"You good kid?" Clarissa looked up to see Daryl had stopped his walking, his eyes on her. She nodded softly before seeing that his eyes squinted, his gaze telling he could see past her lies. Daryl let out a sigh, shaking his head. "It's alright if you ain't, god knows you been through some shit. Ain't nothin' wrong with needing a break." Clarissa let out a sharp exhale that could have been mistaken for a laugh. "I'm used to not having one. Being Commander, it was one thing after another." She paused for a moment before speaking once more. "Guess that's what a modern day Joan of Arc must go through, right?" Daryl let out a soft chuckle before looking to the girl. He nodded his head softly before she caught up to him, the two of them continuing to walk. "So you heard us." Clarissa cocked her head to the side, nodding slightly. "A bit, although I guess I should thank you. You defended me against your people, even if it was just about a title." Daryl shook his head, surprising her. "It ain't just a title, it shows that you're stronger than a lotta people. I think Rick and Deanna are too scared to see anyone do what they can do." Clary raised an eyebrow, looking to the man. "And you're not?"
Daryl shook his head once again, the two walking down the asphalt before he took a turn in the opposite direction towards the infirmary. Clary didn't question it, finding herself intrigued by the man when she saw the scars peeking from behind his vest. It was at that moment that she realized why he defended her. Why he didn't seem to believe she was dangerous. "You know." Daryl nodded. "Yeah, I know." His head turned to face her. "But I ain't Deanna, that shit she pulled wasn't right. You ain't gotta talk about your life to anyone, specially not some people you just met."
Clary found herself smiling softly, her mind racing before she spoke. "I got caught a couple times, usually by smaller groups. They wanted what Solaris could offer, goods, weapons, people, and they were willing to do anything to take it. One group had been stalking Solaris when they saw me head out on my own, whipped me with a leather strip to get some information out of me." Even just rembembering it, Clary could hear the cries of pain she had let out. She had been weak back then, unable to hold the sounds of pain but just strong enough to keep the information to herself.
"The second time I was on a run, we had sent them out of Solaris because they had been stealing. I was Commander at the time, so I was the root of their anger. They used a thin branch and hit me with it. It was only two people so I had to kill them to get away." She could remember seeing the life fading from their eyes, feel the whips against her skin. She had been able to control her pained noises better, but it had still been a lot to endure. But what she didn't mention was the smaller scars dotting her back, or the larger cuts, both reminders of what she had faced that night in the home. That night with him.
Daryl looked at the girl, intrigued. "Well, they were stupid thinking they could take you on. Badass like you, I'd hate to be your enemy, Jo." Clary raised an eyebrow. "Jo?" Clary questioned, causing the man to nod. "Mhm, modern day Joan of Arc, ya know? And your middle name, it's fitting." Daryl looked to the girl, the ghost of a smile playing on both their faces. Silence ensued before he started naming off different places, most notably the armory and where they stored supplies.
They ended up in a small open area of Alexandria, Clary confused until she heard the neigh of a horse. As she turned the corner, she saw Montu in a fenced in area, which she assumed they had kept horses in yet it was empty except for her own. She couldn't help but rush towards him, his eyes on her as she placed a hand on his head. "Hey, buddy. God, I missed you." He made a small grunt in response, Clary hearing Daryl as he neared. She faced towards him, so confused as to why he'd been so kind. Clary didn't know how to respond, surprised at the kindness. "Thank you." Daryl only shrugged. "Thought you'd need some kinda comfort. Although, you might wanna watch getting blood on him." Clary looked at Daryl confusedly before she saw his eyes on her hands. She brought them to her view and saw that her right palm was still bleeding slightly from where she had dug her nails into her skin. She was surprised when he held out a dirty bandana, allowing her to take it before she wrapped it around her hand. With a silent understanding, Clary said goodbye to her horse, happy to know she knew where he was in order to escape. But as she walked back towards the infirmary with Daryl, she almost wanted to stay. Although the people of Alexandria were scared, people like Daryl, Maggie and Glenn didn't seem to be afraid to get closer to her to understand her.
Their walk was interrupted when they noticed Glenn walking in with a group of other people. She could feel the tension from where she stood, not reacting until she saw another man square up to Glenn. As they watched the scene unfold, Daryl looked back at her. "Come on." Clary nodded before she followed Daryl, the two standing close together as they approached. A crowd began to gather as Glenn and the man stared off at each other. She began to listen to their words, the man being threatening towards Glenn. "You obey my orders." Glenn clenched his jaw. "Well then we're just as screwed as your last run crew." The other man squinted his eyes, anger apparent on his features as he made his way closer. "Say that again." Clary saw the man facing against Glenn shove him, Clary stepping forward as anger coursed through her veins. If there was one thing she knew, it was that no pain in her body could stop her from fighting. She had no idea why she felt defensive for the Korean man, but as she thought of how he had actually stayed by her side and defended bringing her in, she knew she had to repay him in some way.
