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

[Rogue Sloth]

“Great,” Crow nodded when Penelope said they could meet again in four days. He wished there was a way that he could see her sooner, but since he was going to be in Younis, that wouldn’t be possible. Besides, even if he could find time to sneak away, Simon was too observant to lose that easily. Until he managed to think of a viable excuse to fool the other thieves, he wouldn’t be able to see her outside of their regular meetings anyway. The thought gave him more motivation to work on a plan.

He smiled as Penelope kissed him on the cheek, wrapping his arms around her to return her embrace. “See you then,” he said, parting with her reluctantly when she pulled back. As they made their way towards the door, he drew the hood of his cloak to hide his face on the off chance that there were any local knights patrolling the area. He met her gaze and grinned, “I’ll do my best.” Of course, he knew he was going to have to make some risky moves to pull off the raid of the Younisians’ supplies, but he intended to be cautious about it. After all, he didn’t want to lose his life on a foolhardy endeavor mere days after he got back together with Penelope.

Once they were outside, Crow parted ways with Penelope to return to his own camp. They had only just gotten together again, but he could already tell that this time was going to be very different than the last. Two years ago, they had spent the entirety of their journey together without needing to separate for longer than a day, and that had only been to infiltrate the castle. With the way things were now, they would be lucky if they could even see each other every other day, and even that wasn’t likely. He sighed. Until the war ended, it seemed that they would just have to make the most of the little time they had.

His walk back to the ravine was spent in deep thought, as he pondered how he was going to be able to get away from the other thieves without raising suspicion. He considered telling them he was going on a raid by himself, but quickly decided against the idea. For one thing, they would only buy that lie so many times before they started to question why he was leaving on raids so often, and for another, he didn’t want to set a precedent of going out alone when he had already told them to stay in pairs when they left camp. It would be hypocritical and possibly put them in danger if they chose to follow his example. There had to be another way.

Crow was so lost in thought by the time he got back to the hideout that he didn’t notice the figure follow him down the side of the ravine.

When he got to the bottom, he removed his cloak and hung it up on a tree branch, raising his arms over his head in a long stretch. After traveling all day and sleeping with Penelope that night, he was ready for a good, long rest. He turned to head into the shelter for the night. However, before he reached it, he flinched as he felt someone grab him by the shoulder.

Whirling around, he jumped back and reached for the daggers at his waist, only to freeze in surprise as he found himself face to face with Hazel. He blushed as he noticed a smug smirk on her lips, realizing she was pleased for having caught him off guard, and he straightened his posture in an attempt to recover from his hasty reaction. “What are you doing out at this hour?” he whispered, narrowing his eyes.

“Working on your medicine, that’s what,” she huffed, placing her hands on her hips. “It’s not like I want to be out this late. This is all your fault for not telling your friends why I’m really here. Now, I have to sneak around if I want to get anything done.” She suddenly stopped, pursing her lips as she looked him over suspiciously. “And just what are you doing out?”

“I had my meeting with the knight,” Crow answered simply.

“Uh huh,” Hazel drawled in obvious disbelief. “I call bullshit. There’s no way it took that long for her to tell you whatever it is that you two claim to talk about.”

“It didn’t,” Crow shrugged carelessly. “She showed up late because she had some trouble getting away from her camp. The meeting itself was short.”

Hazel eyed him for a moment longer before letting out a snort, “A lie like that might have worked on me once before, but I’m not falling for your silver tongue anymore, snake.” She took a step forward and leaned up to get close to his face. “I know you’re hiding something. Just spill it already. You’re sleeping with this woman, aren’t you?”

“I already explained myself to you,” he said calmly, ignoring her attempt to draw a reaction out of him. “I’m not going to say it again. Besides,” he smirked, leaning in a little closer to her. “Why do you care so much about what I do with other women?”

She flushed, drawing back from him and averting her gaze. “I-I don’t care,” she scoffed. “I just… It’s not… You shouldn’t be…” she groaned in exasperation and raked her fingers through her red hair, shooting him a cold look. “You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that? Here.” She dug in her bag and pulled out a small object, shoving it roughly into his chest. “I just wanted to give you this before I go to bed… jackass.”

Crow blinked and took the item from her, holding it up to see that she had given him a jar. “What’s this?” he asked, glancing back at her curiously.

“It’s the medicine I worked on tonight,” she muttered. “Try it out and let me know if you feel any different in the morning.” With that, she shoved past him to head into the shelter, walking briskly in her eagerness to get away from him.

He watched her go until she disappeared from sight and then smiled to himself. The herbalist was quite an abrasive person to be around, but at least she seemed genuine in her desire to help him recover from his illness. He looked down at the jar in his hands. While it wasn’t likely that Hazel had found the cure to his disease on her first try, he felt hopeful for the first time that he was finally on track to get better.

He opened the container and brought it to his lips, tilting his head back as he downed the draught she had made. The liquid inside tasted bitter, but it wasn’t as rancid as the one he had been given by the herbalist in Myrefall, so he managed not to gag on it. Once he had finished all of it, he stowed the jar away in a storage bag with some of his other things, so it would be out of sight. Then, he made his way into the shelter to sleep for the night, drifting off almost as soon as his head touched the ground from his exhaustion from the long day.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope peaked her eyes open as it grew light out. Morning had come much too soon for the knight who had been out most of the night so she was rather reluctant to get up. She groaned, knowing it was probably best for her to wake up now rather than sleep in order to avoid drawing any attention to herself. Slowly, she got up and headed out of her tent to start another day. The memory of the night before danced in her head, almost immediately perking the drowsy knight up. It was strange to think that after two years, she was with Crow again. With everything that had happened, she had been so certain that she'd never be able to be with him again. Though they still had quite a bit to deal with, she was merely happy that she hadn't lost him.

Her brief moment of joy quickly faltered as Gavin crossed her path. The male knight was heading in the opposite direction as her and the two both paused as they looked over at each other. Gavin frowned a little and then averted his gaze before continuing silently on his way. Penelope let out a small sigh and shifted her gaze away from him as she quietly walked onward. Gavin had been someone she had grown rather fond of over their last year together. The distance between them now was a bit unsettling and she couldn't help but wish for them to still be friends despite her decision.

I won't even see him or any of the others after the war anyways. I have to get used to letting people go. She reminded herself as she focused her gaze back ahead. She spotted Olivia up ahead and headed over to the other female knight, eager to spend some time with a more friendly face.

"Morning." Olivia greeted as Penelope reached her. She looked her over and then smirked a little.

Penelope narrowed her gaze at Olivia. "What's that look for?" She questioned.

"Oh nothing.." Olivia mused airly as she began to look around elsewhere. "It just seems to me you didn't straighten up your hair as well as usually do... I can't imagine what might have you that distracted."

Penelope blushed and quickly moved a hand to further smooth down her hair, which had admittedly been a little less well kempt than usual. She supposed in her drowsiness she hadn't paid as much attention to her appearance as she usually did in the mornings. "I guess I was just tired this morning."

"Oh?" Olivia questioned with a snicker. "Tired from what exactly? If I remember correctly, I don't think you had any guard shifts the night before... I wonder what else it might have been.."

Rolling her eyes, Penelope gave Olivia a small shove. "Shut up." She grumbled.

"I'm assuming I'm finally right, aren't I?" Olivia laughed. Her eyes gleamed mischievously. "So how was he? Was he any good or was it disappointing? You've gotten in the way of me ever finding out so the least you can do is give me some details."

"We're not talking about this." Penelope groaned pinching the bridge of her nose, partially to hide the redness of her cheeks at Olivia's chosen topic of discussion. "I don't go asking you about details, can't you give me the same courtesy?"

"You say that like I'm holding out information from you. Well if you're curious," Olivia snickered crossing her arms. "that Alistair is quite something, you know a few nights ago we tried this thing wher-"

"That's not what I meant." Penelope said, quickly cutting her friend off. She looked at Olivia and shook her head. "You're a pain in the ass."

"Excuse me for simply trying to find out what's going on in my good friend's life." Olivia said with mock offense. She grinned. "Alright fine, fine, I won't bother you for those details. Come on, let's go get something to eat and you can start explaining what went down between you and Gavin the other day."

Penelope hesitated before giving a small nod and moving to walk with Olivia to grab food. "Fine. But I do expect to hear a couple details about what's been going on between you and Alistair. Preferably not overly descriptive ones mind you." She told her as they walked. She enjoyed the other knight's friendship. It was strange to think that she had once viewed Olivia as less than pleasant company. Though the female knight did still annoy her at times, she was her closest friend and someone she trusted rather greatly. It would be hard to eventually say goodbye after working with her so much over the last two years.

[Rogue Sloth]

The following morning, Crow was the last to wake up again. He sat up on his bed and yawned, still a bit tired after having stayed up so late the night before. As the memory of his last meeting with Penelope entered his mind, a small smile crossed his lips. If he hadn’t spent the last three days worrying about what her decision would be, he would have thought it had all been a dream. But it wasn’t. Penelope had really chosen to be with him again, and they were really going to try to make it happen this time. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so happy.

Suddenly, he noticed the smell of cooking food waft into the shelter, and he got up, not wanting to miss out on any leftover breakfast. He stepped outside, blinking against the bright morning sunlight, and walked over to fire pit, where the other three thieves and Hazel had gathered to eat a meal of cooked vegetables and bread. Simon was the first to notice him arrive.

