Crow glanced across the table as Penelope defended his idea to remain in Aramoor for one more day. While he appreciated her support, he doubted anything she could say would change Gavin’s mind. Her former suitor was hell-bent on pinning him with the atrocities in their camp, and the fact that they hadn’t heard even a whisper about Jaxon and his thieves wasn’t helping his situation. Unless they found someone who had seen the group pass through and could point them in the right direction, he knew there would be nothing else that could convince Gavin that he was innocent.

He shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable as he watched the knight from the corner of his eye. Until this point, Gavin had been mostly civil with him—well, as civil as anyone could expect a knight to be with a thief—but there was no telling if that would stay the same. If they couldn’t find a lead on Jaxon, it wouldn’t be much longer before Gavin concluded with certainty that he had been at fault. The knight seemed to have been holding back from doing anything to him for Penelope’s sake, but Crow couldn’t imagine that he would stay this calm forever if he truly believed he was in the presence of a man who had murdered his comrades in cold blood. He was going to have to keep an eye on him in case Gavin decided to take advantage of his proximity and attack while he still had the chance.

[color=fff79a][b]“Consider that a direct order from your higher up.”[/b][/color]

Crow blinked and looked up at Penelope in amusement. With all the disputes happening amongst the group, he had nearly forgotten about her status as a lieutenant. He glanced towards Gavin and bit back a smirk as he saw the knight turn red with embarrassment. He guessed that Gavin was so used to viewing Penelope as an equal that he’d forgotten that she outranked him as well. For her to suddenly use the power she had to make the decision to stay in Aramoor must have taken him by surprise.

It was beginning to look like things would settle down, but of course, Gavin had to make one last remark to keep the thief from getting his way.

“You want me to just sit around and do nothing while you three go out and interrogate the villagers by yourselves?” Crow folded his arms over his chest and met the knight’s gaze stubbornly. “No way. I’m the only one here who knows what we’re looking for. You need me.”

“We have plenty enough to work with already,” Gavin said with rivaling determination. “We’ll be just fine on our own.”

Crow clenched his jaw, prepared to keep arguing with the knight about it. However, just as he was about to open his mouth again to retort, his eyes flicked towards Zenith, and he paused as another thought flitted through his mind. “Alright, fine,” he said, resting his hands behind his head and reclining back in his chair. “If you’re so sure you can handle it on your own, I don’t mind taking a day off.”

Gavin stared at him, seeming taken aback by his abrupt change in attitude. The knight studied him for a moment before reaching towards his belt and retrieving a set of cuffing chains, “I don’t suppose you would mind wearing these then? Just so I know you don’t try to “help” us behind the scenes.”

Crow fought the urge to roll his eyes. The knight was taking every precaution to make sure he couldn’t sabotage them. If only he would put that energy towards catching the real thieves who had raided their camp, then perhaps they would start making better progress. “Chain away, my friend,” he said, holding out his hands in an apathetic shrug. “I was just going to take a nap anyway.” He glanced towards Penelope and shot her a subtle, conniving wink that her former suitor didn’t catch.

Gavin’s lips thinned into a straight line as he eyed the thief, searching for signs of deception. Crow’s compliance seemed to only make him more suspicious that something was off. “Very well then,” he said after a pause, rising to his feet from the table and moving to stand near a wooden support beam near the center of the room where the blankets had been laid out.

Crow got up and ambled over to the same spot. “In case you were wondering, I’m left handed,” he said with a smirk as he offered the knight his wrist.

“I’m sure that’s a lie,” Gavin snorted as he took hold of the thief’s right hand and clasped the chain around it.

“Oh, damn,” Crow sighed dryly. “And I was so hoping you wouldn’t figure me out. Looks like my plans have been foiled.”

Gavin just scoffed in response to his sarcastic comment and gave the chain a tug to make sure it was fastened securely. Once he was sure the thief was confined, he turned back to the others. “Let’s get going. I don’t want to lose any more time than we already have.”