[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Umeme always wondered how Hatari was able to find them before they spotted him. Well, it was easier in that he liked to sleep up in a tree, an unusual habit for a lion, but how was he able to hear them despite being asleep? Surely they are not that loud. Perhaps living alone, he was good at identifying disturbances around his home.

"Hey, Hatari," she greeted with a warm smile as he came down from his resting spot, "how are you doing?" The last time she had seen him was right after the fight, but at the time, she had been much more concerned with Muroki than Hatari. Now that her mate was fine and by her side, she can give her attention to the other lion. "You look all right despite everything that has happened. How are you?" Considering that he had just been resting up in in his tree like before, he seemed to be exactly the same as before the fight, if not even somewhat more cheerful.

Knowing that Hatari enjoyed it when they brought the cubs over, Umeme felt that it would be appropriate to at least tell him why it was just her and Muroki today. "The two of us were spending a day together when we decided to come over. We wanted to check up on you, and, I don't think you would mind the company."

---

Delano shook his head at what Kato said. "It's precisely because you're running that he isn't attacking, if he saw you," he said, "just like you wouldn't try to hunt a perfectly fit gazelle when a sick one is easier to catch. Why do you think they hop around when they spot a lion like us? You are running, but you are showing that you are strong, and can possibly pose trouble if he attacked you..."

Thinking about it some more, to Delano, the answer seemed rather obvious. "I would make the perfect target. Don't need to fake that I won't be able to run away. I... I will be that easy meal for him." Placing himself under that perspective caused Delano to shiver with fear. Now that he had fought Sanders, he knew exactly what it felt like to be completely outclassed. When he had tried to fight Hatari, he had always held back so as to not to hurt Delano, but not Sanders. "I won't be able to fight back, or run away..." he continued quietly, "but the only way that would work is if I will know that I won't have to fight or run. If I will have to do either one of those..." he grimaced, "I'll die..."

[TheWhistlerify]

Hatari smiled back at Umeme as he reached solid ground. "I'm fine." he said. "How are the two of you?" The truth was that he knew more than well that it was only a matter of time before Sanders's little friend would show up again and he was more on alert than ever. But he was displaying a completely relaxed attitude, now and even when he was alone. All he time. There was no telling if he was being watched or not and he couldn't let his hesitancy show.

"We're also doing good." said Muroki, feeling great about actually meaning it as he gave Umene a quick nuzzle. The truth was that, if it weren't this being their day alone, he would have still wanted their cubs to stay behind where it was much safer. While cleay having relaxed about his more extreme paranoia, he felt uncomfortable about bringing them beyond the border. It was a good thing the two hairballs weren't with them to begin with, because he didn't want to upset Umeme again.

Hatari chuckled. "Yes, I can tell." Kato had told him that Muroki hasn't been doing all that well recently, so he was glad to see that things were alright now.

●●●●●●●●●●

Kato very much doubted that he former chief of police would think that he of all lions could pose trouble if he attacked him, what with how the maniac never took the prince seriously to begin with, but Delano probably did have a point. Although, he was kind of relying on being underestimated in case it ever came down to that. It might surprise everyone, and the prince had Hatari to thank for it, but he was the complete opposite from unable to protect himself.

Hearing Delano's suggestion, though, the king's son immediately got a very bad feeling about the idea. Despite it having the potential to work, he really didn't want to put someone out as live bait, especially if he was hurt like Delano was. All it would take was one slip up and Muroki's brother would wind up dead. They couldn't rely on the ex-chief wanting to toy with his prey first... "I... I really don't think we should..." Muroki would never agree, that's for sure, and he would most likely not let them carry this out. "I don't want to do something so dangerous... I really don't..."

[DGFone]

Umeme was about to answer Hatari's question when Muroki did it for her, nuzzling her in the process. Returning the gesture, she grinned at the other lion, "yeah, thing are starting to get better again today," she added, "that's why Muroki and I decided to take a day off for ourselves." She wondered if Kato had told Hatari about how Muroki had been these past few days during his brief stops by here.

