<8> It wasn't until late in the morning when Summer finally awoke, and an almost instantaneous sense of dread hovered over her as she climbed out of bed and pulled on an oversized shirt and shorts. Everything from the night before came rushing back to her in the blink of an eye. She figured she could handle talking her way out of trouble with the party incident, but what happened on the couch.... Summer hesitated as she reached for her door, and she realized her slender fingers were trembling. The blood elf puffed out her chest with a deep inhale, then slowly pulled her door open to peer out into the hall. Her father's bedroom door was still closed, but he often kept his room locked and well-secured anyway. Gentle movements could be heard from downstairs in their modest apartment, and while the temptation of locking herself in her room for the next few decades didn't sound so bad, she knew she couldn't avoid him forever. Her steps were gentle and meek as she trotted down the stairs and into the kitchen to find breakfast waiting for her... another bad sign, as Rainier's cooking was terrible. The large man's back faced her as he continued to cook his own breakfast, and he didn't seem to notice her approach until Summer quietly chirped, "Morning, daddy." "Mornin'," he returned without skipping a beat. "Get it while it's hot." The young warrior felt fire burn her cheeks from within, and she couldn't help but stare at him as she took her seat. Rainier often didn't wear shirts in the mornings -or ever if he wasn't leaving the house- and a fresh pair of tartan-patterned boxers were on their usual display. This was a sight she was keenly familiar with, but something about looking up and down his chiseled back hit her in a very different way now. "Th-thanks," she stuttered softly and began to poke at her eggs meekly with a fork. Rainier kept quiet as he swung around and slid his own eggs onto his plate. A few moments of shuffling allowed him to wrap up his cooking station before he took a seat across from Summer, but instead of touching his eggs, his icy gaze tried to lock straight onto hers. "I take it you slept well," he stated more than asked. "Mhmm," Summer muttered, her glowing green eyes flitting this way and that to avoid eye contact. "Summer," he said evenly, his tone devoid of emotion. "Look at me." Her eyes turned up to reluctantly meet her father's fierce gaze, and she instantly felt herself shrink a few sizes in her seat. Rainier did not back down. "I told you last night we need to talk. I have some questions that need answering." "Yes s-sir," she replied more formally. She had grown up addressing him that way during her training, but in recent years he'd insisted that she relax her terms when they were at home, which she'd taken quite a liking to. Both of his elbows came to rest on the table as he laced his fingers together, obscuring his stubble-laden mouth with his hands. "To start with, I called my brother this morning, and he confirmed what we had talked about last night. Ms. Larford told me what time you entered the building, too, so there is no question that what happened last night did in fact happen. So, first of all, I need you to tell me why." Summer's eyes went wide as she shrank yet another size in her chair. "I-I-I... I don't know, sir." "Bullshit," Rainier countered immediately. "Fireweed clouds the mind, but it doesn't make people elect to do things against their will, and I believe I was asleep for the bulk of it," he remarked a bit more boldly. "Try again. Tell me why you did what you did." "Y-you... you just said why, sir," she dared to return. "And I need to hear you say it clearly, Summer," he shot back much more sharply. "You know we don't bury things in this household. We talk about them and deal with them, then carry on. We can't do that without cooperating." Summer inhaled shakily as she looked her father in the eye and eked out, "I... I sucked on your penis because I w-wanted to, sir!" Dead silence settled in between father and daughter for a long, tense moment. Neither one of them broke their locked gaze. Summer visibly trembled as she watched her father for any sign of a reaction. Then finally, after what felt like an eternity, the burly man... snickered. "Did you have to choose [i]that[/i] word of all the colorful terms for it?" A small wave of relief washed over Summer, and in a rush of emotion she, too, began to giggle along with him. "S-sorry! I... I wasn't thinking!" she eked out between giggles. Rainier's chuckles intensified a bit as he dropped his hands, revealing an ever-so-slight smile. "Be that as it may, you really should [i]not[/i] have done that. Sucking dick, or anything sex-wise, should have consent from both parties. I thought I taught you that." Summer's giggles stopped immediately despite the gentleness in her father's tone, and her long ears visibly drooped as her cheeks burned with remorse. "I am so, so sorry, sir," she chirped, her gaze dropping hard to the table. "I know it was wrong...." "But it was something you wanted," he added, almost as if to clarify her motives. She nodded without hesitation, but said nothing. Rainier let out a long, deep sigh as his face turned stoic again. "Look at me, Summer. I'm not happy about the lack of consent, but beyond that, I... I don't feel like I can be mad at you for the rest of it." Summer immediately looked back up at him in surprise. "R-really?" It was the human's turn for his cheeks to show a bit of color, which was something Summer had only ever seen on a few rare occasions. "I've come to terms with the fact that you're a woman now. You can handle combat better than any warrior I've ever trained, and considering you're still alive and functioning on your own as an adult now, I figure I've done my job. It's not my place to say who you take to your bed, but I only ever want the best for you, so I encourage you to play it safe." The blood elf felt her heart skip a beat before it began to melt, flattered by her father's unusual outpour of genuine praise. "Thank you, sir... Dad."