A Princess, a Knight, and an Assassin Walk Into a Tavern...

Clarity

"Clarity." Was all she said before trying to sit back down. Trying because....Stuck. Her leg was stuck. She had tried to rise to avoid meeting Hawke at all, but now seemed the appropriate time to seat herself, but she couldn't. Where her prosthetic connected to her real leg was wedged under the seat of the chair, and the knife point had gotten stuck in a knot in the wood flooring. She tried to just sit down around it, let her leg pop out a little and then reposition if when seated, but she was strapped in too tightly. She strained to sit a second time, but when she couldn't she got back into that weird half standing pose she'd had before. What in the hell was the socially acceptable move for this moment? She thought desperately. She had introduced herself, now Hawke should say something, or they should sit down but...
Varric Tethras thought he had just worked magic. When Hawke had finally gotten around to looking at Clarity he had completely frozen...except for the blush coming up his neck to his ears. Hawke reached a hand behind him to rub his neck and averted his eyes to Clarity's tense hands, but had then stayed there. In exactly that position with exactly that blush. Usually he did mind the way he knew Varric introduced him, but he always seemed to mind more around pretty girls. Especially pretty battle hardened girls. Hawke loved to take in strays, just look at his ragtag mercenary group. The fact that she was Hawke's type was just a courtesy on Varric's part, because he knew once Garret Hawke heard a sob story he had to intervene and fix it until everyone was happy and smiling or happy and crying. But this was new. Usually Hawke was more suave than this. 

Clarity was where the magic came in though. When Hawke had turned to them her jaw had gone a little slack, and she had slammed her hands on the table and begun to rise, but had just...stopped. She shot a glance at Hawke when she said her name. Simply and forcefully as if the act was painful. And then she stared down at the table with a look of great concentration. Clarity's hands and arms still stiff in the act of holding all her weight. She stayed that way a little too long. Varric wondered if he had frozen time, when all of a sudden her eyes flicked up to Hawke's chest and then she sent Varric the last expression he had ever expected to seen on her face. She was pleading for help with her eyes rather forcefully. This finally shocked him into breaking the spell, and he rushed in with, "Well.....Drinks! That's what we need! Drinks! Clarity, was just saying she owed me a round, and I know for a fact she has a few newly acquired coins." He did that one eye blink at her. Clarity still didn't understand the meaning, but she got the gist of the words.

Putting all her weight on her stuck leg and the table, she kicked the chair dramatically away from her with her good foot,the chair itself flying back and toppling over, and tried to pretend she was always showy like that. She put her good leg down, and with as much dignity as she could muster wrenched her prosthetic out of the blasted hole, and walked away, head held high, to go buy drinks with the last of her coin. All that was left behind her at their table was stunned silence...and the pretty girl yelling at the fat man.
Turns out her coin only bought two drinks. She knew for a fact it could buy at least 4, but the barkeep had seen her show, accused her of wrecking his establishment – the only time she'd seen him look up from the glass he was always polishing – and just before things got feral she slammed her coin on the table, reached over the bar, and grabbed the two closest drinks before turning and marching back to the table.
When she reached them, she put their drinks down, righted the chair and sat as if nothing had happened. Though the conversation was now in full swing Varric found the time to lean over and say, "Pointy, boys are not supposed to make people this theatrical. Don't get me wrong, I love a good show, I just feel like any show you put on ends with somebody getting impaled on that leg of yours." Clarity's cheeks burned bright red.
"I know for a fact that boys make people more theatrical. My sister Bethany used to be sensible until a boy called Mal. Once he came around she was all love potions and ballads. In the end when he broke her heart, my brother had to get theatrical and break his arm." Hawke laughed good naturedly. "Though personally I don't think we're worth all the fuss." Out of what seemed habit he blinked one eye at Clarity.

When she didn't respond his ears turned pink and he rubbed the back of his neck again. "Now Varric I didn't even know you were in town and now I get this summons out of nowhere and am introduced to a..." Hawke cleared his throat uncomfortably "... pretty girl and treated to a drink. I like this kind of treatment, but I have a feeling you have more on your mind."

They had been talking for a long time. Varric had explained Clarity's situation, and had handed her over on a silver platter to Hawke for his mercenary group. It was as if he knew Hawke wouldn't say no.

Clarity had only spoken very briefly to outline her skills, and started to explain that her leg would not be a hinderance. Hawke himself had said nothing while they laid their case before them, only looked at her occasionally with a soft look that would quickly transform into a lopsided grin when she would meet his eyes.

He had accepted her warmly and with excitement. No hesitation whatsoever. He had even waved her off as she started to say her piece about the leg, smiling broadly. He then Slapped his hand on the table and said, "That settles it. You're one of us. You'll meet the gang as soon as we have a job..."

Hawke had gone on about who she would meet and what would be required. Soon Varric was interrupting with an embellished tale of how Hawke had saved his life the first time. Hawke had laughed and rolled his eyes at the exaggerations she knew were there, but the story couldn't all be untrue. And when the talk had switched to other topics she had noticed he laughed often, and smiled much. A smile that went all the way to his eyes, crinkling the corners with its sincerity. Clarity liked it and knew for a fact it was the first one of its kind she had seen. She also liked that he talked with his hands, there was a lot of gesturing and loud laughter when he spoke. Clarity just sat in silence marvelling at Hawke, but also marvelling at the notion of real camaraderie. People who liked each other getting together and telling stories. She soon felt like the girl – now done arguing with the fat man – who was snuggled alongside the man with jewelry, sharing a game of cards, comfortable and a little... hap-
All of a sudden the man beside the pretty girl stood up and drew his sword, knocking the table to the side. The two men at her table tensed. The man with jewelry delivered a line that made Clarity roll her eyes and grin before the men who had just entered charged at him. She saw someone struggling out of the corner of her eye. Then the skirmish was by the General. All of a sudden the pretty girl was under her table. Clarity instinctively moved her prosthetic so it wouldn't hurt anyone. She gave Hawke, across from her, a big grin, before drawing her hidden long daggers and, pushed the table up between the girl and the man reaching for her. Just as Hawke dropped an elbow into the mans neck. Clarity used the spring from her prosthetic and rocketed over the table, catching the last guy to run for the pirate in the gut with her blade. He stopped still. She used the sharp edge of her prosthetic to sweep his legs out from under him...and possibly maim him, if the dagger didn't do it's job.
The General was now on her feet and she turned her attention to the two men ganging up on the man with jewelry. Hawke was still by the table guarding the girl from the somehow still concious fat man, and she flashed him another genuine grin before launching herself at the back closest to her. This was where she belonged. This is what she knew. No stuck prosthetic here just adrenaline. Clarity was still fast, and skilled, even after her leg, and she knew, loved, and felt at home in it. She always felt she was sending a message to any Ravens when she fought: This is what you left behind.
Varric was shouting the whole bar into a frenzy, and people started hitting people they had been laughing with a moment before. The room dissolved into chaos. Hawke defending the girl, and Varric, from people fresh with battle frenzy, and Clarity was on top of the man at the end of Jewelry's gun in a flash. She tried to knock him over with a knee, but it just shoved him forward. Jewelry was too distracted to shoot him, and so he turned with a vengeance on Clarity. With a kick to the wrist she disarmed him, and putting her foot down and turning a full swift circle brought the sword of her prosthetic up along his jugular. "Run." Was all she said. The man nodded and tried to flee the way he had come, but was uppercutted by a blind drunk swinging wildly, and fell to the floor.