[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Sanders smiled rather wickedly at Hatari. "Well, you see, I am planning to retire soon. Go off and live the rest of my life in comfort. However, there is some buisness I want you to take care of first." He looked around to make sure that no one who shouldn't be were around. He grinned. Hatari had picked a very nice spot. "I figured, before I go, why not to deal with those who got in my way."

Just in case, he moved closer to Hatari and lay downb as well, so that he can talk very queitly. "The king has certainly brought me a lot of trouble. But he is very hard to get to and too well protected. However, his son..." Sanders liked Hatari's expression of shock and fear. He still trusted Hatari to do the job, but he also relishes in just how others react to his ideas. "And then there is that other lion who gave me a huge headache. Especially after I thought I had gotten rid of him for good, only for our freind the king to show up and ruing everything. What was his name...? Delano. I also want you to get rid of him, and his family."

Sanders smiled at Hatari as though he was simply telling him to go and hunt some wildebeest instead of other fellow lions. "Now be a good lion and do that for me, will you? I dont want to have to come after you too."

---

Depite the last thing Delano wanted to do was talk about his parents, he forced himself to join into the conversation. It was the least he could do, especially after Kato admitted to his fear of not being able to live up to the expectations of the king.

"Yeah, we talked to our father about our worries all the time," he finally said, "in fact, if it wasn't for the things that he taught us after such conversations, I don't think we would have survived after he... was killed." Delano sighed, and even Muroki looked rather sad when he said it. Time to change the topic fast. "Anyways, you don't have to worry about anything like that. Everyone have their mometns when they feel like they are not good enough. You'll get over it fairly quickly, and before you can even blink, you will master the lessons and not have to worry about looking dumb or anything like that."

Delano then got an idea that made him grin widley, as well as feel quite better at the joke that came into his head. "Besides, what will, err.. what was her name? Dusta? Do- Desta! Anyways, what will she think? Look at it this way: You run away, and she will certainly consider you a failure and a waste of time. You stay and continue learning, and you won't have to worry about her potentially running off with someoen else. Just think about it: how many lionesses would skip the chance to be with the prince and future king?" He gake Kato a wink. "Think about it."

[TheWhistlerify]

Hatari couldn't help but get a rather huge urge to simply lounge himself at Sanders and bite into his throat when the somewhat older lion actually went ahead and lay down next to him. He was obviously shocked to hear that Sanders was planning to go not only after Delano (and the King if he ever found the opportunity to) but also after the ones they held dear. While the king and Delano had "done something" to Sanders, (something Hatari no longer considered as something that justified assassinating anybody), going after their families as well was just pure evil.

He still didn't know that Muroki and Delano were brothers, so pretending to agree (or being forced to agree) to help Sanders wasn't too difficult. "Fine." said Hatari, letting out a small growl to make it clear that he didn't like the idea of being forced like that, hoping that doing so would make Sanders even more amused by the whole thing, which might lead to him letting his guard down.

"You're not expecting me to do that by myself, are you?" he asked, making sure that Sanders saw him briefly glance at the two lions who were also there. Hatari then looked back at Sanders. "I imagine you'd like to be there when they all die, too." he added, knowing that it'll be easier to bring Sanders down by luring him into the pride's territory.

***************

Kato smiled somewhat sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with a paw. "Desta's not that kind of girl..." he said, a little timidly. "She always says she'd have me demoted if she could so that we could spend more time together..."

"Awwww!" exclaimed Lina, unable to stop herself. "That is so sweet!" The way the prince's face reddened as she said that was even cuter.

"I'll never run away..." he continued after a short silence. "Still, I just can't help but be curious about what another life would be like..."

"Tell you what." said Muroki with a smile, placing a paw on the younger lion's shoulder. "How about you try talking to your father about what's on your mind and I'll-" he fell silent. What was he supposed to do exactly. [b"Er... I dunno... Just talk to him. I'm sure you'll feel much better afterwards!"[/b]

[DGFone]

To say that Sanders would want to see the ones who ruined his plans gone was a very big understatement. Especially if he could pay them a visit during their last living moments as well. "Would I like to be there? Of course I would." He could picture it in his mind already. "I want to see their faces when they realize that no matter how how they tried, no matte how many times they got away before, I still won." Sanders smiled at Hatari. "You come up with a plan and inform me. I'll be waiting."

