Gavin reached the clearing in relatively good time. He had been a bit slow—trying to be extra cautious of not being seen—and luckily his efforts seemed to pay off. Now it was just a matter of locating that manipulating thief. He was nearly about to begin his search when footsteps caught his attention. A figure heading eastward caught his attention and he quickly ducked behind nearby bushes. He peaked out from his hiding spot to see who was passing through. It appeared that the gods were on his side that night as the recognizable figure of the thief he was searching for passed through. 

The male knight held his breath as he prepared himself to face the criminal. He wanted to put an end to this charade. However, something made him hesitate. Studying how the thief was walking, it seemed he had a set location in mind. [i]His camp?[/i] Gavin began to rethink his decision. After all, he was the leader of a band of thieves. It would be wiser to track down where they were located and then lead a patrol to capture all of the criminals, not just the one.

Deciding that made more sense than to just corner the one thief, he hung back slightly as he waited for Crow to walk a little further ahead of him. Once he deemed there was enough distance between them, Gavin began to move silently after the thief, his heart pounding in his chest. One wrong step and he could potentially give himself away to this golden opportunity in front of him. He had to be careful. 

And fortunately, he was. He trailed behind the thief, using the forest and it's shadows for cover as Crow lead them much further than the male knight expected him to. Gavin was beginning to question if he was really going to his camp or merely out for a midnight stroll. Regardless, the thief had to return to his camp at some point so with that in mind, Gavin followed him patiently. 

Eventually his patience seemed to pay off but in a far different way than what he had expected. The thief stopped in a clearing to address a figure he didn't recognize to be either of the other two thieves. Gavin raised an eyebrow and watched as Crow approached the lone figure, beginning to conversate with him. He wasn't close enough to make out the words but judging by how the two reacted to each other appearance, it was clear that this encounter was planned. The ginger narrowed his gaze distrustfully as he watched the two interact. Though he couldn't see Crow's face, he saw the other man's, just barely able to make out his features in the pale moonlight. 

With a smile and seemingly calm voice, the two seemed rather familiar with each other. However, he couldn't make out much do to the distance. Gavin clenched his jaw. He had to get closer without being discovered by them. Taking a steeling breath, he began to creep closer, using some nearby bushes for cover. Unfortunately they still kept him a good distance from the two as they talked but at least now he was able to make out some of their conversation. 

"...one knight who's suspicious.........keep it that way."

"...the benefit of being part of my group...."

Gavin strained to listen to them. He clenched his fist as it sounded like the thief was mentioning him to this man and that they were working together. [i]Maybe his group of thieves weren't the only ones after all..[/i] he began to realize that maybe Crow hadn't completely made up that Jaxon thief. Instead, it was just beginning to seem like he was working for him. 

"..-won't hurt Penelope."

"...-For the sake of our alliance....leave her out of it.."

The male knight stiffened at her name and felt anger boil in him again. It seemed he was right in guessing that Crow was just using her for the information she provided him. He dug his nails into the palms of his hands, as he restrained himself. Even though he had already knew he was manipulating her, there was something about hearing it for himself that made it even worse, especially knowing how deeply she seemed to care for him. 

"...one week..." 

He blinked, caught up in his momentary anger he wasn't paying enough attention to the conversation. As he heard them mention 'one week' he wondered what that meant. Was it another raid? Or perhaps another meeting? Either way he doubted it was something good. It also seemed to be the end of this meeting and he watched as Crow separated from the other man and began to head back into the direction he came. Gavin watched him with a venomous gaze. He had learned some interesting things tonight but what he had heard still left him with many questions about what the thief was doing as well as what he should do to stop him. 

There was also his anger that prevented him from just turning and heading back to his own camp. He had to do what he came out for in the first place, to confront Crow. Gavin moved to get ahead of him, wanting to let some distance grow between Crow and the other man before he confronted the thief. If he tried to attack him, he wanted it to be a fair fight. Once he had successfully gotten ahead of the thief, he drew his sword and stepped right into the thief's path, glaring icily at him. "Well that was sure interesting." he growled as he gripped the hilt of his weapon in his hand. "Care to explain what it was about, thief?"