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

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow blinked as Penelope brought up how their situation now reminded her of the past. “That’s true, isn’t it?” he mused, realizing how similar their mission was now to the one they had embarked on two years ago. While their end goal was quite different compared to then, there were a surprising amount of correlations. In addition to the ones she had mentioned, they might also find themselves crossing the border into Younis again if it came down to that.

At the knight’s observation that he had stored his supplies at the house, he nodded. “Yes,” he said, glancing down at her again. “It’s the closest place to our meeting point where I could hide everything without worrying about it being found.” He shifted slightly, averting his gaze as he went on. “Besides that, I was going to stay there until we find the thieves who raided your camp,” he spoke in a softer tone. “I’ve decided I don’t want to get my companions involved in this… We’ve all got a history with this group, and I don’t want any of them to get blinded by the past and do anything reckless. It’s better if they don’t know they’re here right now.”

He felt a bit uncomfortable admitting he was lying to his companions about Jaxon’s group, but he knew he could trust Penelope to keep his secret. Looking up at her again, he shrugged faintly, “They all think I’m in Wheldrake selling off the medicine we took from your camp. I had made plans to go before the next battle anyway, so they didn’t even question it. As long as we take down these thieves before the end of the week, they won’t ever know what really happened.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope glanced up at him as he admitted that he was keeping his companions out of dealing with this other band of thieves. She figured that it was probably for the best, though her reasoning was far different than his. If his companions had joined him, she doubted the group would work very well together.

Gavin would likely not react well to working with more than just one thief and she guessed that Simon wouldn't be too keen on working with the knights. Not to mention Rikki would be here too.. She frowned at thought. Though she wasn't sure what was going on with that situation, the knight certainly didn't like the idea of working with the female thief after hearing about what had happened. The only ones that might get along decently enough were Alistair and Olivia, and that was only because of just how familiar they were with each other.

She focused back on Crow. "That's good.. I doubt working so closely with me and the other two would go over well with them, anyways. And Gavin's already giving you a hard time as it is.. I can't imagine him dealing with the others very well, even if you are his main target." she sighed and shook her head. The knight paused and gave him a curious look. "Crow, what is your history with this group? I wanted to ask earlier but well.. I figured it was best to wait until we were alone."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded in agreement when Penelope said his companions wouldn’t work well with the knights anyway. While it was a minor concern compared with the issue of Jaxon’s thieves, he still believed she was right. The worlds of knights and criminals didn’t easily mix. The only reason he was able to work with them all was because he’d had experience in dealing with nobles from his last mission in Younis. If it wasn’t for that, he would have been much more reluctant to hunt down the other thieves with them. He probably would have refused to even offer his help unless he could work solely with Penelope.

At her following question, the thief cringed and averted his gaze again. He had been hoping she wouldn’t ask him about his history with the criminals they were after since she hadn’t pressed him for details when he had initially brought up the subject. Unfortunately, it seemed like that hope had been too good to be true. He casted her a sideways glance, toying with the idea of telling her that he didn’t want to talk to her about it, but he knew he couldn’t brush it off so easily. She would be persistent to find out why he was holding back from her, and he also believed she needed to know the rest of the story. If she was going to go after these dangerous people with him, he couldn’t let her go in blind.

“I’ll tell you,” he murmured reluctantly. “But I’d rather not discuss this out in the open.” Lowering his gaze again, he fell silent for the remainder of the trip until they came to their destination. He pulled open the door of the house for the knight to step through and then entered after her, walking across the room to sit in one of the chairs at the dusty old table in the corner. Once he had settled down, he gestured for her to sit across from him.

“I hope you’re ready, because this is a long story,” Crow offered Penelope a halfhearted smile. He wavered for a moment longer before starting into his tale, “After our mission together two years ago, I went back to stealing on my own as I had before. I raided knights in the outer villages and nobles in the inner kingdom. That’s how my reputation came back so quickly and also why the former king raised my bounty.

“For a while, life was good, and I was making enough money to support the villages as well as keep some leftover for myself. The only problem was that I just wasn’t happy with it anymore,” he frowned as the memories played through his head. “I honestly think traveling with you in Younis changed me. I found my old life to be lonely and unsatisfying, and I wanted something more.

“Unfortunately, this was when I crossed paths with Jaxon,” his expression darkened. “He knew of my reputation and wanted me to join his band of thieves. I think he just wanted the bragging right of having my name amongst his ranks, but at the time, I was too caught up in the prospect of having comrades again to realize what I was walking into. I lived and worked with them for two seasons without noticing how cruel and merciless they all were. I mean, there was always a part of me that felt like something was off, but it took something drastic for me to realize I was associating with true murderers.

Crow let out his breath in a sigh, going on quietly, “The day I left them was when a young noble boy from the inner kingdom happened to stumble into our camp. He had been playing a game with some other children in the woods, but their ball had rolled just close enough that he saw us.” He closed his eyes as the image flashed through his mind. “I told Jaxon not to do it. We almost came to blows… but in the end, he refused to let the kid go.

“You see, he had a rule that if anyone found our camp, they were to be killed on the spot. I just didn’t realize he truly meant anyone,” he shook his head. “Two of his other thieves held me back as he ran the boy through with his sword, and that was when I knew I didn’t want anything more to do with them. I just couldn’t keep working with murderers who would take an innocent life. So, the same night, I made my escape.”

