"I'm sorry," Valdis replied, her tone soft, "I didn't mean it like that."

She shifted in her chair to cross one leg over the other, "I don't remember anything of my life before becoming a Hound. So my only memories of my father are from when he first tried to kill me, when I encountered him during my Shadow Test, and a few nights ago when he tried to kill me again." She tipped her head, "He may have loved me once, before I lost my soul, but now he only considers me monster that must be destroyed. I'm not sure there's any coming back from that."