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

[Rogue Sloth]

“Thanks,” Crow grinned when Penelope complimented his choice of the horses. He honestly didn’t know what he was had been looking for when he had gone down the line of stalls, but the black stallion had stuck out to him because of its dark coloration. He had always been drawn to that trait because of how it blended in with the night. It was an important quality to have when trying to stay out of the sight of guard patrols. He was glad that this one looked like a good choice to Penelope too.

He stood back and watched as she prepared the animal to be ridden, throwing a blanket of sorts over its back before strapping on its saddle and putting the reins on its head. It was interesting to see all of the parts and pieces one needed to control the massive beast. He wondered which things did what when it came to directing it or telling it to move faster or slower. He had never paid close enough attention to knights of the cavalry to see how they guided their horses.

When she told him to watch her get on, he nodded and observed her carefully, watching the way she swung her leg over the horse’s back and positioned herself in the saddle. Once she was ready, he moved to climb on after her, but William spoke up from the other side of the stable.

“Why don’t you ride your own steed, thief?” he stared down at Crow from the back of a gray mare with accusatory eyes.

“I’m flattered that you think a peasant like me would be educated enough to ride a horse,” Crow rolled his eyes. “But unfortunately, I wasn’t so blessed.”

William hesitated, his eyes flitting between Crow and Penelope as if he wasn’t fond of the idea of them riding together. The thief guessed he didn’t think it very wholesome for a male criminal to sit so close to a female knight. No matter, he thought slyly. I know how to make him back off. “Would you prefer I ride with you?” Crow suggested with a wink. “I promise I’ll hold on tight.”

The knight blinked, taken aback by the thief’s sordid words. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he tried to recover from his initial surprise and shot him a glare. “Fine. If you can’t ride by yourself, then you’ll have to join Penelope. Just hurry up.”

“Yes, sir,” Crow gave him a lazy salute and took Penelope’s hand. He put his foot in the stirrup as he had seen her do and, in one swift motion, threw his weight up and over the back of the horse until he was sitting behind her. Looking at the ground far below, he let out a short whistle, “This is pretty neat.” He glanced at Penelope and smirked, lowering his voice to a whisper, “Great view, too.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope looked over at William as the knight clearly didn't approve of the two riding together. She bit back a smirk as Crow caught the older knight off guard with his words. As she suspected, it wasn't too difficult to get William to let them ride together. She turned back to Crow as she helped him up into the saddle behind her. She glanced back at him and smiled a little before turning back to face William as the knight began to ride towards the door.

She gave the stallion a soft kick so he would begin walking towards the exit of the stables. "Just make sure you're ready when we have to take off. Falling off can be pretty painful." Penelope warned Crow as she looked ahead. She watched as William peaked out of the stables to make sure there was no one around before he rode the gray mare out of the stables. Penelope followed him out, glancing around as she rode. They were about halfway to the tree line when she heard the back door open.

"Hey!" A sharp cry sounded from what Penelope guessed to be the stable boy.

"Hold on!" Penelope told Crow before giving the horse two kicks, urging it forward. The stallion quickly bursted into a gallop towards the treeline under Penelope's control. William had already set his mare to gallop ahead of them, being much faster than the stallion that was weighed down by two people. Once they had disappeared back into the forest, the two knights slowed their horses down. Penelope glanced back to make sure they hadn't been followed. Luckily the forest was quiet and she guessed that the boy had easily given up as they rode off. She relaxed a little and looked back ahead as they traveled. "So what do you think so far?" She asked Crow quietly.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Alright,” Crow nodded when Penelope told him to be ready. Deciding he would probably need both hands to hold onto her when they started moving, he tightened the strap of the quiver on his back and slipped the staff underneath it so it laid securely against his shoulders without sliding around. It was also a good place to keep it since it would be hard for Penelope to touch it accidentally as long as he was sitting behind her.

