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

[Rogue Sloth]

“Right,” Crow frowned as he recalled the last inn they had stayed at. The lack of lodging wasn’t the only thing that worried him. Back then, it had been hard enough for him and Penelope to share a bed. He could only imagine the awkwardness of the situation if they couldn’t find a place that had more than one bed to sleep in this time. He was exhausted from all the travelling, so he was going to fight for it if William tried to make him sleep on the floor again. After being spoiled with soft mattresses on their way to the castle, he didn’t plan to settle for anything less on the journey back.

Leaning against Penelope, he closed his eyes to rest for the last leg of their trip that day. The warmth of her body against his made him relax despite his efforts to stay alert, but he enjoyed it too much to move. After all, the other two were still keeping watch for danger. He could afford to let himself unwind for a little while. He let out his breath in a long exhale, holding her by the waist as he reclined comfortably against her back.

--

When they finally arrived at a small inn, it was getting close to dusk. Crow slid down tiredly from the horse’s back, wincing slightly at the soreness in his legs and back from riding on the animal all day. He would be glad to lay down on a bed again after spending the last few nights on the ground in the woods. Casting a furtive glance at William, he silently prayed that the inn Penelope had found would accommodate multiple people this time.

Or maybe we could get our own room, he blinked as the idea suddenly came to him. It would be nice to get away from William and all of the tension that lingered between them. He wondered if Penelope would think it was worth the extra money too. However, there was no way for him to ask her while William was standing so close, so when she said a quick goodbye, he just nodded and hoped that she was thinking the same thing he was.

Taking the horses by the reins, he guided them over to a stable behind the inn. He pulled the door open and peered inside to see if anyone else was there. Fortunately, it appeared to be empty aside from a few other horses left by other travelers. He smiled to himself and stepped into the stable, closing the door behind the horses.

The thief led them over to two empty stalls and managed to get them in without too much trouble considering his lack of experience with the beasts. Once that was done, he slid the bow and staff out from their hiding place and began searching the room for a place to hide them where they wouldn’t be found accidentally. It wasn’t long before he spotted a good location behind some bales of hay. Any stable boys that came to check on the horses would have a hard time noticing the stolen objects lodged back there.

That should do it, he thought as he finished hiding the bow and staff. Satisfied with his work, he turned and headed back to the inn to meet Penelope.

[BuzzingBee]

As the two knights stepped into the inn, William fell back besides Penelope as he looked over towards the innkeeper. The female knight smirked slightly as she realized that he wasn't confident enough with his accent to speak yet. He glowered at her expression and gave her a stern look. "You better get a room with three beds." He growled under his breath. Penelope snorted softly and began to walk over to the innkeeper.

She took down her hood and gave the innkeeper a small smile as she put on her accent. "Hi, we're looking for a room with two beds." She told him, ignoring the older knight's piercing glare as he heard her words.

"Two huh?" The man grumbled as he glanced up at her. "Well, you're lucky. I have one left." He pulled out a key and placed it on the table in front of him. "That'll be one hundred and fifty Tael."

Penelope sighed at the price. She expected it to be rather high as she remembered their last experience at an inn and that was merely for one bed. At least this inn has a two bed room.. She thought with dull optimism as she dug out the right amount from her coin purse. She handed the money over before picking up the key from the table.

"Thank you. The room is down the hallway to the left." The innkeeper informed her with a small gesture to the hallway before losing interest in the two knights.

Taking the key, she turned to William and held it out to the angry knight. "Here. You go ahead to the room. I'm going to wait for him to get back." She said.

William grabbed the key from her and clenched it in his fist. He began to turn but paused as he narrowed his eyes down at Penelope. "You know, two beds works far better than three." He told her, smirking slightly. "I'll just make him sleep on the floor. It's only fitting for that bastard." He spat the last word before turning sharply and stalking off down the hallway. Penelope glared at his back as he left and shook her head. She might have beaten him once in a brief fight but he certainly wasn't backing down easily.

She stood off to the side as she waited for Crow to return. It wasn't long before the front door opened and the thief stepped in. The knight smiled a little at him and walked over to him. "Well the rooms here are just as pricey as the last one we stayed at." She said with a small sigh as she moved to take his hand in hers. "Although, this one did have at least one room with two beds but fair warning, William's pretty determined to try and make you sleep on the floor." Penelope gave an annoyed expression as she spoke.

Letting out a soft exhale, she looked up at him as she began to turn to head off in the direction of the room. "Were you able to hide everything alright?" She asked him quietly.

[Rogue Sloth]

When he met up with Penelope at the inn, Crow took her hand and returned her smile. He nodded when she said she had gotten a room with two beds. It wasn’t as good as a separate room would have been, but he wasn’t about to complain at the prospect of sleeping on a soft mattress again, even if William was there too. As she went on to warn him that the older knight planned to make him sleep on the floor, he rolled his eyes, “Of course he is. That jackass can’t stand the thought of us sharing a bed.”

