Crow got up from the ground when Abraxas finally returned with the wagon. He walked over to the back and climbed inside, finding his old spot beside the piles of blankets and leaning into them as he sat down. As he waited for Penelope to join him in the carriage, his green eyes swept over the other supplies in search of anything worth taking. Naturally, his gaze rested on the food stock. They had yet to eat breakfast, and he was still hungry. He glanced at Penelope as she began to enter the wagon, and then crawled over to the burlap sack, slipping his hand inside and quickly withdrawing an apple. He dropped the fruit down his tunic and moved back to the pile of blankets to lie down again. It wasn’t a particularly sneaky attempt, but he wasn’t trying to be clever about it. It wasn’t like the knight could complain if she had seen him taking the food. It was time for breakfast, and he had only grabbed one apple, which was a portion fit for a single person, anyways.

But, just in case Penelope hadn’t seen him take the fruit, Crow kept it hidden in his tunic so he might be able to get a second helping. If she did know, he could just say he was saving it for later, which wouldn’t be completely unbelievable since William had skipped lunch the day before. Either way, Crow would get at least one small meal out of this situation. He smiled to himself and leaned back against the blankets, resting his arms behind his head as he relaxed.

With everyone positioned where they were supposed to be, William cropped his horse and they began to travel down the road again. In the back of the wagon, Crow decided to see whether his breakfast plan would lead him to one meal or two. He looked at Penelope from across the carriage and gave her a playful smirk, “Feeling hungry, love? It’s going to be a long trip, so how about we have something to eat?”

Penelope, unfortunately for Crow, had taken notice of his actions. The reason for her silence was due to already predicting the argument he would make against it, which was reasonable enough for her to let it slide. Until he attempted to get more out of the situation. She shot an annoyed look at him. "Well then, I suppose you've already choosen your breakfast." she replied crossing her arms. She decided to go without her own portion for now since she truly wasn't quite that hungry yet.

"And while we're on the topic of things you've stolen," Penelope added, her eyes seemed to spark up slightly as she recalled the dagger from the night before. Sure it had proven helpful to her at the time but with such information she couldn't just let him keep it now that they were out of harms way. Her gaze briefly glanced towards William and she lowered her voice. For now,she would aid the thief by making sure the hot tempered knight didn't over here. "That dagger from the night before, time to hand it over."

She moved towards him now and held out her hand with a stern look on her face. "I'll thank you for the help at the time th-" she paused slightly as she began to address him by the word 'thief' again. She let out a small sigh before correcting herself, "Crow, but there's no way I'm letting you carry around a weapon any longer."

Crow shrugged when Penelope revealed that she had indeed seen him take the apple. It didn’t matter to him so long as he had something to fill his empty stomach. He could always find a way to sneak some more food later if he got hungry before lunch. He reached into his tunic and pulled out the fruit, lifting it to his lips to take a bite as the knight went on speaking. He frowned slightly in confusion when she told him to give back the dagger, and then remembered the attack the night before. Of course. She must have seen him use it to hit the noblewoman. In the midst of the fight, he had forgotten that he was supposed to keep the weapon a secret from her. He sighed in resignation and drew the dagger from his boot, holding it up to look at it one more time.

“The king spoils you knights,” he muttered wistfully, turning the small blade over in his hands. It really was a fine piece of work. The smith who made it must have been quite talented in his craft. Crow hadn’t seen a dagger as fine as the one he held now since he had raided the weapons storage of the citadel knights, and even then he hadn’t gotten a close look. He had been targeting the knights’ bows and arrows that night to disarm the bowmen—by leaving the archers with no weapons, his entrance and escape had been much easier—before he had gone on a second raid in the palace.

Still reluctant to hand the dagger over, Crow glanced up to meet Penelope’s gaze, “Is it really so terrible for me to borrow one weapon? As you said, I’ve already helped you once. Who’s to say that won’t happen again?” His eyes flicked to the front of the wagon and then back to the knight, and he lowered his voice. “William doesn’t have to know, and I’ve already shown you that I can be cooperative. Can’t we just keep this our little secret?”

Penelope held his gaze for a moment. She seemd rather unsure. He had proven himself helpful. She wondered if it would really be such a bad idea to let him keep the weapon. Attempting to use it on her and her comrades would be simply foolish considering their training and he was better armed against enemies, should they encounter more later on in their travel. A small, reluctant sigh escaped her lips. "Fine." She said sourly, like she was swallowing some putrid medicine. "You can keep and I won't say anything for now. Just don't be an idiot when it comes to using it."