As they started moving for the door to the stable, he slid his arms around her waist and smiled to himself, enjoying the feeling of being so close to her again. He had a feeling he was going to like horseback riding if it was like this for the rest of the trip. He could hold onto her in front of William without giving away their relationship to the older knight. It was nice to have a little more freedom than he was expecting to have with Penelope’s stoic comrade around.

He flinched when the stable boy called out to them, following Penelope’s command by wrapping his arms tightly around her middle so that his chest was pressed against her back. He held onto her as she brought her horse to a gallop, focusing on not falling off until they were far enough away that she could slow down again.

“Well, galloping is… unpleasant, if you know what I mean,” he answered her question with a wince, shifting slightly in the saddle. “But I like it when we’re just moving along like this.” He leaned around her shoulder to look ahead. “It’s a good vantage point for spotting enemies. If we run into any, I can even try to use my bow. I still have henbane on the arrows.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope glanced over her shoulder at him as he answered her. "Oh..right." She mused as she noticed him shifting. She nodded her head in agreement with his words. "It is. William might be a stickler for the law but he's going to realize this was the best plan we had. It'll at least give us a couple advantages if we run into any enemies." She said with a small nod. The knight was rather pleased that her plan seemed to be working out rather well.

It just happened to be a bonus that her plan also got her closer to Crow without any worry of William discovering them. Having his arms wrapped around her certainly beat just merely walking close together. She smiled to herself and glanced ahead to make sure William was focused on the road ahead before she moved one hand off the reins to place it over one of his arms that was wrapped around her middle. "Plus I think this made traveling a little more enjoyable." She murmured softly to him.

Penelope focused ahead as they traveled onward. The sun soon began to sink in the sky and Penelope guessed that they'd soon be looking for a spot to settle down for the night. So she kept eye out for a place to stop along with any signs of enemies nearby. It was dark before William finally veered off the course they had been going towards a small clearing that would provide them shelter. "We'll stop here for the night." He announced as he commanded his horse to a stop so he could dismount.

"Alright." Penelope said a she rode the stallion to a stop. Though the female knight didn't complain, she was rather eager to stop as her weariness had already began to sink in.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Mhm,” Crow nodded in agreement, pressing in a little closer to Penelope and resting his chin on her shoulder. He closed his eyes and sighed, relishing the lack of distance between them. With William in the lead, they had quite a bit more privacy, and he intended to take full advantage of it while he could. “This was definitely the best plan you could have come up with,” he said quietly, leaning his head against hers. “Now, if we can just manage to avoid getting attacked again, I think I’m going to like this part of our trip the best.”

When William found a place for them to stop for the night, Crow hopped down from the stallion’s back and stretched his legs. He was slightly sore, having not yet gotten used to straddling a horse’s back for so long, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the pain in his injured leg would have been if they had continued on foot. He sauntered over to a grassy patch beneath a tree and leaned back against its trunk with a yawn while the knights tied up their horses.

As he stood there, he noticed a faint noise coming from behind him. He sent a quick glance back towards the others before he turned around to investigate where the sound was coming from. Not far from their campsite, he came upon a small brook with fresh, running water. Thank the gods, he crouched down beside it and cupped his hands in the cold water, lifting the refreshing liquid to his mouth. Once he’d had his fill, he trotted back to the clearing to find Penelope.

“I found a place where we can refill the canteens,” he announced to, gesturing for her to follow him. “There’s a brook just beyond the trees over here.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope got off the horse after Crow and stretched her legs as well. She was a bit used to horseback riding so she wasn't too sore but knowing that they had many days of it to come, she didn't doubt that she'd soon be stiff from riding so much. Grabbing the reins, she tied up her horse as William did the same. She glanced over at her comrade. "Do you want me to take the first watch tonight?" She asked him.

William shook his head. "No I'll take it again. It'll be better if we keep some kind of sleeping schedule." He responded with a shrug.

