Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

That's okay! I've been camping for the last three days anyway xD
I literally just got home and now I have to unpack my stuff urgh
At least I can finally take a shower and stop smelling like nature (which actually doesn't smell as good as you might think)

EDIT: So, do we have any other major story ideas? I have one plot twist, but it won't come in until around the time when the group is about to take the Younisian king's staff (it's the important realization Crow and Penelope would come to that I mentioned oh-so long ago XD).

We also brought in those nobles that attacked Crow and Penelope a while back. I don't really want to leave them hanging (it leaves unanswered questions in the story), so do you have any ideas for what we should do with them? And do you have any other ideas for plot twists that we could put in? :3

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow let out a quiet yelp when he felt an unexpected kick in his shin. He was momentarily tempted to kick Penelope back, but he restrained himself, instead shooting the knight a glare, “I was only kidding. Lighten up, would you? This was meant to be fun.” He downed another sip of his drink and went back to watching the other peasants in the small tavern. The group at the gambling table had grown sizably in the last couple of minutes. The thief observed their movements, looking for signs of tipsiness, and singled out a young man with sandy blonde hair. He swayed ever so slightly when he walked, but didn’t shout and jeer like his drunken friends. A perfect target.

“I know you just told me not to pretend we’re a couple,” Crow said to Penelope. “But humor me just this once, would you? Don’t ask me why.” He turned away from her before she could respond and called out to the young man, using his fake Younisian accent, “You there! Yes, you; I have a few questions.”

“Yessir?” the man said, walking over to their table.

Crow gave the blonde his best smile and reached across the table to place his hand on top of Penelope’s, silently praying that she wouldn’t object and ruin his act, “We were just married, you see, but my wife doesn’t want to move far from her family. She has a sickly mother, so instead of bringing her with me to Younis, I’ve decided to move to Brerra. This village seems pleasant enough and it’s close to my mother-in-law’s home, but we want to get a local’s opinion. What say you, kind sir?”

“Congratulations to the both of ye,” the young man gave them a toothy grin. “But if yer lookin’ for a pleasant village, ye should try further south. We ain’t got no jobs or money ‘round here. Terrible place to raise a family, it is.”

Crow frowned, “But I’ve seen men working in fields.”

“They’s only half the people ‘round here,” the man shook his head. “An’ all their money goes to the king, an’ then some. Rumor says His Majesty thinks we’re hoarding, so he’s gonna send knights to collect. Ye don’t wanna be a part’o that, no sir. Try lookin’ south.”

“I see,” Crow murmured thoughtfully. “Thank you for your help.”

The sandy haired man casted them another grin, seeming pleased that the had been of help, and ambled back to the gambling table.

Crow took another sip of his mead and swirled the remaining liquid in his mug. So, the outer villages really were worse off than when he had left. Last year, they had barely been scraping by with their meager earnings, but they’d had enough to pay off their taxes to the king. Now, it sounded like they were falling far behind. That wasn’t good news. He hoped he could finish the king’s assignment fast enough that he could come back and help them before His Highness sent in his next round of tax collectors.

Crow downed the rest of his drink and looked up at Penelope, “We should go find the inn before it gets too late. William might get mad if we’re gone for much longer, and I really don’t feel like putting up with his attitude right now.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Alright,” Crow held up his hands. “I suppose I had it coming to me sooner or later, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I prefer to be at the administering end of a joke. It’s much more fun.”

“Though, if you keep up that terrible lying, we’ll have the whole kingdom confusing us as some sort of thing,” Penelope went on critically. “You couldn’t come up with anything better than acquaintances, huh?”

“What lying?” Crow scoffed. “It’s true. We only met a few days ago, and I didn’t think you’d go so far as to consider us friends. So, that just leaves me the option of describing the nature of our relationship as recent acquaintances.” He placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his palm as a sly smirk crossed his lips. “Unless… you want me to introduce you as my lover. I mean, it makes sense, right? Two young peasants, a man and a woman, traveling together by themselves. It’s only natural for onlookers to come to such a conclusion. Why fight it?”

