[IC] Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow hauled the bag of weapons into the ravine, preparing to hide them with the other stolen goods in the thieves’ camp after the female knight had gone. His heart raced with a mixture of nervousness and excitement at the thought of seeing Penelope for the first time in two years. He didn’t know what to expect, but he knew one thing for sure: He had a chance to speak to her one more time.

The wheels of his mind spun eagerly as he thought over his conversation with Olivia…

“Tell me where she is.”

“Very well,” Olivia smirked. “Our camp is located in the woods between two villages to the east of here.”

“Myrefall and Norcrest?” Crow said in surprise.

“I don’t know the area, but I’d assume so,” Olivia shrugged, quirking a brow in amusement. “Do you know the place I’m speaking of?”

“I’ve passed through before,” Crow answered with an air of nonchalance. He bit his tongue to keep from giving away his shock that Penelope had been at the camp that he and his companions had just raided that day. They had been so close.

“Funny,” Olivia’s smirk widened into a grin as she put the pieces together. “Our camp was just raided by some bandits earlier. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“Sounds like an unfortunate coincidence to me,” Crow winked at her, confirming the knight’s suspicions.

Olivia laughed, “In any case, you know where to find her now. What’s your plan, thief?”

“Honestly? I don’t know,” Crow sighed. “I guess I’ll just try to catch her while she’s alone.”

“Hmm… I might be able to help with that,” Olivia purred.

“How so?”

“You’ll see,” she winked at him mischievously, turning to leave. “Just come to the camp after nightfall.” Raising a hand in a wave goodbye, she smiled at him once more. “It was good to see you, Crow. I hope we cross paths again soon.”

“Same to you,” Crow nodded, watching as the knight began to walk away. He shifted his weight as another thought came to him, and then took a step after her. “Oh, and one more thing—”

“Don’t worry,” Olivia glanced back at him over her shoulder. “I won’t tell anyone about your little hideout.”

“Thanks,” Crow said, visibly relaxing. “See you around, love.”

The thief climbed back down from the tree he had just hung the bag of weapons from, glancing up at the darkening sky. If he left now, he would arrive at the knights’ camp just after nightfall, as Olivia had told him to. He lowered his gaze to look towards Myrefall, where the Rikki and the others were waiting for him at the tavern. There wasn’t time to stop by and tell them where he was going. He just hoped they would forgive him for ditching them this once.

He grabbed a cloak and threw it across his shoulders, drawing the hood over his head. He was about to walk right back into the camp of a group of knights he had just raided, so he wanted to be able to conceal his identity if any of them happened to see him. As an added measure of protection, he grabbed a couple more weapons from their stash—a sling for ranged attacks and a short sword in case he found himself in a fight with an opponent armed with a longer blade than a dagger.

Feeling content with his protection, Crow turned and headed out to return to the knights’ camp, his heart fluttering at the thought that he was about to see the woman he loved again after so long.

--

Crow crouched in the bushes just outside of the clearing, his green eyes sweeping cautiously over the area. He had arrived just as the knights were beginning to settle down for the night, it seemed. There wasn’t much activity, but there were still a few men standing around by their tents speaking in hushed voices. However, they were of no interest to the thief. He was careful to look out for anyone who might spot him, but the majority of his attention was focused on locating Penelope amongst all of the people.

After a while of searching, he spotted her emerging from a tent. His breath caught in his throat as he got his first look at the woman he had thought was dead for the last two years. She was far enough away that he couldn’t see her very well in the darkness, but he could recognize her anywhere. It was really Penelope. She was alive, and she was standing right in front of him. He had to fight the temptation to run to her, tugging nervously at the grass beneath his feet as he forced himself to stay still.

Patience, he reminded himself. Wait until she’s alone.

Crow circled the clearing quietly, keeping his eyes fixed on Penelope as he tried to figure out where she was going. He noticed she seemed to be heading towards another female knight that was standing guard near the edge of the camp, and he felt excitement rise up in his chest. If his assumption was correct, she was about to take over the night watch. It would give him the perfect opportunity to approach her without being seen by anyone else. This must have been what Olivia had been talking about when she said she would help. The knight must have convinced her comrade to take the guard duty somehow. He smiled to himself, Looks like I owe her one.

He continued to wait a while longer, his gaze roving over the knights’ camp as he watched the others start to head to their tents to turn in for the night. Once it looked like they were all gone, he swallowed anxiously, turning his attention towards Penelope once again. Now closer to her, he was reminded just how beautiful she was. Even when she was back in her armor, he found her alluring. He felt a sudden wave of nervousness at the thought of revealing himself to her. What if she didn’t want to see him? What if she turned on him and handed him over to the knights?

I’m being ridiculous, he chided himself silently. This is Penelope. She would never do something like that. He closed his eyes, taking a steeling breath, and stood up from his hiding place. It was now or never.

“Penelope,” he hissed, breaking the silence. He took a tentative step into the open, bringing his hands up to lower the hood of his cloak so that his face was visible. He wavered at the edge of the clearing, momentarily unsure of what to do. However, in the next instant, he was overcome with a pang of joy that caught him by surprise, and before he knew what he was doing, he ran over to wrap her up in an embrace. His voice trembled slightly with strong emotions that he fought to keep quiet, “I can’t believe it’s you. I thought I was never going to see you again.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope shifted in her armor as she stepped out of her tent, unaware of the fact she was being watched. She walked off towards the edge of camp where Millicent was located. The other female knight stood rigidly on guard, her eyes scanning the surrounding area for any sign of movement. However, her focus quickly broke as she heard Penelope approaching. She looked over with a questioning gaze. "Olivia made me take her shift." Penelope responded with a shrug.

"She's so irresponsible." Millicent huffed crossing her arms. "Well, whatever. I'm off. Thanks Penelope." She shot Penelope a smile before turning and walking off to retire for the night. Penelope merely nodded to her before moving to take the other knights place for her guard shift. The night soon grew more quiet as most of the knights retired to their tents. She kept a watchful gaze out but enjoyed the silence of the night. With all that was going on and coming up, she was glad to have a moment alone to clear her thoughts.

However, it didn't last long as she suddenly heard someone whisper her name. She blinked and looked towards where the source of the sound had come from, spotting the unknown man step out into view. Instinctively, her hand went to grab the hilt of her sword as she eyed the stranger cautiously. Penelope narrowed her gaze as she looked at the man. It took her a moment to recognize him. Not only had it been two years but he had greatly changed from the thief who had just gotten out of prison. Her eyes widened with realization and she quickly let go of the hilt of her sword.

"Crow." She breathed.

Before she could even react fully, he wrapped his arms around her. Suddenly back in his arms, she felt her heart flutter excitedly in her chest. Penelope slowly moved to wrap her arms around him, returning his embrace with hesitation. In truth the knight was still shocked from seeing him again and was still processing the fact that after two years apart she was somehow back in his arms. What also surprised her alongside his sudden appearance was how happy he seemed to be at finally seeing her again. It confused the knight who had convinced herself that Crow had grown to resent her for leaving him behind without any explanation.

After a moment, she finally forced herself to take a step back from him. She met his gaze and frowned as she felt a familiar mixture of grief and guilt wash over her. Penelope averted her gaze shamefully. "W-What are you even doing here?" She questioned him. "You shouldn't be here."

[Rogue Sloth]

Even as he held Penelope in his arms, it all seemed like dream to Crow. He felt weak with relief now that he had seen her for himself—had touched her for himself—and knew she wasn’t dead. He squeezed his eyes shut as he held her, relishing the feeling of having her in his embrace again after so long. To make the situation even better, he felt her wrap her arms around him in return after a moment of hesitation. While the gesture wasn’t enough to tell him whether or not she still loved him, at the very least, she seemed glad to see him too.

