[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

With the cubs all occupied by Ubawa's "news", Umeme nuzzled her mate, delighted to see that compared to how he was when they got back here, Muroki was looking much more alive and all around lively. "I'm glad you did that with him," she whispered before licking him across his muzzle, "as well as look who's acting much better now." She didn't even care if the cubs might see her and Muroki, but the chances were small considering that they were occupied themselves...

She wasn't sure exactly what happened in the morning that got Muroki in such a bad mood, but whatever it was, he clearly was able to get over it for the most part. For Umeme, it was a sign that she won't have to wait for very long until Muroki would be able to actually spend a day with her like they had planned to.

---

Delano stared back at Lina, at a loss for words. "I... I don't know," he finally said, "I only met him very briefly... when he told me that he killed Muroki..." Leaning his head on Lina's shoulder, he tried t concentrate on the comfort offered by Lina's hug. "I talked to Kato about it this morning," he continued, "that lion was apparently some sort of second in command..." What else was he supposed to say? That he was already planning with Kato to go after this lion?

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki smiled and purred softly as Umeme nuzzled him and licked him across his muzzle, returning the gesture by licking her on the forehead once. Yes, he really was feeling much better than earlier that morning, and he really felt as though he had their son to thank for it because of how he'd helped him distract himself from what was bothering him. Now that the lion was back there with his family, he was feeling more relaxed in general as well.

"I'm sorry the day hasn't gone as well as we'd both hoped it would..." he said softly, pulling his mate closer to him as he nuzzled her. Perhaps things could have turned out better, but it was pointless to dwell on it now. "But hey, it wasn't a complete waste of time." Muroki added, grinning at Umeme.

"Daddy, daddy!" Well, it was bound to not last long with the cubs awake. Muroki had a hunch as to what his daughter and nephew were going to ask. "Can you teach us too??" If anything, Marini seemed less jealous of Ubawa and more thrilled with the fact that there was some form of hunting she could start learning at such a young age.

Her father nodded. "Of course, Marini." he said, pulling the cub closer and giving her a loving lick as she giggled in delight. Looking at his nephew, Muroki chuckled. "Akili, wouldn't you prefer to have your father teach you this?" Delano's son was bound to like that a lot more, not to mention that his father might take it a little badly if his own brother taught his son instead of him.

"Well, um... yeah..."

His uncle smiled, gently ruffling the younger cub's head with a paw. "It'll be fun for both of you, trust me." he said. "But there's no reason why you can't come to the waterhole with us if you want. I'm sure Kato wouldn't mind keeping you company." Looking at Ubawa, he grinned. "As for you, son, you better be ready to help me show your sister how it's done." After all, what would give make the cub even more proud of himself if not helping his sister learn something he already knew the basics of?

●●●●●●●●●●

Lina really didn't know what to think of Delano's answer as to this lion's identity, and so figured she might as well not pay the subject attention to that at all. After all, what did it really matter who someone that wanted to kill them was at the end of the day? Hearing that he was the one who threw Muroki off the cliff was very unsettling. It was no wonder her brother in law has been so restless ever since the fight... "That sure explains the extra security..." she said quietly. But did that mean they were really safe?

[DGFone]

Umeme was perfectly content to explain to Muroki that she was fine trying again to spend a day with him at a later day if it meant giving him a bit more time to get better. However, the two of them were interrupted by the cubs, who no doubt wanted their turn for adventure as well.

"Well Muroki," she teased, "looks like it's time for you to teach again. I think it's something I wouldn't mind watching." While she normally shared the responsibility of teaching their two cubs with Muroki, based on how Ubawa was acting, she wanted to see how her mate was going to handle two excited cubs this time around. She can always come in for the rescue if she needed to, but for now, she'll stay on the sidelines.

Ubawa meanwhile, was more than eager to show to his sister what he learned. Running outside, he barely waited for the rest of his family to follow him before rushing back towards the waterhole. "Come on!" While it was only a small fish, for his small cubbish mind, he was now the mightiest hunter in the world.

---

Delano nodded feebly at what Lina said, but he wasn't really paying much attention. "I didn't want to tell you," he confessed, "I was afraid... I don't really know, but..." he shook his head, "I thought it might be better if you didn't know."

