Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Really, it’s fine,” Crow hissed, trying to convey his urgency without waking Hartley. “You don’t need to come with me.”

“I wasn’t sleeping anyways,” Penelope said, ignoring his argument. “Besides, if you happen to get into trouble, you might need someone to get you out of it… again.”

“I can handle myself just fine, thanks,” Crow rolled his eyes at her gibe. It looked like there would be no getting rid of the knight. He exhaled softly. So much for getting some practice runs in before they got to the palace… unless he could convince her to turn a blind eye. He watched her thoughtfully as she put her boots on to follow after him. Would she let him steal if he explained his reason for doing so? It didn’t seem likely, but it was worth a shot.

Crow held the door open as Penelope stepped past him to leave the room. As he followed after her into the hallway, he closed the door quietly behind him, hoping Hartley wouldn’t wake up before they got back. Although he didn’t have much to worry about. By the sounds of the boy’s incessant snoring, he would probably sleep well into the morning unless someone woke him.

“Couldn’t sleep, huh?” Penelope asked when they were alone.

“Yeah,” Crow nodded, keeping his voice low so as not to wake any of the other travelers sleeping at the inn. He fell into step with the knight and met her gaze, observing the flicker of light in her green eyes that reflected the lantern. “I slept quite a bit on the ride over, so I have too much energy to sleep now.” He shrugged, turning to look ahead once more as they reached the front door of the inn. “Why are you still awake?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Right? I'm excited~

Crow got busted

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow startled at the sound of Penelope’s voice. He turned to see her moving to sit up in her bed. Apparently, she hadn’t been asleep like he had thought. He hesitated, wondering what to say to her. The thief had been planning to sneak out and brush up on his technique by hitting a few easy targets before the sun came up. With the Younisian palace so close, he wanted to be as prepared as he could get, and that meant shaking off some dust. But he couldn’t let Penelope know that.

He lingered awkwardly in the doorway, avoiding her searching eyes. “I was just going out for a walk,” he lied. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll be back before morning. Just go to sleep. We probably won’t have any time to rest again before tomorrow night, so you should get some shut eye while you still—” he paused, hearing a break in Hartley’s snores. He glanced at the middle bed, where the boy was rolling over from one side to the other.

Don’t wake up, Crow tensed. It was one thing to shake Penelope off his tail, but it was quite another to lose the stubborn young thief. Fortunately, Hartley settled down again after a moment, and his soft snores resumed.

Crow let out his breath in relief. He turned to leave the room, hoping Penelope would take the hint that he wanted to be alone. If she tried to follow him, he knew she would stop him from stealing. He needed to leave her here if he wanted to get some practice in.

“Goodnight,” Crow whispered, reaching for the door handle. He prayed silently that she would be too tired to object to him taking off on his own. It’s just one night, he pleaded. Please don’t try to follow me…

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Another Crow and Penelope midnight adventure~ x3

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow headed the group as they walked down the hall that the innkeeper had directed them to. He found the room quickly and opened the door, stepping inside and looking around the plain space. There were three beds in a row on the far side of the room. The walls were bare, without even a single window, so the only possible source of light was a small lantern on a table in the leftmost corner of the room. He made his way over and lit it so they would be able to see as they prepared for bed.

Already on the left side of the room, Crow took the left bed while Hartley set up in the middle and Penelope, the right. He rolled his shoulders, allowing his bag to slip effortlessly off his back and onto the wood floor. With the weight removed, he sat down on the edge of the mattress and bent down to take off his boots. He set everything in a pile at the foot of the bed and laid down, propping his head on his arms and staring up at the ceiling while he waited for the others to finish getting ready to sleep.

When the room finally fell quiet, he rolled over towards the table and snuffed out the lantern. Darkness immediately swallowed his vision, and he welcomed it. He turned so he was lying flat on his back again and closed his eyes to sleep. However, having already gotten plenty of rest during his nap earlier, he found it difficult to stop the thoughts running through his mind—particularly about Aeklora. He thought about the statue in the marketplace, the silver pendant, the rumors about the Younisian king. The goddess was everywhere.

