[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Delano grinned at Lina's joke. "Yeah, I guess I know that," he replied, and then moved his head close to their cub. Even though the new guy was busy feeding, Delano figured that as the father, hiding from the cub would be a bad thing. He gently ran a paw on the cub's back as he thought about the name Lina offered for their son.

"Nuru? I dunno..." The name didn't sound bad, just well... off. "I heard about some king and queen that wanted to name their son," he muttered, "I think they were thinking of called him 'Fluffy'..." Delano grinned at his mate. "Okay, okay, I know you don't like that. But Nuru? I don't know..."

---

While quite content to stay on top of his father's head, Ubawa was also quite excited at being taken outside the den - it was still something that their parents only allowed them to do very rarely. "I want to run," he told his father never the less, "not chase butterfly." For that matter, chasing Marini was always great fun as well, no matter how much Muroki and Umeme frowned upon the two cubs from chasing each other this soon.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina couldn't help but laugh slightly at the name Delano indirectly suggested. "Geez, Delano, Fluffy?" she asked, playfully nudging his chest with her shoulder. "That has got to be the silliest name I've ever heard in my entire life! I mean, for a cub, maybe, but he's gonna get bigger eventually. Besides, Marini won't let him hear the end of it." She chuckled as she recalled his choice of words when relating that little story. "Imagine if Kato's name was Fluffy... That would be ridiculously embarraasing!"

A short silence followed as Lina regained her breath. "Perhaps Desta will like that as a nickname for him..." She then decided to get back to the topic of choosing a name for their son. "It means born in daylight, so I thought it would fit..." Smiling as she watched the cub feed while his father's paw rested on his back, she rested her head on her mate's shoulder. "But it has to be a name we both like, after all. Do you have anything in mind?"

~ ~ ~

Muroki chuckled at his son's response. Marini liked to chase butterflies, which could often keep her distracted enough to not notice her brother close in on her. It was a rather silly cycle. "Well if you want to do it simply for the sake of running I could always decide it's bath time." he said matter of factedly, reaching forward with a paw just a second before his daughter fell forward from his head. He was already used to her doing that and caught her quite easily. "But I might spare you if you behave and not run about too much..."

"Daddy!" complained the little lioness cub. "Let go!" Her father only chuckled with a warm smile as she began to wrestle with his paw in an attempt to regain her freedom.

[DGFone]

Delano stared at his son as the cub continued to feed. "I was only kidding about calling him 'Fluffy', Lina," he mumbled sheepishly, "I wasn't being actually serious..." He continued to stare, thinking of what kind of name he wouldn't mind for their son. Sure, he liked Lina's explanation of the name, but he still didn't feel that it was... right. Then an idea came to him. "Well... what about 'Akili'?"

He looked up away from the newborn and at his mate. "I think it means 'mind'..." Delano grinned nervously at Lina, knowing that she would need to agree to the name as well. He doubted that it was because he came up with it, but Delano liked the sound of 'Akili' a lot more than 'Nuru'. "But we uh... we can always call him Fluffy just for fun as well."

---

Hearing about the possible horror of a bath, Ubawa let out a groan. "No, dad! No bath!" He tried to argue that he was already clean already, but found that he didn't know how to. He was then distracted by his sister, who was bust fighting with Muroki's paw. Grinning, he jumped into the fray.

"Well what are my two cubs doing, Muroki? I thought I told you to keep an eye on them." Umeme finally came back, smiling at her mate. She had expected him to stay inside the den, but he clearly changed his mind about that. "Decided to take them outside? You could have waited for me you know." Looking down at her two cubs, she grinned knowingly at Muroki. "Also, there is some great news from Lina. No more waiting for her and Delano."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina chuckled, keeping her gaze fixed on her and Delano's son as he nursed quietly. "I know you were kidding." she said, "But still... Fluffy?" Just thinking about it again made her want to laugh, but she decided against it and kept herself in check. "Akili, huh?" There was a brief silence as the cub finished feeding and yawned, letting out a mewl of content. "It sounds nice, and I think he likes it..." It was impossible for her not to giggle as the newborn mewled once again. "Akili it is, then." Now that he had finished feeding, Akili was soon picked up by his mother and placed between her paws. "I suppose Fluffy could be a cute nickname until he's older. As long as we don't overuse it."

~ ~ ~

Muroki continued to smile as Ubawa joined his sister in the fight against his paw. While this made it quite easy for Marini to be able to slip away, she was now too caught up in what she and her brother were doing in order to want to try to run off. The two little cubs were so distracted that they didn't notice their mother arrive back. But their father did. "Marini was getting a little too bored." he said with a chuckle, looking up at Umeme. "Besides, I have everything under control." It might have not looked like it with the way the two were going at his paw, but it was true because they weren't scampering about in different directions.