After a bit, he felt her pull back from his arms. Not wanting to smother her after they had only just met up again, he forced himself to release her and took a small step back as well. Her following words made him frown. She seemed to be upset about something, but he wasn’t quite sure what. “I know, I know,” he said softly with a shrug. “It’s a camp full of knights, and I’m a criminal, right? Well, I don’t care. The risk was nothing if it meant I could see you.”

He moved close to her again and reached to tilt her head up so he could look her in the eye. However, as he did, he faltered slightly, catching sight of something he hadn’t noticed in his initial eagerness to see her. In the darkness it was hard to make out, but now that he was standing next to her, the thief could see a long scar cutting through the side of her face. “What happened?” he murmured, knitting his brow concernedly as he traced the blemish with his hand. “Who did this to you?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope wrapped her arms around herself as Crow responded to her. His words were warm and made her believe that he was truly just there because he had missed her. Why is he acting like this.. The knight wondered. It didn't add up to her. Even if he wasn't mad about her leaving him behind, surely he had worked to move on just like she had. It had been two years after all. Maybe it's just because he doesn't know the full story behind what happened. She thought suddenly. He had likely just been forced to put two and two together since she had never appeared or met up with him to explain what happened.

As he tilted her head up, Penelope noticed him falter as he finally noticed the scar on her face. She flinched a little as he traced the scar with his hand. The knight wasn't insecure about how she looked now with the new scars she bore but they also served as reminds of her failures and what she had lost. "A mercenary." She answered him quietly before adding with a hit of frustration. "Though.. I might as well have just done it to myself.. Anyways, that one isn't even the worst one."

Deciding Crow deserved to understand what had happened two years ago, Penelope shifted her armor and pulled her shirt up a little ways to reveal part of the long scar that was now located on her torso. "This is the one that almost killed me," She paused, hesitate to speak with him about the past even though she had decided to tell him,"It's from the time William and I were attacked on the way back. I healed from it.. Then immediately went out to go try and track down the mercenaries that took the staff with William. The closest we got was a mercenary who spoke their language but that just ended up with me getting the scar on my face.

I still wanted to keep trying though.. Lucky for me William was smart enough to know when to stop. He made me realize how impulsive and ridiculous I was being so after that, I gave up." Penelope lowered her shirt and shifted her armor back into place. She looked over at Crow and gave him an apologetic look. "I'm not sure what you heard about the failed mission but I figured it was enough to realize I wasn't coming. I'm sorry.. For never showing up.. Never bothering to explain what had happened. I just didn't see the point. I knew I had to be here for my family, and now even my friends," She looked over her shoulder at the camp then focused back to Crow, looking a bit pained as she went on, "and that meant leaving you behind. I'm sorry."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow listened quietly as Penelope explained everything that had happened after they had parted two years ago. He was eager to hear her side of the story, since he wanted to know why she had never come to be with him as she had promised. However, the tale she told was quite a bit more than he had been expecting.

When she lifted her shirt to show him the scar on her torso, he frowned. He supposed he hadn’t been that far off in assuming she had died. A wound that severe definitely would have bordered on fatal. She was lucky to have made it out with her life, and he was glad that she did. He felt another short wave of relief as he remembered how distraught he had been when he had initially believed her to have perished. Even though he had been misled for so long, he was glad to know that she was alright now.

He continued to listen as she went on to explain what had happened after the attack, mildly surprised to learn that she had received the scar on her face from an entirely different battle. He was grateful that William had been wise enough to make her turn back after that incident. Who knew what could have happened if they had kept searching for the staff? Even if they had found a lead, they might have ended up walking into a trap. He shuddered at the thought.

As she finished telling her story, he stood in silence and lowered his gaze, taking a moment to process it all. There was a lot to take in, but after a brief pause, he looked up again and shook his head, “Don’t be sorry. What I went through was nothing compared to all of that. I’m honestly just glad you’re still alive.” He shifted his weight. “Until today, I thought you had died. I overheard some knights at the border talking about how the mission had failed, and, well… I guess I just assumed the worst.”

He let out his breath in a sigh and then smiled, “When Olivia told me you were still alive, and in the outer villages, at that… Gods, you have no idea how happy I was.” He flushed slightly, realizing he was starting to ramble. “Look, the point is: The past is in the past. I don’t care that you chose to stay to help your family. In fact, it sounds like that was the more honorable thing to do at that time rather than running off to be with a thief like me.” He reached to take her hands in his, his heart hammering as he worked up the nerve to say what he had come to say to her. “I just wanted to tell you… I still love you, Penelope. I always have. And when this war is said and done, I-I still want to be with you.” He swallowed nervously, holding her gaze as he went on in a hushed voice. “Do you still want that too?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope waited a bit anxiously for him to say something, worrying about how he would react. When he finally spoke again, she was surprised by his words, both because he seemed to hold no anger towards her and because he had thought she had been dead all this time. It made her feel another stab of guilt for not telling him sooner. What didn't surprise her too much was to hear that Olivia had been the one to speak to Crow. So that's why she wanted me to take her guard shift.. Penelope realized. She wanted to be annoyed with the other knight but part of her was thankful to see Crow again.

As he went on, Penelope felt her heart begin to beat nervously as he took her hands in his. When admitted to still loving her, she felt her heart skip a beat despite her better judgement. She held his gaze for a moment, falling silent at his question. After two years, she had given up on any hope for a future with Crow and it felt rather unreal to have him there offering it to her again. However, this time, she couldn't agree to it. Gavin flashed through her thoughts and she reminded herself of her feelings for her actual suitor. She cared for him deeply, perhaps even loved him, and the work she had done over the two years as a knight wouldn't be wasted. It was just more logical for her to give up Crow, since she had already done that.. Or at least, she thought she had. The emotions she currently felt at seeing him again didn't make her as certain as she had once been.

"I," She finally spoke up, though reluctantly. "I can't, Crow. I'll always care for you.. I don't think I could ever fully get rid of my feelings for you but I-I have someone else now. A suitor." She pulled her hands away from his and kept her gaze lowered. "And I really like him. He's a good guy.. At the rate the war's going, we'll probably even be married before it ends."

She finally lifted her gaze to look over at Crow. Her throat felt tight with emotion, it wasn't easy saying no to him even after all this time. Penelope tried to deny how hurt she felt at her own words. "It's probably better this way.. There's no telling if I'd even make it to the end of this war. Or if we'd even win." She added, trying to convince him as well as herself. It made sense to her, especially after seeing how well the last time they made plans for the future went.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow held his breath as he waited for Penelope’s response to his question. He didn’t know what to expect. Part of him still clung to the hope that she still wanted to be with him too, but it had been two years. Perhaps her feelings for him had faded with time or she had changed her mind about running away with a peasant criminal. His stomach churned anxiously as she finally opened her mouth to speak, and he held her gaze intently.

“I can’t, Crow.”

The words sent a knife through his heart. He listened solemnly as she explained that she had a new suitor now, one that she had grown rather fond of. He averted his gaze. He should have known not to get his hopes up so high just because he had learned she was still alive. She’d had two whole years to meet other men, ones who were much better suited to court her than he was. Who was he, a mere thief, to expect that she, a knight and noblewoman, would ever wait so long for him? It had been foolish to expect anything more.

Even as she finished speaking, he could already feel his heart growing hardened again as he bottled away his pain from her rejection. He nodded absently, trying not to feel betrayed—trying to bury his emotions with the logic of the situation. It didn’t matter that he had opened up to her more than anyone else, that he had shared his hoped and fears with her, or that he had even told her his name. In the end, she was still a knight, and he was still a thief. There was simply no getting past that.

