[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Delano watched as Lina showed him how to tell apart the different dens, grinning at her enthusiasm. It felt really nice to be doing something with Lina that they enjoyed. Peering inside the den that she found, he had to agree that it was too big for his liking. "Yeah, it's too roomy. What are we going to do with all the empty space? Let's go look for another one."

He waited for Lina to walk back out before following her to another den. He stropped by another one that was unmarked, but was feeling nervous about walking in. What if it was occupied? Sure, this place was unmarked, but he still felt afraid that perhaps he simply wasn't seeing the place where it was. "Hey, Lina? What about this one?" Of course, without looking inside, he didn't know what the den was actually like.

---

Umeme thought about what she would like to do. Running with Muroki, sure, but where? Then she got an idea: "How about we run over to Hatari? We didn't see him since after the trial, and I'm sure he would like to see you after all this time and see that you're alright." She gave him a quick nuzzle. "Not to mention that I'm a little worried about him. I hope that he is still living next to the border where we found him the first time. Also, I am hoping that soon, we can try to take Lina and Delano to see him as well, but I don't know if they will want to."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina slowly nodded her head as Delano agreed that the den they were looking at was too big, walking back outside. When she noticed her mate stop by another unoccupied den but without walking inside she couldn't help but giggle. There was just something cute about him when he had that nervous look on his face. "Only way to fnd out is to go in, you know." she said, playfully flicking her tail at him as she walked past him and headed inside.

This new den was significantly smaller than the last one, something which immediately caught her attention. It seemed like it would suffice for having guests over, although it would be very crowdy if they ever ended up having Muroki, Umeme, her parents, Kasi, his parents, Kato [i]and[i] Desta over all at the same time. However she doubted they'd ever need that much room. "What do you think of this one?" She'd absoluely love whatever they picked as long as Delano liked it as well and as long as it suited them.

~~~

Muroki immediately became excited as Umeme mentioned Hatari. With all of his excitement about having finally received the queen's permission he completely forgot that they'd planned to go and see Hatari once he got better. "That's a great idea!" he said with a smile, nuzzling her back. The border was a nice distance away which meant that running there would be a good idea, too. As for Lina and Delano, Muroki figured it'd be better to wait a while longer before asking them to tag along. "Come on! Let's go!"

[DGFone]

Delano looked inside the den, feeling that it was safe if Lina was able to simply waltz right in. He did like the size a lot more, but he still wasn't sure about whether he really wanted this specific den or not. "Well, I uh, I'm not so sure," he muttered uncertainly, "it's not bad or anything, but I think it might be a better idea to go and look at other dens while we still have time."

He really didn't know what kind of den he wanted, so at this rate, he was soon simply going to ask Lina to choose one and go with whatever she would want.

---

Umeme was hardly able to blink before Muroki was out the den and running. "Right behind you!" she called out to him, and caught up in only a few steps. Yeah, he really did need to run more now. She again slowed down so that he can keep up, but she did run just a little bit faster so that he had to really work in order to stay by her side. It felt rather odd for Umeme, who was hardly feeling any strain, to be running at the same pace as Muroki, who most likely couldn't run faster by this point. This will all soon change, she told herself, and she will struggle to keep up with him.

Eventually, they got close to the waterhole where Hatari lived by. Slowing down, Umeme hoped that the lion still lived here. Walking over to where the trees grew by the water's edge, she didn't see him anywhere. "Hatari? Are you here? It's us!" She waited for a reply.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina smiled at Delano, giving him a short nuzzle. "It's just a den by the end of the day." she assured him. "It's not like they're that different from each other in anything that isn't size or structure. If you like one then you do, there's not much to it." However it would make sense if Delano had an easier time picking after seeing more dens and comparing them to each other. Giggling, she licked his cheek. "Come on, we still have plenty of time to find something we'll both like, but let's remember this den as an option."

They carried on looking, finding dens that were either too small or too big. This made Lina worry that they might have to settle for the 2nd den they'd sen, but she did want Delano to have a little more of freedom in choosing their home. At some point they came accross another den around that size, but there was something about it that immediately caught Lina's attention.

"Delano, look!" It was a small entrance - like hole at the back. Walking towards it, Lina was amazed to find another small den inside, just large enough for both of them to be in while having plenty of room to move around. "Oh, this is great!" she exclaimed. "We can sleep here and hang about in the front whenever somebody comes over! She hugged Delano, burying her head in his mane. "I love it! Can we get this one? Please!" she hoped he liked it as much as she did, not wanting to pick a den only she wanted.