She was daring to put a little more trust in him, despite how reluctant she was. Little by little her alertness around him was beginning to decrease. Penelope tried to remind herself that he was still the enemy here and that her guard should always remain on high alert around him. But one could tell that it wasn't quite helping. As she moved back to her original position, she began to look outside the wagon. Unlike before, she would glance over less frequently now and instead became more aware of their surroundings than anything. With the two attacks it was reasonable to pay more attention to what was possibly lurking nearby.

Crow stared at Penelope in surprise when she agreed to let him keep his dagger. He had been fully expecting her to ignore his protests and take the weapon away whether he consented to it or not. The knight was putting a lot of faith in him by knowingly allowing him to be armed like that. Was she honestly beginning to trust him or was she just playing at some sort of angle? He couldn’t think of any advantages she could gain by giving him the dagger, but maybe she knew something he didn’t. He slipped the blade back into his boot. Whatever she might have been planning, he now had a weapon he could use in his future escape. The dagger would be quite helpful when they reached the outer villages.

Crow took another bite of his apple and let out a quiet sigh as he watched the trees pass by the window. The journey was so dreadfully dull. He almost found himself hoping for another bandit attack just for the sake of entertainment. He finished off his breakfast, tossing the core out the window, and nestled more comfortably into the pile of blankets. With nothing better to do, he decided he might as well catch up on the sleep he missed from the previous night. He yawned and closed his eyes, letting himself drift off.

--

At about high noon, Crow awoke again. He was a bit dazed, momentarily forgetting why he was in the back of a wagon before he remembered the king’s assignment from the day before. Right. He was supposed to sneak into the palace of the king of Younis, steal a holy walking stick, and bring it back to his own king without getting killed or potentially smote by the Younisian gods. But, on the bright side, he was no longer locked up in a prison cell. That had to count for something.

Crow glanced across the wagon at Penelope. She didn’t seem nearly as concerned about watching him closely as she had been before. Somehow, getting attacked in the woods together seemed to have bonded them, if only just a little bit. She may not have fallen for him outright, but at least she appeared to trust him more. This was good news for Crow. If he could just get her to lower her guard enough, he wouldn’t even have to go through with the king’s ridiculous quest. He watched silently. She had been so nice to him lately that he almost felt sorry for manipulating her like this... Almost. The prospect of freedom was still too sweet for him to throw away to spare the feelings of one woman.

Thinking about his escape again, he felt his heartbeat quicken. They were getting close to the outer villages now. It wouldn’t be long before he found a chance to take off and leave these foolish knights behind. It was exciting, but he also knew the preparations had yet to be completed. He had to make use of the time he had left to get Penelope to trust him enough that he could get away from her.

Just a little bit more.

“Well, that was a nice nap,” Crow said, raising his arms over his head in a long stretch. He glanced out the window and then turned to meet Penelope’s gaze across the wagon. “It seems like we still have a while to go before we reach the next village. How about we play a game? I’ve always enjoyed a good story, so here’s my proposition: If you tell me one from your days as a knight and I like it, then I’ll tell you something about myself.” He smiled at her mischievously. “I’m well aware that you have hardly any records on me. You must be dying to fill in the blanks, right?”

With the thief asleep, Penelope found her job to somewhat less stressful. She would glance over to make sure he was still sleeping but she seemed less tense. It was when her gaze happened to be looking away when he woke up. The sound of his voice made her become slightly more aware again. She turned to look over at Crow. She raised an eyebrow at his proposition and gave a small smirk. "Fine. I'm not all that interested in 'filling in the blanks' but it's quite boring just sitting here in silence so I'll play your game." she agreed giving a small nod.

Now she pondered through her memories for any story worth telling. She had many different experiences but not all of them were quite that thrilling. Finally she seemed to settle on something and began to speak. "Well... It was my first true job as a knight, besides all the guard duty. As you know women are rarely ever knights. I was forced to work with these three buffoons, all newly trained like me. It was a test more or less from our higher ups. We had to figure out a way to spy on and expose this corrupt noble whom was rumored to be against the king. The leader of the mission was this man named Jonathan. He had been my rival in training when we first started out but I had long since surpassed him in skill... His father was our commanding officer though so he got special treatment." She gave an annoyed look as she spoke of Jonathan, still not fond of her former comrade.

