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

[Rogue Sloth]

The next morning, Crow awoke to the feeling of Penelope shifting against his side. He didn’t remember when she had joined him on his bed during the night, but still half-asleep and content that she was there now, he didn’t bother to stop and question it. He groaned tiredly and rolled onto his side, wrapping his arm around her slender body to hold her close to his chest. Between his exhaustion from the late trip to Farhill and the fatigue caused by his illness, it didn’t take long before he started to doze off again.

After a short while, he felt her stir again. She slipped her arm around his waist and wriggled a bit closer to rest her head against his. The motion roused him enough to wake up, but he was too weary to open his eyes. He smiled softly and leaned against her, enjoying the moment. Blearily, he thought something seemed strange about the fact that she was sleeping next to him. He could have sworn they had talked about having to sleep apart that night, but he couldn’t remember why. Putting his confusion aside, he exhaled softly and focused on the steady rise and fall of her chest instead. If he couldn’t remember why they had talked about such things, it must not have been very important.

She ran her hand gently over his shoulder and brushed her lips against his cheek, trying to coax him to turn his head so that she could more easily reach his mouth. His smile broadened slightly. He liked how bold she was getting. They had only just woken up, yet she was already pining for a kiss. Feeling her nuzzle him one more time, he shifted to comply with her unspoken request and opened his eyes to meet her gaze. However, in the next moment, he flinched in surprise to see not Penelope, but Rikki’s face in front of him.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” the thief grinned at him before moving in to meet his lips in a kiss.

Still overcoming his initial shock, it took Crow a moment to comprehend and respond to what was happening. Once he had snapped out of the trance, he quickly recoiled from the kiss and pulled away from Rikki, removing his arm from around her body as well. His heart raced in his chest as he realized what he had just done. While he had only gotten so close to the female thief because he had mistaken her for Penelope, he still felt a leaden weight of guilt hit him hard in the gut.

Unfortunately, Rikki noticed his hasty response and frowned in confusion. “What the hell was that?” she asked bluntly, eyeing him as she tried to figure out why he had drawn back from her so suddenly.

Not expecting this situation at all, Crow wracked his brain to come up with a believable excuse. After a moment, he offered her a hapless smile as he thought of a lie, “Sorry, love, but your breath is terrible. How much did you have to drink last night?”

“I honestly don’t remember,” she shrugged, though her skeptical look didn’t disappear. “But that’s never stopped you before.”

“Even I have boundaries,” Crow snorted with a roll of his eyes.

“Is it really that bad?” Rikki’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth self-consciously.

“Go drink some water or something,” he waved her off, hiding his relief that she had bought his lie as she hurried to go find a water flask. He was glad that he had managed to keep the situation from becoming worse, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling of shame that weighed down on him for kissing her. Suddenly, he paled as he remembered that Penelope had been sleeping nearby. Worried that she might have seen him with Rikki, he spun around to look at her mat, only to find that her bed was empty. He blinked confusedly, Did she get up early?

“If you’re looking for your knight, she’s gone.”

He looked over his shoulder to see Hazel walking towards him, arms crossed over her chest and an irritable expression adorning her cold features. Her stern façade was only broken by a slight upward curl of her lip as she went on, “Although I’m sure this comes as a relief to you after that little show you just put on.”

Crow flushed as he realized the herbalist had seen him with Rikki. “It wasn’t what it looked like,” he said hurriedly, sitting up on his bed. “I wasn’t fully awake, and I thought she was—” he paused and then averted his gaze. “You know, I don’t know why I’m bothering to explain myself to you.”

“Me neither,” Hazel smirked.

“Penelope left?” he looked up at her again, changing the subject. “When?”

“Early this morning,” Hazel shrugged, examining her fingernails as if their conversation was uninteresting to her. “She said she couldn’t wait to go back. Something about being sick of hanging around with thieves, missing her own people, needing a bath, blah blah blah.”

Crow fell silent for a moment and then narrowed his eyes at her, “You’re lying. She would never say something like that.”

“How would you know? You weren’t there.”

He glanced around to make sure none of the others were nearby before he went on in a hushed voice, “I know her. She doesn’t care about status and trivialities like other nobles. So, spill it: What did she really say?”

“Fine,” Hazel muttered. “She really did go back to her camp, but she told me to tell you she said goodbye.”

“Oh,” he frowned disappointedly. “Why didn’t she wake me herself?”

“She didn’t want to interrupt your rest,” the herbalist curled her lip at him. “Speaking of which, why did you let her find out about your illness? Do you know what a knight could do with that sort of information?”

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” Crow said defensively. “We were being chased by other knights, and I passed out. If anything, you should be glad she found out, since she was able to protect me when I was unconscious.”

“I’m sure there had to be another way,” Hazel said stubbornly.

“How would you know? You weren’t there,” Crow taunted.

“Real cute,” she muttered dryly. “Anyway, she also told me to ask you about a physician and said you’d know whatever the hell that meant.”

“Right,” he closed his eyes, running a hand through his hair. He had almost forgotten about Penelope’s idea to involve a noble physician in the search for a cure for his illness. Judging from Hazel’s current mood, he doubted that conversation was going to go well.

“So?” she prodded when he didn’t say anything more. “Are you going to tell me what that rat was babbling about or not?”

“I am,” he nodded, glancing around the empty camp once more before throwing off his blanket and rising to his feet. “But we should go elsewhere, just in case the others come back. This isn’t a discussion for their ears.”

She shrugged, “Lead the way, snake.”

[BuzzingBee]

Though she was traveling alone, Penelope remained cautious, not wanting to get caught by either local guards or her own comrades if patrols were still happening. Even though she wasn't traveling with Crow, getting caught coming from where the thieves were actually located would certainly cause for some problems. While her story would still hold up, she wouldn't be able to throw the rest of the knights off track of the thieves and that wasn't something she wanted to risk.

Luckily her walk remained rather uneventful and it left her alone with her thoughts. She thought about her talk with Hazel and how coldly the herbalist had acted. It made her wonder if there was even a chance of getting her to work with the noble physician. The knight frowned to herself at the thought. Though chances seemed slim, she held onto a hope that Crow would be able to convince her to see some reason. At the thought of the thief, a smaller concern of hers popped into her thoughts. The imagine of Rikki sleeping soundly besides him made her falter slightly as she walked, feeling a familiar mixture of uneasiness as well as jealousy.

She understood that he couldn't tell the female thief they were together but she was bothered by the lack of distance he had yet to put between himself and Rikki. Whatever their relationship had been, it was getting clear they were a little more than just friends by what she had seen and she couldn't help but wonder how far that went. Was Crow simply having trouble figuring out a way to distance himself from the female thief? Or maybe I'm not enough right now. Especially with our meetings so far apart. She flinched and quickly shook her head.

No.. I'm being ridiculous. Penelope assured herself, trying to keep her trust in him from wavering at the uncertainty she felt. She recalled the night before, how they had been together and how they had both spoke of their future together. A soft smile tugged at her lips. A fresh wave of affection and happiness washed away the uncertainty she had been feeling and dulled the jealousy she felt. Whatever was going on, she was sure she could trust Crow with handling it.

Feeling a little more at ease, the knight quickly went back to thinking about how to tackle the situation with the herbalist and physician.

---

The day wore on and Penelope eventually got closer to her camp. She took very few breaks, mainly focused on reaching the camp before the sunset. Luckily she seemed to be making good time. The afternoon sky was still bright above her as she drew near Myrefall. The sun would soon begin it's slow descent but she would easily be able to make it to camp before it went down completely. Now closer to the camp, she didn't worry about avoiding patrols as much and walked calmly through the forest.

Eventually she heard a twig snap nearby, making her jump. She turned to see a knight had spotted her and was quickly heading towards her. Instinctively, she grew tense, nearly reaching for the sword at her side. However, she quickly relaxed, especially once she recognized the knight.

"Oh thank gods there you are." Gavin breathed in relief as he reached her. His gaze roamed over her, inspecting for any sign of injury before looking at her with a frown. "Are you alright? Why were you gone for so long?"

"I'm fine. I just ran into a little bit of trouble and ended up having to travel a bit further than I originally planned." Penelope told him. She paused before shuffling her feet slightly. "Is Mia freaking out?"

"Sorta." Gavin admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Mia's not happy about you disappearing like that but I told her you were just trying to track down the thieves again.. Edward seemed convinced that you got killed by them but that rumor settled down after the one patrol returned with all the supplies from the thieves' camp.." The male knight met her gaze. "I guess you were able to get to him in time huh?" He mumbled softly.