Motioning for his bully lions to follow him, he turned to leave. "But I warn you, I may be patient, but even my patience has a limit. Don't try it."

---

"Just try it, you'll be surprised how well that can work," Delano said, agreeing with Muroki's suggestion. "Your father doesn't seem to be a mean lion. In fact, he seems rather nice. Much better than other lions I have had the 'great' opportunity to meet."

He shrugged. "But if you really are that curious about what it's like to live outside this place, why not just go on a vacation or something? Arrange it with your dad so that he won't send who knows how many lions to track you down and send you back by force. Parents can be very persuasive that way, you know. But he might agree to late you take a few days to travel and explore. Won't hurt to ask."

Now that he was actually talking to Kato, he didn't feel as troubled as he did initially, and even felt some of his fears start to go away. Kato was just a young lion growing up and realizing that the world is more complicated than what cubs think it's like. There was no strange conspiracy to be spied on here. He hoped.

[TheWhistlerify]

Hatari had to make quite an effort to not roll his eyes in Sanders face when Sanders said that he had to come up with a plan. For someone as stubborn as Sanders could be, he was quite lazy. But that couldn't be helped. "Wait just a minute." he said, causing Sanders to stop and turn around. "Do you happen to have any information I could use?" he asked. He knew Delano's name, but other than that pretty much nothing else. "Anything about the prince, mainly. I don't even know what he looks like. How old is he?"

Hatari still didn't know what he was going to do in order to try to stop Sanders, but for the time being he could at least pretend to be taking his mission seriously.

---------------

Muroki nodded at his brother's suggestion. "That might prove to be a very good idea." he said. "I'm sure your father will understand why you're upset. It's completely natural to be worried about the future or about living up to others' expectations of you."

Kato smiled, looking a lot more like his cheerful self after what Delano and Muroki had suggested. "I'll try talking to him." he said eventually, sounding more self confident than before. The prince took a look outside and, noticing the sun's location, realized that he had to hurry unless he wanted to miss yet another lesson. "Wow, it's almost noon!" he exclaimed. "I really have to go... Thanks for the advice, you two!"

Lina couldn't help hut giggle as the three of them watched the prince run off. "You two are going to be great fathers, you know?" she asked with a smile. "That was so sweet of you to support him like that!" She leaned closer to Delano, licking him once on the cheek.

"Is it really almost noon?" asked Muroki, walking outside. "Umeme sure has been gone for quite a while now..." Perhaps it would be a good idea to start looking for her, just to be on the safe side.

[DGFone]

Sander hesitated, knowing that while he knew what Kato looked like, Hatari didn't. "He looks a lot like his father, but is only starting to grow out of cub-hood. I can come back later and tell you where to find him." He hated to have to do this work, but he already knew the age-old phrase 'if you want something done right, do it yourself'. He wasn't going to have Hatari just guess and kill someone else. That can bring a lot of unwanted attention early on and ruin the entire thing before it can start.

But just in case... "Do some scouting around, you'll figure it out."

---

Delano watched the prince run off, and felt an uncanny relief wash over him. Did he really dislike anyone connected to those in charge that much? Or was it something else? His thoughts were disrupted when Lina gave him the kiss. "We- well, it wasn't anything really," he muttered embarrassingly, "just trying to help out a fellow lion, you know."

Thinking back about it, he wasn't even sure anymore if he was really all that mad at Kato showing up. At first, Delano wanted nothing more than to have the prince turn around and run right back, but by the end, he was even getting used to the prince's presence, and even... starting to enjoy it somewhat.

Needless to say, Delano was feeling rather confused about his feelings, so when Muroki suggested going on a search for Umeme, he declined it. "I'm sure she's fine. You can go and search for her if you want, but I think I'll stay here with Lina. Wait for you to come back."