"Anyways, the fool attempted to formulate a plan of some sorts... One which involved me in a dress and winning over this noble just to get the information. Idiots didn't think I was good for anything else. So I challenged him to a fight, loser wore the dress. He accepted and he also lost fairly quickly," A gleam of pride and amusement sparkled in her eyes. "I think he made for a better woman than me in the end. We put a wig on him and a dress fit for a princess." Penelope snickered slightly as she spoke.

"His plan was completely unsounded so I made a few adaptations to it. While he was busy trying to woo some noble, I had the other two knights keep on watch while I disguised myself as a servant girl and snuck into his office. I got the evidence we needed and left witout being seen. Jonathan had to suffer a bit longer before I finally decided to get him out of there." Penelope let out a small sigh and stretched her back for a moment. "I got in trouble for that little stunt though. Jonathan's father wasn't pleased and even imprisoned me for a few days... Before others found out and realized how uncalled for it was. I was transferred to the sector I'm in now after that."

Crow crossed his arms, pretending to listen critically as Penelope told her story. He did smile at the mention of the plan involving a dress, however. It was somehow difficult to imagine her wearing something ‘fit for a princess,’ and, come to think of it, he had never seen the knight wear anything even remotely feminine. He tilted his head and knit his brow slightly, attempting to picture her in the clothing of a noblewoman. Now that he thought about it, she wouldn’t look half bad in a fancy dress. If she let her hair down and sat a bit more regally, she could actually pull it off. He could see why her old comrade would have wanted to try a plan like that.

Penelope went on to describe how the other knight, Jonathan, wound up wearing the dress in the end, and Crow laughed. He would have liked to see a knight dress like a woman and flirt with a nobleman. The members of the king’s army were always so arrogant. It would have been quite a sight to watch one of them do something so embarrassing.

Crow clapped when Penelope finished her story, “I must admit: I never expected you to come up with a tale like that. It was quite entertaining.” He wasn’t even lying. It was amusing to hear about a knight getting publicly humiliated by his own comrades.

He clicked his tongue, “I suppose this means I’ll have to hold up my end of the bargain and tell you something about myself now, huh? You said you’re not interested in learning about me, but I think I can change your mind. All it takes is one simple, little detail.” He smirked at the knight, his eyes glittering with amusement, and moved closer to her, dropping his voice to a whisper. “My real name isn’t Crow.”

Penelope eyed him with both interest and caution. The main reason for being uninterested in information about him was because it was coming from him directly. A thief like him could easily spin some sort of lie. If she was going to get information, it was likely better to get it somewhere other than the criminal himself.

For now, she decided to just play along. She could always decide later how trustworthy his words were. Penelope met his gaze for a moment. That glittering amusement in his eye wasn't quite helping build any crediblity with her in this situation. "That's not surprising." Penelope mused before continuing, "So then, what is your real name?"

(Sorry it's so short >.<)

“Ah ah,” Crow held up his hand when Penelope asked for his name. “I said that in return for your story, I would tell you something about myself. Well, I told you that something already. If you want another detail about me, you’re going to have to spin an even better tale.” He smirked at the knight. Of course he wasn’t about to give his actual name to her. He was still avoiding telling her anything personal about himself, and his real name fell under that category. Really, the only reason he brought it up was to bait her attention. If she was focused on prodding him for that information, then hopefully she wouldn’t notice when he began making subtle preparations for his escape. He just had to keep her distracted.

Crow rocked back on his heels, “You know, your story was still quite good. I suppose I can at least tell you the origin of my current name since you entertained me. That should be fair enough, right?” He paused to clear his throat and then began his own tale: “My career as a professional thief really took off when I was twelve years old. I had been stealing long before, but I hadn’t made a name for myself until then. Anyways, the people in my village were finally taking notice that their valuables were going missing, but no one knew who was taking them.” He grinned proudly. “I was quite a clever child, you see. I never left a sign of my presence, so it was almost as if the objects were vanishing of their own accord.

