[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Delano smiled as he felt Lina rest her head on his mane. "I don't mind," he said softly, "in fact, I rather like that..." He felt himself start to drift away into sleeping, and allowed himself to relax. Soon he will have to get up and walk back with Lina, but for right now, a quick nap felt like a really good idea.

---

Umeme knew that there really wasn't much to worry about grinning Delano and Lina along. They knew if they felt like doing that or not, and she doubted that they will come along just to cause trouble. Turning to Muroki, she asked, "speaking of them, what kind of den do you think they will find? Or will they even find one today?"

In many ways, the place Hatari had now was a very nice place to live, complete with his own waterhole to use. The only reason why it was not a popular spot was due to its awkward location right on the border.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina continued to purr in content as her head remained buried in Delano's warm mane. Soon enough she too began to get sleepy, but she didn't mind that at all. There was still plenty of time left for the day before they would have to go back to their new den. Just thinking about what was their home now made Lina excited, but for the moment she was satisfied with the idea of taking a nap just like her mate was.

~~~

A thoughtful expression suddenly appeared on Muroki's muzzle. He'd almost completely forgotten that his brother and sister in law were looking for their own den. They might have already found one and there was also a chance that they were still looking. "I'm not sure..." he said. "I mean, the only real difference between dens is their size... I suppose they're looking for a den that's large enough for more than just both of them. We'll probably discover whether they found one or not later."

[DGFone]

When Delano woke up again, one of the first things he felt was Lina still resting on his mane. The next thing he felt were his stiff legs as he tried to move a little. Why did he think that chasing after Lina was such a good idea? Looking up at the trees above him, he saw that enough time had passed that it would be a good idea to start heading back. After all, Umeme and Muroki would almost certainly want to know that they found a den of their own.

"Lina?" he nudged her head slightly, causing her to to start waking up. "Lina, it's time to go."

---

Umeme nodded. Turning her attention back to Hatari, she said, "I know you'll never be able to come and visit us, but I am sure that they will eventually come around to visiting you. It will be nice to have more than just the two of us visiting you, no?" She smiled at the lion. "Whatever you did or did not do in the past, you are now a great lion, Hatari. Don't you ever for get that."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina had eventually fallen into a slumber. Some time later, she found herself being nudged awake by Delano. She opened her eyes and brought a paw over to cover her muzzle as she yawned. Upon remembering where she was and seeing her mate right next to her she couldn't help but smile. "Hey..." she said softly, gently licking his cheek once. Looking up at the sky, she realized that it really would be a good idea to start heading back (evn though she felt like staying there longer). Stretching out her legs, the lioness slowly rose to her paws.

~~~

Hatari managed to smile at what Umeme said. Even though he would never forget what he's done because nothing could bring those who had died, he was going to be the best lion he could be from that point and onwards. "Yes, I would love that." he said. "And I won't forget it. I promise." He still wished he had others who would see that he's changed for the better, but he was happy to have Umeme and Muroki.

Muroki also smiled before looking at Umeme. "I think it's time we started heading back..." he said. "We want to have enough time to see whether Delano and Lina have found a den or not."

[DGFone]

Following Lina's example, Delano also got up, although his clumsy attempt to do so did not go unnoticed, and he had to look away in order so that the giggling Lina could not see his blushing face. "Okay, okay. Come on, let's go."

He began to hobble back, earning for giggles from his mate. Rolling his eyes, Delano couldn't wait until he would get his endurance back. Then he won't look so silly whenever he would want to go somewhere like this with Lina.

---

Umeme wanted to spend some more time with Hatari, but knew that Muroki was right. They really should get going. "We'll come back soon, now that Muroki can walk freely again," she told Hatari, "we'll try to bring Delano and Lina along next time. I don't know if they will want to come with us or not, but I'll try to get them over here.

