Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As his mind wandered back to his companions, Crow grew quiet again. Based on the current rate of his recovery, it was going to be quite a while before he could get back to them. Part of him was worried that, since they probably believed he was dead, they would uproot their camp to get away from the frontlines of the war until they could figure out what to do without a leader. If they did, it was going to be difficult for him to locate them again, especially if they ended up going back to the inner kingdom. He knew that area to a degree, but he was still mostly unfamiliar with it, so he wouldn’t know the first place to start looking for them.

As Penelope spoke up again to suggest that she could speak to Hazel, he looked up at her with interest. He hadn’t thought about it before, but just because he was confined to a bed didn’t mean that no one could travel to his camp to see his companions. The thought made his heart beat a little faster with anticipation. Illness aside, he wanted them to know he was alive. If the knight could tell them for him, it would be a huge weight off his mind. Getting the medicine for his cough would just be a bonus.

“I think you should do it,” Crow answered without hesitation. He shifted slightly as he held her gaze. “But if you go, you’ll have to do it soon. If they think I’m dead, they might move their camp out of the outer villages. You’ll want to try to catch them before they leave.” He paused, thinking something over before adding: “Also, you might want to bring at least one other person with you. They’ll be wary of anyone who approaches them right now, so they might attack you without thinking, just like they did the first time you all met.”

Match Up in Malibu [Bee & Summer]

Having four drinks in less than an hour was definitely starting to push Jett over the edge into the realm of tipsy. He was still self-aware for the most part—or at least, he was pretty sure he was still self-aware—but he could feel the alcohol quite a bit now. Leaning back against the edge of the bar, he looked over the crowd again. There was no doubt in his intoxicated mind that this was exactly what the producers had been hoping for when they’d set out that table of free drinks. A pilot episode about a bunch of drunken people—half of whom were famous celebrities—was sure to rake in the views. However, he wasn’t about to let himself fall into their trap. He may have joined their show, but he planned to play it by his own rules. After all, his goal was to make this summer as memorable as possible, and that meant spending every day however he wanted to. Sure, maybe some days he would get drunk and party hard, but he was only going to do so on his terms, not anyone else’s.

Interestingly enough, it seemed like he wasn’t the only one who had come here with that train of thought. Jett glanced at Anna again with a curious look when she responded so casually to his comment about the possibility that all their rooms would be close together. Like him, she seemed to have her own agenda when she joined this show. Just the fact that she thought nobody was good enough to date her was proof enough that she wasn’t the type to roll over to someone else’s whim. Somehow, knowing that made him want to keep getting to know her better. There was something magnetic about the way she didn’t seem to care about anyone else’s opinion of her. He got the impression that she would do whatever she wanted without paying any mind to the people watching, and he had a feeling they would get along quite well during the time they had together over the summer.

“It’s not much of a bet if we’re on the same side,” Jett snorted at Anna’s haughty expression. He opened his mouth to make a snide remark about teaching her a lesson or two about gambling, but before he had a chance, a third person appeared to join their little conversation. He quirked a brow in surprise when a girl he didn’t recognize practically shoved herself between them to reach the drink table. Someone knows how to make an entrance. It was clear that this woman had just one mission on her mind: Get wasted and drag everyone else down in the process. He barely had time to react as she put a new glass in his hand. Looking down, he saw that she’d given him a Manhattan with a black olive garnish. Well, it’s not an Old Fashioned, but I’ll take it, he thought as he lifted the whiskey cocktail to his lips. Now on drink number five, he made a mental note to stop once the glass was empty, so he wouldn’t get drunk enough to make a fool of himself.

The girl, whom he now knew was named Nina, was quick to introduce herself to them. Jett could smell the heavy scent of alcohol on her breath when she spoke, but he knew he probably wasn’t much better off at the moment, so he kept his mouth shut about it. He hung back as Nina and Anna spoke briefly to each other, studying the new girl from a small distance. Like all the other auditionees to join the show, she was attractive, with thick, dark hair and exotic looking features. But in addition to that, her personality was also a closer fit to what he had been expecting to find here in Malibu. Energetic and bubbly, she reminded him of the classic fans he’d believed would be the ones to submit an audition tape to the producers in the first place.