“There you are,” the blonde thief frowned critically. He was already dressed to leave for Younis, with a packed bag sitting at his feet. “I’m not sure I like this new habit of yours.”

“What new habit?” Crow sat down by Rikki and filled at plate with food.

“You’ve been sleeping through the morning almost every day lately,” Simon clarified irritably. “I know you’ve been recovering from the last battle and your run in with those knights, but still... Don’t you think it’s a bit much?”

“I guess I’ve just been tired lately,” Crow shrugged, though his companions words did strike a small cord with him. He hadn’t noticed until now, but the other thief was right. He had been sleeping a lot more than usual, and it wasn’t just on the nights he had stayed out late with Penelope. He lifted a bite of carrots to his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Perhaps it was just because of the fact that his body was still healing from his wounds, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that his excessive weariness was related to the illness. It made sense. After all, the same thing had happened to his mother when she had been sick. Her energy had slowly faded until she grew too weak to get out of bed. It wasn’t too far of a stretch to guess the same thing was starting to happen to him now.

Glancing up from his plate, he felt a chill run down his spine as he caught sight of Hazel staring at him from the other side of the pit. She had a calculating look on her face like she was trying to solve a difficult problem, and in that moment he was certain she was thinking the same thing he was. He averted his gaze, hoping to find something to distract himself from the depressing thought.

Fortunately, Rikki gave him just that. She inched a bit closer and nudged him with her arm, “Alistair and I went out to spy on the knights while you were gone,” she said, eyes glittering with excitement. “We overheard a few of them talking about a supply wagon that’s supposed to come in three days.”

“Really?” Crow turned to her with interest.

“Uh huh,” she grinned. “We’re going to cut them off after they pass through Wellspring.”

“They won’t even get close to dropping off the supplies,” Alistair chimed in.

“That’s great,” Crow smiled, finding their enthusiasm infectious. “Now if Simon and I can just get that lucky in Younis, we should be right on track to delay the next battle.”

“Speaking of which,” Simon interjected, crossing his arms impatiently. “We need to leave here before midday, so would you please hurry?”

“Alright,” Crow rolled his eyes. Having traveled to the Younisian frontline many times to sell off weapons, he knew they still had enough time to get there. However, he also knew there was no arguing with Simon when the thief got anxious, so he said nothing more on the matter.

“Hey,” Hazel spoke up. Crow glanced at her and was confused to see that she was glaring at him. “Before you go, I need to talk to you,” she growled.

“Okay,” he blinked, unsure why she was suddenly acting so hostile. Finishing off the rest of his breakfast quickly, he stood up and walked with her into the shelter, so he could pack up for his trip while she spoke to him. “What did you want to talk about?” he asked, grabbing a travel bag to fill.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she shoved him roughly. “You’re going to Younis?”

“Yes,” he shot her a glare. “What’s the problem?”

“Gods, I’m dealing with a moron,” Hazel pinched the bridge of her nose before looking up at him again. “Let me ask you this: What do you plan to do if you have another episode while you’re in enemy territory, stealing their weapons?”

“I’ll figure it out,” he narrowed his eyes at her.

“Right,” she crossed her arms over her chest. “And how well has that been working out for you?”

Crow flushed as he recalled how he had gotten caught by the knights the last time his fatigue struck. “Look,” he sighed. “I can’t just sit around and do nothing because I’m not as well as the others are. They’re depending on me to lead them. I have to go.”

“You’re not just unwell, Crow,” Hazel’s gaze softened slightly. “You’ve got a disease that’s going to kill you if you don’t take it easy and focus on getting better. If you’re not careful, you might even accelerate the illness inside of you and die sooner.”

The thief paled slightly at her words. He hadn’t thought of that.

“You can do whatever you’re going to do,” Hazel said softly, seeming to notice his expression. “But as your healer, I recommend avoiding dangerous situations until we figure this out. Okay?”

“Okay,” he murmured with a nod. A brief silence fell between them, and then he looked up to meet her gaze. “I already told Simon I would go with him on this raid, and I have no good excuse to get out of it, but after this… I’ll try to think of a way to stay near the camp more often.”

“Good,” Hazel said, seeming satisfied. “By the way, how was the medicine I gave you last night?”

“Disgusting,” Crow made a face.

The herbalist snorted, “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“I honestly don’t know,” he shook his head. “I don’t feel any different, but then again, I don’t feel sick most of the time, so it’s hard to tell if anything’s changed.”

“Hmm,” Hazel grunted. “We’ll have to figure out a way to test it somehow. I’ll work on that while you’re gone.” She gave him another shove, though this time she was a bit gentler. “You’d better not go and die on me in Younis after you made me go through all the trouble of coming to this hell hole and staying up until the ungodly hours of the night working on your medicine.”

“I won’t,” he smirked.

“Good,” she nodded, stepping towards the entrance to the shelter. “I’ll see you when you get back, snake.”

“Bye, love,” Crow watched as she left before turning back to finish packing his bag. He had kept Simon waiting long enough. Illness or no illness, he was going to raid the Younisians, and they were going to stall the war.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope enjoyed a quick breakfast with Olivia, the two talking quietly as she told Olivia what had happened between her and Gavin. Olivia had never been very fond of her suitor so she didn't seem to share much sympathy for him. However, Penelope noticed her hold back a couple snarky remarks so she hoped that meant the other female knight wouldn't get too involved with their split. The last thing Gavin needed was Olivia's tendency to meddle or tease.

After they finished eating, Penelope parted ways with Olivia and headed to the large tent at the center of camp to meet with the barons and other lieutenants. As she stepped inside, she glanced around to notice she was the last to arrive, but luckily she didn't seem to be late as no one commented on her timing. She stepped over to an empty chair besides her brother and sat down, listening as the group seemed to already be in a heated discussion. Layth sat rigidly with his gaze locked on the barons.

"With the new supplies coming in, there is more of a need to stop those damn thieves than ever before. We've lost too much to them already. I say we increase patrols now. Catch them before they even get a whiff of the supplies." Layth insisted.

Too late for that.. Penelope thought with a hint of amusement as she listened her brother try to call for focus on the thieves again. Ever since seeing Crow, capturing him and then losing him, the male knight seemed solely focused on trying to pin down the thieves. It made her wonder if he was even aware that the war was still going on. Perhaps it was also due to how many seasons he had spent out in Wellspring with their father that had caused him to go chasing after thieves. That and he's still trying to live down losing to Crow in that battle.. She thought. Though not many knew about it, she was sure that his pride was still hurting from having to be saved by her.

"While I understand your concern Layth, I don't think running around chasing thieves is wise." Tomas responded first with a small frown. "We're supposed to be preparing for our next battle. It wouldn't be good for us to waste our time like that. Our troops should be focused on learning battle plans and working to make sure we're able to take back Grimsby."

"We won't be in any shape to take back anything if our supplies keep getting stolen." Layth growled.

"Layth is right." Edward agreed crossing his arms over his chest. "It would give the Younisians a terrible advantage if we continue to lose supplies. The thieves must be dealt with. I say we strengthen our patrols immediately."

"We'll send them to every nearby village, search every inch of the forest, and track them down." Layth rallied.

Penelope watched uneasily. She looked across the room towards Mia. The baroness looked uninterested, even a bit annoyed with the two. A sigh escaped her lips and she sat up a bit taller in her chair, making Penelope feel a little relieved as she caught on that she did not approve of their plans. If anyone could intervene and change the current course of ideas, it was Mia.

"Lovely. Let's send out all our troops to waste time scouring the forest for a couple of petty criminals." Mia mused sarcastically. Her eyes narrowed coldly at Layth. "Have you any common sense, boy?"

"Excuse me?" Layth curled his lip up at the baroness.

"Our patrols will remain minimal. The thieves are nothing more than simple pests.. Our focus must be on the real threat, the Younisian troops." Mia stated, glancing from Edward to Bennet. "Chasing around criminals will weaken us and leave us far too open to attack. I understand your frustrations but we have far bigger problems."

"So do you suggest we just keep letting them steal from us?" Edward said accusingly.

"We should figure out some way to deal with them. Surely even you can agree with that right, Mia?" Bennet piped up now.

Mia pursed her lips together and leaned back in her seat for a moment. "We'll send out a couple knights to make sure that the supplies are well guarded. If they dare to try and steal from us again, they'll find themselves with an unfortunate surprise." She responded. "Is that enough to satisfy you two?"

Bennet nodded his head. Edward hesitated, clenching his jaw as he looked over at Mia. "For now." He responded gruffly.

Penelope didn't bother to get involved but was pleased with the outcome. Even though she knew Crow would be traveling to Younis, she hoped that this would at least keep them from finding the other thieves or running into Crow on either his way to or from the other kingdom. With a small group focused on protecting the supplies, patrols would continue to be only a few, likely just the ones lead by Layth. The female lieutenant relaxed slightly as the barons came to an agreement and began to move on to the topic of preparation for when the supplies arrived.

