[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Umeme blushed. "No, it's alright, we understand." Sue, it was odd that the queen didn't recognize them at first, but Umeme doubted that even Muroki minded not being recognized. She turned her attention back to Kato, who still looked like he had done something wrong by hugging Muroki. "Wait, so why does your father not want you to see us?" She found it odd that the king would do something like that, although she had to admit that after the day before, it was safer to be more paranoid than less.

Next to her, Muroki let out another small whimper, and she gently rubbed hear head on his. "It will get better very soon. Probably just stings right now, right?" When she and Lina were growing up, sometimes their parents would also add some foul smelling stuff to their wounds when they got hurt, and it was always unbearable initially, but after the stinging would go away, the wound would feel a lot better than before as well.

Looking back behind her, Umeme saw Lina, who was looking back at them. She grinned, mouthing over this is so weird!

[TheWhistlerify]

Kato looked down at the floor, nervously rubbing one of his paws with the other. "I don't know..." he said, feeling confused. Surely there wasn't any reason for his father to think there was any danger in him seeing the ones who had saved his life.

"Your father doesn't mind you seeing anybody, Kato." said the queen as she slowly removed everything from Muroki's shoulder, causing him to let out a sigh of relief.

"Then why must I stay in the den?" asked the prince, not looking too satisfied with his mother's answer. "I don't plan on going anywhere near the border any time soon if that's what you're thinking..."

The queen smiled. "I'm sure you don't. He believes that you need some time to rest and I agree." She didn't know whether Kato would deny it but, while he was physically alright, he was still far from close to calming down and mentally recovering from the trauma. "We don't mind if you have friends come over. If you feel like having anybody over then it's an even better idea. We won't stop anyone from seeing you unless you decide you want to be on your own for a while."

Muroki meanwhile took a look at his shoulder. While it didn't look any different, it definitely felt less sore and less itchy than before. With a small hesitation he raised the foreleg connected to said shoulder a little, and was amazed when a much more minor pain than what he'd felt on the way over to the royal den was the result. The only bad thing now was that he smelled funny.

"Which reminds me..." continued his mother, looking at Kato. "Desta came by more than once since you were brought back yesterday." Her son's ears perked up as she mentioned her name, much to her amusement. "But you were sleeping like a log every time and she thought that letting you rest was more important." She sighed. "At least I can say that you didn't get just the looks from your father..."

"Mom!" Why did parents have to be so embarrassing and annoying?

Lina meanwhile chuckled, giving Umeme a small wave with her paw. With Delano sleeping against her, she couldn't come over and supposedly assist her sister (although she couldn't see anything weird about Muroki not liking medicine and the queen teasing her son like any mother often would).

[DGFone]

Umeme placed a paw over her mouth in order not to burst out laughing at the teasing the queen was putting Kato through. It was true that it was no different than with her and Lina when they were growing up, and even for that matter, her and Muroki. Still, it was nice to see someone else get the tease treatment for once. "Well, we came here to see how you're doing, and it sure looks like you're doing fine. But since we're here, I think we'll stay for some more." She winked at Kato. "Unless Desta shows up again."

Next to her, she noticed Muroki examining his shoulder, clearly amazed at how much more he can move it around, and with less pain. "So, feeling better?" He gave her a look that told her that it still smelled funny, and she rolled her eyes. "The smell will go away. Besides, would you rather have it smell, or would you rather still be in a lot of pain? I can help you with that."

She raised a paw as though to strike Muroki's shoulder, but her grin betrayed the fact that she would never actually hit him.

Next to Lina, Delano began to whimper quietly as a dream took a turn for the worse, starting to turn into another nightmare. Still asleep, he gripped onto Lina tighter in a subconscious attempt to get comfort, but without actually knowing that he was doing that, it was of little use.

He twitched from the dream, and no longer as well supported by Lina's shoulder, he fell to the ground. The impact promptly woke him up, and he groaned as he tried to remember just where he was, and what was going on.

[TheWhistlerify]

While Kato was glad that the four of them were going to stay longer, he couldn't stop his cheeks from turning completely red as Umeme joined his mother in teasing him, much to the queen's amusement. With Muroki's shoulder taken care of, she decided she might as well gather everything she'd brought with her and head deeper into the den, leaving Kato alone with his new friends.

