Crow opened his mouth to make a snide comment about him and Penelope acting like they were married, but quickly changed his mind. He controlled his impulse and bit his tongue. Given everything that had happened the night before, it was still too soon to say anything about a romance between them—even a fake one. His emotions were still too raw. He needed to give himself a bit more time before he could flirt so casually with the knight as he used to.

[color=fff79a][b]“Another thing to worry about is how you’re going to manage actually getting inside and stealing the staff,”[/b][/color] Penelope went on. She seemed concerned. [color=fff79a][b]“It would probably pay off to simply camp out somewhere near the castle and get as much information as we can. Even a little bit would help at this point.”[/b][/color]

“Of course,” Crow nodded. “I would never go on a blind run. That’s just suicide. A skilled thief always studies his target as extensively as possible. Remember, love,” he winked at her playfully. “You’re working with a professional. I’ve spent my entire life learning and perfecting the tricks of my trade.” What he didn’t say was how long it usually took to scout out a new place—especially one as large as a royal palace. When he had attempted to steal the king’s crown in Brerra, it had taken him two months to fully memorize the layout and escape routes in that palace. He’d had to steal the armor of a royal guard and patrol the numerous hallways over and over again before he was comfortable enough to conduct the real run. And even then, he had gotten caught. The palace was just so huge that it was easy to make mistakes. The thief chewed on his lip in thought. He doubted the king of Brerra would allot him enough time to do a proper inspection of the Younisian castle before attempting to steal the staff. He just hoped the gods would be merciful to him this time.

[color=fff79a][b]“Also... I want to go in with you,”[/b][/color] Penelope’s determined voice interrupted Crow’s musings. [color=fff79a][b]“Out of all of us, I’ll be able to keep up with you the best, and if things go awry, I can distract the guards so you can get out of there with the staff.”[/b][/color] He blinked at her in surprise. Despite all of the planning he had done until this point, he had never taken into consideration the possibility that someone else might be coming with him into the palace. The idea of it was off-putting to him.

“I don’t know,” Crow said hesitantly, shifting his weight. His friendship with Penelope didn’t change the fact that he was more comfortable going on runs alone. The only time he had ever attempted bringing a partner, the other thief had gotten killed. It was just easier for him to watch his own back without worrying about someone else’s safety. And if Penelope came with him, he would definitely be worrying about her the whole time. “Don’t take this the wrong way, darling, but I prefer to work solo.” He shrugged and smiled at her apologetically. “I’ve been doing this for years, so I can handle myself. Just trust me. It will be faster if I go in alone.”