Luther doesn't recoil from the strike; it bounces off him as it's always done, her frustration boiling over and only able to express itself in Allison smacking his shoulder. In the past, it's been occasionally playful, mocking, Number Three the only one who would ever dare to touch their leader like that because she knew it wouldn't hurt him, wouldn't do a single thing, so it was a safe vent— This time, though, there's such real frustration simmering beneath it. He raises his own hands, palms splayed, more as if he can defend himself from the words that keep popping up in the corner of his vision. A volley of letters.

"It's not like I've even made any plans yet!" he protests (but there is that one word, yet, that has all the weight of possibility behind it). "I'm just— exploring options. Just in case."