[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Umeme settled herself down next to Muroki. "Quite amazing how such a beautiful place can be so well hidden," she told him, "Now we won't have to leave here until we want to." In other words, even though the curfew laws were still in place, Umeme was certain that everyone here were willing to risk staying here than trying their luck back at the den.

---

When Gakuru ran off, Delano quickly ran inside the den and confirmed that it was indeed empty. "Thank you, Muroki," he said before leaving and chasing after Gakuru again. Now that he was less desperate in stopping the lion, he could plan out how to take care of three lions at once. It won't be easy, and if he will try to fight all three at the same time, he would lose for sure.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki smiled slightly and also settled down, next to Umeme. It took him a few moments to realize what exactly did she mean by what she said, but when he did he thought about it. It would have been an amazing experience to spend a night with Umeme in such a beautiful place, but they never got to do it because of the curfew laws. "Yeah... I think I'll be coming back here a lot when this is all over." this place probably looked even more amazing during a night when a full moon was out.

His mind suddenly settled into yesterday when he was just about to ask Umeme whether she would like to be his mate. Twice he had already overcame his nervousness and was about to ask her, which was kind of frustrating. Now was probably not a good time to try again considering that Lina, Kasi and Kasi's parents were there. He wanted that moment to be special, as stupid as that might sound. Now there was also the constant worry about Delano, so Muroki figured it will be best to wait until everything was over. He smiled at Umeme once more but didn't say anything else.

[DGFone]

Umeme smiled as she leaned against Muroki. "That would be a nice thing to do," she said. It was a long time since she last saw the stars, and it would be nice that the next time she did, that Muroki would be there with her, making the moment even more special. And judging by the location of the sun, the wait shouldn't be too long.

---

Delano noticed that unintentionally or not, Gakuru was heading back towards where the two forces had met up. He wondered what happened by now, but was more concerned with getting at Gakuru. For him, Gakuru symbolized everything that was wrong with the underworld.

Up ahead, Gakuru reached the top of a small hill and stopped, looking down. Delano hesitated, and slowly began to creep forwards. By the looks of Gakuru, something was happening that was extremely displeasing for the lion. Delano grinned slightly. Whatever was making Gakuru mad would make him happier.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki smiled, resting her head on top of Umeme's and holding her close by putting one of his forelegs around her. She was for sure the best thing that's ever happened to him, and ever since they began growing close to each other the death of his parents was no longer something he wanted to go back in time and change. Sure, it would be nice to have them there as well, but them dying was what brought him and Umeme together in one way or another. Also, there was no way to change the past.

---

What Gakuru was staring down at from the top of the hill was the battle between the police and the underworld forces. The underworld was losing, miserably, and the not even one police lion seemed to be even carrying injuries that were more than a scratch if at all. Knowing that the battle was lost on their regard, Gakuru looked at the two lions with him, "This isn't over. We'll come back to finish what we came here to do." he said, the anger and frustration clear in his tone.

Right now it was too dangerous to keep looking for Laini in order for him to get his revenge. All they had to do though was wait enough time for everything to calm down and for the police to lower their alert, no matter how long it took. Then he will finally get his revenge and then just leave and carry on with his life, he'll make sure to force Lina to go with him while at it. Without saying another word to his goons, they turned around and ran in the opposite direction, passing only a few feet away from where Delano was hiding.

[DGFone]

Umeme closed her eyes. If she was going to spend the night with Muroki, then she wanted to have enough energy to enjoy it with him. She purred contently against his mane, enjoying its warmth and comfort.

---

Delano grinned. The police had finally done their job, and by the looks of it, the threat of the underworld would soon be over. And that will mean that he will be able to return to Lina. He was still thinking when Gakuru turned suddenly and ran past, almost running over him. Delano froze, cursing at himself for dropping his guard. This was too close. When Gakuru and his goons were a safe distance away, Delano got up and chased after them.

The threat of the underworld may be over, but by the sound of it, Gakuru was a bigger problem. He can hide much better than a large group of lions, and had a personal vendetta against Laini, and everyone else who lived with her by extension.

Delano couldn't afford to lose Gakuru now. Doing so could result in a death of someone he personally cares about.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki let out a soft and happy sigh as he and Umeme rested together, him nuzzling her gently or licking her every once in a while and her smilling peacefully as a reply. He knew that the others were still there and maybe even glancing at them every once in a few seconds but he didn't really care. Whenever he was with her like that it always seemed as if he and her were the only two living thing on the earth, as if the entire world became a paradise that was all their own.

(( I just thought that maybe we can have things quiet down before bringing Gakuru back in. Then Muroki can also be involved in the whole part of finally getting revenge for their parents. ))

[DGFone]

Delano followed Gakuru to a large are full of dense tree and bush foliage. Gakuru now seemed quite paranoid, constantly turning around and looking around him. Delano had to stop so that he won't be spotted. And in the growing darkness, it was only a matter of time before he lost Gakuru and his goons.

Angry and agitated, Delano pawed the ground furiously. There was no way that he should have lost those three! But now that he did, Delano got up and ran back towards the clearing where the two groups had fought. He had to know who won before making his next move.

It was dark when he finally reached the ridge overlooking the area. But spotting a few police lions milling about, all proud, Delano knew who won. Delano grinned at the victory. Now he had to find Muroki. If Gakuru wanted revenge against Laini, then he will go to where Muroki hid them if he can find the place.

And Muroki was hiding with the others. But where? The only place they knew that was hidden was... the waterhole. Delano quickly got up and ran. The sooner he could get there, the better.

[TheWhistlerify]

Gakuru however had no intentions of coming back any time soon, not until he could ensure that the police were no longer on high alert. When he will, he will not make his move right away and will plan everything ahead of time, even if it will require sneaking in at nights and spying on whoever he had to. Back at the waterhole, Muroki and Umeme were still enjoying their rest as did Kasi's parents who also settled down to get some rest. Lina had been staring at the star Delano drew the entire time, already eager for the moment when she'll finally see him again.

[DGFone]

Even in the darkness, when Delano reached the waterhole, what he saw made him feel like it were all a dream. He saw Muroki and the others, but most importantly, Lina was there too. Stumbling forwards, he called out, "Lina! It's me!" And rushed forwards to her unsteadily.

She heard him and looked up just in time to have him crash into her. Delano was grinning all over. "I'm back!" He said. "Told you I'll be back!" He hugged her tightly, not wanting to let her go. "I missed you so much... but I'm here now... It was so lonely without you..." Now that he was with her again, he felt like he couldn't stop talking. Except that it really only came down to him telling her how much he missed her in various ways.

"I'm so glad to be with you again," Delano whispered to her finally.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina heard somebody called her name. The voice of the lion was very familiar, so it had to be him. Looking in his direction, she barely caught a glimpse of him before crashed into her and they both fell down. "Delano!" she asked also holding him tightly close to her and not letting go. She was so happy that she didn't find the voice to say anything else until after Delano was done talking. "I missed you so much..." she said softly, closing her eyes and rubbing her head against his happily, not even bothering to stand back up.

Muroki opened his eyes as soon as he heard Delano's voice, and smiled when he saw that his brother was back and in one piece. He gave him and Lina a few moments and then gave Umeme a short apologetic look before pulling away, walking over to Delano and Lina. "I'm glad you're back in one piece." he felt like hugging him but he didn't want to force him and Lina out of their embrace, since Delano must have missed Lina the most. The most important thing now was that it was all finally over.