"Yeah.. Just barely." Penelope replied averting her gaze away awkwardly. "So what are you doing out here? Are they still sending out patrols to look for the thieves?"

Gavin shook his head. "No. The barons were settled with getting the supplies back so they didn't bother with anymore patrols... I'm out here looking for you. I was worried something happened." He took a stepped towards her resting his hand on her shoulder, specifically the one Crow had injured before. "I know he's important to you but he's dangerous, Penelope. He's a criminal."

"You speak as if you actually know him." Penelope took a step back from her former suitor and met his gaze sternly. "I appreciate your concern, Gavin but I'm fine. We should get back to camp now." She turned sharply and began to walk on back towards the camp. Gavin hesitated before following behind her. A silence fell between the two as they walked back to their camp.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow took a steeling breath as he prepared himself to tell Hazel about Penelope’s suggestion, looking at the trees around them to avoid her critical gaze. The forest was thick and the ground beneath their feet was even. There was no sign of the valley they had come from. The two had walked far enough away from the thieves’ camp that he felt confident the others wouldn’t be able to hear them, even if the herbalist raised her voice like she had the last time. He had made sure to travel far with her because of her unpredictable temper. So, as long as none of his companions happened to pass through the area, they would be safe to speak openly without fear of being eavesdropped on.

After a hesitation, he forced himself to meet her eyes, uneasy green to piercing blue. After seeing her reaction to Penelope spending the night with them—and then later her reaction to discovering his taboo relationship with the knight—he was worried about how she would respond to the idea Penelope had come up with. He had his own reservations about working with a noble he didn’t know, but he was at least willing to lay down his pride to try and make it work. However, he was only doing so because of his love for the knight. Hazel had no such motivation to work with a physician. It was going to be difficult to convince her to give it a shot.

But he knew he had to try.

Finally ready to approach her, Crow squared his shoulders and began, “When you said you were going to help me look for a cure to this illness, you said you were just using me to help the people of Myrefall, right?”

Hazel frowned and crossed her arms, wavering for a moment before responding with a snort, “Obviously. I would never do this much work for someone like you.” She shifted slightly. “Why are you bringing this up now?”

“So, you’re saying you’re willing to help me, a man you’ve made it clear you dislike, for the good of a people who are suffering?” he pressed.

“That’s what I said, yes,” she growled, eyeing him suspiciously. “Where are you going with this, snake?”

“Just how far are you willing to go?” he asked, ignoring her question.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she answered guardedly. “What’s up with all these leading questions anyway?”

“I may have found someone who can help us find a cure for this disease,” Crow said, starting to get closer to his point. “It’s a person with a strong grasp of medicines and years of experience treating illnesses.”

“You think this person is better than me?” Hazel curled her lip.

“I didn’t say that,” he held up his hands innocently. “But I know you’ve worked with other herbalists before. You have to admit that two heads are better than one when it comes to finding a new cure.”

“I suppose,” she shrugged. “So, who is this person? Why am I only hearing about them now?”

Now it was Crow’s turn to shift uncomfortably, “It’s a noble physician.”

“What?” she shook her head vigorously. “No way! I refuse to work with one of those heartless wretches. They’re the lowest of the low. Count me out.”

“Just listen to me,” he requested, catching hold of her wrist before she could turn to leave. “I don’t love this idea either, but Penelope said she knows someone who might be willing to help us.”

“Oh, so this was your armor-wearing lover’s idea, was it?” Hazel spat. “Hmm, let me think about that… No.” She tugged her arm out of his grasp.

“So that’s it then?” Crow called after her as she began to storm away from him. “You have the opportunity to use a physician’s knowledge to find a cure for this, and you’re going to turn it down because you’re too proud to even breathe the same air as one of them?”

“I don’t need them,” she snarled over her shoulder. “I can do this on my own.”

“Maybe,” he took a step after her. “But won’t you have a better chance of finding it if you have their medicinal knowledge too?”

“Don’t care. You might have gone soft, but I’m a woman of integrity. I will not work with a noble rat, and that’s final.”

Crow stared after her in dismay as she marched back towards the camp. He had hoped she would be willing to go along with Penelope’s idea if he played on her care for the villagers, but even that hadn’t worked. His mind raced as he tried to come up with another approach, but he drew nothing but blanks. Without an alternative strategy, he hurried to run after the herbalist, hoping she might change her mind if he begged her enough.

“Wait!” he called again as he caught up with her. “Hazel, I—” Suddenly he inhaled sharply as a burst of lightheadedness struck him, and he dropped to his hands and knees.

Hearing him fall, the herbalist turned around. Her blue eyes widened as they landed on him. “Crow, are you okay?” she asked, all animosity momentarily forgotten as she quickly came to his side. “What happened?”

“I’m fine,” he muttered, embarrassed that she had seen him lose control like that. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear away the dizziness, he braced his legs to stand up. In the next moment, the world turned sideways, and he dropped back to the ground.

“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Hazel chided, holding up her hand as he moved to try again. “Just stay still until it passes.”

“Cursed disease,” he grumbled, bringing a hand to his head in frustration.

She observed him for a moment with a concerned expression and then proceeded to crouch down at his side and touch her hands to different parts of his body.

“What are you doing?” he asked warily, recoiling as she reached towards his throat.

“Shut up and sit still,” she said sternly, grabbing him by the shoulder to hold him steady as she pressed two fingers just below his jaw. She closed her eyes and didn’t move for a short period of time before releasing him again. She knitted her brow and muttered something under her breath that he didn’t catch.

“What?” he asked, staring to feel nervous by her reaction.

“It’s just… I can hardly feel your pulse,” she shook her head.

Crow felt his blood run cold, “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. It’s just weird. Normally when someone runs, their heartbeat gets stronger, but it’s almost as if yours is doing the opposite.” She met his gaze with a frown. “How long did that old man tell you the second phase lasts?”

“He said it varies,” Crow said absently. “He’s seen it last anywhere from a month to a year.”

“And what comes after that?”

“I think the cough gets worse. He said if the illness gets to that point, all you can do is wait for death.”

“And by that point, you would be fully bedridden, right?”

“Probably… At least, that’s what happened to my mother,” he held her gaze anxiously. “Why?”

“Crow, if there’s another battle, you need to stay out of it,” Hazel said suddenly.

“What?” he blinked in surprise. “Why?”

“I think you’re making the disease progress faster when you keep pushing yourself like this,” she explained seriously. “You barely jogged from that tree over there to where we are now. You’re getting to a point where any sort of physical strain drops you to your knees. At this rate, it won’t be much longer before you can’t even walk. You need to stop exerting yourself before you reach that third phase.”

The thief lowered his gaze, “But what about—”

“No,” Hazel interrupted. “No ‘but’s. You told me the fatigue started less than two weeks ago, and you’re already at a point where you can barely function without nearly passing out. You’re going to kill yourself if you keep up like this.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how much damage you’ve already done, but you can still hold back now and hope it’s enough to stave off that third phase long enough for me to find a cure.”

“Do you really think you can figure it out in time?” he murmured, feeling his heart sink at her works.

“I…” she trailed off and pursed her lips, averting her gaze as she went on softly. “It’s not looking good.”

Crow closed his eyes, taking a shaky breath as he pushed down a pang of grief. “I should tell them,” he said quietly. “Raven, Alistair, and Simon… They need to know.”

Hazel nodded, “I think it’s for the best. You can’t keep pretending everything is fine anymore.” She reached out to take his hand in a comforting gesture, “But don’t give up yet. If you get plenty of rest and don’t put too much strain on yourself, you might be able to prolong it for a while longer. In the meantime, I’ll keep working on your medicine. I already have a new one for you to try tonight.”

“Thanks,” he said numbly.

“We’ll figure this out,” she said a bit more confidently. “Don’t let yourself lose hope just yet. You haven’t even reached the third phase, so we’ve still got time.” Standing up again, she dusted herself off and offered him a hand to stand up. “Anyway, we should go to the camp and see if your friends are back yet.”

“Yeah,” Crow took her hand and rose unsteadily to his feet. “Seems like I’ve got some news to tell them.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope and Gavin soon reached the camp. A couple of her comrades commented on her late return as she headed towards the center of camp to speak with Mia. She felt a bit of worry build in her as a few of the other knights seemed to eye her suspiciously, though she guessed it was only natural after how long she had been gone. Gavin gave her a small word of goodbye before heading off towards his tent and Penelope focused back ahead as Mia and Tomas came into view.

