[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Realizing that it was pointless to try and get closer to Muroki while they were still in the water, Umeme lead him closer to shore away from Lina and Delano. "Yeah, let's ask them later," she said, smiling as she in turn leaned over and kissed Muroki as well. If Delano and Lina could go off into their own world now, she didn't see why she couldn't do the same with Muroki as well.

Nearby, Delano finally regained enough awareness to look at Lina again. "Hey, Lina, I was wondering... all this time... do you think I waited too long? I mean... do you think that I should've asked you sooner? Because I sometimes felt like I should have..." He again leaned against her, embracing her in a deep hug. "But does it really matter in the end?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki happily returned Umeme's kiss, embracing her as he did. After a few seconds he broke the kiss and looked at her with a smile. "Things are finally settling down. It's actually a little hard for me to imagine what my life is going to be like without all the drama." he chuckled, rubbing his nose against hers.

While Lina couldn't deny the fact that she would have been much happier in case Delano proposed to her earlier than he had, she also couldn't deny the fact that it didn't really matter anymore. "No, it doesn't matter now." she snuggled even closer to him and rubbed her head against his own.

[DGFone]

Umeme also chuckled along with Muroki. Sure, he had said that before, when Delano had yet to recover, but that turned out to be somewhat of an early call. But now, she completely agreed with Muroki, especially after seeing Delano and Lina like that. "You know, as much as we might miss the drama," she said, "I think we'll like the quieter life better."

Delano let Lina get closer to him, smiling as they rubbed heads. "Hey, Lina, what are we going to tell the others?" he asked, "I mean, I know we will, just when?" He blushed then, feeling very nervous now that he thought about what will happen when the others will find out. "And I mean... well, how are we going to tel them?" He embraced her in a hug again, laughing nervously. "I hope they take it well."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki chuckled once more, "Of course the quiet life is going to be better, but don't you agree it's a little hard to believe that after everything that has happened... Especially for me and Delano, our lives were a complete mess when we first got here..." he looked at her and smiled, "Most importantly, I have you now." he leaned over and lovingly licked her on the cheek, "I feel quite certain that I can get used to the quiet life."

Lina stopped rubbing her head against Delano's as he suddenly asked what were they going to tell the others. Up to that point she was too busy being overjoyed with the fact that she and Delano were now mates and completely forgot about telling everybody else. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll take it more than well." she looked around, noticing that Umeme and Muroki were talking together in the water and that Kasi was doing whatever he was doing. "We can tell them later when we're together again." she paused for a moment, "And my parents too of course."

[DGFone]

Umeme licked Muroki back. "So a regular life for you will be somewhat unusual then, right?" She grinned. "Relax. I'm here, and I know what it's like to live normally. Just watch and learn from me." She nuzzled him again, not being able to get enough contact with him to satisfy her. "We're all here. Finally, there's nothing to worry about."

Delano smiled and rested his head on Lina's. "Yeah, I think they won't mind," he agree with her. But his mind then wandered to imagining how his own parents would react now. He sighed in sadness and shuffled even closer to Lina, now feeling depressed. "I... I wish my own... I want to know what mom and dad would think of now." He closed his eyes, wanting to forget about them due to the memories that were now going through his mind like wildfire. "I really miss them," he whispered, "and... you would have loved to meat them... they..." He smiled again slightly, looking at Lina again. "You would have gotten along well with them."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki smiled and returned Umeme's nuzzle. "Well from when you taught me to dance I already know that you're an excellent teacher." 'Nothing to worry about' still sounded like a dream to him, but he was quite certain that he'll get used to having no worries very quickly. "I'm already looking forward to start learning from you."

Lina didn't really know what to say in order to try and cheer Delano up. She also ended up wondering what it would be like to meet Delano's parents quite often, and whether she would have gotten along with them or not. "I'm sure they would have been delighted to hear about us." she nuzzled him, trying to cheer him up. "I mean, if your own offspring told you something like this you would be happy wouldn't you?" she thought that she'll surely be able to cheer him up if she can assure him that his parents reaction would have been a positive one.

[DGFone]

Umeme grinned back at Muroki. "And I'm looking forward to teaching you," she teased, "and the first lesson starts... now." She playfully placed a paw on his shoulder. "Stick with me, Muroki, and we'll get a long way!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Delano and Lina start to move around, and it gave her an idea. "Say, they look like they are coming out of their trance. Want to go ask them about it?"

Delano returned Lina's nuzzle, feeling better. "Yeah," he said, starting to smile more now, "they would be happy... there's no reason for them not to be." He gently pushed Lina on the ground so that he can lie down next to her. "You really are amazing, you know that?" he asked her. "The best lioness in the entire world."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki waited for something to happen soon after Umeme's declaration that their first 'lesson' was about to start, but instead Umeme's attention was again caught by Delano and Lina, who seemed to really have returned from the dream world. "We could." he said, getting out of the water and then offering Umeme his paw with a smile.

Lina couldn't help but giggle when Delano called her 'the best lioness in the entire world'. "Oh stop it..." she said, blushing heavily as she did. "I think you're the best lion in the entire world." she affectionately licked him to prove her point. Most importantly she was happy at successfully brightening up his mood.

[DGFone]

Umeme grinned as she took Muroki's paw and followed him out of the water. "Come on, let's go!" she aid quietly. For all she knew, nothing could have happened, but she knew Lina enough to know that Lina and Delano were never this close to each other before. Something must have changed.

Delano also blushed furiously when Lina licked him. He reached out and wrapped a paw around her body, feeling as it rose and fell with her breathing. "It's like we're made for each other." He looked at the twinkle in Lina's eyes, which he knew was a perfect reflection of his own. As he was about to say something else, a shadow fell on top of him and Lina, and he looked up to see the grinning faces of Umeme and Muroki.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki nodded at Umeme and they both made their way towards Delano and Lina who, probably of the result of the two interrupting, looked at them for a moment as if they were aliens. Lina looked at them with a confused expression. "What?" she didn't want to be rude.

Muroki looked at Umeme for a moment and then back at the two, "Well, we kind of noticed that you're acting a bit, well, strangely..." Lina was about to ask what did he mean, but she knew that he was right. It was probably the first time during which she and Delano were so close to each other. "Did anything happen?"