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

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow flinched as Penelope called him out right away for lying. He hadn’t expected that she would have searched him for wounds while he had been unconscious. He silently cursed, trying to come up with another excuse, but unable to think of anything believable enough to sate her suspicions.

As she rested her hand on his arm, he averted his gaze guiltily. At her question, he wavered, still hesitant to tell her the truth. However, after a moment, he let out his breath in reluctant defeat. She had already seen him pass out, and she had caught him in his lie. There was no point in trying to hide it from her anymore.

He leaned back against the boulder and drew his legs to his chest, crossing his arms over his knees in a slightly defensive posture. “I’m sorry I lied,” he said, still refusing to meet her gaze. “I just didn’t want to tell you. I knew you were just going to worry if you found out.” He paused before going on in a soft voice, “Last winter, I caught the illness that’s been killing the villagers of Myrefall… the one that took my mother’s life. The locals call it Creeping Death.”

He forced himself to look up to meet her gaze. “At first, I didn’t think much of it. It didn’t really bother me. But recently, it’s started getting worse—specifically, near the end of the last battle. That was the first time I blacked out. Ever since then, it’s been getting harder to deal with.” He shook his head. “I sleep a lot more than I used to, and I’ve started getting dizzy every time I run. That was the real reason why I got caught by your brother’s patrol… I collapsed trying to run away from them.

“Look,” he sighed. “I know it sounds bad, and that’s why I didn’t want you to know. But I promise you I’m doing everything I can to get better. That woman you saw with me earlier, the one with the red hair—that’s Hazel. She’s the herbalist I told you about before, and she’s helping me find a cure.” He reached out to take her hand, lacing his fingers with hers as he held her gaze wistfully. “Please don’t worry about me. Hazel is the most talented healer I know, so I’m sure that with her help, we’re going to figure this out. And if not…” he bit his lip, lowering his gaze again. “If I don’t start to get better by the end of this war, you should leave me and go back to the inner kingdom with the other knights. That way, you won’t have to lose anything over a dying thief.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope listened as he began to explain himself. The knight paled as he admitted he had caught the illness that killed his mother. Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that. The thought of losing him made the knight's heart drop. She didn't want to accept it and reeled from the information he had told her as he went on to explain it had been the reason he had gotten caught before.

She gave his hand a small squeeze as he intertwined their fingers and tried to assure her that him and Hazel would find a cure. She prayed that Hazel was as talented as he claimed and already had some faith in the herbalist after the success of raiding the Younisian castle and relying heavily on the henbane Crow prepared. However, at his last words, she flinched slightly, reminded that even if the herbalist was talented, they might not be able to cure Crow. Penelope let out a shaky breath and let go of his hand, only so she was able to wrap her arms around him in a firm embrace. She buried her head into the crook of his neck, softly pressing into him as she held him close.

"I'm glad she's helping you.. And if you trust her to be able to beat this, then I'm sure you two will succeed." She murmured. The knight paused, frowning for a moment. "But... even if things don't work out, I'm not leaving you behind Crow." She added softly. It might have been a bit of a foolish choice, considering that meant both futures for her were gone but she couldn't bring herself to leave him after the war if he was dying. "I already made my choice of what happens after this war. Even if that time is.. more limited that I thought, I want to be with you for as long as I can."

Penelope pulled back slightly to look at him and smiled halfheartedly. "And you should know that telling me not worry isn't going to work..." She hesitated, her smile fading as another thought crossed her mind. "I mean, what would have happened if that patrol would have run into you after I left." She shook her head, frowning at the thought of him getting caught by a patrol again. "The illness might get you killed with just its symptoms, Crow.."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow wrapped his arms around Penelope as she embraced him, pressing close to her as he sought comfort in her touch. He still wished he hadn’t needed to tell her about his illness, but he found that her reaction was surprisingly soothing to him. Until now, he had been dealing with it on his own—even Hazel, who was trying to treat him, didn’t do much to support him in other ways—so it was nice to have someone else come alongside him in the midst of it all.

At her reassuring words, he nodded faintly. He wished he could bring himself to feel so confident. Before Hazel’s help, he had been doubtful he would find a cure for his illness. Now, even though he had the herbalist working every night to figure out how to treat him, he was only slightly more hopeful. His mood waxed and waned depending on his condition. When he was feeling well, he felt more strongly that he would make it, but whenever he had another episode, he lapsed back into worrying and doubt. It was hard to stay positive when his health changed so often.

As Penelope went on to tell him that she wasn’t going to leave him no matter what, he frowned, feeling a pang of guilt. Part of the reason he had chosen not to turn her down when she had told him she wanted to be with him was because he knew they could always part ways later. Now, it was starting to sound like she wasn’t going to do that, even if it meant that she would lose everything. The news was concerning to him. He didn’t want her to give up everything just to stay by his side if he was going to die. She deserved so much more than that. He couldn’t take that away from her.

