“Mhm,” Hazel grunted with a curt nod as Penelope thanked her for setting up a meeting between her and Crow. She hadn’t really done so out of the goodness of her heart, since she knew the thief would most likely just continue to sneak out on his own if she refused to arrange something for them. This way was simply the safer option. He wouldn’t risk wandering all the way to the knights’ camp to find her, and he would stay close enough that if something went wrong, she and his other friends would all be close enough to help if he needed them.

With her meeting with the nobles finally reaching its close, the herbalist got up from the table and followed Penelope to the door of the tavern. She stepped out onto the street but hesitated for a moment instead of going back to her camp right away. She followed the two noblewomen with her eyes, waiting until they were far enough away before she circled around the side of the Ivory Hatchet to check if Crow had followed her again and was lingering nearby.

Since she had called out to him the last time, and she knew he wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice, she decided to try sneaking up on him if he was in fact behind the building. However, as she completed her circuit, she found no one. Letting out a quiet huff, she propped her hands on her hips and glanced over the other buildings in the village and then up at the roof of the tavern. He wasn’t there either.

[i]Guess he didn’t follow me after all,[/i] she thought with a satisfied smirk, turning to head back to the hideout to get some sleep for the night.

--

Crow traveled cautiously through the forest north of Myrefall with his hood drawn over his head and one hand resting loosely on the hilt of his dagger. His eyes flickered over the shadows of the trees around him in search of movement. With his illness sticking around like a stubborn tick, he wanted to make sure there weren’t any patrols nearby that might spot him out by himself. It had been a while since the last time he’d had a fainting spell, but he wasn’t about to take any chances that another one could still happen. That meant making sure he didn’t run into any trouble that would force him to strain himself in a fight.

Fortunately, the forest remained quiet, and the only movement he saw was a small herd of deer slightly south of where he was headed. It seemed like there were no patrols nearby, so he was able to relax a bit as he continued weaving through the trees of a dense area in the woods. When he did, his mind naturally wandered to Penelope, and his heart beat excitedly at the thought of seeing her again. It had been so long. Even if he was only able to talk to her for a moment, he looked forward to having at least some time with her again. It was better than waiting for gods knew how long until his illness was cured.

He climbed nimbly over a fallen tree as he continued to the northernmost side of the village. Despite the occasional coughing episodes that didn’t seem to fade, he felt almost as good as he had before he’d caught the disease to begin with. Hazel had to reason to be so protective of him. As long as he was careful to take care of himself, making a short trip like this was nothing, and he could easily do it again once he made plans to meet up with Penelope later on.

The thief kept walking until he reached a midway point between Myrefall and the knights’ camp to the north. Here, he stopped to contemplate the trickier part of this trip: separating Penelope from that physician she was with. He already had a nearly complete plan in mind.

Knowing that noble healers didn’t specialize in fighting, he guessed that part of the reason why Penelope continued to accompany this physician to Myrefall every time she met with Hazel was for her protection. If he could give them a reason to think they were under attack, he might be able to coax the knight into parting with the physician for her own safety. However, while the plan was good, it wasn’t enough by itself.

For one thing, Penelope might stay even closer to the other woman in order to keep her safe if she thought whoever was attacking them was after the healer. For another, the plan could go terribly wrong if she went after him before she realized who he was. He had to find a way to trick the physician into thinking she was in danger while also sending the knight a sign, so she would know it was him. It was the only way his plan would work.

Lost in thought as he tried to come up with a way to solve his dilemma, Crow flinched at the sound of an owl’s loud hoot overhead. He craned his neck to peer up into the branches of the tree where the bird was perched and shot it a glare, annoyed that the animal had managed to catch him off guard. The owl just stared back at him with wide, unblinking eyes and then spread its large wings to take off into the night sky. The thief scoffed and shook his head, still feeling slightly embarrassed at having been so startled by a bird.

Suddenly, he blinked as a small flash of motion caught his eye. A feather was fluttering down from where the owl had been perched just a moment ago, landing softly at his feet. He looked down at it, a smile slowly spreading across his lips as an idea formed in his head.

--

Once he was ready, Crow took up a position behind a wide tree near the route he suspected Penelope and the physician would take to get back to their camp. With his dagger in his hand, he leaned just far enough around the trunk to watch the trodden path without being in sight, himself. His heart skipped nervously in his chest as he waited for the two nobles to appear. Even though he had refined his plan, he still didn’t know if it would be enough. It all depended on whether or not Penelope noticed the sign.

His eyes flicked towards the southern side of the path as he caught sight of two figures making their way towards him from Myrefall. He held his breath as his gaze landed on Penelope’s face for the first time in almost three weeks, and he had to force himself not to lose focus. Gripping his weapon tightly in his right hand, he edged a bit farther behind the tree as the women passed his hiding spot, so they wouldn’t be able to see him.

As soon as their backs were turned to him, the thief cocked back his dagger, his green eyes fixed on the healer, and threw the blade at her head. It cut seamlessly through the air and embedded itself deep in the trunk of a tree just in front of her face. The dagger’s silver blade glinted sinisterly in the moonlight, a stark contrast with its dark leather hilt and the gray-and-black speckled owl feather haphazardly tied to it.

Crow swallowed nervously and crouched behind the tree, his eyes locked on Penelope as he hoped to catch a glimpse of recognition in her gaze. It had been two years since he had told her the story behind his name, and the feather he had attached to the weapon didn’t belong to a crow, but he hoped it was enough for her to remember what it meant.