BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope let out a small sigh as Rikki responded. She was just beginning to think her words hadn't done anything for the situation until the thief went on to thank her and even say she understood. The knight snuck a glance at her, trying to suppress the surprise she felt. She had been hoping to comfort the female thief but part of her didn't expect it to work. Rikki had proven herself to be rather stubborn after all so Penelope figured that she'd merely brush her words off like usual. To see the other woman listen to them and accept them was quite shocking.

As she changed the subject, Penelope picked up on the small break in her voice. Choosing to act as if she hadn't noticed it, the knight merely gave a small nod and turned her head away to watch the pot while Rikki hurried off to get Hazel. The knight let out a long sigh and sat down for a moment as she was now alone. Of all the things that had come from visiting them, she certainly hadn't expected such a talk with Rikki. Still, she was glad it had happened as she suspected Rikki, like Gavin, was finally accepting the fact that the odd pair wouldn't be splitting.

Leaning back on the palms of her hands, Penelope thought about Rikki's situation and how it seemed she was now accepting that Crow loved her instead. If she had been in the female thief's place instead, she probably would have acted differently about it but the pain would be all the same. That alone was enough for her to feel sorry for the female thief who had been by Crow's side during a large chunk of their time apart. The knight let out a shaky breath, thankful that she had Crow and hoping the best for Rikki as she dealt with her heartbreak.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope felt bad immediately XD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope remained a bit tense as she waited for Rikki to respond. She had been expecting the female thief to continue to argue against her so when Rikki lowered her gaze to the ground with a dejected look, the knight bore an expression of surprise. She listened as Rikki went on about not understanding why Crow was still with her. Shifting uneasily, the knight fell quiet for a moment, uncertain what to say. She had to say something. Though the female thief got on her nerves because of how she tried to get in between her and Crow, Penelope knew she wasn't a bad person and she did feel sympathy for the female thief and her unrequited love.

"Nothing... You're not doing anything wrong." Penelope mumbled softly as she moved to crouch down hesitantly besides her. The knight didn't meet the thief's gaze and instead keeped her gaze lowered on the ground. "Why do you think I felt threatened by you before?" she gave a mirthless smirk. She let out a long sigh and absently flicked a pebble on the ground with her finger. "Love doesn't make sense... If it did, I'd be with the suitor my father picked for me and Crow would be with you. But, that's just not how it works."

She casted a side glance towards the thief and shifted her weight. "I mean, a knight and a thief... It sounds ridiculous to you, right?" Penelope shook her head and looked over at the pot. Thinking of Crow, a smile spread across her lips. "It sounded ridiculous to me too at one point. Then I met Crow and suddenly, things changed. I mean, I certainly didn't go looking to fall for the most wanted thief in Brerra and I certainly doubt he went looking to fall for a noblewoman, much less a knight."

Realizing she was rambling a bit, Penelope cleared her throat and finally turned her head to look over at Rikki. "What I'm trying to say is, there's nothing wrong with you. Love is just irrational and there's no way to guess it or control it."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yeah she's just going to have to get used to it xD

Penelope asserted herself lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope rolled her eyes as Rikki claimed to not believe her. She was fine with leaving it at that until the thief went on to say how Crow wouldn't want to settle down. The knight cursed inwardly as she felt herself falter slightly as Rikki claimed that Crow was happiest living free as a thief. She knew he was proud of his accomplishments as a thief and that he enjoyed his lifestyle, however, he had told her countless times about how he looked forward to their future. As much as he may have enjoyed his life now, surely he meant it when he was looking forward to their future more, right?

"I've seen his enjoyment of it.. But you've never heard about him talk about our future." Penelope responded with a bitter edge as she held Rikki's gaze. The female thief's words had gotten to her a bit more than she'd like to admit and because of it, she acted with a bit more pettiness than she normally would. "He claims he's happy enough with me and I have no reason to believe otherwise." It was partly a reminder to herself as well. She didn't want Rikki to spread any doubt into her like Gavin had once done with Crow.