At her question, he nodded again, “I hid them in the back of their extra stores of hay. I’d be impressed if anyone managed to find them there, even if they were looking.” He glanced down the hallway and then back to Penelope, “We should go to the room before William thinks of a way to make me sleep on the floor tonight. Come on.”

He walked with her to the room they had been assigned and opened the door. Inside, William had claimed one of the beds by throwing his cloak over it and was standing next to the other one with his arms folded sternly. His eyes swept over Crow and Penelope in the doorway, lingering on their intertwined hands, and he curled his lip, “Penelope, you take the bed. Thief, your spot is over there.” He jabbed a thumb towards the opposite corner of the room.

“Yeah right,” Crow snorted, closing the door after they stepped into the room.

“You think this is a joke?” William narrowed his eyes at him. “I’m not about to stand by and watch a criminal disgrace my comrade. You will be sleeping on the floor tonight.”

“And what are you going to do if I refuse?” Crow shot the knight a glare.

“Back down now and you won’t have to find out,” William warned, cracking his knuckles threateningly.

The thief hesitated near the doorway, eyeing him warily. He’s bluffing, he thought. He can’t be stupid enough to start a fight in a small room like this and risk getting us all kicked out. Feeling more confident, he disregarded the knight’s warning and began to make his way towards the bed. However, as he moved to step around William, the knight caught him off guard by throwing a punch that connected with his jaw. He staggered from the unexpected impact and brought a hand up to his cheek, staring at him in surprise.

“Don’t test me, Lockton,” William growled. “Consider that your final warning.”

“You’re insane,” Crow spat.

“You two are the insane ones,” William snapped. “It’s indecent for a criminal to share a bed with a knight. You are both going to stop while she still has a chance to reclaim her title as a respectable knight of Brerra.”

“You call looking down on anyone lesser than a noble respectable?” Crow scoffed. “Where I’m from, we call that shallow.”

“You can fight it as much as you like, but this is the way of the world,” William stood up slightly straighter. “Some lives are worth more than others, and yours, thief, is worth nothing.”

“Like I give a damn what you think,” Crow snarled at him. “All you nobles care about is status. I could save your gold plated ass a thousand times and you’d still say I’m just a criminal. There’s no point in trying to convince you that maybe—just maybe—there’s more to life than simply following the law.”

“The law is what holds our kingdom together. Without it, we have chaos.”

“With it, people are dying!” Crow said sharply. He took a calming breath, forcing his temper into check, and glowered at the knight. “Forget it. I’m not going to waste my breath on you. Now, stand aside. You can’t take on both of us at once, and I refuse to sleep on the floor.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope nodded her head and headed to the room with him. As she stepped inside she was quick to notice William had already claimed a bed for himself and grew a bit tense as he stood in front of the other and looked over at them. She glared at the older knight as he attempted to give them orders on their sleeping arrangements. She watched as Crow moved to step around William and clenched her fists as William landed a punch to Crow's jaw. Taking a couple steps forward to move to Crow's side, she glared at William, ready to defend Crow if the older knight moved to attack again.

As the two began to argue again, she glanced over at Crow as he grew even more frustrated at the older knight's words. She placed a comforting hand on Crow's back before her gaze focused back on William. The older knight narrowed his gaze at the thief before it shifted to Penelope. Realizing that he was tempted to still fight Crow, she removed her hand from Crow's back as she took a step towards William. "He's right. Just stand down. You can't win." She told him firmly.

"If you think I'm just going to stand aside and let this happen you're very wrong." He growled. "I'm putting an end to this madness before it goes any further."

"I said stand down." Penelope snapped becoming irritated with the older knight's persistence. "You're unarmed and out numbered. Don't be foolish over such a thing."

"He's got you so wrapped around his finger that you're even willing to attack your own comrade for him!" William snapped with an accusing glare at Crow. "Find some sense, any sense, to realize that this-this cretin is worthless." Penelope groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"We're going to share a bed and that's final. Just go lay down already." She grumbled and attempted to move past the knight. However, she was caught off guard as the older knight suddenly gripped her arm and pulled her back. She blinked and tried to pull away from him but he kept a tight grip on her arm. She balled up her fist and glared hatefully at the knight. "Damnit, William you ass! Let go of me before I break your nose this time!"

