Crow traced his fingers lightly over his body, feeling for the sting of burn wounds. As he came across them, he applied the ointment. The cool relief it brought him was quite welcome after the exhausting escape from the rebels’ camp. He yawned wearily and leaned back into the blanket pile when he finished the procedure. Now for a good, long nap. He deserved it for saving the knights, after all. The rebels weren’t very well trained, but he liked to think it had been his efforts that lead them all to get away.

[color=fff79a][b]“Crow, do you know any constellations?”[/b][/color] Penelope’s soft voice interrupted the thief’s thoughts. He lazily opened one eye to look at the female knight and saw her staring deeply at the night sky. She met his gaze briefly before going on: [color=fff79a][b]“I only know a few… I think that one right there is Orion’s belt…”[/b][/color] He watched as a smile formed on her lips. [color=fff79a][b]“Stars are quite amazing. My aunt once told me that they were the silent guardians of the earth. We can’t always see them but they’re always watching over us.”[/b][/color]

“Constellations, eh?” Crow echoed with a yawn. He raised his arms over his head in a long stretch, groaning sleepily as he did so. The thief sat up and moved over to where Penelope was reclining by the open side of the wagon. He looked out at the stars overhead. “I don’t think I know any of your constellations. Just the ones we learned about in the outer villages.” He paused, meeting the knight’s dreamy gaze. He had already opened up to her a bit, so he might as well share some of his beliefs with her.

“I think my religion is a bit different than yours, love,” Crow said. He propped his arms up on the ledge of the wagon and rested his chin on them, staring up at the glittering, black sky. “You see; I believe stars are visible manifestations of those who’ve passed away. They don’t necessarily ‘watch over us’ in the sense that they can interact with our world—they have better things to do in the heavens—but they can still see what’s going on.

“I believe only the gods can come to the Earth. They use sacred land—such as the Looking-Glass Pond, that place we went near the beginning of our journey—to see what’s going on here. They can also travel through sacred land, kind of like a bridge, if they feel the need to. Generally speaking, they seem to watch us more than they interact with us though. I don’t know many people who claim to have seen gods, and I certainly never have, myself. But it would be pretty amazing to be blessed like that. Honestly, I still kind of hope I will be so fortunate at least once in my lifetime.

“Anyway, I’m getting off topic. I believe that constellations are groupings of select individuals who belong to a hierarchy of elites. They’re the men and women who become famous for great deeds in their lives, or who are chosen by the gods for their humility, selflessness, generosity, blah, blah, blah… Point is: a thief like myself will never be part of a constellation when I die. I’ll just join the countless number of other, unimportant people.” He shrugged, looking back at Penelope. “I don’t really care though. All stars are pretty, and I don’t have to be part of something big to be happy. I’m just fine with who I am.”