Colin was disappointed with exactly to what ends that the character before him was willing to go to be stubborn out of spite, but at least he was satisfied that he was willing to stay.

His eyes drifted to the side momentarily before narrowing them in thought. It took Colin a moment to answer, as there was nothing that he had been taught to recite granted what kind of a father he might be, once that day happened to come around. Colin didn't see himself getting anywhere near that level of a relationship, but it was a good question for Alex to ask him. He nodded softly, after deciding what it was he was going to tell him.

"When it comes time for me to have a Son, he'll have the choice to become Deputy Defender; much in the same way I always had that OPTION. If he wants to smith, let him smith; if he wants to bake, let him bake -- but if he want to protect and serve the Ordana Province the way our family has for generations -- I wouldn't be able to rest knowing that I didn't teach him every trick I've used to keep my eyes open and blood in my body. If I let someone take my father's place, green as the valley grass -- I'd feel like I was dropping a summer child into a hungry dragon's open maw,"

The boy rolled his shoulders, balling his fists as his fists as an indignant frown formed under his troubled eyes. Eventually, he decided that he'd conclude with, "... so if that makes him a 'bad person,' I guess it must run in the family."

He rolled his eyes and glanced away from Alex. Did he really need to be so particular to make his point? Was everything always so clear cut, specific, and direct with him? Colin was finding it extremely difficult to maintain his temper; as he let the sass slip once again.

"Okay, you know what? YES. I'd let my kid stress out. You know why? Because policing is stressful. Combat is stressful. WAR -- is stressful. There's a lot of things that a person needs to fight, that don't have a face... and sometimes don't have a body."

The boy wagged his finger at Alex again, scolding him particularly, "If your philosophy of war is 'keep calm and carry on,' you're going to find yourself in a lot of situations where that doesn't work. If you never have a fight with who you are in the inside -- if you never face yourself, and figure out how you can conquer your own mind -- you'll just end up like some drunkard sell-sword who couldn't fight his way out of a bad habit."

His brows furrowed as he squinted with disdain through his bangs, adding on, "You think anyone with half a brain WANTS to be violent? You think that death and killing makes any sense outside the scope of hunting for food or self defense? Hm? Your 'morally superior answer' to creatures hunting you down and killing you in your own homes -- is hunting them down and killing them in their own homes? Oh yeah; a real insightful, diplomatic answer there."

Colin's arms flew out behind his back like a goose rearing its wings to appear larger. "My dad trains me how to respond to an ambush and come out on top -- and that happens to come with a little bit of paranoia -- because guess what, 'creatures that want to kill you' encompasses most of the planet, smart-ass. So if my kid needs to know the truth that Hyrule is a sodden place to live, and sheds a few tears about it -- big whoop, everyone has to go through that at some point. Get over your little delusion that war can ever end at the hands of man."