It pleased Crow to hear that Penelope thought his idea was a good one as well. He sat up a bit straighter in the saddle. Even when William tried to point out a flaw in the plan, he just rolled his eyes uncaringly. As much as the knight wanted to disagree with him, the thief’s plan was far better than just ‘fighting the Younisians off.’ It still carried its own risks—someone catching a glimpse of Penelope’s face beneath her hood; a too-curious guard getting close enough to spot the bow; or a faulty rope that couldn’t last the rest of the trip, to name a few—but it was the safest option they had.

When Penelope turned to speak to him, he smiled back at her, “Mhm. All that’s left is to teach him how to talk like a Younisian.” He sighed. “This is going to be fun…”

--

As the sun sank lower in the sky, William located another clearing near the edge of the forest where they could set up camp. Crow climbed down from the back of the stallion he had been riding with Penelope, grimacing when he realized how sore he was from sitting on top of the animal all day. He hoped he would get used to it quickly, or the rest of the journey to Brerra was going to be quite uncomfortable.

While the knights tied up the horses, the thief inspected the clearing for a comfortable spot to sleep for the night. He found a patch of soft grass and set down his things nearby to claim it for himself. After that, he walked back over to the others, shooting William a wry grin. “Ready for your first lesson?” he asked, taking on a Younisian lilt as he spoke.

The knight just curled his lip back at him in disgust, “This is absurd.”

“That’s the spirit,” Crow clapped him on the back.

“Touch me again, and you’ll lose that hand,” William narrowed his eyes.

“Come with me, and we’ll get started,” Crow went on, ignoring his threat. He stepped over to the center of the clearing and sat down, cross-legged, on the ground. Gesturing for the knight to sit across from him, he waited for him to comply before going on. “Alright, listen to the way I’m pronouncing my words,” he continued speaking in the accent so William could hear it. “If you want to sound believable, you’re going to have to learn the accent so well that you can do it without thinking about the words in your head.”

“Ridiculous…” William muttered bitterly, averting his gaze.

“Pay attention,” Crow snapped his fingers. “We don’t have all night.” He leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. “Hell, you were locked up in a Younisian cell for almost a week. You have to know what they sound like by now. Give it a try.”

William shot him a glare for bringing up his arrest, but then faltered slightly, thinking something over before he went on in a tentative attempt at the accent, “Err… this was how they talked, right?”

“Terrible,” Crow clicked his tongue. “That was pathetic. Try again.”

“Damn thief,” William snapped.

“That was better,” he nodded. “You sound more convincing when you’re mad. Go on, keep it up.”

“Well, if that’s what you want,” William’s lip twitched upward in a conniving smirk. He proceeded to spout off a series of unrepeatable insults to the thief, practicing the Younisian accent all the while.

When he was finally finished, Crow whistled, “That’s quite a vocabulary you’ve got there, O noble one.” He shrugged. “But hey, if it works for you, then who am I to judge?” He climbed to his feet again, brushing the grass off of his pants. “Well, that’s enough for today. I don’t think I can sit through another round of that before I’ve had some sleep.”

William just grunted in response. He stood up as well and walked off to check on the horses.

Crow spotted Penelope and trotted over to join her. “Looks like I found a way to get William to practice his accent,” he grinned.