He was feeling thoroughly rotten by now, but now that he had already started talking, he continued on even before he realized what he was about to tell her. "When I was talking with Kato this morning, we... we started coming up with a plan. To stop this lion for good, because I know that he will try to get after us if we don't do anything." It was only now that he was starting to realize what he was saying, but it was too late: he said too much already to back down. "He might try to go after Muroki again, or... or Akili or someone else, but I know he will try something! So we planned to set up an ambush or something. Lure him out of hiding to where we can get him. It's the only way to end this..."

He fell silent, feeling ashamed of what he said. He hadn't meant to tell her all of this, but it had all simply came out.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki looked at his mate with a grin, giving her a look which said he knew that more than well. He was obviously planning to help his son and daughter as well, as this would allow both of them to practice, but he believed that having Ubawa teach Marini (or at least assist in her learning process) would both boost the male cub's own confidence some mord as well as help him and his sister work together and grow closer. Their competitiveness was friendly and not too serious, but their father believed that the sooner they also started cooperating the better.

Chuckling at his son's enthusiasm, as well as that of his daughter and nephew as the trio ran outside, the male gave his mate another quick lick before following the little ones. They didn't run very fast, so just walking quickly enough made it possible to keep up not entirely, but enough so to not lose sight of them. Kato tagged along as well, feeling rather intrigued to see Muroki show Marini and Ubawa had to catch fish. He himself has never been taught how to do that, so it should be interesting. As well as adorable due to the presence of tiny hairballs.

●●●●●●●●●●

Truth be told, while Lina believed it was her right to know if there was still such a threat to their cub, him and her, a part of her wished that Delano wouldn't have gone ahead and also told her about that plan to set up an ambush. "Delano... Do you have any idea how dangerous that will be?" He was in no condition to do much, not to mention that there were so many things that could go wrong...

[DGFone]

Umeme followed the others over to the waterhole, settling herself down on the soft bank as she watched the two cubs get into the water and attempt to hunt down fish again. Muroki was there as well, but he was letting Ubawa do most of the teaching, and was mostly just keeping an eye out on the cubs, much like Umeme was doing.

Obviously, Ubawa wasn't exactly as good of a teacher as Muroki was, so it took far longer for him to get to the point where Marini was also trying to get at a fish, but eventually, both of them were splashing in the water, with Marini trying to get her first fish and Ubawa trying to recreate his recent accomplishment.

---

Delano shrank back away from Lina due to her tone. It wasn't often that she scolded him for something, and he never exactly enjoyed upsetting her either. "I know, Lina!" he stammered, "but... but what are we supposed to do then otherwise?" He would not have suggested the idea to Kato in the first place if he thought that there was any other plan that would work. "I can't sit around and wait for him to attack just because I am not recovered yet. Even if I have to risk my life... Lina, we're talking about Akili here!" He doubted that his mate would argue against removing a danger to their son.

[TheWhistlerify]

Kato also lay down next to Umeme just outside the waterhole as Muroki headed into the shallow water with Ubawa and Marini. The male cub seemed to be doing most of the talking and demonstrating with their father simply observing and making sure they didn't accidentally tread where they might drown, although the lion did give an occasional pointer or so, mostly telling the two little hairballs to keep trying and that they were doing great. Encouragement and all of that.

The prince was rather curious as to why the day off the parents of the two cubs had decided to go on, which they had obviously both looked forward to a lot, was cut short like that. Delano's brother seemed perfectly alright, so what was the problem? With Akili right there, though, even if he was busy watching his two cousins splash about aimlessly, Kato couldn't really just go ahead and ask. But it was only a matter of curiosity at the end of the day. Muroki's condition didn't seem to have worsened again, and that was the important thing.

••••••••••

There could be no arguing that the sooner their son's safety was once again guaranteed the better, that much was for sure. "I know..." Lina said. "But what do you think would happen if you died, Delano?" It's not like she had much else to say. Honestly, just sitting around and waiting for things to work themselves out has proven more than once to be a bad thing to do and caused them to get hurt on each occasion. The lioness knew that what her mate was saying was true, but she still didn't like it one bit. There was a part of her that just knew Delano didn't have a magical answer to her difficult question...