Penelope nodded and stepped away from the horses to set down her bag. So far their first day traveling back had gone rather well in her opinion. They managed to avoid the patrol from earlier and there weren't any signs of more enemies so far. Though, she still wondered what lied ahead. We've faced so much already... what else could happen now? She thought with worry. Her attention flickered over to Crow as he came back into the clearing and she pushed her concern aside for now. "That's lucky." She mused as he told her about the brook. The knight grabbed the two canteens she had stored in her bag and moved to follow him over to the brook.

"We'll be back." She told William, holding the canteen up as an explanation. The older knight looked over at her and gave a curt nod as he leaned back against a nearby tree, already eying the forest around them to keep on guard. She turned back ahead and followed Crow towards the brook.

[Rogue Sloth]

Weaving through the trees towards the sound of the water, Crow guided Penelope to the brook he had found. He glanced back over his shoulder and, finding that they had travelled out of sight from the camp, reached to take her hand in his. He was glad that he had found the stream because they needed to refill their water supply, but he also liked the fact that it opened up an opportunity for them to be alone again, even if only for a short while.

He did have to wonder how often they were going to be able to sneak away together before William caught on though. Sure, right now the knight probably couldn’t even fathom that he and Penelope were more than just friendly with each other, but he wasn’t completely dense. If they continued to spend so much time together, he was bound to catch on eventually. The thief held Penelope’s hand a bit tighter. If they wanted to keep fooling the old knight, they would just have to start being selective about the times they wandered off together.

When they reached the edge of the brook, he sat down and motioned for her to sit next to him. “This spot kind of reminds me of that stream we fell asleep next to a few days ago,” he mused out loud, bending forward to fill a canteen with water. Once it was full, he sealed it and set it down off to the side. “It’s funny,” he went on, looking up to meet her gaze. “All that time, we were both so concerned about hiding our feelings from each other when we could have been doing this.” He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her lips.

Feeling a bit spontaneous, Crow leaned further into Penelope, using his weight to push her back into the grass as he shifted so that he was on top of her. He kissed her along her neck and jawline, trailing one hand sensuously down her side. After a bit, he pulled back to gaze down at her and smirked mischievously, “You know… William will be asleep during your watch tonight. He wouldn’t notice if we left to… say, ‘get more water.’”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope smiled as Crow took her hand. She glanced back over her shoulder, careful to make sure they were far from William's line if sught before she focused back ahead. She was glad to have a little time alone with him now, even if it wouldn't last very long. I just hope William doesn't catch on anytim soon.. she thought with some worry. The older knight likely wasn't thrilled about them being friendly with each other as it was. She couldn't imagine how he'd react to figuring out how close they really were.

She moved to sit down besides Crow as he motioned for her to join her. She opened up the other canteen and filled it. "It does." She agreed as she looked at the water. Once the canteen was filled, she sealed it back up and turned to look over at Crow as he wrapped his arm around her. She smiled and leaned into him, kissing him back.

Penelope fell back into the grass and arched her neck as kissed her. Slidinng her arms around him, she moved one hand up to lightly play with his hair as he kissed her. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment and his touch while she could. As he pulled back, she hesitated at his words. "That's true but.. I don't know." She mumbled moving to rest a hand on his cheek as she looked up at him. She gave him a half smirk. "I'm suppose to actually keep watch you know." Though she was tempted to sneak off with him during her watch, she was still concerned about staying alert, especially since it seemed they had many enemies to watch out for.

[Rogue Sloth]

“I know that,” Crow laughed softly and rolled his eyes. “But it’s not like we’d have to go far…” He leaned in and met her lips again, resting his hand on her hip. “We could come back to this spot,” he went on in a murmur, speaking between kisses. “Just for a little while… William would never even know we were gone.” He gave her bottom lip a gentle nip before finally pulling back to meet her gaze with a pleading smile. “Come on, love. Wouldn’t it be fun to be a little risky?”

If he was honest with himself, he knew it wasn’t the wisest idea for them to let their guards down and abandon the watch, but that didn’t change the fact that he wanted to make the most of his time with Penelope while they were still in Younis. Besides, what were the chances that they would get attacked tonight of all nights? Surely it couldn’t be that dangerous to relax for a little while… right?

