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

[Rogue Sloth]

The next morning wasn’t the most pleasant for Crow. Almost as soon as he sat up on his bed, he was overcome with another violent coughing fit. Usually, he tried to go somewhere private when the episodes happened, so he wouldn’t bother his companions, but this one came on so suddenly that he didn’t have a chance to react. He squeezed his eyes shut and brought a hand to his mouth to stop the blood from spattering as he waited for the fit to pass.

As soon as he was able to catch his breath again, he felt a hand on his back. Panting softly, he looked up to see Rikki kneeling at his side with a concerned look in her wide, dark eyes. “Are you alright?” she asked, studying him worriedly.

“I’m fine,” he nodded, avoiding her gaze out of embarrassment that she had caught him like this.

“Are you sure?” she pressed, rubbing her hand along his shoulders. “That didn’t sound good.”

“Darling, please,” he sighed. “I’ve got it under control. Don’t worry about it, alright?”

“Under control, my ass,” another voice spoke up from across the room. Crow looked up to see Hazel eyeing him with a strange expression. After a moment, she looked away, going on in a quiet voice, “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have let myself get so caught up in everything that’s happened… You haven’t had any medicine in almost two weeks.”

Crow frowned, “Don’t say that. You just lost your husband. No one expects you to work on making medicines while you’re mourning.”

“No,” Hazel shook her head. “I’m your healer, Crow. I shouldn’t have let anything get in the way of treating your illness. It’s disgraceful.” She rose to her feet from where she had been sitting and headed to the entrance of the cavern. “I’m going to make you a fresh batch right now.”

“O-okay,” Crow followed her with his eyes until she disappeared from his sight. He wished she wouldn’t be so hard on herself, but he knew there was no changing the stubborn herbalist’s mind once she had made it up. With Hazel gone, he turned his attention back to Rikki, who was still lingering close to his side with one hand resting on his back. He cleared his throat and tilted his head slightly, meeting her gaze with a warning look. Fortunately, she understood that he was gesturing for her to put some distance between them and scooted a little farther away.

Glancing at the front of the cavern, Crow spotted Alistair sitting with his back to the wall, carving something that he couldn’t make out between the darkness and the distance. With both of the other thieves around, he supposed it was as good a time as any to bring up the fake tip off to Black Hollow. He sighed to himself, wishing he could just tell Penelope that he had followed the lead and come up blank instead of actually going on the pointless trip. Unfortunately, he needed something a little more foolproof than that. If he lied about going and she questioned any of his companions, she would find out right away that it wasn’t true. So, as much as he would prefer to stay close to the knights’ camp to keep an eye on her, he had to go.

“I found out something interesting last night,” he spoke up after a moment’s pause. He waited for Alistair and Rikki to look his way before he went on. “I went to the Ivory Hatchet to meet with Penelope, and while we were there, one of the villagers overheard us talking about Jaxon. He said he heard a rumor about a band of thieves in Black Hollow.” His eyes flicked between his companions’ faces as he tried to gauge whether they believed the lie. “The knights can’t come with us this time, but I think it’s worth checking out. What do you think?”

“I think it’s obvious,” Alistair growled from across the cavern. “Of course we should go! That slippery murderer needs to be put in his place.”

“Yeah,” Rikki nodded in agreement, cracking her knuckled eagerly. “We don’t need the knights. We’re perfectly capable of handling our own kind. If we find him, we’ll just kill him ourselves.”

It seemed they were buying into the lie perfectly. Crow grinned, “Alright then. No point in wasting any more time here.” He climbed to his feet and headed over to the supplies to begin packing a bag. “Let’s get to work. As soon as Hazel gets back, we’re all going to Black Hollow.”

[BuzzingBee]

The next day Penelope was up early despite her late night out and set to work on helping her comrades in getting the camp back to normal. For the majority of the morning, she spent her time with Tomas as he and a small group of knights did inventory. The battle had been rather harsh and quite a few weapons had been damaged in the process. Usually they would replace them right away with new ones but since they were low on supplies, they had to be more careful with what they replaced. A sword with a scratch or small chip would likely have to wait until they received new supplies while more broken ones were tossed out right away.

"I think we finally finished it.. Only took us three days." Tomas sighed as he held up half of a sword.

"We had a lot to cover and this was only a small part of it." Penelope reminded him with a small shrug. She held out the sack they had for the broken weapons and let the older lieutenant toss it in before she tied it close.

"I suppose you're right." Tomas mused. He glanced around the tent with a tired gaze. "I just hope the supplies get here soon."

"Has Mia mentioned anything about them coming in?"

"I believe she got a letter saying that our request had been received by the king but now it's just a waiting game. It'll probably be another week or so before the supplies actually get here." Tomas told her.

Penelope nodded her head, a bit relieved to hear that they wouldn't have to wait too much longer. "That's not bad.. Younis likely won't even be able to recover that quickly so we still have a chance to keep things from turning in their favor." she said. So long as Jaxon doesn't strike again beforehand.. she thought uneasily. Suddenly wanting to change the subject, she shifted her gaze towards the exit. "Anyways, what's next?" she asked, wanting to move on to their next task.

"Let's report to the barons that this is done. Then maybe we can start helping out at other spots of the camp." Tomas answered her. He turned and began to walk out of the tent and Penelope followed quietly behind him.

[Rogue Sloth]

Even with all of the preparations that had to be done, the band of criminals managed to get ready for their trip to Black Hollow by midday. Hazel, being quite familiar with the recipe for Crow’s permanent medicine by now, made quick work of the poultice and returned to them with plenty of time to spare. When she got back, the others filled her in on the fake update he had given them. Naturally, she was on board with anything that could lead to the capture—or perhaps death, he suspected—of Simon’s killer, and agreed to join the search as well. Her eagerness made Crow feel guilty for sending them after yet another dead-end lead, but he kept a neutral expression as he picked up his bag to leave with the rest.