[DGFone]

Ubawa had head his father tell Akili that it would be much better if Uncle Delano was the one who will teach him how to catch fish, so he refrained from teaching it to his cousin while Marini also tried to follow what he told her. A part of him wondered what his cousin was doing here but not his aunt and uncle, for instead o them, Kato had chosen to tag along.

Not wanting to leave his cousin out completely, who until now was pretty much left splash around in the water on his own, Ubawa snuck up on Akili while Marini was still attempting to go after some fish and jumped on his cousin, sending them both splashing all over the place. As always whenever one of them 'attacked' another, it always required a reaction of revenge, and soon all three of them were chasing each other all over the shallow end of the waterhole.

---

Delano looked at Lina, initially speechless. She had to ask that of all things, didn't she? "I won't die," he finally said, his voice filled with determination, as though saying it would make it true, "Sanders already tried to finish me off several times and failed every time. His little friend won't be able to succeed where he failed." A part of him was angry at Lina for even asking something such as that, but he also understood her concern. But he wasn't going to change his mind just because she was afraid for him. He had decided to go after the lion, and nothing in the world will stop him now.

[TheWhistlerify]

It was literally impossible for Kato not to laugh ever so slightly as Ubawa sneaked up on Akili before pouncing on the younger cub, soon causing the entire fishing session to come to a close as all three little hairballs became entirely distracted with wrestling one another. The way Muroki smacked his own forehead with a paw only added to the amusing element of it all. "You didn't expect it to last for very long, did you?" he asked as the lion in question stepped out of the waterhole and joined them on the bank.

"I'm surprised it lasted this long, actually." said Muroki with a sigh, lying down next to Umeme as the little ones continued splashing about inside the water. He should have known in advance that it would be impossible to teach both his son and his daughter at the same time. They were still too young to remain focused on and intrigued by a single thing for very long. He'd just have to work with them on this separately if he wanted them to ever make any progress.

••••••••••

Lina honestly couldn't get even the slightest bit of reassurance from her mate's determination. Just because he himself was so sure of it did not mean that nothing bad would happen. If anything, this over confidence just might play against him and cause him to do something foolish that would put him at an even greater risk. "This little friend of his is far worse, don't you see?" she asked. "He managed to sneak Sanders past the death sentence without anyone finding out about it and the only reason Muroki's still alive is just pure luck." Sanders seemed to enjoy playing with his targets first, but this other lion... He didn't take too long in throwing Muroki off a cliff...

[DGFone]

As Muroki settled down next to her, Umeme was giggling quietly at the cubs' antics. "I'm surprised they even lasted at all instead of turning into this the moment they got into the water," she added, effectively agreeing with what her mate had said. "Put the three of them together and prepare to set aside any plans to get anything done."

Even though all three of the adults were on the shore, they still had to make sure that there was always at least one set of eyes on the cubs. Especially with the trio now chasing after one another, they were paying less attention to where they were and it was all too likely that one of them might end up in deeper waters than they might expect or want.

---

Delano let out a grunt of annoyance at what Lina was saying. It was almost as if she wanted to discourage him so much that he would certainly fail...

"But with Sanders, no one believed that he was alive," he argued back, "this time, it won't be just me and Hatari..." He looked at Lina, hoping that she would understand that he had thought about this, and wasn't going to go charging in as he did the first time around. "There'll be a plan. Kato's going to talk with the king... Don't you see, Lina? There won't need to be any luck this time. We're going to plan every step of the way. There won't be anything to go wrong."

[TheWhistlerify]

Despite having thoroughly enjoyed watching Ubawa attempt to help Marini by trying to show her how to catch fish while still not really being too good at it himself, Muroki couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the small, wet and furry heap that was the two cubs and their cousin. "Well, as long as they're having fun." he concluded, figuring that the best way would really be to tutor them both individually. It was either that or waiting for them to get a little bit older to a point where their attention spans would no longer amount to the size of a mouse.

••••••••••

Lina simply stared at Delano for several more moments before averting her gaze to the floor. "I..." It was simply impossible for her to calm down about this. No matter what her mate said, he would still be putting himself in danger by doing this. "I'm going back inside..." she said quietly, standing up and slowly making her way back into the den. She'd seen Akili leave with her sister and brother-in-law as well as Kato a few minutes ago so she knew there would be no need to keep an eye on him for the time being.