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Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Nice ^^

Sorry that took so long. I was not expecting that conversation between Crow and Hazel tbh xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Hey. Time to get up.”

Crow groaned and rolled over on his bed, brushing Hazel’s hand off his shoulder. The herbalist let out an impatient huff and shook him again, “In case you forgot, you’re the one who wanted me to wake you up this morning. If you’re going to be difficult, I can just leave.”

“No, no, I’m up,” he mumbled, blinking tiredly as he forced himself to sit up. Even though he knew he had gotten a full night of sleep, he felt like he had barely rested at all. His illness was become a real pain to deal with.

“Good,” Hazel rocked back on her heels. “Everyone else got up just a little while ago. I waited them out, so they wouldn’t know I was the one who woke you.”

“Thanks,” he said, grateful for her effort to keep his secret. Sitting up a bit straighter, he stretched out his limbs and torso in an attempt to shake off the lingering weariness. When he was finished, he still felt a little tired, but he was awake enough to get up. He turned back to Hazel, “You should go on ahead of me. I’ll meet you all outside in a bit.”

“Okay,” she nodded and rose to her feet, heading out to join the other thieves in the camp.

Crow got up as well, but took a few minutes before he left, so he could put some distance between himself and Hazel. Once he felt like a plausible amount of time had passed, he walked out of the shelter to meet up with the others. They were already sitting by the fire pit as Alistair prepared what smelled like a chicken and vegetable stew.

As he approached, Rikki took notice of him and shifted to make room for him to sit beside her. She flashed him a friendly smile, “Glad to see you’re up early again. I was started to get tired of talking to Simon and Alistair every morning.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that anymore,” he smirked at her.

“I take it you’re feeling better then?” she asked as she moved a little closer to him.

“Starting to, anyway,” he answered with a shrug. “Either way, I don’t intend to keep sleeping through the mornings.”

“That’s good,” her dark eyes flicked to the others for a moment before she leaned a little closer to him and went on in a lowered voice. “I was thinking… maybe we could ‘take a walk’ later. It’s been a while since the last time we’ve gotten away.”

Crow shifted uncomfortably. It had only been four days since he had gotten back together with Penelope, and he was already going to have to start dodging Rikki’s attempts to sleep with him. “I’d like to,” he offered her a helpless smile. “But I don’t think I’m feeling quite that well yet. I’m sorry, love.”

“Oh,” Rikki frowned. “No, it’s okay. I understand.” She returned his smile with one of her own. “You just let me know when you’re feeling better, and we can go then.”

“I will,” he lied.

Having settled the matter with the female thief easily, Crow enjoyed a peaceful breakfast with his companions. They shared stories of the raids they had gone on and discussed options of what to do with their massive stockpile of stolen supplies. As they talked, he felt a pang of envy for all the morning conversations he had missed while he had been sleeping in due to his illness. Since they often separated to do their own things after breakfast, he hadn’t been able to keep up with their lives in over a week. It was nice to finally be able to catch up with them again.

After everyone had finished eating, the thieves went off to different part of the camp to rest in their own ways. Since they had all gone on raids the day before, they all wanted to stay in the ravine to recuperate for their next tasks, whatever they may be. Simon sat in the shade of a tree, practicing his writing, while Rikki and Alistair sparred with short swords for a while and then sat around to gamble. Crow, still feeling a little tired, opted to head back into the shelter to take a nap.

However, just as he was about to lay down, Hazel came in after him. He turned to her curiously, “Did you need something?”

“I wanted to talk to you some more,” she said.

“Oh?” he raised a brow at her in amusement. “Are you starting to enjoy my company?”

“You wish, snake,” she snorted. “I meant, I wanted to talk to you about your illness some more. I need all the details, everything you’re experiencing, so I can make the best decision about how to approach it.”

“Sure,” he nodded and then glanced at the entrance to the shelter. “We probably shouldn’t do this here though. I don’t want anyone to overhear us.”

“You and your secrets,” she shook her head. “Fine. Where do you want to go?”

“Nowhere in particular,” he shrugged, moving to put his boots back on in preparation to leave. “I just want to get far enough way that we won’t be eavesdropped on.”

