[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Looking down at their two cubs, Umeme grinned at seeing at how close Marini and Ubawa stuck to each other. While she knew that the cold wind blowing around them was a major factor, normally, even when cold, the two tried to stay at least a little farther away than they were now. Perhaps they really were so tired as to not notice how they really were.

But what really told her that they had indeed played until they were exhausted was the fact that they didn't react when Muroki nuzzled her again. Usually they would have already opened their mouths to complain, but since they weren't, Umeme wasn't going to remind them right now. Returning her mate's nuzzle, she was more than willing to provide warmth and protection from the wind for the two cubs.

---

As Akili settled in between his paws, Delano was able to see that his son was still shivering from the cold. Even as he tried to cover Akili up some more, he was able to tell that he wasn't succeeding all too well in helping protect his son from the wind - whenever he would cover one side, the wind would blow in from another. Giving up, he gently moved Akili over to Lina's side, and then placed his paws beneath her to make sure that she won't accidentally roll over and on top of their son.

Somehow, she remained asleep through it all, so Delano was left with his mind wandering as Akili took the opportunity to rest up and catch a quick nap of his own. He looked over at Kato, hoping that the prince would wake up soon, but this wasn't the case. Trying to move his thoughts away from this lion that was still out there, Delano was only able in getting his mind back to the fight with Sanders. Trying in vain to forget about it, the familiar feeling of nausea overcame him as he remembered taking the lion's life...

Glancing down at Akili, he knew that he would have to eventually tell the cub about what happened, but how will he able to do that? And while Lina knew about what he was planning to do, Akili didn't. What was Delano supposed to say about that?

Despite trying to distract himself, another wave of nausea overtook him and he hurriedly got up to his paws. "Akili... stay here!" Barely able to even say these words, Delano hurried off behind a bush just in time to hurl his previous meal all over the ground below him. Gasping for air and groaning in misery, he remained where he was, feeling for some reason, very alone.

[TheWhistlerify]

Despite being rather caught up in what was a rare occurrence of not having their son and daughter complain, Muroki was somehow able to notice his brother hurry off in the corner of his eye. Ceasing to nuzzle Umeme, he watched as Delano quickly disappeared behind the nearest bush. Not that he could hear anything, because of the strong wind. "I'll be right back." he told his mate quietly before slowly standing up and following his sibling.

Marini and Ubawa were positioned between their mother's paws anyway, so his sudden absence shouldn't make things any colder for them. As he approached his brother, what Muroki saw made it easy to figure out just why Delano had taken off so quickly. Luckily, Akili seemed to be too cold in order to disobey his father and leave Lina's side. "Delano, what's wrong?" he asked, getting the other lion's attention as he sat down beside him.

[DGFone]

Unlike Muroki, Umeme was occupied in making sure that their two cubs were well protected from the wind, so she was surprised when her mate suddenly got up and left. "Oh, okay." she replied, and watched him rush off before returning her attention to the duo. While Muroki leaving like that wasn't something that he usually did, she didn't think of it much, and didn't care much for where he went, knowing that he would be back soon enough.

Behind the bush, Delano hadn't heard Muroki follow him, so when he heard his brother speak, he turned his head suddenly, startled. "I uh, it's nothing," he quickly muttered, pawing at the ground to try and hide the mess, but knowing it was too late. Giving up, he backed away before sitting down himself. Looking over at Muroki, he felt somewhat silly when he saw that his brother was looking at him with a slightly amused expression, no doubt finding it hard to believe that Delano tried to pretend that nothing was wrong.

Knowing that Muroki won't leave him alone until he explained what was going on, Delano looked at the ground as he thought of what to say. "It's... after the fight," he finally said quietly, "I didn't know that... taking the life of another lion... it's not like hunting you know. Sometimes, when I think about the fight, I start feeling bad, and well..." he motioned with a paw at the half buried mess nearby. However, that was not the only thing that Delano was feeling bad about, and decided to explain the rest of it to his brother as well. "Muroki, I... I'm afraid of what that lion is going to do," he admitted, "I think he will try to go after one of us, or even after one of the cubs." Finally looking at Muroki properly, he added in a shaky voice, "earlier today I talked about it with Kato. I guess I want to go after him... instead of waiting for him to attack us first." He wasn't sure how well Muroki would take to this, but when he had told Lina, she didn't react well, and Delano was certain that Muroki wasn't going to take the news much better.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki remained silent as Delano spoke, simply sitting beside him and listening to what he had to say. Of course, he had no idea what it was like to take the life of another lion and there were no intentions of finding out either. It was true that he too was worried about what that lion might try to do, much like his brother, something which was indicated very clearly by his own behavior these past few days.

Naturally, it was very surprising to hear that Delano wanted to try and deal with the threat before this lion tried anything on his own. For one thing he was still injured and, for another, just how were they supposed to find him? And stop him, too? What was there to guarantee that this lion was on his own? "How?" He was curious, not to mention that a part of him also wanted the danger to disappear before anything bad happened.

[DGFone]

Delano glanced at Muroki, afraid to actually say what he had planned with Kato. When he had told Lina about the plan, while he understood her reaction, he didn't want to hear the same thing again from Muroki. Still, he had to say something, and perhaps, Muroki might even agree with him...

