[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Dakari noticed Laini slow down, but didn't hurry her on. He knew that despite the fact that his wife and he had gotten over the attack and loss of their cub, she could still harbor some bad feelings about it, as did he. However, it was only when they entered the den and lay their eyes on the lion that Muroki and Umeme were asking them to protect that the full weight of the prospect hit them.

They were staring eye to eye at the very lion who nearly killed Laini, and did kill their unborn cub. And they were here to save his life. The lion looked away in shame, and Dakari couldn't help but feel glad to see this, to see the lion suffer for what he had done.

But his thoughts lay more with his mate, who looked quite uncomfortable to be here, and he couldn't blame her. "Everything will be alright," he whispered to her quietly, "if you don't feel like it, let me do all the talking." He rubbed his head against hers to provide some comfort as Kato and Muroki got the attention of the queen and king.

[TheWhistlerify]

In all honesty, Laini didn't know what she'd do once she found herself face to face with Hatari. It's not like it was something one could prepare for. It was somehow a relief when the lion in question looked away from them in shame when they entered. Still, she couldn't help but hesitate, even if there was no chance Hatari would hurt her where they were. Silently rubbing her head back against her mate's to thank him for the support, she didn't even notice when the king and the queen came over and greeted them.

Her eyes still fixed on Hatari, who she somehow knew was well aware that he was being stared at, she managed to eventually open her mouth and speak. "Look at me." she said. She didn't know why, but she wanted to look him straight in the eyes, to see whether he was truly sorry for what he'd done or not. As if that would somehow make a difference.

Muroki felt the tension within him rise as Hatari remained unresponsive, still lying on the floor and looking away from his aunt. While Dakari and Laini had agreed to help them, he was worried that they might change their minds all of a sudden. "Didn't you hear what I just said?" she asked, her expression turning into a slight frown. "Look at me."

Hatari shook his head, refusing to oblige. "I can't..." As happy as hearing him like this made her feel, she still wanted to see the look on his face. She repeated her request yet again. "No..." whenever she spoke the only thing he could think of was the way she'd screamed in pain and horror.

"Look at me!" she yelled, feeling like she was just about to lose control of herself and lunge at Hatari, even though she'd never been one for violence. "Look at both of us!" Hatari finally obeyed, looking at the two of them. It took less than a second for his whole body to start shaking, but he didn't dare to look away.

[DGFone]

Hearing his mate get angry like that made Dakari quite nervous. In all the time that he knew Laini, she rarely ever raised her voice like that. Clearly the attack on her by Hatari left more of an impression than either one of them thought. He looked at the lion, quivering in fear at the sight and sound of the angry lioness.

And yet, despite that, Dakari couldn't really feel bad for Hatari. While he didn't exactly approve of how Laini was acting, he knew that it wasn't his place to correct her. It was she who was attacked and not him, and so he knew that if any one of them harbored any deep feelings of anger, that it would be her. He could only watch Hatari in silence, and like the others in the den, wait to see what would happen.

---

Just outside, Delano and Lina had arrived to the den. Approaching closer to the entrance, Delano heard angry growling coming from the inside, and whatever nerves he had left failed him. He leaned against a rocky wall, breathing heavily. "I don't like the sound of what going on in there..." he whispered, closely followed by quiet whimpering. "What's going on in there?" He lay down on the ground, too afraid to go in and find out. He stared wide eyed at Lina, who didn't look quite as afraid about what was going on in the den as he was.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki couldn't help but suddenly wish that this entire situation was a dream and that he'd wake up soon. He has never seen his aunt this way before, even back when he and Delano were cubs and ended up doing the exact opposite of what she'd told them. He certainly did not have very high expectations, but things weren't looking very well.

It wasn't Laini's expression of anger or her yelling which made Hatari quiver with fear. It was looking into the eyes of yet another victim who had suffered so much because of him which was so unbearable. He knew that Muroki meant well, but he didn't know whether he'd be able to just start facing lions and lionesses who'd been hurt by by him like that.

