Whiny, cries all the time. "Runs in the family," he said, shrugging. Children were all the same; he had played a role in raising only a few—Ty, Addison, and Pripyat—but though the three children were entirely unrelated by blood, their cores had been the same. Pups were needy, that didn't need explaining. Ty had been a good apprentice for he, by far the most submissive child the leader had ever seen. Jefferson had not yet even been the boy's father's superior at the time, yet Ty had listened to his every word. The cyclops had been rougher back then, like stone. Unyielding, unloving. He was lucky to have been softened by Iskata's accident and demise by the time he came to replace her at head of the pack.
He was indeed a father 'again,' though the brute frowned. Had he stopped being one? Addison had left Phoenix Valley for Dahlia on her own accord; the cyclops had argued some but his word was ultimately powerless in controlling her. Had his fatherhood stopped then, when she left? The girl had barely come to visit he who was struggling back home, and for some time she disappeared altogether. In finding her real parents, did she abandon him as the adoptive father who had tried so hard to raise her well? He smiled weakly at her words, appreciative for her understanding, and yet regretted it had been brought up at all.
"You're still my daughter, even if you don't think so," the brute said, nodding to acknowledge her appreciation to stay. "I always said you were welcome here. It's your home. We've had a lot come and go, but Pendzez and Xeris are still here. Geneva is... fine, but we have plenty to talk about on that note." She asked him of 'good-looking guys,' at which Jefferson simply scowled and stared. He did, however, motion at the open territory behind him, the place she had grown within. The sun broke from the clouds, beaming light upon the territory's changing season.
"Sure," he smiled. "Welcome back."
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