~~~

Smiling with exciement, Muroki ran with Umeme, appreciating how she ran a little faster to make sure he'd actually work a little this time around. He could definitely feel like he was making an effort, which was good. The pale furred lion began to slow down as they neared the waterhole, eventually coming to a stop next to his mate and trying to catch his breath. While Umeme was looking around for Hatari he remembered how the lion they were looking for liked to nap on the tree next to the waterhole. To his excitement, whn he looked up, Hatari was there. "Hey, Hatari! We're down here."

Hatari eventually woke up from all the noise the two were making. When he came to his senses and recognized their voices he immediately looked down, surprised to see them. "Muroki? Umeme?" He quickly made his way down, somehow managing to hug both of them at the same time. "I was so worried about you!" he said, looking at Muroki. "After the attack I was only allowed to be with you for a very short time and atter that I didn't know what has become of you!"

[DGFone]

Delano came running as soon as Lina called out to him. "What did you find?" He asked, staring at the den Lina had walked inside. Poking his head in, he didn't see what was so impressive about this one that made her so excited. "Lina, I don't... Lina?" He couldn't see her anywhere, that is until he too noticed the small hole and there she was in the adjacent, smaller den. "Oh, I see," he commented as she got out and moved over to him, burying her head in his mane. "Alright, sure, we can have this one," he said with a smile.

Well, he did rather like it, though perhaps not as much as Lina was. Still, it was a den that he liked and his mate was very excited about it, so it looked like they found their home. "This is it then? We don't have to look anymore?"

---

Umeme mentally pawed herself when she remembered that Hatari liked to nap in the trees. How un-lion of him to do so! She hugged him back, glad to see him again. "We were worried about you," she said, "how was life after... the exile?" She hoped that he didn't have much trouble from others. "Muroki and I are fine. Delano and Lina are looking for a new den today, so they didn't come with us, but we wanted to see you as soon as we could." She broke into a smile. "Today, the queen finally allowed Muroki free. That's why we didn't come to you sooner."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina squealed in delight when Delano said he wouldn't mind if they got this particular den. "Ooh, thank you thank you thank you!" she exclaimed with excitement, still holding onto him. "I suppose we don't have to keep looking... Unless you want to?" she pulled away, lookng at him. "I mean, we don't have to pick this den unless you like it, too..." she wanted to make that they both liked their new home. It would be a shame if he chose a home only because she wanted to choose it.

~~~

Hatari couldn't keep himself from smiling. "It's like everything's back to normal, in a way." he said, releasing them both. "Other than constantly worrying about you..." He knew that many of the kingdom's residents weren't too thrilled with he outcome of his trial, but they either didn't know where he was or were too scared to try to get him. "I hope they find a den they like. I'm just so glad to see you again!"

Muroki also returned Hatari's hug, smiling the entire time. "They're looking for den in the same area where we found ours." he explained. "I'm really happy to see you, too. I was worried you might have run off because staying here could be risky..."

Muroki waw about to say something else when Hatari cut him short. "How's your aunt?"

"What? Oh, she's doing okay." It's been a very pleasant shock to find out that she was pregnant again. Dakari and Kasi were especially thrilled about it. "It'll be about a month from now..."

Hatari smiled. Having a family was sometjing he would most likely never experience, but he was very glad to at least have his friends back. "I hope she's happy. You two as well..."

Muroki chuckled. "I'm sure we'll all be fine. Including you."

[DGFone]

Delano felt bad about giving Lina the impression that he didn't like the den. "No, Lina, I like it! Don't you worry, I think this will be a great den!" He gave her a reassuring smile and nuzzled her. "You found a great home. I'll be delighted to live here with you." He didn't want her to feel that he was uncomfortable with this den. She really liked it, and he also liked it, so there was no problem.

He looked around, then stupidly realized that there was something else that he wasn't sure about. "So now that we found our den, how do we uh, make sure that no one else takes it?"

---

Umeme smiled at Hatari, glad to see that he was doing all right. "I know you can't exactly come and visit us," she said, "but how would you feel if we sometimes take others to visit you?" She smiled, then quickly added, "only those we know won't try to attack you or anything."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina smiled, purring as her mate nuzzled her. "This'll be so great!" she exclaimed, giggling with excitement and happiness. "Come on, let's quickly mark it." After they'd taken care of that, they went back into their new den. Lina once again entered the smaller area in the back, smiling. "This area was definitrly dug out by whoever lived here before us..." She nuzzled her mate, purring. "So now what? We could go looking for Umeme and Muroki, or we could maybe stay here for a while..."