"So how was life for you these past couple of days?" For someone who had only recently been in a fight to the death, Hatari looked rather content. Sure, he was rather lucky to get away with only minor wounds at worst, but he could have very easily been in a much worse shape currently. A part of her wondered if Hatari also needed some time to get over the fight like Muroki. After all, both lions weren't physically harmed all that much, but Muroki still needed two whole days to get over that, and Umeme suspected, was still not entirely all right.

Sure, Muroki was at the moment behaving normally, but she did wonder if he was hiding something, or how differently he would behave if they had taken their cubs along.

---

Delano let out a frustrated sigh. "Then what do you propose we do? Going after that... maniac is dangerous in itself, no matter what state I'll be in. You don't think that I don't know the risk?" He motioned at Lina and Akili, who were still sleeping nearby, "I nearly lost both... and they nearly lost me... Believe me when I say that I completely understand the dangers involved."

Staring out of the cave as though hoping to find the lion from what he can see outside, Delano continued, "I just know that if we simply wait for him to show up... which is what is happening now, then he will show up by killing someone first." Tearing his gaze away from the cave entrance and back to his mate and son, he added in a whisper, "I can't let that happen."

[TheWhistlerify]

Despite the fact that Hatari looked very much alright in every aspect (even if in an almost odd manner), Muroki couldn't stop himself from wondering whether he really was doing as well as it seemed. "You could say I'm back to normal." said the lion in question. "I live just like I normally do." One of the perks of having so much... experience, was that he was able to notice anything that might indicate the presence of danger without having to make a noticeable effort for it.

Looking at Muroki, he then added, "What's on your mind?"

The question seemed to have taken Delano's brother by surprise. "What do you mean?" Sometimes the way Hatari could see right through him even when he was doing his best to look fine really gave him the creeps.

"You're worried about me, is that it?" asked the former member of the underworld.

Muroki sighed. "Well... You do live so far out and all by yourself..." How was he so calm? Was he not worried even just a little bit?

●●●●●●●●●●

Kato still felt very much against the idea of putting anyone in immediate danger by using them as live bait, but there was no denying that Delano did have a point. This lion was going to come after one of them sooner or later, so maybe it really would be for the best if they were to catch him by surprise rather than the other way around. The danger would be far greater if they simply waited rather than prepared themselves properly...

Sighing, the prince gave a slight nod of surrender. "So how do you propose we do it?" he asked softly. They were going to need all the help they could get. His father was bound to need a lot of convincing, which was going to be quite a pain in its own because getting him to agree would provide the largest amount of support available. Muroki was also going to be against the idea. Or was Delano planning to keep his brother in the dark about this?

[DGFone]

Even though Umeme had felt that Muroki was all right today, she always at the back of her mind knew that he wasn't simply better all of the sudden, and that a part of him was still getting over the fight. So when he asked Hatari how the lion was able to act all relaxed out here, Umeme knew right away what he was talking about.

"Muroki told me about that lion who helped Sanders escape... the one who tried to kill him." She noticed how next to her, Muroki fidgeted nervously. In order to try and make him feel better, she placed paw on top of his. "He was really worried about that lion might attack one of us, and so for the past couple of days was... not exactly right of mind. So I guess he is asking how you are able to be so calm about it even though you are out here isolated and rather alone."

Even though before, Umeme hadn't really been able to figure out what had been wrong with her mate, once Muroki told her the reason this morning, she had been able to quickly figure it out and now understood why he had always acted like they were in immediate danger. It wasn't Sanders who Muroki was worried about, like she had originally assumed, but a lion who is still very much alive.

---

Delano stared back at Kato, feeling at a loss for words. "I... I don't know," he finally admitted, feeling very much ashamed, "I don't know," he repeated, removing has gaze away from the prince. He had only just figured out a way to potentially get the lion out of hiding, he hadn't gotten to the point where he knew exactly how to pull it off.

