A dark brown lioness lay in the grasses of where Mes-en had taken her....unsure of what his family would make of the scarred, tired, and half-limping lioness he'd brought back. Esu'me kept these worries in her mind, in her soul...it would make no sense to worry others with them. She lifted blue eyes so pale as to be near-gray to the darkening sky above. Already, stars were littering the world above.
Stars always filled her with hope. Perhaps his family would accept her long enough to let her rest a night or two...She'd noticed the surplus of cubs running around, so perhaps she could exchange her services as a cub-watcher for the right to stay with them until she needed to move again...

When her brown and white nephew had mentioned he'd brought a 'friend' home...Well, Codail wasn't expecting the broken young lioness that was oblivious to her arrival. Scars, old and new, littered her body from neck to paws to rump. And with her lying down...who knew what lie where the Mother-Priestess could not see. She looked back to her twin with a pained expression, then took a step toward the newcomer.
"You are...Esu'me Kibou, young one?" Despite the other's appearance, there was something about her, and the way she held herself, that spoke she was at least a few seasons younger than Codail and Muscail...

"I never expected Mes-en to bring someone such as you home," Múscail said softly, gently as she shared the look with her sister and loped forward to affectionately nuzzle the young lioness's cheek.

Esu'me startled a bit as the lionesses spoke, her eyes on them now. "I am, ma'am." Her voice was soft and quiet, though not really...timid. Just...the voice of someone who preferred being in the background, rather than up front. The nuzzle from the 'darker' of the two lionesses made her blink and give her a slightly confused look.

Codail laughed kindly, not surprised by the brown lioness' expression. Not everyone was used to Muscail when she was feeling motherly. "You needn't worry about us hurting you...and I can guarantee that between my sister and I, you are rather safe." She was large, for a rogue, and she knew it..."I am Codail, Mes-en's aunt. Nine of the little ones are mine...five of the lion cubs, and the four cheetahs that I adopted."

"And the remaining four little ones are mine. I am Múscail. And you are welcome to stay with us as long as you need," Múscail said softly, nudging Esu'me's cheek gently and flicking her tail behind her absently.

Esu'me nudged back a bit. "Quite a lot...And...it's only you two?" Her own family hadn't been large, and she'd never seen a family with so MANY young ones at once! Yes...she would offer. "I...thank you." She looked a bit embarrassed at this point. "I can do my share...though I cannot hunt well." She stood, and took a couple steps back to show her limp...and the scars that showed how she'd gained that limp.

"I can watch over cubs, though." She smiled kindly. "I am patient, and attentive, and I love little ones."

"Yes...it is just us two for now." She chuckled. "We manage, though. And most of the little ones are well-behaved. But with young ones, there are always the trouble makers..." One of her young cheetah charges was in her sight now, and she frowned a bit before turning her attention back to Esu'me.

"If you wish to...your help would be greatly appreciated." Codail wished she could heal the damage beneath the skin....the limp didn't seem to pain the other, but it must have been torture knowing she couldn't hunt well...

"As long as you help us care for the little ones, we would be glad to help you. If you don't mind my asking... How did you get those wounds?" Múscail asked softly, giving the smaller lioness a sympathetic look.

Esu'me crouched back to the ground now, trying not to tremble. They...they had to ask...And she could not deny them. They were adults after all and...Oh gods help her. She willed herself to keep her voice steady as she spoke.

"My...mate. He was not...what I thought." She hid her head under her front legs. "I should have not been so trusting to him...Even Mother raised eyebrows at him..."

Codail's eyes widened, then narrowed. Abuse. One of the gravest of sins in her mind, topped only by rape, murder, and torture. She put a gentle paw on top of Esu'me's. "We do not look down on you." She crouched down. "You are strong for leaving...and stronger still for even speaking the little you did to us of it."

"You are not at fault, Esu'me... I too was fooled by a male. He forced me, and then when I bore seven cubs, he returned and stole three of them away. You are not alone in this," Múscail said softly, gently moving closer to Esu'me and nudging her cheek gently.

Esu'me....couldn't take it anymore. She cried. "Perhaps I am...perhaps I am not..." She smiled sadly through the tears, her front legs on solid ground once more in front of her. "Only the gods will decide that, when it is my time...." Crying...what good would it do her. None. Except she was feeling a little better now.

A pity Mother Moon had not shown her face yet. Codail still offered a prayer...to guide Esu'me in healing her heart, to keep her safe, to gentle the pains that were to come as she healed. "Mother Moon forgives all, Esu'me...so long as you are sincere." She laughed softly. "And sometimes...she forgives us long before we forgive ourselves."

"Mother Moon and Father Earth do not judge their children, Esu'me. They forgive us as long as we are truthful to ourselves and others, and then would never condemn us to sadness with no reason," Múscail said, laying down alongside Esu'me and gently licking her cheek. "You have done nothing wrong save for exercising poor judgment, and all creatures have committed that crime before. The male is the one who is in the wrong."

Esu'me smiled at them as the tears abated. "Thank you." She still wasn't convinced fully of her lack of fault...but she did feel a little better. And even more tired. "I...I am afraid I am exhausted. I haven't been getting much sleep...and it has caught up to me at last."

Codail nodded, a motherly smile returned to Esu'me. "Then sleep, Esu'me. Being true to yourself includes taking care of yourself." She chuckled. "In the morning, I shall see what I can do for some of your recent scars. Some look like they're still scab rather than scars...and I want to be sure there is no infection."