[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Delano pressed himself on Muroki's side, whimpering a little. "I don't know, Muroki," he whispered, "and that's what I'm scared of... I don't know, and I can't be sure if I can believe you or not." He placed his head on his paws, "I want to know for certain... if I am afraid of nothing at all, or if there is indeed something. Because I don't know... it's why I am not so certain about this all."

---

Umeme broke out laughing. "Well perhaps you should relearn the definition of cute then! 'Delano is cute' Bah! You know deep down that Muroki's the cute one!" She then got an idea that made her grin. "So we might think that having small Delanos and Murokis running around as the perfect duo, but what would their fathers think? How would they react to seeing themselves as what they were as young cubs?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki let out a sigh, embracing his brother. "Sanders can't hurt anyone anymore." he said softly, placing his head on top of his. "There isn't anything to worry about, so please try to lighten up a little..." He didn't know what else to say to his brother. He seriously hoped that, with the passage of time, Delano would calm down. "Let me know once you'd like to go back."

---

Lina once again stuck her tongue out at her sister when Umeme continued trying to argue that Muroki was cuter, but chuckled when she then changed the subject. "I'm sure it will be quite an amusing sight." she said with a giggle. Then, looking around, she couldn't see the two brothers anywhere. "They sure have been gone for quite some time..."

[DGFone]

Delano lay in silence, however, Muroki's presence was in fact a comfort, and he was able to start calming down. Eventually, his shacking ceased, but he remained where he was for a little longer. "I... I'm alright now," he said eventually, and slowly stood up. "Come on. Let's go back." With Muroki by his side, the two lions walked back to their mates, who were still next to the den where they were left behind.

---

This time, Umeme did agree with Lina. "Yeah, that would indeed be quite the amusing sight." When Lina mentioned Delano and Muroki still being missing, Umeme couldn't help but look around. "I saw them leave, but I swore they came back already," she said, still looking around. "But... well, look who has perfect timing." The lionesses didn't even have to get up and look for their mates as Muroki and Delano walked into view. "Where have you two gone off?" Umeme asked, frowning at Muroki.

Delano grinned at Lina and rushed to her side. "Just to talk," he replied, and immediately brought his head against Lina's, gratefully nuzzling her.

[TheWhistlerify]

Another month and a half passed without anything outof the ordinary happening. Muroki woke up at a rather early hour of the morning. This wasn't typical of him but having to hunt more often for Umeme and not sleeping much in case she needed things during the night was definitely wearing him out. He would also help Delano hunt for Lina every now and then. The lion let out a loud yawn as he woke, looking at his sleeping mate with a small smile. His mother in law had told him that the cubs could come around at any given time now, but that there was no telling when that would happen. The wait was really unbearable...

~~~

Meanhile, in their own den, Lina was also waking up. Being pregnant has made her a way heavier sleeper than she already was, which was good for Delano because the risk of accidentally waking her up was lower. She looked at her mate, smiling when she saw he was awake. "Hey..." she said happily, rubbing her head against his before slowly rising to her paws. "Come on, I want to see how Umeme's doing." Because her sister could go into labor in even 1 minute, Lina has insisted on spending her days in the den belonging to Umeme and Muroki. That day was no exception.

[DGFone]

As Lina was standing up, Delano couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You just woke up, Lina. Do we really need to leave right away?" In reply, his mate sent him a glare that very much told him that she wouldn't be tolerating hesitation in his part.

Muroki was right with his many warnings on how viscous Lina could get during her pregnancy, so Delano quickly hurried to get to her side. "Okay, okay, let's go!" Just in case she needed his help, he walked closely to her, but not close enough to make her angry at him - something that he learned the hard way very early on. "But seriously Lina, we've been told that it could be any moment for several days now. Surely the chances are low that we're going to miss it just because we walked just a little slower..."

---

Unlike Lina, Umeme was a very light sleeper now. So when Muroki moved, Umeme felt it right away and her sleep ended. Yawning loudly, Umeme continued to lie where she was, not liking being woken up early. "Did you really have to wake me up, you big oaf?" Pawing his mane to make it more comfortable, she placed her head on it. "I was enjoying my sleep here you know."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina glared at her mate, feeling a little satisfied when he hurried to her side in response. She wasted no time in beginning to make her way towards her sister's den. "Well even if the chances are low they still exist, don't they?" she asked with a blank expression, something which indicated that she was relatively calm now. "Don't you want to be there when your brother's cubs are born?" The question was obviously a rethorical one, and Delano probably knew better than to argue with her now that she's been pregnant for 2 months already.

