“Maybe,” Crow murmured with a hint of disbelief when Penelope said the days might go by faster. He had a feeling they were going to be quite the opposite. With the upcoming battle—possibly two—he suspected the days to come were going to be long and rough. He partly hoped that he might cross paths with her during the battle, but he knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to purposefully seek her out. For one thing, he didn’t want to get distracted when he needed to focus on staying alive and out of any situations that might trigger his illness. For another, he didn’t want to distract her either. He knew that if they ran into each other, she would just be concerned about protecting him during the fight. If something happened to her because of him, he didn’t know what he would do. It was better for both of them if they stayed away from each other until the battle—or [i]battles[/i] were over.

He wrapped his arms around the small of Penelope’s back as she stepped over to embrace him. Leaning down slightly, he met her halfway when she moved to kiss him. Knowing they wouldn’t see each other for another week, he lingered there for a moment, memorizing the feeling of their lips and bodies pressed against each other. It didn’t do much to lessen his discouragement that they would have to be separated for so long again, but he felt a bit more at ease when they finally parted.

At her parting words, he smiled softly. “I love you too. And don’t worry; I’m a man of my word.” He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before loosening his hold on her, so that she could step back from him. Walking with her to the door, he stepped around the knight to pull it open. He allowed her to pass through first and then followed her into the night, making sure to shut the door behind him. Having already said his words of goodbye to her, he turned to head back to his camp. However, he didn’t get far before he heard a faint rustling sound come from around the side of the house.

Crow bristled and turned towards the source of the noise. Had someone followed them? He tensed, reaching for the daggers he kept at his waist. He hoped it was just a wild animal. There were often raccoons and other small creatures wandering about Myrefall during the night, so it wasn’t unlikely. Besides, if it was a person, they were acting strangely by trying to take cover. The only ones around who might happen to eavesdrop on them that he knew of were the local guards, and it was unusual for any knight to hide in such a furtive manner. Perhaps a rogue thief had happened upon the small house and hadn’t realized the occupants were leaving?

Casting a wary glance towards Penelope, he slowly and quietly edged his way around the side of the old building with his weapons drawn and his guard raised high. As he neared the backside of the house, he narrowed his eyes, catching sight of the toe of a boot around the corner. So, it wasn’t an animal after all. Taking advantage of the fact that the stranger hadn’t seemed to notice him yet, he raised the dagger in his right hand and crept up to the edge of the wall. In the next moment, he stepped out sharply and pivoted on the ball of his foot, pressing his left hand forcefully against the person’s chest to pin them to the wall while he aimed his dagger at their throat with the other.

The thief curled his lip in a threatening snarl, prepared to question the stranger about what they were doing outside the house, but then faltered as he caught sight of a familiar face. “Rikki?” he breathed as he met his friend’s frightened brown eyes. Lowering his blade from her neck, he blinked at her confusedly. “What are you doing here?”

“I…” she faltered, averting her gaze as she choked on her own words. As she turned her head, Crow caught a glimpse of tears in her eyes, reflected in the moonlight, and he felt the color drain from his face.

“H-how long have you been standing out here?” he stammered, taking a step back to release her from the wall.

Rikki took a moment to collect herself before she replied in hoarse voice, “The whole time.” Looking up at him again, she rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palm, streaking wet tears across her cheeks. “I followed you from camp because I wanted to make sure you were safe… At first, I stayed away from this place because I didn’t want to eavesdrop, but you were taking so long, I just… I-I wanted to see if you were alright and—” she choked again and brought a hand to her mouth to muffle the sound of her quiet cries.

“You saw, didn’t you?” Crow said quietly.

“Through the window,” Rikki murmured, sniffling softly.

He sighed, sheathing his daggers and turning back to Penelope. “You should go back to your camp,” he said. “I’ll talk to her.”