As Erik took a few seconds to switch from domineering Daddy to wholesome father, Alice felt the silence drag on.
"Dad?" she asked again, her voice now tinged with both concern and impatience. This time, she used a moniker that was uncomfortably closer to the 'bad word' Erik never wanted to hear from her. Still, it wasn't the same word, so he'd come to live with it.
Erik coughed and quickly finished his compartmentalisation. "Y— Yes! Alice, sweety! What can I do for you?" he asked, smiling as he sent warm emotions through their bond.
"Weren't you secluding yourself until your breakthrough?" he continued before she could answer, then immediately became excited. "Don't tell me you already reached second rank?! I'm so proud of you!"
As he talked to Alice through their bond, he hurried along the palace hallways, wanting to get just a little further away from Leia…