At her final words, he winced, knowing them to be true as well. It was the same thing Hazel had been trying to get through his head for the past few days. However, hearing it come from Penelope made him take the warning a bit more seriously.

“I know,” he murmured with a sigh, burying his head against her neck. “But it’s not like I can do anything about it. I have to protect my companions and the villagers.” He pulled back from her slightly, just enough to meet her gaze. “I’m being as careful as I can, but I’m not going to run away just because I’m ill. There are too many lives at stake.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope met his gaze, hesitating to argue with him. She understood his desire to protect his friends as well as the villagers all too well, both because of how well she knew him and her own similar desires to protect her loved ones. Even though she had never fallen ill with such a life-threatening sickness, she had put herself in dangerous situations many different times to make sure her loved ones were safe so was this really that much different? The knight paused to think about it for a moment. If it was her, she doubted she would stand back so easily either. However, it still felt reckless of the thief and she wasn't going to accept it easily.

"There has to be some better way of handling this though." She muttered stubbornly. "You've been caught once, nearly twice, and there's eventually going to be another battle. Hazel might be skilled but I doubt she's a miracle worker. You probably won't be better in time for that and I don't want to imagine what will happen if you pass out in the middle of a fight." The knight shuddered and looked over at him. "I'm not saying you need to run, but you can't operate like you normally have. I.. I just don't see that working and you won't be able to protect anyone for very long."

She rubbed a hand over his back, taking a moment to think again. There wasn't an easy solution. Crow needed to find a way to hold back, otherwise they'd just have to hope that by some miracle Hazel was able to find a way to get him better before the next battle eventually came. Penelope blinked as an idea crossed her mind. "Do you think Hazel could use some help?" She asked suddenly, momentarily abandoning her thoughts of trying to get him to back down slightly from dangerous situations. A small spark of hope gleamed in her green gaze.

"There's a group of physicians amongst my camp. They're mainly there to treat battle wounds of course but I'm sure they also know some things about illnesses. They were all trained and brought in from the inner cities. I might be able to arrange a meeting or two between her and one of them.. I'm sure it won't be too difficult to convince them this illness could become a threat to the knights since Myrefall isn't far from our camp." She explained. "Even if I can't do that, they brought medical books with them.. If Hazel has an idea of what to look for, I could probably get a few to her."

Penelope looked hopefully at Crow. Both situations would prove a bit difficult. Convincing a physician to leave camp to learn about and possibly work to treat a deadly illness would take quite a bit of fibbing, especially since Penelope was rather sure that none of the knights had caught it yet. It was likely that the physicians would just wave her off as overly paranoid. Getting books wouldn't be easy either. She'd have to find a way to sneak around without anyone finding out about her stealing from them. Though, she supposed if she managed to get by without getting caught, they'd likely just blame it on the thieves. "What do you think?" She asked.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow lowered his gaze again as Penelope spoke. He was well aware of how dangerous it would be for him to go into the next battle in his condition. It was something he had been concerned about, himself. However, he also knew that he couldn’t just stand by because of the risks. Even if there was a chance he would pass out during the battle, he had to at least try to help the villagers. Besides, by now he knew the signs that led up to the point when he was too tired to stay conscious, so he could always slip out of the fighting if he felt too weak to continue. Surely it wasn’t as dangerous as Penelope thought… Right?

He looked up to reassure her that everything would be fine, but she spoke first, asking a question that he didn’t expect. Unsure what she was hinting at, he waited for her to go on before replying. As she explained that there were physicians in the knights’ camp, he raised a brow in interest. Even amongst the outer villages, it was common knowledge that the trained healers of the inner kingdom were much more skilled than any peasant herbalist could ever hope to be. It was a fact that often left a bitter taste in the thief’s mouth, since the villagers needed medical aid much more than the pampered nobles ever would, yet they were the ones who hardly received it. Noble physicians rarely traveled to the outer villages, and when they did, it was almost always to treat a sick or wounded knight.

The thought of turning to one of them for help was both intriguing and off-putting to him. He was drawn by the idea of getting treated by someone with so much skill in healing, since a trained physician would probably have a better understanding of how to approach his illness. Hazel was talented as an herbalist, but she was still limited to the knowledge of the few books she owned and the results of trial and error. A healer from the inner kingdom might be able to come to a conclusion about how to treat him much faster than she could, simply because of the formal education she lacked.

On the other hand, he disliked the thought of turning to a physician because of his hatred for nobles. He didn’t want to be healed by someone who was only willing to look for a cure because of the risk it might bring to the knights. Even if Hazel wasn’t professionally trained like they were, he preferred her help, because she was doing it for the villagers. Her motives lined up with his own, and he liked that about working with her.

But still, Crow frowned. Even if a physician wouldn’t intend to heal myself or the villagers, this could be a huge opportunity. If they’re able to figure out a cure for this illness, many people will be saved. He sighed. It seemed like he was going to have to lay down his pride and accept the help, whether he liked it or not.