William gave her a scornful look. "If you're so determined to defend him, then you can take his place on the floor." He snapped. She was a bit surprised he was willing to back down from forcing Crow to sleep on the floor but supposed he was rather desperate for any way to separate them, even if it meant taking it out on his comrade. Penelope used her free hand to swing a punch at the knight but he caught it with his free hand. "Maybe if I start treating you like the bastard he is, you'll come to your senses. Since you clearly aren't listening to me." He growled.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow relaxed slightly as Penelope rested her hand on his back, but he continued to hold William in his sight, ready to defend himself if the knight chose to attack him despite the fact that she was on his side. With the way William was looking at them, he definitely seemed like he was still planning to fight. His furious expression made the thief’s blood boil. He wanted to knock it off his face, but he also wanted to avoid coming to blows if it was still an option. After all, it would be a problem if they got kicked out of the inn for causing a commotion. It wasn’t worth the risk.

He stood back as the two knights argued, glaring at William when he continued to try to convince Penelope that she was being manipulated by him. He didn’t understand why the stubborn old fool was still bothering with that argument. It was obvious that his feelings for her were genuine. William just couldn’t seem to believe that someone of his low status could ever act out of genuine intentions. It was annoying how belittling his words were.

When William suddenly grabbed hold of Penelope’s arm, Crow bristled. He couldn’t stand the sight of the knight handling her so roughly. Before he had a chance to think through his actions, he lunged at him. William, using both of his arms to restrain his comrade, couldn’t move fast enough to block him. The thief’s fist landed squarely in his solar plexus, knocking the breath from his lungs.

The knight released Penelope and clutched at his stomach, gasping for breath. However, before he could recover, Crow moved in again, landing a punch to his face this time. There was a faint cracking sound as William’s nose broke from the impact. He groaned and brought his hands up to his face, shooting the thief a glare through watering eyes.

“Touch her again, and I’ll break more than your nose,” Crow snarled at him.

“Son of a bitch!” William spat blood onto the floor and charged at him, throwing a punch at the thief’s throat.

Remembering what he had learned from his sparring lessons with Penelope, he brought up his forearm to block the knight’s attack and countered by shoving him off balance so he stumbled. William blinked, caught off guard by the thief’s new fighting abilities, but recovered quickly. He used his momentum to swing his left leg up and kick Crow’s knee, forcing it to buckle. Crow cursed, unable to stop himself from falling. The knight didn’t skip a beat. He spun around and landed another punch to the thief’s head before he could get up.

Crow’s vision swam from the blow, and he reeled back to get away from William until he could recover. However, the knight didn’t give him the chance. William shoved him against the far wall of the room. “Now you’ll pay,” he growled, cocking his fist back to swing at his face.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope blinked in surprise as Crow suddenly lunged at William. As the older knight was forced to release her, she took a couple steps back and flinched at the sound of William's nose cracking. Her heart began to race anxiously as she watched William charged towards Crow. The female knight shifted to move to his aid but paused as she glanced towards the door. Despite wanting to rush to help Crow, she also reminded herself that just causing for a bigger fight would make things worse.

At this rate, this scene will get us kicked out. She furrowed her brows and looked back towards the other two as William gained the upper hand in the fight. A small rush of panic surged through the knight as she realized she had to act quick in order to both help Crow and end the fight. As William cocked back his fist, Penelope darted at him and grabbed his arm, roughly twisting it back before the older knight could strike. William let out a grunt of pain and glanced over his shoulder to glare at Penelope.

He tried to pull his arm free and Penelope twisted it more in response, making him wince. "Enough!" She spat at him. "This fighting is going to get us kicked out and draw unwanted attention to us. So," She glared at William accusingly. "you need to get used to us being together. I don't care if you hate him. I don't care if you hate me. But I want you out of our business and focusing on something else. We still have a mission to finish and I swear that you're going to be the reason we fail. He did his part and I did mine. Why don't you start doing yours you arrogant brat! It'd certainly be more productive of you to actually be mindful of our enemies rather than starting fights with us." She shook her head looking disgusted with William. William glared at her silently and Penelope finally released him, giving him a sharp shove away from Crow as she moved to step past the older knight.

"I'm only trying to stop you from-"

Anger bubbled inside of the female knight and she turned to face him, glaring at the knight fiercely as he attempted to argue with her. "You know what," She cut him off sharply. "enough with that too. You trying to act like you're trying to protect me from getting used or save my name from getting ruined. I'm getting tired of it. You don't care about any of how this will effect me. All you're worried about is how it's going to make you and other knights look. Ah!" She shushed him as she noticed the knight begin to open his mouth to rebut her point. "Don't even try to hide it. You did nothing when an actual noble tried to use me before but now that I'm in love with Crow, suddenly you're very concerned about your 'comrade'." She snorted and crossed her arms. "And you call him heartless and a liar."