Once everyone was ready to go, they headed out, covering ground quickly in their enthusiasm to stop Jaxon before he could ‘get away again.’ Of course, in spite of their focus to catch the murderer, they remained alert and kept a wide berth of the knights’ camp, since they knew the nobles were probably still hunting for them as they were the only known group of thieves in the area. The detour towards Whitebridge cost them some time, but they still found a place to set up camp that was within a day’s walk from Black Hollow. All in all, they were making great time.

It was sunset by the time they stopped on the east side of Whitebridge. Alistair, who had brought along extra weaponry in case they ended up confronting the other thieves, collapsed tiredly against a tree while Crow and Rikki worked on building a fire, and Hazel sorted through some ingredients to prepare dinner. Having grown used to the routine of setting up camp after traveling so much, it didn’t take long before they had a comfortable arrangement.

When the fire was burning steadily, Rikki joined Alistair off to the side of the clearing to recline and converse casually with her friend while Crow joined Hazel in preparing their food for the night. Usually, he didn’t bother with preparing meals, since he wasn’t the most skilled at cooking amongst his companions—he only knew how to make simple dishes common to peasants, while Alistair was the best at using the finer ingredients they stole from the knights—but, still feeling guilty about Simon’s death, he wanted to try and spend more time with the now-widowed herbalist.

“So, what are we making?” he asked, casting her a friendly smile as he sat down at her side.

Hazel just glanced at him before returning to cutting up the potato in her hands. “I know what you’re doing,” she muttered without looking up again. “You don’t have to treat me like I’m some fragile little flower. Go and join your friends. I can take care of this on my own.”

Crow rolled his eyes. “I’m just offering my company,” he said, stretching out his legs in a more comfortable posture. “You don’t have to be so defensive. But fine,” he leaned over to nudge her with his shoulder. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll just sit here and criticize the terrible way you’re dicing those vegetables.”

Hazel snorted in response, but he saw the corner of her lip turn up in a faint smile. “Right, because you’re the expert on cutting vegetables,” she said sarcastically. “I must have forgotten.”

“I’ll forgive you this once,” he shrugged airily. “But I can’t forgive your sloppy prep work. Sorry, love, but that’s amateur stuff.”

“You’re a pain in the ass,” Hazel shoved him roughly, averting her gaze to try and hide the smirk on her face. “You know what? If you think you’re so good at it, then here.” She picked up another knife and potato and held them out to him. “Dice your own damn potatoes.”

“Alright, I will,” Crow grinned as he took them from her, feeling pleased that he had managed to lift her spirits some.

Now that Hazel had accepted his company, the two lapsed into comfortable conversation as they worked on making supper for the group.

[BuzzingBee]

"Damned thieves! Damned Younisian curs!"

Penelope watched her brother as he gritted his teeth together while Jane poured a bit of alcohol over his still healing wound to keep it from getting infected. It was now nearly sundown and she had finished with her work for the day. The knight was tired and eager to get some supper before turning in for the night, however, first she wanted to check to see how her brother was doing. She had only spoken to him a small bit when she had first returned from Wheldrake with the other three.

"Oh would you hush up already?" Jane sighed tiredly. The normally kind and friendly healer seemed drained after having to care for her injured comrades. "I swear you men cry more than women in labor half the time."

"Would you just hurry up?" Layth grumbled in a defensive voice, looking slightly embarrassed. His gaze finally caught sight of Penelope and he gave a quick snort. "What are you here for?" he grumbled.

"Just checking to make sure you're not giving Jane here too hard of a time." Penelope responded with a smirk. She walked further into the tent to stand besides the other two and eyed the gash on his side. Though she was no medical expert, she assumed that it was healing alright. It was difficult to tell since she didn't notice much change in the stitches. She lifted her gaze back up to Layth and let out a small sigh. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." he insisted gruffly. "The faster this heals the sooner I can hunt down those bastards that stole our supplies."

"Yeah well that's going to take a while so don't go doing anything rash." Jane said as she began to wrap bandages around his wound.

Penelope nodded her head in agreement. "She's right. Besides, right now we need to focus more on damage control and preparing for the next battle... and healing so you can even fight in it."

"I'm aware." Layth growled. He let his shirt fall back down as Jane finished bandaging up his wound and gave her grumble of thanks before he moved to take a step towards the exit. "But that won't matter if they steal all of our supplies again."

The female knight frowned a little at his words. Usually she didn't agree with her brother and his worry over the thieves but this time was different. After all, they were talking about a whole different group of thieves, even if Layth wasn't aware of that yet. She gave a small nod and moved to follow her brother out of the tent as he walked on, slowed down by his injury. "That's true.. if we can't catch them before the new supplies get here, then we're just going to have to be extra cautious."

Layth gave a small grunt of agreement then shifted his gaze over to Penelope. "I'll figure it out. Now leave me alone. I want to get some sleep.." he grumbled as he walked off towards his tent.

Penelope rolled her eyes at her brother's foul mood. It seemed to have gotten worse due to his injury, if that was even possible. She let out a soft sigh and trotted off to grab some supper before she retired for the night.

[Rogue Sloth]

The rest of the night went by peacefully for the group. They enjoyed the hearty stew for dinner that Crow and Hazel had prepared and went over their plans for how they would approach questioning the villagers and go after Jaxon if their lead proved to be more useful than the last. Crow participated in the discussion, despite knowing they wouldn’t come away with anything useful. He doubted Jaxon’s band of thieves had been anywhere near Black Hollow, since they were camped on the other side of the outer villages. If they heard even a mention of the criminals, he would have been shocked.