“I think it’s not a bad idea,” he said thoughtfully. “The only problem is that Hazel might not be willing to work with someone from the inner kingdom.” He shook his head. “I honestly think she hates nobles even more than I do. It’s going to be hard to convince her to meet with one in person, let alone work alongside them.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope looked over at Crow as he answered her. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she shook her head. "If she is serious about finding a cure for this disease, there's no room for her hatred." She responded a bit sharply. The knight felt frustration build in her at the thought of the herbalist denying the help of a noble physician merely due to her dislike of them. Most of it may have come from her own concern for Crow's health and safety but she also thought of the others in Myrefall that would benefit from the cure. To possibly prolong it's discovery or even prevent it merely due to the herbalist's hatred of nobles felt selfish and wrong. Penelope could only hope that Hazel would feel the same if the opportunity arose.

"I'm sure she's skilled but she's not trained like the healers of the inner kingdom. Regardless of how she feels about nobles, surely she'll see the benefit and reason in being able to work with a trained physician. At the end of the day, they'll both be trying to cure the same disease, even if it's for different people." She reasoned.

The knight was determined and hopeful that together the two healers would be able to find a cure for Crow faster, which she was concerned with after seeing how determined he was to continue to fight and protect his companions and the villagers. Hatred and pride seemed to be the biggest obstacles in the way of that though. The knight let out a sigh, hoping neither side would get too caught up in their arrogance or hate when the time came to ask them to work together.

"Anyways, I'm not sure if I'll even be able to convince them either... Most of the healers don't like to leave camp very often, although," She paused thoughtfully. "I might know one that would be willing to, so long as I can convince her that it's a serious threat to the knights." Penelope look over at Crow and frowned concernedly. "We have to try though."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow blinked, a bit taken aback by the sharpness of Penelope’s tone. He hadn’t expected her to respond so passionately about it. He understood why she was upset, but as a peasant, he also understood why Hazel might be reluctant to partner with a noble. The hatred often stemmed from negative personal experiences, where knights had treated them poorly because of their low class. He didn’t know what Hazel had gone through, but he had heard her talk about nobles with more venom than anyone else he knew. There was obviously some deep rooted hurt in her life that caused her to despise them more than most.

“I’ll try to talk to her,” he sighed, reaching to take Penelope’s hand in his. “I just don’t know if she’ll listen to me. We don’t have... the greatest history.” He shifted uncomfortably. “I hurt her a few years ago, and she hasn’t let me forget it. Honestly, I barely convinced her to come here to help me in the first place. I think she’s just doing it for the villagers in Myrefall, and the fact that I’ll be healed too is just a side effect to her.” He shook his head. “To ask her to work with a noble when she’s already barely willing to work with her patient might be a stretch.”

Even if Hazel agreed to work with the physician Penelope had in mind, he had to wonder how they were going to keep the meetings a secret from the other thieves. As things were, the herbalist was already being forced to do most of her medicinal work during the night. If she had to leave at any other time of the day, it was going to be difficult to explain to the others without alerting them to the fact that something else was going on.

The others, Crow’s eyes widened as he suddenly remembered that the knights had sent out patrols to hunt them down. Without thinking, he jumped to his feet, only to immediately regret the action when a sharp wave of dizziness made him press a hand to the boulder for support. “Damn it,” he muttered, shaking his head. Turning back to Penelope, he went on urgently, “How long was I out? I need to find my companions and make sure they’re alright.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope shifted her gaze to the ground for the moment as he spoke with less than confident words. She didn't know Hazel so she could only go based on what he told her but it seemed that the difficult part of getting her aid from a trained healer would be more because of the herbalists' own reluctance rather than convincing the physician to meet with her. "Well, just try to get her to focus on the villagers then and hopeful she'll see reason." She said with a small sigh as she looked back over to Crow.

Suddenly the thief got up to his feet, making the knight jump slightly. She hurriedly stood up besides him, noticing how he was using the boulder for support. "Not for too long. You woke up a short while after the patrol left." She responded and glanced around the boulder as she thought of his companions. The patrols had been getting close to where the camp was located and she wondered if perhaps they had been discovered. If Hazel was able to warn them in time, Penelope was hopeful that his friends were safe. Likely safer than they currently were.

She turned to look back at Crow. "I'm not sure which way the patrol went after they lost us.. Hopefully they headed away from your camp though." She told him. The knight paused glancing up at the sky before resting her gaze on him once more. "I'm sure the patrols are still out looking.. I doubt they'll return to camp until sunset so I'll go with you." After learning about his illness, she wasn't going to chance leaving him alone, especially after they had come close to getting caught already. She'd at least make sure he got back to his companions safely and with any luck, they wouldn't run into anymore trouble.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded, feeling relieved to hear that he hadn’t passed out for very long. He didn’t want to leave the other thieves alone for too long, even if he couldn’t do much to help them. Between the four of them, he was the most skilled at eluding knights, so the least he could do was help them stay safe if they hadn’t been caught already. He swallowed nervously as the unwelcome image of his companions being cornered by a patrol entered his mind. Not knowing what had become of them or if they were even still alive, he wanted to start looking right away. He couldn’t wait around while there was still a chance that he could do something to help them get away from the knights.

