Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Leaning against Penelope, Crow thought about how much his opinion had changed, not only about her but also about other knights. As much as he disliked William and Abraxas, he couldn’t say that he hated them as much as he had at the beginning of their journey—not even after his spat with the older knight. He may not have agreed with them on most things, but after being around them for so long, he had started to understand why they were the way they were. He found that he even felt slightly bad for leaving them behind to get arrested by the Younisians. It was strange to think that he would ever feel such empathy for noblemen.

“I’d take both as a compliment,” he quipped when Penelope explained how her view had changed of him as well. “Although I think I do prefer the latter, coming from you.” He smiled at her fondly. It was still strange to hear her say she loved him. After living for so many years as a fugitive with no prospect of settling down, he had come to believe no woman would ever say such words to him. It was nice to know he had been wrong. She’s really something else, he ran his hand affectionately down her arm.

In the next moment, something changed in Penelope’s expression and she pressed into Crow with a passionate kiss. He didn’t skip a beat, meeting her lips with rivaling desire. His right hand slipped around the small of her back while his left hand gripped her thigh, holding her close. He felt her arms move to his back and he shivered, enjoying her touch. The force of the kiss left him breathless, so when they finally parted he had to take a moment to breathe again.

“I see,” He chuckled at her teasing. “Are you sure it wasn’t because you find me irresistible?” He winked at her wryly and kissed her on the cheek.

The door opened and Hartley stepped inside, hand in hand with Kip. He looked at the two on the bed and smirked, “Sorry, I forgot I have to knock now.”

Crow rolled his eyes and pulled back from Penelope, taking his hands off of her. He would have kissed her again to spite the boy, but with Kip staring at them so innocently, he was too uncomfortable to do it.

“Have either of you moved since I left?” Hartley asked, placing his hand on his hips.

“You told us to stay here,” Crow leaned back on his palms. “So that’s what we did.”

“Alright, smartass,” Hartley snorted. “Anyway, I just brought Kip here to say goodbye.” He turned to the girl, squeezing her hand lovingly. “She told me she didn’t want to miss you before you left, Penelope.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Heya! I might be able to get a post done tonight before I go to bed (yay) ^^

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EDIT: Sorry that took so long. I got another migraine last night (I hate monsoon season) and ended up sleeping for 12 hours ^^;

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I'm going to bed because I've got a migraine (stupid stormy weather kills me xc), so I'll shoot to respond sometime tomorrow if I can
I'm visiting family tomorrow through Saturday or Sunday (our Sunday plans aren't definitive) so I won't be on much this weekend

Night~

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

They're so cute, I can't handle it

Crow can be romantic sometimes x3

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“I appreciate the thought,” Crow shook his head. “But it isn’t kindness that stays my hand. I’ve been in many situations where I’ve wished I could kill, for my own sake as well as for others’.” He absently traced his forearm with his free hand, thinking of all the other scars he had obtained through the years from close encounters with men who were not as ‘kind’ as he was. His hematophobia had hindered him in many desperate situations. In fact, he was probably only still alive because of how cautious he was to avoid any sort of fighting to begin with. He considered the fear to be a curse, not a blessing.

He met Penelope’s gaze again as she went on to apologize for everything the knights had done. “I’m sorry it happened too,” he said in quiet agreement. “As far as I know, that village is still decimated to this day. No one has gone to repopulate it, because most peasants in the outer villages believe it’s cursed or haunted. Some of them even put up shrines nearby to ward off spirits so travelers can pass safely through the area.” He sighed and wrapped an arm around Penelope, pulling her close to himself. “As terrible as it was though, it’s in the past. There’s nothing anyone can do to change it.”

Crow took a moment to think about the last thing Penelope said to him before responding. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hate you at first,” he said slowly. “Almost all peasants in the outer villages aren’t fond of knights. The massacre in that village was extreme, but we’ve all seen the worst of the worst when it comes to knights. So, as you can imagine, I wasn’t thrilled to find out I would be going on this journey with three of you.”

He leaned his head against hers, remembering the course of their trip to Younis, “But… the longer we traveled together, the more I realized you weren’t like the knights I had dealt with in the past. You fascinated me. I couldn’t figure you out. You seemed to think more like I do than like a noble would, even though that’s the world you came from.” He drew back from her slightly to meet her eyes and smiled. “Somewhere along the line, that fascination turned into attraction, and that attraction into love.” He touched his lips to hers in a soft kiss. “I don’t care that you’re a knight and a noblewoman. To me, you’re Penelope: the woman I fell in love with.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow is slowly starting to open up to Penelope <3

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Unfortunately for Crow, Penelope wasn’t so quick to forget about teaching him how to fight. He frowned as she went on to explain why she thought it would be good for him to learn, and as much as he hated to admit it, her reasoning made sense to him. With so little time to prepare, there wasn’t much of a chance that they would get out of the palace without getting spotted at least once—and that was only if they were lucky.

At the end, Penelope asked the question he had been dreading to hear. He hesitated, toying with the idea of fabricating a lie to sate her curiosity, but ultimately decided against it. He loved her, and he wanted to make the relationship last. While he had never been in a long term commitment before, he knew enough about them to guess that lying wasn’t the best way to start out. He had to tell her the truth.