As the sky grew darker and they all grew more tired, they eventually headed off to get some sleep, wanting to be well-rested for the remaining trek to the village as well as the busyness that the following night was going to bring. Crow laid out his bedroll and fell back on the mat with a weary yawn, hoping the rest of the trip would go by quickly so he could get back to Penelope again. Though he tried to distract himself with other things, he found that his mind frequently wandered back to the knight as he worried about her safety while he was gone.

She’s probably fine, he thought, rolling onto his side and drawing his blanket up to his chin. Gavin came after me of his own free will, and he didn’t even show his face until Jaxon left. There’s no way he could have found out I was followed. Feeling slightly reassured, he let out his breath in a long sigh as he finally managed to drift off to sleep.

--

The next morning was a busy one for the thieves. Crow was the first to wake up, so he went around to rouse the other three to begin tearing down their camp. They made quick work of rolling up their beds and disassembled the firepit, leaving scarcely a trace of their presence behind. Once all the work was done, they sat down to enjoy a simple breakfast of dark bread to fill their stomachs before they embarked on the rest of their walk to Black Hollow.

“When we get to the village, Rikki and I will check the tavern, while you two ask around the streets,” Crow said, reciting the plan they had made the night before. “At the end of the day, we’ll meet up again at our camp to go over what we find.” His green eyes swept over them sternly. “And remember: If anyone hears of any further leads, do not follow it until after we’ve regrouped. I don’t want anyone being reckless and getting themselves killed tonight. Jaxon is too dangerous to approach blindly, so we need to make a plan if we find out he’s here. Got it?”

The other three nodded in response. A brief moment of silence passed before Rikki shifted a little closer to Crow. “I’m glad we’ll be working together,” she said, offering him a soft smile. “It’s been a while since you and I have teamed up to do anything like this. It’ll be fun.”

He casted her a long look before turning away again and nodding, “Right.” In truth, he was a little wary to be partnering with Rikki for the interrogation, since his trust in her was far from restored. Unfortunately, it was the best option he had. Alistair and Rikki were the two most impulsive members of the group, so he had to split them up for their own safety. While he doubted they would hear any word about Jaxon, there was always the slim chance that something would come up. If it did, Alistair and Rikki would be sure to run after it if they were working together.

Additionally, he needed to be at the tavern for the same reason. If a drunken villager said something about the thieves they were after, he needed to be able to intercept the lead. He couldn’t work with Hazel, and Alistair would just get drunk, so that left him with the only other member of the group: Rikki. He just hoped she would continue to keep her distance from him, as she had already been doing.

Once everyone had finished eating, Crow stood up and directed them all to gather their things so they could keep going. The others followed his lead, and soon they were on the move again, walking briskly in their goal to reach Black Hollow before sunset.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope let out a small yawn as she sat down to enjoy her breakfast. It was the next morning and she was supposed to meet up with the other barons and lieutenants for a meeting soon. However, she was hoping to catch a small break in her morning as she enjoyed her meal and a bit of solitude as she ate alone. Unfortunately, it didn't last long though. Someone sat down across from her, making her jump slightly as she hadn't noticed them approach. As she looked up to see who had joined her, her gaze fell upon Gavin. The female knight tensed slightly. She hadn't spoken to him since after trying to tell him he was wrong about Crow and wasn't sure how he was handling her firm trust in the thief.

"Good morning." Gavin mumbled softly, picking up on the slight tension.

"Morning." Penelope replied as she lowered her gaze down to her food.

"Penelope, I need you to listen to-"

She let out a groan. "Gavin isn't it too early to be trying to throw around accusations again?"

Gavin frowned as he met her annoyed gaze. "I won't stop until you see the truth. You're being used and it's putting everyone in danger... Even if you don't believe my words at least let me try to prove it to you. It's only a few more days until it'll be a week."

"I'm not discussing this right now." Penelope sighed. "I have a meeting to go to."

"Then suggest they put out extra guards because we might be getting attacked again soon. Or get on guard duty so you can accompany me to see if they're meeting." Gavin insisted.

Penelope rolled her eyes at him before rising up to her feet to signal she was done with their conversation. It seemed the only thing Gavin was interested in discussing with her was Crow being the enemy, which wasn't a topic they agreed on. Since he seemed unwilling to let it go, she decided it was best to just let it go for now and hoped that, with time, he would too. She turned and began to walk off towards the main tent at the center of camp, deciding it was close enough to time to join the others for their meeting. She hoped it would go by fast. It was mainly just a lot of reporting on how the camp's recovery was going, which she believed was going well from what she had seen. Soon it would just be a waiting game for the supplies to arrive and the thieves to be caught.

--

"I'm glad to hear that we're recovering nicely." Mia mused as she glanced around at the others. The meeting was in full swing now, though it mainly consisted of Tomas and Penelope reporting as Layth, being injured, hadn't been able to do much of his regular duties not to mention the additional ones that the attack had created.

"Yes, soon it'll only be a matter of waiting for the supplies to coming in." Bennet agreed.

"If we even get them." Layth grumbled, gaining the attention of the others. He winced as he tried to sit up a bit straighter. "We have to capture those bastards that took them before they strike again. What's the plan for dealing with them?"

"We've searched in multiple places but there doesn't seem to be much of a trace of them. Even Penelope's lead ran cold." Mia sighed and shook her head. "I'm not sure what else there is to do aside from continuing to send out patrols and hoping that one eventually discovers them."

"Perhaps we should look into hiring a few mercenaries to hunt them down." Edward advised as he crossed his arms. "It could be expensive but it might be the difference between winning or losing this war."

Penelope stiffened slightly, disliking the idea right away. Aside from her general dislike of mercenaries due to her past run ins with them, the barons would be sending them after the wrong thieves. She was a bit surprised her uncle would stoop so low as to even suggest using them but then again, he was likely starting to sweat under the looming threat of Younis winning. "Mercenaries can't be trusted." she stated with an edge of bitterness. "Hiring them will get them involved in the war and when that happens, Younis will only need to offer them a better price before they start working for them instead."

