Penelope’s excitement caught Crow a bit off guard. Of course, he was happy to see her too, but she seemed nearly giddy with joy when their gazes first met across the hall. He wondered why she was in such a good mood. If hadn’t been that long since they had last seen each other, and it wasn’t a surprise that they would be crossing paths before he retired to his bed chamber for the night. Whatever the case, her enthusiasm was infectious, and he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his lips as she looked up at him so happily.

When the knight went on to tell him that her day went well, he was glad to hear it. However, before he had a chance to say so, he was surprised to find out that Tybalt had solutions for his nightmares that might work. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, wanting to believe that she had found something to help him, but skeptical about the possibility. After all, he remembered the “solution” Eldon had given her before. He wasn’t keen to start taking strange medicines or get drunk to stop his dreams. Personal convictions aside, it was too dangerous to try in the middle of the castle. Still, he didn’t want to shut her down so quickly when she was clearly excited about her findings, so he stayed quiet without interrupting.

To his astonishment, Penelope didn’t bring up any of the remedies he had been expecting her to. As she described how her guard captain had used physical training to wear himself out during the day, he considered her words a bit more seriously. He still didn’t know if he believed the trick would work for him since he’d never tried it before, but it was so different from all the other options that it might have been worth a shot. At the very least, it was the first doable suggestion he’d been given in regards to dealing with his nightmares. He could already feel his heartbeat begin to quicken in spite of himself.

As she continued on to tell him about the knights who prayed before they went to bed, Crow nodded, though he doubted such a method would work for him. He’d spent plenty of time praying to the gods when he’d been desperate in the past, but it was hard to tell if they listened to him. Sometimes it seemed to work, such as when he had prayed to the god of hunting in Younis two years ago in order to shoot the archers on the battlement—he was pretty sure that hadn’t just been his doing, since he had only practiced with a bow for a few days prior to the event—but most of the time, his pleas were met with silence. Whenever he’d asked the gods to take the nightmares away before, those prayers had gone ignored too. He didn’t see the point in beating a dead horse.

“It’s… more than I thought you’d find,” Crow shook his head, still in disbelief that she had gotten so much done in just one conversation. He averted his gaze, sheepish to admit his curiosity as he added, “So… what did he say I should do if I still panic? Since I don’t have time to train tonight, I mean.”