the look of concern deeps severely in contrast to the light and airy way krouse explains away his plight. dire straits delivered as a funny little anecdote throw clarke for an absolute loop, to the point for a long moment she isn't sure if he's lying to her or not — then subsequently can't figure out why he would. a litany of follow-up questions flood her brain: and you're otherwise okay? and i don't understand, what part of that kind of trap was engineered towards teamwork? the forerunners to tipping over the edge of her tongue and being voiced aloud. she is of the quiet sort of certainty that climbing out of a well was probably just as difficult as she could imagine, because it sounds like it sucked. and her mind immediately flies to the various ways she could have helped if fate had aligned differently and she'd stumbled upon that scene.
had she packed a length of rope in her go bag? no, and that's an oversight that would need to be corrected for future missions.
but, can't turn back time. she couldn't have helped even if she wanted to, and at the end of the day krouse is still here and upright. he'd done well by himself, and clarke will try not to undermine that by allowing her face to reflect as much knee-jerk sympathy as she feels.
he carries on, does what she's come to expect and fills in answers for questions she hasn't even asked yet. but rest assured the faring of his stitches was next on the list; she perks up more at the good news than the praise, and busies her fingers with curling around the warmth of her coffee cup to curtail the urge to peel back his sleeve and check for herself. mobility looks good, and he's walking and talking, not dead at the bottom of aforementioned well. )
Good, that's good. Seems like you beat the odds against infection too. ( she smiles a little, just a tiny bit. and just as promised — ) I'm impressed.
( if it's awkward to hold a conversation while one party is sitting and the other is standing, clarke hadn't noticed it yet. she is vaguely aware of the way she has to tilt her head up to look at his face, but doesn't pay any mind the strain on the neck same as she ignores the faintly yellow fingertip shaped bruises on her throat in their final stage of healing. between the two of them, seems she's the one who had the luck here; not getting trapped in a well, making it out of the maze in a decent timeframe, and stumbling across not one but two healers that'd done their best to erase everything from rope burn to exposed muscle. but this is a fine reunion, she's happy to see him in one piece.
but when he tips the card and asks... )
Technically, yeah. ( the name is right there, they've both read it by now. the buckle around her lips and creasing in the corners of her eyes is vaguely apologetic. )
I don't know if you saw, but all of this is... because I asked for it. I meant instead of the labyrinth, but this is what we got. And now, I guess I've got to go with it.
( she thinks he'll understand. he's smart, and had scrabbled to repay her for that stitchwork with a protein bar and sour candy; he should get obligation, and that at least in this venture clarke's set on sticking to the rules. )
no subject
the look of concern deeps severely in contrast to the light and airy way krouse explains away his plight. dire straits delivered as a funny little anecdote throw clarke for an absolute loop, to the point for a long moment she isn't sure if he's lying to her or not — then subsequently can't figure out why he would. a litany of follow-up questions flood her brain: and you're otherwise okay? and i don't understand, what part of that kind of trap was engineered towards teamwork? the forerunners to tipping over the edge of her tongue and being voiced aloud. she is of the quiet sort of certainty that climbing out of a well was probably just as difficult as she could imagine, because it sounds like it sucked. and her mind immediately flies to the various ways she could have helped if fate had aligned differently and she'd stumbled upon that scene.
had she packed a length of rope in her go bag? no, and that's an oversight that would need to be corrected for future missions.
but, can't turn back time. she couldn't have helped even if she wanted to, and at the end of the day krouse is still here and upright. he'd done well by himself, and clarke will try not to undermine that by allowing her face to reflect as much knee-jerk sympathy as she feels.
he carries on, does what she's come to expect and fills in answers for questions she hasn't even asked yet. but rest assured the faring of his stitches was next on the list; she perks up more at the good news than the praise, and busies her fingers with curling around the warmth of her coffee cup to curtail the urge to peel back his sleeve and check for herself. mobility looks good, and he's walking and talking, not dead at the bottom of aforementioned well. )
Good, that's good. Seems like you beat the odds against infection too. ( she smiles a little, just a tiny bit. and just as promised — ) I'm impressed.
( if it's awkward to hold a conversation while one party is sitting and the other is standing, clarke hadn't noticed it yet. she is vaguely aware of the way she has to tilt her head up to look at his face, but doesn't pay any mind the strain on the neck same as she ignores the faintly yellow fingertip shaped bruises on her throat in their final stage of healing. between the two of them, seems she's the one who had the luck here; not getting trapped in a well, making it out of the maze in a decent timeframe, and stumbling across not one but two healers that'd done their best to erase everything from rope burn to exposed muscle. but this is a fine reunion, she's happy to see him in one piece.
but when he tips the card and asks... )
Technically, yeah. ( the name is right there, they've both read it by now. the buckle around her lips and creasing in the corners of her eyes is vaguely apologetic. )
I don't know if you saw, but all of this is... because I asked for it. I meant instead of the labyrinth, but this is what we got. And now, I guess I've got to go with it.
( she thinks he'll understand. he's smart, and had scrabbled to repay her for that stitchwork with a protein bar and sour candy; he should get obligation, and that at least in this venture clarke's set on sticking to the rules. )