“How is that a fair comparison?” Crow laughed when Penelope called him strange. “Just because I share an occupation with other thieves doesn’t mean I think or act the same way. That would be the same as if I had said you were identical to all other knights just because you shared the same type of work. That’s not a reasonable judgment either, now is it?” He rolled his eyes. “I’m still my own person and, despite what you seem to think of me, I am true to my word. I promised you I would stick around until we get back from Younis, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

Crow navigated his way around a fallen tree and stared longingly into the dark woods around them. He would keep his promise because it was against his morality not to, but he definitely regretted making the deal with Penelope in the first place. If he hadn’t, he could have easily abandoned her while she was too weak to catch up with him and escaped to the outer villages on his own. But, such as it was, he did give her his word, so it looked like he wasn’t going anywhere.

[color=fff79a][b]“Once we reach the village, I’ll walk on my own,”[/b][/color] Penelope said as a few small houses came into sight.

“Fine by me,” Crow agreed. “Just don’t blame me if you fall flat on your face when I let you go.” He hesitated, thinking something over, and then went on in a quieter tone, “Also… I hadn’t said it before, but thank you for helping me cross that river. If you hadn’t done that, we would probably still be out looking for a narrower passage.” He cleared his throat and looked away. “Don’t expect me to be any nicer to you just because you helped me once. I just thought I should let you know that I’m grateful. That’s all.”