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

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth and wiped the blood off on his pant leg. He hated that his illness had made an appearance when he was so close to the knights, and that it had come suddenly enough that he couldn’t do anything to stop it. The last thing he wanted was for Gavin or Olivia to realize he was sick, even though the disease barely affected him anymore. He trusted Penelope not to say anything about it, but he didn’t know either of the other knights well enough to believe that they wouldn’t tell their comrades that the thief who had been raiding their campsite was ailing.

He glanced up as Penelope told the others to go on ahead of them. For a moment, he guessed that she was just concerned about his health, and was trying to give him some time to recover from the coughing fit. However, that hope was quickly dashed when she turned on him with a worried expression and questioned him again about what he was trying to hide from her. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, still refusing to meet her gaze. He could tell by the sound of her voice that she wasn’t going to let it go until he admitted the real reason why he was acting strangely. Even though he really didn’t want to tell her the truth yet, he knew it was pointless to keep dodging the question when she was already so concerned.

Letting out his breath in a defeated sigh, he finally looked up from the ground to meet her frightened green eyes. “I think it would be best if we stop seeing each other,” he finally said in a hushed tone, his voice cracking slightly with suppressed emotions. He paused, taking a calming breath and running his hand anxiously through his hair. This was why he didn’t want to say anything to her right now. He had only gotten out one sentence, and he was already losing himself to the pain of his decision.

Steeling himself, he went on, trying to keep his voice steady as he spoke, “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I just can’t deny it anymore… I’m not the man you should give up everything you have to be with. It doesn’t make any sense for you to lose so much to be with a thief who can only bring you more trouble. You’d be better off with a nobleman like Gavin.”

He lowered his gaze again, feeling another pang of guilt, “I’m sorry I made this harder on you than it had to be. I should never have approached you when you came to the outer villages. If I had just left you alone, you wouldn’t have to go through all of this again. You would have stayed with him, and none of this would be happening right now… I hope you can forgive me for hurting you. It was selfish of me to take you away from your life again.

“Also, please, don’t say that you still think you’ll be better off running away with me,” Crow closed his eyes, fighting back against the tremor that edged his voice. “You don’t know what you’ll want even a year from now, and I couldn’t live with myself if you woke up someday, regretting everything you lost for me. I think it would be best if we just end things now, so you won’t have to risk that. Just let me go before I ruin your chance of going back.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope froze at his words as he said they should stop seeing each other. For a moment, she was still expecting a different explanation since his words had been so far from what she had guessed was wrong. She stared him in disbelief as he went on to explain his reasoning on why he believed she should let him go. Her throat grew tight with emotion as she listened to him, noticing the guilt that seemed to hang in his words. She'd had no clue that the issue had been bugging him so deeply, enough to even push him to think they were better off separating. The knight remained silent as he spoke and felt herself tremble at the thought of actually listening to his words. She knew better, she knew she couldn't let him go.

"Crow, I.." she paused feeling her voice shake slightly. She shook her head and shifted her gaze away from him. "You're wrong... You're so wrong about this." The knight pursed her lips together, trying to figure out how to make him understand how she felt. He seemed so certain that he was wrong for her and she wanted to change that. Penelope needed him to realize just how important he was to her and how she wouldn't come to regret being with him like both he and Gavin thought.

She suddenly grabbed his hand and lifted it to her cheek near her scar, holding it there firmly. "Just listen first, ok?" she told him, letting out a long exhale. "When I got this scar, I was chasing after the staff... I was so determined to prevent the war from happening that I got reckless. I was blinded by desperation that I probably would have searched for that damned staff until I got killed if it hadn't been for William, who forced me to accept the truth that it was gone and war was coming.."

Penelope lowered her gaze away from him. "I wasn't trying so hard to prevent the war because of my family or to help the outer villages.. There was no noble reason. It was entirely selfish. I just wanted to get back to you during that time and I didn't want to give you up. When I finally did accept the truth, I thought I had lost any future with you forever so I had to focus back on what I knew. My job, my family, my status... With time, I learned to bury my feelings for you but over the course of two whole years, I was never able to actually let you go.

"I've lived with the regret of losing you and our future for two whole years, Crow. Everything that I have right now isn't even what I wanted to begin with. What I wanted was to be with you in Farhill... I mean, gods! I was with Gavin for nearly a year and I left him in a matter of mere weeks just to be with you." She let go of his hand, letting her own fall to her side as she let out a quiet sigh. "I know peasant life is go to be far different than what I've known as a noble and I know I'm leaving a lot behind... I'm not saying it'll be easy but I know it'll be worth it.. You're just looking at it the wrong way."

She lifted her gaze again to meet his with an affection gaze. Her eyes were a bit watery, still a bit emotional at the thought of losing him. "You're acting like my feelings for you are going to expire. Crow, you're the only man I love and the only one I want to be with. You need to stop focusing on what I'm losing and realize what I'm gaining." she poked his chest. "I'm gaining you and that's enough for me."

[Rogue Sloth]

Of course it wasn’t going to be easy to convince Penelope to let him go. Crow had known that before he had even opened his mouth to suggest the idea. Still, her words were hard for him to hear. She said he was wrong, but he knew better than to believe that, no matter how much he wanted to. Love always faded with time. It was a bit of wisdom that he had been taught by his mother long ago. No matter how infatuated they were with each other now, the strength of that emotion would be tested by countless hardships if they stayed together. He didn’t want to go into those hardships with the baggage of having already ruined her life. She would surely come to resent him for it later on.

Turning back to the knight, he was about to explain that to her, but he didn’t have a chance before she took his hand and lifted it to her cheek. The unexpected gesture made him freeze, and he held her gaze as she went on to tell him more about what she had gone through during their two years apart. She had already explained it to him in part, but he was surprised to learn that she had been so desperate to stop the war and come back to him. He had thought that she had been trying to save her family, not reclaim the life they had planned together. The news brought a swell of mixed emotions to the thief that made his chest feel tight.

As she went on to tell him that she didn’t even want everything she had now, he stared at her, unsure what to think. He had never even considered the possibility that she was only going about this life because it was the best that she could attain as a noblewoman. She cared so deeply about her family, and her job as a lieutenant gave her the power to protect the people of Brerra who couldn’t protect themselves. It seemed from every angle like the life she would have wanted. For her to tell him now that she wanted a life with him even more made him feel warm with affection. He had always known that she had loved him, but he’d never imagined her love for him ran this deeply.

Crow felt a wave of sadness when Penelope looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, and suddenly, he realized that he had hurt her, but not in the way that he had previously thought. Biting the inside of his lip, he averted his gaze for a moment once she had finished speaking, still processing everything she had just said. While there was still a part of him that couldn’t let go of his fear that she would someday regret being with him, he couldn’t deny that his belief that they should end things had been wrong.

