Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“I hope so too,” Crow nodded when Penelope said she hoped this would be the last trip they needed to take. He forced himself to hold her gaze evenly as he spoke, despite the guilt that twisted his stomach. He knew quite well that this wouldn’t be the end of their search—not as long as he was under Jaxon’s thumb. Well, unless the others managed to figure out what was really going on. He swallowed nervously. For the sake of Penelope’s safety, he hoped he would be able to prevent them from realizing the truth.

As she went on to comment about the other thieves, he shrugged. “What can I say? They’re a stubborn lot.”

“Did that other friend of yours decide to stay at camp?”

Crow stiffened at the mention of Simon and averted his gaze. He was hesitant to tell her what had happened, both because he knew his companions didn’t want the word to get out about his death and because he didn’t want to speak of it again. Just the thought of the incident left him feeling hollow inside. He glanced back up at Penelope. Even though he preferred to just let the subject drop, there was a small part of him that also wanted to tell her, if only for the sake of lifting some of the burden from his own shoulders.

He glanced furtively over his shoulder at the others for a moment, making sure they weren’t paying attention to him, before he turned back to Penelope. “Actually… that’s the reason why they came with me,” he murmured sadly, shifting a little closer to her to keep his voice down. He didn’t want the other thieves to overhear him telling a knight about their companion’s demise. “Simon is dead,” he went on, lowering his gaze once more, this time out of shame. “While I was with you in Aramoor, Jaxon found our camp and murdered him. Supposedly it was a warning of some sort, but now, Rikki and Alistair want him killed for what he did.” He pointedly left out most of the details of the attack, since he didn’t want her to know that Jaxon had come looking for him.

“I couldn’t say no,” he continued. “They have just as much of a right to get revenge as I do. That’s why I let them come with me.” He glanced over his shoulder one more time. Alistair and Olivia looked quite content as they stood aside to catch up, but Rikki was eyeing Gavin with a wary gaze, and the knight didn’t seem to have a very high opinion of her either. Crow sighed, “I’m not overly concerned about Alistair, but I’m hoping that Rikki will be able to keep her temper reigned in.” He met Penelope’s gaze again with a shake of his head. “Among all of us, she’s the most likely to do something rash. I’m a little worried that she’ll set Gavin off.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Rikki and Gavin definitely aren't going to get along

Yeah, traditionalists ruin fun things for the rest of us xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It wasn’t long before the knights came into view below the tree. Crow tensed to begin his decent down, but before he had a chance to move, Gavin spoke up from the ground in a furious voice. He narrowed his eyes. The knight’s hand was resting threateningly against the hilt of his sword. He held out one arm, signaling to Alistair and Rikki to stay put. Gavin didn’t strike him as the type to impulsively attack, but if he felt threatened by Crow’s companions, that patient demeanor of his might not be enough to stay his hand. The thief didn’t want his friends to get injured in an unnecessary fight.

“Ooh,” Rikki casted a smirk at Alistair. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a big man.” She turned towards Gavin, swinging her legs carelessly from the bough she was seated on. “What are you gonna do with that sword, huh? Throw it at us?”

Crow’s eyes flicked concernedly between them and he groaned inwardly. He should have known it would be too much to expect the other thieves to work peacefully alongside the knights. “That’s enough,” he said sternly, shooting her a warning look. “I told you both earlier that you’re going to have to be civil, or I’m not going to let you be part of this.”

Rikki clicked her tongue disappointedly, “That’s no fun.” She shrugged. “But you’re the boss, I suppose.”

It wasn’t the answer Crow had been hoping to hear, but he supposed it was the best he would get out of the knight-hating thief. He lowered his gaze to look at Gavin. “These are my companions,” he explained, hoping to ease the knight’s concerns. “They’re going to be helping us look for the thieves who raided your camp.”

“I only agreed to work with one criminal,” Gavin said irritably.

“That’s just too bad,” Rikki curled her lip. “Because we’ve got a vendetta against the man you’re trying to find, so we’re coming with you whether you like it or not.”

