BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

With Tomas taking over her guard shift, Penelope went ahead and grabbed a quick dinner before going to locate Olivia. She wished that she had had more time alone with Crow. His presence was relaxing and she wanted to by his side as much as she could, both because of her love for him but also because she simply wanted to keep him company while he was stuck in a camp where his enemies greatly outnumbered his friends. She gave a small sigh and glanced up at the darkening sky. She supposed it wasn't a terrible thing that Tomas had came early. Now she had plenty of time to speak with Olivia and slip out of camp. The knight soon spotted her friend and quietly discussed slipping out of camp to go pay the other thieves a visit.

"Boy, it's favor after favor with you lately, isn't it?" Olivia said with a dramatic sigh. The other female knight quickly perked up and shot her friend a grin. "I'm in though but uh, might I ask why we're going to see them so suddenly?"

Penelope hesitated at the question, shifting a bit uneasily. She was reluctant to tell Olivia about Crow's illness as she believed the fewer that knew about it the better. However, she supposed there was no sense in trying to hide it from her friend now when it would come up once she spoke to Hazel. "Well.. do you remember that herbalist I had Jane working with before?"

"Yeah?" Olivia raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Well... The cure they were working on was for a disease that's usually fatal... Crow had it." She explained then gave a small frown. "Actually, he still has it but thanks to the medicine it's not life-threatening. But now that he's got that injury, his occasional cough is bad enough to bust the stitches. Jane can't find out about his illness so I figured the next best option is to visit the herbalist and hope she's able to give me something to help him so he can recover properly."

Olivia gave a small whistle and leaned back on the palms of her hands. "What a mess." she gave with a small chuckle. "Hopefully she can help you then, Penelope. When should we leave?"

"Soon. Once it's night fall."

---

The two spent the majority of the evening talking until eventually the sun sank completely so they prepared to slip out of camp. Luckily it was rather easy. With the thieves having been dealt with and Crow currently in their custody, the knights seemed only concerned with the potential threat of Younis so guards were focused more on the side of camp closer to the border. Penelope walked alongside Olivia as they headed towards the waterfall where she knew the thieves to be located. As they drew closer, she walked with a bit more caution as she remembered Crow's words of warning.

She rested a hand on the hilt of her sword and slowed to a stop as the waterfall came into view. Penelope glanced over at her friend and noticed Olivia looking ahead rather eagerly. "Be on guard." she warned her. "Crow said they'll be wary of anyone who approaches them so they might attack us without thinking."

"Where exactly is their camp anyways?" Olivia mumbled with a hint of confusion. "I know it's near here.. But I don't even see a spot for it."

"It's behind the waterfall.. I've never be inside it myself but I think I see a path. Follow me." Penelope instructed as she took the lead and headed to the path behind the waterfall. She stepped carefully as she neared the entrance. "Alistair? Hazel? Rikki?" she called out, hoping they'd recognize her voice before she stepped into view.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yeah it's going to be bad ^^;

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope chuckled at his joking words. "I suppose so." she said amusedly as he said he'd take what he wanted. The knight noticed his expression soften at her words and as he reached up to caress her cheek, she smiled affectionately at him and leaned into his touch. While she had just said it for a joke, it warmed the knight to hear him agree genuinely with her. As he went on to tease her, she rolled her eyes at him and then smirked.

"You're decent enough, I suppose." she mused with mock thoughtfulness as if having to think it over. Penelope gave a small laugh and leaned in to press a short kiss to his lips. She pulled back and gave him a playful wink. "I'm kidding. But I'm afraid if I agree too easily your head will start swelling." she murmured teasingly. The knight moved to rest her head lightly against his, feeling relaxed in his presence. She would have stayed like that for a while if the sound more approaching footsteps didn't catch her attention first.

She let out a quiet groan and moved away from him again. It seemed they wouldn't be getting as much time alone today as she had been hoping. She turned to see Jane enter the tent followed by Tomas who stepped in a moment after her. The physician dipped her head in acknowledgement to Penelope before moving to take a seat at her desk while Tomas moved over to Penelope.

"Here for your shift already?" She asked him, a bit surprised he was already there to take her off.

Tomas nodded his head and offered her a small smile. "Yeah. I got my supper early so I figured I might as well just take you off now."