He looked up as Evelyn returned with their drinks. The old woman set them down on the table, “Okay, one honey mead for the village idiot and one more for his surprisingly beautiful lady friend.”

“Oh, stop with the sentiments, Evelyn,” Crow said with a false note of emotion. “I think I might start tearing up.”

“Just don’t forget to pay me this time,” the tavern owner grunted in response. However, the thief could see a hint of a smile on her face as she turned to walk away. He lifted his mug to his lips and took a swig, sighing in satisfaction, “Just as good as I remember.” He smiled at Penelope in mock adoration. “Go on then, darling; don’t take my word for it. Or would you rather share a pint with your lover?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Well, it’s not exactly like that,” Crow shrugged, absently watching a few men gamble at a nearby table. “I’ve never had just one home, you see. I’m a traveler; I go wherever the wind takes me. You’re right that this is one of the many villages I’ve lived in, but it isn’t my home town.” He winked at Penelope. “That, my dear, is a secret I’m going to keep to myself.”

he glanced up as an older woman approached their table. He grinned, recognizing her as the owner of the tavern, Evelyn Ansgot. Back when he used to live in this village, she had been the one to keep him under control, always sternly chiding him when he provoked fights—he enjoyed watching the drunken men brawl until they passed out—or rebuking him when he stole from her customers—usually with a wooden cane. Despite this, they held a mutual respect for each other and, while he would never admit it out loud, Crow looked up to her like a mother or an aunt. Out of everyone he would have liked to run into here, she was at the top of his list.

“Can I help you two?” the tavern owner asked without looking up from the pad of paper in her hands.

“Aw, come now, Evelyn,” Crow pouted. “It’s been so long, but I don’t even get a ‘welcome back?’ How cruel.”

“I know that voice,” Evelyn stopped and looked up, squinting at the thief. “Crow, is that you?” She let out a curt laugh. “Well, well, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. You’re not here to steal from my customers, are you?”

“It’s nice to see you, too,” Crow rolled his eyes. “And no, I just happened to be in town, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello to my favorite tavern keeper.”

“Thank you, dear,” Evelyn said. “But you still have to pay.”

Crow clicked his tongue and frowned in disappointment, “You haven’t changed at all.”

“Naturally,” Evelyn smirked at him and then took notice of Penelope. “Well now, who is this? She’s a pretty young thing. Is she your girl, Crow?”

The thief colored slightly as he glanced at the knight, “Um, no. This is Penelope. We’re just… recent acquaintances. She’s never been to this village, so I thought I’d show her around.”

“Mhm,” the tavern owner chuckled softly. “It seems you haven’t changed either, you rascal.”

“Evelyn, please,” Crow hissed, the flush in his cheeks deepening.

“Fine, fine,” the old woman laughed. “What would you two like to drink?”

Crow cleared his throat awkwardly, “Two mugs of your best honey mead.” He sighed as the tavern owner scribbled down his request and walked away. “I’d forgotten how much she enjoys a good laugh at my expense…”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

When they reached the door of the tavern, Crow let go of Penelope’s hand and stepped inside first. He stopped near the entrance, eagerly taking in as much as he could. Truth be told, he couldn’t remember whether this place made good drinks or not. There were some outstanding taverns in the outer villages, but he was fuzzy about which was which. The real reason he was here was for the people. In his experience, the best way to gather honest information was to speak with the men of the taverns. Usually half drunk and rowdy, they didn’t pay much attention to what they said. Thus, they wouldn’t be careful to use filters around strangers.

He examined each of the individual faces in the small room. Fortunately, it didn’t look like there were any men here who might recognize him from his past visits to this tavern. He was relieved about that, since he wanted to avoid the uncomfortable topic of his arrest, but he also noticed one thing that made him frown in annoyance. Off to one side, there were a couple of drunken men eyeing Penelope hungrily. He glanced back at her. She seemed to have spotted them as well and looked visibly uncomfortable. Well, he wouldn’t stand for that. While it wasn’t his main goal, he had brought Penelope here to show her the better parts of the outer villages.