“Walk and talk?” Hazel suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” Crow agreed. He led the way as they stepped back outside, heading for the side of the ravine. Just as he began to climb up the side, he heard a voice call out from behind him.

“Hey, Crow!” Rikki trotted over with a confused look as she glanced between him and Hazel. “Where are you going?”

“Just out to talk about something,” he answered her vaguely.

“Oh,” she frowned, averting her gaze. “I see… Well, I guess I’ll catch you when you come back.”

Crow casted a glance at Hazel and then stepped closer to the female thief, lowering his voice so that only she would hear him, “It’s not like that. We really are just leaving to talk. I promise I didn’t turn you down just so I could ‘take a walk’ with her.” He offered her a reassuring smile. “Feel better?”

Rikki seemed to relax at his words. “Yeah,” she nodded, perking up a bit. “See you soon.”

“See you,” he raised his hand in a lazy wave and turned to head out of the camp with Hazel.

Once they were far enough away that they could speak freely, she turned to him with an inquisitive look, “You two seem pretty close.”

“I suppose you could say that,” he said casually. “She’s a good friend.”

“Just a friend?” the herbalist rolled her eyes. “Come on, even I could tell there’s something going on between you two, and I barely know the girl.”

“Nothing is going on,” he said. “Sure, we’ve slept together every once in a while, but that’s as far as it goes.” He turned to her in amusement. “You really like to accuse me of things, don’t you?”

“And you really don’t know how to commit to a woman, do you?” she retorted coldly, shaking her head. “I don’t understand you, Crow. You sleep around with whoever you want, and you don’t seem to have any interest in having a meaningful relationship with someone. Don’t you want to settle down someday and stop fooling around?”

You have no idea, he thought. “I don’t know,” he said carelessly. “Maybe if I meet the right woman.” His expression softened as Penelope’s face appeared in his mind. Everything he was saying to Hazel now reminded him of how he had been two years ago before he had met the knight. Now, he couldn’t imagine going on with his life without her by his side. It was interesting just how much she had changed him in such a short period of time.

Hazel eyed him for a moment, seeming to catch the change in his face. She averted her gaze wistfully. “No, that’s not it,” she murmured. “You’ve already found someone, haven’t you?”

Crow blinked, surprised she had caught onto him so easily. He turned to her, prepared to lie and tell her she was wrong, but the somber expression on her face made him falter. Instead, he nodded wordlessly, unable to bring himself to deceive her.

“I see,” she said softly. A short moment of silence fell between them before she spoke up again. “Tell me something… Why was I not enough?” She looked up to meet his gaze with pained eyes. “What does this woman have that I don’t? I really cared about you—I did everything I could to win your heart. What’s so wrong with me that you couldn’t stay?”

“Darling, there’s nothing wrong with you,” he frowned. “You’re beautiful and talented, and I’m sure you’re going to make a great wife to another man someday.”

“Then why couldn’t I be that for you?” she said softly.

Crow looked away from her before he answered, “Because you shouldn’t marry a man who doesn’t love you.”

Hazel pursed her lips, staring down at the ground as they walked on. Another brief silence fell between them before she asked, “Do you love her... this other woman?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “More than my own life.”

“Well then, she’s a lucky girl.”

For a while, neither one of them said anything more. Hazel seemed to be working through some emotions on her own, so Crow left her alone to process without interruption. However, after some time had passed, she seemed to be ready to move onto the reason why they had left the camp in the first place. She pulled out a piece of blank paper and a writing quill, turning to him with fiery determination, “Alright, tell me again what this illness does to you, and don’t leave out any details. I’m going to find you a cure, even if I have to stay in this hellhole for years.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I kind of like the second, or some combination of both. Here's an idea:

Since he can't be out of the camp alone, Crow will be with Hazel (she would want to keep talking to him about his illness to see if she can come up with a better way to approach it). I was thinking Penelope could find him while they're out and he would send Hazel back to the camp to warn the others about the knights. That's the only way I can think of that he would end up alone with Penelope. After that, we could go either direction with them escaping together or Penelope doubling back to divert the knights away from him. I'm good with whatever feels more natural in the story ^^

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The following morning, Crow awoke to the feeling of a hand on his shoulder. He blinked tiredly and looked up to see Simon standing over him with an annoyed expression. “Sorry to wake you,” he said in a voice that clearly indicated that he was not sorry at all. “But it’s almost noon. We need to get going.”

