Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As he sat down next to Penelope on the other side of the room, Crow groaned inwardly. He wasn’t sure if he had ever felt so flustered in his life. Ever since they had arrived at Silas’s house it had been one thing after another, from their discussion of household roles, to Zenith’s prodding about his relationship to the knight, and finally to Letha’s comments about them as well. He liked his friends from Aramoor and appreciated their hospitality, but he couldn’t wait to get back on the road again and leave behind all of the reminders of the things he didn’t want to focus on yet. While he was excited for their future together, it was still quite far away. He preferred to think about the aspects of his life that he had some control over and could do something about. A life with Penelope after the war was not yet one of those aspects.

“Well, at least we have someone that approves of us getting married.”

Crow glanced up at Penelope with wide eyes, surprised to hear her comment about marriage so flippantly. He was just beginning to wonder if the thought of it didn’t make her as uncomfortable as it did him, when her expression changed and she began to stammer in a weak attempt to recover from the remark. Somehow, the sight brought a faint smile to his lips and he felt himself relaxing in spite of the current topic of conversation. Perhaps they were being ridiculous to keep getting so worked up over the future. They had already talked about it, and it was something they knew they both wanted. Instead of shying away from it like it was something forbidden, he pondered if they should stop fighting it and lean in instead.

So, when Penelope tried to change the subject, he moved in suddenly to meet her in a deep kiss. Closing his eyes, he reached up to trace one hand along the edge of her jaw, no longer caring who saw them. All he cared about in that moment was showing the knight his affection for her. He sank into her soft lips a little more.

After a bit, he pulled back again and met her gaze with a grin. “When we marry,” he emphasized the word despite the pounding of his heart. “I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I love you, Penelope, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you no matter what anyone—noble or peasant—has to say about it.” He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pressed another kiss to her cheek before shifting slightly to rest his head on top of hers.

“Now, to answer your question, my day was actually nice,” he said, gently rubbing his hand down and up her arm as he held her close to his side. “I spent most of it napping and helping Zenith with those blankets she was knitting. That chain Gavin used to tie me up was pretty shoddy work.” He chuckled softly and then glanced down at her with a mischievous smirk. “Also, I suppose I can bother to tell you that I did send those two kids after you when you left. With Gavin acting so hostilely towards me all the time, I didn’t want to risk him keeping out of the loop when you all got back.” He shrugged and casted her a sly wink. “I’m sure I can trust you to keep that our little secret though.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Zenith's kids made Crow thoroughly uncomfortable xD

He really is lol
I'm excited

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow smiled against Penelope’s lips as she leaned up to kiss him. When they parted, he glanced at the other knights as they moved off to do other things and left him alone with her. He was glad that they had some time to themselves after spending most of the day apart. After they’d had the last two days to spend every moment with each other, he felt a bit spoiled and found that he longed to have her by his side when she was gone. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be long before they got back to the knights’ camp, and they would have to say goodbye for at least a day or two, if not longer, depending on when he could manage to get away from the other thieves again.

As Penelope went on to tell him about how her day with her comrades had gone better, he nodded. “I was hoping that would happen,” he said with a smirk and then lowered his voice. “The only reason I agreed to stay behind was so that ex suitor of yours would realize I’m not meddling in your search. Hopefully he’ll be a little more agreeable now.”

He noticed her eyes drift down to his mouth, so he began to lean in to meet her in another kiss. However, he before their lips met, he noticed her waver and look off to the side. Curious to see what had caught her attention, he followed her gaze to see Alice and Letha watching them from behind the dining table. He rolled his eyes and muttered, “They’re just as nosy as their mother.”

Shooting the two girls a warning look, he tipped his head slightly in a gesture for them to leave, “Go on, get out of here.”

To his annoyance, his response to their presence only seemed to encourage them more. “Thief’s got a wife!” Letha giggled, inching slightly closer.

Crow felt warmth creep into his cheeks at the child’s words. His eyes flicked toward Penelope for a brief moment before he shook his head, “We’re not married.”

“Oh yeah?” Alice snickered. “Then why were you kissing her?”

The thief groaned inwardly. It had been hard enough for him to explain his situation with Penelope to their mother. He couldn’t even imagine what he would say to make them understand. “Don’t worry about it, kid,” he said, hoping to brush off the subject. “You’ll get it when you’re older.”

