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

[Rogue Sloth]

“Maybe not,” Crow said doubtfully when Penelope said the travelers probably wouldn’t attack them in the middle of the town. He wanted to believe it was true, but then again, the last time they had gotten attacked was when they were travelling along the main road, much like they were now. He wasn’t going to put it past them to try something out in the open—not after the boldness of their last assailant. With that thought in mind, he continued to keep the two men in the corner of his eye, watching them carefully for any sudden movements.

What made matters worse was the fact that William seemed completely unaware that they might be in danger. He wanted to alert the knight to the potential threat that the other travelers posed, but he knew he would never listen to him. Casting a glance back towards Penelope, he realized the knight might not listen to her either. William was so caught up in his distaste for their relationship that he seemed to want nothing to do with either of them at the moment. He would probably just write them off as paranoid to keep moving if either of them voiced their concerns.

This could be bad, Crow thought, chewing on the inside of his lip as he returned his gaze to the two men once more. They had fallen farther behind now, but they seemed to be traveling just fast enough to keep the three in their sights at all times. He was beginning to feel more confident that they weren’t normal travelers after all.

At Penelope’s question, he shook his head concernedly, “I’m not sure. If we try to change course, William will probably just accuse us of wasting time and refuse to go along with it.” He shifted slightly to look over Penelope’s shoulder, towards the road ahead of them. It was rather straight, with only a few small bends and curves. Some people milled around the edges of the street at the stands of various merchants, but it was otherwise clear.

“We could just take off,” Crow suggested, meeting her gaze again. “William will have no choice but to chase after us, and we might be able to lose them if they aren’t expecting us to move so quickly. If we can outpace them, we might be able to come up with enough time to think of a better plan.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope frowned a little as she looked ahead towards William. Crow was likely right in figuring that the older knight wouldn't listen to them. If he hadn't found anything suspicious about the people they had passed, then it was unlikely they'd be able to convince him of otherwise in time. She glanced back at Crow as he suggested they take off. The knight hesitated, thinking it over for a moment as she looked past him towards the distant travelers. It seemed like their best option for now, at the very least it would give them some time to consider a different plan to deal with the strangers. However, part of her worried that taking off down the road would also bring them unwanted attention, especially since there was a high risk of the hood of her cloak falling off.

"Alright." Penelope agreed with a small nod. "Let's do it. Hold on tight." She advised him. She waited to make sure Crow was ready for the change of speed before giving the stallion a small kick and urging the beast forward. With a burst of energy, the horse took off in a steady gallop, slightly weighed down by the two people on his back and the items it carried. Still, they managed to shoot past William, causing the older knight to jump slightly in surprise at the sudden movement. "What the hell!" Penelope heard him shout from behind and soon the thundering of other hooves behind them told her that he was following them closely on his mare.

The female knight kept one hand tight on the reins while the other moved to grab ahold of the hood of her cloak as she felt it begin to fall back. It made her feel little bit unsteady on the horse but otherwise worked fine as they rode further from the strange travelers. The road was luckily rather clear, though they did get a couple looks from a few people on the edges of the street.

It didn't take long for William to ride up besides them, easily catching up since his horse was less weighed down than theirs. "What in the gods do you two think you are doing?!" He snapped at them, clearly furious about their sudden take off. Penelope glanced over at the older knight.

"We're being followed William! We had to put some distance between us and those other travelers." She tried to tell him as they rode. The older knight raised an eyebrow at her and snorted in disbelief.

"You're insane! No one is following us!" He insisted. He glanced ahead before shifting his gaze back to Penelope, glaring at her. "Slow your horse down! You're just going to draw attention towards us."

Penelope returned William's glare and opened her mouth to argue, however, she fell short as another rider suddenly shot out from an alley ahead of them, blocking their path. The stallion skidded to a halt and began to rear up, spooked by being suddenly cut off. The female knight flailed to keep her balance, already beginning to feel the reins of the horse slip out of her hands.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow braced himself to take off when Penelope agreed that they should try to outpace the other travelers. As William followed after them, the thief glanced back over his shoulder to see that the two men weren’t giving chase, but had split up to head down opposing streets instead. He frowned concernedly. He knew they hadn’t given up that easily, but he couldn’t tell what they were trying to do. There was no way they could catch up by taking a different street while he and the knights were galloping down a straight road. It didn’t make sense. There had to be another reason.

What if we’re already surrounded? the thought came to him suddenly, and he blanched, hurriedly turning back around in the saddle to look forward. Of course! It was the only thing that made sense. The two men in the rear had split off to cover the exits while their comrades in the front were going to cut off the three from passing. He cursed and turned to tell Penelope his theory, but she and William were caught up in another argument.

Arrogant old fool! Crow thought scathingly, shooting the older knight a glare. “Hey!” he called out, trying to get their attention, but William was too caught up in the moment to notice his urgent tone. He was just about to try again when a sudden flash of movement caught his eye just up ahead. A new rider had appeared in the road, blocking their path.

“Look out!” he shouted to Penelope, but it was too late. They were too close to stop now. He inhaled sharply as the stallion reared up beneath him. In the next moment, he felt Penelope’s weight fall into his chest as she lost her grip on the reins, sending both of them crashing heavily to the ground.

Crow laid on the road in a daze as he tried to catch his breath from the impact. He could see William off to one side, trying to calm his frightened mare. It seemed that he had managed to just barely hold on when his horse had bucked. Off to the other side of the street, the stallion he and Penelope had been riding was bobbing its head and pawing nervously at the ground after having been spooked by the new arrival.

Knowing the danger was far from over, he forced himself to climb back to his feet despite a protest of pain in his lower back. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it and reached to draw the closest weapon he had: the dagger in his right boot. Holding it up in a defensive stance, he took in the rest of the scene around him.

There were now two riders in front of them on large, brown quarter horses. They were big, just like the mercenary who had attacked him and Penelope before. However, the detail he found most off-putting was that the men were armed to the teeth. A number of different weapons hung from belts at their waists and sashes across their chests. Some were familiar to Crow, while others were completely foreign. There was no doubt in his mind now that they were paid killers.

These must be the people Aeklora was warning us about, he thought, his eyes flitting cautiously between the two men in front of him. He slowly edged back from them as he tried to think of a way out of the situation.

“What the hell is this?” William’s furious voice interrupted the brief silence. The knight had managed to regain control of his mare and was now glowering at the strangers with unbridled rage. He was so angry that he hadn’t even bothered to use the Younisian accent he had been rehearsing. A few bystanders cast him looks of surprise and began whispering amongst themselves.

“Not good,” Crow muttered, glancing worriedly at Penelope. They needed to get away before the local knights learned of their position or the situation would become even worse.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope let out a small grunt as she crashed to the ground with Crow. Due to their positioning, she had partly landed on him, so she didn't feel the fall nearly as much as he did. The female knight rolled to the side, trying to regain her bearings as quickly as she could despite the small daze the fall gave her. She was vaguely aware of William getting his mare under control nearby and that the rider in front of them had been joined by his comrade, now blocking their path.