Muroki continued looking at his shoulder with amazement, trying out all sorts of movements so that he could compare just how easier it was for him to perform them now. He couldn't tell just how that smelly pile of stuff the queen had just pressed against his wound made it feel like he'd gotten the wound a few days ago rather than yesterday, but he definitely wasn't going to question it too much and complain. Having not paid too much attention to what Umeme was saying, he was about to look at her and ask her to repeat what she'd said when the thud caused by Delano falling to the ground caught his attention.

He looked and saw that Delano was no longer sleeping against Lina but was instead lying down on the floor, with Lina looking somewhat confused and even concerned. She whispered something to him, probably asking if he was alright, before noticing that everybody else was watching them. "What?" she asked, quickly trying to think of something to say. "We all move about in our sleep sometimes. It can happen." she let out a sigh of relief as the 3 of them looked away and resumed their conversation, not thinking much of the incident.

Spoiler: show

Do you feel like coming to Skype for an hour or so?

[DGFone]

Umeme was socked by the sudden thud of Delano falling, but when Lina simply mentioned that he had moved a little, she turned back to Muroki and Kato. "So why does your dad want you to... remain in here?" Somewhat nervously, she looked around to make sure that they were the only ones around. "I mean, I guess you are somewhat spooked from yesterday, but that's not a reason to be forced to stay inside all the time."

She hesitantly added, "That is why you are inside, right? It's not because of something else?" It would be nice to go outside with Kato, but if his parents insisted that he remains inside the cave, then she doesn't really have a problem with that either.

Back next to Lina, Delano quickly got up from the ground, his heart beating fast. If it wasn't for her quick thinking, he didn't know what he would have done. "Th-thanks, Lina..." He was both disappointed and frightened that he has nightmares again, afraid that they might get worse, or even simply just not go away. He had come here to ask Kato for help, but the prince was busy right now with Umeme and Lina, and there was no one else who he knew that can help him. This left Delano very frustrated.

"Hey, Lina, join them if you want. I'll... I'll be outside." Ignoring her confused look, he walked out into the sunlight and took a sharp turn, looking for a place to hide in the rocks. Finding a crevice along a rocky wall, he slipped inside and lay down in a very small patch of dusty sand, just big enough for his body. Growling in frustration, he allowed his emotions lose, letting out his fears and anger out by hitting the rocks with his paws repeatedly, ignoring the pain it caused him, as well as no longer caring that he couldn't see past the fresh tears that now covered his eyes.

[TheWhistlerify]

Kato also didn't think much of Delano falling after Lina's made up explanation, and very soon he'd completely forgotten it. "Y-yeah, I think that's it..." he said with some uncertainty in his voice. "I mean, I've been outside a few times, but... I never went far from the den. And there are always other lions around. I mean, there always have been, but now there are more..."

Even though Delano told her that she could go and join the others if she wanted to, she could easily tell that something wasn't right. So instead of following his suggestion she cautiously followed him outside, feeling her heart sink when she saw him in that crevice in the wall. "Delano?" she asked carefully, wondering what could have possibly caused him to become so upset all of a sudden.

With his mother gone, Kato looked at Muroki. "Look, I..." he started, hesitating. "I wanted to apologize... For yesterday..." he looked down at the ground, his ears flat against his head. "It's my fault you got hurt..."

"Kato..." Muroki sighed, placing a paw on the younger lion's shoulder. "I told you, it's fine... It's not-"

"No, it's not fine!" yelled the prince, leaning away so that Muroki's paw dropped to the floor. "Who in the world hangs around by the border on a regular basis?!" he asked, referring to the gorge. "That's got to be the dumbest habit I've ever heard of!"

[DGFone]

Umeme was starting to get worried about Kato, although it did explain why the king wanted him to remain close bye. "Kato, it's not like you knew that anyone was after you..." She hoped that mentioning this again wouldn't cause even more problems. The young prince wasn't dealing with almost being murdered very well, but Umeme couldn't blame him. "Look... it wouldn't have mattered where you were. Like you said, that dam was not supposed to break on its own, so the gorge would be just as safe as any other place. Don't go blaming yourself for something that you can't control. Besides, Muroki wanted to help you."

She looked at Muroki, wondering if he should mention that he was a target as well or not. She wasn't aware of Kato knowing about this, and telling him could easily make things a lot worse rather than better.

"We're just glad that you're alright. If any of us got hurt because of it... these things happen. There's no need for you to apologize." Umeme smiled, hoping that it would make Kato feel better. "Besides, it looks like whatever your mother did really helped Muroki, so everything is fine." She looked at Muroki. "Right?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki also didn't really like the look of Kato's condition. Almost being murdered was definitely not the most pleasant experience, but Kato's reaction to it wasn't the one he'd expected. If anything, he'd originally thought Kato would still be scared because of the events of the previous day, but Muroki definitely wasn't expecting the prince to be troubled by the fact that he's been hurt just because he wanted to protect him.