Laini hadn't expected herself to enter such a frenzy. Something sbout being face to face with Hatari made her naturally agitated. If it weren't for him, she'd have a cub or maybe even two to take care of. But these cubs didn't even get to catch that first glimpse of the world, and were never going to know what it's like to just run through a savannah or lie down in the sun.

As the seconds slowly passed on, the lioness could feel her anger slowly fade away. Something about the genuine regret and despair in Hatari's expression eventually got to her and she seemed to calm down to a certain degree. "I'm never going to forget that you've taken a life that hasn't even begun yet..." she said at last before slowly looking in her nephew's direction. "But Muroki and his brother are all I have left of my sister. So, because you've helped them return home safely, I forgive you..."

~~~

Lina was also surprised to hear growling coming from inside the den. But that didn't discourage her. They were right in front of the king's residence, after all. Whatever was going on inside, it couldn't possibly be something that could be a potential danger to them, what with guards being scattered all over the place. "Only way to find out is to go and see." she said, offering Delano an encouraging smile as she waited for him to stand back up and join her.

[DGFone]

Next to Laini, Dakari simply stood there in silence. It took him a few moments to realize that his mate has said everything she wanted to. He had to admit though, that for such a short statement, Laini did really say all that needed to be said. Well, now it was his turn to talk. "I was not the one who you attacked, however it is our unborn cub that you killed. However, if my wife can forgive you, there is no reason why I can't as well."

Behind Hatari, Umeme slowly broke into a smile. With the tense situation going on right now, she was afraid that Kasi's parents would only make things worse. However, now that they both expressed heir forgiveness, it looks like all of her worries were for naught.

---

While the idea of going inside the den completely scared Delano, the fact that Lina was waiting for him to follow her meant that he really did not have a choice. The only thing that he was more afraid of at the moment compared to going inside was being left alone out here. So with a heavy heart, he got up and followed Lina inside.

There, he stopped in shock at who he saw. "Aunt Laini? Uncle Dakari?" The lion and lioness turned to look at him when they heard him, and he ran towards them, embracing them into a hug, feeling his emotions spill out. "I heard glowing, and I was afraid..." he tried to explain, his voice quivering, "what- what happened?" All of the sudden, he realized just how much he had missed his adoptive parents, and felt tears spill out of his eyes as he hugged them.

[TheWhistlerify]

Spoiler: show

Those are Kasi's parents

Hatari was about to thank Laini and Dakari and tell them that, while he knew nothing could undo his actions, their forgiveness meant the whole world to him, but that was when Delano and Lina walked into the royal den. Having even more of those he'd hurt there made his discomfort return with full force and he looked away again, hoping that he wouldn't be paid any attention to by anyone. As much as the forgiveness of Muroki's aunt and uncle meant to him, it wasn't enough to remove his guilt.

Muroki was about to tell Laini and Dakari that he really appreciated their help when his brother and sister in law came back. At first he didn't know just how annoyed he should be by his brother's presence, which might get in the way of what he was trying to do there, but as he watched Delano rush over to their aunt and uncle he couldn't help but feel slightly bad when it reminded him of just how hard a time his brother was going through.

Laini seemed to be rather surprised to see Delano there, forgetting about Hatari still being in the ssme den with her in an instant. She smiled and hugged him back, as did Dakari, becoming naturally curious as well as confused when Delano told them that he was afraid because they hadn't the slightest clue as to the nightmares their nephew was having and all. "Everything's alright." his aunt assured him, realizing that she'd unintenrionally scared more than one lion.

[DGFone]

Spoiler: show

Whoops. How can I forget that? Changed. XD

Umeme noticed her mate tense when Delano made his presence known, but then she smiled a bit when she saw Muroki ease up a little. "And you thought he was going to ruin everything for you, didn't you?" she teased quietly. While she was glad to see that Murioki was not over reacting to Delano being here, she still wanted him to talk to his brother, and get their argument settled with. Especially if Muroki could see that Delano wasn't intentionally going out of his way to ruin their efforts to stop them from helping Hatari, the conversation won't take a long time. The way she saw it, if Delano really did want to stop them, as Muroki fears, then he would have already done it. Instead, she wondered just what kind of nightmares he was having that the brave lion who took on the underworld almost by himself, and even a great accomplishment, her sister, changed into this quivering... mess of one.