In a quick motion, she drew her dagger from her boot and hurried to get back up to her feet. As her gaze focused on the two men before them, she was quick to notice how well armed they were. She grew tense as she stood besides Crow and glanced around cautiously, trying to figure a way out of the situation they were currently in. They appeared to be similar to the mercenary they had ran into before and fighting him alone was difficult enough. She couldn't imagine trying to defeat all of them if they were on the same skill level.

She flinched at William's loud voice that lacked the Younisian accent. If their situation wasn't already bad enough, it appeared they'd also have to worry about the local knights. She gave a small nod at Crow's worried words and took a small step back as the men looked over at William. Her gaze then moved to the stallion that had calmed slightly now from being spooked but still acted a bit nervous. If they were going to make any escape, they'd have to get over to that horse. Turning her head back to the men, she noticed one give a cruel smirk before brandishing a sword. It's build was a bit different than any Penelope has seen before as it was thicker than most and appeared to be rather heavy from what she could tell. William grew tense, looking frustrated by the situation as the one rider advanced towards him.

She blinked in realization that William was unarmed. The female knight cursed quietly under her breath. She had been hoping that William would be able to buy them time to get to the horse but he certainly wouldn't be able to do so without heavy risks involved. Penelope clenched the dagger in her hand for a brief moment, keep her gaze focused on their attackers. "When I move, get to the horse." She whispered to him.

In the next moment, the one man moved to attack William and Penelope shot forward, heading straight for the horse and rider. Instead of aiming for the man trying to attack, she swiped her blade near the horse, making the animal go off course as her dagger neared it's face. "William here!" She snapped, hurrying to toss her dagger to the knight before the one mercenary could regain control of his horse.

William managed to catch the dagger in time and turned to block another oncoming attack. Penelope, however, wasn't so lucky. She felt the second mercenary suddenly slam into her side, forcing her to the ground. While she was defending William, it appeared that he had taken the time to dismount his own horse so he could deal with her. Her plan hadn't been the best. She just wanted to make sure the older knight could at least defend himself but in doing so, she had made herself rather vulnerable to attack as she didn't get enough time to draw the second dagger from her other boot.

The female knight didn't have any chance to prepare for the sudden attack and groaned as she hit the ground. With a sharp kick to her side, Penelope was forcible rolled over to look up at the mercenary. His boot move to press heavily down on her chest, making the knight wince in pain. He gave a cruel grin as he drew his short dagger to strike. Penelope felt a rush of panic, trying to figure a way out of this rather bad situation.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow muttered another curse under his breath as one of the mercenaries began advancing towards William. Like the attacker from the previous time, these guys must have been tracking them long enough to know that the older knight was the only one among the three of them without a weapon to defend himself.

He glanced between the two men and then towards a nearby alley, where he suspected at least one of the others was hidden. It was already bad enough that they likely outmatched him and the knights in skill, but even worse than that was the fact that they were outnumbered. He had never seen so many mercenaries in one place, chasing the same targets. The reward on their heads must have been substantial if the killers were willing to team up for a split profit.

Were they really hired by that group of rebel nobles? Suddenly, he wasn’t sure what to think anymore. It didn’t seem likely that the group they had come across would shell out so much money just to get rid of them. They had been greedy and power hungry. It seemed far more likely that they would have kept their money to themselves and plotted to kill him and the knights without paid help. However, he couldn’t think of any other explanation for the mercenaries’ appearance, so he pushed the concern aside.

“When I move, get to the horse,” Penelope’s hushed words drew his attention back to the matter at hand, and he nodded, trusting whatever plan she had come up with.

As soon as she ran to William’s aid, Crow did as she had told him to. He hurried back to take hold of the reins of the stallion that stood near the edge of the road, taking advantage of the fact that all eyes were off of him in that moment. He gave it a tug, but the animal remained firmly planted, unwilling to move towards the sounds of the battle.

Shifting his weight, the thief looked up at the stallion and swallowed nervously. Even though he had been riding along with Penelope for the past few days, he had spent most of the time dozing, so he still didn’t know much about how to control it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to think. He had to do something or he would end up being just as useless to the others as he had been last time.

Here goes nothing, he thought with a sigh of resignation.

Crow planted one foot in the nearest stirrup and swung himself onto the horse’s back. Taking the reins in his hands, he noted absently how strange it felt to be on top of such a large animal without someone who knew what to do to make it obey him. However, he didn’t have time to dwell on the thought. He reached over the side of the horse to retrieve the quiver of arrows from the saddlebag he had stowed it in, following suit by drawing the bow from the makeshift strap he had tied around the stallion’s belly.

Finally armed with a weapon he felt comfortable using, the thief turned his attention back to the battle. He looked up just in time to catch sight of one of the mercenaries pinning Penelope to the ground beneath his large boot. The scene sent a wave of panic through him as he saw the man reaching for one of the weapons attached to his belt.

He’s going to kill her, he realized, eyes wide with fright. Snapping out of his shock, he remembered that he was holding a bow in his hands. There was still time if he acted fast.

Crow quickly drew an arrow from the quiver and loaded the bow, forcing himself to take a calming breath so he could shoot straight. He took aim at the mercenary’s chest, pulled back the string, and loosed the arrow. Being of the back of a live animal, he didn’t quite hit his mark, but the weapon still did its job.

The man let out a howl as the projectile pierced him in the right side of his torso and spun around see who had attacked him. His eyes narrowed as they landed on the thief.

Oh gods, Crow stared back at the mercenary as he realized he was now the target. He glanced back over his shoulder to see if there was an escape route, but one of the first mercenaries had reappeared in the road behind him, blocking his exit point. The only way out would be to fight. He turned back to the man, who had drawn a foreign looking broadsword and was now advancing towards him, wielding the weapon like a shield in case the thief was to loose any more arrows.

Crow’s eyes flicked towards Penelope for a split second before he focused on the mercenary once more, his gaze hardened with resolve. “Come on,” he challenged as he loaded another arrow into the bow. “Vastāyi!” he repeated in Gorman, recalling that the other mercenary they had faced had known that language.

The man laughed, as if he found the thief’s words amusing, before he launched himself at him, his sword still raised as a shield.

Crow drew back the bowstring and let fly the arrow, but the mercenary managed to block it with his weapon. “Dammit,” Crow spat. He was beginning to feel panic well up in his chest as the man got closer. He tugged sharply on the horse’s reins, trying to convince the animal to move, but it only turned its head. “Come on, you stupid beast,” he snarled. “Move!” In a fit of anger, he drove his heels into the stallion’s sides. To his surprise, the motion seemed to convince it to go. The stallion took off just as the mercenary was about to slash his sword at the thief’s leg, cantering along the wall of the closest building.

This was a bad idea, he thought, heart racing as he tried to figure out how to get the wild horse under his control. Why did I ever think I could command this thing?

