"Ok, how does it feel so far? Not too heavy is it?"

Penelope shifted uneasily as she gripped a heavy wooden shield in one hand while drawing her sword with the other. It was the next day and she had been training when she noticed Tomas practicing as well. However, the older lieutenant had been skillfully wielding both a sword and shield as he practice, something she had seen him do on a few occasions. Interested by his technique, she decided to ask him about it, which eventually lead to her picking up a shield as well. Normally, she only used her sword, being more familiar with using it alone rather than with a shield that would also weigh her down greatly. Her swiftness was usually her greatest strength in battle so she often avoided things that would weaken that. 

"It's a little heavy.. It'd definitely take a while to get used to." She answered him as she fixed her grip on the shield. 

Tomas nodded his head. "It gets easier with practice but it really helps your defense during a battle." He paused and gave an eager smile. "Want me to show you a few moves?"

"Sure." Penelope nodded.

---

The two spent a good majority of the evening practicing with the shields. Tomas was a patient teacher and even seemed to find some enjoyment in mentoring her on how to use the shield effectively. He was forced to go slowly due to her lack of experience and often stop for breaks since her arm grew tired of moving the shield around so much. Penelope wasn't sure it was a weapon that she wanted to continue to training with, though she did find a bit of comfort in having a better defense. Tomas seemed willing to give her more lessons if she so desired though. 

With the training over with, Penelope rested a bit before she'd have to take over a guard shift from Olivia. As it grew later, she headed out of her tent and traveled to the south part of their camp where Olivia was waiting for her. "Ah there you are." Olivia smiled as she saw her approaching. "Good time since I have to go soon."

Penelope raised an eyebrow at Olivia. "At this time? Where are you going?" She asked her confused. Olivia held her gaze and Penelope blinked with realization. With everything that had been happening, she had nearly forgotten that Olivia had been occasionally meeting with Alistair. "Oh... right." she mumbled. 

"Took you long enough." Olivia laughed. 

"I'm surprised you're still meeting up with him." she mused. "Especially after their camp got discovered and all."

"We have a meeting spot." Olivia shrugged. She winked at Penelope. "He's quite entertaining so I don't see any reason in ending things yet."

Penelope eyed Olivia for a moment. Despite the somewhat sultry words, Olivia seemed geniuenely enlivened about meeting with Alistair again. That and also a bit impatient to leave. The knight also noticed her friend shifting away slightly, likely hoping their conversation wouldn't drag on too long. She smirked teasingly. "Sounds like you're getting attached."

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Olivia rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not. I'm just enjoying myself. Can you blame me?" she gave a suggestive smirk. "Feelings aside, even you know that those thieves can be quite skilled with-"

"Alright, alright." Penelope waved her hand dismissively. She shook her head a little and let out a small sigh.

Olivia laughed. "I'll see you later, Penelope."

"Bye Olivia." She nodded watched her friend slip out of camp before focusing on her guard duty as the night wore on.