~~~

Despite Muroki expecting Hatari not to like Umeme's idea, the lion actually smiled at the suggestion. "I'd love that." he said, looking at Muroki. "How are you two doing?" If he recalled correctly, they were planning on starting their own family. "I think you two will be wonderful parents."

Muroki couldn't help but blush slightly. He was okay with Umeme teasing him about it and the other way around, but it was a different story with others. "Um..
Thank you..." he said, still blushing.

[DGFone]

Delano hesitated, rubbing his head with a paw. "We don't even know where they are... I think I would like to stay here then," He thought of what else they could do, then an idea came to his mind, "actually, Lina, you know how I told you that I really need to start working on my promises? Well, I recall telling you that we need to go to our waterhole more often..." He grinned at her, waiting for Lina to catch on to what he was implying.

---

Umeme felt her face heat up as she blushed beneath her fur. "Thanks, Hatari," she muttered quietly, not daring to speak louder. She knew that it wasn't a secret that she and Muroki were planning to stat a family very soon, but hearing about it from someone else was still very jarring.

[TheWhistlerify]

For a moment Lina was about to happily agree to spend the day inside their new and chilly den. Sure, they'd only just chosen it and didn't have any memories in it yet, but the thought that this was their home was enough to make it a romantic place for them to spend time in. However, when Delano mentioned their waterhole. Her expression lit up with excitement. "I'd love that!" she said, licking her mate on the cheek. "Come on, let's go!"

It was about time they went there again now that Delano was no longer paranoid and having nightmares. Lina could barely keep herself from just running off and leaving her mate behind as a result of her enthusiasm. After he joined her outside she licked his cheek again. "Hurry up!" With him paying attention, she ran in the direction of the waterhole while knowing he was right next to her.

~~~

Noticing Umeme and Muroki become completely embarrassed by what he had said, Hatari couldn't help but chuckle. "Sheesh, I was just wishing you good luck..." he grinned at the two of them. "There's no need to get nervous, you know..."

Forcing himself to regain his composure, Muroki cleared his throat. "Thank you, Hatari." he nudged Umeme's shoulder with his own and smiled, still looking at the lion in front of them. "It means a lot to both of us." He and Umeme haven't talked about the matter now that his shoulder was finally healed, but he appreciated what Hatari had just said nonetheless. He also didn't know when anything would happen and, truth be told, now that he was better, he actually felt too nervous to bring it up.

"So what have you been up to ther than recovering?" asked Hatari after a short silence.

"Just recovering, you could say..." replied Muroki. "I didn't stay in the royal den all the time, but I wasn't allowed to do much."