“I’ve never told anyone this before,” he started, staring down at the floor. “I… I can’t stand the sight of blood. Every time I see it, even just a little bit, I feel like I’m going to faint.” He looked up to meet her gaze. “It started when I was about eight years old. I was running an errand for my mother, since she was sick at the time, and I went to a marketplace in a village near to our home. While I was there, the king’s tax collectors came to secure the money owed to him for the season.” He paused, wincing as the memory he had been trying to forget resurfaced.

“They rode in on horseback,” he went on. “It was nothing out of the ordinary for us. Tax collectors come at the end of every season in the outer villages. The difference this time was that the people of this particular village had planned a rebellion. As a child, I had no idea what I was about to walk into.

“As soon as the tax collectors dismounted, the farmers in the market attacked them with hoes. They tried to overwhelm the knights with their numbers, but… it wasn’t enough.” He took a shaky breath as the scene replayed through his mind. “The knights killed every farmer in the rebellion, but they didn’t stop there. They went on to pillage their homes, attacking anyone else who had the misfortune of crossing their paths—men, women… and children.” He lifted his tunic to show Penelope a long, jagged scar across the right side of his torso.

“I was lucky to have survived,” he continued, letting the shirt fall back down. “After one of the tax collectors struck me with his sword, I played dead. It saved my own life, but unfortunately, I also had to watch them kill all of the other villagers. For a while after that, I used to get flashbacks of the slaughter every time I saw blood. Now, the flashbacks are gone but I still feel sick whenever I see it.”

He laughed mirthlessly and stared down at his hands, “I know this probably comes as a shock, since I’m ‘the most wanted thief in Brerra,’ but I’ve never killed a man in my life. I can’t bring myself to do it.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow nodded when Penelope said she just needed to wake up a bit on her own. He shifted away from her on the bed, giving her space to stretch and loosen up. At her mention of not knowing how much longer they had until they reached the castle, he sighed. There were probably only a few more days of traveling left, but he was more concerned about what was to come when they found the Younisian palace.

With the way William had been hurrying them along, it sounded like the king of Brerra wasn’t planning to give him much time to actually steal the staff. Hartley’s description of the protection around the Younisian king wasn’t encouraging either. Crow would have liked to have at least a month to prepare for the raid, if not longer, but it was beginning to look like he would have a few days at best. That wasn’t even enough time to learn about all of the weapons the guards used, let alone the layout of the palace itself. If he was going to pull this off, he needed a miracle.

“Crow, I think I should teach you how to fight,” Penelope said suddenly. “I mean, from what I’ve heard you already know some, but I can help you refine those skills. I’m your only back up, so if something happens to me or if I can’t get to you, I want to make sure you can get yourself out of there.”

“I don’t know,” Crow shifted his weight uncomfortably. “It’s not that I can’t fight, it’s just…” he trailed off, averting his gaze. It’s just that I can’t stand the sight of blood, he finished silently. It was probably the secret he was most ashamed of in himself. He knew it wasn’t a very manly thing to be afraid of, but he couldn’t help it. He had been hematophobic since he was a child. It was the reason why he spent extra time preparing for raids like the upcoming one—so he would never have to resort to brute force.

“I’ll be fine,” he offered Penelope a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about me. I’m good at finding my way out of tough situations.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, hoping she would just take his word for it and drop the subject. “Besides, I prefer to avoid fighting at all. If we get caught in a battle in the middle of a palace full of Younisian knights, it won’t turn out well. We should work on not getting caught to begin with.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I have a few hours free

Crow is feeling better now that he knows Penelope is still into him xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“I’m glad you’re not as bad as him,” Crow smirked. “I’m strong enough to carry you up a flight of stairs, but hauling you all the way to the next town would really stretch my limits.” He felt a wave of relief wash over him when Penelope sat next to him and kissed his cheek. It seemed she hadn’t changed her mind about him so far. She really does want to make this work, fresh excitement rushed through him. It wasn’t just a spur of the moment thing. She really meant what she said yesterday.

As Penelope leaned her head against his shoulder, he rested a hand on her thigh, enjoying their newfound closeness. He shook his head when she apologized for causing him trouble, “You were a perfect, tipsy angel,” he said teasingly. “The kid was the troublesome one. He made a scene in the restaurant last night by getting a little too friendly with the floor.” He shot Hartley an annoyed glance. “You’re a sloppy drunk, you know that?”

The boy ignored Crow’s comment as he suddenly realized he was supposed to have met Kip that morning already. He bolted out of the room, telling the others to stay put until he returned. With Penelope on his shoulder, Crow had no qualms with the request. He would take any excuse he could get to stay next to her like that.

“Mm,” he grunted in agreement when Penelope said Hartley was nuts. “I wish I could borrow some of his energy. Just the thought of walking all day again makes me want to go back to sleep.” He wondered how much farther the palace was from Hef’n. It was difficult for him to tell since there was a more equal distribution of wealth in Younis. If they had been traveling to the inner cities of Brerra, he could tell how close he was by the quality of life of the people he passed by.

“I think drinking last night has completely zapped away all my energy,” Penelope said tiredly.

Crow looked down at her thoughtfully. She seemed completely drained, even after getting a full night of sleep. “Maybe you should take a short nap,” Crow suggested, softly stroking her leg. He didn’t want her to move away from him, but she needed to be more awake when they left for the next town. “Hartley won’t be back for a while, so there’s time if you want to.”