[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Walking over to Lina, Delano stared at the new cubs, his eyes wide. Were he and Muroki also this small when they were born? "They look so..." he struggled to find the right words, "...vulnerable." That was what he could come up with that described the mewling balls of fluff that were his niece and nephew. When Lina will have her own cubs, will they also be this small? But he also had to agree with Lina that they did look cute. He could see why Muroki and Umeme looked so happy.

Umeme smiled back at Muroki, letting him handle their new cubs. "No Muroki," she corrected, "both of them look like us." She nuzzled her mate, glad to see how easily he took to caring for the cubs. She could see that what she always knew to be true was in fact real: Muroki would make a great father.

Following Fadhili, Moto also got his glance at his two grand-cubs. He felt his heart melt at the sight of the two, it reminding him of when Lina and Umeme were born. "Congratulations, Muroki, Umeme," he told them, "you're finally parents."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina couldn't help but giggle at Delano's choice of words. Yes, the cubs were completely helpless on their own, especially because of the fact that they couldn't see yet. "They are vulnerable..." she said quietly, burying her head even deeper into her mate's mane as she purred in content. She'd spent the two months of her pregnancy hoping that Delano would come to terms with reality. While it looked like he was slowly beginning to do so, she still hoped that seeing his nephew and niece as well as how happy his brother and sister-in-law were would give him some further encouragement.

Muroki chuckled softly as Umeme added to his comment; saying that their cubs looked like both of them. He wouldn't have cared if both of their cubs had turned out to resemble his mate more than him, but it was still nice to see that the newborns had clearly inherited their looks from both of them. After nuzzling the cubs some more and tenderly licking them, he looked up at his parents in law with a smile. "Thank you, Moto." It had taken him some time, but he eventually grew out of his habit of calling Moto and Fadhili 'sir' and 'ma'am'.

"Sincerely, both of you..." he continued, looking at both of them. "You've helped us so much throughout this whole process, but... It's more than that." He smiled. "You accepted me with openly the moment you met me even though I was a complete stranger to you when you returned from your travels. You looked after both of us after what happened in the gorge, and then after the trial as well... And, Fadhili? Thank you for helping Umeme with this just now... She wasn't really in the mood to see me," he chuckled, "but I'm glad someone was there for her."

His mother in law smiled warmly at them. "You're more than welcome, Muroki." she said, sounding like she genuinely meant every single word. "Yes, Umeme did shout a few things about getting her claws on you and what not..." Fadhili chuckled as her son in law blinked a few times. "That aside, it was the least Moto and I could have done. You've done an excellent job looking after our daughter for the past three months and, even before that, we could tell that she was happy to be with you. I couldn't have asked for a better mate for her and I'm sure you'll be a wonderful father. I trust you to look after your family. Completely." Muroki's cheeks turned a little red, but he tried to hide it (without much success).

[DGFone]

Delano hugged Lina as she buried her head in his mane. He thought that perhaps they should go outside and make some room in the den, but he doubted that she wanted to move right now. Besides: the cubs were in here. Even if they weren't Lina's. he was sure that she didn't want to leave them just yet.

Blushing as Fadhili described some of her moments when... she wasn't entirely in the best state of mind, Umeme nuzzled Muroki. "I am glad that you're here now," she told him quietly, "you don't need to worry about it anymore." She was also very glad that her parents were confident that Muroki would make a great father. Sure, she knew that he will, but it always helped to have the approval of her parents as well.

She grinned as she noticed Muroki failing to hide his embarrassment at the compliments he was receiving. "Aww, come on, hun! Nothing to be ashamed about!" She teased.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki honestly had no idea why he was blushing the way he was. Normally his parents in law would tease him all the time but, for a change, they weren't. Maybe he just didn't do very well with compliments either. Clearing his throat a little after returning Umeme's nuzzle, he finally answered her parents. "Thank you... It means a lot to hear this coming from the two of you." It still felt like a dream; that their cubs had finally been born, but he couldn't stop himself from smiling whenever he looked at the two of them.

Still smiling at the two fresh parents, Fadhili chuckled once more. "Now, cubs can be very loud sometimes. You'll hear them whenever they want some attention. If it doesn't calm them down, then that means they're hungry. Until they learn how to talk, that is. You'll probably be able to tell which at some point before that happens."

"How come?" asked her son in law, looking confused. How would they immediately figure out what the cubs wanted if they couldn't speak yet?

"You're their parents." said their mother with a warm smile. "Trust me; you'll know. I think Moto and I will take our leave for the time being." Yes, she would gladly stay with her daughter and grandchildren some more, but she knew that Umeme was still tired from the birth and that she needed her rest. "We'll come to check up on you again in the morning, okay?"

[DGFone]

With her parents leaving the den, Umeme lay down on her side and placed the cubs near her so that they can remain warm and feed if they would want to. "I'm feeling rather tired right now," she informed Muroki, "I think I'll take a nap... I would really appreciate it if you remained here with me."

She smiled, getting an idea. "It might be a good idea if you get to know Ubawa and Marini a little bit better..." She gently ran one of her paws through the fur of her cubs, smiling at the feeling. To her, these two were the most important things in the world right now. Perhaps... perhaps even more important than even Muroki himself.

With Lina's and Umeme's parents gone, Delano now felt foolish about remaining in the den as well. This was a time for Muroki and Umeme to be alone with their cubs, right? "Uh, Umeme, I think I want to get outside as well," he told his mate, gently nudging her towards the exit. He didn't want to force her out, but at the same time, he didn't want to be intruding on Umeme's and Muroki's first day with their cubs.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki smiled warmly as his mate repositioned herself and their cubs so that she could get some rest. He didn't know what it was like to give birth to cubs and never would, but he intended to let her sleep for as long as she liked. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere any time soon..." he said softly, licking her forehead once as she settled down next to him before slowly getting up and circling her, lying down so that their newborns were between the two of them.

