[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

For some strange reason, Delano was quite glad that they had reached Umeme's and Muroki's den. For some reason wright now, those two were making him quite nervous, and now he could finally walk away from them without arousing suspicion. "Yeah, we'll see you soon," he told his brother and sister in law, "well... I think we'll also go and take Akili home as well. I think the poor guy's very tired." The entire time they had walked back, Akili had never woken up. Getting over to Hatari's followed by the games must have really taken a toll on him.

Turning toward the direction of their den, Delano lean Lina away, trying not to show that he wanted to leave as quickly as they can.

"See you two later!" Umeme bid her own goodbye, and then walked into the den. Carefully lying down, Muroki helped Ubawa off her back and she helped him place Marini next to her sleeping brother. "Look at them!" she whispered excitedly, "they really had a lot of fun today based on how tired they look."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina once again looked at Akili, chuckling at just how tired her son looked. It seemed as if almost nothing would be able to rouse to cub from his deep slumber. "Yeah, we should probably get him home." Smiling at her sister and brother-in-law, she said her own farewells before turning to follow Delano, suddenly noticing that he has already started walking (and in a rather quick pace in comparison to up until that point, too). "Hey, wait up!" Giving a slight trot, the lioness went ahead and caught up to her mate.

~ ~ ~

After watching Delano and Lina leave, Muroki followed Umeme into their den and carefully removed Ubawa from her back before lying down next to her so that she could do the same with Marini. It was impossible for him not to smile warmly at the sight of their cubs sleeping so peacefully like that. "They sure did." The true purpose of their visit was not for them to have fun, but he was really glad that they had. He gave both of them a soft lick before leaning his head against his mate's. "They're growing up so wonderfully, Umeme..."

[DGFone]

Not realizing how quickly he had walked off, Delano slowed down in order to let Lina catch up. "Sorry," he muttered sheepishly, "didn't realize I left you behind." He allowed her to get back to him before resuming his walk, this time making sure that he didn't walk too quickly. "I thought you were right there," he mumbled absent mindedly.

---

Umeme let out a low purr as Muroki licked her. "I still remember when they had yet to even open their eyes. Now they are running around, and if I can judge them, causing a lot of trouble." She let out a quiet chuckle. "Especially Marini. She really took after you."

[TheWhistlerify]

Giggling softly, Lina gave Delano a quick lick across his muzzle. "Someone's a little tired, huh?" she asked with a grin, this time referring to him rather than their son. The funny thing was that, from time to time, her mate was simply always tired. It was why he napped so much. Even though she in particular hasn't done much that day, she was also quite looking forward to getting back to their den and settling down. It was starting to get colder outside, too.

~ ~ ~

Muroki shot his mate a playful frown when she compared their daughter to him not only in how much she looked like him but also in the way she behaved. "I've told you so many times before..." he said, placing a paw around her and playfully pulling her closer to him. "I wasn't even close to being such a troublemaker." Marini was very well behaved in general, but there was no denying the fact that she was a very energetic cub. "I don't know what you were like when you were little, but..." Perhaps his daughter had gotten that from both him and his brother. After all, when the two of them had combined forces...

[DGFone]

At first, Delano did think that Lina was referring to Akili. "Yeah. He sure is tired after today." He then saw he face that clearly told him that he said something wrong, and right away he knew what. "Oh... oh, you mean me..." He chuckled nervously. "I guess, yeah. Seeing Hatari again... it did leave me quite exhausted, I have to admit." He was quite looking forwards to getting back to the den and finally get to properly relax.

---

Umeme just grinned at Muroki and even stuck her tongue out at him. "I may have gotten into trouble a few times, but nothing regularly like what Marini does. She's all you in that, because I know male cubs. Sure, you might claim that you were not that bad, but really... you were." Even though she trusted Muroki enough to know that the only reason why he was defending himself so much was because it was true, Umeme still felt like for now, pretending that it was not. "So go on. Admit it!"

Spoiler: show

I was busy earlier today. However, this is the last one until morning.

[TheWhistlerify]

Giggling once again, Lina couldn't prevent herself from playfully rolling her eyes. "Like father, like son..." Watching Akili and Delano sleeping close to each other had to be the most adorable sight she has ever seen. If the visual similarities between the two of them weren't enough then their sleepy expressions left no room for doubt. "I think it's really sweet how Akili looks up to you so much and wants to be like you when he grows up." she said, smiling as their son yawned in his sleep. This was most likely common with many cubs, but she still thought it was cute.

