[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Quickly rubbing away the last of his tears, Delano stood up. "Well, let's go then!" He also saw the irony in going to Kato for help, after all, it was Delano himself who was quite hesitant to talk to the prince in the first place. But the first time he had the nightmares, they almost drove him to insanity, and he wasn't going to let them simply go away on their own again. The last time took far too long. Kato was the only lion Delano knew who might even have a chance of knowing what to do, so in his mind, it was worth getting over his discomfort at talking to the prince.

Leading Lina outside, Delano broke into a run, knowing that she would be right behind him.

---

Umeme laughed a little. "Nope, you have not. But now you have." They walked for a little while in silence, and then Umeme thought of something. "You know, I don't think we have to worry about whats-his-name, Sanders, anymore. The king knows he's bad, so I don't see how he can come anywhere close to the kingdom anymore without getting into a lot of trouble." She nudged him slightly again. "So get better soon."

She then noticed where they were. "Oh, we're almost here. Just around here somewhere will be the large cave we'll be looking for."

[TheWhistlerify]

While Lina knew that Delano was way over his discomfort when it came to being around Kato, she didn't expect him to get all enthusiastic and actually start running in the direction of the royal den, especially when considering the very likely possibility that the king would be there. "Hey, wait up!" she said in susprise, rising to her paws and running after him. She was about to tell him that simply running towards and into the king's residence wasn't the best idea, especially after the events of the previous day, but she remained silent. Delano was already out of range and wouldn't hear her anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Muroki thought about what Umeme said for some time before slowly nodding. "I think so too." he said. "I just hope that Delano thinks the same way..." He still remembered just how bad Delano's condition was back during his confinement, and hoped that yesterday's incidents wouldn't cause any further harm than it already has. "I think I'll talk to him about this later... You know, to make sure he doesn't take this too hard..."

Pushing all the worries regarding his brother aside, Muroki took a look at their surroundings. He couldn't identify anything different in the scenery that might indicate they were getting closer to an important location. "I've never been to a royal den before..." he said in a somewhat laughable manner. "I wonder if there's anything, you know... different about it..." He felt a little silly upon realizing that it was probably just like any other den out there.

[DGFone]

Delano ran ahead of Lina, eager to finally rid himself of these nightmares once and for all. He really didn't know if Kato would be able to help him or not, but the prince was the only one who could possibly help him, and he was desperate enough.

Up ahead, he saw Muroki and Umeme, and figured that they wanted to see Kato as well. After all, why else would they be here? However, he wasn't entirely comfortable with them being here at the same time, so he slowed down, and waited for Lina to catch up.

---

Umeme simply had to laugh at Muroki's reaction. "Of course it's just another den, silly!" Looking around, she finally spotted it. "Just a lot bigger on the inside, that's all. The den is connected to the largest cave in the area, so it really is spacious on the inside, but the way in and out looks like any other den from the outside."

Not wanting to barge into the king's home just like that, Umeme and Muroki approached the entrance. Even though she didn't see anyone around, she knew that quite a few lions had already seen them and were watching their every step, just to be sure. More likely than not, the king knew they were there as well.

Still, it's better not to be rude. "Hello? Anyone inside? It's us, Umeme and Muroki!" She waited for a reply.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina kept running after Delano, once again surprised at just how easily he could outrun her if he had a really good motivation. She couldn't see how Kato (or anybody else, for that matter) could turn out to be a dream expert or something else of the sort, but who knew? Soon she also noticed her sister and brother in law ahead of them and came to a halt next to her mate, confused as to why he'd stopped running all of a sudden. "Is something wrong?" she asked, looking on as Muroki and Umeme approached the entrance of the den. "Let's join them." she suggested.

Muroki still seemed rather curious about what the king's residence looked like, especially after Umeme's description of it. It sounded different from other dens, despite being just another den at the end of the day. A few smaller dens surrounded it, but he couldn't see anybody in them and had no idea who they belonged to. "I wonder if there's a den that's connected to like a tunnel system or something... That would be really cool..."

The two of them waited for a short moment before a lion walked outside. Their names didn't seem to mean anything to him. "If you're here looking for the king, he's not here at the moment and will not be seeing anyone until further notice." He looked like he was about to tell them to leave, but that was when he noticed the wound on Muroki's shoulder as well as the fact that he was leaning against Umeme for support. "Oh, of course! Excuse me, one moment!"

