[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Umeme finally came to a halt behind Muroki, who ran all the way back to the old den, where Laini and Dakari were asleep. To her shock, Laini looked very delighted to see Muroki, only to slap him hard across the muzzle. For some reason, she found this quite funny, and next to her, Kato was also holding back some laughter.

Dakari grumbled about being woken up from his nap, but when he saw why, he sat up quickly. "Muroki! Umeme! What brings you here?" He saw a third lion next to them, who looked suspiciously a lot like the prince. He shrugged it off, though. "So what brings you two here? We heard you got into quite a bit of trouble recently." He looked over Muroki, making sure that his nephew was alright. "You know, we heard that you got hurt quite badly. Your aunt is right: You really should have told us sooner that you were fine."

He then broke into a warm smile. "But that's in the past. You are alright, and it looks like you came here in quite a hurry. What's the matter?"

---

At first, Delano wanted to bring his paw away from Lina. It was his fault that it was bleeding now, and she shouldn't have to work in order to make it better. But what really caught him was that while she sounded quite worried, her tone was also quite demanding when she told him that it had to stop. "But... how?" he replied shakily. "I tried everything I can think of. I'm... I don't know what to do!"

He shook again in his worries. He didn't know how to get rid of the nightmares, and just waiting for them to go away on their own wasn't working. Or at least, not quickly enough. "It's not like Muroki's shoulder," he complained, "the queen can't simply slap some nasty smelling gunk in my head to make things better."

Spoiler: show

I was working on a school assignment. Right as I called it a night, you posted, so hey, I relied too. . And I am thinking about what Sanders can do. Delano certainly wants him gone for good. And no, I haven't read it yet. Voting round hasn't been posted yet, has it?

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki could remember very clearly just how devestated his aunt and uncle were when they'd lost their unborn cubs. Knowing how long it had taken them both to recover from the tragedy made him feel even worse about what he was about to tell them and ask of them. "I'm sorry that the first time you're seeing me again after all this time is because of something like this, but... I know you're not going to like me bringing this subject up... Well... One of the lions who was involved in attacking you both has been found..."

His aunt and uncle looked at each other briefly with somewhat unreadable expressions. Muroki didn't know whether they were upset, relieved or maybe both. "Um, this is the part where it gets ridiculous, but I really do believe that-"

"If you came here to tell us that in order to make us feel better, then I can assure you that there was no need for it. " said his aunt. "That past is in the past. You can't change it. Besides," she looked at Dakari with a smile, and he smiled back at her. "we have a reason to be perfectly happy and put it behind us."

Hearing that made Muroki naturally curious, but that could wait. "That's not the reason I came here for..." he said, looking even more nervous than before. "I know you're going to find that hard to believe... If it weren't for that lion then Delano, Kato and I would have died two days ago..." he ignored the shocked looks on their faces and carried on. "He saved our lives and he's different now. He's not who he used to be..."

~~~

Lina let out a soft sigh, still gently licking Delano's injured paw every now and then. "She probably can't." she said with a sense of optimisim on her tone. "But everything your nightmares are about are in the past. Now you're here. You've got me, your brother and everybody else you know." Yes, Muroki might still be upset with his brother, but she doubted the grudge would last. "How about just putting your past behind you? Sanders can't hurt you or Muroki anymore. Try to let it go." Noticing that his bleeding had ceased, she rubbed her head into his mane instead.

Spoiler: show

He obviously can't be our bad guy forever. But Muroki and Delano didn't get their last confrontation or what not. I was aiming for something like that when Sanders attacked Hatari earlier, but you had him knocked out.

[DGFone]

Dakari thought about what Muroki just told them. "He helped you?"Muroki was right: it really was ridiculous. While he and Laini did recover from her attack, and were quite happy again, they also thought that the whole thing was done with long ago. "So... what about him? Why did you bring this up?"

He wasn't angry at Muroki. He was simply confused, because neither he nor Laini knew where Muroki was going with this. This other lion next to Umeme was clearly not the same one who attacked her, so he very much doubted that Muroki would introduce this younger lion as the attacker. But that meant that Dakari really did not know why Muroki was here.

---

Delano leaned against his mate. "I try to, Lina. I really try..." He sniffled a little. "I'm so scared... I can't control my dreams, and they just keep coming back... I... I feel like I'm losing my mind, Lina. I don't even know who I am anymore." He tried to explain to her that he felt like since Gakuru showed up again, trying to simply put everything in the past felt like a bad idea, because it already failed once. However, he couldn't get himself to speak, and remained shaking slightly as he cried on Lina's shoulder. He felt so lost, and didn't have any idea on how to find himself again.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki tried to think carefully of what he was going to say. This was going to be the part where it got even more ridiculous than it already has. "You see, er... I tried talking to the king about, well... on his behalf and all..." He noticed their surprise increase as he said that, but did his best to not let it agitate him further. "The king said, because this lion hurt many of the pride members here, that he can't simply pardon him for his past actions because some of those who'd been hurt might not find him saving me, Kato and Delano to be a good enough reason."

What made Muroki even more nervous was the fact that it was impossible to tell what his aunt and uncle were thinking. "So what I wanted to ask is, well..." he rubbed the back of his head with a paw. "It would mean the world to me, because we truly believe he deserves a second chance... Would it upset the two of you if the king let him go??"

