[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

At first, Delano grew very concerned when all the cubs ran up to Hatari. Of course there was no reason why they would hesitate in running up to him: Kato was right there, who they knew, and they were also told that they came here specifically to meet a new friend. But Delano still couldn't help but feel that something was... off. It took him all of his effort not to rush forward and separate the cubs from Hatari, especially after the prince decided that it was a good idea to walk off.

As Kato went back to the other adults, Delano started to get what was driving him crazy: "He... he's not used to cubs, is he?" In many ways, this relieved him, but at the same time, it created a whole bunch of new worries. What if Hatari did something bad by accident? Sure, he didn't move yet, but as the excited cubs ran all around him, what if he got sick of their shouting and lost his temper?

Meanwhile, Umeme decided that she might as well help the poor lion deal with the situation he suddenly found himself in. "I know we haven't seen you in a long time now," she explained, "but I think you can see why." She motioned at her cubs. "These are Marini and Ubawa, mine and Muroki's. The smallest one is Akili, Delano and Lina's son." She looked down at the cubs until they realized that she was waiting for their attention. "Cubs, say hello to Hatari."

[TheWhistlerify]

It was rather entertaining to watch the three cubs "swarm" Hatari, who was clearly unprepared for the way they'd decided to just run over to him. Even if the sizes of all three of them were to be put together, they'd still be so very small in comparison to him. They didn't start climbing on him and other things of the sorts like they would with somebody they knew, but he still seemed rather weary. This really could only mean that he was unused to cubs just like Delano had been after the birth of his niece and nephew.

"Guess not." said Kato with a shrug of his shoulders, looking at Akili's father with a chuckle. "The look on his face kind of reminds me of you." he added, in a slightly quieter voice. The prince's mane was almost fully grown by this point. One could say that he has reached adulthood, but there was still that normal, cubbish gleam in his eye whenever he smiled. "Sheesh..." chuckling again, he walked over to him and the three cubs.

Meanwhile, Hatari managed to stop staring at the three little adorable hairballs in front of him and looked up at Umeme. "Y-yes, Kato told me..." He remembered asking the prince to deliver his congratulations to the four parents a couple of months ago or so but, from the looks of it, the younger lion must have forgotten. He looked back down at the cubs as they simultaneously said hello. They were absolutely adorable. "Hello..." he said, managing to smile a small smile at the three of them.

The former member of the underworld was more than aware of how easy it was to hurt another lion. The cubs were much smaller, and the reason he hasn't done anything yet was because he was scared of accidentally hurting them. Even though her mother had just introduced her, Marini took the liberty of doing so again herself. Hatari couldn't help but chuckle at how much the female cub looked like her father. She clearly seemed much more lively in comparison to her brother and cousin.

"You do know they don't bite, right?" asked Muroki with a somewhat teasing grin.

"But I bite dad's ears all the time!" exclaimed Akili, causing his uncle to chuckle. Nibbling on Delano's ears sure was a delight. They were so soft and squishy.

"It's an expression, Akili." said Muroki, looking at Hatari again. The three cubs were still staring at him in wonder, waiting for him to do something. "Go on." he continued, looking at the hesitant lion.

"W-what am I supposed to do?" asked Hatari, looking rather clueless.

"How about you tell them about what it's like to sleep on a tree?" suggested Kato, who was by that point sitting next to him, as he pointed at his tree with his paw. He doubted Hatari wouldn't be able to do that, plus it wouldn't require him to physically interact with the cubs just yet. It seemed like a good idea to start.

"You sleep on that tree?" asked Marini in awe, looking up at what the prince had diverted their attention to. It was so tall!

"Um... Sometimes..."

The cub giggled, falling from sitting to lying on her back as she caught her tail between her paws in a silly manner. "That's totally weird!"

[DGFone]

So far seeing that the cubs were in no harm, Delano decided to sit down, figuring that even if he was still uncomfortable in getting closer to Hatari, he could at least still keep an eye out on what was happening. But when Kato commented about how nervous the other lion looked like, Delano felt himself begin to turn red in embarrassment, only to turn even more red when Akili told everyone how the cub would chew on his ears.

