Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Wrote my post in advance again xD

Dangggg did you make that? It looks so good! :D

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Having packed up many camps over the past year, the thieves made quick work of gathering all of their supplies and readying themselves to move on to Grimsby. Still missing the arrows that he had used during the battle, Crow remembered to make a detour back to the battlefield to collect any that he could find. Alistair joined him, since it seemed like all of his companions had created an unspoken rule that their ill leader would never go anywhere alone. Normally, he might have been annoyed by this, but it wasn’t really that big of a change since they tended to go out in pairs anyway, so he dealt with it without complaint.

When the two thieves reached the clearing, they paused at the edge of the tree line to check if the knights were still there. Fortunately, it looked like they had all left aside from a few who were collecting the bodies of the fallen Brerratic soldiers. Exchanging a brief glance with Alistair, Crow nodded and led the way as they began to scour the bodies in search of arrows. With the thick cover of darkness, the knights didn’t spare them even a passing glance, and they managed to recover most of the arrows he had lost during the fight relatively quickly.

Once they had finished, Crow walked back with Alistair to meet up with the others on the northern edge of Whitebridge, and the group began to make their way to Grimsby. Along the way, Hazel fell back to walk at his side. “How did you do during the battle?” she asked, casting him a curious glance. “Did you have any trouble?”

“Not at all,” he shook his head. “I just camped out in a tree and loosed arrows on any knights that got too close to the border.” He smirked at her proudly. “See? I told you I would be alright.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she rolled her eyes. “Don’t get too cocky. This battle went much more smoothly than most, from what your friends have told me. You still need to be careful.”

“I know,” he fixed his gaze straight ahead as they walked. “But I’ll be fine as long as I don’t get caught up in the heat of the fight. That’s why I brought this in the first place.” He tipped his head towards the bow that hung across his shoulder. “As long as I keep using distance to my advantage, no one can touch me.”

“You got lucky once,” Hazel said sternly. “Don’t forget that someone could still figure out where you’re attacking from and come after you. All it takes is one lucky knight, and you’ll be trapped like a rat.”

“I’d forgotten how optimistic you are,” Crow muttered with dry sarcasm.

“I’m just being realistic,” she shrugged.

“I know,” he sighed. “And you’re right. But that’s why I’m being careful.” He turned back to her with a soft smile. “There’s a reason the knights haven’t been able to catch me since my mistake three years ago, love. I know how to keep a low profile.” He nudged her with his shoulder as they walked. “Trust me; I’ll be alright.”

Hazel held his gaze for a moment before looking away and shaking her head, “Gods, I hate that silver tongue of yours. You could tell me you’re going to jump off a cliff and somehow make me believe it’s a good idea.”

Crow laughed. “Who knows? It could be fun,” he winked at her teasingly.

“Shut up,” she shoved him with a snort. “But fine. You’ve convinced me. I’ll stop pestering you about it.”

“Thanks,” he nodded appreciatively.

“Mm,” the herbalist grunted. “Just don’t make me regret it.”

“I won’t.”

--

The group arrived in Grimsby just before sunrise. When they finally reached the ridge that overlooked the village, Crow had already begun to sway tiredly on his feet. It had been a while since the last time he had been out so late, and the strain of keeping himself from falling asleep on the walk there had worn him down greatly. Still determined to be useful to his companions, he moved to help them as they started setting up camp, but Hazel stepped in his path before he had a chance to do anything.

“Ah, ah,” she tutted in a manner resembling the way a mother might correct a rebellious child. She dug in her bag and held out a new jar of medicine. “Take this and go straight to sleep. If you want to fight in the next battle, you’re going to need to get some rest first.”

Crow opened his mouth to protest, but then thought better of it and simply nodded in reluctant compliance. He wanted to help, but he knew she was right. He couldn’t risk triggering his illness by shortchanging himself on sleep right before a major fight. Besides that, he was exhausted. He wasn’t about to argue with her about going to bed when his aching body was begging him to lay down.