Penelope shook her head then sharply turned her back on William. She had said her piece to the older knight and could only hope he'd at least settle down for the night. Her gaze focused back on Crow and gave a concerned look as she moved to place a hand on his shoulder. "You alright?" She asked him softly.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow flinched and closed his eyes as William prepared to punch him. However, the strike never came. He looked up again to see that Penelope had captured her comrade by the arm and was now restraining him. Not wanting to lose his opportunity to get away from William, he slipped away from the wall and stood closer to the center of the room so he would have more options if the knight came after him again.

As Penelope began chiding William for the fight, Crow winced. In his anger towards the knight, he had completely forgotten that they would get kicked out if they drew attention to themselves. He hoped none of the other patrons of the inn had overheard the commotion. Since there were so few lodgings in this part of Younis, it was unlikely that they could find anywhere else to stay for the night, and he didn’t want to keep moving without getting some sleep first. Between all the travelling and fighting with William, he hardly had the energy to stand upright anymore.

He was about to go lay down on the now unprotected bed, when Penelope said something else that caught his attention. She was used by a nobleman before? He glanced at her curiously. She had never mentioned anything about that to him before. By the context of her statement, it sounded like she had been with another man romantically at some point and been deceived by him. He felt a pang of annoyance to know that someone had had the audacity to abuse her affection like that.

I suppose there is one thing I can offer her that a nobleman can’t, he mused, feeling a little better about their relationship now. I may lie to get what I want from strangers, but I would never play with her heart like that.

When Penelope finally turned away from William and came over to ask if he was okay, he nodded, “I’m fine.” In truth, his head still pounded from the older knight’s punch, but it was nothing compared to William’s injuries. He looked over at the knight, unable to hide a smug grin when he saw the other man nursing his broken nose. It was quite clear which of them had come off worse in the fight, and even though Penelope had technically saved him from getting beaten up by her comrade, he was proud that, for once, it wasn’t him.

“You’re both going to regret this,” William growled as he wiped blood off of his upper lip. “You’re both acting like I’m the bad guy here, but I was only trying to keep you from throwing your lives away.” He looked at Crow and Penelope in turn. “You’re going to end up hanged, and you’re going to lose everything you’ve worked for. You just wait and see. This little romance of yours is going to tear you both apart.”

“Thanks for the input,” Crow said dryly, putting an arm around Penelope’s shoulders. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind the next time we sleep together.”

William curled his lip at the thief’s bawdy comment, “I can’t wait to see you standing on the gallows, cur.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Crow rolled his eyes. He hesitated for a moment before adding, “Oh, and by the way.” He took a sharp step towards the knight, causing him to flinch reflexively, and smirked. “Looks like you finally learned your place.” Taking Penelope by the hand, he walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, letting out his breath in a tired sigh. After such a long day, he was ready to get some much needed sleep.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek and leaned against her shoulder. “I’m glad all of that is finally over,” he whispered into her ear.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope nodded her head, glad to hear that he was ok. She rolled her eyes as she noticed Crow's smug expression as he looked over at William. Glancing over at the older knight, she narrowed her eyes at him as he went off about how they would come to regret their choice of being together. She shook her head slightly as the two talked, finding William's words annoying and Crow's last words a bit unnecessary.

She followed Crow over to the bed and sat down besides him. She moved to place a hand on his back and gave a soft mumbled of agreement. "You need to stop letting him get under your skin though." Penelope mumbled as she gently rubbed his back. "You've started two fights already." The female knight shifted her gaze over to the other knight as he wiped more blood off of his face. Now that things had settled down, she nearly guilty for having turned so fully against her own comrade. Nearly. She pulled away from Crow to dig into her bag and pull out a small piece of bandage.

"William. Here." She said leaning over to hand the bandage over to the knight. "Don't go bleeding all over yourself. Put these in your nose and sit down until the bleeding stops."

William turned his head to look over at her and reluctantly took the bandages from her before turning his back to the two. Penelope rolled her eyes and then leaned into Crow. She felt her tiredness beginning to sink and she was more than ready to get a full nights sleep now that she didn't have to keep watch. "Let's go to bed." She said wearily as she moved to lay down.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow felt his face grow warm with embarrassment when Penelope said he needed to stop picking fights with William. He shifted his weight uncomfortably. She wasn’t wrong, but his pride wouldn’t allow him to agree with her out loud. Someone needed to put that old fool in his place, he rationalized to himself. Besides, if I hadn’t done anything, he might have hurt her.

While the excuses appealed to his bitterness towards the knight, the more logical part of him knew it had been unnecessary to start a fight with William. If Penelope could easily hold her own in a battle, then she could do the same with the older knight. His response to William grabbing her arm had been purely driven by blind rage, and his argumentative words that followed hadn’t been any better either. He winced as he began to realize that he had acted just as poorly towards William as the knight had been acting towards him.