Ubawa, who was always eager for a good story, instantly grew interested when Kato mentioned that Hatari slept up in the trees. He had to agree with his sister in that now, Hatari was very much a 'weird' lion. "So how do you sleep up there?"

Seeing that Hatari was dealing with the cubs well enough, Umeme returned to Muroki's side. "Poor lion, he's so out of his league," she chuckled, "but he's learning fast. I also don't remember him looking so happy as now..." she hesitated, "well, when he's not scared out of his mind. They are just cubs, but seeing how Delano acted at first..." She also found it very funny how Akili didn't realize that Muroki was using an expression about cubs not biting.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina also allowed herself to relax a little when she saw that, as of now, all the cubs were alright. She sat down next to her mate and gave him a short nuzzle (while keeping her eyes fixed on their son, of course). It might take her a while to feel comfortable about all this. At least she could sit on the sidelines and not have to interact with Hatari herself. "I also like your ears..." she whispered, doing her best not to giggle loudly as she said this. A little teasing might make her feel more comfortable about this entire situation.

Hatari, while still rather uneasy about being so close to the three cubs, was starting to relax a little. So far this wasn't going too badly... "Well... I climb up there... And I sleep on that broad branch." He pointed at the branch in question.

"Wow..." Akili looked up at the tree again as he said this. What intrigued him so much was not the fact that this lion slept in a very odd and peculiar place for the majority of the time but the height of the branch. "It's so tall..." Suddenly, he looked at his parents. "Hey, mom, can I-"

"No."

Akili pouted and groaned. "Dad, c-"

"Young lion!" This time he chose wisely and remained quiet.

Muroki did his best not to laugh as he looked at Umeme. Hearing her say that Hatari was so out of his league when that 'league' was three tiny cubs was funny. Poor Delano only had to deal with Marini at the time, and she had been just a day old! "Yeah, he does appear to be learning... He seems to have a good teacher." It was still a little hard to grasp the fact that Kato was so good with cubs. He had to admit that, despite all of his nervousness, Hatari really did look happy.

"What do you do all the time?" asked Marini at some point, having grown tired of nibbling on the hair tuft at the tip of her tail. "Mom said you like to be alone." Hatari inwardly cringed as she said that. It wasn't true. He hated being alone all the time... But he knew why Umeme had told the cubs that. She couldn't tell them why he couldn't live within the kingdom. Not yet, at least. Suddenly this made him think... One day, the three cubs will have to know what he'd done to their grandparents and to Lina... Then what?

"Well, I, uh... I don't do much."

"What, you don't know how to play?" asked the little cub, looking absolutely shocked by his statement. Who didn't like to play?!

Hatari was silent for a short moment. The last time he'd played was a long time ago... "I do... I... Of course I do."

"Then let's play!" It looked like she was about to close the remaining gap between her and Hatari, but she suddenly saw Kato's paw in front of her.

"How about we play hide and seek first?" he asked. Perhaps starting with something that wouldn't require physical interaction (in comparison to have the cubs maul the nervous lion to death) would be a better idea.

[DGFone]

Delano had only just opened his mouth in order to tell Akili that no, he can't go up the tree, when Lina beat him to it. With his son giving up and listening to her, he found himself not really being needed as the cubs occupied themselves with Hatari, obviously enjoying being around the new lion. He still felt very uneasy about letting them play around with the murderer of his parents, so when Hatari suggested playing hide and seek, Delano nearly lost it.

After all, what a better opportunity to kill cubs than to split them up and ambush them one by one? Quickly standing up, Delano was about to call the cubs back in order to leave when he felt a paw firmly press down on his shoulder and force him back to a sitting position. He turned and saw Muroki looking at him, clearly concerned. Realizing that he was jumping to conclusions, Delano nodded and lay down on the ground, forcing himself to calm down. Hatari and the cubs were only playing a game. The lion changed now... there shouldn't be a reason to worry...

