[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Even though in the lead, Umeme knew that Muroki was letting her win. Still, it was fun to be the one in the front for once. Their destination came into sight, and she put on a last burst of speed. Despite that, Muroki was still able to keep up. She didn't mind too much about that, because she could hear now that even he had to put in some effort to keep up. "We're here!" With one last push, she crossed the imaginary finish line and came to a stop. Around them, the land was somewhat more hilly, but what was more important was that in many places, small caves had either already existed, or were dug out to make dens.

Knowing that Muroki wouldn't know what to do, Umeme had him follow her. "There are two things we can do," she told him, "we can either find an unoccupied den, or we can dig one out for ourselves. The good thing about this place is that the soil here naturally wants to come apart, so making a den here is much easier than somewhere else. Which would you prefer?"

---

Delano watched Lina as she slowly crept over to the rock, watching the tips of her ears, the only things that stood out from the grass. When she was in position and waiting, he tensed and prepared for the hunt. Knowing that Lina was waiting for him to make the first move, he crept just a little bit closer to the gazelle, and when he felt that getting any closer would give away his position, he burst out of hiding and charged his prey.

As expected, the gazelle snorted in surprise and bolted away. It looked like it was going to run in the wrong direction, but then Delano ran towards the side, and herded it back towards the rock where Lina was hiding. With gazelles being naturally faster than lions, Delano already felt himself straining just to keep up. As the gazelle ran closer to the rock, he knew that if Lina would miss, they would go hungry. With his energy running out fast, Delano put everything he had left into making sure that their prey would run past as close to Lina as possible.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki came to a stop at Umeme's side, looking around. He has always thought that dens were caves that had already existed before being occupied, but he never expected to find out that a den could be dug out like that. But, thinking about it, he couldn't think of another way for these dens to be created, so this was most likely the method used on both occasions. "I never knew dens were dug out." he said, following his mate. "That's kind of cool." it also sounded like quite an uneasy task, too.

The hilly area they were now in seemed to be quite large. He may not have been able to see too far ahead of them because of all the hills, but he felt like there was more to the place ahead of them. "There are already so many dens here, and so far I don't see or hear other lions." he paused for a short moment. "We could always look around a little and then decide." The only problem that might occur was them choosing a den and then finding out that somebody had already claimed it, which might end up being quite unpleasant, but a den that has been occupied anytime recently would most likely have the scent of other lions to indicate it.

---

After arriving by the rock without accidentally alerting the gazelle to their presence and taking her position, Lina knew that the only thing she could do now was wait for Delano. She doubted she would fail to notice a gazelle sprinting in her general direction, but nevertheless she remained focused and kept her gaze directly on their prey. The difference from tackling anything from the front in comparison to from behind was that she could end up getting slammed away, which meant that she was going to have to time her pouncing and hit it from the side in order to knock it over.

She waited and, soon enough, the gazelle began to run in her direction. It was impossible to see Delano from her lowered positioned in the grass (and she obviously didn't want to be seen by the gazelle by rising to her feet in order to get a better view). Waiting a little longer, she pounced exactly as the gazelle ran past her, slamming directly into it's side and sending both of them to the ground. It was hard to bite any area that might make it less mobile like the legs considering the fact that it was now kicking around frantically, so she hoped that Delano would be able to do anything before the gazelle got its bearings and started running again.

[DGFone]

Umeme rolled her eyes. "Of course there are not many lions here right now. Just wait until night time when they all come back." She walked over to an entrance to a den and pointed at a spot above it with a paw. "You see this?" She was pointing at how just above the den entrance, claw marks were scratched onto the rocky surface. "This means 'occupied'. But we can look around for others which are still empty."

Together they walked throughout the "neighborhood". Umeme lead the tour, pointing out how not only lions lived in this area. Any non-migratory animal could live here if they wanted too, and didn't interfere with anyone else. Occasionally, they would come across a resident who was not elsewhere, as well as even a few lions. "Of course, living here does come with a few problems," she was also explaining, "you can imagine how many prey animals come here out of their own free will. In fact, if you ever see what might be a potential meal here, here's some advice: don't. It means that they are protected from hunting." She stopped by a den hat caught her eye, as it was unoccupied. The peered inside and frowned. "Hmm, too close to others and somewhat small. Let's keep looking."

---

Upon seeing Lina jump out and tackle the gazelle, Delano stopped his chase and stood there, getting his breath back. His rest was interrupted when he saw that Lina did not have a good grip, and without hesitation he pounced on their prey and grasped it around the neck, choking it. They both had to avoid the flailing hooves, but eventually the animal ran out of air and its frantic efforts to escape ceased, followed by its breathing. Carefully letting go, Delano edged back, ready to pounce again should the gazelle get back up. It didn't.

