[IC] Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

[Rogue Sloth]

“Okay,” Crow nodded when Penelope agreed that he could try to make a poison for their weapons. “I’ll see what I can do.” He stowed the henbane in one of the bags so he could use it later. Once that was done, he shouldered the quiver and one bag along with his bow in preparation to keep going. Even though he was eager to learn how to use the bow, he didn’t want to spend any more time in one spot than she did. He wanted to get farther away from the town and reach the castle as soon as they could.

He glanced at Penelope when she asked if he could lace her dagger with the henbane. “Of course,” he nodded. “I was going to make enough that we could use it on all of our weapons, if I can.” By her words, he could guess that she wasn’t very confident about making it through the palace without running into any knights either. He didn’t blame her for being worried. The task that the king had given them was no small thing. They needed every advantage they could get if they were going to succeed.

He peered into the deeper parts of the forest as they walked, thinking again about the mercenary that had attacked them the day before. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they weren’t out of danger yet. Mercenaries never attacked unless they had been paid to do so, which meant someone else really wanted them dead. He wondered who it could have been. As much as he wracked his brain, he couldn’t think of any enemies he had made that had the money to hire a killer. His father, perhaps? But that didn’t make sense because he had never wronged the man personally. He didn’t even know if Albin knew he existed. No, it couldn’t have been him.

Maybe they’re after Penelope? he thought, peeking at her from the corner of his eye. But that didn’t make sense either. Even though knights were the enemies of criminals, someone would have really had to hate her to hire a mercenary. He couldn’t imagine how she could have wronged anyone so terribly that they would want her dead. He sighed. The more he tried to find an answer, the most confused he felt about the whole thing. Perhaps it would just be easier to forget about it for now.

“What are we going to do about lodging for tonight?” Crow mused out loud, noticing the sun sinking lower in the sky. “It’s risky for us to try going back into town while I’m carrying this bow, but I don’t like the idea of spending the night in the woods either.” Not after that mercenary attack, he added silently. He didn’t want to be exposed all night after someone had just tried to kill him.

He turned to Penelope, “Any ideas?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope nodded her head to his words, glad to hear they might have enough of the stuff to use on multiple weapons. She started to walk onwards, lapsing into a brief silence as she eyed their surroundings. With everything that had been happening to them as of late, she was trying to be extra cautious. From the Younisian knights to the mercenary, she was trying to make sure they were traveling safely now. The knight was hoping they could keep out of trouble as they neared the castle.

She noted that the forest was rather thin compared to the ones she was used to traveling through in Brerra. It made the area feel a bit more open and the lack of coverage certainly didn’t help her feel secure. Penelope looked back ahead as they walked, wondering if the forest was naturally thin or if the large towns of Younis had made it this way.

She snapped out of her thoughts as Crow broke the silence. Penelope gave an uncertain look as he brought up concerns about where they would spend the night. “Yeah and I doubt we could figure out a way to hide it.” She said with a sigh as she looked up at the bow. The knight pursed her lips together as she tried to come up with a solution. She had no plans to spend the night in the open woods but it nearly seemed just as risky to try to find an inn while Crow carried the bow around.

“Maybe there’s a way you can sneak the bow in?” She suggested with a shrug. “We’d have to wait for it to be late so the streets are more empty though and I’m not sure how leaving in the morning would go.."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded when Penelope said she doubted he would be able to sneak a bow into an inn. He thought so too. Sure, maybe he could stow it away somewhere when they got a room and pick it up later during the night, but as she said, he wouldn’t be able to conceal it once morning came. It would be risky to try, especially since there were more knights around as they got closer to the castle. He honestly wasn’t sure if it was more dangerous to stay at an inn or sleep in the woods.

Looking back towards the town that was just visible through the tree line, he slowed his step. “What if we didn’t do either?” he said as an idea suddenly came to him. He turned to Penelope. “Nobles have horses, right? We could sneak into someone’s stables and stay there for the night.” He shrugged. “It’s not the most comfortable place to sleep, but it’s better than risking knights in the town and mercenaries in the woods, right?”

He turned back to look forward as they kept walking, but then stopped completely. Just beyond the distant treetops, he could see the edge of what looked like a tall building. It was barely visible from where he stood, but what he could see told him everything he needed to know. A large flag flew over a massive crenellation, designed with the emblem of the Younisian king. He swallowed anxiously. They had come upon the palace at last.