[Rogue Sloth]

Once Crow was ready to leave, he and Simon said their goodbyes to Rikki and Alistair and headed out right away for Younis. For the most part, their trip was spent in silence, since they didn’t have much to say to each other. Simon wasn’t a man of many words, and whenever he did speak up, it was usually to complain or critique something he didn’t like. So, not wanting to spend the journey listening to him whine, Crow avoided opening his mouth as well. It was much more peaceful for him to be left alone with his own thoughts anyway.

He mostly thought about Hazel’s warning. The idea that he could make himself get worse if he wasn’t careful disturbed him deeply. As a thief, his life was naturally dangerous, and he needed to be able to run at a moment’s notice. On top of that, he didn’t intend to stop participating in the battles to protect the peasants of the outer villages. He could do his best to cut back on the raids he went on with his companions but laying low until the herbalist found a cure for him just wasn’t an option.

He also didn’t like what this new information might mean for his plans with Penelope. He had wanted to find more ways to meet with her in between their current, formal meetings, but with Hazel watching him so closely, he didn’t know how he was going to get away. He let out his breath in a sigh. It was beginning to seem like seeing her more often would be harder than he thought.

After a full day of traveling, the two thieves arrived at the Younisian battlefront not long after nightfall. They made camp on a ridge that overlooked the knights’ barracks, where they planned to settle down for the night. Once they had laid out their bedrolls and gotten a fire started, Crow walked over to the edge of the overhang and sat down, dangling his legs over the edge as he gazed out at the flickering glow of the fires in the Younisian camp. He and Simon wouldn’t actually conduct their raid until the following night, but he was already getting excited.

Stealing from Younisian knights was much easier than stealing from the knights of his own kingdom. They never expected it, since they didn’t have many thieves in their land, and they still trusted in their goddess, Aeklora, to keep them safe. Fortunately for Crow, it seemed like Aeklora had decided to give him a pass after he had done her a favor—of course, he couldn’t know this for sure, but he liked to think he was receiving special treatment from the goddess after their brief encounter two years back. Regardless of whether his speculations were true, neither he nor his companions had been smote, so he guessed they were safe to continue raiding the Younisians during the war.

“Same plan as always?” Simon spoke up from behind him. The blonde thief stepped over to sit next to Crow, letting his legs hang over the ridge as well.

“Pretty much,” Crow shrugged, leaning back on his palms. “I doubt we’ll have any trouble this time, since we never have before.”

“Good,” Simon muttered. “I could use an easy win.”

Crow glanced at him curiously, “Why is that?”

“No reason,” the other thief shook his head, clearly unwilling to answer the question. A brief silence fell between them for a moment before he spoke again, “So… how long will this herbalist of yours be staying with us?”

“Hazel?” Crow felt a smirk tug at the corner of his lip. “She’ll be staying for as long as we need her.”

“That’s good,” Simon said casually. “It will be nice to have a physician around when the next battle happens.”

“Mhm,” Crow eyed him in amusement. “It will also be nice to have a pretty face around, right?”

“What?” Simon turned to him sharply, and Crow could see a warm blush on his cheeks.

“I knew it,” he laughed. “You’re interested in her, aren’t you?”

“Of course not,” Simon snorted. “I just appreciate the skills she’s bringing to our group. That’s all.”

“Right,” Crow nudged him teasingly. “It has nothing to do with the fact that you both like to read, and you both like intellectual conversations, and, not to mention, you find her undeniably attractive?”

“Fine,” Simon exhaled in defeat. “I may have taken a bit of a liking to her... but can you blame me?” He met Crow’s gaze wistfully. “She’s the first woman who’s stayed with us that hasn’t been enamored with you or Alistair. Between the three of us, no woman ever gives me so much as a passing glance.”

Crow frowned, feeling a pang of sympathy for the other thief. He was a bit surprised to hear how deeply his companion had been bothered by such an issue though. Simon was always putting work and planning before everything else and had never seemed even remotely interested in pursuing women, unlike himself and Alistair, who made a point to flirt with practically any girls they found attractive. He supposed the blonde thief had just been hiding his desires from the rest of them, so they wouldn’t know how upset he really was.

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I think you two would make a good pair,” Crow offered him an encouraging smile.

“You really think so?” Simon sat up a bit straighter.

“Definitely,” he grinned.

Simon held his gaze for a moment before a small smile found its way onto his lips. “Thanks,” he murmured.

The two thieves sat in silence for a while longer before they eventually grew tired and settled down to sleep. Crow laid back on his bedroll and propped his head up on his arms, staring up at the starry sky above. As he did, Hazel’s words came back to him again and he felt a pang of nervousness for the upcoming raid. He let out his breath in a long exhale. It was too late to turn back now. He was just going to have to hope his illness didn’t impact him until he made it home.

Please, just give me one day, he prayed as he closed his eyes and rolled onto his side to sleep. I just need to make it through tomorrow night...

[BuzzingBee]

The meeting lasted most of the day. The barons spoke about possible plans and hashed out a few details about their next move when the supplies arrived. Penelope mainly hung back from the conversation, doing more listening than anything else since she didn't feel the need to add anything. At the end of the meeting, Layth volunteered a couple of comrades he happened to trust to be sent to help protect the incoming of supplies. The idea of them being picked by Layth made Penelope a bit uneasy but unable to come up with a reasonable excuse to have someone else go, she didn't oppose her brother. The barons agreed with his picks and as the meeting was dismissed, he quickly headed off to alert his companions to their new task.

Penelope stepped out of the large tent and glanced up at the sky. It was early evening and before long night would fall, at which time she'd have to go on her guard shift. The knight headed to her tent to get some rest before she had to take over the late guard shift. She retired to her tent and laid down, soon falling into a light sleep as she still felt a bit drowsy.

Her sleep didn't last long as it was soon time for her guard shift. Luckily she didn't sleep for too long and woke up in time to head to her post. She stretched and threw on her armor before heading off towards the south end of camp. As she drew closer, Alan came into view and she gave him a small wave in greeting. However, he didn't return it. Instead he looked at Penelope with a hint of annoyance in his gaze.

Gavin must have said something to him.. She flinched, quickly guessing the reason for Alan's coldness. The two were close friends and Gavin wasn't exactly subtle in how he was hurt over how things had ended between them. Her stomach churned nervously, wondering exactly how much he had revealed to Alan. Taking in a shaky breath, she stepped over to the male knight. "Hey Alan.. I'm here to take you off."

"Obviously." Alan said rolling his eyes before beginning to move past her. However, he paused and looked over at her with narrowed eyes. "I'm curious though... Last time I checked, when your parents got you into a courtship, aren't you supposed to stay in it?"

"Probably. But my father's not here to stop me from making my own decisions and Gavin respected my choice." Penelope responded, holding his gaze.

"You messed up and one day you're going to regret it. I just hope Gavin is sensible enough to turn his back on you when that time comes." Alan sighed crossing his arms. "You were lucky he even wanted to marry you.. A peasant playing noble." He taunted.

"A peasant who outranks you might I add." Penelope said feeling a bit of anger spark from Alan's words. She usually stayed above getting worked up over such a thing. It wasn't like she hadn't heard it before but Alan had been someone she had gotten along with up until now. Plus she didn't like Alan giving his input. "Go to bed Alan."

He shot her an glare but turned and headed off towards his tent anyways. Penelope let out a soft exhale and moved to focus on her guard shift.

---

Penelope didn't wake up until late the next morning after her guard shift. The day started as usual and without a meeting between the barons and lieutenants, she decided to practice a bit with her sword. She headed off to the spot in the camp that the knights had made into a makeshift training site. However before she reached it, she heard someone call her name.

"Penelope! Wait a second."

She turned her head to see Gavin heading towards her, dragging Alan with him. The female knight stopped and looked over at the two questioningly. Alan had appeared rather clear on his poor opinion of her and she thought Gavin was still avoiding her so she was confused why they were suddenly approaching her now.

Gavin avoided meeting her gaze and instead gave Alan a shove forward as they reached her. "Go on. Tell her." He grumbled.

"I don't understand why you're making a big deal about this..." Alan grumbled, shooting his friend a glare. He looked over at Penelope. He wrinkled his nose then let out a sigh, muttering, "I'm sorry about what I said last night.."

"And?" Gavin inquired.

"And it's none of my business and I should have just kept my opinions to myself." Alan grumbled, before adding in a quieter voice, "even though most of them are right." Gavin shot a glare at his friend before looking apologetically at Penelope. Alan rolled his eyes and pulled away from Gavin, looking a bit embarrassed. "You're both ridiculous." He muttered before turning to storm away before Gavin could stop him. Gavin sighed and looked back at Penelope. "I don't know exactly what he said but from what he told me it wasn't anything good. I forget how childish he can be sometimes. I didn't think he'd go running his mouth like that... I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Penelope assured, a little amused by the scene. She looked up at Gavin, meeting his gaze for a moment until he looked away causing for her to do the same. She shifted a bit awkwardly. "You didn't tell him the whole story... Right?"

"Of course not." Gavin told her with a small frown. "I told you, you can trust me Penelope.."

She gave a small nod then turned to continue on her way. "Thank you, Gavin." She mumbled before heading off to practice alone with her sword.