When it came time for his turn to introduce himself to Nina, Jett flashed her a friendly smile. Even though he’d been having a good conversation with Anna, he didn’t mind the extra face. After all, the whole reason he had come to this place was to have a good time and meet new people. He didn’t want to spend the entirety of his first day on the show with just one of the other eleven guests—even if she was in intriguing hottie. “Nice to meet you, Nina,” he said, setting down his empty Old Fashioned glass to take the new girl’s hand. “I’m Jett.”

“Jett… as in Olliston?” Nina’s eyes widened. There was the recognition he’d been expecting.

“Maybe,” Jett winked at her.

“Oh my god,” Nina grew visibly more excited as she began to spout off: “I loved your last album! Your voice is amazing. Do you write all your own music?”

“Thanks,” Jett laughed. “And yeah, I do.” If he’d been soberer, he might have found her onslaught of fast-paced words more deterring, but with four and…—he subtly checked his glass—a third cocktails in him, he was more amused by her enthusiasm than anything else.

“Cool,” Nina gave him one of her bright smiles, swaying slightly on her feet from the drinks in her system. “There are so many talented people here! It’s like… damn, I never thought I’d meet famous people like you guys in real life. This is so cool.”

“Yeah, well we ‘famous people’ never thought we’d meet you either, so I think we’re even,” Jett said with a flirtatious grin. He hadn’t really joined the show to meet anyone, and that hadn’t changed since he’d arrived at the house, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t keep his options open. If there was even a chance that any of the girls here were “the one,” he wanted to leave the door open for romance.

Plus, on a totally unrelated note, a little flirting sounded like fun after all the alcohol he’d had that night.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

That could be interesting, especially since the rest of Crow's group thinks he's dead ^^;

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow averted his gaze embarrassedly when Penelope stepped closer to help him get up. He found it humiliating that he needed help to do something as simple as sitting again. Enjoying being able-bodied and independent, he’d thought that he was done with being assisted in menial tasks once the worst of his illness had healed, but apparently, the gods liked to watch him be forced to swallow his pride and accept help from other people. He just hoped he would recover quickly, so he wouldn’t have to keep doing so for much longer.

As Penelope began to lift him up from the bed, he remembered something else that made him tense apprehensively: If he was sitting up, there would be nothing to hide the bloodstains on the mattress. He glanced furtively at the knight to find that she had noticed the crimson spots as well. Fortunately, she also seemed to understand that he didn’t want Jane to know he had a severe cough because, while the physician was looking away, she used his blanket to cover the stains without him having to say anything.

Relieved that he didn’t have to worry about getting questioned by Jane over the blood, Crow relaxed slightly. However, the moment of peace didn’t last long before the physician went to work rewrapping his wound. He cringed at her roughness, which was especially painful since he’d just been freshly sutured. As always, if the noblewoman noticed his discomfort, she didn’t care. She worked quickly but effectively as she finished redressing his wound, and once she was done, wasted no time in excusing herself from the tent.

He followed her with his eyes as she exited the room and then rolled them once she’d left. However, he said nothing about it as another sharp pain blossomed from his injury. The thief winced, wishing he had something to numb the ache, but knowing the physician would never “waste her supplies” on a criminal like him. It would have been pointless to even ask. He was just going to have to put up with the pain until he healed enough that it went away on its own.

Penelope’s voice caught his attention, and he turned to her with a faint shrug. “I’m just glad one of the physicians in your camp was willing to treat me at all,” he shook his head. While he disliked how careless Jane was about making the procedure unnecessarily painful for him, he really was relieved that she was tending to him. With a wound as serious as the one he’d received from Jaxon, he doubted even Hazel had the skills to keep him alive. The grumpy physician was the only person standing between him and a rather painful death. So, despite her attitude, he did appreciate the work she’d put in to save him.