This is it, Crow thought, staring up at the crenellation. This is the place we’ve been travelling for two weeks to find. Without thinking, he reached to take Penelope’s hand. Her touch calmed him, and he turned to her with a halfhearted smile, “Well, it looks like we’re almost there.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope looked over at him as he slowed his pace. “That could work.” She agreed as he suggested finding a stable to stay in. She nodded as she thought over the idea. “It’s better than dealing with knights or another mercenary.” She blinked as she noticed Crow had suddenly stopped. The knight looked a little confused until she followed his gaze to the tall building in the distance. Almost instantly she was able to make out what it was and she felt her heart begin to race anxiously.

It’s still far though.. She thought, trying to calm herself. Though the castle was still far, the mere sight of it in the distance was enough to make the knight’s fears and worries resurface. She was pulled from her panicked thoughts as she felt Crow take her hand in his. She looked over at him, being pulled out of her thoughts, and nodded her head. “Yeah.. It won’t be much longer now..” She agreed in a quiet voice. She gave his hand a small squeeze.

She quickly averted her gaze to look back in the direction of the town, which she could still make out despite the surrounding forest. “Come on. Let’s see if we can find a stable.” She said beginning to head a little closer to the town now, eager to change the subject and focus on something else. She began to scan the town for signs of a stable.

Penelope was hoping they could find one relatively close to the tree line so they wouldn’t need to venture too far out into the town. She spotted a large home that seemed a bit promising as she noticed a smaller building off to the side of it. “How about there?” She said pointing it out to Crow.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Alright,” Crow said when Penelope suggested that they look for a stable to spend the night in. He noticed that she seemed just as nervous as he was about the castle in the distance. She was probably thinking the same thing he was: that they didn’t have much time left; that they only had the beginning of a plan worked out; that they weren’t prepared to handle whatever was waiting for them within those huge palace walls. They didn’t have long before they would find out if their efforts had been enough.

He followed her as she took them closer to the tree line in search of a nearby stable. Fortunately, it didn’t take long before she found a place that could work. “Let’s check it out,” he said, moving closer to the edge of the forest to take a closer look at the potential lodging. He crouched down by a bush, his green eyes sweeping over the clearing in front of him. From the dim glow in the upstairs window of the house, it looked like whoever lived there had turned in early for the night. The rest of the estate was quiet as well, with not a stable boy in sight.

Crow was about to turn back to tell Penelope his findings, when he felt a drop of water land on his nose. He blinked and looked up to see dark storm clouds rolling ominously across the sky.

It’s just some bad weather, he tried to reassure himself. It’s not an omen.

“Remember what I said about how we’ve been lucky with the weather?” he asked, glancing back at her. “Well, that’s over now. Let’s hurry up and get inside.” He stood up straight again and took the lead as they ran for the stables.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope followed him over to the edge of the forest, hanging back slightly as he surveyed the area. She waited for him to finish when she felt a couple drops of water land on her head. She felt her stomach drop at the realization that a storm was brewing overhead. “Let’s go.” She agreed quickly as he took the lead. The knight hurried after him into the stables. The bad weather was quick to pick up and within no time, raindrops were falling heavily from the sky above.

Once inside, Penelope closed the door behind them. “I hate this weather...” She mumbled quietly before turning her head to look around the stable. It was relatively small and simple, that much she could tell despite the lack of light. Two horses were in their stalls, quietly munching on left over hay. Despite her simple glance around the room, she held a rather stressed expression on her face.

Just then a flash of lightening lit up the outside and a loud clap of thunder followed. The knight visibly jumped and stiffened at both the flash of light that poured in from small cracks and the sound that rang in her ears. Her face paled slightly and she turned to look back at the door. I’m fine.. I’m fine... I’m inside... She reminded herself, finding a bit of comfort in the shelter of the stable. She was suddenly very thankful that they had chosen to find shelter rather than stay out in the forest.

She took in a deep breath, trying to calm her irrational fears. She looked over at Crow and then quickly averted her gaze, feeling a bit embarrassed. She flinched as she heard another rumble of thunder from above them. “Guess we should try to get some sleep.” She said beginning to move towards the pile of hay that was stacked nearby them.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow let out a relieved sigh when they reached the shelter of the horse stables. They had managed to get inside just before the downpour began, so they were mostly dry. There were no windows in the thin stable walls, but he could hear rain pounding on the roof, accompanied by the howl of wind and the crack of distant thunder. It sounded like a pretty bad storm, so he was glad they had found somewhere safe to take cover. He had been caught outdoors in weather like this a few times in the past, and it was something he never wanted to do again.