[Rogue Sloth]

The next day, Crow awoke to find that he had overslept again. He sat up on his bedroll and looked around dazedly, trying to orient himself in his lingering weariness. The camp was already awash with bright daylight from the sun overhead, and Simon was sitting against a nearby tree, squinting at a book in his lap. Crow wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but it definitely wasn’t morning anymore. He shuddered. He was sure of it now. His illness was causing him to sleep much more than he used to. He just hoped it wouldn’t make an unwelcomed appearance during their raid that night.

“There’s porridge in the pot,” Simon said without looking up from his book, having noticed that his leader was awake now. “It’s probably cold by now, but help yourself.”

“Thanks,” Crow nodded sleepily. He got up and made his way over to the pot that was sitting next to the now-extinguished fire, filling up a bowl for himself before he moved to sit in a thick patch of grass. As he lifted the first spoonful to his mouth, he noticed immediately that Simon was right. The food wasn’t even slightly warm anymore. However, he was too hungry to care, so he ate it all regardless.

As he finished off the rest of the porridge, he noticed Simon was eyeing him from where he sat beneath the tree. “What?” he asked, feeling a bit defensive underneath his companion’s scrutinizing stare.

“Why are you sleeping in so late?” Simon asked with a frown. “You’ve never struck me as the lazy type, so I don’t understand it.”

“I told you, I’m just tired,” Crow lied. “I had a lot to recover from, so I probably still just need some extra rest.”

“Maybe,” Simon shrugged. “But you’ve had worse and recovered just fine. I just think it’s a little peculiar is all.”

“Who knows?” Crow averted his gaze to look out over the Younisian camp that was now bustling with activity.

Fortunately, Simon seemed to pick up on the fact that Crow didn’t want to keep talking about the subject, so he let it drop, and the two thieves lapsed into silence.

The rest of the day was spent in preparation for the upcoming raid. Crow and Simon observed the knights from their vantage point, pinpointing the positions of their guards, finding blind spots, marking out safe paths of escape, and fine tuning the rest of their plans. Between the two of them, they had a solid grasp of the routines and routes of the nobles they were spying on. So, by the time night fell, they were more than ready to make their move to steal the Younisians’ supplies.

The thieves made their way down the side of the ridge, taking advantage of the cover of darkness as they made their way towards the camp. When they reached it, they slipped between the tents, relying on their memories of where the guards were posted to avoid running into anyone. Easily bypassing the Younisian security, they crept towards the large tent that they had seen some knights walking in and out of for various supplies. As expected, it was thinly guarded. There was just one knight standing outside the entrance, his eyes glazed tiredly and his attention clearly elsewhere.

Stopping by a nearby tent, Crow and Simon exchanged a look. Crow gave him a nod, and the blonde thief circled around to approach the supply tent from behind. Crouching in the cover of his hiding place, Crow watched as his companion snuck up behind the knight and struck him in the head with the butt of his short sword. The unconscious man crumpled to the ground, and the thief darted out from his hiding spot, slipping soundlessly into the supply tent with Simon following close behind.

Once they were both inside, they worked quickly to bundle up as many weapons as they could carry. Between the two of them, they managed to fill four burlap sacks with a variety of blades, bows, and blunt objects. They slung the bags over their shoulders and hurried back out of the tent, following the same route back that they had taken to get there without being seen.

After they had put enough distance between themselves and the knights’ camp to speak freely, Crow turned to Simon with a grin, “That was easy.”

“It always is,” the blonde thief nodded.

Suddenly, they both flinched as the sound of shouting rose from the camp behind them. Glancing at each other with wide eyes, Crow and Simon took off running towards the ridge. The theft had been easy, but the knights had discovered their intrusion much faster than they had expected, so they needed to get away before someone noticed them out in the open.

Crow followed Simon’s lead as they sprinted across the open plain. They managed to get all the way back to the bottom of the ridge before the thief felt a familiar wave of dizziness that made him stagger. He cursed under his breath, narrowing his eyes as he forced himself to focus on climbing up the side of the overhang with his companion. He glanced back over his shoulder at the ground far below and felt his heart beat a little quicker in his chest. He couldn’t let himself pass out now or the fall would be bad.

Enduring the fatigue purely out of a will to survive, he managed to make it to the top before he collapsed, panting heavily from the exertion of running and climbing.

Simon had walked a bit farther ahead to drop off his stolen weapons near the center of the camp. Once he was free from their weight, he rolled his shoulders and turned back to Crow, only to pause in his tracks when he caught sight of him on the ground. The thief hurried to his leader’s side with a concerned expression, “What happened? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Crow shook his head, forcing himself to sit up. “Just tripped on the way back up.”

Simon stared at him for a moment longer before he relaxed, “Good. For a moment, I thought you had reopened one of your wounds.”

“No,” he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, trying to stop the world from spinning around him. “Just give me a moment to get my breath back.”

“Alright,” Simon nodded. “I’ll get the fire started.” He rose to his feet and walked away to do as he said, leaving Crow behind to recover.

The thief didn’t move for a few minutes as he waited for the dizzy spell to pass. He couldn’t believe how close he had come to blacking out again—and in front of Simon, no less. He had gotten lucky that his companion believed his lie about tripping. He grimaced. If all it took for him to feel this terrible was a short run, it was going to be difficult to keep hiding the illness from the others. He just hoped Hazel would come up with something that would cure him soon.

Still exhausted from the escape, he climbed shakily to his feet and hauled the weapons he had carried over to the pile Simon had started. “I’m going to bed now,” he murmured to the other thief. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay,” Simon knitted his brow, seeming confused by Crow’s sudden urge to sleep. “Goodnight.”

“Night,” Crow nodded wearily and stepped over to his bedroll. He laid down heavily and closed his eyes, drifting off almost immediately as he finally succumbed to the impulse to pass out.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope spent most of the day practicing with her sword, even sparing with a couple of her comrades that came by to practice as well. Since it would likely be a while before the next battle, she wanted to make sure she remained as ready as usual. Plus practicing her swordsmanship always tended to help the knight relieve a bit of stress that tended to build up. As night eventually fell, she headed off to bed, finding herself thinking about what the next day would bring.

The supplies were supposed to be coming in but Penelope wondered if they'd actually make it. Crow might have been going to Younis with Simon but that still left two of the other thieves unaccounted for. The knight wouldn't be surprised if the supplies never made it to the knight's camp. She wasn't sure what that would mean for the knights or the thieves. After what Layth had said and pushed for, she could guess it would just mean more patrols again.

Mia's not fond of that idea though so it'll probably be a while before the barons come to an agreement on what to do.. She thought, relaxing slightly as she laid down for the night. The barons likely wouldn't come to a decision before her next meeting with Crow so there was no use in worrying about it at the moment, especially when she wasn't truly sure if the thieves would take the supplies or not yet. Instead, she thought of meeting Crow again and let out a soft sigh. Two more days.. She thought eagerly as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

---

Tension was high within the knight's camp the next day and it seemed largely due to Layth, who was waiting for the supplies to finally reach the camp. Her brother seemed to have been spreading the word about the lack of action taken to prevent the supplies from being stolen again. Though she didn't care much about what the thieves did, trusting that Crow wouldn't do anything that would overly sabotage them, she wished that for once they would leave the incoming wagon alone, mainly out of worry for what her brother might be able to do if his words proved to be right.

She went to a meeting with the barons around noon. The usual group was present, except for Layth who was intent on waiting for the wagon. They were just nearing the end of their meeting when Layth suddenly bursted into the tent. Penelope blinked and turned her head to see her brother's face contorted with a look of fury as he pulled in one of his companions that had gone to protect the supplies.

"Tell them what you told me." Layth quickly instructed.

"The supplies are gone." The man announced gravely.

"What happened?" Bennet asked, visibly becoming tense.

"What do you think happened!?" Layth spat. "Those damn thieves took everything! I told you we must handle them at once!"

Penelope sighed a little at her brother's words and looked over to see her uncle turning to Mia with an enraged look. "Don't tell me you still disagree with us. My lieutenant is right. They must be dealt with, otherwise we'll lose this war." Edward argued, clenching his fists at his sides.

"Perhaps.. It would be wise to consider some course of action.." Tomas mumbled quietly. Penelope stiffened slightly, surprised to hear the older lieutenant agreeing. He had been against the patrols as well so it was a bit worrisome to hear him calling for action as well, even though he did seem reluctant.

Mia folded her arms and let out a small sigh. "Perhaps... Regardless I have no intent to agree quite yet." She responded with a calculating look. Her gaze flickered between the two barons besides her. "There will be a plan of action gentlemen, I assure you.. However, I don't think our plans have been working so I'd like to take some time to come up with something more effective if you don't mind."

"How long will it take?" Edward growled. "We need our supplies back as soon as possible."

"Not long. By tomorrow morning, we'll have a plan of action against the thieves." Mia promised him before her gaze flickered over to Layth. She gave a look of annoyance before reluctantly adding, "Layth I'd like to spend some time with you going over what you've done so far in your attempts to capture the thieves. Learning from your mistakes, I'm sure we can find a solution to getting rid of these... vermin."

"Of course." Layth smirked proudly.

"I'd like to dismiss the meeting now... We've got work to do." Mia announced as she slowly stood up.

---

Night had fallen and Penelope paced uneasily outside of her tent. There was no word yet on what Mia was planning and the silence made the knight worry. Mia was a smart woman, someone Penelope admired, and she usually didn't spend her time chasing criminals, which made the knight worry about just what she was capable of now that she was chasing after Crow and the others. She sighed and came to a stop, glancing up at the stars above.

