"I don't see what the issue is."
Tiah snapped, her teeth showing as she glared at her father with narrowed eyes. She hesitated in speaking out of line again though, she knew his temper was unstable and at times a bit volatile, she wasn't looking to start a fire, it was just hard keeping her personal feeling inside. When she did the lioness felt so disconnected from the world, so out of mind and soul, something in her made her press on even when she knew the conversation wasn't going to be a pleasant one.
"I'm not trying to upset you, father."
She sounded a bit more defeated this time, unable to keep up her harsh tone and disposition. She just didn't have the energy for this today.
"I just don't understand. Please help me understand you."
She sounded softer now.
"The issue is your lack of respect."
Kadaj spoke firm and deep, sitting back as his daughter circled him like a cub throwing a fit. She had that problem and he never took the time to break that habit of hers. He wish he had now. His brow furrowed as he sighed and spoke again, this time a bit more mild.
"Tiah, look, I can't change how you feel about Sia. I just can't. I can't change how you feel or what you feel when it comes to my personal relationships, but this topic isn't one that will bend."
She had been so upset at him for staying with his 'mate', even though at times it hardly seemed like Sia cared. Tiah wanted her father happy, but she also wanted someone who would treat him with respect. He understood her frustration, but it wasn't going to change how he felt. She mattered to him, not everything was so black and white. Nothing everything was surface value. His relationship worked for him. It honestly didn't matter what his daughter felt about it.
"I don't intrude in your relationships. Don't step into mine. You are my daughter, not my mother."
"That's rich." Tiah's eyes rolled as she glared at her father harshly. How could he talk to her like this? Had he no shame? Or maybe he didn't care about his own children. She felt betrayed. Her tone shifted from slightly understanding to one of intense anger as she lashed out at him, speaking in a rather hostile tone.
"Not your mother? You named me after her! Sounds like you have some real issues dad."
She never meant half of what she said when she was upset, but he had a way of making her feel so little sometimes, so unwanted. She could have been begging him for help and she was sure he would look away. Why was he so keen on dismissing her?
"I am just looking out for you. It's all I ever do."
She felt tears swell in her eyes as she looked away from him, her body moving to remove herself from him further.
"I respect you. I just am not a huge fan of her..."
s soon as Tiah brought up his grandmother he lunged, slapping her so hard she fell back onto the dusty ground. He wasn't a fan of this sort of discipline, but she needed to control her words. His eyes pinned as he held a paw to her shoulder, keeping her against the ground.
"She was my grandmother." He hissed.
"You will respect her, you will respect your grandfather, you will respect me."
Family meant the most to him in truth, it's why he wanted it to work with Sia and with his own children that still lived with him. All he had now was his son and daughter after all, the rest of his children had long gone, some he never even got to know due to the mother leaving him almost as soon as the cubs came into the world. He had issues with this. He never wanted to be without his family.
"You are my blood, my daughter, my only daughter left. I need you to hear this: You and your brother are the most important things to me, but I have a life outside of you both. My relationship with Sia is a closed topic from here on out. You will try to get along with her or you will be alone."
As he spoke he removed his paw from her and allowed her to move herself back up. He didn't feel bad for slapping her. She would have done the same thing to him if she had the chance.
As soon as she realized what had happened she was on the ground being held down by her father. She winced as he spoke but she did listen, growling under her clenched teeth. She would have clawed back if she had the chance. She would have beat him, she knew it. He was old and slow, she could take him.
Maybe that was her issue. As he spoke she felt herself focusing on this thought instead of actually taking in what he was saying with open eyes and ears. She just felt so much anger swell up inside her. As soon as he mentioned her and her half brother though her mood changed and her ears perked up. Her selective hearing was a curse. Or maybe it was her temper when it came to her father. Was this how all relationships with fathers went? She had no mother to raise her, so she had experience to gauge from.
As soon as he let her sit back up and she frowned and sat tall, sighing deeply.
"Fine."
Yes, she understood where he was coming from, but that didn't make it any easier to accept.
"I will leave it alone.
"I'm not perfect Tiah, I ******** up often. I hope you know that. I never want you to feel less because of my life choices, but I think you need to live a little before you cast down judgement." Kadaj felt a bit responsible for her upbringing. He had sheltered her and kept her at his side for so long he couldn't remember the last time she had left him for her own personal reasons, it was no wonder why she was so attached to him. He was all she had. Her mother and siblings all left when she was born. Kadaj was only able to keep her.
Yes, she had a half brother now, but he understood the longing for companionship and family. He sat back down and sighed, speaking now with a more level head.
"Have you ever considered finding a mate for yourself? Maybe you'd be less interested in my personal life if you had your own to worry about." He was being playful of course, but he was also pretty interested in what his daughter would say. She could have been a mother by now and apart of him wondered why she wasn't already.
I...." She sat back and glanced over her father's figure, sighing deeply before turning to look away.
"I have never felt that way about anyone." This was a true statement. Tiah had never lusted for another let alone felt passion for someone else. She'd never even thought about love up until this point. What was the point? Her mother and father didn't love each other when they made her. Relationships felt like the ultimate joke.
"If I'm honest with myself, at least half on the inside, I'd have a better answer for this." She closed her eyes and sighed in deeply.
"I get it dad, I do. Sometimes I forget I can't see everything you do, I'm not you. It's not my life. Or my choice." She felt a little dumb for being so upset earlier.
"I'll give it a shot with Sia. I'll try to get to know her."
~end with 1,308 words