"Before I begin, I want to make something clear when we talk about your irregular forces, Commander Tausau," Ashlynn said, addressing the elder vampire as a commander even though he had yet to accept the title.
Her father had often said that when you spoke as if a decision had already been made, by the time you asked them to formally make the decision, their minds had already been shaped to accept the outcome you desired. While it felt slightly underhanded to use such a technique on one of their own allies, in this case, she felt more like she was helping Tausau to overcome his own lack of confidence rather than manipulating him against his own interests.