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope suddenly felt the weight of the mercenary leave her chest and she blinked as she realized he had been shot with an arrow. With his focus off of her, the knight rolled away from him, trying to regain her breath as she reached for the other dagger in her boot. She glanced over at Crow, giving a momentary look of surprise as she saw the thief on top of the horse. Recovering from her initial surprise, she began to move to Crow's aid, worried he wouldn't be able to get the horse to move in time. However, as he managed to get the beast to take off, the female knight paused in her steps and watched as he rode off. Behind him, one of the first riders reappeared and gave chase to Crow.

She eyed the mercenary on the as he gave a frustrated look as Crow took off before his gaze began to flicker back over to his horse. Penelope met his gaze for a brief moment before turning and making a mad dash toward the riderless horse. The knight heard fast footsteps behind her, telling her that the man was trying to reach her before she got to the horse. He wasn't quite fast enough and the knight hurried to get up into the saddle.

As she prepared to swing herself up into the seat, she spotted close movement out of the corner of her eye and realized that the mercenary had reached her faster than she anticipated. He raised his weapon to attack and thinking fast, Penelope delivered a sharp kick to the side of his head. The mercenary fell to the ground and Penelope swung herself up onto the saddle of the horse. The female knight winced in pain as she realized his sword had caused for a small cut on her leg.

Determining the pain wasn't serious enough to be concerned, Penelope focused back on the situation at hand. She was about to chase after Crow when her gaze flickered over to William, who was locked in a tight combat with the same mercenary. Neither seemed willing to back down and the older knight was clearly struggling with blocking his attacks. We all need to get moving.. Maybe we can take them on horseback.. The mercenaries were skilled and clearly organized but it seemed to Penelope that they weren't really working that closely together. Perhaps if she could get William to coordinate with her, taking them on would be easier.

The female knight changed course and charged towards William and the mercenary. She took a swipe at the mercenary, who was unable to block her attack due to having to block William's. He grunted as she managed to cut his arm. It wasn't much but it was enough to get him to back up for a moment.

"William! Let's go!" Penelope commanded as she maneuvered her horse to chase after Crow. William narrowed his eyes at her but followed.

"I don't exactly think running will get us out of this situation." William snapped as he rode after her. He glanced over his shoulder to look at the two mercenaries that were chasing after them before looking ahead towards Crow and the other mercenary.

"It won't! But it'll keep it from getting worse." Penelope snorted as she clenched the dagger in her hand. "Just stay close." The female knight raced ahead to catch up with Crow, moving her horse to come up on the other side of the mercenary that was after him and took a swipe, hoping to catch him off guard like she had done with the mercenary William had been fighting.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow gritted his teeth as he tried to figure out how to get the stallion back under his control. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw that one of the mercenaries was pursuing him down the street. Luckily for him, it didn’t seem like the man had any way of attacking him from a distance, because he looked like he was more intent on catching up to the thief than reaching for any weapons. It wasn’t much of an advantage for him though. Being focused on holding onto his erratic horse, Crow couldn’t draw any arrows, let alone try to notch and aim his bow effectively. Until he managed to stop or the mercenary caught up with him, they were both at a standoff.

Gods, how do knights make this look so easy? He groaned inwardly as he clutched at the horse’s neck, trying desperately not to fall off its back. Looking forward again, his eyes grew wide as he saw the fourth, missing mercenary appear from a side street ahead of him and block his path. In a flash of urgency, he tugged on the stallion’s reins, trying to make it turn to go around the obstacle. However, he apparently pulled too hard, because instead of passing to the right of the mercenary, his horse skidded to slow down and turned around completely, cantering back in the opposite direction towards the other attacker that had been chasing him.

“Lovely,” Crow muttered sarcastically. “This is exactly what I wanted. Thank you, you stupid animal.” He grasped the horse’s mane tightly as he barreled back towards the mercenary.

The man slowed slightly, raising his sword and grinning victoriously as he prepared to swing it at the thief. However, he was distracted as Penelope rode up beside him and slashed her dagger.

With his attention diverted, Crow managed to skirt past them without injury. He let out his breath in relief, but quickly realized he was heading back towards the remaining two mercenaries alone. He had to get the horse to stop somehow or he would be practically handing himself over to be killed.

Seeing as the reins made the animal change directions last time, he gave them another sharp jerk with one hand—he didn’t want to use both for fear of losing his balance and falling off. The stallion responded by turning in the direction he was pulling. It didn’t stop moving though, so the thief continued to keep tugging on the reins, forcing the animal to skip in a tight circle until it finally halted and pawed at the ground in confusion.

“Well, that was unpleasant,” Crow exhaled, shaking his head to clear the mild dizziness he felt after the horse had spun around a couple of times. Now able to think clearly again, he turned in the saddle to look back at the others. William and Penelope were caught in battle with two of the mercenaries, while the third that was still on horseback galloped into a side street. He was probably going to try to take them by surprise.

Crow frowned worriedly. He wanted to warn them somehow, but he was still too far away, and he didn’t trust the stallion to follow his orders well enough to carry him where he needed to go. Even though they needed the horse in order to get away, he couldn’t remain on its back and be useful to anyone in this fight. He was going to have to dismount.

He swung his leg over the side of the horse and slid off, touching down lightly on the ground. He was just about to turn and run to help William and Penelope, but before he could move, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head that made his vision swim. Staggering from the impact, he turned to see the mercenary who had attacked Penelope standing behind him, shaking out his hand after having punched the thief.

Too late, he realized he had been distracted and forgotten about the fourth killer. He stumbled backwards, trying to get away from him as the mercenary drew a wicked looking scimitar from his belt and began advancing. The man raised the curved blade threateningly, seeming to enjoy the look of terror on his target’s face as the thief tried to think of a way out of the situation.

In such close quarters, his bow would be useless, but he also knew that trying to win against a professional murderer with a dagger was practically suicidal as well. He didn’t want to turn and run either, since the mercenary could easily throw the short blade and stab him in the back as he tried to escape. His eyes flicked back towards his far away comrades, and heart began to race as he became aware of how dire his situation was.

Suddenly, he flinched as he felt his back brush against cold stone. The mercenary had cornered him against the wall of a building. He eyed the man’s scimitar and swallowed nervously. All it would take was one well-placed strike, and he was done for. The mercenary seemed to know it too, because he began to laugh cruelly as he lifted his blade.

In the next instant, he brought down his sword, and Crow leaped to the side to dodge the blow. He grimaced as he felt the blade cut through the right side of his chest. He hadn’t been able to fully avoid it, and took a bit of a gash as he hurried out of the mercenary’s range. He pressed a hand to cover his wound and spun around to face the man again, not wanting to let him out of his sight long enough to get attacked.

The mercenary spat on the ground, seeming annoyed that his first strike hadn’t downed the thief. He advanced again, raising his scimitar to swing once more. With no wall to hinder his movements, Crow ducked out of the way more successfully this time. His quickness only seemed to further enrage the mercenary, who now spat a string of what he could only guess were curses in his native tongue. As he continued to evade the man’s attacks, he began trying to think of a way out of the situation.

