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

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded when Penelope said there was no one waiting for her to come back. He was relieved that, as far as either of them knew, no one would notice that they were staying out later than usual this time. As long as they made it back before morning came, neither the thieves nor the knights would know what had happened to them. It still wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing in his opinion.

Stifling a yawn, he leaned his head back against the wall and glanced out of the hollow towards the night sky that was barely visible through the trees. He considered sleeping where he was, since it was starting to look like he wouldn’t get another chance for quite a while, but the thought that there could still be knights out searching for them kept him from nodding off. He needed to stay awake since he was the only one in any condition to fight if they needed to defend themselves.

Glancing back towards Penelope again, he suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. In the past when they had been alone like this, they would pass the time by talking with each other, but now he didn’t know where to start or even how to approach her. He knew what he wanted to say: He wanted to ask her about everything that had happened to her since they had parted two years ago. She had told him some, but there was still so much he didn’t know. She seemed to be the same Penelope he had known back then, but every once in a while, she said something that reminded him of the time that had passed and how little he actually knew about who she was now.

But he couldn’t ask that question. He wasn’t sure if he was willing to tell her about his recent past, so it wouldn’t be fair of him to ask her to share hers. He lowered his gaze, absently toying with the hem of his tunic as he was struck again by how distant they had become.

Not wanting to keep sitting in awkward silence, Crow eventually cleared his throat and asked a safer question, “So… you’re a lieutenant now? What’s that like?”

[BuzzingBee]

As a silence fell over them, Penelope lifted her gaze to look up at the sky. It was an uncomfortable silence to her, especially since they had usually spent such times talking in the past. For a moment, she considered just trying to get some sleep, as it seemed Crow intended to stay with her until she was able to return to her camp, but with the knights still possibly looking for them she decided it was best for her to just stay up as well.

Just before she was ready to try and ignore the awkward silence, he finally spoke up. Penelope turned to look over at him as he asked her about her new job. The knight paused before shrugging her shoulders. "It's.. different." She replied a bit slowly. Though she wasn't sure why, she felt a bit hesitant to talk with him about her more recent life. "It's a lot of meetings, with some less than friendly faces. Namely my uncle.. But I suppose it's alright.

"I have more of a voice than I would if I was a regular knight, which is turning out to be quite useful." She mused, referring to how she had convinced the barons to be mindful of the villagers. There was a hint of pride that seeped into her gaze as she began to speak a little more openly, falling into it a bit natural with him. "My baroness is a good person who I'm glad to serve under.. Honestly I'm not even sure why she trusts me so much."

Her pride faded and though she tried to keep a more stoic expression, sorrow, regret and guilt managed to faintly cross over her face. "I failed the last mission so badly... A damn war started because I wasn't careful enough." She shook her head, feeling that all too familiar weight of guilt over everything that had happened. Penelope realized she was rambling a bit, going into a rather touchy subject that she normally didn't talk about with anyone, much less Crow himself. The knight let out a sigh and glanced over at him, eager to switch the focus away from her.

Penelope considered what to ask him about. She decided there was likely very little he would share with her as she thought about the last time she had asked him about his recent past but she still wanted to know what she could. The knight was tempted to ask about how he had learned to fight again but in that moment, decided against it. "A-Anyways..You're not working alone anymore, huh?" She asked quietly.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow looked up again to meet Penelope’s gaze as she told him about her new position as a lieutenant. From the start, he could tell she was guarded about her past as well, but she did mention a few things that caught his attention. The first of which was that she was working with her uncle, who, if he recalled correctly, didn’t like her very much. He found himself wondering what sort of effect that had on her. From the sound of her voice, they probably didn’t get along any more now than they had when she’d first told him about the man.

He also hung on her brief mention of her last mission—the one they had gone on together. The heaviness to her words and tone brought up a pang of sadness within him. Even though he knew he couldn’t have finished out the mission with her back then without going back to prison, he wished he could have done something more to help her. It seemed like she was taking their failure personally even two years later. It pained him to know that she had been carrying that burden alone for so long.

As she asked him her question, he took a moment to think before answering. Initially, he hadn’t been keen on telling her anything about himself, but she had opened up to him a little. Maybe he could give her a bit more as well.

“Yeah,” he started slowly. “I know you must think my companions are heartless criminals, but they’re actually good people. We’ve all just been through a lot in this war… It’s taken its toll on everyone out here.” He paused, debating how much he should share before he went on: “We all met two winters ago. In the beginning, there were more of us… a lot more, but now it’s just the four of us. With so much conflict happening, none of us wanted to be on our own. It’s too dangerous now.” He shook his head, giving a faint shudder as he thought about all of the times he would have died if he’d been on his own. “We all watch each other’s backs to make sure we get through this thing alive.

“As for them choosing me to be the leader, I suppose it was just a combination of my skills and reputation,” he shrugged. “I try my best, but being responsible for the lives of three other people is stressful. If I make the wrong decision and someone dies, their blood is on my hands.” He averted his gaze as he recalled the fifth thief that had been a part of their group long ago: Charles. The young thief had died on a raid that he gone poorly, and Crow still partially blamed himself for the loss, since he was the one who had come up with the plan that got him killed. The incident had changed him greatly. Ever since then, he had become a more somber person, taking his role as a leader very seriously.

Realizing he had fallen silent for a while, he looked up at Penelope again and offered an apologetic smile, “Sorry, love. I just got a little lost in thought.” He stopped for a moment to think of a new topic. “It seems like you and Olivia are getting along better now. When did that happen?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope listened as Crow answered her question guardedly. She was glad he was at least willing to share something with her, even if it wasn't a fully detailed story of what he had gone through. As he mentioned the other thieves being good people, she merely gave a small nod. The thieves had obviously given her a bad first impression, mainly due to how cruelly they had spoken and acted, but she supposed it might just be because she didn't know them well enough. She was glad that Crow wasn't on his own though.

As he went on to describe how he had risen to leadership, she looked over at him with a small frown as he averted his gaze. It was clear he took his position rather seriously, and the way he lost himself in thought for a moment told her that something had likely gone wrong before. She felt a great sympathy for him, understanding the weight guilt could have on a person. "It's fine." She assured him with a small smile.

