The knight continued to think about the potential danger that this mission entaled, only making it worse as she realized that while there may not have been a staff, there was a viceroy. The thought made her stomach churn and she suddenly wished she could travel the whole way to the castle with them. Her trance was finally broken as Crow addressed her. She blinked as she felt someone touch her arm and turned to look over at Crow. There was a pause as it took a moment for her to register what he had asked her and once she had, she shifted uncomfortably in her saddle. "I was just thinking about the first mission to Younis." she admitted in a hushed voice. "Namely all the attacks that we went through... We need to keep our guards up." She frowned shifted her gaze away from him to focus ahead of her. The group had been targeted rather relentlessly during their travels to the other kingdom and it had all started the first day of their departure. 

"I mean, I know some of that was the rebellion and they're gone now but some of it wasn't. I doubt the mercenaries we faced were hired by them and whoever hired them clearly had not only the funds but also didn't want the war to be stopped." Penelope pointed out with a frown. "The war might already have started and we might not be after a king's staff this time but the goal is the same, which is to stop that war. This trip might be just as dangerous as the last." 

The thought of the god's warning also crossed her mind. She had a feeling that the threat from Toreus' warning had to be connected to the same one that had sent out the mercenaries before. However, with so many other ears close by, she decided not to mention it even in the quiet tones they had been speaking with. More so than that though, there was another aspect that bothered the knight more than anything. "And this time it's not a staff that'll end the war... It's you." she added softly. "I know I can't go with you all the way to the castle so that's why I'm telling you this. We need to stay alert.. [i]I[/i] need to stay alert."

Her gaze shifted over to meet his and muttered softly, "I lost the staff once and that was bad enough. I know I won't be here the whole trip but I don't want to mess up again and lose you too."