As the two knights stepped into the Great Hall, Penelope did quick sweep of the room and quickly spotted the male lieutenant sitting alone at one of the tables. He looked up from a paper he was holding in his hand and gave her a small wave that she returned. Followed by Cedric, she headed over to the table and sat down across from Jonathan while Cedric moved to sit down at her right. 

"Hey Penelope." Jonathan dipped his head to her then glanced over at Cedric. He eyed the man for a moment, seeming a bit confused by the two sitting together, before nodding to him as well. "Cedric."

"Jonathan." Cedric nodded back in a formal fashion. 

Penelope studied the two with a hint of curiosity. While she could guess why Jonathan was confused upon seeing the two together due to their past, there seemed to be a hint of tension coming from Cedric that the female knight didn't understand. As far as she knew, the two knights hadn't had any bad blood between them but then again, she hadn't seen either of them in quite a long time so perhaps she had missed something. Regardless, she wasn't interested in asking and focused her gaze back on Jonathan. 

"So what else did you want to discuss?" she asked curiously. 

"Oh right. Well during my free time today, I wrote you up a list of high ranking nobles I know, barons on the warfront mainly." the lieutenant explained as he slid the piece of paper over to her. He offered her a half smile. "I'd write to them myself but I don't think my family name is quite enough. Feel free to include that I was the one that suggested reaching out to them but I think you'll do a better job of convincing them than I would."

"That's probably true." Cedric mused, casting Penelope a smile. "You've earned yourself a pretty respectable title and knowing how determined you get, I'm sure you could win any of them over."

Jonathan glanced at him before looking back to Penelope. "Anyways... I've marked which ones with a star that'll likely give you a tough time so just make sure you layout a good argument for them especially."

Penelope studied the piece of paper with interest. There were only about seven names on the list but they were all names of people she had never met before and had no prior connections to. Along with the stars and location of where to send the letters, she noticed that Jonathan had also written in the rankings of each noble. Most were barons like he had said but she also noted that there were a couple dukes on the list as well. With access to more people than before, the knight felt a grin spread over her face, completely ignoring the compliment that Cedric had given her. 

"This is great, Jonathan. Thank you so much." Penelope said looking over gratefully at the male knight. 

Jonathan gave her a small nod and let out a long sigh. "Anything to end the war." he mused. 

Cedric seemed like he had something to add but before he got the chance to their food was served. For a brief moment, the three fell into a silence as they began to eat their meals. Eventually though, Cedric spoke up. 

"So Jonathan, when did you become a lieutenant? Last I checked you were just a footsoldier no?" Cedric asked curiously. 

The male lieutenant paused in his eat and lowered his gaze. "I was..But about a month back the lieutenant under baron Piri was killed in battle. Piri wanted to replace him right away and chose me to take over." he explained with a shrug. 

"So that's what you meant by not having the position for that long." Penelope mused with a small frown. 

"I'm sorry to hear." Cedric sighed. "But congratulations on your new position."

Jonathan just shrugged his shoulders again and poked at his food. "So Penelope, how long are you staying at the castle?"

"For a couple months, if not more." she responded, not questioning the change of topic. "My baroness permitted the leave so long as I make progress on convincing the king by the end of the second month."

"Well at the rate you're going, I'm sure you'll probably succeed." Cedric mused casually. 

"I hope so but I still have yet to receive any letters of support aside from my own baroness." Penelope pointed out. 

"You'll have more coming soon, I'll make sure of it." Jonathan stated with unexpected confidence. 

The three continued to eat their meal in peace. Cedric ended up having to rush through his as he realized that he was going to be late for his guard shift if he stuck around much longer. He said a quick goodbye to the two before hurrying off and leaving them alone. A silence fell over the two lieutenants until Jonathan finally spoke up, eying her with a critical gaze. 

"So you're courting [i]him[/i] again?" he asked with a small snort. 

Penelope coughed and looked over at him with wide eyes. "What? No, I'm not."

"Then why's he hanging around you like that?"

"He says he's trying to make up for the past." she shrugged. Penelope eyed the other lieutenant. "I see you're just as nosy as I remember."

"I'm merely curious. I'd hate to be watching the same story play out again is all." Jonathan grunted. "It'd be annoying."

"Well rest at ease." Penelope rolled her eyes. "I've learned from the past."

"I would hope so."

"I see you're also still an ass too."

"Only when something's annoying me and he was annoying me." Jonathan smirked, tilting his head up in an arrogant manner. 

Penelope rolled her eyes and continued to converse with him until she finished her meal. She said a word of farewell to him and wished him luck on his return to the warfront. Parting ways, the knight made her way to her room where she settled in for the night, feeling quite worn out due to the poor weather they had had.