Anyone else who touches the staff before it passes into Brerra will die.

Crow blinked as Aeklora’s words came back to him with unexpected vividness. He glanced back over his shoulder towards the stallion as an idea slowly formed in his head. It was risky—he still didn’t know for sure if the staff could kill anyone—but it was the only option he had. Spinning back around, he danced just out of reach of the mercenary’s blade again as the man tried to take advantage of his momentary lapse in focus.

“Is that all you’ve got?” he taunted, edging closer to the horse. “I’ve seen peasant girls who can move faster!” Whether the man understood his words or not, his tone seemed to get under his skin. He swung again, oblivious to the thief’s intentions.

As soon as they reached the stallion’s side, Crow reached up and pulled the staff out from the rope attached to the animal’s belly. He held it up, brandishing the rod like a sword, but the gesture only caused the mercenary to laugh and say something else in his language that sounded like an insult.

“Stay back, or I’ll kill you,” Crow snarled, genuinely meaning the threat for once in his life.

The mercenary disregarded him and moved in to swing again. However, Crow was much faster. He slipped past the man’s scimitar and into his defense, bringing the staff around to strike his torso. Fortunately, the ploy worked. Being unaware of the power behind the staff, the mercenary didn’t even try to get out of the way as the golden rod collided with his ribcage.

With the thief now in his range of attack, the man grinned cruelly and reached to grab at Crow’s collar, but then faltered. His smile vanished and he clutched at his chest, dropping instantly to the ground.

“Holy…” Crow gaped at the dead man at his feet, frozen to the spot as his mind began to slowly comprehend what had just happened. Even though he had trusted that the staff would kill the mercenary, it was still shocking to see it for himself. He stared at the staff in his hands with unbridled surprise. The legend is real, after all.

Snapping back into focus, he turned towards Penelope and William. The third mercenary had yet to appear. Good. There was still time to warn them. Staff still in hand, he took off at a sprint to get to them before they were ambushed, leaving the body of the dead mercenary behind.

[BuzzingBee]

The mercenary that Penelope had attacked now focused his sights on her as Crow got away from them. He raised his blade and swiped at the female knight. She quickly ducked and fell back to move besides William. The older knight slowed his horse slightly as they regrouped and he turned his horse to face the second mercenary that caught up to them from behind. William shot Penelope an annoyed look before moving to clash blades with the other mercenary.

Penelope didn't focus on William's displeasure with the situation and instead continued to fight the mercenary that was trained in on her. He swiped at her throat and she ducked away from his blade then attempted to strike his side with her own. Their daggers clashed against each other as he easily blocked it. Penelope eyed the mercenary who sent a confident smirk at her. She wrinkled her nose and took another swipe again which the mercenary blocked yet again.

If I could just get him to lose his balance... It seemed like breaking past his defense wasn't something she'd be able to do successfully so she hoped that perhaps getting him to fall of his horse would do the trick. She maneuvered around the mercenary, beginning to plan out her attacks a little more while also dodging the ones he launched at her. First she aimed for his leg, causing the the mercenary to have to lean in order to properly dodge. She swiftly swiped her dagger up towards his face, making him in turn lean back to dodge her attack.

The knight smirked to herself and used her over hand to suddenly shove the mercenary. It appeared he hadn't been expecting her to willingly let go of the reigns in order to fight and wasn't able to block her attack. He scrambled to try and regain his balance but failed to as he fell off his horse and to the ground. Penelope clenched the hilt of her dagger, intent on finishing the fight as the mercenary slowly got back up. As she raised her dagger to strike, she noticed two strange things. The first being Crow sprinting towards them with the staff in hand and the second being the cruel gleam of amusement in the mercenary's gaze. Something was off.

Penelope caught movement out of the corner of her eye and spotted the third mercenary suddenly charge out from his hiding spot with his weapon drawn. The female knight barely had time to react as he swung his mace towards her side. Unable to completely dodge, the weapon made contact, though luckily not as accurately as the mercenary was probably hoping for. Still, the knight doubled over clutching her side in clear pain. Her eyes grew watery and she struggled to keep from falling off her horse. Trying to recover, she gave her horse a sharp kick and put a bit of distance between her and the third mercenary, who was quick to give chase to try and keep the female knight from recovering.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow had almost gotten within shouting distance of the knights when the third mercenary reappeared by Penelope. He paled as the man swung a mace that connected with her side, sending her retreating to recover from the blow. Damn it, he slowed to a stop, clenching his jaw in a mixture of frustration and worry. He hadn’t been fast enough to warn them, and now the killer was chasing after the female knight on horseback to finish her off. Without a horse of his own, there was no way the thief could catch up to help her. She would be on her own for now.

As he caught his breath, Crow turned towards the battle that was still raging on between William and the remaining two mercenaries. Being outnumbered and mismatched in arms against the skilled fighters, the older knight was struggling to hold his ground. A dark red stain had appeared in the right sleeve of his shirt, indicating that he had taken a hit as well.

The thief averted his gaze from the wound, unsettled by the sight. He shifted his weight from his left foot to his right as he toyed with the idea of leaving the knight behind. He hated William already, and the man had really been grating on his nerves recently in his efforts to separate him from Penelope. Would it really be such a bad thing to abandon him and just save himself and Penelope instead? His eyes drifted towards the far side of the street as he was drawn by the temptation to forget about William and go after Penelope.

He took a step forward and then wavered, glancing back at the knight one more time. As much as he wanted to leave William to be killed by the mercenaries, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He hated the older knight, but not enough to throw him to the wolves when he knew he could do something to help.

I’m probably going to regret this, he sighed, casting one last, wistful glance down the open road before turning around to run towards the fight.

Being on foot, Crow was disadvantaged by the mercenaries’ steeds. As he approached them, he had to be careful to avoid accidentally setting himself in the path of any of the horses. He weaved between the legs of the animals as he looked for a way to get close enough to either of the attackers to hit them with the staff.

By this point, the others had noticed his arrival, although neither of the mercenaries seemed to consider him threatening enough to pay much attention to. They continued to bear down on William in an attempt to overpower him. The knight also ignored the thief as he focused intently on staving off the two attackers.

Crow tried to work his way around to find an angle where he would be able to hit one of the mercenaries in the leg with the staff, but their horses were too mobile. Every time he got close to one of them, they would shift just out of his reach again. He glared at them and let out an irritable huff. It was becoming apparent to him that the staff was only a viable weapon when his target was on the same level as him. It was time to try a different tactic.

He hitched the staff to the strap of the quiver on his back and pulled the bow from off of his shoulders. Maneuvering away from the group to stand at a safer distance, he lifted the weapon and notched it with an arrow, took aim at the closest mercenary, and loosed it. The man let out a grunt and looked down at the arrow shaft protruding from his waist, then back up at the thief who was gawking at him from the side of the street, shocked that the mercenary was so unfazed by his attack. The man went on to pull the arrow from his side, grinning smugly at Crow as he snapped the shaft in half and tossed both pieces aside before resuming his assault on William as if he had only been stabbed by a splinter.

