Dotw RP: Always the same Argument.

MatrixPotato:
Trotting along a deer trail, Lyn found herself in a familiar place. She was headed away from the border of the Kausen territory, into the unknown. That was normal for her, though. She was a scout and it was easy for her to go unnoticed by most of the other pack members, so she took the time to explore outside their borders. It was really the only time she ever felt happy now-a-days. Being around her father and the other pack members made her think too much of what had happened to her mother and then the anxiety would return. Out in the open, away from it all, her mind was clear. She could think properly and not worry about her 'impending death' someday. Sometimes, she'd even hunt a little. Of course, it was nothing like large game; mainly just rabbits or squirrels, sometimes birds if she was feeling lively.

She could still smell the territory markers behind her, so she could tell that she wasn't too far away. Nonetheless, she continued on, following the river to her right.

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Quailmix:
The alpha male had been refreshing his scent markers all day, as he did every so often to keep the territory rightfully his. Whilst marking, he saw a familiar face in the distance. It was his daughter Aethelynda. Gregor hadn't intended on following his daughter that day, but when he saw her patrolling around the borders, he had a small tickle of curiosity about the way she spent her day.

He kept his distance, but didn't make much effort to conceal himself from her more than that. If the wind had turned in her direction, she surely would have been able to smell him. Heck, if she'd turned around and looked she probably would have been able to see him, though he was quite far away. It wouldn't look as if he was following her at that distance, at least he hoped.

He watched her for a few minutes before he saw something that alerted him. She had walked right passed a scent mark that he had just left. That wasn't so bad, Gregor thought, as long as she stayed within a few hundred yards... but she just kept going, and going.

At this, Gregor gave out a loud bark. He was a good long ways away from her, so he broke into a sprint to catch up with her. "Aethelynda!" He barked as he came closer to her, "What are you doing?" He demanded. It was clear that he was not happy with her. He was concerned for her safety. The farther she left the border, the less protected she was.

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MatrixPotato:
A small smile was beginning the creep over Lyn's lips the farther away she ventured from the territory. Excitement wasn't something she felt often anymore, but it excited her to see new things outside of what she already knew. Her adventurous nature was beginning to shine through- but suddenly disappeared as a familiar voice rang out amongst the trees. Her smile vanished and was replaced by a scowl as she slowed to a reluctant stop.

Lyn didn't turn right away. She knew who was behind her. It was Gregor, the alpha. Gregor, her father. She thought for sure no one was following her, but only now did she realize that the wind was blowing toward her, not away from her. With a heavy sigh, Lyn finally turned her gaze away from her potential adventures and onto the form of her approaching father.

Anger began to boil in her as she watched him draw nearer. The father who had distanced himself for years after her mothers death suddenly wanted to know what she was doing? She narrowed her eyes in suspicion at him. "Patrolling. You know, like I'm supposed to do. Because it's my job."

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Quailmix:
She turned to him. The look on her face was unmistakable. The look on her face was hate. It hit Gregor in the gut and squeezed his heart as he slowed to a stop near her. He didn't want their relationship to be this way, but it was, and he didn't know how to change it anymore.

The way she spoke to him was so defiant that it made his blood boil. As much as he wished for her to love him, he had to be the alpha as well. "You don't speak to me that way, Aethelynda. I don't care if you are my daughter or not, you don't respond to your alpha with such attitude." He bellowed. He was angry at her now. He hadn't been angry at her for leaving the border, he had been concerned. But the way she responded to him, that warranted anger.

"Your job is to patrol the pack lands. Not a quarter mile outside of them." He persisted, getting more to the point. "It isn't safe out here. There are borders that aren't to be crossed for a reason." He scolded on, old jowls rippling with each word. Yellow eyes bore into her with a heavy brow, his facial expression was one of clear disapproval. Yet, as he looked at her own face, into her own eyes, he couldn't help but recoil a little, softening his own expression. Those eyes were terribly hard for him to look into. "I just don't want you to get hurt, my dove." He plead the same plea that he had a hundred times, one that she never seemed to understand. What else could he do?

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MatrixPotato:
By now, her father's shouting didn't faze her at all. She was so used to getting him angry that if he were ever happy with her, then she would start to worry. After her mothers death, the only thing that they had in common anymore was their tempers.

