Perhaps it wasn't a huge party, but seeing her father like that was something different. Gabriel had always come off to her as cold at times, but very protective; he was a hybrid with a purpose and it was clear as day. Soft whispers tangled into her fur and shuffled through her ears, the wind singing its own song to counter the strict voice of her dad, which she all but ignored for the adoration; he had to understand here loyalty was not anywhere but Inferni. The clan may not have been made up of flowers and bunnies, and Talitha was a sweetheart among sadists there, but she held her own and would grow to be just as deadly and deceiving as the rest of them.
She was, after all, Lykoi blood. It was really only a fourth, however, not nearly enough to infect her with the insanity of such beasts. She had heard dark tales of Lykois but that they were all family and that they, unlike so many nomadic coyotes, were loyal to Inferni and always had been.
She found Fatin and 'Zeke, she said, though it wasn't really the question, And they're all fine. And that was it. She was staying where Gabriel liked it or not. She hadn't responded to his prior warning simply because it made no difference whatsoever to her. This was her home; this was where she would stay.