Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow freaked out just a little bit

--

EDIT: I remembered one of the songs I think fits Crow

Rain by The Script

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Everything happened so quickly. In one moment, Crow had been about to deliver the finishing blow to Layth, and in the next, his dagger was in Penelope’s shoulder instead. He froze in shock as the two knights fell to the ground, mind reeling as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. Why did she jump in the way? Where had she even come from? In his intent to beat Layth, he hadn’t noticed her approach them.

He felt dizzy as he looked down at her bleeding shoulder, trembling slightly as the realization hit him that he was the one who did that to her. He had stabbed Penelope. It had been an accident, but it had still happened. She was wounded, and it was his fault. He felt like he was going to be sick.

When she turned and silently told him to leave, he flinched at the stern expression on her face. He could tell that she was mad at him, and it only served to add to the guilt that weighed down on his chest. He wished there was something he could say to make the situation better somehow, but his mind was blank. Instead, he was overcome by a strong desire to get away—from Layth, from Penelope’s pained gaze, from what he had done. Giving in to the impulse, he took a step back, wavered for a moment, and then turned and ran, leaving the two siblings behind.

As he sprinted across the battlefield, Crow’s nausea only worsened. He couldn’t stop replaying the incident in his head—his dagger sinking into Penelope’s shoulder, her cry of pain, her look of betrayal. It pained him like a knife in his chest, and he wished he could take it all back. Knowing he was in no condition to keep fighting, he kept running until the sounds of battle began to fade behind him. He didn’t know where he was going. All he knew was that he needed to get as far from her as possible.

As he ran, he felt his breaths come to him a bit more labored and his vision began to grow fuzzy. He slowed his pace slightly and knitted his brow in concern. Am I having a panic attack? he wondered. While he had lost some sense of time, he knew he hadn’t been sprinting for that long. Usually he could travel much farther before he felt this terrible. It had to be because of what happened. He was worried about Penelope, and it was starting to take a physical toll.

Crow slowed to a stop and leaned against the side of a house. He closed his eyes, bringing a hand up to his head as he tried to slow his breathing and clear the haziness away. However, even when he got his breathing under control, the dizziness didn’t pass. He opened his eyes again and frowned. The world seemed to be spinning, which only aggravated his nausea more. He shook his head. I’m fine, he tried to calm himself down. I’m just panicking. Nothing is wrong.

Having assured himself that it was all in his head, he took a step away from the building to keep moving. However, as soon as he left the support of the wall, his vision went black and he collapsed to the ground.

--

Crow groaned and sat up, wincing at a sharp pounding in the side of his head. He looked around dazedly, wondering where he was until the memories of the battle came flooding back. He had been fighting to protect the villagers, and then he had battled against Layth, and after that he had accidentally stabbed Penelope… He grimaced as the image of her bloodied shoulder appeared in his mind again.

But why did I pass out? he wondered as he rose shakily to his feet. Could I have been so worried that I made myself lose consciousness? Somehow he doubted that. Even if he had been concerned about Penelope, it didn’t make sense that he would have been so upset that he blacked out. There had to be another reason—

He paled as the Myrefall herbalist’s words came back to him: Next, you’ll start to experience spells of dizziness and fatigue. It had to be the illness. What other explanation could there be? He swallowed nervously. Since the herbalist’s draught had been working so well to keep his coughing under control, he had almost forgotten about it. It must have been getting worse without him even being aware of the progression.

Pushing the unnerving thought aside, Crow glanced up at the sky. While he couldn’t hear the sounds of battle anymore, it still seemed to be early. He couldn’t have passed out for that long. Dusting off his clothes, he made his way back towards the battle site to find out what had become of the others.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

So much action. I love it x3

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow braced himself as his blade crashed against Layth’s once more. He had never seen Penelope’s brother fight before, but it was clear that the man was much more skilled in battle than many of the other knights the thief had faced before. Not only was he meeting Crow blow for blow, he was also slowly pushing him back. The thief was forced to fight more defensively than he had needed to in a long time, as he focused intently on avoiding getting caught by the knight’s sword.

He gritted his teeth as he caught sight of a sudden flash of silver in the corner of his eye and ducked just as a dagger flew over his head. His heart raced as he stepped back to put some distance between himself and the knight. Layth had drawn his second weapon while the thief had been watching his sword. If it wasn’t for his quick reflexes, the knight probably would have cut his throat.