Suddenly, Crow flinched at the sound of a twig snapping nearby. Heart racing, he quickly rolled off of Penelope and sat up to look for the source of the noise, worried that William had gotten impatient and come down to the brook to tell them to come back to the campsite. Fortunately, his fear was laid to rest when he spotted a deer upstream that had come to drink from the water. He let out his breath in relief and laid down next to Penelope on his side, propping his head up on his palm, “Thank the gods. I thought that was William for a moment.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope pursed her lips together as he pulled back and gave her a pleading smile. It still didn't seem like the best idea to the knight. However, she was beginning to be swayed both by his words and the voice in the back of her head telling her to go for it. It's not like we would be gone all night.. Besides the closest thing we had to trouble was that patrol earlier and that was easy to avoid... She thought as she looked up at him. She began to open her mouth to answer when the sound of the twig snapping drew her attention.

She quickly sat up as he rolled off of her, tense at the thought that it might be William or worse. When she spotted the deer, she relaxed again and nodded her head. "Yeah.. But he might be next. We should get going back to the camp." She said, not wanting to see how long they could risk staying out. Penelope grabbed the full canteens and slowly stood back up so they could return back.

She paused as she thought about what they had been talking about before the deer had come along.The knight had already come to her decision and though she still felt a bit worried, she was far too tempted by the chance to be alone with Crow. She chewed on her lip for a moment before moving closer to his side, taking his hand as they prepared to leave. "I suppose we'll have to take a couple risks with William around." She said quietly as she leaned into him. "So maybe I can spare a little time during my watch to... 'get more water'."

[Rogue Sloth]

“I suppose so,” Crow agreed reluctantly when Penelope said they should go back to the camp. He didn’t want their time alone to end, but he knew it was for the best. They didn’t want William to find out about their relationship, and that meant not ditching the knight for extended periods of time every day. So, picking up one of the full containers of water, he followed after her towards the clearing.

As she leaned into him, he grinned at back at her, “Oh yeah? Wake me up when you’re ready to go.” He winked at her and then moved to put distance between them as they came within sight of the camp. William was standing off to one side with his arms folded sternly over his chest. As he took notice of the two returning from their trip to the brook, he narrowed his eyes, “I thought you both went to get water. What took so long?”

“Relax, father,” Crow gibed with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. “We thought we heard Younisians, so we took cover for a bit. Turned out it was just a herd of deer.” He shrugged. “Nothing to be concerned about.”

William just grunted in response and turned his head away from the thief.

Prideful old fool, Crow clicked his tongue in annoyance. He can’t even look me in the eye. He started towards a patch of grass to rest, but then paused, thinking something over. Instead of going to sit down, he turned around and walked up to William, holding out the canteen of water he had brought back. “Here,” he said noncommittally. “Take it. You haven’t had any water all day.”

The knight blinked at him in mild surprise before reverting to his usual look of disgust, “I will not share water with a thief.”

“Look,” Crow said irritably. “You don’t like me, and I don’t like you. I get it, but we all have to work together if we want to get back to Brerra. That means accepting my help whether you like it or not. Now, just take the damn water so I can go to the other side of this clearing, and we won’t have to look at each other anymore.”

William hesitated for a moment before he snatched the canteen from the thief’s hand and lifted it to his lips in a long drink.

Crow shook his head and walked away from him, settling down in the patch of grass he had been eyeing earlier. It wasn’t much, but at least he was making some progress with the temperamental knight. He just hoped they would be able to trust each other if or when they ended up in a fight.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope followed Crow back to the camp. She looked over at William as he narrowed his eyes at him. She merely nodded in agreement with Crow's words and moved over to where she had placed her bag. The female knight took a drink from the canteen she carried before putting it away. She turned to look over at William and Crow as the two spoke. As Crow moved to settle down in the patch of grass, she walked over to William.