“I guess that’s it then,” Crow said, hating how hoarse his voice sounded. He backed away from her slowly, casting a furtive glance back towards the knights’ campsite. He had already spent far too long there. He needed to leave before anyone else noticed him. Turning back to Penelope once more, he tipped his head in a curt goodbye and drew the hood of his cloak over his head, turning to run back into the woods without another word.

--

Feeling numb, Crow headed back to the thieves’ hideout in the ravine outside of Myrefall. He arrived to find that the other three had already come back from the tavern. Simon and Rikki talked in hushed voices near a small campfire, while Alistair laid nearby, fast asleep. As he walked over to join them, Rikki looked up and feigned an accusing frown, “Hey, Crow. You said you were going to meet us at the tavern. What happened?”

“Something else came up,” he answered vaguely, sitting down next to her by the fire. “Turns out, it wasn’t very important though. Don’t worry about it.”

The female thief narrowed her eyes at him, seeming unconvinced, but to Crow’s relief, she didn’t push the matter. That was one thing he enjoyed about traveling with the other criminals: They all had their own secrets, and they all knew not to press each other for information. It was an unspoken rule amongst them, but it was strictly followed nonetheless.

“You didn’t miss anything important,” Simon muttered, prodding the ashes around the base of the fire with a long stick. “Alistair just got drunk and passed out, and we had to carry him back.”

“I’m glad I missed that,” Crow chuckled softly, drawing his knees to his chest and crossing his arms over his legs as he watched the embers burn. “He’s a pain in the ass when he gets drunk.”

“You’re telling me,” Simon snorted. “Just imagine! If we had been seen by a patrol of knights, we would have been sitting ducks. He could have gotten us killed.”

“Oh, lighten up,” Rikki gave the anxious thief a shove. “We made it back just fine. No trouble at all.” She glanced towards Crow again and pursed her lips, noticing that he was being unusually quiet. “Come on,” she said, climbing to her feet and dusting herself off. “We’re going for a walk.”

Simon wrinkled his nose. “Really? A walk? Come on, Rikki. Even Alistair would know what you’re talking about if he was awake right now.”

“Shut up, Simon,” Rikki lifted her leg and shoved him between the shoulder blades with her boot.

Crow smiled a bit as he watched their antics, feeling a little better now that he was among his companions again. I don’t need Penelope, he thought, trying to convince himself. I’ve lived without her for two years, and I’ve been perfectly happy. This is where I belong. He stood up and slid his arm around Rikki’s waist, holding her slender body against his side. It was no secret amongst the group that the two were sleeping together, so he didn’t bother trying to hide it in front of Simon. “Where to, love?” he asked, shooting her a wry wink.

“It’s a surprise,” Rikki grinned back at him. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

“I can’t wait,” Crow said earnestly, allowing her to take him by the hand and lead him back out of the ravine. He needed a distraction after being rejected by Penelope, and he hoped that the female thief would give him exactly that. With that hopeful thought in mind, he walked with her into the forest, leaving Alistair and Simon behind.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope lowered her gaze at Crow's hoarse words. She nodded silently, only looking up again to see him leave just as quickly as he came. As he disappeared from sight, the knight was left alone on her watch yet again. First, a sniffle escaped her and then before long she crouched down to bury her head in her hands as she was unable to stop herself from silently crying. Damnit.. It's been two years. She thought wiping away a couple tears. I have Gavin now.. I have a good job.. It-it shouldn't hurt this much..

Yet it did. It nearly made the knight think about actually chasing after him and changing her mind. But there was no sense in that. So instead, she just let herself feel the grief over losing Crow all over again. She hoped that by doing this, it would eventually fade away like it had before so she could focus back on the life laid out in front of her.

---

As her watch slowly drew to an end, Penelope pulled herself back together, hoping that no one would pick up on the slight change in the knight after her sudden reunion with Crow. She soon her footsteps approaching and turned her head to see Alan appear to take her off her shift. "Mornin' Penelope." He greeted with a tired yawn.

"Morning." Penelope muttered. She gave him a small dip of her head before abruptly walking away as he took her spot. She felt his questioning gaze rest on her back as she left but in that moment, Penelope didn't quite care about what he thought. The female knight just wanted to retire to her tent. Which she was luckily able to do without anyone getting in the way. Once inside, she immediately took of her armor and settled down for the night.

She wrapped herself tightly with her blanket and closed her eyes, willing herself to try and forget the events of the night. She soon drifted off, falling into a light sleep.

--

"Penelope~ Time to get up and tell me how your shift went~" A familiar and teasing voice came from close by, stirring her from her slumber. Penelope groaned and slowly opened her eyes. She turned her head to see Olivia was the one that had woken her up. The other female knight had a wide smirk on her face and was looking expectantly at Penelope. It took her a moment but soon the events from the night before came flooding back to her. She nearly thought it had been a bad dream but Olivia's expression told her it wasn't.

Feeling a flash of anger, Penelope glared at the other female knight as she sat up. "You had no right to do what you did." She growled.

"What?" Olivia faked a frown. "I just thought you'd like to see an old friend! Plus you have to admit that the two years out of prison did him some real justice."

"Olivia, I left him behind for a reason. You should have just stayed out of it."

"The poor guy thought you were dead." Olivia shrugged. "Anyways tell me what happened! Come on! You know your secret's safe with me."

Penelope deflated a little at Olivia's words. She really wasn't that mad at what she did. It was just hard to accept the situation that had occurred. It just would have been easier to have never reunited with Crow, then she wouldn't have to feel like she was losing him all over again. "I.. I don't feel like talking about it, Olivia.." She mumbled with defeat as she stood up and began to walk towards the exit of her tent.

"Uh oh." Olivia mused with a knowing smirk as she followed Penelope out into the camp.

[Rogue Sloth]

The next morning, Crow was awakened by warm morning sunlight that filtered down through the makeshift roof of the thieves’ makeshift shelter. He sat up and yawned, looking around tiredly. Alistair and Rikki were still sleeping soundly, but Simon was nowhere in sight. He blinked, wondering where he had gone until the smell of cooking meat wafted into the hut, giving him his answer. He was mildly surprised that Simon was preparing breakfast. Usually, the anxious thief woke up early to scout the area for knights, not make food.

Still waking up, Crow didn’t feel like getting up just yet. He continued to sit in the shelter beside his still-sleeping companions, slowly recalling the events of the previous day. However, as he did this, he remembered his brief encounter with Penelope, and he winced, feeling a fresh stab of heartache. He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. Had that really happened? It felt so surreal. Penelope was really alive and in the outer villages… and she had chosen not to be with him anymore.

Another stab of pain.

Suddenly feeling antsy, he climbed quietly to his feet and exited the shelter, stepping out into the ravine and stretching his back to shake off the last bit of weariness. His green eyes swept over the campsite, and he spotted Simon sitting by the fire pit, squinting down at a ragged old book. The blonde had a strange affinity for literature that Crow would never understand. Back when they had been living in the inner kingdom, he had often picked up books and scrolls when they stole from noble families. It was unclear how much he was actually able to understand, since he was only somewhat literate, but he seemed determined to improve his ability to read and write.

Simon caught sight of Crow from the corner of his eye and looked up, “So, one of you decided to come back from the dead, I see.”

“Long night,” Crow shrugged as he walked over to sit across from Simon by the fire.

“Please, spare me the details,” Simon shook his head.

“You sure?” Crow smirked at him, taking the opportunity to prod at the other thief. “We did it twice this time.” He snickered as Simon hurriedly brought his hands up to cover his ears.