“Me too,” he agreed, glancing at Penelope when she said she hated the weather. However, her expression caught him off guard. She wasn’t just upset about the storm. She seemed almost… afraid of it. He frowned, observing her quietly as she began to look around the stable. Was she scared of thunder? He couldn’t tell for sure, but he was certain that something about the storm had spooked the knight.

He moved away from the stable doors and followed her over to the pile of hay in the corner of the room. Instead of laying down to sleep though, he reached to take her hand, pulling her gently back towards himself.

“Are you okay?” he met her gaze searchingly. “It’s just a little thunder and lightning. We’re safe as long as we stay inside.” It was strange for him to see her so terrified. He hadn’t realized it until now, but some part of him had always seen her as fearless because she was usually so stoic. Before, she had been the one to calm him down when he was afraid of something, such as when she had helped him cross the river even though he couldn’t swim.

She’s brave, but she’s still only human, he thought, lifting a hand to cup her face. It wasn’t that surprising that she had fears too. Everyone did. He supposed he just hadn’t seen any of hers until now.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope blinked as she felt him grab her hand and pull her back towards him. She met his gaze for a moment and frowned a little. “I know it is.” She said, a hint of frustration seeping into her voice. Though it was directed towards herself rather than Crow. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and leaned lightly into his hand, finding some sense of security in his touch.

The knight paused. Part of her still wanted to try and act like nothing was wrong but that would require lying to Crow. The mere idea of doing that felt rather wrong, especially after he had opened up so much to her. She just didn’t like feeling so cowardly and weak. Being a knight, she was used to feeling the opposite of that.

Penelope averted her gaze and placed her hand over his. “Thunder and lightening..scare me.” She admitted with clear reluctance. “I don’t remember much from living in the outer villages but.. the one memory that I can recall is of sometime when I was completely alone in the house. I think I was around 4 or 5 at the time and I don’t remember where my brother and father had gone off to or why they left me there in the first place. I just remember hiding under the bed while the house seemed to shake because of this terrible storm. The thunder was loud and the wind was so strong that I thought the house was going to start breaking.”

The knight shook her head as she recalled the memory. With the way the weather was currently, it seemed to resurface easily. She already felt that past feeling of panic and fear mixing with what she currently felt for the storm going on outside. Her heart beat began to quicken again so she tried focusing on Crow again. She looked back up to him and gave a troubled frown. "It’s stupid... It’s something children should be of afraid not a knight...” She mumbled with some shame. “I don’t even think anything happened to me or the house.. Though I don’t really remember.”

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow held onto Penelope’s hand as she grew quiet, seeming to debate with herself in her head. After a moment, she finally admitted her fear of thunder and lightning to him. He listened patiently as she explained how she had been frightened by it as a child, understanding how her experience back then had shaped her terror now. He found it interesting that they had been through similar ordeals when they were young, in the sense that they had been bridled by things that had scared them long in the past.

We’re a lot alike, he mused, squeezing her hand fondly. Both the products of noble fathers and peasant mothers, both scarred by incidents during their childhoods, both just doing what they could to make the most of the hands they had been dealt in their lives. He was beginning to wonder if it hadn’t just been coincidence that had brought them together on this journey.

“Hey,” he offered her a comforting smile. “You’re talking to a man who faints when he gets a cut. Trust me, your fear isn’t stupid.” He moved to sit on the pile of hay, pulling her down next to him. Another round of thunder boomed outside, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her close to his side.

He looked up at a small opening across from where they were sitting, where the roof had warped slightly and pulled away from the wall. Flashes of lightning could be seen through it, and he frowned, glancing back at Penelope. He wanted to distract her somehow to keep her from looking at it.

Turning to face her, Crow slid his arm down from her shoulders to the small of her back and reached up with his other hand to tilt her head towards him. “Focus on me, okay?” he said, holding her gaze. “Don’t think about the storm. Just focus on this.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her deeply as the thunder continued to growl outside of the stables.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope didn’t look very convinced with his words. She didn’t think comparing the two fears was very fair to him, mainly because his trauma was so severe. She had merely been scared and alone in a thunderstorm while he had nearly been killed and watched others get killed. As she sat down besides him, she looked ready to protest his words until the thunder sounded again. The knight turned tense once again at the sound.

