On the short walk back to the main cavern, Crow and Rikki passed the time by catching up with each other. He hadn’t realized just how little they had spoken recently until they began sharing stories about things they normally would have talked about before. It felt good to finally start bridging the gap that had formed between them over the past few months. Though he was sure things would never quite be the same between them, he liked having his friend back for the little time he had left before leaving for the inner kingdom again.

When they made it back to the others, Crow was greeted by yet another friend he hadn’t been able to talk to in quite a while. “Hey, kid,” he grinned as Hartley bounded over to him from the hearth. They exchanged a brief embrace, during which the thief noticed something else about the Younisian boy. “You’re taller,” he raised a brow in surprise. The last time he’d seen Hartley, the younger thief had been noticeably shorter than him, but now they stood at about eye-level with each other. He felt strange to speak to him without looking down.

“I am,” Hartley squared his shoulders and beamed proudly. “Looks like you can’t call me ‘kid’ anymore, can you?”

“Don’t get cocky, now,” Crow snorted. “Just because you grew a bit doesn’t mean you’re suddenly an adult. I’m still a few years ahead of you, so you’re still a kid to me.”

“Oh really?” Hartley crossed his arms, a smug smirk crossing his lips. “Would it change your mind to know that Kip and I are married now?”

Crow’s eyes widened at that. “It might,” he admitted, studying the boy with newfound curiosity. “Congratulations. I had no idea.”

“Thanks,” the Younisian’s smirk widened into a broad smile. “So, have you and Penelope tied the knot yet or what?”

“Not yet,” Crow glanced past Hartley at where the knight was sitting with the other thieves and smiled fondly. “But hopefully it won’t be much longer.”

“Huh,” Hartley’s expression turned playful. “Maybe I should be the one calling you ‘kid!’”

“Try that, and I’ll make you regret it,” Crow rolled his eyes and punched the boy in the arm.

“Alright, alright,” Hartley laughed, holding up his hands. “I won’t, but you’ve gotta stop calling me that too, okay?”

“I guess I could hold back until the next time you give me reason to use it,” Crow teased. “As long as you don’t do anything stupid, I won’t call you ‘kid.’ Deal?”

“I’ll take it,” Hartley grinned.

The two shook hands over it and then headed over to the hearth to join the others. Rikki had already gone ahead and struck up a conversation with Alistair. When he reached the group, Crow sat down next to Penelope and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I told you I’d be back soon,” he playfully leaned into her side. “Aside from the brat waking up, did I miss anything important?”

“Hey!” Hartley frowned, catching how the other thief had referred to him.

“I only agreed to stop calling you ‘kid,’” Crow winked at him slyly. “Nobody said anything about ‘brat,’ ‘boy,’ or ‘dumbass.’”

“Gods, I’d forgotten how annoying you can be,” Hartley groaned, raking his fingers through his wild hair in frustration. “I’m starting to think it would have been better if you hadn’t come back.”

“Missed you too,” Crow smirked. He turned back to Penelope, wrapping one arm affectionately around her shoulders. “But seriously, did I miss anything while I was gone?”