[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina hated to so much as think about this, but she couldn't help but agree that Delano was right. Their son was a little over 2 months old and, until he would enter his adolescence, was very vulnerable and could easily get hurt. Not that an adolescent could protect himself much from a fully grown lion or lioness, but Akili accidentally being in the way when his father would hectically spring awake from a nightmare could have very bad consequences. At least while her mate was asleep, it would be for the best if the cub kept his distance.

Slightly nodded her head in approval, Lina slowly lay down where she was as Delano gently nudged Akili in her direction. The little cub seemed as confused and worried as ever, clearly not understanding just why his father had come to such a decision. He also didn't know what "just a little while" meant, not only because younger ones had a much different concept of time but also because, at the end of the day, there was no telling how long it would take for Delano to get better.

He didn't protest much when his mother scooped him closer to her with a paw (even though he wanted to), and was finding it surprisingly difficult to fully relax next to her. "It'll be alright, Akili." said Lina softly as she nuzzled the cub. She could only hope that her mate would be able to get over this whole ordeal soon enough.

[DGFone]

Despite what Lina said, for Delano, it really did not feel "all right" to willingly force his son away from him, even if it was for the best. The fact that Lina didn't argue against the idea, which he had expected her to do, only seemed to further engrave the point that things were not all right just now. He really wanted to do nothing more than to take it all back and embrace Akili once more, especially because he could see just how confused and worried he was, but if he did... what would happen if he would wake up again, attacking some unseen nightmare, and accidently get Akili instead?

Rolling over uncomfortably, Delano couldn't bear to look at either Akili or Lina, and so he covered his eyes with a paw, trying to get back to sleep. Perhaps he could try talking with Muroki, but what was the point? Delano knew that if that lion who was out there was found, that he would have heard about it. Nor did he need Muroki to say that the lion was out there somewhere, no one knowing exactly where, for he already knew that. Despite Lina and Akili still here next to him, Delano couldn't help but feel very lonely, as he slowly allowed himself to drift off again, but feeling no less relaxed from it.

[TheWhistlerify]

Picking Akili up by the scruff, Lina stood up and walked over to her mate, lying down next to him and placing their son down closely to her chest, safely between her paws. "Just when you're trying to rest..." she whispered quietly to Delano, softly licking him across his muzzle. She saw no reason for Akili to stay away from his father when Delano was awake and in full awareness of what he was doing. So they could still spend time together and play together. As a matter of fact, the lioness was already hoping her mate would feel rested enough to make up for some lost time later. But, if he was trying to sleep, like at the moment, it would be safer for their cub to settle down with her instead.

[DGFone]

To say that he didn't feel slightly better when Lina licked him, Delano would have had to lie. Smiling a little as she settled down next to him, he didn't really mind that she decided to only keep Akili away when he was vulnerable. Perhaps he didn't fully trust himself even when he was awake, but she must have, and he couldn't exactly argue against that. As long as she can keep their son from coming to harm, he didn't really care where she had Akili stay.

For a second time, Delano drifted off to sleep, still worried, but feeling slightly better than before. Perhaps this arrangement won't really need to be used perhaps.

---

Delano woke up, breathing quickly and glancing around nervously, but soon relaxed when he saw that he was still safe. Rubbing his eyes, he was disappointed that he woke up from another bad dream, but he did realize that he didn't wake up running into a wall like last time. So perhaps he was indeed getting better...

Realizing that Lina and Akili weren't next to him, he was about to try and get some more rest when he faintly heard what sounded like Akili from outside. Ignoring the pain from getting up, he even managed to somehow
stumble out of the den where he saw Lina and his aunt and uncle next to each other as Akili and his cousins, as well as Nyoka, all playing with each other. Muroki and Umeme were nearby as well.

Allowing himself to fall over next to Lina, Delano blinked from the light. Having been stuck in the cave for almost two days, he already forgot how bright the sun can be. He leaned his head against Lina, enjoying the feeling of being outside once more.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina went outside after Delano fell asleep again, having decided that Akili could use some time outside of the cave both because he was growing bored quickly and because some playtime would do him good in forgetting all the confusion that had just struck him earlier. It would be a lie to say that she didn't feel like she needed some fresh air and sun as well. She believed it would do her mate good too but, for the time being, felt as if asking him to move at he moment would be too much.