Layth crossed his arms over his chest with a bitter look. "She's probably right." he muttered in agreement as if reluctant to side with his sister. Penelope felt a small swell of relief to hear her brother speak out against the idea. "Besides, we can handle them on our own. I'll figure a way to set up a trap that will catch those bastards."

"Once you've healed." Tomas reminded him. He looked between the barons. "I agree though. We can't risk getting professional murderers involved in this war."

"I don't think we should." Mia agreed with a glance towards Bennet who nodded as well.

Edward seemed a little frustrated that his idea was shot down so unanimously, even by his own lieutenant. "I still say we keep it in mind." he insisted.

Penelope relaxed as the discussion about what to do with the thieves went on without any further mention of using mercenaries. It seemed the knights were a bit stuck, both because they only had their patrols to rely on as well as the fact that they couldn't afford to send out as many patrols as before due to the battle. As it ended, Penelope found herself praying that Crow's lead to Black Hollow wouldn't be another dead end.

[Rogue Sloth]

The rest of the trip to Black Hollow was mostly uneventful. About halfway there, the thieves ran into a small patrol of local knights, but they managed to lose them easily enough after a bit of running. From there, they had no more trouble and made it to the village just as the sun was nearing the horizon. As planned, they split off into pairs when they reached the main road. Alistair and Hazel headed for the fields to try and catch the farmers before they went home while Crow and Rikki made their way to the local tavern to question the village drunks.

After they parted ways with the others, the two thieves spent most of the remaining walk in silence. Crow busied himself by looking over the village. He hadn’t been to this particular one in quite a while, since it was located far enough within Brerra’s territory that the locals hadn’t really seen many battles. He’d always found it a bit unsettling. Located at the base of a vast cliff to the south, Black Hollow was almost always blanketed in shadows, giving it a dark and dismal atmosphere. It was how the village had received its name in the first place.

The people who lived there were friendly enough—most of them were miners who used the resources within the cliff to make a living—but the lack of direct sunlight had always bothered the thief, so he didn’t often visit unless he had a good reason to do so. Apparently, a fake lead to find a murderer was good enough this time.

“So,” Rikki’s voice broke the silence between them after a while. He glanced down at her to see that she had tilted her head back to gaze up at the massive rock wall with a thoughtful expression. “Why couldn’t the knights come with us this time? Did they give up?”

“No,” Crow shook his head, averting his gaze uncomfortably as the recalled what Penelope had told him about the attack on their camp. “They had to stay behind to help their comrades… The Younisians struck their camp while we were in Wheldrake.”

“Really?” Rikki turned to him with raised brows and whistled softly. “They certainly didn’t waste any time.” She paused for a moment before going on in a low voice, “Hey, Crow?”

“Hm?”

“It’s seems to me that the Younisians’ attack was planned,” she said slowly, as if piecing an idea together. “Do you think Jaxon did it? Took the deal they’ve been offering us, I mean?” She frowned worriedly. “If he’s being backed by the other kingdom, it might be harder than we thought to bring him down.”

Crow wavered before answering. After speaking directly with the man, himself, he knew fully well that Jaxon had taken the Younisians’ deal. “I think so,” he admitted after a moment.

Rikki pulled at the sleeve of her shirt, fidgeting in obvious discomfort as she spoke up again, “Do you think… do you think we should take it too?”

Crow turned to her in unbridled surprise, but before he could question her, she spoke first.

“Just hear me out,” she said, looking up at him with nervous eyes. “This war is going to end one way or another. If we can’t stop Jaxon, he’s going to keep sabotaging the battalions of our kingdom, and the Younisians are going to trample them. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be on the losing side of this thing when it’s over.” She bit her lip and lowered her gaze. “If the Younisian barons will still take our help, it might not be the worst thing to join their side.”

Crow remained quiet as she finished speaking, considering her idea. If he was honest with himself, it didn’t sound like the worst plan. With the way things were going, it was really starting to look like Brerra had no chance of coming back. Once Younis took the outer villages, it was only a matter of time before they conquered the rest of the kingdom as well. Before, he had denied their offer for an alliance because he hadn’t wanted to take sides in a back-and-forth war, but now, the survivalist inside of him was starting to believe it would be wise to earn the favor of the winning kingdom.

But he couldn’t do that to Penelope.

As much as he wanted to come out of the war on the winning side and guarantee that he wouldn’t be forced into slavery with the rest of the Brerratic peasants—if the enemy kingdom chose to enslave them, that is—he couldn’t just abandon her. If she went down with the rest of the nobles, he was going to be at her side.

“I can’t,” he said at last, meeting her gaze with a pained expression. “You and the others can speak to the Younisian barons if you wish, but I’m not coming. Whatever happens, I’m going to stay with Penelope. I have to make sure she’s safe.”

Rikki studied him with a frown, “You’d really give up your own security for her?”

He nodded, “I love her. I’m not going to save myself if it means letting her fall alone.”

She pursed her lips, looking away from him for a long moment before murmuring, “What if you could save her too?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Rikki’s voice grew a little more hopeful. “If we help the Younisians, they’re going to owe us big time. I’m sure they would be accommodating if you asked them to spare her when they win this war, especially if you took the favor in place of gold.” She looked up at him again. “If we join them, you could save yourself and Penelope from slavery. It’s a win win.”

Crow shifted his weight. The idea of turning on Penelope in the middle of the war like that was still off-putting to him. “I don’t know…”

“Just think about it,” she said, holding up a hand to keep him from answering her now. “I hate the thought of working with a bastard like Jaxon just as much as you do, but at this point, I really think it’s worth considering.” She offered him a small smile. “Can you promise me you’ll do that?”

Crow hesitated for a long pause before he finally nodded, “I will.”

