[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

While Delano was glad to see Lina was able to calm down a little, he could still see that she was never the less still very worried. This too caused him to feel bad, all of his eagerness to get rid of the lion once and for all vanished as he tried to comfort his mate. "Lina, try not to worry," he said quietly, no longer content to not say anything, "others will be nearby. Kato will be right next to me."

It really pained him to see Lina so upset, but he also knew that most likely, Lina would only calm down after this would be all over. He doubted, that no matter how hard he would try, that he would be able to say or do anything that will succeed in getting her to calm down. What was even worse, was that Delano knew that if their roles had been revered, he would have been just as much against her going as Lina was about him, so he couldn't even blame her for being upset.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina felt herself get just a little bit choked up when Delano told her not to worry for perhaps the tenth time since he's come up with that plan of his. If anything, hearing him say it now that the king was agreeing to set it into motion was even worse. Before this, she could have clung onto the hope that Kato's father would disapprove. "I don't care..." she said quietly. Of course, that did increase the chances of nothing going wrong, but nothing could erase the risks entirely. "I'll say it again... I don't want you to go..."

[DGFone]

Delano winced when he heard that his efforts to try and calm Lina down only worked to make things worse. "I know you don't want me to go," he muttered, "but... I have to, Lina, for Akili. I know that are worried, and I don't expect you not to be," he sighed quietly, unsure exactly what he wanted to say, "I guess... try not to worry too much then."

He knew that he really wasn't in the position to be telling her that, but he really did feel like he wasn't really able to do much about it either. The lion had to be taken care of once and for all, and he simply didn't trust anyone else to do so. Perhaps he trusted Muroki enough, but then it would be him who would be the worried wreck, rather than Lina.

Going was the only option he saw, and so was therefore determined not to change his mind about it, no matter how much it hurt him to see the amount of worrying he was forcing on Lina.

[TheWhistlerify]

Of course Lina knew just how urgent it was for this lion to be taken care of. He practically killed Muroki, who survived only through sheer luck, and he managed to help Sanders live with the entire police not knowing that he hasn't really been executed. If that didn't make him dangerous, then there were probably other examples she wasn't aware of. But try not to worry too much? Gee, thanks.

The lioness was curious as to how her sister would react once she found out. She didn't know whether Muroki had any intention of telling her, but this wasn't something that could be kept a secret for too long. Besides, if Lina were to find out that her brother-in-law wasn't going to tell her himself, then she would do it instead. Although, Umeme probably wouldn't have so much worrying on her mind, what with her mate only taking part in the ambush itself rather than being living bait like his brother...

[DGFone]

Delano was able to see that his attempt to calm his mate down hadn't worked out as intended yet again. Rather than trying to say something else that would only make things worse, he instead shuffled over closer to her. Placing his head next to hers, he knew that it was basically hopeless to try and get Lina to calm down right now, but that staying next to her was just about the only thing he can do.

Then there was the question of when they were going to do this thing. Today was starting to come to a close, and the king mentioned bringing in Lin in the morning. Delano himself was personally was all for getting it over with as quickly as possible, which meant the next day. He also suspected that Lina most likely felt the same way about it, so that she won't have to worry for a prolonged period of time waiting for the worst.

At least soon the sun will set, and they will head back inside. At least then they will be able to get some sleep, and hopefully Lina might be able to relax a little. Delano really didn't like seeing her so upset like this, especially since there wasn't much he could do about it.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki had spotted his brother as he came back with Kato. It was true that he was usually very much distracted whenever the cubs weren't interrupting him and Umeme, but since he had a pretty good idea as to what the two had gone off to do earlier he'd kept an eye out for their return. There was no telling how the conversation with the king went by looking at Delano, but the rather uneasy expression on Lina's face made it guessable. The lion felt a little surprise that Kato's father agreed, but he was going to have to wait for the following morning in order to find out more details.

That aside, while the day was drawing nearer to its end, his son and daughter weren't completely out of energy just yet. Neither was their cousin, so it seemed as though they would be staying by the waterhole for just a while longer. Well, it's not like he had a problem with enjoying Umeme's company some more. His mate seemed just as content, which kind of brought him back to the fact that he was planning to tell her about all of this tomorrow. Now that the king was willing to cooperate, Muroki knew that it was inevitable. It might have turned out to be unnecessary if Kato's father had disapproved, but that wasn't the case.

[DGFone]

While perhaps it might have been a better idea to try and talk to Muroki about what the changes to the plan were, Delano remained by Lina's side all the way until Akili came back to them, complaining of being tired and sleepy. Realizing that it was actually now getting rather dark, he slowly got up and allowed Lina to do the same. "Let's go back inside, it's time to go to sleep," he told his son, who didn't look like he was going to complain too much about it.

As Akili rushed off ahead back inside from the waterhole, Delano chose to stay back with Lina as they walked back at a slower pace. He could tell that Lina had yet to still calm down, but he didn't want to say anything. Instead, he gave her a quick nuzzle, wanting her to know that he was still there and not planning to leave her just yet.

He knew that it was pointless to try and tell her that he will be fine. In the end, there was no way to actually guarantee it, and he knew that she couldn't help but worry about the worst case. Delano could only hope that she would be able to think about something else instead rather than continue to worry about him so much.

[TheWhistlerify]

With their main playing partner now gone, as well as being rather exhausted by that point themselves, it didn't take Marini and Ubawa all that long to come over to their own parents with pretty much the same complaints as their cousin from a few minutes earlier. "Very well..." said Muroki with a somewhat disappointed sigh as he reluctantly separated himself from his mate and stood up, taking a few seconds to stretch his legs.

He was rather enjoying himself just now, but moments like these were bound to be ruined by the two fluff balls sooner or later. Besides, by the look of the sky above them, it really was almost time to put their son and daughter to sleep. "Come on, Ubawa, Marini, let's go back inside for the night." Tomorrow, he thought, he'd be able to ask Delano just what he and Kato had worked out with the king. Once he knew the details himself, he'd tell Umeme as well.

[DGFone]

Inside the cave, Delano lay down next to Lina and Akili as his mate prepared the cub for the night. For some reason, perhaps because he was really tired, Akili didn't complain too much when his mother began to clean him, and instead looked like he was going to fall asleep right then and there.

Delano snuggled up against Lina's side, feeling rather tired himself as well. "Good night Lina," he muttered as he closed his eyes. While he knew that she was most likely still upset, he hoped that Lina was at least not angry at him for deciding to go on the mission, even though he knew that she didn't want him to.

---

Much like Muroki, Umeme also found it annoying when the two cubs came back to them. She was having a good time with her mate, and they had to go and end it. Well, cubs will be cubs... "Come on, off to bed you two," she told them as they lead the way back to the cave. She saw that Delano and Lina were already inside with Akili, and had to grin at how calm the cub looked like despite the fact that Lina was giving him a bath.

Arriving at where they would sleep for the night, Umeme picked Marini up and began to clean her while Muroki did the same with Ubawa. Despite the fact that the cubs had played in the waterhole, they still needed to be cleaned first, and Ubawa still found some energy to try and get away from his father, despite knowing that it was a useless endeavor.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki woke up the following morning and looked around sleepily, letting out a loud yawn as he realized that he was the first one to do so. A quick glance outside indicated that the sun was just barely beginning to rise, meaning that it was still very much early. How come he'd woken up already, he had no idea. But, because his mouth felt rather dry, it seemed as though a quick trot to the waterhole was needed before he'd be able to get himself to go back to sleep.