Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow nodded thoughtfully as Penelope said she wasn’t sure if her baroness would allow her to leave camp for so long. He was doubtful as well, considering she held the rank of a lieutenant. Her leaders probably had work for her to do in and around their camp while they were recovering from Jaxon’s attack. It would likely be costlier to them to spare her compared with other, lower-ranked knights when the barons didn’t have the same information about the thieves as he and the three knights did.

He was glad that she seemed to have at least some idea of how to approach them, but he wasn’t overly fond of the fact that she would have to leave her camp with Olivia and Gavin again. While he knew it was unlikely, he still hung on to the hope that they would be able to do this mission alone, like they had in Younis after being separated from her comrades back then. Disliking the company of most other nobles, he preferred to travel and work alone with her.

Aside from that, he was also a bit warier of Gavin after the knight’s comment during their fight: Well, I’m not going to let you get away with it. He gave an involuntary shudder. While he wasn’t necessarily afraid of what Gavin could do, he didn’t like the thought of the man getting any more involved with his relationship with Penelope than he already had. If they ended up traveling together all the way to Aramoor, he was sure it was going to be difficult for them to remain civil with each other, and he didn’t want to break his word to Penelope about trying not to start any fights. The trip was definitely going to try his patience.

“I’m sure you will,” Crow smiled and gave her side a gentle squeeze as she said that she would figure out a way to go with him to Aramoor. “Those thieves had better watch out now that you’ve set your sights on them, because you’re a fierce enemy to make, love.” He kissed her cheek fondly.

Up ahead, he noticed that they were nearing the southern edge of the village, and he frowned. “We should probably part ways here,” he sighed, slowing his step slightly as he was suddenly reluctant to leave her. “I don’t want to go too far from Whitebridge, since this is where I’m going to make my camp for the night.” Glancing down to meet her gaze, he offered her a soft smile. “At least I’ll get to see you again tomorrow. We should meet where the road meets the village here around midday. That should give you enough time to speak with your baroness, right?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

True xD
She'll probably need to be patient with him lol He's still learning that fighting isn't always a bad thing
Although he's starting to get it a little bit after this one

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow blinked as he felt Penelope grab hold of his arm and pull slightly as she slowed to a stop. He glanced down at her hesitantly, unsure what she was trying to do. The part of him that was still worried she might have second thoughts about being with him sent a ripple of anxiousness through him as he feared she might tell him that his apology wasn’t enough—that he had disappointed her too much this time. The thought left a pit in his stomach, and he swallowed nervously, forcing himself not to look away as she finally opened her mouth to speak.

Her following words made him feel weak with relief. He nodded wordlessly, glad that she had been satisfied with his apology after all. As she moved to kiss him, he leaned down to meet her halfway, finding her lips sweeter than usual after they had reconciled with each other. He wished she didn’t pull back so quickly, but what she said next warmed him as well. Even though he hadn’t been afraid that Gavin’s accusations would change her mind, he felt reassured to know that she still intended to be faithful to him. He had messed up today, but she was forgiving enough to move forward and leave his mistake in the past. Her kindness made his heart flutter with a burst of affection, and he realized he was smiling in spite of himself.

As they continued walking, Crow reached to wrap one arm around her waist, wanting to hold her close to himself in his fondness for the knight. At her question, he nodded faintly. “It’s not the best plan at this point, but it’s still better than wandering aimlessly through the forest, hoping we’ll happen to stumble upon their camp,” he said with a sigh. “I hate to say it, but getting your supplies back is a bit of a long shot at this point. Aramoor is two full days’ walk from here. They’ll have sold everything off by the time we arrive without a doubt.”