Unfortunately, they didn’t give up so easily. Letha stepped closer, looking between them for a moment before her gaze landed on Crow. “She’s pretty,” the girl said innocently. “You should marry her.” Her eyes wandered to Penelope again. “Then you can have kids that can play with us, just like my mother!”

“Okay, I think that’s enough out of you,” Crow cut in quickly, resting a hand on her head. The blush on his cheeks had deepened considerably. He spun the girl around and gave her a gentle push back towards Alice. “Go on and play with your sister.”

To his relief, Letha complied this time and ran off to chase Alice around the parlor. He silently thanked the gods for the girls’ short attention spans and turned back to Penelope again. “We should find somewhere to sit on the other side of the house,” he said softly in an attempt to recover from the discomfort of what had just happened. Reaching to take her hand, he laced his fingers with hers and gave her a tug as he headed over to a blanket that was farther from the parlor.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Olivia will probably like the second trip better, since I foresee the other thieves demanding to get involved with the search now that they know Jaxon is in the area xD

Gavin won't be a happy camper though cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow let out his breath in a defeated sigh when all of the knights came to the unanimous decision to go back to their camp. In his opinion, it made more sense to keep following whatever leads they got until they reached a true dead end. However, between Gavin’s urge to report to his barons and Olivia’s exhaustion from the entirety of their travels, he doubted they were going to listen to reason. It seemed like they were going to be giving up on the tip they had found after all.

He uncrossed his arms and shoved his hands into his pockets, leaning against the wooden support beam as the others continued to discuss their next step. He was just beginning to wonder if it would be worth it to risk exploring Wheldrake alone, when Penelope brought up the idea to take a trip there if they didn’t hear anything more from the other knights. He eyed her curiously with a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. It seemed like she wasn’t quite as eager as her comrades to give up so soon.

When she turned to him, he shrugged and wrapped one arm around her waist. “It’s better than nothing,” he murmured in return, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Thanks.”

“Are you all staying another night?” Zenith spoke up, climbing somewhat awkwardly to her feet from where she had been sitting with her daughters.

“Seems that way,” Crow turned to her with a sheepish smile. “We haven’t overstayed our welcome, have we?”

“Far from it,” Zenith chuckled. “I enjoy the company. I was only asking because I was wondering how many mouths I’ll have to feed for supper tonight.”

Crow shifted his weight, “You don’t have to do that. We’ve got our own food.”

“Nonsense,” she waved a dismissive hand. “I’d like to return the favor for everything you’ve given to us. Besides, Silas will be home soon, so I was going to get started on the cooking anyway.”

Crow hesitated for a moment longer before giving a nod. “Thank you for your hospitality,” he dipped his head to her courteously. He knew there was no point in trying to argue with her on the matter. The people of Aramoor were known for taking care of travelers. They considered it to be a point of pride to be a good host. It would have been more dishonoring to her if he had turned down the offer.

“You four just relax, and I’ll let you know when supper is ready,” Zenith smiled before turning to head into the small kitchen area.

“Alright,” Crow nodded once more and then turned to Penelope with a grin, “Looks like I finally get some time with you today, after all.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Olivia wants to go back too xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow stifled a smirk as Gavin stepped over to unlock the chain cuff on his wrist. It was almost too easy to make him do what he wanted. He could tell that the knight was reluctant to let him go so quickly, but it wasn’t like he had much of a choice. No matter what their next step would be, Gavin couldn’t just leave him tied up—even though he could get out on his own without any trouble. Penelope would never stand to let her former suitor leave him behind like that. He found it entertaining to watch the knight squirm as he was forced to release the criminal he despised so much.

Once the metal fastening had been removed, Crow rubbed his wrist as if it was sore and climbed to his feet. He turned to Penelope next, listening as she explained the information they had learned. Even though he had already heard it for himself from Zenith’s daughters, he didn’t want to make it obvious that he had been spying, so he nodded when she finished speaking, folding his arms over his chest in a thoughtful gesture. At her question, he shrugged. “It is hard to say,” he admitted, meeting her gaze with a frown. “Unless we could get a description of the people in the group, I can’t tell you with any certainty whether it was them or not. But I’m also reluctant to pry for that information, since we don’t want them to find out we’ve been looking for them specifically.”

