"I hope so too." Penelope breathed quietly as she watched Crow turn and head out of the clearing at a fast pace. Watching him go she felt her emotions churn inside her again. Betrayal, anger, hurt it was all mixing again as she wondered when she would see him again. She said she would give him another chance but the knight wondered if she really could. Even if she managed to put an end to this whole mess with Jaxon, could she really bring herself to trust him again? She had heard him trying to get in on whatever deal Jaxon had with Younis so, even if they recovered now, what would he do if the war didn't go in favor of Brerra again? 

"Let's get back to camp." Gavin mumbled as he slowly turned to leave. Penelope numbly followed after him, lost in her thoughts as they walked. 

Her head told her that it was too risky to be involved with him any further and that doing so would put everyone at risk. However, she wasn't sure she could bring herself to simply leave him. Even now as she was recovering from the pain he had caused, she felt herself yearning to forgive and forget. Her feelings for him hadn't changed. It was why she wouldn't be able to bring herself to turn on him and why she wouldn't let Gavin attack him. The future they had talked about was still something she longed for, even though it felt further out of reach now. The love she still felt for him only made her feel worse about everything she had learned that night. 

Feeling a surge of frustration and pain, the female knight suddenly whipped around and punched a fist against the nearest tree. She collapsed to her knees in a fit of soft sobs as her emotions over took her, barely aware of the pain that was coming from her now bleeding knuckles. Penelope trembled as she weeped quietly, fully succumbing to the hurt she was still feeling. She felt Gavin wrapped his arms around her and pull her close. She didn't fight against his gesture and instead, buried her head into his chest. 

"What... What do I do now?" she choked out between sobs. "I don't.. I don't know what to do.."

"It's ok... We'll go back to camp and bandage your hand and then figure out what we're going to do about Jaxon." Gavin said in a soft tone as he held her close.

"Not.. not with him.. With Crow." she whimpered. At the mention of the other man's name, she felt Gavin become tense with anger. 

"Well you know what I think we should do with that bastard.." Gavin growled then hesitated as he looked down at her. The male knight frowned and gently stroked her back. "... But, it's your choice Penelope."

"I.. I can't turn against him, Gavin... I love him." she pulled back slightly to look up at him. "I know I should let him go.. But.. But I don't think I can.. I don't think I'm strong enough."

"You're plenty strong, Penelope." Gavin assured as he touched a finger to the scar on her face. He hesitated before adding, "You just have to figure out what's important and what you want... Just please don't let yourself get hurt or used again." He gave her a soft squeeze as he held her close then let her go so he could stand up again. He held out his hand to her. "Now let's get you back to camp."

Penelope sniffled before giving a small nod and taking his hand. The knight felt drained after letting her emotions out and was becoming more aware of the throbbing pain that was coming from her right hand. She let out a sigh and followed a few steps behind Gavin as they returned back to camp, thinking over his words to her. Eventually she pushed away her thoughts about what would come next between her and Crow, finding herself ridden with a bunch of uncertainty, and focused on coming up with a plan to tackle handling Jaxon.