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Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow's a little worried about John now

Thanks cx I just want to graduate lmao

For real. I'm hoping I can get decent at it because it could be a good way to make some extra money if I get commissions ^^

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow shrugged when Penelope explained that Gavin had been chosen by her father. He supposed it made sense. From the little he knew of noble courtship, it seemed like suitors were often chosen by the woman’s parents, and she was obviously no exception. Thinking back on his one encounter with John during their last mission, it also made sense that he would have selected someone as work-focused as Gavin for his daughter. Although, he had to wonder why John arranged their marriage in the first place. He had thought that Penelope’s father had wanted her to become a knight rather than settle down. Had something changed his mind?

Deciding it probably wasn’t the best idea to ask her while Olivia and Gavin were around, he kept the question to himself. Instead, he planted a quick kiss on her cheek and reached to take her hand. “Well, it’s too late to stop him now,” he said, following the others as they walked on ahead. “We might as well try not to give him another reason to be angry with me.”

As they continued towards Aramoor, another thought passed through Crow’s mind that made him frown. If Penelope’s engagement had been arranged by her father, was it really broken off just because she had said she didn’t want to marry Gavin? It sounded like the power to terminate the courtship rested with John.

Maybe that’s why Gavin didn’t try very hard to keep her from leaving him for me, he mused with a shudder. If her father really was the one who had the final say on her marriage to the knight, then it might be harder than they thought to get her out of it. The thought was upsetting to him.

“Hey,” he said softly, casting her a concerned glance and slowing his pace a bit to put some more distance between them and the others. “If your courtship was arranged by your father, then what’s going to happen if he finds out you left your suitor before the war ends?” He held her gaze searchingly. He wanted to believe John wouldn’t cause them any trouble when they eventually left to be together in the outer villages, but that hope was looking less and less likely the more he thought about it. “Don’t tell me he’d rush your marriage,” he stepped a bit closer to her, as if the gesture could somehow prevent her father from taking her away.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

No worries! I finished my last final FREEDOM
I also bought a drawing tablet recently (it's been a wishlist thing for me since middle school) so I've been practicing with that ^^
All I've learned so far is that people on YouTube make it look so much easier than it really is xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As they crossed through the water to the other side of the river, Crow was relieved to find that it seemed to stay consistently shallow. He was still tense with nervousness, since the riverbed could still drop off unexpectedly beneath his feet, but the water never rose past the middle of his thigh at its deepest point. It looked like Gavin had been right after all.

Penelope’s consistent presence at his side helped quite a bit as well. He was certain that if he had been crossing by himself, he would have been much more anxious. However, by focusing on the feeling of her stable arm around his and the occasional comforting strokes of her free hand, he managed to stay calm enough to focus on finding sure footing beneath the rapids. It was a good thing too, because not long after they reached the center of the river, he heard her warn him about fast currents.

He nodded wordlessly, grimacing as he felt a conveniently timed rush of water tug at his legs. Still, the depth never seemed to increase, so he kept moving, feeling a bit reassured that even if he did stumble, he could always regain his footing. The only real danger would be if he fell. He’d never seen it in person, but the thief had heard stories of other people getting their feet trapped beneath rocks on the riverbed and being forced beneath the surface by powerful rapids. If they couldn’t manage to free themselves, they would drown. The thought made him shudder, since he knew he would be in too much of a panic to pay attention to his footing if he fell in the river.

Suddenly more eager to get out of the water, he focused his attention on making it to the other bank with Penelope.

Fortunately, he only stumbled once by the time they made it back to solid ground. Crow was quick to hurry out of the river, his legs trembling slightly with a mixture of leftover adrenaline and relief. He wanted to sit down and take a break to recover from the stress of crossing the water, but he didn’t have a chance before Gavin addressed the group again.

“Now that everyone is here, let’s keep going,” the knight said mercilessly. He turned and kept walking without waiting for a reply.

Crow groaned and leaned his weight into Penelope’s side in a slightly exaggerated manner. “I can’t believe you almost married that guy,” he sighed. “Does he even know how to rest?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow's fear hasn't improved in two years either xD

Yeahhh it's a lot of petty stuff too, which makes it worse
I just wish they could act like adults and not try to play victim to make us feel bad about stuff that isn't our fault
I have zero tolerance for childish behavior, which just makes them mad because they can't walk all over me xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow cursed silently as Gavin insisted on crossing the river through the water. Even though it did look safe to cross, he could already feel his heartbeat begin to pick up with nervousness. He’d had enough bad experiences in the past trusting slow and shallow looking rivers, only to find out the currents that ran beneath the surface had been strong enough to sweep him off his feet. Rivers were deceitful things, so he preferred to stay on land, well out of their reach.