Delano, however, must have either not really fallen asleep or woken up from another nightmare, because after a while she saw him slowly walking out of the royal den towards them while squinting, clearly not used to the intense lighting outside. She chuckled heartily to herself when he kind of flopped down next to her, purring softly when he brought his head closer to hers and licking him once behind his ear as he pleasantly shivered ever so slightly in response. He's always been sensitive in that area.

From the look of things, though, at least he was feeling better enough to walk outside. While his mate was sure that it wasn't necessarily pleasant or easy for him, it surely could be taken as a good sign. Akili, caught up in the game with Nyoka and his cousins, was bound to realize his father was there sooner or later while Muroki must have either not noticed or wasn't reacting to it at the moment, simply staring at the cubs with a somewhat blank expression on his face.

"Feeling better, Delano?" asked his aunt quietly, not needing to raise her voice because they weren't far from each other. It was clearly a sight for sore eyes to have him come outside on his own, even if with some difficulty, and he did look like he was in higher spirits, which was also terrific.

[DGFone]

While it was true that Delano was feeling better, he still wasn't feeling all that well yet, but despite that, Lina still somehow knew exactly how to make him feel slightly all the more better. Really, he came outside hoping that getting out into the sun might help him rest better, but for right now, he was content to simply watch the cubs play around. It still hurt to watch Akili run around, knowing that for his own safety, Delano would need to keep his own son away for now.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by his aunt, who no doubt wanted to know how he was doing. "Yeah, a little," he answered, "not... not as much as I want, but a little..." He knew that it was basically impossible to hide the new lump on top of his head where he ran it into the hard cave rock, but he still hoped that even if Laini noticed, that she wouldn't ask about it. Perhaps Lina already explained, but he really didn't want to have to say that he lost control in his dreams again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw what looked like a patrol moving across the savanna. So it looked like the king really did mean it when he said that he increased security, but Delano still felt like it wasn't enough. He was certain that lion was the one who allowed Sanders to live, and that was when he was locked up and about to be executed, just about right where the king lived. Delano was still worried that no amount of patrols would find the lion, unless he wanted to be found for some strange reason.

Sanders... Delano had always hoped that with his death, it would all be over. And yet, now that it had happened, he couldn't say if it had indeed or not. Despite trying to keep his mind away from it, Delano remembered the feeling of the other lion's throat in his jaws... For all his talk about killing him, murdering another lion really made him feel sick.

"Lina, can you help me up?" Lina looked like she was about to ask why, but she saw the urgency in his face, and helped him up without a word. Letting her guide him around a large boulder, Delano stopped just in time before he threw up on the ground, groaning in misery. "It's... it's not like hunting," he told his mate, knowing she was going to demand an explanation out of him, "killing another lion... Even if it was him-" Delano lurched forward, spilling more of his last meal onto the ground. "I'll be all right," he finally finished as Lina came over, clearly concerned. "Just need some time to get over it..."

As Lina helped him to the others, Delano couldn't help but wonder if talking to Hatari about this might do him any good. Realizing that he hadn't seen the lion recently, Delano hoped that he was still around here somewhere, because he was in no shape to make the walk over to Hatari's home, even with help.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina quietly nodded and helped Delano stand up before slowly walking away with him. Her slight confusion only increased when her mate seemed to be leading the way to a very large boulder, but she obviously continued to help him nonetheless. When they stopped, however, she didn't have time to ask her mate what this was all about before he suddenly threw up, causing her to take a step or two back in surprise.

While this certainly wasn't all too pleasant to watch, his explanation assured her that there wasn't much for her to worry about. Delano was obviously upset about having killed another lion, even if it was Sanders... This wasn't some new side effect of his nightmares, it seemed, and that was the important thing. "Will you be alright?" she asked quietly as they made their way back. This meant that he was going to have to catch up on that meal, but he most likely wasn't hungry at the moment. Obviously.