Maybe we can make this work, after all, he thought, feeling a bit more confident. They might not have been together for very long in the grand scheme of things, but they had already faced a number of trials that had tested their dedication to each other. Their passion may have been fated to fade with time, but as long as they faced whatever future hardships that awaited them as a team, who was he to say they would fail? Perhaps he was being premature in his decision to quit. If Penelope was willing to face the future head on, then he should have been willing to do so too.

In a sudden burst of affection for the knight, he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, burying his head against her neck. “Thank you,” he said in a shaky voice that was muffled by her long hair. “I needed to hear that.” Pulling back from her slightly, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and then shifted to meet her gaze with a fond smile. “I love you too, Penelope. I just want you to be happy.” He lifted a hand to her cheek, tracing her scar gingerly with his fingertips until he reached the corner of her eye. Brushing a tear away, he leaned in to kiss her tenderly.

“I had no idea you felt that way about me,” Crow breathed when he pulled back from her lips. He traced his hand down the nape of her neck and shook his head. “If you really feel like this is what you want, then I’ll do everything I can to make you happy. You’re the only woman I love, and I want to give you the life you deserve.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope felt a wave of relief as he wrapped her up in tight embrace. The knight wasted no time sinking into his touch and wrapping her arms around him as well. Knowing that he had been so close to ending things made her hold him a bit tighter, a bit shaken by the thought of losing him again. She smiled at his words, glad that she had managed to make him realize he was wrong. She leaned in to meet him as he kissed her, savoring the feeling of being so close to him. After also speaking about her regret over the two years they were apart, she couldn't help but feel a swell of affection and gratefulness that he was back in her life.

As he pulled back, she reached a hand up to brush back a strand of hair from his face. "I'm sorry you didn't know sooner.." she mumbled, feeling a small bit of guilt. It wasn't like she had been trying to hide it from him but she couldn't help but feel a little bad after seeing how pained he was thinking that he needed to let her go. Penelope pressed an affectionate kiss to his cheek before resting her head against his.

"It is what I want." she assured him softly. "And I know you will so don't stress yourself out again thinking you aren't enough. Or that you're ruining me, because you're not. I want that future after the war that we talked about and I won't be giving it up easily." The knight smiled and closed her eyes for a brief moment. "Whatever challenges come with obtaining that will be a piece of cake as long as we're together.. We've gotten through an enemy castle, mercenaries, battles, and everything in between."

Penelope pulled back slightly to smirk up at him softly. "And we're about to add a band of murderous thieves to the list."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow shook his head when Penelope apologized that he didn’t know about how she felt sooner. It hadn’t been her fault. He should have trusted her dedication to make things work between them, but instead, he had let his own insecurities cloud his judgment. Of course, he could never give her the same life that a nobleman could, and there was always going to be a small piece of him that would regret that inability, but he shouldn’t have let it drive him away from her. She was clearly willing to let go of her noble life to be with him—the fact that her desire hadn’t changed in two years was proof enough of that. He should have trusted in her unwavering feelings rather than assume that she would change her mind later on.

As she went on to assure him that he wasn’t ruining her, he smiled at her fondly. Hearing her say it again brought him peace, and he relaxed in her arms. Listening to her confident words now, he couldn’t believe he had almost broken things off between them. What a foolish decision that would have been. He should have been focusing on all that they had overcome together already rather than the uncertainties of the future. No man could predict what was to happen even the next day of his life, let alone the next few years. It was why he had always chosen to live day by day as a thief, and it was what he should have been doing with his relationship with the knight as well. There was no reason to worry about a future he couldn’t foresee.

He chuckled softly and shook his head again. “Gods, what did I do to deserve you?” Pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, he met her gaze with a softened expression. “You always know just the right things to say when I’m being irrational. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He kissed her once more on the lips before pulling back from her embrace.

“We should catch up with the others,” he said, reaching to intertwine his fingers with hers. Now that she had reassured him that they weren’t going to be splitting up, her touch was just as comforting to him as it had been before. “As much as I dislike the thought of going back to your jealous ex-lover, we would probably look suspicious traveling as a pair to any patrols that are nearby.” He ached his back in a brief stretch and winced. “I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t sleep well, so I’d rather not run today if I can avoid it.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small, happy giggle at his affectionate words. "I'm glad I'm able to. You had me scared there for a moment." she smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him back. She took a step back from him as well, taking his hand in hers as he advised catching up with the other two knights. Though she wished they could spare a little more time alone, she knew he was right. They still had to get to Aramoor after all.

She gave a small nod. "We better get going then.. I'm sure Gavin will start freaking out if we took too much longer anyways." At the thought of her ex-suitor, the knight glanced over at Crow, suddenly recalling her conversation with the male knight the night before. A lot of what Crow had said had been similar to what Gavin had argued. She hadn't realized it at first since she had been a bit too caught up in emotions and trying to prevent Crow from ending things for such a reason. He must have overheard us.. She sighed softly to herself. It made a little more sense to her why Crow had been acting the way he had now and why he slept so poorly.

With the issue solved, she hoped that he wouldn't let anything else Gavin said get to him as strongly. Penelope squeezed his hand fondly as she walked at him side. Though she knew he was aching from poor sleep, she did pick up her pace slightly in order to catch up with the other two knights, hoping it wasn't too much for the thief. Luckily it wasn't long before they came back into view. Gavin had slowed his pace considerably and was continuously glancing over his shoulder, clearly keeping an eye out for them. When he finally spotted the two, he slowed to a stop and relaxed slightly as he waited for them to catch up.

"There you two are." Gavin sighed.

"I told you we would only be gone for a moment." Penelope said with a casual shrug. "Let's get going."

[Rogue Sloth]

As they walked back to the other knights, Crow felt much more at ease. He was glad now that Penelope had forced him to tell her what had been on his mind. If she hadn’t, he probably would have gained quite a bit more resolve in his decision to end things between them, and he might not have listened to her when she told him that he was wrong. The thought made him shudder. He had come so close to making the biggest mistake of his life, all because of a ridiculous and unfounded insecurity. Now that the knight had reassured him that his fears weren’t true, he wasn’t going to let them get in the way again.

Eventually, Gavin and Olivia came into view as he and Penelope caught back up with them. The thief noticed right away that Gavin was looking over his shoulder as if he expected him to waltz back up with Penelope’s dead body in tow. He rolled his eyes. Even though he had come to terms with the fact that the knight would never trust him, he wished the man would at least understand that he wasn’t out to harm Penelope. It was annoying how worried he got every time Crow went anywhere alone with her.

Fortunately, since they had gotten such a late start into the day, Gavin didn’t waste their time by questioning them about what they had been doing. Instead, he simply held Penelope’s gaze for a moment before giving a curt nod and turning to keep walking towards Aramoor. Crow followed after him, just as eager to get to the village and get the interrogation over with so that he could lay down. After two poor nights of sleep in a row, he was hoping to go to bed early and make up for what he had lost.