~~~

Lina remained quiet for a short moment, slowly leaning her head against her mate's as he began to weep on her shoulder. "See, that's the part I'm having a hard time understanding." she said, sounding naturally confused. "You are behaving differently, but it doesn't feel like you're not who you used to be. It might seem that way to you because you're going through a hard time, but I can still see the lion you've always been." she smiled. "He's just taking some time to recover, that's all."

Spoiler: show

So have you read it? :3

[DGFone]

Dakari didn't really know what to say. He doubted that letting the lion go would be much for him and Laini, but they were only two out of a large number of victims. He looked over at Umeme, and she looked back with hopeful eyes. "Well, to be honest, I don't know, Muroki. Laini and I don't really have any issues with that, and we cabn both see how much it will mean to you," he quickly glanced at his mate to make sure that Laini nodded, signaling that he had her approval of what he was saying, "but we're not the only ones who that lion has hurt. What I am saying is... I don't know if we have the authority to help you on this one. I think we can forgive him, but do to fogive him on behalf of all of the others? I simply don't know if we can."

He could tell that this wasn't the answer that Muroki was hoping for, but on the other paw, it wasn't a full-blown refusal to help him out. Maybe they night, or they might not. Then something caught his attention. "Wait, you said that lion saved you and Delano. Where is your brother? He's not hurt, is he?"

---

Delano calmed down enough to stop crying. He wiped his eyes with a paw before looking at Lina. "I just don't know if I can simply let them go away on their own this time, Lina," he told her. "And even if they will, the moment something happened again, they came right back. I can't... I don't want to live in fear of these nightmares returning. I want to get rid of them for good, and I... I just don't know how."

He looked at the ground, thinking. The queen had helped Muroki very quickly, and it looked like whatever she did, it helped a lot. So she was clearly quite knowledgeable on how to heal wounds. Would she know how to help him with the nightmares? Was there even any point in asking her? He tried asking Kato, and that only made things worse for him. "Lina... do you think... that the queen might know what to do?" As he had told her many times before, he was desperate enough to try just about anything.

Spoiler: show

Yes I did. I quite liked it.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki slowly nodded. He knew that gaining the approval of his aunt and uncle wasn't going to be enough but it was a start, at least. "Delano's fine..." he said, staring down at the floor. Delano would probably not help him, but that shouldn't be a problem as long as he wouldn't interfere. "Thank you, really... If you were to talk to him, I'm sure you'd be convinced that he's different now..."

"Yeah, he's really nice!" said Kato with a smile, running over and giving Laini a hug. "Thank you!" Up until that point Muroki hadn't a clue that the prince was there.

