Crow smirked at Penelope’s teasing compliments. The longer they were together, the bolder she was getting with him, and he liked it. Bantering with her was different for him than it was with anyone else because it came from a place of good humor rather than spite. It was nice to have someone who could joke with him without underlying resentment or disgust for his decision to be a thief. Even in the outer villages, his presence rarely elicited anything more than grudging tolerance from the other peasants. He enjoyed being around someone who could look past that part of his life to see him for who he was.

He squeezed her hand fondly as they stepped back into the market, looking over the vendors in search of the supplies they needed. Glancing down at her, he nodded when she began to lead him towards a merchant who was selling various assortments of clothing, “It’s worth taking a look.” He followed her through the crowd until they reached the stand and then helped her search through the wares until she spotted some cloaks.

“Perfect,” he grinned at her after checking to make sure that the cloak she had picked up was hooded. He grabbed two more and flagged down the merchant to purchase them. Once that was done, he turned around to search for the remaining supplies that they needed. He could tell that Penelope was avoiding the vendor with the saddlebags, so he picked out another man who was selling cords of rope among other various items.

“This way,” he said, guiding her through the throng of people once again. At the stand, he selected a length of rope that looked long enough for his purposes and bought it. Turning back to Penelope, he met her gaze searchingly, “The only things we still need are the saddlebags. Do you want me to get them for us by myself?”