Crow lowered his gaze to the floor, suddenly feeling ashamed of his impulsive reaction. “Sorry,” he muttered sheepishly. “I’ll try not to let him get to me so much.” Closing his eyes, he took comfort in her touch as she rubbed her hand along his back. He appreciated that she wasn’t mad enough about what had happened to put distance between them. After getting so worked up, it was nice to have someone around to help him calm down again.

When she suggested that they go to sleep, he nodded tiredly in agreement and laid down beside her on the bed, wrapping an arm around her middle to hold her close to himself. Even if the method by which they had managed to share a bed hadn’t been the greatest, he was still glad they had won against William on the issue. Holding her in his arms and laying on a soft mattress was much better than being alone on a cold, unwelcoming floor.

He closed his eyes again and breathed softly against her neck, “Goodnight, love.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope closed her eyes as she laid down on the bed. Despite the trouble they had gone through, she was still glad to be sharing the bed with him again. She let out a content exhale as she felt him wrap his arm around her and pull her closer. Between the warmth of Crow and the softness of the bed, she already felt herself beginning to drift off. "Goodnight." She mumbled sleepily. The knight pressed close to him as she soon fell asleep, momentarily pushing away the chaos of the day.

---

Despite falling into a rather deep sleep, Penelope woke up rather early. The knight slowly opened her eyes and stretched slightly as she tried to push away the small bit of drowsiness she still felt. She glanced over towards William and saw that the older knight was still asleep and had his back to the two. She frowned a little to herself and hoped that the day would turn out better than the last. If they kept fighting with each other, it would definitely bring more bad than good during this last leg of their mission.

Glancing over at Crow, she carefully and slowly turned over in his arms to face him. Penelope affectionately smiled at him as she looked at the thief. Though the night had been a bit chaotic, she was glad to find a peaceful moment in the morning as she woke up besides him. She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Good morning." She murmured.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow shifted tiredly as he felt Penelope’s soft lips on his cheek, rousing him from his sleep. He blinked his eyes open and returned her smile as he met her gaze, “Morning.” He reached up to run his hand gently along her cheek. Even in the early morning, she looked beautiful. He liked the way her long hair was ruffled from the pillow she laid against and how rosy her face was up close.

In a burst of affection, he leaned in to plant a kiss on her lips. He pulled back after a moment and sighed, “I can’t believe I get to wake up next to you every day.” Running his hand along her side, he glanced over his shoulder at William. The knight was still sleeping soundly in the early morning with no sign of waking anytime soon.

Crow turned back to Penelope and smirked, murmuring under his breath, “Seems like we have some time to ourselves this morning, hm?” He moved in and kissed her again, propping himself up on his elbow to lean over her and press into her lips more deeply. He ran his free hand down the length of her side, stopping to hold her at the waist. Their time alone had been growing shorter and farther apart, so he wanted to make the most of the morning while William was still out cold.

After a while, he pulled back again to meet her eyes once more, laying down against his pillow and holding her in his arms. “I hope William sleeps in,” he said quietly. “It’s a lot more peaceful around here when he’s not supervising us.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope smiled as he ran a hand along her cheek. She met his lips as he leaned in and kissed her. As they parted, she gave a small nod of agreement as she trailed one hand up to rest against his chest. "I can't either." She mumbled in agreement at his words. She raised an eyebrow at him as he turned back to her with a smirk. Grinning a little at his words, she leaned in to meet him as he kissed her again.

The knight closed her eyes as she kissed him back. She wrapped one arm around him and rested her other hand against his cheek as they kissed. As he pulled back, she moved her hand away from his cheek but kept her arm wrapped around him. She nestled her head against his as they continued to lay together. "Yeah.." She said with a small sigh as she glanced over in William's direction, making sure the knight was still asleep. He shifted slightly but didn't seem to wake up quite yet, though Penelope guessed it wouldn't be long until the older knight was up.

She shrugged her shoulders and closed her eyes for a moment as she enjoyed their closeness. "At least we won't have to put up with him for much longer." She whispered optimistically. She smirked a little bit as she pulled back to look at Crow. "As soon as this mission's over, it'll just be us." Though her words brought her a feeling of eagerness for the future, she also found a bit of uncertainty. She had yet to discuss their plans for when they reached the kingdom's border and it seemed they had different ideas on what would happen then.

Penelope paused slightly, suddenly taking on a more serious expression as she thought about it. The knight was tempted to ignore it and save it for a discussion for a different time but after seeing how that worked out before, she was beginning to think that might not be the best idea. Her gaze glanced over to make sure William was still sleeping before focusing back on Crow. "Also, Crow, I'm planning on seeing this mission to the end." She spoke hesitantly. "Nothing's changed about my plans to be with you but I want to make sure that staff gets to the king... And maybe say a couple goodbyes before I leave.."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded when Penelope said they wouldn’t have to deal with William for much longer. He couldn’t wait to leave the stubborn knight behind at the border and to finally be free with her in the outer villages. Just the thought of it sent his heart racing excitedly. He drew her closer in his embrace, relishing their time together at the moment while also dreaming about the future they were going to have when they returned. It wouldn’t be much longer now.