"I don't really know yet," Delano said hesitantly, "but when I talked about it with Kato, we thought... what if we lure him out of hiding?" Both of them knew that finding the lion was the biggest problem right now, so he hoped that Muroki would at least agree with this part. "I was thinking, because I am still well... you know, still recovering... I can make a good bait. If he saw me somewhere next to the border, he just might try to go after me." He hesitated, waiting for Muroki to start lecturing on him on why that was a bad idea. When his brother remained silent, Delano figured he might as well finish talking. "We were hoping that we can get the king's support in setting up our own sort of ambush for that..."

He looked away from Muroki, fully expecting some stern words now. "Lina already told me that she doesn't agree with this idea," he added rather bitterly, "so you don't have to pretend to like it just to try and make me feel better. If you don't agree with it either, you can go ahead and say it."

[TheWhistlerify]

Delano wasn't wrong to assume that his brother's reaction to his plan would be much like Lina's. Under normal circumstances, that would have been exactly the case. However, having come into contact with the lion they were dealing with himself, Muroki understood the need to stop him well. Of course, his sister-in-law was completely against anything that might involve her mate in any way, let alone using him as live bait, but Muroki felt like luring him out of hiding just might be their best option.

But, naturally, he felt rather hesitant about consenting to the part of his brother being bait. Delano could easily turn out to be the most tempting target at the moment. At the same time, taking on this role could be incredibly dangerous. The lion they were up against definitely seemed to enjoy taunting and messing with whoever he was about to kill, which should give those taking part in the ambush time, but if he were to realize what was going on before being restrained it would be very likely of him to kill Delano while he still could...

"Does it have to be you?" he eventually asked. It was a rather selfish question; suggesting that someone else took the risks of a plan that had been thought up by someone else. Besides, who else could do it, now that Muroki was thinking about it? Not the cubs, that's for sure. Aside from him, his brother and probably Kato and his father, there probably weren't any other suitable candidates...

[DGFone]

To his complete surprise, Delano, fully expecting Muroki to get mad at him, thought that he had misheard his brother when all he got was a question instead. Realizing that it appeared to be that Muroki was agreeing with him at least somewhat, Delano had to take some time to figure out what was asked of him. Shrugging finally, he replied with a simple "Propably."

Giving it some more thought, he looked over at his brother, wondering. "Maybe, if you go instead... I don't know." He had to think about the question some more before explaining his answer more properly. "I don't know what he did with you," out of the corner of his eye, Delano saw Muroki wince at the reminder, and knew that whatever had happened wasn't good, "but he seemed very glad when he told me... that he killed you." Even though he was talking to his brother right now, Delano still found the memory of being told of Muroki's death hard to talk about. "If he saw you again, he might just go after you to try and kill you again."

Somewhat understanding how Lina felt, Delano didn't want Muroki to be the bait. He felt that he would be better taking the risk instead. After all, it was his plan after all, and he didn't want Muroki to get hurt or potentially killed because of it. Therefor, he quickly added, "I don't think that will be the best thing to do," Delano said before his brother could get other ideas, "someone will need to look after the cubs, just in case... It will be better if you do that, because I won't really be able to do that." Letting out a sigh again, Delano finished with, "the only thing I can do is to be the bait, so... I guess it will be best for me to do that."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki couldn't help but agree that yes, that lion just might be very tempted to finish what he started if he saw him alone, even if just thinking about such a scenario filled him with dread. But was Delano suggesting that he stayed behind to look after the cubs? Was he expected to just keep himself safe? If the idea of his brother being bait was bad, then him being bait without Muroki there as part of the ambush was a lot worse.

However, it was true that, at least for the near future, the only part Delano could take on was being the target. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Are you asking me to just stay behind with the cubs while you risk your life?" Surely it wouldn't be a problem to have the trio stay in the royal den, where it was bound to be completely safe.

[DGFone]

Delano winced at Muroki's question. He hadn't wanted his brother to get that impression. "I just... what if he tries going after them?" If anything, Delano wanted Muroki to be with him, because if would allow him to feel much better about going after the lion. But at the same time, a part of him feared that something might go wrong, and instead of attacking them, the lion might try to get past them and instead go after someone even more vulnerable than him- such as Akili or Ubawa and Marini.

While it was always possible that someone else can protect the cubs, not to mention that Lina and Umeme will be with them, Delano wasn't sure if that would be enough. But looking at his brother, he was able to tell that Muroki didn't feel the same way. "I guess... I don't know... Perhaps it would be better if we stayed together." He would certainly feel safer with Muroki with him, but Delano didn't want to tell his brother that. If he did, it would mean that no matter what else he would say, Muroki won't allow him to go alone.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki was obviously also aware of the possibility of their cubs being targeted at pretty much any given time, even if he did his best not to allow that basic knowledge to get into his head. That aside, there really was no other reason for him to potentially remain behind and, in his opinion, having Umeme and Lina with them if they all stayed in the royal den would be more than sufficient.

Besides, it's not like he could get himself to even consider letting Delano go alone. Well, not alone, obviously, but still. "I agree..." he said. Of course, there was no guaranteeing they'd receive the king's support, which would be crucial for this plan to have any chances of success. "I'll be going with you." The choice in that regard was his at the end of the day, so it's not like his brother could change his mind on the matter.