“Easy,” Crow hissed at her, worried that her temper would only cause more trouble for them all. Turning back to Gavin once more, he went on, “Take your hand off your weapon so we can come down.”

“How do I know this isn’t an ambush?” Gavin growled.

“Oh, just do it, you paranoid fool,” Olivia spoke up suddenly with a roll of her eyes. Her dark eyes flickered up to the tree—Crow noticed her gaze rest on Alistair for a moment—before she went on, “They’re not going to attack anyone, so you’d better not attack them either.”

Gavin stared at her in surprise before he reluctantly removed his hand from his sword hilt with an annoyed, “Fine.”

“Thank you,” Crow nodded and then gestured for Alistair and Rikki to climb down from the tree with him. He was glad that the meeting had started off without any bloodshed. So far, so good.

Once they were all on the ground, he made his way over to Penelope and greeted her with a friendly smile. He wanted to close the distance between them completely with a kiss, but he felt slightly uncomfortable with the other thieves’ eyes on him. Rikki was still sore about their relationship, and Alistair had only just learned about it a few days ago. So, instead, he restrained himself and stopped walking while there was still a small amount of distance between them. “I see you managed to convince your barons to let you come with me again,” he said with a grin. “You’re getting good at this.”

Beyond Expectations [AHeartlessNobody & Summer]

@AHeartlessNobody Hey there! Just wondering if this RP is still active? No worries if you're dropping it, I just want to make sure everything's all good on your end ^^

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It's cool that you got to see him yesterday then ^^

Ah, okay. I actually am Christian (I just tend not to write like it, since I don't include my personal practices in my characters) but if you study music history, Christian music takes longer to develop than secular music because there's always backlash from traditionalists who believe that if you change it, then you're of the devil xD It's kinda sad, really. The artists are getting better slowly, but I still haven't found too many that I love.

Jonathan Thulin is really good though. He's got one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard in my life
This song shows off his voice really well:


Oh, also, just thought I should tell you this because I think it's funny. I added "Safe" by Nico Santos to my own playlist, and my husband got it stuck in his head for weeks xD I told him that he could thank you for that, since you showed it to me lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“It’s funny,” Rikki mused aloud as the group of thieves trekked through the forest towards Myrefall. “I never thought I’d be on this side of a manhunt before.”

“It’s strange, that’s for sure,” Crow nodded. “I’ve been at this for a week now, and I’m still getting used to it, myself.”

Suddenly, they heard a noise off to their left, and the three thieves ducked behind a cluster of bushes. They waited silently as a small patrol of knights walked passed, oblivious that they were even there. Once they were gone, the thieves stood up straight again. “Well, some things haven’t changed,” Rikki chuckled, drawing her hood a little further over her head. “We may be hunters now, but we’re certainly not the top of the food chain.”

Crow nodded, watching the backs of the knights disappear into the trees. “Let’s keep moving,” he murmured, picking up his pace slightly. They hadn’t seen as many patrols as he had the last time he had traveled to meet with Penelope’s group, but it seemed there were still a few roaming about. He didn’t like it. His nerves were already frayed enough from the stress of his arrangement with Jaxon. He didn’t need to deal with running into a patrol of strange knights on top of that. He didn’t know what he would do if he did, but for the sake of the other deal he had made with Penelope to abstain from killing her comrades, he didn’t want to stick around and find out.

I’m making too many promises to too many people, he thought, fidgeting nervously with the hilt of one of his daggers. It was going to be difficult for him to honor his word to both of them, since Jaxon and Penelope had very different agendas. He wanted to just abandon his deal with the other thief and stay true to the knight, but in doing so, he would just end up causing her death. On the contrary, if he broke his word to her and killed a knight that was wandering too close to Jaxon’s hideout, that would surely cause contention between them too. He took a shaky breath. No matter what he did, it seemed he was at risk of losing her.

After some time had passed, Alistair spoke up. “So… about these knights were going to be working with,” he said hesitantly, meeting Crow’s gaze. “Do we know any of them?”

Crow glanced at his companion with a knowing grin. “Yes, Olivia is one of them,” he answered, nudging the other thief teasingly.