Finally lifting his gaze from the table, Crow met Penelope’s eyes with a pained expression, “I swear, I never would have joined them if I had known what sort of people they were. I’m not like that—I never have been. I’ll always regret the two seasons I spent as part of their ranks.” He shook his head again, adding on in a low voice, “The only good that came out of it was the companions I have now. Alistair, Simon, and Rikki were all part of Jaxon’s group too, and they left with me when I fled because they didn’t want to follow him anymore either.”

[BuzzingBee]

As Crow agreed to tell her, she gave a small nod falling quiet for a moment as he headed to the home. She noticed his hesitation to speak about this Jaxon and guessed that their history was not something Crow was fond of. It made the knight wonder exactly how badly the two had crossed paths before. She followed him into the home and sat down across for him ,looking over at him expectantly. The knight gave a small nod and listened as he began to tell her about Jaxon.

She was a bit surprised to hear how he had found his old life lonely and unsatisfying. Though, it did explain why he was no longer working alone, which was something she recalled being surprised to find out when they had first reunited. The knight stiffened slightly as he went on to talk about how Jaxon had killed the young boy for finding the thieves' camp. The information was unsettling to say the least. However, instead of scaring the knight, it just fueled her determination to catch the criminal. He sounded no better than the mercenaries she had fought in the past, cold-blooded killers whom she now felt very little guilt for killing. He needs to be stopped.. And not just for my comrades either.. she thought.

Turning her focus back to Crow as he met her gaze, she frowned a little as she noticed his pained expression. She hadn't realized just how much of a burden this part of a past had been for him until she saw how regretful he was for joining Jaxon's group, even though it was only for two seasons. The knight grimaced as she thought about how she accused him again, feeling another stab of guilt. Of course he wouldn't do anything so merciless.

"I see.. That certainly explains why you think it was them that attacked us.." she sighed and shook her head. Penelope stood up and stepped over to him, brushing back a strand of his hair before leaning down to press a comforting kiss to his forehead. "I know you wouldn't have. They sound no better than mercenaries.. And we've both had our fair share of dealing with them." she met his gaze offering him a reassuring smile. "They might be dangerous but so are we. We'll find this Jaxon and bring him down."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded faintly when Penelope said she understood why he believed Jaxon’s thieves had been the ones behind the attack on the knights’ camp. “I wish it wasn’t true, but it’s the only thing that makes sense,” he said with a frown. “They’re the only thieves I know of with the numbers and skill to pull off something like that. I just don’t understand why they would have come to the outer villages when there’s so much more wealth in the inner kingdom.”

He sighed, still puzzled by that detail. Jaxon and his men were fueled by their greed, so he couldn’t think of a good reason why they would have wanted to come to such a poor part of the kingdom. Even though the Younisians could pay them well for the stolen weapons, they would make much more money if they simply continued to raid the nobles in and near the citadel. It didn’t make sense. There had to be something he was missing—something that was attractive enough to draw Jaxon out of hiding and into the frontlines of the war.

As Penelope got up and moved to stand beside him, the thief leaned into her, taking comfort in her warm presence. He closed his eyes as she brushed aside a loose strand of his dark hair and kissed him on his forehead. Her lips were soft against his skin, and he found himself relaxing in spite of the less than comfortable subject they had been discussing.

Feeling a bit affectionate, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his head against her chest. At her confident words, he couldn’t help but smile. “He doesn’t know who he’s up against,” he chuckled softly, looking up to meet her gaze. “I’m sure if he took one look at you, he’d go running for the hills.” While he was clearly exaggerating, he did find her determination inspiring. Besides, she was right. They had dealt with killers before, and they could do it again. How much worse could Jaxon be?

Pushing back his chair, Crow stood up and turned to Penelope again, leaning down to press a deep kiss to her lips while snaking one arm behind her back to hold her close to himself. When he pulled back, he smiled at her fondly. “I’d love to stay here with you longer, darling, but we should probably start heading back before Gavin thinks I murdered you.”

Taking his own advice, he stepped over to the bed and knelt down, reaching underneath to retrieve the bag he had stowed there earlier. Once he had it, he got up and slung it over his shoulders, glancing back at the knight, “Ready to go?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small laugh at his words. "I'm not sure about that but I'll definitely give him a run for his money." she promised him with a grin. She was glad her words seemed to cheer the thief up a bit after being so worried and regretful over dealing with Jaxon. The knight didn't skip a beat as leaned into kiss her. She pressed into him and closed her eyes as she kissed him back.

As he pulled back, she gave a half amused smirk. "I wish you were exaggerating more on that." she mused before giving a small nod of agreement and stepping back to let him collect his supplies. If they did try to steal away anymore time, she wouldn't be surprised if the male knight came looking for them. She didn't want to test what he would do if he thought Crow had done something to her so began to step back towards the door as Crow got his bag.

She nodded her head and opened the door, stepping out of the house with him. Once they were outside, she took his hand in hers again, still craving his touch. The knight swept her gaze carefully over their surroundings before beginning to head back towards where the others were waiting. She fell in step besides him, falling quiet as she thought about how they would deal with Jaxon when they found him. She wasn't quite sure how Crow was planning to handle it but as far as the knight was concerned, Jazon needed to either be imprisoned or killed. The knight was planning more so for the latter, considering how cruel he seemed to be.

It wasn't long before the other two knights came into view. Gavin was the first to notice them, having been surveying the area for signs of them. Penelope noticed how he seemed to relax and she rolled her eyes. It seemed he hadn't stopped worrying about her leaving with the thief. I hope he's not going to be like this the whole time.. she thought, groaning inwardly.

"There you two are." Gavin sighed then eyed Crow impatiently. "Are we ready to go now?"

