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

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow felt heavy as he walked with Penelope to lay down for the night, dreading to find out what the morning would bring. Gavin’s words hung in the back of his mind, incessantly reminding him of his mistake, whatever it had been. Even when he laid beside Penelope on the bedroll, he found it difficult to get comfortable. His instincts were telling him to get as far away from the others as he could before everything blew up in his face, but he couldn’t do that without practically admitting to Penelope that he really had sabotaged the patrol. If there was even the faintest chance that he could keep his secret from her, he couldn’t run away yet.

As she curled up against him, he wrapped an arm over her side to hold her close. “I love you too,” he murmured, burying his head against her neck and squeezing his eyes shut as he prayed that her words wouldn’t change in the morning. She had always been quick to forgive him in the past, but he was worried that her patience with him would eventually wear thin as he continued to break her trust. This time, he was scheming against her and her comrades to help a murderer continue to ruin her battalion’s efforts in the war. Of all the lies he had told her in the past, this one had the steepest consequences. He couldn’t imagine how she would react if she found out.

That’s why she can never know, he thought, letting out his breath in a long sigh as he began to drift off into a fitful sleep.

--

Crow woke up the next morning to a throbbing in his head. He groaned and rolled over on his mat, grimacing as he was suddenly aware of the bright morning light over his head. Grabbing at his blanket, he pulled the fabric up and over his eyes to block out the torturous sun, but he didn’t have long before he heard the sound of footsteps followed by Gavin’s voice: “Get up,” he grunted in a voice that was thick with exhaustion, nudging the thief with his boot and then crouching down to gently shake Penelope’s shoulder.

Crow just groaned again in response, too tired to do anything else. He was just about to drift off again, when suddenly the events of the previous night came back to him at once. Paling at the memory of Gavin’s certainty that he had caught him, he shot upright on the bed, only to feel another sharp stab of pain plague his head at the abrupt motion. Closing his eyes, he brought a hand up to his forehead as he waited for it to pass. Fortunately, it seemed like he didn’t have a very bad hangover—the consistent throbbing was painful, but it wasn’t anything like some of the worse headaches he’d had in the past—but it was still enough to make him reluctant to stand up.

Opening one eye, he looked up to see that Gavin had already finished packing up most of the knights’ supplies aside from the bedrolls they had been sleeping on. He shifted his weight uncomfortably. It wouldn’t be much longer he found out if the knight really had proof that he had been working behind their backs. He turned to glance down at Penelope, hoping to think of a way to prevent Gavin from catching her alone.

After a moment of hesitation, he offered her a halfhearted smile. “Morning, love,” he sighed, rubbing his temple with one hand to ease the pounding. “I hope you’re not feeling as miserable as I am today…”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope let out a small groan as she felt someone shake her shoulder. She didn't want to get up, already beginning to feel a soft pounding in her head as she grew more awake. Eventually the knight forced herself to open her eyes and caught sight of Gavin. The male knight was clearly exhausted from his overly long guard shift and she felt a stab of guilt as she recalled a bit of what had happened the night before.

Her gaze soon shifted over to Crow as he addressed her and she gave a small sigh at his words. "I don't think I'm much better actually." she admitted as she ran a hand through her hair. It wasn't the worst hangover she had had but the slight pounding certainly wasn't welcomed. Looking at him, she thought over the night for a moment, recalling how they had gotten drunk because of the villagers and then how they had behaved in the tavern. A blush formed on her cheeks as she remembered how physical they had been.

"Gods we were terrible yesterday.." she mumbled shaking her head. Despite her embarrassment, she flashed him a small smirk of amusement and leaned over to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "You're a real mess when you're drunk." Penelope gave a soft chuckle then forced herself up after another moment of hesitation. She swept her gaze over the camp, noting that Gavin had already collected all of their supplies aside from the beds. It seemed he was still insistent on getting back to their camp as quickly as possible. However, she wondered if he could even make it there after spending most of the night on guard.

"Gavin, maybe you should lay down a bit before we leave. We'll still make it back to camp by the end of the day even if we leave a little later." she said.

The male knight glanced over at her and paused, seeming to consider her words for a moment before quickly shaking his head. "I'll be fine.. I'll take a nap when we take a break later." he said decisively. He shifted his gaze to Crow for a moment then looked back at Penelope. "Let's just hurry up and get moving."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow offered Penelope a sympathetic look when she said she wasn’t feeling very well either. He had been hoping that between the two of them, at least she would have made it through the night without developing a hangover. It looked like they had both drank more than they could handle the day before. He sighed, regretting once again how inattentive he had been for Olivia and Alistair to have tricked him so easily. With so many moving parts happening all at once in this mission, he needed to be more alert. He had gotten lucky this time—or so he was trying to convince himself—but there was no telling what sort of slip ups could happen if he let his guard down again.

When Penelope brought up how they had behaved while they had been drunk, he laughed softly and shook his head, “You can say that again.” He glanced at her as she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek and colored slightly at her following words. “I know,” he groaned, running his hand over his face in embarrassment. “Why do you think I try not to let myself get drunk?” Whenever he got intoxicated, he always lost control over his impulses—namely, his willpower to keep his hands off of women he found attractive. While he didn’t regret kissing Penelope—that part had been quite fun—he did wish they had thought to at least take things somewhere more private. The thought of all those other eyes on them while they had been so physical with each other made him want to crawl under a rock.

He looked up again when Penelope climbed to her feet and then followed suit after a moment of hesitation. As she spoke to Gavin, he watched the knight from the corner of his eye, holding his breath as he tried to read the other man’s face. After what Gavin had said the night before, he wanted to know what to expect, but it was difficult to tell since the knight had such a stoic demeanor. He hoped again that he was overreacting and there wasn’t actually anything to be worried about. Maybe in his drunkenness, he had just imagined what her former suitor had said.

Despite his attempts to reassure himself, he still felt unnerved around Gavin, so he decided to distract himself by getting some water to ease the dryness in his mouth. He stepped over to his things and crouched down to get his flask, uncapping it and bringing it to his lips. However, just before he tilted the container back to take a drink, he paused, suddenly remembering what he had used it for two nights ago. Having not cleaned it out since then, the water inside was still mixed with valerian root. He let out his breath in a sigh of relief, That was close.

Glancing back over his shoulder to make sure no one was looking in his direction, he quickly poured out the rest of the flask. Once it had been emptied, he resealed the lid and stood up straight again, making his way back over to Penelope. “Do you have any spare water that you could share with me?” he asked with a sheepish smile, shaking his flask to show her that it was empty. “I forgot that I finished all of mine yesterday, and I’m parched.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope stretched and stepped over to grab her bag so they could get moving soon. As she did, she swept her gaze over the clearing and noticed Gavin had moved to walk up Olivia, who was sleeping soundly besides Alistair. She also noted that Rikki was back with the group. It seemed she must have returned at some point in the night and was now crashed out on her bed. The sight of the female thief made Penelope remember her slightly less than polite exchange with her.