It did take him a few seconds to progress what his mate said to him shortly afterwards, but just then Marini became aware of her mother's presence. "Mommy!" The little cub then went ahead and made her way over to the lioness, affectionately rubbing herself against her leg. Ubawa decided to remain behind, though, most likely still remembering his father's threat of giving him a bath. If he were to get one, he might as well get a shorter one from him rather than from Umeme.

"What, really?" Muroki was about to ask her when did it all happen, but decided that it didn't really matter. He would have also asked whether the cub / cubs were healthy and whether his sister in law was alright, but Umeme's relaxed composure gave him an answer to that. "That's great! How many cubs do they have?" If anything, what he really wanted to do was to go over and congratulate his brother and Lina. Surely Umeme wouldn't mind now that she was there to keep an eye on their children, but he couldn't wait through making his way there in order to find out the answer to the question he'd just brought up.

[DGFone]

Lowering his head so that he can get a better look at their cub, Delano grinned at them finally having arrived at a name that they both liked. "Akili? That'll work then." It felt very strange to look at the newly born lion, knowing that it was his son that was right in front of his nose. "But Fluffy as well. You hear that little guy?"

As the cub snuggled up against his mother's paws and quickly went to sleep. Delano then moved over and lay down next to Lina. "So how are you feeling right now?" He had seen how tired Lina looked right after the birth, but now that some time has passed, he wanted to know if she was feeling any better or not.

----

Umeme smiled at her daughter when the cub finally noticed her presence. "I came back early just for you," she teased. It didn't escape her that Ubawa remained well entrenched in his father's paws. Setting herself down on the ground by her mate, Umeme also held Marini between her paws as she explained what Muroki was curious about.

"Well, they got one cub. A boy." She smiled at her mate and then looked down at their two cubs. "The two of you now have a cousin. If you behave, we'll take you to meet him soon." Of course, they would have to wait though. Lina's and Delano's cub was just born, so he is still very vulnerable. Along with not being able to see yet, even the barely-walking Ubawa and Marini could easily accidentally harm the cub just by playing. They will have to wait first for the cub to grow up some. "So Muroki, now that I'm back. I can watch over these two if you want to run over and see the new guy yourself."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina giggled to herself as Delano spoke to their son, informing him of the rather silly secondary name they'd decided to give him. She wondered how long it would take for the cub to become annoyed with it. Because of how excited she was about the fact that the two of them were finally parents, she'd completely forgotten about her fatigue. "I'm feeling better." she said with a smile, yawning as she felt her eyelids grow heavy. "Just really... tired..." Letting out another yawn, she stlettled her head in her mate's mane. "Would you mind staying with me here? I need to get some sleep..."

~ ~ ~

Muroki couldn't help but smile broadly as his mate told him that Delano and Lina had a son now. He and Umeme had a nephew. "That's wonderful news." he said and was just about to ask whether she would mind if he went to check up on his brother's family when she beat him to it. "Yes, I'd love that." It would be nice to see for himself that Lina and the cub were both okay. Gently placing Ubawa down next to his mother's paws, he slowly stood up before beginning to make his way in the direction of Delano's den.

Meanwhile, between Umeme's paws, Marini was giggling with excitement at the thought of having a cousin she and her brother would be able to play and be friends with. "Yay!" After a few moments, her enthusiasm faded and was replaced with curiosity. "Mommy, where do cubs come from?"

~ ~ ~

After about a few minutes, Muroki arrived at the den belonging to Lina and Delano. He quietly peeked inside and saw that his sister in law was asleep but that she looked like she was fine. His brother appeared to be awake and staring at his mate's paws, where Muroki figured the newly born cub was. However it was impossible to see his nephew from where he was standing. "Hey..." he said with a small smile, keeping his voice down so to not accidentally wake Lina up. She needed her rest. "Mind if I come in?"

[DGFone]

Lina had already settled down into his mane, so Delano didn't exactly have a choice in deciding if he would let her rest or not. Not that he was going to force her to stay awake right now. Smiling fondly at her, he moved himself a little as well so that they both could be comfortable. "Sure thing, Lina," he muttered quietly, "I won't be going anywhere. Rest for as long as you will like to."

He continued to stare at the little bundle of fur between Lina's paws, still trying to comprehend that this was his son. Having so much time in the world to prepare for this moment, he still was caught completely by surprise when it finally happened. As the cub let out a small mewl and moved a little further into the warmth of his mother's fur, Delano smiled at the cub. "Don't you worry little guy," he whispered, "I'll always be here to protect you. I promise."