So now these guys are huge, and they don’t feel pain? Crow groaned inwardly, shouldering his bow again and reaching for his dagger instead. This just isn’t fair. He circled the fight as he tried to come up with a new plan of attack. However, his strategizing was cut short as the mercenaries finally began to overpower William.

The man Crow had shot positioned himself behind William’s mare and drew a halberd from a belt on the side of his own horse, readying the spear-like weapon to strike the knight while he was occupied with the other killer.

With no more time to think, Crow sprinted towards the mercenary and grabbed hold of the halberd before the man could run William through with it. The mercenary looked down at him and shouted something as he tried to wrench his weapon free from the thief’s grasp. Crow dug his heels into the ground, obstinately holding on with both arms. His heart raced as he tried to come up with a way out of the situation. He had managed to get this far, but he had no idea what to do next. All he knew for sure was that he couldn’t let go of the halberd or the mercenary would kill William and probably take him down too.

Fortunately, his improvisation gave the older knight enough time to realize one of his attackers was missing. William spun around on his horse and then paused as he took in the surprising sight of the thief struggling against the mercenary, his eyes roving to the halberd as it seemed to connect in his head that Crow had stopped the man from killing him. He raised his brow in confusion but didn’t move, as he was unsure how to react to the unexpected situation.

In his intent to keep the mercenary restrained, Crow took no notice of William’s look of surprise. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he fought back against the man’s powerful arm that threatened to wrench the halberd from his grasp.

Suddenly, someone punched him in his right side. He looked up again to see that the other mercenary had come around to help his companion. But the sight was confusing. The man was still on his horse, nowhere close enough to have thrown a fist. He frowned, I could have sworn… Lowering his gaze, he looked at his side where he had felt the impact and then let out a startled yelp, releasing the halberd.

A short dagger was embedded in his chest, halfway up the length of the blade. While his body was too filled with adrenaline for him to feel it yet, the sight of a weapon protruding from his own torso made him feel faint. He stumbled back against the wall of a nearby building, bringing a hand up to the hilt of the dagger. It felt to surreal. He wanted to be sure it was really there.

Absently, he was aware of the fight that had continued on after he released the mercenary’s weapon. William had managed to use the mercenaries’ momentary focus on the thief to turn the tide of the battle into his favor. He threw his dagger at the man with the halberd, striking him in the throat and killing him instantly. The knight then rode his horse up beside the dead man’s and retrieved the mercenary’s sword.

Now in a one on one fight against a skilled swordsman, the remaining mercenary seemed deterred. He eyed William for a moment before turning and galloping off down a side street in retreat.

With the threat finally gone, William rode over to Crow, who was still staring at the dagger in his chest in shock. “Come on, thief,” the knight growled. “We have to move.”

“Am I going to die?” Crow’s voice was tight with panic. “Oh gods, I’m going to die, aren’t I?”

“You’re not going to die,” William snapped impatiently. “Hurry up and climb on, and don’t touch it until we can stop to clean it properly.” He looked down the road where Penelope and the final mercenary had disappeared earlier. “We need to get Penelope and get out of here.”

At the mention of Penelope’s name, Crow came back to himself a bit. He nodded dazedly and tore his gaze away from the blade in his chest, forcing himself to move away from the wall and climb onto the back of William’s horse. Once he was ready to go, the knight spurred the mare onward—though he circled back to grab the reins of the rider-less stallion first—down the road to find out what had become of Penelope.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope held her side as she retreated away from the mercenary and further from the others. She cursed silently under her breath and glanced around for a way to regroup back to Crow and William, however, that didn't seem possible without directly facing the mercenary that was following closely behind. She glanced over her shoulder to see the man urging his horse to go faster as he prepared to try and strike her again.

The female knight gripped the dagger tightly in her hand. Guess I've recovered enough.. Penelope thought bitterly. She didn't want to be separated from them for long as she was worried that something might happen to them, especially to Crow due to his still developing skills. Suddenly changing directions, she rode straight towards the man pursuing her. He swung at her with the mace again, but she was prepared this time. Penelope ducked away from his weapon and shot past his defense with her dagger, leaving a nasty cut on his hand.

The sudden wound caused the man to drop his weapon in the heat of the moment, clenching his jaw as he tried to ignore the pain coming from the wound. Penelope tried not to give him another moment to recover and aimed her dagger at his throat. However, the mercenary was quick and already drew his sword to block her attack. Their blades clashed and the mercenary began to over power her. She quickly broke away to avoid his attack and took a slice at his side.

He shifted out of the way and then lunged at her with his sword. The two were locked in tight combat as Penelope tried to find a way to break through his defenses again. She gritted her teeth, slowly becoming more desperate as she felt the mercenary begin to gain the upperhand in their battle. His attacks were growing harder to dodge and she eventually felt his blade nick her arm. He's getting used to the way I fight. Penelope realized with a bit of panic. She had to do something to take him by surprise if she had any hope of winning.

As he attacked again, Penelope attempted a rather risky moving. She tried to lean in past his attack rather than simply blocking or dodging. Her blade successfully broke past his defense and aimed a strike at the mercenary's throat. Penelope let out a small gasp of pain as she felt his blade make contact with her shoulder right before she managed to kill the man. Now lifeless, he slumped off of his horse and fell to the ground while Penelope pressed a hand over the cut on her shoulder.

It was bleeding but didn't appear to be too deep so the knight relaxed a little. She turned her horse and began to ride back towards the others, hoping Crow and William were able to handle the other mercenaries. As she rode down the street, she soon spotted William riding towards her. A bit of panic washed over the knight when she didn't see Crow right away and that their stallion was riderless. She gave her horse a small kick and quickly galloped over to meet up with the other knight. Her worry was momentarily put to rest as she was surprised to see Crow riding behind William.

However, it didn't go away for long as her eyes locked in on the dagger that was in his chest. Her eyes widened with alarm and she maneuvered her horse closer to theirs. "William, we need to find a place to stop." She spoke impatiently. Crow was lucky that the dagger wasn't fully embedded in his chest or that it seemed to have missed his heart, but the knight still worried about leaving it untreated for too long.

[Rogue Sloth]

As the adrenaline from the fight started to fade, Crow was beginning to feel the dagger in his chest more prominently. He grimaced as the pain set in. It was sharp, but surprisingly not quite as terrible as he expected it to be. Honestly, the worst part was that he could feel the metal scrape against the bone of one of his ribs whenever he shifted slightly. It was an unnerving sensation that made him shiver whenever he noticed it. He hoped that they would find somewhere to stop soon so he could have the cursed blade removed and the discomfort would go away.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long before they ran into Penelope again. At her urgent mention that they needed to find somewhere to stop, William nodded in agreement, “Let’s move on to the next town and rest there. If I recall the map correctly, it isn’t much farther from where we are now.”

“Less talking, more moving, please,” Crow said with a wince. “I don’t want this thing in my side any longer than it has to be.”