Her smile quickly faltered as he asked about Olivia. That one would be a difficult one to answer without speaking more about what had occurred between them. The knight shifted, unsure how honest she should be. She looked over at Crow for a moment, wondering what to do. The knight let out a sigh and decided she might as well be honest with him, otherwise it'd be a difficult question to answer and skirting around the topic would just be difficult.

"We grew close a little after this happened." She admitted finally, gesturing to the scar on her face. "I returned to my regular castle job and ran into her again there.. Of course, after we ran into her before, she had a few questions for me." The knight averted her gaze as she recalled Olivia's incessant questioning about what had happened between her and Crow upon her return. "She eventually figured out what happened.. between us. At least, parts of it."

A frown crossed her lips. "I told you that your secrets were still your own and I meant it. All she knows is that we.. were together at one point and that I had to leave. She doesn't know I was planning to leave with you." She added in a quiet, strained tone. Letting out a long sigh, she went on, "Anyways, after that, she kept my secret and she became someone I could trust. We got along pretty well.. Especially since she doesn't enforce the law as strictly as some you know."

Penelope shifted uncomfortably, wanting to move on from the topic. "So what happened with your aversion to blood?" She asked him, quick to change the focus.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow was a bit surprised when Penelope told him so much about her friendship with Olivia. He had been expecting her to dodge around the question, as she had with the last, but instead, the way she shared it all with him reminded him of their conversations two years ago. He found himself relaxing to the soothing sound of her voice as he listened to her story, reminded of better times with her in their long wagon rides to Younis.

He was slightly concerned when she said she had talked to Olivia about their relationship, but his worries were quickly laid to rest when she assured him that she had kept his secrets from the other knight. Even though they weren’t together anymore, he was glad she hadn’t told anyone else about the things he had opened up to her about in confidence. It was good to know that his past had been kept solely between the two of them, as he had hoped it would be.

At her next question, he hesitated again. It was a topic he had avoided the last time it had been brought up, but it was one that he knew he wanted to talk to her about. Perhaps it was because of her openness with him, or the knowledge that she had kept his secrets for two years, or his weariness from the long day, or some combination of all three, but he found that, despite the fact that he knew he shouldn’t be so open with her anymore, he wanted her to know at least some of the things he had been through.

“It’s not gone,” he said with an amused smile. “I’ve just learned to handle it better.” His smile faded as he thought about the battles he had been in, and he sighed. “When the war started last year, the other thieves and I knew right away that we wanted to protect the villagers. It started out a lot more innocent though. We usually found ourselves in the middle of battles on accident, so we would just do what we could to help the women and children evacuate safely. There wasn’t much else we could do at that point. Simon, Rikki, And Alistair already knew how to fight to some degree, but none of them were a match for the knights, so they avoided fighting unless they could catch them by surprise.

“However, I was even worse off than they were,” he lowered his gaze. “I thought I could handle war. After all, I had been in a couple of fights before, so how much worse could a real battle be, right?” He snorted. “I had no idea what I was in for back then. My fear… it got much worse in the beginning. During the first battle, I completely froze. The flashbacks from my childhood came back, more vivid than they ever had been before. At one point, I couldn’t tell what was real from what was fake.

“And the next battles weren’t any better,” he frowned as the memories came back and then looked up again to meet Penelope’s gaze. “I was too stubborn to admit that the fighting was too much for me to handle, so I continued to put myself in dangerous positions even though I froze every time.” The corner of his lip turned upward in a small smile. “I honestly owe my life to Rikki. She’s incredibly sharp, and she noticed my issue without me having to tell her anything. She never told the others either. She just helped me snap out of it whenever the flashbacks happened so I could get to safety.

“Between her help and my foolish stubbornness to get over my aversion, it eventually just went away on its own for the most part,” he stretched his legs in front of himself, trying to stave off his weariness. “It still happens sometimes—it even did in the last battle—but I’ve gotten better at talking myself out of it, so it’s hardly ever a problem anymore.”

Unable to hold it back anymore, Crow let out the yawn he had been trying to stifle. He felt much better after confiding the personal story in Penelope, even though it hadn’t been his original intention to tell her about it at all. It was nice to be on good enough terms with her that he could speak openly again.

Glancing outside of the hollow once more, he saw that it was still just as dark as it had been before, and he groaned inwardly. It was probably still the middle of the night, yet he was completely exhausted. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay awake if they stayed much longer. Turning back to Penelope, he eyed her foot contemplatively. They were hoping to leave before morning, but even then, there was no guarantee that she would feel well enough to walk on it. There had to be something they could do.

After thinking for a moment, he blinked as an idea came to him. “I think I’ve got it,” he said, looking up at her again. “I might have a way for you to get back to your camp on your own.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope listened quietly as Crow opened up about his aversion to blood. It seemed he was willing to open up quite a bit to her as he went on to tell her a lot about what had happened to him. She frowned a little as she listened though, wishing there had been a way for her to prevent Crow from going through the hardships he described to her. It was much like how she had wished there had been a way to change what had happened with the tax collectors from his childhood. Only this time, she felt actual guilt over the war she had failed to prevent.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that..." She murmured, shifting her gaze to look up towards the night sky. "It's good that it doesn't affect you as badly I suppose though."

She fell silent for a moment, this time more comfortably than before. The knight couldn't help but enjoy them both lowering their guards for a moment to speak openly to each other. It made her realize just how much she often kept to herself nowadays. No one knew her fully anymore. Not Olivia and especially not Gavin. After her journey with Crow, she had secrets to protect and it was nice to finally speak so openly again. For a moment, the knight wondered if she would ever be able to lower her guard around Gavin like she did Crow.

She didn't come to a conclusion as Crow suddenly turned to her again. Penelope looked over at him curiously. "Well I'm definitely open to suggestions." She mused with a small smile. "What is it?"

[Rogue Sloth]

“I forgot about it until now, but I have some bandages on me that we might be able to use to brace your ankle,” Crow sat up a bit straighter and drew his right knee to his chest. He reached for the bottom hem of his pant leg and rolled it up, revealing a set of bandages around his calf. Glancing back up at Penelope, he went on to explain, “My wounds stopped bleeding a while ago, so these are pretty clean. Hopefully I have enough to give you the support you need to get back without help.”

