[ clarisse startles; despite the appearance of maia only shortly before, clarisse hadn't been paying much attention, and the little fox hadn't caught her eye, her gaze too focused on the pen in her hands to notice much of anything else. maybe she shouldn't have let her guard down so much, but when an accidental movement could uncap riptide and have it transform into a sword, it seems like kind of a moot point. she doesn't look up at luke when he speaks, just mumbles an acknowledgement instead. it's clear he recognizes the pen — why wouldn't he? — but what exactly clarisse is going to do with it she still hasn't figured out. ]
[ she does finally look up at him, then, tearing her eyes away from riptide to stare at luke with an expression that reads something like why would i do that? with a shake of her head, ] I hadn't planned on it. [ honestly, she hasn't planned on using it ever, to stab anyone or anything. but they aren't here to talk about riptide or percy, so she shrugs and shoves the pen back into her pocket like it doesn't mean anything at all, even though it means more than she can conceivably put into words. she nods toward maia, a slight grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. ] Guess that's who you were yelling at earlier. [ but small talk isn't really why she's here, either. ]
[ she brings a hand to her neck, rubbing idly over the scar that still decorates her skin. ] But, like I said, I need to ask you something important. [ she sucks in a breath, then, ] Ridire tasked me to put together a team of elite shardbearers for the upcoming battle or maybe indefinitely, I don't know. I just — [ she hesitates, staring at maia for a moment before she looks back up to luke ] — I know I'd like you to be on it. [ despite all their conflict and differences, luke's saved her ass more times than she ever deserved from him; he's had her back even when she would have more likely stabbed him in his than look out for him. it's not exactly out of trust that she comes to luke (trust is complicated), but there is a certain kind of respect for everything he's done for her that has her standing before him today offering him a place on her team — a team of equals, because a leader is only as good as their followers, right? ] It's your choice: yes or no.
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[ she does finally look up at him, then, tearing her eyes away from riptide to stare at luke with an expression that reads something like why would i do that? with a shake of her head, ] I hadn't planned on it. [ honestly, she hasn't planned on using it ever, to stab anyone or anything. but they aren't here to talk about riptide or percy, so she shrugs and shoves the pen back into her pocket like it doesn't mean anything at all, even though it means more than she can conceivably put into words. she nods toward maia, a slight grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. ] Guess that's who you were yelling at earlier. [ but small talk isn't really why she's here, either. ]
[ she brings a hand to her neck, rubbing idly over the scar that still decorates her skin. ] But, like I said, I need to ask you something important. [ she sucks in a breath, then, ] Ridire tasked me to put together a team of elite shardbearers for the upcoming battle or maybe indefinitely, I don't know. I just — [ she hesitates, staring at maia for a moment before she looks back up to luke ] — I know I'd like you to be on it. [ despite all their conflict and differences, luke's saved her ass more times than she ever deserved from him; he's had her back even when she would have more likely stabbed him in his than look out for him. it's not exactly out of trust that she comes to luke (trust is complicated), but there is a certain kind of respect for everything he's done for her that has her standing before him today offering him a place on her team — a team of equals, because a leader is only as good as their followers, right? ] It's your choice: yes or no.