[TheWhistlerify]

Hatari remained silent. Sanders sure was looking for the easiest way to exact his revenge. Going after a teenaged lion was most likely going to be a piece of cake, even with his back still sore as it was. He knew that the only reason Sanders wanted him to do it (seeing how there was barely any risk in getting hurt by the prince) was because he wanted to stay low. While Sanders might not necessarily want to be there to watch Kato die, seeing how the king probably wouldn't be there to see it happen, Hatari knew that the former leader of the underworld would not pass on the opportunity to get the last laugh at the lion who had blown his cover.

Which led him to think about Delano. He had no idea where exactly the lion lived within the pride, but maybe Delano was still involved with the police somehow. If that was the case, then telling him might be his best option. He would have considered telling Muroki and Umeme about the whole thing, but he just couldn't even bring himself to think about the risk of them trying to do something dangerous in order to help and getting injured in the progress. No. They've both been through enough because of the underworld as it was. He needed to somehow get the word to the police (without getting himself executed on the spot, though). Luckily Sanders said he'd be back later, so that gave him some time to think.

"Don't I always?" asked Hatari with a devious (but fake) smile. After all, he used to be one of Sanders' best and most trusted assassins. As much as he wasn't proud of that fact, he could somewhat use it to his advantage in his current situation. "Just tell me where to find the little brat and leave the rest to me."

---------------

Muroki, who had pretty much already decided to go look for Umeme because he hasn't seen her for a few hours, actually thought that having Delano and Lina stay in the den was a good idea. "Great. So if she comes back, tell her that I'm looking for her, will you?" he asked, getting ready to take his leave.

"Will do." said Lina with a smile, watching her brother-in-law walk off before looking at Delano. "Sheesh, can't you ever take a compliment?" she asked jokingly, resting her head on his shoulder. "I really meant it..." she chuckled. "I think you just made the little guy's day." True, Kato wasn't a cub, but still.

Muroki meanwhile didn't have much of an idea as to where Umeme might be seeing how, technically, she could be anywhere. Fortunately enough, after maybe a few minutes of wandering around, he found the lioness he was looking for carrying a dead zebra. That certainly explained where she's been the entire morning. "Hey, there you are..." he said with a smile, walking over to her and giving her a short nuzzle. "You didn't tell me you were planning to hunt... I could have helped..." he added in a somewhat guilty-sounding tone. "Here, let me at least carry this."

[DGFone]

Sanders put on a smug grin. "Before you know it, I'll give you the information you need, and I will finally be rid of them. And remember, you help me out properly, and there is a handsome reward in it for you. If you don't, things will be worse for you." With that, he left with his guards, leaving Hatari once more alone by the water hole.

If he had payed attention, he would have noticed Hatari's sly grin vanish as soon as he turned away, but he was too busy imagining out in his head what it would feel like to finally get rid of everyone who annoyed him. In this case, the idea of revenge was tasting very sweet indeed.

---

Delano smiled when Lina placed her head on his shoulder. "Well alright, maybe I did help him out," he replied, "But I really just wanted not to come off as rude or anything. So I just told myself that I better start talking, and I guess it went off from there." This was mostly true, but he didn't feel like he wanted to tell Lina about his initial fears and doubts about the reason why Kato had showed up. He really did think that she would laugh at him and make him feel bad about being so irrational about Kato's reasons for meeting them.

Dragging the zebra was getting rather irritating, but at least Umeme had a good cover story, and she even got food for the four of them. "Well you know," she muttered through the zebra fur when Muroki joined her and picked up the other end of the kill to help her carry it, "first of all, you were gone when I woke up and I was hungry, and secondly, you have that really fluffy mane of yours. It makes an excellent pillow, but it sure doesn't help you hide during a hunt. Zebras have good eyes you know."

But just in order not to make Muroki feel too bad about not helping her in the hunt, she quickly added, "but thanks for offer." Not to mention that it is true that males are far less successful at hunting due to their manes, Muroki is a big help in the logistics of physically moving the meal back home. When he doesn't need to hide, his bigger muscles are a very nice help indeed.

[TheWhistlerify]

Hatari silently watched Sanders walk away with his two goons, not saying anything that would unnecessarily prolong the interaction between them. He remembered the hatred towards himself that was present in Delano's expression right before it was revealed that he's been a double agent, which made him wonder who hated Sanders more out of the two of them. If it weren't for his two bodyguards, he might have not been able to withstand the temptation to attack him right then and there, even with the huge risk his injury would have posed on such an act.