He bent forward and proceeded to unravel the cloth from his leg. Fortunately, his guess had been right. He had healed enough that the bandages were still fairly clean. Once he had finished removing them from his own body, he moved to sit in front of Penelope and proceeded to work on dressing her twisted ankle. He worked efficiently, having gotten much better at bandaging wounds after treating both himself and his companions countless times since the war had begun.

When he finished, he looked it over with a critical gaze. The layers didn’t look quite thick enough to keep her ankle from bending too much. If she was going to make it all the way back to her camp, she was going to need a stronger brace. “Hang on,” he said thoughtfully. “I have more.” He reached up to untie his cloak, setting it aside before hooking his thumbs on the inside of his tunic collar and pulling the clothing over his head. He dropped the shirt in a small pile with the cloak, shivering slightly as the night air cooled his skin.

While he had only taken the clothing off to have access to the bandages that were wrapped around his left bicep, there was a small part of him that wondered what Penelope thought of him now. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye for a brief moment before he averted his gaze to unravel the cloth from his arm. After two years of being out of prison, he knew he had changed quite a bit. He was in much better shape now, but he also had more scars, the most prominent of which being the one on the right side of his chest from the time he had gotten stabbed near the end of their mission and the one just below his left collarbone from a knight’s sword during a battle.

It doesn’t matter what she thinks, he reminded himself as he moved on to apply the bandages to her ankle. She’s with someone else.

Once he had finished the second layer, he sat back on his heels, feeling more confident in his work. “There,” he nodded, reaching for his shirt and putting it back on before looking up to meet her gaze. “Try standing on that.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small nod as he explained his idea. "It could work." She agreed, looking a little hopeful. While it had been nice to speak with him, she wanted to get back to camp as soon as she could, especially since staying out for too long could mean trouble for both of them. She watched as he got the bandages from his leg and moved to wrap it over her ankle. She was quick to notice that bandaging wounds seemed to be another skill that he had improved on over the two years. She figured it made sense after hearing how many battles he had gotten himself involved in.

As he finished the layer of bandages, she looked down at her ankle wondering if it would hold up. Her gaze shifted back over to him as he said he had more. The knight blinked a little in surprise as he went ahead and removed his shirt. She quickly averted her gaze away from him. However, not for long.

While he wrappes the babdages on her ankle again, her gaze slowly roamed back over to Crow. He looked quite different from before but traces of the past still remained in scars she was quick to recognize on him. Though she noticed he had a few new ones. Along with that, there was the undeniable change in how much of a better shape he was in now.

As he spoke up again, the knight blinked and realized she had been staring. Despite herself, a blush made her way onto her cheeks and she quickly averted her gaze, praying he didn't catch it as he looked back over at her. "Alright." She said with a nod as she moved to try and stand up on her newly bandaged ankle.

With the layers of wrap, it was much less painful and bearable enough to put some weight on it. "Looks like it'll work." She mused optimistically. Penelope glanced over at him before looking away again. "Thanks. I should be bable to make it back just fine now."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow stood up with Penelope as she attempted to put weight on her injured foot again. He gave her enough space to move on her own, but remained close enough to help her if she needed to lean on him for support. Fortunately, it seemed like the bandages he had wrapped her ankle in were holding up, and he saw that she was able to stand on her own. The thief felt a wave of relief wash over him. With the knight able to move without help now, they would be able to make it back to their separate camps well before sunrise.

He turned to her as she spoke again, missing the slight discomfort on her face as she avoided his gaze. After such a long night, he was tired and ready to go to sleep. “Of course,” he nodded after she thanked him, offering her a weary smile. “Good timing too, because I don’t think I can stay awake much longer.” He picked up his cloak from the ground and threw it over his shoulders again in preparation to leave. Once he was ready, he turned to her once more, “I’ll see you after the battle. Good luck.” With a dip of his head in goodbye, he stepped out of the hollow and began the trip back to the thieves’ camp.

--

As Crow neared the edge of the ravine, he let out his breath in relief. There wasn’t much nighttime left, and he felt like he was about ready to keel over from exhaustion. He couldn’t wait to get back to his bed and sleep.

Suddenly, he flinched as the sound of rustling caught his attention. He spun around to see a nearby bush shaking to his left. Now jolted awake, the thief narrowed his eyes and drew his daggers, stepping cautiously towards the source of the motion. If a knight had stumbled this close to their hideout, he intended to get rid of him before he could spread word to the others.

However, it wasn’t a knight.

In the next instant, Alistair stumbled out of the foliage. His clothes and hair were haphazard and full of leaves. He froze at the sight of his leader standing before him with weapons drawn. “Oh, um… hey, Crow,” he cleared his throat awkwardly. “I was just… collecting some berries?”

Suddenly, the bush trembled again and Olivia stepped into view. She was just as ragged looking as Alistair was. Having not yet noticed Crow’s presence, she slipped her arms around Alistair’s torso. “Well, that was the first time I’ve ever done that before!” she giggled, leaning up to kiss the thief along his jawline.

“Let me guess,” Crow said dryly, crossing his arms. “This is berries.”

Olivia froze, finally taking notice of him. She stepped away from Alistair and grinned, “Hey there. What are you doing out at his hour of the night?”

Crow shifted his weight slightly, “Just had a bit of trouble on the way back from Myrefall. Everything is fine now though.”

“Mhm,” Olivia pursed her lips, eyeing him with amusement. “Some ‘trouble,’ huh? Don’t worry, Crow. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Nothing happened,” Crow said quickly, though he felt his cheeks grow warm at her implied accusation.

“Sure,” the knight winked at him in obvious disbelief of his words.

“I’m serious,” Crow hissed, though the flush refused to fade.

“Sure,” she said again, turning back to the other thief. “Anyway, I had a great time tonight. Next time, we’ll have to…” she glanced towards Crow for a moment before leaning up to whisper something in Alistair’s ear that made the thief’s eyes go wide. Stepping away from him again, she laughed, “Oh, I enjoy you thieves. I should get back to my camp though. See you both around!” She raised a hand in a cheeky wave as she turned and walked into the woods.

“Bye, Olivia,” Alistair said airily, obviously still distracted by whatever sordid words she had murmured into his ear.

“Come on,” Crow rolled his eyes and reached to press a hand to the other thief’s back, guiding him towards the ravine. “We’re going home too.”