The knight shifted her gaze away with a small sigh. While she didn't really regret getting between Rikki and Crow, she did wish she had done so with a little more control. Last night really wasn't our best moment... she thought with an inward groan as she threw her bag over her shoulder. As she did so, Crow stepped back over to her asking for water. Penelope gave a small nod and pulled her flask out of her bag. "Here." she said handing it over to him. "Just save some for me because I'm thirty too." she added with a small chuckle.

"Penelope," Gavin's voice suddenly caught her attention and she turned to see the male knight stepping back over to her. It seemed he had finished walking up their comrade and had a rather stern expression on his tired face. "now that you're awake, I was hoping we could talk. I'd like to go over what I found out the other night." He glanced at Crow and stood a little straighter before looking hopefully at her again.

"Ah right," Penelope blinked, realizing that she still had no idea about how the rest of the interrogation had gone. The most she had been able to get out of the villagers were a few guarded replies. "What did you find out from the villagers?"

"Plenty, I think." Gavin crossed his arms over his chest then glanced towards Crow. "I'd like to speak to her about it alone if you don't mind."

[Rogue Sloth]

“Of course,” Crow flashed Penelope a smirk as she handed off her flask to him. He lifted the container to his lips and downed a large portion of the water inside, relishing the way that the cold liquid soothed his mouth and throat. With time, he hoped it would help to ease his slight headache as well.

Once he’d had his fill, he put the lid back on and was about to pass it back to her when Gavin’s voice caught his attention. He turned to see that the knight was walking towards them at a brisk pace with a serious look in his eyes despite how exhausted he had to be after staying up all night to keep watch. The urgency in his tone set the thief on edge, reminding him yet again of their conversation the night before. With the way Gavin was acting now, it was starting to seem like he may have actually figured something out. He shifted his weight uneasily, attempting to watch the two knights speak without drawing attention to himself.

As Gavin mentioned learning something from the villagers he had spoken to at the tavern, Crow felt an ominous shiver run up his spine. He looked up to meet the knight’s gaze, covering his nervousness with a fake anticipation, as if he was also eager to hear the news. As he did, he noticed the other man cast him a strange look and stand up slightly straighter in a rather haughty posture. His confident attitude made the thief even more concerned that something had come out about his involvement with the people of Wheldrake the night before. To make matters worse, his suspicion that Gavin would try to isolate Penelope from him to reveal the information had been correct as well.

I can’t let him speak to her alone, he thought determinedly. Crossing his arms over his chest, he held the knight’s gaze with a stubborn air. “And do what?” he narrowed his eyes accusatively. “Keep me out of whatever it is that you found?” He scoffed. “Not a chance. No matter what you think about me, I’m just as much a part of this team as Penelope is. I want to know what you found too.”

Gavin clenched his jaw in thinly veiled annoyance at the thief’s delay, “I understand that, but I would still rather speak with Penelope about it alone first.” He studied Crow’s face suspiciously. “Unless you have a reason not to let me tell her what I know without you being present.”

“Of course I have a reason,” Crow growled. “I don’t appreciate being left out like I’m not as valuable to this group as you are. I know you don’t approve of my life choices, but the difference in our paths gives me the ability to provide you knights with a perspective you wouldn’t be able to see on your own. I think that’s reason enough to let me hear what you found out.” He crossed his arms over his chest in an obstinate stance. “And, not to mention, you’re not even the real leader here.” He glanced at Penelope. “What do you think, love?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope glanced between the two as Gavin tried to insist on speaking with her privately. As Crow turned to include her in the conversation, she gave a small nod of agreement before her gaze rested back on Gavin. "There's no sense in speaking separately, Gavin. Whatever you tell me now I'm just going to report to him anyways." she admitted with a small, careless shrug. "Can't we just get it over with now?"

Gavin frowned at her words, realizing he was losing the argument rather quickly. "I know but I'd just rather speak with you alone first. Talk to him after if you must, but I'd like to relay my information to you alone, Penelope." he insisted stubbornly.

Penelope eyed him for moment, crossing her arms over her chest. She was a bit surprised by how stubbornly he argued. He usually wasn't so insistent once she gave her opinion but this time he was much more reluctant to give in. Unfortunately for him, the knight could be just as stubborn and wasn't easily swayed by his words. She shook her head. "Gavin, I don't know why you're acting like this is such a private matter but I'd rather not. Can you please just tell us what you learned at the tavern?"

The male knight seemed to deflate faintly at her words. He still hesitated in speaking, casting an accusative glare towards Crow before looking back to Penelope. "Fine.." he said and met her gaze pleadingly. "But just, please, hear me out." Penelope raised an eyebrow at him, a bit confused by his expression and words. However, she didn't get a chance to ask him as he began to divulge into his report.

"When I spoke with the villagers, they still acted guarded around me, even after they were quite drunk. I'm not the best at this type of interrogation but I know a couple of them mentioned something about being instructed to give some lie. They didn't give me exact details but I'm thinking it has to do with our lead to Azmar. I think it's fake." Gavin explained to her.

"I recall a woman saying something along those lines too." Penelope said, nodding her head. Before she had gotten drunk, she was able to recall her suspicion of the villagers and the way they were trying to hide something. Though she didn't remember the woman's exact words, she was pretty center it aligned with what Gavin was saying. Her words seemed to encourage the male knight slightly as his eyes gleamed with a bit more confidence.

"Right but that's not all I learned." Gavin added as his gaze then narrowed on Crow.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow bit back a smug grin when Penelope sided with him and told Gavin to let him be a part of the conversation. Now that it was two against one, her former suitor would have no choice but to listen to their demands. He turned back to the knight, a bit surprised when the man tried one more time to convince Penelope to speak with him alone. Usually, he had noticed that Gavin would just give in to whatever she wanted to do. It was strange for him to be so firm in his decision, and his persistence only made the thief more certain that he’d figured something out that he wasn’t supposed to know about.

Eventually, the knight relented and, after a moment of hesitation, began to relay what he had learned at the tavern. As he described how the villagers had acted guardedly around him and mentioned that they had been instructed to lie, Crow fought the urge to shift his weight uncomfortably. He vaguely remembered hearing the same thing when he and Penelope had asked around too. Fortunately, his name hadn’t come up at that time, and he’d guessed that the tavern keeper had kept his identity a secret, but there was no way to know that for sure. It was possible that the table they had questioned just didn’t remember that he had been the one to start the lies. Perhaps Gavin had found some people who weren’t as forgetful.

He tensed slightly as Gavin went on to say that there was more that he had learned and casted the thief a cold look. If he was right, and one of the peasants in the tavern really had let slip his name, it was going to be difficult to explain that away to the knights. If that was what Gavin was prepared to tell them, he had to make sure he stayed a step ahead.

