Penelope smiled against his lips as he kissed her again. "I love you too, Collin." She mumbled as he kissed her forehead. She walked with him over to the bedrolls and stepped over to the bed Rikki had laid out for her. The knight stretched, feeling weary from the long day they had had and the thought of the long day she had coming up. She began to settle down for the night and glanced over at Crow as he spoke again. "Me too." She agreed with a small frown as she thought about how long it had been since she was able to wake up besides him. It seemed they'd have to wait until after the war before they'd be able to do that again. 

She laid down comfortably and shifted to look over at him as he reached over and placed his hand over hers. "Goodnight." She mumbled before closing her eyes. The knight quickly felt herself begin to drift off to sleep. 

---

She sleep rather soundly through the night, only stirring a little when the others returned to the camp. Despite how tired she had been, the knight woke up rather early in the morning. Light from the sun seemed to hit her eyes just perfectly enough to eventually wake her up. Penelope let out a quiet groan and rolled over onto her back as she opened her eyes. She blinked at the unfamiliar setting and it took her a moment to recall all that had occurred the day before. Once it sank in, she sat up and glanced around at the thieves around her. 

Crow's companions all seemed to be fast asleep, likely knocked out due to how much alcohol they had consumed the night before. Alistair's face was buried into his mat making it seem like the male thief had simply collapsed upon his return home, which she guessed wasn't too far off from the truth. She also noted that Simon had chosen the mat furthest away from her. Though, he seemed a little more put together than the other male thief, even in his sleep. Her gaze finally drifted over to where Crow was sleeping nearby and stiffened slightly as she noticed how close Rikki rested besides him. The female thief was curled up besides him with half of her body on her own mat and the rest on his as she slept comfortably.

The knight shifted her gaze away uncomfortably. It seemed her guess about them hadn't been too far off. Though she couldn't blame Crow for being with someone else during their time apart, it seemed like he had yet to actually put distance between him and Rikki which did leave a feeling of unease for Penelope. It also left a spark of jealousy, wishing she was able to sleep besides him instead. After having such a peaceful time with him the night before, she didn't want to dwell on it now but couldn't help but feel an urge to wake him up, if only to get him away from the female thief. 

However, she didn't, quickly reminding herself that he likely had some reasoning and that he needed to get as much rest as he could since he was sick. To wake him up merely out of jealousy would be selfish and foolish so instead the knight carefully stepped away from the sleeping group and moved to stand at the other edge of camp. Her gaze flickered out at the early morning sky and she crossed her arms, wondering when she should leave. While she did want to wait for Crow to wake up, she wasn't sure she had the time and the knight didn't want to wake him while he still had a chance to get a decent amount of sleep. She let out a small sigh and turned her head as she heard footsteps. She noticed the herbalist stepping back over to the camp and mumbled a quiet, "Good morning."

"Already scurrying off to the other rats?" The herbalist seemed to have just returned to camp and was eying Penelope with the same cold look she had from the night before.

"I think so." Penelope answered quietly, ignoring the insult. "I want to get back to my camp as soon as I can."

Hazel glanced towards the sleeping thieves then looked back at Penelope, crossing her arms. "Does he already know you're leaving right now?" 

Penelope shook her head and Hazel snorted. "What a perfect pair." She muttered bitterly. "Typical rat." The knight raised an eyebrow at the herbalist's words, a little confused by them and what they meant. All of it just seemed like an insult and she was confused why Hazel was so quick to find it wrong of her to leave without alerting Crow. [i]Unless...[/i] The knight blinked. [i]Does she know about us?[/i] She was tempted to ask to find out but if the herbalist didn't know and was merely just distrusting of her, she didn't want to cause for any suspicion. 

"I just figured it'd be best to let him get as much sleep as he can right?" Penelope said narrowing her eyes at Hazel. She took a step towards the herbalist, making her tense up. Penelope casted a look at the others to make sure they were still asleep and then lowered her voice as she added, "I know he's sick."

Hazel eyes widened at the knight's words. "What?" She growled. "He told you that? Exactly how much do you know, rat?"

Penelope flinched at her sharp words and motioned for her to keep her voice down, worried the herbalist would wake the others. "Calm down. I only found out yesterday and certainly not willingly." She told her then crossed her arms as she looked at Hazel with annoyance as she referred to her as a rat again. "Also the name's Penelope."

"Didn't ask." Hazel spat, though quietly this time. "Explain what happened."

The knight shot her a glare. This herbalist was beginning to remind her of her brother in some ways. At least, they both seemed to share a foul temper. However, not looking to start a fight, the knight decided to continue to ignore her less than pleasant attitude. "We nearly got caught by a patrol after you let the other day.. We were escaping together when he suddenly collapsed. After that, I got him to tell me about what was wrong..." She paused glancing over towards the thief with a hint of worry slipping into her stoic gaze. "That it was a disease from Myrefall and, that it kills... And that you were trying to help him to find a cure." 

Penelope looked back over at Hazel as she heard the herbalist muttering something about an idiot snake. "Do you think you'll be able to do it?" She asked quietly. "Find a cure, I mean." 

Hazel met Penelope's gaze for a moment, seeming wary as she looked at the knight. The knight held her gaze, anxious at what the reply would be. She wanted to know what the herbalist thought so far, praying that she was already on track to cure the illness.  "As far as I'm concerned that's none of your business." Hazel snorted. Then paused, eying Penelope with a searching gaze that made the knight uneasy. "Why do you care so much anyways, knight?"

Penelope shifted a bit at her question. "He's a friend." She replied simply. "It's the same reason why I give him the information that I do." 

Hazel narrowed her eyes distrustingly. The knight let out a small sigh. It was beginning to seem like the herbalist merely thought she had ulterior motives rather than actually knowing or suspecting them of being together. Which would be much easier to deal with, especially since Penelope doubted it would cause to much trouble. She relaxed a little. 

"Anyways," Penelope began again as Hazel didn't reply right away. "I should be going.. Can you do me a favor and tell him I said goodbye and I'll see him in a week once he wakes up?"

"I don't do favors for noble scum." Hazel grumbled. 

The knight rolled her eyes. "Well then can you do him another favor and tell him I said that? It's best if I just leave without waking him just to say goodbye." 

"I'll think about it." Hazel muttered. 

"Thanks." Penelope said with a hint of bitterness as Hazel's unwillingness to do such a simple thing. She was about to head off but paused before quickly adding. "Also please, ask him about the physician. He'll know what I mean by that." This time the knight didn't wait for Hazel's reply and gave a small dip of her head to the herbalist before turning to head off in the direction of her camp.