Mia quickly caught sight of her and narrowed her eyes at the lieutenant. She marched over to the knight and crossed her arms. "Where in the hell have you been!" She demanded immediately. "I thought you were going to stay in camp yesterday and then Gavin tells me you're out searching for the thieves on your own! Are you mad?"

"She was worried about you." Tomas added quietly. "Those thieves are dangerous."

Penelope dipped her head. "I'm sorry, Mia. I just wanted to make up for losing him the last time." She said with false guilt. The knight frowned and looked over at the two. "I didn't mean to stay out so long either.. I got close to catching them so I decided to try and track them down. I lost track of time on the way.."

"And of the thieves from what I can see." Huffed her uncle who had now stepped out of the tent. He glared down at Penelope.

"Unfortunately yes.. I got down near Silverpool and by then I lost their trail and it was too late to return back by then." She admitted lowering her gaze again.

"Well it doesn't matter now." Tomas said softly. "We got the stolen supplies back and it seems we've chased off the thieves for now, right?"

"Right." Mia grumbled with a glance towards Edward. The baron held her gaze for a moment before turning and beginning to walk away from the group. She turned back to Penelope and shook her head. "I don't know what got into you but I certainly hope that was the last of it." The baroness remarked sharply. "You're nearly starting to act as careless as your brother and that is not a change I admire."

"It won't happen again, Mia. I promise." Penelope said. She wasn't sure if she could keep that promise, but hoped that she could considering how furious the baroness currently was with her. With a week until she met up with Crow again, she would make sure to repair the damage done to Mia's trust.

"Make sure of it." Mia muttered with a firm nod. She looked over Penelope and gave a soft sigh. "You should go rest. Seems you had a long day. We'll talk again tomorrow."

"Thank you." Penelope said gratefully before turning and walking off. Her stomach growled with hunger. Having not eaten since the day before, the knight wasted no time in heading off to grab some food. She let out a small sigh and glanced around the camp as she walked. Tension seemed to have died down in the camp, something she was glad to see. Penelope hoped that meant that the knights were no longer sending patrols to look for the thieves. It would make her job a lot easier if she didn't have to worry about them finding Crow and the others.

[Rogue Sloth]

“A-are you serious?” Rikki stammered as she stared at Crow with round eyes. She and the other thieves had arrived back at the camp while he and Hazel had been gone. As soon as he had returned with the herbalist, he had gathered them to tell them the truth about his illness, that he’d had it since the previous winter, and that he hadn’t wanted them to know about it, but the symptoms were becoming too apparent to ignore. Now finished explaining everything, he stood with his hands shoved in his pockets, avoiding their concerned and confused gazes as they took a moment to process what he had said to them.

“I knew something was off about you,” Simon shook his head. “You’ve been acting strangely ever since the last battle.”

“You should have said something sooner,” Alistair growled. “We could have handled it. You should know us well enough by now to understand that.”

Crow shot him a glare, “I know you all well enough to know that Simon would insist on taking over my responsibilities as leader, Rikki would get worried and spend all her time doting on me, and you would throw yourself into unnecessary fights to keep knights away from our camp while I try to recover.” His gaze swept over them as they said nothing in response to the accusations. “You know I’m right about this. I didn’t want my illness to be the cause of everything changing around here.”

“Are they really such bad changes though?” Rikki spoke up this time. “Everything we would do would be for you, Crow. We all care about you, so if you’re sick, we’re going to do everything we can to help you get better.”

“Yeah,” Alistair crossed his arms. “Why can’t you just accept our help?”

The thief shifted his weight, lowering his gaze again, “I didn’t want to burden you all with this. I know you want to help, but there’s nothing you can do. Hazel is already working on finding a cure. Apart from that, I just need to get more sleep and stay out of battles. Please don’t change your routines for me. It will do nothing to change the outcome of my illness.”

“He has a point,” Simon spoke up, glancing at the others. “As upsetting as this news is, we have more pressing things to think about, such as the location of our next permanent camp.”

“Exactly,” Crow nodded, glad that at least one of them was seeing reason. “I want you all to focus on looking for a new place to set up, preferably close to the border so we can respond quickly when battles happen.”

Behind him, Hazel cleared her throat and lightly kicked his heel with her boot.

Crow sighed. “So you can respond quickly when battles happen,” he corrected himself reluctantly. “Also, since I can’t risk running into a patrol right now, I will unfortunately have to stay here while you three search. Try to be back by dusk to report what you find.”

“Of course,” Simon nodded. “We should leave post haste to cover as much ground as we can before the end of the day.” He turned to the others. “Come on then. Let’s get going.”

Alistair joined him as he turned to head out of the valley. Rikki casted a final worried glance back at Crow before hesitantly following after the other two.

Now alone with Hazel, Crow let out his breath in a sigh. He could already tell that Alistair and Rikki weren’t going to be as sensible as Simon about everything he had just shared with them. He just hoped the blonde thief would be able to convince them not to waste their time by trying to take care of him unnecessarily. He preferred that they leave him alone to rest and go on with their routines as if nothing had changed. It would be a much more efficient use of their time and energy.

“Now what are you going to do?” Hazel asked, drawing his attention.

“I’m going to take my healer’s advice and get some sleep,” he shrugged, heading over to his bed. “Wake me if you need anything.”

--

Crow slept through most of the day, only getting up twice to eat lunch and supper that Hazel had prepared. Eventually, day turned to night and he got up one more time in wait for the other thieves to return to the camp. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long before he saw all three of them head down the hillside to join him and the herbalist in their temporary camp.

“How did it go?” he asked as they sat down around the fire he had built.

“Surprisingly great,” Alistair answered, plopping down heavily across from him. “We found a promising spot that’s not too far from our old camp.”

“Really?” Crow raised a brow in mild surprise. “I’d have thought it would be better to stay far away from the ravine, so the knights don’t find us again.”

“You would think,” Rikki chimed in with a grin. “But this place is perfect. It’s really hard to find. We only noticed it on accident.”

“Where is it?” Crow asked with growing interest.

“Do you know that drop-off in the river just northwest of Myrefall?” Rikki said.

“Of course. The one with the waterfall, right?”

“Right,” her grin broadened. “It’s behind the waterfall.”

“What?”

“There’s an old tunnel system behind the water,” Simon clarified. “We didn’t have a chance to explore them thoroughly, but it’s more than large enough to house all of us and store away any future supplies we steal from the knights.”

“The best part is that the tunnels will be easy to defend if we’re ever found again,” Alistair said. “If we all memorize the layout, we’ll have a huge terrain advantage if we ever need to fight off intruders.”

“I doubt we’ll even need to do that,” Crow shook his head. “I’ve lived in this area for years, and I never knew these tunnels existed.”

“So, you think they’ll make a good camp too?” Rikki asked excitedly.

“We can all head over there tomorrow,” Crow nodded, moving to stand up. “Good work, you guys. Let’s all get some sleep, so we’re well-rested for the move in the morning.”

“Sounds good to me,” Alistair yawned, climbing to his feet as well. The others followed suit, and the four thieves headed over to their mats as they got ready for bed.

Crow laid down on his mat and drew his blanket over himself. Despite the long naps he had taken throughout the day, he still felt just as tired now as he had been in the afternoon. He closed his eyes, but before he could drift off, he felt a familiar pressure against his side. Looking down, he saw that Rikki had curled up next to him again, and he frowned. Her formerly comforting presence had the opposite effect on him now that he was with Penelope again. An image of their accidental kiss that morning flashed through his mind and he blushed, feeling another harsh pang of guilt. He couldn’t let her sleep beside him anymore. It was too risky.

“I’m sorry, love,” he said softly, feigning a wince. “With this illness, it’s difficult to sleep while you’re pressed against me like that.”

“Oh,” Rikki frowned sadly, shifting to lay fully on her own mat. Meeting his gaze across the gap, she offered him a halfhearted smile, “Goodnight, Crow.”

“Night,” he murmured tiredly, closing his eyes again. Now that he didn’t have to worry about the female thief getting too close to him while he slept, he was able to drift off into a pleasant slumber.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope enjoyed a quiet meal alone. That is, until Olivia spotted her. The other female knight blinked in surprise and hurried over to her side, crossing her arms as she looked over at Penelope with a questioning gaze. "Well, well, well look who decided to finally come back." Olivia snickered as she sat down besides her. "I was thought maybe you had just decided to run off with you know who."

