Kaleeth did take some time to consider Tunxeek's suggestion, but she evidently decided against the patient approach. His words had been just enough to push past the barrier of fear, and coax her into drinking. She downed it all at once, as there was not too much in the bowl, and it did not require a great deal of the sap to have the desired result. 

What went on within Kaleeth's mind lasted several minutes, and was completely hidden from the outside world. The words which the Hist had for her came in the form of thoughts and feelings, though her outward expression did not paint a consistent picture of how they were affecting her. There was confusion, and even a light smile at some points, but after her experience was over, what she eventually settled on was to sit with her legs pulled up to her chest, sobbing into her hands.

[hr]

"Well, being dangerous is why I want him with us." Ahnasha replied, lightly shrugging. "As long as he is dangerous towards the enemy. Perhaps if we just frame it as an offer, he won't feel as threatened. Marod is a diplomat, he knows how to talk to people. We could even offer to pay him, so it doesn't seem like we're just trying to demand favors from him. Of course,  before we can tell him anything specific, he'll need to agree to be sworn to secrecy, but again, Marod might be able to help with that."

Ahnasha paced around for a few seconds in thought, then eventually lowered her arms and gestured towards the door. "Look, we can go back and forth arguing and speculating about it all day, or we could just go out there, get your mother, and have a private talk with her. We can see if she'll agree to be sworn to secrecy, and get her take on it. She knows your father better than you do, and she'll know what might work on him, or if he'll even be useful at all. I don't think I am, but I suppose I [i]could[/i] be overestimating him."