“One day, I decided to rob a group of local knights who had fallen asleep on duty. I took their swords right out from the sheaths on their hips.” He laughed at the memory. “I must give partial credit to the strong liquor they had been drinking, but I still think it was quite an accomplishment for a child. They never even realized I had been there until I was long gone! Of course, they were humiliated that they had lost their weapons while slacking off, so they made up an extravagant tale that they had been attacked by a flock of crows and lost their swords in the skirmish. They used a black feather they had found when they woke up as proof.

“Naturally, I wasn’t about to give a few birds the credit for my work, so I began introducing myself to others as ‘Crow’ and dropping black feathers at the homes of all of the people I stole from. It didn’t take long for the villagers to realize the knights were lying. They were so embarrassed to have been robbed by a child that they left the village and were replaced by another set of guards.

“Eventually, I stopped leaving feathers after my nightly runs, but the name stuck,” Crow shrugged. He rested his chin in his palm and smiled up at Penelope. “So, have I managed to pique your interest yet?”

Figured that he wouldn't give out his actual name. That wasn't much of a surprise to the knight. Though his choice of wording earned him an annoyed look. For now his plan was working. Her attention was away from him planning any escape at the moment. She rolled her eyes at his words and gave a small shrug as he offered to give his own tale in return. She listened in silence, occasionally glancing around and checking the perimeter per usual. She shook her head at the part about the foolish knights, feeling little sympathy for them and more shame.

Penelope looked back over at him. "I suppose." she said with a small smirk at him then added in a lightly joking tone, "But with that vagueness I think I find the clouds more interesting." With that said she glanced out at the clouds above and gestured to one that was almost right over head of them. "See. There's a horse." She said speaking about one of the fluffy masses. It was round shaped with barely any neck and another circle that she saw as the head. Four stems came from the main shape which took the place of legs. The cloud, like most, could be interpreted in many different ways though.

Penelope found little need to pester him about information. In this case she was only hired to be a guard and make sure things went smoothly on this mission. Besides, it was a pointless mission if he merely choose to be vague about the details. Though she didn't mind a good story or two. "If you're looking for me to give another tale then you're going to have to give me some time to think. Despite the job title, there are very few times worth retelling." she spoke truthfully. While she enjoyed her job, everything was rather regulated and very few missions ever differed or stood out (unlike the one she was currently taking part in).

“Well, you had better hope you can think of some good ones,” Crow said in a luring tone. “I have plenty of stories you would enjoy hearing, but I won’t tell you any of them if I don’t get anything in return.” He glanced out the window at the cloud the knight had been pointing at and then looked back at her teasingly. “Huh, I never expected you to be a daydreamer. I always thought knights were too good for leisure.” He snuck a quick peek out the front window of the wagon. William and Abraxas were engaged in a conversation, completely ignoring him. Why waste a perfectly good opportunity to win some more of her trust?

He crossed over to the knight’s side of the carriage and poked his head out the window to get a better look at the sky. A slight breeze cooled his skin. It felt like a waste to be locked up inside a wagon on such a fine day. He couldn’t wait until they reached the outer villages. For now, though, he would just have to be patient and stay focused on his current goal.

After spending some time staring outside, Crow leaned back inside the wagon and met Penelope’s gaze. He had relaxed a bit compared to his usual eccentric demeanor, and his tone wasn’t as sharp when he spoke, “For what it’s worth, your company hasn’t been completely unpleasant. You’re… a very different person than what I had imagined before. I honestly expected you to act more like my old prison guards. They were always watching me like hawks, and they treated me like something less than human.” He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “I guess I’m just trying to say thanks. I know I’m not the most agreeable man to be stuck in a wagon with, but you’ve been putting up with me anyways without any threats of chains or other restrictions. I appreciate it.” His cheeks colored slightly and he looked away, going on hurriedly. “All seriousness aside, you’re terrible at finding shapes in clouds. That one was obviously a mule, not a horse.”

Penelope looked a tad surprised by his change of tone as he met her gaze. She couldn't help but feel a soft pang of guilt. Her original view of him wasn't much different from the prison guards he described. Part of her still looked heavily down upon him and other such criminals but the way he spoke made her briefly doubt her own beliefs. Her own cheeks flared up a bit and she glanced around elsewhere as he looked away as well.

She smirked a bit at his comment and rolled her eyes, quickly recovering from before. "That's the same thing!" she scoffed with a hint of amusement. Penelope sat up a bit straighter and stretched out her back for a moment. "You know..." she began in a soft voice, "You're not that bad either... I expected much worse... Though you're rather annoying, you're at least somewhat entertaining." She gave him a small smile, rather than her usual smirk.