“Alright then,” Rikki perked up a bit, hastening her pace as the tavern came into view up ahead. “Come on, let’s see if we can find that viper before you even need to make any hard decisions.”

[BuzzingBee]

As night fell, Penelope took up her post of her guard shift as most of the other knights retired to their tents. It seemed it would be another peaceful night as she kept a watchful eye over the quiet camp. She hoped her shift would go by quick as she was feeling a bit tired from the day's work. The knight let out a small yawn and decided she better walk around a bit to fight off the sleepiness she felt.

She walked near where she was stationed, occasionally sweeping her gaze over the area to make sure she was alone, until the sound of scuffling caught her attention from nearby. Penelope blinked as she faintly heard a man's voice and quickly began to move towards the sound, curious what was going on a few tents down from where she was positioned. Perhaps it was just a couple of her comrades but with the threat of Jaxon still around, she knew she couldn't be too careful.

As she rounded the corner, she was shocked to find Gavin pinned underneath a cloaked figure—whom she assumed was a man going by their stature. The man had his hand pressed down over the male knight's mouth and a dagger positioned to strike his throat. Gavin was struggling against him, using his own hands to keep the blade at bay as well as trying to remove the hand on his mouth that was silencing him. Without hesitating, Penelope drew her sword and charged at the unknown enemy, striking at his back. He seemed to catch her movement and ducked away, narrowly missing her blade as he rolled off of Gavin.

Penelope curled her lip at the man and moved to attack again, this time aiming at the man's side. "Looks like you messed up this time." she growled. The man glared at her and blocked her attack with his dagger. The metal clashed and she noticed his blue eyes darting around as he tried to look of a route of escape. Not wanting to give him time to locate it, she swiped at him again and this time Gavin jumped into the mix. While the killer slipped away from her blade, he didn't escape Gavin's as the male knight sunk his sword into the man's chest before he could make an escape. As the attacker fell limply to the ground, Gavin took a couple steps back, panting slightly.

"Are you alright?" Penelope asked with a concerned expression. "What happened?"

Gavin nodded his head and looked over at her. "He tried to sneak up on me.. Unfortunately for him, I've been watching my back a little more closely after I saw those two thieves talking that night." he said with a hint of bitterness. He furrowed his brow. "You have to believe me now.. Penelope, he tried to have this bastard kill me for what I know."

"Gavin, this could just be the start of another raid." Penelope said, although she felt a small bubble of uncertainty as she looked down at the dead body. "We should alert the other guards if they haven't noticed this commotion already or been attacked too. Come on." Not wanting to waste anymore time, she turned and began to hurry off towards the other nearest guard's post. She noticed Gavin hesitate before quickly following after her.

[Rogue Sloth]

Fortunately for Crow, he had been right that Jaxon’s thieves hadn’t come anywhere near Black Hollow. Even after questioning villagers until the sun had completely disappeared on the horizon, not a single person he or Rikki asked had heard anything about any travelers passing through. They stayed at the tavern for a while longer, merely because Rikki was determined not to give up, but after they still came up with nothing, even she had to admit their lead had been another dead end.

As they headed back to the clearing where they had decided to set up their camp tonight, a bitter mood had fallen over the female thief. “I can’t believe it was another fake tip,” she growled, clenching her hands into fists at her sides. “While we’ve been wasting our time up here, Jaxon could be on the move again, and we’ll have to start all over!”

“The man from Myrefall did say it was a rumor,” Crow shrugged, kicking a small rock down the road as they walked towards the woods. “Word of mouth isn’t always reliable.”

“I know,” she sighed, looking up at him with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like I was accusing you. I’m just… tired, you know? I wish at least one of these leads would have gotten us somewhere. It’s frustrating to feel like we’re running around in circles.”

“It’s alright,” Crow said, although he knew she had every right to accuse him of misleading them. “I’m frustrated too, but we both know he can’t hide forever. We’ll find him eventually.”

“Or we could call it quits and join him,” she shook her head. “I’m sure the Younisians would accept our help if we offer it. The more we take from the knights from our kingdom, the faster this cursed war will be over.”

“Maybe,” Crow nodded, hating how much sense her plan was making to him. He cringed at the thought of siding against his own kingdom and people, but perhaps that was the only choice they had left. He was already working for Jaxon behind the others’ backs. Why not make the best of a bad situation and take the opportunity to rescue Penelope too? He swallowed nervously, finding himself more tempted to go with his companions to speak with the Younisian barons.

I don’t have to make any decisions yet, he thought, kicking the rock again. I’ll just see how things play out for a little longer, and then I’ll decide what to do.

--

When they got to the camp, they found that Alistair and Hazel had already returned. Of course, neither of them had heard anything about Jaxon’s group either, and it was decided by everyone that there was no point in lingering in the village any longer. First thing in the morning, they would begin the trip back to their hideout.

The four ate a simple dinner together and went straight to sleep, none of them having much to say to one another while they were all in such dismal moods about the results of their failed trip to Black Hollow.

[BuzzingBee]

As the two hurried around to alert the rest of their camp about a potential attack, it became clear that the only one who had even been attacked was Gavin. Though Penelope didn't want to admit it, it was a bit unsettling that only Gavin, the one person who had claimed to see Crow talking with Jaxon, had been attacked with no signs of any other enemies nearby even as some of the guards formed a patrol to search for them.

While her comrades bustled around to make sure the camp was clear of attackers, Penelope kept to herself as she tried to figure out what had happened. Why were they only able to find one attacker? Where were the other thieves? If this had been a raid, wouldn't there had at least been more than one attacking. She let out a conflicted sigh. But that doesn't mean Crow is necessarily involved...He's all the way in Black Hollow right now anyways.. she tried to reassure herself.

"Penelope." Gavin's deep voice drew her out of her thoughts and she looked over to see he had stepped up to her side. "Will you listen to me now?"

