[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

With Muroki having answered the question in a way that Umeme felt that she didn't have anything to add, the lioness still didn't feel like it might be a good idea to simply let the conversation end like that. "So how have you been, Hatari? You said that you've been awake for hours, but you don't really look it. Is everything all right?"

Although, strictly speaking, Umeme had to admit that now that the cubs were all running around Hatari, the lion did look a lot better than just moments ago when they first showed up. Perhaps he was just lonely? That was always a possibility - lions are social animals, and unlike leopards, didn't tend to do so well when living alone. Was Hatari experiencing that? Or perhaps something else was going on that she wasn't aware of.

[TheWhistlerify]

Hatari had to disagree with Umeme to some degree. It was true that he has been awake for a few hours already and he had a feeling that he looked like it too, even with the cubs running all over the place and making it very difficult to fall asleep. Well, he wasn't trying to, but since he did feel a bit tired having the little fluffs around to cause noise and keep him distracted did prevent him from looking all that sleepy. "I actually have been up for a while before you showed up." he said. "I haven't had the best sleep recently."

The way she asked him whether everything was alright did remind him of that lion again. He couldn't help but wonder whether he should tell them of the visit. On one paw, he might be really overreacting about the new Chief of Police, even if he didn't feel like he was, and on the other did he have the right to get them involved after everything they've gone through already? No, he hadn't caused the river dam to collapse and he hadn't sent that assassin during the period of the trial.

But, at least with the gorge incident, there was no doubt that Muroki wouldn't have been hurt if he hadn't let him know of everything. However, with the way Sanders had also been planning to go after him and his brother, he hadn't really had much of a choice, not to mention that Kato would have died if he hadn't said anything. Hatari had no idea what to think of that new chief, but he didn't have a good feeling about the lion. At the same time, though, it could be just him being paranoid over nothing.

If this lion did have any bad intentions, they were probably only aimed at Hatari because he probably shared the viewpoint of some of the pride's members about how he shouldn't have been allowed to live. Was there any need for him to get them involved in something like this? Besides, if there was anybody who obviously knww something about the Chief of Police, it would be Kato. The problem was that the prince hasn't come to visit him since the day he'd first met the cubs but, knowing the younger lion, he'd probably show up again soon.

[DGFone]

The way Hatari hesitated told Umeme that there was indeed something up with him. However with the cubs playing all over him, she wasn't going to get the opportunity to ask him as to what was up. So instead, she simply smiled at him. "Well, as long as everything's all right, why not enjoy the day?" Leaving the lion alone with the cubs, she went and returned to Muroki's side.

Ubawa was climbing over Hatari once more when he got an idea. "Hey, Mr. Hatari, do you think I can wrestle you to the ground? I can do it to dad all the time!" Whenever he would try to topple Muroki over, he would always succeed. His mother always told him that it was because his father let him, but Ubawa was certain that it was really because he really could indeed wrestle his father to the ground, and now he wanted to see if he can do it to Hatari as well.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki also seemed to notice the slight hesitation in Hatari's speech as he spoke to his mate, but he too realized that, if anything was up, it probably wouldn't be the best idea to talk about it with the cubs around. He nuzzled Umeme briefly when she arrived at his side before turning his attention to his son, who was once again staring on Hatari's head while this time boasting about his incredible fighting capabilities. Noticing Hatari give him an odd look, obviously confused as to how a cub so small could possibly knock a lion of his father's size over, he simply grinned in response and said nothing.

It took Hatari a few seconds to understand it, though. But he did, eventually. "You can?" he asked, looking at Ubawa with a grin. Why not give his cubbish little pride a little push? "What, but your father's so much bigger than you!" he exclaimed, pretending to be absolutely shocked. Lina, meanwhile, became aware of the fact that Akili was once again taking too much of an interest in the tree Hatari liked to nap on. She cleared her throat loudly to let him know that no, he still wasn't allowed to climb it. The cub pouted before pouncing on Marini, who was busy chasing Hatari's tail all over the place.

As was to be expected, Ubawa grinned smugly and puffed out his chest, obviously enjoying the older lion's surprise at his revelation regarding his very impressive abilities. The thing was that, while Muroki let both him and his sister do as they pleased with him whenever they played, Marini never went easy on her brother. He sure was lucky that she was busy messing around with their cousin at the moment or else she would have obviously given in to the temptation of ruining his moment. "Why, I don't know, Ubawa..." continued Hatari. "It doesn't look like I stand a chance!"

Muroki, meanwhile, couldn't help but chuckle at the interaction between the two. True, Hatari only knew what to do because he'd seen Kato do it but, at the end of the day, did that really matter?

[DGFone]

Delano was still busy watching how Ubawa was interacting with Hatari to notice his own son wanting to climb the tree again. So when he heard Lina clear her throat, it caught him by surprise. "Lina... what?" He followed her gaze and finally realized what Akili wanted. "Oh, good catch, hun." He grinned as their son then chose to chase after Marini, who was busy chasing after Hatari's tail, so it was a rather amusing sight.