It'd be fine. Even if Mia's plan was effective, Penelope would be able to prevent it from succeeding since she was meeting with him tomorrow night anyways. Reassuring herself of this, she was able to relax slightly, also finding a bit calmness in looking up at the stars.

After a moment longer of gazing at the stars, she turned and headed into her tent, settling down for the night. However, she wasn't able to fall asleep quickly, feeling a small rush of excitement as she thought about meeting up with Crow again. Eventually, her mind quieted down and she drifted off to sleep.

[Rogue Sloth]

The following morning, Crow awoke to the feeling of a hand on his shoulder. He blinked tiredly and looked up to see Simon standing over him with an annoyed expression. “Sorry to wake you,” he said in a voice that clearly indicated that he was not sorry at all. “But it’s almost noon. We need to get going.”

Crow nodded wordlessly, forcing himself to sit up as Simon went back to packing up their supplies. He felt much more tired than usual that morning, both from the excitement of the night before and from being woken up before he had gotten enough sleep. He rubbed his eyes, taking a moment to gather his bearings before attempting to get up. If he didn’t get any of his energy back before they left, it was going to be a long journey back to the ravine. Suddenly tempted to lay back down and take a nap, he stood up to help the other thief cover their camp, hoping his weariness would fade if he started moving around a bit.

Once everything had been packed up and the camp had been thoroughly destroyed, the two thieves gathered their things and headed back to Brerra.

For the most part, they walked in silence as they had on their way to Younis. Crow spent his time anticipating his next meeting with Penelope. Part of him wished he had told her to meet with him in three days, since he and Simon would be back by nightfall, but he knew it would have been too much to expect of himself. They were already spending the entire day traveling, and the route from Younis was a bit strenuous because of all the hills and valleys they had to cross over. If he tried to make the trek to Myrefall right after that, he would probably just end up pushing himself too hard. So, as impatient as he was, it was the wise decision to wait until tomorrow.

“I think you should have Hazel take a look at your wounds,” Simon spoke up a little while after they crossed the border to Brerra. He turned to Crow with a serious expression, “You’ve been sleeping nearly half a day lately, and I’ve never seen you lose your footing on a run before. You haven’t been yourself, Crow. Something is clearly wrong.”

“I know,” Crow sighed. “I’ll ask her tomorrow.” Of course, he already knew what the problem was, but he didn’t want Simon to know that. So, he continued to feign ignorance, “I just hope it’s something she can treat easily.”

“Me too,” Simon nodded. “Fortunately, it looks like we still have a bit of time before the next battle, so she has some leeway to figure out what’s wrong with you.”

“That’s true. At least the timing of all this was good.”

“Yes, you’re quite lucky.”

As they lapsed into silence again, Crow felt a pang of worry. Knowing his symptoms had nothing to do with the wounds on the outside of his body, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep his illness a secret. Once he healed from his cuts and bruises, he would have no more excuse for his unusual behavior. He needed Hazel to find a cure for him fast, or else the others would catch on that he was hiding something from them. He didn’t want them to know what was really wrong. They would just worry if they found out.

The thieves arrived back at their camp just after dusk only to be greeted immediately by Rikki and Alistair. The two hurried over to report their success in raiding the Brerratic knights’ supply wagon. Apparently, the knights hadn’t provided the wagon with much security, so the two thieves had no trouble ambushing them and taking all of its contents. To further boast of their victory, Rikki led Crow over to the spot where she and Alistair had dropped off all the stolen goods.

He whistled as he stared at the massive pile of weapons, medical supplies, food, and various other things the king had provided his army for the war. “When you said you took everything, you really meant everything, didn’t you?” he turned to her with a grin.

“Just like you asked,” she smirked back at him proudly.

“Nice job,” he nodded. “Now we just have to figure out what to do with all of this stuff.”

“Hey,” a new voice spoke up from behind him and he turned around to see Hazel walking up with her usual cold expression. “I need to talk to you.”

“Alright,” Crow said before turning back to Rikki with a shrug. “Sorry, love. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Rikki glanced between the two for a moment before nodding, “Okay.”

Crow stepped away from her to follow Hazel as she led him away from the camp to speak in private. Once they were far enough away that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard, she turned to him with a critical gaze, “Did it happen again?”

He shifted his weight and lowered his gaze to the ground, telling her all she needed to know.

“Damn it, Crow,” she groaned. “I told you it was a bad idea. You’re lucky you made it back alive this time, but you really need to start being more careful.”

“I need to do what I can to help my companions,” he said stubbornly. “I’ll be more careful, but I can’t just abandon them because of this illness.”

“If they need you so much, then stay alive for their sakes,” Hazel shook her head. “I’m sure it would be much worse for them if you go and get yourself killed because you’re too stupid to listen to reason.”

“So, what, should I just stay in the camp and twiddle my thumbs until you find a cure for me?” he spat. “I can’t do that. I need to go out with them, so I can be there for them if they need me.”

“Face the facts, moron,” Hazel glared at him. “In your condition, you can’t help anyone. Honestly, you’ll probably just end up getting in their way. If you pass out in the middle of a fight, you and everyone else could get killed, and it would be all your fault. It’s better for everyone if you just stop trying.”

Crow grimaced. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He wanted to help the other thieves, but he was powerless to do so. Feeling a sudden burst of anger, he clenched his hand into a fist and swung it into a nearby tree. “Damn it all,” he cursed. “I didn’t ask for this! Why am I the one that had to get sick?”

Hazel flinched slightly at the harshness of his tone. “No one asks for this to happen to them,” she said softly, reaching out to rest a calming hand on his arm. “It just happens sometimes. But luckily for you, you’ve got the best herbalist in the Kingdom of Brerra working every night to find you a cure.” She grinned at him. “I’ll make sure you get better, even if I have to spend my every waking minute figuring out how.”

Crow’s gaze softened slightly, and he nodded. “Thanks, love,” he said quietly. “I’m sure you will.”

Hazel stared at him for a moment before she looked away, biting her lip. “A-anyway, I made you another batch of that medicine I gave you last time,” she said, fumbling to draw another small jar from her pocket. “I want you to take it before you go to bed tonight.”

“The same one?” Crow asked, taking the jar from her curiously. “But it didn’t do anything last time.”

“That’s because you have to take it for a while to tell if it’s working, dumbass,” she rolled her eyes. “Sometimes medicines work right away, which was why I asked you about it the morning after you took it last, but most of the time, you have to wait and see.”

“Oh,” he frowned disappointedly.

“Don’t worry,” she nudged him. “If this one doesn’t work, I’ve already written up two more herbal recipes that we can try next.”

“You’ve gotten quite a bit done, haven’t you?” he eyed her with amusement.

“Of course I have,” she snorted. “This is the whole reason I’m here. I have nothing else to do but work on medicines for you.”

“Well, I appreciate it,” he smiled. Taking the lid off of the jar, he lifted it to his lips and downed the contents. Once it was all gone, he lowered his hand and wrinkled his nose. “Just as awful as last time.”

“Well it’s supposed to help you get better, so you can deal with it,” Hazel chuckled, taking the empty jar back from him.

“I guess so,” he yawned as his exhaustion from the long day finally caught up with him. “Well, if that’s everything you wanted to talk about, then I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Alright,” she stepped back from him. “I’ll check in on you in the morning.”

Crow nodded and turned to leave, but then paused as another thought came to him. “Wait,” he said, turning back to her. “If I don’t wake up with everyone else tomorrow, could you get me up? Simon’s started to notice how much I’ve been sleeping lately, and I don’t want to raise his suspicion.”

“You’re probably sleeping more because you need it,” Hazel crossed her arms. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to do that…”

“Please,” he begged. “I don’t want the others to find out.”

She held his gaze for a moment, pursing her lips in thought, before she finally let out a sigh, “I don’t understand why you’re being so secretive about this, but… fine. I’ll wake you up tomorrow.”

“Thanks, love,” Crow let out his breath in relief. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He turned and made his way back to the camp, heading into the shelter to get some much needed rest.

Almost as soon as he laid down on his bed, he closed his eyes and fell asleep, looking forward to the following day when he would see Penelope again.

[BuzzingBee]

"Penelope! Are you up yet? Mia's requesting for us."

The next morning she was awoken by the sound of Tomas' voice outside of her tent. She blinked and slowly lifted her head, wondering why the baroness was getting such an early start on the day. Usually their meetings were held later in the morning, causing for the knight to worry something had gone wrong. "I'm up.. I'll be out in a second." She responded before hurrying to get her armor on once more. She stepped out of the tent and turned to face Tomas, who gestured for her to follow him as he began to walk towards the center of camp.

As she followed him, she noticed that quite a few of other knights were up as well. She eyed them curiously, noticing how many were forming small groups. Patrols.. The knight faltered at the thought and turned her head to look over at Tomas "Uh.. What's going on?" She asked, hoping he would prove her assumption wrong.

"Mia finally came up with a plan to handle those thieves... It involves quite a few patrols it looks like.. I don't know the details yet. She sent me to get you first." Tomas explained with a shrug.