Crow nodded wordlessly, forcing himself to sit up as Simon went back to packing up their supplies. He felt much more tired than usual that morning, both from the excitement of the night before and from being woken up before he had gotten enough sleep. He rubbed his eyes, taking a moment to gather his bearings before attempting to get up. If he didn’t get any of his energy back before they left, it was going to be a long journey back to the ravine. Suddenly tempted to lay back down and take a nap, he stood up to help the other thief cover their camp, hoping his weariness would fade if he started moving around a bit.

Once everything had been packed up and the camp had been thoroughly destroyed, the two thieves gathered their things and headed back to Brerra.

For the most part, they walked in silence as they had on their way to Younis. Crow spent his time anticipating his next meeting with Penelope. Part of him wished he had told her to meet with him in three days, since he and Simon would be back by nightfall, but he knew it would have been too much to expect of himself. They were already spending the entire day traveling, and the route from Younis was a bit strenuous because of all the hills and valleys they had to cross over. If he tried to make the trek to Myrefall right after that, he would probably just end up pushing himself too hard. So, as impatient as he was, it was the wise decision to wait until tomorrow.

“I think you should have Hazel take a look at your wounds,” Simon spoke up a little while after they crossed the border to Brerra. He turned to Crow with a serious expression, “You’ve been sleeping nearly half a day lately, and I’ve never seen you lose your footing on a run before. You haven’t been yourself, Crow. Something is clearly wrong.”

“I know,” Crow sighed. “I’ll ask her tomorrow.” Of course, he already knew what the problem was, but he didn’t want Simon to know that. So, he continued to feign ignorance, “I just hope it’s something she can treat easily.”

“Me too,” Simon nodded. “Fortunately, it looks like we still have a bit of time before the next battle, so she has some leeway to figure out what’s wrong with you.”

“That’s true. At least the timing of all this was good.”

“Yes, you’re quite lucky.”

As they lapsed into silence again, Crow felt a pang of worry. Knowing his symptoms had nothing to do with the wounds on the outside of his body, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep his illness a secret. Once he healed from his cuts and bruises, he would have no more excuse for his unusual behavior. He needed Hazel to find a cure for him fast, or else the others would catch on that he was hiding something from them. He didn’t want them to know what was really wrong. They would just worry if they found out.

The thieves arrived back at their camp just after dusk only to be greeted immediately by Rikki and Alistair. The two hurried over to report their success in raiding the Brerratic knights’ supply wagon. Apparently, the knights hadn’t provided the wagon with much security, so the two thieves had no trouble ambushing them and taking all of its contents. To further boast of their victory, Rikki led Crow over to the spot where she and Alistair had dropped off all the stolen goods.

He whistled as he stared at the massive pile of weapons, medical supplies, food, and various other things the king had provided his army for the war. “When you said you took everything, you really meant everything, didn’t you?” he turned to her with a grin.

“Just like you asked,” she smirked back at him proudly.

“Nice job,” he nodded. “Now we just have to figure out what to do with all of this stuff.”

“Hey,” a new voice spoke up from behind him and he turned around to see Hazel walking up with her usual cold expression. “I need to talk to you.”

“Alright,” Crow said before turning back to Rikki with a shrug. “Sorry, love. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Rikki glanced between the two for a moment before nodding, “Okay.”

Crow stepped away from her to follow Hazel as she led him away from the camp to speak in private. Once they were far enough away that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard, she turned to him with a critical gaze, “Did it happen again?”

He shifted his weight and lowered his gaze to the ground, telling her all she needed to know.

“Damn it, Crow,” she groaned. “I told you it was a bad idea. You’re lucky you made it back alive this time, but you really need to start being more careful.”

“I need to do what I can to help my companions,” he said stubbornly. “I’ll be more careful, but I can’t just abandon them because of this illness.”

“If they need you so much, then stay alive for their sakes,” Hazel shook her head. “I’m sure it would be much worse for them if you go and get yourself killed because you’re too stupid to listen to reason.”

