[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

If it were possible, Delano stared blushing even harder. "What? Is it that obvious?" he asked. "Because, well... something did actually happen... yeah, I, uh..." He looked at Lina, who smiled back at him. It was then that he got the confidence to tell them what had happened. "I... I asked Lina to be my mate."

Umeme was shocked. She always knew that it was only a matter of time before Delano would ask Lina, but she always thought that it would be later, and not now. After a few moments of shock, Umeme broke into a large grin. "You did? That's great!"

Delano shied back towards Lina, feeling a bit claustrophobic from Muroki's and Umeme's presence. "Yeah, I asked... and she accepted." He grinned at her, feeling like a great burden was lifted off him after he admitted hi love for her.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki couldn't help but smile, nor was he too surprised to see the huge grin on Umeme's face. He could tell that she was starting to wonder when was this going to happen, unlike him who simply took a "it'll happen when it'll happen" way of thinking. "That's great, I'm really happy for both of you." Lina smiled and rested her head against Delano's. She had no doubt that their reaction would be a happy one, but nevertheless it was still satisfying to actually hear that reaction.

[DGFone]

Delano grinned back at his brother, feeling more normal and less nervous by the moment. "Thanks, Muroki," he said, "guess that makes you Lina's brother-in-law twice over, right?"

Umeme beamed at Lina. "I knew this would happen!" she said, "just wait until you tell our parents! They will love it!" Moto and Fadhili were still around, and would be more than delighted to learn that Lina and Delano were now officially mates. Umeme nudged her sister's shoulder with a paw. "Congratulations! And Kasi needs to know too... Where is he? Hey, Kasi! Kasi! Get over here!"

Kasi, who was napping nearby, groaned and walked over to them. "What?" he asked, trying to sound disappointed, but unable to when he saw how happy they were. "Alright, spill it out. What happened?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina couldn't help but chuckle at Delano's comment about her being Muroki's sister-in-law twice. It was so irrelevant that it was actually funny to hear him say it. Deciding that Delano already did the more difficult part of the telling by telling Umeme and Muroki, she figured it'll be appropriate if she would be the one to tell Kasi. "Delano and I are mates now." she said, smiling and happily nuzzling her mate again.

[DGFone]

Kasi stared at Lina and Delano, deciding what to say. "Yeah? Well, about time then," he teased, grinning widely. "The way the two of you were eyeing each other for so long, we all knew that this was gonna happen. Congratulations!" He sat down next to the others, forgetting about that nap he wanted. "So how are you guys gonna tell it to the others? Mom and dad would love to know," he looked at Lina and Umeme, "and so would yours."

Delano snuggled up against Lina, not caring if the others might think that he looks weird. "I don't think we're in a rush to tell," he replied, "and come on, it's a great day here! Let's enjoy it some more before we leave!"

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina smiled, nodding at what Delano said, "Yeah, there's no need to rush." it's not like they had to go and tell her parents right now. They could do it once they came back, there was no reason to go all the way back to the den just to do that when they could stay and spend some more time at the waterhole. Even though a major part of the day was already over, they still had some time left to spend together. There wasn't going to be any hurry to get back now that Delano's leg was healed.

[DGFone]

Umeme nuzzled Muroki. "We're all one big family now," she said in amusement, "we were before, but like Delano said: now even more so." She winked at Muroki. "So now you're my mate and my brother in law. How does that work?"

Delano couldn't really care what the others were doing. He was with Lina, and she was all that mattered to him now. He gently gave her a lick, causing her to giggle. "Hey, want to go to the water again?" he asked, "before it will get too cold?" Having spent the least amount of time in the water with the others, he was quite eager to get back in while he still had the chance.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki smiled and returned Umeme's nuzzle. "And you're my mate and my sister in law as well." he paused for a moment and chuckled, "I think it can work out quite well if you ask me." He didn't know what to make of her wink so he didn't think about it too much. "It'll require the cooperation of both of us though." he added, in a rather joking manner.

Lina giggled at Delano's lick and thought about going into the water again. "We could." she said and, as much as she hated it, pulled away from him and stood up, stretching as she did. She waited for Delano and walked with him to the edge of the water, this time not waiting for him to do anything silly and pushing him inside herself. After laughing at the look on his face for a few seconds she jumped in as well.

[DGFone]

Umeme laughed at Muroki's remarks. "I think you will find all the cooperation from me that you need," she said, quickly licking him along his muzzle, "there's nothing to worry about. Only a lot of things to look forward to doing with you." She leaned over with her head and nuzzled his warm mane, purring with contentment.

Delano let out a surprised yelp when Lina pushed him into the water. When he surfaced, she already dived in and he swam over to her. "Guess you owed me that one, huh?" he asked her, grinning, "you could have let me push you in again, though." he looked over to the shore where Kasi and Umeme and Muroki were. "Hey, get in you guys! It's great in here!" he called out. Sure, he wanted to spend all the time in the world with Lina, but just because he was now her mate didn't mean that they couldn't enjoy time all together as one big family.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki looked at Umeme for a few seconds before smiling and returning her nuzzle, only to have his attention caught by his brother calling them from inside the waterhole. He looked over to see Delano's mane completely soaked in water and Lina looking at the sight and laughing. "Alright, we're coming." he said, looking at Umeme who looked rather disappointed at them having to move but then smiled in approval.