Crow sighed softly when he noticed Penelope hesitate to leave his side. He didn’t want her to lose any more sleep than she already had for his sake, especially when he was safely recovering now. His wound still pained him in its freshness, but it wasn’t unbearable, and it was already sutured, so there was no reason for her to concern herself with staying in the tent with him. He would heal fine as long as Jane looked after him, but the knight needed to get her own rest if she was going to get better too.

The thief glanced at Olivia and Gavin as the two knights shared their support that Penelope should get some sleep. He was relieved that everyone seemed to be in agreement, and he appreciated their willingness to guard him, so she wouldn’t worry. Glancing back at Penelope, he returned her smile and leaned up slightly to meet her lips when she kissed him. “I love you too,” he said, shooting her a wry smirk. “Now go and get some sleep, darling.”

Crow followed Penelope and Gavin with his eyes as they left the tent. As soon as they were gone, he yawned tiredly and stretched, wincing as the motion caused his injury to smart in response. Even though he had been unconscious ever since the battle, he could tell he was going to need a lot of rest to recover from a wound this serious. So, settling down on the bed a little more comfortably, he closed his eyes to take his own advice and get some sleep.

However, before he had a chance to drift off, Olivia spoke up from across the room. “I have to say,” she said, studying him with a bemused expression. After Gavin had left, she had moved to take his place in Jane’s chair. “I never expected to hear about a thief saving a knight. That was pretty wild.”

“Yeah, well,” Crow shrugged. “I’m full of surprises.”

Olivia eyed him for a moment longer, seeming to be deep in thought about something, before she spoke again, “You really do care about her, huh?” Her voice was oddly subdued compared to her normal loud attitude.

Crow looked over at her from the bed. “Of course I do,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “And I really don’t see why it’s so hard for you knights to understand that.”

“Well, you [i]were[/i] working for the thieves who raided our camp,” Olivia propped her elbow on the nearby desk and rested her chin in her palm, smiling at him amusedly. “It certainly looked like you were just using her. Speaking of which: What was that all about? You helped the guy hide from us, and then you stood in front of his sword. I can’t help but feel like I’m missing some details here.”

“It’s a long story,” Crow exhaled wearily. “I’m too tired to get into it. Maybe I’ll tell you another time or, if you really want to know, you can ask Penelope. I explained it to her earlier.” He shifted again on the bed and closed his eyes. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Alright,” Olivia sighed, seeming disappointed that he wasn’t willing to tell her about what she’d missed at the moment. “’Night, Crow.”

“Night,” he yawned again as he finally began to drift off to sleep.