“So, what, should I just stay in the camp and twiddle my thumbs until you find a cure for me?” he spat. “I can’t do that. I need to go out with them, so I can be there for them if they need me.”

“Face the facts, moron,” Hazel glared at him. “In your condition, you can’t help anyone. Honestly, you’ll probably just end up getting in their way. If you pass out in the middle of a fight, you and everyone else could get killed, and it would be all your fault. It’s better for everyone if you just stop trying.”

Crow grimaced. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He wanted to help the other thieves, but he was powerless to do so. Feeling a sudden burst of anger, he clenched his hand into a fist and swung it into a nearby tree. “Damn it all,” he cursed. “I didn’t ask for this! Why am I the one that had to get sick?”

Hazel flinched slightly at the harshness of his tone. “No one asks for this to happen to them,” she said softly, reaching out to rest a calming hand on his arm. “It just happens sometimes. But luckily for you, you’ve got the best herbalist in the Kingdom of Brerra working every night to find you a cure.” She grinned at him. “I’ll make sure you get better, even if I have to spend my every waking minute figuring out how.”

Crow’s gaze softened slightly, and he nodded. “Thanks, love,” he said quietly. “I’m sure you will.”

Hazel stared at him for a moment before she looked away, biting her lip. “A-anyway, I made you another batch of that medicine I gave you last time,” she said, fumbling to draw another small jar from her pocket. “I want you to take it before you go to bed tonight.”

“The same one?” Crow asked, taking the jar from her curiously. “But it didn’t do anything last time.”

“That’s because you have to take it for a while to tell if it’s working, dumbass,” she rolled her eyes. “Sometimes medicines work right away, which was why I asked you about it the morning after you took it last, but most of the time, you have to wait and see.”

“Oh,” he frowned disappointedly.

“Don’t worry,” she nudged him. “If this one doesn’t work, I’ve already written up two more herbal recipes that we can try next.”

“You’ve gotten quite a bit done, haven’t you?” he eyed her with amusement.

“Of course I have,” she snorted. “This is the whole reason I’m here. I have nothing else to do but work on medicines for you.”

“Well, I appreciate it,” he smiled. Taking the lid off of the jar, he lifted it to his lips and downed the contents. Once it was all gone, he lowered his hand and wrinkled his nose. “Just as awful as last time.”

“Well it’s supposed to help you get better, so you can deal with it,” Hazel chuckled, taking the empty jar back from him.

“I guess so,” he yawned as his exhaustion from the long day finally caught up with him. “Well, if that’s everything you wanted to talk about, then I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Alright,” she stepped back from him. “I’ll check in on you in the morning.”

Crow nodded and turned to leave, but then paused as another thought came to him. “Wait,” he said, turning back to her. “If I don’t wake up with everyone else tomorrow, could you get me up? Simon’s started to notice how much I’ve been sleeping lately, and I don’t want to raise his suspicion.”

“You’re probably sleeping more because you need it,” Hazel crossed her arms. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to do that…”

“Please,” he begged. “I don’t want the others to find out.”

She held his gaze for a moment, pursing her lips in thought, before she finally let out a sigh, “I don’t understand why you’re being so secretive about this, but… fine. I’ll wake you up tomorrow.”

“Thanks, love,” Crow let out his breath in relief. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He turned and made his way back to the camp, heading into the shelter to get some much needed rest.

Almost as soon as he laid down on his bed, he closed his eyes and fell asleep, looking forward to the following day when he would see Penelope again.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

We could fit that in on the day they're supposed to meet again, but before their meeting
I think Crow and Simon will be back in their camp by the end of the third day

How should we go about it? Are you thinking Penelope goes to warn him, and they end up having to run from a patrol that sees them or what?

Crow didn't have a good night ^^;

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The next day, Crow awoke to find that he had overslept again. He sat up on his bedroll and looked around dazedly, trying to orient himself in his lingering weariness. The camp was already awash with bright daylight from the sun overhead, and Simon was sitting against a nearby tree, squinting at a book in his lap. Crow wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but it definitely wasn’t morning anymore. He shuddered. He was sure of it now. His illness was causing him to sleep much more than he used to. He just hoped it wouldn’t make an unwelcomed appearance during their raid that night.