“Oh, good,” Alistair shrugged with forced nonchalance. “I’m glad we won’t be working with total strangers.”

Crow rolled his eyes, but decided to let the subject drop. His companion could pretend to be uninterested in the knight if he wished.

“Are there going to be total strangers though?” Rikki asked with a frown. “You make it sound like there are more than two of them.”

“Well, yes,” Crow said, eyeing her tentatively. “There are three knights. Penelope and Olivia are two of them, but there’s one more man in their patrol.”

“Is he someone we can trust?” Rikki said skeptically.

“I think so,” Crow sighed. “At least, I trust Penelope to keep him from saying or doing anything that would hurt any of us.”

“Why would he listen to her?”

Crow wavered. “Because she’s a lieutenant,” he lied after a moment. “He has to do what she says.”

Rikki studied him briefly before nodding, “Well, I hope you’re right about that.”

“Me too,” he exhaled.

--

After a while, the thieves arrived at the edge of the road where Crow had met up with the knights last time. They lingered by the edge of the village for a while before he directed them to climb up the tree he had hidden himself in before, since it was too risky for them to continue standing out in the open. They settled down on some of the lower-hanging branches, keeping their gazes fixed on the road as they searched for Penelope’s patrol. As an added precaution, the thieves each kept a dagger in hand, just in case they were spotted by any less friendly faces.

Crow held his weapon tightly as he gazed down at the road, heart racing with nervous energy as he waited for Penelope to appear. He hoped she wouldn’t be much longer. The sooner this whole trip was over with, the better.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Nice! Does he only visit every once in a while?

I wrote part of my post out in advance again cx

Those are really good too! I don't love a lot of Christian artists, since they can be kinda repetitive, but Hahhah Kerr has an amazing voice ^^
I also really like Paper Kites. I feel like I've heard them before, but I can't remember for sure. Either way, their finger picking is so pretty
I love that kind of guitar <3

Yay! I love Foreign Air too x3
This one is my favorite by them, although it doesn't really have much to do with this RP lol

In the Shadows

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The next day, Crow woke up early in his anticipation to prepare for his next trip with the knights. Since he had told Alistair and Rikki the truth about what he had been doing during his last absence, there was no point in trying to hide his plans from them anymore. So, he didn’t bother telling them the lie he had come up with as he packed his bag with supplies for the journey to Wheldrake. This time, he made sure to bring extra bandages both to redress his wound and to take care of any future injuries, should he receive any.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get much done before the sound of his shuffling about roused Rikki and Alistair from their slumber. “You’re leaving again already?” Alistair asked tiredly, shaking his head to clear away his grogginess.

“Not now, but soon, yes,” Crow said without looking up from the bag he was kneeling beside. He wavered for a moment before adding: “We need to catch Jaxon before he has a chance to do any more damage.”

Alistair and Rikki exchanged a look before Alistair cleared his throat, “We want to come with you too.”

“Yeah,” Rikki chimed in, climbing to her feet from her bed. “Jaxon killed one of our own. We’re going to help you take him down for good.”

Crow eyed them hesitantly. He still wanted to keep them out of the hunt for their old leader, but Jaxon had proven that wouldn’t be possible when he attacked them in their own home. He shifted his weight uncomfortably. Perhaps before he would have been more inclined to accept their offer to help, but now that he was working alongside the very man they were trying to catch, he wasn’t sure what to do. If something went wrong, he didn’t want them to get caught up in the middle of it.

“I appreciate the offer,” he said slowly. “But I’m working directly with knights. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be part of that.”

“I don’t care,” Alistair shrugged. “I’d even work with mercenaries if it meant we would bring Jaxon down faster.”

“The same goes for me,” Rikki said in agreement.

Crow chewed on the inside of his lip. It seemed like his companions wouldn’t be so easily dissuaded. “What about Hazel?” he asked, trying a different approach. “If you both come with me, no one will be left to make sure she’s safe.”

That seemed to make them pause.

“That’s true,” Rikki casted a concerned look at Alistair. “We can’t just leave her alone while Jaxon is still on the loose.”