He glanced at Penelope as she spoke up in defense of his idea, hoping her word would be enough to sway her stubborn ex suitor, but unfortunately, Gavin seemed convinced that the thief was trying to throw them off course somehow. He wished the knight would put his competitiveness aside and realize that he was trying to help them. It was becoming a nuisance to always butt heads with him every time a decision had to be made, especially since this particular decision could potentially put his safety at risk.

As Gavin stepped into the water, Crow shifted his weight uncomfortably, debating whether he should just tell the knight that he couldn’t swim. However, even though he knew it could be dangerous for him to cross the river, he couldn’t bring himself to confess his inability to the other man. It was prideful, but he didn’t want to admit the weakness out loud, and especially not to Gavin. The only reason he had told Penelope long ago was because he had been exhausted, and that river had been deep enough that he couldn’t have crossed by himself. The circumstances this time weren’t quite the same.

He blinked as he felt Penelope link arms with him, suddenly realizing how tensely he had been standing. Fortunately, Olivia and Gavin had already begun crossing the river, so neither of them seemed to notice his reluctance to follow. As she tried to reassure him that she would be by his side, he nodded faintly. “I know,” he murmured. “And I trust you. I just wish he wouldn’t be so stubborn about this. The real crossing point isn’t even that far from here.” He shook his head, letting out a long sigh. “Well, I guess there’s nothing we can do about it now… Might as well get it over with.”

Fighting back against his instinct to stay away from the rushing water, Crow walked with Penelope to the water’s edge. As they stepped in, his heart pounded with anxiousness and fear flashed briefly across his face. The water immediately soaked his boots and the bottom of his pants, chilling his skin. The unpleasant sensation did nothing to improve his feelings about the situation.

“I hope you’ve got a good hold, love,” he muttered bitterly, forcing himself to regain control of his facial expression in case the other knights looked back at them. “Because I’m about one strong current away from running out of this godsforsaken river.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I'm working on my reply, but my husband and I are dealing with some family drama right now, so it's taking me a little longer than usual ^^;
In laws are fun...

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I’m at a game night with some friends, so I’ll reply when I get home ^^

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Gavin's starting to think that Crow's dragging out their trip on purpose

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow shot Gavin a glare, annoyed that the knight was being so persistent in keeping him away from Penelope. He wished the man would just stay out of their business and let them have some time to themselves during the trip. But of course, Gavin was still too hung up on Penelope to let it go so easily. As long as he still had hope that she would eventually leave the thief and come back to him, it looked like he wasn’t going to give up. It was going to be a nuisance to get away from him throughout the rest of their journey to Aramoor.

Crow blinked as he felt Penelope kiss him on the cheek and turned to her with a frown. He didn’t want to get up so soon, especially since they still had some extra time left before they really needed to keep moving. However, he guessed she was trying to avoid starting a fight with her former suitor by following his command. With a reluctant sigh, he took her hand to get up as well, although he made a point to give the male knight one more cold look as he did so.

When Penelope spoke again, he met her gaze with an amused smile, picking up right away on what she was trying to do. While she collected her bag, he glanced furtively at Gavin, noticing the smug look fall off the knight’s face as he seemed to realize there wasn’t much he could do to separate them during the night. The look of defeat on his face was pleasing enough to the thief, so he said nothing more as he retrieved his own bag and slung it over his shoulder.

Once Crow and Penelope were ready, Gavin walked over to get Olivia up as well.

“We’re leaving already?” she groaned exaggeratedly.

“We need to keep moving,” Gavin explained. “We need to catch these thieves before they get away from us again.”

Olivia protested for a little while longer, but eventually gave in and climbed to her feet as well. Once everyone was prepared to keep moving, Gavin took the lead again. He eyed the river at the edge of the clearing for a moment before turning back to the others. “This part looks shallow enough. We should cross here.”

At his words, Crow stiffened. However, he recovered quickly enough that Gavin didn’t seem to notice his reaction. “There’s a better point to cross upstream,” he said, gesturing towards the southern side of the water. “The river is narrower, and there’s a fallen tree that spans the whole length of it. I’ve used it many times.”

“It’ll be faster if we just cross here,” Gavin shook his head, eyeing him suspiciously as if he believed the thief was trying to throw them off course somehow. “Not afraid to get your feet wet, are you?”

“No,” Crow lied. “But I’d rather not if I can avoid it.”

“It’s still early enough in the day that you’ll dry off before we set up camp for the night,” Gavin shrugged, clearly intent on ignoring his advice. He turned towards the water, “Come on, let’s keep moving.”