BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Of course, Penelope had no expectations for this 'interrogation' to go well. Layth was already clearly hostile towards Crow and Crow clearly wasn't restraining himself when it came to speaking with her brother. She glanced at Crow disapprovingly then shifted her gaze back to Layth as she noticed her brother reach for the hilt of his sword. Without thinking over her actions, she advanced towards her brother to place a hand firmly on his arm so he wouldn't draw the weapon.

As he turned to meet her gaze with an cold look, she faltered a bit but didn't let him go as she held his gaze. "Don't do anything rash, Layth." she growled warningly. "I know how excessive your 'interrogations' can be and you can't do that when the barons want him alive."

Layth snorted and roughly yanked his arm away from her. "He can survive a couple more cuts. Besides that," he curled his lip at her. "you need to stop defending this cur. You're becoming more of a disgrace to our family with each passing day." He shook his head. "Working with a criminal... Being so weak that a criminal has to save you.. And yet you have the gall to try and tell me how to do things."

Penelope rolled her eyes at her brother's words. "I'm just trying to do what's right, Layth." she argued.

"The law is right and anyone outside of it is wrong." Layth growled. "If you're too weak to handle dealing with criminals like the rats they are, then go outside. I'm not letting you,of all people, tell me what is right and wrong."

Layth focused his gaze on Crow again and Penelope pursed her lips together as she nervously watched her brother. She refused to leave since she wanted to be there to stop him if he did go too far. Unfortunately, it felt like it was more likely for him to do that then handle his temper. She shifted uneasily as she tried to think of a way to convince Layth to leave but knowing how stubborn her brother was, she doubted he would until he was done harassing the thief.

"I want to know how much information you have about us,thief. Especially after work with my foolish sister, I'm sure you managed to manipulate that situation to your advantage." Layth narrowed his gaze on Crow. "I'd recommend answering before I give our physician more work."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I like it!
I went ahead and threw in Layth today because I figure if we're going with that timeline it's probably best to focus on the barons figuring it out the next day (I was kinda planning for them to have another meeting then anyways so it fits cx plus Layth came just in time to crush their hope a little more ^^;). Since John's coming in with the supplies as well, I think that timing will work out pretty well since they were supposed to arrive within a week or so.
I like the idea of them choosing something a bit harsh. Figuring Mia wouldn't really agree with death, so maybe it could end up being something like cutting his hands off. That would be enough to freak both him and Penelope out xD Then John can just pop and be like 'hey maybe don't?' xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope relaxed a little at the feeling of being so close to him and him stroking the back of her head. The motion eased the knight's nerves a bit. She gave a small nod at his words, hoping they were both right. They were in a pretty tight situation, especially since she had lost a bit of credibility with her comrades, so she still had quite a few worries that refused to go away. Still, Crow was able to comfort her a bit as he pressed a kiss to her cheek and reassured her that he wasn't going anywhere.

She pulled back slightly, just enough so she could met his gaze, and gave him a small smile. "I love you too and I'm going to make sure you keep that promise." she murmured before leaning down to press a soft kiss to his lips. The knight sunk into his lips, getting a little lost in his warm presence. It nearly turned a bit dangerous as she didn't pick up on the sound of approaching footsteps.

As they grew a little closer, Penelope blinked and quickly pulled away from Crow as she stepped away from him. Turning to face towards the entrance, she felt her heartbeat anxiously as she realizing how close she had been to slipping up. The anxiousness only got worse as the flap of the tent shifted and her brother stepped in. The female knight tensed reflexively at the appearance of Layth and she eyed him as he walked into the tent.

"What are you here for?" she asked him, trying to keep a calm mask despite feeling tense. She was rather certain she already knew why he was there but she was hoping to buy a bit of time to figure out a way to get him to leave Crow alone.

"Why do you think?" Layth snorted irritably. His gaze shifted past her to narrow in coldly on Crow. "I haven't gotten the chance to speak with our resident criminal... Unlike you, traitor." He glared at her before moving to push past her to approach Crow.

"Remember we're keeping him alive, Layth." Penelope warned as she clenched her fists at her side.

"I'm aware." Layth growled with disapproval as he glanced back accusingly at Penelope. His gaze shifted back over to Crow and he sneered. "I won't kill him but that certainly won't stop me from getting a few answers out of him."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Honestly xD they're going to be leaving them both behind soon enough haha

Penelope's feeling protective cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

With the mention of having to figure a way out of her camp, the knight's light-hearted expression faded into a serious one as her gaze drifted down towards the chains on his wrist. She hadn't come up with any solid plans to get him out yet, mainly because he was still barely able to even move. Noticing the nervousness in his voice as he added his concern about healing in time, Penelope frowned slightly, feeling worry rise at the thought of the barons coming to a decision faster than he could recover.

She let go of his hand only to wrap her arm around him in an embrace. "Hopefully with the medicine you'll be able to and I'm going to try and buy you as much time as I can." she murmured as she looked down at him. Even though she wanted to believe that he would heal before any decisions were final, it was also very likely that the barons would come up with their decision before that. There was only so much she could do to stall them without drawing more suspicion to herself after all.

