Crow sat up with a jolt at the unexpected sound of the voice and turned to see two knights standing behind him. He mentally chided himself. Careless. He had been so focused on his conversation with Penelope that he hadn’t even noticed them approach. He narrowed his eyes at the new arrivals, looking them over warily. What could two local knights possibly want with a ragged pair of travelers? They claimed to be the ones Penelope was looking for, too.

His gaze rested on the older one. The man had a balding head with wisps of white hair around his crown. His dark green eyes held a level of sternness that could rival William’s. However, his most prominent feature was a large, gruesome scar that travelled across his face, beginning with his left temple and ending at his right jawbone. Somehow, he almost looked familiar… The thief glanced back at Penelope. Now it made sense. The older knight must have been related to her somehow. They [i]did[/i] look quite similar.

But what about the other knight? Crow looked at him curiously, wondering if he could have been related to Penelope, too. He didn’t look much like her. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, with a thick head of black hair and dark brown eyes that held the same piercing stare as the older man’s. He was tall with an incredibly muscular build that put Crow’s lean, malnourished body to shame. The thief shifted uncomfortably. His suspicion was proven to be true when she stood up and greeted the knights, [color=fff79a][b]“Father, Brother.”[/b][/color]

Crow felt strange being the only one still sitting, so he climbed to his feet as well and watched the three knights interact in silent contemplation. He crossed his arms and leaned against the tree trunk. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought they were mere acquaintances rather than family. Even if they were expected to act seriously when they were on duty, couldn’t they at least show a hint of joy when they were reunited after so long? He eyed the stiff-jawed older knight. Well, at least now he knew where Penelope got her sternness from. He glanced back at the her. Though she was usually strict, she had a sense of humor as well. He wondered where that came from.

[color=fdc68a][b]“I’d suggest putting chains on that thing then,”[/b][/color] Penelope’s brother caught Crow’s attention. [color=fdc68a][b]“It’d make your journey far easier, and once it’s over you’d appear more reliable to the king.”[/b][/color]

“Pardon?” Crow raised a brow at him. “In case you didn’t know, this ‘[i]thing[/i]’ is the only reason you knights aren’t fighting a war with Younis right now. I think I deserve a little more respect than that, Sir Knight.”