“Stop now, or I’m literally going to hang myself.”

“Alright,” Crow raised his hands in defeat. “Your loss.” He leaned a bit closer to the fire, trying to get a better look at the food the other thief was preparing. “So, what’s for breakfast? It smells great.”

“Chicken,” Simon answered, visibly relaxing at the change in subject. “But I managed to steal some spices from the knights we raided yesterday, so it won’t be nearly as bland as usual.”

“Way to think ahead,” Crow nodded appreciatively.

Simon sat up a bit straighter at the compliment, “Thank you. I’m glad at least one of you tunnel-visioned thieves pays attention.”

Crow snorted at his haughty remark and opened his mouth to reply, but stopped short as he suddenly felt an all too familiar tingling sensation rise up in his chest. He swallowed and stood up, moving to grab an empty leather water flask. “I’m going to go refill this. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” Simon nodded, busying himself by checking on the chicken in the fire pit.

Crow hurried out of the hideout, following the length of the ravine as he walked towards the river that flowed down the far side. However, instead of going to refill the water as he had said, he slowed to a stop as soon as he was out of sight from the camp. After casting a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure he was alone, he doubled over as a violent fit of coughing seized his body. Unable to move, he let it take its course for a short time before it finally passed, leaving him panting as he caught his breath.

It’s getting worse, he thought concernedly, leaning against a tree and closing his eyes as he slowed his breathing. If he remembered correctly, his mother had only lived for two or three more years after her coughing fits had begun. For the illness to have already progressed this far in his body was worrying. He sighed. Perhaps it had been for the best that Penelope had turned him down after all. It was starting to look like he didn’t have many more years left.

Once he had recovered from the brief episode, Crow walked the rest of the way to the river and filled up his flask before turning around to go back to the hideout. When he returned, he found that the others had woken up and were gathered around the fire, eating the chicken that Simon had prepared.

Rikki looked up when he came into view, and called out through a mouthful of food, “Good morning!”

“Not so loud,” Alistair hissed, clutching at his head with one hand.

“You were the idiot who decided to get blackout drunk last night,” Rikki rolled her eyes. “I have no sympathy.”

“Morning,” Crow greeted Rikki with equal enthusiasm when he reached the fire pit, causing the hungover thief to grimace.

“You’re both jerks,” Alistair groaned. “I’m going to eat in the shelter.”

Crow and Rikki laughed as he got up and took his food into the hut. Once he was gone, Rikki scooted closer to sit beside Crow, “So, how’d you sleep, boss?”

“Fine,” he answered, tearing off a wing from the freshly cooked chicken. “You?”

“Slept like a rock,” she answered with a wink and then clapped her hands together. “Okay, business time. Who’s going to check the tavern in Norcrest for our ransom money today?”

Crow shifted his weight slightly as Rikki and Simon turned expectantly towards him. He knew that as the elected leader of the group, a job like this would usually fall on his shoulders, but this time, he was hesitant. Traveling to Norcrest would mean traveling past the knights’ campsite again, and he didn’t want to risk running into Penelope after what had happened the previous night.

“I think Simon should do it,” he suggested tentatively. “I’ve been meaning to check in with the villagers in Myrefall about a few things, and the whole trip might take up most of the day.” He met the blonde thief’s gaze from across the fire pit, hoping he wouldn’t oppose the idea. “What do you think?”

Simon stared at him for a moment before a pleased grin crossed his lips. “Of course. Being the most level headed one here, I’m the most natural choice to go on this trip alone. You were wise to think of me.”

Rikki stuck out her tongue, but the prideful thief just rolled his eyes in response.

“Great,” Crow smiled, glad that the matter had been settled so quickly. “I’ll go to Myrefall, and Simon will go to Norcrest. Rikki, you and Alistair should spy on the knights. See if you can find out when the next battle will happen so we can prepare.”

“You got it,” Rikki nodded and stood up, marching into the shelter as she called loudly: “Alistair! Get your lazy ass up. We’ve got a job to do.”

“I should get going as well, since Norcrest is a bit of a walk, and I want to be back by nightfall,” Simon rose to his feet, slipping his book into a pocket on the inside of his shirt.

“Alright,” Crow nodded. He hastily swallowed a few more bites of chicken before standing to join the others. Grabbing his cloak from off of a tree branch that he had hung it on the previous night, he turned to them with a nod. “See you all tonight.”

[BuzzingBee]

The two female knights headed out towards where breakfast was being served together. Ahead, Gavin spotted them from where he stood besides a few other knights quickly dismissed himself to head over to the two. "Morning." He greeted offering a small smile. Penelope looked up at him and returned his smile, then without warning, pressed a deep kiss to his lips. It clearly took the male knight off guard and Olivia let out a low whistle.

Penelope finally pulled back. She had been hoping to reaffirm that she had made the right decision through kissing Gavin. There was a small spark that she savored, choosing to ignore the fact that her heart was hammering anywhere close to like it had with Crow. "What was that for?" Gavin asked dazedly.

"Nothing.. Just.. happy to see you." Penelope responded giving him a soft smile.

Olivia snickered quietly from behind her and rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm off to get food. Catch you later, Penelope." With that said, she disappeared leaving the couple alone. Gavin, having recovered from her passionate kiss, looked back to Penelope.

"That watch must have been pretty hard on you, huh?" He said with a small frown. "Your eyes even look a bit red.."

"It was a long night." Penelope told him with a shrug. She felt a small bit of panic at him being so observant and quickly tried to think of a way to change the topic. The last thing she wanted to do was reflect anymore on what had occurred the night before. "Come on let's go get some breakfast."

Switching to focus on food, Gavin easily moved on from asking about how the watch went and joined Penelope as they grabbed a bowl of the porridge that the camp was serving. The night before didn't even feel like it actually happened as she was able to continue on with her day as if nothing had changed, sitting besides Gavin as they enjoyed their meal together. The only reminder was the dull ache in her heart that she had yet to fully shake off.

As she finished her food, she spotted Tomas making his way up to the two. The other lieutenant smiled warmly as he approached. "Hey, sorry to interrupt you two but uh, I need to borrow Penelope. There's a meeting about to start." He said with an apologetic look.

"No worries." Gavin mused with an assuring smile. Penelope said goodbye to Gavin before getting up to follow Tomas as he lead the way over to the large tent where the barons and other lieutenants were waiting for them. Upon stepping inside, she felt the room heavy with focus and seriousness. Her eyes landed on her baroness, Mia Chandler, who was leaning back in her spot at the table with a thoughtful expression. On her right was Penelope's uncle, Edward, who had a rather enraged expression. On her left was Bennet, who didn't seem to be paying much attention. Across the table sat Layth and the other two chairs remained open. Hearing them enter the tent, her gaze flickered up and she smiled. "Good. We're all here. We can start. Sit you two, sit." She gestured to the two open chairs. Penelope took the middle side next to her brother while Tomas sat in the open one on her other side.

"Today we're discussing what to do with those bandits that took some of our weaponry." Mia announced to the others. Penelope felt her heart begin to beat anxiously. "Layth informed me of this yesterday and also gave a.. decent plan." Mia was clearly reluctant to give the male knight praise, even narrowing her eyes slightly. With a small flick of her wrist, she gestured for him to explain it to the others.

Layth had a pleased expression and sat up a bit straighter. "My plan, is that we set a trap for them. We'll pretend to agree to their ransom and then ambush them when they go to collect the gold. We'll have a few of our knights disguised as commoners so that we blend in, that way they have no way of seeing us coming." He explained. "We'll make an example out of them. And get what was stolen from us back."