The lion ran back inside before returning after a few moments, accompanied by a lioness. She looked at Muroki for a brief moment before looking at the lion next to her. "Help him into the den."

"Yes ma'am."

"Oh, no, wait!" said Muroki, realizing that there's been a misunderstanding. "I'm okay, I don't need any-"

"Don't be shy, dear." said the lioness with a smile. Muroki fell silent. It seemed like the saying "don't be shy" had the exact opposite effect on him.

[DGFone]

Umeme giggled at Muroki's reaction. "Seems like you're famous already." It was extremely rare that any random lion will get this kind of treatment from the king's royal staff. This could only mean that the king had already explained who Muroki was, and that he should be treated well.

While she could understand Muroki's hesitation about getting the help, after all, she too would be embarrassed if she was in this position, she wasn't going to let him escape this one. "It's not like they are going to hurt you. Go on!" She allowed the lioness to take over prepping Muroki up, signaling that Umeme was trusting her to help Muroki.

From behind her, she almost didn't notice Delano and Lina, who finally caught up.

"So this is where the king lives? It's so... big." Umeme grinned at Delano's comment. Sure, the entrance to the den was somewhat ordinary, but on the inside, it was much bigger than even she expected, not to mention very well lit. She was very easily able to see why the king chose to live here.

"So what brought you two over here?" she asked Lina. "When we left, the two of you were still fast asleep." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Delano look down to the floor.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki wanted to explain that the real reason he was there was to visit Kato and that they didn't need to bother over him because he was fine now, but he found himself unable to utter a single word as he was urged inside by the two strangers. Lina knew that Delano wouldn't be too thrilled to have the whole world know about his nightmares so she quickly said the first thing that came to her mind. "We just thought we'd see how Kato was doing." she said, smiling at her sister. "Also, I had a feeling the two of you would be here."

Muroki meanwhile kept walking (or being herded, for that matter) into the den, eventually finding himself somewhere in the center of the large cave. The more inner part of it seemed to lead to another area, which was out of sight. "I swear that I don't understand you males sometimes..." said the lioness with a sigh as she began to examine his shoulder. "Getting into fights over girls... That's ridiculous. I'm sure this young lady who helped you here doesn't find it necessary."

Muroki almost felt offended by her comment. Him? Willingly get into a fight? Good heavens! "Um, er... you're mistaken..."

"This bite could have only been caused by a fully grown male considering the size, and it has to be a lion because there haven't been any jaguars or tigers around these parts for years. Wherever you live, the walk all the way here shouldn't have made you seem so tired." Muroki blinked a few times. He really did feel quite worn out from walking. "This could only mean that you've lost quite some blood before the bleeding stopped. Heck, I'd say you got lucky."

Muroki was quite surprised to say the least. This lioness definitely knew her stuff when it came to first aid. Muroki was about to explain what really happened when a familiar voice reached his ears from an inner part of the den. "Mom? What's wrong?" It was Kato's voice.

"Nothing, dear!" Muroki hadn't the slightest idea that the lioness he's been talking to up until now was the queen. "I'm sorry, my son's been a little jumpy since yesterday. Excuse him, he won't be a bother. Wait here for a moment while I go fetch something for your shoulder."

[DGFone]

Umeme found the way Muroki was taken away almost funny, for she did not expect someone to be quite so eager to help him. From what she heard of the lioness's fussing over Muroki's shoulder, she began to blush furiously beneath her fur. "He didn't get a fight over me..." she muttered, but was only heard by Delano and Lina, who already knew that.

The next voice they heard was non other than Kato's. Umeme's jaw dropped when she realized who the prince was referring to. "That was the queen?" She looked at both Delano and Lina, and sure enough, both of them looked dumbfounded as well. "Hey, Kato, it's us! We're at the entrance... place... hall..." She hoped that Kato would be able to see them. After all, that's why she and Muroki came here in the first place.

After getting over the shock of being right next to the queen, Delano began to feel nervous again. Upon hearing Kato's voice, he realized that he had no idea what to tell to the prince, nor even if Kato could help. Not to mention that with Umeme and Muroki here, and to make things worse, the queen as well, he was rapidly losing his nerves.

