[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Already suffering from a lack of sleep, Delano wasn't ready to deal with Hatari's nonsense. "What do you think?" he growled back, "that I would willingly run over to you in order to come begging for your help?" His anger faded, replaced by the same fear that had driven him here in the first place. "With Sanders on the loose, I just... I don't know how long I can go on..."

Staring at Hatari again, Delano hoped that the lion would not try to argue with him about what he wanted. "But you... you know much more than me how to kill him, because with him walking around..." He shook his head, "I just don't know what to do." He was all too aware that he was asking for help from the lion who murdered his parents, and the fact that he was going that low in order to try and commit murder himself, even if it was on a lion who was already supposed to be dead, even now Delano could feel just how far from normal he was.

[TheWhistlerify]

Not reacting much to the way Delano growled at him, for he was already used to the lion's very consistent lack of patience, Hatari decided not to say anything else in the field of sarcasm and Delano being nuts. It might amuse him a little, yes, but it wouldn't do any actual good in general. The idea of going after Sanders, though... Not only was that dangerous on its own, even if the former leader of the underworld was, at the end of the day, out to get them all anyway, but there was also the fact that they had to actually and physically deal with him.

The last thing Hatari wanted was to kill again. It was true that he would if he had no choice and if it were to be done in self defense, which seemed to be the case in their unfortunate situation, but that didn't make it pleasant. If anything, knowing that he didn't have a choice actually made it worse. "I really don't want it to come to that..." he muttered, staring at the ground. That might sound ridiculous coming from him to Muroki's brother, not to mention that not only his own safety was on the line, but still... Besides, who was to guarantee that trying to kill Sanders wouldn't be a suicide mission? Or that waiting for him to come to them was a better idea?

••••••••••

Muroki, feeling at quite a loss as to what to do now, seeing as Delano could be pretty much anywhere, decided to at least make sure he wasn't inside the gorge by stepping closer to the edge. His brother shouldn't have any reason to go down there, but Akili's father probably wasn't all too connected to reasoning at the moment... However, before the lion came to a location where he could have a proper look, he stopped upon hearing a voice behind him.

"Psst! Hey!" Turning around, a confused look appeared on his face when he noticed a lion he's never met before. Something about him just seemed to be off. "Can I tell you something really important?"

Muroki's ears dropped against his head in confusion. He didn't know what to make of this situation. "Uh, not just now, thanks..." He didn't want to sound rude, but he did really want to find his brother and get this whole situation sorted out.

"But I insist, boy!" said the stranger. "It's, like, so important to everyone in this pride." He then gave Muroki a sort of playful scolding look. "You could get in trouble if you don't listen."

Delano's brother couldn't help but roll his eyes. "If it's really something that important," he said with a sigh, "why don't you just tell me?"

"Well look at me. I'm bananas." Muroki raised an eyebrow. What? "Come on..." The lion smiled. "Sweep closer. Just a little closer." Figuring that the sooner he gave this weirdo the attention he was clearly looking for the sooner he would be left alone, Muroki took a few steps closer to the other male. There was still some distance between them, though. "Oh, will you come a bit closer than that? Come on... Don't be shy." said the lion. "You don't smell half as bad as you think you do."

[DGFone]

Delano sighed in frustration. What's stopping Hatari now? "What do you mean you don't want it to come to that?" he asked bitterly, "that... you're going to let him walk free just... just because you I don't even know..." He began to pace around the area, frustrated that what he was convinced was the last course of action was going to end in disappointment.

"What are you even afraid of, anyways?" Delano asked eventually, "you keep warning me how much you're better at fighting than me. So if you're so great at it, what's stopping you? Afraid of committing murder again?" He stopped right in front of Hatari. "Didn't stop you when it was innocents you were killing. But now that it's a murderer who needs to die, you're just... letting him go?" Unable to control his anger any longer, he then shouted, "you told me you were better than that! Why aren't you willing to help? Why?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Hatari growled, feeling his own anger rising as a result of Delano's anything-but-justified accusations. "If it ever comes down to it I'd kill even you in self defense." he retaliated. "So no, I didn't say I was letting him go. But that doesn't mean that I want to do this, even if there is no choice." A short silence followed. "Don't tell me that you're happy about being forced to stoop to Sanders's level." The former member of the underworld doubted that that was the case, but he really wanted Delano to get his facts together because he seriously wasn't in the mood of being reminded of the many innocents he'd killed in the past.

••••••••••

Still feeling very much disturbed and creeped out by this incredibly strange lion he was talking too, Muroki was still keen on speeding the process of this whole conversation coming to an end and the other lion leaving him alone so he walked over to him, stopping when they were mere inches apart. The other male then looked around, as if to make sure they were along. "I have to whisper it..." he said quietly, causing Delano's brother to nearly groan in annoyance. Who was this guy anyway?

"Look, I'm really busy." he said. Even though just allowing this lion to whisper what he had to say would make things end much sooner, Muroki just didn't feel comfortable about doing this. "If you've got something to say, just say it." In response, though, all he got was the sound of the stranger clearing his throat, clearly waiting for Delano's brother to lean over so that he could whisper. So, rolling his eyes, Muroki did just that, positioning one of his ears next to the Chief of Police's muzzle.

"I'm going to kill you in a minute..."

[DGFone]

"Don't you dare to compare me to him!" At being told that he was acting like Sanders would, Delano lost whatever self control he had left. Letting out a furious growl, he tried to attack Hatari lunging himself at the lion, only to suddenly find himself on his back, a clawed paw pressing down on his throat. Despite the vulnerable position he was now in, he still tried to escape free, but Hatari made sure that he wouldn't be able to get free.