“This way, love,” Crow said, slipping his arm around her waist to guide her towards an empty table. He shot the two men a pointed glare until they turned away, muttering amongst each other. Satisfied that they had stopped their leering, the thief smirked and murmured into Penelope’s ear, “You can thank me later.” He gestured at an old, wooden bench for her to sit down and then took a seat across from her, leaning forward and crossing his arms on the table. “So, not too shabby, eh? I mean, it’s nothing classy, but this place has its own kind of charm.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Just… around,” Crow murmured absently, averting his gaze once more to look about the surrounding village. “I have a few places I want to visit before we move on. It’s for personal reasons, so don’t ask me why. I’m not going to tell you.” He glanced back at her, paused for a moment, and then went on hurriedly, “Come on. There’s only so much daylight left before we need to get back to William.” With that, he turned away again and walked down the road, keeping his eyes focused straight ahead.

Gods. Why was she suddenly so distracting to him? All she had done was put on a simple peasant dress, and now he couldn’t even think straight. He let out a quiet huff. It must have been because he hadn’t seen a beautiful woman in so long that she was having such a strange effect on him. Of course; that had to be the problem. Once he got used to seeing her in commoners’ clothes he would be fine again.

Having worked out his dilemma, Crow felt much better. He glanced back at the knight, casting her one of his characteristically impish grins, “Sorry if I worried you, love. I was a bit distracted earlier. It’s the first time I’ve been close to home in over a year, after all. I suppose I was just a little caught up in the moment.” His green eyes swept over the buildings that lined the road. “I’m assuming you’ve never been to this village before, right? You have to visit the tavern here. They make exceptional honey mead that you can’t buy anywhere else in the kingdom—you know what? I’m not even going to give you a choice in the matter. Come on.”

He reached for Penelope’s hand and led her towards a building with a faded sign over the open door that—to any literate person—read: ‘The Black Dagger.’

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yay xD
I'm glad we both enjoy drama. It makes for a fun RP

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Thank you :)
I managed to get a post done, too. William is totally starting to suspect something, heheh *putting in extra drama* x3

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Feeling slightly awkward to be the only one still seated, Crow stood up while the knights talked amongst themselves. He busied himself by looking out at the village to see if anything had changed, but since it had been a few years since he had last been to this particular one, he couldn’t remember what it had been like before. As with all of the outer villages, it was quite rundown, but it didn’t seem to be in any worse of a condition than when he had last seen it. That much was relieving. He just wished William would let him wander a bit, so he could take a closer look and perhaps even visit the local tavern to speak with some of the peasants who lived here.

Despite his best effort to distract himself with other things, Crow found that his eyes frequently drifted back to Penelope. He was still marveling at the fact that he was looking at the same knight. For all her stiffness and stern expressions, she made a surprisingly gorgeous peasant. Her shoulder-length hair framed her face, and the dress she was wearing cinched slightly at the waist, showing off the curve of her figure. He glanced back at William as another thought crossed his mind.

“I think I’ve come up with a compromise,” he said. “Penelope is just as capable as guarding me as you are, so she can accompany me around the village, and you can do whatever it was that you were planning to do here. See? Everybody wins that way.” He turned to the female knight and wavered slightly. “Err… if you want to, that is.”

“Get ahold of yourself, thief,” William rolled his eyes. “You’re acting like a lovesick puppy.”

“Shut up,” Crow snapped, turning a bit pink. “I’m just not used to seeing her in a dress is all. She’s throwing me off my game.”

“Sure,” William scoffed. “But just in case you do get any ideas: Remember that she is a knight and you are a convict. Don’t forget your place.”

“I’m not ‘lovesick,’” Crow muttered vainly. “I’m only a bit surprised. That’s all.”

“If you say so,” William shook his head in obvious disbelief. “However, I will allow Penelope to guard you if she wishes to, as I’ll be busy taking care of other matters and won’t have time to babysit a childish thief.” He turned to the female knight. “What do you think? You’ve had to spend all day in a wagon with this fool. I would perfectly understand if you want to take some time off and let me take over.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow and Penelope are so cute >w<
I'll try to get a post in after work tonight, but I have a Philosophy test that I should have studied for over the weekend *derp* have to study for later, sooo I might work on that instead