Penelope gave a somewhat forced smile in return. The older lieutenant likely thought he was doing her a favor by taking her off a little early. It would give her more free time but she would have much preferred to just finish off the rest of her shift with Crow, even if Jane's return meant they couldn't be close. She supposed it would give her time to see if Olivia would be able to leave with her to speak with the other thieves that night though and she had no reason to deny him taking her off.

"Alright, thanks Tomas." she said with false appreciativeness. She subtly glanced at Crow as she added to the older lieutenant, "I'll see you tomorrow then." The knight dipped her head and then turned to duck out of the tent.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I can imagine xD and it's only going to get worse once Layth learns about them being together lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave a soft laugh at his words and shook her head. "Ah thank the gods. I was worried I had new competition there for a moment." she joked. She leaned in to press a brief kiss to his cheek before pulling back. The knight had a bright grin on her face, enjoying a less than serious conversation with him for once. With everything there was to worry about, it was a nice change of pace. As he went on to mention trying to win over Layth, she gave a chuckle.

"Very hard." she mused as she looked at him. "Winning over any Vermillion other than myself is unlikely considering how most of them are." Needless to say, she knew most of her family to either be arrogant or cold. Most of them didn't even approve of her own existence, though they had started to be a little more accepting of her in recent years due to her rising in rank. Penelope let out a small sigh, feeling a little brought down by her thoughts. She focused back on Crow and gave a coy wink. "You just got lucky in meeting the right one."

Penelope paused as she thought about her brother and his hatred of the thief. "Not to mention that Layth hates you quite a bit.. I still don't think he's over the time you nearly killed him. Or the time you got away." she shook her head and looked down at Crow with a smirk. "Honestly I think you'd have more success trying to charm a bear than my brother."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Honestly xD

I can't wait to see the reactions of all the nobles to Crow becoming one xD especially Layth oof
I feel like Mia is going to be one of the few that's ok with him cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope shifted a bit uneasily as Crow admitted that Mia had been questioning about her involvement with him. Before she could worry too much about what had been discussed, he assured her that Mia hadn't gotten any information out of him she relaxed and gave him a small smile. While it still was a bit concerning that Mia might suspect them of being close, she at least knew that the baroness likely wouldn't jump to any conclusions if she had no evidence.

As he went on to mention that Mia was going to speak with him again, she blinked in surprise. She had thought that the baroness was fully intent on deciding Crow's fate without his input like the other barons. Though she thought Mia to be a fair person anyways, it was still surprising that she was actually going to speak with the thief before any decisions were finalized. Penelope looked over at Crow, wondering if something he had said had caused the baroness to change her mind.

"Strange... I wonder why." she mused as she leaned on her elbows on the bed. "She never mentioned speaking to you beforehand. It seemed like she fully intend to make whatever decision with other barons without speaking to you. Mia's a difficult person to figure out though so who knows." Penelope shrugged and then met his gaze with a teasing smirk. "Perhaps you charmed her."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Poor Crow xD he's going to have to put up with it for quite a while lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave a small chuckle at Crow's words and walked over to his bedside. "I would if I could," she mused as she looked down at him with a small smile. "but I don't think that would go over well. Especially if my baroness decides to visit again." Her smile faded slightly and she glanced over her shoulder towards the exit. She felt a bit of worry bubble in her over Mia's visit since the baroness has even requested to speak with him alone on whatever matter had concerned her enough to visit him herself.

It was likely nothing to worry about since Mia didn't seem to have learned anything about their relationship. Surely if she had, she would have confronted her immediately, right? Penelope shifted a bit uneasily. Mia was strategic and calculating, which could mean that she was planning on thinking over a proper way of punishing them and her calm demeanor was merely an act of her buying time until she had settled on something. The thought made her worries grow a little more.

Looking back to Crow, she reached to take his hand in hers again, seeking a bit of comfort in his touch. As she looked over at Crow, she tried to be optimistic. Crow was skilled at lying and he didn't seem particularly upset after speaking with the baroness so perhaps she was worrying about nothing. "It's strange she came here on her own.. Usually she delegates the interogating to someone else." she mumbled. "What did she talk to you about anyways?"

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It sorta worked cx at least it got Penelope out of actual trouble lol