“There’s porridge in the pot,” Simon said without looking up from his book, having noticed that his leader was awake now. “It’s probably cold by now, but help yourself.”

“Thanks,” Crow nodded sleepily. He got up and made his way over to the pot that was sitting next to the now-extinguished fire, filling up a bowl for himself before he moved to sit in a thick patch of grass. As he lifted the first spoonful to his mouth, he noticed immediately that Simon was right. The food wasn’t even slightly warm anymore. However, he was too hungry to care, so he ate it all regardless.

As he finished off the rest of the porridge, he noticed Simon was eyeing him from where he sat beneath the tree. “What?” he asked, feeling a bit defensive underneath his companion’s scrutinizing stare.

“Why are you sleeping in so late?” Simon asked with a frown. “You’ve never struck me as the lazy type, so I don’t understand it.”

“I told you, I’m just tired,” Crow lied. “I had a lot to recover from, so I probably still just need some extra rest.”

“Maybe,” Simon shrugged. “But you’ve had worse and recovered just fine. I just think it’s a little peculiar is all.”

“Who knows?” Crow averted his gaze to look out over the Younisian camp that was now bustling with activity.

Fortunately, Simon seemed to pick up on the fact that Crow didn’t want to keep talking about the subject, so he let it drop, and the two thieves lapsed into silence.

The rest of the day was spent in preparation for the upcoming raid. Crow and Simon observed the knights from their vantage point, pinpointing the positions of their guards, finding blind spots, marking out safe paths of escape, and fine tuning the rest of their plans. Between the two of them, they had a solid grasp of the routines and routes of the nobles they were spying on. So, by the time night fell, they were more than ready to make their move to steal the Younisians’ supplies.

The thieves made their way down the side of the ridge, taking advantage of the cover of darkness as they made their way towards the camp. When they reached it, they slipped between the tents, relying on their memories of where the guards were posted to avoid running into anyone. Easily bypassing the Younisian security, they crept towards the large tent that they had seen some knights walking in and out of for various supplies. As expected, it was thinly guarded. There was just one knight standing outside the entrance, his eyes glazed tiredly and his attention clearly elsewhere.

Stopping by a nearby tent, Crow and Simon exchanged a look. Crow gave him a nod, and the blonde thief circled around to approach the supply tent from behind. Crouching in the cover of his hiding place, Crow watched as his companion snuck up behind the knight and struck him in the head with the butt of his short sword. The unconscious man crumpled to the ground, and the thief darted out from his hiding spot, slipping soundlessly into the supply tent with Simon following close behind.

Once they were both inside, they worked quickly to bundle up as many weapons as they could carry. Between the two of them, they managed to fill four burlap sacks with a variety of blades, bows, and blunt objects. They slung the bags over their shoulders and hurried back out of the tent, following the same route back that they had taken to get there without being seen.

After they had put enough distance between themselves and the knights’ camp to speak freely, Crow turned to Simon with a grin, “That was easy.”

“It always is,” the blonde thief nodded.

Suddenly, they both flinched as the sound of shouting rose from the camp behind them. Glancing at each other with wide eyes, Crow and Simon took off running towards the ridge. The theft had been easy, but the knights had discovered their intrusion much faster than they had expected, so they needed to get away before someone noticed them out in the open.

Crow followed Simon’s lead as they sprinted across the open plain. They managed to get all the way back to the bottom of the ridge before the thief felt a familiar wave of dizziness that made him stagger. He cursed under his breath, narrowing his eyes as he forced himself to focus on climbing up the side of the overhang with his companion. He glanced back over his shoulder at the ground far below and felt his heart beat a little quicker in his chest. He couldn’t let himself pass out now or the fall would be bad.

Enduring the fatigue purely out of a will to survive, he managed to make it to the top before he collapsed, panting heavily from the exertion of running and climbing.