“I tell you, she’s something else,” Alistair sighed as they walked. “I mean, I know she’s a knight, but damn. I’ve never met another woman like her.” He looked at Crow with interest. “Speaking of intriguing women… why are you back so late from your meeting with that other knight?”

“I already told you: We ran into some trouble on our way back and had to stay out a while longer,” Crow answered simply, shooting him a warning glare. “That was it. Nothing else happened.”

“Touchy,” Alistair smirked, raising his hands in an innocent shrug. “I wasn’t implying anything.”

“Sorry,” Crow sighed, lowering his gaze to navigate the side of the ravine as they began to climb down into their camp. “It’s just been a long night.”

“I get that,” Alistair nudged him with a knowing wink, at which the other thief gave him a shove in return. He snorted, “Why are you so defensive if nothing happened?”

“I give up,” Crow shook his head. “Believe whatever you want. I’m too tired to care.” He took off his cloak and headed for the shelter, leaving Alistair behind as he walked ahead to get some much needed sleep.

[BuzzingBee]

"Same to you. See ya." Penelope said wih a small wave to Crow as they parted ways. The knight turned and began to head off towards her camp. The trip back was rather quiet and without the distraction of talking to Crow, she found that she grew weary rather quickly. The knight attempted to walk quickly despite her injury, eager to get back to camp and fall asleep.

Eventually she reached the camp and settled down for the night, able to sneak back into her tent without trouble. The knight eyed over her injury one last time before laying down for the night and quickly falling asleep.

---

"Penelope~~ wake up."

The female knight groaned as morning came much too quickly after a long night out. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up and turned to look over at where the voice had come from. Olivia was standing near the entrance of her tent with a wide, knowing grin.

"Looks like someone had a long night." Olivia snickered before moving to stand besides Penelope with her arms crossed. "Sooo... how'd it go?"

"Fine.. we just ran into a little bit of trouble on the way out." Penelope responded with a shrug.

"Uh huh." She smirked. "You sure were out late for just running into 'trouble'."

Penelope looked up at Olivia and narrowed her eyes. "How did you know I was even out late?"

"Little birdy told me." Olivia responded casually. As Penelope continued to look at her questioningly, the other knight shrugged her shoulders. "Crow ran into me and Alistair on his way back. So you admit it wasn't just trouble huh?"

"What? No." Penelope said quickly. Her cheeks grew warm at Olivia's accusations. "Nothing happened! You know I'm with Gavin now."

"Sure." Olivia snorted. "That's why you're risking everything to keep giving Crow information right?" The female knight looked at Penelope and smirked as she crossed her arms. "I mean, I don't blame you. Gavin's a boring stick and you're already risking everything, might as well have a bit of fun too."

"I'm doing this to keep both parties safe. I'm not looking to get back together with Crow or anything, Olivia." Penelope said sternly despite the blush on her cheeks.

"You were only interested in keeping the thieves safe once you found out Crow was with them." Olivia pointed out. "You can lie to yourself but you can't lie to me Penelope."

"I'm not." Penelope insisted a bit more harshly this time. She shot her friend an annoyed glare and got up from her bed to storm out of the tent. The knight limped lightly, still feeling a bit of pain from her ankle. Despite her annoyance, Olivia's words continued to buzz around in her head causing for an unexpected feeling of confusion.

[Rogue Sloth]

The next day, Crow slept until close to noon. After being out almost all night with Penelope and having nothing to do until the trip to Grimsby, he didn’t bother getting up from his bed until he felt decently well rested. When he finally decided he had slept in long enough, he left the shelter and walked into the camp with a wide yawn. He looked around to see that Alistair and Rikki were playing some sort of game he didn’t recognize—probably something one of them had invented to pass the time.

Rikki looked up with a grin when she saw him come outside, “Look who’s back from the dead.”

Crow just grunted in response and sat down near the others, too tired to justify giving her a proper reply since he was still waking up. Able to smell food, he looked around until he spotted a pot near the fire pit. Judging by the smoke that was still rising from the pit, whatever had been cooking was probably still warm. “Did you save me any lunch?” he asked, glancing back towards Rikki.

“There’s plenty left,” she nodded. “Alistair made a stew out of some of the food we stole from the knights last time. It’s actually pretty good.”

“Smells like it,” Crow could already feel his mouth beginning to water at the enticing aroma. He got up again and stepped over to the pot to fill up a bowl for himself. Once he had enough, he walked back to the other thieves to eat in their company.

“So,” Rikki spoke up again, leaning back on her palms and smirking amusedly. “I heard you had a late night with Penelope.”

Unprepared for the sudden comment, Crow choked on his food. He coughed and shot Alistair a glare, “Spreading rumors now, are we?”

“You’re the one who slept for half a day,” Alistair shrugged. “Rikki asked, and I explained. That was all.”

“I see you didn’t bother to explain the part where I told you nothing happened,” Crow rolled his eyes.

“Wait, so why were you out so late if you didn’t sleep with her?” Rikki chirped, staring at him curiously.

Crow hesitated. He wasn’t sure how much he wanted to tell them about his night with Penelope. Even though it was true that nothing had happened between them physically, he knew the thieves would probably be even more critical of him if he told them what had actually occurred. They all despised knights. If they learned about the things he had shared with Penelope, they would just chastise him for putting so much trust in her. It was the same reason why he had never told them about his relationship with her two years ago. They would never understand.

I don’t know if I even understand it anymore, he frowned. Though he and Penelope had managed to bridge some of the distance between them, part of him wished he hadn’t told her so much. He trusted her to keep everything he had said a secret, but they weren’t lovers anymore. Giving her more of himself would just make it harder to part with her later. He needed to focus on pulling away from her, not getting closer again.

“Crow,” Rikki snapped her fingers in front of his face. “I asked you a question.”

“Not much happened,” he finally answered her with a shake of his head. “Sorry to disappoint, but we just ran into some local knights and hid out in the woods until they left. That’s it. End of story.”

“If you say so,” Rikki shrugged, seeming satisfied with his response. Of all the thieves, she respected his privacy the most, so whether she believed him or not, he knew he could trust her not to push for more information.

Crow allowed a short silence to fall between them as a natural end to the conversation topic. He finished off the rest of his stew and set the bowl aside before going on to relay the news Penelope had shared with him the night before, “The next battle is going to be in Grimsby in six days. If we want to get there in time, we should leave in three.”