He glanced back at Penelope as she announced that she would go with him. Shifting slightly, he thought about the repercussions that she might face if any of her comrades saw her out in the forest with him. He didn’t want her to risk getting caught if something went wrong. While she had made it perfectly clear that she planned to leave her life behind to be with him, he didn’t want to take her away from it until after the war was over. He knew she cared a lot about her position as a lieutenant, and with it, she had already able to do a lot of good for the villagers. If she lost that role now, she would no longer have the influence to help them or the people she cared about.

However, he also knew he was in no condition to run if he was spotted by a patrol alone.

“I’m okay,” he sighed. “I just stood up a little too fast.” To prove his point, he dropped his arm and took a step away from the boulder. Holding Penelope’s gaze, he smiled softly, “But… thanks. I’m glad you’re coming with me.” He leaned down to kiss her briefly in an expression of gratitude and then turned to take the lead, “Let’s go find the others.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small smile in return as he thanked her. She was glad that he didn't insist on going alone to find them, for a moment, she thought he was going to argue with her decision. The knight met his lips briefly then moved to follow him as he took the lead to go looking for his companions. She paused and put the hood of her cloak back up over her head, shifting it so it would hide her face if they were to run into any trouble. While she planned on sticking with him, the knight was still determined to keep her position amongst her comrades even though she planned to be with Crow after the war.

Her gaze swept over their surroundings, eying for any signs of movement nearby. The knights had passed them a while ago but that didn't mean they wouldn't try to retrace their steps in order to relocate the thief. It seemed they were alone though as she walked after him. However, she still kept alert for any signs of a patrol nearby. She eventually looked back ahead at Crow. "You'll probably have to move your camp after this." She mused. "They've spotted you around here twice.. I imagine that this area will be swarming with patrols tomorrow."

Especially if Mia is still the one organizing everything.. She added with a small cringe. Penelope wished that her baroness would have just stayed out of the conflict like she usually did but it seemed after losing so many supplies, even Mia began to deem it as necessary to hunt down the thieves. The knight could understand her reasoning, especially in the middle of a war, but her attachment to Crow prevented her from ever agreeing with her higher up's decision. She couldn't help but wish the knights would merely ignore the thieves, especially since they still had enough supplies to get by without much, if any, trouble.

"Do you think your companions are still near your camp?" She asked him curious of where they'd be looking for the group of thieves. It was uncertain if the knights had discovered the camp yet but if they hadn't, she wondered if the thieves had planned to stay hidden there or if they had a different plan for dealing with the patrols that where straying all too close to their hideout.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow walked quickly as they headed back towards the camp, eager to find out what had become of the other thieves. He hoped Hazel had made it back in time to warn them about the patrols—in fact, he hoped she had made it back to them without running into any, herself. Besides the fact that he needed her help to reach a solution for his illness, he also cared about the herbalist at least somewhat as a person. She was abrasive, yes, but she wasn’t bad. As a thief who was looked down upon by most of the people he met, he knew better than anyone not to judge someone based on just one unappealing characteristic. Hazel was rude, but she was also kind and selfless and empathetic, and she didn’t deserve to get caught up in their trouble.

He glanced back at Penelope as she spoke up, drawing his attention. “I know,” he murmured, not looking forward to what was to come. The thieves had needed to relocate their camp multiple times whenever patrols of knights had accidentally stumbled upon them. It was a big job that usually took most, if not all of a night to complete. They needed to find a new location first, then transfer all of their supplies over without getting caught, and then make a covered shelter to protect themselves from bad weather. It was a lot of work, and none of them enjoyed doing it.

“Do you think your companions are still near your camp?” He turned to the knight again as she asked the question.

“That depends on whether or not Hazel got to them in time,” he answered tensely, rounding a tight cluster of trees. “We’ve prepared for situations like this, so if she alerted them, they should have gone to the meeting location we chose to use if we’ve been separated. It’s a valley between Azmar and Farhill.” He frowned, hastening his pace slightly. “I’m hoping that’s where they are, but I want to check the camp first, just in case something went wrong.”

Suddenly, he stiffened as he caught a faint glimpse of movement off to his right and immediately reached for Penelope’s hand, diving to take cover behind a patch of bushes. Peering through the leaves, he saw a patrol of knights walking by. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to have noticed him or Penelope and after a while, they passed out of view again. He let out his breath and stood up again with a concerned look. “I don’t like how close they are to the camp,” he muttered, turning to walk again. “Come on, let’s keep going.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small nod as he explained that the group had an planned meeting place. As she followed him, the knight couldn't help but think of how much Crow had changed but this time, the change didn't feel bad. When she had met him, he had worked solely on his own and from what he had told her then, it didn't seem like he had many people around whom he trusted or deeply cared for. Seeing him so concerned for the safety of his companions warmed the knight slightly. Though she didn't know his companions very well, she was glad Crow had found them.

