[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

To Umeme's surprise, her mother didn't strangle the life out of her. Perhaps it was because trying to hug bot her her and Muroki at the same time took away from her mother's ability to strangle them in happiness. But despite it all, Umeme still felt that the hug was too strong for her. "Mom! Yes, I know... but can you let go some!" Next to her, Muroki also looked like he didn't enjoy the hug all that much either.

Back inside the den, the noise reached Delano's ears, waking him up. Muttering a few sleepy complaints about it, he was about to sit up when he felt that Lina was still resting on his main. "Oh, good morning Lina..." He began to realize what the noise from outside was. It sounded like Umeme and Muroki. It took him a few moments to add the two together. "They decided to tell your parents?" he asked, trying not to grin too much.

[TheWhistlerify]

Umeme's mother chuckled. "Oh, sweetie... Of course not!" Hadn't Muroki been in the exact same position as Umeme was he might have ended up finding his mother-in-law's reply to be funny. Besides, the hug wasn't as strong as the one he had received upon first meeting his mother-in-law. After a few moments, however, Umeme's mother finally let them go. "You know you'll need a place to live at, right?" She asked, wanting to make ensure that the two had / will have everything that they needed (mainly to calm herself down, though).

"Good morning." said Lina in response when Delano woke up. She would have looked at him but found it unnecessary since she knew that he was finding the commotion to be amusing (and because his mane was very comfortable). "You can laugh about it now," she said, after a short silence, "but while they're embarrassment is almost over, ours might be starting soon." She was aware of the possibility that her mother will start asking her and Delano whether Muroki's and Umeme's decision has given them any ideas.

[DGFone]

Umeme let out a nervous sound. "Well, um, not yet." Before she can give her mother time for some more nerve racking torture, she quickly added, "but Muroki and I already decided to go and look for someplace tomorrow." She hoped that this will be enough to calm her mother down, and not give her any other not-very-funny ideas. "We will have our own place to live in when we will need it." She let out a grin that she hoped would convince her mother to leave her and Muroki alone. "We'll be fine!"

Unlike Lina, Delano didn't know what her mother could think of. So when Lina mentioned that their torture might start soon, he opened his eyes wide in shock, and perhaps even some fright. Unintentionally shoving Lina's head aside, he turned to look at her. "Wha- what do you mean our torture?" The last thing he felt like doing was having to prove how great he is by running away from Lina's parents, which by how Lina sounded like, would be the first thing he would do the moment one of them so much as glance in his direction.

[TheWhistlerify]

"Well... If you say so..." Umeme's mother would have offered to help them look but she already knew that her daughter would refuse such an offer. It wouldn't hurt to let them look on their own, and if they ran into any trouble she could help them then. Deciding to grant her daughter's little wish the lioness chuckled and walked away, leaving the two alone.

Lina couldn't help but hold back a chuckle. As much as she loved Delano, there was no way to deny the fact that he could be a little naive sometimes. "Oh, you know... Things about how Muroki and Umeme are leaving and whether that gives us any ideas." Clearing her throat, she went ahead and made an impression of her mother's voice, "Perhaps the four of you should go together!" she coughed a few times and rubbed her throat with her paw. "I should stop doing that... Anyways, that's just one possible example."

[DGFone]

Umeme let out a small sigh when her mother finally left. "That sure went better than I expected!" She chuckled and nudged Muroki playfully. "This does mean that we might have to prepare for more of this soon, as soon as mother finds her senses again. So until then, let's do something on our own, and more importantly, away from her." Even though she did tell her mother that she and Muroki will search for a den tomorrow, there was no reason why they won't be able to do so now.

Delano couldn't hold back a laugh when he heard Lina try to impersonate her mother. "I've seen enough of your parents to know that she just might suggest that," he admitted, "Why not we get out of here and leave for today before your dictator can find us?" Even though he was joking, he really did want to not have to deal with Lina's mother, fearing that he will look utterly incompetent and lame should he try to explain that he didn't feel ready to start anything with Lina yet.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki hadn't really expected things to not go well with Umeme's mother, but he knew that Umeme was just kidding. He didn't really have any problem with her mother's hugs and the embarrassing things she said every now and then. She was just being happy and excited in her own way, however weird it was. "She'll come visit us every day, you know." he said after a short silence, grinning at her. "I can already see it. That one night where it will suddenly start raining heavily or one of those afternoons where I'll just be on my way out to look for food, meaning that you'll be with her alone." He stared at her silently for a few moments. "Are you sure you'll be able to handle all of that?"