She shifted her gaze away from him and crossed her arms as she looked out at the camp around them. "I still think you're wrong Gavin." she mumbled.

"But it's getting harder to find explanations isn't it?" Gavin sighed and shifted a little closer to her. "All I'm asking for is one chance.. In three days, they will either attack or have another meeting. The camp will be on guard after this which means we can slip away to follow him without having to worry too much if it is a raid. You'll see for certain if I'm right—or wrong—for yourself."

Penelope hesitated, shifting her weight with uncertainty. "I'll think about it." she replied quietly. "Right now, I need to go back to my guard shift now that things are calming down.. Good night Gavin." She dipped her head to him before walking off back to where she was stationed.

---

Penelope sleep in late the next day, both because of the long night prior and because she found herself troubled by it's events as well as Gavin's insistence that Crow was responsible. She wasn't sure what she should do. It felt wrong to turn on Crow and sneak out to try and follow him with Gavin but at the sametime, she found that she needed more proof than just his words that he wasn't responsible like Gavin said. Perhaps she should just agree. After all, she still held onto the belief that Gavin was wrong so if they did sneak out of camp, it could also be an opportunity to show Gavin he was wrong all along.

I'll tell him my decision when I see him again.. We can settle this once and for all. she thought, finding a spark of determination. She just wished that she felt as confident as before that he was wrong. Regardless, she had made her decision and it was time to start the day and work on figuring out how to address the attack from the night before. Penelope stretched out her arms and slowly got up as she headed out of her tent to begin the day.

[Rogue Sloth]

Over the course of the next two days, the band of criminals made their way back to their hideout behind the waterfall. The journey itself was uneventful, but for Crow it a stressful time. Rikki’s suggestion weighed heavily in the back of his mind as he tried to decide what to do. While he still had plenty of time left to come to a conclusion, he couldn’t bring himself to focus on anything else. The unmade choice consumed him as he walked with his companions in tense silence.

If he took Rikki’s advice and worked for the Younisians, he would practically be ensuring his home kingdom’s defeat in the war, but he would also be able to save himself and Penelope from the consequences of that loss. They would be safe and free to have the life together that they dreamed about. The thought made him feel warm inside.

However, what would Penelope think if she learned of what he had done? Their kingdom would be conquered, her family would be lost, and ultimately, he would have turned against them all to make it happen. He shuddered. It was easy for a lawless peasant like Rikki or Alistair to understand the motive of trying to survive in a rotten situation, but he had a feeling that the knight wouldn’t be so understanding. She had a much stronger sense of justice than he or his companions did. Anything short of the “right decision” surely wouldn’t be easily accepted. Her world of black and white didn’t mix with his shades of gray.

But she would come around eventually… right? Crow thought hopefully. Even if it was hard for her to take in at first, surely she would have to know that he was only doing it because there was no other choice. If Younis won, the kingdom and her family would suffer no matter what he did. At least this way, the two of them would be spared from falling into the same fate. He blinked as he realized he was starting to be swayed in the direction of working for the enemy kingdom. Perhaps his mind was more made up than he had thought.

--

The thieves arrived back in their camp just before nightfall, which gave Crow just enough time to eat a quick supper before his meeting with Penelope. After spending the last two days feeling so conflicted, he was eager to see her and get his mind off everything. It would be good to stop and destress without worrying about making any hard decisions. He couldn’t wait.

So, as soon as he finished his plate, he got up and put his cloak on in preparation to leave. Now that his companions all knew about his relationship with the knight, he didn’t have to worry about sneaking away from them after they fell asleep or coming up with an excuse to visit with her. It was a rather nice change, since it also meant he didn’t have to wait until later in the night to leave.

He exchanged a brief goodbye with them and headed out, walking quickly in his excitement to see her again and leave all of his concerns behind.

[BuzzingBee]

The following days didn't come easily for the knight. If the battle wasn't enough, the random attacker in the middle of the night set the whole camp on further edge and Penelope was no exception. She had still convinced herself that it was a failed raid and the barons seemed convinced of that as well. As Gavin had predicted, the camp was much more on guard. In fact, the barons had decided to up the number of guards, placing two in each spot. While it wasn't a bad idea, it stretched their numbers thin, causing for to pick up extra shifts.

On top of that, Penelope had also caved to Gavin's insistence of following Crow to find out the truth. It seemed like it was enough to make the male knight stop constantly pestering, as he appeared overly certain that she would find out Crow was indeed lying to her. It wasn't a very comforting sentiment, especially since she still had lingering doubts and worries since the night he was attacked.

Surely it was just Gavin getting into her head though. She had to remind herself that it didn't make sense for Crow to be working for Jaxon. While Gavin might not have known about the history Crow had with the group, she did. She had seen first hand the regret he held about even joining that group and how he had loathed the murderous thief. All of that surely couldn't have been a lie so there was really no reason for Crow to be working for Jaxon. At least, not one that she could think of.

---

As their fourth day apart came to its end, Penelope felt a tangle of emotions in her stomach. She was excited to see him again, especially after having to be apart longer this time, but the uncertainty about the truth weighed her down slightly. It made her feel a bit anxious, wanting to both hurry to see him and avoid the meeting at the same time—especially when she realized that if they had waited five days it would have lined up with whatever meeting Gavin suspected was happening.

She let out a long sigh, trying to push away her worries. I'm getting worked up over nothing.. she told herself firmly as she prepared to leave. Tomorrow night will come and Gavin will see that he's wrong and I'm right. There's no sense in ruining tonight just because I'm a little worried. Regaining a little confidence, she slipped out of her camp, having to be extra careful due to the extra guards, and headed for the meeting place.

Penelope walked at a fast pace and kept her gaze focused ahead as she walked. It wasn't long before the clearing came into view and with it the familiar figure of Crow. Her heart beated excitedly but her stomach churned nervously as she made her way over. Doing her best to ignore the two clashing emotions, she stepped into view and made her way over to him. "Hey stranger." she greeted with a grin.