“With all this vagueness, we’re never going to get anything done,” Gavin exhaled in frustration. “If we just approached this mission like any other manhunt, we’d already have the bandits in chains.”

“If you approached them your way, you would be dead,” Crow shot him a glare. “If even the slightest wind gets back to Jaxon that we’ve found his trail, he’ll turn right back around and hunt us down first. This vagueness is for our own safety.”

“Or this is all a complete waste of time,” Gavin shook his head. “We should head back to our camp and report back to the barons. They’re expecting us anyway.”

“Or we could cut past Wheldrake and see where this lead takes us,” Crow suggested. “The village isn’t that far out of the way from the route back to your camp. It won’t take us more than an extra day and a half at the most, and that’s only if we stay long.”

“No,” Gavin said with an edge of irritation in his low voice. “We’ve lost enough time already taking your advice. We’re not going to follow another flimsy lead when the real thieves could be getting away.”

“A flimsy lead is better than no lead at all,” Crow pointed out.

“I don’t care,” Gavin narrowed his eyes warningly. “I’m done chasing shadows.”

“It was a week and a half ago that the group was even seen…” Olivia spoke up suddenly from where she leaned in the doorframe. She gave a one-shouldered shrug when the two men turned towards her in surprise. “What?” she frowned defensively. “We’ve been at this for four days including our trip to Whitebridge. I want to take a break.”

Gavin blinked, seeming shocked that Olivia had sided with him for once, before turning back to Crow with a pleased expression. “Seems like we’re going back to camp.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Nice cx

Crow made Gavin second guess himself

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It wasn’t long before the door opened again, and the knights stepped back inside the house. Crow looked up at them lazily without lifting more than his head from the ground. He wanted them to believe he had just woken up from a nap, after all. Stretching tiredly—he didn’t have to fake that much, since sitting around all day had left him feeling lethargic—he sat up to greet Penelope when she walked over to him. “That’s a shame,” he sighed as she told him she wasn’t sure whether or not they had been successful. “I wonder whose fault that was.” He shot an accusative look at Gavin to make it clear who he was speaking about.

“I’m sure he already knows as much as we do at this point,” the knight returned a suspicious look of his own. “Right?”

Crow stared at him blankly. He was a bit surprised that Gavin seemed to know he had been up to something, but it was hard to tell if he was aware of what he had done or if he was just trying to draw a reaction out of him. So, he elected to take on an innocent expression as he went on. “I’ve been here the whole time,” he waggled his chained hand to emphasize the point. “How would I know what you found out?”

“Don’t play dumb,” Gavin crossed his arms. “We caught your little spies following us through the village.”

Crow blinked. So he does know. “Oh,” he turned towards Alice and Letha with a grin. “So that’s where you two ran off to, is it?” The girls giggled in response, clearly finding everything about the situation entertaining. Fortunately for the thief, their excitement wouldn’t be enough on its own to give him away. He turned back to Gavin with an amused smirk, “You can’t seriously be threatened by a couple of young girls, can you? I’m sorry, but that’s pathetic.”

Gavin flushed, seeming unsure what to do with the scene before him. “I know you’re lying,” he pressed, determined to draw the truth out of him. “Just admit it. You sent them to follow us, since you were stuck here.”

“And just why would I do that?” Crow rolled his eyes, laying back down again in an apathetic manner. He knew quite well the reason why he had done it. It had been a precaution in case Gavin had refused to keep him in the loop or tried to throw him off course with a false lead since he didn’t trust him. With Zenith’s daughters spying for him, he was on the same page as everyone else whether the knight liked it or not. Plus, if anything had gone wrong, he would have been able to reach Penelope more quickly. It had been a win win.

“Who knows why you thieves do anything?” Gavin muttered, although the conviction in his expression wavered slightly.

“It is a mystery, isn’t it?” Crow smirked. He raised his bound arm from where he laid, causing the chain to rattle in response to the motion. “Now can someone please take this annoying thing off of me and fill me in on what I missed?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow isn't going to fess up to it easily though xD

Sorry that took so long! I ended up being out for a lot longer than I was expecting this morning.
I'll be on for the rest of the day though!