"Come on tough guy." The man, Aiden, shoved into Glenn again, who only shook his head as he took the shove. "No one's impressed man. Walk away." Clary's attention was taken away as Deanna rushed forward. "Aiden! What is going on?" The man looking angrily at Glenn only shook his head. "This guys got a problem with the way we do things." Aiden turned to Deanna, Clary seeing the authority in her gaze different from what she had used when interviewing her. It was the look, only partially familiar, that she realized it was the look of a mother scolding a son. "Why'd you let these people in?" Glenn shrugged his shoulders. "Because we actually know what we're doing out there." In a quick second, Aiden turned around to throw a punch at Glenn, causing Clary to rush forward. Glenn easily dodged the attack before punching him square in the nose.
Towards her side, Clary noticed a curly haired man dropping his bag with anger etched into his features. With her close proximity, she was quick to take out his legs from under him, knocking his face first to the floor. As he flipped around to look at who had taken him down, a flash of recognition passed over his eyes. In her confusion at the look, she hadn't noticed Daryl move besides her. She looked to Daryl momentarily, his eyes meeting hers before he gave the girl a nod of assurance. Clary moved away from him, allowing the man to utilize the anger she saw he held to hold down the other man. "Clary—" She backed away with Glenn calling her name, seeing Rick and Carl come from the main entrance. Rick ran towards Daryl, whispering incoherently in his ear. Clary caught the eyes of Carl for a moment, his gaze holding surprise before she looked away.
Clary stood, watching the scene until she heard an angry voice sound from close by. "You do that shit again, kid, you—" Clary looked up to see Aiden making his way to her, stopping only as a yell sounded. "Aiden!" Clary met Aiden's gaze as he looked at her, anger prominent in his eyes. She held her head higher, her jaw clenched. She knew the type of man he was, feeling better and stronger than all the rest. And there he was, threatening her, seeing her as nothing. But she had dealt with too many men like him, so she only kept his glare. He clenched his jaw before turning to Deanna. "We don't know shit about her! And then she comes and knocks a grown man on his ass—" Clary stepped forward, clenching her fist. "You should watch it before you're next—" Clary felt a hand on her shoulder before turning to her side to see it was Glenn holding her back. She clenched her jaw, noticing that Deanna watched her with intrigued eyes before turning to the people that had gathered around. "I want everyone to hear me, okay? Rick and his people are a part of this community now, and that includes Clarissa. They are a part of our community, as equals!" She paused for a moment, looking at everyone to make sure they had registered her words. "Understood?" Deanna let silence follow before she turned towards her son, her glare so strong Clary could even feel it without receiving it. Aiden looked between both Glenn and Clarissa, nodding hesitantly. "Understood." Deanna nodded, pleased at the agreement. "All of you, turn in your weapons. Then you two, come talk to me."
Without a second word, Aiden and his friend nodded. Clary noticed that the curly haired man's eyes stayed on her, almost in a glare, before he turned away. She clenched her jaw, remembering the look of familiarity that he had held when first seeing her. She felt a presence come beside her, looking toward it to see Daryl stand beside her. "Good job taking him down, Jo." He gave her a pat on the shoulder before she noticed he sent a glare towards Rick, almost disbelief, before he grabbed his crossbow from the ground and walked away. As Clary turned back around, she noticed Deanna looking between her and Glenn with a smile. "Thank you." Clary looked at the woman confusedly, Glenn voicing both of their obvious confusion. "For what?" Clary was surprised as a smile painted the woman's face. "Knocking Aiden and Nicholas on their asses." Clary nodded softly, acknowledging that the curly haired man that had given her the strange look was Nicholas. Glenn looked at her quickly, giving her a small nod before heading off to go turn in his weapon. Deanna then focused on her, her smile fading slightly. "I'm sorry for how I spoke to you, Clarissa, it was uncalled for." Clary only nodded, accepting the apology.
After a moment, Deanna spoke once more. "You should get back to the infirmary, make sure your wounds haven't opened up again. I'll need to borrow Maggie, do you know your way?" Deanna questioned, leading Clary to nod her head. "Yes, I'll be fine." With her answer, Deanna walked away, Maggie giving one last look to Clary before following the orange haired woman. As she thought she was alone, Clary heard footsteps hearing her. As she looked up, she noticed Carl had made his way closer to her, until he saw her cold glare. "You don't like me, do you?"
It was the first time Clary truly listened to his voice, not in the haze of her terror like in the infirmary but truly hearing it, clear and true. To say she was surprised was an understatement. She had been so used to the deeper, colder voice that had belonged to the boy she was supposed to love. But Carl's was softer, quieter even. But that didn't mean he wasn't exactly like him. "I don't even know you." And with that, Clary walked away from the boy, not knowing that he held a small smile at the fact that she had even spoken to him.