As she leaned into Crow, her nervous gaze shifted over to the small opening in the roof. Her face paled once again as she was able to see a flash of lightening from outside. Suddenly the stable didn’t give her the same comfort as before, reminding her more of the run down home in her memories than a safe shelter from the storm.

Crow eventually broke her fearful trance as he tilted her head to face him. She met his gaze but was still frozen so she didn’t automatically lean in to meet his kiss like usual. However, as their lips met, Penelope found herself very grateful for the distraction. It was also a nice reminder that she wasn’t alone. She kissed him back, closing her eyes tightly as she tried to focus solely on Crow. The thundering outside still reached her, making her still tense but as badly as before thanks to the distraction that he provided her.

She wrapped her arms around him pressing closer to him as she felt warmth and security in his arms. Her heart fluttered, this time because of him rather than the storm outside. She pulled back from the kiss to catch her breath before moving her lips to place a few kisses along his jawline. “Thank you.” She breathed softly. She was rather content with being in Crow’s arms, despite occasionally flinching at the thunder. Though, Penelope hoped the storm would clear up soon, otherwise it’d likely be a rather long night for her.

[Rogue Sloth]

Though she was stiff at first, Crow felt Penelope ease into the kiss over time. He was glad his idea for a distraction seemed to be working, and he pressed into her deeper still, his heart pounding as her arms snaked around his back. He slid his hand down to the nape of her neck and used his other arm to hold her close by the waist, sinking into her touch. For a moment, he forgot why he had kissed her in the first place. All he was aware of was the touch of her lips against his and the caress of her hands against his shoulders.

When she finally pulled away from him to catch her breath, he had to stop himself from leaning into her again. He closed his eyes, shuddering slightly as she kissed him along his jawline. She had a way of making him feel so good. He had never met anyone else who could make his heart hammer like she did.

“Mhm,” he sighed dazedly when she thanked him. Coming back to himself a bit, he noticed that she was still tensing whenever thunder sounded outside. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace and laid down, holding her so they were lying face to face in the hay. Though it was cold in the stables, he was comfortable with her warm body pressed against him. He ran his hand slowly down and up her back, hoping to keep her from thinking about the storm.

Despite the booming thunder, it wasn’t long before he began to have a hard time staying awake. His eyelids drooped wearily and he bit his tongue to stifle a yawn. As tired as he was, he couldn’t let himself fall asleep while Penelope was still awake. He couldn’t leave her alone while she was frightened.

“Tell me about how you knew William before this mission,” he murmured, hoping a story would keep him awake and distract her long enough for the foul weather to pass.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope laid down, still pressed up against him. She was calmer now, feeling a bit more relaxed in his arms, but still very aware of the loud thunder outside. It kept her alert and on guard despite the tiredness she felt. She knew falling asleep wouldn’t be easy for her until the storm passed. Her gaze drifted to Crow as he spoke again. A small wave of guilt washed over the knight, realizing that he was likely just as tired as she was but was forcing himself to stay awake.

Normally, she would have insisted that he just go to sleep rather than answer his question and part of her wanted to, but she realized that the distraction of a story might be good for her own sake. “I actually met him on one of my first real missions after training. This also happens to be the time he got drunk on a mission..” She began. Penelope kept her voice soft and quiet. She’d use the story to distract herself but she also wanted to let Crow sleep if he could. One of them should at least be well-rested. “Me and a couple other newer knights accompanied William and another older knight named Christopher to the town of Balway where the local knights were having difficulty with some bandits that kept raiding the town..

“They decided to put me and the others on the case since it seemed pretty simple now that the local knights had reinforcements. The first time I met him, I remember him complaining about getting stuck with so many inexperienced knights. I don’t think he had worked with many female knights yet then so he had especially low expectations for me at the time.” The knight managed a small smirk and she closed her eyes as she saw a flash of light. “I was determined to prove him wrong of course.”

“Anyways, we went traveled to the town and worked with the local knights to capture the bandits.. We got a handful of them and thought that was the end so the group went out for some drinks to celebrate. I didn’t think that was the end though. The numbers didn’t add up to the damage done and I suspected there were likely more of them out there. But at that time, no one real listened since I had no real experience yet. So while the others drank, I decided to keep watch. Turns out they’re plan was to let the knights think they won and get drunk before attacking to free their comrades. I caught on quick enough and alerted the others... Problem was I was a little late. William was drunk off his ass and so were a couple of the newbies.

