lina would be able to get some rest, now that she settled right next to him. "I hope they will sort it out soon," he muttered under his breath, "I just can't... believe that they let him go. And it was him, it gotta be!" Placing his head on his paws, he fell quiet for the sake of his mate, leaving himself alone with his thoughts once more.

[TheWhistlerify]

Sleepily, Lina gave her mate a quick lick across his muzzle. She was more than certain that they didn't let Sanders go. They as in the king and anyone within the police that had so much as a little bit of sense in his head. But, much like Delano, she felt like the lion they'd seen really was the former leader of the underworld, so she knew that whatever she might say won't help him relax much. Still, it seemed like waiting might be the right thing to do this time around.

* * *

Outside, Muroki was watching over the cubs who, as always, were busy messing around in their own silly, loud way. Ubawa and Akili were once again teamed up against Marini, who seemed as amused as ever to have both of them chase her all over the place. "So how did it go?" he asked with a small smile when Umeme arrived back and sat down next to him, giving her a loving nuzzle in greeting. He hasn't had much of a chance to see whether his sister in law was feeling any better, but surely his mate would have an answer.

[DGFone]

Looking at Muroki, Umeme shrugged in reply. "Better and worse than I hoped," she replied calmly, "Lina still thinks that it is him even after we went there. But at the same time, she is also a lot calmer now. So while I am rather disappointed that she didn't change her mind, at least she can get some rest now." Watching as the cubs chased each other around at a small clearing by the den, Umeme wondered if they had given Muroki any trouble. Pleasantly enough though, he didn't look like they did.

"So how are you? Cubs behaved themselves?" Umeme glanced at the entrance of the den. "Did Delano come out at all?" Her mind still on the meeting with the king, she then added, "I wonder if taking him to talk might help as well... It really did seem to help Lina."

[TheWhistlerify]

Slightly nodding his head in response when his mate explained how, while her sister wasn't in such a frenzy anymore, she still wasn't all too pleased with the outcome of their talk with the king, Muroki didn't see the need to say anything. Umeme did look like she was appreciative of the improvement in Lina's state of mind and he obviously agreed that at least his sister in law was calmer, which was better than nothing, obviously.

When asked about the cubs, Muroki couldn't stop himself from shooting the lioness at his side a toothy grin. "Of course." he said, in a tone that suggested something like that should have been obvious. "They would never mess with a presence of authority such as myself!" The male puffed out his chest in emphasis, chuckling when his mate slightly poked it with her paw while frowning playfully.

"No, Delano hasn't come out." he said. "It could help him as well, but perhaps it would be better to give him a chance to rest before suggesting this to him."

[DGFone]

Umeme was amused at how Muroki showed off at being so much more powerful than the cubs. It reminded her of how Lina sometimes told her how Delano would show off sometimes, and now that Muroki was doing the same thing, she found it rather funny. Well, they are brothers after all...

"I guess we can let Lina try to talk to him first then," she said half in thought, "if only so that she can calm him down." She was hoping that Lina would succeed, because at the back of her mind, she remembered how Delano got when he wasn't able to get any rest, and now with Akili around, that was the last thing the cub needed his father to go through.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki had no idea just how effective having Lina try to calm his brother down would be. After all, while she herself was feeling somewhat better, at the end of the day, like Delano, Akili's mother also felt certain that the lion they'd seen was Sanders. There was no telling how long she was going to be in this more relaxed state. "Maybe..." he said, figuring they might as well leave the matter be for the moment. Delano and Lina were resting anyway.

Chuckling as he watched his cubs fool about with his nephew, the lion looked at his mate with a grin. "Didn't you say you were going to... make it up to me or something?" he asked playfully, puffing out his chest again as he placed a paw around Umeme's shoulders and pulled her closer to him. They weren't alone, true, but they could still enjoy the fact that the little ones were occupied. And the way Ubawa and Akili always complained about this sort of thing made things more fun.

[DGFone]

Umeme grinned, knowing what Muroki was getting at. Nuzzling him, she then brought a paw up to his muzzle and pushed him back away from her. "Nah uh," she teased, "later." She was mostly teasing him, for while she wouldn't mind enjoying some nuzzling and relaxing with Muroki, making her mate wait was, at the moment, more fun, especially with the mock hurt that he was now looking her at with. "The cubs," she explained, tilting her head in the direction of the trio who were chasing each other next to them. "So... later."

Sticking her tongue out at him, Umeme allowed Muroki to get close to her, because it was in the end really nice when he did that.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki smiled and purred softly as Umeme nuzzled him, though he didn't get much of a chance to return the favor before she suddenly pressed her paw against his muzzle and pushed him away, giving him that teasing 'nah-uh' of hers. He gave her a hurt look of disappointment, which quickly turned into an eye roll when she explained her "reason". The cubs? Seriously? Since when was the presence of the three little hairballs enough to stop them from some pleasant cuddling?

Looking back at his mate in time to see her stick her tongue out at him, Muroki went ahead and returned to her side, once again sitting down closely to the lioness. He didn't place a paw around her or perform any other affectionate action this time, though, figuring he might as well listen to her even if he knew she was mostly poking fun at him. Perhaps she didn't feel like hearing Ubawa and Akili complaining. Either way, he could please himself with simply resting with her for the time being. Usually his son and nephew didn't complain if she so much as rest her head on his shoulder or something.