Taking the jar from her hand, he finished off the draught inside and then passed it back to her. Too tired to even utter a word of goodnight, he just yawned as he made his way over to a flat area and dropped his bags on the ground. He unfurled his bedroll and laid down heavily, barely drawing his blanket over himself before he slipped out of consciousness and fell asleep, finally giving in to the weariness that had been trying to overtake him all night.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Man, this battle was so opposite for the knights vs the peasants :'c

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As the battle raged on, it became clear to Crow that the Younisians didn’t even have a chance at leveling the battlefield. Unlike the last two fights, the Brerratic knights were the ones to drive their enemies back into their own kingdom this time. The thief let out his breath in relief and shouldered his bow, pressing a hand against the tree trunk as he moved to stand up. He perched precariously on the branch as he watched the Younisians retreat in the distance, their camp having been destroyed by the knights of his own land. It looked like the fight was over.

With no more reason to stick around and risk being seen, he descended from the tree and headed back to Whitebridge to find the rest of his companions. He left his arrows behind, since he couldn’t easily retrieve them while the Brerratic knights were still there, but he made a mental note to come back after nightfall and pick them up if they hadn’t already been collected by the nobles by then. After the first battle had gone so well, he was certain the knights would push to retake Grimsby, so he wanted to be armed and ready with as many arrows as he could fit in his quiver.

When he got back to the village, he took a moment to look over around. A pleased smile crossed his lips as his gaze fell on the villagers. They were already celebrating their kingdom’s victory and the fact that they hadn’t needed to fight this time around. It looked like the evacuees had already returned as well. As he walked down the main road, he passed by couples kissing passionately and families crying and embracing in relief. It was a much happier sight to come back to compared to the ones he had faced after the last few battles, where the villagers had been collecting the bodies of their dead and widows had wailed for their lost loved ones.

After a while of unhurried searching, he found the other thieves sitting with Hazel beneath a tree in the evening shade. The herbalist was wrapping Simon’s forearm with bandages, but otherwise, they all looked like they had remained unharmed. He stepped over to sit between Hazel and Alistair and grinned, “Looks like it’s been a good day, huh?”

“I’ll say,” Alistair nodded. “After the knights from our kingdom did so badly in the last few battles, I wasn’t expecting them to actually keep the Younisians on their side of the border. I only killed two of them this time.”

“Three here,” Simon chimed in, sitting up a little straighter and casting Hazel a glance as if to make sure she was listening.

The herbalist narrowed her eyes slightly as she inspected her work on his wound and then gave a curt nod, “Alright, Simon. You’re good to go.” She patted his arm lightly and looked up at him with a smile. “As long as you don’t shift the bandages, you’ll heal just fine.”

“Thank you,” Simon said in a tone that was more respectful than anything Crow had ever heard come out of his mouth before.

The thief snorted softly, finding his companion’s change in behavior amusing. “As much as I’d love to stay and celebrate with the villagers here, we should probably go back and pack up our camp,” he said, glancing between the four of them. “Since Brerra won today, the knights are going to keep pushing north and attack again at Grimsby. If we want to stay ahead of them, we’ll need to leave tonight.”

“If they keep doing this well, they should have those Younisian soldiers out of there in no time,” Alistair said confidently, leaning back on the palms of his hands.

“I hope so,” Crow nodded. “It would be nice to come back to all of this twice.” He looked up to watch as a small family walked by, chatting and laughing jovially amongst each other, and his gaze softened slightly. “I’m glad the people of Whitebridge didn’t have to bury anyone else today.”

“Me too,” Simon murmured in agreement, following the same family with his eyes. “Let’s just pray the same will go for Grimsby.”

“Hear, hear,” Rikki finally spoke up, though she continued to avoid Crow’s gaze.