The knight rolled her eyes at her friend's jesting and placed her plate down on the ground besides her. "Nope. You're still stuck with me until the end of this war." She mused. Penelope swept her gaze over the camp before turning back to Olivia. "So did I miss much here? I know the patrols managed to find the supplies but that's about all I got out of talking with Mia. Aside from how angry she was."

"Not much as far as I know." Olivia told her with a shrug. "You should have seen your brother gloating about one of the patrols finding the supplies. If his head gets any bigger it'll anchor him to the ground." She snorted. "I'm not sure what the barons have been talking about today.. I think there was a bit of discussion about your disappearance though since Tomas was asking around to see if anyone had seen you during your 'patrol'." Olivia smirked. "Speaking of which, how did that go? I'm guessing everyone's safe and sound?"

Penelope gave a small nod at Olivia's words, glad to hear that not much had occurred during her time away from the camp. That meant that she likely wouldn't have to worry about trying to catch up on the news for the next meeting. "Yeah. Everyone's fine." She told Olivia with a small nod. The knight frowned a little. "It was a close call though.. If I had been just a little later, then there would have been a real problem." She said, shuddering at the thought.

"That's good.. I'm guessing you made the most of your time too, considering how long it took you to get back here." Olivia teased.

"Shut up." Penelope blushed a little at Olivia's accusation. "I had just traveled further away with them so I decided it was best to get some sleep before leaving."

Olivia chuckled a little and shrugged her shoulders. "Sounds like a waste of trip to me but whatever."

The two chatted comfortably for a little longer before Penelope finally parted from Olivia, feeling herself growing drowsy as the traveling from the day began to set in. The female knight soon retired to her tent, easily falling into a deep sleep as she laid down.

---

The next day began relatively normally, aside from a few of her comrades questioning about where she had gone off to the day before. Luckily no one seemed to question her story of following the trail of the thieves. However, she did notice a few of the knights she spoke to act rather condescending. The worst being Millicent, who disapproved of her actions, and Layth, who continued to try and rub her failures in her face. However, the more troubling issue seemed to be in Mia's fading trust in her. After her last stunt, the baroness seemed particularly angry and even after her return she didn't seem to completely settle down yet. Penelope remained hopeful that with time the baroness would cool her head.

The meeting between the barons and their lieutenants began as usual. Penelope snuck in after Tomas, trying to keep a low profile to avoid drawing any attention to herself. However, that didn't work very well thanks to her hateful uncle.

"Glad to see we could all make it today." Edward grumbled, casting an accusing glance towards Penelope.

"Indeed." Mia muttered then crossed her arms. "Now then, with our supplies reclaimed from those thieves, I think it's time we begin discussion of battle plans."

"Yes." Bennet agreed strongly. "Some of the supplies even appeared to be from Younis so there's a possibility that the thieves also striked them a little after they got us." The baron grinned viciously. "Which means we likely have a bit of an advantage right now."

"We need to act fast then." Edward nodded. "In fact we should be looking to reclaim Grimsby and push their forces further back."

Mia gave a thoughtful. "They'd be expecting that though.. I think it'd be more effective to hit them in a spot that they least expect. Making it difficult for them to defend themselves."

"Securing a win will be important for morale around here." Tomas mused.

"But a weak win can barely count as a win." Layth snorted. "We have the upper hand, I think we should be using it to the full extent."

Penelope shifted slightly as she listened to the others speak. Everyone seemed on the same page, ready to rush into the next battle even though the plans were still being made. It would likely take a while for them to settle on details, especially since the room seemed a bit split on how to go about handling the attack, but she was still concerned about how soon this next battle would be coming. She hoped that she'd be able to meet up with Crow in time and even more so, she prayed that the herbalist was able to get him feeling better or at least talk him out of fighting.

[Rogue Sloth]

The next morning, Crow was the last to wake up again, but no one said anything or made any snide remarks now that they knew the real reason why he was resting so much. He sat up on his bed and stretched tiredly, looking around to see that the others had already finished packing up most of their camp. The only things that were left were his bedroll and a pot of what he guessed to be the cold leftovers of the other thieves’ breakfast, left out for him to eat whenever he woke up.

He climbed slowly to his feet and ambled over to pour himself a bowl of porridge. The food had definitely been sitting out for a while, and it smelled bland—Simon had probably made it—but he was too hungry to care. Once he had filled up a dish for himself, he made his way over to join his four companions, who were all sitting around on the other side of the camp, talking casually. It looked like they had purposefully moved as far from the sleeping area as they could so as not to wake him while he had been resting. He shifted slightly at the realization. He still felt strange receiving special treatment from them all, and he wished they would just go on with their lives as if nothing had changed.

As he approached, Rikki was the first to greet him. “Morning,” she chirped cheerily, though he could see it was clearly midday. “How did you sleep?”

“Good,” he answered, taking a seat between Hazel and Alistair. After what had happened the previous morning, he wanted to keep some distance between himself and the female thief. “I see you’re all ready to go,” he commented with a good-natured smile. “Looks like I have some catching up to do.”

“I can help you get ready,” Rikki said quickly.

Crow rolled his eyes, “I can do it myself, love. Don’t bother.”

Hazel glanced between them for a moment before turning to Rikki with a friendly smile, “If you really want to help someone, I could use some extra hands to pack up my herbal supplies.”

“Sure,” the female thief perked up slightly.

Crow shot Hazel an appreciative look, at which she just shrugged nonchalantly and averted her gaze. Despite her harsh exterior, he knew she had a bit of a soft spot for her patients, even one she didn’t necessarily like. After treating all sorts of people of all sorts of illnesses, she knew better than anyone how coddling and special treatment typically only served to make a sick person feel useless, especially if it was unnecessary. He was grateful that she was willing to intervene to keep Rikki from doing just that.

The two women left to put away Hazel’s remaining supplies, while Crow finished off the rest of his food and Alistair and Simon discussed the best route to take to avoid patrols. Once he was done eating, Crow packed up his own bags and shouldered them as the group prepared to leave. It didn’t take long before everyone was ready, and they headed out to their new camp.

--

After a long walk with only two breaks for meals, the group finally arrived at the northwest riverbank just after sunset. Crow looked up at the waterfall that cascaded over the edge of the drop-off, crashing loudly into the pool at its base. Even up close, he couldn’t see the entrance to the tunnels the others had told him about. All it looked like to him was a simple ridge covered with mossy vines. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it as far as he could see.

Beside him, Rikki began to fidget excitedly. She looked up at him and grinned, “Ready? Watch this.” She reached to grab his hand and led him to the edge of the waterfall. Now even closer, he narrowed his eyes slightly as he could see the edge of what looked like a cave behind the curtain of water, masked by the misty spray.

“See?” the thief went on proudly. “It’s perfect! Those knights won’t ever find us again.” Tugging on his hand, she shimmied around the rim of the water to lead him behind the waterfall. Crow followed after her, cautiously watching where he planted his feet along the narrow pass. He still didn’t know how to swim well, so the thought of slipping and falling into the river was unnerving to him. Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult to get to the cavern entrance, and he made it without any trouble.

Ducking down slightly—the opening was a bit short for him—he stepped inside of the tunnel after Rikki and looked around. In the low light, it was hard to see, but he could make out that they were standing in a larger cave that seemed to branch off in three different directions. He straightened his posture as he realized the ceiling stretched high enough over his head that he didn’t have to crouch anymore. Glancing back at the entrance, he saw the other three come in after them.

Hazel’s eyes widened as she looked over the space, and she whistled, “Impressive. If you all hadn’t told me this was here, I don’t think I ever would have found it on my own.”

“How did you guys find this place?” Crow asked, looking between his companions curiously.

Simon and Rikki exchanged a knowing glance, while Alistair averted his gaze, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. “Let’s just say that one of us decided to take a piss in the river and fell in,” Rikki snickered, elbowing Alistair in the side. “When we fished him out, Simon noticed something behind the waterfall; and when we checked it out, we found these tunnels.”

“That was pretty lucky,” Crow laughed, glancing up at the ceiling of the cavern as he listened to his voice echo off of the rocks.

“So, I guess you could say I was the one who found this place,” Alistair stood up a bit straighter.

“Oh, shut up, piss-for-brains,” Rikki snorted. “All you did was fall in the river and nearly drown yourself.”

“Yeah, but if I hadn’t done that, you never would have seen the cave.”

“If anyone should take credit for the discovery of these tunnels, it’s me,” Simon puffed up proudly. “I saw the entrance first.”

“I don’t care who found it,” Crow shook his head, hoping to put an end to their squabble before anyone threw a punch. “I’m just glad we’ve got a new camp.”

