A blessing of age was typically wisdom, and Tae'loren cherished such an attribute. He listened intently to Elariel as she gently touched his body, especially tender in the areas that appeared to be hurt the most, and he silently chastised himself for being so foolish. Yes, his intentions were good, but he just realized, at her mention of the others suspecting the necessity for her to use force, they may separate them all together, and that would be detrimental to his plan to, hopefully, get her, and any others, away from the ethical confines they struggled in.<br/><br/>He turned his head, making affectionate eye contact with his elven lover, and swiftly turned his whole body, strong arms sweeping around her waist and guiding her into his lap. It was not an attempt to make love again, but rather to hold her, to tell her with his eyes that he'd made a mistake, a possibly grave one, in inflicting such harm upon himself.<br/><br/>“I'm sorry, Elariel. I wasn't thinking about the situation; I was thinking about your safety. Sadly, in all of my experience, I overlooked the simplest fact that they are also concerned for your safety, and the fact that I have posed a potential threat will put them on alert.” He looked away from her for a moment, as though he were a child being rebuked, then looked back up. “Forgive me?”<br/><br/>Tae'loren actually managed a smile for Elariel, enjoying the feel of the female elf in his arms and on his lap again. Her intimate proximity soothed the hunter and helped to structure his thoughts, helping him to prioritize his purpose. He knew there would be no persuading Roe'nor or Neras; they were too far gone in their prejudice, Solarius was still an undecided-upon factor, though he knew, should he convince Elariel to join him, Aidyn and Teirn may follow, which would make Tae'loren quite happy.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>