“Now that you mention it, I remember that woman too,” Crow spoke up suddenly before the knight had a chance to finish sharing his thought. He glanced between the two knights, drumming his fingers contemplatively against his bicep while his arms were still folded over his chest. “I’m starting to think that Jaxon may not be as unaware that he’s being hunted as we first thought. He or some of his other followers must have started spreading false rumors about their location to throw off the patrols your barons have been sending out. I’d bet anything that’s why the people in this village have been acting so strangely around us.”

“Perhaps,” Gavin growled, clearly unconvinced by the thief’s words and growing impatient at his interruptions. “If there’s even another group of thieves at all.”

Crow glared at him, “What are you talking about? Of course there is.”

“I’m not so sure I believe that,” that knowing smirk reappeared on Gavin’s lips as he went on. “I’ve got some pretty solid evidence that a certain thief here has been causing us more trouble than he’d like us to believe.”

“Are you accusing me of something?” Crow curled his lip at the knight, trying to fight back against the seed of worry that was growing inside of his chest.

“Yes, I am,” Gavin admitted without hesitation, holding the thief’s gaze evenly. “And I can prove it too.” He turned back to Penelope with new fire in his eyes. “I think he tampered with our food two nights ago. I’m not quite sure what he did to it, but it’s the only thing that explains why we all slept through the morning yesterday. I’ve never been on a patrol in my life where every single person, even the night guard, slept so soundly. It’s too strange to be a coincidence.”

“Great theory,” Crow drawled with a roll of his eyes. “But unfortunately for you, it doesn’t hold any water. In case you forgot, I ate the same supper as the rest of you, detective.”

“Did you really?” Gavin said, excitement edging his voice as he caught sight of a brief, surprised look in the thief’s eyes. “Then why did I find a portion of the food beneath a bush next to your belongings?”

Crow’s breath caught in his throat and he shot the knight a glare. He hadn’t expected that the knight was perceptive enough to have found the spot where he had disposed of his supper. It’s no matter, he thought calmly. I can still come back from this. He held his tongue, forcing himself to wait patiently for Gavin to finish explaining his accusation.

“I believe you tampered with our food so you could sneak off to sabotage us in the village,” Gavin continued proudly. “When you were drunk last night, you practically admitted to it. You said you took over Penelope’s watch because she was tired, but I’m certain you did it to sneak off while the rest of us were asleep. You’re the one who told the villagers to lie about seeing a group that was headed to Azmar, because you want us to keep following these phantom thieves you made up, so we’d be too distracted to realize it was you all along. Just admit it. You and your band of criminals were the ones who raided our camp and killed our comrades. There are no others.”

“Are you quite finished yet?” Crow growled, acting unamused by the knight’s accusations.

“Do you really think you can get out of it this time?” Gavin scoffed. “I could show Penelope where I found your supper, if you’d prefer.”

“No, that’s alright,” Crow shrugged. “I admit it. The food you found was mine.”

“So you did tamper with it,” Gavin smirked victoriously.

“Of course not,” Crow shook his head and turned to Penelope with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, love. I didn’t want to tell you because it was the first meal you helped prepare.” He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “When I left to redress my wound, I accidentally dropped my plate. I knew there was only enough for all of us to have one serving, so I pretended that I had eaten it, so you wouldn’t feel like you had to give me your portion. I never intended for you to find out… especially in a ridiculous interrogation.” He shot Gavin a cold look. “The rest is just the conjecture of a man with a rather wild imagination.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope raised an eyebrow at Gavin as she noticed his gaze narrow in on Crow. Already she was beginning to dislike where he was heading with this. His gaze made it apparent that it had something to do with the thief and—knowing Gavin's distrust of him—guessed that it wasn't something good. As Crow spoke up, she nodded her head in agreement with her words. He had mentioned something about suspecting that Jaxon had possibly something to do with how guarded the villagers were so perhaps making up some lie to throw off the knights was apart of it.

Gavin clearly didn't think so.

She let out a quiet sigh as the male knight began his accusation of Crow. He had tried it multiple times now but his confidence threw her off a bit more than anything else. Which meant that it was going to be difficult for her to talk him down from his certainty that Crow was the real enemy. "Gavin..." she mumbled disapprovingly as he met her gaze, going on about how he believed Crow had tampered with their food. However, she didn't have much time to reply as Crow defended himself against the other man. She felt a spark of annoyance at how proudly Gavin strung together his theory about Crow tampering with their dinner and slipping off in the middle of the night to get the villagers to lie for him.

Perhaps if it had been anyone other than Crow she would have taken Gavin more seriously, however, she found it all to just be a misunderstanding, especially after Crow explained what had happened with his food. She had already thought Crow was the one responsible when their camp was first raided and—remembering how hurt he had been by the accusation as well as how much he had shared with her about Jaxon—she couldn't bring herself to believe Gavin. Afterall, if what he said was true, that would mean Crow had used her in efforts to slip around the knights as well as the fact that he had rather brutally killed her comrades.

And I know he'd never do that.. Now it was just a matter of getting Gavin to believe that before he caused actual trouble with his assumptions. Penelope shifted closer to Crow, placing her hand on his shoulder. "It's alright." she told him with a small shrug. "It may have been my first meal but it won't be my last.. Besides I think this is just a big misunderstanding."

Gavin stared at her with a shocked expression. Having been so proud and confident in his findings, it was clear he wasn't expecting her to still side with Crow at the end of it all. "But Penelope-"

"Look Gavin, I understand why you think it's him but you've just got the wrong guy.." she said shaking her head. "It's like when I thought he was the one who raided our camp at first. Things seemed to line up but it just wasn't the case."

"You weren't wrong about that though." Gavin said and glared hostilely at Crow. "He's just lying and manipulating you. Penelope, I'm not just accusing him out of thin air, the food and villagers are poof. He used you so he could take your guard shift so he could cover his own ass."

"He wouldn't do that. You're just looking for any reason you can to pin it on him." Penelope growled, growing irritated with the accusations.

"I'm just trying to protect you. He's been distracting you from seeing the truth."

She let out a huff and shook her head. "I'm not arguing about this anymore.. Think what you'd like but don't do anything more." she said sternly and then crossed her arms. "We can at least agree that the tip to Azmar was likely fake.. I think it's best we just get back to camp and take a day or two to figure out our next move." Penelope let out a small sigh and looked up at Crow. "What do you think?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow smiled softly at Penelope when she placed a hand on his shoulder and assured him that she believed it was all just a misunderstanding. Apparently, her trust in him ran deeply enough that she would still side with him, even though Gavin had pretty much hit the nail on the head. He snuck a glance at the other knight. Even though he had convinced Penelope that her comrade had made everything up, it was concerning to him just how close Gavin had come to the truth just based on a few hints in the right direction. The man was smarter than he gave him credit for. He would have to be more cautious about covering his trail in the future.

As Gavin went on to tell Penelope that the thief was just manipulating her, the words struck Crow like a knife in his heart. He managed not to give away his inner turmoil outwardly, but inside, the comment stung quite a bit. He still felt guilty for sleeping with her two nights ago just to get away from the camp. Even though he knew it was for the best, it didn’t change the fact that he knew he was abusing her trust and, as her ex suitor had said, manipulating her. It wasn’t a good feeling to know that he was toying with the heart of the woman he loved, even if it was to keep her safe from Jaxon.

