Lost Creek Hollow I'm not gonna try and change your mind.

terance nodded, repeating again, good. she'd done well. though terance hadn't really expected ibis to become a scout (what had he expected, anyway? what, with so little part of her rearing?) but was quite proud of the scout she was. it seemed she had a knack for it. you'll be an excellent ambassador... if that's what you want, he told her with a warm smile, tail tapping on the ground.

but, her worries were not gone unnoticed... and as glad as terance was that he could catch these subtleties, he did regret asking. as always, though he tried, terance was not the best with advice. honestly, he thought he was better at it with ibis than anyone else... but that was just his opinion, and he had no way of knowing if what he told her even helped. he sure hoped it did. he just really liked believing that he was a good dad. he really hoped he was.

he couldn't help but chuckle at the last bit. goodness, if ibis had gotten anything from him it was his inability to verbalize his emotions. terance shifted to lean forwards and give her a lick to the bridge of her nose, placing a large black paw gently on one of hers -- just for a moment -- before retreating back to where he sat. you'll always be small, he agreed softly, thinking hard about what he was going to say. in all blunt honesty, terance had attempted to replace ibis and okeanos. of course he'd had feelings for treason and of course he had never thought about it like that... but at the end of the day, terance had filled a hole in his heart with another woman and another litter. it just happened that ibis returned to his life, so terance made room for them all. of course, that was hard to explain on it's own. 

life's easier when you're a pup, and it's hard when you get less time with your parents because they're just so busy, terance agreed, beginning his 'wise' speech to the young girl, adding at the end with a small grin, i'm an older sibling too, remember? which was true. to wraen and sarah... and then maia, cassie, and cori... and then three more he didn't even know about. terance was part of a more whole family... so he didn't know the pains of divorce or fighting for love. but he could maybe understand jealousy. he hung on to the notion that ibis wanted to spend more time with him... it meant a lot to hear... but terance couldn't help but wonder if it was treason and the pups that were the real reason ibis was going to leave. could he make her stay?

he faltered, here, for the right words to say. how could he be reassuring when he didn't even know what she wanted to hear? he tried the only approach he knew... which was honesty, mostly, and as much love as he could cram into one statement. but i'll always love you, little bird, with my whole heart. and i will always make time for you, no matter what. anything you need i'll always be here for you. he hoped she'd understand -- but it was hard to get across what he meant... especially to ibis, who probably had too many emotions and prejudices buried deep down to understand.