Dakari hugged Delano back, grateful to see Delano again. At the back of his mind, he knew something was up when Muroki didn't give a clear answer after being asked why he came alone, and now Dakari thought he knew why. He could also tell that it wasn't Laini's growling that were the only problem with him. "Delano, are you alright? Why are you like this?"

Delano stopped crying, but remained shaking within the embrace of his aunt and uncle. "I... the nightmares are back," he explained, "I don't know how to deal with them." He leaned his head against his aunt's chest, as he would have done with his mother back when he was a cub if he felt bad.

Dakari frowned. "What? Like after they set you free?" He could see Delano nod feebly, so he let out a sigh. Last time, they tried everything they knew to help, but it seemed that the only thing that actually helped was simply waiting for them to go away. Won't that then work again?

[TheWhistlerify]

While Lina also believed that waiting for Delano's nightmares to go away was the only and therefore best option there was, she knew that her mate did not think the same way. After all, having them come back after thinking they were gone for good must have been quite a shock, not to mention that he was reacting much more drastically to them in comparison to the first time.

Muroki, realizing that Delano still hadn't a clue that Hatari was there, didn't know exactly how to answer Umeme's question. It was true that his brother could have easily ruined everything by now if he really wanted to, but there was no telling whether he might end up doing that in the heat of a moment where he wouldn't be thinking clearly. Recently, these moments had become rather common. "I hope he won't." he admitted quietly.

Laini, still remembering just how much of a mess her nephew had been back when he'd just been released, was obviously not very thrilled to hear that his nightmares were back. There was no doubt that the events that had taken place in the gorge had caused this. "Calm down, Delano..." she said as reassuringly as she could, resting her head on his. "They'll go away. They did last time. And until they do, at the end of the day, they're just dreams."

[DGFone]

Umeme just stared back at Muroki. "Well, just don't alienate him then. He has enough trouble already enough as is. The more you shove him away, the more likely he will do something both of you will regret." She leaned over and gave him a quick nuzzle. "You need him right now just as much as he needs you," she said softly, "even if you don't think so." She smiled at her mate. "After all, who carried you back home after a shoulder wound meant that you couldn't? Despite their own fatigue?"

She looked over at Hatari, who unintentionally started this rift between Delano and Muroki. The lion looked very afraid at being surrounded by all the lions who he fears might turn on him, but no one was really paying any attention to him at the moment anyways. It would be pointless for him to try and make a run for it, because there are guards outside anyways, but Umeme found it funny thinking that if he did attempt to escape, he will at least get to the entrance.

In the embrace of his aunt, Delano whimpered slightly, still shaking. "But they are not going away... not quickly enough," he replied, "and this time, they are so much worse... I... I can hardly control myself anymore..." He really did want to believe Laini in that they were "only dreams", but he simply couldn't. He didn't think that they actually meant anything, but they were messing with him too much to just leave alone and forget about.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki sighed. "While I was quite out of it at the time, I haven't forgotten." he said. "And I have no intention of pushing him away." That was something he wanted Umeme to realize he knew. He had no interest in him and his brother being hostile with each other, for both their sakes as well as Hatari's. "I just want this whole thing to work out in the end..." he admitted with yet another sigh, resting his head against his mate's. He felt like forgiving Hatari would help Delano to put it all behind like it had helped him.

As her nephew continued to tremble uncontrollably within her embrace, Laini held him tighter. "I know you want everything to go back to normal as soon as possible." she said. "But unless you have a better way to make it stop than waiting, then there's no reason to become even more distraught by how long the wait is." She obviously wished she had some sort of a way to help him, but she was no expert in this sort of thing. In all honesty, she doubted anybody was.