"Perhaps, if worthy allies you would make," she agrees, gesturing vaguely with one clawed hand. Her eight legs shift a little beneath her, idly.

If she had eyebrows, they would lift, but it's really more like a slight upward twitch of her eight eyes all at once. "Is it aggression to stop trespassers from entering your territory? From potentially threatening your caverns and your creatures, your people? Two were released to carry a message and the rest held on my orders, yes, but they were treated well enough. My predecessor would have killed them outright."

Clearly the Matriarch feels she is the more progressive sort.