After all, organizing groups was something that technically, Kato should be better at than him, considering that the prince was already being taught how to be a king. Delano was never taught how to figure these things out, so now he found himself completely blanking out on any ideas for what to do.

[TheWhistlerify]

Hatari had already figured as much, and with Kato having explained to him what Muroki was going through just that morning, Umeme's explanation didn't tell him anything new on the matter. Delano's brother was clearly worried about his wellbeing, what with him living alone, and about the safety of his own family. After nearly being killed and being unable to do anything about his mate and cubs being in danger, it was no wonder Muroki was unable to fully get over the fight. Not as long as that lion was alive.

"I am more than capable of taking care of myself." he said, smiling slightly. "You already know that." Technically, he'd lost to Sanders and would have died if Delano hadn't interfered. This other lion was at least just as capable a fighter, probably. "You had to face both him and Sanders that time, but if it comes to it again you won't have to do it alone. In addition, Sanders is gone." Although, who was to guarantee no one else was involved? Judging from his expression, Muroki was clearly aware of that.

"I just..." Muroki sighed. "I don't want it to come to that at all... He can live haplily ever after as long as he leaves us alone for all I care..." He shook his head. "I just want to be able to live a normal life. I don't want to always have to look over my shoulder, I don't want to leave my home and stay in some heavily guarded den all the time and I don't want anyone else to get hurt... I don't want Ubawa and Marini or Akili to go through what Delano and I did..." Was that really too much to ask for?

●●●●●●●●●●

Kato sighed. "Well, we're going to need help if we were to really set up an ambush..." That would be impossible with only those the two of them knew. They pretty much had only Muroki and Hatari in that regard. "We'll need help from either the royal guard or the police..." Which meant that he was going to have to speak to his father. As a prince he definitely had no right to go behind his father's back and make decisions like that on his own.

"I guess that, after that, any spot outside the border will do." he continued. "The tricky part will be hiding the presence of the ambush, of course..." That is, assuming their target would even show up or so much as notice the bait. There was a chance that that wouldn not happen, as anticlimactic as that sounded.

[DGFone]

Next to Muroki, Umeme hoped that Hatari would be able to say something to her mate that would help him calm down. To her, it seemed right now like Muroki was about to dig himself right back into the hole that he had only just been able to leave this morning. Nuzzling him in order to try and make him feel better, she then said, "you know we're all here as well, remember? This is not something you will have to do on your own like last time."

She knew all too well how, because Sanders was supposed to be dead, while no one actually thought that Delano and Lina were lying when they said that they saw him, not much done in order to increase security either. This time around, the king knew that the danger was real, and was acting because of it.

"The cubs will not go through what you two did," Umeme told Muroki, "we're all still here, and we can make sure that nothing like that will happen." She was right now far more concerned about Muroki. Sure, there was a rogue lion out there who wanted to hurt them, but she was certain that the mental anguish that Muroki was placing onto himself was causing far more harm than this single lion ever could.

---

Even though Kato's idea made sense, Delano couldn't let go of his biases - his fears - to accept it. "So you want us to trust all of this on a large group, in which anyone could slip away and tell the entire thing to him?" he asked bitterly, "might as well just go and kill myself right now for all good that will do. At least I will have more control at how I die..."

This was in the end the main reason why he didn't have much of an idea as to what to do. He wasn't ready to place so much trust on those he didn't know, because too many times in the past he was hurt too badly by them. There needed to be a better plan to get rid of the lion's threat without risking so much...

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki was starting to feel very much annoyed, not because he was being over dramatic again because, in his point of view, he was simply voicing his fears and not doing anything drastic like last time. But what was upsetting him was that he was letting the negative thoughts get to him and hurt his mood. He'd promised himself that he would be better for Umeme's sake as well as that of their cubs, and right now he wasn't being very good at it.