[Rogue Sloth]

Out of his eagerness to see Penelope, Crow made good time to their meeting point. As such, he was the first to arrive by a long shot. As time dragged on and the knight didn’t show up, he began to pace the clearing with nervous energy. Part of him was worried that something else had happened to her or her camp while he had been in Black Hollow, but he knew he was just getting worked up over nothing. The sky wasn’t even fully black yet. They normally met much later than this.

Of course, with so much time alone, his mind naturally tried to wander back to the question that had been pressing in on him with increasing urgency: Would he take the Younisian baron’s offer or not? As hard as he tried to think about other things, it was difficult to keep the thought completely out of his head, and he wound up dwelling on it more than he would have liked. It dragged his mood down slightly as he began to worry again about what the knight would think when she learned he was considering joining the enemy kingdom.

So, when Penelope finally arrived in the meeting spot, the thief was overcome with relief. He hurried to meet her halfway, smiling fondly at her playful greeting. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her and wasted no time in pressing a deep kiss to her lips, letting his stress melt away at her touch. After a moment, he pulled back and grinned at her breathlessly, “Hey, beautiful.” He ran a hand gently through her long hair, holding her gaze as he took her in. While four days hadn’t really been that long to part, he had been spoiled after traveling with her daily, so the distance had been quite tangible this time. He was glad to have her in his arms again.

“Gods, it’s good to see you again,” Crow sighed, pulling her in as close as he could and leaning in to kiss her once more.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope returned his embrace and closed her eyes as he kissed her. She tried to find comfort in his touch like she usually able to, however, she found it was much more difficult due to the uneasiness she felt. As he pulled back, she smiled back at him as he ran his hair through her hair. Regardless of her feelings, she was still glad to see him again, even if she wasn't able to bring herself to fully enjoy it like she usually could.

She smiled softly at his words and leaned in to meet him as he kissed her again. The knight reached up to press a hand to his cheek as she deepened the kiss, pressing into him as he held her close. Eventually, she pulled back to catch her breath and studied his face for a moment. Penelope suddenly felt a pang of longing to speak with him about all that was troubling her. She wanted to ask him about the assassin and the meeting that Gavin was so certain about. However, she couldn't. She had promised Gavin that she wouldn't mention anything about it to Crow—the male knight had been rather worried she'd ruin their plans by doing so and pressured her into making the promise—and she also didn't want to ruin their plans for the coming night either.

The knight let out a small sigh and rested her head against him. "I know we said no business... but did you find anything in Black Hollow?" she asked quietly. It was the question she'd have to settle for and with any luck, it's answer might give her a bit more hope for what was coming. She prayed that the lead had panned out, both because she wanted to track Jaxon down and because it would make her feel a little more at ease if they had a lead.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow smiled against Penelope’s lips as they kissed, enjoying the time he had with her that night. He slid one hand down her back to rest against her hip, following the curve of her body as he leaned into her. His heart was already beginning to beat a little quicker with excitement. It had been over a week since the last time they had slept together, so he was quite eager to be with her again. However, in the back of his mind he noticed that something seemed to be different. He couldn’t tell for certain, but she felt a little bit stiffer than she usually did when they were together like this.

When she pulled back from the kiss to rest her head against his chest, he knitted his brow slightly as his suspicions were confirmed. At her question, he sighed, bringing a hand up to rest against the back of her head. “It was another dead-end,” he admitted softly. “Just village gossip, after all.” Guessing that her tension was because of her urgency to find and capture Jaxon, he tilted her chin up so that she would look him in the eyes as he went on. “I’m sure we’ll find him eventually,” he said with a smile as he repeated the assurance he had given Rikki before. “The outer villages are vast, but he can’t hide forever.”

Feeling a pang of guilt for the lie, Crow leaned in to press a tender kiss to her lips in an attempt to distract himself from the uncomfortable emotion. As he did, another thought came to him, and he frowned as he pulled back again. “Since we’re already on the subject of business…” he said slowly. “Has anything else happened at your camp since the attack? And is there any word on when your new supplies will be coming in?” Even though she had made it to their meeting, that didn’t necessarily mean Jaxon hadn’t done anything else to the knights. It was possible that the other thief had already conducted his second raid on their camp too, since he hadn’t told Crow about when it was supposed to happen.

Concerned that there was another reason why she was stiff, he studied her face closely as he waited for her reply.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope frowned as Crow admitted that Black Hollow had been another dead end. His reassurance didn't do much for her this time but she still offered him a small smile and leaned into meet him as he kissed her again. As he pulled back to ask if anything else happen, she felt her stomach churn slightly. Was she that obvious? Or did he already know something? Regardless it certainly didn't grant her any relief.

"No.. I'm just worried they'll strike again is all.." she replied slowly as she met his gaze with a soft sigh. She felt terrible that she was trying to lie to him, even if it was really only a partial lie. I'll tell him everything once all of this is settled after tomorrow.. she assured herself to ease the stab of guilt that she felt. "The supplies aren't coming for around another week so that'll leave us a bit vulnerable until then.. I just hope neither Younis nor Jaxon will attack us before then."

She hoped the added details would be enough to keep the thief from asking further questions or picking up on the fact that she was lying. Penelope leaned in a little closer to him and offered a small smile. "But I think that's enough business for now." she mumbled softly before moving in to press a few kisses along his jaw as she tried to turn the focus back onto the moment at hand rather than what was causing her worries. "It'll probably be another few days before I can see you again so let's not focus on that stuff right now.." Though she said it to him, it was also a bit of advice for herself as she hoped to push past her unease to enjoy her time with him. Determined to do so, she pressed into him and trailed her lips softly down his as she let one hand trail down his side to the hem of his tunic.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded when Penelope said she was just worried about her camp being attacked again before the supplies arrived. He was relieved to hear that nothing had happened since the last time Younis had struck. While he was willing to give up and turn to the Younisian baron for protection, he didn’t want to do it unless he absolutely had to. If the Brerratic knights could just hold out long enough to receive their next shipment, there was still hope that he wouldn’t have to turn traitor to his kingdom at all.