She followed behind him and noticed him tense up. She felt him grab her hand and she quickly followed his lead, moving to take cover behind the bushes with him. Penelope remained tensely still besides him as they waited for the knights to pass. Luckily they didn't take notice of the two and she relaxed out of relief. She stood back up and nodded at his words. "It's not good." She agreed quietly, her gaze flickering in the direction the knights had walked off in.

She turned and followed Crow as he continued towards his camp. As they neared the camp, she picked up on movement as well as voice coming from the ravine. Penelope stiffened and slowed her pace besides Crow as she tried to determine if the voices were his friends, her comrades or a unwanted mixture of both. She gave his hand a soft tug as she moved to dart behind some bushes near the ravine, getting close enough so they could peer inside without being spotted. The knight flinched as she spotted several familiar figures within the camp, none of which were Crow's companions.

"Well, I think we've had a pretty successful day." A male knight smirked as he held up a sword he had uncovered.

"I can't believe those rats were here the whole time." Grumbled Millicent, who Penelope quickly recognized amongst the group.

Penelope flinched and looked over at Crow with a sympathetic frown. "I'm sorry, Crow." She whispered before eying the camp once more as the knights continued to raid it. "Looks like your companions got out in time though." She added. Though the camp and most of its contents were taken by the knights, there were no signs of the other thieves or even a fight breaking out. Penelope felt a little bit of relief as it seemed that she had been able to get to Crow and Hazel in time to warn them of the patrols.

[Rogue Sloth]

When Crow and Penelope got close to the camp, the thief felt his heart begin to race as he heard voices he didn’t recognize. The knights had found them. He strained to listen for the other thieves as they neared the edge of the ravine, hoping both that he would hear them, so he would know they were still alive and that he wouldn’t hear them, because that meant there was a chance they had escaped. Feeling stressed, he followed Penelope’s lead as she took his hand to guide him to a cluster of bushes near the edge of the ravine where they could watch the knights without being seen.

Once they were hidden, he crept as close to the hillside as he could get, peering over the edge in dismay as he watched the patrols tear apart the camp. While it was discouraging to see them ruin the hideout he and the other thieves had worked so hard to build, he was more concerned with locating his companions amongst the small crowd. His nervous green eyes swept over the ravine as he looked for signs of Simon, Rikki, and Alistair. However, it didn’t seem like they were there. He felt himself relax as he realized they had gotten away safely.

Now able to focus on the scene in front of him more clearly, Crow watched as the patrols collected all of the supplies the thieves had stolen from the Brerratic and Younisian knights. He clenched his hands into fists, feeling a pang of frustration. All of their hard work to prolong the next battle had been wasted. With the weapons back in the hands of the knights, there was nothing stopping them from engaging with Younis again.

He cursed under his breath, and then glanced at Penelope as she spoke up in a whisper. “They’re probably on their way to our meeting spot by now,” he nodded, pushing aside his annoyance with the situation to focus on the next step. “We should start heading that way.”

Drawing back quietly from the edge of the ravine, he casted a quick look around the area to make sure they were alone and then stood up straight again. Once they were both ready to go, he took the lead again, guiding Penelope southeast towards the villages of Azmar and Farhill, where he hoped the other thieves would be waiting.

After they had walked far enough from the ravaged hideout that he felt confident they wouldn’t be overheard, Crow turned to Penelope with a curious look, “So… with all of those knights being sent out to look for us, how did you manage to slip away? I would have thought you would be heading your own patrol, since you’re a lieutenant and all. Isn’t anyone going to notice you’re gone?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope nodded her head in agreement and carefully followed him as he lead them away from the ravine. She remained cautious as they headed off towards the meeting place, keeping an eye out for any nearby knights until they were far enough away. Luckily where they had chosen to meet up wasn't a prime spot for the patrols so it was less likely they'd run into trouble there.

As Crow addressed her, she gave a small smirk. "Well, after you 'escaped' from me last time, the barons weren't quite as trusting of me when it came to dealing with thieves. My baroness has another lieutenant, an older more experienced one, who she decided to send out to head a patrol instead of me." She explained to him with a small shrug. "I was supposed to just stay in camp... Honestly, they'll probably notice that I'm gone, especially since I won't be back until late by the looks of it."

A small gleam of mischief entered her gaze. "But it's fine. I don't think it'll be difficult to convince them that I snuck out trying to hunt down the thieves so that I could prove myself after losing track of the infamous Crow.. Twice now." She gave a small chuckle and then met his gaze, her proud expression softening slightly with affection. "You're a bad influence, you know?" She smiled and moved to walk a little closer to him, taking his hand in hers.