He slowly grinned at their accomplishment. "Hey... we did it! Breakfast is served!" Despite his hunger, he knew that Lina had done the most dangerous part of the hunt, and so he was content to let her take the first bite. That didn't mean that he waited rather impatiently for her to start eating so that he can dig in as well. For now, his manners would only go so far.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki felt like asking whether there was a chance of a den being empty despite having the occupied mark on it because he doubted the marks simply disappeared in case the residents decided to leave but he refrained from doing it. They might as well simply look for an unoccupied den instead of taking the risk of claiming a den that might already be occupied by somebody else. He had to admit that seeing prey animals from so close was really weird, especially because they were actually standing calmly instead of running away from him.

Since food wasn't scarce around the kingdom, he doubted he was going to find himself going hungry and attempting to hunt down any animal that was protected from hunting, so he simply nodded at what Umeme said without questioning her. "How come I never knew of this place until now?" he asked as he and Umeme left the first unoccupied den they'd come across behind. "This pride must be much bigger than I thought..." The lions who lived here had to be members of the pride or at least related to a pride member because he doubted that random rogues were accepted just like that.

For a moment he considered telling Hatari about this place and suggesting that he also came over. That way the rogue wouldn't have to live on his own and it would make it easier for him and Muroki to stay in touch. As good as the idea seemed, he knew that Hatari would most likely not want to attempt getting permission to live there, which was quite a shame.

As they kept looking around, he also kept an eye out for a spot that wasn't to close to other dens where they could always dig out their own den in case they failed to find one that suited them. "What about this one?" he asked, coming to a stop. This unoccupied den was bigger than the first one they'd come across, but Muroki didn't know exactly how far did a den have to be from other dens in order to not be considered as too close. As much as he believed that this could also be an opportunity to meet and befriend new lions, he agreed with Umeme that they were going to need their own space.

---

Lina was more than grateful when Delano came to her aid because, being by the gazelle's stomach, she wouldn't have been able to get anywhere near it's neck quickly enough because of it's flailing forelegs. Luckily enough Delano realized that in time and managed to bite into their target's neck before it stood back up, securing their meal. Smiling in relief (because she wasn't in much of a mood to look for alternative prey), she rose back to her feet. "Yeah, this turned out pretty well."

A short silence followed and Lina soon realized that, regardless of the fact that he was much hungrier than she was, Delano was waiting for her to take the first bite. "Aww, what a gentleman..." she said with a smile, walking over to him and giving an affectionate lick across his muzzle. This almost tempted her to forget about the gazelle altogether, but she figured she wouldn't want to keep him hungry much longer so she went ahead and began eating.

[DGFone]

Umeme looked inside the den briefly. She had more of an idea about how far the other dens were around them, and this one, while not so alone like her parents' den, was far from being in a crowded neighborhood as well. "Doesn't look like anyone lives her, and it's unmarked," she commented, "We can keep looking, but we need to remember about this one, because I rather like it."

She looked around them, deciding how she liked the area. "Of course, we can always make a much better den if we dug one out, but that involves, well," she grinned, "digging one out."

---

Delano smiled when Lina kissed him. While it wasn't very long since she last did that, but after the hunt, it felt like one of the best things in the world. Almost as good as the nice meat which he now wolfed into. Almost.

As he ate, he felt Lina's eyes on him, and e looked up back at her, smiling sheepishly. "What?" He asked. "I'm hungry." While it was true that he was hungry, and the meat was very delicious, what really made things better was that he was here alone with Lina.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki smiled as Umeme commented that she liked the den they were looking at. "Good, it's important to me that we find a den you like." He too liked the den in front of them (although, to be honest, a den was a den in his opinion). Taking one last look, he went ahead and followed her in order to help her look for more possibilities. "You know," he said, "the den Delano and I used to live in with our parents is about the same size as this one."

Living in his parents' old den might have been an option if it weren't located such a large distance away from Umeme's home. After all, the last thing Muroki wanted was to bring Umeme away from her family, especially because there was no reason for her to live so far away from them. In fact it was probably for the best, because he didn't know whether he wanted to go back to where he'd found his parents' lifeless bodies.

***

Lina couldn't help but chuckle at Delano's rather expectable statement. "You don't have to tell me." she said, taking another bite. Delano eating so quickly when he was really hungry (which was the case at pretty much almost every meal) was something she was already used to. She thought it was cute, in a way.

[DGFone]

Umeme shrugged as she piled a few stones on each other near the entrance of the den. "Okay, so let's mark this one, and why not search for some more? We still have the rest of the day, and we might find a better one." She stepped back, taking a spot next to Muroki. "But as far as dens go, this is not a bad one."

She smiled and nuzzled Muroki. "We will have our own home, living together. That's quite something, don't you think?" It will be the first time in her life that she will move out from her parent's den, but she wasn't anticipating that with dread. In fact, she was quite excited to move in with Muroki. Not to mention that it was starting to get rather crowded in the old den...