“Sounds good,” Alistair nodded, having no problem with the plan. “Are we going past Norcrest again?”

“Yeah. That’s why I’m giving us an extra day to travel.”

“Alright,” Alistair stood up and dusted off his pants. “I’ll go tell Simon. He went off somewhere by himself again to read his books.”

“Okay,” Crow watched him leave before glancing at Rikki. The female thief had a pained look on her face as she avoided his gaze.

“I’m going to have to stay behind… aren’t I?” she said after a moment, gingerly touching the bandages around her leg.

“It’s for your own good,” Crow said softly.

“That damned knight,” Rikki spat suddenly. “This is all his fault for sneaking up on me while I was protecting that villager. What a dirty trick.” She looked up to meet his gaze determinedly. “There has to be something I can do to help. Please, let me come with you. I’ll think of something.”

“You’re helping by getting better so you can join us next time,” Crow offered her a smile and reached out to take her hand in a calming gesture. “I’d rather you stay behind and heal than come with us and die in battle. I still need you around, darling. You’re too important to lose.”

Rikki’s cheeks grew rosy at his words. “You’re lucky you’re such a smooth talker, Crow, or I’d be fighting you tooth and nail for this,” she chuckled quietly, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips. After a moment, she pulled back to meet his gaze again, “Fine. I’ll stay here just this once, but you’re gonna owe me.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” he winked at her coyly before climbing to his feet. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got preparations to make for the battle.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope headed at a fast pace away from her tent deep in thought. Though she tried to ignore Olivia's words, she couldn't help but think about them, wondering how much truth there was in them. The knight wanted to deny everything she was accused of by the other female knight but that seemed impossible. Well I know I still care for him..But just because I care for him doesn't mean I still feel the same way I did before. I'm happy with Gavin. She reminded herself. However, the words had lost their firmness and confusion still lingered in the knight as she thought about Crow.

Perhaps what still lingered of her old feelings were stronger than she thought. Her heart seemed to still beat excitedly when ever he got close, something it barely even did for Gavin, and Olivia's accusations had her more flustered than she wanted to admit. Penelope ran a hand through her hair, wishing things didn't feel as complicated as they did. The knight was so lost in thought that she hadn't even noticed Gavin calling her name as he hurried to catch up with her.

"Penelope!" He called one last time, placing a hand on her shoulder.

The knight jumped and turned her head to look over at him. "Huh? Oh sorry.. Hey Gavin." She greeted.

He eyed her for a moment. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine.. Just hurt my ankle last night."

"How?" He furrowed his brows concernedly and when Penelope didn't answer right away, his eyes widened. "Penelope, don't tell me you actually met up with him again.."

"You knew I was going to eventually anyways." She responded with a shrug. "Look it's fine. We just ran into some trouble with some local knights but we got away easily."

"That's exactly why you shouldn't have met with him." Gavin said with alarm. He frowned and took her hands in his, pulling her a little closer to him. "You're putting yourself in too much danger, Penelope. Please tell me that's the last time you're going to meet with him."

Penelope paused as she met Gavin's gaze. His words certainly didn't help with the confusion she felt, instead only adding a pang of guilt as she realized how she'd have to continue to lie to him. "It is.. I just wanted to catch up with him." She promised. Seeming satisfied with her words, Gavin leaned in a pressed a kiss to her lips, one that Penelope returned with a small moment of reluctance. As they parted, she kept his hand intertwined with hers and began to walk on towards the center of camp. "Come on, I have a little time before my meeting so let's get breakfast." She told him with a small smile. She decided it was best to try and push away the confusion that she felt, hoping that it would disappear as she did.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow spent most of the following three days at the camp with the other thieves. With a long journey ahead of them, they wanted to conserve their energy, so they limited their time outside of the ravine. Crow also restricted their individual raids to the southern side of the outer villages so they wouldn’t draw the attention of the knights in the war camp to the north unnecessarily. After all, the last thing they needed was for someone to end up in a skirmish and get hurt before they left for Grimsby.

When the third day came, Simon, Alistair, and Crow said their goodbyes to Rikki, who stayed behind in the hideout to rest as promised. They headed east towards Norcrest, taking the long way once more so they wouldn’t cross too close to the knights’ camp. Fortunately, the thieves managed to make it all the way to their next campsite without running into any patrols this time. They set up in the woods southeast of Whitebridge at dusk, where they spent the night uninterrupted.

The next day, they continued to make their way towards Grimsby. As Crow had hoped, it seemed that they were slightly ahead of the knights now. There was no sign of troops passing through the area as the thieves headed north, which could only mean that they were the first to do so. As long as they kept up their current pace, there was a good chance that they would avoid the knights’ forces completely.

Eventually, they settled down near the outskirts of Grimsby, making camp on a ridge to the east that overlooked the town. As he had done last time, Crow went ahead of the others to alert the villagers about the coming battle so they could start evacuating before the knights arrived. He guided the women and children back to the thieves’ camp, where they would be safe from the fighting that was going to happen the following day.

When he got back, he rejoined Alistair and Simon by the fire pit, watching quietly as the villagers laid out bedrolls and blankets for each other in the surrounding trees. There was a clear air of tension amongst them as they spoke with one another in hushed voices, and he felt a pang of sympathy. There would be no telling whose fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons would die tomorrow—and the same went for the few women who had been brave enough to remain in the village to fight for their homes. The most anyone could hope for was that the Brerratic knights kept the Younisians far enough away from Grimsby to lessen the casualties.

“So,” Simon spoke up as he threw more tinder into the fire. “Same plan as usual, I’m assuming?”

“Yeah,” Crow nodded, turning back to the group. “Rikki isn’t here, so the three of us won’t be able to cover quite as much ground as we normally do. Let’s just hope the knights from our kingdom stay true to their word and leave the villagers alone this time.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Simon muttered pessimistically. “Nobles are selfish. I’d be surprised if even half of them obey that rule.”

“All we can do is hope,” Crow sighed, resting his chin in his palm as he watched the flames burn.

Suddenly, he felt someone tap his shoulder and he turned to see that one of the young peasant boys had strayed from the group and was staring at him with wide, innocent eyes. “When can we go home?” the boy asked. He seemed to have pegged the thief as an authority figure since he was the one who had led the villagers’ evacuation. “I don’t like sleeping on the ground.”