He sat down behind Lina, his ears flat on his head, and tried to hide from... someone. He didn't even know why he wanted to hide so much, but he hid behind Lina, hoping that no one would notice.

[TheWhistlerify]

Upon hearing and recognizing Umeme's voice after his mother had left, Kato immediately walked over from the inner part of the den, looking surprised to see the four of them there. Muroki smiled at the younger lion, giving him a small wave of hello with his paw. "How's it going?" he asked, not getting a response. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better. I thought I'd drop by and-" he was interrupted when the prince ran over to him and embraced him in a hug. Despite how small he was, he was giving Muroki a bit of trouble breathing. Or maybe that was because of his shoulder.

Lina meanwhile noticed Delano hide behind her and looked around at him over her shoulder, confused. She didn't ask what was wrong in fear that Umeme might hear her and notice, but the look in her eyes said everything. She couldn't see any reason for Delano to become so upset like that all of a sudden, and hoped that the reason wasn't them being inside the royal den.

Spoiler: show

Somewhat short because I'm short on time. :3
I won't be able to post again before you head off to bed...

[DGFone]

Umeme grinned at the sight of Kato, but had to wince at how hard he hugged Muroki. Approaching the two, she sat down next to Muroki, grinning at the prince. "Easier there, I want to be able to take him home in one piece." She gave Kato a wink for him to know that she was only teasing. "So how has your day been so far? Uneventful, I hope."

She guessed that Kato had spent the morning in here, but she could always be wrong. At that moment, he queen came back, carrying an odd assortment of... stuff. It wasn't the nicest smelling of materials, but Umeme knew that it was to help Muroki.

Still behind Lina, Delano looked around, taking time to convince himself that there really isn't anything to worry about, or even more, to hide from. Hesitantly, he moved over to her side, placing his head on her shoulder. With the morning's excitement wearing off, he began to feel again his exertions from yesterday, as well as the largely sleepless previous night. Letting out a long yawn, he closed is eyes and allowed himself to drift off. He would figure out what to tell Kato, and then he would have to explain his unusual behavior to Lina as well...

[TheWhistlerify]

Kato, having completely forgotten about Muroki's injured shoulder, immediately drew away from the lion he was embracing as if he had accidentally hugged a burning log. He was feeling guilty about this whole thing as it was, and the last thing he wanted was to cause Muroki any further pain or discomfort. "I- I'm sorry..." he said, looking like he'd just committed some horrible crime. "Um, I haven't done much..." he looked at Muroki. "I wanted to come and see you but my dad said that you were alright and that I should stay in the den for the time being, and..." His voice was somewhat unstable and it looked like he was barely able to keep his composure. "And I couldn't come and see you..."

Muroki was about to say something comforting (or at least something he thought was comforting) upon seeing just how bad Kato was still feeling when his mother returned. He couldn't help but become entirely distracted by whatever in the world it was she was carrying with her. "Do you know them, sweetie?" she asked as she set 'it' down on the ground in front of Muroki, who couldn't help but wrinkle his nose. She obviously knew that others had helped her son yesterday, but it appeared that she didn't know that she was currently in the same den with them.

The queen smiled kindly at Muroki, who was still staring down at what she'd brought. "This won't hurt at all." The male had a feeling that she was lying but before he could react or voice any of his doubts she had one paw clench his muzzle shut and a pawful of that bizzare material pressed against his shoulder. Muroki could only try to yelp in pain as he attempted to pull away (out of instinct), but her grip on his muzzle was far stronger than he thought it was. Talk about being assertive with your patients... "Sorry, I lied."

"Mom!" yelled Kato with annoyance, frowning at his mother. Hadn't his father told him that Muroki was going to be alright? If so, why was his mother doing this? "Dad said he was going to be fine!" Did his father lie to him?

"Treating somebody doesn't mean they're about to die, Kato." replied his mother calmly, only letting go of Muroki's muzzle after a few seconds because she knew that the stinging sensation only lasted as long. "Why not help him get better sooner if we can?" After thinking of her son mentioning his father again she suddenly realized who she was facing. "Dear me! Why didn't you tell me that they're the ones who helped you?" She looked back at Muroki, an embarrassed look on her face. "I've been talking to you for the past 5 minutes and yet I still haven't thanked you for saving my son's life! How rude I must seem right now..."