[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Moto smiled and nodded at Lina. "Don't mention it." The last thing he wanted now was to get in the way of Lina and Delano finally getting a chance to live together without worries for once. He moved a little away from Lina, giving Delano a chance to hug her as well, something the younger lion did right away.

Umeme nuzzled Muroki. "I don't really care why they came back," she admitted, "but I missed them, and now I was really glad to see them when they came back. Whatever the reason they're with us, they are, and in the end, I think that's all that matters." But now that Muroki did mention it, the reason why they came back did interest her. She was certain that they already said it before at some point, but she couldn't remember. "So what really made you come back here?" she asked, knowing that her parents had heard the entire conversation.

[TheWhistlerify]

Fadhili looked at her daughter with a smile, "Well, at first it was meant to be just a usual drop by to see you and your sister, but to be honest we already mentioned the option of staying longer and maybe even permanently a few times before we arrived. When we came back and saw that you were in a serious relationship we thought that it might really be the right time to stay here... well, and here we are." There was a short pause. While Lina and Delano became mates only just now, Muroki and Umeme were together for quite a while now. "You know," she started, unable to help herself. "Since we're in the mood of announcements, is there anything you two want to tell us?"

[DGFone]

Umeme turned bright read at Fadhili's question. "Mom!" she complained, moving closer to Muroki in order to hide from Fadhili a little bit. To be fair, Umeme should have expected something like this: Fadhili would often speak her mind even if it wouldn't seem like the best idea to others. Also, Umeme didn't have an answer, not because she was certain that she wasn't ready to do anything with Muroki, but because the two of them hadn't talked about any plans for now. Before now, they were more worried about Delano and Lina to care about other things. "Well, I don't know, mom," Umeme said quietly, "We never talked about any plans yet. But now that things are calm again... Well..." She looked at Muroki, wanting for him to say something as well.

Delano, who was in the mean time hugging Lina, couldn't help but overhear Umeme. Curious, he leaned back so that he can watch his brother and Umeme. "Hey, I didn't know they were planing anything yet," he whispered to Lina. "Did you?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki took a few more seconds before realizing what his mother-in-law was saying, unlike Umeme who got the message right away, probably as the result of having been around her mother way more than he has been around her. With all that's been happening it never even came to his mind, and as a result of having not expected a question like that he was at a loss for words and nothing came out of his mouth besides a few stutters. Fadhili couldn't help but chuckle at the embarrassed looks on their faces as they looked at the ground and at each other. "Relax, I'm just teasing you. It's just that looking at you together tends to remind me of when your father and I were younger."

Lina shrugged and looked at her mother, sister and brother-in-law for a few moments. After listening to the conversation she looked at Delano, "From the looks of it, my mom's just teasing them a little." she knew her mother well enough, and since there were no known reasons for Umeme to lie she doubted there was anything happening.

[DGFone]

Umeme blushed again. "It's alright mom," she muttered, "but yeah... no plans yet. Muroki and I, we love each other, but I think it's too early for now." She shrugged and gave Muroki a loving lick, "I don't really know. What do you think?" She gave him a playful shove on the shoulder. In reality, Umeme loved how things were right now: she was with Muroki, but they weren't pressing into anything yet. And now that Lina and Delano were also together, Umeme would like to wait and see how these two deal with their newly found love with each other.

Delano nodded at Lina after a little while. "Yeah, looks like it." He grinned at Lina sheepishly. "It's just that I got scared there for a little bit. Was afraid that I somehow missed something important... or..." He looked away from her, feeling foolish. "or that I wasn't informed for some reason."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki was quiet for a few more seconds. "With everything that's been going on until now we didn't really think about it..." he knew that what he was saying was true for both of them, having heard Umeme say just the same thing sometime earlier. Since he loved Umeme so much he would do anything to bring her comfort and make her happy. For obvious reasons, the question whether she was ready to take such a big step in their relationship or not was more important than whether he was ready or not. If she thought that it was too early then he wasn't going to try to change her mind.

Lina looked at Delano with a chuckle. "Don't be silly. Your brother would have told you if something important happened, he would never keep something like that from you." at least that was how she was seeing it. Considering how close the two brothers were, she doubted what she had just said was wrong.

[DGFone]

Umeme nuzzled and hugged Muroki. They still had plenty of time, and for now, she was content to wait. There were a few things that she would like to do with Muroki, and if possible, Delano and Lina as well. Those things were not really important, but Umeme saw now as their final days when they can just have fun, live as cubs again, and then when they will be ready, move on with their lives. But for now, they had all the time in the world, and Umeme didn't want to rush and do something that they might regret.

Delano looked at Lina again, feeling foolish. "Yeah, Muroki won't hide anything from me," he said finally. He leaned over and rubbed his body against Lina as some cold air swept over them. "You know, if it wasn't for you, I would have frozen to death ages ago," he joked, smiling. "It can really get cold out at night these days."

Next to them, Moto looked over his family with pride. Umeme and Muroki were perfect for each other, and even Delano and Lina, despite the few arguments they had, he didn't know if there was a better match for them elsewhere. "It's getting quite cold now," he commented, "might be a good idea for all of us to go in now."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki smiled and returned Umeme's nuzzle. He had no intention whatsoever to rush Umeme or to make her feel pressured anyhow, and he was happy that she understood that and that she wasn't upset as a result of what was just a joke coming from her mother, who he was sure did not want to make her daughter feel bad as well. At first he was planning to talk to her later in order to make sure that she didn't feel rushed of pressured, but now he could see that it wasn't necessary.

Lina looked at Delano with a smile after hearing her father's comment, "We can help each other not freeze to death inside." Usually it wasn't hard to notice once it was too cold for anyone to be outside of the den, but Delano was able to catch her attention better than the cold sweeps of air were.

[DGFone]

Umeme smiled and patted Muroki's paw playfully. "Yeah, it is getting kinda chilly out here. Let's go in." She let out a long yawn, surprising herself at how tired she felt. But considering that they spent the day splashing around and fighting, she felt like a good night's rest with Muroki was in order.

Getting up, Umeme followed him inside the den and snuggled up against him after he lay down. Even after all this time, she never got used to how good his mane was to rest against. It was the best pillow she ever got to experience.

Delano lead Lina inside the den and huddled up near a wall. Something he didn't tell her was that even despite all the time that had gone bye, he was still rather afraid of the dark now. But as Lina lay down next to him, a wave of relief swept over him and he smiled. While he may still be afraid of the dark, with Lina next to him, he could at least ignore his feelings. He reached put and licked her, grateful for the comfort that she offered him just by being there.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki was also rather surprised at how tired today made them considering the fact that they spent the majority of it splashing water at each other's faces. But the more tired he was the more he was going to enjoy a good night's sleep, especially with Umeme by his side. He smiled at Umeme as she lay down beside him and embraced him her, nuzzling her gently as he did. "Goodnight Umeme," he said, giving her a long, loving lick, "love you.

Lina giggled when Delano licked her and snuggled closer to him. Usually she wouldn't giggle that often, but now that she and Delano were mates she couldn't help but see things differently. She rested her head in his mane but not before licking him back with just as much affection with which he licked her if not more.