"Good!" Edward said with a nod of approval. "That'll teach 'em. And it'll save us time from having to try and track them down ourselves. They can just come to us."

"So long as the knights can act as believable commoners, I think it'll work.. better than wasting our gold." Bennet mused.

Penelope hid away the alarm that she felt at Layth's plan and the approval it got from their higher ups. Crow wouldn't fall for that. He'll be fine. She tried to ease her worry but was unable to. Even if the thief could see through the trap, Penelope couldn't just leave it to chance. She had to try and talk the others out of this.

"It's not bad.. But can we afford it?" Penelope spoke finally, drawing all eyes on her. "We're fighting a war here so can we really afford to be chasing after common criminals? It would be much easier to just give them the gold and get the swords back, without risking any men or taking any focus off the real battles at hand here."

"I was concerned about that as well." Tomas agreed. His gaze flickered to Mia, clearly waiting to hear her opinion. However, before that could happen, Edward snorted loudly. His gaze was narrowed and focused on Penelope.

"We can't let such behavior go unpunished!" He declared. "If we did what you suggest, we might as well just give them the rest of our supplies."

"Edward, teeemperr." Mia said with a hint of warning. She turned to look back at Tomas and Penelope, giving them small smiles. "I understand the concern. I was worried about that myself but there is some truth to what Edward says. I don't like to involve myself with chasing criminals but if we paid them, it would be inviting them to steal from us again. It's better we deal with this now while we have a bit of time and strength to spare before the upcoming battle."

"Exactly." Edward grunted. "I would have thought that the person who dealt with the most infamous thief would understand this."

Penelope shot a defensive glare at her uncle before looking back to Mia. This was bad. It made sense to Penelope why they wanted to handle it this way but it meant they'd be trying to kill the bandits, more specifically Crow who she was rather certain had been apart of the raid. She tried to think of a way to argue against it, to make them back down and just forget about the stolen items. But she couldn't think of anything fast enough.

"So we're in agreement then." Mia mused, receiving a general murmur of agreement from everyone in the room except Penelope. "Great, then we will set up the trap for the bandits tomorrow. Layth-" She paused looking hesitant. "will be in charge of putting together the ambush team."

"You should all leave during the night as well. I suspect they're watching us or at least checking in to see when the gold will be placed there so we need to hide our plans to the best of our capabilities." Edward advised.

"Agreed. Don't speak too much about this plan either. We can't have them catching even the faintest wind of what we're doing... I don't want a single one of them to get away with this." Layth growled determinedly.

The meeting soon ended with everyone on the same page except for Penelope. The female knight stepped out of the tent, her heartache was suddenly numbed by the worry and fear for Crow's safety. Even though things had changed between them, there was no way the knight could allow herself to just stand back while he was in potential danger. She couldn't stop them from agreeing to Layth's plan so she'd have to find another way to help him. She stood back for a moment, mulling it over. At first, she considered trying to weasel her way into Layth's team but realized that idea wouldn't work well. Layth would likely be reluctant to have her join and not to mention, it would potentially put her in a position where she'd be caught and labeled as a traitor for helping Crow.

I can't be there... So I need to warn him somehow before it happens.. Penelope thought. Her gaze landed on Olivia in the distance who was flirting with another knight, seemingly enjoying herself in his company. A plan sparked in Penelope and she quickly began to head over to Olivia, the one knight who had ran into Crow.

[Rogue Sloth]

As planned, Crow headed to Myrefall by himself to speak with the local villagers. In truth, he didn’t have much that he needed to do there. He had just needed an excuse to avoid going to Norcrest so he wouldn’t chance running into Penelope again. After she had told him she didn’t want to be with him anymore, he didn’t want to see her—not for a long time, if ever again. He wanted to let go of her now that he was certain there would be no future for them, and that meant staying as far away from her as possible.

He ambled slowly through the forest, moving as a casual pace since he wasn’t in a rush while still keeping a close watch of his surroundings in case there were any knights nearby. The local guards were well aware of the thieves in the area, and he knew they were on the lookout for them, so he kept his guard up and his hood drawn.

Of all the thieves in the group, he had to be the most cautious. Because of his past reputation, many of the knights who had been working in the outer villages for a long time already knew his face. Rikki, Alistair, and Simon had the advantage of being able to walk around in public, since they weren’t known by the local guards, but Crow couldn’t share in the luxury. In a way, he had recently come to regret how well known he was in Brerra. It was a pain to have to keep a low profile everywhere he went.

After a while of walking and letting his thoughts roam, Crow arrived in Myrefall. He made quick work of his errands, speaking to a couple of the village elders—contrary to their name, they were all in their thirties, since the people there died so young—about the state of the village and passing off some gold that he and the other thieves had procured from their last heist. The gifts he brought were the main reason why the villagers of Myrefall tolerated his presence, since, as an infamous thief, he otherwise just brought them trouble.

Even though he finished what he had told the others he was going to do, he didn’t leave Myrefall right away. Instead, he made one more trip to a man that lived in a small, run-down house at the northern edge of the village.

Crow stood in front of the door and took a deep breath. He knew that as soon as he stepped inside, he would be admitting he needed help. Part of him was still stubbornly clinging to the hope that he would be fine on his own, but it was becoming harder and harder to deny the truth. He couldn’t do this alone anymore.

He lifted a hand and knocked on the door.

A muffled shuffling sound came from inside the house until the door swung open, revealing a rather short man with a bald head and a scruffy, braided bread. The man squinted up at him, eyeing the thief with a scrutinizing stare. “What do you want?”

Crow shifted his weight, averting his gaze uncomfortably as he found it difficult to look him in the eye, “I heard you’re the one the people of this village come to for medicine.”

“That’s correct,” the man confirmed brusquely, his calculating gaze wandering up and down the thief’s body as if he was trying to diagnose him just by sight. After a moment, he grunted and shuffled back into the house. “Come inside.”

Crow hesitated for a moment before he followed after the man. As he entered into the tiny home, he took a moment to look around. It was small, definitely intended to shelter just one person, and he wondered absently if the herbalist had built it by himself. In addition to the small size, the space felt even more cramped because of how filthy it was. Dried leaves and dirt littered the floor, and the walls were covered in yellowing paper depicting hand-drawn images of plants. Used pots and jars cluttered what looked to be a makeshift kitchen. Overall, his first impression was that the man was a bit unusual.

“So,” the herbalist sat down heavily at a table covered with more plant drawings and gestured for Crow to do the same. “What brings the most infamous thief in the kingdom to my humble abode?”

“You know me?” Crow raised a brow as he sat down across from him. He had heard that the man was reclusive and didn’t often leave his home, so he was mildly surprised that he had heard of him before.

“Of course,” the herbalist waved a dismissive hand. “Everyone in this village knows who you are,” he smirked, seeming to read the thief’s mind. “…even a hermit like me.”

“Hm,” Crow grunted, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t know whether I should be flattered or concerned.”

“Take it as you will,” the man shrugged his narrow shoulders. “I care not. However, you seem to be avoiding my question.” He leaned forward with a curious glint in his eye. “You look healthy enough, so I ask again: Why exactly are you here, thief?”

Crow shifted in his seat, “I fear I’ve caught the illness that plagues the people of this village.” He forced himself to meet the herbalist’s gaze. “I was hoping you might have a remedy.”

The man clicked his tongue, crossing his arms over his chest. “Unfortunately, if you’re right, then there isn’t much I can do.”

“I was afraid of that,” Crow’s heart sank.