They all sat for a while longer, enjoying the scene of the celebrating villagers, until Crow finally stood up again. “It’s almost sunset,” he noted, twisting at the waist as he stretched his lower back. “Let’s go tear down the camp.” The other thieves murmured their agreement and got up as well. Once they were all ready, he took the lead to go back to the eastern forest, where they had left the rest of their supplies. While the battle that day had gone well, he didn’t want to let himself grow complacent. There was still one more fight left to prepare for, and he was going to be ready when it came.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

That'll be an interesting conversation xD
It's great for Alistair though, since he secretly wants to settle down someday
I feel like he's going to slyly try to court Olivia when he realizes his feelings for her
i.e: treating her a little more gentlemanly and bringing her gifts and such, but like, low key

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

No worries! Gives me time to finish a paper that I've been working on
Nice! That actually works out well for me, because I've just got one class that I'm not sure I'll even go to c':

I feel bad for Penelope already, because she'll have to deal with both of them xD
I foresee lots of unnecessary competition and arguing between Crow and Gavin
My guy friends call it a "biggest dick" competition, and I feel like that's an accurate description of how men get when there's a girl involved lmao

Yeah, Alistair and Olivia probably won't care about what the others are doing cx
I'm also a bit excited for if/when we end up having them end up liking each other more than just physically, since it will give Crow a bit of a cushion when the other thieves finally find out about him and Penelope (I'm sure he won't be able to keep the secret forever)
Alistair would have to be in his corner, or he'd be a hypocrite

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I'd be down for that xD
I feel like an alliance between them would lead to a lot of bickering between Crow and Gavin (also it would give Olivia and Alistair more time together)

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The day of the battle had come. The thieves woke early in the morning—Simon roused Crow, who didn’t get up on his own—to prepare their weapons, since they didn’t know the exact time when the knights would arrive at the border. They sharpened their blades and inspected everything over to make sure it would hold up during the fighting. Since most of their higher quality weaponry had been taken by the knights, they wanted to be especially careful with the ones that remained. After all, it would be trouble if the blade of someone’s sword snapped or an arrow didn’t pierce its target. They wanted to be certain that they only took their best weapons into battle.

Once they had gone through everything and armed themselves with the sturdiest of their weapons, the thieves said their goodbyes to Hazel—the herbalist was going to stay behind to care for the villagers—and headed out to the border. When they reached it, the first thing Crow noticed was that forest was eerily quiet, like the calm before the storm. It seemed that even in the late morning, he and the others had still managed to beat the knights there.

Taking advantage of the time he still had, the thief climbed up a nearby tree with a wide trunk and thick, leafy branches. He ascended until he reached a spot that, from what he could tell, was mostly hidden from the ground below yet still had a good vantage point of the clearing where the battle was likely to take place.

Settling lazily against the trunk, he sat down and leaned with his back against the rough bark, dangling one leg over the edge of the branch. His bow rested loosely across his lap and his eyes were fixed on the horizon as his mind wandered to the upcoming fight. He hoped that, since Brerra had an advantage over Younis because of the stolen supplies, the knights from their kingdom would be able to keep the battle on the Younisian side of the border this time. It would be a pleasant break for the villagers to not have to defend their homes this time around. He shuddered to imagine the heartache that would come if the people had to bury more of their loved ones again so soon.

Crow continued to muse absently about the war until he eventually heard the sound of rustling down below. Tensing slightly, he craned his neck to look through the leaves to see what was causing the sound. After searching for a moment, he caught sight of the Berratic knights. They had finally arrived and were headed directly for the Younisian camp. The battle would begin soon.

He shifted to reposition himself in a way that would give him a better shot at the clearing, wanting to be prepared to stop any knights that slipped away from the main battle. Once he had settled down again, he double checked the fastening of the bracer on his left arm and the tautness of his bowstring, making sure he wouldn’t have any issues when the fighting began. Once he felt satisfied that both were secure, he turned back to the knights, watching as they assembled to attack.

For a moment, everything was quiet. But then he heard a woman’s battle cry, and suddenly the Brerratic knights charged at the Younisians, commencing the fight.

Crow observed them with hawk-like focus. He drew an arrow from his quiver and loaded it loosely into the bow, resting the shaft along his index finger and holding the feathered end against the string. His arms were tense, ready to draw the weapon at a moment’s notice should he happen to see any unfortunate knights try to come towards the village.