"Helping you was my choice, Kato." said Muroki as reassuringly as he could as the prince lay down on the ground, still looking unsure. "If I had the option to go back to when we were in the gorge, I'd still do it. And if you had the option to go back to when we were in the gorge and try to talk me out of it, I wouldn't listen to you."

Kato looked up at him, and when Muroki saw how confused he was he smiled and lay down beside him (which earned him some small protests from his shoulder, although nothing he couldn't handle). "Maybe I can rephrase that..." he said, thinking for a short moment. "Alright, if you were in my place," The princes ears perked up as Muroki said this. "and Desta was in yours, what would you do?"

The king's soon seemed to have not seen the question coming at all. "She would react the same way. I'm sure of it." he said eventually, looking up at the older lion next to him. "I've known her my whole life."

Muroki smiled. While he was glad to hear that Kato's love interest cared about him that much, that wasn't the answer he was looking for. "I asked about you." A short silence followed. "You two love each other, don't you?"

"I..." The prince paused, looking down at the floor again as he blushed slightly. "I care about her... A lot... And I know she cares for me too, but... love? I don't even know anything about that..."

"I do." said Muroki as he placed a paw on the younger lion's shoulder in another attempt of encouragement. "Loving someone means holding them dear enough in order to put their needs and well being before yours." An unreadable expression then appeared on Kato's face, and Muroki fell silent in order to give him a moment to think. "So, would you do it?"

Kato slowly nodded. "Yes." he finally said. "Yes, I would."

"Even while knowing that she would react the way you're reacting now?" asked Muroki, smiling as the prince gave him another nod of approval.

[DGFone]

Seeing the way Muroki was able to get Kato to calm down was really impressing Umeme. Once more, she was very glad to get to be the one with this lion. However, he also made her feel somewhat useless in this conversation, and so she wanted in as well.

"It's okay to be scared when these things happen," she added, "but once their over, there's nothing to worry about. Move on and enjoy your life. And..." Umeme grinned, "the next time Desta stops bye, I think Muroki and I will leave you alone to spend some time with her. You might not see it right now, but we can: you love her."

Kato smiled sheepishly, clearly blushing beneath his fur and mane. Umeme nodded at his reaction. "I don't think you will mind being with her. After all, he," she motioned at Muroki, "told me that your father already doesn't like how much time the two of you are together." Grinning, she leaned forwards to Kato. "Although in this case, I think you can ignore him. Just this once." She gave him a wink just for the added effect.

[TheWhistlerify]

Naturally, Kato blushed deeply at what Umeme said. Although he had to admit that his mother talking to him about Desta was far more embarrassing than this, so his situation wasn't too bad. "Well, er, it's not that my dad doesn't approve..." If his father thought that Desta was with his son only because he was the future king, or had any other reason to disapprove of their relationship then Kato would have known by now. "He just thinks that we spend a little too much time together..."

"A little?" asked Muroki with a grin, unable to help himself.

This caused the prince to rub the back of his head with a paw, smiling shyly as he did. "Okay, maybe more than just a little too much..." So he was really in love with his closest cubhood friend. Kato may not have come to that realization on his own, but it still felt wonderful to know. He wanted so very desperately to tell her, but he couldn't simply come up to her and say it just like that. No. He was going to have to find the right time, preferably in someplace special and romantic.

But, thinking back on their first real date, he remembered how he took her to this one place he thought she'd really like and they ended up discovering a hornet's nest while caught up in a 'moment', in a manner of speaking. Yeah, he wasn't very good in this whole romantic location stuff. Even though Desta always told him that she didn't mind, and was actually occasionally laughing about the hornet's nest, he still felt somewhat bad about almost getting both of them stung by a large group of hornets. They had been lucky that there was a waterhole nearby.

"So are we all better now?" asked Muroki with a smile, causing the prince to snap out of his train of thoughts. Kato smiled and nodded, deciding to cross that bridge when he got to it and not worry about the matter for the time being. "That's more like it."

Spoiler: show

My entry is almost complete... Just need to proofread it (a few times to be safe)! Eeep! I'm really excited about starting this fanfic! Keep in mind that I don't have a name for the entry (which will also serve as the intro) just yet. I'll get back to you on that...