[Rogue Sloth]

As they stepped out of the house, Crow closed the door behind him and adjusted the strap of his bag, so it fell more comfortably across his shoulder. He laced his fingers with Penelope’s as she took his hand, falling into step beside her as they made their way back to the others. After sharing such a secretive piece of his past with her, he felt strangely lighter. It was nice to have someone else who knew about his history with Jaxon’s thieves, even if it wasn’t a piece of his past that he was proud of. Of course, his companions knew about it as well, since they had all been a part of the group, but it was such a sore subject that they never spoke about it.

Thinking about Simon, Alistair, and Rikki again, he hoped word wouldn’t get back to them about Jaxon’s arrival in the outer villages. They all held grudges against the man for various reasons, and he didn’t want them chasing recklessly after him after they had all been deemed traitors of the group. He didn’t doubt that Jaxon’s men wouldn’t hesitate to kill his companions if they showed their faces to them. And while he was out conducting a separate hunt with the knights, he wouldn’t be able to protect them.

At least they’re all confined to the camp until the patrols die down, he thought. And all of the knights believe we were the ones who destroyed their camp. There’s no way anyone could figure out it was Jaxon. Feeling slightly reassured, he walked a little closer to Penelope, enjoying the remainder of their time alone as the other two knights came into view up ahead.

Of course, as soon as they reached them, Gavin was quick to make a snide remark to Crow. The thief rolled his eyes. “No,” he said dryly. “I still have to get my other bag from the other side of the village.”

“What else could you possibly need?” Gavin groaned, seeming to have missed the sarcastic edge in Crow’s voice.

“Oh, just the weapons I’ll be using to kill you all in your sleep,” Crow shot him a devilish wink. His upper lip twitched slightly as he fought to keep from laughing. He may have disliked Penelope’s former suitor, but he was going to have quite a bit of fun if it was always this easy to fool him.

Gavin’s eyes widened for a moment and then narrowed as he finally seemed to catch on that the thief was mocking him. “Let’s just go already,” he grumbled, turning to lead them down the road.

Crow smirked, feeling pleased for having gotten under the knight’s skin so effortlessly, and gave Penelope’s hand a gentle tug as he followed after him.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope let out a soft sigh as she listened to Crow and Gavin speak. She knew it would be too much to ask for them to actually get along so she supposed them occasionally bickering with each other was as good as she'd get. As long as it didn't get in the way of their mission or get worse, she made no effort to try and fix it for the time being. She glanced up at Crow as he gave her hand a soft tug before beginning to follow him as the group headed out.

"Sooooo... Let's say we find these thieves, what's the plan then?" Olivia asked curiously, glancing over her shoulder at Penelope.

"They're dangerous and likely a pretty big group considering how much was stolen so the plan would be to go back to camp and alert the barons." Penelope told her with a shrug.

Gavin nodded his head. "As long as they don't discover us, we'll be able to lead an effective attack on where ever they're staying." he glanced over his shoulder at Crow before shifting his gaze to Penelope and offering a small smile to her. "They won't stand a chance then."

"I just hope we're able to get back some of our supplies." Penelope sighed. "If Younis decides to attack us right now, we'll be in rather poor shape."

"Hopefully they're still too busy licking their own wounds from the last two battles." Gavin mumbled.

Olivia gave a quiet mumbled of agreement before her gaze flickered over to Crow, clearly having something else on her mind. "One more question, why are we just working with you?" she asked him before giving a small smirk. "Not that I have a problem with it but where are the other thieves right now?"

[Rogue Sloth]

As Olivia spoke up, Crow casted her a sideways glance before turning to Penelope and listening to her reply. He wondered just how much she had told her friend about the thieves they were going to be dealing with. By the sound of their conversation, it seemed like she was still trying to imply that their enemies weren’t very well known. He appreciated that she was keeping his secrets, but he also felt that in this case, it would be better for him to share at least some of the information he had on Jaxon’s group so they all knew what they were going up against. If Olivia and Gavin went into this mission just expecting regular thieves who weren’t afraid to kill, they were going to be in for an unpleasant surprise.

In his momentary lapse in focus, he missed the look that Gavin gave him. Instead, what drew his attention back to the conversation was Penelope’s mention of hoping that they would get back some of the stolen supplies. He shifted his weight uncertainly, averting his gaze. Knowing that the journey to Younis didn’t take much longer than a day or so, he wasn’t very confident that they would get much back, if anything at all. It had already been two days since the raid, so the thieves were probably well on their way to the Younisian baron’s camp by now. The only way he and the knights could catch up now was if Jaxon’s men had decided to take some time to rest before leaving to sell off the weapons.

It’s unlikely, but it’s not impossible, he thought, trying to stay optimistic. The journey from the inner kingdom could have left them tired if they had gotten to the outer villages recently enough. Perhaps it wasn’t too much to hope that they were still sitting on the supplies they had taken.

“One more question.” Crow blinked and looked up at Olivia as she spoke up again, noticing that she seemed to be directing her words at him now. “Why are we just working with you? Not that I have a problem with it, but where are the other thieves right now?”

“They’re staying behind in our camp,” he shrugged. “It’s too much of a risk for all four of us to be out while there are so many patrols in the area. A bigger group is bound to draw attention, and I don’t want to risk any of their lives over this manhunt.”

“I see,” Olivia turned away from him again, seeming slightly disappointed.

“One thief is more than enough,” Gavin spoke up with a shake of his head. “The less criminals we include in this patrol, the better.”

“To that point, I think we could do with one less whiny knight,” Crow said blandly. “You ought to be a little more grateful for the help I’m offering, you know. It’s not every day you’ll find a thief who’s willing to work with you to track down his own people.”

