[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Seeing Muroki get up to talk, Umeme bid him a quiet good luck, knowing that he would need it. She knew how important it was for her mate to speak out in favor of Hatari, now that the lion had changed. But especially with all the lions assembled, she also knew that this would be one of the most nerve wracking experiences he would go through. Tensing as Muroki walked past Sanders, Umeme prepared herself to charge in to the rescue should Muroki be attacked, but Sanders simply glared at her mate, and remained where he was.

In a way, as she watched him prepare to talk, she felt rather proud of him. Here he was, risking so much for a lion that was responsible for so much grievances in their family. Out of the corner of her eye, Umeme saw the queen smile rather fondly a Muroki as well. No doubt, the queen also kew how important it was for Muroki to do this, as well as how hard it was at the same time.

---

Upon spotting his own brother being the first one to speak up on Hatari's behalf, Delano uncurled from where he lay next to Laini, watching with both interest as well as concern. He still wasn't sure what he himself was going to do, but Delano couldn't help bu remember the angry look Muroki gave him when he warned Delano not to interfere with trying to help Hatari. Delano's ears dropped at the memory, knowing that he must have angered Muroki significantly for his brother to show that much outward anger.

Holding in a breath, Delano watched nervously as Muroki prepared to talk. "I sure hope you know what you're doing," he said quietly, and lay down with a groan as a severe headache tore through his head. He felt Lina reach out to him worriedly, and he forced himself to smile at her. "I'll be alright," he whispered, "don't worry." However, he still had to close his eyes as more pain filled his head as he once again saw and heard the same thing as his latest dream.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina felt a little bit more cheerful as Delano finally uncurled from his position next to his aunt upon seeing Muroki walk over in order to speak to the crowd. When he lay down again, however, she couldn't resist the urge to reach out to him, knowing that before he was upset because Sanders was talking but unable to see a reason for him to become agitated again so soon. Despite him telling her that he would be alright she went ahead and lay down close to him, not bothering with the fact that it would be impossible to look at Muroki from that point of view. Just listening to him should be enough.

To say that Muroki knew what he was doing would have been a complete lie. Aside from knowing that he could provide everybody with a direct recap of what Hatari had done in order to help them as well as of the fact that he truly has changed, the lion knew absolutely nothing. He had no idea where to start. There was also the problem of him being quite nervous around strangers. He still remembered talking to Umeme for the first time. How was he supposed to talk to an entire crowd while saying things that would obviously provoke some if not the majority of them?

He went ahead and sat down right next to Hatari, much to the obvious annoyance of some of the guards. They seemed like they were about to ask him to keep his distance but he ignored them, quietly saying something to the lion next to him. Hatari seemed to have only then become aware of the fact that Muroki was there, but whatever he said it did not seem to lighten up the defendant's mood. Muroki then looked at the crowd, feeling his heart begin to beat rapidly in his chest as he realized that they were all looking directly at him.

"Um..." Yeah, that's the best way to start. "Hello... I, er..." he paused, taking in a deep breath while deciding to make a list of the things he definitely had to say. The first one would be to let everybody know who he was and what his 'experiences' with Hatari in the past were, in a manner of speaking. "My name's Muroki..." he didn't think his name would mean anything to them, nor did he believe that the injury on his shoulder would let them know of his being in the gorge a few days earlier.

"I..." Again he paused, forcing himself to get it together. "I'm not originally from here. I used to live with my parents and brother not so far away from here until they were killed by, well, uh... He was involved..." There was another short pause. "My brother and I then moved here because our aunt lives here as well..." he added, figuring that the more everybody knew of what he's been through because of Hatari the better in this situation. "And, uh... Also because of his involvement, she lost her unborn cubs as a result of being attacked..."

He didn't bother to elaborate much on that because he had a hunch that the entire pride has heard of what had happened to his aunt. "That's how I'm 'related' to the, um, defendant, in one way or another..." Now came the difficult part. "I actually first met him not so long ago. He was living outside of the border and I happened to come across him, at first not knowing who he was." He then quickly added, "But he never tried to hurt me. It was after the underworld has been disbanded."

"Er... At some point I did find out who he was... In a way, so did he. It was at that point that Sanders was planning to go after the prince and my brother, who'd worked undercover and gotten in his way. When Hatari realized that my life was in danger because I was my brother's only close relative, he told me everything he knew about Sanders's plan, including the part that included Kato... So we went to the gorge in order to see whether he happened to be there and warn him, and he was there alright..."