However, while Gavin was focused on moving forward, Olivia wasn’t as easily distracted. She fell in step beside the thief and looked him over observantly. “So,” she smirked, reaching up pull a blade of grass from his long hair. “Found time to fit in a quickie, huh?”

“No,” Crow snorted, brushing her hand away. “That was from yesterday.” Having been tired the night before and not caring much about his appearance—he was already ragged enough after living in the woods for two years—he hadn’t bothered to clean all of the grass from his hair and clothes after his ‘walk’ with Penelope. “Why do you care so much, anyway?” he asked, eyeing her curiously.

“Because this mission is boring as hell, and getting dirt on the two of you is the most fun I’ve had since we left,” Olivia sighed dully.

“Is that so?” Crow’s lip curved up in a sly smile. “Are you sure it’s not because you’re jealous?”

“Jealous? Of what?” Olivia scoffed. “Sorry, Crow. You may be easy on the eyes, but I’m not jealous that Penelope managed to win you over to her side.”

“That’s not what I meant,” the thief laughed and then nudged her, lowering his voice. “You’re jealous because Alistair isn’t here.” The knight’s confident expression wavered slightly, and he grinned, certain now that he’d struck a chord. “You’re not as subtle as you think. You’re disappointed that he isn’t here too, aren’t you?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Olivia snorted, though a blush developed on her cheeks despite her uncaring words. “Sure, we have fun sometimes, but I couldn’t care less if he was here or not.”

“That’s not what your face is saying,” Crow snickered, elbowing her in the side. “You’re smitten, aren’t you?”

She shot him a red-faced glare and then turned away again, tilting her chin up haughtily, “I’m bored of you two. You can walk by yourselves.” With that, she trotted ahead to harass Gavin instead.

Crow chuckled to himself and looked down at Penelope with a proud grin, “Hopefully that will teach her to stop pestering us so much.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope glanced over at Olivia as the other female knight fell back besides Crow. She rolled her eyes as she heard Olivia's sultry words. She listened in as Crow denied it and went on to accuse her of being disappointed that Alistair wasn't with them. A smirk crossed over her lips as she noticed Olivia blush and soon the female knight gave up in bugging them. She looked up at Crow and chuckled at his words.

"Hopefully. It seems you found her weakness." she said with amusement as she looked back ahead at Olivia. It was a bit strange to see her friend get so flustered, especially since she was used to her causing other people embarrassment. Penelope wondered how far her feelings for the thief would go. Was it just a temporary thing or would it become deeper? If it did become serious, perhaps Penelope would still be able to keep one of her friends when she left to be with Crow at the end of the war. The thought was a bit exciting to her even though it was merely a passing thought of something that might never be.

"Now, if we can just figure out a way to get the other one to trust you a little, the rest of this trip will be a lot easier." Penelope sighed as she walked besides him. She glanced ahead towards Gavin, wishing that the male knight would at least put some kind of faith in Crow. He was being less vocal about his distrust around Crow now but his actions made it clear enough. She shook her head and began to glance around the forest, keeping an eye out for any passing patrols. Since she was no longer worried about what was wrong with Crow and knowing that the thief was actually suffering from poor sleep, she decided to focus on keeping an eye out as they traveled on towards the village.

[Rogue Sloth]

“It wasn’t hard,” Crow shrugged when Penelope said he’d found Olivia’s weakness. “Between what you said about them before and the way Alistair has been acting lately, I just put two and two together and took a shot.” He grinned at her cunningly. “Looks like you were right about her, after all.”

Turning back to look at Olivia, he wondered offhandedly if anything would become of their feelings for each other. He and Penelope had decided to abandon tradition to be together, but he didn’t know Olivia well enough to guess if she would be as willing to abandon her life as a knight as Penelope was. Somehow, he doubted she would. Choosing to be with a thief was a tough decision for any woman, since the life of a criminal was so demanding. To add the loss of status and power on top of that just made that decision more difficult still. If he was to place a bet on whether Olivia would follow in her friend’s footsteps, his money would have been on ‘no.’

He glanced at Penelope again as she brought up Gavin’s distrust of him. “That’s probably never going to happen,” he sighed. “I wouldn’t even be surprised if we found and killed Jaxon, and he still found a way to accuse me of that raid.” Shifting to walk a little closer to Penelope, he gave her hand a squeeze. After trying to convince her former suitor that he was innocent with no success, he had given up on changing the man’s opinion of him. It wasn’t like it mattered what Gavin thought, anyway. He was just another knight who would never give a thief the courtesy of being seen as anything other than a criminal. There was no point in trying to convince him otherwise.

--

To Crow’s relief, the rest of their trip to Aramoor went by without any trouble. There had been a few other patrols about, but since they had recognized the knights he was traveling with, none of them had bothered to approach the group. Being able to walk around in the open like that had been a nice change for the thief. Since he usually had to stay hidden from knights, he appreciated being able to blatantly walk in front of them. With his hood drawn and his face hidden, they just seemed to think he was another knight on a patrol.

When they reached the top of the hill where the village resided, the first thing Crow did was amble over to a tree to sit and rest. He dropped to the ground with a long exhale and leaned back against the trunk with his eyes closed. After traveling all day through some of the most demanding terrain in the outer villages when he was already sore, he needed a break.

“What are you doing?” Gavin growled, crossing his arms impatiently as he glared down at the thief. “We need to get to the tavern, so we can interrogate the locals.”

“Just give me a moment,” Crow waved his hand apathetically without looking up. “We have all night to harass the villagers for information. I’m sure we can spare some time before we start.”

“The sooner we get there, the more time we’ll have to speak with them,” Gavin tapped his foot in annoyance.

“The tavern won’t even be full until the sun fully sets,” Crow said dismissively, glancing up at the knight with a bemused look. “I’m even more convinced that we should stop now. It sounds like you need to rest even more than I do.”

“No, I’m just taking this mission seriously,” Gavin retorted, narrowing his eyes untrustingly. “Now stop delaying us and get up… unless you have a reason why you don’t want us to go to the tavern until nightfall.”

“Yes, because I wrote ahead and told all the witnesses to leave before you show up,” Crow said with dry sarcasm. “I know you’d like to think I’m scheming against you all the time, but I really do just want to take a break. Is that too much to ask?”

“It wouldn’t be if you didn’t have a reputation for lying,” Gavin snorted. “Stop wasting our time and get up.”

“Fine,” Crow finally conceded with an exaggerated groan. He climbed stiffly to his feet and took the lead to direct the knights down the road that led to the local tavern.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope was glad that the rest of the walk to Aramoor was relatively peaceful. The few other patrols that they did encounter seemed to think Crow was just another knight so she was able to relax a little as they continued on their way. Once they finally reached the village, she watched as Crow moved to sit down underneath a nearby tree. Knowing that he was likely worn out from the traveling and poor sleep, she slowed to a stop, prepared to let the thief rest for a moment. However, Gavin wasn't as merciful.