“Seconded,” Hazel nodded, wandering around the edge of the cavern as she explored its layout. “No one will ever find us here.”

“It’s a great spot,” Crow agreed. “It’s well hidden, close to the border, next to a fresh water source, and close enough to the knights’ camp that we can keep stealing from them if we need more supplies. Good job, everyone.”

“Now all we have to do is set up our camp, and this place will be our new home,” Rikki grinned, rolling her shoulders to drop her bags.

“Right,” Crow nodded, following her lead by taking off his own packs. “Let’s get to work. I want this camp finished before we go to bed tonight.”

[BuzzingBee]

The next few days went on without much difficulty for the knight. Penelope remained in camp most of the time and often picked up a few guard shifts to keep herself busy. Gavin also began to spend time with her again, a change she was quick to notice. She was glad to have his company again, even though they were on somewhat rocky terms. The female knight hoped that it meant they could figure out a way to be friends since she did still care for the male knight.

The camp seemed quick to change focus and now that they had recovered their stolen supplies, a majority of the knights were already preparing for the next battle. Battle plans had finally been settled between the barons as well and it was a mixture of both ideas. The knights would first strike the Younisian forces a little further south of Grimsby, ranging closer to Whitebridge instead. If they won that battle, Mia intended to quickly push for Grimsby, meaning that there would likely be two battles in a relatively short time from each other, which made Penelope quite uneasy for many reasons.

One of them being Crow and his illness. She was worried that the thief would still insist on fighting despite the danger he'd be putting himself in. Her worry didn't waver easily either and remained as a constant reminder that she needed to speak with Jane about meeting with Hazel. She hoped that Crow had had success in convincing the cold woman.

Penelope walked towards the infirmary, which was made of multiple small tents where the physicians stored their medicine and treated their patients. Stepping inside one, she began to look around for Jane. A young assistant looked up from the book he was reading as she stepped in and tilted his head slightly. "Hello. Do you need help with something?" He asked politely.

"I'm looking for Jane. Do you happen to know where she is?" Penelope asked.

The boy nodded. "She's a couple tents down the right in one of the storage rooms."

"Ah ok. Thank you." Penelope said before slipping out of the tent and headed down towards the other tent. She stepped inside and spotted Jane as the physician looked over the medicines and seemed to be keeping a tally of their supplies. The woman seemed so focused in her simple work that she didn't even notice Penelope's arrival. The knight stepped a little further into the tent. "Hey Jane."

The physician turned her head and blinked in surprise. "Oh, hello Penelope." She said as she carefully set down a small jar of herbs before turning to face the knight. "What brings you here dear? Is your shoulder acting up?"

"No, I'm fine I was just hoping I could speak with you about a concern I have." Penelope said, walking over to the healer as she gestured for her to come closer.

"Of course you can." Jane nodded her head. "What's troubling you?"

"Well about four days ago when I left camp, I wandered through the village near here, Myrefall, and it seems to me that there's some kind of sickness running through there." Penelope explained, being careful about how she structured her story to the healer. "I spoke with one of the locals, a herbalist actually, and found out that they call it the Creeping Death. There's no known cure for it and everyone that has it eventually dies."

Jane crossed her arms as she looked over at Penelope. "I hope you're not trying to push charity work on me." She remarked with a frown. "I'm being paid to aid the knights here, not to solve the issues of the outer villages you know."

"I'm not." Penelope shook her head quickly. "It's out of concern for the knights here. Our camp isn't far from this village so it's completely possible that eventually the knights will catch it. I was hoping you'd be willing to try and look into this illness more so that we'd be prepared for it if the time ever came."

Jane fell quiet for a moment, pursing her lips together as she seemed to think over Penelope's words. The knight shifted, feeling a bit desperate for Jane's agreement.

"A-And you wouldn't have to work alone on this. The herbalist that I mentioned before is trying to find a cure. I just thought she could use some help. She's not trained like you but she's got quite a bit of skill from what I hear. I'm sure I can arrange a meeting between you two." Penelope said.

Jane let out a small sigh. "Maybe.. I understand your concern with that village being so close.. Give me some time to think it over. After the next battle, perhaps we can figure out a meeting between me and this herbalist you speak of."

Penelope felt a small wave of relief. Though Jane seemed reluctant and hadn't fully agreed yet, it was still a good sign to hear her at least open to the idea of meeting with Hazel. If the two were able to work together, the knight felt a little more confident that they'd be able to find a cure for Crow. She nodded her head. "Alright. Thank you Jane." She said politely before turning and heading out of the tent, feeling a bit more hopeful.

[Rogue Sloth]

Over the next few days, Crow and the other thieves spent most of their time building their new camp. The caverns were turning out to be an even better location than they had hoped. After the first night, they had all lit torches and explored the three tunnels that led away from the main cave, finding that one was a dead end, while the other two spread out and branched off like a small labyrinth. Simon, who had taught himself a bit about mapmaking, took it upon himself to spend the next few days making a map of the caves for the others to use, tediously marking out areas that were still unexplored or had been found to be dangerous.

While he did that, the other three thieves went to the nearest marketplace to buy some of the supplies they were missing since their move. They purchased animal skins to use as insulation—the moist, stony tunnels were frigid at night—enough food to last them for a while, a few medical supplies to replace the ones they had lost to the knights, some spare clothing, as many oil lanterns and fuel as they could carry to light the tunnels, and a few other miscellaneous things that they would need to get through the coming days. In buying so many supplies, they exhausted most of their coin reserves. However, they still had just enough left over for an emergency, so they weren’t overly concerned about it yet.

Another challenge the thieves had to solve was how to light a fire at night without smoking themselves out. The second night they had been there, they had found out the hard way that they couldn’t simply burn tinder in a cavern without filling the whole room with smoke. So, for the next two days after that, Crow and Alistair worked on using clay they had found along the riverbanks to make a hearth near the entrance of the cave that would funnel the smoke out. Fortunately, it worked, and they were able to light fires again once it was finished.

During all of this, Hazel focused all of her time and energy into refining the medicine she was giving to Crow for his illness. She checked in with him every morning to see how he was feeling and mixed a poultice for him to take every night. Her unwavering diligence was reassuring to him, and he began to have hope that she would find a cure for him after all. With a rekindled spirit, he spent more of his time with the other thieves again, going out with them on simple errands, drinking with them in the Ivory Hatchet tavern, and playing games with them in the cavern when they didn’t feel like going out.

For the most part, it seemed like things were returning to normal. After the initial shock of learning about his illness had faded, the other thieves began to treat him as they had before. Simon still followed his orders and Alistair didn’t go out to do anything rash. The only one who continued to act differently around him was Rikki. The female thief spent much more of her time at his side, trying to help him with simple tasks and making sure he was never alone when he left the hideout. Hazel managed to separate them sometimes by giving her jobs to do—searching for herbs, mixing poultices, sketching records of different types of plants, etc.—but even she could only do so much to keep the thief away from him.

Even though he knew she was just trying to help, Crow found her constant presence to be something of a nuisance to him. Not only did he get annoyed by her unnecessary coddling, but he also had to put a lot more effort into keeping her at a distance during the day. She still believed his lie that he couldn’t sleep with her lying next to him at night, but when they were together at any other time, she became clingy and tried to get physical with him. He found that he had to dodge her attempts to kiss him more often than he would have liked.

After a while of this, the situation became even worse, because Rikki started to notice that he was avoiding physical interactions with her. On their fourth day in the tunnels, she pulled him aside from the rest of the group to confront him about it.

“Something’s different about you, Crow,” she said with a frown once they had distanced themselves enough from the others to speak privately. “I know you’re sick, but you’re acting a lot stranger than usual.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, feigning ignorance.

“I mean, I understand why you don’t want me to sleep beside you anymore, but it’s more than that now. You won’t even let me kiss you, and I know you’ve been avoiding sleeping with me.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s going on? Did I do something to offend you?”

Crow shifted his weight slightly. This was the conversation he had been trying to stay away from for so long. “It’s just…” he sighed, averting his gaze. “I know we’ve been having fun and all, but I’m sick now. Honestly, I just don’t have the energy to sleep with you anymore… That’s why I’ve been avoiding it.” He scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. “I don’t want to keep you on the hook when I don’t know if I’m going to get better or not. You shouldn’t keep waiting around for me. You should go be with someone else.”

