Tony had no idea what was going on with Ignis. The whole point of stepping away to talk was so they'd come back as a united front and have their feelings heard. Obviously something had gone wrong here, but he didn't know what exactly that was. He knew he Ignis had been right about Maru and Madoka. He would've done the same thing she had to protect others. He just didn't want anyone, particularly his sweet daughter, to have to do anything to protect him.
Still, they had a situation to defuse. Going into the room, he saw how dejected Maru seemed and upset Mady was. This was his fault, he knew. Coming further into the dining room, he sat down next to them. He thought for a minute about what to say.
"I didn't mean what I said as we were leaving. I'm not- I wouldn't ever actually do that." He glanced back at Ignis, hoping this was helping. "Back home my wife and I built this house in the foothills of a national park in New York. It was a beautiful thing with one of those wrap around porches. Anyway, we would take hikes through the woods and one morning Morgan- my daughter- and I found a nest of abandoned baby birds. Have you ever held a baby bird? They are so fragile and tiny. You'd swear if you looked at them too hard they'd get hurt. Well, we took those birds home and gave them a nest out of a shoe box and did the best we could. Long story short, we managed to not kill them and they were able to fly away eventually.'
"My point is, sometimes it feels like people I care about are like those birds. They're fragile. They're precious. I have a hard time seeing others as strong because I know how easy it is for them to get hurt." He looked at Mady and put an arm around her. "You want to be strong and protect those you love. That's admirable, but what kind of father would I be if my first priority wasn't keeping you safe? I wouldn't be a very good one and I wouldn't be doing my job. Do you understand?"
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Still, they had a situation to defuse. Going into the room, he saw how dejected Maru seemed and upset Mady was. This was his fault, he knew. Coming further into the dining room, he sat down next to them. He thought for a minute about what to say.
"I didn't mean what I said as we were leaving. I'm not- I wouldn't ever actually do that." He glanced back at Ignis, hoping this was helping. "Back home my wife and I built this house in the foothills of a national park in New York. It was a beautiful thing with one of those wrap around porches. Anyway, we would take hikes through the woods and one morning Morgan- my daughter- and I found a nest of abandoned baby birds. Have you ever held a baby bird? They are so fragile and tiny. You'd swear if you looked at them too hard they'd get hurt. Well, we took those birds home and gave them a nest out of a shoe box and did the best we could. Long story short, we managed to not kill them and they were able to fly away eventually.'
"My point is, sometimes it feels like people I care about are like those birds. They're fragile. They're precious. I have a hard time seeing others as strong because I know how easy it is for them to get hurt." He looked at Mady and put an arm around her. "You want to be strong and protect those you love. That's admirable, but what kind of father would I be if my first priority wasn't keeping you safe? I wouldn't be a very good one and I wouldn't be doing my job. Do you understand?"