Crow wandered aimlessly through the trees, having no destination in mind as he made his way east of the camp. All he wanted to do was get away for a while to process through everything Hazel had told him. He was still reeling from the fact that there was a chance he would never heal from his illness. Before, he had thought he would either recover completely or die trying. To find out that there was an unexpected third option wasn’t the best way to start the day. He sighed, brushing a low-hanging tree branch aside as he walked through a particularly thick part of the woods. Of all the news Hazel could have given him, he supposed this wasn’t the worst. Even if he never got better, at least they seemed to know for sure that he wasn’t going to die from the disease. He could still have the future he wanted with Penelope; it just might not look exactly the same as what he had pictured before. He should still be grateful that he could be with her at all. After a while, he slowed to a stop and looked up, realizing that while he had been lost in thought, he had wandered a bit farther than he had intended. He was currently standing near to the spot where he had intercepted Penelope on her way back from Myrefall the night before. He glanced in the direction of the knights’ camp. Not wanting to linger so close to them while he was alone, he turned around to make his way back to the river, his stomach growling to remind him that it was almost time for lunch. -- When he arrived back at the thieves’ camp, he found his companions all sitting outside in the shade of the trees, eating a simple meal of dark bread and freshly picked blueberries that it looked like Rikki had found. When the female thief noticed him approach, she greeted him with a friendly grin and gestured for him to come sit by her. “Hazel told me you went out for a walk,” she said, handing him a full plate of food. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be back in time to eat with us, so I got this for you.” “Thanks,” he nodded appreciatively as he accepted the plate. Popping a handful of blueberries into his mouth, he turned to her in surprise. “These are pretty good. Where’d you find them?” “Near the Younisian border,” Rikki sat up proudly. “There’s a whole bunch of bushes over there that no one else seems to know about. As long as it stays that way, the harvest will last the five of us for the rest of the summer.” “Nice job,” Crow said, swallowing another mouthful. “It’ll be helpful for us to have at least a few food sources that don’t require us to steal from the knights.” “I think so too,” Rikki agreed. “I don’t want to give them a reason to come after us again—especially not after what happened last time.” She shuddered. “We got lucky that Penelope was so quick to warn us. I’d rather not risk it all over again.” Crow eyed her curiously, “I’ve never heard you so hesitant to steal. You’re not getting soft on me, are you?” “Not a chance,” she gave him a playful shove. “I just think we should be a little more careful.” Her lighthearted expression faded as she went on. “This is the longest we’ve ever gone stealing from the same group of people. I suppose I’m just a little concerned about giving them a reason to retaliate.” Crow nodded, understanding what she meant. Before the war, they used to travel near the central kingdom to rob nobles of their excess wealth. They never hit the same manor twice, and they moved around frequently enough that the local guards could never pin them down. Now, they were consistently raiding the same knights and had planted themselves down in an immobile camp because they often harbored too many war supplies to carry in one trip. It was a much riskier method of living. “We’ll be alright,” he offered her a reassuring smile. “Trust me. The tunnels we’re living in now are safer than the ravine ever was. Even if the knights somehow manage to find us again, it’ll be easy to keep them out of our camp.” “I guess so,” Rikki sighed, biting into her piece of bread and chewing thoughtfully. The two thieves passed the rest of the time eating and chatting idly. Once Crow was finished with his lunch, he set his plate aside and met her gaze challengingly. “What do you say we go work off this food with a sparring match?” Recalling how well he had been able to keep up his stamina when running last night, he hoped she would be willing to help him test his fighting abilities today. “I thought you weren’t supposed to spar until you’re better?” Rikki prodded him teasingly. “Well, I feel better now,” he retorted, smirking at her snidely. “What? You’re not afraid of losing to an ill man, are you?” Since their fighting styles were so similar—he still used his speed to overpower an opponent as Penelope had taught him long ago—Crow always won when he sparred against Rikki simply because he had the advantage of strength over her. He hoped that by flaunting this fact, he might get under her skin just enough that she would throw caution aside and give in to his request. “Please,” Rikki snorted. “I nearly won against Alistair recently, and he’s the best swordsman in our group. If anything, I’m worried I’ll beat you so badly, you won’t be able to recover.” “Sounds like an excuse to me,” Crow shrugged nonchalantly. “But it’s fine. I understand if you’d prefer to save face. I’ll just ask Alistair or Simon instead. They’re better competition anyway.” “Gods, you’re infuriating,” Rikki groaned and shot him a glare as his words finally got to her. “Fine. If you really want to get trounced that badly, I’ll spar with you.” “I can’t say no to that,” Crow grinned. “I can,” Hazel spoke up from where she was sitting with Simon beneath a nearby tree. The herbalist crossed her arms over her chest. “You know you’re supposed to be resting, Crow. That means no fighting.” The thief turned towards her, ready to argue, but then paused, his eyes flicking towards the others as a thought crossed his mind. “Can I speak with you privately?” he asked, changing his approach at the last second, as he decided he preferred not to have this conversation with her so publicly. Hazel pursed her lips for a moment and then nodded. “Fine,” she said, rising to her feet. “I just hope you know that if this is to change my mind, you’re wasting your time.” “Perhaps,” he said vaguely, standing up as well to walk with her. Once they were far enough away from the other thieves that they wouldn’t be overheard, he stopped and turned to face her again. “Why are you so opposed to the idea of me doing anything besides resting in the camp?” he narrowed his eyes accusingly. “This is the best I’ve felt since before I came to find you in Silverpool, yet you’re acting like I’m still on my deathbed.” “I just don’t want to see all of this progress go to waste,” Hazel answered curtly. “If you strain yourself and get worse again, I don’t know if there’s anything more I can do to heal you.” Crow held her gaze contemplatively for a moment before speaking up again, “This is about what happened in the last battle, isn’t it?” “What?” the herbalist blinked, caught off guard. “I knew it,” he sighed. “You’ve been acting different ever since that accident happened. It’s like you think I’ve suddenly turned into some fragile creature that needs protecting from the big bad world.” He shook his head. “Well, despite what you seem to think of me, I can take care of myself. I have no intention of getting worse again. I know my limits, and I won’t push myself past what I can handle.” “How can you possibly know what your limits are?” this time it was Hazel’s turn to accuse him. She knitted her brow suspiciously. “I thought you’ve been following my orders to rest.” Crow faltered slightly as he realized the slip of his tongue. “When I went on that walk earlier today, I tried running again, just to see if I could,” he lied, lowering his gaze to the ground as if embarrassed for having been caught. “I figured out that I can keep going until I get a pain in my chest right here.” He gestured to the spot in the left side of his ribcage where he had felt the twinge before. “That must be where the worst blood clot is,” Hazel mused, seeming interested in this new information. She looked up to meet his gaze with a frown. “While I don’t approve of your reckless method of finding this out, I suppose it does give us a way to better track your progress.” “Does that mean you’ll stop forcing me to rest all day?” he asked hopefully. “As long as you continue to be careful not to push yourself too far, then yes,” she admitted reluctantly. “Great,” he smiled. “I’ll let Raven know.” The two walked back to rejoin the others, and Crow headed over to where Rikki was sitting. He shot her a competitive smirk, “I hope you’re ready to surrender, love, because our match is still on.”