Actions | "Speech" | Thought

He followed after Sia, mostly keeping his silence as he protected her like a bodyguard. Wherever she went, he followed, watching. He had never been gifted with speech and talking to his daughter was stunted because of this. The bad thing was that the prolonged silence was making him seem cold towards her, which was not the case at all. Being with her, he was overwhelmed by all that he wanted to teach her and had no idea where he should start.

However, he had noticed that she seemed to be travelling towards the distant lights of the Dragons Throat. If she intended on joining that herd, Roy had no idea whether or not he would be willing to follow her. He wanted to warn her that herds were not to be trusted, but how could he do such a thing to her innocence? Just because he wasn't comfortable around large groups didn't mean he had a right to impose his insecurities onto her.

When she stopped he stood along side her, his form towering over her fast maturing body. Before long, they would stand shoulder to shoulder. For now, the little filly barely came up to his shoulder. He flicked an ear to listen to what she was saying and his maw opened, finally, to give her an answer.

"I can't tell you what to do, Sia. You're my daughter, and I love you. I would do anything to keep you safe. You know this. I can not answer for them, but I can say that no matter what you think of yourself, or what others think of you, you are not a traitor. You felt uneasy with what was happening in the assassins. Disagreeing with someone's views is not a sign of betrayal. It's a sign of growing old enough to make your own choices and believe what you want to believe. Your mother thought to use you as a bargaining chip in the assassins, and by doing so, she nullified everything that said you had a right to think and act as you saw fit. In other words, she treated you like an object."

He sighed and turned his icy blue gaze on her, his own horn glowing quite a bit stronger than hers, perhaps because it was older, bigger, or perhaps because his vitality was more stable at 4 years old. He had left his years of immaturity and raging hormones behind. "I'm not going to justify what she did, but I will not speak ill of her. You have your own opinions and I won't sway them. However, I will warn you against joining a herd. I understand you want to learn more about healing, but just know that I might not be so willing to follow you. I don't... feel comfortable vowing allegiance to a horse who hasn't done anything to earn my respect, who might demand that I change my ways to suit his or her needs. I have never attempted to call myself loyal, and I'm not going to start caring about horses I don't know, but... if you still want to join these horses then I will join them as well to keep an eye on you if that is what you wish."

He didn't know if he had worded any of that correctly, but he hoped she would gain his meaning through the tone of his voice if nothing else. He cared about her, worried about what would happen if she put her trust in horses who might force her to change and then who might call her a traitor if she refused or ran when she was old enough. He worried further about what would happen if she sold out in order to fit in. He knew better to assume anything, but he also knew that she was a Strider, and Striders were independent in legacy, whom found teamwork hard to abide by, and allied themselves with only their closest friends and no one else.

That was why he found it hard to accept herd life, and why he worried whether she would truly be happy living in the lighted land.

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@[Sikeax] played by Katie.
Finally figured out how to tag people in posts. HUZZAH! :D