Nearby, Umeme was wondering about if it was a good idea to let her cubs and Akili play hide and seek, but for a very different reason. She was simply concerned that the cubs might get lost, but looking around, she realized that there was a way to make it work. "I don't see why you can't do that," she told Hatari, much to the delight of the young cubs. "But only as long as you remain by the waterhole and the trees around it. You have to remain where you can still hear us."

Ubawa was getting quite excited to show off how well he could hide, but didn't like being restricted like that. "Aww, come on, mom!"

Umeme shook her head. "No buts! You have to stay close, or not play at all." Her tone of voice made it very clear that she was not going to compromise, so the cubs quickly agreed. "Hatari, they're all yours." Letting the lion start the game, she walked back and sat down next to Muroki and Delano. "So how are you two doing?" It didn't get past her that Delano looked very much not at ease.

[TheWhistlerify]

Spoiler: show

Playing hide and seek was Kato's suggestion.

Marini would have complained about being restricted just like her brother had, but she was too excited about finally getting to play with their parent's weird friend that she didn't care. Besides, while the area they'd been restricted to was rather small, it still seemed to offer some hiding spots. There were the bushes, trees, Hatari's den and a few more small landmarks that might prove efficient enough. "You have to cover your eyes and count while we hide!" she said, giggling with excitement.

"Y-yeah," he said, slightly confused. "I know how this goes..."

"Of course you do!" exclaimed the cub. "Because I just told you!" She giggled again. "Silly!"

The lion looked as if he didn't know what to make of the cub's words, but soon Kato chuckled and briefly nudged his shoulder with a paw. "Of course you did, Marini. How clever of you to make sure everybody knows the rules." he said with a smile, causing her to beam happily. An adult thought she was clever! Well, Kato was just a very young adult, but she was too young to see and / or tell the difference. Either way, he was older than her. "Why don't you go and hide now?"

Once he was sure that Delano was calm (calm enough, that is, because he clearly wasn't fully calm) Muroki removed his paw from his shoulder and also sat down. Hide and seek did sound like a good idea considering how reluctant Hatari was to physically interact with the cubs. It did look like he was slowly getting more comfortable, so this game should buy him some more time. "Funny how Kato's sort of mentoring him through this." he said with a chuckle.

It did make him wonder, however, just how long Kato has been coming to see Hatari? From the way the two talked to one another, this clearly wasn't the prince's first time here, for they seemed to be rather close friends. How come Kato hasn't told them about his visits? There didn't seem to be any reason for him to keep them a secret. "So far it's... okay, I guess..." said Lina after having made sure to pay attention to where all three cubs had gone off to hide (Akili in particular).

[DGFone]

Delano was also catching on how the prince was helping Hatari out with how to act around cubs. Although unlike his brother, he didn't chuckle at Hatari's clear confusion, instead being overcome by a strange feeling of pity for the lion: Delano himself still remembered all too well what it was like to be completely unprepared for cubs, so he understood that Hatari needs Kato's help. "Yeah, Hatari doesn't really look like he knows what to do. But Kato does."

He watched as Hatari began to count down and the cubs scattered, running behind the trees in search of a place to hide. He made sure to note where Akili had run off to, not realizing that Lina was doing the same thing, although he didn't look where the other two had ran: Muroki and Umeme can watch after their own cubs, or so he figured.

Umeme mentally took note where Ubawa and Marini were hidden, and then she noticed that Muroki was very much focused at the bush where their son was hiding behind. She grinned and nudged him to grab his attention. "Don't look so interested, Muroki. You're only going to give them away like that."

She knew that Muroki was simply making sure that he knew where his cubs were at, but she didn't want to spoil their fun by having her mate unintentionally give away their hiding spots by constantly looking at where they are.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina continued to watch silently as Hatari finished counting down and opened his eyes. The cubs were nowhere to be seen by that point, having chosen their hiding places. Akili had chosen to hide behind Hatari's tree, which was definitely broad enough to hide a cub as small as he was. She hoped, for Akili's sake, that he wasn't going to try to climb it just because she couldn't see him. Not that he would have any success if he tried. Still, she could take comfort in the fact that her mate was relatively calm. It was the main thing she was worried about at the moment.