“So the local knights, Christopher and I ended up fighting the bandits without them... Though William, proud as usual, still found his way out and tried to help us fight. He nearly got himself killed a couple times that night, lucky for him I was able to keep that from happening.. We managed to fully beat the bandits this time so the mission was still successful despite the mistake made. After that, William trusted and respected me a bit more as a comrade.. We worked together a few other times as royal guards but there’s not much of a story to that..” She mumbled.

The knight finally opened her gaze again to glance over at Crow, unsure if the thief was even still awake. The story did her some good in passing the time. She flickered her gaze over to the hole in the ceiling, noticing the rain had slowed. She hoped that meant the storm would be passing soon and let out a tired sigh as she buried her head against Crow’s chest.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow shifted to lay more comfortably in the makeshift straw bed as Penelope began to tell him the story of how she had met William. He rested his left arm beneath her head and draped his right arm over her waist, softly stroking her back with his hand to help take her focus off of the thunder. Though he was tired, he forced himself to hold her gaze while she spoke to him. He couldn’t let himself succumb to the softness of the hay or the warmth of Penelope’s body or the sound of her voice, gently lulling him to sleep…

Maybe I’ll just rest my eyes for a moment… he thought with a yawn. Nestling a bit closer to Penelope, he closed his eyes while he listened to her go on with her story. He enjoyed hearing about the prideful William getting ‘drunk off his ass,’ as she had put it and nearly jeopardizing a mission because of it. He wished he could have seen it for himself. Instead, he would just have to settle for holding the new information over the knight’s head if they ever saw him again.

Thinking about William and Abraxas, he wondered what had become of the two since he had last seen them. Were they still alive, being held as prisoners somewhere by the Younisian king? Or had they been executed upon their arrest? There was no way to know for sure, but he found that he was hoping they were still alive. At least then, the king of Brerra would be able to order their release once he got his hands on the staff.

Another distant rumble of thunder shook the stables and Crow opened his eyes again, realizing that Penelope had finished talking. He blinked blearily. He didn’t remember the end to her story, so he must have fallen asleep before she had finished telling it. Gathering her close to himself, he kissed her on the forehead. “Thanks for indulging me,” he said softly. He wanted to stay awake longer, but he knew he had reached his limit. Running his hand down her back one last time, he closed his eyes once more. “Goodnight, Penelope. I love you.”

--

Morning sunlight filtered into the stables through the opening in the roof, rousing Crow from his slumber. He lifted his head and looked around the stables as the memory of the night before slowly came back to him. Looking down, he saw that Penelope was still curled up in his arms, her chest rising and falling steadily as she slept. He smiled, enjoying the moment of waking up next to her once again.

He was about to wake her, but realized that she might not have gotten very much sleep. Since he had fallen asleep before the storm ended, he didn’t know how long she had stayed up last night. Perhaps he could let her doze for a little while longer before they headed out again.

Moving carefully so as not to wake her, Crow wriggled out from her loose grasp and rolled off of the pile of hay. He stood up and stretched, then crouched down by their bags to see if he could find anything to eat. His hands worked with silent precision as he dug through a bag, searching it by touch.

After a bit of prodding, he found the bag of seeds they had gotten from the marketplace near the border. He rocked back on his heels and sat down, quietly snacking on the food as his mind began to wander.

It was still hard for him to believe that they were so close to the castle. It felt like a dream—like he could wake up at any moment and find himself back in his old prison cell. But he knew it wasn’t a dream. It was real. Everything was real. In a matter of two or three more days, he and Penelope would be undergoing a heist more challenging than anything else he had pulled off thus far… and they couldn’t have been more ill equipped.

His eyes drifted to the bow that laid at his side. He wanted to practice with it again before Penelope woke up, but he had promised her that he wouldn’t overexert himself. His gaze fell to his bandaged hand, and he felt a pang of bitterness. It was all because of his cursed fear of blood. If he hadn’t been so paralyzed in their fight with the mercenary, they wouldn’t have gotten as badly hurt as they did. He hated how powerless he had been.

Before he knew what he was doing, Crow reached towards the quiver that laid next to the bow and drew an arrow. He held it up and turned it over in his hand. Not anymore, a look of resolve came over him. I’m not going to let this control me anymore.

Heart racing, he pressed the arrowhead against the inside of his left forearm. He could already feel the usual panic setting in, even though he had yet to do anything. Come on, he thought, his face contorting into a grimace. You can do this, Crow. Stop being such a coward!