Drawing her a little bit closer to himself, he looked down to meet her gaze with a frown, “Speaking of which, will your barons let you leave camp for that long? Even if we travel fast, it’s going to be at least a four day round trip before you get back to your camp, possibly five if we want to spend extra time searching around the village. Are you allowed to leave for that long?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

He already beat himself up a bit after he realized she was mad at him
He's still figuring out how to navigate having a committed relationship with someone x3

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow flinched when Penelope turned on him with a frustrated look. While his attention had been focused on Gavin, he had forgotten that she didn’t want him to be starting fights with her former suitor. He lowered his gaze as he reflected on what had just happened, suddenly aware of how much he had provoked the knight this time. No matter which way he looked at it, their fight this time had been his fault. All Gavin had done was ask Penelope to accompany him during the interrogation of the villagers. They hadn’t even left the room together, yet he had acted like the knight was trying to steal her away from him.

Maybe I did overreact a little, he thought with a wince as he trailed after the others. As much as he hated to admit it, Gavin might have had a point when he’d said that he was being immature. He shoved his hands in his pockets self-consciously. Penelope was the first woman he’d ever loved. He found it difficult not to be protective of her, especially around a man whom, by anyone’s assessment, was a better match for her than a lowly thief. He knew she loved him, and he knew she still planned to be with him after the war, but there was a small part of him that was still worried she would decide he wasn’t the best man for her when she compared him with someone like Gavin: powerful, upright, worthy of her affection… Perhaps he did feel a bit threatened after all.

Crow sighed softly, ashamed of his actions in the tavern. He wanted to prove to Penelope that he was someone she could look up to and trust to make good decisions, but instead, he had just driven her farther away. He grimaced as her annoyed expression flashed through his mind. He never wanted her to look at him like that—like he had disappointed her. The thought that he had let her down sent a knife through his heart.

For a while, he walked along behind the others in silence, keeping to himself since he didn’t want to face any of them while he was feeling like such a failure. However, his time alone didn’t last long before he noticed Penelope fall back to his side. Right away, he noticed that she was still upset with him, so he avoided her gaze in an attempt to hide his own remorseful expression from her.

He cringed as she chided him for his actions back in the tavern. She had every right to be mad at him, but it didn’t lessen the sting of her harsh words. “I know,” he muttered, staring down at the ground as they walked. “I messed up, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t let him bother me so much, I just…” He trailed off, too embarrassed to bring himself to admit that he felt threatened by her ex suitor. “Never mind,” he shook his head. “It’s not important. My point is that I’m sorry, and I’ll try not to fight with him in the future.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow pushed him over the edge a little ^^;

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow tensed as Gavin took a step towards him, preparing himself to move if the knight decided to throw a punch at him. He kept his gaze fixed on the other man cautiously. Usually, he didn’t try to provoke others quite this much, but this guy really rubbed him the wrong way. Perhaps it was petty, since he knew he was just jealous to keep Penelope away from her ex suitor, but he couldn’t help it. Gavin had been inserting himself into their business for a while now, and it was really starting to grate on the thief’s nerves. He wished the knight would just accept that Penelope wasn’t with him anymore and move on already.

Fortunately, because of Penelope’s brief intervention, Gavin seemed to hold himself back from attacking Crow. The thief couldn’t help but laugh at his prideful words. “Ah, so the truth comes out at last,” he said snidely, keeping a close watch of the knight’s hands in the edge of his vision. “It’s not me that’s threatened by you; you’re threatened by the fact that, for some reason you can’t understand, Penelope chose to be with a lying criminal instead of you.” His lip curled upward in a smirk. “You’ve got everything—status, wealth, perhaps even land—yet you still lost to a peasant thief without even a copper coin to his name.”

“Shut up,” Gavin growled, trembling slightly as he fought to hold himself back.

“That’s why you’re so bothered by me, isn’t it?” Crow went on, ignoring the knight’s warning. “You have a perfect picture of your life that you think you deserve, and I’m standing in the way of it. Well, guess what? You’re not going to get everything you want, because as long as I’ve still got breath in my lungs, I’m not going anywhere.”

“That’s it,” Gavin snapped.

Crow flinched as the knight suddenly lunged at him, cocking back his arm to swing at his face. However, just as Gavin was about to land the punch, the thief ducked out of the way and his fist collided with the wall where his head had just been. He sucked in his breath, clutching his right hand in his left with a pained wince.