She shot an annoyed glare at the male knight as he insisted on getting to the tavern as quickly as possible. She would have argued to rest for a moment but she doubted Gavin would listen to her anyways. He was far too suspicious of Crow to hear her out if she was merely trying to defend the thief. Penelope shook her head and moved to follow the others as Crow led them towards the tavern.

As they walked, her gaze wandered over the village curiously as it was her first time seeing it. The effect of the war were much more present in Aramoor than they had been in Whitebridge. Though the villagers seemed to be going on with life as normal, it was evident in the damaged buildings and gravesite that she occasionally caught sight of as they walked that the war had taken its toll on them. Penelope frowned to herself, feeling a tug of sympathy for the people of Aramoor. Her gaze flickered towards Gavin, suddenly feeling renewed hope that he would take over her plans for her after the war. Aramoor would certainly need the additional help and it was likely the other outer villages would need it just as much once the war reached its end.

Focusing back ahead, she noticed they had reached the tavern and that she had fallen behind a bit. Picking up her pace, she entered the building after Olivia and swept her gaze over the inside. Unlike Whitebridge, it was a lot less busy and quieter. A few small groups sat around drinking and chatting quietly.

"It's dull here.." Olivia sighed disappointedly as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"They probably don't feel like they have much to celebrate here." Penelope mumbled with a small frown.

Gavin lowered his gaze for a moment, seeming to share in her sympathy for the villagers, before turning to the others. "Well, regardless, there's enough people here to find the information we're looking for."

"Right." Olivia muttered calculatingly. She smirked and suddenly linked arms with Penelope. "I think I'll be taking Penelope with me tonight. Sorry boys." she winked at them.

"Hold on." Penelope protested, narrowing her gaze at Olivia. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Nope!" Olivia snickered as she began to drag her away.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow’s eyes swept over the village as they walked along the main road. Aramoor was in bad shape, but fortunately, the damage didn’t seem to be too much worse than when he and the other thieves had left it behind long ago. He just hoped the villagers’ luck would continue to hold out, so they wouldn’t follow the same path as the towns to the east that had succumbed to wars past. He felt a pang of sadness as his gaze landed on a fresh graveyard. Part of him wanted to come back and set up camp near the southern village after his mission with the knights, but now that Penelope’s life was on the line, he couldn’t bring himself to travel away from her and go to bed every night wondering if she was still alive. As long as she was on the battlefront, he intended to stay close to her.

Eventually, the group reached the small tavern and stepped inside. Crow lingered by the doorway as he looked over the diminutive crowd that sat around at the tables. Unlike the Wild Lion in Whitebridge, there was a heaviness to the air that weighed of hopelessness and despair. It was clear that the villagers here were not drinking to celebrate the victories of their kingdom, but to escape from the harshness of the war. It was a desolate sight.

The thief glanced at Olivia as she commented on the dullness of the atmosphere. He couldn’t tell if she was genuinely oblivious of the pain in the village, or if she simply didn’t care. He was just about to turn away again to look for a good target to question, but then froze when the knight decidedly said that she would be going with Penelope. Before anyone had a chance to protest, the two were already on their way to a table of peasants, with Olivia dragging her friend along rather mercilessly.

Crow and Gavin exchanged an uncomfortable look, seeming to realize at the same time that with the two women gone, they were now going to have to work together too. The thief was more than capable enough to handle an interrogation of this nature on his own, but the knight wasn’t a skilled enough liar to handle the task. If Gavin was going to get anything done, he was going to need help, and Crow was the only one around who was up for the job.

A tense silence passed before Crow eventually cleared his throat and looked away, busying himself by selecting a table to approach. “Alright, let’s get this over with,” he muttered, taking a step towards a group of three men whom he had chosen as his targets.

“Not so fast,” Gavin narrowed his eyes. “We’re going to talk to them.” He tilted his head to indicate a different table than the one the thief had been eyeing.

Crow shot him a cold look, “If you’re going to fight me on every decision, we’re not going to get anything done.”

“Is there a problem with the group I picked?” Gavin asked accusatively.

“No,” Crow curled his lip. “It doesn’t matter who we speak with. I just don’t like your attitude.”

“Well, you’re just going to have to get used to it, thief, because I’m not as inclined to trust a criminal as my comrades seem to be.”

“It would save us all time if you would just get off your high horse and let me help you,” Crow rolled his eyes.

“You mean; let you lead us on a wild chase of a band of thieves that might not even exist?” Gavin snorted. “Not a chance.”

“You know, you’re infuriating enough that I’m actually feeling tempted to do just that,” Crow snarled, shoving past the knight to walk to the table he’d selected. “Come on. Stop wasting my time, and don’t get in my way.”

“I could say the same to you,” Gavin growled, following after the thief as they headed over to start their interrogation.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope glanced helplessly over her shoulder as Olivia dragged her over to a nearby table. Since she was now forced to work with Olivia, that meant that Gavin and Crow would be stuck working together, something that was not ideal for anyone. However, it was too late to turn back as they reached the group Olivia had selected. Her friend wasted no time in sitting down and ordering two drinks. Letting out a soft sigh of defeat, Penelope sat down in the empty seat besides her and gave a polite smile to the villagers who were now eying them curiously.

"Sorry to pop in unannounced. My friend and I here were just hoping to find some company to drink with." Olivia grinned.

One man shrugged his shoulders and stared down at his drink. "I'm guessing you two are travelers." he sighed.

"Yeah, we just got here." Penelope nodded and took a small sip of her drink.

"We're just passing through." Olivia said dismissively. She eyed the peasants for a moment before raising her mug up. "How about we play a game? I like to call it the adult version of hide and seek. First we chug our drinks then we hide under the table. Those who managed to make it up from the ground continue to the next round and those who can't get up, well, they're out." She paused before pulling out her coin purse. "I'll even make it interesting."

Penelope looked over at Olivia with a small sigh. She hoped the female knight didn't intend to get drunk again but it seemed that she was. However, she also noticed that it likely wasn't too bad of an idea. The peasants at the table had only been drinking a small amount, certainly not enough to make them loose lipped. A drinking game would definitely help that. They seemed reluctant to participate though, likely not in the mood. She shifted and pulled out her own coin purse from her boot as well. "I'm willing to put in some money on that as well." she offered, making Olivia grin wildly. Surely it would be fine as long as she didn't actually drink, right?

With more money on the table, the peasants quickly joined in and became a bit more lively than before. Olivia raised her mug to begin the game and glanced over at Penelope, smirking mischievously. "And remember, no cheating~! Especially you!" she warned. Penelope's eyes widened slightly, realizing a little too late the trap she had fallen into. With Olivia's words, more eyes would be on her, making it difficult to merely pour out her drink to pretend she had chugged it. The female knight eyed her mug with reservation. She didn't want to get drunk but she had already agreed to the game.