~ ~ ~

Muroki couldn't help but grin as well. He quite enjoyed it whenever Umeme talked to him like that. It made their back and forth flirting more fun. "I most certainly will not." he retorded, gently tightening the grip of the foreleg he was holding onto her with and giving her a slow lick across her muzzle. "That's quite a mouth you've got, dear." His purring turned even louder as he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her deeply for a few moments before pulling away by a few inches while grinning flirtatiously. "I don't think you're a good influence on the cubs."

[DGFone]

At first, Delano just stared at Lina. While it didn't strike him as odd now that he thought about it, hearing from her about how Akili wants to be like him... it made Delano start to really think that perhaps he was not in fact failing in the whole father business. "Really? Well, that's uh... that's great, Lina." He was left rather speechless by her compliment, and so he decided to continue to walk home before he started to feel stupid for not doing anything.

---

Umeme kissed Muroki back eagerly, groaning in disappointment when he pulled back. "Aww, spoil-sport!" When he mentioned the cubs, she grinned and shook her head. "I'm their mother. I know best what is good for them and what is bad." She then lowered her voice. "Speaking of those two, we really need to wait until they are not around until... you know." She grinned knowingly at him. "We can take them to mom and dad tomorrow if you really can' wait."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina couldn't help but giggle as Delano slightly stuttered in response to her compliment. Surely he'd heard all of Akili's comments like when Muroki gave him a noogie in the morning or when he boasted to Hatari about one day having his own mane. Perhaps he just couldn't see their son's statements for what they truly were... "You're too humble sometimes, Delano." she said with a smile, giving him another affectionate lick. One day she'd take some time off in order to teach him how to accept a compliment. Maybe.

~ ~ ~

All Muroki did was grin his trademark grin when Umeme complained about their kiss being too short. It was fun to tease her a little every now and then, even if, in all honesty, he would often end up teasing himself as well. "Oh, you know best, do you?" he asked jokngly, in a tone that definitely showed that he was kidding and wasn't really meaning what he was saying. He looked at their cubs for a brief moment and then back at her again. "Well..." he said, thinking about it for a few moments. "Maybe tomorrow... Maybe not..." He shrugged his shoulders, grinning at her again.

[DGFone]

If anything, Delano felt even more embarrassed, although now he knew what to say. "Too humble? Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?" He grinned playfully at his mate. "I can be more boastful, you know," he said, making sure to sound like it to. "After all, who was it that almost single handedly stopped the underworld?"

He flashed Lina a toothy grin. "Come on, who's the best lion you've ever seen, huh?" He nudged Lina's shoulder. "You're looking right at him!"

---

Umeme simply grinned back at Muroki, and then got an idea. "You know, the cubs are asleep. We can go outside the den..." She got up and walked out, sitting down right next to the entrance. "Not exactly just the two of us, but for now, I'll take it." She reached out with a paw and brought it around Muroki, resuming her kiss that he so rudely ended.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina chuckled. "Being humble is supposed to be a good thing. As for too humble, well... I dunno..." It was impossible for her not to laugh when he took her suggestion way too far. Now that was the Delano she loved so much (not the part with the boasting but the part where he made her laugh so easily). Deciding to ignore Akili's existence for a few moments, she pretended to look her mate over, as if evaluating him. "Hmm... I dunno..." she said with a grin and a fake, somewhat unimpressed gleam in her eyes. "That's not enough to win this lioness over..." Giggling, she walked a little faster and passed him, flicking her tail at his face before entering their den.

~ ~ ~

Chuckling, Muroki wasted no time in following Umeme out of the den, where she immediately made it quite clear as to just how upset she was because of his too short of a kiss from earlier. He made no protest as she pulled him closer, and after a few moments he wrapped both of his forelegs around her as they both sat down. While he wasn't at all bossy when it came to their relationship, he could get a little bold in situations like this. But, as far as he could tell, his mate liked that. So, he realized that he was actually leaning forward a little too much when the two of them suddenly fell over, with him landing on top of the lioness. Muroki then broke their kiss again, smilling sheepishly. At least now their kiss hadn't been short...