“Soon,” Crow offered him a reassuring smile. “It should just be one night. You can handle that, right, kid?”

“I guess so,” the boy frowned. “Why can’t we go home now?”

“Your home isn’t safe right now,” Crow answered honestly, wanting the child to understand the situation to some degree at least. There had been times in the past when young children who, not able to comprehend war, had snuck away from the evacuees’ camp because they had wanted to go home. Most of them ended up as casualties. “Go back to the others,” he tipped his head towards the other villagers. “Stay with them until we tell you it’s safe to go home.”

“Landon!” a voice suddenly called out. A woman had taken notice of the boy and made her way over to take him by the hand, tugging him back towards their separate camp. “These men are busy,” she chided him sternly. “Don’t bother them.”

“He was no trouble,” Crow assured her with a friendly grin. “Just make sure he knows not to leave the camp. He seems a bit homesick, and we don’t want him getting hurt.”

“Of course,” the woman dipped her head in a curt, yet polite bow before leading the child away.

Crow turned back to the other thieves, drawing one knee to his chest and resting his forearm across it. He met each of their gazes in turn before speaking up once more in a determined voice, “Let’s make sure that kid has a home to come back to tomorrow.”

[BuzzingBee]

The following days Penelope spent going over the plans with Mia and the others. All of them made sure to remind the others that they were to be careful of the village they were fighting near should they end up having to fall back by any chance. Though most knights seemed to just accept the rule without much issue, she noticed some didn't take to kindly to the additional rule. And that included her own brother. Layth had tried to argue against it one more time, claiming that it was a foolish thing to enforce. However, between Mia's hatred for him and the other two barons trying to protect their gold, his voice went unheard.

The battalion eventually left to travel further north. It was a long walk and tension seemed a bit high amongst the knights due to that. They rested once they were a little past Whitebridge and then continued on towards Grimsby. As time for battle neared, Penelope walked silently between Tomas and Layth. The three lieutenants were positioned behind their barons. Tomas glanced at the two siblings and gave a small sigh. "Almost time."

"Yeah." Penelope mumbled as the troops moved into position. Her gaze flickered in the direction of Grimsby, hoping that the new rule would save the village from the level of destruction she had seen in Whitebridge. It had only been one battle but it was enough for the knight to want to prevent it again. She hoped they could keep the Younisians from tearing past them like before or pushing them back.

"Any other rules you want to add?" Layth growled as he looked over at Penelope. "Maybe I should only be allowed to use one hand or stay in one place."

"Quit it Layth." Penelope grumbled. "It'll be for the best. Surely you're skilled enough to win battles without being reckless.. Or are your skills really that poor?" She challenged. Layth was terribly competitive as well as prideful so she hoped her words would be enough to end him from arguing otherwise. Luckily, they were. Layth glared at her and snorted. "I'm perfectly capable."

"Come on you two, we have to focus." Tomas said, fixating his gaze ahead. "It's time."

Penelope looked back ahead to see Mia moving into position. The baroness brandished her sword, readying to give the signal for attack as the Younisian troops drew closer. Penelope drew her sword and gripped the hilt tightly,readying herself for another battle. Mia let out a cry of for an attack and the Brerratic force followed her lead as she rode her horse, charging into battle. The sound of metal clashing and battle cries seemed to fill the air as the two forces clashed yet again.

Penelope quickly locked herself in a fight with an enemy knight. She blocked a couple attacks and danced past him, driving her blade into his side before quickly moving her sword to block the attack of another Younisian knight who came rushing to his comrades aid a moment too late.

[Rogue Sloth]

The next day, the thieves woke up early to head to Grimsby. As always, they armed themselves with as many weapons as they could carry without weighing themselves down too much, before beginning the trek down the ridge that led to the village. They hoped to make it without any trouble, but it wasn’t long before they were stopped.

Just as they reached the bottom of the ridge, Crow heard a voice call out from behind them. He turned and was surprised to see the woman from the night before climbing down the ridge with a panicked look on her face. She hurried down the hill as fast as she could in her dress, seeming intent to catch up with the thieves before they got too far ahead.

When she reached them, she stopped to catch her breath before going on to say, “My son, Landon… He’s missing. I couldn’t find him this morning. I think he went back to the village last night.” She reached out and clasped Crow’s hand in both of hers, going on in a pleading tone, “I did as you said: I tried to warn him that it was too dangerous, but he didn’t listen. Please, you have to find him before he gets hurt!”

Crow exchanged a look with the other thieves before turning back to the woman and nodding, “We’ll do what we can.”

The woman returned a wordless nod, obviously still worried about her missing child, before she headed back up the ridge to rejoin the other evacuees in their camp.

Once she was gone, Crow turned back to Simon and Alistair, “Make sure the villagers in Grimsby are aware that there might be a child in the area. If anyone finds him, take him back to the camp right away.”

“Of course,” Alistair said in agreement.

“I only hope we find him before he gets run through by a sword,” Simon muttered with his usual pessimistic attitude.

“If all eyes are on the lookout, we’ll have a better chance to make sure he gets out alive,” Crow said, stepping forward to lead the group onward to the village. “Come on, we’ve spent enough time here.”

--

When they arrived in Grimsby, Crow and the other thieves checked in with the villagers to make sure they knew about the missing boy. Once word had spread, they moved on to take up their positions near the border, where they waited for the sounds of battle in the distance. They didn’t have to wait long. Shortly after Crow had found a good spot to stand on the Brerratic side of the border, he heard the distant clashing of swords through the trees.

The battle had begun.

He drew his daggers and watched the horizon carefully in search of movement. However, it seemed that the fighting was being contained to the Younisian side for now, so he was able to relax slightly. As he waited, he found that his thoughts frequently wandered to Penelope. He wondered where she was, and if she was already fighting with the other knights. He wondered if he would cross paths with her this time, and if they would be working together to protect the villagers again. Above all, he found that he was hoping she would be safe in the battle. His concern for her safety surprised him in its intensity. It seemed like he cared for her even more now that they had gotten closer again.

