Father and daughter

Just like what? Malalia frowned slightly, wondering what this tough lesson was, and why her father was beset with a sudden heaviness. She might’ve vaguely expected him to admonish her friendship with the man, but that didn’t make much sense — she wasn’t the only one with a friendship outside of the pack, was she? So when Sirius mentioned romance, she couldn’t help but go stiff with utter surprise. It took a good few heartbeats to gather her words. “I — you — um, I really think you’ve got the wrong idea here,” she stuttered, rising to her paws. “Cairo and I are friends, that’s all...”

As smitten as she was with the Valhallan, it hadn’t yet occurred to her that her feelings for him might’ve been anything besides platonic. The young wolf had never even had a crush before, and had previously lumped in that whole idea of romance with marriage and babies — and she wasn’t ready for either of those things. No, growing into her rank and hanging out with her friends were about her two biggest pursuits right now.

Of course she cared for Cairo, and wanted to spend her time with him, that was plainly obvious. That’s what friends were for.

And bringing him into the Armada? That was just something else, and she couldn’t help but bark with incredulous laughter. “That’s — he’d never leave Valhalla anyway. He’s worked too hard to just up and leave." She shook her head. Conflict of interest, he says. He's clueless. Reading into things that weren't there. "Just because I've got a male friend doesn't mean I like him. You don't have anything to worry about."