Heck, just the way Sanders was talking about how he will be rid of those who had stood up to him in the past as if it was a fact was enough to make him want to go for his throat. At least he had Sanders's trust (to the minimum extent he needed). It was going to be quite complicated, but he's planned more horrible things that worked out in the past. For once he was going to think of something complex which he wasn't going to regret for the rest of his life. Hopefully it would all work out in the end. It had to.

---------------

Lina couldn't help but giggle at what Delano said. "Aww, I always knew you were a softie!" she said somewhat teasingly, unable to help herself.

Muroki smiled somewhat sheepishly as Umeme commented on his mane. "Well, still, I could have helped somehow..." They've hunted together in the past, so while it was true that it would be more difficult for a male to hide in comparison to a lioness, hunting together could get rid of that disadvantage if Muroki chose a very good hiding spot to wait at for Umeme to scare their prey towards, for example. "Lina and Delano came earlier today." he said as they walked, figuring he might as well allow Lina to be the one to tell the news to her sister.

Now that he was thinking about it, he was "complaining", in a manner of speaking, and saying that he wanted to help her hunt now, but sometime in the (maybe) near future it would be up to him to hunt on his own for both of them. It's been some time since he's gone hunting alone, but he was going to keep trying again and again because there wasn't going to be any other way.

After a while of walking they reached their new den, at which point Lina tore herself away from Delano and rushed over to her sister, barely able to conceal her excitement. "Umeme, guess what!" she exclaimed, nearly pulling her sister out of the den with her by the ear before even giving her a chance to place the zebra down. "I have to tell you something! Come quick!"

Spoiler: show

I was thinking Hatari could find out Muroki and Delano are related through Sanders, who can somehow discover the fact that Delano's got a brother as well as his brother's name (doesn't matter how he finds that out so there's no reason to even write anything about his process of discovery). But it has to happen after he talks to Muroki because if he does know too early on he'll have no choice but to alert Muroki because he'll know that Muroki'll be in danger either way.

[DGFone]

Delano could only stare and blink stupidly when Lina Lina all of the sudden simply abandoned him just like that, rushing over to Umeme and taking her somewhere. Muroki was not torn away, and so the two brothers found themselves alone once more. "Lina is sure excited to tell the news," Delano muttered, still shocked at how quickly she can just rush off, "did I wait too long to ask or something?" He grinned at his brother. "Or was Umeme like that as well?"

Umeme was quite surprised at Lina of all creatures when she suddenly found herself having to follow her sister close behind or risk having a part of her being torn off by Lina, who seemed very eager to tell her something. Regaining her bearings, she began to smile, knowing that whatever Lina had to say, it was very good news. Finally, Lina stopped some way's away from the den, and Umeme' patience was also beginning to run out. "Alright Lina, what's the big news? What got your fur so ruffled up?"

She already had a few ideas in her head about what can make Lina so excited, especially after yesterday's events. But she wasn't sure, and it was always better to actually let Lina make the big announcement before just guessing.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki chuckled as Lina almost dragged Umeme outside, placing the zebra down sitting next to his brother. "Yeah, I can see that." he said, rubbing the back of his head with a paw. "I don't remember if Umeme was this excited but hey, you two are married now! I think she'd have been just as excited even if you'd proposed to her sooner." The pale, black-maned lion couldn't help but grin at just how satisfied his brother appeared to be. "So I take it you don't regret ignoring your worries and proposing, huh?"

Lina smiled somewhat sheepishly as she and her sister came to a stop outside the den. "Well, uh... Delano and I have been together for a long time now, and-" she paused. "No, wait, you already know that..." again she paused, this time thinking of what she was going to say in order to not sound even sillier than she already has. "Anyway, um, so, yesterday after you and Muroki left he proposed to me!" It felt like quite a relief to have finally gotten that off her chest, although she couldn't think of a reason as to why she was so nervous about telling her own sister about something like this. "We're married!"

Spoiler: show

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