At least I shouldn’t have to do anything like that again, he thought hopefully. As long as he managed to successfully throw them off Jaxon’s trail, he could just let the lack of evidence do the work for him. He would only have to intervene if they started to get too close to finding an actual lead again, and surely that wouldn’t happen that often. Jaxon was too intelligent to leave footprints all over the forest. He would have covered as many traces of his presence as possible, leaving the knights with little, if anything, to work with in their search for him. It was part of what made him such a dangerous enemy to make.

Crow was drawn from his thoughts when he heard Penelope ask him a question. He blinked at looked down to meet her gaze. “I think you’ve got the right idea,” he sighed and shook his head, taking on a frustrated expression. “I can’t believe after two trips we still came away with next to nothing to work with. I mean, the best guess we can make is that he passed through from Aramoor, but that doesn’t tell us where he went. As long as he keeps setting up fake rabbit trails for us to follow, it’s going to be hard to pin him down.”

“This is ridiculous.” Crow looked up again to see that Gavin was glaring at him with a clenched jaw and hands balled tightly into fists. “I know you did it,” he went on in a threatening growl. “The only one creating fake trails here is you.”

“We discussed this already,” Crow rolled his eyes in exasperation. “You were wrong, so let’s just move on already so we can catch the real criminal behind the raid on your camp.”

“I think I’m looking at him,” Gavin curled his lip. “You may have weaseled your way out of trouble this time, but I know you’ll slip up again. When you do, I’ll make sure everyone knows it.” He glanced at Penelope and then averted his gaze, going on in a low voice, “Come on. Let’s head back to camp.” With that, he turned and stalked off to wait for everyone near the edge of the clearing.

Crow watched him go with a wary gaze. He didn’t like how closely the knight was observing him. Gavin was a patient man, which meant that he was going to have to watch his step a little more carefully from now on. If he made any mistakes at all, the knight would be at his throat with an accusation before he had a chance to open his mouth with an explanation. The thought of Gavin finding more irrefutable proof of his betrayal made him uneasy too. After all, he could only lie his way out of so many situations before the other man found something he couldn’t explain. He sighed softly. One thing was certain: It was going to be harder for him to keep his head down for the remainder of the mission.

Turning back to Penelope he offered her a lopsided smile, “Well, I guess we might as well finish packing up our supplies, so he doesn’t accuse me of delaying your return to your camp.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small nod of agreement with Crow's words. It was rather disheartening to learn that,after all their efforts, Jaxon had managed to send them on a false trail. The knight grimaced as she thought about having to report the failure to Mia and the other barons. They had let her go out on two long patrols but it was unlikely they would be as willing when it came time for the next one. She'd have to get more creative in order to get out of camp again.

She turned her focus back over to the other two, rolling her eyes as Gavin continued to accuse Crow. The male knight wasn't letting go of his theory very easily this time and as he warned Crow that he'd be watching him, she let out a small sigh. Though she was certain him being overly watchful of Crow would be annoying, she was at least glad he wouldn't be taking any other action against the thief. Since Crow had nothing to hide, she doubted it would be much of a problem.

Penelope nodded her head to Gavin as he turned and stalked off to wait at the edge of the clearing. She looked back towards Crow and returned his smile with a small one of her own. "Yeah. I was hoping he'd trust you a bit more with time but it seems like it's only getting worse now." she mumbled, shaking her head. She took a long drink from her flask then put it away for the time being so she could help in packing up their supplies.

Once they had, she stretched out her arms and then stepped over to where Gavin was waiting for them. She noticed that Olivia and Alistair had joined him already, neither looking very well. They had drank quite a bit the previous night so she didn't doubt that they probably had rather bad hangovers. At least mine's just a small headache.. she thought, finding herself a bit appreciative that her hangover was manageable enough. "Alright, I think we're ready right?" she asked glancing towards Gavin.

The male knight gave a small nod, still looking frustrated with the outcome of their conversation. "Let's go then." he mumbled, turning to lead the way as usual.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Nothing we can do about it now, I guess,” Crow shrugged when Penelope said she had been hoping Gavin would trust him more with time. “He’s got it in his head that I’m the real enemy here, so unless we can find a way to give him solid proof that it wasn’t me, I doubt he’s going to let it go anytime soon.” Plus, he’s sort of right now, he added silently as they headed over to pack up the rest of their things. Now that I’m working under Jaxon, I am one of the enemies. The thought made him feel sick, so he pushed it aside, wanting to focus on happier subjects during what could possibly be his last full day with Penelope on this mission.

Once they were done putting their supplies away, Crow walked with Penelope to join the others at the edge of the clearing. Right away, he could tell that amongst all of the ones who had gotten drunk the night before, the two of them had come off the best. Alistair and Olivia both looked visibly sick, with pale complexions and pained expressions, and Rikki wasn’t much better off either. The female thief was keeping her composure better than the others, but she still winced slightly from a headache of her own. All together, their patrol was looking quite ragged that morning.

He turned towards Gavin as the knight directed them to get moving and fell in step beside Penelope as they made their way northeast towards their separate camps.

--

The trip back was pleasantly uneventful. Crow didn’t see a single patrol along the way, which he thought was odd considering how determined the knights were to catch the thieves who had raided their camp. However, he didn’t question the lack of patrols too much, deciding to just appreciate their good fortune to have made it to Myrefall without running into any trouble instead. The barons had probably just decided to send their men to a different part of the outer villages, since they hadn’t had any luck searching the southwestern side.

When they reached the main road that would take the knights on their separate way back to their camp, Crow took Penelope by the hand and gave her a soft tug to indicate that he wanted to stop. Pulling her aside from the rest of the group, he casted a quick glance at the others to make sure they had some space, and then wrapped his arms around her in an embrace. “This is always my least favorite part,” he sighed, resting his head against hers for a moment before pulling back again to meet her gaze with a concerned frown. “When do you think your baroness will let you leave again? I can’t imagine she’ll be happy to find out you didn’t learn anything useful after two long trips.”

[BuzzingBee]

The way back had been rather peaceful, something that Penelope was sure everyone was glad for. They had even taken a longer break than usual, mainly because Gavin had fallen asleep and the others had been in no hurry to wake him. Though he hadn't been particularly pleased to find out they had wasted the extra time, Penelope believed that it had helped him quite a bit in the long run as he had been exhausted from the long night. Besides, it seemed they had still made good time and would reach their camp before nightfall anyways.

As Crow gave her hand a small tug to stop, she slowed down and turned to face him as he pulled her aside from the others. She returned his embrace and gave a small nod of agreement at his words. "I know.. It's mine too." she mumbled softly as she held him close. Once he pulled back, she met his gaze with an uncertain look and shook her head. "I'm honestly not sure.. I just know it probably won't be anytime soon. And besides that it's not like we even have much of a lead to follow right now."