"We might have been apart for two years ago but I've still been using a few of the tricks I picked up from you." She admitted. Penelope looked ahead as they walked, thinking back on her time apart from Crow. There had been a couple times when sneaking around or coming up with well crafted lies had gotten her out of trouble. Though most were focused on her getting out of chasing criminals or traveling to the outer villages, as she had tried to keep away from that during her time back from the journey. Only once had that been unsuccessful and that was when Gavin was around and nearly caught a young criminal at the marketplace. She smirked and looked back to Crow. "I wouldn't be able to sneak out of camp so easily if I was out of practice after all."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow listened as Penelope explained that her baroness had chosen to send a different lieutenant in her stead. He was mildly surprised to hear the pride in her voice as she spoke. When he had known her before, she had seemed to care much more about what her equals and superiors thought of her, but now it sounded like she was indifferent to their opinions. He was glad she had started to be more independent. It was a freer way to live.

He smirked as she went on to call him a bad influence. “Darling, you fell in love with a man who lives outside of the law,” he teased, lacing his fingers with hers when he felt her take his hand. “What more did you expect?” Shifting to walk a bit closer to her, he thought about all the ways he had noticed her change after being around him in the beginning. Though she called his habits and skills a bad influence, he didn’t consider them to be bad at all. His ability to lie in particular had saved his life on numerous occasions. If anything, he felt like he had done her a favor by teaching her how to do the same.

As Penelope mentioned how she had continued to use the tricks she had picked up from him even while they were apart, he squeezed her hand proudly. “I have plenty more tricks where those came from,” he said with a grin. “Maybe I’ll teach them to you… if you make it worth my while.” He winked at her coyly before glancing up at the sky. Noon had passed, and the sun was already starting to sink westward. The rendezvous point was still far from where they were, so he doubted they would arrive before nightfall.

“In all seriousness, I do hope you’ve gotten as good at lying as you say you have,” he said somberly, turning back to meet her gaze. “The place we’re going is about a full day’s walk from your camp, if not longer, so you won’t be back for quite a while.” He frowned, thinking something over before going on, “Are you sure you want to come with me the whole way there? I mean, I appreciate the company, but at this rate, you’ll be up all night to travel back to the other knights, and even then, you won’t make it until tomorrow. It might be best for you to leave now, so they don’t get too suspicious.” He offered her a small smile. “I’m sure I’ll be fine to walk the rest of the way alone. You should go.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a soft laugh at his words and nodded her head. "I'll keep that in mind." She mused with a smirk as she looked up at him. Now that they were venturing out of the area of where the knights were searching, she was able to relax a little and enjoyed his company, despite all the day had put them through. As he advised her about going back, the knight paused for a moment to think it over.

The travel would be rather far and making up excuse for her disappearance would prove a lot more difficult. She was a lieutenant after all and Mia was likely expecting her to return to camp quickly, if she had realized she had disappeared that is. However, she didn't want to leave Crow to travel alone. Though it was unlikely for him to run into any patrols the further he got, there was still a potential of him running to danger with local guards or just his illness acting up again. Plus the knight couldn't help but want to spend a little more time with him while she could.

Even though it'd be difficult to convince Mia and the others about the reasonings behind her long disappearance, Penelope felt a bit certain that she could do it. Afterall, she had gotten away with quite a bit so far and no one seemed even close to suspecting her of working with the thieves. However, after she got back, she'd definitely have to proceed more carefully to make sure suspicion didn't arise. Surely it was something she could handle though.

"It's fine." She assured Crow. "I'll be able to handle them when I get back. I just might have to make sure to keep a low profile for a while after. They might think me a bit reckless when I return but it's fine, I'll figure a way to lessen that eventually. I'll give them some false leads on which way you guys headed and hopefully that'll satisfy them into thinking I tried tracking you guys down as well as discouraging them from looking near where we're headed."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded, accepting Penelope’s words as she said she could handle the accusations when she returned to her camp the next day. He felt a smile tug at the corner of his lip. Even though he still believed it would be better for her to go back before nightfall, he was grateful to have the additional time with her. With the war going on, they barely saw each other anymore, so he wanted to make the most of their time while she was still with him.

“If you say so,” he leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. “I’m sure you’ll have no trouble getting away with it.”

--

The rest of their walk was passed in comfortable conversation interjected with occasional silences as Crow and Penelope kept watch for patrols. The thief found the time to be entirely enjoyable, since he hadn’t been able to talk with the knight so freely in years. He was reminded of just how much he liked spending time with her, and he looked forward to a future when they could do so again. As long as the war didn’t drag on, it wouldn’t be much longer until that future came. He could already feel the excitement welling up inside of him at the thought.

Around dusk, he began to notice that the scenery around them looked familiar. They were getting close to the meeting point. His heart beat nervously in his chest as the time was fast approaching when he would find out if all of his companions really had made it out safely or not. He prayed he would see all four of them when he arrived.

