[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Umeme stopped briefly, realizing that Lina didn't get what she meant by 'later'. "Oh, I meant the day after tomorrow," she corrected. "Unless you have that day planned out as well? The earliest day the two of you are free, I would like to take you down to see Hatari." As eager as she was to take Lina and Delano to meet their new friend, Umeme wasn't going to ask them to change their plans in order to do so.

She resumed walking towards Muroki and Delano. She couldn't help but notice that it was Delano and not Muroki who looked rather nervous. "If you guys are done, it's rather late, and not a bad time to go to sleep." She nuzzled Muroki, using it as an opportunity to whisper to him. "What was Delano so nervous about?"

---

Delano rubbed his head, fidgeting nervously. "I'm sure she won't mind waiting," he muttered. The cracking of paws on dry grass made him look up and see that Umeme and Lina arrived. Forgetting his nervousness, he smiled at Lina and moved over to her. "So, Umeme told you about her plans with Muroki?" he asked quietly. "What do you think of them?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina ended up interrupting Muroki before he could answer Umeme's question by walking over and hugging her brother-in-law. "Oh, I'm so happy for you two!" she let go and looked at the two, smiling. "This is so exciting! Congratulations!" with that she moved over to Delano. "I think this is so exciting!" she whispered back to him. "Watching how they'll work it out will help us know what it's like, don't you think?" it was kind of an indirect way for her to say that she wanted to have a family someday but not any time soon.

---

Muroki smiled sheepishly at his sister-in-law. "Thanks, that means a lot..." he only hoped that her and Umeme's parents would think the same thing. After she went over to Delano he looked at Umeme. "He was kind of nervous about the whole idea of us living separately for a while... I think it's because of what has happened to our parents. But I told him that there might be a den very close to this location so he calmed down." What Delano told him about not being ready for a family was probably not meant for anybody else's ears but his so he preferred to keep quiet about that.

[DGFone]

Delano nodded at Lina, not really trusting himself to say anything. He caught what she was referring to, but he didn't know how she would react if he said that he didn't know when he would be ready himself - that he currently felt like he might not ever be ready. Hopefully, he will be able to get things in order and will be able to push his anxieties aside when the time will come for him and Lina.

Trying to change the subject, Delano let out a long yawn. "I'm feeling tired. Want to go into the den with me?" He didn't know if Lina wanted to stay out longer with Muroki and Umeme, but he wanted to get some sleep now. Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked inside the den. "Goodnight everyone." As he entered the den, he immediately wished that Lina was with him. Sure, he sensed that Kasi and Umeme and Lina's parents were already inside, but he still couldn't shake the feeling like he was again alone in complete darkness. Lying down in his usual spot, he closed his eyes and waited for Lina to join him.

---

Umeme thought about where they could find a den. "You know, even if there isn't a den close to here, if we find two, Lina and Delano can move into the second one." She looked over at her sister. "What do you think? Does that sound like something you'll do?" Also having caught on to what Lina said earlier, Umeme grinned. "After all, you'll need to find your own den eventually as well."

She nuzzled Muroki. "It really is late now. Come on, and let's get inside. Tomorrow morning we're going to have to tell mom and dad about this, so I want to be quite ready for that, specifically mom..." She noticed Lina grin at her joke. "Speaking of which, would you want to stick around for that, or are you going to just go off with Delano for the day?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina didn't really like Delano's wordless answer but she didn't pay much attention to it. She looked at his sister once he had gone inside, "Well, we'll need a den at some point." she knew however that it wouldn't be happening anytime soon. Plus by the time it did happen Umeme and Muroki will probably be back. "Before I do go off with him for the day I think I'll stay, preferably somewhere where mom won't see me." she chuckled before standing up and walking inside, "Goodnight."

[DGFone]

Umeme giggled at Lina's joke. "Yeah, that'll be a good idea. Goodnight, Lina." With Lina gone in the den, only Umeme and Muroki were still outside. A slight breeze picked up, reminding Umeme how cold it was at this time. She edged closer to Muroki, seeking his warmth. "Come on, let's go inside, who knows how much energy we'll need to run away from mom tomorrow morning." She lead him inside and lay down with him, enjoying the feeling of his body against hers. "G'night, Muroki," she mumbled, before very quickly falling asleep.

---

Delano didn't have to wait long until Lina walked into the den. He waited for her to settle herself down before he again wrapped a paw around her, using it to bring himself as close as he can to her. Placing his head right next to her's, he slowly allowed himself to fall asleep, feeling much better now that she was with him.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki couldn't really imagine himself and Umeme having to run away from her mother, but it was a funny joke nonetheless. He chuckled and gave her a short nuzzle, "Alright, let's go inside." He was tired, but actually it was more because he was excited to start searching for a new den with Umeme tomorrow. Once they were inside Muroki quietly followed her to their regular spot and lay down beside her, wrapping a paw around her and holding her close while giving her and affectionate lick across her muzzle. "Good night."

[DGFone]

She din't know if it was more due to excitement or nervousness, but Umeme woke up earlier than usual the next morning. Looking around as she blinked the last of her sleep away, she saw that no one had left the den yet. She did see however that her parents were already up, and looked like they were about to leave to wherever they go to. When her mother looked over in her direction, she quickly pretended to still be asleep, not wanting to answer any questions on her own.

She waited for her parents to slowly make their way out of the den before she roused Muroki up, who woke up with a start. "Morning," she whispered, giving him a quick lick to help him wake up. "Mom and dad are already outside, and you know what that means." As she allowed Muroki a bit more time to wake himself up, Umeme moved over to Lina.

Gently prodding her sister to wake up, Umeme grinned when she saw Lina begin to stir. "Morning, Lina. Guess what time it is..." As excited as she was to make the announcement with Muroki, Lina would most likely not want to miss the ensuring show.

[TheWhistlerify]

Since it was a rather early hour of the morning it took Muroki a few seconds to get his bearings. From the looks of it Umeme was quite excited to tell her parents about everything, which kind of immediately explained why they were both awake at an early hour.

Lina looked up at her sister with a smile, "You two go ahead," she said quietly, "I'll watch from here. Delano's mane's too comfy." plus if she stayed where she was she could just pretend she was asleep if it proved necessary.

Muroki, after getting up, walked over to where Lina and Umeme were talking. "Ready?" he asked with a smile. He didn't feel as nervous as he thought he would be and he hoped that there really was nothing to worry about.

[DGFone]

Umeme grunted at Lina. "You know, eventually, you're going to have to do this too." She turned back to Muroki. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go and do this. And just in case, if I say run, you run. Got it?"

Together, they walked out of the den. Umeme cleared her throat to get the attention of her parents. "Mom, dad, Muroki and I wanted to tell you something..." She sat down nervously next to them, her mind racing as to what to say. Eventually, all she could think of was that the best way to get it over with was just to say it and be over with it. "Yesterday Muroki and I reached a decision. We... we decided that we are going to start our own family soon."

She grinned at her parents sheepishly, waiting for the inevitable reaction.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina shrugged, "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." Worrying about that was going to make it harder to enjoy the inevitable reaction of her mother to what Umeme and Muroki were about to tell her.

Umeme's mother was kind of able to predict what her daughter was about to tell her as soon as Umeme said that she had something she wanted to say. After all what else could it be considering the way Umeme began the conversation? However she didn't react at all until her daughter finally said not just to be on the safe side. Even though her daughter and son-in-law sat some distance away from each other (obviously as a precaution) she somehow managed to hug and squeeze them both at the same time.