Penelope didn't know what she would do if they reached their choice before Crow was well enough to escape. Even if the barons were 'merciful' they certainly wouldn't be merciful enough to just let him go. At best they'd decide to send him to prison and at worst they'd decide to kill him. He may still have been alive thanks to her efforts but she had yet to truly save him. As she quietly studied his face for a moment, she felt a spark of protectiveness and worry for the man she loved so much. The knight buried her head into his neck and closed her eyes tightly for a moment.

"Even.. Even if you aren't, we'll figure out someway to get you out of here." she promised softly. If things did go wrong for the thief, Penelope had no intention of simply standing back to watch. She surely she could figure out a way to protect him or get him out of the camp completely, even if it put her position as a lieutenant at further risk. If it came down to saving Crow or keeping her title, the knight wouldn't hesitate to choose the thief.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Nice xD Penelope's looking on the brightside now that they won't have those two bothering them lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave an amused look at him at his words as he reassured her and mention there wasn't much else for him to do. As his expression turned a little more serious and he went on to advise her about Gavin, she gave a small nod. She supposed he was right that forcing more distance between them and Gavin would likely make things worse. After all, Gavin had said that he still intended to be her friend so, if she did push him further away, it would likely come off as her wanting nothing to do with him, which wasn't true. He was a close friend in her eyes and she hoped they could continue to be that until the wars end.

As Crow complimented Gavin, she gave a small giggle as she noticed him redden. "Wow, I never would have expected you to develop a soft spot for him." she said with a teasing smirk. "Don't worry though. Your secret is safe with me." Penelope's smirk softened a bit and she gave his hand a small squeeze. Though the male knight had been at odds with the thief for some time now, she felt glad that both of them seemed to have developed a mutual respect for each other. Once things got back to normal and Crow was healed, it would take a small weight off her shoulders as she wouldn't have to be concerned about keeping her guard up around Gavin or worrying about Gavin turning on Crow.

"I think you're right though. Gavin'll be fine with time, I'm sure." she mused on a more serious note. She gave him an appreciative smile and pressed an affectionate kiss to his cheek. "Honestly, I'm just glad we won't have worry about either of them as much anymore... Between both of their attempts to get between us, I'm ready for this new change." she said with a soft chuckle. Though she did wish it hadn't come with pain for the two, it was quite a relief after having to put up with them both during the mission.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope had a lot to get off her chest XD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope nodded and stashed away the jar in her pocket again. She was about to relax at his side again until he spoke up and took her had. The knight looked over at him as he gazed at her with a concerned look. Realizing that he must have noticed her momentarily get wrapped up in her thoughts, she hesitated and gave a small shrug. She hadn't told Crow about her conversation with Gavin, mainly since she simply hadn't felt the need to with everything else that was going on. Perhaps now wasn't a bad time since she could also mention what happened with Rikki. She at least wanted to give him a heads up that things would likely be a bit different between them once he returned.

"Nothing's really wrong." she assured him giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "I've just had a couple of..rough conversations in recent days so they were on my mind is all." Penelope shook her head and moved to lean a little closer to him, subconsciously finding comfort in his presence. She shifted her gaze up to the canopy of the tent. "We might still have challenges to face because of our current situation but I think we won't have to worry about Gavin or Rikki trying to get between us anymore."

Penelope kept her gaze focused above as she continued on, recalling her conversation with Rikki first since it was the most recent. "Last night I.. I may have gotten into a bit of an argument with Rikki." she admitted with a hint of guilt as she remembered being rather petty towards the female thief. "I don't know if its because you weren't around or because she blames me for all of this happening but she was a bit more confrontational than usual and it got on my nerves...I ended up accidentally striking some cord with her that got her a bit upset. Not so much with me specifically but-" she shifted a bit. "-but with why you'd choose me over her. I tried to comfort her about it and get her to realize that even if, logically, she was the better choice for you, that stuff like logic doesn't count for anything when it comes to matters of the heart and love."

The knight gave a halfhearted smile. "The crazy part is that, even though she wasn't happy about it, she thanked me and seemed to understand it.." Penelope's smile faded slightly as she went on to add, "Of course my words didn't do too much. I think she's dealing with heartbreak now.

"And that's not all." she added with a humorless chuckle. "On your first night in our camp, Gavin told me he finally accepted that I was choosing you over him. I guess you taking a blade for me made him accept the reality of things. He's hurting now too and he's keeping a distance from me." She finally lowered her gaze from the ceiling to look down at Crow as she let out another soft sigh. "Rikki's situation just reminded me of it and I was just worrying about him. I mean, Rikki's got time to deal with her heartbreak away from both you and me but Gavin doesn't... I told him he could stop helping with guard shifts but he's stubborn and insisted on at least doing that. I don't know." Penelope shook her head and offered him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to dump this on you all at once...I just.. had a lot on my mind I guess."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

So is Penelope cx
she's still a little worried about Gavin though lol