“Mhm,” Crow nodded in agreement, pressing in a little closer to Penelope and resting his chin on her shoulder. He closed his eyes and sighed, relishing the lack of distance between them. With William in the lead, they had quite a bit more privacy, and he intended to take full advantage of it while he could. “This was definitely the best plan you could have come up with,” he said quietly, leaning his head against hers. “Now, if we can just manage to avoid getting attacked again, I think I’m going to like this part of our trip the best.”

When William found a place for them to stop for the night, Crow hopped down from the stallion’s back and stretched his legs. He was slightly sore, having not yet gotten used to straddling a horse’s back for so long, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the pain in his injured leg would have been if they had continued on foot. He sauntered over to a grassy patch beneath a tree and leaned back against its trunk with a yawn while the knights tied up their horses.

As he stood there, he noticed a faint noise coming from behind him. He sent a quick glance back towards the others before he turned around to investigate where the sound was coming from. Not far from their campsite, he came upon a small brook with fresh, running water. [i]Thank the gods,[/i] he crouched down beside it and cupped his hands in the cold water, lifting the refreshing liquid to his mouth. Once he’d had his fill, he trotted back to the clearing to find Penelope.

“I found a place where we can refill the canteens,” he announced to, gesturing for her to follow him. “There’s a brook just beyond the trees over here.”