As they neared the valley, a thought came to him suddenly, and he turned to Penelope, “I forgot to mention this, but don’t bring up anything about my illness to anyone except Hazel. I haven’t told the others about it, and I don’t want them to—”

“Crow!”

The thief startled at the sound of a voice and turned to see Rikki sprinting towards him from the edge of the valley. Before he could react, she barreled into him and wrapped her arms tightly around his middle in an embrace. “Thank gods! You made it,” she breathed. After a moment, she blinked and jumped back again. “I have to tell the others!” Without waiting for a reply, she spun on her heel and ran back to the valley, calling out loudly, “Everyone, Crow’s alive!”

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Crow watched her go with a shake of his head. “You know, I don’t think she even noticed you were here,” he snorted, glancing at Penelope. He hesitated for a moment and then let go of her hand. Considering the other thieves’ opinions about knights, he still didn’t want them to know he was with her now.

“Well, I guess you should get back to your camp, huh?” he said to her with a halfhearted smile. Even though he had gotten to spend the entire length of the walk with her, he still felt reluctant to part ways. He missed the days when they had been able to sleep in each other’s arms and spend all of their time together. Compared to that, only visiting every once in a while felt like torture.

Suddenly, another idea came to him, and he shifted his weight. “Unless… you’d like to stay with us for the night,” he offered tentatively. “You already won’t get back to your camp until tomorrow. If you stay here, you’ll at least get some sleep in between… What do you think?”

[BuzzingBee]

As they walked on towards the valley, Penelope found herself enjoying their time together. It felt a bit like the past as they spoke comfortably and traveled together. It was peaceful and she began to realize just how comforting it was to be in his company again. He was the only one she could truly let her guard down around. She had forced herself to keep a bit of a distance from others after falling for the thief and even though Olivia was close to her, there were still things the knight refused to share with her friend.

When they reached the valley, Penelope was about to look around for the other when Crow spoke up again. She turned to him, blinking in surprise as he began to tell her about how his companions didn't even know about his illness. However, before he was even able to finish, Rikki barreled into the thief. The knight jumped slightly at the female thief's sudden appearance and watched as she hugged Crow and then quickly ran off to alert the others. "I don't think so either." She agreed with some amusement as she looked up at Crow.

As he mentioned her returning back to camp, she gave a small nod of agreement. "Yeah." She mumbled glancing over her shoulder in the direction they had came. The knight felt reluctant to leave, wishing she had more time with him. Their planned meeting had been ruined by the patrols and it would likely be a while before they'd be able to figure out when to meet up again since the thieves had lost their camp and she'd have to make sure to be present around camp for the coming days. Suddenly the mission that had once felt treacherous seemed like the easy days. Despite the danger they had faced, they were able to be together for every day of it.

She looked back over at him at his sudden offer. She blinked and paused a moment to think it over. A small of her felt it was best to get back to camp as soon as possible, even if meant traveling the whole night. However, she had already gotten this far away. Would it really be so terrible to stay the night? She was beginning to think it wouldn't be. Besides if she traveled all the way back to camp, she'd end up passing out immediately from exhaustion from traveling for so long, which likely wouldn't help her too much in trying to fool her comrades. There was also the fact that it meant she'd be able to stay with Crow longer, something that sounded very appealing to the knight as she knew it'd be a while before they'd meet again.

"Well.. I already came this far." She gave a small smile. "It's a long journey back so I might as well get stay and get some sleep so I don't wear myself out, right? If it's alright, I'd like to stay."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow grinned as Penelope said she’d like to stay for the night. “Of course it’s all right,” he said, glancing back towards the valley for a moment to make sure they were still alone before leaning in to press a kiss to her lips. Not wanting to linger in case any of his companions came up the hillside to greet him, he pulled back quickly and went on, “Besides, even if the others don’t feel the same way, they picked me to be their leader, so whatever I say goes.” He shrugged. “They can tolerate having a knight around for one night… especially one as beautiful as you.” He winked at her flirtatiously.

In the next moment, he turned back to the valley as he caught sight of a small group making their way towards him and Penelope. The thief felt a wave of relief as he counted four figures amongst them, meaning they had all gotten away safely. He took a few steps towards them to meet them part of the way as they approached.

At the front of the group, Simon halted as his eyes fell on Penelope. “Raven,” he said sternly, glancing back at the female thief over his shoulder. “You didn’t mention he wasn’t alone.”

“Sorry,” Rikki shrugged. “I guess I got too caught up in the moment to notice.”

“Well, it would have been nice to know,” the blonde thief muttered, turning back to face Crow warily. “What’s going on? Why is she here?”

“Calm down,” Crow rolled his eyes. “I ran into a bit of trouble with a patrol, and Penelope helped me out of it. Her camp is far from here, so I told her she could stay with us for the night as thanks for her help.”