In a short burst of rebellion, he pushed down on his arm with the arrowhead, wincing at the sting as it cut into his skin. A small trickle of blood formed from the wound, making him feel dizzy, but he didn’t look away. It’s nothing, he let out his breath in a forcibly controlled manner. It’s just a cut. He exhaled again, willing his wild heartbeat to slow down. It’s nothing to be afraid of. He felt a wave of excitement as the pounding in his chest began to fade. It was working. He was calming down.

Just a little more… he bit his lip, dragging the arrowhead ever so slightly across his skin before pulling it away from his forearm. The trickle of blood flowed a bit thicker, and he felt his heartbeat begin to pick up speed. Repeating his meditation, he focused on controlling his breathing. In and out; in and out. Slowly recovering from the panic. After a moment, he felt his heartrate decrease once again. He smiled to himself. Maybe he could overcome his fear after all.

[BuzzingBee]

“Goodnight, Collin. I love you too.” She felt warm with affection as she looked over at him as he fell asleep. The thunder gave a rumble above and now left in a silence alone, she tensed for a moment. Stop that. Penelope chided herself for reacting. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep quickly she tried to focus on something else. Her mind began to drift towards the thought of their upcoming raid. Usually when she thought of it, she thought about something going wrong but this time she tried to focus on what would come after if they were to succeed.

Penelope closed her eyes as she laid there pressed up against Crow and tried to imagine what it would be like. They’d still have troubles and uncertainty to face. Mainly being with their relationship. If she wanted to be with him longer than the mission, it would likely mean leaving behind the world and job she knew so well. My family will be safe from the war though.. So it’ll be fine.. She thought. It felt a bit easy to cast that life aside, though she knew it would be easier said than done. Leaving behind her job as a knight would likely cause her to feel a bit useless and she’d definitely miss her family, even if the feeling wasn’t always mutual.

I’ll figure something out. She assured herself. With another crack of thunder, she tried to focus on happier thoughts. If all went well, she’d be able to sleep in his embrace for many more nights, which was something that sparked hope and determination in the knight. She found that her personal gain from accomplishing the mission had suddenly gotten bigger since she couldn’t just abandon it to be with Crow. If all went well, it meant the safety of her family and the ability for her to figure out a life with Crow. Penelope let the sudden burst of determination build inside her.

She soon realized that the thundering had stopped and all that was left was the light sprinkling of rain. A wave of relief washed over her and along with it came the tiredness that had been pushed back by fear. Penelope let out a quiet yawn and relaxed. With the threat of the storm gone, she was able to drift off to sleep in no time, keeping comfortable in the warmth of Crow as she remained pressed up against him.

---

Waking up didn’t come easy for Penelope. The knight had gotten to bed late so she didn’t wake up as quickly as she usually did. It took a while but her sleeping form finally began to stir. She reluctantly opened her eyes, wishing to just continue sleeping but reminded herself that they would likely need to get moving soon. Part of her was worried she might have even over slept.

She blinked as she noticed Crow was no longer besides her. Penelope rubbed her eyes to focus her gaze and then pushed herself up to try and locate the thief. It didn’t take long for her green gaze to land on him sitting nearby holding an arrow in his hand. She caught sight of the blood and her eyes widened in alarm. She jumped to her feet, now fully awake thanks to the alarming sight.

“Crow! What happened?” She questioned as she hurried over to his side. For a moment, she thought that maybe he had snuck out while she was sleeping, ran into trouble and was now pulling an arrow out of his arm. However, she saw that wasn’t the case since the wound wasn’t deep and was just a cut. “Are you ok?” She added, sounding concerned and very confused as she realized he had been staring down at it. Penelope, almost instinctively, moved to put her hand over the cut so she could block it from his view, thinking he might being feeling sick by the sight.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow eyed the arrow in his hand, its edge stained red with his own blood. It was strange for him to be able to look at such a thing without feeling nauseated of dizzy. Even though it was only a small amount of blood, it was the first step of progress he had ever made to overcome his fear. He had never bothered to do anything about it before, since he had avoided fighting so successfully. But now, things were different.

Over the course of the past two weeks, they had gotten into at least three or four battles, and it wasn’t over yet. He knew he still had a long way to go before he could handle the sight of a serious injury, but at least he had figured out a way to keep himself from panicking to the point of freezing up. That had to count for something.

