"Hi Uncle Cha~ron!" Shesha sung. "Look what I have!" The little one disappeared for a moment into the hedgerow and then reappeared a moment later with a flower in her teeth. She set it down very gently and looked at it adoringly before returning her eyes to her pale blue relative. "Isn't it pretty?"

"It is." Charon agreed with a smile. "A present?"

"Yes." Shesha giggled. "But not for you. It's for me."

Charon reached down and ruffled a paw across the top of his niece's head. "Well now, you must have done something good to get a present like that."

"It's cos I'm pretty." Shesha replied.

"Who gave it to you?"

"...A boy." She admitted sheepishly, rubbing a paw across the ground. "He said it was pretty, just like me."

"Aren't you a little young to be interested in boys?"

Shesha folded back her ears and scrunched up her nose, giving her uncle a look that clearly told that she was unimpressed. Was it really so bad to be given a present from a boy? She was pretty, after all and he was really fun to hang out with. It would have hurt his feelings to turn his present down just because the adults thought she was 'too young' for that sort of thing. Surely no one was too young to receive a present!

"Is your mother around?" Charon continued.

"Mum? Um, yep. But she just got back from teaching me and the girls how to hunt." Her face transformed into one of boredom. "She's insisting on lessons every day now. It's so boring and I don't want to grow up to become a huntress. I want to become something much more exciting than that!"

Charon smiled. "There is nothing wrong or boring in becoming a huntress, Shesha. Females are naturally better at hunting and the best of them are honoured for their skill. Hunting is a difficult task to master but it sustains life. Someday you will be hunting for the entire pride and your group will be relied upon by those too young or old or weak. There's nothing boring or dishonourable about that."

"Now you sound like Mum." Shesha complained, though not without affection.

"We are a wise family." Charon jested. "Your mother speaks much sense. You should listen to her."

"Well, I'll try, but I can't promise."

"Where are your sisters?"

"Somewhere about. We never go too far." She smiled up at him. "See, we do listen sometimes."

"I'm sure." Charon replied, distracted by movement behind his niece.

"I thought I heard voices." Came a rough but feminine voice. Nissa, all dark grey and blue, stepped into the sunlight and gave a light prrum as she reached up to hook her nose up beneath her half-brother's chin. He was perhaps the only one - save her children - with whom she felt comfortable around. He was a gentle, shy and timid sort - just what she needed. If he'd been more cocky or confident then she might have been nervous or even afraid of him. And that fear would turn to anger and she'd lash out. But Charon was calm and peaceful and she felt safe in his presence.

Pride cats really were different from rogue cats.

"Hey, Mum! Uncle Charon dropped by to see you." Shesha chirped.

"I can see that, little rascal. Aren't you off causing trouble somewhere?" Nissa's eyes fell onto the flower and her brows furrowed. "Or breaking hearts."

"I didn't break any hearts, Mum. I told you. Manju is my friend."

The large female rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to her brother. "What can I do for you, Charon?"

"May we...speak in private?" He was shifting nervously, his eyes darting down to regard Shesha.

"It's serious?" Nissa's whole body hardened as if she were preparing for some attack. Her paws set firm into the ground as she balanced her weight evenly; tail whipping to and fro.

"I'm not sure..." He replied. "It's about...Mother."

Nissa's eyes immediately narrowed with suspicion. "Shesha!" She barked. "Go play with your sisters."

Shesha looked more annoyed than anything as she lifted her flower carefully up from the ground and moved off - slower than really necessary.

Only when she was gone did Nissa speak again, taking a seat as if preparing herself for the worst. "What about her?"

The male was looking a little more than worried as he fidgeted, eventually taking a seat opposite her. When he finally spoke, he kept his eyes on the gap in the hedgerow where Shesha had left. "Please, please forgive me, Nissa. I don't understand the history between you and Mother. I know that she can be a difficult lioness to live with. Believe me, I know. But it has been so long since the two of you spoke that I thought maybe time had healed those old wounds. I know you told me not to say anything but..."

"You told her I was here."

"I did."

"With cubs?"

"...I didn't mention your children. There...wasn't an opportunity to go into details." His eyes were dark and forlorn. "I thought I was doing the best thing by you."

"Oh, Charon." Nissa released a hissing breath. "You should have trusted me on this! If you were not my brother I'd take my teeth to your throat. I trusted you to keep this a secret. I trusted you but you went to her anyway."

"Not straight away! I thought on it a long time. I couldn't sleep for thinking! I thought it would all work out and that we could be happy. A happy, normal family."

"This family will never be normal!" Nissa's voice raised in anger, the fur on her hackles bristling. "It will never be normal, Charon. Me and our mother will never see eye to eye. There is too much history! I told you that. You should have listened and believed me when I told you. Why, Charon? Why did you do this when I asked you not to?"

"She has been sad for so long." He started. "I thought you might make her happy again. I've tried! The Great Lion knows I have! But she is so sad and so lonely and I feel like I make things worse instead of better. I love her with all my heart. She might not be a perfect mother. She's not even a good mother! But we only get one and she's ours."

"I never had a mother as far as I'm concerned." Nissa spat, though her eyes were glossy with tears. "What did she say?"

"She said...she said there was too much hurt on both sides. She doesn't want to see you and she said she's not going to leave her den. Ever. That way she won't bump into you by accident. She was so angry. She yelled at me and told me that I wasn't to show you where she was living."

"Bah! As if a bit of searching wouldn't take me straight to her!" Nissa snapped. "A coward still. Hiding behind lies. Always hiding. Nothing has changed, Charon. She hasn't changed."

For a moment the two siblings sat silently, one in front of the other. Their heads were bowed, their eyes half-lidded in thought. The tip of Nissa's tail twitched but it was a long time before either of them spoke again. Both were reminiscing. Thinking back to times when life had not been so complicated. Back to times where smiles were easier. Neither of them had memories of such times. After all, their mother had been the cursed lunatic from the very beginning. There was never any moments of normality. Not for either of them.

"She doesn't need to worry." Nissa spoke after a moment and, surprisingly, Charon stood and moved so that he sat beside her. After a tense moment, Nissa expelled a breath of air and leaned into him, thankful that she had one family member who could offer a sympathetic ear - even if he was the cause of her newest stress. "I won't go looking for her. She won't even know that me and my children exist."

"You have both suffered so much pain and hardship." Charon continued gently. "You have both changed. If only you could just speak with her and see for yourself. Maybe those old wounds could heal and the family wouldn't be so torn."

"I'm not going to speak with her, brother. You don't know what it was like."

"Maybe I do." He shot back.

"No. She may have made more mistakes with you but I think they were new and different mistakes. Some lions learn - the sensible ones - but others, like our mother, continue to make them. We're better off without her."

"I won't abandon her." Charon replied.

"That's right. You'll continue being her slave. You'll put your own life aside for her." Nissa lifted her head to look at him. "She's not worth it, Charon."

"Maybe not. But we only get one mother in life."

"More's the pity." Nissa replied softly.

And behind them, in the hedgerow, the small, round face of Shesha listened in; green eyes bright with curiosity. Her mother might not have wanted to see this lioness, but Shesha decided rather quickly that she wanted to meet her grandmother. Perhaps - if no one else was willing - she could set up a little scheme for the family to meet by accident. Then they'd all thank little Shesha for a job well done.

/fin