At Penelope’s following words, Crow met her gaze with a nod. “I don’t know if there’s anything we can do,” he admitted, reaching for her hand again now that they were alone. His illness was concerning to him too. Not only would it cause problems for his recovery, but he also doubted they could hide it from Jane forever. If he coughed up blood every third day, as had been the trend recently, the physician was bound to notice it sooner or later. He shuddered to think what might happen if he had another episode when a different knight was stationed to guard him. As far as he knew, even Olivia and Gavin weren’t aware he was ill. Either one of them might panic if they saw him cough up blood and report his symptoms to Jane.

He sighed, unsure how to even begin approaching the issue. “Honestly, it’s never gone away completely, even when I was taking the medicine Hazel made for me…” he added in a soft voice.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Definitely not cx

Aww yeah, I can't wait for that

I figured I'd let you decide if Jane sees the bloodstains or not

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow just nodded wordlessly in response when Penelope said she would get Jane. At the moment, he was in too much pain to care that the physician would be interrupting their time alone. All he wanted was for the sharp ache in his body to stop. He closed his eyes again, leaning back into the mattress of the bed as the feeling worsened briefly. Vaguely, he was aware that Penelope had gotten up and left the tent to retrieve her comrade, but her absence didn’t bother him as much as he had thought it would. He just hoped she would be back soon with Jane, so the physician could fix whatever had been strained in his suturing.

After a while, the initial burst of pain subsided, and he was able to breathe a little easier. He let out his breath slowly and opened his eyes again, staring up at the canopy over his head. With everything else that had been happening lately, he had forgotten about the lingering remnants of his illness. If the coughing fits didn’t stop on their own, he had a feeling the process of healing from his wound was going to be much longer than he’d originally thought it would be.

He gingerly traced his fingers across the bandages that adorned his abdomen, wincing slightly as the wound stung in response to the light touch. Something had definitely gotten strained when he’d coughed. He shook his head to himself. If he busted his stitches every time he had an episode, the injury might not heal properly at all. He didn’t even want to think about what might happen if he was never able to recover. The idea of being bedridden and dying a long and slow death made him shudder.

Eager to focus on something else, he turned his head as he noticed that his coughing fit had left a spatter of bloodstains on the mattress next to him. The sight made him shift uncomfortably and glance towards the entrance of the tent. He didn’t want any of the nobles in the camp to find out about his illness—not even the physician who was treating him. There was no telling what any of the knights might do if word got out that the most infamous thief in Brerra was sick, but he knew it couldn’t be good.

So, even though it hurt to move, Crow forced himself to shift on the bed so that he was lying on top of the crimson stains. Apparently, he’d had good timing too, because in the next moment, the flap peeled back, and Penelope stepped inside of the tent followed by Jane, who trailed behind the knight with obvious reluctance. The physician hesitated for a moment before approaching his bedside, and he watched as she looked over his bloodied bandages.

“Can you move at all?” she asked dryly, clearly unhappy about having to deal with him again.

Crow just shook his head faintly in response, grimacing as his wound sent another wave of pain through him. Moving on the mattress had made it worse again.

Jane muttered something under her breath and then dug through her bag of supplies to retrieve a knife. The sight of the weapon made the thief tense reflexively, but she just rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to kill you,” she said, lowering the blade to his abdomen. “Since you can’t sit up, I’m going to have to cut these off.” As she finished speaking, she slipped the knife beneath his bandages and gave the fabric a sharp tug to rip through it.

As always, her rough touch made Crow flinch, but he endured it with the knowledge that she would soon fix whatever was causing the deeper pain in his body.

Once the dressing had been removed, the physician clicked her tongue annoyedly. “I’m going to have to redo this suturing,” she muttered, reaching into her bag again to get more supplies. Pulling out a rag, she worked on cleaning away the blood from around his injury to prepare it for new stitching.

“It’s a good thing you can’t move, because this is going to hurt,” Jane added just before she began removing the torn suturing from his wound. Crow groaned and bit the inside of his lip as the process sent another sharp pang of pain through his middle, but the physician ignored him. She worked mercilessly until all of the old catgut had been extracted and didn’t waste any time stitching him up again with a new strand. By the time she was finished, he was panting lightly from the exertion of enduring the procedure without anything to dull the pain.