Well.. it's too late to back out of this round... she thought with a long sigh. As Olivia announced for them to begin, she lifted the drink to her lips and downed it alongside the other players. After one drink, she already began to feel the effects of the alcohol hitting her system, especially after drinking it so fast. With the others, she ducked down under the table, nearly feeling a bit sick with the fast motion. However, she knew she could handle it. It wasn't her first time playing this game with Olivia. Back in the inner kingdom, they had played such games within the tavern multiple times and though she usually never won, she at least made it through a few rounds.

Without thinking it through, she made it back up from the ground with most of the others. A couple peasants struggled a bit with getting back to their seats and one even stayed on the ground, deciding it was better to quit early. Something that she should have done. She let out a quiet groan as they order more drinks. She should have just let herself lost so that she would only have to go through one round. "On second thought, I think I'll give up." she said waving her hand as Olivia passed her another mug.

"Too late! You already got back up so you're in this again." Olivia declared.

"Rules are rules!" a woman grinned.

"Yeah! I'll feel guilty for taking your coin if you're giving up that easy!" chuckled one man.

Penelope sighed and gave a reluctant nod, raising the mug up again. There was a small cheer before Olivia quickly began the next round. Lifting the mug up, she drank down the ale with the others. It seemed stronger this time as it hit her, making her feel fuzzy. She hurried under the table and leaned back against one of the legs. This time she stayed down as the others hurried back up, gladly accepting defeat. I shouldn't have drank that much... she leaned her head back and listened as Olivia continued on with the rounds.

It went on for a little bit longer and Olivia soon joined Penelope under the table, however, the other female knight wasn't drunk. Olivia smirked at Penelope and shrugged her shoulders. "Don't worry.. I didn't drink this time. I figured it would be more fun to get you drunk this time.. Plus less pain for me in the morning." she whispered.

"You'rre an-aass." Penelope slurred.

Olivia laughed. "What? I just wanted to lighten the mood a bit. Now shh.. they're almost done."

Penelope glared at her silently and listened as the group finished their game. Olivia helped get her back up as they joined the now drunken group at the table yet again. "Well that was fun~~" Olivia purred as she leaned back in her seat. There was a murmur of agreement and the man that won was grinning proudly.

"Don' forget the..." Penelope paused. What was she trying to remember again? It seemed important. "the mission thing.." Now she recalled it. They were there on a mission of some sorts. She couldn't think of the details though and merely hoped Olivia did.

"Mission?" echoed one man.

"Oh right." Olivia chuckled and leaned heavily onto the table. "We're looking for an old friend of ours.. That's why we're traveling you see.. Maybe you've seen him?"

"Whats he look like?"

"Ah.." Olivia paused and ran a hand through her hair. "You know... I can't really remember now." Her words caused for a laugh to cross over the group. She smiled sheepishly and shrugged her shoulders. "He would have been traveling with a group though! A big one.. Any big groups pass through here lately?"

"Hmmm..." One man drawled, exchanging looks with the others. "I think... think there was one.. But it was a while ago.."

"How long?"

"A week? Maybe?" he shrugged. "I dunno. It was a while ago and I don't remember much about them..There was like five or six of 'em.. "

Olivia pursed her lips together before letting out a sigh. "I see.. Oh well.. Thanks! I think we better get going now though." she chuckled and stood up slowly before offering her hand to Penelope. "Come on, let's get your drunkass back to the other two." she snickered. Penelope glared at her and slowly stood up, reluctantly taking her friend's hand after noticing how wobbly she was on her legs.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow could already tell he wasn’t going to like this interrogation. As he sat down at the table of peasants with Gavin, he could see the knight eyeing him suspiciously from the corner of his eye. It seemed like even though he had relented and given the man his pick of the villagers to question, he still wasn’t going to be given any grace. He let out his breath in a quiet sigh of exasperation and glanced across the tavern at Olivia and Penelope, who seemed to be enjoying themselves much more than he was with Gavin. It felt unfair that he had to get stuck with the uptight knight while they were drinking and generally having a good time.

Fortunately, the men at their table didn’t question his gloomy behavior, since they were all drinking to wash away their own sorrows. In fact, they didn’t even greet him or Gavin when they sat down to join them. The only one who interacted with them at all was a wench, who came over to ask if they wanted anything to drink. Seeing an opportunity, Crow turned to her with a dull expression, “Two mugs of your strongest ale, please.” He caught sight of Gavin giving him a questioning look, but he kicked the knight beneath the table before he could open his mouth to say anything and ruin his act.

“This war’s even got you down, huh, thief?” one of the men finally spoke up as the wench walked off to take his request.

“Yep,” Crow shrugged dolefully, propping his elbow on the table and resting his cheek against the palm of his hand. “Things aren’t much better in the northern villages.”

“Wait, you recognize him?” Gavin interjected suddenly, grasping at the tail of what he seemed to think was a lead. His eyes flickered to the thief for a moment before returning to the villagers. “When was the last time he was here?”

Crow narrowed his eyes at the knight, picking up right away on where he was going with the question. However, before he could speak up, another man answered the question first, “It’s been a while, huh?” He turned to his companions, who nodded in agreement, before meeting the knight’s gaze. “He and some other thieves tried to help us out during the war before things got so bad, but it’s been a few seasons now since I last saw his face around here.”

“See?” Crow turned to Gavin smugly, leaning back in his chair as the wench returned with their drinks. “It wasn’t me. Now would you stop trying to accuse me of something I didn’t do and focus on the real enemy here?”

“I’m still not convinced there’s another enemy at all,” Gavin glared at him and took a sip of his drink, wrinkling his nose slightly at the strength of the ale.

Crow scoffed and shook his head, lifting his mug to his lips as he downed a draught of the bitter liquid. He fought back the urge to make a face as well. Since he didn’t like to get drunk, he usually didn’t order ale this potent. However, it was for the sake of blending in with the people of Aramoor, so he couldn’t give away his distaste. Setting the mug down again, he looked up at the villagers across the table, “I don’t suppose any of you blokes have seen a group of travelers pass through recently, have you?” He jabbed a thumb at Gavin. “This moron lost his coin purse, and he’s convinced that one of them stole it.”

Gavin shot him a cold look, to which the thief just winked slyly in return. The story was already out, so there wasn’t much the knight could do about it.

“Come to think of it, I did see some men come through last week,” one of the peasants stroked his beard in thought. “There were about five of ‘em.”

Crow and Gavin turned to him with interest. Jaxon’s group was much larger than just five men the last time the thief had seen it, but he supposed that only a few of them could have come into town for some drinks. “Is that so?” he said, leaning forward in his seat. “What did they look like?”

“I don’t remember,” the man shook his head. “I just remember that they were speaking a strange language. Nothing I’ve ever heard the likes of before.”

“I see,” Crow frowned. If the travelers had been speaking another language, it couldn’t have been Jaxon’s thieves.

