Crow shot Gavin a glare as the knight accused him of making the situation worse. He knew he hadn’t tried to be particularly clever about encouraging the others to keep drinking, but with so many more important things to think about, such as how he was going to keep the drunken villagers from telling the knights about what he had done, he couldn’t afford to waste time trying to fool everyone about this. He just hoped the suspicious knight wouldn’t dwell on it.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple.

As Gavin suddenly suggested that Penelope should stay behind to make sure their drunken companions didn’t cause trouble, Crow averted his gaze to look over the tavern, hiding his frustrated expression from the others. It seemed like he should have put in a little more effort to keep his head down, after all. He exhaled, trying to think of a way to turn the situation around, but coming up with nothing helpful. In that moment, he was beginning to wish he’d gotten more sleep the night before. Maybe then he would have been quicker on his feet instead of stumbling just to put a little bit of distance between himself and Gavin.

Fortunately, Penelope came to his rescue by suggesting that Gavin should be the one to stay behind with the others. Crow glanced at her curiously. While he knew there was no way she could have known just how much she was helping him, he was grateful for her efforts to keep Gavin from breathing down his neck. Of course, the other knight tried to fight against the change in plans, but she shot down his attempt quickly by bringing up how poorly their last interrogation had gone.

When she turned to him at last, he returned her smile with a grin of his own, “I guess so.” Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and reached beneath the table to give her hand an appreciative squeeze. “Thank you,” he whispered. “That ex suitor of yours has been practically keeping me chained to his side today.” Not wanting to draw any more scathing comments from the other knight, he pulled away from Penelope again before anyone could react to their momentary closeness, bringing his mug to his lips and finishing off the rest of his ale.

Because of how much Olivia and the other thieves were drinking, a wench was quick to replace his empty glass with a fresh one. He eyed the full drink hesitantly. Usually, he preferred to stop after just one mug, since he wanted to stay sober, but two glasses of ale definitely weren’t enough to get him drunk either, especially if he worked on them slowly. He casted another look around the tavern. While his companions were drinking themselves into oblivion, there were very few other people who looked intoxicated. There was still some time to kill before he and Penelope could finish the interrogation.

[i]I suppose it couldn’t hurt to have just one more,[/i] he decided, lifting the new mug to his lips.

Almost immediately, he felt someone wrap an arm around his shoulders, and he looked up to see a red-faced Rikki standing over him with a drunken grin. “So, you decided t’ join us after all, huh?” she slurred, getting closer to him than he was comfortable with. “Well, yer gonna have t’ do better than tha’! We’re all ‘n our fourth mugs.”

“I told you already,” Crow rolled his eyes, pushing her away from him. “I’ll drink with you, but I’m not going to play your ridiculous game.”

“Why no’?” Rikki pouted, fighting back against the hand he was using to try to put distance between them. “’S jus’ a bit o’ fun.” She managed to get a little closer to him again and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “B’sides… you know we always have a [i]grea’[/i] time when yer drunk…”

Crow colored slightly and groaned inwardly, wishing she would stop bringing up their past in front of Penelope. “I’m not getting drunk with you, and that’s final,” he said stubbornly. “This is my last drink. After that, I’m—” Suddenly, he was cut off as Rikki leaned in and pressed her lips against his. His eyes widened in surprise, and he stiffened, taking a moment to comprehend what was happening before he snapped out of his shock and pushed her away more roughly this time. Behind them, Alistair and Olivia were whooping and laughing wildly, seeming to have found the kiss entertaining.

“Wha’ was tha’ for?” Rikki frowned disappointedly.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know,” Crow snarled at her. “I know you’re not drunk enough to have forgotten that I’m with Penelope. That was completely uncalled for.”

“It was jus’ a bit o’ fun,” Rikki shrugged. “Ligh’en up.” She turned towards the knight with a sly smirk. “Pe’elope knows i’ was jus’ harmless fun… righ’?”