.."I don't care if you are my daughter or not..." Those words rang through Lyn's mind as he spoke. She knew he meant them differently, but that's all she could think about. To her, he always placed being alpha over being her father. If she made him look bad as a leader, then she wasn't good enough to be his daughter. Her anger continued to rise as he ended his argument with the same pet name he always did. Dove. Like that was supposed to soothe the fact that he'd just corrected her like she was still a pup.

She snorted. "My apologies, your majesty. But excuse me if I was merely checking to see if anyone was close to our borders." She scowled again, and raised part of her lip to show one of her canines, a tick she had when she was angry. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to catch someone who was trying to sneak in before they actually made it inside our territory." Lyn wasn't sure if she'd made that argument before, but it was too late now.

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Quailmix:
Gregor could almost feel her rolling her eyes as she retorted with just as much attitude as she had begun with. "You know you don't have to call me that." He stated, this time quieter, a small hint of hurt in his voice. Nobody had to call him that. Nobody ever did, besides her. He wasn't some sort of supreme dictator after all. He was just doing his best to keep everybody safe, and alive. It was a stressful task, which Aethelynda didn't understand. Gregor hoped she would never have to understand it, but did wish she could at least sympathize with him.

She continued with her piece, and argument she'd had with him many times before. "But if they haven't crossed the borders we don't know their intentions. They could be anybody, and they could have no interest in us. When they've crossed over at least we know they intend to be in the territory." He tried to explain, again. It was something that Gregor didn't understand why she didn't understand.

He thought in the back of his mind that perhaps he had mistaken her. Maybe she'd do better with another job. One that wasn't so, apparently, confusing.

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MatrixPotato:
Apparently Lyn had used that argument before, because Gregor countered it with one of his own without missing a beat. She sighed in exasperation and looked away. She had no way of getting out of this without him thinking she was ignoring her duties or too dumb to realize she'd gone out of the borders. Instead of furthering the argument, Lyn instead trudged passed her father, back toward the border.

If she continued arguing, she may let her true intentions slip, something that she couldn't afford to do. She couldn't let him know that every day she wished that she could've left with her other siblings. Not unless she wanted him to forbid her from patrolling, forbid her from the only escape she had from the place that holds so much fear and sorrow.

"Fine. I'm going back, then. Please excuse my idiocy, your highness."

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Quailmix:
His daughter protested nonverbally, as daughters do. Gregor did his best not to react, looking at her stone faced with his bushy eyebrows. When she finally did respond and begin to move, it made him angry. She wasn't listening to him. She wasn't hearing him. She had ignored what he explained and that wasn't okay.

"Aethelynda. Stop." He said, turning to face her, a low grumbling beginning to emit from his throat. He did not like to use dominance as a tool with his daughter, but he didn't know what else to do sometimes.

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MatrixPotato:
Lyn hadn't made it very far before he called again. This time she didn't hide her irritation as well. She groaned and only turned around enough to look at him from the corner of her eye. She knew that look; he was the alpha now, not her father. The look she gave him practically screamed 'What now?' She didn't need to say it verbally; she knew he knew.

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Quailmix:
She turned to face him almost immediately. He could tell from her expression that she was not happy. Neither was Gregor though. He stared her down with his deep yellow eyes. How had it come to this? How had he made her so unhappy.

As Gregor looked his daughter in the eyes, a glimmer of her mother shone through. His stance loosened. He sighed. "You can go." He resigned himself.

He almost stopped her again. He wanted to ask her not to call him majesty or highness or the like. He wanted to ask her to just call him dad, or if she had to, Gregor. But he knew that would open a whole different can of worms and he just didn't have the heart for that at the moment. He just wanted her to be happy. Bringing up another thing that bothered him about her was not the way to make her happy.

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MatrixPotato:
It was odd; in just a matter of seconds, he was angry and then he was telling her to leave. Lyn proposed that she may never understand her father or the way his moods worked. Some part of her didn't want to. Another part of her thought it was too late to try. Either way, he wasn't continuing, and she was free to go. With one last final glare, Lyn turned and sauntered back to the border.

On her way, she sighed and hung her head. Just as she was about to get away, she was pulled right back in. For a moment, she almost resigned herself to living in this place forever. But then the stubbornness was back, and she swore to run away. Not alone, of course. It truly was dangerous to be a loner. But one day, she would leave these borders, and she would never look back.