“I take it these weren’t the men you’re lookin’ for?” another villager said, noticing his expression.

“No,” he sighed, lifting his mug again.

“Interesting,” Gavin said dryly, swirling the remains of his half-filled glass. “Another dead lead.”

“It was a longshot that we would hear anything about them in any village,” Crow shot him a glower. “They could have traveled through the forest without stopping.”

“Sounds like an excuse to lead us around in circles while your friends make off with our supplies,” Gavin growled.

Crow groaned and leaned back in his chair, tilting his head back as he raked both of his hands through his hair, “Gods, what is it going to take to get it through that thick skull of yours that it wasn’t me?”

“You can say that as many times as you want, but I know the truth,” Gavin said stubbornly. “You just don’t want Penelope to find out what kind of man you really are, so you can keep up your ridiculous charade. Unfortunately for you, it’s only a matter of time now before she realizes it for herself.”

“I’m too sober for this nonsense,” Crow muttered, downing another sizeable portion of his ale.

“You might as well give up now,” Gavin went on, a bit looser with his words now that he had finished off most of his drink. “Your game is over. I’m going to show her that you’re no different than any other criminal and make sure you get what you deserve after what you did to our comrades.”

“Good luck with that, since I didn’t do anything,” Crow snapped. His eyes flickered towards the villagers, who were now getting up from their table to get away from the fight, and he felt a pang of embarrassment as he realized that he and the knight were causing a scene. “You’ll see when we find the thieves we’re looking for,” he went on in a more tamed voice, downing the rest of his drink and setting the empty mug on the table. He could feel the alcohol dull his senses, but he was still self-aware enough to think straight, so he stood up from the table and glanced over his shoulder at the door.

“We should see if the others heard anything more useful than we did,” he said, looking back down at the knight.

“You’re never going to let go of this story about mystery thieves, are you?” Gavin shook his head as he rose to his feet as well.

“Not as long as I’m convinced it was them,” he shrugged.

“Touche.”

Crow shot him one more glare, but held his tongue. He had much more of a reason to believe that Jaxon was behind the raid than Gavin had to believe it had been him. However, knowing that anything more he had to say would just fall on deaf ears, he decided to save his breath. Instead, he turned his back on the knight and headed to their meeting spot near the tavern entrance to find out what Olivia and Penelope had learned from the villagers they had spoken with.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope stood besides Olivia, leaning heavily into her as they waited for the other two to arrive at the meeting spot. It wasn't long before she spotted Crow and Gavin approaching them. Fixating her drunken gaze on Crow, the knight smiled and waved at him, feeling glad to see him. She didn't think they had been separated for too long but then again, it was all a big foggy at the moment. Olivia looked at her and gave a small laugh before turning back to the men.

"Ah there you guys are, finally!" Olivia sighed. She let go of Penelope and gave her a small shove over to Crow. "Here you go, you can take care of her now, my shoulder's starting to ache with how much she's been leaning on me."

Penelope stumbled, trying to catch herself but just ended up sinking into Crow anyways. She shrugged and leaned contentedly into the thief, finding his chest to be a rather perfect spot to rest her head. "Thanks 'Livia." she mumbled gratefully.

"No problem." Olivia grinned.

"Penelope how much did you have to drink?" Gavin frowned.

Penelope glanced over at the male knight as he looked at her with a worried expression. She was confused why he was so worried. It wasn't like they were in danger or had somewhere to be, surely her getting drunk was not the end of the world. Although, part of her still wished she hadn't even though she couldn't fully remember the reasoning. "Duunno.. A couple? 'Livia started some 'ame..Iss fine."

"Of course she did." Gavin groaned and shot a glare at Olivia. "Couldn't just stick to getting yourself drunk huh?"

Olivia held up her hands. "Hey it's not like I forced her.. Anyways she's such a lightweight it only took two mugs."

"Did you even remember to question the peasants?"

"Well duh."

While the other two knights bickered, Penelope found her gaze wandering back up to Crow, quickly distracted by his face. She reached up and lightly trailed her hand back and forth along his jawline. "Sooo scratchy now... I 'ike it though." she mused, referring to his facial hair. "I 'on't thin' I mentioned it before..but it was a good change."

[Rogue Sloth]

As soon as Crow’s eyes fell on the female knights, he could tell that something was off. Penelope was leaning heavily on her friend’s shoulder, and Olivia was looking a little too pleased with herself for his liking. Did she get her drunk? he wondered as he walked over to them with Gavin. His suspicion was quickly confirmed when he saw Penelope raise her hand in a wave and smiled at him in a manner that seemed different than the way she usually looked. He shook his head. Perhaps the two had had a little too much fun, after all.

When he reached them, he blinked in surprise as Olivia passed her stumbling friend off to him right away. He hurried to wrap his arms around her as she practically fell into him, worried that she would just collapse if he didn’t support her. After checking to make sure that she was at least somewhat stable, he looked up again as Gavin began to chide Olivia for getting Penelope drunk. He didn’t often side with the knight, but in this case he agreed that it had been foolish of her for getting so carried away. They had come to the tavern to find out if the thieves had passed through, not play games and get intoxicated.

In hindsight, it’s not like we did much better, he thought with a wince as he realized that even though he and Gavin hadn’t gotten drunk, they hadn’t done the best job of gathering information either. In fact, they had drawn quite a bit of attention to themselves as well with their fight. He let out his breath in a discouraged sigh as he realized that he was in no position to judge the female knights for drinking when he’d done just as poor of a job with the interrogation as they had, and he’d been sober.

Crow’s thoughts derailed when he suddenly felt Penelope reach up and trail her hand along his jaw. He turned to look down at her, thinking at first that she was trying to get his attention. However, he quickly realized that wasn’t the case when she continued to drag her fingers across his face and commented on his beard being scratchy. He laughed and leaned in to kiss her on the forehead, finding her absent words somehow endearing.

“I’m glad you like it,” he smiled at her amusedly. “Shaving it all off was becoming a hassle, so I figured I’d try something different.” He shrugged and then took on a mischievous look. “Plus, now I can do this.” Leaning in a little more, he drew her close in a tight embrace so she couldn’t pull away and nuzzled his cheek playfully against hers.

Off to the side, he heard Gavin clear his throat. “We don’t have anything else to learn here, so we should get going,” the knight said, eyeing the thief with contempt.

“Fine by me,” Crow said, straightening his posture. The thought of supper and sleep were too alluring for him to argue with the knight, whom he was certain was only rushing them to separate him from Penelope again. Adjusting his hold on her, he shifted so that her arm rested across his shoulders and his hand was pressed sturdily against her waist. Once he felt like he had a firm hold on her, he glanced down with a teasing smirk, “Come on, lightweight. Let’s get you to bed.”

