Crow stood up with Penelope as she attempted to put weight on her injured foot again. He gave her enough space to move on her own, but remained close enough to help her if she needed to lean on him for support. Fortunately, it seemed like the bandages he had wrapped her ankle in were holding up, and he saw that she was able to stand on her own. The thief felt a wave of relief wash over him. With the knight able to move without help now, they would be able to make it back to their separate camps well before sunrise.

He turned to her as she spoke again, missing the slight discomfort on her face as she avoided his gaze. After such a long night, he was tired and ready to go to sleep. “Of course,” he nodded after she thanked him, offering her a weary smile. “Good timing too, because I don’t think I can stay awake much longer.” He picked up his cloak from the ground and threw it over his shoulders again in preparation to leave. Once he was ready, he turned to her once more, “I’ll see you after the battle. Good luck.” With a dip of his head in goodbye, he stepped out of the hollow and began the trip back to the thieves’ camp.

--

As Crow neared the edge of the ravine, he let out his breath in relief. There wasn’t much nighttime left, and he felt like he was about ready to keel over from exhaustion. He couldn’t wait to get back to his bed and sleep.

Suddenly, he flinched as the sound of rustling caught his attention. He spun around to see a nearby bush shaking to his left. Now jolted awake, the thief narrowed his eyes and drew his daggers, stepping cautiously towards the source of the motion. If a knight had stumbled this close to their hideout, he intended to get rid of him before he could spread word to the others.

However, it wasn’t a knight.

In the next instant, Alistair stumbled out of the foliage. His clothes and hair were haphazard and full of leaves. He froze at the sight of his leader standing before him with weapons drawn. “Oh, um… hey, Crow,” he cleared his throat awkwardly. “I was just… collecting some berries?”

Suddenly, the bush trembled again and Olivia stepped into view. She was just as ragged looking as Alistair was. Having not yet noticed Crow’s presence, she slipped her arms around Alistair’s torso. “Well, that was the first time I’ve ever done [i]that[/i] before!” she giggled, leaning up to kiss the thief along his jawline.

“Let me guess,” Crow said dryly, crossing his arms. “This is berries.”

Olivia froze, finally taking notice of him. She stepped away from Alistair and grinned, “Hey there. What are you doing out at his hour of the night?”

Crow shifted his weight slightly, “Just had a bit of trouble on the way back from Myrefall. Everything is fine now though.”

“Mhm,” Olivia pursed her lips, eyeing him with amusement. “Some ‘trouble,’ huh? Don’t worry, Crow. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Nothing happened,” Crow said quickly, though he felt his cheeks grow warm at her implied accusation.

“Sure,” the knight winked at him in obvious disbelief of his words.

“I’m serious,” Crow hissed, though the flush refused to fade.

“Sure,” she said again, turning back to the other thief. “Anyway, I had a great time tonight. Next time, we’ll have to…” she glanced towards Crow for a moment before leaning up to whisper something in Alistair’s ear that made the thief’s eyes go wide. Stepping away from him again, she laughed, “Oh, I enjoy you thieves. I should get back to my camp though. See you both around!” She raised a hand in a cheeky wave as she turned and walked into the woods.

“Bye, Olivia,” Alistair said airily, obviously still distracted by whatever sordid words she had murmured into his ear.

“Come on,” Crow rolled his eyes and reached to press a hand to the other thief’s back, guiding him towards the ravine. “We’re going home too.”

“I tell you, she’s something else,” Alistair sighed as they walked. “I mean, I know she’s a knight, but [i]damn[/i]. I’ve never met another woman like her.” He looked at Crow with interest. “Speaking of intriguing women… why [i]are[/i] you back so late from your meeting with that other knight?”

“I already told you: We ran into some trouble on our way back and had to stay out a while longer,” Crow answered simply, shooting him a warning glare. “That was it. Nothing else happened.”

“Touchy,” Alistair smirked, raising his hands in an innocent shrug. “I wasn’t implying anything.”

“Sorry,” Crow sighed, lowering his gaze to navigate the side of the ravine as they began to climb down into their camp. “It’s just been a long night.”

“I get that,” Alistair nudged him with a knowing wink, at which the other thief gave him a shove in return. He snorted, “Why are you so defensive if nothing happened?”

“I give up,” Crow shook his head. “Believe whatever you want. I’m too tired to care.” He took off his cloak and headed for the shelter, leaving Alistair behind as he walked ahead to get some much needed sleep.