“I can’t wait,” he pressed another short kiss to her forehead and grinned eagerly. “I promise; you’re going to love the outer villages, darling. When we reach the border, I was thinking we should go to Farhill first. It’s close to the village we stayed in at the beginning of our journey, but the people there are a little better off and more welcoming of newcomers. I’m sure they’ll be happy to take us in for a while, at least until we’re secure enough to find a place of our own.”

It was interesting to him how the thought of settling down was suddenly so much more appealing to him now that he was with Penelope. Before, he had never dreamed he would want to stay in one place for longer than a year or two, but now it almost felt natural. Of course, it wasn’t going to be easy because of his reputation, but he hoped that with time, they would have an opportunity to stop moving around and make a life for themselves somewhere safe from danger. Maybe we’ll even be able to have children someday, he thought, smiling to himself. Fatherhood was another aspect of life that he used to think he would never be able to attain, but now, who knew? Maybe he would be able to raise a son or daughter of his own in a few years after all.

His smile faltered slightly as he noticed Penelope take on a more serious expression. Her following words made his heart sink a little as he realized what she was trying to say: She wasn’t planning to come with him when he left to go home at the border. “Oh,” he murmured, averting his gaze disappointedly. He was glad that she was still intending to come to the outer villages to be with him, but he had been hoping they wouldn’t need to part ways at all.

I suppose I shouldn’t have made that assumption without talking to her first, he thought. Of course she would want to make sure her family is safe before she leaves them to be with me. Chewing on the thought a little more, he couldn’t deny that it made sense for her to go and see her family before she left them all behind. She obviously cared for them very deeply, and he couldn’t justify taking away her final moments with them just because he didn’t want to part with her for a short while. It would have been selfish of him to ask.

After a moment, Crow looked up to meet her gaze again. “I understand,” he said reluctantly, offering a somewhat forced smile. “So… how long will it be before you come back to the outer villages?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope felt a small flutter of worry as he grew quiet for a moment. She wasn't sure if he'd be ok with her plans, especially since they were rather different from what he originally had in mind. As he finally met her gaze again, she let out a small sigh of relief as he said he understood. She gave him a reassuring smile, still noticing his reluctance, and brushed back a strand of hair from his face. "Not too long.. A little over a week should give me enough time to finish the mission and say my goodbyes." She told him.

"My father and brother work near the border so the longest part should just be traveling to the castle and back. I'll spend some time with them and then meet up with you." She explained to him. Penelope pressed a quick kiss to his cheek again. "It'll only be for a little while and then you won't be rid of me for a long time." She promised him with a small smirk, trying to cheer him up about the situation slightly.

From nearby, she heard William beginning to stir and lifted her head to glance over at the older knight as he began to sit up. She let out a small sigh, knowing they'd have to get moving soon and felt a bit reluctant to move from Crow's arms. She looked back to Crow. "Looks like we better start getting ready to go." She mumbled before beginning to move away from him. She stretched as she slowly got up from the bed and casted a glance over at William. The older knight was now fully up and merely sent an annoyed look over at the two before moving to slip his boots on. "At least he didn't wake up arguing with us.." She muttered to Crow.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded again when Penelope said she would meet up with him again after about a week’s time. That sounded about right to him. Travelling on foot—he was sure William was still planning to leave the horses they had stolen at the border—it would take the two knights longer to get back to the Brerratic king’s castle from Younis. He let out his breath in a long exhale. He still didn’t like the idea of parting with her, but at least it wouldn’t be too long.

It’ll be fine, he reassured himself. One week is nothing compared to the years we’ll have after she comes back to the outer villages. Feeling a little better, he sat up on the bed with her as she noticed William beginning to stir. He glanced up at the knight, who returned an irritable glare at them before moving to put his boots on without a word. The thief bit his tongue to keep from smirking when he noticed how swollen William’s nose was. He averted his gaze to put his boots on as well. After what had happened the night before, he didn’t want to be the one to start another fight with the short-tempered man while there was still a chance for them to have some reluctant peace that day.

Once his shoes and cloak were on, Crow stood up from the edge of the bed and turned towards Penelope, “I’ll go get the horses from the stables and meet you both at the entrance.” Not wanting to wait around while the other guests at the inn woke up, he headed for the door to do as he had suggested.

He walked down to the stables and stepped inside to find a nobleman retrieving his horse from one of the stalls. The man offered him a friendly smile and a nod of his head, which Crow returned wordlessly as he went to collect the two horses he had left the night before. He pretended to inspect the animals and their gear until the other man left.