“Understandably,” William grunted with uncharacteristic compliance. The thief eyed him curiously, wondering why he was suddenly being agreeable. The knight ignored him without bothering to give an explanation, and he turned away again as another wave of pain drew his attention back to the dagger in his chest.

Once Penelope was on the stallion again, they continued on down the road. Crow covered the dagger with his cloak, concealing it from view so he wouldn’t stand out if any of the passing people happened to look up at him.

It seemed that William had been right about the next town not being very far away, because it wasn’t long before they found a place to stop along the edge of an open road near a marketplace. Crow guessed the knight had chosen the spot because the high traffic and numerous other travelers would help them blend in.

He climbed down from the mare’s back, moving carefully to avoid hitting the dagger on the animal’s body on his way down, and immediately sought out a place to sit beneath a tree. It was starting to get more difficult to breathe, as every time he inhaled, the blade caused a small burst of pain in his chest. He closed his eyes, leaning back against the tree trunk. He would be glad when it was removed and he could breathe easy again.

“We’ll need to get a few supplies to treat that,” William’s stern voice drew the thief’s attention, and he looked up. The knight was gazing down at him critically as he seemed to think out loud about how to approach the problem of Crow’s stab wound. “Ale, catgut, a needle, and bandaging specifically.” He turned to Penelope. “I will accompany you to the market if we need to buy any of these things, though you will need to do all of the talking, of course.” He hesitated for a moment, averting his gaze before going on to say something that caught Crow by surprise: “Also… I will be the one to treat the thief’s injury. He obtained it by assisting me in battle, so it is my duty to return the favor.”

He glanced briefly at Crow and then turned to Penelope again, clearing his throat uncomfortably, “Come on then. Let’s get going so we don’t waste any more time here than we have to.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope hurried off of the horse she was currently riding and mounted the stallion once more. Focused on Crow's wellbeing, the knight wasn't quick in picking up on William's sudden agreeableness. She rode closely behind the two upon the stallion, feeling rather anxious. Once they finally found a place to stop, Penelope dismounted her horse and stepped over to Crow's side as he leaned back against the tree. She gently places a hand on his shoulder and gave the wound a better look now that they were stopped.

She frowned a little then turned her head to look over at William as he began to list off the things they would need. The female knight gave a quick nod, looking ready to leave. However, she faltered a bit when William announced that he would be treating Crow's injury. She looked at him in surprise but said nothing as she didn't want to delay getting the dagger out of Crow. Penelope pressed a quick kiss to Crow's forehead. "We'll be quick, I promise." She mumbled, attempting to reassure him before turning to join William as the two knights headed into the marketplace.

Penelope walked briskly as they headed out into the main street. William followed her, surveying the area for the supplies they needed. The female knight snuck a glance over at him and let out a small sigh. "Thank you, by the way." She muttered, a bit reluctantly. Tensions had been running rather high between them as of late and the older knight had even threatened to kill Crow at one point. She was grateful to find him helping the thief rather than letting him die.

William looked over at her briefly then let out a small snort. "I'm just returning a favor." He grumbled as he began to head towards a stall that was selling a couple of the supplies they needed.

"I know. It's the right thing to do. I'm just thankful you didn't let your anger or dislike of him get in the way of that." She told him honestly. William glanced over at her and hesitated before shrugged his shoulders. The two fell silent as they focused on getting the supplies. As they reached the first stall, she proceeded to pick out the bandages and catgut that they would need. The knight even made sure to get some extra bandages, both for herself and William who had sustained less concerning injuries.

The two knights headed to two other different merchants to pick up the ale and needle. Penelope suddenly found William's presence quite helpful as he was much more compliant at the moment, not even complaining about how urgently and rushed she moved. Once they had bought all they needed from the marketplace, Penelope lead the way back over to where they left Crow. She moved to his side once again and set down the bandages she carried. Her gaze flickered over to William, looking a little uncertain. "You know, I could just treat him." She offered but William shook his head.

"I'll do it. You're not experienced enough at treating wounds like these anyways." William grumbled as he stepped over to Crow. Penelope hesitated before giving a reluctant nod of agreement and moved to the opposite side of Crow to give William the space he needed.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded when Penelope kissed him and said they would be right back. “Well, I guess I’ll wait for you here then,” he joked with a one-shouldered shrug. Despite the pain from the dagger in his chest, he managed to keep a somewhat light spirit about the situation. It helped that even though the blade was uncomfortable, he didn’t feel like he was in any immediate danger from it. His heart wasn’t racing anymore and he could still breathe without too much trouble. It was strange how anticlimactic it was to be stabbed in the chest. He would have thought there would be more blood and screaming, but instead it was almost as if he had just received a cut.

Then again, we haven’t tried to remove the blade yet, he thought with a nervous shudder. Arrows were painful enough to pull out. He couldn’t imagine what it was going to feel like to remove an entire dagger. Suddenly, he wasn’t quite so enthusiastic about taking the blade out of his side.

While Penelope and William went to the market to get the supplies they needed, Crow passed the time by dozing against the tree. He covered the dagger up with his cloak again so he could relax without worrying about drawing attention to himself. Fortunately, his rest was uneventful and he even managed to drift into a light sleep until the knights returned.

When he eventually heard approaching footsteps, the thief blinked his eyes open and stretched, wincing as the motion caused the dagger in his chest to shift slightly. After his nap, he had almost forgotten it was there, so the pain was an unpleasant reminder.

He looked up at the knights as they briefly discussed who would treat his wound and was surprised to hear William insist on doing it, himself. He would have thought the stubborn old knight would jump at the chance to let his comrade take over the healing of a criminal. Although, if William truly did have more knowledge about dealing with injuries like these, Crow would have preferred to have him treat the wound anyway. He loved Penelope, but he wanted to have the blade removed in the least painful way possible, and if the older knight was better at that, then of course he should be the one to do it.

“First thing’s first,” William grunted as he crouched down beside the thief. “Drink up.” He offered a rather large flask of ale that he and Penelope had bought at the market.

“Um, thanks, but I’m not really fond of getting drunk,” Crow shifted his weight warily, naturally swinging towards suspicion. He knew William was planning to treat his wound, but he didn’t see why alcohol was going to help anything, and he didn’t like the idea of being inebriated around a knight he didn’t trust.

“Well, you’re going to make an exception this time,” William grumbled impatiently as he shoved the flask into the thief’s hands. “Trust me, you’re not going to want to get through this sober. Now, drink that whole thing, or, so help me, I’m going to make you.”

Crow looked down at the flask and grimaced. He still didn’t feel comfortable with the idea, but he disliked the thought of William forcing him to drink even more. “Fine,” he sighed. Casting a quick glance towards Penelope for reassurance, he brought the bottle to his lips and downed its contents. The drink was strong. It burned his throat on the way down and made him feel warm almost immediately. Once he finished off the flask, he set it aside and turned back to William, trying to fight back against the fuzzy feeling in his mind. “Now what?” he asked a bit gruffly.