However, it quickly faded away as William's voice was heard. "We're almost there. Town's right up ahead." he announced. "Alright!" Penelope replied. She felt a bit relieved that they were almost there. It was almost a cramping feeling to be stuck sitting in the wagon for so long. First thing she had planned was a walk, though her reasoning was for a bit more than just stretching her legs. She also wanted to take the time to see if her father or brother were there. The town was close enough to the border for it to be possible after all.

Crow returned Penelope’s smile, but for his own reasons. So far, his plan was working flawlessly. The knight seemed to have believed every word of his sappy, little speech. Yes, it was true that she had been kinder to him than every other guard he’d had in the past, but he wasn’t overly concerned with how he was looked at by men and women of the higher classes—particularly knights. They could despise him if they wished; it made no difference to him. He would always find a way to manipulate them into giving him what he wanted in the end.

“We’re almost there,” William’s voice interrupted the silence, distracting Crow from his thoughts. “The town’s right up ahead.”

They were already arriving at the village they were due to stop in? Crow leaned out the window again to get a better look, and, sure enough, he could see small houses beyond the tree line. He grinned to himself. The sun had only sunk about halfway to the horizon. They were making excellent time. If they continued on at this pace, they would reach the outer villages by noon tomorrow, and the thief could make his long-awaited getaway. The thought set his heart to racing.

After a while, the wagon finally slowed to a stop and Crow climbed out of the back. He looked around and was pleased to see that this village was in a much worse condition than the last one they had stopped in. They were very close to the outermost edge of the kingdom now, and for a moment he toyed with the idea of ditching the knights here. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to find his way back from this village, and he knew the area well enough that he could find food and shelter along the way if need be. But, unfortunately, William made his decision for him.

“Lockton,” the knight said sternly when he noticed Crow’s wandering eyes. He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword and narrowed his eyes, “Don’t even think about running.”

“Why must you always assume that I’m scheming?” Crow returned his glare. “I was only thinking.”

“About running,” William growled. “I’ve been watching you, thief. If you try anything, I will put you in chains before you can take two steps. You will do well to keep that in mind.”

Crow just rolled his eyes and turned away from the knight. William was sharper than he had thought. He would have to be more careful around him in the future… or maybe he could use Penelope to his advantage instead. He glanced at her. William would never leave him alone with Abraxas, but he trusted the female knight. He just needed to find a way to recreate the situation from the night before. If he could steal some time alone with Penelope while her guard was down, he might have a chance at slipping away.

“I need to make arrangements with the innkeeper,” William announced to the other two knights. “Abraxas, take the horses and find some local knights who are willing to watch them during our stay here. And you two, wait for me here,” he emphasized the word, shooting Crow another cold look. “I will be back shortly. It’s still early enough that we can find somewhere to eat dinner before we turn in for the night.” With that, he walked off down the dirt road.

That was fast, Crow thought. He turned to Penelope, wondering idly if this could be the opportunity he was looking for. She definitely seemed distracted, but he couldn't tell if she was distracted enough for him to make a run for it. He clicked his tongue. Not yet.

“Looks like it’s just you and me again, love,” he said to her with a playful smirk.

Penelope hopped off the wagon and almost immediately began looking around. Her gaze took in nearby locations and the unrecongized faces that passed by. For now she was attempting to put a rough outline of the villiage in her mind. She took note of pubs and food places, the most likely establishments she would find her father or brother. If they were here. She paid little attention to what William was scolding Crow for at the moment.

She was soon brought out of her thoughts as William made his announcement. Penelope quickly snapped her attention back to the mission. There was faint disappointment within her as she would need to remain back with Crow. She was so hoping to hurry off into the town to explore. But, the knight didn't complain or show any sign of her disappointment.

Penelope glanced over at Crow as the other two left. "It would appear so." she muttered. She smirked a bit. "Ah but don't worry, you can have your time with William and Abraxas once they get back." Though teasing it was a bit true. She had decided to leave when dinner time came around to look around the town. By then most things would be quieter and she wouldn't have to worry about who would be watching the thief.