"I can't believe you can stand him.." The older knight grumbled to Penelope as he watched Crow walk away.

Penelope shrugged her shoulders. "He's not too bad. He got the mission done after all." She remarked casually. She looked over at the older knight. He was stubborn but perhaps if she talked to him, he'd be a bit more reasonable considering their current position. It was worth a shot. "The journey will be over before you know it. You won't have to put up with him much longer anyways so just try to get through it without making a big fuss about everything would you?"

"We're knights of Brerra. We shouldn'r-" William began before Penelope cut him off.

"We're in the middle of Younis, poorly equipped with only each other for back up." Penelope pointed out sharply. Her green gaze met William's with a hint of challenge. "We either swallow our pride a little to get through this mission or we keep it and likely fail. And if you don't believe me, think about what got you and Abraxas caught in the first place." She added referring to his failure to copy the Younisian accent. William fell quiet.

"Well?" Penelope inquired crossing her arms.

"Just go get some rest." He grumbled.

Penelope sighed. He wouldn't admit that what she said made sense but at the very least, it seemed that she managed to get through to him a little bit. The female knight merely nodded her head and moved to lay down. She closed her eyes and soon drifted off to sleep.

---

The knight woke up when she heard William call her name. She let out a soft groan, reluctant to get up and wishing she could get a full night's sleep like before. "I'm up.." She mumbled as she flickered her gaze to look up at the older knight. William nodded his head and moved to lay down, looking rather tired. Penelope stretched and slowly stood up. She swept her gaze over the dark forest, keeping watch while she waited for William to eventually fall asleep.

After a while had past and the forest remained quiet, her gaze drifted over to Crow. Her heart began to beat a little faster as she realized the time had come to wake him. She looked over at William, double checking that he was sound asleep as she carefully made her way over to the thief. "Crow." She whispered, tapping him lightly on the shoulder.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow leaned his weapon and the staff against a nearby tree and laid down in the grass, positioning himself in such a way that he wouldn’t be able to see William. With nothing else to do for the night, he closed his eyes to sleep. However, the sound of voices drew his attention before he had a chance to drift off. He opened one eye and glanced back over his shoulder to see that Penelope had approached her comrade after he had left. It sounded like she was trying to defend him to the other knight.

He smiled to himself and closed his eye again, shifting so that he laid more comfortably in the grass. Though he wasn’t sure if William would listen to Penelope or not, he appreciated her efforts to try and get it through his hard head that he wasn’t the terrible person the knight thought him to be. Hopefully, with enough time, William would come around to give him at least some respect as a person, even if the man disapproved of his lawless lifestyle.

With that thought in mind, he finally drifted off to sleep.

--

During the night, Crow heard someone whisper his name. He lifted his head and blinked against the darkness, momentarily confused as to why someone would be waking him up so early. He saw Penelope standing over him, and suddenly the memory of their conversation from the evening before came back to him. Sitting up, he lifted his arms over his head in a long stretch and yawned quietly. “Glad to see you didn’t change your mind,” he whispered back to her with a smirk.

After taking a moment to wake up a little more, he got up from the ground and reached out to locate her hand in the darkness, lacing his fingers with hers as he guided her towards the edge of the clearing. He cast a quick glance towards William’s sleeping form to double check that the knight hadn’t been disturbed by their quiet rendezvous. Fortunately, it looked like he was still out cold, so the thief turned back to Penelope with a grin, “Looks like he won’t be waking any time soon.”

He gave her hand a gentle tug, leading them both back towards the brook he had found before. However, just before they reached it, he turned on her with a devilish spark in his eye. Pushing her back against a tree, the thief pinned her there with his own weight and met her lips passionately. He ran his hands along the curves of her body, exploring her by touch until he came to a rest at the fastening of her dress.

“Say you want me,” he exhaled against her neck, toying with the strings teasingly without moving to undo them just yet. He leaned in closer to press a trail of kisses along her jawline, going on in a murmur, “I want to hear you say it.”