Crow whistled. “That looked like it hurt,” he said with a click of his tongue. “Maybe you should look before you swing next time.”

Gavin shot him a glare and took a step forward to come at him again but faltered as he caught sight of the crowd of villagers that was gathering to watch the fight. Reason seemed to take over, and he straightened his posture, avoiding the thief’s gaze as he muttered, “We should get out of here.”

“Aww, come on,” Olivia pouted. “Things were jus’ gettin’ interesting around here!”

“There’s nothing to continue,” Crow smirked smugly. “He’s given up like the coward he is.”

Gavin glared at him one more time but said nothing. Instead, he clenched his jaw and took a calming breath as he stepped towards the door and hurried outside, seeming eager to put some distance between himself and the thief.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow isn't helping ^^;

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Being the first one back to the meeting spot, Crow leaned back against the wall and folded his arms over his chest as he searched for the three knights among the crowd. He spotted Olivia off to the left side of the room surrounded by peasant men who were quite clearly vying for her attention. He left out a soft snort as he noticed a nearly empty mug of ale in her hand. Knowing the knight, he guessed it probably wasn’t her first drink of the night, and he hoped she was still sober enough to gather information about the thieves they were after.

His eyes wandered across the tavern until he spotted Penelope and Gavin sitting with a small group of villagers on the far-right side of the room. The sight of them together made his skin crawl, and he forced himself to avert his gaze, so he wouldn’t focus on it. Letting out his breath in a soft sigh, he distracted himself by observing the groups of villagers at the other tables. He doubted there was anything left to learn here, but he didn’t want to let himself think about what Gavin might be saying to Penelope while he wasn’t around. He knew he would probably just end up convincing himself that the situation was much worse than it really was, and that would just put him in a foul mood.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Gavin and Penelope finished up with the villagers they had been speaking with and come to join him by the entrance of the tavern. As Penelope asked if he had any success, he shrugged in response. “The only thing I’ve learned is that they either weren’t here, or these villagers were too oblivious to remember them,” he answered. “I highly doubt every person in this tavern was so drunk they wouldn’t notice a group that big, so it’s more likely that the former is true.”

His eyes flicked to Gavin’s face, and he smirked as he noticed the knight glare at him. “By the way,” he said, drawing the coin purse from his pocket and tossing it back to him. “I think this belongs to you.”

Gavin blinked in surprise as he fumbled to catch the pouch, only to shoot him another cold look as he realized it had been emptied. “Where’s the rest of it?” he growled.

“I may have played a few rounds of passe-dix,” Crow grinned at him mischievously. “The dice weren’t on my side today, but at least I got the villagers to talk. It’s really too bad they didn’t have anything helpful to say.”

“You had no right,” Gavin clenched his hands into fists at his sides.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Crow pressed a hand to his heart in mock sincerity. “I didn’t realize I wasn’t allowed to steal from you. My mistake.”

“Don’t patronize me,” the knight narrowed his eyes. “I know you did it because you’re too immature to let Penelope spend time alone with other men.”

“I don’t care if she spends time with other men,” Crow tilted his chin up in a sneer. “I just don’t like it when that other man is you.”

“Ooh,” Olivia trotted up to Penelope’s side, her dark eyes flicking between the two men. The smell of alcohol was thick on her breath. “What’s happening here?” she asked, propping her elbow on her friend’s shoulder to lean against her. “Did I miss anything interesting?”

“The only thing you missed was this thief proving that he can’t be trusted,” Gavin spat without taking his eyes off Crow.

“Back on this again, are we?” Crow said dryly. “Forgive me if I don’t follow your reasoning. You agreed to travel with a thief, got pickpocketed by said thief, and now claim the thief is untrustworthy because he acted within his own nature.” He held Gavin’s gaze haughtily. “The only thing I see here is an incompetent knight who didn’t consider the possibility that working with a criminal might mean keeping a closer watch of his coins.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Or did it? ;)
Crow made sure to get him back lmao

Same xD They're my favorite