Well that wasn't good. A feeling of anxiousness swirled in the knight as she thought of Crow. By the looks of it, the patrols would leave well before it was even noon, meaning that she wouldn't be able to wait until their meeting at night to warn him. She glanced ahead, seeing Mia come into view as they reached the large tent. Penelope wondered if she'd be able to slip away from camp to try and warn him before the patrols left. It seemed unlikely since Mia had requested for her but she had to try.

"There you two are." Mia said waving them over as she stood besides the other two barons and Layth.

"So, I see you've already started your plan... Without informing us." Edward muttered accusingly.

"Well your lieutenant seemed to approve of it, so I assumed I had your approval as well. Unless you don't trust his judgement." Mia responded sharply.

"We'll handle those thieves before the end of the day, uncle." Layth assured. Edward sighed and gave a small nod.

"So what exactly is happening?" Penelope asked, hiding away the concern she felt as she crossed her arms and looked to Mia for an answer.

"I'm curious as well." Bennet agreed raising an eyebrow at Mia.

"We're sending out a large number of patrols. Five will head north towards Whitebridge and Grimsby where the thief was spotted in battle while another five with scour the south past Myrefall, where Layth had captured him before. A few patrols will head inland towards Norcest as well. Between these three locations the thieves are bound to be somewhere. We'll focus on tracking traces of them down.. Any signs of people camping or passing through the forest will be thoroughly examined." Mia explained to the group. "Our patrols will leave no stone unturned."

"Won't we be spreading our forces a little thin with that many patrols." Penelope spoke up, allowing for a hint of worry to cross her face even though it wasn't for the safety of the camp.

"I understand your concern Penelope but the camp will be fine. We'll still have enough knights here to keep things running smoothly and I doubt we have to worry ourselves with any opposition from the Younisians for today. The last few days have been peaceful enough." Mia told her with a small smile.

Penelope shifted uneasily, trying to find a way to poke holes in Mia's argument without causing for any suspicion to grow. However, she wasn't able to and merely fell silent once more, giving a small nod of agreement. Layth shot her an overly confident smirk as he held his head a bit higher, seeming pleased that Mia finally seemed to be siding with him. He turned back to the barons and looked at Bennet and Edward expectantly. "Those bastards won't have anywhere to run today."

"And we should be able to retrieve our supplies if all goes accordingly." Bennet said, sounding pleased.

"Let's not waste any more time with this discussion then." Edward said gruffly before turning to Mia. "We're all in agreement. Let's start sending out the patrols at once."

"Of course." Mia said calmly. She gave Layth a wave of dismissal that he seemed to understand the meaning of as he dipped his head and hurried off. She turned to face Tomas and Penelope. "Tomas, I'd like you to lead a patrol near Whitebridge and Penelope..." She paused and let out a small sigh. "I trust you but given recent events, it might be best for you to sit this one out."

Penelope blinked in surprise as Mia hinted at the time she had 'lost' Crow when he was in camp. The baroness hadn't held it over her before but perhaps that was just because she hadn't been focused on trying to catch the thieves like she was now. The female knight paused, thinking the situation over for a moment. She certainly didn't want to push to get on a patrol since it would make things difficult to sneak off to the thieves' camp and staying in camp only to leave would make her a little suspicious. However, if she did get caught sneaking out, it seemed she'd be able to make up a believable story about wanting to redeem herself by catching the thieves on her own. Perfect.

"I understand." She mumbled with fake reluctance as she lowered her gaze away from Mia. Mia rested a hand reassuringly on her shoulder before moving on to dismiss the abrupt meeting so the patrols could begin to make their way out. Tomas headed off to join a patrol while Penelope turned to head back towards her tent. She walked briskly, trying to not bring any attention to herself while also attempting to hurry. She wouldn't have much of a chance to beat the patrols out, especially since it seemed some of them were already beginning to leave as Layth went around giving them instructions.

She ducked quickly into her tent and took off her armor, hoping that by traveling lighter she'd be able to get ahead of the patrols heading in the right direction. Penelope grabbed her cloak and flung it over her shoulders before stepping out of her tent. She was just about to make sure she wasn't being watched when she saw Gavin walking up. The male knight frowned as he noticed her outfit.

"I hope you're not here to try and stop me again." Penelope said cautiously as she met his gaze.

"No.." Gavin said then paused. "You're going to warn him right? Let me help you."

She looked at him with unbridled surprise. Quickly recovering from it, she shook her head. "No. It's best if you don't get involved. I can do this on my own."

"But-"

"I don't have time to argue with you Gavin. I'm sorry but I don't need your help." She stated impatiently. Penelope swept her gaze over their surroundings, making sure no one else was looking before she turned sharply and headed off into the forest. She pulled her hood up over her head and picked up her pace as she raced towards the thieves' hideout. She casted a glance over her shoulder to make sure Gavin or anyone else wasn't following her before focusing on making sure she didn't run into any of the patrols that had already left as she hurried to warn Crow.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Hey. Time to get up.”

Crow groaned and rolled over on his bed, brushing Hazel’s hand off his shoulder. The herbalist let out an impatient huff and shook him again, “In case you forgot, you’re the one who wanted me to wake you up this morning. If you’re going to be difficult, I can just leave.”

“No, no, I’m up,” he mumbled, blinking tiredly as he forced himself to sit up. Even though he knew he had gotten a full night of sleep, he felt like he had barely rested at all. His illness was become a real pain to deal with.

“Good,” Hazel rocked back on her heels. “Everyone else got up just a little while ago. I waited them out, so they wouldn’t know I was the one who woke you.”

“Thanks,” he said, grateful for her effort to keep his secret. Sitting up a bit straighter, he stretched out his limbs and torso in an attempt to shake off the lingering weariness. When he was finished, he still felt a little tired, but he was awake enough to get up. He turned back to Hazel, “You should go on ahead of me. I’ll meet you all outside in a bit.”

“Okay,” she nodded and rose to her feet, heading out to join the other thieves in the camp.

Crow got up as well, but took a few minutes before he left, so he could put some distance between himself and Hazel. Once he felt like a plausible amount of time had passed, he walked out of the shelter to meet up with the others. They were already sitting by the fire pit as Alistair prepared what smelled like a chicken and vegetable stew.

As he approached, Rikki took notice of him and shifted to make room for him to sit beside her. She flashed him a friendly smile, “Glad to see you’re up early again. I was started to get tired of talking to Simon and Alistair every morning.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that anymore,” he smirked at her.

“I take it you’re feeling better then?” she asked as she moved a little closer to him.

“Starting to, anyway,” he answered with a shrug. “Either way, I don’t intend to keep sleeping through the mornings.”

“That’s good,” her dark eyes flicked to the others for a moment before she leaned a little closer to him and went on in a lowered voice. “I was thinking… maybe we could ‘take a walk’ later. It’s been a while since the last time we’ve gotten away.”

Crow shifted uncomfortably. It had only been four days since he had gotten back together with Penelope, and he was already going to have to start dodging Rikki’s attempts to sleep with him. “I’d like to,” he offered her a helpless smile. “But I don’t think I’m feeling quite that well yet. I’m sorry, love.”

“Oh,” Rikki frowned. “No, it’s okay. I understand.” She returned his smile with one of her own. “You just let me know when you’re feeling better, and we can go then.”

“I will,” he lied.

Having settled the matter with the female thief easily, Crow enjoyed a peaceful breakfast with his companions. They shared stories of the raids they had gone on and discussed options of what to do with their massive stockpile of stolen supplies. As they talked, he felt a pang of envy for all the morning conversations he had missed while he had been sleeping in due to his illness. Since they often separated to do their own things after breakfast, he hadn’t been able to keep up with their lives in over a week. It was nice to finally be able to catch up with them again.

After everyone had finished eating, the thieves went off to different part of the camp to rest in their own ways. Since they had all gone on raids the day before, they all wanted to stay in the ravine to recuperate for their next tasks, whatever they may be. Simon sat in the shade of a tree, practicing his writing, while Rikki and Alistair sparred with short swords for a while and then sat around to gamble. Crow, still feeling a little tired, opted to head back into the shelter to take a nap.

However, just as he was about to lay down, Hazel came in after him. He turned to her curiously, “Did you need something?”

“I wanted to talk to you some more,” she said.

“Oh?” he raised a brow at her in amusement. “Are you starting to enjoy my company?”

“You wish, snake,” she snorted. “I meant, I wanted to talk to you about your illness some more. I need all the details, everything you’re experiencing, so I can make the best decision about how to approach it.”

“Sure,” he nodded and then glanced at the entrance to the shelter. “We probably shouldn’t do this here though. I don’t want anyone to overhear us.”

“You and your secrets,” she shook her head. “Fine. Where do you want to go?”

“Nowhere in particular,” he shrugged, moving to put his boots back on in preparation to leave. “I just want to get far enough way that we won’t be eavesdropped on.”

“Walk and talk?” Hazel suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” Crow agreed. He led the way as they stepped back outside, heading for the side of the ravine. Just as he began to climb up the side, he heard a voice call out from behind him.

“Hey, Crow!” Rikki trotted over with a confused look as she glanced between him and Hazel. “Where are you going?”

“Just out to talk about something,” he answered her vaguely.

“Oh,” she frowned, averting her gaze. “I see… Well, I guess I’ll catch you when you come back.”