So much for moving on, he sighed. This is going to be harder than I thought.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope clashed swords with the Younisian knight. He blocked her attack and then swiped at her side. The female knight managed to dodge in time. Before she had a chance to attack again, someone else ran through the enemy knight with their sword. She turned her head to find Tomas had made his way back over to her side. He gave a small dip of his head to her before launching himself back into battle.

She hesitated, looking over the battlefield to check for her friends and brother. A ways away she spotted Layth viciously attacking an enemy knight, clearly making the most of not having to hold back. To her right she managed to spot Olivia and Gavin, both fighting a little ways away from each other. She moved to head back into the fight, joining Olivia's side to help her as another Younisian knight joined his comrade to try and over power the female knight.

As the battle raged on, the Brerratic knights were beginning to be pushed back towards the village at a rather alarming rate. Penelope glanced over her shoulder worriedly as the battle fell back towards the village. It was time to see how well the knights would listen to their new rule, something that had her stomach twisting with anxiousness. As some of the Younisians began to break past their forces and charge into the village, Penelope moved to attack them along with some of her comrades.

The knight briefly thought of Crow as she fell back to the village. He was likely about to get swept up in the fight once more and she hoped he would be safe. Trying not to get distracted, she lunged forward to attack one of the enemy knights, making rather quick work of him as she managed to take him by surprise since his focus had been on a small group of villagers. She turned and blocked the attack of another but quickly found herself out numbered as two others joined the Younisian.

Luckily it didn't take long for her to receive help. Gavin charged over defending her from one of the attackers while Layth moved to her side to take on the other one. The three fought alongside each other until they managed to dispatch of the Younisian knights. "We're not going to win if we have to keep fighting like this." Layth growled under his breath, panting slightly. "That took far too long."

"We're doing just fine." Penelope insisted. She eyed her brother as he seemed to have a dangerous gleam in his gaze. "Just focus on pushing back the Younisians out of this village."

Layth shot her a glare. "Don't act like you out rank me." He warned before quickly heading back into battle.

Penelope watched her brother go with a worried look in her eyes. Not so much for him but rather for what he might do. Trying not to focus on it, she turned and moved to help a few villagers that were struggling to protect themselves again the Younisians. Gavin followed her lead, blocking the attack of one.

[Rogue Sloth]

It didn’t take long before the Younisian forces began to push the battle across the border. It seemed that they were much better prepared for the Brerratic knights’ attack this time. Crow tensed, watching closely as some of the Younisians forced their way through the line and headed into the forest, where he and the other thieves were waiting. As the knights ran towards the village, he managed to intercept some of them by catching them by surprise, but there were already too many for him to stop alone.

“Damn it,” he muttered, glancing over his shoulder as he saw the Younisians heading deeper into Brerratic territory. He quickly brought up his dagger to block the sword of another enemy who tried to take advantage of his momentary lapse in focus. Swinging his other blade, he cut the man across his torso, forcing him to drop to the ground. The thief backed up, making his way towards the village before any other knights could come after him. He lifted his fingers to his lips and whistled, signaling to the Alistair and Simon to fall back as well. At the rate the battle was going, it wouldn’t be long before the rest of the two kingdoms’ forces ended up fighting in Grimsby as well. They needed to hurry if they were going to protect the villagers.

With no eyes on him in the current moment, Crow turned his back on the battle and sprinted back to the town. He felt a rush of panic as he saw that the villagers were already locked in combat with the Younisians that had made it through earlier. Bodies of peasants were already beginning to fall. He gritted his teeth in anger. The Younisians were just slaughtering the innocent people of Grimsby! They had no reason to be attacking them so viciously.

Letting the turbulent emotions fuel him, the thief charged at the closest knights, two Younisians that were overwhelming a group of villagers, and ran them both through from behind with his daggers. As they fell, he moved on to the next, managing to catch many of the knights off guard, since they were only looking out for enemies in armor. As he looked around the battlefield, he saw that Alistair and Simon seemed to be having just as much success. So far, the Brerratic knights appeared to be adhering to their rule. He felt relief wash over him. With only the Younisians to watch out for, it was going to be a little easier on the thieves to defend the village, even though this battle was especially bad for the knights of their kingdom.

Having finished his assessment of the fight, Crow dove back into it, taking down a few more Younisians as they went after the villagers. He received a few injuries—a cut to his back and a stab to his right forearm being the worst of them—but managed to avoid taking any wounds that would force him to fall back. It was starting to look like they would be able to hold off the knights after all… until he saw a Brerratic knight cut down a villager on his way to attack a Younisian.

Crow narrowed his eyes and made his way towards the knight, weaving between individual fights as he crossed to the other side of the village. He clenched his daggers tightly in each hand as he approached the man from behind, ready to strike as soon as he got close enough. However, he faltered slightly as he saw something else that caught his attention. Standing between the Brerratic knight and a Younisian was a small figure with round, frightened eyes.

Landon.

The thief felt his heart leap into his throat as the knight began charging towards his Younisian target, paying no mind to the child in his path. With no time to spare, Crow sprinted after him. Being free from the weight of armor, he was much faster than the Brerratic knight, and he managed to reach him just in time to intercept his sword with both of his daggers. The knight turned sharply to see who had gotten in his way, and the thief’s eyes widened slightly in recognition. It was Layth, Penelope’s older brother.

“Back off,” Layth spat, drawing back his sword.

Crow stepped back, standing defensively between the knight and the child as he eyed him critically. Layth was glaring at him hostilely, but there was no sign of familiarity in his eyes. The thief blinked, He doesn’t recognize me.

“I said,” Layth curled his lip, raising his sword threateningly. “Back. Off.”

“No,” Crow returned his look with a cold glare. He caught sight of a nearby peasant man and called to get his attention, “You! Get this kid out of here before he gets hurt.” The man turned to him and nodded before running over and picking Landon up to carry him back to the evacuees’ camp. With the boy out of danger, Crow focused his attention back on Layth, “Leave these villagers alone, and then I’ll ‘back off.’”

“I’ll leave them alone when they stop interfering,” Layth snorted.

“They’re just trying to protect their home,” Crow snarled.

“Then they’re fools,” Layth replied unsympathetically. “And they will die.”

“Heartless bastard!” Crow snapped. He lunged at the knight. In that moment, he didn’t care that Layth was Penelope’s brother. Anyone who threatened the safety of the villagers was an enemy to him and would be treated as such.