How has Hartley been able to get away with stealing all this time? Crow wondered suddenly. If the so called goddess really was protecting her people, why would she have intervened against him, but not Hartley? It didn’t make sense. Maybe it was just a coincidence, after all, he thought hopefully. Perhaps the Younisian gods really were like the ones in Brerratic religion, only interacting with humans when it benefitted them. If so, he would only have to worry if Aeklora found it in her interest to stop him from taking the king’s staff. Surely she would have better things to do than play politics, right? With that comforting thought in mind, he settled down more comfortably in the bed to try and sleep.

Unfortunately, however, sleep continued to elude him. Crow sat up and threw off his blanket. Fine. If he wasn’t going to get any rest, he might as well do something productive with his time. He glanced at the other two. Hartley and Penelope were both lying still with their eyes closed. Assuming they were asleep, he slipped quietly off of his bed and put his boots back on, making his way towards the door.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I logged off for a bit, but I'm back now. I'll get started on my reply ^^

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

That's my last one for tonight!

Crow is even more upset about the conditions of peasants in Brerra after seeing how well off people are in Younis

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Anything to avoid walking for the rest of the day,” Crow said to Penelope with a wink. He sprawled out in the hay, letting out a long sigh. Whatever the end of their journey would bring, at least he had time to relax for the next few days. He planned to enjoy it while it lasted. Rolling onto his side, he closed his eyes to nap off the remnants of his hangover. With the security of Penelope’s and Hartley’s company, he had no trouble at all falling asleep in the cart.

--

Eventually, Crow was roused when they needed to part ways with the farmer. Penelope thanked the man for allowing them to ride with him, and then addressed the two thieves, “Sun’s going to set soon, so let’s find a place to settle down for the night. Any places in mind?”

“I’m partial to finding another inn,” Hartley suggested with a weary, one-shouldered shrug. “A soft bed sounds much more pleasant than the forest floor.”

“Seconded,” Crow yawned, still not fully awake after his nap. He followed as Hartley took the lead, heading down a side street as they searched for a place to lodge for the night.

After a bit of looking, they found a small inn. Hartley stood in front of the entrance, peering up at the sign. “The Wooden Pixie Inn?” he read aloud. “That’s an interesting name.”

“You can read that?” Crow threw the boy a sideways glance. “Aren’t you a peasant?”

“I can, and I am,” Hartley met his gaze with a quizzical look of his own. “All peasants know how to read. What’s your point?”

“Nothing,” Crow flushed and averted his gaze. “Forget I asked.”

“Wait,” Hartley went on, oblivious to the older thief’s discomfort. “You’re illiterate?”

“Yeah, I am,” Crow shot him a defensive glare. “What, is that surprising to you, mister ‘all peasants can read’?”

“I mean, kind of,” Hartley admitted. “I’ve honestly never met someone who was illiterate before.”

“Well, excuse me for not being blessed with an education,” Crow snapped. “Peasants in Brerra don’t have the luxury to learn about reading and writing.”

“Sorry,” Hartley held up his hands. “I had no idea.”

“Just forget it,” Crow shook his head and stepped through the entrance of the inn. He wished he hadn’t brought it up. To know that the peasants in Younis were so much better off than the ones in Brerra that they were all literate pained him. He resented the king of Brerra for robbing them of the opportunity to learn and do well for themselves. Instead of helping his people, the greedy man had raised the taxes so high that every commoner spent his entire life toiling to make payments at the end of every season while still supporting himself and his family. It made him sick.

Crow stepped up to the counter, where the innkeeper stood counting his money. “Good evening,” he greeted the man. “Do you have any rooms left for tonight?”

“A few,” the innkeeper grunted, setting down the coins in his hand. “What sorta room are you lookin’ for?”