"Anything for you, Kato." said Laini with a chuckle. She looked at Muroki witha smile. "We used to watch over him every now and then when he was a cub. He and Desta used to be a bigger handful than you and your brother." She couldn't help but roll her eyes at her mate's expression. "He and his father visited just a few days ago! Don't you remember?" and even if he did forget, how come he still couldn't recognize Kato sometimes? "If your head wasn't attached to your shoulder it would fall right off, you know." she licked her mate's cheek once

~~~

Lina's ears went flat against her head as Delano once again told her what she'd already heard more than a few times before. "The queen?" she asked, looking surprised at his suggestion. "Well, to be honest with you... Not really..." she admitted, looking at him somewhat sheepishly. She had also doubted that Kato would be able to help, and after the outcome of Delano's conversation with the prince, maybe it wasn't the best idea. "I mean... she might, but just don't lash out at her if she doesn't..."

Spoiler: show

:3
Sometimes I vote in the contests, but this time I won't seeing how one of the stories is mine...
This is somewhat good, because I really liked the 3rd and 4th stories and I don't have to pick.

[DGFone]

Dakari frowned at how Muroki said that Delano was fine: He was clearly hiding something. However, before he can delve into that further, Kato decided to get up and run over to Laini, also wanting their help with the lion. Dakari rolled his eyes at how Laini reacted to the prince. Sure, he recognized Kato, he simply wasn't sure initially if it was indeed him or another lion who just looked very similar to the prince. "Alright, alright. We'll see what we can do."

All three faced brightened up when he said this, causing him to roll his eyes again. "But no promises!" he warned. "But since it looks like I am outvoted on this one, lead the way..." Ironically enough, it was Kato who seemed most eager to get back, walking quite quickly and barely waiting for Umeme parent's to catch up.

Between them and Kato, Umeme took her place besides Muroki. "That was quite brilliant of you," she complemented, "but will it be enough?" Then her voice dropped low. "You know, I really want you to talk to Delano today. He doesn't look alright, and that fight you had this morning... I don't want the two of you to develop a grudge over this."

---

Delano sighed, both from annoyance as well as the sadness from having his latest hope be crushed. "I just... I don't know what else to do," he muttered, "I have to try something." Already feeling like it was going to be a pointless venture, he got up to his feet and began the slow walk back to the royal den, Umeme's warning in mind. When he lashed out at Kato, he didn't mean to, but the result was that he would most likely not be able to talk to the prince anymore. If he lost his temper at the queen, he could easily be kicked out of the den. Or worse. "Come on Lina. Let's get this over with."

[TheWhistlerify]

At first Muroki was worried that Laini and Dakari wouldn't want to come to the royal den, but to his surprise and relief they agreed. This was going to be much more effective if they were there to tell the king themselves. "Fine, I'll talk to Delano later today..." he said with a sigh. Truth be told, helping Hatari seemed more important to him than that at the moment. "I doubt this'll be enough, but at least it's a start." They walked on for some time with Kato leading the way. Muroki became more and more nervous the closer they got to the royal den.

~~~

Lina smiled, giving her mate a reassuring nuzzle. "I know." she said, getting up and walking alongside him. As long as Delano wouldn't do anything stupid, talking to the queen probably wouldn't make things any worse. She just hoped that the queen would be able to somehow help and, if she wouldn't, that Delano wouldn't take it as hard as he had last time. "Don't worry... Everything will be alright in the end."

[DGFone]

Umeme grinned at Muroki slightly. "We'll help Hatari first, don't worry. I just don't want you to put it off to the point when you forget about it." Noticing Muroki getting more nervous by the step, she fell silent. Finally, the den came into view, and Kato ran off ahead, no doubt to fetch his parents.

Umeme found it somewhat amusing at how eager Kato was to help Hatari. But at the same time, she wondered how much she knew about him in the first place. He clearly knew about the Hatari who saved him, but how much did the prince know about Hatari the murderer? How will he react if the king won't be convinced to spare the lion?

---

Not having anything to say anymore, Delano walked back in silence. He tried to mentally prepare himself for the very real possibility that the queen won't be of any help either, but he could already tell that if that would be the case, he won't react well. He will have to remember not to lose his temper at her, but his emotions were already all over the place. Knowing this, he was already beginning to doubt that even going to her for help was a good idea to begin with.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki slowly came to a halt by the entrance of the royal den, ignorinf the fact that Kato had already run back inside. Looking over his shoulder, he could see that his aunt was somewhat hesitant about going in, but he couldn't really blame her. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly walked inside. Hatari was still there, looking like he was engaged in a conversation with Kato's mother. Muroki didn't give it much though, but it sounded like they were talking about medical related stuff. Still, Hatari looked very uneasy despite the way the queen was talking to him so openly.

"We're back..." said Muroki somewhat quietly, stating something which was rather obvious seeing how Kato was already inside the den. Hatari looked around at him and Umeme, his eyes becoming wide with shock as an all too familiar couple enered the den as well. No. Muroki did not just bring them here. Why did he have to do that? Feeling the rate of his heart begin to rapidly increase, Hatari looked away as Laini froze upon seeing him. This was going to be very unpleasant, no matter what the outcome would be.