"Then the dam broke. I was in the gorge with Kato while Hatari had stayed outside to keep an eye out. The prince and I managed to climb out, but we ended up climbing out on the wrong side of the border... We were soon forced to hide because 2 lions who were working for Sanders came there to make sure that we were dead, and that was when a snake bit Kato... This forced us to leave our hiding place so that I could look for the antidote...

"The two of us were found and attacked shortly afterwards." He briefly looked at his shoulder and then back at the ground. "I got hurt up quite badly, but that was when my brother found us. After he arrived, Hatari did as well. I was in no condition to carry on looking for a cure for Kato myself, nor did I have the time to explain to my brother what to look for. Luckily Hatari knew his stuff. He went and brought the antidote while also advising my brother on how to stop the bleeding in my shoulder..."

A longer pause followed this time. "I know this is hard to believe, but I wouldn't say all of these things if they weren't true... I wouldn't defend him after what he'd put me through if I didn't have a reason to... If it weren't for him then Kato and I wouldn't be here, and..." Again he hesitated. "Before I found out who Hatari was I got to know a kind lion, not a murderer... And after I discovered his identity, I could tell that he truly regretted his actions..." He took in a deep breath. "And... I think what he's done to help us should at least be brought into consideration..."

[DGFone]

The crowd allowed Muroki to talk without interruptions. Normally, hearing someone stumble over their words like that would have generated some laughter, but not this time as they all knew that they wouldn't be much better up there in front than he was. However, as soon as he finished, the shouting started. While there were some who were not willing to let Hatari off the hook, the general opinion was very much divided, unlike that towards Sanders.

"If he really changed, then he will bring my sons back! If he can't do that, then rip his head off!"

"Be reasonable! Just banish him and let him free somewhere far away..."

"Reasonable? The longer he lives, the more danger he poses to innocent lives! He might have changed, but we can't let him go. It's too dangerous!"

"But if we let him go where he will never be able to return...?"

"But you heard him! He lost his parents! And unborn cousins as well!"

The argument was threatening to boil over into a fight, so another roar from the king was required to calm everyone down. With everyone on the edge, no one was allowed to speak unless they went up to the front as Muroki had done, and where the crowd can see them.

As Muroki made his way back to Umeme's side, Delano was shocked when he saw through a gap in the bodies in front of him as Kasi made his way up to the front instead. His cousin looked rather nervous, but much less than Muroki had.

Kasi stopped next to the king, and chose not to wait. He felt that the longer he hesitated, the harder it would be to talk. "I uhh, I guess I'll just get to the point..." He gulped, and forced himself to continue. "My friends and I, we used to love to hang out during the night. The air was colder and the stars would be out... anyways, well, one night, we got together as usual, except that one of us didn't show up. We were not told that he wouldn't be joining us, and after waiting for a long time, we even checked where he would sleep, but he wasn't there... we searched for him, spreading out, and I... I found him... dead."

Feeling his throat constrict from the pain of reliving his memory, Kasi mad himself continue. "I know that this... lion did it. But I guess what I want to say is... well, Muroki says that he changed, and I trust him... from what I see as well, I can say that he, Gakuru, did indeed change for the better... and as much as I might not like the idea myself, I think I will forgive him enough not to execute him. It's what my friend would have wanted. He always insisted that everyone have good in them, and we should always give the opportunity for that good to shine through. If we were to execute him just as that good came out... would we be any better?" Nodding slightly in his thought, Kasi quickly retreated back to the safety of his parents. Both Laini and Dakari smiled and nodded proudly at him, and he grinned nervously back.

Meanwhile, Umeme sat next to Muroki, holding onto his paw to try and cheer him up again. He had said much more than she thought she would say, and he also basically covered everything she wanted to, so she didn't know if she wanted to go up there herself. Did she have the right? If anything, she was quite lucky. She didn't lose any direct relatives, nor was she attacked like Lina was. Speaking of Lina... Umeme glanced at her sister, who was cuddling the whimpering from of Delano. "Lina, you want to say something? We can look after Delano in the meantime, but... no pressure." She smiled reassuringly at Lina.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki found himself becoming rather nervous as the crowd began to voice their rather different opinions of the matter. While it was a relief to see that some of them other than his aunt and uncle were moved by what he had said, there were still some who were strictly against lessening Hatari's punishment in the slightest. For a moment he considered saying that Hatari had lived by the border for quite some time and that he could have hurt innocents during that time if he really was still a threat, but as the argument continued to grow he found himself making his way back to Umeme without saying another word. He was surprised when his cousin went over to talk as well, but it felt great to know that he the support of another family member.

