Once Crow was ready to leave, he and Simon said their goodbyes to Rikki and Alistair and headed out right away for Younis. For the most part, their trip was spent in silence, since they didn’t have much to say to each other. Simon wasn’t a man of many words, and whenever he did speak up, it was usually to complain or critique something he didn’t like. So, not wanting to spend the journey listening to him whine, Crow avoided opening his mouth as well. It was much more peaceful for him to be left alone with his own thoughts anyway.

He mostly thought about Hazel’s warning. The idea that he could make himself get worse if he wasn’t careful disturbed him deeply. As a thief, his life was naturally dangerous, and he needed to be able to run at a moment’s notice. On top of that, he didn’t intend to stop participating in the battles to protect the peasants of the outer villages. He could do his best to cut back on the raids he went on with his companions but laying low until the herbalist found a cure for him just wasn’t an option.

He also didn’t like what this new information might mean for his plans with Penelope. He had wanted to find more ways to meet with her in between their current, formal meetings, but with Hazel watching him so closely, he didn’t know how he was going to get away. He let out his breath in a sigh. It was beginning to seem like seeing her more often would be harder than he thought.

After a full day of traveling, the two thieves arrived at the Younisian battlefront not long after nightfall. They made camp on a ridge that overlooked the knights’ barracks, where they planned to settle down for the night. Once they had laid out their bedrolls and gotten a fire started, Crow walked over to the edge of the overhang and sat down, dangling his legs over the edge as he gazed out at the flickering glow of the fires in the Younisian camp. He and Simon wouldn’t actually conduct their raid until the following night, but he was already getting excited.

Stealing from Younisian knights was much easier than stealing from the knights of his own kingdom. They never expected it, since they didn’t have many thieves in their land, and they still trusted in their goddess, Aeklora, to keep them safe. Fortunately for Crow, it seemed like Aeklora had decided to give him a pass after he had done her a favor—of course, he couldn’t know this for sure, but he liked to think he was receiving special treatment from the goddess after their brief encounter two years back. Regardless of whether his speculations were true, neither he nor his companions had been smote, so he guessed they were safe to continue raiding the Younisians during the war.

“Same plan as always?” Simon spoke up from behind him. The blonde thief stepped over to sit next to Crow, letting his legs hang over the ridge as well.

“Pretty much,” Crow shrugged, leaning back on his palms. “I doubt we’ll have any trouble this time, since we never have before.”

“Good,” Simon muttered. “I could use an easy win.”

Crow glanced at him curiously, “Why is that?”

“No reason,” the other thief shook his head, clearly unwilling to answer the question. A brief silence fell between them for a moment before he spoke again, “So… how long will this herbalist of yours be staying with us?”

“Hazel?” Crow felt a smirk tug at the corner of his lip. “She’ll be staying for as long as we need her.”

“That’s good,” Simon said casually. “It will be nice to have a physician around when the next battle happens.”

“Mhm,” Crow eyed him in amusement. “It will also be nice to have a pretty face around, right?”

“What?” Simon turned to him sharply, and Crow could see a warm blush on his cheeks.

“I knew it,” he laughed. “You’re interested in her, aren’t you?”

“Of course not,” Simon snorted. “I just appreciate the skills she’s bringing to our group. That’s all.”

“Right,” Crow nudged him teasingly. “It has nothing to do with the fact that you both like to read, and you both like intellectual conversations, and, not to mention, you find her undeniably attractive?”

“Fine,” Simon exhaled in defeat. “I [i]may[/i] have taken a bit of a liking to her... but can you blame me?” He met Crow’s gaze wistfully. “She’s the first woman who’s stayed with us that hasn’t been enamored with you or Alistair. Between the three of us, no woman ever gives me so much as a passing glance.”

Crow frowned, feeling a pang of sympathy for the other thief. He was a bit surprised to hear how deeply his companion had been bothered by such an issue though. Simon was always putting work and planning before everything else and had never seemed even remotely interested in pursuing women, unlike himself and Alistair, who made a point to flirt with practically any girls they found attractive. He supposed the blonde thief had just been hiding his desires from the rest of them, so they wouldn’t know how upset he really was.

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I think you two would make a good pair,” Crow offered him an encouraging smile.

“You really think so?” Simon sat up a bit straighter.

“Definitely,” he grinned.

Simon held his gaze for a moment before a small smile found its way onto his lips. “Thanks,” he murmured.

The two thieves sat in silence for a while longer before they eventually grew tired and settled down to sleep. Crow laid back on his bedroll and propped his head up on his arms, staring up at the starry sky above. As he did, Hazel’s words came back to him again and he felt a pang of nervousness for the upcoming raid. He let out his breath in a long exhale. It was too late to turn back now. He was just going to have to hope his illness didn’t impact him until he made it home.

[i]Please, just give me one day,[/i] he prayed as he closed his eyes and rolled onto his side to sleep. [i]I just need to make it through tomorrow night...[/i]