"Let me go!" he hissed out as Hatari increased pressure on his throat, making it harder to breath. As his vision started to waver, Delano was forced to cease his struggling, and immediately he felt the pressure go away, leaving him on the ground and gasping for air. As he slowly regained his strength, he rolled over, but was still too drained to do anything else. "You said it yourself," he eventually said, his voice raspy and coarse, "there's no other choice. So why hesitate?" He used a paw to feel around where Hatari chocked him, and while it still hurt to touch, it didn't feel like there would be any permanent damage. In fact, it now felt like Hatari had wounded Delano's pride more than anything else, because he knew all to well that killing Sanders was very much... what Sanders would do.

[TheWhistlerify]

Patiently waiting for Delano to calm down, as well as not hesitating to increase the pressure on his throat when he thought it necessary, Hatari eventually released his hold on the other lion and backed away a little, sitting down with a slight frown on his face. "I won't like it." he said. "But hesitate? I won't so much as cringe. So..." The former member of the underworld raised an eyebrow. "How do you suggest we do this?" he asked. "We need to find him first and, even if he's not guarded, he won't go down easily."

●●●●●●●●●●

Slowly withdrawing his head, Muroki was met with eyes open to their widest and an incredibly disturbing smile. "I'm not even kidding!" said the Chief. "You're gonna be as dead as a fish out of water, all limp and making smells... But don't tell anyone!" He looked to the sides in the corner of his eyes before whispering. "This is our secret BFFs plan!"

[DGFone]

Delano stared at Hatari, feeling even more foolish. He had been afraid that Hatari wouldn't want to do it, one of the reasons why he had attacked the lion in the first place. Afraid and angry that Hatari became too pacifistic for his own good, he had lashed out from the fear that Sanders would be able to simply walk free and Delano wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

But now that Hatari was making it clear that he wouldn't hesitate to go after Sanders, Delano was able to calm down enough until the reason why he came here in the first place became clear again. "Well... I don't really know... that's why I'm here," he finally admitted, "you know this stuff a lot better than I do... and I know I'm not good at it. That's why... I need you." Saying this last part left a very biter feeling in his mouth, but Delano had gone over all other options when he still tried to get rest back in the den... all zero other options.

[TheWhistlerify]

Hatari blinked a few times. He supposed that he was, without much room for argument, better at this whole thing, although he wouldn't have used the same choice of words to get the message across. "Goodness has nothing to do with this..." he muttered quietly. Then, deciding he might as well satisfy Delano's uneasiness, he stood up. "I suppose we can walk about where you saw him and look for ourselves." The former member of the underworld still didn't know whether Sanders really was alive, but... "First you need to rest your legs." He could tell by easily managing to notice the very slight way in which they were quivering from exhaustion. "In case you'll need to run."

••••••••••

Looking quite horrified, Muroki stared at the Chief of Police for a few seconds before finding his voice. "Look, I really don't have time for some idiotic joke." he eventually stuttered. This had to be what it was. A joke. This lion had a few loose screws inside his head. Or maybe, for this exact reason, he had to treat this seriously?

"Right, of course." The latter chuckled. "You get on. Do your thing. Will a count down help you focus at all?"

"No, that's okay-" said Muroki, taking a single step backwards.

"Ten. Don't be scared, 'cause-"

"I'm not scared."

"Nine. Of course you're not. You know you're dying anyway. Eight. We're practically born dying. Our life spans are so-"

"Please be quiet..." said Muroki, feeling himself begin to lose his temper.

"Seven. You know from the minute you slop out? You're rotting... decaying... The stent of you... Ugh, good luck getting this spot cleaned..."

[DGFone]

Since he was already lying on the ground, Delano stayed where he was. He thought of telling Hatari that he really thought it useless to try to rest, considering that he wasn't able to do so when with Lina in their den, but he doubted that Hatari would listen. Sighing in annoyance, he placed his head on his paws, closing his eyes so that he could at least look like he was resting.

Really, he wanted to do nothing more than to go right now. To track down, find, and finally kill Sanders and get it all over with. But if he would get Hatari's help, he would need to listen to the lion, as much as his impatience and pride kept telling him to ignore Hatari and just go. Hatari wasn't the lion who had just spent a sleepless night, and Delano was. Better listen to him for now.

[TheWhistlerify]

"Three."

Muroki's eyes widened as it felt as though his heart had skipped a beat. "Three?!" Wasn't this crazy guy at seven just a second ago?

"I'm accelerating for dramatic effect." said the Chief. A short silence followed. "Oh, now hang on." He turned around and stepped aside, revealing another lion Muroki has never seen before that was heading their way. This really made Delano's brother worried.

"Sir, I've been looking all over for you." said the lion, stopping and saluting briefly, much to Muroki's confusion. "There are some things I need to tell you."

"Yes, Lin, of course." The 2nd lion looked like he was about to talk again when he was suddenly cut short. "Lin, I really liked working with you." said the Chief, slightly tilting his head. "I've enjoyed every day of it."

"I'm sorry?" asked his second in command, looking confused himself.

"You know, I still remember watching you teach your little daughters how to walk. The three of you looked sooo sweet!" he smiled. "I'm always going to keep that memory with me. Always."

"Why are you talking like that?" asked Lin, a little uneasily.

"Now, come on." replied his superior. "Let's not dwell on horrid things. This is going to be our last conversation and-" As he talked he sounded like he was (or at least pretending to be) a little choked up. "-I'm the one who's gonna have to live with that."

••••••••••

After a while, Hatari looked at Delano in the corner of his eye. "Are your legs still sore?" he asked simply. It wasn't hard for the former member of the underworld to know that Muroki's brother wasn't really trying to rest, but he'd asked the impatient lion to wait so that his legs could recover a little. His life might depend on it as far as he was concerned.