She let out a sigh and lowered her gaze with a hint of worry. "I just hope we can figure something out before the new supplies come in." the knight shook her head at the thought. If the other thieves attacked them and took those supplies, it would cause for even more trouble when it came time to face Younis. Her battalion would have no way of recovering if their supplies and guards were constantly being attacked.

"I'll need to think it over a bit about what our next move should be." she said a bit decisively. Having hit a dead end in Wheldrake, it would be difficult to figure out where they should search next. The thieves had surely crossed through Aramoor and made an appearance at Wheldrake at least but other then that, there wasn't much to go off of. It'd pretty much be a guessing game now. Penelope frowned at the thought and leaned over to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "We should meet again soon to discuss it. Maybe in two days at night? I can probably slip away from camp then."

[Rogue Sloth]

“Right,” Crow nodded solemnly when Penelope said she probably wouldn’t be able to leave again anytime soon. Once again, he felt a tangle of negative emotions over the situation he had put them in. He felt guilty for spoiling their one lead to find Jaxon, but he was also disappointed that it would likely be some time before he and Penelope could see each other for more than a day at a time. He wished there was some way that they could continue on as things were, living and traveling together without having to part, but of course, there was no way for that to happen as long as they couldn’t give her leaders a viable excuse for her absence.

“I just hope we can figure something out before the new supplies come in.”

New supplies? Crow tensed slightly as he remembered what Jaxon had said about a second raid on the knights’ camp. Could it be that the other thief had discovered the new shipment and was planning to intercept it? He swallowed nervously, biting his tongue to keep himself from impulsively warning Penelope to look out for the criminals. Though he was quite certain his hunch was correct, he couldn’t tell her what he knew. If he did, he would practically be begging Jaxon to take her life. He had to keep quiet for her sake.

When Penelope suggested that they meet again in two days after nightfall, he just nodded again in response. “That sounds like the best option we have at this point,” he murmured, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Gods, this whole thing is turning into some kind of mess, isn’t it?” He shook his head and smiled at her halfheartedly. “The only good that’s come out of it is that we get to see each other a little more often… although to be honest, I’m not convinced even that’s worth all the death that Jaxon has caused.”

Pulling her closer to himself, the thief pressed a kiss to her forehead and rested his hand against the back of her neck, feeling a wave of protectiveness as he thought again about how the murderer was threatening her life. “I just hope that one way or another, everything comes to an end soon,” he added softly. “Right now, going back to dealing with the war as it was sounds like a luxury…”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope sighed and nodded her head at Crow's words. "It really has.." she mumbled with a small frown. She had originally hoped that catching Jaxon would be a bit faster since they had the help of Crow but it seemed they weren't doing much better than the other patrols. The female couldn't help but worry about what the murderous thief was capable of doing if they didn't catch him soon. "Yeah..." she averted her gaze as he mentioned the deaths Jaxon had caused, reminded once again of Millicent.

As he pulled her close, she pressed into him, subconsciously seeking comfort in his touch. "No kidding. Dealing with some enemy knights and sneaking around nearly sounds like child's play right now.." she agreed quietly. She sighed and pulled back slightly to meet his gaze. "We'll find him eventually though and we when do, it'll all be over." She said determinedly.

"Penelope, we need to get moving." Gavin said looking over at them with his gaze narrowed in on Crow. "We should try to get there before nightfall."

Penelope looked over at the male knight. His suspicion hadn't died down at all during their walk back and it seemed he was eager to get away from Crow, likely because he was determined to try and convince her the thief was behind the attack on their camp. She sighed at the thought, wishing he would drop the subject completely. However, knowing he wouldn't and that they needed to get back to camp, she gave a small nod to him before looking at Crow. "Guess I'll see you in two days then." she said, offering a small smile before she leaned in and pressed a tender kiss to his lips.

"I love you. Be safe." she told as she reluctantly pulled away from him and moved to join the other two knights so they could begin the final leg of their journey back to camp.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded halfheartedly when Penelope said they would catch Jaxon eventually, knowing fully well that wasn’t going to happen as long as he was working to throw them off the other thief’s trail. He wished it was as simple as she made it sound, but unfortunately, Jaxon, as always, was three steps ahead of them. At the current rate they were moving, they would never even come close to catching the murderer. Jaxon and his band of criminals would continue sabotaging the Brerratic knights for the Younisians, and the war would swing in their enemies’ favor. He just hoped the other kingdom would be merciful if they ended up conquering Brerra.

He looked up as he heard Gavin call Penelope’s name to hurry her along. The knight was watching them with a cold gaze, clearly disliking the sight of his comrade in the arms of the thief whom he believed had sabotaged their battalion. Crow sighed. He wished he could have more time with her, but he supposed he should get going soon too. With nightfall fast approaching, his next meeting with Jaxon was just around the corner. He needed to get back to his camp with his companions, so they could all go to sleep, and he could slip away again for the scheduled rendezvous.

“See you then,” Crow said with a faint smile as Penelope spoke again. He leaned in to meet her halfway as she kissed him, savoring the feeling of her lips before she pulled back again. He took a step back from her to let her return to the other knights. “I love you too,” his smile wavered slightly as the memory of Jaxon’s threats resurfaced one more time, and he added: “You be safe too. There’s no telling if or when those thieves will attack your camp again. Please remember not to go after them without me if you do see them.”

With nothing left to say between them, he gestured for his companions to join him and turned to head back to their own camp, leaving the knights behind.

--

The walk back from Myrefall was also uneventful, without a single patrol to be seen. Despite this, none of the thieves spoke much to each other along the way. Alistair questioned Crow a little about when they would be able to meet up with the knights again—it was obvious that he was only asking out of an eagerness to reunite with Olivia—but he dropped the subject when his leader made it clear that he didn’t know if or when they would all be working together again.

On the other hand, Rikki didn’t talk at all. Crow could tell that she was treading carefully around him after all of her attempts to get between him and Penelope had fallen flat. Although he wasn’t sure if she was silent out of a nervousness to speak to him or if she was just busy working on another angle to approach him from. No matter what it was, he kept his guard up around her in case she decided to try anything funny before they got back to the waterfall.

When they eventually arrived at the hideout, Crow was greeted with the scent of freshly cooked supper. He looked around the cavern to see that Hazel was sitting by the hearth, stirring a pot of what smelled like stew. The other thieves were quick to notice her as well.

“You’re up,” Alistair noted obviously, staring at the herbalist in unbridled surprise.

Hazel just glanced at them and shrugged one shoulder in response, “I got tired of laying around.”

The thieves made their way over to join her. Crow followed after a moment of hesitation, still on edge around Hazel after she had snapped at him a few days ago. He made sure to sit far away from her when they all settled down around the fire and avoided looking in her direction out of fear that his presence would just make her upset again.