“How do you know she won’t just turn around and tell her little armored friends where we’re hiding?” Hazel spoke up accusatively. “I don’t like the idea of a noble knowing where we are.”

“She knew about our last camp and never said anything then,” Crow narrowed his eyes at the herbalist. “She’s already proven to everyone here time and time again that she’s trustworthy. None of you have any grounds to doubt her.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Hazel grumbled.

“Speaking of our last camp,” Alistair spoke up. “Do you know if the knights found it? We had to leave most of the supplies behind to get out quickly.”

Crow shifted his weight, “They did.”

“Damn it,” Rikki spat. “They probably took everything back.”

“We can worry about that tomorrow,” Crow said dismissively. “Right now, Penelope and I need to get settled in. I’m assuming you all made a camp down there, right?”

“Of course,” Rikki nodded. She trotted up to Penelope and linked her arm with the knight’s. “I’ll help you prepare a bed,” she offered with a friendly smile. “We don’t have enough mats, since we weren’t expecting a sixth person, but you can take Alistair’s. He’s fine with sleeping on the ground.”

“Hey!” the other thief protested with a frown.

“Come on,” Rikki tugged on Penelope’s arm, ignoring her friend’s outburst. “Let’s get you settled in.”

Watching the scene in amusement, Crow took a step to follow them into the valley, but stopped when Hazel intercepted him suddenly. “Before you go, I need to talk to you,” she said with a glare.

The thief hesitated, glancing up at Penelope. Desiring to make the most of their extra time together, he wanted to go with her to set up his own bed, but he also knew Hazel didn’t speak with him unless she had something important to say. He let out his breath in a quiet sigh. “Alright,” he nodded at the herbalist and then looked up at the knight with a shrug. “I guess I’ll be back in a bit.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope smiled at him and leaned in to meet his lips as he kissed her. She blushed a little and rolled her eyes at his flirtatious words. "If you say so." She chuckled before turning her head to look over at the small group as they approached. As Crow moved to meet them part of the way, she followed a couple steps behind, a bit unsure how to act amongst the band of thieves. Especially since she had only met them once before.

It became quickly clear that not everyone was alright with her sudden appearance. Simon still seemed just as cautious of her as he was before and now she was able to see a bit of what Crow had meant by Hazel's hatred of nobles. The knight crossed her arms as she glanced over at the herbalist as the other woman spoke accusingly. It's like she's completely forgotten I was the one that warned them they were coming in the first place.. Penelope thought, feeling a mixture of bitterness and worry. Perhaps convincing her to meet the noble physician would be impossible, which was something that didn't sit easy with the knight.

As they went on to discuss the camp, she shifted her gaze away. She guessed that her comrades likely spent the remaining time of their patrol collecting the supplies they had found within the thieve's camp. Uncertain what that would mean for the thieves, she remained quiet on the matter. She looked over at Rikki as the female thief trotted up to her, acting friendly like she had before. The knight gave a small smile in return, looking a little amused as Rikki went on to ignore Alistair.

"Thanks." She chuckled softly as she moved to follow Rikki. Penelope glanced over her shoulder at Crow, noticing that he had gotten stopped by the herbalist. She paused before giving him a small nod before focusing back ahead as she walked with the other thieves to the camp. The knight guessed that the herbalist likely needed to discuss something about his illness with him and though she was hoping to spend more time with him, she wasn't about to complain about that.

Following Rikki's lead, she headed to the small camp that the thieves had made in the valley. Rikki let go of her arm to head over to the makeshift shelter. "Here! I'll put your mat down near mine." She told Penelope as she pulled out one of the mats.

"Thanks Raven." Penelope said as she stepped over to try and help the female thief as she prepared the bed. The knight paused, glancing around at the thieves. "Sorry about your camp." She mumbled, feeling a bit awkward.

Rikki's friendly attitude seemed to falter for a moment before she gave Penelope a reassuring smile. "It's ok. We've had to move a few times before so it was bound to happen at some point."

"Curious that it managed to happen right after we stole all those supplies." Simon muttered. Rikki looked over at him and frowned.

Penelope turned her head to look over at Simon as he hinted at it being her fault. She met his gaze and let out a small sigh. "Well, when you take a whole cart full of them, the knights aren't just going to ignore it." She told him. "I tried to get the warning to you guys as soon as I could.. Which seems to have worked well enough considering you all made it out of the camp before the knights got there."

Simon shot her a glare and gave a soft snort before standing up to walk off towards the other side of the camp.

"Oh just ignore him." Rikki said with a dismissive wave. She smiled at Penelope, quickly changing the subject. "Are you hungry? We have a bit of food if you want."

Penelope looked over at Rikki and shook her head. "No I'm fine, thank you though." She answered before moving to sit down by the small fire Alistair had prepared as they finished getting the beds ready. The knight felt a bit tired from the long day and was tempted to just go straight to bed. However, she decided to wait up for Crow, hoping his meeting with Hazel wouldn't be too long.