Lina seemed like she would have liked to stay in the den a little more, but her sister clearly needed to regain some strength and she didn't want to interrupt her and Muroki. Slowly, she removed her head from its comfortable spot in Delano's mane before following him outside. "Wow... What an eventful day, huh?" she asked with a smile as the two of them settled down some distance away from the den. "I mean, we all knew the cubs would come around soon, but I still didn't expect it..."

Meanwhile, back inside the den, Kato also figured there was no point in him remaining there. "Hey, um... I'm going to go now, too." he said quietly so to not interrupt Umeme. "I'll see you four another time." The prince hasn't had the chance to finish his talk with Umeme earlier, but he doubted it mattered. After all, according to Muroki's words, her parents had accepted him because he was their daughter's mate - even if they knew nothing about him. He doubed Umeme or Muroki would be able to help him out.

"No problem, Kato." said Muroki just as quietly, smiling at the younger lion for a brief moment before turning his attention back to his cubs. "Thank you for coming." As the prince took his leave, Muroki smiled happily as he watched Marini and Ubawa move about next to their mother's stomach. "Hello there, you two..." he whispered, bringing his head closer to them. Marini sniffed a little, raising her tiny head so that she was blindly staring at her father, while Ubawa began to mewl. When he realized that his son wasn't just looking for attention and that he was hungry, Muroki gently used one of his paws to help the cub find what he was looking for. Still smiling, he then began to bathe both of them. True, he still had some sleep to catch up on, but perhaps it would he a good idea to wait for Ubawa and Marini to go to asleep as well before doing so.

[DGFone]

In a state of slumber, Umeme grinned to herself as she watched Muroki interact with her cubs. Hearing Ubawa complain from hunger, she giggled as Muroki pushed their son to her side so that he can feed. Her eyes half closed, Umeme watched Muroki bathe their cubs, her heart filled with pride at her mate, and how quickly he was adjusting to his new role as a father.

With her son by her side and her daughter in the very capable paws of Muroki, Umeme allowed her head to settle on the ground, and she finally closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall asleep.

---

Outside the den, Delano also had a hard time coming to grips with what had happened. "For me too," he admitted in terms of not expecting the cubs, "we were told that it would by any day now, but I guess..." he tried to describe how he felt. "that it's like uh... that it's always going to be later. Never now... always later..."

He then looked at Lina, and grinned. "But yeah, it was quite the eventful day."

[TheWhistlerify]

Interacting with his and Umeme's cubs was simply a joy of indescribeable proportions. The way they purred or mewled in content as they either fed or enjoyed their father's affection made Muroki's heart melt over and over again. The two little hairballs had only been born less than an hour ago and he already cared about them more than about himself and was willing to do anything in order to keep them safe. Much like with his mate, in one way or another.

At some point both of his children have had their fill and their full attention was directed at Muroki and the attention he was giving them. Eventually, though, as was to be expected of very young cubs who had just eaten, they began to get noticeably sleepy. Chuckling softly, Muroki gently picked Ubawa and Marini by the scruffs of their necks (one at a time, of course), and once again placed them down next to their mother's belly in case they would wake up from hunger. Then, placing his head down on his paws, he allowed himself to close his eyes and drift away into slumber as well. The cubs were kind of caged between his and Umeme's bodies and legs (not that they were really capable of moving from one place to another to begin with).

---

Lina slowly nodded at Delano's words. 'Not now - always later' was pretty much the precise way of describing it. "True... It really did seem that way.." she said, smiling back at her mate and shuffling closer to him so that their sides were touching, wrapping her tail around his. "So... How do you feel? After today, that is?" She stared deep into his eyes as she asked this, enjoying the way the light of the sun reflected off of them. Obviosly, she was curious as to what he was thinking about the fact that they would also become parents soon now that his brother's cubs had been born.

[DGFone]

Delano stared back at Lina. "Well, I uh, I don't really know yet," he answered truthfully, "I mean... well... we didn't really get to see the cubs for much now, did we? So I don't really know yet... I guess what I am saying is that I would like to spend some time with the cubs. Assuming Muroki and Umeme allow me of course, but after that, I will have a better idea of what I am feeling like about all of this..."

He hoped that Lina would accept this answer, because truthfully, he didn't have a better one. Sure, seeing Umeme's and Muroki's cubs and how the new parents acted certainly did help a little, but in many ways, knowing that he would be in the same position very soon made him even more nervous. This is why he felt that overall, he simply didn't know enough yet to make a call as to how he felt just yet.

[TheWhistlerify]

While Delano's answer wasn't exactly a very direct one, Lina did feel as if, in one way or another, her mate couldn't have come up with a better one given the fact that the cubs have only been around for such a small amount of time. She saw the logic behind his words. "Of course they'll allow you to spend some time with them" she said with a smile, unable to think of a reason why her sister and brother-in-law would say no to that. "You're their uncle after all." Giggling, she licked the lion across his muzzle

There was still about a month left until their cubs would also come around and that should be more than enough time to see what it took to take care of newborns by watching how Muroki and Umeme would deal with theirs. Looking back into the den, Lina smiled as she saw the two parents and their cubs sleeping closely together."That's just sweet..." she said quietly and with a smile. The day was already starting to drift towards the evening, which made it seem rather pointless to wait for anyone to wake up. "I think we should come back tomorrow. It's getting rather late."