He started at the sound of Penelope’s voice. Turning around, he saw that she had woken up and was coming over to see what had happened to him. He averted his gaze as she knelt beside him, setting the arrow down on the other side of his body to hide it from her view. “I’m fine,” he said, meaning it honestly for the first time.

Glancing down at the cut on his arm, he toyed with the idea of telling her it had been an accident. He didn’t want to worry her by admitting he had done it intentionally. Even though he had cut himself to overcome his fear, he didn’t know if she would understand. She was so protective of him; she would probably tell him to stop out of concern for his wellbeing.

I can’t lie to her though, Crow sighed. I have to tell her the truth.

He turned to meet her gaze as she covered his cut with her hand. “Don’t freak out, but… I sort of did it to myself,” he shifted his weight uncomfortably. “I promise I’m not a masochist. I just… I’m tired of being a deadweight in battle. I can’t let my ridiculous fear keep me from fighting anymore.” He shrugged. “I know it probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but look,” pulling his arm out of her grasp, he wiped some of the blood away with his index finger and held it up. “See? I’m getting better.”

He brushed his hand off on his pant leg and then looked up again to hold her gaze once more, “I know you keep telling me not to worry because you can fight for both of us, but we don’t know what’s going to happen when we get to the castle. If we get separated or if you get injured or—” he couldn’t bring himself to finish saying ‘or die.’

He lowered his gaze before going on, “I want to be able to fight too. I’m going to keep learning what I can with the bow, but I can’t rely on a weapon I just picked up yesterday. If things go south, I need to do whatever I can to survive… and that means accepting the fact that I might have to fight someone up close.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope's eyes widened as Crow admitted that he had caused the own cut on his hand. She parted her lips, looking ready to protest his words but she stopped. She was a little more understanding of his point of view now due to having been reminded of her own fear now and let out a small sigh. That feeling of fear controlling you wasn’t something the knight enjoyed. She glanced at his arm, wishing that she could think of a better way to go about dealing with his aversion.

As he pointed out how he was getting better, she was rather surprised by how quickly he made progress. “I see..” She mumbled.

“Alright.” She said nodding her head in agreement with his words. What he said made sense to her. She had been the one wanting to push him to learn more about fighting before anyways but after learning about his fear and where it stemmed from, she had been willing to let it go. The thought of Crow not only learning, but also being able to properly fight gave the knight an unexpected feeling of relief. Though she had always been ready to fight to keep both of them alive, she found the mere idea of having back up comforting, especially after losing William and Abraxas. “I could use a sparing partner anyways.” She added shooting him a small smirk.

“I’ll teach you what I can with the time we’ve got left.” Penelope promised as she stood back up. “I know you already know how to somewhat use a dagger and sword so we’ll just work on refining that more... If anything goes wrong, we’ll both be ready.” A small look of determination flashed in her green eyes.

The knight turned to glance towards the stable door before looking back to Crow. “On another note, we should probably head out before anyone comes to check on the horses.” She added.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow was relieved that Penelope understood his desire to overcome his fear. He had been worried she would think he had lost his mind when he admitted he had cut himself with the arrow. Instead, it seemed like she supported his motive. He looked down at the small laceration in his forearm again and wiped away the rest of the blood. While his method had worked that morning, he definitely needed to come up with a better way to deal with his fear. He didn’t want to slice up his body just to get over it, after all.

“Lucky for you, I’m pretty capable with a dagger,” he smirked when she said she needed a new sparring partner. The few times he had needed to use the small blade, he had been able to stave off his enemies. Granted, he had done nothing more than knock them unconscious with the butt of the weapon, but it still counted in his opinion. He may have been a complete novice with a bow, but he had enough experience with blades to consider himself at least somewhat skilled.

As Penelope stood up again, he climbed to his feet as well. He felt a rush of excitement at the prospect of learning how to use the dagger better. If he could master it along with the bow, he would have a versatile arsenal of weapons at his dispersal when they reached the castle. The wheels of his mind began to turn as he thought of new ideas. He could take out some guards from a distance with henbane laced arrows, and then defend himself with the dagger on the inside of the palace walls… He was already starting to feel his confidence in the mission returning.

“True,” Crow nodded when Penelope said they should leave. “The stable boys are probably going to come and make sure the horses didn’t get injured during last night’s storm.”

Gathering his things, he headed for the doors that led back outside. He paused briefly to make sure there were no servants that could see them before he hurried back into the tree line, where they would be safe from prying eyes.