He didn't know how long he stayed in the den there, until Muroki's voice tore him from his thoughts. Turning his head in surprise from even this quiet noise, Delano's eyes fell on his brother's as he realized what had startled him. "Muroki!" He winced and also made sure to keep himself quiet as well. "Yeah... you can come in. I think it'll be alright..."

---

Caught off guard by Marini's question, Umeme struggled to keep a straight face as she looked down at her daughter. Her mind racing to come up with an answer, she chose to simply give the one that her own mother gave when she and Lina were young. "That is something you will find out when you will get older, young lady," she said, grinning at the displeased look from her daughter. "Until then, you can keep guessing, but you won't find out, not even from your father."

This struck Ubawa's curiosity. "Am I old enough to know, mom?" It didn't even occur to him that he was the same age as his sister, so he should really expect the same answer.

Umeme shook her head. "Nope. You're not old enough either." Ubawa's disappointed groan only widened her smile. Sometimes it was so fun to tease the cubs like this. However, there was something else that she had been discussing with Muroki that now seemed like a good time to bring up, to both distract her cubs as well as get them excited for something else as well. "Speaking of your father: we have agreed that soon, the two of you will try out eating meat for the first time."

[TheWhistlerify]

Upon getting his brother's permission, Muroki smiled and slowly made his way over to Delano and Lina, once again doing so as quietly as he possibly could so to not accidentally wake up either her or the cub in case the newborn was also asleep. Sitting down next to Delano, his smile widened as he laid his eyes on his nephew for the first time. He was no expert when it came to this sort of thing, but there wasn't much of a difference between Delano's son to Marini and Ubawa back when they'd been born except for physical appearance, so he could only assume that the newborn was healthy.

"Well, congratulations, Delano." he said softly, resting a paw on his brother's shoulder as they both watched Akili sleep between Lina's paws. It felt kind of weird that both of them had cubs of their own now. It was far less than a year ago that their parents had died and they'd both felt as if their lives were ruined for good, and yet there they were now. Muroki couldn't help but wonder what their mother and father would say if they could see them. "So what's the cute little fella's name?" he asked, looking at his brother with a small grin.

~ ~ ~

While Marini was obviously disappointed by her mother's answer, she clearly wasn't entirely discouraged just yet. True, her father wasn't going to satisfy her curiosity either, but there were plenty of other adults she knew. Looking at her brother, she rolled her eyes. "Of course not, Ubawa! I was born first!" That little fact kind of went well with the way she was far more energetic than her sibling. "Silly!" While she didn't know what to expect of eating meat for the first time, the idea of something new excited her enough. "Really, mom?" she asked, looking up at Umeme. "When?"

[DGFone]

Delano continued to watch his son, so it took him a few moments to realize that Muroki had even asked him anything. "Oh, uh, Akili. That's what we decided to call him." He fell silent again, his eyes fixed on the small form of his son. Knowing that he was a father now made Delano feel both very proud but also... quite afraid. All those feelings that he was able to slowly bury about being a bad father before were now threatening to come out again. However, he knew that if he panicked now, Lina wouldn't take it well. He would just have to... force the feelings back and learn how to be a good father to Akili.

However, he wanted to take his mind off his worries right now, and Muroki was giving quite a good opportunity. "So how are you and Umeme holding up? Cubs doing all right?"

---

Umeme smiled down at her daughter. "When your father comes back. One of us needs to stick with the two of you to make sure that you won't get into trouble while the other one of us gets the meat." Noticing Marini try to get away for some reason, she gently held onto her daughter's tail with a paw to make sure that the cub didn't escape. "Not yet, little lioness," Umeme teased, "wait for your father to come back." Another movement caught her eye. "You too, Ubawa."

[TheWhistlerify]

"Akili, huh?" asked Muroki with a smile as he watched his newborn nephew slumber. "That's a lovely name." Because of how less mobile Lina had been during the past two weeks or so, Delano hadn't had too many chances to stray far from the den with the exceptions of going to hunt, which meant that he hasn't seen his niece and nephew for some time. "They're doing alright." he said with a chuckle. "Their speech is very limited, which is a little funny sometimes, and I think they'll be able to walk normally soon. They've been asking about you and Lina, though. They haven't seen both of you for quite a while."

~ ~ ~

Noticing a butterfly pass by, Marini was about to give it chase when she found that her tail has been taken prisoner by her mother. "But mommy!" she complained, looking around at Umeme. "Butterfly!" The cub tried to locate her target again but couldn't spot it anywhere. "Aww... It got away!" Normally her parents became a little agitated whenever she and her brother strayed too far, but this time she hasn't even gone anywhere yet. "Now I'll never catch it..."