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Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow wavered on the bank when Penelope ignored his suggestion to cross the river somewhere else. Was she really that oblivious? He knew he was a skilled actor, but she didn’t even pause to question why he would want to look for shallower waters. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, reddening slightly when she accused him of being scared of the water. What a ridiculous statement. He wasn’t scared of the river; it just made him a bit uneasy. That was all. Besides, even if he was afraid, it would be perfectly rational. He barely knew how to swim, and the currents in this river were particularly fast…

Okay, maybe he was a little nervous to cross.

“Stop,” Crow said, lowering his gaze and taking a calming breath. He couldn’t believe he was about to admit this to a knight, but what other choice did he have? Pretending he was a confident swimmer and following after her would have been foolish at this point. He would rather live with some embarrassment than die on a prideful endeavor.

“So, I can’t swim, okay?” Crow went on without looking up. “I never learned. It’s not really a skill that’s taught in most of the outer villages, so not many people know how.” He met Penelope’s gaze with a defensive glare. “I know this must be hilarious to you, being an educated noble and all, but some of us don’t get that luxury. Now, can we please look for another way across that doesn’t involve me drowning?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“As you say,” Crow said with a lavish bow. He turned and began following the river as it branched off to the left. As they walked, he grew more and more certain that it was the right way to go, but he also had a nagging feeling that he was forgetting something. He frowned and looked down at the rushing water and then faltered slightly. Now he remembered what was bothering him. He and Penelope were on the east side of the river, while the village was on the west side. That could only mean…

“Just as I was starting to dry off, too,” Penelope said, walking towards the water.

Crow stared after Penelope but didn’t follow her. As much as he hated to admit it, rivers unsettled him quite a bit. He had never learned how to swim properly, so he avoided any and all fast-flowing water when he could. Rivers were especially treacherous. They could look calm from the surface, while they could be hiding swift currents below that could easily sweep a man off his feet. Honestly, if the events from earlier hadn’t happened so quickly, he probably would have drowned himself in a panic when Penelope had knocked him into the rapids. He really didn’t want to risk that again.

But he couldn’t let her know that.

“Hang on,” he called to the knight, starting after her. His eyes flicked uncertainly towards the water, but he quickly covered his discomfort with a playful smirk. “The river is a bit wide here, so why don’t we go a little further and see if we can find a shallower place to cross? I wouldn’t want to make a lady go wading into deep water like this.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow looked first left and then right, trying to determine which direction was the true way back. If he remembered correctly, he had run east when he left the village. The river flowed north so, unless they looped around somewhere, the left stream went south and the right stream went further east. The thief glanced curiously at Penelope as she chose the branch on the right—the one that would take them away from the village. She must have been too focused on chasing him at the time to pay close attention to the direction they had gone.

He shifted his weight, contemplating whether or not he should correct the knight. On one hand, it would be entertaining to wait until they were hopelessly lost and then make her beg him to find the way back; but on the other hand, he was cold and exhausted from their plunge in the river, and he wasn’t sure if he had the energy to walk for much longer. Right now, a nice, soft wooden floor at the inn sounded heavenly. He made his choice.

“Sorry to say, love, but you’re wrong,” Crow yawned and pointed at the left stream. “We’re northeast of the village, so this river will take us back down south. If we go right, we’ll just end up farther east.” He tilted his head slightly at the knight, an amused smile playing on his lip. “Of course, I could be lying. I might be trying to lead you deeper into in the woods where it will be easier for me to get away.” Crow shrugged nonchalantly. He did want to get back to the inn, but he just couldn’t help himself. It was too much fun to toy with Penelope. “It seems like you’ll just have to trust me, now won’t you?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

True XD
Crow is always lying and trying to manipulate Penelope, so I think the river would be a good way to get him to be a little more real with her. He would kinda be forced to admit to her that he hates water ;3

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Okay. I'll throw some out then :P

Idea 1: They choose the wrong river to follow and, instead of getting back to the village, stumble upon the camp of those nobles who have been following them. They wouldn't get into a fight, but they would find out that they were still being tailed.

Idea 2: They choose the wrong river to follow and run into some more bandits (the typical "I got nothing" plan XD)

Idea 3: They choose the right river to follow but they have to cross over the water at some point in order to get back to the village. Not being a strong swimmer, Crow would be completely against the idea and Penelope would have to find a way to get him to do it

So we could do one or more of these if you're interested :3

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Do you have any other ideas for Penelope and Crow's woodland adventure? :P
I feel like walking and talking is kinda dull

Curse of the Shadow [Jones Sparrow + Summer]

Oh, I'm sorry :( I've got two dogs of my own, so I can only imagine how hard that was

I'll reply as soon as I can. I've got a lot going on today and tomorrow, so I may not be able to post until later on

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I’m going home, Crow’s head was swimming. He could hear Penelope continue to speak as she justified the reason for her decision, but he couldn’t understand a word of it. She had said she would give him his freedom after they returned, and that was all that mattered. Of course, staying with the knights would mean that he had to go through with the king’s assignment, but at least he wouldn’t have to return to a prison cell afterwards. That was all he wanted.

