Almost as soon as Crow fell back to join Olivia and Alistair, he felt someone throw an arm over his shoulders that made him stumble. Looking up, he saw that Alistair had appeared next to him with a wide grin. “Look who d’cided t’join us,” he laughed and then met the other thief’s gaze. “’M glad y’let us come wi’h you o’ this trip. S’ been fun.”

“Why wouldn’ I?” Crow shrugged, momentarily forgetting about his reasoning for keeping Alistair and Rikki in the dark about Jaxon. In his current state of inebriation, it sounded like a good enough idea to bring the others along. Well, maybe not Rikki. She had been pestering him quite a bit, and he was beginning to regret letting her come along. Alistair, however, had spent all of his time with Olivia, causing no trouble whatsoever aside from tricking him into getting drunk. He was pleasant company to be around.

“I ‘unno,” Alistair shook his head and then glanced at Olivia with a coy expression that made her giggle. “But ‘m glad y’did.” He looked back at Crow again with a knowing glint in his eye. “So, I no’iced you seem pretty close t’that other knigh’, huh?”

“Yeah,” Crow’s eyes wandered to Penelope ahead of him, and a soft smile spread across his lips of its own accord. “I love ‘er.” The alcohol in his system took away his reluctance to admit his feelings for the knight to his companion, so the words flowed easily off his tongue.

“Really?” Alitair quirked a brow and then clapped the other thief on the back, making him stumble again. “Well, goo’ f’r you!” In the next moment, he leaned in close and lowered his voice again, casting a subtle gesture towards Olivia. “Maybe ‘f I c’n ge’ this one o’ board wit’ it, we c’n both marry knigh’s.”

“Maybe,” Crow smirked at him in amusement. It was difficult to tell if Alistair was really serious about marrying Olivia or if it was just the alcohol talking, but the thief didn’t bother to press him for the information. Instead, his eyes wandered back to Penelope one more time as he suddenly wanted to walk beside her again.

“’Ey,” he said, looking between Alistair and Olivia. “I jus’ came back ‘ere to see ‘f eith’r o’ you needed any ‘elp. So, do you?”

“Nah,” Olivia waved a hand. “We’re fine ‘f we jus’ lean on each oth’r som’times.”

“M’kay,” Crow nodded, standing up slightly straighter in excitement at the thought of rejoining Penelope at the front of the group again. “Then ‘m gonna go back t’ Pe’elope now.” Without waiting for a reply, he hastened his pace to trot up beside the knight again, fumbling to take her hand in his again when he reached her.

“Guesss who’s back,” he grinned at her fondly, taking no notice of the fact that Gavin had gotten closer to her in his absence. “Di’ y’miss me?”

The knight wrinkled his nose slightly in distaste at the sight of the thief and then turned away from him. He only spoke up again when they reached the edge of the camp, when he addressed Penelope: “Do you need help sitting down?” He studied her with a softness in his eyes that didn’t slip past Crow’s drunken gaze.

The thief narrowed his eyes, disliking the way the other man was looking at her. “I c’n help ‘er do tha’ much,” he said, wrapping one arm around the female knight’s waist both to steady her against his side and make it clear to Gavin that he wasn’t going anywhere. “Thanks, bu’ she doesn’ need yer help an’more.”

Gavin shot him a glare, but after a moment of hesitation, he looked away again, seeming to think better of arguing with the stubborn thief. “I’m going to get started on supper,” he muttered, pulling away from Penelope as he made his way over to the cooking supplies near the center of the clearing.

Crow watched him go until he felt content that the knight would leave them alone and then turned back to Penelope with a smile. “C’mon,” he said, holding her close to his side as he walked her over to a nearby tree. “Le’s sit ov’r here ‘til supper’s ready.”