“I never asked for your help,” Gavin glared at him. “We’re perfectly capable of catching bandits on our own.”

“Oh really?” Crow smirked wryly. “You had no idea these thieves even existed until I told you about them. If it wasn’t for my unnecessary help, you three wouldn’t have had the first clue where to look for them.”

“We would have figured it out on our own,” Gavin protested stubbornly.

“After they sold off all of your precious supplies and came back for more, perhaps,” the thief snorted. “Please. You need me, and you know it, so why don’t you be a good little knight and bite your tongue?”

[BuzzingBee]

Gavin clenched his jaw, angered by Crow's taunting words. He opened his mouth to retort but before he could, Penelope elbowed Crow's side. "Crow." she muttered to the thief disapprovingly. He was clearly getting under Gavin's skin and she didn't want to see what would happen if he continued to poke at the male knight. Gavin was usually able to control his temper well enough but she figured it was likely best not to test his limits.

As she intervened, Gavin shifted his gaze over to Penelope. His anger didn't die down quick and he shook his head in frustration. "You must had the patience of a saint to deal with him." he growled. He met her gaze with a hint of hopefulness. "Surely you don't agree with what he's saying, right?"

Penelope shifted her gaze away as Gavin dragged her into the conversation. "Well..It's not that I think we're incompetent, but we'd be looking for the wrong people to begin with." she shrugged. "I mean, most patrols already are. That's why there's so few near Whitebridge after all. He's probably right in assuming we wouldn't catch on until they striked us again or a patrol just happened to get lucky. Plus he knows more about this group than we do. The extra information will help us track them down as well as plan for how to deal with them."

Gavin frowned, clearly disappointed Penelope didn't side with him. He shook his head. "I still say we would have been fine on our own. At most we just needed to know that it was a different group."

"I doubt that." Penelope shook her head and gestured to Crow. "He's been stealing from our camp for a while now, of course not to this level, but him and his companions still managed to avoid slipping past patrols...for the most part at least." She glanced up at Crow and frowned a little, recalling the time her brother had managed to capture him.

"That's only because they have a lieutenant willing pull off risky stunts just to warn them." Gavin mused softly. His gaze shifted over to Crow and he glared at the thief. "If anyone should be grateful here, it should be you for all the times she's stuck her neck out to save your sorry ass."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow was feeling rather pleased with himself when he noticed Gavin tense at his words. It was almost too easy to rile the man up. As someone who prided himself on his ability to say just the right thing to make a knight mad, he found the current situation to be quite entertaining. He held Gavin’s gaze evenly as the nobleman opened his mouth to argue. However, in the next moment, he blinked in mild surprise as Penelope elbowed him in the side and muttered his name in a disapproving tone instead.

He glanced down at her and shrugged haplessly, offering a lopsided smile. While he didn’t feel guilty for prodding at her former suitor, he could tell she wanted him to stop. So, out of respect for her wishes, he held his tongue as the knight finally spoke up again to try and convince her to agree with his side. The thief rolled his eyes. It was clear that Gavin wasn’t willing to let the subject drop until he managed to win some sort of victory over him, whether it be by gaining Penelope’s favor or proving him wrong.

As the two knights continued to go back and forth over the topic, Crow’s eyes wandered to Olivia, who was awfully quiet during the whole exchange. He was a bit surprised that she wasn’t jumping at the chance to make the situation worse, since he remembered that she liked to fan the flames of chaos. As his gaze landed on her, he noticed that she wasn’t ignoring them as he had thought but was observing with a bemused expression on her face. He recalled that she’d had the same look when he had thrown his dagger at Gavin earlier, and he wondered what she found to be so amusing.

Before he had a chance to question her, his attention was drawn back to Gavin as the knight decided to arrogantly claim that the only reason he and his thieves hadn’t been caught was because of Penelope’s efforts. He felt a slight twinge of annoyance at the notion. He and his companions had been successfully outrunning the knights since long before Penelope had arrived. For Gavin to attribute their accomplishments as the efforts of someone who had only recently offered any help was demeaning to the thief. He wasn’t going to stand by and take the insult lightly.

Momentarily forgetting that she had wanted him to stop pushing Gavin, Crow smirked haughtily as he responded, “Oh, I’m quite grateful for everything she’s done for me.” He slipped his arm around her waist in a gesture that was clearly meant to annoy the other man. “But that doesn’t negate the fact that right now, I’m your best chance at catching the thieves who raided your camp. In fact, without my help I doubt you’d be able to find them at all.”

“I’m sure we would do just fine without you,” Gavin narrowed his eyes.

“Well, I beg to differ,” Crow snorted. “Penelope may have helped me when all of you arrived in the outer villages, but I’ve been avoiding your incompetent comrades since this war began. Do you really think you’re going to catch a band of thieves with this much skill, when you haven’t been able to stop us for an entire year?” He scoffed. “Come on. Even you have to see how foolish that sounds.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gavin growled.

“Nothing much,” Crow shrugged airily. “It’s just that I’ve never met a man with such little common sense before.” He met Gavin’s eyes with an arrogant look. “It’s a wonder you’ve even managed to get this far as a knight.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope shot Gavin an annoyed look. The female knight groaned inwardly as Gavin's remark caused for Crow to start poking at him again. Aside from possibly causing a fight, the constant arguing was beginning to annoy her as well. Wishing they'd both shut up, her attention drifted away from the two as Crow snorted at the male knight. She ignored them for a brief moment, wanting to check their surroundings for any signs of patrols nearby by before looking back over.