Crow casted a glance at Hazel and then stepped closer to the female thief, lowering his voice so that only she would hear him, “It’s not like that. We really are just leaving to talk. I promise I didn’t turn you down just so I could ‘take a walk’ with her.” He offered her a reassuring smile. “Feel better?”

Rikki seemed to relax at his words. “Yeah,” she nodded, perking up a bit. “See you soon.”

“See you,” he raised his hand in a lazy wave and turned to head out of the camp with Hazel.

Once they were far enough away that they could speak freely, she turned to him with an inquisitive look, “You two seem pretty close.”

“I suppose you could say that,” he said casually. “She’s a good friend.”

“Just a friend?” the herbalist rolled her eyes. “Come on, even I could tell there’s something going on between you two, and I barely know the girl.”

“Nothing is going on,” he said. “Sure, we’ve slept together every once in a while, but that’s as far as it goes.” He turned to her in amusement. “You really like to accuse me of things, don’t you?”

“And you really don’t know how to commit to a woman, do you?” she retorted coldly, shaking her head. “I don’t understand you, Crow. You sleep around with whoever you want, and you don’t seem to have any interest in having a meaningful relationship with someone. Don’t you want to settle down someday and stop fooling around?”

You have no idea, he thought. “I don’t know,” he said carelessly. “Maybe if I meet the right woman.” His expression softened as Penelope’s face appeared in his mind. Everything he was saying to Hazel now reminded him of how he had been two years ago before he had met the knight. Now, he couldn’t imagine going on with his life without her by his side. It was interesting just how much she had changed him in such a short period of time.

Hazel eyed him for a moment, seeming to catch the change in his face. She averted her gaze wistfully. “No, that’s not it,” she murmured. “You’ve already found someone, haven’t you?”

Crow blinked, surprised she had caught onto him so easily. He turned to her, prepared to lie and tell her she was wrong, but the somber expression on her face made him falter. Instead, he nodded wordlessly, unable to bring himself to deceive her.

“I see,” she said softly. A short moment of silence fell between them before she spoke up again. “Tell me something… Why was I not enough?” She looked up to meet his gaze with pained eyes. “What does this woman have that I don’t? I really cared about you—I did everything I could to win your heart. What’s so wrong with me that you couldn’t stay?”

“Darling, there’s nothing wrong with you,” he frowned. “You’re beautiful and talented, and I’m sure you’re going to make a great wife to another man someday.”

“Then why couldn’t I be that for you?” she said softly.

Crow looked away from her before he answered, “Because you shouldn’t marry a man who doesn’t love you.”

Hazel pursed her lips, staring down at the ground as they walked on. Another brief silence fell between them before she asked, “Do you love her... this other woman?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “More than my own life.”

“Well then, she’s a lucky girl.”

For a while, neither one of them said anything more. Hazel seemed to be working through some emotions on her own, so Crow left her alone to process without interruption. However, after some time had passed, she seemed to be ready to move onto the reason why they had left the camp in the first place. She pulled out a piece of blank paper and a writing quill, turning to him with fiery determination, “Alright, tell me again what this illness does to you, and don’t leave out any details. I’m going to find you a cure, even if I have to stay in this hellhole for years.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope raced towards the ravine, trying her best to avoid the patrols. She had to hide away a few times when she came across other knights, ducking behind trees and slopes in the forest so she was able to sneak around them without being detected. After a bit she lost track of the patrols that she had come across and only hoped that meant that they had gone in the wrong direction. As she drew closer to the hideout, she spotted two figures.

At first, her instinct was to duck away and hide, thinking they were knights. However, she quickly realized that wasn't the case as she quickly recognized one of them. Crow! She felt a small wave of relief at the sight of the thief. The knight was worried she might not make it to him in time to warn him and was glad she was wrong. Her gaze flickered to the woman he was with, briefly wondering who she was as she clearly wasn't the female thief he had introduced her to before. Penelope didn't ponder about it for very long as she focused on the reason she had snuck out of camp.

She changed her course from the ravine and hurried over to them. She waved to them to get his attention, hurrying up besides Crow. "Oh thank gods I managed to get here in time." She breathed as she slowed to a stop, her heart still racing in her chest. Penelope met Crow's gaze and frowned. "The knights are sending patrols out everywhere looking for you and the others. They're not going easy this time either." She told him quickly, not wanting to waste any time. "A few are heading this way. I'm not sure what their exact course is by they were instructed to look around in this area."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow and Hazel continued to walk as they discussed his illness. In his focus on the topic, he didn’t notice how far they had traveled from the camp, nor did he notice Penelope running towards them until she waved to get his attention. At the sight of her, he froze in surprise, wondering what she was doing out by herself. However, in the next moment, he remembered their agreement, where she could come to find him at any time if she had urgent news. Judging by the pace at which she was sprinting, whatever she had come to say had to be important.

Hazel was quick to notice him halt. She followed his gaze to see the knight running towards them and bristled, reaching towards the pocket of her dress. Suspecting she was trying to get a concealed weapon, the thief grabbed her hand and shot her a warning look. She frowned and opened her mouth to question him, but she didn’t have time before Penelope caught up to them and explained hurriedly about the knights in the area. As he had guessed, the news wasn’t good.

“Damn it,” he muttered. “If there are as many as you say, they might find our camp… I need to warn the others.” Glancing back over his shoulder, he paled as he finally realized just how far he and the herbalist had wandered from the ravine. Given his recent history with his illness, there was no way he could make it back in time to alert his companions.

“Hang on for one minute,” Hazel growled, stepping defensively between Crow and Penelope and glancing at each of them in turn. “Would somebody please tell me who this is and what the hell is going on here?”

“This is Penelope,” Crow explained. “She’s the knight I’ve been meeting with.”

“What?” Hazel blinked, turning to the other woman curiously. “This is her?”

“Yes,” he said hurriedly, looking around the forest tensely for signs of movement. “I’d introduce you properly if we had time, but unfortunately, it seems we need to get out of here.” Turning to the herbalist, he went on sternly. “Go back to the camp and warn the others about the patrols. I’ll catch up with you all later.”

“No way,” she narrowed her eyes at him. “Have you lost your mind? I’m not leaving you out here by yourself!”

“We don’t have time to argue about this,” he pressed. Glancing at Penelope for a moment, he stepped closer to Hazel to whisper in her ear, “Somebody has to tell the others about the patrols, and we both know I can’t do it. Please, make sure they get to safety for me.”

“But what about you?” she murmured with a frown. “What are you going to do if the knights find you?”

“I’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen,” he smiled confidently. Stepping back from her again, he tipped his head in the direction of the ravine. “Get going. I’ll meet you there when I get back.”

Hazel held his gaze for a moment, seeming torn between her desire to protect him and her duty to protect his companions. Finally, she gave a curt nod. “Fine,” she spat. “But you’d better not be a complete dumbass and get yourself killed.”

“I’ll do my best,” he grinned at her.

The herbalist rolled her eyes and then turned, hiking up her dress as she ran back to the ravine.

Now alone with Penelope, Crow turned back to her with a grateful nod. “Thanks for the heads up,” he said. “I should probably get going too, since I don’t want to get spotted so close to my camp twice.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope looked over at woman as she spoke to Crow. She was a bit curious as to who his new comrade was, especially since she seemed to know Crow well and even came off as a bit protective of him. The knight was also a bit confused why Crow wouldn't leave with her. As much as they might had wanted alone time together, she doubted that the thief was thinking about buying them some time now, especially when it was risky. As the woman ran off, Penelope found herself a little confused with the situation. But there was simply no time to question it.

"Of course." She told him with a small nod as he thanked her. Her gaze flickered around their surroundings with caution and she adjusted the hood of her cloak slightly to make sure it covered her face. "I should go too. I'm suppose to still be in camp right now." Penelope paused before taking a quick step towards him to press a hurried kiss to his cheek. "I'll see you tonight. Be safe."

The knight then turned to leave, about to head off back in the direction of her camp when movement to the right of them made her falter. She froze as four knights moved into view, eying their surroundings. Penelope felt herself holding her breath, as if that would stop their gazes from ultimately landing on the pair. One of the knights spotted them and immediately alerted his companions shouting, "Over there!" as he pointed at the two.

Her eyes widened and quickly turned back to Crow. It seemed they had both been spotted, but luckily the knights were at a distance and didn't seem to realize who she was yet. "Crap." She hissed under her breath as she reached to grab his hand and take off sprinting away from the approaching patrol. Already being caught with him, she had no intention of leaving the thief behind. "Come on, I was able to hide away from them earlier so I might know a place we can lose them... I'm also open to suggestions if you have any."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded as she said she needed to leave as well. He felt a bit warmer as she kissed his cheek, and then followed her lead, turning to go south as she began to make her way north. Unfortunately, he didn’t get far before a movement off to the side made him stiffen in surprise. A group of knights was making their way towards him and Penelope. His heart began to race as he stared at them, wide eyed like a stag cornered by a hunter. This was bad. He had been hoping to put enough distance between himself and the patrols that they wouldn’t catch sight of him. It seemed that hope had been too much to expect.