The sound of clashing metal rang out as Layth blocked the thief’s attack with his sword and they began to fight.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope took a step back as another enemy knight crumbled to the ground after facing her and Gavin. She bore a small wound on her shoulder from where his blade had caught her but it wasn't enough to slow the female knight down. She took in a deep breath and was about to follow Gavin as he moved to block another oncoming attacker. However, she faltered as something else caught her attention.

In the distance, she watched with horror as two familiar figures clashed in battle. It was Crow and Layth. Penelope paled at the sight. It was difficult to guess what had caused for them to end up in a fight. Layth was reckless in battle and Crow was trying to defend the villagers. She guessed that somewhere along the way, Crow had stopped her brother from injuring an innocent bystander.

She wanted to believe that Crow would show her broher mercy, merely because it was her brother. However, the two seemed to face off with similar viciousness that left her torn on what to do. Regardless, she had to something. She didn't want to lose either one of them.

The knight was just about to take off towards the two when someone grabbed her hand to stop her. She whirled her head around to see Gavin had returned to her side and was looking worriedly at her. "Penelope... what are you going to do?" He asked, clearly noticing Layth and Crow as well as her own horror at the situation.

"I... I don't know." Penelope admitted with panic in her voice. She couldn't attack either of them. Layth might have recognized Crow and would deem her a traitor if she stopped him from attacking and she simply couldn't bring herself to attack Crow. "I just have to stop them."

"Maybe you shouldn't get involved." Gavin advised pleadingly.

Penelope sighed and shook her head before yanking her arm out of his grip. "Sorry. But I have to." She turned and raced towards the two, ducking out of the way of other battles as she tried to come up with a plan that would separate the two without her having to turn on anyone. Her mind and heart raced as she drew closer. I just have to get between them somehow... she thought, trying to piece together a plan.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow braced himself as his blade crashed against Layth’s once more. He had never seen Penelope’s brother fight before, but it was clear that the man was much more skilled in battle than many of the other knights the thief had faced before. Not only was he meeting Crow blow for blow, he was also slowly pushing him back. The thief was forced to fight more defensively than he had needed to in a long time, as he focused intently on avoiding getting caught by the knight’s sword.

He gritted his teeth as he caught sight of a sudden flash of silver in the corner of his eye and ducked just as a dagger flew over his head. His heart raced as he stepped back to put some distance between himself and the knight. Layth had drawn his second weapon while the thief had been watching his sword. If it wasn’t for his quick reflexes, the knight probably would have cut his throat.

However, Penelope’s brother didn’t give him time to recover. He lunged again and this time Crow didn’t get quite as lucky. He grimaced as the knight’s sword cut into his side before he could maneuver out of the way. The wound stung, but he didn’t have time to think about it. Instead, he took advantage of a momentary opening in Layth’s defense and swung one of his daggers to drag a deep cut across his hand. The knight winced and dropped his dagger, now reduced to just one weapon due to the injury.

He stepped back, raising his sword defensively. “Damn peasant,” he spat, shooting the thief a glare as he shook out his wounded hand.

“Peasant?” Crow clicked his tongue. Though he didn’t necessarily care if Penelope’s brother recognized him, he couldn’t help prodding at him a bit. “Come now, Layth. I know it’s been two years, but do you really not remember me?”

The knight’s eyes widened as he spoke his name. He stared at him for a moment before the pieces seemed to click together in his mind. He narrowed his eyes, “You’re that escaped thief.”

“We have a winner,” Crow grinned. He moved in to attack Layth again before he could regain his focus. Unfortunately, even in his distraction, the knight was still the more skilled fighter. He blocked the thief’s first dagger and narrowly dodged the second, following up with an attack of his own, which the thief quickly intercepted with his weapons.

“How fortunate it is for me that you lack the common sense to avoid fighting with opponents beyond your caliber,” Layth said arrogantly as their blades clashed again. “Now I’ll get to kill you, myself!”

“I’m amazed you’re able to stand upright with a head that big,” Crow snorted, sidestepping another strike from the knight’s sword. Despite his words, he was starting to worry that Layth was right. He was clearly outmatched against Penelope’s brother, as he was finding it more and more difficult to fight offensively as the battle dragged on. If he couldn’t find an opening soon, Layth was going to wear him down, and he would either be forced to retreat or risk suffering a fatal strike. It wasn’t looking good.

The two men continued to cross blades, with the knight still forcing the thief back, until Crow spotted the opening he had been looking for. Layth stepped in to bring his sword down on his shoulder, and he dodged to the side. In the next instant, he realized that he had a perfect shot at the knight’s throat from his current angle. Layth’s eyes widened as he seemed to realize his mistake as well, and he began shifting to cover the opening, but he was too slow. Crow smirked as he raised his dagger, Too late. He thrusted the blade forward to deal the finishing blow.

[BuzzingBee]

As she rushed forward, Penelope began to see that it would be unlikely that she'd have a chance to formulate a plan. Layth was forcing the thief back. She'd have to act fast and with no decent plan. As she neared the battle suddenly changed course as she noticed Layth had left an opening and unfortunately, so did Crow. Don't! she internally screamed as she lunged forward.

Penelope used her might to shove Layth out of the way of Crow's blade, knocking the unsuspectig knight to the ground. She let out a cry of pain as the thief's dagger sunk into her shoulder rather than her brother's throat. She stumbled for a moment and moved to clutch the wound with her free hand while her gaze shifted to Crow.

The knight felt a small bubble of anger rise in her. He had come far too close to killing her brother and even though she knew Layth had been in the wrong, she couldn't help but feel rather hurt and betrayed at Crow's lack of mercy. Holding his gaze with a look of pain and sternness, she mouthed the word Leave to him before averting her gaze to Layth, who was slowly getting up.

"Damnit Penelope what the hell!" Layth snapped harshly as he tried to recover from his fall. "Get him! He's the escaped thief!"

"I don't think I'll be getting anyone right now." She spat angrily at her brother as she held her wound. "You should be thanking me that you're even still alive, Layth."

"This is why you failed your mission in the first place. You can never finish what you started!" Layth snarled as he gripped the hilt of his sword. He seemed ready to charge after Crow again but his attention quickly shifted to a younisian soldier that had taken notice of them and was charging to attack. Layth curled his lip and reluctantly met the man's blade.