“However, I do have something that could ease your symptoms,” the herbalist went on. He stood up and moved to open a drawer, retrieving a vial of green-black liquid, which he offered to the thief. “This won’t cure you, but it will suppress the coughing and chest pains. I’ve given it to other villagers before, and it’s had much success. It’s potent, so a few drops a day is all you’ll need.”

“Thanks,” Crow slipped the vial into his tunic, though the man’s gesture did little to improve his mood. He looked up again as a question came to him that he both dreaded to ask, yet needed to say, “So, if I’m not going to get better, then what should I expect from here? I have to know.”

“Are you sure?”

Crow nodded resolutely, and the herbalist eyed him for a moment before answering, “The disease is known in these parts as Creeping Death. It strikes subtly at first but progresses slowly until it leaves its victims bedridden. The first stage, as I mentioned, is coughing and chest pain. This can last anywhere from a month to a year. Next, you’ll start to experience spells of dizziness and fatigue. This stage can also last from a month to a year. When you begin to cough up blood, that’s when you know the illness is starting to take its final course. At that point, all you can do is pray that death comes quickly.”

Crow nodded wordlessly, unnerved to hear the gruesome prophesy of his fate. Part of him regretted asking, but it was better for him to know what to expect now rather than be caught by surprise later on. Stomach churning, he stood up from the table and drew a small pouch of gold from his tunic pocket. “Thanks for your help,” he said quietly with a polite dip of his head, holding out the money to the herbalist. “Here. This is for the medicine.”

“Of course,” the man nodded in return as he accepted the pouch. “I’m truly sorry you weren’t able to escape from the clutches of the disease, and I hope your experience is more peaceful than those who have succumbed to it before you.”

The thief nodded appreciatively at his words and turned to leave the herbalist’s house. Having completed everything he needed to do in Myrefall, he began to make his way back to the hideout, trying to ignore the weight of dread in his chest at the thought that there was nothing he could do to change his fate.

[BuzzingBee]

"Olivia, I need to talk to you about something."

Olivia turned her head to look over at Penelope, raising an eyebrow curiously. She seemed to hesitate, deciding between either giving Penelope a hard time or just agreeing due to her own curiosity. "Oh?" She finally mused then turned to the male knight she had been speaking with. "Seems I'm suddenly a bit busy.. I'll catch you later, dear." She said with a wink before turning to follow Penelope as she stepped away.

Penelope surveyed their surroundings as she moved off to the side of camp, making sure they were alone before turning her gaze to focus on Olivia. "Crow told me you ran into him the other day... Do you think you could find him again?" She asked in a hushed voice.

Olivia smirked. "Maybe.. But why? Is someone having second thoughts about her suitor? Not that I blame you. The guy's a total stick in the mud."

"What? No." Penelope said giving Olivia a stern look. "The barons are planning to set up a trap to deal with the bandits that stole from us the other day.. I can only assume Crow was apart of that. They're already planning to launch it tomorrow and my brother's leading them out to the village tonight. I need you to find him again and warn him. Please."

Olivia crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at Penelope. "Wait, you're making it sound like you expect me to go alone." She said accusingly. When Penelope didn't reply, the other female knight huffed and quickly shook her head. "No way. I can show you where he is but I'm definitely not going alone. He's not alone, you know. There's no telling what the other thieves are like and while I do enjoy meddling, there's no way I'm going back there alone. I got lucky Crow was the one that found me. No telling if I'll get that lucky again."

Penelope frowned a little. It was unfair of her to ask Olivia to go alone, especially with the risk that was involved. Though, she had been hoping to avoid facing Crow again. The female knight shifted uneasily, wishing there was someone else that could go in her place with Olivia. But there wasn't. I'll just warn him and leave.. It'll be quick. She assured herself. "You're right." She finally sighed with a small nod of agreement. "I'll go with you."

"Good. You're really going to owe me for all of this by the way." Olivia told her with a smirk. "Anyways, let's wait until it's later to go. Everyone will be focused on Layth and his group leaving so we'll just slip away to 'go on a patrol'. I'd also suggest telling Gavin where we're going. Just incase, I mean."

"I'd rather leave him out of this.." Penelope mumbled. Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Too bad. Look, if anyone starts asking where we are or if something goes wrong, it'd be good to have someone know at least that we left camp." She insisted. "You don't have to tell him everything, just enough to keep from anyone figuring out where we went."

"Alright." Penelope agreed reluctantly. "I'll speak to him before we leave."

"Great. I'll meet you by your tent at sunset."

---

The day went by rather smoothly. Penelope spent most of it with Mia and Tomas, going over plans for an attack on the Younis forces before she presented them to the other barons. The three eventually ended their meeting as it grew later in the day and allowed for Penelope to set out to speak to Gavin about covering for her and Olivia. As she walked through the camp, she was quick to notice Layth and his group preparing for their nearing departure. They had gotten commoner clothes from a village nearby and most were already dressed, with their weapons hidden. The female knight felt uneasy at the sight and picked up her pace as she hurried to find Gavin. She soon spotted the male knight and walked over to him.

"Hey Penelope." He greeted her with a small smile. "Finally get out of your meeting?"

"Yeah." She said and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "But now Olivia and I are going out on a patrol for a bit."

"Do you need me to cover your guard shift?" Gavin asked her, taking her hand in his.

Penelope paused. "Maybe.. It shouldn't take too long but if I'm not back in time could you?"

"Of course." Gavin said. He gave her hand a small squeeze. "Be safe."

Penelope looked up at him and gave a small nod. She let go of his hand and said goodbye before moving to go meet up with Olivia. The sun was sinking quickly in the sky so they needed to get moving. The other female knight was waiting by her tent as planned and gave a smirk as Penelope appeared.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah.. Lead the way.." Penelope mumbled, feeling anxious at the thought of having to face Crow again. She glanced around, making sure they were alone before following Olivia as she lead the way towards Crow's camp. The two knights kept alert as they traveled further from their campsite and closer to the ravine.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow returned to the ravine just before dusk to find that the camp was still empty. He walked over to a fallen tree that the thieves had converted into something of a bench and sat down, feeling relieved to be the first one back. After casting a quick glance around to be absolutely sure he was alone, he drew the vial that the herbalist in Myrefall had given to him and popped the top open, eyeing the dark liquid curiously. It reminded him of a mint leaf dressing he had tried at a banquet in Farhill many years ago.

Just a few drops, huh? he thought. It was interesting to him how something that looked so innocent could be so potent. Nevertheless, he followed the herbalist’s instructions, lifting the vial to his mouth and allowing three drops to fall on his tongue. In the next instant, he coughed roughly, however this time it was due to his surprise at the powerfully bitter taste of the draught rather than his illness. Even though he had only taken a small amount of it, the liquid made his mouth feel like it was filled with cotton.

“Gods, this stuff is rancid,” he muttered, wrinkling his nose as he capped the vial again.

“Hey, Crow!”

At the sound of the unexpected voice, the thief jumped and fumbled to stash the medicine back inside of his tunic. He turned around to see Alistair and Rikki climbing down the side of the ravine, having returned from their trip to spy on the battalion knights. Covering his surprise at their sudden arrival, he stood up and walked over to greet them, “Hey, guys. How did it go?”

“Eh,” Alistair waggled his hand in the air. “They didn’t notice we were there, but they didn’t give anything useful away either.”

“Yeah,” Rikki shrugged. “I saw some of them go into a tent at one point, but we couldn’t get close enough to eavesdrop. They probably did all their strategizing in there.”

“We ended up taking bets on how many servings of lunch this pudgy knight would eat instead,” Alistair snickered.

“I won,” Rikki cut in, shooting the other thief a mischievous smirk. “He had three.”