“However.” He managed to catch the last of her words. “Should you try to get away before then, the deal is off. Fair enough?” She held out her hand.

After a moment, Crow came back to himself. He beamed at her and reached for her hand, clasping it in both of his, “I promise I won’t run. You have my word.”

They began the trip back to the village. Even though they were on semi-decent terms again, neither one spoke to the other. He didn’t want to risk upsetting her by saying something brash, and now that he had come to terms with the king’s assignment for him, he had to start planning it out for real. Now was as good a time as any to start.

While he was confident in his thievery skills, he did have to wonder how he was going to pull off this raid. First of all, he had never been beyond the kingdom border before, so he was completely unfamiliar with the land of Younis. He would have a hard time navigating the cities and marking his escape routes. Second, he didn’t know how the Younisian guards operated. He had learned the routines of the knights of Brerra: how often they rotated positions, which areas were patrolled the most, when they were most likely to take a lunch break, et cetera. Learning such things about the Younisian knights would take time and patience: two things the king didn’t have. So, essentially, he would be going on this mission blind.

Crow put the thought aside. With plenty of time to make his plans over the course of their trip, there was no point worrying about that problem now. In the same moment, he noticed something strange up ahead. He narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look. What he saw made him snort in amusement. The river divided into two separate streams that branched out in different directions, which meant that they could have floated down either one.

“What do you think?” Crow turned to Penelope with a playful smirk. “Should we go left or right?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow averted his gaze from Penelope after he had finished speaking. He wondered why he had opened up to her like that. She was a knight. What difference did it make if she saw him as a mere criminal? He didn’t need her compassion. Sure, it was nice to have company on their journey, but it wasn’t real. They were enemies by trade; she was the law, and he was a lawbreaker. She would never understand him.

As she went on to speak back to him, he said nothing. He found himself coming to inadvertently understand her point of view, even though he had been trying to win her to his side. He also knew now that he would be unable to convince her to let him go without completing the assignment, no matter what he said or did. She cared too strongly about her family to spare one petty thief from a dangerous mission. He sighed. It seemed like he would have to go through with stealing the staff, after all.

Still, every fiber of his being protested against going back to prison. After tasting freedom for the first time in a year, there was no way he would be able to give it up again. He glanced back at Penelope. Maybe there was a way that they could come to a compromise. He had nothing to offer her in return for his freedom, so he would just have to hope she would be merciful… Although, a little bit of acting wouldn’t hurt his chances. If he could rekindle her friendliness towards him—even just a little bit—he might have a shot at getting her to come to an agreement.

“Fine,” Crow said reluctantly. “I suppose I can understand. The last thing I want to do is throw the kingdom into chaos—not because of the nobles, mind you, but because of the peasants.” He kicked another rock into the river. “They always come off the worst after a war. There are already so many dangers that come from simply living on the border—fatal diseases, rogue criminals, wild animals—so… if going to Younis means I can spare some families the strife that comes along with a war, then I guess that’s what I have to do. But,” Crow stopped walking and held Penelope’s gaze. “What about after? When I get the staff, the king will have what he wants from me. He can stop the war, and you won’t have to worry about your family. If I went home after the assignment no one would suffer, right?” He took on a slightly desperate tone. “Couldn’t you at least let me have that?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow clicked his tongue in mock disappointment when Penelope told him to stop his humming, “What? It’s just a bit of music.” While he enjoyed the fact that he was able to get inside her head so easily, he was a bit surprised to hear the sharpness in her tone. He supposed that in the more nonsensical part of his mind, he had hoped that she would still be at least a little friendly towards him, as she had been before. Instead, she was understandably furious with him for attempting to run away. She would likely never be kind to him again.

He frowned. He wasn’t sure why, but he was somehow upset that she had reverted to treating him like a common criminal. He had only gained her trust to use as a tool for his escape, but he found that he had come to genuinely enjoy her company. Bantering with her had been fun, and it had been nice to have someone on his side when William had been hostile. To lose that was surprisingly upsetting to him.

“Can’t you at least try to look at this from my point of view?” Crow said abruptly, giving Penelope a frustrated look. “I’ve been locked up for an entire year, and then I’m only released find out that the king wants to send me on a ridiculous mission in another kingdom, where I could be wounded or even killed just so he can manipulate the neighboring ruler into merging their lands. If I fail, I may end up dead in some foreign land while he will still get what he wants through other, less convenient methods. If I succeed, I will receive no recognition, and the king will get all the glory for my accomplishments.”

Crow kicked a small rock and watched it bounce into the river, getting swept away by the current as they walked along its bank. He sighed and went on in a quieter tone, “He hasn’t said it yet, but I know he’s planning to send me back to prison when I return. I’m just a tool to him, to be used and thrown away.” He looked up again. “So, yeah… of course I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to get out of this mess. I don’t want to go back to a cell; I want to go home. Can you really say you don’t understand that?”