Simon had walked a bit farther ahead to drop off his stolen weapons near the center of the camp. Once he was free from their weight, he rolled his shoulders and turned back to Crow, only to pause in his tracks when he caught sight of him on the ground. The thief hurried to his leader’s side with a concerned expression, “What happened? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Crow shook his head, forcing himself to sit up. “Just tripped on the way back up.”

Simon stared at him for a moment longer before he relaxed, “Good. For a moment, I thought you had reopened one of your wounds.”

“No,” he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, trying to stop the world from spinning around him. “Just give me a moment to get my breath back.”

“Alright,” Simon nodded. “I’ll get the fire started.” He rose to his feet and walked away to do as he said, leaving Crow behind to recover.

The thief didn’t move for a few minutes as he waited for the dizzy spell to pass. He couldn’t believe how close he had come to blacking out again—and in front of Simon, no less. He had gotten lucky that his companion believed his lie about tripping. He grimaced. If all it took for him to feel this terrible was a short run, it was going to be difficult to keep hiding the illness from the others. He just hoped Hazel would come up with something that would cure him soon.

Still exhausted from the escape, he climbed shakily to his feet and hauled the weapons he had carried over to the pile Simon had started. “I’m going to bed now,” he murmured to the other thief. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay,” Simon knitted his brow, seeming confused by Crow’s sudden urge to sleep. “Goodnight.”

“Night,” Crow nodded wearily and stepped over to his bedroll. He laid down heavily and closed his eyes, drifting off almost immediately as he finally succumbed to the impulse to pass out.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Thanks lol I definitely need it

Nice. I'm excited to see what happens with the knights after Rikki and Alistair take all of their supplies xD

Crow and Simon had a little bit of a bonding moment too x3
They really needed it

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Once Crow was ready to leave, he and Simon said their goodbyes to Rikki and Alistair and headed out right away for Younis. For the most part, their trip was spent in silence, since they didn’t have much to say to each other. Simon wasn’t a man of many words, and whenever he did speak up, it was usually to complain or critique something he didn’t like. So, not wanting to spend the journey listening to him whine, Crow avoided opening his mouth as well. It was much more peaceful for him to be left alone with his own thoughts anyway.

He mostly thought about Hazel’s warning. The idea that he could make himself get worse if he wasn’t careful disturbed him deeply. As a thief, his life was naturally dangerous, and he needed to be able to run at a moment’s notice. On top of that, he didn’t intend to stop participating in the battles to protect the peasants of the outer villages. He could do his best to cut back on the raids he went on with his companions but laying low until the herbalist found a cure for him just wasn’t an option.

He also didn’t like what this new information might mean for his plans with Penelope. He had wanted to find more ways to meet with her in between their current, formal meetings, but with Hazel watching him so closely, he didn’t know how he was going to get away. He let out his breath in a sigh. It was beginning to seem like seeing her more often would be harder than he thought.

After a full day of traveling, the two thieves arrived at the Younisian battlefront not long after nightfall. They made camp on a ridge that overlooked the knights’ barracks, where they planned to settle down for the night. Once they had laid out their bedrolls and gotten a fire started, Crow walked over to the edge of the overhang and sat down, dangling his legs over the edge as he gazed out at the flickering glow of the fires in the Younisian camp. He and Simon wouldn’t actually conduct their raid until the following night, but he was already getting excited.

Stealing from Younisian knights was much easier than stealing from the knights of his own kingdom. They never expected it, since they didn’t have many thieves in their land, and they still trusted in their goddess, Aeklora, to keep them safe. Fortunately for Crow, it seemed like Aeklora had decided to give him a pass after he had done her a favor—of course, he couldn’t know this for sure, but he liked to think he was receiving special treatment from the goddess after their brief encounter two years back. Regardless of whether his speculations were true, neither he nor his companions had been smote, so he guessed they were safe to continue raiding the Younisians during the war.

“Same plan as always?” Simon spoke up from behind him. The blonde thief stepped over to sit next to Crow, letting his legs hang over the ridge as well.

“Pretty much,” Crow shrugged, leaning back on his palms. “I doubt we’ll have any trouble this time, since we never have before.”

“Good,” Simon muttered. “I could use an easy win.”

Crow glanced at him curiously, “Why is that?”

