[Jaykobell]

The way Samael spoke, Hamilcar could only ask himself, quite honestly, if it was worth it to speak to this man, whoever he was.

Some of his words did hit home, in their way. His heart skipped a beat when he heard Samael refer to Allovera as a "mutt", but not only because of how indecent it had been to call her that: mostly because that meant Samael knew about Allovera being a dhampyr. Not to mention, that face the demon had made it clear that he knew Hamilcar had been lying.

The words that hit him the most, though, were the last few sentences. Hamilcar narrowed his eyes at Samael when he heard those words, but he said nothing. Instead, he just sighed. "It might not transcend all evils," he eventually replied, putting his hands on his hips, "but it gets us by." They didn't have the perfect relationship, and sometimes, it felt like they argued more than anything else. At the end of the day, though, Hamilcar knew that he would always be there for Allovera. If she needed his help, if she were lost, if she were hurt: he would always drop everything to be there for her. "I might not be her real father, but she might as well be my daughter." He was far from being the best dad around, but at least he was around, right?

"But you seem to know better," Hamilcar continued, and as he spoke, he put a hand by Allovera's back to guide her along, "so I'll take your advice: we'll go back home and I'll cook her something to eat." He started turning, guiding Allovera along. "Come on, Allovera. Let's go."

She'd wanted to interrupt the conversation a few times, if only to tell Samael that he was a disgusting excuse of a person, calling her names and basically trying to turn Hamilcar against her. She was surprised that the vampire hadn't reacted that much to Samael's words, but she could only assume that he would be lecturing her at home instead. But she had a different plan in mind as she struggled against his guidance, asking, "Aren't you going to punch his face in?" She was surprised that Hamilcar hadn't gotten upset with her, but she was even more surprised that he wasn't teaching Samael a thing or two, for her sake. "He kept me here against my will and forced me to say things, and you're just walking away?"

[Baconwizard]

Samael rolled his eyes at that. "Come now, Allovera. You should follow your... father's example." Samael sighed, looking rather exasperated at this point. So much for this turning out interesting. This vampire was no fun at all. "And I would rather like to avoid getting my face punched in. That would really wreck my day."

[Jaykobell]

It was frustrating when Hamilcar refused to put his foot down. Had Hamilcar not found Allovera here, she would've gone back to him to ask him to beat Samael up. She was too weak to really leave an impact on him, but she knew for a fact Hamilcar could be frighteningly powerful. Not that he fought all the time: in fact, he never fought anybody, and sometimes, it really bothered her.

When Hamilcar tried to lead her away, she struggled a bit, and really, Samael's words didn't make it any better. She looked away and bit her lip before flat out saying, "He's not my dad."

Hamilcar stopped when Allovera said those words. He let the words sink in for a moment, eventually sighing and shaking his head. "We're not going to get into that again," he said quietly, and he once again tried to urge her forward. "This isn't the time for that." This kind of argument wasn't for the public to hear, and he especially didn't want to start on that while Samael was around.

[/weeps I hope this is okay, if you don't know what to reply, just let me know and I can try to like... do something more. ;w;]

[Baconwizard]

Samael chuckled at that, giving Allovera a pitying smile. Poor thing. She didn't realize that the vampire man was the best she'd ever get. As cliche as strained family relationships were, this one was pretty interesting. "Why is that?" Samael asked in response to Hamilcar's words. He tilted his head, taking a step forward, as if he was going to follow the two. "Don't you think you're just avoiding the discussion? You aren't her father, so stop pretending to be one."

[Jaykobell]

It was standard knowledge that personal matters should stay personal. That was to say, while Hamilcar and Allovera did have their issues, they weren't things for the public to hear. They also weren't things for the public to meddle in, in the way Samael was trying to do right then. Those who felt entitled to forcing their opinion into the discussion upset Hamilcar, because those people had no such right to interfere. They didn't know their family situation, they didn't know Hamilcar and Allovera personally, and they just had no sufficient knowledge to have any say in their arguments.

He sighed irritably after Samael was done talking. "I'm not avoiding the question," he retorted, and though he tried to still be decent towards the stranger, he was clearly not in the mood to talk about this with Samael. "This is between me and Allovera, and no one else." Hearing this stranger talk as if he knew better actually got Hamilcar fairly agitated, but for everyone's sake, he was trying to let those comments roll off his back. Replying to those comments would just stir up more conversation, too, so he had to bite his tongue a few times over to keep himself from arguing with the demon. "This is none of your business."

[Baconwizard]

"But what if it isn't just between you two?" Samael said with a sigh, shaking his head at Hamilcar. "If a young girl feels the need to run away from her caretaker, smash a few trashcans, and confide in a complete stranger, then something is fundamentally wrong with your relationship. I mean... that much is obvious to you, right? Do you two even truly care for each other? The father-daughter love you two claim to share feels more like a burdensome responsibility than real affection."

[Jaykobell]

Hamilcar liked to consider himself a patient man, but that demon was hitting all the nerves and smashing them to pieces. He couldn't even describe how those words made him feel, besides enraging him. He'd been bitting his tongue, because this really wasn't Samael's business; the fact the demon was even suggesting that it wasn't between Hamilcar and Allovera... the vampire had no words.

Allovera's expression visibly changed when Samael said those words, but she didn't say anything. She looked away, not sure what to say. She wasn't exactly the best at expressing herself, especially not when it came to these things. She wouldn't call Hamilcar her dad, because he really wasn't. She considered him family, but at the same time, he really wasn't more than just her caretaker.

"You know absolutely nothing," Hamilcar hissed at the demon, narrowing his eyes and gritting his teeth just a little. "I've spent a few years short of a whole century caring for Allovera." His rationality told him it was pointless to explain himself to this demon, but his anger wouldn't give Samael the satisfaction of having the last word. "I always did everything I could to take care of her. My siblings are there for her, and my parents are there for her, and I'm always there for her." She had her faults, he had his own, and they did often argue. There was also the fact Allovera often denied that Hamilcar's family was her own, and while it did hurt his feelings to hear it, he couldn't change her heart.

"She was given to me as a newborn: if she'd been a burden to me, I would've given her up myself." He pushed Allovera behind him then, standing in front of her, and between her and Samael. "I dare you to tell me I don't love her a second time." No, he wasn't the type to fight, nor the type to lecture; he wasn't the type to confront in any way, period. But when it came to Allovera, anyone who doubted his genuine care for her and his willingness to try his best for her got to see his bad side. And if Samael wanted to keep on pushing the issue, then Hamilcar would follow Allovera's suggestion and punch his face in.