"Take care in skinning that buck, make sure you Tan it correctly." The Ranger ordered as he dropped the 8 point buck off at the tannery. "That hide's going to make me some new clothes and some new boots."

The tanner nodded and knuckled his forehead, "Aye, MiLord Tanner." He turned his head and gestured for his apprentices to carry the buck inside his shop. "If there's any left over?"

Markus gave it a moment's though, "Make me a duster, and a hat, and if there's any left over after that, it's all yours......." He fell silent as he saw Angelica run through the gate. His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched her. He could tell from her motions that she upset and he wondered why.

"MiLord?" The tanner inquired, redrawing the Ranger's attention, "Is that all?"

Markus nodded distractedly. "Yes, that's all." Then without saying anything more, he started walking after his daughter. He would find out what was wrong, and heads would roll if someone had hurt her.

Markus frowned slightly as he approached Angelica's room and heard the almost silent crying. He paused outside her door and peeked inside, and as with father's everywhere, his heart twisted as he saw the tears coursing down her cheeks.
He raised a hand and knocked on the door frame, giving her a moments notice before pushing the door the rest of the way open. "Hey Kiddo. What's wrong?" He crossed to her bed and sat down on the edge.

He wasn't prepared for his daughter to come flying into his arms, and as such, he almost fell off of the bed as he caught her. For a moment, he wobbled back, before leaning forward and settling more firmly on the bed. Instinctively, he softly caressed her back and he gazed into those tear filled eyes.

"No, of course not," He answered, firmly rejecting the idea that anything might be wrong with his little angel. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "You were born with ten fingers, ten toes, and the most beautiful pair of eyes that I've ever seen." He affirmed, "The day you were born and I first saw you, I knew that you would be the most like me. You're independent, brave, and smart."

Then he arched a brow. "Who said that there anything wrong with you? If you tell me who, I'll take that person out into the forest and see if they can find their way back to town."

Markus continued to softly caress her back. "Spoiled? That's not the woman that I trained to hunt and track and bring down a bear." He listened to her and took a deep breath.
"All of those guys are boys, Angel. They don't know what they want." He gently ran his fingers through her hair. "Now, as for your friend that's losing her mind, I'm not a mind healer, and your Kindred friend must work through his or her problems on his or her own. You can't help a confused kindred."
He heard the pain in her voice and simply shook his head.
"My Precious daughter, you don't have to do anything that you don't want to do. Neither your mother nor myself will think any less of you if that school is not what you want." The look in his eyes was that of an understanding father.

His fingers softly caressed her back, then moved to her sides as she snuggled into him. He lowered his head and breathed in her scent, and then slowly exhaled. He almost called her princess, but bit his tongue. Then his mind started turning over the problem.

As he saw it, it was the two parts of her, the young woman and the half-demon that were almost at odds with each other. The young woman in her didn't want to disappoint her family, while the half-demoness in her was burning under this control, and wanted a way to be set free for short times.

In his almost 2100 years, he had seen whole lives torn apart because of the lack of discipline and the yearning to be free. And in his many experiences, he knew of two surefire ways to help Angelica. *But what would she think, or even more, what would Nat think?* He knew what kept Nat's demoness under control, and knew what worked for Nat. *Would Nat let her, even if she wanted to do it?*

He mulled the idea over in his mind, and forgot what he was doing. As he sank deeper into thought, he paused his caressing.

"Hmm?" Mark looked down at Angelica, then shook his head as he made up his mind. "I know what's bothering you, and I know how to help you, but it's not a step taken lightly, and once you've taken it, it can't be undone."

He knew he was being somewhat cryptic, and knew that a bright young woman like her could and would figure it out.

"Angel, my angel," he brushed his fingers through her hair. "You are in contest with yourself. You need control, and I can help you. But, you..." He paused a moment, gazing down at her, "need to get control over your two parts, and the way isn't easy." He gently brushed his fingertips around her neck. "Do you want my help?"

Again he eyed her, almost as if examining her, and just for a second, he pictured her as she could look, and a gentle smile crossed his lips.

Markus was of the old school, and his thought processes came from his own experiences. Being from rome, he had served as a centurian, and after having been embraced, he had become an enforcer of clan laws.
After finding himself on Rhydin, it had just made sense to turn his attention to the finding and taking of Kajira; the elusive, yet beautiful female passion slave.

Natural order, being what it was, dictated that only by submitting to a strong male, could a female be totally and completely free. He had seen it time and time again. When a woman became collared, she usually grew more beautiful and strove to be more pleasing. It was something that Mark had noticed once he had put his mark on Natolii, and it was something that he wondered if it would work on Angelica.

He gazed down at his daughter, he knew what her problem; no it wasn't a problem, it was a matter of attitude, no it wasn't exactley attitude, it was more like a lack of focus. For just an instant, he pictured her in his minds eye, striving to please, and in trying to please, she would learn discipline, and control over her two parts.

He took a slow deep breath, and reached into his belt pouch, and after a second or two of digging around, produced a slim silver choker, with an inscription in ancient romani. He lifted it and showed it to Angelica. "Do you know what this is?"

Markus laid the choker on the bed and stroked her cheek. "Yes, you'd have to submit to someone you can trust not to abuse it." He paused and gazed into her eyes. "There is nothing wrong with submission. It is only when a woman submits totally that she gains freedom." He knew how to explain the feeling, after all, he had had enough women tell him how they felt. "Once a woman knows her place, she doesn't have to fight, she can relax and be herself and know that she can be pleasing." He ran his fingers through her hair. "She also knows that with the submission comes discipline, because if she is displeasing, or someone complains about her, she'll be disciplined."
A slow smile crossed his lips. "If you really want to get control over your two halves, I can collar you and put you under my discipline, until you find your true master." He traced a finger behind her left ear. "As you can see, being bound to me hasn't stopped your mother from doing what she wants to do, it just tempers her temper and makes her think twice before doing something she'll regret."
His fingers brushed down the back of her head, down the back of her neck, and down across her shoulder. "It's up to you, Angel."

He had proven his point, in a weird sort of way. A slight nod and he gathered her close. "Knowing what you want, is half of the battle, honey. Now, we just have to figure out what else you want and need." There were great differences between wants and needs. Wants were luxuries and needs were a matter of life and death.

"You can either run away from your problems or face them head-on." He gazed down at her. "You can either be the strong woman I trained as a ranger, or a distraught teenager. What will it be?"