Gavin curled his lip up hostilely and gripped the hilt of his sword at Crow's words. "I'll make you eat those words cur." he growled.

The female knight tuned back into the argument just in time to catch Crow's last words to Gavin, which seemed enough to push the male knight just a tad too far as she noticed him beginning to draw his sword. "The hell you will." Penelope snapped, shifting closer to Crow before Gavin could do anything. The male knight faltered slightly as he meant her stern gaze. "Gavin, put your sword away. Whether you like it or not, he's helping us and we could use it. No one is forcing you to be on this patrol, in fact you invited yourself so either work with him or join a different patrol." She growled.

Gavin shot a glare at Crow before sheathing his weapon again. He averted his gaze off to the side, falling silent as he glared at nearby trees. Penelope gaze shifted over to Crow and she gave his side a soft jab. "And you need to learn when to stop." She grumbled, shaking her head.

"And we were just getting to the good part." Olivia let out an exaggerated sigh of disappointment.

Penelope looked over at Olivia and rolled her eyes. "Sorry to disappoint but we should avoid fighting each other."

"That's no fun." Olivia smirked. "I only went on this patrol for the entertainment that would come from these two trying to work together." The other female knight snickered and looked over at Gavin with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "And just a little tip but constantly trying to get Crow out of the picture isn't going to make Penelope go back to you. If anything it's going to have the opposite effect."

Gavin flushed and glared at Olivia. "That's not-"

"You were doing much better before working with Crow so whatever this new tactic is, I suggest stopping it." Olivia advised, ignoring his outburst. "If anything, you should go back to what you were doing before. You two seemed closer then."

"Olivia." Penelope growled in annoyance, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"What?" Olivia smirked and shrugged her shoulders innocently as she glanced from Penelope to Crow. "I'm just trying to make things little more fair."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow’s eyes flickered down to Gavin’s hand as the knight reached for his sword. The thief tensed and moved to rest his right hand on his dagger’s hilt as well, prepared to defend himself if Gavin chose to come after him. While he had been trying to prod at him, he hadn’t expected the knight to react so violently to his last comment. He eyed him curiously. For some reason, his words had struck a raw nerve in the man. He didn’t know why, but he made a mental note to tuck that information away in case it proved to be useful another time.

As Gavin stood hostilely before him, the thief slowly drew his blade from its sheath at his hip. However, before either of them had a chance to attack the other, Penelope intervened. Crow watched as she snapped at her former suitor, feeling a twinge of pleasure as Gavin caved to her and released his weapon. He liked that she was still openly siding with him. The competitive part of his nature took it as a victory over the man she had left for him, which made him feel quite satisfied.

He was just about to make another snide remark to Gavin about it, but he stopped when he felt Penelope jab his side and tell him that he needed to learn when to stop. Apparently, he wasn’t quite as in the clear as he had thought. Glancing down at her, he lifted his shoulders in a shrug and offered her an apologetic look. She definitely seemed more upset with him than before, and he didn’t want to give her another reason to snap at him like she had with Gavin. “Sorry,” he murmured, deciding it was a safer move to simply apologize to her rather than give her the childish excuse he had wanted to say: He started it.

As Olivia finally spoke up, Crow turned to her inquisitively. It sounded like she had been watching them so quietly because she had been expecting the situation to spiral out of control on its own. He shook his head. She was just as devilish as he remembered. However, his amusement faded as she went on to address Gavin. He narrowed his eyes as he glanced back at the male knight. So, his initial suspicion that Penelope’s ex suitor was trying to win her back wasn’t wrong, after all.

“And just what were you doing before?” he growled, suddenly curious to find out how this man had been trying to win over the woman he was with.

Gavin’s eyes darted to Penelope’s face for a moment before he shook his head. “Olivia doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” he said, shooting the female knight an annoyed look. “I told Penelope that I would respect her decision… even if I find myself questioning the character of the man she chose.”

“Is that right?” Crow studied him coldly. As a thief who deceived others for a living, he could tell that Gavin was lying through his teeth, but he also knew the knight probably wouldn’t confess to his ulterior motives while Penelope was present. Besides, she was already upset with them both as it was. He didn’t want to risk angering her further by arguing with her former suitor to draw the information out of him. So, he let the subject drop, venturing instead to take Penelope’s hand again as he hoped she had cooled down enough to accept the gesture.

Off to the side, Olivia clicked her tongue in disappointment, “Well, that was boring.”

Crow rolled his eyes. He was beginning to think he wasn’t going to enjoy her company as much as he had thought if she was going to keep trying to instigate fights between him and Gavin.

The group fell into a tense silence now that Crow and Gavin had stopped bickering with each other. However, it didn’t last long before the thief’s stomach decided to interrupt. He blushed and turned to Penelope with a bashful smile, “I don’t suppose you knights packed any lunch, did you?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope shot Olivia an annoyed look before her gaze shifted over to Gavin as Crow questioned him. She sighed quietly, hoping that the conversation wouldn't get out of hand again. Especially since Olivia's words caused for Crow to grow a bit coldly. The knight already suspected Gavin was lying as he denied trying to get her back but not wanting to stir up anymore bickering, she remained quiet. There was nothing more she could say anyways. She had told Gavin that she was firm in her decision to be with Crow, all she could do was hope that the male knight had come to accept that even if he didn't get along with the thief.

She was relieved that Crow didn't push any further and took his hand back in hers. With the uncomfortable subject dropped, she relaxed once more, despite the tension that still lingered as silence fell over the group. Penelope glanced subtly towards Olivia. It seemed her previous worries about her friend making the situation worse weren't far off. She only hoped that she didn't continue to try and get the two men to fight again. Though, Penelope had a feeling that her hopes were just a bit too high.