---

Having eaten very quickly, Delano was done with his meal in no time at all. Licking away the blood from his muzzle, he lay down next to Lina and sighed with contentment. He watched with some amusement as a few vultures already began to approach the remains of their meal. "Kinda funny how we do all the work, and they get a free meal out of it," he commented lazily with a yawn. "But we get the best bits."

Spoiler: show

I think we can fast forward a bit either now or very soon

[TheWhistlerify]

Technically Muroki and Umeme had more than just the rest of the day to look for a suitable den. After all they weren't in a rush as far as he was concerned. It's not like they had anything else they needed to do. "I'm not in a hurry. We can keep looking if you want to." Of course he had no intention of finding a den that could fit an entire pride - there was no need for them to get greedy for no reason, but it wouldn't hurt if they did find a den Umeme liked better.

The lion couldn't help but purr as Umeme nuzzled him all of a sudden. "I know... I wonder what it'll be like..." he chuckled. "I still remember the first time we finally spent some time together. I think that moment where I asked you to hang out with me for a while was the one where I stuttered more than I ever had in my entire life."

"Then we went to some random meadow and I kept stuttering and looking down at my own paws all the time... Then at some point I managed to bring myself to tell you I thought your eyes were beautiful." He paused and smiled, revealing a row of teeth. "And that was when you became nervous for a change, so I gained a little confidence. But then I lost it again..." He looked up at the sky, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with a paw. "Geez, that's embarrassing to even think about..."

"But I slowly got more and more comfortable around you. Well, except for when I asked you to be my mate or when you caught me daydreaming while we were visiting Hatari the other day, but I think I had every right to be nervous..." Knowing that there was a time where he could barely get himself to talk to Umeme was almost impossible to believe. Now they were looking for a den in order to truly begin their lives together. It was a little weird to to think about it that way.

---

Lina only finished eating a little while after Delano had. Once she did she looked up at the sky and noticed the vultures he was talking about. Since she and Delano were so close to the dead gazelle the predatory birds were keeping their distance for the time being. "It's even a little annoying if you ask me..." she said, lying down beside him and smiling. "But yes, we get the best bits. And the important thing is that we got the food we needed." She chuckled. "That's what mom always says. As a cub I used to shout at vultures all the time. It scared Umeme that they might come and try to eat the two of us because of me..."

Spoiler: show

I missed you on Skype <_>

[DGFone]

Umeme grinned, also remembering when Muroki and Delano had first arrived. They were so nervous, it was quite comical, now that she thought about it. "You were quite cute when you stumbled about back then," she smiled and leaned over, nuzzling Muroki. "Of course, now you are even cuter now that you're not."

She got up and motioned for Muroki to follow her. "Come on, let's go look for some more homes." Half of her wanted to just call it a day and say that they found their new den, but she still wanted to see what else is out there. Besides, Muroki is with her, so it's quite fun to do so as well.

---

Delano laughed at the idea of being scared of vultures. "Muroki and I were never afraid of them," he said, "of course, our parents only let us out of the den unsupervised when we were too big to be of any danger from them, and vultures would think twice about approaching a family of lions.[/b]

He looked up at the sun, and noted the time of day it was. The two of them can relax some more, but soon enough, they will need to return home. He settled down more comfortably next to Lina. They don't have to leave yet, and he was in no hurry to do so.

Spoiler: show

I have school today T.T Also, I think we are at a good point to skip some time

[TheWhistlerify]

It was only later in the evening when the two pairs met up with each other again. Delano and Muroki had decided to go running together, something they hadn't done in some time, and after they left Umeme told Lina that she and Muroki had been successful in finding themselves a den to live in not too far away from their family's current den. "Umeme, that's wonderful news!" she said with a smile as she walked alongside her sister. "I was worried you two would have a hard time finding a suitable place, but I'm glad it went swimmingly!"

She couldn't wait to see the den Umeme and her mate had chosen for themselves, but right now she and her sister were heading towards the border. Umeme was really eager to introduce Lina to this lion Muroki had met for some reason, but surely a rogue couldn't be so bad if her sister and brother-in-law regarded him as a friend. She trusted their sense of judgement. "So... this Hatari guy... how did you get to meet him to begin with?" she asked, unable to help her curiosity.

---

This time Muroki planned the course of their jog a little differently so that they'd end up where all the dens were. He wanted to show Delano the new home he and Umeme had picked so that Delano would know where it was. Like Umeme had said earlier, it surely was a little more crowded there now that the sun was setting. "It's this one." he said with a smile, stopping in front of the 2nd den he and Umeme had come across during their search. "Umeme liked it best." There weren't any lions next to it because it was a little isolated from the rest of the dens and because Muroki and Umeme had already left claw marks at the entrance to signal that it was occupied. "See the claw marks we left? This is how other lions will know that somebody else already lives here."