He didn’t have to wait long.

Shortly after the battle began, he spotted a Younisian knight cut across the rear of the Brerratic forces. It was unclear if he was trying to push towards the border alone or if he was merely trying to get behind his opponents to strike from their blind spots. The thief wasn’t going to take any chances.

In one swift motion, he cocked back the arrow in his hand and let it fly, listening to the soft twang of the bowstring as it snapped back into place. He held his breath intently until he saw the knight’s head jerk to the side, and the man collapsed to the ground. He smirked to himself. The arrow had hit its mark.

Reaching over his shoulder, he pulled another arrow from his quiver and rested it in the bow. As the battle continued on, he repeated the process, loosing arrows at any knights that looked like they were going to start heading towards Whitebridge, regardless of which battalion they belonged to. He aimed all of his shots at the knights’ heads and chests, making sure none were able to make it past him once they fell in his sights.

So far, he found it easy to keep the knights at bay. Because they had no idea where he was, they were unable to defend themselves against his assault. As long as none of them figured out where the arrows were coming from, he doubted he was going to have any trouble at all in this battle.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I'm super excited for that honestly cx
I think I'm just a sucker for conflict

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It didn’t take long before Crow reached the clearing where the other thieves were sparring. He walked up to the edge of the tree line and stood back to watch as Rikki and Simon fought with short swords. Despite the difference in their sizes, Rikki was overpowering Simon with relentless ferocity. She swung her blade in rapid succession as she beat him towards the edge of the clearing, leaving him little time to do anything more than block her fierce attacks. The sight made Crow cringe slightly. He had never seen her go after anyone so viciously, but he had a few guesses as to why she was acting this way.

“Oh hey, Crow,” Alistair, who was sitting at the base of a nearby tree to watch the match, said as he took notice of his leader’s arrival. “I hope you’re not here to join in. Rikki’s absolutely merciless today.”

“No,” he shook his head, casting a glance towards the sparring thieves before moving to sit down beside Alistair. Settling down against the tree, he crossed his forearm over his knee in a relaxed posture. “I came to tell you all the news about the next battle,” he explained, grimacing as the sound of clashing blades filled the air as Rikki drove her sword into Simon’s yet again. “Although I’m starting to fear this may not be the best time.”

“I don’t know,” Alistair gave a one shouldered shrug. “Something’s got Rikki really mad.” He turned towards Crow with a curious look. “She was fine until she went out to find you last night. Did you do something that upset her?”

Crow shifted his weight and nodded reluctantly, “Yeah.”

“What was it?” Alistair asked and then nudged him teasingly. “Couldn’t finish the job?”

“Of course not,” Crow snorted, punching him in the arm. “I always ‘finish the job.’ Besides,” he looked away uncomfortably. “It has nothing to do with that. We didn’t sleep together last night.”

Alistair eyed him for a moment before looking back to watch the fight. “Well, whatever it is, I’m sure she’ll bounce back eventually,” he said reassuringly. “She’s a hardy woman, that Rikki.”

“I hope so,” Crow sighed, propping his chin in his palm as he turned to the two thieves’ match as well.

After they sparred for a while longer, Simon eventually conceded to Rikki out of pure exhaustion. The two sheathed their swords, wiping the sweat from their brows as they headed over to the tree where Alistair and Crow were still sitting. As she caught sight of him, Rikki visibly stiffened and averted her gaze, glaring angrily at a tree off to the side. “I’m going to go get some water,” she muttered, turning to leave. However, before she could take more than three steps, Crow spoke up to stop her.

“Actually,” he said, rising to his feet. “I need everyone to stay here.” He crossed his arms over his chest and met her gaze tenaciously, gesturing with a subtle tilt of his head for her to come back to the group. She clenched her jaw at him in defiance for a moment but then reluctantly took a small step back towards Simon and Alistair. He felt himself relax, relieved that she wasn’t outwardly rebelling against his authority. He didn’t want to involve any of the others in their personal issues.