However, Penelope’s brother didn’t give him time to recover. He lunged again and this time Crow didn’t get quite as lucky. He grimaced as the knight’s sword cut into his side before he could maneuver out of the way. The wound stung, but he didn’t have time to think about it. Instead, he took advantage of a momentary opening in Layth’s defense and swung one of his daggers to drag a deep cut across his hand. The knight winced and dropped his dagger, now reduced to just one weapon due to the injury.

He stepped back, raising his sword defensively. “Damn peasant,” he spat, shooting the thief a glare as he shook out his wounded hand.

“Peasant?” Crow clicked his tongue. Though he didn’t necessarily care if Penelope’s brother recognized him, he couldn’t help prodding at him a bit. “Come now, Layth. I know it’s been two years, but do you really not remember me?”

The knight’s eyes widened as he spoke his name. He stared at him for a moment before the pieces seemed to click together in his mind. He narrowed his eyes, “You’re that escaped thief.”

“We have a winner,” Crow grinned. He moved in to attack Layth again before he could regain his focus. Unfortunately, even in his distraction, the knight was still the more skilled fighter. He blocked the thief’s first dagger and narrowly dodged the second, following up with an attack of his own, which the thief quickly intercepted with his weapons.

“How fortunate it is for me that you lack the common sense to avoid fighting with opponents beyond your caliber,” Layth said arrogantly as their blades clashed again. “Now I’ll get to kill you, myself!”

“I’m amazed you’re able to stand upright with a head that big,” Crow snorted, sidestepping another strike from the knight’s sword. Despite his words, he was starting to worry that Layth was right. He was clearly outmatched against Penelope’s brother, as he was finding it more and more difficult to fight offensively as the battle dragged on. If he couldn’t find an opening soon, Layth was going to wear him down, and he would either be forced to retreat or risk suffering a fatal strike. It wasn’t looking good.

The two men continued to cross blades, with the knight still forcing the thief back, until Crow spotted the opening he had been looking for. Layth stepped in to bring his sword down on his shoulder, and he dodged to the side. In the next instant, he realized that he had a perfect shot at the knight’s throat from his current angle. Layth’s eyes widened as he seemed to realize his mistake as well, and he began shifting to cover the opening, but he was too slow. Crow smirked as he raised his dagger, Too late. He thrusted the blade forward to deal the finishing blow.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It has begun >:D

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It didn’t take long before the Younisian forces began to push the battle across the border. It seemed that they were much better prepared for the Brerratic knights’ attack this time. Crow tensed, watching closely as some of the Younisians forced their way through the line and headed into the forest, where he and the other thieves were waiting. As the knights ran towards the village, he managed to intercept some of them by catching them by surprise, but there were already too many for him to stop alone.

“Damn it,” he muttered, glancing over his shoulder as he saw the Younisians heading deeper into Brerratic territory. He quickly brought up his dagger to block the sword of another enemy who tried to take advantage of his momentary lapse in focus. Swinging his other blade, he cut the man across his torso, forcing him to drop to the ground. The thief backed up, making his way towards the village before any other knights could come after him. He lifted his fingers to his lips and whistled, signaling to the Alistair and Simon to fall back as well. At the rate the battle was going, it wouldn’t be long before the rest of the two kingdoms’ forces ended up fighting in Grimsby as well. They needed to hurry if they were going to protect the villagers.

With no eyes on him in the current moment, Crow turned his back on the battle and sprinted back to the town. He felt a rush of panic as he saw that the villagers were already locked in combat with the Younisians that had made it through earlier. Bodies of peasants were already beginning to fall. He gritted his teeth in anger. The Younisians were just slaughtering the innocent people of Grimsby! They had no reason to be attacking them so viciously.

Letting the turbulent emotions fuel him, the thief charged at the closest knights, two Younisians that were overwhelming a group of villagers, and ran them both through from behind with his daggers. As they fell, he moved on to the next, managing to catch many of the knights off guard, since they were only looking out for enemies in armor. As he looked around the battlefield, he saw that Alistair and Simon seemed to be having just as much success. So far, the Brerratic knights appeared to be adhering to their rule. He felt relief wash over him. With only the Younisians to watch out for, it was going to be a little easier on the thieves to defend the village, even though this battle was especially bad for the knights of their kingdom.