Rikki didn’t say anything, so he went on, “It’s fine. Really. I had a good time with you while it lasted, but I won’t be offended if you move on. You know, I’m sure Alistair would be more than happy to sleep with you. He’s been saying—”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Rikki said softly, shaking her head. “It was never about that, Crow. Well, maybe it was in the beginning, but…” She bit her lip and lowered her gaze as she continued in a quiet voice, “I know we never defined our relationship, and we’ve both slept with other people, but that’s not what I wanted. Not at all. I-I really like you.” She looked up at him with rosy cheeks. “I know you’ve said you’re not looking for a serious relationship right now, but I was hoping that… when you do feel ready for a real commitment, you’d see that I’ve been by your side the whole time and that I care about you.” She hugged her arms around her torso. “So please, don’t ask me to give up on you. I’m not going to do it.”

Crow stared at her in surprise. He had occasionally suspected that Rikki harbored deeper feelings for him than just physical attraction, but this was the first time she had confessed to it out loud. He blinked, realizing she was waiting for a response. After a moment, he shook his head, “I don’t know what to say. I had no idea… How long have you felt this way?”

“Since the war started,” she answered sheepishly. “And look, I understand if you don’t feel the same way about me right now. I know you’re not looking for that sort of relationship. I just wanted you to know that I’m not going anywhere, even if you’re ill—even if it means we have to wait a while longer before we can be together again.” She smiled softly. “I’m going to stay by your side until you get through this.”

“Darling…” Crow faltered, still finding himself without words after everything she had just said. How was he supposed to tell her that he could never be with her; that he was in love with someone else; that he would never feel the same care for her that she did for him; that he was lying to her about everything? He didn’t want to break her heart like that. Even though he didn’t love her, she was still his closest friend. He didn’t want to lose that.

“It’s okay, Crow,” she said calmly. “You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know how I feel.” Stepping forward, she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek and then walked back to join the others, leaving him behind to stare at the ghost of where she had just been.

[BuzzingBee]

After speaking with Jane, Penelope felt a bit more confident about dealing with Crow's illness. As long as the thief remained careful about not exerting himself, the knight remained positive about beating his sickness. The following days passed without much issue. She spent her time wisely, often speaking with Mia and Tomas, on guard duty, or practicing with her sword to be ready for the upcoming fight. News of her sneaking off had died down considerably during the week she spent in camp and luckily so did Mia's anger with her. By the end of the week, the baroness was already beginning to treat her normally again.

As the day finally came to meet up with Crow again, Penelope felt a familiar rush of excitement. She hoped he was doing alright after having lost his camp and that his new camp wouldn't be too far for him. Even though they could move the meeting place if it was, she worried about the strain it might cause him that night. However, she had no way of knowing until she met up with him. Trying to keep herself busy to make the day go by a bit faster and to keep her mind off her worries, she ended up having a sparring match with Gavin.

The sound of metal clashing filled the air and she brought her sword down heavily against his as he blocked her. The male knight let out a small grunt and pushed her back with his blade. "You're sure not holding back today." Gavin commented as he blocked another one of her attacks. Penelope swiped at his right before lunging forward in an attempt to slip past his defense.

"Just trying to make sure you keep sharp." She told him with a small smirk.

The two clashed with their swords a couple more times, neither willingly letting the other break through their defense. Eventually, Penelope spotted an opening and danced around his blade gracefully as she lifted her sword to stop by his throat. "Gotcha." She winked. Over the past week, she had gotten a bit more comfortable around him again. He didn't seem to hold much of a grudge against her for ending things, though it was a topic both of them usually avoided, and she was glad to have his friendship.

"So you have." Gavin mused as he lowered his blade. He put it away and then looked over at Penelope curiously. "What's got you so energetic today?"

Penelope put her sword back in it's sheath and gave a small shrug. "Nothing. Just a bit anxious with the next battle coming up I guess." She replied casually.

"I know what you mean." Gavin sighed. "I can't believe the barons are going to try and push for two attacks within less than a week apart from each other."

"They really want to make the most of this advantage they have before Younis gets more supplies." Penelope mused with a shrug. The knight glanced up at the afternoon sky and shifted as she was reminded of the real reason for her energy. "Anyways, I think I'm going to head off and take a break. I'll see you later, Gavin." She said giving him a small wave before turning and heading off. She wanted to try and get a small bit of rest in before her meeting with Crow, since she didn't want to wear herself out before she had to travel to Myrefall.

---

Night soon fell and Penelope's excitement grew. She threw on her cloak and carefully stepped out of her tent, making sure none of the guards or other knights were nearby as usual. Moving cautiously, the female knight had no trouble sneaking out of her camp, which she was grateful for as she couldn't imagine getting caught now after disappearing for a whole day. It'd be a lot harder to come up with a reasonable and believable excuse.

As she walked towards the village, the knight began to think about all she had to tell Crow. Aside from merely meeting him because they were together, she actually had a bit of information to go over with him due to the more formal aspect of their meetings. A battle would be occurring soon and there was the possibility of another one soon after. She wondered if the thieves would be able to handle it. The knights were well supplied now and had a large group to depend on unlike the small band of thieves. Though she wasn't particularly close to any of Crow's companions, she hoped they would be safe in the coming fight.

She also hoped Crow would stay out of the coming fight and was already thinking of a way to convince the stubborn thief to back down from it. Penelope let out a soft sigh and looked ahead as she stepped out of the forest onto the street. She glanced around, making sure there were no nearby guards before continuing on her path to their meeting place.

[Rogue Sloth]

Two more days passed, and the time drew near for Crow to meet with Penelope again. He spent most of the afternoon sparring against Simon in the woods outside their camp, both to keep his skills sharp and to test how well he was able to handle fighting with his progressing illness. Even though he knew he had told Hazel he would take it easy, he still wanted to find some way to help his companions whenever the next battle happened. It might look different now than it had before, but he wasn’t going to just sit around in the camp while they went out to defend the villagers.

After a while, Simon managed to disarm him and lowered his own blade, while Crow moved to collect his dagger, shaking out the hand the blonde thief had struck to make him drop it in the first place. “You’re slow,” he commented, breathing slightly heavier after the exertion of sparring against his leader. “Your skills haven’t deteriorated, but I can keep up with you easily now.”

“Again,” Crow panted, raising his weapons in an offensive stance. “I can do better.” Suddenly, he flinched and let out a startled yelp as he felt something hit him in the back of the head. Spinning around, he saw Hazel standing behind him, one shoe in hand and a glare of her face.

“What did I tell you about straining yourself, dumbass?” she snapped, swatting him with the shoe again in the arm.

Crow cringed and rubbed the spot on his arm where she had hit him. “It’s just a little light sparring,” he retorted, shooting her an annoyed look. “I feel fine.”

“You might feel fine now, but what about tomorrow or next week, huh?” Hazel snorted. “If you keep pushing yourself like this, you’re going to shorten your lifespan, idiot. And you,” she turned on Simon, who visibly shrank beneath her cold gaze. “I told all of you to make sure he doesn’t pull this crap, not encourage it. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Simon flushed scarlet and averted his gaze, mumbling a meek apology under his breath.

“I swear, I’m babysitting children around here…” Hazel grumbled, grabbing Crow roughly by the collar of his shirt as she stormed off towards the waterfall. “Let’s go, snake. You’re coming with me.”

“O-okay,” he blinked, stumbling after her as she dragged him along.

Once they were back in their camp, the herbalist whirled on him with an accusatory glower, “I hope you’re not still thinking about joining in the next battle after everything I told you last week.”

Crow shifted his weight but didn’t reply.

Hazel raked her fingers through her hair, letting out an exasperated groan, “Just when I thought you were starting to listen to me… What the hell, Crow? Why are you so insistent on getting yourself killed? You know I only told you to stay out of the fighting because it’s for your own good, so stop treating it like it’s some kind of punishment.”

“I agreed with you then, but things are different now,” he argued stubbornly. “I feel a lot better, and I even went through a whole sparring match with Simon without wearing myself out. Maybe the disease is slowing down, or maybe your medicine is finally working, but I don’t even feel sick anymore.”

“That’s because you’ve finally been getting some rest, moron,” she slapped a palm to her forehead. “If you go back out and fight now, you’ll undo all the good that rest has done for you. Do you really want to do that to yourself?”

Crow hesitated. “I can handle it,” he said after a moment. “I don’t plan to join in the battle as I usually do. I’m going to figure something else out that I can do that won’t be as strenuous.”

“Why do I find that hard to believe?” Hazel said dryly, propping her hands on her hips.

“I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “You’ll see. I’ll think of something.”

“It’s your funeral,” the herbalist shrugged. “Whatever. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With that, she turned and headed back out of the cavern.

