Penelope walked quietly besides Gavin as they headed away from the physician's tent and towards their own. Now that she wasn't worrying about Crow, she was more aware of just how exhausted she was from everything. Her body was sore, both from the wounds and the long, breakless walk back to camp, and her eyelids grew heavy as she thought about getting a full night's rest rather than just a short nap. The female knight barely realized that Gavin had slowed his pace until he finally spoke up again. 

"I never had a chance once he came back into your life huh?"

At the question, she blinked in surprise and looked over her shoulder at Gavin before slowing down to fall back besides him. At first she thought he was bringing it up to argue against her being with Crow again but the defeat in his voice suggested the exact opposite. It seemed Crow's actions during the battle had affected the other knight's view of the thief in more ways than just one. The male knight didn't met her gaze, instead lowering his to the ground with a crestfallen expression. Penelope frowned and shifted her gaze away, unsure what to say at first. She was surprised he was even bringing such a topic up after everything they had gone through. 

"I suppose..." she finally mumbled. "Why are you bringing this up right now?"

Gavin let out a sigh. "I guess, I'm just starting to realize that you really meant it when you said you chose him." He lifted his gaze to met hers and frowned deeply. "I thought your feelings for him would be temporary or that he would show his true colors as a lying criminal. But it's clear to me now that neither of those are likely... You can lie with words but not actions. Him risking his life for you and you risking everything to save his...Even though still I don't think you should leave everything behind, I get it now. You really plan to be with him."

Penelope studied him for a moment, finding herself a bit lost for words at first. She had constantly told Gavin that she wasn't going to change her mind about Crow and him suddenly accepting it caught her off guard. She supposed it would have to happen at some point but she never expected it to be so soon. Part of her had always just assumed the male knight's stubbornness would wear on until the end of the war. Apparently, she was wrong. "I'm sorry, Gavin. I tried to tell you this since the beginning.. I didn't want to lead you on. I might not love you like I love him but you are my friend and I didn't want to hurt you." she told him softly. 

"Some pain is unavoidable.." Gavin muttered averting his gaze again. "Though part of it is my own fault for being so stubborn."

"I understand." Penelope felt a small stab of guilt at his words, wishing that she didn't have to hurt Gavin in the process of choosing Crow over him. She let out a sigh and shook her head. "You don't have to worry about any guard shifts... I'll find someone else. I don't want to force you to be around him or me."

"Don't. My shifts are fine." Gavin insisted. He slowed to a stop and shifted his weight awkwardly. "I might put a bit of distance between us for a while, Penelope, but I care about you too much to just cut ties... I'm still going to be your friend and I'm still going to help you, even if it takes me some time to adjust to that."

Penelope gave him a half-hearted smile, warmed by his words. Of course she couldn't expect him to be the same as always after finally accepting that she was with Crow but she was glad to hear that he still wished to be friends. His loyalty was admirable and reminded her of why she had originally settled for Gavin before reuniting with Crow. Perhaps if she had never met Crow, she would have been content marrying the male knight. "Thank you, Gavin.." she reached out and placed a hand on his arm comfortingly. "One day you'll meet someone who will love you better than I ever could. I'm sure of it."

Gavin looked down at her and gave a sad smile. "I suppose.." he shrugged and took a step back from her as her tent camp into view. "Good night, Penelope."

"Good night Gavin." she said before turning and heading off to her tent. Though things would be changing between her and Gavin, she felt like a small weight had been lifted off of her shoulders knowing that he had accepted her being with Crow and was still willing to be her friend at the end of the day. Penelope eagerly laid down for the night and soon fell asleep, finally getting some much needed rest.