As soon as he was alone, Crow hurried over to the bales of hay and drew the bow and staff from their hiding place. Moving quickly in case anyone else was coming to the stables that morning, he hitched the stolen items to the rope and belt around the stallion’s round belly and covered them up with the blanket and saddlebags.

Just as he finished tightening the strap around the horse, another pair of noblemen stepped into the stables to get their horses. Crow offered a polite dip of his head and hurriedly exited the space. Even though the staff and bow were mostly hidden from sight, he didn’t want to risk getting caught if one of the men happened to catch a glimpse of them while they were in close quarters.

That was close, he sighed as he guided the horses to the front of the inn to meet up with Penelope and William.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope nodded to Crow as he headed out to get the horse ready. She threw on her cloak and finished getting ready before turning to look over at William. The older knight had gotten ready rather quickly and was waiting for her to finish. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at her. "So... Sleep well?" He asked with clear venom in his voice. Penelope let out a soft sigh and walked over to the knight.

"Please don't start again." She groaned. "William, please we're nearly done with this mission and it would be great if you could just.. I don't know, ignore us?"

"Ignore you?" The knight scoffed at her.

"Well I don't exactly expect you to become friends with Crow. Nor do I expect you to start respecting him in any way." Penelope said crossing her arms. The two began to head out of the inn as they spoke, lowering their voices slightly as to not draw attention. "But I don't think we can risk anymore fighting. Ok? I know he started them but it's not like you're guilt free. So can we just try to make it back to Brerra without drawing any attention to ourselves?"

William fell silent for a moment. He gave an annoyed look and shook his head. "You're digging his grave and ruining your life, Vermillion." He growled then paused. "You're right though. We shouldn't be drawing attention to ourselves. Not here. So I'll just have to make you come back to your senses once we get back to Brerra."

Penelope looked over at William and let out a long sigh. "Well I guess... that's a start." She muttered. As far as she was concerned, William could do whatever he wanted once they got back to Brerra. After all, Crow would leave as soon as they got back to the outer villages and even if he did spread the word about her and Crow, it wouldn't matter since she'd be leaving to be with him anyways. She just hoped that he'd keep his word on causing less trouble, especially after the night before.

Her gaze focused ahead as she spotted Crow returning with the horses. She stepped over to him. "Able to get everything alright?" She asked, eying the stallion to make sure that he was able to retrieve the bow and staff.

[Rogue Sloth]

As Crow approached the knights, he could tell that there was a clear tension between them. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at William, his gut reaction being to assume the older knight had done something to set her off. However, as he took in the scene a bit more, it didn’t look like there had been a fight between them. Even though they seemed annoyed with each other, he didn’t detect any malicious glares as there usually were whenever William was around. The thief relaxed again.

“I had to dodge around a few noblemen,” he shrugged at Penelope’s question. “But other than that, there was no trouble at all.” He passed off the reins of the stallion to her as he spoke.

“Let’s keep moving,” William cut in grumpily as he took his mare from Crow and climbed onto the animal’s back. “We still have a lot of ground to cover, so we can’t afford to waste time idly talking.”

Crow shot him a cold look, biting back a sharp retort. What ‘idle talking’? He had only answered Penelope’s question. It was frustrating how the knight criticized every little thing he did, but he forced himself to take a calming breath and keep his irritation to himself. After all, he had promised Penelope that he would try to stop letting William get under his skin so much, and he intended to keep his word to her.

Standing back for her to mount the horse first, he cast a quick look around the street. Everything seemed peaceful, but he didn’t want to let himself forget Aeklora’s warning: Someone was still after them. If that someone was anything like the mercenary who had attacked him and Penelope before, he or she could strike from anywhere at any time. It was an unnerving thought.

Once Penelope was settled down in the saddle, Crow climbed up and took his seat behind her. He wrapped his arms around her middle as they continued on down the road, letting out his breath contentedly, “Hopefully this day will go by more smoothly than the last.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope nodded at Crow's words, glad to hear that he had been able to retrieve the items without much trouble. At William's grumble, the female knight briefly gave an annoyed look before moving to mount their horse. Though William seemed intent on disagreeing with every little thing they did, his words at least seemed a little less harsh. She hoped that meant he had taken her words seriously. Though, that probably means he's going to be in an even bigger rush to get back to Brerra.. She thought to herself.

As Crow joined her on the horse, she gave a small nod at his words. "Hopefully.. If we can just avoid fighting each other, I'll count it as a good day." She said with a soft sigh. Penelope leaned lightly against Crow as he had his arms wrapped around her middle and began to follow William as he lead the way back onto the road. It was still decently early so it wasn't very busy out yet. Still, the female knight adjusted the hood of her cloak to make sure her face was still hidden.