[DGFone]

Delano nodded at Lina's question, wanting to talk as little as possible, still feeling rather sick. Together, the two of them made their way back to the others, where Delano flopped down to the ground as quickly as he could, even if doing so did hurt him. He felt Lina sit down next to him, and he placed his head on one of her forelegs, using it as a pillow, closing his eyes so that he would simply listen to the cub's games.

He grinned as he felt Lina's tongue move across the top of his head, and even started to squirm a little as her tongue tickled him somewhat too much. "Lina! S-stop!" Giggling, he had to hide his head under a paw so that he can catch a break, at which point Lina moved it aside so that she can nuzzle him.

Returning the gesture, Delano let out a loud yawn before settling into a ore comfortable position. As he rested, surrounded by his family, he didn't even notice how Lina had succeeded in distracting him from his thoughts, allowing him to properly enjoy their time together. Soon the sun will start to set and they will need to head back inside, but while it was still daytime, he was going to enjoy the remaining rays of sunshine while he could.

[TheWhistlerify]

Sitting down next to Delano and mostly feeling relieved that the cubs haven't noticed their small absence and that the others weren't going to question them about it, Lina couldn't help but smile in an almost sly way when her mate innocently rested his head down on her paws, making him a literally too easy of a target. Lying down as well, she placed one paw on his neck, as if to prevent him from escaping, before starting to lick the top of his head.

At first he just lay there, obviously enjoying her affection, but, as she'd hoped, he soon began to slightly squirm in that extremely cute way of his as her gestures became a little too ticklish for his liking. Smiling warmly at his even cuter complaints (this was just too adorable that the lioness couldn't help herself), she chuckled as he attempted to block her reach with one of his paws before using her muzzle to move it aside so that she could nuzzle him.

Purring happily when he returned the gesture, Lina eventually opened her eyes to see Akili running towards them with a huge smile on his face tiny little face. "Mom, dad!" he exclaimed in that squeaky voice of his. "Guess what!"

His mother chuckled. "What is it, sweetie?" She sure loved the little fuzzy maraca.

"I managed to pin Marini now!" Well, not precisely. The truth was that his niece had let him win because she saw how he was sometimes upset about being the smallest. Now, though, he could not only say that he finally succeeded but also had something to make Ubawa and Nyoka jealous with (especially Nyoka, who was the oldest of them all), because they never managed to pin her even once before. Even if they could easily pin him down, he still managed to do something they weren't able to.

His mother chuckled once more as she ruffled her son's head with a paw. "Way to go!" She then licked him, causing him to groan in annoyance.

"Mom, not my mane!" Why did she have to ruin his all powerful moment by messing his glorious mane? "Glaring" at her, he turned around and rejoined his cousins and Nyoka as Lina laughed quietly to herself.

Spoiler: show

Lions in love and lion cubs are extremely adorable things. :3

[DGFone]

Delano grinned as Akili complained when Lina licked him over the top of the head, and quickly retreating to the other cubs before his mother could do even more harm. "I remember hating baths too," Delano told his mate, watching as Akili ran off, "so... he finally pinned his niece? I wonder what happened that he was able to do it." He glanced at Lina, grinning foolishly,. "What? Don't pretend like this is going to be something common now. Let him enjoy his victory for now, because he will need to work hard to do that again."

Still, Delano felt rather glad that Akili had succeeded. While their son never really complained about always being smaller and easier to pin than the others, Delano knew that Akili didn't enjoy it. Always having been slightly smaller than Muroki, and not having anyone else around, he also knew all to well what it was like to be the smallest.

Nor was Akili in a life or death fight with his cousins, either... Delano sighed, lowering his head on the ground, his fight with Sanders coming back to his thoughts once more. It's one thing to pin another in a friendly game, but it's another to do so with the intention of killing. Or as was in his case, to be pinned and receive painful blows to his body right afterwards as well.

Struggling to not think of the fight, Delano glanced at the cubs, wondering how their fun and games could turn into something so serious simply by growing up. Hopefully though, Akili would never have to actually experience the real deal of what he was right now laughing about with the others.