Lina couldn't help but chuckle at Delano's last remark. "The only thing she did force me to do was to not chew on my father's ears when I was a cub and he wasn't in the mood."[b] she said with a chuckle, [b]"She might tease us but she won't force us to do anything we don't want to." Then, returning to the offer he had just made, she said "Sure, we can go do something." Truth be told, her mother had this weird ability to find somebody despite not knowing where to look for him / her, but it would be for the best if Lina kept that piece of information to herself.

[DGFone]

Umeme grinned. "I can handle her. I did grow up with her, you know." She eyed Muroki playfully. "It's you who you should be worrying about. How are you going to react when she finds you alone? After all, if you think you're the only one that will go hunting in this relationship, then you are wrong. Dead wrong." Smirking at Muroki, she added, "You're forgetting that my mother already knows how I react in a sudden storm. She doesn't know how you will react though. So be prepared."

Eager to go walking with Lina somewhere, Delano gave her a quick lick before leading her out of the den. "Even if your mother is not the dictator that I can make her out to be, I'd still rather spend my time with you and not with her." He noticed that Muroki and Umeme were nearby, but for this time, he decided not to try and do something with them, and instead to go alone with Lina.

As if to tell him where he wanted to go, Delano's stomach rumbled. He grinned sheepishly at Lina, hoping he didn't make too much noise. "Want to go and catch us some breakfast?" He offered.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki blinked innocently. "I meant that, at some point, you probably won't be able to hunt." he said, dropping the provocative grin for a moment. "So.. I'll have to keep an eye on you and all of that..." After a few seconds he grinned at her again. "And guess who'll volunteer to keep you company and watch over you while I hunt for both of us?" He knew that this wasn't really an argument, but he was enjoying it even more because of that fact.

He noticed she was about to say something but he stopped her. "You're probably about to say that you were talking about hunting after it is all over, but not so fast!" It might sound stupid but Muroki was feeling like he had Umeme cornered (metaphorically). "Because once it's all over, all of her attention will be focused on the cubs and not on me." He grinned at her (yet again). "Admit your defeat and acknowledge your doom!"

---

Lina smiled, pretending to have not heard Delano's stomach. "Sure." As they walked away from the den her mother passed in front of them, but she didn't stop.

"Oh Lina, honey," she said as she walked in front of them. "If making impressions of me gives you a sore throat then stop. You should know better by now!"

"Oh, um, sorry mom."

"Winter will be arriving soon; I don't want you catching a cold."

Lina found herself staring at her mother as the older lioness walked away quietly. "How did she even know I have a sore throat?" she asked, looking at Delano with a confused look. "I don't even sound hoarse! That's really creepy..."

[DGFone]

Umeme blushed when she realized what Muroki was referring to. "Oh, I get it. Yes, you are right in that aspect, however..." Refusing to admit defeat how Muroki wanted of her, she pushed him gently aside. "...You keep this up, and you woo will be stuck with my mother, and not just me." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Because sure, you can be the real gentleman and go hunt while I won't be able to. But who is to say that I won't get someone else to go hunt for us while I ask you to be the husband that you are and be by my side when I ask you to... versus... hunting."

---

Delano just stared back at Lina, shocked. "Was... your mother... spying on us?" He didn't expect for the 'torture' to start this soon, but if Lina's parents could tell what they were doing... "Right, Lina, let's run away. Your mother is really starting to creep me out.." He looked at where Lina's mother walked away. "...You think she can hear us now?" Unless his eyes were deceiving him, she was too far away. On the other hand, Lina was alone with him in the den, so how could her mother have heard them then?

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki smiled. "I won't have to hunt while your mother asks you whether everything's okay every 10 seconds?" He fell silent and looked at the ground, as if thinking about it carefully. "Sounds great. Especially if it means I can be there with you to make sure everything okay..." He rubbed the back of his head with a paw sheepishly. "Yeah, um... And all that other stuff. So I'm either not there or I'm there while all the focus is on you."

---

Lina chuckled. "It's not the first time." She knew more than well that her mother hadn't spied on them. "One time she said I was getting sick when I was feeling perfectly fine. The next day I woke up into what had to be the worst cold ever... I really don't know how she does it, but she can read me and my sister like open books." She couldn't help but giggle as Delano continued to stare in the direction her mother had taken, still looking as if he was looking at a ghost. "You'll get used to it."