“No reason,” the other thief shook his head, clearly unwilling to answer the question. A brief silence fell between them for a moment before he spoke again, “So… how long will this herbalist of yours be staying with us?”

“Hazel?” Crow felt a smirk tug at the corner of his lip. “She’ll be staying for as long as we need her.”

“That’s good,” Simon said casually. “It will be nice to have a physician around when the next battle happens.”

“Mhm,” Crow eyed him in amusement. “It will also be nice to have a pretty face around, right?”

“What?” Simon turned to him sharply, and Crow could see a warm blush on his cheeks.

“I knew it,” he laughed. “You’re interested in her, aren’t you?”

“Of course not,” Simon snorted. “I just appreciate the skills she’s bringing to our group. That’s all.”

“Right,” Crow nudged him teasingly. “It has nothing to do with the fact that you both like to read, and you both like intellectual conversations, and, not to mention, you find her undeniably attractive?”

“Fine,” Simon exhaled in defeat. “I may have taken a bit of a liking to her... but can you blame me?” He met Crow’s gaze wistfully. “She’s the first woman who’s stayed with us that hasn’t been enamored with you or Alistair. Between the three of us, no woman ever gives me so much as a passing glance.”

Crow frowned, feeling a pang of sympathy for the other thief. He was a bit surprised to hear how deeply his companion had been bothered by such an issue though. Simon was always putting work and planning before everything else and had never seemed even remotely interested in pursuing women, unlike himself and Alistair, who made a point to flirt with practically any girls they found attractive. He supposed the blonde thief had just been hiding his desires from the rest of them, so they wouldn’t know how upset he really was.

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I think you two would make a good pair,” Crow offered him an encouraging smile.

“You really think so?” Simon sat up a bit straighter.

“Definitely,” he grinned.

Simon held his gaze for a moment before a small smile found its way onto his lips. “Thanks,” he murmured.

The two thieves sat in silence for a while longer before they eventually grew tired and settled down to sleep. Crow laid back on his bedroll and propped his head up on his arms, staring up at the starry sky above. As he did, Hazel’s words came back to him again and he felt a pang of nervousness for the upcoming raid. He let out his breath in a long exhale. It was too late to turn back now. He was just going to have to hope his illness didn’t impact him until he made it home.

Please, just give me one day, he prayed as he closed his eyes and rolled onto his side to sleep. I just need to make it through tomorrow night...

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I'm very excited to see what happens with her cx

No worries! I'm doing homework anyway
This is my life for the next 5 weeks :'D

Hazel is being Crow's small and angry voice of reason xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The following morning, Crow was the last to wake up again. He sat up on his bed and yawned, still a bit tired after having stayed up so late the night before. As the memory of his last meeting with Penelope entered his mind, a small smile crossed his lips. If he hadn’t spent the last three days worrying about what her decision would be, he would have thought it had all been a dream. But it wasn’t. Penelope had really chosen to be with him again, and they were really going to try to make it happen this time. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so happy.

Suddenly, he noticed the smell of cooking food waft into the shelter, and he got up, not wanting to miss out on any leftover breakfast. He stepped outside, blinking against the bright morning sunlight, and walked over to fire pit, where the other three thieves and Hazel had gathered to eat a meal of cooked vegetables and bread. Simon was the first to notice him arrive.

“There you are,” the blonde thief frowned critically. He was already dressed to leave for Younis, with a packed bag sitting at his feet. “I’m not sure I like this new habit of yours.”

“What new habit?” Crow sat down by Rikki and filled at plate with food.

“You’ve been sleeping through the morning almost every day lately,” Simon clarified irritably. “I know you’ve been recovering from the last battle and your run in with those knights, but still... Don’t you think it’s a bit much?”

“I guess I’ve just been tired lately,” Crow shrugged, though his companions words did strike a small cord with him. He hadn’t noticed until now, but the other thief was right. He had been sleeping a lot more than usual, and it wasn’t just on the nights he had stayed out late with Penelope. He lifted a bite of carrots to his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Perhaps it was just because of the fact that his body was still healing from his wounds, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that his excessive weariness was related to the illness. It made sense. After all, the same thing had happened to his mother when she had been sick. Her energy had slowly faded until she grew too weak to get out of bed. It wasn’t too far of a stretch to guess the same thing was starting to happen to him now.