Crow gave Penelope an estranged look, “I’d much rather spend time with a beautiful woman than share the company of two men.” He met her gaze searchingly. She was definitely distracted, but he couldn’t tell what it was that held her attention. Perhaps he could coax the information out if he got her to relax a bit? It was worth a try.

Crow turned walked over to a nearby tree, laying down in the shade. He closed his eyes. It was strange, but in a way, he didn’t mind that Penelope was still on guard. After spending the last two days sitting around inside of a wagon, he felt lethargic. Of course, he wouldn’t pass up a chance to run if it arose, but he didn’t feel like putting the energy into making the chance happen just yet. Unless an opportunity made itself apparent, he could handle one more day with the knights and then take his leave in the outer villages.

“Come over here,” Crow said after a moment, opening his eyes again and patting the grass beside him. He waited for Penelope sit down before he went on, “You’re tense. I’m going to teach you how to relax.” He smiled up at her. “Resting is a valuable skill you will use throughout your life, so pay attention. I want you to lay down here and close your eyes—or just look up at the sky if you still don’t trust me.” He shrugged. “Whatever suits your fancy.”

He didn’t have any particular plot to go along with the little exercise. It would be nice if Penelope fell asleep, but he didn’t expect the knight to do anything so careless. If anything, he found that he was earnestly beginning to enjoy her company, though he would never admit it aloud. He might even miss her when he went back to the outer villages. He never dreamed he would think something like that about a knight. He smiled to himself. It was a strange thought.

Penelope turned her head to watch him as he headed over to the tree. As suspected, she was still intent on doing her job, even if she did seem a bit distracted. She walked over and sat down besides him as he called her over. The knight shift into a more comfortable position with her back leaning against the trunk of the tree in a rather straight position.

"Not right now..." she muttered and glanced down at him briefly. "I'm on duty...And I'm looking for someone." Her voice trailed off slightly as she scanned over the crowd once more before looking back to Crow. "Besides that I'm not all that interested in relaxing right now."

Normally she may have went along with whatever he was doing, though this seemed a bit more than outrageous. A knight laying down with a thief in the shade. Surely something was bound to go wrong with that scenario and she surely didn't trust him enough to relax that much. So for now, she remained vigilant, perhaps not for danger or of Crow's movements but Penelope was at least very well aware of her surroundings.

“See?” Crow sighed. “This is a prime example of why you need to learn how to relax. Even if you are on duty, you don’t have to be so tense,” Crow closed his eyes again. He did have to wonder what Penelope meant when she said she was looking for someone, though. She was a spoiled noble from the inner citadel. Who could she possibly have known from a village like this one? Everyone here was of the lowest peasant class, so there must have been a story to go along with this mysterious person she was searching for. Perhaps it was a former servant? An outcast friend? A star-crossed lover? The thief suddenly found himself to be quite curious about the strange mention.

“I used to know a man from this village,” Crow said without opening his eyes. “His name was Eligius, and he was a thief too, although he was an amateur compared to myself.” He looked up at Penelope. “I didn’t know him for very long. We went on a raid one night, and he made some novice mistakes that ended in him getting run through with a spear. I have to admit: The knights in this area are very efficient at their jobs. Eligius wasn’t that clumsy of a thief, but they used any mistakes he made to their advantage and killed him before he could escape.” He grinned wryly. “Unfortunately for them, I’m completely perfect in every way, so they didn’t stand a chance against me.”

He rolled onto his side and studied her with interest. “That was an interesting story, wouldn't you say? Now you owe me one. You said you were looking for someone here. Who do you know from this quaint little village?”

Penelope glanced down at him with a raised eyebrow as he spoke of his friend. She fond it quite strange how the thief seemed to hold almost no attachment to anyone. Despite his usual childish demeanor, the more the knight ponder this fact, the more she began to see him in a different light as a thief.

At his question, she began to open her mouth to answer but was beaten to it. "I believe she's looking for us, thief." came a deep, cold voice. Two knights had came up from behind them and now stood towering over the two. The older one was thickly bearded but had thinning hair on his head. A large and gruesome scar traveled across half of his face. Other scars were present on him but at a much smaller rate and harder to notice. His eyes were a dark green, similar to Penelope's, yet they held an even more cold and distant look than the female knight could ever muster. The second man was a bit younger but appeared older than Penelope by about ten years. He had thick black hair and piercing brown eyes that held a similar look. Both were rather tall and in fairly good shape.

