[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Mostly being held up by Lina's embrace, Delano felt very embarrassed at having falling over into the water. So when Lina went ahead and licked him in between her laughter, he felt himself get very red in the face. "Yeah, I know," he answered her, struggling out of her grip.

It wasn't that Lina was strangling him with her grip, as much as that he wanted to get out of the water. Scrambling over to the shore, he lay down on the moist sand by the water's edge. As Lina joined him, he tried to explain, "It's not fun to wake up with your head under water," he complained, much to her amusement, "it's really not nice..." Lina only began to laugh again, to which Delano couldn't help but add a few of his own chuckles as well.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina continued to hang onto Delano despite how obvious it was that he was trying to escape her grasp. It reminded her too much of the way Akili always tried to struggle during his baths, and her mate's embarrassment only added to her amusement. Delano and their cub were much more alike than he was willing to admit. Eventually, though, she let the lion go, giggling as she watched him scramble his way to the shore.

Also stepping out of the water, the lioness was quick to once again snuggle closely to her mate, eventually losing control of the restraints of her laughter once more as he tried to explain the obvious to her. "Sometimes you end up reminding me of how nervous you've been when we first started seeing each other..." she said, rubbing her head against his before smiling fondly at him. "You were just too cute back then."

[DGFone]

If anything, Delano blushed even more when Lina told him how he reminded her of him when they first met. "Well, I err... what, I am not cute anymore?" He stuck his tongue out at his mate, allowing himself to feel a little insulted at how Lina said that he was cuter back when he was nervous.


He knew that she didn't really mean it, but it was a bit of fun for Delano to point it out. After all, she tended to only call him cute when he did something that he would rather not, such as stuttering out of nervousness, or when he walked into that tree... Delano thought that it would be nice if she could call him cute when something like that didn't happen, but he didn't voice it out loud. Lina calling him cute was still something he enjoyed no matter the situation. Well, most of the time.

[TheWhistlerify]

Giggling, Lina also stuck her tongue out at Delano. "You are." she said, "But not as much as you are when you're nervous." There was obviously something about Delano's often clueless expression that she found to be completely adorable, but nothing compared to when he was hesitant. Well, aside from Akili. He was just a fluff a cuteness. She remembered that one time where she caught her mate and cub doing something they weren't supoosed to be doing. The looks on their faces back then, espdcially when viewed at the same time... That was the best combo.

"That's where Akili got it from, you know." she said, chuckling as she rubbed her head against Delano's. "I just might be jealous of the lioness that will snatch him one day." She was obviously joking, seeing how that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

[DGFone]

Delano chuckled again at Lina's comments. "Well, I guess I can be glad that you consider me so... umm..." he struggled to find a word that he could use that didn't make him feel strange saying, "... attractive." He gratefully rubbed her head as well, trying to figure out how a day that started so badly turned into this.

Not that he was complaining, just that he never expected it to be possible for a day to switch so suddenly. His thoughts returning to their conversation, he then asked, "Wait, so Lina... are you implying that Akili is better looking than me?" Delano nuzzled her, and then pushed her on the ground, "I thought I was the best lion that there ever was, and ever will be." he teased.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina giggled at Delano'a choice of words, returning the affectionate head rub as she did. "I guess I do." She never considered his nervousness as attractive but, now that she was thinking about it, she enjoyed his awkward moments very much. So perhaps it was true to call it that. Continuing to nuzzle him unawarely while taking great amusement in her mate's remark about their son, she let out a short laugh of surprise as she suddenly found herself on the ground.

Giving the lion a cheeky smile, she leaned upwards and licked his cheek once. "Well we already agreed that Akili got his cute awkwardness from you." she explained, sticking her tongud out at him. "But don't forget that he's my son as well." she laughed again as Delano pouted in fake annoyance. "I think you're in for a tough fight, Delano."

[DGFone]

Delano playfully glared at Lina. "Look, I know he's your son and all, not to mention that he's also my son, but remember who you are married to." He puffed his chest out to try and look impressive. "I'm the best lion you ever met, remember? Akili is so far just a fuzzy maraca. I hardly think it's a fair fight."

He pressed his paws on Lina's chest as he leaned his head down and gave her a loving kiss. "I know Akili is our son, but I think that in your eye, I still should be the cutest lion ever. Besides, considering how many times you call me that, I think I am very much so."

[TheWhistlerify]

It was impossible for Lina not to laugh loudly as Delano called their son a fuzzy maraca. Akili had been called by several names regarding his tiny fluffiness in the past, but a fuzzy maraca was new. "All I'm saying is that, since he's my son as well, he's ought to surpass you one day." she said cheekily, purring as her mate kissed her and returning the gesture while wrapping her paws around his neck. "Yeah, you're still the cutest lion. Akili's still just a cub, but..." she pulled him downwards, kissing him again. "You'll always be my best lion."

[DGFone]

Delano allowed Lina to pull him towards her. "Well, that's very good to hear then." Not so much about being called the cutest lion, but about Lina calling him the best lion. Lying down beside his mate, he settled by her side. "Hey, Lina..." his mind was wandering around again, "I was just thinking... how long do you think it will be until we will be able to take Akili along on these walks with us?"

He looked over at Lina, smiling slightly. "Muroki and I enjoyed walking around when we got old enough to do so. Of course, at first we didn't like it, but mom and dad forced us to do so because they didn't have anyone to watch over us if they went hunting or on some other business." Frowning, he settled his head next to Lina's. "Akili would have loved to meet them. Bah! What was I thinking, allowing him to go and see the one who murdered them instead..."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina smiled fondly at Delano as he settled down closely to her (even though she liked their previous position a lot more). She leaned against him as he did, placing her head against his like she always enjoyed doing ao much. "Well we already took Akili as far as where Hatari lives." she said. The walk to the border was much longer than the walk to their little oasis, for example, so she saw no reason as to why their son wouldn't be able to join them whenever they went somewhere from now on. "He'll be able to handle the shorter walk here, for example."

Looking back at her mate, she continued to smile as he told her how much he and Muroki had enjoyed going on walks together in the past. Akili and his cousins were far too young to be allowed to go off on their own, of course, but perhaps the three cubs would also adopt the habit in the future. "Delano, we already agreed that that was the right thing to do." she said as he suddenly changed the subject to Hatari himself.

"He changed, remember?" she asked. "If it weren't for him you, Muroki and Kato would be dead and Akili, Marini and Ubawa wouldn't have even been born to begin with." Introducing Hatari to the cubs so early on was meant to reduce the amount of confusion they'd experience upon finding out the truth as well as the odds that they'd turn hostile against the former member of the underworld. "If Akili ends up becoming as enraged as you were when you found out about him he could get hurt."

As much as she doubted Hatari would ever mean anyone any harm ever again, he probably would defend himself if he was forced to. "Hatari's a capable fighter and I doubt he'd hesitate to protect himself if he won't have a choice. No lion would..." Letting out a soft sigh, she licked Delano across his muzzle, hoping that he understood her point. "This is for our son's safety." At the end of the day, Akili and his wellbeing were he most important things. "Try to remember that."