“No way,” Alistair combatted, leaning down so they were nose to nose. “He clearly went back for a fourth.”

“Doesn’t count. He didn’t fill his whole plate.”

“He still ate more than three!”

“Alright, alright,” Crow rolled his eyes as the two went on to argue over the results of their gambling. He moved to get between them before things turned violent. Alistair and Rikki were the most hotheaded members of the group, so their fights often came to blows if no one stopped them.

“Sorry, boss,” Rikki shrugged haplessly.

For a moment it looked like the tension was over, but then Alistair leaned in one more time to whisper in her ear, “It was four.”

“Why you—!” Rikki spun on him and threw a punch at his face. Alistair dodged her attack and proceeded to wrestle her to the ground, where they continued to fight in the dirt.

Crow just shook his head and walked away, leaving them to work things out on their own as he noticed Simon appear at the top of the ravine. The blonde thief worked his way down into the campsite and met him halfway, “No money yet.”

“Damn,” Crow sighed, crossing his arms. He had been hoping the knights would pay them quickly so they could give the villagers of Myrefall enough to get through the end of the season, when the tax collectors would be arriving.

“Don’t worry,” Simon said confidently. “They’ll pay up soon enough. They can’t risk being short on weaponry when Younis could attack at any time.”

“I hope you’re right,” Crow nodded. “But if worse comes to worst and they refuse to pay the ransom, I’ll go to Younis and sell everything off to their knights.”

“You know… we still have the option of sabotaging the Brerratic knights for a wage,” Simon said hesitantly. “The Younisians would pay us handsomely if we work for them during this war.”

“No,” Crow shook his head. Simon had brought up the idea to him before, but he always shut it down. “I’ve told you before: It’s too much trouble to take sides. If we work for Younis, it’ll put an even bigger target on our backs and give the knights from our kingdom a reason to come after us. As long as we continue to steal indiscriminately, we’re not too big of a threat to anyone, and neither side will have a reason to spare knights to track us down.”

“Whatever you say,” Simon said, seeming unconvinced. However, he didn’t challenge Crow’s authority and instead walked away to find a quiet place to read his book before the sun disappeared.

--

The thieves spent the rest of the evening enjoying each other’s company. Simon mostly kept to himself, although he often joined in conversations that piqued his interest, while the other three gambled with dice that Alistair had carved from soft stone a while back. Overall, it was a peaceful night.

That is, until Crow caught the sound of footsteps near the top of the ravine.

He looked up sharply, his eyes sweeping over the tree line, before he turned to get the attention of the other three. “Someone’s coming,” he said with hushed urgency. Immediately, the thieves stopped what they were doing and hurried to the closest hiding places with rehearsed efficiency. Crow appreciated that, despite how carefree they usually were, they knew when to stop playing around and take a situation seriously. It was the main reason why they hadn’t lost any members during the past year that they had been together.

Crow took cover behind a boulder near the edge of what used to be a river in the center of the ravine, watching as the others did the same. Simon crouched behind a bush, while Alistair and Rikki climbed up separate trees. Once they were all in place, they drew their weapons and fixed their gazes on the edge of the hillside, waiting for the intruder to show their face.

[BuzzingBee]

As the two knights neared the top of the ravine, both grew a bit more tense. Olivia walked with a little more care as they reached the camp and Penelope followed her lead. She swept her gaze over the camp as it came into view, quickly noticing it was empty. "Guess we came at a bad time. Looks like they're not here." Olivia muttered quietly as she walked.

"Maybe.." Penelope didn't think so though. The camp might have been empty but she guessed that meant the thieves were merely hiding away from the two intruders. She swept her gaze over the surrounding area, pausing as movement in a nearby tree caught her attention. She looked up just in time to lock eyes with a man who was up in the trees and unfortunately it wasn't the one she was looking for. He didn't give her a chance to fully react. With his cover blown, the thief launched himself out of the tree to attack.

Penelope dodged out of his path and drew her sword to defend herself. He came at her again, his aim clearly telling her that he had the intent to kill. "Damnit." Penelope hissed under her breath as she blocked his blade with her sword. As she looked past him, she saw that Olivia had also gotten dragged into a fight with two other thieves. A small stain of red on her comrade's arm told Penelope that she hadn't been able to dodge as quickly.

"We're not your enemies." Penelope growled to the man she was currently locked in battle with. It was difficult as she was forced to constantly be on the defensive. If they were Crow's comrades, she didn't want to hurt them. "I know Crow! I'm here to warn you guys about what the knights are planning!" She snapped, hoping it would cease the fighting.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow tensed as two knights came into view at the top of the ravine, and he gritted his teeth in frustration. This was the second time in two days! Perhaps they needed to consider moving to a new location, considering how easily their enemies were finding them lately. However, as he watched the knights for a moment longer, his eyes widened in recognition. It was Olivia and Penelope. What were they doing here? Olivia had no reason to come back, and Penelope had no business showing her face after what she had said to him. His heart leapt into his throat and his momentary confusion gave way to panic as he realized what was about to happen.

Unfortunately, being the farthest one away from the knights also meant he could do nothing to stop the other thieves from attacking. He stood up hurriedly as he saw Alistair leap down on Penelope with a vicious gleam in his eye. Rikki and Simon were quick to follow his lead, springing on Olivia before she had a chance to react. The three were clearly intent on taking advantage of the female knights’ surprise while it lasted, striking furiously in their desire to overpower them.

Damn it… Crow sprinted towards the battle, catching the sound of Penelope’s words over the clashing of blades as he got closer: “I know Crow! I’m here to warn you guys about what the knights are planning!”

“Sure you do!” Alistair laughed, swiping at her again with his short sword. “All you knights ‘know’ Crow. Try again, sweetheart.” His eyes flicked towards Rikki in a knowing glance before returning to Penelope. He dove to swing his weapon at her side while the female thief pivoted away from Olivia to come at Penelope from behind, her dagger poised to strike the knight’s back. However, before she could make contact, Crow intercepted the blow, using his own dagger to knock Rikki’s away.

“What the hell?” she snarled at him. “I had her!”

“That’s enough!” Crow snapped loudly, drawing the attention of the other thieves, who faltered at the sternness of his voice. Reluctantly, they obeyed his command and stood down, though they continued to eye the knights defensively, clearly prepared to keep fighting if Olivia or Penelope came at them again.

“What’s going on here?” Simon turned on Crow with a glare, seeming suspicious of the fact that their leader knew the strange knights.

Crow ignored his hostility and turned towards Penelope and Olivia. “I don’t know,” he said coldly. “What is going on here?” As his eyes fell on Penelope, he felt a harsh tangle of emotions—hurt, anger, longing, heartache—and he turned away again, unable to look her in the eye. Instead, he focused on Olivia, “What are you two doing here?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope glared at Alister's words and blocked his attack again. She didn't catch his glance towards the female thief and instead kept her focus on keeping his blade from making contact with her side. The sound of blades clashing right behind her made Penelope glance over her shoulder in time to see Crow had blocked the attack. As he commanded the other thieves to back down, she lowered her blade and shifted closer to Olivia.

Olivia shot a glare at the unknown thieves as she moved to press one hand over the cut on her arm. Penelope glanced over at her before her attention shifted back to Crow, frowning a little at his cold tone. There was the anger she had been expecting upon reuniting with him. The knight tried to ignore the own hurt she felt. She had no right to. She was the one that hard turned him down after all. Trying to focus back on the matter at hand, Penelope finally spoke up, despite how he focused on Olivia.

"My brother's planning to set a trap up tomorrow in Norcrest." She began. "The knights have no intent of paying for the weapons back so they decided to try and put together an ambush. They're disguising themselves as commoners so that they won't be as easily noticed. They're actually probably on there way there right now.. He spoke about leaving once night fell."