[BuzzingBee]

"Of course I wouldn't." Penelope said with small smirk of her own as Crow got up. She felt him take her hand and followed after him as he began to lead the way out of the clearing and towards the brook. Glancing over at William as well, she prayed that the older knight would remain asleep during their time together. The thought of having to explain where they had been or being caught by him didn't settle well with the female knight.

"Good." She mused quietly as Crow turned back to her. Penelope followed after him as he continued onward. She was caught slightly off guard as he suddenly turned on her and pinned her back into a tree. However, she didn't hesitate to meet his lips with an equal amount of desire. She moved one hand to rest against his chest while she slid her other arm around him.

She closed her eyes serenely as he moved away from her lips and began to kiss along her neck. She felt his hands stop at the fastening of her dress and she opened her eyes to look over at him. Her cheeks grew warm at the words he breathed against her neck and jawline. "I-I want you." She stuttered out at first, a bit caught up in her own bashfulness at first. It even sounded weak to her. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes as she drew forth a bit more confidence and passion as she focused on his touch. "Gods, I want you, Collin." She breathed.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow smirked in amusement at Penelope’s sheepishness, though he was careful to mask the expression from her by pressing another kiss to her neck. While it wasn’t necessarily seductive, he found her innocence to be charming in its own way. It was cute how she stammered when trying to play along with him. She’ll get more comfortable over time, he thought, his smile widening when she tried again more successfully. This time, her breathy voice managed to send a shiver of excitement down his spine.

He pressed in to meet her lips, working to undo the fastening of her dress as he kissed her. Once he untied it, he slid the fabric off of her body and let it fall to the ground. His arms snaked around her back as he leaned into her even deeper. After a moment, he pulled back slightly to catch his breath, winking at her impishly, “Now, show me that you want me.”

He moved to guide her hands to the hem of his tunic, permitting her to remove it for him rather than doing so himself. He took the liberty of taking off his own pants, and then met her lips again, slowly dragging her down to the ground with him, though he allowed her to be on top of him this time. Running his hands along her body, he leaned up to whisper in her ear, “You’re so beautiful. I can’t believe you’re mine.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope leaned in as he kissed her again. She felt the fastening come undone and leaned away from the tree to let the clothing fall to the ground as he slipped it off of her. After having been with him once, being bare in front of him didn't feel as strange as it had the first time. The knight was able to ignore the small urge to cover herself as he leaned into her. As he pulled back, she looked up at him and playfully rolled her eyes as he winked at her.

She let him guide her hands to the hem of his tunic and slipped the clothing off of him. She kissed him back and allowed him to pull her down to the ground. Her heart hammered in her chest excitedly at his touch as his hands traveled over her body. Now on top, she pressed against him and smiled at his warm words against her ear. She looked at him with a mixture of affection and passion. "Believe it because I only want to be yours." She murmured as she lightly trailed her hand over his chest.

Penelope leaned down to trail kisses along his jawline and down to his neck. "I love you." She exhaled against his skin. She nearly found excitement in saying those three words again after having gone through so much at the castle and not being able to say them freely with William around.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow closed his eyes and leaned back as she kissed him along his jaw and neck, losing himself in her touch. Her warm breath made his skin tingle, and he wrapped his arms around her affectionately. “I love you too,” he smiled up at her, running a hand through her long hair. In the next moment, he leaned up to kiss her one more time, shifting to roll over so he was on top of her instead. He touched her sensuously, driven by desire, until finally, their bodies met and moved in sync…

--

Lying beneath the stars, Crow held Penelope close to himself. He ran one hand along her back, lightly tracing the way it curved, in at her waist and out at her shoulders and hips. His chest rose and fell slowly as weariness struck, and he had to focus to keep from dozing off. “I’m never going to get tired of this,” he murmured serenely, kissing her gently on the forehead. “Or of you.” He let out his breath in a long sigh, wishing they could keep laying together by the stream, but knowing they needed to stay alert. They had already risked enough by sneaking off in the first place. It would be hard to justify spending more time away from the camp than they already had.

