Elariel's lips quirked up at the corner at Tae'loren's comment and his swift show of affection. If fanned the flames of her desire, and she decided that she was looking forward to having the day over with so that she could have him again that night. Shivers ran down her spine at the thought of all of the<i>wicked</i>things they could do together, but she pushed them aside as they reached the meeting room.<br/><br/>Tae'loren wasted no time upon entry. Within seconds he had begun to talk, addressing her colleagues and proposing a plan with a tentative confidence that in itself was convincing. The others seemed surprised by his directness, but she knew the truth of his opening statement was appreciated; he was right, the last thing they wanted from him was flowery words and puzzling propositions. When he finished speaking there was silence for a few moments gathered their thoughts.<br/><br/>"Wait a second," Aidyn said, eyebrows knitting together with confusion, "What happened to your face?" Five sets of eyes in the room alighted on Elariel and she frowned.<br/><br/>"It happened when we were meeting this morning. I leave, and he was asleep, I return and he was on the floor injured. He says that he tried to follow me out of the room." Elariel watched the disbelief in the eyes of her colleagues.<br/><br/>"You mean that he sustained his injuries as he tried to escape last night?" Solarius asked, his voice skeptical. Elariel rolled her eyes.<br/><br/>"No, I mean what I said. Last night went smoothly. Tae'loren posed no threat to me ta all," Elariel said, "Now we should stop wasting time and consider the proposition he has made. Having someone with detailed inside knowledge would be invaluable. The sooner we can get the information we need, the sooner we can get out of her, the sooner that we and our people can be safe."<br/><br/>"And you think that this ridiculous proposition is the way to go?" Roe'nor's voice was overflowing with distaste.<br/><br/>"I think it is the best chance we've had in a long while," Elariel said with confident nod.<br/><br/>"I agree with Elariel," Tiern said, "but it is risky."<br/><br/>"How do we know that you won't just escape into Wildhammer Stronghold, alert your allies, and return to destroy us?" Neras asked, eyes narrowing on Tae'loren.<br/><br/>"He said he wants Illidan deqad, what quarrel has he with us?" Aidyn asked with a shrug.<br/><br/>"Perhaps his quarrel is that Elariel took him prisoner? Perhaps we pose a risk to his own mission?" Roe'nor suggested as though it were obvious.<br/><br/>"And what if he speaks truly?" Elariel asked, "We all want to go back home... To what is left of it. We are out here for one reason; once we achieve it we can return and put our knowledge to good use. Start helping with the plight to rebuild our race." Elariel's voice was full of enthusiasm for the idea.<br/><br/>"And we are to assume that he will not go to the Stronghold and betray us? Just based on his word. We know what the word of his people is worth," Neras spat. Elariel glared at him with her eyebrows raised.<br/><br/>"Yes, and if we were judged by the actions of our leaders or our history where would that leave us?" Elariel asked, "Since I have captured him, Tae'loren has been nothing but honest and compliant."<br/><br/>"Regardless, what he asks isn't possible. Even if we did agree to it what token would we have? What way would we have to protect ourselves from betrayal?"<br/><br/>"Could I go with you?" Elariel asked, turning to Tae'loren as the others raised their voices in protest. "You would have my word to convince Ae'oleth." Elariel turned back to her colleagues "And if anything goes wrong I will be able to alert you all."<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>