Once they were all ready to listen, he went on to relay everything Penelope had told him the night before: “The next battle is going to be happening tomorrow in Whitebridge. Supposedly the knights are trying to take advantage of the supplies they took back from us last week. They intend to strike while they have the upper hand over Younis and work their way north toward the captured village of Grimsby. If they succeed, there will be two consecutive battles this time.

“It will be harder for us to keep up with them for sure,” Crow acknowledged as he noticed his companions exchange concerned looks. “But I’m sure we’ll be able to handle it. And if not, we can always fall back to save ourselves if two battles prove to be too much. I don’t want anyone here to lose their lives over this.”

There was a short moment of silence before Simon cleared his throat awkwardly. “Correct me if I’m wrong,” he said tentatively. “But we were all under the impression that you wouldn’t be coming with us until your illness is healed.”

“Yeah,” Alistair frowned. “You said you were going to stay out of battles.”

“I’m not going to get involved in the thick of the fighting,” Crow said, a bit surprised by their concerned reactions. “But I’m still coming with you.”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” Simon knitted his brow.

“I’ll be fine,” Crow snapped, speaking a bit more harshly than he had intended to. Taking a moment to collect himself, he went on in a calmer tone, “I’m going to find a way to get involved without putting myself in danger. You’ll see. Nothing is going to go wrong.”

“If you’re sure, then I trust you,” Alistair shrugged.

Simon hesitated for a moment before nodding, “I, as well.”

Rikki simply raised her shoulders in wordless apathy.

“Alright then,” Crow stood up a bit straighter, feeling renewed confidence now that they weren’t trying to stop him from joining them. “If we’re all on the same page, then let’s go pack our supplies. We’ve got a battle to prepare for.”

--

The four thieves finished gathering everything they needed for the trip to Whitebridge relatively quickly. With the next battle happening in less than a day, none of them wanted to waste any time getting ready for it. Even Hazel filled a bag with herbs and other medical supplies to bring, as she insisted on tagging along to keep working on Crow’s medicine and help treat their wounds if any of them got injured during the battle.

As he packed his own gear, Crow armed himself with his usual weaponry, but this time he added a war bow to the collection. Intending to honor his promise to Penelope, he decided he should bring the long-ranged weapon so that he would have a way to fight without getting close to his enemies. Preferring the flexibility and versatility of daggers and other short blades, he didn’t often use bows and arrows anymore, but he still practiced with them on occasion to keep his skills sharp. He found that he improved quickly whenever he picked the weapon up. Having come quite far from when Penelope had first taught him two years ago, he was much faster at taking aim now, and he could hit a moving target with ease. If he could find a way to use it during the next two battles, he was sure he would be safe from harm.

Once everyone was ready to go, the five headed north for the village. The sun was still high in the sky when they departed, so they managed to reach their usual campsite by dusk. As was his routine, Crow went ahead to warn the villagers about the coming fight, accompanied by Alistair this time. Once word had spread, the two thieves headed the evacuation of the people who were not going to stay and fight for their homes.

Now back in his camp with the others, Crow felt the full weight of the dismal mood in the air. The forest was silent apart from the quiet cries of distressed women and children who feared for the lives of their family members who had stayed behind. With the last battle that took place in Whitebridge still fresh in everyone’s minds, he was sure they were probably expecting the worst. He didn’t blame them. The dirt on the graves of the last battle’s fallen hadn’t even finished settling, yet now they had to face the nightmare all over again. It was an unfair thing to expect any of them to feel confident in such a situation.

With such a sorrowful atmosphere about them, the thieves were in no mood to talk with each other. They finished a tasteless dinner and went straight to bed, hoping to get as much sleep as they could before the battle tomorrow.

As his companions settled down around him, Crow laid down on his mat and pulled his blanket over his head, trying to muffle the sounds of the villagers’ distressed murmurs. It was a task that was easier said than done, but eventually, he managed to drift off into a restless sleep filled with unsettling dreams about the upcoming fight.