Having finished his assessment of the fight, Crow dove back into it, taking down a few more Younisians as they went after the villagers. He received a few injuries—a cut to his back and a stab to his right forearm being the worst of them—but managed to avoid taking any wounds that would force him to fall back. It was starting to look like they would be able to hold off the knights after all… until he saw a Brerratic knight cut down a villager on his way to attack a Younisian.

Crow narrowed his eyes and made his way towards the knight, weaving between individual fights as he crossed to the other side of the village. He clenched his daggers tightly in each hand as he approached the man from behind, ready to strike as soon as he got close enough. However, he faltered slightly as he saw something else that caught his attention. Standing between the Brerratic knight and a Younisian was a small figure with round, frightened eyes.

Landon.

The thief felt his heart leap into his throat as the knight began charging towards his Younisian target, paying no mind to the child in his path. With no time to spare, Crow sprinted after him. Being free from the weight of armor, he was much faster than the Brerratic knight, and he managed to reach him just in time to intercept his sword with both of his daggers. The knight turned sharply to see who had gotten in his way, and the thief’s eyes widened slightly in recognition. It was Layth, Penelope’s older brother.

“Back off,” Layth spat, drawing back his sword.

Crow stepped back, standing defensively between the knight and the child as he eyed him critically. Layth was glaring at him hostilely, but there was no sign of familiarity in his eyes. The thief blinked, He doesn’t recognize me.

“I said,” Layth curled his lip, raising his sword threateningly. “Back. Off.”

“No,” Crow returned his look with a cold glare. He caught sight of a nearby peasant man and called to get his attention, “You! Get this kid out of here before he gets hurt.” The man turned to him and nodded before running over and picking Landon up to carry him back to the evacuees’ camp. With the boy out of danger, Crow focused his attention back on Layth, “Leave these villagers alone, and then I’ll ‘back off.’”

“I’ll leave them alone when they stop interfering,” Layth snorted.

“They’re just trying to protect their home,” Crow snarled.

“Then they’re fools,” Layth replied unsympathetically. “And they will die.”

“Heartless bastard!” Crow snapped. He lunged at the knight. In that moment, he didn’t care that Layth was Penelope’s brother. Anyone who threatened the safety of the villagers was an enemy to him and would be treated as such.

The sound of clashing metal rang out as Layth blocked the thief’s attack with his sword and they began to fight.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It's so true though lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The next day, the thieves woke up early to head to Grimsby. As always, they armed themselves with as many weapons as they could carry without weighing themselves down too much, before beginning the trek down the ridge that led to the village. They hoped to make it without any trouble, but it wasn’t long before they were stopped.

Just as they reached the bottom of the ridge, Crow heard a voice call out from behind them. He turned and was surprised to see the woman from the night before climbing down the ridge with a panicked look on her face. She hurried down the hill as fast as she could in her dress, seeming intent to catch up with the thieves before they got too far ahead.

When she reached them, she stopped to catch her breath before going on to say, “My son, Landon… He’s missing. I couldn’t find him this morning. I think he went back to the village last night.” She reached out and clasped Crow’s hand in both of hers, going on in a pleading tone, “I did as you said: I tried to warn him that it was too dangerous, but he didn’t listen. Please, you have to find him before he gets hurt!”

Crow exchanged a look with the other thieves before turning back to the woman and nodding, “We’ll do what we can.”

The woman returned a wordless nod, obviously still worried about her missing child, before she headed back up the ridge to rejoin the other evacuees in their camp.

Once she was gone, Crow turned back to Simon and Alistair, “Make sure the villagers in Grimsby are aware that there might be a child in the area. If anyone finds him, take him back to the camp right away.”

“Of course,” Alistair said in agreement.

“I only hope we find him before he gets run through by a sword,” Simon muttered with his usual pessimistic attitude.

“If all eyes are on the lookout, we’ll have a better chance to make sure he gets out alive,” Crow said, stepping forward to lead the group onward to the village. “Come on, we’ve spent enough time here.”

--

When they arrived in Grimsby, Crow and the other thieves checked in with the villagers to make sure they knew about the missing boy. Once word had spread, they moved on to take up their positions near the border, where they waited for the sounds of battle in the distance. They didn’t have to wait long. Shortly after Crow had found a good spot to stand on the Brerratic side of the border, he heard the distant clashing of swords through the trees.

The battle had begun.