Feeling better, he returned Penelope’s smile as she put an end to the serious conversation, eager to forget about their troubles and focus on her instead. He closed his eyes and tilted his chin up slightly as she began to kiss him along his jawline, sending a shiver of excitement up his spine. At her words, he just moaned softly in response, already losing himself to her captivating touch. With the feeling of her lips against his skin and her fingers trailing down his side, it wasn’t hard for him to let go of everything that had been bothering him until this point.

As she reached for the hem of his tunic, he raised his arms to allow her to pull the fabric over his head and then pressed back into her as soon as it was off, meeting her lips briefly before he shifted to remove her shirt as well. Heart racing, Crow held her close by the waist and pressed a series of kisses along the side of her neck, sliding his hands slowly down her sides as he pulled her pants down with them. When that was done, he turned his head slightly to meet her lips again, kissing her passionately as he guided her hands back to the waistband of his trousers.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope let him slip her shift off as she felt him reach to remove it. As he held her close and began to kiss along her neck, she closed her eyes as she tried to focus on the feeling of his lips on her skin. Her heart raced excitedly in her chest as she felt him pull her pants down but with it was subtle hint of nervousness that had yet to disappear despite her efforts. She ignored it though as he met her lips again in a passionate kiss. The knight tried to match him as she pressed back into the kiss.

As she felt him guide her hands down to the waistband of his pants, she hesitated to do anything. Realizing she had paused for a moment, the knight tried to quickly recover as she slipped his trousers down. Penelope hoped that he hadn't notice it and wished that she hadn't been so bothered by the random attack at her camp. Crow likely wasn't to blame for it despite what Gavin thought and she needed to stop letting the male knight get in her head.

In a small burst of defiance against her conflicting emotions, she wrapped her arms back around him and dragged him down to the ground with her. She laid back in the grass to look up at him with a faint smirk. The knight studied his features for a moment, enjoying a swell of affection for the thief as she did as she was reminded of the many things she loved about him. Trying to focus on that, she leaned up to kiss him more fervently as she desperately tried to hold off her worries.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow wavered slightly as he kissed Penelope when he felt her hesitate to push things further with him. Surprised by her rigidness, he was nearly tempted to pull back and ask if she was alright, but she moved first, sliding his pants off before he had a chance to question her. He was still slightly put off by her moment of hesitation, but he quickly forgot about it as she wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him to the ground. Her spontaneity made him grin eagerly as he shifted to lay comfortably on top of her in the grass. Whatever had given her pause must not have been very important, because she was even more passionate now than she was before.

The thief met her lips as she kissed him, slightly taken aback by the fervor she put into it but quick to match her enthusiasm. He ran his hands sensuously over her body, slipping away from her mouth to press kisses from her neck down to her chest as he tried to keep up with her energy. Closing his eyes, he trailed his fingers along the inside of her thigh and then leaned up to meet her lips again as he focused on pleasuring her for a time.

However, it wasn’t long before he began to notice that his efforts weren’t earning him the same results that they normally would have. He frowned slightly, turning his head to gently kiss her jawline. Usually, she seemed more receptive to his tricks. It was strange to him that they didn’t seem to be as effective this time. “What’s wrong, love?” he asked breathily. “Is this not working for you tonight?” He nipped playfully at her ear, trying to keep her attention in case she was distracted by something. “I can try something different, if you’d prefer.”

[BuzzingBee]

It seemed all of her efforts were in vain. Despite trying to ignore her uneasiness and Crow's normal efforts during their time together, she couldn't relax like usual around him. Naturally, he picked up on it as she didn't respond to his tricks as usual. The knight frowned faintly as he finally spoke up to ask what was wrong. Penelope shifted her gaze away from him feeling a small stab of guilt. She fell quiet for a brief moment, unsure what to say, before letting out a small sigh of defeat. There was no use in trying to ignore it any longer when she clearly couldn't and now that Crow had noticed, there would be no hiding it anyways.

"I don't think it would matter.." she mumbled shifting away from him slightly. She met his gaze and offered an apologetic look as she reached out to place her hand on his cheek. "It's not you. I just.." she paused shifting her gaze away from him as she struggled a bit with an explanation. It had already felt bad enough lying to him before that she really didn't want it to go any further. She wanted to talk with him about but she was still hesitant to do so, especially since she was still planning on holding up her agreement with Gavin.

But would it be so bad if I talk about Gavin getting attacked? she wondered. It wouldn't give away her plans for the following day and it could ease her mind a bit. Suddenly, the knight found herself leaning towards opening up to the thief since hiding hadn't worked out for her very well. She just had to be a bit cautious of how she brought it up.

Penelope frowned and let out a long sigh. "I didn't want to bring it up but...something else did happen at my camp." she finally admitted after a long pause. She didn't meet his gaze, feeling guilty for lying to him before, and wrapped her arms around herself. "Gavin was attacked a couple nights ago.. Probably would have been killed if I hadn't heard them scuffling. It was just one man and Gavin ended up killing him before we could ask any questions so I don't know if that was a sign of a second raid or-or something else. It's been bothering me because I just.. I don't understand what it means and I didn't want to bring it up because well..you know how Gavin is so.. I figured the less you knew about it the better.." Everything flowed out like a damn suddenly breaking. Though it relieved a bit of pressure, it certainly didn't make her feel much better as she avoided meeting his gaze, unsure how he'd react to learning that she hadn't been honest with him in the first place.