He brought a hand up to caress her cheek, “As much as I would love to stay here with you, we should probably get back to William.” He sat up and found his discarded clothes, slipping his tunic over his head before following suit with his pants. Once he was fully dressed, he got up and offered his hand to her, wanting to hold hers until they got back to the clearing.

“Looks like we got away with it,” he whispered to her slyly when they were close enough to see the still sleeping form of William.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope laid besides him, fighting to keep from falling asleep as she listened to the soft sound of the brook nearby and felt the steady rise and fall of his chest besides her. She smiled at his words. "Good." She mumbled before pressing a kiss to his cheek. As he pointed out that they should get back to the camp, the knight nodded her head in agreement. She knew they couldn't risk staying out much longer. Penelope got up and retrieved her dress, slipping it on and retying the fastening before taking Crow's hand.

She walked alongside him as they headed back to the clearing. Her gaze flickered once around the forest ahead, looking for any signs of trouble but was glad to find none. There was also relief in seeing that the older knight was still fast asleep. "Thank the gods he didn't wake up." She mumbled with a small nod. As they reached the clearing, Penelope gaze his hand a small squeeze before letting go and moving away from him, just in case William stirred.

Penelope moved to take her usual position for watch, fighting off the sleepiness she had felt from laying with him. Glancing over at the older knight to make sure he was still asleep, she turned back to Crow. "You can probably still get some sleep. There's still some time before the sun rises." She mused glancing up at the still dark sky.

[Rogue Sloth]

Once they had reached the clearing, Crow let his hand fall back to his side as Penelope released it. He followed her lead, putting some distance between them in case William was roused by the sound of their arrival. It seemed like the older knight hadn’t woken up yet, as he hadn’t moved upon their return to the camp, but the thief didn’t want to risk getting caught if he did get up for whatever reason.

He glanced at Penelope as she went back to her position to keep watch and told him to get more sleep. Admittedly, he was tired, both from waking up early and lying with her, but he didn’t feel right about going back to sleep while she had to stay up and keep a lookout by herself. So, instead of going back to the grassy patch he had slept on earlier, he made his way over to her spot by the edge of the clearing and sat down against the trunk of a tree.

“You think I’m going to let you keep watch by yourself right now?” he looked up at her with a teasing smirk. “I know you’re just as tired as I am, love, so I’m going to help you stay awake.” He drew his knees to his chest and folded his arms over them, looking at the forest around them in a lazy search for movement. Of course, there was nothing, so he proceeded to amuse himself by picking up a small rock and tossing it between his hands.

“How do you knights not pass out from boredom when you do this?” he wondered aloud, turning back to her again. “Standing around with nothing to do but watch the trees. It seems like a terrible job.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope raised an eyebrow at him as he moved to sit down by her instead of going to sleep. "Alright." She said with a small nod and smiled a little to herself as she turned her head away from him to keep any eye out on the forest around them. The knight was a bit grateful for his company during the last bit of her watch. At his question, she shrugged her shoulders. "I guess. It's not too bad. Though that might just be because I'm used to it.. Keeping watch or guarding is pretty much half of my job after all." She mused.

"I actually find it kind of peaceful most of the time." Her gaze flickered up to the stars briefly before doing another sweep over the forest. "Helps me clear my head sometimes." Penelope leaned back against the tree and crossed her arms, falling silent for a brief moment as she thought about what they had been through and what was to come. The forest was quiet so she allowed herself to relax slightly, though she continued to keep an eye out for any nearby movement.

"I'm glad you're helping me stay awake but if you want to sleep it's ok." She assured him, feeling a bit guilty that he was staying up for her. The female knight was tired but it wasn't anything she hadn't gone through before on other watches. She glanced over at William before moving a hand to gently brush back a strand of Crow's hair from his face as she looked down at him. "I've done this for a while now so I'll be fine on my own. Plus, given your history, you'll likely pass out either now or when we're traveling." She added teasingly.