Unfortunately, the herbalist noticed his standoffish attitude. She eyed him for a moment with pursed lips and then looked away to fill a bowl with stew. “Crow,” she said in a soft voice that was edged with hesitation.

He flinched slightly and forced himself to look up.

She met his gaze and held out the dish she had filled. “Here,” she went on gruffly. “Take it.”

Crow blinked in surprise. After taking a moment to recover from the unexpectedness of the gesture, he reached out to take the bowl from her hand, “Thanks.”

Hazel nodded, lowering her gaze. “I’m… sorry about what I said to you before,” she murmured. “It wasn’t right of me to blame you for what happened. I know you were close to Simon too. I shouldn’t have said those things when you were also grieving, so… no hard feelings?”

Crow stared at her for a moment before averting his gaze as well. He wished she had been wrong before, but he knew the truth. It had been his lies that got Simon killed. It was his fault. She had been right to blame him in the first place. “No hard feelings,” he said quietly, deciding it was better to just let the subject go rather than argue with the others about it.

At his words, the herbalist visibly relaxed. “Thanks,” she smiled faintly as she lifted a spoonful of her own food to her mouth.

The group spent the rest of the evening filling Hazel in on what she had missed—she was frustrated to know that there was no news about the man who had killed her husband—and discussing other options about what to do next. They strategized about how to better defend their hideout, since, as far as any of the others knew, Jaxon had never found Crow and could come back again at any time, and discussed other places to search in the outer villagers on their own while they waited to hear back from the knights. Fortunately for Crow, none of the others suggested to look anywhere near Aramoor or Wheldrake, since they had already thoroughly investigated those villages, so he didn’t have to intervene to throw them off at all.

Eventually, everyone grew tired from the long day and they headed to the sleeping area to get some rest. Seeing an opportunity, Crow offered to stay up to wash the dishes for them while they went to bed. The rest of his companions agreed without question, too tired to find his offer suspicious as they settled down for the night. So, he collected the pot and bowls that had been used and slipped out of the cavern, making his way over to the shallow part of the river to clean everything off while he waited for the time to come when he was supposed to meet up with Jaxon again.

[BuzzingBee]

During the walk back to their camp, Penelope spent most of it walking besides Olivia, idly chatting with her friend. Gavin didn't seem as willing to try and convince her of Crow being the enemy with the other female knight so close. It was likely due to Olivia's involvement with Alistair that made him rethink trying to convince both of them at the same time. However, she did catch him try to interrupt their conversations a few times. Feeling tired and a little annoyed, she didn't let him get away with it and switched the subject without much issue.

As they neared the camp, Penelope began to grow a little more aware of the lack of patrols within the area. They hadn't seen a single one from their return to Myrefall. She didn't dwell on it though, guessing that perhaps Mia and the other barons had decided to focus their patrols in another section of the outer villages. She had convinced herself of this until Gavin came to a sudden and abrupt stop as the camp came into view.

She nearly crashed into the male knight, having not noticed him stop as she was wrapped up in a conversation with Olivia. Looking around him, she felt her breath catch in her throat at the sight of their camp. Even though they saw it at a distance, she could make out bodies on the ground, both enemy and comrade alike, as well as partial destruction of their camp. A few tents had clearly been ripped down and—though there were no Younis forces in sight anymore—she could make out the figures of several other knights rushing around as they tried to recover from the attack. Without another second to think, the knights broke out into a run, racing back to their damaged camp. Even Olivia, who was still not fully recovered from her hangover, hurried behind her two comrades with a shocked expression.

That's why there were no patrols. Penelope thought with a grimace. Younis must have finally launched their attack and when they did, her battalion had been far from prepared. A hint of panic and fear gripped her as she thought of her brother, Mia and Tomas. She prayed that the three hadn't become casualties in the battle. As they rushed back into the camp, her gaze flickered around frantically for them. "I-I have to find Layth and Mia.." she said shaking her head as she looked over at Gavin with a frown.

---

"Ask around I'm sure someone must have seen them." Gavin said giving her a concerned look. Penelope nodded her head and hurried off to try and locate her baroness and brother, leaving him alone with Olivia. His gaze swept over the chaos of their camp and an anger boiled in side him. He should have been there to fight alongside his comrades, to help them when Younis attacked. The fact that he had been out hunting false leads instead made him clench his fists at his side in frustration.

We shouldn't have even been this vulnerable to attack in the first place. he reminded himself. That's right. Younis may have attacked but they weren't able to defend themselves as well because of that thief. His gaze focused on the back of Penelope as she left. She wouldn't listen to him even though all the signs pointed to Crow. It seemed he would have to either get hard evidence or deal with the thief himself. He wasn't fond of the latter idea, both because he didn't want to hurt Penelope and because he didn't like the idea of behaving like Layth and killing mercilessly if it came to that.

But perhaps he didn't have a choice anymore. As he looked around the camp, it became clear to him just how dangerous this thief could prove to be. Something had to be done and it appeared he was the only one who could do anything. Gavin gripped the hilt of his sword and abruptly turned to begin to walk off, intent on finding the thief and putting an end to this madness.

"Where are you going?"

Gavin blinked and looked over his shoulder at Olivia, who raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. "I'm going to see if I can find Bran. You should see where you can help out." he stated. He nearly cringed at how easily the lie came out, wishing he could be a bit more honest with his comrade. However, she'd like snitch him out to Penelope and he couldn't risk that at the moment. Luckily she seemed to accept his words without question and gave a nod before walking off to see where she was needed.

With the rest of camp busy and scrambling around, Gavin made easy work of slipping out unnoticed and beginning to head into the woods. He wasn't quite sure where to locate the thief but he recalled where he had seen Penelope met him before. It wasn't a long shot to guess that his camp was somewhere near there. He set course for the clearing that was near Myrefall, traveling quietly with a fire in his gaze. I'm sorry, Penelope but this has gone on long enough.. I'll make you see the man he really is somehow.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow set the freshly washed dishes aside and sat back on the river bank, unrolling his shirt sleeves that he had hiked up to keep from getting wet. He brushed his hands off on his pant legs to dry them and then leaned back on his palms, looking up at the night sky. The time was now close when he was supposed to meet with Jaxon, but he was more reluctant to go than ever. After seeing the recently widowed Hazel again, he was reminded of just how cruel of a man the other thief could be.

He despised the fact that he had gotten roped into working for someone so merciless, and he wished he could think of a way to get out of it before someone else got hurt. Unfortunately, no ideas came to mind. Anything he tried would ultimately just get shut down by the other man, and he would just end up getting Penelope killed in the process. The only way to keep her safe was to continue complying with the thief leader’s demands and hope he didn’t ask him to do anything that went against his morals.

Having come to reluctant terms with the meeting, he climbed slowly to his feet and picked up the drying dishes. After taking a brief detour to drop them off in the hideout behind the waterfall, he headed eastward to Myrefall, where Jaxon was likely waiting for him by now.