“Just one with three beds.”

“I think I got one o’ them left,” the innkeeper ducked down below the counter and then bobbed back up with a key. “Yep! This here’s the last. Forty-five Tael should cover ‘er nicely.”

“Thanks,” Crow reached into his pocket and pulled out the coin purse he had kept hidden, glad he had managed to keep it away from William. He passed the man two gold coins and one silver, remembering which coins Hartley had used to pay for the inn two nights ago.

The innkeeper inspected each coin shrewdly for a moment before he passed Crow the key, “Pleasure doin’ business with yer. The room’s down that hall to the right.”

Crow nodded. He accepted the key and walked back to Penelope and Hartley, “Ready to go?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Sounds good to me! Crow would probably just nap most of the way there since he doesn't have to walk anymore xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Works for me,” Crow nodded when Penelope suggested they make their way back to the main road. Slinging his supplies over his shoulders again, he started walking in the direction they had come from. His mind began to fill with unpleasant thoughts about the mission, though he tried hard to ignore them. The myth about the king’s staff stood at the forefront, commanding his attention. Was the rumor about its link to divine right true? If what Hartley had said about the Younisian king’s unearthly protection was correct, it definitely sounded like he had the gods on his side.

But if he does, what does that mean for me? He swallowed nervously. The king of Brerra had made it sound like anyone who touched the staff would die. He didn’t know how a goddess would kill someone, but he most certainly didn’t want to find out. What he had thought would be a simple palace raid was turning into something much more complex. He sighed. What have I gotten myself into?

Attempting to distract himself, Crow began eyeing coin purses on the hips of the people they passed by. He knew it would be smart to keep his head down—especially after what had happened in the last town—but he couldn’t help his nature. Besides, he had gotten caught trying to steal from a wealthy merchant. What was the harm in taking money from a few well-to-do peasants?

Casting a brief glance at the other two to make sure they weren’t looking in his direction, he reached gingerly for the purse of a nearby woman. She was looking away, completely inattentive to the money hanging vulnerably from her body. A perfect target. However, his fingers just brushed the edge of the fabric when he spotted something that made him halt in his tracks: a silver pendant dangled next to the coin purse, engraved with a singular eye that seemed to look back at him. Although he had never seen the design before, he somehow knew it must have been related to that detestable goddess, Aeklora. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and retracted his hand, shoving it in his pocket.

Why couldn’t the Younisians have a goddess of mercy or pacifism? He spat on the ground in frustration. No, they had to have a damn goddess of ‘vision and truth.’ He disliked how much more difficult it was for him to steal in this kingdom. It seemed like everywhere they went, Aeklora was whispering in his ear: “I’m watching you.” He missed when he only had to worry about being caught by human eyes.

“Two or three days, huh?” Crow said after a while. “Is that on foot or by wagon?”

“On foot, obviously,” Hartley scoffed. “We don’t have a wagon anymore.”

“Maybe not,” Crow said, his green eyes falling on a nearby cart filled with hay. It was being pulled by two donkeys, with a farmer riding atop one of them. “But maybe we won’t have to walk.” Without waiting for approval, he took off at a light jog, making his way towards the farmer.

“Excuse me, sir!” he called in his Younisian accent.

“Hm?” the man grunted, turning to look at him. “What is it? I’m in a hurry.”

“I’ll make it quick then,” Crow offered him a friendly smile. “My friends and I are headed in the same direction as you. We’ve been travelling for days and our feet are sore, so I was wondering if you’d be so kind as to let us ride in your wagon for a while.”

The farmer was quiet for a moment, his eyes sweeping over the thief contemplatively until, at last, he nodded, “Fine. As long as you don’t slow me down, you can hitch a ride.”

“I appreciate your generosity,” Crow thanked the man. He hopped into the cart and turned back to wave to Penelope and Hartley, signaling for them to come join him.