Riding on, Penelope noticed a couple other travelers on horseback. They were riding slowly ahead of them, in no apparent hurry. William, in a rush as usual, eventually maneuvered his horse around them. Penelope followed his lead but a bit more cautiously. The area they were in didn't get many travelers and from what she had heard, the ones they did get were nobles or other such visitors of the king. The clothing these ones wore didn't seem luxurious in any manner and despite the lack of tightness of the cloaks, they seemed rather tall and muscular. Something that reminded her of the mercenary she and Crow had faced before.

Penelope grew tense as she moved past them, keeping a close watch on them and their movements out of the corner of her eye. However, they continued on their way without problem and as they fell further behind them, Penelope began to relax slightly again. Perhaps she was just being a bit paranoid, especially since they were traveling around the same town where they had been attacked before. The female knight shifted a bit, still unable to shake a small feeling of uneasiness. She frowned and glanced around nearby alleyways, looking for any signs of movement.

All seemed quiet though and the closest thing to a sign of threat were the other travelers who had fallen behind them now, going at the same slow pace that caused for their distance between them to grow. Penelope glanced back at Crow. "Does something seem... Off?" She asked in a hushed tone.

[Rogue Sloth]

As the group rode onward, Crow leaned against Penelope’s back, finding himself to be more relaxed in spite of his desire to stay alert. It was difficult for him to remember that they were still in danger while their surroundings were so peaceful. Besides, they had been travelling for a few days now, and no one had attacked them so far. He was beginning to wonder if the threat Aeklora had warned him about had backed off after all. It would be nice to make it all the way back to Brerra without any more hostile encounters.

We should be alright for now, he thought, stifling a yawn. Whoever is after us has had plenty of opportunities to strike, and yet there’s been nothing. What are the odds they’ll choose to ambush us now, in the middle of a town? Against his better judgement, he closed his eyes to relax as he pressed up to Penelope’s pleasantly warm body.

He didn’t move again until he noticed a change in the stallion’s stride. Blinking his eyes open, he saw that they had been slowed by a couple of travelers on horseback that were blocking most of the road ahead of them. Of course, William, being in a hurry, managed to make a path around them, passing the slow group with an irritated look.

As Crow and Penelope passed them as well to follow after their impatient comrade, the thief glanced subtly at the men. Both of them looked rather large, with muscular arms that were uncovered by sleeveless brown shirts and solid torsos that bulged beneath the fabric of their clothing. However, what unnerved him most about the two was how quiet they were. Neither one said anything to the three travelers passing them by, and they also refrained from speaking with each other.

He felt a wary chill creep up his spine as he recalled the mercenary that had attacked them before. What if these guys are paid killers too? He frowned. Maybe they aren’t talking because they speak that same foreign language and don’t want to give themselves away? His fears gave way slightly to confusion as the men fell slowly behind them. Even though they were suspicious looking, they weren’t making any moves to attack him or his companions. Perhaps they were just harmless travelers after all?

“Does something seem… off?” Penelope’s hushed voice caught his attention. He turned to her, a bit more unnerved now that he knew she shared his discomfort.

“Yeah,” Crow nodded, speaking under his breath as he cast another furtive glance over his shoulder at the pair of strangers. “I don’t like how quiet they are. It’s almost as if they’re waiting for us to get out of earshot before they speak.” His hand inched down towards the bow that was hidden beneath the saddlebags on their horse. “I’ll feel better when they’re long behind us…”

[BuzzingBee]

At Crow's words of agreement, Penelope grew more alert. If Crow thought something was strange as well, then it was very likely that the men they had passed were merely waiting for a chance to strike. "If they let us out of their sights.." Penelope muttered in response to Crow's last words. The knight furrowed her brow in thought as she fixed her gaze ahead and began to think over their current situation.

"Surely even if they are mercenaries or any other kind of enemy, they wouldn't dare to attack us in the middle of town... right?" Penelope asked, sounding hopeful. It seemed unlikely. Even the mercenary before had figured out a way to drive the two out of the main street before fully attacking them. So that meant that they were either harmless travelers or had plans to drive them off the main street. The female knight shot a cautious glance over her shoulder towards the other travelers. She gave an uncertain look and glanced ahead towards William, whom seemed a bit unaware of the possible threat.

As they rode on, Penelope would occasionally check to see if the travelers were still within view. Though they were farther behind, they always seemed to remain in visible distance. The knight shifted uncomfortably. Enemy or not, she didn't want to remain within their sight for much longer. "We should get out of their line of sight. If they are after us, better to lose them now before they pull anything like the last one." Penelope told Crow, growing tense at the thought of their last encounter with a mercenary. "Any ideas how we can do that safely?"