--

The trip there was uneventful of course. Like before, there were no patrols in the area, so Crow was able to walk without keeping his guard raised excessively high. He glanced around occasionally for signs of movement, but there never was any, so instead of focusing on his surroundings, he let his mind wander as he tried to predict what Jaxon might ask him to do this time. He hoped there would be no new demands—he didn’t know if he could bring himself to do it if the other thief told him to take any innocent lives—but having worked beneath the ruthless criminal before, he knew better than to expect that.

As he approached the small clearing on the western side of the village, he caught sight of a lone figure standing with his back resting leisurely against a tree. He took a steeling breath, quickly recognizing the man to be Jaxon, and stopped on the other side of the space to put as much distance between them as possible.

“Just as I was starting to think you wouldn’t show up,” Jaxon smiled at him in a chillingly unemotional manner. He studied Crow for a moment before gesturing with one hand. “Come closer. I won’t bite.”

“Maybe not, but you certainly aren’t afraid to cut,” Crow retorted dryly, lifting the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the bandages around his forearm.

“That wasn’t my fault,” Jaxon shrugged apathetically. “That was merely a punishment for a disobedient pet. Speaking of which…” His smile was replaced with a look of concern that disgusted Crow in its fakeness. “Are you feeling any better? I do hope you’re healing properly.”

“Save it,” Crow scoffed, letting his sleeve fall down over the bandages again. “I know you couldn’t care less if I lose this arm.”

Suddenly, Jaxon’s soft expression was replaced with a flash of annoyance. “You would do well to watch that sharp tongue of yours,” he warned in a threateningly quiet voice. “Otherwise you may just find that you will lose that arm.”

Crow shifted his weight, feeling like he was staring down a venomous snake that was poised to strike at any moment. He wasn’t sure what to say in response to the threat, so instead, he chose to keep his mouth shut so as not to prod at the other man any further. Fortunately, his lack of response seemed to have been deemed acceptable by the other thief, whose fake smile had appeared once again.

“That’s better,” Jaxon purred, stepping away from the tree to stand upright. “Now then, enough with the formalities. Tell me what you’ve learned since our last meeting.”

Crow hesitated briefly, hating how easily the murderous thief could control him, before he finally forced himself to reply. “The patrol that went to Wheldrake never found out where you are,” he reported, feeling sick with his own compliance. “My plan to throw them off didn’t go exactly as I’d hoped, but it still worked well enough to keep them from finding any real leads. I’d estimate that I bought you at least a week before they try to continue the search.”

“Good news indeed,” Jaxon’s smile widened into a grin. “And they still don’t know that you’re working for me, I hope?”

Crow wavered for a moment before nodding, “They don’t.”

“What was that?” Jaxon narrowed his eyes slightly.

“What do you mean?” Crow shifted his weight again.

“You hesitated,” Jaxon’s voice was edged with impatience. “Do they or do they not know that you are working for me?” He rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. “I’m sure you haven’t forgotten what’s going to happen if you let the knights find out.”

Crow’s eyes flickered cautiously to the weapon before returning to the thief’s face. “They really don’t know,” he answered quickly. “I swear to you, I haven’t told anyone, and no one has found out to my knowledge. It’s just…” He trailed off, reluctant to tell Jaxon the truth.

“It’s just what?” the thief prompted.

“Well… there’s one knight who’s suspicious,” he admitted slowly. “But he already had preconceptions about me. He has no proof that I’m working for you, and I intend to keep it that way.”

“Hm,” Jaxon grunted, folding his arms loosely over his chest. “If this knight becomes a problem, I can always take care of him for you. That’s part of the benefit of being part of my group.” He shot Crow a friendly simper. “I always protect my own. Just say the word, and he’s gone.”

“No,” Crow shook his head. “I don’t want any more killing. I’ve got the situation under control, so there’s no need for such measures.”

“If you insist,” Jaxon shrugged. “But if anything changes or if this knight becomes too much for you to handle alone, I will take matters into my own hands. Do you understand that?”

Crow nodded wordlessly, feeling a lump form in his throat at the thought of Jaxon sending one of his killers to dispatch Gavin. He may not have liked the knight, but he didn’t want to see the man die.

“Good,” Jaxon said curtly. “If that’s all you have for me, then I’ll be going.” He took a step to leave, but then stopped as Crow interrupted.

“Wait,” he said quickly. “I just have one more subject I’d like to discuss.”

“And what might that be?” Jaxon frowned, studying him closely.

“The upcoming raid,” Crow lowered his gaze uncomfortably. “I remember you mentioned it the last time we spoke. When it happens… I need you to promise me that you won’t hurt Penelope.” He looked up again to meet Jaxon’s dark eyes with new determination. “I don’t care what happens to anyone else as long as you can guarantee that she’ll be safe. Can you do that?”

Jaxon stared at him for a moment before a low chuckle escaped his lips. “I hardly think you’re in any position to be making demands of me, stray,” he laughed with a shake of his head. “But alright. For the sake of our alliance, I suppose I can tell my men to leave her out of it if they see her during the raid. Are you happy now?”

“Yes,” Crow let out his breath in relief.

“Good,” Jaxon’s Cheshire smile returned once more. “I will meet with you here again in one week’s time. Goodbye, Crow.” With that, he disappeared from the clearing, leaving the other thief behind.

As soon as he had gone, Crow felt his shoulders relax as his tension lifted. The situation certainly wasn’t ideal, but at least it hadn’t gone as badly as he had been expecting. Jaxon hadn’t made any absurd demands of him, and he had even promised not to hurt Penelope during their next raid. As far as meetings with killers could go, this was one of the best outcome he could have hoped for. Feeling slightly reassured, he turned to head back to his own camp, ready to settle down and get some sleep for the night as his weariness began to weigh down on him.

[BuzzingBee]

Gavin reached the clearing in relatively good time. He had been a bit slow—trying to be extra cautious of not being seen—and luckily his efforts seemed to pay off. Now it was just a matter of locating that manipulating thief. He was nearly about to begin his search when footsteps caught his attention. A figure heading eastward caught his attention and he quickly ducked behind nearby bushes. He peaked out from his hiding spot to see who was passing through. It appeared that the gods were on his side that night as the recognizable figure of the thief he was searching for passed through.

The male knight held his breath as he prepared himself to face the criminal. He wanted to put an end to this charade. However, something made him hesitate. Studying how the thief was walking, it seemed he had a set location in mind. His camp? Gavin began to rethink his decision. After all, he was the leader of a band of thieves. It would be wiser to track down where they were located and then lead a patrol to capture all of the criminals, not just the one.

Deciding that made more sense than to just corner the one thief, he hung back slightly as he waited for Crow to walk a little further ahead of him. Once he deemed there was enough distance between them, Gavin began to move silently after the thief, his heart pounding in his chest. One wrong step and he could potentially give himself away to this golden opportunity in front of him. He had to be careful.

And fortunately, he was. He trailed behind the thief, using the forest and it's shadows for cover as Crow lead them much further than the male knight expected him to. Gavin was beginning to question if he was really going to his camp or merely out for a midnight stroll. Regardless, the thief had to return to his camp at some point so with that in mind, Gavin followed him patiently.

