Crow nodded when Penelope pointed out a small clearing near the river where they could stop and rest. He followed her lead as she made her way over to it and then set down his bag to stretch his arms and shoulders. There was still a slight twinge in his back from when he had slept wrong the night before, and he wanted to loosen up to make sure it wouldn’t get worse after a full day of hiking through the woods. Since he’d been living outdoors and sleeping on the ground for so long, he’d had other bad experiences with letting such a mild injury go unchecked and suffering the consequences after a long day of activity. He wasn’t keen to do it again.

He glanced at Penelope as she stepped over to a grassy spot to sit down and then moved to join her as she gestured for him to sit at her side. Settling down in the grass, he stretched out his legs and leaned contentedly against the knight’s side. He was glad that they were able to travel together like this again. It reminded him of their short time together before the war. Even though they were back in the company of other knights, he enjoyed being able to spend every moment with her without parting ways.

As she mentioned that he could take some of the food in her bag if he was hungry, he turned to her with a grin. “Well you know I never turn down an offer for free food,” he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks, love.”

Reaching across to her bag, he dragged it across the grass to search through the contents. Earlier that day, he’d stopped for a quick lunch in the marketplace in Whitebridge, and there was still quite a bit of time left before supper, but he always had at least a bit of an appetite that needed sating. He wasn’t sure why—perhaps it was because of how much energy he spent during the day—but whatever the case was, having extra meals was a luxury he never passed up.

After a bit of digging, Crow found a couple of apples and set Penelope’s bag aside again. He laid back in the grass in a relaxed manner as he ate, looking up at the sky and noting that the sun was only about a third of the way down the western horizon. It looked like they were making good time to Aramoor.

When he finished the apples, he tossed the cores into the bushes and propped his head on one arm. Glancing up at Penelope, he reached for her hand and gave it a tug. “Lay down with me,” he smiled at her. “The grass is really comfortable right here, and we still have some time left before we need to keep moving.”