"Mother?" His voice was quiet in the misty morning, the dew still hanging from his long, sloping whiskers. His pale form moved quietly across the damp grass, though he brushed against a low hanging branch and showered himself with moisture. He shook vigorously and paused at the entrance of his mother's den, peering in. She was inside. Of that he was certain.
Either she had not heard him or she was ignoring him. Had he done something worthy of being in her bad books or...
"Mother?"
The sound of shifting in the den made him hopeful and a moment later his mother's face appeared - quite suddenly - from the gloom. It was so unexpected that Charon startled, his heart taking a moment to recover. "Oh, you are awake."
"I am now." She snapped, waving a paw irritably at him. "You're late. I didn't think you were coming."
"Coming? Wait, Mother, I hadn't planned to come by. Did you forget? I was going to hunt for you tomorrow. You said--"
"--I know what I said." The mint-pelted lioness snapped, cuffing him gently across the head with a paw. Her eyes flashed across the mist-bathed landscape and, with a low growl, she pulled herself up from the den and dropped down onto the wet grass. "You didn't bring food." She noted, sounding more disappointed than angry. "It feels a long time since I last ate."
"Now, now, Mother, you know that's not true. I brought a kill only a couple of days ago. It was a fine kill, too."
"I remember." She snapped, but Charon wasn't sure whether she did or not. "What are you doing here, then, if not to bring food?"
"I couldn't sleep."
She stayed silent and after a moment it got awkward enough for him to elaborate, even though he felt afraid to.
"Mother...something has been bothering me and even though I promised not to say anything...I think I need to. It's for the best, I think, and I hate keeping secrets, especially from those that I love."
"Stop blathering and tell me, then." She still wasn't looking at him and it made it easier to continue, somehow.
"I was out and about the other day, just as I usually do. Completing my chores, meeting up with a...friend or two." He thought of that particular friend and smiled warmly. "Well, I bumped into a newcomer. She's just arrived recently into the pride with some others." He wasn't sure whether he ought to bring up the cubs yet. "We got talking and something happened. She...recognised something about what we were saying. Maybe something about my appearance." He swallowed thickly, not sure whether he was truly doing the right thing. Nissa had seemed almost sickened at the knowledge that her mother was here and Ivie'lingwa had never mentioned another litter. But they would bump into one another at some point. Would it not be better to warn them now so that it wasn't such a shock when it did happen?
He fidgeted. Unsure.
"It turns out that this lioness I bumped into." He swallowed, feeling sick with nervousness. "She's my half-sister."
Ivie's head whipped around. "Some other offspring of your father's?" She hissed, curling a lip at the thought of that male. She was bitterly jealous of the male who had gained such loyalty over her offspring. Though she recognised it was probably for the best. She had never been a good mother to her cubs and that's why they had left. All except for Charon. He was clearly a fool, too stupid to know any better.
"No..." Charon trailed, sounding suddenly small and afraid. "We share the same mother."
"What---where---who?!" Ivie was back on her paws now, suddenly come alive in front of him. Her eyes were wild, her claws unsheathed and curling into the soft earth. Her ears were laid back, lips curled up over her yellowing fangs. Charon shrunk away from her as if he feared she might turn on him.
"One of your other children, Mother."
"No! No, no, no, no." She stamped a paw into the ground and raised a paw as if to hit him. Charon flinched but the paw hovered there portentously. "This cannot be!"
"But it is, Mother. I'm not mad at you for never mentioning them. I'm not. But why? Did they cause you some pain?" Did they leave you, too?
"Nothing I did not deserve." She hissed, setting her paw down again. "Which one was it? Which of my offspring came here?"
Charon had a feeling that this answer mattered. Perhaps there were some children who she wouldn't mind seeing again. Some who might still love her. But he feared that Nissa would not be one of them. His half-sister had spoken little of what had happened, only that they had left on bad terms. "It was the dark female, Nissa." He finally choked out. His worst imaginings were confirmed when Ivie'lingwa recoiled in horror.
"Does she know I am here?"
"Y-yes."
"Does she know where I live?"
"No."
"You must not bring her here. Do not ever bring her here. Do I make myself clear, son?" She was pacing, clearly irate.
"But Mother, we all share a pride."
"I barely leave my den. We need never meet."
"If you would only tell me, perhaps I can help? Whatever happened, maybe all is forgiven? Surely it has been long enough now for old wounds to close?"
"No." Was Ivie'lingwa's answer. "And if you tell her my location then...then..." Her eyes were hard and cold. "You are no son of mine."
"Mother!"
"Fate is a cruel, cruel creature indeed. A whole world and that female has to choose this place for her home. Well I won't put myself into a position to 'bump into her'. She can stay here but she'll never see me. You can tell her that much. I'm sure she'll be very pleased to hear it."
"And what if she wants to see you?" Charon pleaded.
"She could have sought me out long ago. Too much harm has been done on both sides. She broke my heart. I broke hers. Our love turned to dust and the bitterness has been left to fester."
"Mother, if you could tell me, maybe I could try and--"
"I said, no." The mint-pelted lioness swiped the air to ward him off. "Listen to your mother for once." And, with a vicious snarl, she slipped back into her den.
Charon would get no further response from her that day.
/fin