"And more so than that, you shouldn't be the one trying to decide such things for him. You're robbing him of more freedom than I am." the knight added as she narrowed her gaze at the female thief. "If at any time he decides he doesn't want me or our future, he's very capable of leaving on his own. But you need to start realizing that what you want and what he wants are two different things and that I'm not going anywhere, unless he decides he's done with me."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

True xD but she'd still appreciate it lol
Penelope's getting tired of having to defend her relationship to others xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope watched as Rikki averted her gaze from her and gave her a rather vague answer. It seemed things were only getting worse between the two women. Perhaps it was just because Crow wasn't around, but now the female thief wasn't even pretending to act friendly towards her now. Not that it mattered much to the knight. While she wasn't particularly looking to make things worse with Rikki, she certainly wasn't looking for her friendship either. Rikk had proved to be rather annoying in her attempts to get between them after all.

She was just about to turn and walk away when the thief spoke up again and met her gaze, asking about what she wanted with Crow. Penelope raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised by the sudden question. It reminded her of when Hazel had asked her why she was trying to save him from his illness before. The similarities made the knight give a soft snort. Knights, peasants and thieves, it seemed that no matter the side they all believed that one of them hand to be using the other for some reason.

"Well let me ask you this, wouldn't you try do everything to save him?" Penelope challenged in a quiet voice as she held the other woman's gaze. She didn't like acknowledging Rikki's feelings for Crow but perhaps it would make her realize that the knight wasn't trying to use him. "He shouldn't have even been at that battle.." she mumbled with a soft sigh. She knew she couldn't blame herself for Crow's injury and she was grateful to him for saving her life but the knight couldn't help but wish there had been a way to avoid him getting hurt. Although because of him, they had both made it out alive and the knight really couldn't ask for more than that.

Her expression softened slightly as she thought of the thief and she shifted her gaze to the fire. "I love him. I don't want anything more than for him to be happy and alive."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Finally xD Penelope would be so happy if she knew lmao

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Fortunately it seemed the oil was in fact ready which made it easier for Penelope to avoid talking about her failure to return with the staff. She nodded to the female thief and moved ahead to collect as much of the crushed plants as she could carry before stepping over to the oil and dropping it in. The knight stepped back as the others stepped over to drop in the rest. Since Rikki decided to handle the cooking alone, Penelope moved to sit down, leaning her back against the wall as there didn't seem to be anything left for her to do.

She swept her gaze over the camp. Olivia and Alistair sat down together a little ways away, chatting more casually now, Hazel still seemed focus on her work and Hartley was walking over to join Penelope, clearly still intent on speaking with her. She offered him a small smile as he sat down next to her and let out a small yawn. As it was beginning to grow later, she felt a bit of weariness beginning to set in so, in an attempt to fight it off, she focused on talking with Hartley again.

"You said Kip was back in Younis before, right?" Penelope asked as she looked over at him. "She's doing alright, I hope?"

"Yeah she's fine. I miss her though." Hartley sighed and lowered his gaze.

"Well what are you doing out here in the first place? There's a war going on, you know." Penelope frowned. "You should be with her, not out here."

"I know but..." Hartley fidgeted with the hem of his tunic. "Her parents don't approve of me and it's difficult being with her and being a thief so things are difficult.. I thought maybe I could at least earn a little money or respect if I helped out at the war front... That's why I joined Jaxon group since I'm not great at fighting I thought maybe I could earn it through stealing."

Penelope listened quietly as Hartley explained a little bit about why he had joined Jaxon's group. It cleared up a bit of confusion she still had about why he had been there in the first place. It seemed things hadn't been very easy for the young couple since she and Crow had last seen them but she was glad to hear they were still figuring things out. "You should go back to her. Things may be difficult but surely there's a better way than getting involved with the war." she advised then gave the young thief a small smirk. "Plus I don't want to have to worry about another thief trying to sabotage my battalion."

"I won't I swear. I don't want to end up like the last guy." Hartley laughed holding up his hands. He smiled and looked around the camp. "I'll go back to Younis soon.. I think I'll stick around here for little while though.. At least until Crow is back."

Penelope nodded her head and continued to chat idly with Hartley, listening to the boy as he told her more about how Kip was and how they had gotten married. Eventually his energy seemed to die down a bit and he grew quieter. Before Penelope even realized it, the young thief fell into a light sleep besides her. She looked over at him amusedly before letting out a sigh and glancing towards Rikki, who was still by the oil. The knight was hesitant to approach her but her curiosity got the best of her and she quietly climbed up to her feet and stepped over to the female thief by the fire.

"How's it doing?" she asked as she looked down at the pot.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Oh nice xD

Hartley got a little bit of a story time with Penelope lol