Elariel's breath caught in her throat as Tae'loren stalked towards Tiern. He had excused himself from the conversation obviously, so she doubted she wanted to hurt him, but the tension was palpable as he withdrew a sharp blade from the folds of his clothing.<br/><br/>"What are you doing?" Roe'nor called out after him, rising to his feet just as Tae'loren knelt before the wreck of the crocolisk. He picked up the body of the creature with ease and then took it outside. AS he did the others watched on in awe.<br/><br/>"Did you know he had that knife?" Neras spat, looking at Elariel.<br/><br/>"Of course," Elariel lied, shocked. She looked back to Neras and saw him roll his eyes. Her response was too fored, to slow, it was obvious she had lied.<br/><br/>"You spent hours alone with him in his room and still have no idea of the weapons he caries on his person?" Neras pushed, Elariel gritted her teeth.<br/><br/>"You spent hours alone with him in your room?" It was Solarius' turn to  look appalled. Elariel crossed her arms over her chest and fixed him with an unimpressed glare.<br/><br/>"Well done Elariel!" Aidyn piped up, adding his comedic input to the group. Even though Elariel would normally get annoyed at such ridiculous insinuation, in this situation it did lighten the mood slightly.<br/><br/>"Well I wasn't going to leave him here with Roe'nor and Neras." Aidyn gave Elariel a concessional nod as she spoke.<br/><br/>"Perhaps you should have so we could have dealt with this situation properly," Roe'nor spoke as he kept his eyes carefully schooled on Tae'loren. Elariel looked at her captive once more and was impressed with the careless ease he displayed as he flayed the creature. His knife strokes were as beautiful as they were concerning; effortlessly graceful for something that could turn so sinister.<br/><br/>"Well we clearly disagree about how to deal with this situation."<br/><br/>Elariel's statement cut through the room and was followed my a murmur of agreement.<br/><br/>"He can skin a beast, I vote he stays. I'm sick of struggling with that task," Tiern said, wiping his hands on a damp cloth as he joined them in a ring around the fire.<br/><br/>"Yes, and he looks fantastic in leather. I say he stays," Aidyn added. Even though he was open to the situation, his voice was tinged with sarcasm.<br/><br/>"I just don't see how he can help us." Roe'nor's voice was still firm. Elariel looked into his eyes and could see that he would stubbornly stick to his assumption.<br/><br/>"He has gotten into the Temple. We need to get into the Temple. He could be a guide and he might also have information about Illidan we could use," Elariel's voice was filled with exasperation. Every male in the barn was incredibly intelligent; she shouldn't have needed to spell it out.<br/><br/>"He is too dangerous to us and our mission," Neras said curtly, glaring at the Night Elf through the open barn doors.<br/><br/>"I disagree. Perhaps he could be useful. Elariel was right; we have been trying the same methods and getting nowhere. We need to explore other avenues," Tiern spoke with an apologetic look to Roe'nor and Neras.<br/><br/>"I am fine with exploring avenues, just not ones that could turn on us or sell us out," Roe'nor snapped, annoyed at the insinuation that he wasn't open to change or innovation. That was a constant debate within their team. Elariel knew well how stubborn the oldest members of their group were.<br/><br/>"You can't just assume that he wants to kill us because he is a Night Elf Hunter," Elariel sighed.<br/><br/>"And you can't just assume that he wont because you think he wont," Roe'nor returned, his response as rapid as crossbow bolt.<br/><br/>Elariel rolled her eyes. She watched as Tae'loren was lost in his task. He had almost finished skinning the creature and she wondered what he would say when he returned. At the very least he was proving that he had weapons that he was not immediately intending to use against them, and he did them a great favour by skinning and gutting the creature. Had he not taken over from Tiern, the crocolisk would have been reduced to much and they would have lost a unneccesary amount of good meat in the process.<br/><br/>"I say we see what he wants in return." Aidyn's contribution came with a shrug. Solarius and Tiern nodded in agreement, and Roe'nor and Neras knew better than to push it.<br/><br/>"And what if he does stay, where would he sleep? We can't leave him unsupervised, and our quarters are too cramped as they are. It is just too impractical."<br/><br/>Neras was right about that; all five of the males were taking up all of the available floor space in the other bedroom of the cottage. Elariel had offered to share on more than one occassion, but each had refused on the ridiculous premise if impropriety. Part of her wasn't too disappointed though, she liked having the privacy and room to spread out.<br/><br/>"He could stay with me," Elariel offered.<br/><br/>To her surprise the suggestion was met with a outbreak of laughter.<br/><br/>"What?" She asked, eyebrows furrowing. Elariel's chest clenched in anger as she felt like a small child who'd brought home a stray kitten, parents laughing because the child had no idea of the responsibilities of keeping a pet.<br/><br/>"That's ridiculous." Solarius, always the one to reflect the highest social values.<br/><br/>"Well it makes sense. You don't have the room, I do. Plus, if he gets up and decides to do some midnight murdering, it will only be me that he has to kill to escape" Elariel said the last part jokingly, but she knew it was a genuine concern to Roe'nor and Neras in particular.<br/><br/>"There are worse things than murder."<br/><br/>At Tiern's comment the mood in the room turned dark once more. Elariel remembered the way they had found 's body. She knew what had been done to that. She knew that there were things that some beings could do to others that would make death seem like mercy.<br/><br/>"Yes, and you also know that I value my own life," Elariel said solemly, concentrating on sending a dash of magic into her Frost Armour to make it shine in the firelight. It was still there, as strong as it was when she had cast it. She would be able to sustain it at night when she slept if need be. It would be enough to slow Tae'loren and wake her if need be. Though she honestly doubted she would need it.<br/><br/>"As do we, but even if he stays that idea is not acceptable," Neras cut her off and raised a hand to ward off argument. Elariel ignored his patronizing gesture.<br/><br/>"Yes, well, that decision is not up to you. Unless you have any better suggestions that is what I intend to do. I don't trust you or Roe'nor on a watch."<br/><br/>It was then that Tae'loren reentered the room and pinned the skinned crocolisk to the wall with a dull thud. When he returned to the fire and made his demands the group waited in silence for a few moments.<br/><br/>"Well, that seems fair," Aidyn said with a shrug. Tiern agreed, and so did Solarius (albiet grudginly). Roe'nor and Neras remained stubborn.<br/><br/>"What is that purpose?" Roe'nor asked, glaring at the Night Elf. The fact that he asked mean that, with the majority of the group in favour, there was a high chance that Tae'loren would be staying with them. "And how do we know we can trust you?"<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>