She didn't have to go for her weapon, she had held it in her hands, ready to use, ever since she had climbed out of her tree, and that wouldn't change, either. If she had to, she'd slice herself open, and she made sure the distance between them was always more than enough to give her the time she needed to do that. When he approached, she moved away, carefully, away from him, away from the others, maintaining exactly the same space between his body and hers that had always been there.<br/><br/>She was calm, very aware of the forest around her, the sweet night air, the beating of her heart. She didn't want to die, but she might, this time, she might. Who'd have thought she'd do this, do it for other people, not even sure it would really be enough to keep them safe? Why did she let herself get that attached to them all, and when, when had that happened? Their faces, their voices, that little bit of home they had built for themselves, it all was there, now, and it all felt worth protecting, by all, by any means.<br/><br/>"Can't take you to my people. Not you, not your team. The people she's with have cared for her for six whole years, you'll have to trust them to do so a little longer. For I won't betray my people." She licked her lips and offered a compromise, one she hated, but the only one she could see he might accept. "I'll stick around, on that mission. I'll send them a message to bring Jasmine out, to a place you determine, at a time you decide. After the mission. When you survive, you'll have your daughter to take home." She waited, let him consider the offer, always making sure to keep far enough from him for her desperate, final plan. Then, once more, she tried to appeal to the loving father that must or should be, somewhere within him.<br/><br/>"It'd be cruel to her, if you'd see her now. What if you don't come back? It'll destroy her. Even if you just see her and then leave again, without her - she knows how often people don't come back, she's scared every time one of us leaves. You - if you show up and then leave, or die on her, she couldn't deal with that, she's a just a kid, and she's seen far too much of this. You - you're her vision of 'all will be well'. Don't take that from her. Meet her only when you're about to leave with her. For her sake, think about it, please." She had tried hard to sound her usual matter of fact self, but emotions had sneaked into her voice, she hadn't even noticed, but she had sounded pained, pleading, protective. No mistaking that she cared, and how much so, for Jasmine.