A rumbling stomach disrupted her thoughts and she turned her gaze over to Crow. She gave an amused look before shaking her head. "Unfortunately, no." she told him with a small frown. "I didn't realize we'd be traveling so far today so I packed light.. And it didn't include food." Penelope hesitated before shifting her gaze over to Gavin, knowing that the male knight usually over prepared. Despite how he may have been acting due to working with Crow, she knew he had likely taken a bit more time to prepare for their mission than she had. "Gavin... Did you happen to pack anything?"

The male knight glanced over his shoulder at her before giving a hesitant nod. "I did.." He mumbled, reluctant to offer sharing with the thief, then shifted his gaze over to Crow questioningly. "You got supplies earlier, didn't you? Don't you have your own food?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow glanced at Gavin as the knight asked if he had his own food. “I do,” he answered with a shrug. “But I didn’t bring very much, and I wasn’t expecting to begin camping out on the very first night I left.” He folded his arms over his chest and held the knight’s gaze evenly as he went on. “Despite your accusations, my companions and I only took the bare minimum of what we could afford to steal from your camp. I’d like to conserve the little that I have.”

“So, you expect us to give you what we brought instead?” Gavin said annoyedly.

“I understand if you don’t want to,” Crow replied with a careless look. “Besides, you don’t have to give me anything. I can just eat what I have now and replenish my supply at your camp tonight. You nobles have more food than you know what to do with anyway.” He smirked as he saw Gavin stiffen slightly, but the knight had realized the thief’s trick too late. He was now trapped between willingly handing over his food to a criminal or refusing to share and being the cause of another small raid on their camp. In either case, Crow would win.

“You’re a manipulative little bastard,” Gavin grumbled and then sighed in defeat. “Fine. You can have some of the lunch I brought for us.”

“Thank you for your generosity,” Crow grinned, enjoying how easily he could wrap the knight around his finger. Of course, he had brought a small amount of money for the purpose of replenishing his supplies, so he could have just eaten his food and bought more in Whitebridge, but tormenting Penelope’s ex suitor was much more fun. Besides, he hadn’t lied when he had said he wasn’t planning to camp as much as it looked like he was going to, so he wasn’t sure if he had enough money to last him the whole length of the trip anyway. It was entirely likely that he would have to borrow food from the knights regardless of the preparations he had made.

I need to sell off those medicines as soon as we’re finished with this hunt, he thought as they all slowed to a stop in a small clearing for lunch.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope listened as Gavin attempted to keep from giving Crow any part of their food and Crow operated the situation in his favor. Though she didn't completely approve of Crow manipulating her ex suitor, she was glad that Gavin had agreed to share. Regardless of what the male knight thought, she didn't see any harm coming from giving Crow some of their food, whether it was some of what he had packed or having the thief raid the camp. Supplies might have been running low for the knights after getting a good majority of them stolen by the thieves but it was still manageable. They could afford to feed one more person.

As they stopped in the small clearing, Gavin sat down and opened up his bag to pull out the food he had brought. "I only brought enough for three, so don't go expecting a full portion." he grumbled as he pulled out three meals, neatly wrapped in cloth. Penelope let go of Crow's hand to step over to Gavin, giving the male knight a small shrug.

"It's fine. He can have most of mine." Penelope assured him. She figured it was best to be the one to share with Crow. She was the one who had accepted his help and not to mention, she doubted Gavin would hand over much to the thief if she let him be the one to divide up the portion.

Gavin looked up at her and frowned. "Are you sure?" he asked.

She nodded her head. "I'm not that hungry anyways."

"Alright.." Gavin sighed. His gaze shifted briefly over to Crow before focusing back on Penelope. "I can give you some of mine if you change your mind though."

"Thanks." Penelope said as she took one of the meals. Her gaze flickered over to Olivia as the female knight stepped up to claim one as well. She let out a whistle and smirked in amusement as she eyed the neatly folded cloths.

"You know, I think you'd make a wonderful housewife, Gavin. I can tell you have the talent for it." Olivia teased, causing for Gavin to shoot an annoyed glare at her.

Penelope shook her head as she watched them. Between Crow and Olivia, they'd likely drive the male knight crazy before the hunt was over. She felt a bit of pity for him. If he stopped making such a fuss over working with Crow, it wouldn't be as bad. she thought as she turned to head back over to the thief. It was a wishful thought, especially since she knew just how stubborn and prideful Gavin could be.

Pushing her thoughts aside, she looked up at Crow and handed him the food. "Here. I'll just take a little... Especially since it sounded like you needed it more." she told him with a teasing smirk.

[Rogue Sloth]

As Penelope walked over to get her share of lunch from Gavin, Crow took some time to look for a comfortable place to sit down and rest. He already knew Gavin wouldn’t give him a portion until all of the knights had claimed the amount they wanted, so there was no point in trying to approach him right away. After all, the man hadn’t even willingly agreed to feed him anything. The only reason he had done so was because he had been coerced.

After casting a quick glance over the clearing, Crow spotted an old fallen tree in a patch of tall grass. It looked pleasant enough, so he stepped over and sat on the ground with his back against the trunk. Once he had settled down and decided it was a good place to relax, he shifted to a more comfortable position, stretching out his legs and leaning contentedly into the tree as he watched the knights distribute their shares of the food.