Crow scoffed as he watched her go. He would show her. He wasn’t going to let his illness get the best of him—not as long as he had the capability to come up with a plan to work around it. Suddenly feeling irritable and uninterested in being around the others, he picked up a bedroll and headed down the rightmost tunnel, navigating his way by memory to one of the smaller caves that laid deeper in the labyrinth. When he reached it, he unfurled the mat and laid down to take an uninterrupted nap.

--

Eventually, Crow was awoken by his growling stomach. He blinked tiredly and sat up, looking around as he took a moment to remember where he was. Climbing slowly to his feet, he rolled up the bed and carried it back to the main cavern, where he was greeted by the smell of freshly cooked chicken. All four of his companions were gathered around the clay hearth near the entrance, splitting the meat amongst each other for supper. Now in a better mood after getting some sleep, he walked over to join them.

Rikki, as always, was the first to greet him. She moved to sit down next to him as soon as he had reached them and then offered him a plate. “I got this one for you,” she said with a smile.

“Thanks,” he nodded, still a bit groggy from his nap. Ever since their conversation two days ago, things had gotten a little tenser between them, but neither one was willing to acknowledge it. Rikki was still clearly hoping he would come around and eventually choose to court her, while he was afraid of telling her the truth and popping the fragile bubble of friendship they still had left. So, they both said nothing and continued to pretend like nothing had changed between them.

Crow dug into his portion of the food, eating with a ravenous appetite. Glancing outside through the cave opening, he saw that the sun had nearly set on the horizon, meaning it was almost time for him to leave for his next meeting with Penelope. He could already feel his heartbeat quicken in excitement. It had been a full week since he had last seen her, and his desire to be with her again had grown even more insatiable than his appetite for supper. He couldn’t wait to see her again.

“Hey, Crow,” Rikki spoke up softly beside him.

He turned to see her looking up at him with a concerned frown. “Yeah?” he asked, wondering why she was suddenly acting so nervous.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to meet with Penelope alone?” she went on tentatively. “I mean, what if you’re seen by a patrol? I think you should bring one of us with you, just to be safe.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said reassuringly. “We’re even closer to Myrefall now than we were before, and I’ve never had any trouble before.”

“That’s not true,” Simon spoke up. “There was one time when you were out late because you and the knight got chased by local guards.”

Crow cursed inwardly as he recalled the incident Simon was referring to—when he had been running with Penelope and they had stayed out almost until morning because she had twisted her ankle. He shot the blonde thief a subtle glare for bringing it up, and then raised a brow when he caught his indiscreet glance towards Hazel. He rolled his eyes. Of course. Simon must have just been trying to impress her by proving that he did take her instructions seriously. “That was one time, and it was just an unfortunate coincidence,” he said defensively. “It won’t happen again.”

“You can’t say that for sure,” Rikki pressed. “Let me come with you. I’ll make sure you stay safe.”

“No,” Crow shook his head. “We’ll draw less attention to ourselves if it’s just me and Penelope. Besides,” he offered her a confident grin. “Who’s the most talented thief here when it comes to avoiding capture?”

“You are,” she frowned. “But—”

“Then it’s settled,” he stood up and headed over to grab his cloak. Slinging the heavy fabric over his shoulders, he drew his hood and headed for the opening. “I’ll be back later,” he said, nodding in a curt goodbye. Without waiting for a reply, he slipped out of the cavern and began the short trip to Myrefall.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope smiled to herself as the familiar building came into view. The place wasn't much to look at considering how worn down it was but it's personal importance to Crow was beginning to wear off a bit on the knight as they continued to meet there. Though they had plans to leave to Farhill, she would like to one day figure out a way to repair it for him, even if they didn't have plans to actually use the small home.

She stepped inside and looked into the room with a bright gaze as she expected to see him there. However, it seemed that she was the first to arrive. The knight quietly closed the door behind her and stepped further into the room. She tried to suppress the nervousness she felt about being the first to arrive. The knight hoped it was just due to her eagerness that she had arrived a little earlier than usual and not that Crow had ran into any trouble, sickness or patrol alike. I'm probably just early. She assured herself with a small shake of her head. Though it didn't completely rid her of her worry, Penelope managed to push it to the back of her mind for now.

Deciding it was much too soon to start fretting over it, Penelope walked over to grab the oil lamp from the table. Lighting it, she set it down in the middle of the room then stepped off to the side to remove her cloak. She stretched for a moment before setting the cloak down on the nearby chair. Stepping over to the bed, she sat down and leaned back on the palms of her hands she waited for Crow. Her gaze rested on the front door for a moment before she leaned her head back to look up at the broken ceiling, letting her thoughts wander a bit as she considered how much there was to do in the coming days.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow made quick work of his walk to Myrefall, scouting the area for knights along the way but finding none nearby. He shook his head to himself. His companions had no reason to worry as much as they did. He would have understood their worries if he had been going on a dangerous trip, but Myrefall was so close to their camp, he didn’t feel even the slightest bit tired from traveling all the way there. He was fine on his own. As long as he kept watch for knights, he wouldn’t find himself in any sort of trouble.

When he reached the edge of the village, he turned to head down the road that led to his old home. Again, he glanced about for local guards, but the streets were empty. It seemed he was lucky this time. As long as he didn’t see any knights on the rest of the way there, he wouldn’t have to hide at all. Feeling a bit more confident, he hastened his pace to a brisk walk, eager to see Penelope again as soon as he could.

Eventually, he saw the house down the road and a faint smile crossed his lips as he noticed the flicker of a lantern in the window. She was already inside. Heartbeat quickening in his excitement, he closed the rest of the distance and reached for the door handle, pushing the door open as he stepped into the room. He looked up and saw the knight sitting on the edge of the bed. Closing the door behind him, he didn’t even bother to take off his cloak before he made his way over to her and pressed a long kiss to her lips.

“Gods, I missed you,” he sighed after pulling back to meet her gaze again. Slipping his cloak off his shoulders, he hung it over the chair beside hers and then sat down next to her on the bed. “How did your camp react to your disappearance?” he asked, taking on a bit more serious of a tone. “They didn’t give you too much trouble, did they?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope sat up as she heard the door open, smiling as Crow entered the room. She barely had any time to say anything as the thief headed over to her and pressed a kiss to her lips. The knight didn't skip a beat and kissed him back. As he pulled back, she smiled softly at him. "I missed you too," she murmured. Once he sat down next to her, she took his hand in hers and pressed closer to him.

"It wasn't too bad," she assured him. "The first couple of days were the worst merely because of how furious Mia, my baroness, was with me. But she's cooled down now and so has everyone else. Aside from a few snarky remarks that occasionally come up, not much has changed. It's nothing to worry about though. They just think I was being reckless." She gave him a small smirk and shrugged her shoulders.

"Which I suppose to some extent isn't totally wrong. Anyways, so long as I don't have to disappear for that long again, I'm sure everything will be fine." Penelope gave his hand a soft squeeze and looked over at him, her smirk fading a bit as she took on a more serious expression.

"How are you doing?" she asked him, her gaze briefly sweeping over him. One of the things she found frustrating about the illness was how difficult it was to tell how he felt. She had only discovered it by accident and couldn't help but wonder how much longer she would have gone without knowing about it if he hadn't collapsed during their attempt to escape from the patrol. "Where you able to find a new camp alright? I hope it wasn't too far of a walk for you."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow was relieved to hear that the other knights hadn’t given Penelope too much flack for disappearing overnight last week. He had been a bit concerned that she would suffer some consequences because of her actions, but it sounded like everything was returning to normal for her as time passed. Like her, he hoped she wouldn’t need to put herself at risk again, especially for his sake. She may have been able to hide her true intentions from her comrades once, but they could only be fooled so many times before they figured out something else was going on. He didn’t want her to ever find herself in trouble for his sake.

As she asked him about how he was feeling and about the progress of their camp, he ran his thumb over her hand comfortingly. “I’m feeling a lot better, actually,” he said with a smile. “We found a new camp pretty soon after you left, so I’ve been able to get plenty of rest. I haven’t even come close to passing out all week.” His smile broadened into a grin as he went on, “Speaking of our new camp, it’s actually closer to Myrefall than the last one. Simon, Alistair, and Rikki found an old tunnel system behind a waterfall just northwest of here. It’s well hidden, so I’d be surprised if the knights find us ever again.

“The tunnels are interesting too,” he continued. “They’re carved deep within the ground, so we have plenty of storage space for future raids, and they’ll be easy to defend once we learn the whole layout better. After Simon finishes mapping everything out, I think that’s our next goal.”