“Sit up straight against that tree,” William instructed. He waited for the thief to comply before going on. “I’m going to pull out the dagger first. It’s going to hurt, so bite down on this.” He held up a thick piece of bark that had fallen from the tree and gave it to Crow. “It will help you bear the pain and muffle your screams, since we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.”

“’S it really that bad?” Crow slurred slightly with a frown, leaning away from the knight. “On second thought, ‘m fine. We should just leave it in.”

“Only if you want to die of infection,” William snorted unsympathetically. “Hurry up and brace yourself. The sooner you do, the sooner this will all be over.”

Crow hesitated for a moment before he gave a reluctant nod. He took the bark between his teeth and subconsciously reached to hold Penelope’s hand, seeking comfort in her touch. Once he was ready, he turned back to William and nodded again.

The knight returned the gesture before going on, “I’m going to count down from three and then remove the dagger. Understand?”

Crow nodded once more and closed his eyes, bracing himself for what was to come.

“Three,” William took the hilt of the dagger in his hand. “Two,” he grasped it firmly and braced his other hand against the thief’s shoulder. “One!” In one sharp movement, he ripped the blade from Crow’s chest. The thief let out a wail of pain that was stifled by the bark he was biting down on and squeezed Penelope’s hand tightly. Even though he was under the numbing influence of the alcohol he had drank, the searing pain still nearly made him black out for a moment. With the dagger gone, the feeling continued to resonate in his chest as the open wound began to bleed freely.

Fortunately for him, it seemed that William really was skilled at dealing with wounds like these. The knight worked calmly and swiftly as he lifted Crow’s shirt away from the cut and used the catgut and needle to suture the injury closed. Checking over his work once he was finished, William reached for the bandages and wrapped them around the thief’s chest to cover up the stab wound.

“There,” the knight said, seeming satisfied. He let Crow’s shirt drop back down over the bandages. “That should hold until it can heal on its own.”

“Thanks,” Crow panted a bit lightheadedly, opening his eyes again to meet the knight’s gaze.

William just grunted in response and stood up, turning to Penelope. “After we take care of our injuries, we need to keep moving to find a place to stay tonight. One of those bastards is still out there, and I’m not about to give him the satisfaction of catching us while we’re still licking our wounds.” With that, he took some bandaging and moved to sit down a little farther away as he dressed his own injuries.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope looked over at the other two as William gave Crow the ale. As he glanced at her, she gave him a small, half-hearted smile, hoping to ease his hesitation about becoming intoxicated. After he had finished the drink, the female knight grew a bit more tense as she knew that what was to follow would be the more painful part of the whole ordeal. She took Crow's hand in hers as the thief readied for William to take the dagger out of his chest. She braced herself as well, knowing that his grip on her hand would get tighter once the dagger was removed.

As William removed the blade, Penelope gave a small wince as Crow squeezed her hand. She began to rub her thumb over his hand comfortingly while her gaze drifted over to watch William work on the open wound. Admittedly, she was a bit impressed with the knight's capability in tending to the serious wound. She was suddenly rather relieved that William had been so insistent on doing it himself now that she was able to see how skilled he was. Once the older knight finished patching up the wound, Penelope gave a small nod to his words, watching as he moved away to dress his own injuries.

She grabbed some bandages for the cuts on her shoulder and leg before moving to sit besides Crow while she dressed them. Penelope looked over at the thief, still clearly concerned even though his injury had been taken care of. "How are you feeling so far?" She asked him softly.

[Rogue Sloth]

With the unpleasant healing procedure now over, Crow was able to relax again. His mind was still hazy from the ale in his system, although he wasn’t drunk enough to be completely unaware of himself. While he didn’t usually enjoy being intoxicated, he found that he appreciated the way the alcohol took the edge off his pain. He glanced at William and wondered offhandedly if the knight had gone through similar traumas in the past. After all, he had been quite insistent that the thief drink before he pulled the dagger from his side. It had sounded like he’d been speaking from experience when he had said Crow wouldn’t want to be sober during the removal of the blade.

When Penelope spoke up, Crow turned to her and shrugged, still feeling a bit absentminded. “It hurts a little, but it’s fading,” he answered her question simply. Leaning back against the tree, he lifted his tunic again, curious to see what William had done now that he wasn’t focused on keeping himself from passing out.

A thin layer of bandaging adorned his upper torso, securely tight, but still just loose enough that he could breathe without causing the material to strain. He lifted a hand to the spot on his chest where he had been stabbed, gingerly brushing his fingertips across the bandaging. He could feel faint ridges where the knight had stitched him with catgut. While he couldn’t see the suture work, he could tell that William had done a good job. As long as he kept the wound clean, it would probably heal just fine.

“Looks like my old scar is going to have a twin,” Crow mused, referring to the wound on his right side that he had obtained from the tax collectors as a child. He let his tunic fall back down over his body and looked up at Penelope again. “I never expected William to be so medically inclined. Did you know he knew how to treat injuries like this?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small nod at Crow's reply, relaxing a little as he seemed to be doing better. She busied herself with tending to her wounds, luckily of which none were severe. Now that her worry for Crow was put at ease for the time being, she also became more aware of the pain in her side where the one mercenary had hit her with his mace. She shifted, testing to see if he had possibly broken one of her ribs. The pain was dull and it seemed to just be a badly bruised spot.

She looked back over at Crow as he spoke again. "I guess so." She mumbled in agreement. When he asked about William, the female knight shook her head. "I had no idea." She admitted, sneaking a glance over at the older knight. "I was never around him when an injury like that happened before. Guess he has quite a bit more experience with treating wounds than I thought." Penelope was still surprised by William's abilities. She wondered how far his knowledge of medicine and healing went.

William, having finished bandaging his wounds, stepped back over to the two and crossed his arms. "Let's get moving." He grumbled impatiently. "I don't want to waste anymore time here." Penelope glanced up at the knight and then nodded her head. She didn't like the idea of staying out in the open much longer either, especially after learning that one of the mercenaries had gotten away. She stood up and then turned to Crow offering him a hand to help him up to his feet.

"Do you think you're ready to move? Or do you need more time?" Penelope asked him. Though she wanted to get moving like William, she also didn't want Crow to push himself if he needed a little bit more time to recover.

[Rogue Sloth]

“You know, it makes sense, the more I think about it,” Crow mused, casting William a sideways glance. “He’s been a knight for a long time. It’s not a long shot to guess that he’s seen plenty of situations where he would have to know how to tend to his comrades’ injuries.” It was no wonder the older knight was so stoic most of the time. He had probably seen even more hardship than the thief had, so his detachment from his emotions must have run even deeper than Crow’s.

Once William had finished dressing his own wounds, he came back to announce that it was time to leave. Crow looked up at Penelope as she offered him a hand to stand up. “I’ll be fine,” he offered her a confident smile. “It’s going to take more than just a dagger to keep me down.” Reaching up, he took her outstretched hand and climbed to his feet. He winced slightly as the wound in his chest smarted in response to the sudden movement, but he was quick to replace the look with a neutral expression since he didn’t want her to worry. Besides that, he was just as eager as the knights were to get to a safe resting spot. Injury or no injury, he wasn’t going to be the one to hold them back from finding a place to spend the night.