The thief blinked in surprise as he felt Penelope take hold of his hand and pull him along with her. He stumbled at first, not expecting the sudden motion, but caught up easily as soon as he got his feet underneath him. Now following after her, he felt a wave of anxiety for a different reason. With the knight determined to escape with him, he couldn’t put any distance between them, and he couldn’t stop running or else the patrol would kill him. He swallowed, glancing worriedly over his shoulder as he saw them giving chase.

Maybe it will be okay this time, he thought, clinging to the last bit of hope he still had. The fatigue has never been consistent. Maybe I’ll get lucky and it won’t happen this time.

As Penelope mentioned something about a hiding place she knew of, he nodded quickly. “Let’s go there,” he agreed, wanting to get to a place where he could stop running as fast as possible. Falling back slightly, he allowed her to take the lead as he followed her to the place she had in mind.

Despite his hope that he would make it to the hiding place before the fatigue struck, it wasn’t long before Crow began to feel the usual wave of dizziness that crept over him when he exerted himself. He clenched his jaw in frustration, Not now. Please not now! He could already feel himself losing a bit of speed as they ran, and it became harder to focus as his vision became hazy.

“How much farther is it?” he panted, glancing at Penelope. “Are we getting close?”

[BuzzingBee]

As he agreed, she continued on her path towards the slope she had taken cover at before. It was dense and rocky so she imagined that they'd be able to hide there without much trouble, so long as they maintained a good distance between themselves and the patrol. She figured it would be relatively easy to do since neither her nor Crow were weighed down with armor like the knights. However, as they continued on, she noticed Crow falling behind her a bit.

At his panting, she glanced over her shoulder at him. She found it strange that the thief was already seeming to slow down from their short bit of running. When they had escaped from the guards before, he hadn't gotten tired that quickly. So what was different now? Is he injured? The knight blinked in alarm as the thought crossed her mind. He seemed to be in one piece and had been healing from the wounds her brother had inflicted but perhaps he had gotten another injury during his travel to Younis. It seemed likely and it quickly filled the knight with alarm at the thought of his potential injury being reopened.

"We're almost there. It's just a little further." She tried to assure him as she glanced towards the knights. It'd be difficult to slip away from them if Crow was already slowing down. They needed to keep their lead. Or at least get out of their line of sight.. She thought. The knight smirked a little as an idea came to her mind and soon began to weave her way through the trees. Though she wasn't even close to being as skilled as Crow, Penelope was a fast learner and had picked up on a couple of tricks.

Glancing over her shoulder, a small gleam of satisfaction was present in her gaze as she noticed that the additional movement had caused for the knights to fall further behind. She casted Crow a worried glance before looking back ahead. The slope came into sight and she hurried towards it. "It's right ahead, come on." She encouraged him, already eying a boulder for them to duck behind to hide from the knights.

[Rogue Sloth]

Busy focusing on his breathing, Crow nodded wordlessly as Penelope assured him they were almost there. His first question had already taken a toll on him to ask, so he didn’t want to risk opening his mouth again and losing his breath completely. Instead, he continued to run after her, trusting her direction as he forced himself to keep moving. After all, they had escaped from knights together before. He knew she was more than capable of getting them both to safety before the guards could catch up.

As time went on, it was getting harder for him to keep up with her, and he found that he had to look down at the ground as he ran so he wouldn’t trip on any roots or shrubs. The sickeningly familiar darkness began to edge his vision, and his heart raced with worry as he recalled the last time that had happened. That was the time he had actually lost consciousness. He glanced at Penelope, hoping the place she had in mind was nearby, so they could stop running. The last thing he wanted was to pass out in front of her, and if the hiding spot was close, then there was still a chance he could make it.

When she spoke up again, announcing that it was just ahead, Crow felt weak with relief. He looked up again to see the rocky outcropping she was headed towards. They were finally almost there. It was just a little farther…

Suddenly, he staggered as he felt a fresh wave of dizziness seize his body. The force of it caught him by surprise, and he had to turn quickly to avoid running into a tree. He shook his head, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to stay focused. Come on, he thought determinedly. It’s right there. I can make it. Pushing himself a little harder, he kept running after Penelope towards the boulder. However, it wasn’t long before another strong spell made him slow down again. He gasped, trying hard to stay conscious. He couldn’t let himself pass out, not in front of Penelope, and not with those knights chasing after them.

With one last push, he hastened his pace just enough to keep up with her again. They raced towards the boulder, covering ground quickly, and it was starting to look like he was going to make it after all. However, in the next moment, he was struck again with an intense burst of fatigue, and this time he wasn’t strong enough to fight it off. Just before they reached the boulder, the thief dropped to the ground as the darkness overtook his vision, and he blacked out.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope hurrried towards the boulder and was just about to duck behind it when she felt Crow's hand slip from hers. There was a noticeable thump from behind her and she looked over to see Crow had fallen to the ground. A fresh wave of panic hit the knight as she moved to his side.

She was about to see what was wrong with the thief, worried that her guess had been correct and that he was losing blood quickly somehow. The sound of the patrol approaching made her pause and instead realize that she needed to get them out of the way of the knights before first. She hooked her arms under Crow's and dragged the thief behind the boulder. She struggled a little due to their size difference but luckily they didn't have to go far.

Once she got them both safely behind the boulder, she gently set him down and moved to crouch down besides him, listening as the patrol dreww closer. Her heart hammered anxiously in her chest. If the knights managed to find them now, they wouldn't be able to get away now that Crow was unconscious. The female knight grew tense and reached for the hilt of her sword.

Luckily the footsteps of the knights eventually faded and she was able to relax. Only momentarily though as he gaze fell on Crow passed on besides her. She frowned and began to eye him over, looking for any signs of bleeding. However, she didn't see anything, even after lifting his tunic up.

Penelope blinked. "Crow... what's going on?" She breathed with worry. It wasn't an injury, that much she was now sure of after looking him over. Is.. Is he sick? She looked down at the thief and took his hand in hers. She could treat any obvious injury but it seemed he was dealing with something she couldn't see. The knight let out a shaky breath, praying that he'd wake up soon as she was unsure what else to do.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow groaned and opened his eyes slowly, grimacing against the light. His head pounded, and his body ached, so he laid still to keep from making the pain worse. Disoriented from passing out, he took a moment to try and remember what had happened. He recalled leaving the camp with Hazel, and then running into Penelope in the woods. They had been spotted by a patrol of knights and were forced to run to get away. After that, everything was hazy.

Did I black out again? He sat up slowly, bringing a hand to his head as a fresh wave of pain made him wince. It made sense. He must have lost consciousness while they were running and hit his head when he went down. That’s twice now, he thought with a frown. Twice that I’ve passed out because of this damn illness. Running his fingers through his hair in frustration, he looked up to take a moment to figure out where he was.

From what he could see, he was sitting in a small alcove behind a large boulder. He blinked as another piece of his memory came back to him. When he had been running with Penelope, she had led him towards a rocky slope. The recollection made him knit his brow in confusion. He remembered running towards the boulder with the knight, but he didn’t remember making it all the way there. If he had passed out before he had gotten to the hiding place, then how was he there now—?

Penelope, Crow blanched and turned sharply to see her sitting at his side. He felt his heart skip a beat in his chest. She had to have seen him black out. Oh gods, he thought worriedly, scrambling to try and think up an excuse for what had happened. He didn’t want to tell her the truth, because he knew it would just cause her to worry. He had to think of something else, some other way to write off his episode without alerting her about his illness.

After a moment, he came up with an idea. Meeting Penelope’s gaze, he shook his head to feign surprise, “Well, that was unexpected,” he offered her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, love. I should have told you before, but I hurt my leg while I was in Younis. I think the run was a bit too much for me to handle.” He lifted his hand up to his head again, rubbing the spot he had hit when he had fallen and wincing as if it still pained him. “I can’t believe I managed to knock myself out like that. What bad luck.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope shifted worriedly as she stayed besides Crow, unsure what to do. She wanted to try and find his companions, thinking they might know something about what was going on with the thief, but it was too risky to leave him alone with the knights patrolling nearby. She peaked around the boulder they were hiding behind, glancing around for any signs of movement. It seemed they had gotten away but she worried the knights might retrace their steps to the slope they were hiding at. It wouldn't take too much searching around to find them there it they did.

Luckily it wasn't long before the thief finally woke up. She felt him shift besides her and looked over at him, feeling a wave of relief wash over her. Penelope turned to him, about to question him about what had happened, but he spoke first. As he tried to sell her the lie about an injury he received in Younis, she narrowed her eyes at him, knowing fully well that wasn't the truth. However, she could figure out why he was trying to hide the truth, especially from her.

"You're lying." She said quietly. "I checked you over for injuries.. I thought that maybe one had reopened but you didn't have any. Nothing that would have caused you to collapse like that. And your legs were working just fine when we first took off so don't go trying to claim it was a sprain." A hint of sternness seeped into her voice before she let out a quiet sigh and placed her hand on his arm.

"Crow, what's going on?" She asked him, her gaze softening with concern as she met his gaze searchingly. Clearly there had to be something not right with him and she suspected he had some kind of sickness since it wasn't anything visible to the eye. Something was off and she wanted to know what. She had seen people fall ill before but they always seemed to recover after a little while, usually getting help from healers, so she didn't understand why he was trying to hide it.