“There,” Jane nodded, seeming satisfied with her work. “That should hold so long as he doesn’t tear it again.” She turned to Penelope. “Help me get him sitting up, so I can redress his bandages.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yep. I'm also curious to see how Crow will handle noble life xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow closed his eyes when Penelope kissed him on the cheek, and he leaned his head against hers as she nestled closer to him. No matter what might be coming in regard to Layth, he was content that he could at least be near her while he recovered from his wound. It was much more tolerable than when he had been bedridden in his own camp from his illness. Back then, he had been completely on his own, since his companions had had better things to do than sit around and wait for him to get better. Even Hazel’s presence hadn’t helped much, since the herbalist had been focused on making sure he healed and wasn’t very good at small talk. Being close to Penelope was much nicer and made the waiting more bearable for the thief.

When the knight spoke up again, Crow opened his eyes to look at her. Her words stirred mixed feelings inside of him. He was hopeful that she might find a way to keep her brother away from his tent, but he was also worried about the risks she could be planning to take to accomplish that. “Just be careful,” he warned, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her back instead. He rubbed his hand soothingly along her shoulders as he went on in a low voice, “I know you’ll do your best, but it’s more important that you keep your position right now. I don’t want to get you labeled as a traitor while there’s still so much you can do here.”

A brief moment of silence passed before he heard her speak again. “Gavin?” he mused, unsure why she was bringing her former suitor up now. “Well, he seems to have stopped threatening me, so I’d say he was fine.” He studied her curiously, suddenly wondering if her earlier stiffness had something to do with the other knight. “Why do you—” He didn’t have a chance to finish the question before he felt his chest tighten with a familiar sensation. In the next moment, his eyes widened slightly, and he turned his head away from her as another coughing fit wracked his body. The motion sent a sharp pain through his middle, making him wince, but there was nothing he could do to make it stop.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a long episode. However, when it passed, Crow was left cringing as the more serious wound had begun to send an intense ache through his abdomen. “Ow… Gods, that hurts,” he whimpered in a strained voice, closing his eyes and bringing his hand down to the bandages. “Being ill and getting run through with a sword is not a fun combination…” Suddenly, he frowned as he noticed something else and lifted his head slightly to look down at himself. Lifting his hand from the wrapping, he saw that the cloth was beginning to turn red over his wound.

“I think I busted my stitching,” he muttered with another wince, glancing up at Penelope again.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I'm honestly just excited for the castle part, haha. It'll be an interesting change from the things we've put into the story so far

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow felt a wave of relief when Penelope said that her barons had agreed to the guards she had chosen for him. It would be nice to not have to worry about being attacked in his sleep by a bitter knight while he was stuck recovering in their camp. Even if some of his guards weren’t overly fond of him, he would at least be able to rest easy knowing that Penelope had deemed them safe enough to leave with him unattended. He was glad that she had managed to protect him one more time.

However, the moment of respite didn’t last long before Penelope added something he wasn’t as thrilled to hear. As she leaned closer to tell him that Layth had been given permission to stop by unannounced, the thief felt a shiver of nervousness run up his spine. Her brother probably hated him more than any other knights in the camp. After their fight in Grimsby and his last escape from the ‘interrogation,’ he dreaded to think what the temperamental man might do if he decided to visit while he was unable to defend himself this time.

Crow squeezed Penelope’s hand subconsciously, his heart beginning to pound as his instinct to run kicked in. He hated feeling so vulnerable, but with a severe wound still fresh in his abdomen, there was nothing he could do if Layth chose to interrogate him again. It was already going to be hard enough to heal from the injury he had. He couldn’t imagine recovering from being impaled and having the rest of his body be battered from another round of ‘questioning.’ If Layth and his goons were as vicious as they had been the last time, they might even kill him while he was too weak to even eat. The thought made him shift restlessly.

Taking a shaky breath to calm down, he shook his head. “No, it’s not your fault,” he said, looking up to meet Penelope’s gaze again. “You were right not to fight it. Layth could have used your objection to put his own guards in place.” He offered her a halfhearted smile, tracing his thumb gently over her hand. “If putting up with your hardheaded brother means you’ll get to keep working as a lieutenant, then that’s just what I’ll have to do.”