Muroki, who obviously had no intention of giving either their cubs or Akili away by staring at their hiding spots, looked at Umeme with a sheepish smile. "Right... Silly me..." If he were to accidentally give Ubawa's hiding spot away and his son caught onto his involvement he would never hear the end of it from the cub. There was also the whole aspect of letting his son enjoy the game, of course. So far things were going relatively well in regard of both his brother and Hatari. Hatari was noticeably becoming more and comfortable around the cubs and Delano wasn't being irrational.

Hatari could tell that the others were looking directly at him, Lina and Delano in particular. He still wasn't sure as to just how he felt about their presence, but he doubted the situation could get more awkward than it already was. Right. Even if the cubs were small, studying the ground closely might give him an indication of where they'd gone. He could also try to catch on to their scents and- wait, what was he thinking? He was playing hide and seek with three cubs, not tracking down some target he had to kill... Do this like a normal lion... he thought to himself, before beginning to look around randomly just like one of the cubs would if they were in his place.

First he decided to approach his small den, which happened to be where Marini was hiding. The small cub had taken refugee behind it. After looking inside he decided to circle the small cave. But, as he went over to the right and began to do so, the little lioness in question emerged from the left. Smiling triumphantly, she ran over to Kato while her unsuspecting seeker scanned the area behind the den. Chuckling, the prince lay down and allowed her to climb onto his mane, which she immediately used as a viewing seat for when Hatari would come back and see that he'd been played.

Surely enough, he did after a few seconds, and the look of surprise on his face made it impossible for the cub to burst into an uncontrollable giggling fit. Just what has that sneaky little hairball done, exactly? However, seeing how much she was enjoying themselves, he smiled slightly. Besides, he hasn't lost just yet. Well, not fully. There were still 2 cubs he had to look for. Allowing Marini to enjoy her moment of gloating, he continued his search.

[DGFone]

Watching as Hatari went and started to search for the cubs, Delano tensed when he realized that the lion was using stalking techniques in order to try and find them. What if he got too carried away? Before he got up to try and stop Hatari, he saw the lion relax and just use his eyes again. Calming down once more, Delano was able to watch Hatari find Marini with relative ease.

However, when he watched as Hatari next got close to where Akili was, Delano was overcome by a strange feeling, almost like dizziness. He remembered playing such games with Muroki and their parents, and now watching his own son playing the same games with the very lion who was responsible for his parents being dead... It was weird to say the least. "I need a drink." Getting up, Delano walked over to the water and began to drink quickly, hoping that the cool water would help clear his head. This place was really testing his nerves, and he was really starting to want to head back home before something would happen.

Upon hearing the excited squeal as Akili was found, Ubawa knew that he was the last one. Hiding where he was, he was hardly able to contain his excitement, which only grew as he heard Hatari walk around nearby, oblivious to the cub's location. "He's never going to find me," he told himself excitedly... only to find himself face to face with a grinning Hatari.

[TheWhistlerify]

Even though, technically, Hatari had found her niece, Lina couldn't help but smile as the way Marini was so satisfied with having been able to run all the way back to the starting point without the lion noticing. She continued to eye him as him came close to the tree her son was hiding behind, obviously with the intention of checking behind it for any little cub that might be there. When Akili squealed in excitement upon being found, she chuckled heartily as the younger cub dashed out of his hiding place, running between Hatari's leg as he did.

As he made his way back over to Kato and Marini, Akili caught sight of his father by the waterhole. With all the excitement at having finally arrived at this new place to meet this new lion, he hadn't even noticed the small water source was there. But the way there has definitely been harder for him in comparison to his two cousins, even if he'd walked less than they had. Heading over, he affectionately brushed past Delano's leg before beginning to drink as well.

Hatari managed to find some comfort in the fact that, while Marini had managed to sneak away, at least he'd managed to find Akili. It felt strangely nice to hear the cubs' laughter and excitement, especially when considering the fact that he hasn't been doing much but walk around so far. Ubawa's almost impossible to contain excitement was eventually the cub's downfall and Hatari found him hiding within a small bush. "You were saying?" he asked with a grin, unable to help himself from teasing him a little.