Lina looked up at her sister as Umeme addressed her, wondering whether she should go up there to talk or not. On one paw what Hatari had done to her occurred before his initial exile and not while he was in the underworld, but on the other it looked like Hatari could use all the support he could get, and she knew just how important this was to her brother in law. Just as she was about to get up and walk over, however, she heard the defendant speak up. "What was his name?" Everybody stared at Hatari and saw that he was looking at Kasi, who seemed quite surprised at having been addressed by him. "Your friend... What was his name?"

It seemed like a rather simple and pointless question, but Hatari looked like it was really important for him to know. After Kasi went ahead and answered the question Hatari said nothing, once again looking down at his paws. Realizing she had to do it now before she lost what little confidence she had, she got up and made her way to the front as well.

"I..." she cleared her throat. "I also had my... experience, with this lion, and... I also knew Kasi's friend well as a cub..." She looked at Hatari who, surely enough, looked surprised that she out of all of them was there. "I just wanted to thank you, for helping Muroki... He's my brother in law and my sister would have been devastated if anything happened to him, so... Thank you..." she then retreated as quickly as she'd come.

[DGFone]

Delano hated to see Lina go up there, but he wasn't the one to tell her that she couldn't. He waited anxiously, despite Umeme and Laini trying to calm him down. His nervousness and fear grew until Lina made her way back soon after she left him, and he rose to hug her as soon as she sat down next to him. Recovering from his shaking, he buried his head into her shoulder as she too embraced him back.

He did not even notice as some other lions and lionesses took their turns to talk about Hatari, both for and against his freedom. Many of them also had trouble telling their story, for many of them knew someone very close who was either hurt severely or killed by Hatari's involvement. However, Delano did not pay any attention to it. His headache returned and he had to lie down again, groaning in pain. He didn't know why his head felt like it was about to be crushed, but it always came with visions of his dream. "Leave me alone," he whimpered, not to Lina, but to his dreams and pain. "Please... leave me alone.."

As Lina held him, Laini and Dakari got up to give their own opinion. Dakari didn't have anything to say himself, nut he wanted to be next to his mate should she need any support. They did claim to have gotten over the attack on her, but he did remember how Laini lost control of her emotions when she saw Hatari for the first time since the attack. He noticed Laini prepare to talk, and held on to one of her paws, just so that she can feel that he was there for her.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina hadn't expected Delano to become so agitated during her short absence, but when she thought about it she realized she couldn't really blame him. Embracing him upon arriving back at his side, she became slightly confused when he began to whimper, asking to be left alone. "Delano?" she asked quietly as she lay down beside him, not knowing what to make of his behavior. "What's wrong?"

Laini meanwhile took her place in the front with Dakari by her side. After smiling appreciatively at her mate to express her gratitude for his support, she looked at the crowd. They all looked like they hadn't expected her to come up there to talk, and she knew that mentioning what has happened to her was not necessary because everyone already knew. Nevertheless, she did it anyway.

"After losing the cubs," she said at some point, "the queen told me that I might never have cubs again." Hatari seemed as uncomfortable as he has ever been throughout the entire trial. It was impossible to tell whether that was because Laini was the one talking or whether it was because he'd just listened to the stories of so many of his victims. "This lion also killed my sister and brother in law as well as my son's best friend. But he also saved my nephew's life..." She looked at the lion in question with an unreadable expression. "Hatari..."

Hatari continued to stare down at his paws, although it was noticeable that he'd heard her. Was she going to force him to look into her accusing eyes again? He doubted he'd be able to go through that again. To his surprise he found her standing right next to him a few seconds later, having left Dakari's side. "Look at me for a moment..." her voice sounded much calmer than it had the first time around, but he still hesitated. "Please."

After a long hesitation Hatari finally raised his eyes to meet hers, and he was rather dumbstruck to see her smiling at him. "Everything's alright..." she said quietly, embracing the lion in front of her. This obviously took everybody by surprise, especially Hatari whose entire body began to shake uncontrollably. "There's something I want you to know." Then, pulling away from him, she whispered something into his ear.

"W-what?" he asked, looking shocked. "Really? You are?" Laini slowly nodded with a smile, surprisingly causing a small smile to appear on Hatari's face as well. "Wow, I..." he said, looking from her to Dakari a few times. "I don't know what to say... That's wonderful... Sincerely..." Still smiling, Laini rejoined her mate as the two of them made their way back to where their son was waiting for them.

"What did she tell him?" asked Muroki quietly as he looked at Umeme, obviously dying to know. When his aunt and uncle took their places next to Kasi he looked at them, hoping to get an answer. "Auntie?" to his dismay and maybe even annoyance, his aunt simply smiled at him but said nothing.