Once they were far enough away from the manner, he turned to Penelope with a challenging grin, “So, are you ready to find out which one of us is better with a dagger?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope nodded and grabbed the bags to head out. She followed Crow out of the stable and back into the forest. Once they didn’t have to worry about being caught, her gaze drifted up to the sky, scanning over the clouds for signs of the same foul weather they had before. The knight relaxed as she noticed it just appeared to be cloudy out. She hoped that meant she didn’t have to worry about another storm.

Her attention shifted over to Crow as he spoke. She rolled her eyes at his challenging grin. “I guess so.” She said with a shrug. The knight smirked. “But don’t feel bad when you find out it’s me.” Her words were more playful than actual confidence. In truth, she was rather curious to how skilled the thief was. She had missed his fight with William and hadn’t really seen him use the dagger very much so she had to wonder if she’d possibly end up learning a trick or two from him.

Daggers were never her first choice. Her skill heavily lied with swordsmanship but she was still plenty capable with a dagger, as she had proven in the several fights they had gotten into over the few days. Her gaze flickered ahead to where the castle lied in the distance. “Let’s get a little farther before we train though.” She said, wanting to make up some of the time they had lost from the day before. Though she wasn’t particularly eager to reach the castle, she was worried that if they took to long, any effort they made would be for nothing as she wasn’t sure how long the king would wait for their return.

“How’d you even learn how to fight?” She asked curiously. She figured he had to have had some type of practice with a sword and dagger before based on what she had seen and how he would have beat William if the older knight had only accepted defeat.

[Rogue Sloth]

“We’ll see about that,” Crow nudged Penelope playfully. Despite his words, he knew that sparring against her would stretch his limits with the weapon. After all, she was a skilled knight. It was true that he had managed to overpower William for a moment during their fight in the wagon, but that had only been because the knight had underestimated him. He wouldn’t have the same advantage with Penelope. She had fought at his side before and knew he had some talent with a dagger, so he would have to come up with some other way to catch her off guard.

He turned to look at her when she asked how he had learned to fight. “I was never formally trained,” he answered. “Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time. I just let my instinct drive me and hope for the best.” He shrugged. “I also use what I know from my experience as a thief to help me in battle. You see, I figured out that it doesn’t matter how skilled an opponent is if you can take them by surprise. Even the most fearsome swordsman can be tricked if you’re clever enough.

“Now, if you’re asking how I learned to use a blade, that’s a little different though,” he went on. “It remains true that I was never formally taught, but I did learn a few things from the knights in the outer villages. I used to watch them spar. It was mostly because I was trying to figure out how to avoid their swords, but I was also interested in the complexities of dueling.

“I also told you that I used to steal and sell weapons, right? Well, I didn’t always ‘get away’ without being seen,” he smirked. “I remember one time I was feeling especially daring, so I let myself get caught by a one of the knights as I was leaving their camp. He had been drinking and was in no condition to fight, which meant we would stand on equal footing. He tried to attack me, and I got to practice some of the techniques I had watched the others use during their sparring matches. Of course, it was easier then because of how intoxicated that knight was, but situations like that were how I gained my competence with a blade.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope listened as Crow explained how he had learned how to fight. She gave an amused look as he talked about how he had picked a fight with an intoxicated knight to practice. “Well, I guess you are quite the fast learner then.” She smirked. “But you’re definitely right about the element of surprise and out-witting your enemy. When I was first learning how to fight, the person I had to face was my brother, who was older and already had a bit of training from my father. It took me forever to even work up to facing him equally."

Most of the people she had trained with or fought against were bigger and stronger than her so Penelope had naturally developed a style of fighting that included both being quick on her feet and thinking quick. As she thought about it, she found it likely that her fight techniques would work for Crow as well since,as a thief, he was used to moving swiftly and outsmarting his opponents. “The nobles of Brerra are going to be shaken once you get back.” She joked. “With learning how to use a bow and fight properly with a blade on top of all your other tricks, you’ll be even more trouble than before.”

Looking back ahead as they walked, she noticed a small portion of meadow a little further into the woods. It didn’t seem very big but it was clear of trees and had rather tall grass. Penelope looked over at Crow and motioned to the meadow. “Let’s go over there. It looks like a good place to stop.” She said. The lack of trees meant it would make sparring a little easier for the two without having to worry about tripping over roots or bushes like in the forest.