Crow was barely aware that Penelope had left his side to retrieve the medicine Hazel had given her. He had closed his eyes again, focusing on breathing through the pain as he tried not to let himself pass out. While being unconscious sounded much more pleasant than what he was going through now, he didn’t want to risk being even more vulnerable if Layth decided to come back and attack him again. After all, he wouldn’t have put it past the knight to injure him even more to wake him up again. As unbearable as it was to stay conscious at the moment, it was the safer thing to do.

[color=fff79a][b]“Here!”[/b][/color]

Penelope’s voice drew his attention, and he opened his eyes again in time to see her come back to his side with a small jar in her hand. It took him a moment to remember what it was, but as soon as he did, he felt a burst of eagerness, leaning his head up slightly when she propped him up to take the medicine. Right now, he didn’t care about the side effects. He just wanted the pain to stop.

The liquid tasted bitter, but he ignored it as he downed the draught. Once it was gone, he let out his breath in a sigh and leaned his head back against Penelope’s arm. “It’s not your fault,” he mumbled, wincing slightly as his wound smarted again. He hoped the medicine would take effect soon. “That was a dirty trick. I didn’t know he was going to try it either.”

A short period of time passed before Crow began to feel a tingling sensation spread throughout his body, slowly replacing the ache of his wound. “I think it’s starting to work,” he sighed, looking up at Penelope with a weak smile. “Thank you.”