He drew his daggers and watched the horizon carefully in search of movement. However, it seemed that the fighting was being contained to the Younisian side for now, so he was able to relax slightly. As he waited, he found that his thoughts frequently wandered to Penelope. He wondered where she was, and if she was already fighting with the other knights. He wondered if he would cross paths with her this time, and if they would be working together to protect the villagers again. Above all, he found that he was hoping she would be safe in the battle. His concern for her safety surprised him in its intensity. It seemed like he cared for her even more now that they had gotten closer again.

So much for moving on, he sighed. This is going to be harder than I thought.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow is going in the opposite direction lol
He knows he's still in love with Penelope, and he's trying to talk himself out of it

I threw in the skip ^^

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow spent most of the following three days at the camp with the other thieves. With a long journey ahead of them, they wanted to conserve their energy, so they limited their time outside of the ravine. Crow also restricted their individual raids to the southern side of the outer villages so they wouldn’t draw the attention of the knights in the war camp to the north unnecessarily. After all, the last thing they needed was for someone to end up in a skirmish and get hurt before they left for Grimsby.

When the third day came, Simon, Alistair, and Crow said their goodbyes to Rikki, who stayed behind in the hideout to rest as promised. They headed east towards Norcrest, taking the long way once more so they wouldn’t cross too close to the knights’ camp. Fortunately, the thieves managed to make it all the way to their next campsite without running into any patrols this time. They set up in the woods southeast of Whitebridge at dusk, where they spent the night uninterrupted.

The next day, they continued to make their way towards Grimsby. As Crow had hoped, it seemed that they were slightly ahead of the knights now. There was no sign of troops passing through the area as the thieves headed north, which could only mean that they were the first to do so. As long as they kept up their current pace, there was a good chance that they would avoid the knights’ forces completely.

Eventually, they settled down near the outskirts of Grimsby, making camp on a ridge to the east that overlooked the town. As he had done last time, Crow went ahead of the others to alert the villagers about the coming battle so they could start evacuating before the knights arrived. He guided the women and children back to the thieves’ camp, where they would be safe from the fighting that was going to happen the following day.

When he got back, he rejoined Alistair and Simon by the fire pit, watching quietly as the villagers laid out bedrolls and blankets for each other in the surrounding trees. There was a clear air of tension amongst them as they spoke with one another in hushed voices, and he felt a pang of sympathy. There would be no telling whose fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons would die tomorrow—and the same went for the few women who had been brave enough to remain in the village to fight for their homes. The most anyone could hope for was that the Brerratic knights kept the Younisians far enough away from Grimsby to lessen the casualties.

“So,” Simon spoke up as he threw more tinder into the fire. “Same plan as usual, I’m assuming?”

“Yeah,” Crow nodded, turning back to the group. “Rikki isn’t here, so the three of us won’t be able to cover quite as much ground as we normally do. Let’s just hope the knights from our kingdom stay true to their word and leave the villagers alone this time.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Simon muttered pessimistically. “Nobles are selfish. I’d be surprised if even half of them obey that rule.”

“All we can do is hope,” Crow sighed, resting his chin in his palm as he watched the flames burn.

Suddenly, he felt someone tap his shoulder and he turned to see that one of the young peasant boys had strayed from the group and was staring at him with wide, innocent eyes. “When can we go home?” the boy asked. He seemed to have pegged the thief as an authority figure since he was the one who had led the villagers’ evacuation. “I don’t like sleeping on the ground.”

“Soon,” Crow offered him a reassuring smile. “It should just be one night. You can handle that, right, kid?”

“I guess so,” the boy frowned. “Why can’t we go home now?”

“Your home isn’t safe right now,” Crow answered honestly, wanting the child to understand the situation to some degree at least. There had been times in the past when young children who, not able to comprehend war, had snuck away from the evacuees’ camp because they had wanted to go home. Most of them ended up as casualties. “Go back to the others,” he tipped his head towards the other villagers. “Stay with them until we tell you it’s safe to go home.”

“Landon!” a voice suddenly called out. A woman had taken notice of the boy and made her way over to take him by the hand, tugging him back towards their separate camp. “These men are busy,” she chided him sternly. “Don’t bother them.”

“He was no trouble,” Crow assured her with a friendly grin. “Just make sure he knows not to leave the camp. He seems a bit homesick, and we don’t want him getting hurt.”

“Of course,” the woman dipped her head in a curt, yet polite bow before leading the child away.

Crow turned back to the other thieves, drawing one knee to his chest and resting his forearm across it. He met each of their gazes in turn before speaking up once more in a determined voice, “Let’s make sure that kid has a home to come back to tomorrow.”