Sighing softly as Umeme nuzzled him, he returned the gesture, feeling again very grateful for her concern and support. "I know that it's not going to be like last time and that the chances are lower, but I'm still worried..." Being scared was something he couldn't prevent no matter how hard he tried. There was still a lion out to get them, and he didn't like that.

●●●●●●●●●●

There was no denying it, and Kato felt a little frustrated for not having figured that very basic thing out on his own, but the more they involved in this, the higher the chance of their plans being discovered by the one they were being plotted against. "So do you think that we're better off taking the risk of maybe being outnumbered if we're found? Well, if more and more are involved we have a much bigger chance at being found out. But if jt's just others we can really trust and we're careful..."

It seemed as though they would be taking a lesser risk by being just a minimized group. The risk they would be taking in this case would be being attacked in return if the lion they were after wasn't working alone. But for that not to happen, if he wasn't on his own, all they needed was to be smart about this. Well, that sounded much better than relying on others to keep things a secret.

[DGFone]

Smiling at that Muroki returned her nuzzle, Umeme smiled at him and kept his head close to hers. "I think you're worrying too much," she said gently, "I know what happened to you only a few days ago, so I understand that you are worried," licking him over the nose, she continued, "but... try not to worry too much? Even Hatari here is able to relax, and I think that out of all of us, he is at the greatest risk." Although, living alone, Hatari did have one major advantage that non of them had: he only had to look after himself.

Hugging Muroki with a paw, Umeme was able to tell that at least for a little, he was able to get more relaxed. "I am somewhat worried too," she explained to him, "but... especially around the cubs, try not to show it. We don't want to scare them, all right?"

---

Delano looked at Kato, his mind still racing as to what they should do. "I don't know how we'll be better off," he muttered, "the only thing I do know is that the only way to know for certain that he won't try something is if we kill him. But other than that..." he shook his head, "I don't know..." With Sanders, it was easier. He had the illusion that he would be able to fight him off, at least long enough for help to arrive, so Delano basically went after him without any plan. But going after this other lion, in his current state, even that wasn't an option.

[TheWhistlerify]

Smiling ever so slightly when his mate licked his nose, Muroki only nodded his head in approval in response to what she was saying. He knew that the cubs shouldn't know that there was something wrong and, now that he was in a clearer state of mind than the previous days, making sure of that would be easier. Ironically, the more he thought about how lucky he was to have Umeme by his side, the more he became scared of losing her.

But he felt as though she was right in that he was worrying too much. It was impossible for the lion not to worry at all, yes, but letting it get to him even in the slightest, like now, wasn't going to help anyone. In addition, Muroki really wanted to return to their relaxed day off together once they were done here, so thinking about that lion now was out of the question. "Thanks, Umeme..." he said softly. "I feel better now..."

Hatari, meanwhile, while paying attention to his two friends, was also deep in his own thoughts. He felt almost certain that, once the former Chief would show his face, it would be in front of him. The conversation they had while Delano had gone to look for Muroki in the gorge was still stuck firmly in his mind.

"You know, I've been up and all over this kingdom. Meeting all silly individuals whose loved ones died and yet they decided to help keep you alive... And you know what I worked out? What you really need."

"For what?" Hatari recalled asking, very angrily.

"To know that you are still just like me!" That smile he had... "Ooh! And now it begins..."

What was Hatari supposed to make of that? "You'll be fine, Muroki." he said to the couple in front of him. "You've dealt with so much in your life already. You're too strong for pointless paranoia to get the better of you like this."

●●●●●●●●●●

Kato nodded his head, feeling also at quite a loss. It was pretty understandable that, whichever way they acted, they would be taking a huge risk. On the other paw, not acting soon would have the exact same result, meaning that they were in a very complicated situation. "Well, we're going to have to decide sooner or later..." he said with a sigh. This was something Muroki's brother obviously knew as well and wasn't happy about, but the prince couldn't think of anything else to say.