[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Inside the den, Delano lay in a half-asleep position, bored out of his mind. No matter how much he tried to get some rest, he wasn't able to calm down enough to fall asleep. Combined with the boredom, his already bad mood had turned quite sour as he lay alone in the den, unable to rest but too tried to move around.

So when he heard Lina call from outside, his spirits lifted up at least somewhat. "Lina?" Sure enough, she came in from the entrance, and Delano struggled to get up. "Where's Akili?" he asked, stumbling over to her and taking her in a hug. It felt really nice to have someone else to talk to, even if it didn't help him with his fatigue.

[TheWhistlerify]

For whatever reason, Lina felt quite relieved to find out that Delano was inside their den, as if there had been a reason for her to worry that he might be gone or that something might have happened. The way he stumbled over to her before hugging her was an indication that he hasn't been able to get much rest, if at all, so she saw no reason to even ask. "I left Akili with your aunt and uncle." she said, hugging him as well. "I figured it's about time he met Nyoka, not to mention that it's been some time since he'd last seen Kasi or his parents."

Letting him go, she managed to smile despite having hoped that he'd be able to get some sleep. "Kasi suggested going over to see how you were doing, so here I am." It wasn't too hard to figure out that her mate was bored out of his mind. "Would you like me to stick around for a bit?" she asked, giving him a soft lick across his cheek. "I'm sure Laini and Dakari wouldn't mind, and Akili's getting along quite well with Nyoka." She doubted Delano's aunt and uncle would have a problem if she stayed with him for a while.

Spoiler: show

I'm guarding from 01:00 - 05:00. My clock is 10 hours ahead of yours so make the calculation. If you're available, know that I'm awake.

[DGFone]

Delano was rather surprised to hear that Lina took Akili to Nyoka, and even felt some disappointment at not being there. When she then mentioned that she can stay for a while, he hugged her tighter, not wanting to let go. The prospect of being alone again was not something he wanted to go through again. "Stay..." he said quickly, "...please stay."

He shook slightly as Lina licked him again. "I'm not feeling well," he whispered to her, "I don't know why... I don't want you to go." He rested his head on her shoulder, and tried to change the subject; he wasn't in the mood to here Lina try to calm him down. "Is Akili doing alright? Not getting into trouble?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Even though Lina had gotten the impression that Delano didn't want to remain on his own again, she was rather surprised by the manner in which he immediately hugged her tighter and asked her to stay upon hearing her offer. She also hadn't expected him to say that he was not feeling well. Yes, she knew that he was tired, but this other piece of information was rather new. "Akili's fine." she said with a small smile, leaning her head against her mate's as he rested it on her shoulder. "He's having a good time and he's getting along well with Nyoka."

There was no room for questions about how she was going to stay for longer than she'd originally planned. But, she still doubted that Laini and Dakari would have a problem with that, especialy given the circumstances prolonging her stay. "Would you like to lie down?" she asked softly. Because of how tired (as well as unwell) Delano was, he would most likely feel more comfortable that way, even if she had difficulty believing that he would fall asleep all of a sudden. Perhaps he would.

[DGFone]

Laying down next to Lina without saying a word, Delano was reminded of the time when he was held in that dark cave, and Muroki would come and visit him, allowing him the smallest amount of rest he was able to get there. As Lina lay down next to him, he was able to ignore the memories as he smiled and placed his head next to hers. "Thanks, Lina," he said softly, and closed his eyes yet again. He hoped that this time, he would finally be able to fall asleep and get back to normal.

As he felt himself begin to calm down by the soothing feeling of Lina's calm breathing next to him, Delano decided like talking for a little while longer. "While you were still there, what were Akili and Nyoka doing?" He didn't even bother opening his eyes as he talked, already starting to feel himself finally begin to doze off.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina was able to actually feel Delano calm down as the two of them lay down closely together. He seemed to be less tense and his tone really did make it sound like was more relaxed. Smiling, she shuffled her entire form closer to him, enjoying the contact. "Oh, you know..." she said with a soft giggle. "Just running around loudly and so on." She had to admit that it felt quite nice to just lie there with her mate ane talk quietly. Having a cub made that next to impossible, unless they left him under the care of somebody else.

True, they hadn't intended on having someone look after him instead of them for a while this time, but Lina was able to find their moment relaxing despite the circumstances. "It's kind of funny how we look at them and wonder how it takes him such a long time to run out of energy when we were exactly the same when we were little." She didn't know what Delano had been like when he was that age, but surely any cub was very energetic to some extent.

[DGFone]

"Yeah, Muroki and I used to drive our parents nuts by how much we can run around," Delano muttered dreamily, "so I guess it's good what we only have to watch over Akili." He chuckled, knowing that there were two other cubs as well, "Muroki and Umeme have to deal with two, and to make it worse, one of them is Marini... I really do wonder how they manage."

His chuckled turned into a weak cough, fouling his mood again. Shuffling a little closer to Lina's side, Delano covered his eyes with a paw and fell silent. As nice it was to talk with his mate, he really needed to rest, especially after being unable to for so long.

[TheWhistlerify]

Of course, since Lina knew her niece well enough in order to know that what Delano was saying was true, she too believed that the way her sister and brother-in-law were managing with both Marini and Ubawa was kind of fascinating. The female cub on her own could sometimes give off the impression that she was impossible to control, so having another cub to raise at the same time, alongside her, was probably even harder.

Before she could express her agreement on the matter, however, her attention was caught by Delano's feeble coughing. Deciding that their little discussion had lasted long enough, since her mate obviously needed some rest, she made no protest when he cuddled up closer to her. Not wanting to spak up again, she held onto his free paw with her own paws and wrapped her tail around his, leaning her head into his mane and silently letting him know that she was there in case he needed anything.

[DGFone]

Feeling too tired to say anything, Delano was never the less still grateful when he felt Lina's head lean on his. Another benefit was that with her being so close, she was able to share body heat with him. Warmer than before, the sleep that he was so desperate for finally came to him. Having waited for what felt like forever, Delano began to snore snore quietly, finally at rest.

[TheWhistlerify]

Also remaining silent, Lina decided to wait either until Delano woke up or until when the sun started setting, at which point she would have to go back over to Dakari and Laini's den in order to take Akili home.The day wasn't over just yet but, with how tired her mate was, she doubted he would wake up by sunset. Well, he'd already fallen asleep, which meant that she'd done her part, but she hoped to not accidentally wake him up later. For the time being, she stayed where she was and enjoyed the warmth and silence.

~ ~ ~

The day dragged on and, eventually, like everything in life, was starting to come towards its ending. Muroki and Umeme had spent the majority of it inside their den after the hunt, and both of them were feeling like time was flying way too quickly for their liking. They both knew that, soon, they would have ro head over and pick up their cubs. But there was still a little more time. "I had a wonderful time today." he said softly, taking a brief pause from nuzzling her as he did. With how loudly his mate was purring, he coule only imagine that the same thing could be said about her, and that made him happier. Smiling warmly, he covered a yawn with his paw before pulling the lioness closer. "We should do this way more often..."