Clary looked at the home as it loomed in front of her, unsure of whether she was making the right decision to stay. Of course, Deanna had been having her on house-arrest for the weeks she had been healing in the infirmary, usually having someone watching over her to make sure she didn't back out on her promise to Deanna to not run. Luckily, it was usually Glenn or Maggie watching over her, which made her a little more comfortable. "You okay?" Clary turned as Glenn walked up to her, stopping by her side as he looked at her with caring eyes. She nodded her head, looking back to the home. She had found out that the group had been separated into two homes, but with her addition it was soon turned into three. As far as Clary knew, it was Glenn, Maggie and herself in the home. She had felt bad, having forced the groups to separate by her placement there, but Glenn had assured her he preferred having their own home. She felt even better when she learned that Daryl stopped by the home sometimes, sleeping in the living room or even in the attic at a higher vantage point where he was comfortable. She knew that she would be somewhat comfortable with the group, reassuring herself before she walked into the home.
Clary was surprised to see how clean it was, letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Glenn moved past her, leading her upstairs before they took a left down the hall. Opening the door to a room, she was surprised to see a good sized room. Inside was a bed, light gray comforters on top with a deep green throw blanket folded neatly on it. Across from the bed was a desk, a lamp perched on top of it. It was simple, but still a great deal more than she was expecting. Glenn moved to her side, an unsure tone in his voice. "I hope it's okay. We were able to get what clothes we could find that hopefully fit you and we already put them in the drawers and-" Clary nodded softly, calming his doubts. "It's— a lot more than I deserve. Thank you." She hoped her eyes could show just how much she truly appreciated Glenn and his groups hospitality. However,'with the feeling of gratitude, she couldn't help but curse at herself as she seemingly softened towards the group. She was a decent enough person to be grateful, but she'd cause nothing but pain to the group if she cared for them. Glenn nodded in response to her thanks before pocketing his hands. "I'll let you get settled it. Pete said you should do some physical therapy, make sure you're able to move around well. We found a punching bag in one of the neighbors' garages so we brought it here so you could use that, work on your range of motion and all of that." Clary nodded, giving a small thanks before he walked away form the room.
As his footsteps landed against the stairs, Clary walked into the room, setting her backpack onto the bed. Her fingers brushed the soft fabric of the sheets, her head shaking as she realized she was going to be stuck in the community for a long time. As she made her way towards the window of the room, she drew back the curtains and was surprised to see her view was that of the room across from her, into Rick's home. She wondered who the room belonged to, but her question was soon answered when she saw a certain blue eyed, teenaged boy pass by the window, pacing. She watched him momentarily, her eyes following his figure as he walked back and forth. She wondered what he thought about until he stopped in his tracks, raising his gaze to where his eyes met hers. He looked surprised, shaking it off before waving softly to her. He wasn't surprised, however, when she closed the curtains once again.
Clary decided she had spent enough time recovering, quickly changing into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that was in the clothing stocked drawers. She made her way towards the garage, noting that no one was in the home before she went inside, seeing the punching bag. It didn't take long for her to start punching ruthlessly at the bag, resisting her pain before building up the intensity. She didn't know how long she had been working at the bag, only stopping when she heard a voice. "What'd that bag ever do to you?" Clary turned around, surprised to see Deanna entering the room. She smiled at the young girl, who wiped at the sweat that had formed at her brow before looking at the woman. "I'm not planning another escape, if that's what you're thinking." Deanna shook her head, a humored smile on her face. "Not at all. Glenn says you've seemed to have settled in as well as can be expected for your first day. And I think after your attempt last week, I won't have to worry about another for a while?" Clarissa nodded solemnly, knowing there wouldn't be a good chance for her to escape.
Deanna smiled, pleased, before clasping her hands together. "Well, considering you have healed up well, I believe it is time for you to start earning your keep. And I believe you can start by going on a run. Did you have experience doing those in Solaris?" Deanna questioned, to which Clarissa nodded. "When I was a part of the Guard, we were usually protection for the Runners. We'd help them out with getting supplies and just making sure they were safe." A pleased smile arose to Deanna's face. "Excellent, then you'll be the perfect addition to the group I'm sending out." Clarissa's head perked up. "Who else is going?" Clarissa questioned, to which the woman paused for a moment, knowing the girl would not be pleased. "It's with a few from Rick's group, Glenn, Tara, Noah, Eugene... also my son, Aiden and Nicholas—" Clarissa scoffed, her eyes widening as she saw Deanna was completely serious. "I'm sorry, what? That man tried to throw me to the Infected—" Deanna raised her hand, causing her to fall silent. "I understand that, Clarissa, which is why I'm sending Glenn. The both of you have a deep anger for Nicholas after what he did to you, and anger does not allow us to survive together. Nicholas' punishment of not going on runs will end with this one because we need to work together in order to make this place work."