“Alright then,” William nodded curtly and turned to go and mount his horse. “Let’s keep moving before it gets dark.”

Crow walked with Penelope over to the stallion and hitched the staff and bow onto the animal’s belly again. Once both were secure, he stood back to allow her to climb onto the horse before he followed after her. Once again, the motion of stretching to get on the stallion’s back sent a sharp pain through his chest, but he was careful to keep his expression in check so his discomfort only presented itself in the form of a faint twitch of his upper lip.

Now sitting behind Penelope on the horse, he slipped his arms around her waist to hold onto her and leaned forward to press a short kiss to her cheek, although he hovered a little farther away than usual since he was trying to avoid accidentally brushing his bandaged wound against her.

“I’m glad we all made it out of there intact—well, most of us, anyway,” he flashed her a lopsided smirk before taking on a more serious look and glancing down a side street. “I just hope that was the last of our troubles. I don’t know how many more attacks we can make it through after taking so many wounds from the ones we’ve been in already.” He shook his head, mentally replaying the many battles they had been caught up in since they had left the Brerratic king’s castle. Looking back on it all, he was impressed they had survived even until the current hour.

“I’ll be glad when this is over and we can move on with our lives,” he said in quiet longing.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small smile at Crow's words and nodded her head. Once he was up, she stepped over to the stallion with him and stood back slightly as he secured the staff and bow to the beast. She would have helped him but doubted that he would let her as she recalled how certain he was about being the only one able to hold the staff without getting killed. The knight paused for a moment to eye the staff before moving to mount the horse.

She helped Crow up onto the horse, keeping an eye on him to make sure he was able to make up safely onto the horse. Once he was seated behind her, the knight relaxed a little and maneuvered the horse to follow William as he lead the way down the street once more. Penelope smiled as Crow kissed her cheek and she looked over her shoulder at him as he spoke, giving a small shake of her head at his lopsided smirk.

At the mention of the attacks, she took on a more serious expression as well and let out a weary sigh. "I hope so.. At least when we get back to Brerra it'll be a little safer.. At least we're getting closer to reaching the border." Penelope mused. She prayed that they'd at least be able to avoid anymore attacks until they crossed over the border. Not only would that get Crow out of harms way but it also meant that her and William might be able to get additional help from local knights.

At his last words, she gave a small murmur of agreement. "Me too." She sighed, moving to rest a hand over one of his arms that was wrapped around her waist. "After all this, I'm hoping we can go at least a week without feeling like one of us might die." The knight frowned a little as she consider the various times when it had seemed they had come close to death. It made her become tense again, eying their surroundings in an overly cautious way before looking back ahead as they traveled. "It'll be nice.. To get away from all of this and just settle down." She added in a quiet, nearly dreamy tone. Despite the hardships they were likely to face upon being together, Penelope was still excited and greatly looking forward to simply being with Crow, away from the ties of the King and his mission.

Penelope eyed the sky. It would be growing dark soon so she hoped they'd be able to find an inn soon. She looked over her shoulder at Crow. "I'm wondering if we should get three beds tonight." She told him before going on to explain,"With that wound, it might be better for you to have a bed to yourself."

[Rogue Sloth]

“Thank gods,” Crow sighed as Penelope said they were getting close to the border. While he wasn’t particularly excited about parting ways with her, he was definitely looking forward to returning to the security of the outer villages. After three weeks of travelling and getting attacked almost nonstop, he was ready for a well-deserved break. It would be nice to just rest and recover for a while without worrying about getting killed by mercenaries.

As she went on to say that she was looking forward to being able to settle down, he smiled to himself, sharing in her excitement. The prospect of really settling down would be hard to reach for a while, simply because of their circumstances, but he was hopeful that they would find a way to do it anyhow. He was already starting to strategize ways in which they could get away from all of the people who would be after them when they reunited in the outer villages. For one thing, he could stop stealing from high profile targets so the local knights would be less inclined to go after him. Then, once the uproar that Penelope’s disappearance would inevitably cause died down, they would be in a good place to try and make the dream of settling down into a reality. He couldn’t wait.

“I’m wondering if we should get three beds tonight,” Penelope’s words made him knit his brow in confusion until she went on to explain: “With that wound, it might be better for you to have a bed to yourself.”

Crow lowered his gaze, thinking over her suggestion. He preferred to lay next to her—especially after being attacked again for the umpteenth time—but she did have a good point. If either of them shifted in their sleep, they might risk inadvertently bumping his stitching and reopening the wound. Perhaps it would be better for them to sleep apart, at least until his body healed a bit more.

“You’re probably right,” he admitted after a moment’s pause, meeting her gaze again. “I’ll sleep in my own bed tonight.”

--

After they had traveled a bit farther down the road, William spotted an inn where they could stop and rest for the night. They stopped at the entrance, and Crow climbed down from the stallion’s back. He repeated the routine he had come up with the night before, taking both horses around to the stables behind the inn, hiding the staff and bow behind the hay bales, and returning to meet up with the knights in the parlor.

By this point, the thief’s exhaustion from the day’s activities had finally begun to catch up with him. His back ached from falling off of the horse, he could feel multiple bruises on various parts of his body, the stab wound in his chest still pained him in short bursts, and the older arrow wound in his leg seemed to have gotten irritated again as well.

I’m a complete mess, he shook his head as he walked around to the front of the inn. He was relieved that it wouldn’t be long before he was lying down on a soft bed within the safety of the inn walls.

[BuzzingBee]

As they reached the inn, Penelope dismounted the horse and headed into the inn with William while Crow handled hiding the bow and staff away for the night. The two knights stepped into the inn and Penelope got the room as usual. She made sure to ask for one with three beds and glanced towards William out of the corner of her eye, expecting him to look rather pleased about this new situation. However, his expression remained stoic. It seemed the older knight was a bit more compliant after having Crow save him, something which Penelope was admittedly thankful for.

While she was certain that William still greatly disapproved of their relationship, she was glad that he had at least seemed to develop some respect for Crow. She hoped that it would last them through the rest of their time together and not just for the day. She gave William the key to let him go ahead to the room while she hung back once again to wait for Crow. It wasn't long before the thief returned to the inn and she walked over to meet him halfway.

"Seems like we're back in the part of Younis where they're a bit more used to having travelers." She mused as she walked up to him. Penelope paused then pressed a deep kiss to his lips while being mindful of his wound as she shifted closer to him. She closed her eyes, finding comfort in his touch. Due to the chaos of the day and the fact that she wouldn't be able to share a bed with him, Penelope found herself determined to make the most of their time away from William, even if it was brief.

After a moment, she pulled away and moved to take his hand. "We should go. William's been a little bit more bearable and we should try to make that last as long as we can." She told him with a small smile.