5.
What does Robin think is Julian's greatest flaw?
His
reservation. Though Robin certainly understands the need for it,
given his rat bastards of a family, she wishes her father could have
found another way.
Robin is absolutely and completely devoted to her father. Her
love for her father is so intense that sometimes it threatens to
overwhelm her. At those times, Julian's reservation becomes an
enormous threat as well as being a major pain in the butt. His
distance and reticent speech are absolutely maddening when Robin is
needing affection or affirmation from her father.
Things that Julian is not always able to supply. When he is,
Robin's world is lit with golden happiness. When he's not,
well... the rest of the Rangers have learned to occupy themselves
elsewhere as violence is imminent from Julian's youngest, as Robin
flails against the fear that she isn't enough for her father, that
she's done something wrong or is in some other way a disappointment.
Even more so, Robin hates what her father's reservation is doing to
him. Robin has seen her father's eyes alight with passion on a
hunt. She has felt his warmth and love in the kisses on her
forehead. She has experienced his nurturing nature in the care of
Arden and his desire to 'father' in the creation of his hawks and
hounds. She has seen his dedication in the patrolling of the
marked places, his loyalty to Arden, his belief in Amber.
But Julian never speaks of love or admits to joy or gives himself over
to passion. Always, always he hides behind the armor of
practicality and Machiavellian paranoia. And it kills him a
little more each year. Robin is scared that someday, the armor
might be all that's left of her father.
So she's made it her life's goal to keep the laughter in his heart, to
make sure that his eyes are still capable of tears or of widening in
amazement. To make sure that anger rips through his soul.
Or pity. Or love. Joy, exultation, fear, rage.
Anything and everything. Robin breaks through Julian's emotional
armor whenever possible just to make sure that her beloved father knows
that he is still alive.
Now, for an jaded old bastard like Julian that can take some doing, but
Robin figures she's just the idiot for the job.