On top of Hatari's head, Ubawa was grinning while trying to make himself as large as possible. Jumping off, he went back a few paces before turning back towards the lion. Preparing himself, he began to run towards Hatari and jumped on the lion. At first, Hatari didn't seem to move, only for him to then fall over. Getting on top of him again, Ubawa felt like the strongest cub in the world. "See? I did it! I knew I could do it! See mom? It's not just dad letting me win!"

Umeme was laughing quite loudly at the sight. "Of course, Ubawa," she added between laughs, knowing fully well that Hatari had allowed himself to fall over as well.

[TheWhistlerify]

Well, Umeme was definitely right about one thing. It was definitely not just Muroki letting Ubawa win now. Hatari had to admit that simply lying there on his back with a cub standing over him that way felt even weirder than the way he'd allowed himself to fall over when the little fluff ball had pounced at him just a moment earlier. The impact had felt so weak and insignificant that he'd almost forgotten he had to pretend to be affected by it but, from the cub's reaction, it looked as if everything turned out alright in the end.

Muroki, meanwhile, was also finding the sight to be very entertaining. He always allowed his son to mess around with him like that so it wasn't new to him, but it certainly was amusing to see the matter from the sidelines for a change. It was also kind of funny how Ubawa wasn't able to connect the dots with the fact that, whenever his father decided he needed a bath, he was suddenly powerless to do anything about it. Cubs be cubs...

[DGFone]

Another thing about cubs being cubs, standing on top of Hatari, Ubawa soon got bored. He had just proven that he can in fact wrestle down a fully grown lion, and now wanted to do something else. Spotting Akili still chasing Marini, he decided to again team up on his sister and give her a bit of payback for all the time she used her still bigger size to her advantage against him.

Jumping off Hatari, the cub gave chase to his sister, who realized that she now had two after her once more. Of course, she also now had Hatari to use to her advantage. Ubawa could normally keep up with his sister, but now she used the lion as an ever-changing rock to run and hide behind. At first, he was caught of guard by this, but soon caught on to what she was doing. As for Hatari, the poor lion had to be content with acting as a playground for the cubs as they ran all around and over him.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki definitely wasn't all that surprised when Ubawa soon became bored and decided to join Akili in the endless struggle against Marini. It was always like that. Every once in a while, his son would feel like wrestling with him for a bit and, a short time after his father gave in on purpose, he'd feel like doing something. Then, once he felt like wrestling again, the same cycle would start over from the beginning. "I think Hatari's gotten the hang of this..." he said with a chuckle to his mate, grinning as he saw the lion look at both of them with an almost helpless expression as the cubs ran on and around him.

He felt a little silly with just lying there as the cubs used him as their own personal playground. If he were to lie on his back like that for such a long time while facing another lion, he'd probably be dead by that point. Luckiily he didn't have to deal with these types of things anymore. Hatari waited a moment and, once he had an opportunity to do so without accidentally crushing one of the cubs, he rolled onto his stomach so that he could at least lie normally.

[DGFone]

Umeme chuckled at Muroki's comment. Sure, all Hatari had to do was well... nothing, but a lot of lions would not have the patience to be able to lie there while cubs run all over them. Even poor Hatari had to roll over so that he could get more comfortable. "Yeah, I think he's doing all right." She thought of how if it wasn't for Kato, then Hatari would have really indeed not have known what to do. "He really does have a good teacher," she added, "who knew that the prince would know so much on how to be a good parent."

Deciding to give Hatari something to keep his mind occupied off from the fact that he was being used as a bouldering rock, Umeme decided to at least join him into a conversation so that they won't cause him to feel like they came here simply to dump their cubs on him. "So Hatari, has Kato visited you recently? I know we've last been here not too long ago, but did he stop by after that day or not?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki knew that there was no denying it. Neither one of them had expected Kato of all lions to know so much about how to interact with cubs. If he'd learned all that from simply helping Desta watch over her little brother every once in a while, then it really was impressive. It made Muroki wonder how the prince would manage when he would inherit the throne from his father in due time. After all, he was sure that Kato was just as attentive a student whenever the king taught him something.

As loud as the cubs were, Hatari had no problem hearing Umeme's question. Their and Kato's last visit had taken place only a few days ago. Seeing how busy Kato could often be, Hatari wasn't surprised that he hasn't seen the prince again since then yet. "No, he hasn't." He really wanted to see the younger lion again. Surely he'd know enough to help Hatari determine whether that new Chief of Police really was more than just trying to form an opinion about the former member of the underworld.

"Kato's not really a prince, you know!" exclaimed Marini all of a sudden as she stood on Hatari's head.

"Yeah..." said Hatari with a small smile, looking up at the cub. "I was here last time to hear the... interesting discussion." He chuckled as the tiny lioness was then tackled by her brother, causing them both to fall to the ground in a heap. Meanwhile her father rubbed the back of his head with a paw, feeling a little embarrassed.