Being focused on watching the surrounding forest, Crow didn’t notice Penelope fall back to his side until he felt her slip her hand into his. He blinked, coming back to himself a bit, and turned to meet her gaze as she asked him if he was alright. At first, he didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure where to even start. Admitting that he had eavesdropped on her conversation with Gavin the night before wasn’t an option, because he didn’t want her to know he had done it. Besides that, he also didn’t want to tell her that he was feeling inadequate for her. He was starting to think that it was the best decision to let her go back to her life as a knight after all, but he wasn’t ready to do that yet. Just the thought of saying goodbye to her all over again was crushing to him. He needed more time to prepare before he could handle that conversation clearheadedly.

“I’m fine,” he said after a moment. “I just haven’t slept well for the past couple nights.” As if to prove his point, he reached up with his left hand and gripped his right shoulder, rolling the joint until it popped in response. Unfortunately, the motion wasn’t enough to loosen up the tightness he had built up from his stress. Letting out his breath in a sigh, he dropped his hand back down to his side and looked down at her again with a reassuring smile, “I’m a little sore, but I’ll be alright.”

Giving her hand a squeeze, he fell silent again and returned to looking for patrols in the forest. He hoped the explanation he had given her would be enough for her to let the subject drop. The last thing he wanted was to tell her the truth—that he knew he wasn’t good enough for her, and that she would be better off without him around to drag her down. So, he tried to indicate with his body language that he was done with the conversation by avoiding her searching eyes and keeping lookout to stay busy.