"Yeah I unfortunately got dragged into delivering this information." Olivia added with a shrug.

Penelope looked over at Olivia, shooting her a small look of apology. She looked back to Crow but finding it difficult met his gaze, she instead lowered her gaze to the ground. "I just wanted to warn you."

[Rogue Sloth]

As Penelope explained her reason for coming to the thieves’ camp, Crow wavered slightly. He didn’t know what he had been expecting, but it definitely hadn’t been a warning about an ambush. He swallowed and glanced discreetly towards her, trying to keep a neutral expression despite his inner turmoil. He hated that he didn’t know how to act around her. Being cold felt cruel, but he couldn’t just pretend like nothing had changed between them when everything was different now.

When she finished speaking, he hesitated, not sure what to say to her. However, he didn’t need to say anything, because Simon piped up first, “Well, this is just great.”

“If they think they can make fools of us like that, they’ve got another thing coming!” Alistair growled, curling his hands into fists at his sides. “We should go and fight them tomorrow. We can take them easily, especially since they don’t know we’re in on their little scheme.”

“Yeah,” Rikki grinned in agreement, cracking her knuckles. “If they don’t give us our money, we’ll just take it off their cold, dead bodies.”

Crow shifted uneasily, his eyes flicking towards the knights. He didn’t like how openly Rikki and Alistair were threatening Penelope’s and Olivia’s comrades. Even though the two had come to warn the thieves about the ambush, their loyalties still laid with the other knights. It could be trouble if the hotheaded thieves provoked them to turn on them.

“We can discuss it later,” he shot Alistair and Rikki a warning look, gesturing subtly towards the knights in the hopes that they would catch on to his concern. Fortunately, the female thief seemed to pick up his signal. She elbowed Alistair harshly in the ribs when he opened his mouth to make another snide remark.

Relaxing slightly, Crow turned back to Olivia and Penelope, “Thanks for the warning.” His gaze fell to the cut on Olivia’s arm and he paused, thinking something over before going on, “Before you go, let us treat that wound. It’s the least we can do, since you came here to help us, and we attacked you.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope waited for Crow's response but instead got the responses of the other thieves. She lifted her gaze to narrow her eyes at Alistair and Rikki as they spoke rather threateningly. It caused for an uneasy feeling to develop in the pit of her stomach. She had wanted to warn Crow to keep him safe but now seeing the willingness of his comrades to get into fights with knights, she worried she might come to regret it. If they did choose to attack, it would be possible that they'd kill her own brother along with other comrades. Her loyalties suddenly felt split and she shifted uneasily even after Crow seemed to take control of the situation.

That was another thing that caught her off guard. Not only was he apart of a band of thieves but it also appeared that he was the leader. She snuck a glance over at him. The night before he had seemed to be the same person she had left behind but now she was beginning to see bits of how he had changed. Focusing back on the matter at hand, she gave a small nod as he thanked her and then offered to bandage Olivia's wound. She wanted to leave as soon as possible but returning with Olivia wounded might draw unwanted attention to them so it was best for them to stay a little longer to treat it.

"It really is the least you can do." Olivia agreed. Seeing that everyone seemed a little less likely to attack, she put away her sword and moved to make herself comfortable as she waited for them to get the bandages for her wound. She looked over at the group of thieves and flashed a charming smile. "The name's Olivia by the way. In case anyone was curious." She added with a wink.

Penelope rolled her eyes at Olivia's antics and stood back as she waited, unable to relax. With Crow around and the thought of having put her own brother in danger, she felt troubled. She looked over to Crow once more and shifted nervously. Finally she gathered the courage to step over to him. "Crow.. Can I speak with you... About what you plan to do now about the trap I mean.." She said lowering her voice.

[Rogue Sloth]

As Olivia introduced herself rather flirtatiously, Alistair nudged Simon and leaned over to mutter in the other thief’s ear, “Dibs.”

Simon wrinkled his nose, “Really? A knight?”

“Who cares? She’s beautiful, and she’s interested.”

“You have no shame,” Simon shook his head as Alistair ran off to grab the bandages to treat Olivia’s wound.

Crow watched him go with a roll of his eyes. Even more so than himself, Alistair was an opportunist when it came to women. He flirted with anyone, regardless of status, and had surprisingly high success that none of the other thieves could understand. As far as Crow knew, Rikki was the only woman to have ever turned him down, and that was only because she had been eyeing Crow and didn’t want a reputation for sleeping around in the group.

“So,” Simon said in a hushed voice, moving to stand at Crow’s side. He glanced furtively at the knights before turning towards his leader. “It seems like the knights of our kingdom already have a vendetta against us.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Crow said quietly without meeting the other thief’s gaze. He already knew where Simon was going with this.

“Come on,” Simon crossed his arms. “They sent knights to ambush us. They’re at the point of sparing some of their numbers to take us down.”

“They still might give up.”

“At least consider the option,” the blonde thief sighed. “It would be a much more consistent income than what we’re relying on now.”

“…I’ll think about it,” Crow finally relented.

“Crow,” Penelope’s voice drew his attention and he turned to see that she had come up to speak with him. As she asked to talk with him about his plan to deal with the knight’s trap, he shifted his weight uncertainly. For one thing, he still didn’t feel like he was in the best place to converse with her, but more so than that, he was afraid she would want him to promise her that he and the other thieves would leave the knights alone, which he wasn’t sure he could do.

He met her gaze, intending to deny the request, but the concern in her eyes made him falter. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he felt bad for causing her to worry. He couldn’t just leave her like that.

“Fine,” he said after a moment’s pause. He turned back to Simon, who gave him a curious look, and tipped his head, indicating for the other thief to leave. Simon hesitated, seeming unsettled by the situation, but after a bit, he walked over to stand with Rikki.

Now alone with Penelope for the first time since the previous night, Crow’s inhibitions about being around her suddenly came flooding back. He shoved his hands in his pockets in subconscious defensiveness and cleared his throat before going on: “If you don’t want any unwanted opinions, we should go somewhere more private. This way.”

Pushing back against his discomfort, he started down the length of the ravine, towards the river at the far side. However, as they walked, he didn’t begin the conversation. He still didn’t know what to say to her about the subject, so he decided to wait for her to speak first.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope waited for Crow to reply, feeling quite worried as he hesitated to answer her. When he finally agreed, she felt a bit of relief but not much as it put them in a situation where they were alone together yet again. The female knight tried to ignore her own feelings, which were a swirling mixture of regret, discomfort, pain, guilt and worry that made her stomach feel upset. She silently followed him as he lead them away from the group.

As the silence drawled on, she realized he was waiting for her to speak but she wasn't quite sure where to begin or how to even speak to him now. Part of her was tempted to ask him about all that had changed, wanting to know what he had gone through over the two years. Bu she doubted he'd be willing to speak with her so casually now and she couldn't blame him for that. So instead, she tried to figure out how to bring up the topic at hand.

"Are you seriously considering an attack?" She finally asked him, breaking the silence. The knight frowned as she looked up at him. Crow didn't know how to fight that well... At least, not when she had known him. His comrades seemed skilled enough to pose a real threat though and she supposed he might have sharpened his skills over the years if he had been with them long enough.

"I don't know your friends or their motives but I do know that they are willing to kill.. My brother's at the head of that patrol, Crow. I warned you so you could avoid it and be safe, not to turn around and try to fight the very people I-" gave you up to protect Penelope hesitated a bit with her words, quickly rephrasing her thoughts. "-I'm trying to protect.