The room was dry, but it definitely wasn’t warm. Crow shuddered again as he slipped his cloak off of his shoulders and tossed it to the side. The fabric landed with a heavy thump, weighed down by the water it had soaked up while he had been in the rain. He leaned back on his palms, looking around as a sense of nostalgia rose up inside of him.

He hadn’t been to this place in at least a decade, but it still felt familiar to him. Of course, after so much time had passed, it was quite different from what he remembered. For one thing, anything of value had been stolen long ago by rogue thieves, leaving only the bare necessities behind. For another, it felt emptier. It was truly empty in the physical sense, because no one had lived there in so long, but being here again also made him feel a bit hollow, himself.

He felt Penelope lean her head against his shoulder, and he glanced down at her with a soft smile. He still felt a bit strange in bringing her to this house, since he had never showed it to anyone before, but he found that he was glad she was here with him now. Struck by a sudden wave of affection for the knight, he moved to put an arm around her. However, he faltered as he felt her pull back from him again. The motion reminded him that they weren’t together anymore, and he blushed slightly, covering up his gesture by bringing his arm up to wring more water out of his sleeve instead.

[i]Keep it together,[/i] he took a calming breath. [i]She’s not yours anymore, so don’t do anything to make her uncomfortable.[/i] Sneaking a sideways glance at Penelope, he felt his heart beat a little quicker in his chest, and he swallowed nervously. She wasn’t his anymore, but oh how he wished she still was.

At her question, he averted his gaze to look around the room once more. The defensive side of him considered lying to her and saying he had just happened to find this place, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He wanted her to know where he had brought her. “This was… the house where I grew up,” he said, turning back to her again with a sheepish smile. “It was the closest place I could think of where we could take refuge.” He shrugged. “I haven’t lived here in years, but it’s technically still mine. After my mother died, ownership passed to me. I know I should probably have given it to someone out here who would actually use it, but I don’t know… I guess I could never bring myself to sell the place.” Letting out his breath in a sigh, he gazed at the room fondly. “It’s not much to look at, but it will give us shelter until this storm passes.”

Another thought crossed his mind, and he met Penelope’s gaze with a frown, “Speaking of which, what are you going to do if it lasts all night? Do you think anyone will notice you’ve been gone?”