Alistair folded his arms over his chest, “I suppose so…” Suddenly, he blinked as he was struck with an idea. “But we could always take turns keeping watch over her.”

Crow groaned inwardly. It seemed like there would be no convincing them to stay behind. He opened his mouth to try another approach, but another voice spoke up before he could say a word.

“Don’t waste your time sitting around here with me,” Hazel, who had just emerged from the tunnel, said softly. She crossed one arm over her middle in a defensive posture when the thieves turned to look at her.

“You’re up,” Alistair said in surprise.

“Of course I’m up,” Hazel curled her lip. “You three were making so much noise, I just had to come out and see what all the commotion was about.” She lowered her gaze to the ground, all irritation fleeing from her features. “Anyway, you should all leave together. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“What if Jaxon comes back to take revenge for us leading him astray again?” Rikki protested.

“I’ll just stay in the deeper caverns,” Hazel said simply. “I can even take all of our supplies with me. This place is such a maze; he’ll probably just assume we all left to get away from him.” Her eyes hardened. “If there’s even a chance that you three can avenge Simon, then I refuse to be the one to hold you back.”

“We will,” Alistair promised. He turned back to Crow with a smirk. “Looks like it’s settled.”

“It would seem so,” Crow forced a smile despite the sinking feeling in his stomach. “Pack your things then. We need to leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

“While we’re at it, why don’t we help Hazel move the rest of our supplies into the tunnels?” Rikki suggested, offering the herbalist a friendly smile. “There’s far too much here for one woman to handle alone.”

Hazel rolled her eyes, “I’m more than capable.”

“Maybe so,” Alistair shot her a grin. “But that doesn’t mean we’re going to stand aside while you break your back over those heavy crates.” He gestured to Crow. “Come on. Let’s take care of those for her.”

Crow’s eyes flicked briefly towards Hazel. After she had spoken to him so harshly about what had happened, he felt like he was walking on eggshells around her. “Alright,” he said after a moment, rising to follow the other thief over to the supplies.

They all spent the rest of the day moving and packing gear as well as strategizing about what to do if they managed to track down Jaxon’s band of thieves. However, the preparations only served to worsen Crow’s unease about the upcoming trip. He had an edge over both the knights and the thieves, since they would freely tell him their plans, but he still had to tread carefully around them in order to keep from getting caught working for Jaxon. It was a touchy situation to be in.

So, when darkness eventually fell and they all settled down for bed, he welcomed the distraction that sleep would bring him, if only for a little while. He laid down on his mat nearby Alistair and Rikki, drawing his blanket fully over his head and closing his eyes tightly. His insides felt like they were twisting with anxiety about meeting with the knights the next day. He wished desperately that he could convince Penelope to stop accepting his help on their mission—to warn her of the potential danger he could be putting her and her comrades in—but he couldn’t think of any way to do so without alerting her that something was wrong and therefore breaking his deal with Jaxon. He was helpless to stop the wheels of the scheme the manipulative man had set in motion.

Please, just let this journey be over quickly… he silently pleaded as he faded into sleep.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Oh, fun! Did you have a good time with him?

Sorry that took so long ^^; one of our friends came over to hang out.
He said he wants to go on our trip with us and might be able to get us all free airfare, so Hawaii is back on the table cx

--

EDIT: I found some of the songs I forgot about!! xD

Here's a few that I think fit Crow really well:

Free Animal by Foreign Air


Caffeine by Foreign Air


Who I Am by The Score


Here's one for Crow and Penelope:

Only by Imagine Dragons

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow woke up from his nap sometime in the evening while Alistair and Rikki were cooking dinner. Quite hungry since he had skipped lunch that day—after finding out that Simon was dead, he hadn’t had an appetite to eat— he joined them for a large meal of vegetables and rye bread. After everyone had eaten, Rikki took the leftovers to Hazel, who still hadn’t left the depths of the inner tunnels. According to Alistair, the herbalist wouldn’t touch the food, but Rikki was determined to get her to fill her stomach at some point.