[BuzzingBee]

"Hey!" Penelope giggled as Crow held her tightly and nuzzled his cheek against hers. She smiled up at the thief until she heard Gavin clear his throat. Her gaze shifted over to the male knight and her smile faded as she noticed the look he was giving Crow. She frowned slightly, confused why Gavin had such a problem with the thief. In her opinion, Crow was great so she didn't understand. She was about to say something but was quickly distracted as it was time to leave.

She looked up at Crow as he teased her. "They were strong drinks" She said with a roll of her eyes. However, she didn't protest as they began to leave the tavern. Penelope followed along at Crow's side, having to lean against him to keep herself from stumbling. However, the knight suddenly recalled his weariness from the lack of sleep and long day of travel. Realizing she was likely burdening him, she tried to take a bit of her weight off of him as they walked. It caused her to stumble slightly but she still remained close to him so she didn't lose her balance.

Looking back ahead at Olivia and Gavin, she tuned curiously into their conversation as she noticed Gavin shooting her friend and annoyed look.

"So are you going to explain what happened?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Just a drinking game." Olivia shrugged innocently.

Gavin snorted. "I doubt Penelope just decided to get drunk on her own accord."

"Well perhaps you don't know her as well as you thought." Olivia said with a sly smirk as she glanced over her shoulder at Crow and Penelope. "Right, Penelope?"

Penelope stared at her with a confused expression before shrugging. "I dunno... but I'm pretty sure this is your faul'" she replied innocently.

"Of course it is." Gavin grumbled with an accusing look at Olivia.

"Gods, stop being sssuch a jerk Gavin." Penelope sighed as she looked over at the male knight. Her words seemed to catch him by surprise and left Olivia laughing. In her drunken state, she didn't understand what was so funny to her friend but determined to get her point across to Gavin, she ignored it and continued on, "I don' remember you always being like this... I thought you were cool before...Now you're just like... like..." The female knight pursed her lips together for a moment, racking her brain as she tried to figure out who she was trying to compare him to. She eventually let out a sigh of defeat. "Never mind.. But you get the point! You're being as moody as my brother almost."

"Oof.. Harsh comparison." Olivia smirked at Gavin

Gavin blinked and quickly focused his gaze back ahead. "She's drunk, she barely knows what she's saying.." he muttered. "Let's just focus on finding a place to stay tonight please."

[Rogue Sloth]

“I’m sure they were,” Crow nudged Penelope teasingly when she said the drinks had been strong. In reality, he knew the ale this tavern served was quite potent, especially since he had ordered a strong drink too, but he was still surprised it only took two of them to have her stumbling like this. He glanced down at her as they stepped out of the tavern. On second thought, it wasn’t that shocking. She wasn’t as big as him, so even though one drink had only made him a little fuzzy, it probably would have affected her a lot more.

As they walked to the main road, he could tell that she was trying not to lean the fullness of her weight on him. Even though he was more than willing to carry her to wherever they were going to spend the night, he appreciated the thought behind her gesture. He was even a bit impressed that she had remembered his soreness while she was so intoxicated. He smiled to himself, feeling his heart swell with affection for the knight. Her compassion for others never ceased to amaze him.

It wasn’t long before Gavin tried confronting Olivia about what had happened back in the tavern again. Crow glanced back at the knights as they bickered. He found it a bit petty that Gavin would bring the subject up again just to pin blame on someone. It didn’t matter who had started it, in his opinion. What had happened, happened. They just needed to move on from it and find a place to rest, so Penelope could get some food in her stomach and sleep off the alcohol in her system. Knowing that they were probably going to have another long day tomorrow, all he cared about was making sure she didn’t wake up in the morning too hungover to leave her bed.

His eyes flicked towards Penelope as she joined into the conversation as well, quirking a brow in amusement when she compared Gavin to her brother. Knowing the kind of man Layth was, it was quite a brutal comment to throw at the knight. Gavin took obvious offense to it as well, looking away from the others and abruptly changing the subject.

“I know a place we can stay,” Crow offered. “There’s a family just west of here that’s taken me and my thieves in before. I’m sure they’d be willing to accommodate us tonight if we ask.”

Gavin pursed his lips, seeming reluctant to take his suggestion. However, after a moment, he nodded resignedly. “Fine,” he sighed. “Show us where they are.” Even though he still didn’t trust the thief, he seemed to realize that he didn’t have any other options unless they wanted to head all the way back to the woods outside of Aramoor.

Crow nodded, relieved that the knight had chosen to be rational instead of fight with him for once. “This way,” he tipped his head towards a street in front of them that branched off of the main road and then took the lead to guide them to the villagers’ home. Gavin and Olivia followed. The male knight walked a bit stiffly, watching the surrounding alleyways as if he expected the thief to be leading them into an ambush. Of course, there was none, and they made it without any trouble.

Shifting his hold on Penelope a bit, Crow stepped up to the front door of the run-down old house and knocked thrice. He waited for a moment, listening to the sound of muffled shuffling inside, before the door opened.

“Crow?” a deep voice said. On the other side of the door, a lean, ebony-skinned man stared at him in surprise. His eyes wandered to the drunken Penelope hanging off the thief’s shoulder before flicking back up to his face. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Silas,” Crow grinned at him in greeting. “My companions and I are traveling through Aramoor, and we need a place to sleep tonight. Would you and Zenith be willing to let us stay here with you until the morning?”

Silas glanced over the thief’s shoulder at Gavin and Olivia for a moment before he nodded. “Of course. You’ll just need to give us some time to make room for all of you.” He paused, his confused gaze falling on Penelope one more time. “Just to be clear, you didn’t steal this woman… Did you?”

Crow laughed and shook his head, “No, she just had a little too much to drink at the tavern.”

“That’s a relief,” Silas finally broke into a smile as well. “I can never be too careful with you thieves.” He stepped aside to let them enter. “Come inside. Zenith is in the parlor with the girls. We just finished our supper, but you’re welcome to use our kitchen if you brought anything to cook for yourselves.”

“Thanks,” Crow dipped his head in curt gesture of gratitude and turned back to the other knights. “You heard the man. Come on in.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope fell silent as they discussed plans for where they would be staying for the night. She shifted a bit as she walked alongside Crow as he began to lead them towards the home. The knight was attracted by the mention of getting some food as well as rest. The day had been rather long with all the traveling and on top of her current state, Penelope was more than eager to settle down for the night.

The walk over to the home helped her clear up her head a bit. Though far from sobering up, the knight felt a little more aware thanks to both the chilly night air and movement. Penelope looked ahead as they reached the run down home, eying it over as she wondered who it's owner was. As the door opened, she looked up curiously at the stranger known as Silas. At his words, she grinned in amusement. He made a good first impression on the knight, seeing as how quick he was willing to let them into his home. Granted her judgment was a still bit clouded with alcohol.

Once inside, she shifted away from Crow. She wasn't feeling as unbalanced as before so she figured she could handle walking on her own now that they were inside. Penelope still remained close to him as she looked around the old home before looking back over her shoulder. "Thanks." she told Silas before her gaze shifted over to Olivia and Gavin as the other two knights stepped in. Gavin remained a bit tense, still seeming wary of the situation.

