“Err… yeah, right,” Crow stammered when Penelope said she would have to remember that if she needed backup. He had been careful to leave out the detail that he couldn’t have killed William even if he wanted to. Now his bragging had turned around to bite him. “I don’t think you’ll ever need my assistance though,” he said, trying to backtrack. “You’re much better at fighting than William is. You can handle a sword much better than I can… I’m really only good for stealing.”

He rolled his eyes when she accused him of causing more trouble than usual that day, “I was doing just fine until Hartley came along. He caused this whole mess, not me. I would have easily gotten away with stealing that money if he hadn’t drawn attention to me, and William was only in a sour mood because of the delay.” He smiled at her innocently, placing a hand over his heart. “You can’t honestly think this was my fault.”

Crow was enjoying his time alone with Penelope. They hadn’t been able to talk so freely with each other since before Olivia’s arrival two days prior. It was nice to banter without being restricted by the presence of the other knights or the complication of tension between them. He hadn’t realized how much he missed it until he had her to himself once again.

He should have known it would be too good to last.

Crow groaned when Hartley woke up and moved to join them. The boy planted himself possessively next to Penelope, shooting the older thief a glare as he asked: [color=fdc68a][b]“So what’s going on here? Shouldn’t you be asleep?”[/b][/color]

“I could say the same thing to you,” Crow said sternly.

“I heard voices,” Hartley shifted a bit closer to the female knight. “And it seems I’ve come across a little midnight rendezvous. Care to explain yourself, [i]friend[/i] of Penelope?”

“Oh, I was just inviting her to sneak off with me so we could sleep together under the stars,” Crow smirked mischievously at Penelope.

“[i]What?[/i]” Hartley squeaked. “Is that true?”

“No, you idiot,” Crow rolled his eyes. “We were just talking. Now go back to sleep.”