Crow nodded sleepily when Penelope said they should eat before they go to bed. His empty stomach was more than enough to persuade him to agree with her. With some effort, he managed to sit upright on the blankets, glancing at the knight as she rose unsteadily to her feet beside him. As he slowly came back to himself from his nap, he became aware that he should have offered to help her get up. Even though he was tired, he was still more stable than she was while she recovered from the drinks she’d had at the tavern.

So, when she offered him a hand to help him stand as well, he shook his head to turn down the offer. “I appreciate the gesture, love, but I’m pretty sure I’ll just drag you back down with me if I take your hand now,” he said with a bemused smirk. Bracing his legs, he climbed to his feet on his own and stretched one more time to wake up. Once he felt decently alert, he reached out and slipped one arm around Penelope’s waist to help her away from the wall. While he knew she had probably sobered up enough to make it to the dining table on her own, it was an excuse for him to stay close to her for a little longer, so he was going to take advantage of it while he still could.

“Let me help you instead,” he offered her a smile and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. When he felt like he had a firm grip on her waist, he held her against his side and walked over to the table, where Olivia was already seated and Gavin was setting out plates for everyone. Crow guided Penelope to one of the empty chairs, pulling it out from the table for her to sit down before settling down in a seat next to hers. He eyed Gavin curiously as the knight stirred the contents of a pot that smelled of rich spices. Sitting up a little straighter, he peered over the edge of the dish in an attempt to see what was inside.

“It’s another stew,” Olivia said from across the table, catching his intrigued expression. The female knight was resting her cheek in the palm of her hand in a bored posture. Knowing her fondness for mischief, Crow guessed that she didn’t find the peacefulness of Silas and Zenith’s home as enjoyable as he and the others did.

“It smells great,” the thief said.

“Gavin did most of the work,” Olivia shrugged, toying dully with her spoon. “He’s the only one here who would bother to learn something as boring as cooking.”

Crow glanced at the male knight, who seemed to be ignoring their conversation as he prepared bowls for the stew. Though he wasn’t particularly fond of Penelope’s ex suitor, and he had no intention of ever growing friendly with the man, he knew they couldn’t keep fighting with each other forever. As was evident from their horrid interrogation at the tavern, they needed to work together if they were going to get anything done. Perhaps this could be an opportunity for him to win some favor with the knight.

“It may be boring, but it’s a useful skill,” he said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms loosely over his chest. “I think he’s got the right idea. You nobles would be better off if you learned how to do more for yourselves. You can’t expect to rely on someone else to feed you forever.”