The expression on the Faun’s fine features was one that Shinsou had seen before. They had both been through countless life-and-death situations; some they had fought through together, and others more recently that they had fought against each other. The Telgradian recognised the pure and total confidence in her eyes and knew she would not have her voice suppressed, nor her questions dodged, but she wasn’t the problem in the room.

He suddenly found himself irritated by the repeated questioning from Sir Percy, who hadn’t let him get a word in edgeways since he had opened his mouth. Shinsou had only been in his presence a short while, but had already adjudged the man to be an Assembly box ticker, unable to see the bigger picture of what was going on and only concerned with achieving the Assembly’s political objectives. Osiris, drinking from his cup of water, fought to stifle a frown. He doubted that it’d do him any good in front of an already apprehensive Philomel.

Besides, he had more pressing issues to deal with.

“If I may address some of the ‘concerns’, your honourable friend Sir Percy has, and then I’ll answer you directly?” He spoke in polite reply to the Faun, inclining his head in cautious courtesy but never taking his eyes off her. She nodded, and he glared over at the man who had been gunning relentless questions at him.

“To your first question, Sir Percy, about Storm Veritas. I cannot make this any more clear than I already have – I can’t speak for a man who is not here. What I can do is confirm that upon his return I will sit with him and run through the details, and we will try to be as unobstructive to the armistice terms as possible.” Shinsou coughed, attempting to mask his annoyance. “He travels to find Arius alone; there is no point wasting lives or alerting him to our presence by sending a detachment out. Storm is powerful enough to handle himself. I do, however, have grave concerns about Arius, which brings me to Philomel’s question.”

Shinsou had attempted to calm the mood by offering as much as he could without committing Storm to signing away Tylmerande, but knew that the reason behind Philomel’s and the Assembly’s uncharacteristic tension wouldn’t just go away. They wanted to deal with Arius as quickly as possible to get them out of Tylmerande, not because they recognised the threat he offered having gone rogue. The grimace on the Telgradian’s face sent a bead of sweat down the man’s spine, even as his mind raced in search of a resolution. Mites of dust swirled about as Philomel studied him in return, the confident set of the hips and the look on her face - attractive in a way.

“I can’t overstate the threat we are dealing with. Even if Arius had taken no soldiers, he would still be a huge threat. He is, at best, on par with everyone in this room,” Shinsou gestured around, “At worst? Possibly more than we can deal with, even together. Sending a few volunteers out from the Lily will achieve nothing, and will waste otherwise precious resources. If we’re going to tackle the issue, I suggest we do so once we have a solid plan, and I’ve had some time to heal.”

The look he saw Percy give Philomel made it clear that the other side of the negotiating table had not lowered their suspicions; just set them aside for the moment. Raine also seemed to relax a little, the relief on her face palpable in the way blood rushed back into pale white. Shinsou didn’t blame her; he felt much the same way himself.

There was one more matter to attend to.

“I hear you want to take me back with you?” he asked the faun, “I will come as soon as my personal effects are loaded on the wagons and Slepnir is fed and watered. If there are no other items of business, I suggest we start making a move, agreed?”

There was a murmur of concurrence that rippled throughout the hastily convened conference. An attendant turned and lead the parties towards the inner part of the building, to two private rooms there that would allow each delegation to sit and talk in peace with their own whilst preparations were being made.