Crow smiled to himself as he felt Penelope relax in his embrace. He was glad that his words seemed to have brought some level of comfort to her at least. He didn’t want her to feel guilty over something neither one of them could change. Her actions had been meant for good; the results had just happened to go in a different direction than what either of them had expected. Plus, it was in the past now, so the only thing they could do now was focus on turning the situation back around.

His smile broadened slightly when she kissed him on the cheek, and he laughed softly at her following words. “You would think,” he mused with a melancholic shake of his head. “But it seems nothing can ever come easily for us, can it?” Letting out his breath in a sigh, he closed his eyes again and stroked his hand along the knight’s shoulders. There was a small part of him that was beginning to wonder if the gods had more of a hand in their lives than he used to give them credit for. After all, Aeklora had spoken to him personally two years ago—or at least, he was pretty sure she had. The more time passed, the less certain he felt that the encounter had been real—so he knew [i]someone[/i] was watching them.

[i]Maybe they’re just throwing us into trouble for their own personal amusement,[/i] he thought dryly, glancing up at the canopy of the tent with narrowed eyes. [i]If you are doing this, you’d better not let those knights cut off my hands. You hear me, you jaded spirits?[/i] Of course, there was no response, and he leaned his cheek against Penelope’s again with a frustrated exhale. Whether it was the doing of the gods or they really were just this unlucky, he supposed complaining about it now wouldn’t do him any good. What had happened, happened, and they were just going to have to ride it out until the end, whatever that end may be.

Turning his head slightly, Crow pressed a soft kiss to her cheek and then glanced at the entrance of the tent as another thought came to him. “Do you think anyone else will be stopping by tonight?” he asked tentatively, pulling back to meet her gaze. “I remember you said you would be taking the night shift… Maybe you could lay up here with me for a little while?” He smiled at her pleadingly. “If you stay close to the edge, you could get up quickly if someone comes by.”

In his head, the thief knew it wasn’t the smartest idea to do something so risky, but it didn’t change the fact that he wanted to lay beside her right now. With the weight of the barons’ decision hanging over his head, he wanted to feel some sense of normalcy, and Penelope’s presence gave him exactly that. “I understand if you think it’s too dangerous,” he added in a low voice, fidgeting sheepishly. “But I think both of us would feel better if we did, so… do you want to?”