"Well... Some dinner does sound pretty good righ' now." Penelope mused quietly and glanced expectantly at the male knight.

[Rogue Sloth]

As they stepped inside the small home, Crow felt Penelope pull away from his side. Guessing she had sobered up enough on the walk to handle herself, he let go of her so that she could move freely. Without having to worry about looking after her as much, he took some time to look around. The house was just as humble as he remembered. The bare walls and ceiling were patched from repairs due to weather damage, and there was hardly any furniture on the inside. The people of Aramoor were especially poor, so for any of them to have real beds or anything more than a few wooden chairs and a table was rare. Instead, they used blankets and mats filled with hay for sitting and sleeping.

He glanced back over his shoulder as the other knights followed him inside. He could tell that Gavin was still just as tense as before, but he didn’t expect anything less. It was unlikely that the knights would have ever stayed in the home of a peasant before, since, from what he understood, they only ever stayed at inns or in group campsites. Since Aramoor couldn’t afford public lodging, and they couldn’t drag a drunken Penelope all the way back out to the woods, this had been their only real choice. Gavin was just going to have to learn to set his ego aside and accept the fact that he was going to need to take help from criminals and peasants on this mission.

“Well, this is a nice surprise,” a feminine voice chuckled. Crow turned back around to see a dark-skinned woman walking towards him from the parlor. Her thick hair was tied back, keeping it from falling into her pretty, heart-shaped face. “What brings you back to our humble village, Crow?” Silas’s wife, Zenith, asked with a bemused smile.

“I like this place too much to stay away for long,” Crow answered her with a grin. When she reached him, he greeted her with a friendly hug and a kiss on the cheek. However, when he did, he felt something he wasn’t expecting. He pulled back from her and glancing down at her stomach. “You’re pregnant,” he said with unbridled surprise as he looked up again to meet her gaze.

Zenith laughed, seeming to find his reaction entertaining. “Yes,” she nodded, resting a hand on her swollen belly. She leaned a little closer to him and lowered her voice. “And I have a feeling it’s a boy this time.”

“Gods willing,” Silas, who had stepped over to join them, chuckled. “I love my girls, but it would be nice to have a son around here too.”

“Either way, congratulations to you both,” Crow clapped him on the back. His eyes wandered back to Zenith as another thought crossed his mind. Even though he was genuinely happy for his friends, there was a part of him that was worried for them as well. The ongoing war was hard enough on everyone without throwing a newborn in the mix. He couldn’t imagine the lengths Silas would have to go to protect his wife when she was further along in her pregnancy too. The image made him shudder, and he quickly looked away from her again, not wanting to let the depressing thought ruin the joy of the moment.

Almost as if on cue, a distraction was provided.

“Thief’s back!” a shrill voice cried out followed by the thunder of small footsteps as Silas and Zenith’s two daughters raced across the room from where they had been sitting in the parlor.

“Oh gods,” Crow’s eyes widened as they raced towards him and wrapped their arms around his waist. He had to take a step backwards to keep from losing his balance when they charged into him. No matter how many times he visited the family, their energy always caught him off guard. “Hey there,” he laughed, resting his hands on their heads. “Long time, no see.”

“Did you bring us anything?” the younger girl asked, looking up at him expectantly.

“Letha, manners,” Zenith chided the girl and shot the thief an apologetic look.

“It’s fine,” Crow shrugged. He took a step back to pull away from the two girls and then knelt down, retrieving his coin purse from his pocket. “Here,” he drew four gold coins and held them out in his open palm. “Two for each of you. Just make sure you give them to your parents when you’re done playing with them.”

“No, we couldn’t ask you for that,” Zenith’s eyes widened slightly at the amount of money he was giving to her daughters. “Please, you don’t have to do this.”

“You didn’t ask, I’m offering,” Crow glanced up at her with a grin. “This is the least I can do for the help you’re giving us tonight. Besides, I’d be honored to help you cover the expenses of that third mouth you’re going to have to feed soon.”

“Thanks!” the oldest girl said as the two eagerly took the coins from his hand and ran off to play with them.

“Too late now,” Crow winked at Zenith, rising to his feet again.

“You’re too kind,” she shook her head, biting her lip as she seemed to fight back tears. After a moment, she cleared her throat and went on in a soft voice, “I-I’m going to help Silas arrange a place for you all to sleep tonight. Please, make yourselves at home.” With that, she turned and headed into an adjoining room.

Crow watched her go until she disappeared from sight before turning back to Penelope. He sighed and slipped his arm around her waist, pressing an absent kiss to her head as he watched Silas and Zenith’s daughters run around the parlor with the coins he had given them. He’d dipped into quite a bit of the money he’d made in Whitebridge to give them that much, but to him, it was worth it. He couldn’t stay in Aramoor to help the family directly during the war, but he could make sure they were able to get by financially. That was the next best thing.

After a moment, he let out a tired yawn and let his arm fall from around the knight’s middle, reaching instead to take her hand. With nothing left to distract him, he was starting to feel the full weight of his exhaustion from the busy day. “Come with me over here,” he said tiredly, giving Penelope’s hand a tug. “There’s some blankets laid out that we can rest on while Gavin works on our dinner.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope looked over as a woman joined them and greeted Crow as well. She watched their exchange for a moment until she heard a shrill cry and small footsteps. Turning her head, she blinked in surprise as the two daughters came charging into the room and directly for Crow. The knight smiled, quickly amused by the energy of the children.

As she watched him interact, she felt a swell of affection for the thief at his generous gesture of the coins he gave the family. His care for the outer villages and the villagers that lived there always impressed the knight. It was one of the many things she loved about him. Penelope smiled softly and glanced away from Crow to look over at Gavin, suddenly interested in how the male knight was doing. Gavin was already working on preparing dinner but was listening in on the conversations taking place, occasionally glancing over. He still seemed a bit wary but with his shoulders a little more relaxed, he didn't look as tense.

Her focus quickly turned back to Crow as the thief turned back to her. She smiled up at him and gave his hand a small squeeze as he took hers. "Alright." she said with a small nod as she followed him over to where the blankets were laid out. The knight paused before attempting to carefully lower herself onto the ground. Though she had sobered up a bit, she was still a little unstable so the simple task was a bit more difficult than usual.

Allowing herself to finally plop down on the ground, she let out a long exhale and leaned back on the palms of her hands. Penelope looked over at Crow and shifted a little closer to his side before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Sorry I got this drunk." she mumbled. "I'll.. Make it up to you or somethin' someday." The knight shrugged and glanced around the house as she began to think about what had happened at the tavern. It was all a bit hazy and she couldn't recall even asking about the people they were supposed to be looking for.

Her eyes widened with realization that she might have completely forgotten the mission at hand. "Did we ev'n find anything out?" she asked him with a frown.