He smiled in amusement as he overheard Olivia’s teasing comment to Gavin about the way he had packaged their lunches so neatly. Despite her gibe, he was a bit surprised to see that the knight had done such a thorough job of bundling up the food. He didn’t know too much about nobles, but from the little he did understand, they usually had servants do such menial tasks for them. It was interesting to him that Gavin would have been able to do something like that, even if it wasn’t a particularly impressive or challenging skill. But of course, he wasn’t about to admit that to anyone else, so he kept his mouth shut about it.

Noticing that the knights were almost done dividing their food, Crow left his bag to secure his spot by the tree and got up again to stand at Penelope’s side since he didn’t want to miss out on taking whatever had been left over for him. When he reached her, he met her gaze curiously as she said that he could take the majority of her ration. He had been expecting to be given some scraps from all of their lunches, not offered most of a whole one.

At her teasing comment he felt a faint warmth creep into his cheeks, and he rolled his eyes in a casual attempt to cover his embarrassment. “I hope you meant that, love, because as soon as I take this from you, you’re not getting it back,” he kissed her playfully on the cheek as he slipped the parcel of lunch out of her hand. “Also, I found a good place for us to sit over here,” he smiled at her warmly and pressed his free hand to the small of her back as he led her towards the place where he had left his bag.

Sitting down again, he made sure there was enough room for her to lean against the tree with him before he opened the neatly wrapped cloth that held their food and began to eat his portion of it. He took a moment to look at the other knights, noting that Gavin was keeping some distance from them, although he seemed to frequently cast furtive glances in their direction. Olivia, on the other hand, decided to make herself right at home on Penelope’s other side.

“So,” the female knight spoke up, eyeing Crow with an intrigued expression. “I happen to recall you mentioning something earlier about knowing these thieves. If they’re friends of yours, why are you handing them over to us?”

The thief met her gaze guardedly as he answered, “They’re not friends of mine, and honestly, Brerra would be better off if they were dead.”

“Ooh,” Olivia purred, seeming to think she had found an interesting topic to dig into. “Sounds like some bad blood. What did they do? Did they steal from you?”

“No,” Crow shook his head, averting his gaze as he took another bite of food and swallowed. “I just happened to run into them in the inner kingdom a while back. I’ve seen them steal, and I don’t approve of their methods. That’s all there is to it.”

“Is that so?” Olivia pursed her lips, seeming unconvinced. “Those were some harsh words for a simple difference of opinion.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but that’s it,” he shrugged. “I dislike murderers, and these thieves kill without discretion. My reason to help you find them runs no deeper than that.”

“Hm,” Olivia grunted, seeming to pick up on the fact that he wasn’t going to tell her anything more about the men they were after. She fell quiet for a bit as she ate her lunch, drumming her fingers on her leg as she grew bored of the peaceful moment. After a brief silence had passed, her dark eyes wandered to Gavin before she turned back to Crow with a mischievous smirk. “By the way, how’s Penelope been for you since you two got back together? I bet she didn’t tell you I was the one who helped her get better in the love department while you were gone.”

Unprepared for the knight’s sudden comment, Crow choked on his food and turned to her with a startled look.

Olivia laughed, clearly entertained by his reaction. “Oh, I didn’t mean I helped her personally,” she snickered. “I just meant I was the one who helped her get back out there.” She nudged her friend teasingly. “I bet it helped. She was such a prude before.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope chuckled at his words and gave a small nod before following him over to the tree. She sat down besides him comfortably and began to eat her small portion of the lunch. After having a busy morning and a long walk, the knight was actually a bit hungry but she kept that to herself, knowing that she'd be able to handle her hunger just fine after having a small bite to eat. She watched as Olivia sat down besides her and Gavin sat at a distance. Though there was still a bit of tension coming from Gavin, the female knight found it to be a rather peaceful moment and relaxed as the group ate.

She listened quietly as Olivia questioned Crow further about the group of thieves they were after. Penelope glanced over towards Gavin, noticing that the male knight was clearly listening to the conversation with a hint of curiosity in his gaze. Though he narrowed his eyes at Crow suspiciously, he didn't speak up and instead continued to eat his lunch quietly, letting another silence to fall over.

However, it didn't last long as Olivia spoke up again. At her friend's words, Penelope's face grew red from embarrassment and she shot a glare at her friend as she nudged her.

"You have no shame, do you?" Gavin grumbled, shooting a glare at Olivia.

"Oh you're just bitter she's not sleeping with you." Olivia remarked, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Olivia." Penelope hissed warningly.

"What?" Olivia said with mock innocence. "Anyways, clearly you haven't been giving me credit where credit is due." She grinned devilishly and flickered her gaze back over to Crow. "You should have seen her first attempt. We went to this tavern together and she-"

"Ok I think that's enough!" Penelope growled, quickly throwing her hand over Olivia's mouth, all too aware of the story she was about to tell. The female knight cringed as she recalled how she had listened to Olivia's advice to move on from Crow by involving herself in a fling or two with other men. She had been reluctant to accept it but the pain of losing him didn't die down easily and she found herself missing being intimate with someone so she had agreed to give it a try. Needless to say that her first attempt to get back out there had been rather... rocky.

She had been determined to try but she lacked confidence. Until she had a bit to drink. Drunk and determined, she had set her dazed gaze on a fellow noble named Rulf, whom she recalled to have rather pretty green eyes. The man had been bombarded by a drunk Penelope whom barely knew how to flirt and was a bit more direct than she had ever intended to be somber. The female knight didn't recall much of what had occurred that night, only knowing the bits of what Olivia had told her on how she had said quite a few sultry words and been rather touchy with the man. The day after she woke up with a splitting headache and found that Rulf had helped Olivia take her home after passing out at the tavern.