Leaning against Penelope’s side, he paused for a moment before asking his next question, “Have your barons discussed when the next battle will be? I’m guessing it won’t be long now that they’ve got their supplies back along with the ones we took from the Younisians.”

[BuzzingBee]

She relaxed a little at his words, glad to hear that he was feeling better and getting enough rest. The knight wondered if it had something to due with any of the medicine the herbalist was working on. It might have been a bit overly hopeful but she couldn't help but wish that it meant a cure was on the horizon. Penelope smiled as he spoke about the new camp they had found. "That's good." she mused as he explained how close and secure the new camp would be. With any luck, that meant that the thieves would be safe from getting discovered like they had come close to the week before.

As he asked about the battle plans, she gave a solemn nod. "Yeah.. They want to make the most of all the supplies they have now. The next battle is approaching quick, in two days from now actually. We're going to strike them near Whitebridge again and if we win that, there are plans to even push for Grimsby a couple days after.The barons really want to push the Younisian forces as much as they can since they know they're missing supplies now."

She sighed softly. "Sorry it's going to be quite sudden. I couldn't really do much to talk them out of the plans, especially since Mia hasn't been completely trusting of my judgment after recent events. I was hoping they'd prolong it themselves just by arguing over what to do but turns out they're all rather dead set on attacking as soon as possible."

The knight paused then pulled back slightly to meet his gaze with a small frown. "Speaking of which," she began, concern already seeping into her expression. "please tell me you aren't planning to fight in this next battle. I know you said you're feeling better and I'm glad but surely it's still not safe for you to go running off into battle. You might not have passed out recently but that doesn't mean it won't happen again. Especially if you push yourself in a fight."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow frowned concernedly when Penelope explained that the next battle would happen in two days. If that was the case, then he and the other thieves would need to prepare to leave in the afternoon tomorrow in order to reach Whitebridge and warn the people on time. The location was also concerning to him. It hadn’t been that long since the last battles that had happened near both of those villages. He was worried they wouldn’t be ready to defend themselves so soon when their homes had been ravaged less than a month ago. Even though he understood to a degree why the knights would want to fight the Younisians this way, he wished they had chosen a different place to attack so the villagers would have a chance to recover.

In addition to that, he was also concerned about the risk of a second battle happening directly after the first. Villagers’ safety aside, he didn’t even know if he and his companions could handle something that intense. They almost always took injuries after every major fight, since they didn’t have armor and were far fewer in number than the knights. So, even if they all made it out of the battle in Whitebridge intact, he doubted they would fare so well in Grimsby. He feared that attempting to fight in both battles would leave them in bad condition, and that was if they all made it out alive.

At her final words, Crow averted his gaze without answering. He wasn’t quite sure what to say. He didn’t want to worry her, but he didn’t want to lie to her either. Unfortunately, he had to choose one or the other. After a moment, he let out his breath in a sigh. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said honestly. “All I know is that I can’t just sit around and do nothing while people are dying.”

Looking up again, he held her gaze stubbornly, “No matter what I decide to do, I promise I’m going to be careful. You can trust me on that. I don’t intend to put myself in a position where I might lose consciousness, because I meant what I said to you before.” He colored slightly as he went on. “That future we talked about… I want that. Even though I have to help protect the villagers, I’m not going to risk our life together if I can avoid it. So please, don’t worry. I’ll be alright.”

[BuzzingBee]

Her frown deepened as he didn't answer right away. She felt her stomach twist at the thought of him insisting on fighting. As he finally spoke, his first words didn't do much to comfort her. Though he sounded genuinely unsure, she worried that his desire to to do something would outweigh the logic in staying out of the danger that the battle would bring if he decided to fight. It'd be especially dangerous if the second battle did occur. Perhaps he could find a way to manage getting through one but surely the second would push far past his limits.

As he met her gaze and went on to try and assure her, she let out a soft sigh. While his words were a bit comforting, they certainly weren't enough to completely sway the knight. "I'm just worried your version of being careful won't be enough." she mumbled glancing away from him briefly before looking back at him. She rested a hand against his cheek and leaned in, kissing him softly for a moment. She pulled back slightly and met his gaze again. "I can't say I won't worry and I really don't think you should be fighting, especially if both battles occur," she paused,"but I'll trust your word."

She smiled at him half-heartedly. "Just don't make me have to save your ass again." she teased him softly. Despite her teasing tone, there was still a clear look of worry in her gaze. There was plenty that could go wrong if he did choose to fight, even if he was careful. Penelope considered the last couple battles, thinking of how Crow had gotten caught in a fight with her brother. Layth would likely aim to attacking him if he saw him in battle again, adding another level of risk to it. She shuddered at the thought and gave his hand a soft squeeze.

Penelope leaned her head against his shoulder, letting out a long exhale. "I spoke with the physician by the way. She's a little on the fence about the whole situation but I think she'll agree to a meeting with Hazel after this next battle." She glanced up at him hopefully. "I told Hazel to ask you about it when I left but I'm not sure if that message got across, considering how resentful she is of nobles.. Did you talk to her at all?"

[Rogue Sloth]

As Penelope leaned in to kiss him, Crow closed his eyes and met her halfway, savoring the feeling of her soft lips moving against his. Now that they were only able to see each other once or twice a week at the most, he relished every moment they had to be intimate with each other, to whatever degree that meant. So, when she pulled back again, he had to force himself not to chase after another kiss. Lowering his gaze to look at their intertwined hands, the thief let out a quiet exhale. He longed for the day when they would be able to be together without parting. Only seeing her on occasion was becoming harder to do with each passing day.

As she spoke up again, he looked up to meet her gaze, feeling a wave of relief when she reluctantly said she would trust him. He was glad that she didn’t insist on telling him to stay away from the battle. It was a promise he didn’t believe he could make, especially if he could find a way to get involved safely. As long as there were options available, he wasn’t going to give up on finding a way to make it work.

At her teasing comment, he rolled his eyes. “Believe me, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” he leaned into her jokingly. “The next time you see me, I’ll be the one making knights turn tail and flee.” Despite the cockiness of his words, there was a softness in his gaze as he held her worried green eyes. When she leaned against his shoulder, he rested his head on hers and ran his free hand gently over her arm in a comforting gesture.

He shifted slightly as Penelope brought up Hazel. “We spoke,” he said with a hint of reservation in his voice. “But she’s adamant that she doesn’t need a noble’s help to figure this out.” He shook his head. “She’s a proud woman, so I didn’t expect anything less. I can keep trying to convince her until the battle is over, but I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do to change her mind.” Pulling away from her, he looked down to meet her gaze and offered her a half smile. “It’s not all bad though. I have been feeling better lately, so there’s a chance she’s finally gotten on the right track to healing me. We might not need a physician’s help after all.”

Letting go of her hand, Crow slid his arm around Penelope’s waist and leaned in to meet her lips again. He kissed her deeply, running his free hand along her thigh until he finally drew back. “I’m sure everything will work out for the best,” he said breathily, caressing her neck with his hand. “Like I said, I’m not going to give up on our future. One way or another, I’m going to get over this illness.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope frowned as Crow told her about Hazel's refusal to work with a noble. The knight felt a small burst of frustration with the herbalist. "People and their pride," she grumbled shaking her head disapprovingly. "Seems like nobles and peasants do have some things in common when it comes to that." As Crow went on hopefully, her expression softened a bit and she gave a small nod. "I hope you're right about that." she said as she looked up at him.

She pet him halfway as he leaned into kiss her again. Penelope wrapped her arms around him, holding him closely to herself as she kissed him back. Though she was still worried, she was willing to ignore it for now. Especially so she could still enjoy the short time they had left together. With the battle approaching, it would be a while before she was able to see him again, perhaps even another week depending on how battles went. It was difficult to see him so rarely and without any other option until the end of the war, she was determined to make the most of their small meetings while she could.

"I know you will and I'm not giving up on that future either." Penelope said softly and with more confidence than she had been feeling. She wanted to be hopeful and wasn't going to give up on him easily. There had to be a cure out there for his illness and she had to trust that the herbalist would be able to find it, with or without the physician's help. Penelope leaned in and pressed a short trail of kisses along his jawline.

"I wish I didn't have to wait so long to see you again." she murmured as she pulled back slightly. "We'll probably have to wait around another week to meet up because of the battles," she frowned a little as she looked up at him. "And I'm not sure how much longer I can stay out tonight. With how things are going in camp, I probably can't spare as much time as usual."