Eventually his patience seemed to pay off but in a far different way than what he had expected. The thief stopped in a clearing to address a figure he didn't recognize to be either of the other two thieves. Gavin raised an eyebrow and watched as Crow approached the lone figure, beginning to conversate with him. He wasn't close enough to make out the words but judging by how the two reacted to each other appearance, it was clear that this encounter was planned. The ginger narrowed his gaze distrustfully as he watched the two interact. Though he couldn't see Crow's face, he saw the other man's, just barely able to make out his features in the pale moonlight.

With a smile and seemingly calm voice, the two seemed rather familiar with each other. However, he couldn't make out much do to the distance. Gavin clenched his jaw. He had to get closer without being discovered by them. Taking a steeling breath, he began to creep closer, using some nearby bushes for cover. Unfortunately they still kept him a good distance from the two as they talked but at least now he was able to make out some of their conversation.

"...one knight who's suspicious.........keep it that way."

"...the benefit of being part of my group...."

Gavin strained to listen to them. He clenched his fist as it sounded like the thief was mentioning him to this man and that they were working together. Maybe his group of thieves weren't the only ones after all.. he began to realize that maybe Crow hadn't completely made up that Jaxon thief. Instead, it was just beginning to seem like he was working for him.

"..-won't hurt Penelope."

"...-For the sake of our alliance....leave her out of it.."

The male knight stiffened at her name and felt anger boil in him again. It seemed he was right in guessing that Crow was just using her for the information she provided him. He dug his nails into the palms of his hands, as he restrained himself. Even though he had already knew he was manipulating her, there was something about hearing it for himself that made it even worse, especially knowing how deeply she seemed to care for him.

"...one week..."

He blinked, caught up in his momentary anger he wasn't paying enough attention to the conversation. As he heard them mention 'one week' he wondered what that meant. Was it another raid? Or perhaps another meeting? Either way he doubted it was something good. It also seemed to be the end of this meeting and he watched as Crow separated from the other man and began to head back into the direction he came. Gavin watched him with a venomous gaze. He had learned some interesting things tonight but what he had heard still left him with many questions about what the thief was doing as well as what he should do to stop him.

There was also his anger that prevented him from just turning and heading back to his own camp. He had to do what he came out for in the first place, to confront Crow. Gavin moved to get ahead of him, wanting to let some distance grow between Crow and the other man before he confronted the thief. If he tried to attack him, he wanted it to be a fair fight. Once he had successfully gotten ahead of the thief, he drew his sword and stepped right into the thief's path, glaring icily at him. "Well that was sure interesting." he growled as he gripped the hilt of his weapon in his hand. "Care to explain what it was about, thief?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow stifled a yawn as he walked, halfheartedly performing a quick sweep of the forest around him, though he didn’t try very hard since there had been no patrols around all night, and he doubted he would run into any now. Instead, his attention was on reviewing how his meeting with Jaxon had gone. He was relieved that the other thief hadn’t asked him to do anything new during the next week, but he was still a little worried about the raid that had been mentioned.

He believed that Jaxon would keep his word about leaving Penelope out of it, but he also didn’t doubt that any of the other knights would be fair game. If the band of thieves killed more of her comrades, it was going to be partly his fault, since he knew what was coming and did nothing to warn them. The thought made his chest feel tight. He hated feeling so trapped. Jaxon’s threats were practically shackles that kept him bound and unable to prevent the destruction that was going to come. Instead, he was forced to stand by and watch everything unfold that he knew was coming like some sort of harbinger. It was sickening.

The thief was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t catch the faint rustle in the bushes ahead of him. What did catch his attention was the man that stepped out of them. He froze, wide eyed, as Gavin stepped into his path with a sword in his hand and a cold look in his eyes. “Well, that sure was interesting,” the knight growled. “Care to explain what it was about, thief?”

At first, Crow just stared at him in response, his mind blank as he floundered to understand what was happening. What was Gavin doing here? Where had he come from? How long had he been there? His eyes darted to the weapon in the other man’s hand as his instincts kicked in and shouted ‘danger.’ Whatever was going on, Gavin wasn’t here to have a peaceful conversation. That much could be determined from the unsheathed blade in his white-knuckled grip.

Not wanting to be caught without a way to defend himself, he drew the daggers he kept at his waist and took a step back in a defensive posture. Now feeling a little more prepared in case Gavin came after him, he began to work on what he was going to say to the knight. His mind raced as he put the pieces together. Somehow, this man had gone out searching for him and managed to find him while he was speaking to Jaxon. How much of the conversation he had overheard was still an unknown though. All he knew for sure was that Gavin had caught him meeting with the thief they were after.

Crow swallowed nervously, his heartbeat beginning to quicken as he realized the consequences of what had just happened. If Jaxon discovered that his cover had been blown, he would send some of his men to have the knight killed. That alone was bad enough, but to make matters worse, he had technically broken his end of the deal by being careless enough to let Gavin tail him. There was nothing left to keep Penelope safe. He felt the blood drain from his face as the image of the murderous thief killing her flashed through his mind.

Why did he have to go looking for me tonight of all nights? He groaned inwardly.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll put your head down and keep walking,” Crow said, trying to hide his fear from the other man with a cold tone of voice. He would have preferred to lie his way out of the situation, but he knew Gavin would never believe anything he said. Besides, there was a chance that the knight had heard his entire conversation with Jaxon, in which case, there was no way he could convince him that he was mistaken. The next best thing was to try and scare him off and pray to the gods that Gavin wouldn’t call his bluff.

[BuzzingBee]

The male knight felt a hint of satisfaction as he noticed how his sudden appearance threw off the thief. If he had been looking to attack, he could have easily taken Crow by surprise. Lucky for him he wasn't. At least not at the moment. Gavin wanted answers from this criminal but he still wasn't sure what would come after. He'd have to decide that later and instead, focused his attention on the daggers that the thief drew from his waist.

As Crow finally spoke, Gavin smirked haughtily. "Can't even think of a good lie to save your ass this time can you?" he said shaking his head. He took a threatening step towards the thief and glared at him venomously. "Too many of my comrades have died because of you and I'm not going to stand back and watch you take advantage of Penelope. I'm not going anywhere cur. Not until you start talking." He had to get answers about what had just happened. After all, he had only heard a small portion of what the two men had been talking about. When the time came to tell Penelope about the thief's manipulation, he wanted to make sure she had no reason to doubt him.

"That man you were speaking to, it's that other thief you have us chasing around isn't it?" he asked with a demanding tone, studying the thief with a careful gaze. In his time having to work alongside him, Gavin had seen the thief lie plenty and he had no intention of letting him lie to him now. "What was it that I heard about you working with him? An alliance is the term I believe I heard. Why don't you started with explaining that and how much he's paying for your loyalty. I'm guessing it must cost a pretty gold coin or two?"