Though their initial meeting hadn't gone well, she did end up seeing Rulf again and the two had a more 'successful' reunion. They had a few flings together but lacking any other interest in each other than physical, they had separated as soon as Rulf had to leave to Ballyridge for a business matter.

Olivia pulled Penelope's hand away from her mouth and rolled her eyes. "Oh come on! It's not that bad!" she protested with a snicker. "If I remember correctly, you ended up having a nice fling for couple weeks after it anyways."

[Rogue Sloth]

When the knights began bickering amongst each other, Crow’s eyes flicked curiously between them. He had known Olivia could stir up trouble sometimes, but he hadn’t expected her to pull something like this. Needless to say, it appeared to be one of her more successful attempts at driving a wedge between the group. Penelope was clearly embarrassed by the topic, and Gavin didn’t look particularly comfortable listening to Olivia talk about his former lover’s love life either.

As the knight turned back to him and began to tell a story about Penelope’s first fling, he blinked as he realized she was trying to snare him in her little web of chaos as well. He shifted slightly. He supposed he should have felt uncomfortable to hear about the times Penelope had been with other men but given his own less than wholesome history with women, he couldn’t bring himself to be upset without feeling like a hypocrite. After all, during their time apart, he hadn’t done much better.

In the first few months when he had believed her to be dead, he hadn’t slept with anyone else because he had still been mourning his loss. At the time, the thought of being with another woman had felt wrong. Penelope’s memory had still been fresh in his mind, and he hadn’t been able to detach himself emotionally from her right away, so he couldn’t even think about having a new fling. However, when he had finally moved on, all of the unmarried young women in the outer villages were fair game, and he certainly hadn’t been afraid to play the field.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Olivia frowned at him, seeming disappointed that he wasn’t giving her the reaction she had been hoping for. “Don’t you want to hear about your lover’s first fling?”

“Nor particularly,” Crow shrugged. “And I’m sure she wouldn’t want to hear about any of mine either. It’s just not something we feel the need to discuss.”

“That’s boring,” Olivia huffed. “Those are the best stories.” Her dark eyes flicked to Gavin for a moment before she turned back to Crow with a devilish grin. “Fine then. I won’t share her first fling, but only if you tell me about what you two have been up to in the late hours of the night.” She glanced back at Penelope with a sly smirk. “I’ve been trying to get her to give me the details for a while, but this stubborn little friend of mine won’t spill it.” Her eyes wandered back to the thief. “So, what’ll it be?”

Crow held her gaze, hesitant to reply. Usually, he wasn’t afraid to talk about less than decent topics like this—he and Alistair had had their share of conversations about it, so he had even heard a bit about what the thief had been doing with Olivia—but the timing of her question made him suspicious. His green eyes landed on Gavin, who was watching them with an unusual expression on his face, as if he was watching a bad accident that he couldn’t look away from.

Somehow, the sight of Penelope’s ex suitor looking at them like that made him more tempted to open up, if only to lord it over the other man that he was the one who was sleeping with her. However, he couldn’t do that. He recalled the way she had looked at him when he had prodded at the knight earlier. She had already been upset with him for stirring up trouble once, and he didn’t want to anger her again. Besides, he was sure that was Olivia’s goal anyway, and he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of causing another fight between them.

Turning back to Olivia, he studied her for a moment as a different idea came to him. “Fine,” he smirked at her. “If it will make you drop the subject, I’ll tell you.”

“Really?” Olivia leaned in a little closer, seeming eager to finally get something out of one of them.

“Why not?” Crow shrugged. He gestured for her to come closer and then leaned across Penelope’s lap as well to whisper something in the knight’s ear.

Olivia quirked a brow in surprise and turned to her friend with an amused look, “Well, well! Who ever would’ve though our innocent Penelope would—”

“Ah, ah,” Crow tutted, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her close again to whisper something else in her ear that made the knight flush.

“You wouldn’t,” Olivia muttered under her breath, shooting him a glare.

“Try me,” he winked at her mischievously.

She held his gaze for a moment longer before letting out a reluctant sigh of defeat. “Alright, fine,” she grumbled, shifting to sit back down again. “You’re all no fun.”

Crow rolled his eyes and leaned a little closer to Penelope, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. Now that he had “persuaded” Olivia to finally stop trying to start fights amongst them, he found the moment to be a bit more peaceful.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope shot a glare at Olivia as she attempted to get Crow to speak about their time together. Since the current topic of discussion didn't seemed to be changing, a bright blush still remained on her cheeks. "How about neither?" Penelope grumbled as Olivia questioned the thief. She glanced over at Crow besides her, hoping he'd get Olivia to drop the subject. The knight preferred to keep her privacy, even if she was a bit more bold now. Not to mention that there was an added level of discomfort with Gavin around to listen.

She blinked as Crow agreed to tell Olivia. She opened her mouth to protest but it was already too late as Olivia leaned across to listen to what the thief had to say. Leaning back against the tree, she felt her cheeks burn at Olivia's amusement. However, Crow cut the other knight off before she could finish her sentence, making Penelope glance over at him curiously as he went on to whisper something else.

Watching Olivia give up, Penelope relaxed again. She looked over at Crow, raising her eyebrow at him questioningly as she wondered what he had said to silence her friend. Deciding not to question it, she rested her head against his shoulder as another peaceful silence fell over the group. She had finished her small portion of the lunch and simply looked to relax for a moment before they had to continue on their way to Whitebridge.

The moment didn't last very long. Soon Gavin rose to his feet and crossed his arms as he looked down at the other three. "We should get moving again. Especially if we want to be able to return to camp tonight." he announced as he gathered his belongings.