Clarissa said nothing as the woman looked at her for any more defiance. Her smile returned, satisfied with the girls compliance. "The run is tomorrow, early morning. I expect you to be there, Clarissa." Deanna raised an eyebrow, waiting for the young girl's response. Clary only nodded, letting out a deep breath. "Fine, but if he steps a toe out of line—" Deanna gave a single nod. "You have full permission to knock him on his ass again. Good luck tomorrow." And as Deanna departed, shutting the door to the garage silently, Clary let out a frustrated grunt as she punched the bag in front of her.
•••
"This is—" Clary began, to which a new voice sounded, completing the thought. "Bullshit?" Clary turned around as the door opened to reveal Glenn, a chuckle leaving his lips as she nodded to him finishing her sentence. He shrugged, the girl letting out a puff of air before she faced him. "Deanna is going to end up a man down, and it's either because I kill him or he gets what he wants and kills me." Glenn laughed, shaking his head. "Let's go with the former, I'd rather have you than him any day." Clary nodded, a soft laugh sounding as she rolled up the sleeves of the flannel she wore over a black tank top. It was definitely more causal compared to the armor she would wear in Solaris, but Alexandria wasn't really the "home of warriors" that Solaris had been.
Glenn and Clary were quick to head out of the house, walking in a comfortable silence as they approached the armory where some people had already gathered. Luckily, neither Aiden or Nicholas had been there, but Glenn smiled as he seemed to recognize the three other people there. As they greeted each other, they soon noticed the quiet girl joining him. Turning towards the girl, Glenn showed her to his group. "Clary this is Tara, Noah and Eugene. They' re with our group. Guys, this is Clary." The woman, Tara, nodded with an impressed smirk. "So you're the kid everyone's talking about? Showed up all bloody and badass, knocked some people on their asses?" Clary nodded, surprised by the boldness. "Uh... yeah? I guess so." Tara let out a chuckle. "Awesome." Clary said nothing as a new voice joined the conversation. "Hey, we gotta start packing up, let's go!" The group turned around as Aiden walked out of the armory, hands holding a gun. His eyes rested on Clary, her eyes turning into slits before he looked at the whole of them. "Grab your weapons and get the rest of it packed up, we need to head out soon."
Clary made her way into the armory, grabbing her sword and clipping it to her belt against her left hip. She then grabbed her gun, noticing the notches, before she holstered it to her thigh. The last thing she grabbed was her switchblade, stuffing it into her boot before heading back out towards the van. She was aware of Nicholas, whose eyes had met hers before looking away with a sort of fear in his eyes. She couldn't help but smile inwardly, knowing full well she wanted him to be scared of ever touching her again. As she made her way closer, Glenn looked towards her. "Ready?" Clary gave a nod before he walked towards Maggie. They exchanged a few words before he placed a quick kiss on her lips. As he walked away from her, Clary passed by the young woman. She was surprised when she felt Maggie touch her shoulder softly, causing Clary to look towards her. "You be safe out there, okay? I want you back in one piece, both of you." Clary gave an unsure nod, surprised at the amount of concern in the woman's voice. As she walked away, she wondered why either Glenn or Maggie had cared enough for her to even let her into their home, going so far as to visit her daily in the days leading up to her move just to check on her and talk to her for a while.
As she made her way into the van, she found herself sitting besides Tara. Her eyes landed on the boy across from her, Noah, which caused her heart to start racing. Many would take this as a sign of infatuation, but in reality it was fear of what a teenage boy could do to her. But as he looked towards her, he gave her a kind smile before he was distracted as Tara spoke to him. As Glenn piled into the van, shutting the doors, music began to play at an obnoxious volume. Clary realized she must have outwardly shown her distaste in the music as she felt Tara elbow her. "What, mixtapes not your thing?" The young girl shook her head. "Not at all, I'm more of a classic rock person." With raised eyebrows, Tara nodded. "Nice, nice, gotta respect the classics." Clary was even more surprised as the woman held out a fist. Clary raised an eyebrow before Tara shook her closed hand. Clary took the hint and closed her own fist as well, bumping the woman's with her own. With that, Tara nodded while laughing. "There's your initiation kid. Welcome to the family." Clary raised an eyebrow, looking to Glenn who only shrugged before chuckling. Clary couldn't help but smile, inwardly fighting with her emotions as she realized how hard these people truly tried to make her feel welcomed, and how she knew it could kill them in the end.