For the rest of the evening, he left the hideout to walk along the edge of the river. His main purpose had been to visit the grave his companions had made for Simon. Since they needed to stay hidden from the knights, they had been forced to bury him far upstream, so their location wouldn’t be given away if any knights happened to see the marker. Fortunately, because it was a late hour, he had no trouble going to the spot and then coming back again after he had paid his respects to the fallen thief.

On his way back to the waterfall, he also stopped to wash off the blood that still stained his skin from Jaxon’s sword. After taking a quick look around to make sure he was still alone, he knelt down at the edge of the river and rolled up his sleeves, using the cold water to cleanse himself of the red streaks that painted his right arm and left hand. It took some time for him to meticulously scrub all of it off. When he was finished, he rocked back on his heels, watching the water flow.

Sitting on the bank alone, he suddenly had a strange urge to climb all the way in. He looked down at his hands. Even though he was clean from the blood, he still felt dirty. He had caused yet another one of his companions to die, and he had agreed to work alongside the murderer that had killed him. It felt vile.

Standing up again, he casted another glance over the area before he reached for the hem of his tunic, stripping the fabric off of his body and tossing it aside. He did the same with his boots and pants and then stepped into the river. The frigid water chilled his skin right away, and he shivered. There was a reason why peasants never bathed at this time of the year, but at that moment, he didn’t care. He just wanted to rid himself of the feeling of filth after everything that had happened.

So, taking a steeling breath, he waded deeper into the river. It was a shallow section that he and the other thieves had used to bathe in the past, and the slow-flowing water only rose to the middle of his thigh. But that was all Crow needed. He washed the rest of his body slowly, taking his time and enduring the iciness of the water as a form of self-inflicted justice for the guilt he felt about Simon’s death. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the effect he had hoped it would.

When he was finished bathing, he climbed out of the river and put his clothes back on, feeling just as terrible as before except that now he was wetter too. Trembling from the cold, he reached up to squeeze some of the water out of his long hair and began the walk back to the camp.

--

By the time Crow returned, the other thieves had already gone to bed. Glancing over at the sleeping area, he saw both Alistair and Rikki laying on their mats. It was as good of a time as any. He made his way quietly over to their medical supplies and dug out a roll of bandages. Sitting down against the wall, he rolled up his right sleeve and dressed the wound. It stung a bit as he worked, but otherwise it didn’t seem like it had gotten worse.

He had just finished inspecting the bandage to make sure it would hold up, when he heard a faint rustling sound from the sleeping area. He looked up sharply and put the leftover bandages back where he had found them, rising to his feet to distance himself from the medical supplies.

“Crow?” Rikki’s half-awake voice broke the silence as she lifted her head.

“It’s me,” he confirmed in a whisper, making his way over to the sleeping area. “I just got back from visiting Simon’s grave.”

“It’s late,” she noted, sitting up on her mat and rubbing her eyes tiredly.

“I know,” he said softly, grateful that the darkness of the cave concealed his damp hair and clothes from the other thief. “I lost track of time.” He met her gaze in the dark. “You should go back to sleep.”

“Okay,” she yawned and then smiled at him. “It’s good to have you back, Crow.” Reaching out, she rested one hand on top of his and then pulled back with a frown. “You’re freezing.”

“It’s a cold night,” Crow lied casually. “I’m fine.”

Rikki shook her head, “I’m going to get you an extra blanket.” Without waiting for a reply, she got up from her bed and made her way quietly over to the supplies, retrieved a blanket, and handed it off to him when she came back. “I’m not going to let you catch a fever the first night you’re back,” she said with a smirk.

“Thanks, love,” Crow said gratefully, spreading the second blanket on top of his first.

“No problem, boss,” Rikki’s smirk widened to a grin as she used her old pet name for him. She settled down on her mat once again and pulled her own blanket over herself. “Goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night,” he yawned in response, following her lead and laying down on his bed. Despite the troubles he’d learned about and nap he’d had earlier, the warmth of the blankets over his body and the comfort of his companions’ presence at his side left him feeling relaxed content. It didn’t take long before he slipped out of consciousness into a dreamless sleep.