[DGFone]

Dakari was also grinning as he rejoined Laini's side and the two of them walked back to where they sat before in the crowd. Of course he knew what his mate told Hatari, and despite the silence of the crowd as they tried to figure out what was going on, he didn't feel like telling them. It was Laini's choice to tell Hatari, and it was both of their choice to keep the rest of the lions in here guessing. If anything, not telling Muroki made it even better.

However, as they made their way back to Delano and Lina, his smile faded as he saw his nephew on the ground, whimpering despite Lina's frantic attempts to calm him down. "Delano? Delano, what's wrong?"

Delano gripped his head with his paws. "Head hurts!" he complained, "I... seeing things..." He tried to explain what was going on, but the pain was too much for him. To his horror, he heard the king ask if there were any others who wanted to add anything. "I need... I need to talk!" Falling over several times as he tried to stand up, Delano finally got himself up. Despite the worried looks from Muroki and Lina, he pushed past them and limped to where everyone else delivered their speeches.

He was very much aware that all eyes were on him, and more specifically, at how worn down and ragged he looked. If someone had just walked in, it would be very easy to assume that it was Delano who was being held on trial, not Sanders and Hatari. Finally stopping, Delano stared at the ground, trying to figure out what, and more specifically, how he was going to say what he needed to.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina was obviously becoming more and more worried by the second. Having Delano act this way while he was awake (and not directly after waking up from a nightmare, too) was completely new, and therefore it even scared her a little. In all honesty she thought Delano would hesitate about going up to speak in front of everyone and even believed that he might prefer not to say anything. She most certainly didn't expect him to act as if his life depended on giving a speech himself.

As both she and the others looked on in concern while Delano limped his way over to the front, Lina found herself unable to sit still and she hurried to join his side. If Dakari could join Laini to support her without even saying anything then there was no reason why she couldn't do the same with her mate. Not caring what anybody might think of her or of them as a couple because of the way Delano looked, she briefly rubbed her head against his to let him know that she was right there beside him.

[DGFone]

With his agitation and nervousness, having Lina sit next to him brought a lot of relief to Delano. He clutched to one of her paws. "I..." His nerve was failing him, and it wasn't helping that he was anything but his normal self. If it wasn't for Lina, he would have very likely fled back, no matter how much shame it would have brought him. But she was here with him, and with her, he found just enough courage to keep himself talking. "When I first met him... he was... he enjoyed what he was doing."

He felt his eyes tear up and he had to dry them with a paw. "I was right next to him... when he bragged about how much he... enjoyed killing... killing mom and dad." He said this last part in almost a whisper, his vice failing him while he was talking. "He did not regret killing them... said they deserved to die..." His voice was shaking by now. "A few days ago, when I heard that my brother was in danger, and he was there too... I thought I lost him too..."

Glancing at Hatari, Delano needed to take a few moments to calm himself down. "...He wasn't there to kill my brother... in the end, he he helped me save my brother from two others who wanted to kill him... he... he saved me then." Now that he was past telling about the death of his parents and his fears, Delano found it easier to talk now. "The lion being held on trial now... they are not the same. I don't know where the lion who bragged about murdering others went, but that lion... they're gone. Gakuru murdered mom and dad... and enjoyed it... Hatari who is on trial now... he would never do anything like it again, I am certain. He is no longer a threat to anyone."

Lowering his head again, Delano got up and limped back to the safety of his family. Laying down by Laini, he let Lina sit down next to him before his composure collapsed, and he buried his head into her fur, crying quietly. Telling everyone what he just said took a lot more out of him that he thought it would, and it almost proved too much.

[TheWhistlerify]

At first, Muroki didn't know what to think when Delano decided he wanted to speak up as well. Did Delano realize that Hatari has changed, or was he going to do what Muroki had initially worried that he might do and hurt Hatari's chances. When Delano began by mentioning how Hatari had claimed to have enjoyed killing their parents back when he was still part of the underworld, Muroki felt himself tense a little. However, to his surprise, Delano actually ended up doing the opposite of what it looked like he was about to do.

Lina slowly walked back with Delano, making sure to remain right by his side in case he would lose his balance all of a sudden. Lying down next to him, she embraced him as he buried his head into her fur and began weeping. It was no surprise that saying what he had said was so difficult for him, but she felt proud of him for managing to go up there and speak up despite the condition he was in.

Muroki slowly walked over to his brother, who definitely looked like he needed all the support he could get, lying down beside him as well and placing a paw on his shoulder. "I'm proud of you for managing to gather yourself and talking like that..." If he felt like talking had been difficult for him, it must have been even harder for Delano. "Everything will be okay now. You did the right thing..." There was nothing more either one of them could do to improve Hatari's odds. Now all they could do was wait as the king asked once more whether anybody else wanted to say anything.