At the sight of them, Penelope seemed to brighten incredibly. She had a joyful gleam in her gaze that was similar to that of a child. The female knight quickly jumped to her feet, looking ready to hug the two but she suddenly restrained herself as the eldest man gave her a warning look. Her happiness quickly lessened and instead of a hug, she gave a brief bow to them. "Father, Brother." she said addressing them in a rather formal tone, which was strange since they were family. "I was hoping I'd get a chance to see you... It has been a while since you last wrote.... About six months actually..." She hinted silently at the worry she had held for that long.

"A knight need only focus on their duty and loyalty to the king. Keeping up with such trival things are meaningless." Rhtorted her brother. Her father gave a small grunt of agreement before taking a step forward and resting his hand on her shoulder. "It's good to see that you are well and making use of yourself in the kingdom, Penelope." he said as his gaze drifted to Crow, giving the thief a cold scowl. "I've heard rumors about the king seeking an interest in this one. I assume you're apart of this mission?"

Penelope felt a small sigh escape her as a wave of disappointment hit... Nothing had changed. She thought that perhaps the distance between them would make her father and brother a little more... excited to be reunited but as usual they carried themselves in the same manner. "Ah, yes... Along with my comrades, William and Abraxas." she answered quickly.

"Must not be very important if the king hired that fool..." muttered her brother as Abraxas was brought up. Her father ignored his words. "I'd suggest putting chains on that thing then.. It'd make your journey far easier and once it's over you'd appear more reliable to the king." he told Penelope. It seemed he wouldn't even acknowledge Crow as thief at this point.

Crow sat up with a jolt at the unexpected sound of the voice and turned to see two knights standing behind him. He mentally chided himself. Careless. He had been so focused on his conversation with Penelope that he hadn’t even noticed them approach. He narrowed his eyes at the new arrivals, looking them over warily. What could two local knights possibly want with a ragged pair of travelers? They claimed to be the ones Penelope was looking for, too.

His gaze rested on the older one. The man had a balding head with wisps of white hair around his crown. His dark green eyes held a level of sternness that could rival William’s. However, his most prominent feature was a large, gruesome scar that travelled across his face, beginning with his left temple and ending at his right jawbone. Somehow, he almost looked familiar… The thief glanced back at Penelope. Now it made sense. The older knight must have been related to her somehow. They did look quite similar.

But what about the other knight? Crow looked at him curiously, wondering if he could have been related to Penelope, too. He didn’t look much like her. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, with a thick head of black hair and dark brown eyes that held the same piercing stare as the older man’s. He was tall with an incredibly muscular build that put Crow’s lean, malnourished body to shame. The thief shifted uncomfortably. His suspicion was proven to be true when she stood up and greeted the knights, “Father, Brother.”

Crow felt strange being the only one still sitting, so he climbed to his feet as well and watched the three knights interact in silent contemplation. He crossed his arms and leaned against the tree trunk. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought they were mere acquaintances rather than family. Even if they were expected to act seriously when they were on duty, couldn’t they at least show a hint of joy when they were reunited after so long? He eyed the stiff-jawed older knight. Well, at least now he knew where Penelope got her sternness from. He glanced back at the her. Though she was usually strict, she had a sense of humor as well. He wondered where that came from.

“I’d suggest putting chains on that thing then,” Penelope’s brother caught Crow’s attention. “It’d make your journey far easier, and once it’s over you’d appear more reliable to the king.”

“Pardon?” Crow raised a brow at him. “In case you didn’t know, this ‘thing’ is the only reason you knights aren’t fighting a war with Younis right now. I think I deserve a little more respect than that, Sir Knight.”

Her brother snorted and took a step towards Crow. He eyed him for a moment. "If we're relying on a petty thief like you then I think this kingdom has reached dark days.... Besides that," he gave a mocking smirk, one that likely resembled the guards Crow had previously delt with, "I didn't know dogs could talk."

While her brother came off far more cold hearted, her father seemed more reserved and distant. He said nothing to his son to either support or discourage his behavior. Instead, he looked to Penelope. "Well, I trust that things will run smooth enough for you." he mused casually. Penelope gave a small smile but she seemed a bit concerned with her brother's treatment of Crow. "Ah, Layth... While it is our duty to make sure he doesn't take off, we can't have him injured..." she said sounding rather reluctant to say anything against him.