Glancing up from his plate, he felt a chill run down his spine as he caught sight of Hazel staring at him from the other side of the pit. She had a calculating look on her face like she was trying to solve a difficult problem, and in that moment he was certain she was thinking the same thing he was. He averted his gaze, hoping to find something to distract himself from the depressing thought.

Fortunately, Rikki gave him just that. She inched a bit closer and nudged him with her arm, “Alistair and I went out to spy on the knights while you were gone,” she said, eyes glittering with excitement. “We overheard a few of them talking about a supply wagon that’s supposed to come in three days.”

“Really?” Crow turned to her with interest.

“Uh huh,” she grinned. “We’re going to cut them off after they pass through Wellspring.”

“They won’t even get close to dropping off the supplies,” Alistair chimed in.

“That’s great,” Crow smiled, finding their enthusiasm infectious. “Now if Simon and I can just get that lucky in Younis, we should be right on track to delay the next battle.”

“Speaking of which,” Simon interjected, crossing his arms impatiently. “We need to leave here before midday, so would you please hurry?”

“Alright,” Crow rolled his eyes. Having traveled to the Younisian frontline many times to sell off weapons, he knew they still had enough time to get there. However, he also knew there was no arguing with Simon when the thief got anxious, so he said nothing more on the matter.

“Hey,” Hazel spoke up. Crow glanced at her and was confused to see that she was glaring at him. “Before you go, I need to talk to you,” she growled.

“Okay,” he blinked, unsure why she was suddenly acting so hostile. Finishing off the rest of his breakfast quickly, he stood up and walked with her into the shelter, so he could pack up for his trip while she spoke to him. “What did you want to talk about?” he asked, grabbing a travel bag to fill.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she shoved him roughly. “You’re going to Younis?”

“Yes,” he shot her a glare. “What’s the problem?”

“Gods, I’m dealing with a moron,” Hazel pinched the bridge of her nose before looking up at him again. “Let me ask you this: What do you plan to do if you have another episode while you’re in enemy territory, stealing their weapons?”

“I’ll figure it out,” he narrowed his eyes at her.

“Right,” she crossed her arms over her chest. “And how well has that been working out for you?”

Crow flushed as he recalled how he had gotten caught by the knights the last time his fatigue struck. “Look,” he sighed. “I can’t just sit around and do nothing because I’m not as well as the others are. They’re depending on me to lead them. I have to go.”

“You’re not just unwell, Crow,” Hazel’s gaze softened slightly. “You’ve got a disease that’s going to kill you if you don’t take it easy and focus on getting better. If you’re not careful, you might even accelerate the illness inside of you and die sooner.”

The thief paled slightly at her words. He hadn’t thought of that.

“You can do whatever you’re going to do,” Hazel said softly, seeming to notice his expression. “But as your healer, I recommend avoiding dangerous situations until we figure this out. Okay?”

“Okay,” he murmured with a nod. A brief silence fell between them, and then he looked up to meet her gaze. “I already told Simon I would go with him on this raid, and I have no good excuse to get out of it, but after this… I’ll try to think of a way to stay near the camp more often.”

“Good,” Hazel said, seeming satisfied. “By the way, how was the medicine I gave you last night?”

“Disgusting,” Crow made a face.

The herbalist snorted, “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“I honestly don’t know,” he shook his head. “I don’t feel any different, but then again, I don’t feel sick most of the time, so it’s hard to tell if anything’s changed.”

“Hmm,” Hazel grunted. “We’ll have to figure out a way to test it somehow. I’ll work on that while you’re gone.” She gave him another shove, though this time she was a bit gentler. “You’d better not go and die on me in Younis after you made me go through all the trouble of coming to this hell hole and staying up until the ungodly hours of the night working on your medicine.”

“I won’t,” he smirked.

“Good,” she nodded, stepping towards the entrance to the shelter. “I’ll see you when you get back, snake.”

“Bye, love,” Crow watched as she left before turning back to finish packing his bag. He had kept Simon waiting long enough. Illness or no illness, he was going to raid the Younisians, and they were going to stall the war.