~~~

Muroki almost winced when he heard Umeme yawn, realizing he'd once again woken her up. "Of course not, dear." he said quickly and apologeically. "It was an accident, I'm sorry." Normally apologizing didn't save him, but he figured he might as well try. He was about to ask her how she was feeling but remained silent when he remembered that she wanted to to back to sleep. Interrupting her again would be a very bad idea.

[DGFone]

Delano blinked at Lina's questions. He was about to tell her that no, he wasn't sure how he felt about the idea of Muroki being there for his cub's births. However, he wisely decided not to actually say it, for surely doing so would cause Lina to eat him alive. However, he couldn't resist but asking, "but, assuming we get there and nothing happened, what are we going to do? Lie about over there for the entire day?"

---

Umeme let out a purr as she felt Muroki stop moving, meaning that she can relax into his mane once more. "Thank you, Muroki. You are very kind." Unlike before, she was now much less tolerant of his mistakes because she hardly ever leaves the den anymore, and the monotonous scenery was really starting to get to her, along with the desire to once more be able to move about freely. She didn't intentionally force Muroki to help her out at his own expense, but he did so in order to avoid having to deal with her when she would eventually get angry if he didn't listen.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina rolled her eyes at Delano's question. Wasn't it obvious? "Of course we are." she said. "Umeme can go into labor at any given moment and I want to be there." True, she obviously wouldn't watch the birth, but she wanted her sister to know that she was there, wishing her good luck. It was quite annoying how Delano kept asking that considering how they've been regularly doing the exact same thing over the course of the past few days. Of course, since it wasn't that easy for her to move around too freely, it didn't bother her as much as it did her mate.

~~~

Muroki would have let out a sigh of relief as Umeme didn't lose her temper, but doing so might have been considered by her as moving so he held it in, making sure to also breath slowly. Her purring was also a good sign, but the male knew that he was still in a very delicate situation. Knowing his sister in law, she was probably already dragging his brother over. He was glad she constantly did that because, unless he got lucky, Umeme would either keep him inside the den for hours or get bored and agitated.

[DGFone]

Delano knew that it would be very foolish of him to say anything else, so he followed closely behind Lina, not daring to say anything that might offend her. Even though Muroki had warned him that she might do it, the first time Lina had finally properly lost her temper at him was... scary.

So he followed her in silence until they reached the den. It looked empty, but Delano also knew that Lina would hang his fur up in their den if they didn't check inside first.

---

For now, Umeme was quite happy to continue sleeping with Muroki's mane working as the most comfortable pillow in the world. Even though he woke her up, or perhaps exactly because he did, she fell asleep very quickly once more. However, this also meant that if Muroki would try to move, he would almost certainly create a very grouchy lioness in the process as well.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina continued to lead the way in her slow, somewhat fast for her pace. She was grateful when the den came into view because the walk has annoyed her from the very first step. She poked her head into the den, spotting the couple she was looking for inside. Her brother in law was lying perfectly still while Umeme appeared to be sound asleep. Muroki noticed them and made a silent, small wave with his paw, one that didn't require him to move any part of his leg other than his paw. As much as he was happy to see them, he hoped they'd understand not to make too much noise.

"Good morning..." he whispered as the two walked inside. Why couldn't the cubs just come around already? His sister in law only gave him a quiet nod with her head, though she was mostly glad that nothing special has happened in her absence.