The next morning, Crow awoke feeling cold, stiff, and a little disoriented on the edge of the riverbank. He sat up slowly and grimaced, momentarily wondering why he had been sleeping outside before the memories of the night before came back to him. Penelope’s pained face appeared along with them, wrenching his heart once again as he was reminded of how he had hurt her. He drew his knees to his chest and stared absently at the flowing water, letting himself sit in his grief for a little while longer before he eventually found the strength to rise to his feet and head back to his camp.

When he arrived, he found that the other three were already awake and were spending some time in the sun outside. Rikki was the first to notice him walking over. She stood up from where she had been sitting with Hazel and hurried over to meet him halfway. “Hey, Crow,” she frowned, studying his face concernedly. “I noticed you were gone this morning. Is everything alright?” She stepped closer to rest a hand on his arm. “It’s not your illness again, is it?”

Crow held her gaze without replying. Normally, he would have brushed her off, but after everything that had happened, he found her touch comforting. Right now, he needed a little bit of comfort. Without thinking, he suddenly leaned forward to wrap his arms around the female thief, burying his head against her neck and closing his eyes tightly. It wasn’t the same as when he’d sought Penelope’s touch, but now that he’d lost her, his friend was the closest person he had left.

Rikki froze, taken aback by his change in attitude towards her. However, after a moment, she relaxed again and slipped her arms around his back as well, gently rubbing one hand along his shoulders in a soothing gesture. “What happened?” she murmured with a worried edge to her voice. “Come on, Crow. Talk to me.”

He shook his head. “Not yet,” he mumbled against her neck, his voice muffled in her thick hair. “I’ll tell you eventually, just… not yet.”

Rikki eyed him for a moment longer, seeming ready to push him for details, but instead, she simply nodded. “Alright,” she said softly. “Just remember, I’m here for you whenever you decide you want to tell me about it—we all are.” She glanced back over her shoulder towards Hazel and Alistair, who were watching the two thieves with questioning expressions, and gave a subtle, dismissive wave of her hand. They seemed to get the hint and looked away again, chatting quietly amongst themselves.

Crow stayed in Rikki’s embrace for a while longer before he eventually pulled back again, reddening slightly as he lowered his gaze to the ground. “Sorry,” he muttered bashfully. “I just didn’t have the best night.”

“It’s fine,” she offered him a reassuring smile and reached out to lace her fingers with his. “Feel any better?”

He nodded, “Yeah… I needed that.”

“I’m glad,” her smile broadened, and she gave his hand a tug. “Come on, there’s still breakfast left if you want it.”

Crow nodded again and walked with her to join the others, hoping their company would help him to forget about the night before and ease his pain over losing Penelope.