Aaliyah unlocked the door to her grandmother's house and strode in. She was out well past her curfew, but she needed to blow of some steam before coming back. "I see you still know your way home." It wasn't her grandmother's voice she heard, but a deeper one. She cursed herself in her thoughts before turning around timer her father's face. "You're back." She used the flattest tone she could manage, he strode toward her slowly and looked down on her with his piercing green eyes. Aaliyah huffed, these were the same eyes that stared her back in the mirror every morning, the same reminder of his absence. She stared at him for a long moment, wondering if their eyes were the only thing they had in common. "Your old man can't get a hug?" He gave her a crooked smile, but she wasn't in the mood to play his game. "My latest report card is on the fridge. Straight A's. As usual, so you can cut my card back on before you leave." She turned towards the stairs. "Aaliyah. Camille. Stewart." Every part of her name was deliberate, she sighed, not wanting to deal with him but her options were taken. She looked back. "Come here." She silently made her way back to stand in front of him, careful to avoid eye contact. He went over to the couch and then looked at her to follow. She stood still, not wanting to extend her time with him. "Please." She tentatively walked over to the couch and sat on the far side of it, putting a lot of space between them. "How have you been?" His emerald eyes searched hers. "Fine." She answered coldly. Her fingers started to tense up, she was losing control. She cracked her knuckles, while she met her father's gaze. "Aaliyah... I know we don't agree on most things but...." He ran a hand over his face. How was he supposed to explain to her everything he was told? She'd probably defy him still, not believing the story. "I need you to understand." She watched him, confused. "Understand why I don't want you to fight." Comprehension seeped into Aaliyah's features, her nails extended half an inch. "Are we really having this conversation again?" Her tone now heated. She was so tired of this debate. Why didn't he trust that she could hold her own? She'd probably have a fighting chance if he would train her. "Aaliyah, do you know how many colleagues... How many friends I've lost to this life?" She shifted her body so that she was facing him. "Is that how you lost mom?" He glared at her for a moment and turned his head, remaining silent. "You know what? Fuck it, then." She got off the couch and stomped to the stairs once more. "Aaliyah, don't you walk away from me! You have no idea what that world is like!" She turned in a blur of motion. "I have no idea?! Maybe I would if you showed me! Or if you told me!" She crossed the room to get in his face. "You never let me in on anything, you just expect me to sit here and -play- human." He stood up, now towering over her. "I expect you to be the girl that you are, a normal 16 year old high school student." Her left eye twitched, he couldn't be fucking serious. "Normal?! What the hell do I know about normal?!" She opened her hand as her nails extended to their full length. "Does this look normal to you?!" She raised a hand so he could see the sabers attached, then sliced through the glass coffee table like bread. His eyes widened at her fury. "Baby, calm down." He put his hands in front of himself defensively. "I can't tell you how hard it is, keeping these -things- under wraps, every damn day!" She was screaming now, her fury fully unleashed."How hard I have to fight the urge to cut some asshole when he grabs my ass in the hallway!" Tears started streaming down her face, she had never been so honest with her father, the vulnerability she was showing was tearing her apart. "You're never here to help me.... Grandma doesn't know what this is like." He grabbed her shoulders and she relaxed, her nails retracting enough so that she could move her fingers. "And you won't tell me who she is, because she made me this way. I'm a monster.... Just like her, I know she is." John wrapped his daughter in a tight hug, shocked by her words. She fell into his chest and sobbed violently, far too worked up for words. "You're not a monster, you're my baby." He breathed into her hair, calming her somewhat. "You just need help... You're lost." John's mother appeared silently on the stairs, watching their embrace. She hadn't seen an act of love between them in a long time. She was hopeful this was the start of a new beginning.