She reached out and gave Hatari a quick hug before returning to Muroki's side. "We'll see you soon!" Following her mate, the two of them began to walk back home.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina didn't find Delano's clumsy attempt to stand up as amusing as him looking away from her in embarrassment. Sometimes he was just so cute. Still giggling, she decided to walk right next to him so that he could lean against her for support if he wanted to. "I want to show Umeme and Muroki our new den." she said with excitement as they left the waterhole behind. "Maybe their den will be a good place to start looking at."

~~~

Hatari gladly returned Umeme's hug as well as that of Muroki which arrived a few seconds afterwards. He didn't know how long it'll take the two of them to come see him again, but he was already looking forward to it. "Thanks for coming. It means a lot to me!"

After hugging Hatari as well and bidding him farewell, Muroki and Umeme began making their way home. "I'm glad he's still here and that no one's causing him any trouble." he said at some point. "Looks like everything worked out for all of us in the end." The lion was sure, if his brother and sister in law still haven't found a den yet, that they would soon enough. He just had a good feeling. "Now we'll see whether Lina and Delano had any success." The only problem was they didn't know where the two of them might be.

[DGFone]

Delano nodded, taking the opportunity to talk as a distraction from his aching limbs. "They will come back there eventually," he agreed, "I guess I just don't know when, but it will have to be today. Otherwise, where will they sleep?" At the same time, he really did not want to extend their journey by making a detour to Muroki's and Umeme's den, but it's not like they were running this time around, so he really shouldn't complain too much. "So uh, we go to their den and wait there for them to come back?"

---

Umeme thought about how to find Lina and Delano. "We can check back at my parent's den. They would be there if they hadn't found anything there." Then she thought of what they might do if they did succeed. "But if they found one, they know not to assume that we will know where it is. So if they won't be at my parent's den, I think they will be waiting for us near ours, because they will at least know where we will be."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina nodded in agreement. Even if she and Delano arrived to find the den empty, it would still be their best option. Umeme and Muroki would come back there eventually. "Soundslike a plan." she said with a smile, licking Delano's cheek as they walked. "I had a great time today..." First they found themselves a den and then they spent some time at their favorite spot. Today has been a very fruitful day. "Thank you." They continued heading to their destination, and after some time the den they were looking for came into view.

~~~

Muroki couldn't help but agree with what Umeme had just said. Knowing how excited Lina could be, she would obviously be waiting for them in their den to tell them if she and Delano managed to find themselves a den. "That makes sense." he said with a smile, rubbing his head against hers as their bodies occassionally brushed against the other's while they walked. "It's great to finally be able to move around again... I feel free..."

[DGFone]

Delano looked at Lina then smiled at her. "Oh, it was nothing," he replied, feeling somewhat foolish for whatever reason. At the same time, though, he was glad that he was now finally able to make Lina happy once again. With everything that had went on, it felt almost as though he had forgotten how to be there fore Lina, and not just rely on her to help him along.

They came to Muroki's and Umeme's den, and when he looked inside, it was still empty. Groaning with relief at being able to get off his paws, Delano lay down outside the entrance. "Now we wait for them," he said quite happily, "the longer they take to get here, the better."

---

It was good to see Muroki in such a good mood. Being forced to rest past the point when he felt necessary really put the pressure on Muroki, and now he was back to his old self again. Checking by their parent's den and confirming that Lina and Delano were not there, the pair decided to head back to their own den. "I guess it means that they found something," Umeme said as they headed back, "or perhaps they are still looking, but that would be unusual."

[TheWhistlerify]

"Nothing?" asked Lina with a chuckle, licking Delano's cheek once more. "It's been so long since we were able to spend a day normally like that..." As the two of them arrived by Muroki and Umeme's den and found it empty, Lina happily lay down next to her mate. The wind outside was starting to get chilly, but that was what made it even better to snuggle up against him. "They can take their time." she said, purring. "I won't mind either."

~~~

Muroki was quite glad to not find Delano and Lina inside the den of his parents in law. It could only mean that they'd found a den they liked. "That's great." he said with a smile, following Umeme in the direction of their own den where they had a feeling they'd find the couple they were looking for. "I guess that means they'll be living much closer to us now." He didn't know just how close their dens were, but that didn't matter too much.