Elijah had been watching Ruby as he mulled over how best to approach her. For some people, conversation was like fine wine; it needed to be steeped, swirled, indulged with the nose before it ever reached the throat. To swallow without the rigorous ceremony was pure, unadulterated sacrilege. Others, like Elijah—like Ruby, if he had the right of it—knew precisely what they wanted and what they wanted out of a conversation was the bare-bone fact, and spare them the pointless drivel.
"You," he answered poignantly, straightening up with a parting stroke to the horse's face. In his world, vampires and witches (the ones willing, anyway) had a long-standing record of symbiotic relation maintained throughout history. He was under no illusion that the same partnership would be achieved this night. In fact, unlike his previous accomplice, Jonas, he was not inclined to trust the demon-witch any further than he could see her. Even so, from what power hierarchy he could make out, witches remained a potent force and few in numbers. Angels were possibly at the top, but he doubted from his viewing of their home world that they would involve themselves in this matter... Unless the battle was brought to their doorsteps, but that was only a contingency of contingencies and not a card he would casually lay out into play.
In any case, Klaus would covet such power, which meant that it would be to his advantage in more ways than one to enlist them before it ever came down to that—especially the ones with a pliable moral code. It was an easy leap from serving one Devil to another. Worst case, he'd be keeping his friends close and his enemies closer.
"I'm afraid I have you at a disadvantage. I know of you, yet you know so little of me. I am Elijah, and I want what you want," he explained, ambling toward her. "More specifically, I want what everyone wants, that is, to survive. Unfortunately, there is a great threat originating from my world. My old boss, you could say. I am here merely as a precautionary measure. He has a taste for witches, you see. Demons as well, no doubt, had they been common creatures in our world. I am almost certain that he will offer you a deal. And since we're laying it out in the open, I am more than certain that you will jump at the chance, if it meant saving your own skin. But take it from someone who's worked with him for a millennia and a half—he will use you, but you will never be a partner, a friend or an ally. He will use you and when you've outlived your usefulness, he will condemn you to the same fate as the rest of us... And then who will be left to help you?"
"The group can achieve what no man alone can. I do not trust you. I do trust your sense of self-preservation. And so," he continued, palms open in a gesture of candour. "I wish to preempt his deal with one of my own."