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

[Rogue Sloth]

When Penelope agreed to go with him, Crow led her over to the blankets that he had indicated. Instead of sitting down right away, he took a moment to watch the knight and make sure that she didn’t need help getting down. She had some trouble, but she seemed to be able to sit on her own, so he dropped to the ground beside her with a sigh of relief. His body ached from all the traveling they had done, and he was glad to finally have a chance to rest. He looked forward to being able to sleep under the security of a roof that night as well.

As Penelope settled against his side, he leaned into her too, smiling softly as she kissed his cheek. At her apology, he shook his head. “It’s alright,” he assured her, running his hand over her leg in a comforting gesture. “I can’t be mad at you when you’re such a cute drunk… Although, I won’t turn down the opportunity to cash in a favor if you’re offering.” He shot her a teasing smirk and pressed a gentle kiss to her temple, going on in a hushed tone, “Honestly though, you shouldn’t feel bad. You helped me throughout the worst of my illness. If anyone owes anyone a favor, it’s me.”

When Penelope asked if they’d found anything out about the rogue thieves, Crow shook his head and sighed. “It’s hard to say,” he returned her frown. “To tell you the truth, Gavin and I didn’t get much accomplished, and Olivia made it sound like things weren’t much better on your end either. From the little we heard, it doesn’t sound like they came through here, but I’m hesitant to draw any conclusions on the word of a few drunken villagers. It would be better if we could speak with some more people before we decide what to do from here.” He paused and looked her over, realizing that she might be too drunk to remember anything he was saying to her at the moment.

“You know what? Let’s not worry about that right now,” he decided, sinking into her side and resting his head against hers. Gazing out over the small house, his eyes wandered from the knights in the kitchen—it looked like Gavin had roped Olivia into helping prepare their supper after the stunt she’d pulled in the tavern—to Silas’s daughters in the parlor, and he found that his lip curved upward in a smile of its own accord. Watching them run around made him think of the future he and Penelope dreamed about. He glanced down at her and reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers together. He couldn’t wait for the day when they would be able to rest like this underneath the roof of their own home with their own family.

The thought brought a hint of color to his cheeks, but he didn’t shy away from it. It was what he wanted, and he knew she did too. So, he closed his eyes and let his mind roam as he imagined that they were alone in Farhill. The war had ended, and they were free to be together as they had always wanted, without any responsibilities or ties to anyone who would fight against their decision to abandon tradition…

“Supper is ready.”

Crow jumped slightly at the sound of Gavin’s voice. Blinking his eyes open, he looked around the room, a bit disoriented as he took a moment to remember where he was. Between his exhaustion from the long day and Penelope’s relaxing presence at his side, he realized that he must have dozed off. He stretched tiredly and shook his head, trying to clear himself of the grogginess that remained.

“Sorry,” he murmured to Penelope, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm. “Was I asleep long?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope smiled bashfully as he reassured her. As he spoke about him owing her, she blinked and shook her head slightly in disagreement. Even in her drunken state, she didn't think she had done that much to help. All the real work was done by Hazel with some advice from Jane after all. The only thing she had managed to do was bring the two together amidst her constant worry for the thief's health. However, she didn't say anything on the topic as he went on to answer her question.

"Well that suckss." She sighed softly. Not all of what he was saying got through to the knight, enough got through to for her to know that it seemed they had hit another dead end. The knight felt her hope of ever tracking down the thieves that had attack them begin to diminish slightly. Penelope pouted as she thought more about until Crow chose to switch subjects. Feeling him lean further into her, her smile returned and she closed her eyes for a moment. "Alright." she agreed softly as she felt him take her hand in his.

The moment was peaceful as she sat quietly besides him, however, it wasn't long before she felt most of his weight shift into her. Penelope blinked in surprise and braced herself with her free arm as the thief fell asleep on her. It was difficult to support both of them but she didn't want to wake him up since she knew that Crow had been worn out from the day's journey. Feeling her arm tremble, she knew she wouldn't be able to stay in the position they were currently in so she carefully freed her other hand from his and wrapped her arm around his waist.

Keeping a grip on him, she slowly pulled him back down onto the blankets with her, letting him still rest partially on top of her. No longer straining to support them both, she let out a sigh of relief and turned her head to look over at Crow. The knight smiled as she studied his sleeping face for a moment. For a moment, she could almost imagine that the war was over and they were finally together in Farhill. "I can't wait for that..." she whispered as she nestled her head against his.

She was tempted to fall asleep as well but the smell of food being prepared kept her awake. It wasn't long before Gavin stepped over to announce that dinner was ready. Penelope stretched and looked over at Crow as he woke up at the sound of Gavin's voice. "Not really. Gavin didn' take much longer with dinner." she replied with a shrug before leaning in to press an affectionate kiss to his forehead. "Come on let's go eat then we can sleep."

Shifting away from him, she pushed herself up and slowly climbed up to her feet, having to use the wall to balance herself as she stumbled for a moment. Penelope turned back to Crow and without thinking it over, offered her hand out to him as she leaned slightly against the wall.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded sleepily when Penelope said they should eat before they go to bed. His empty stomach was more than enough to persuade him to agree with her. With some effort, he managed to sit upright on the blankets, glancing at the knight as she rose unsteadily to her feet beside him. As he slowly came back to himself from his nap, he became aware that he should have offered to help her get up. Even though he was tired, he was still more stable than she was while she recovered from the drinks she’d had at the tavern.

So, when she offered him a hand to help him stand as well, he shook his head to turn down the offer. “I appreciate the gesture, love, but I’m pretty sure I’ll just drag you back down with me if I take your hand now,” he said with a bemused smirk. Bracing his legs, he climbed to his feet on his own and stretched one more time to wake up. Once he felt decently alert, he reached out and slipped one arm around Penelope’s waist to help her away from the wall. While he knew she had probably sobered up enough to make it to the dining table on her own, it was an excuse for him to stay close to her for a little longer, so he was going to take advantage of it while he still could.

“Let me help you instead,” he offered her a smile and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. When he felt like he had a firm grip on her waist, he held her against his side and walked over to the table, where Olivia was already seated and Gavin was setting out plates for everyone. Crow guided Penelope to one of the empty chairs, pulling it out from the table for her to sit down before settling down in a seat next to hers. He eyed Gavin curiously as the knight stirred the contents of a pot that smelled of rich spices. Sitting up a little straighter, he peered over the edge of the dish in an attempt to see what was inside.

“It’s another stew,” Olivia said from across the table, catching his intrigued expression. The female knight was resting her cheek in the palm of her hand in a bored posture. Knowing her fondness for mischief, Crow guessed that she didn’t find the peacefulness of Silas and Zenith’s home as enjoyable as he and the others did.

“It smells great,” the thief said.

“Gavin did most of the work,” Olivia shrugged, toying dully with her spoon. “He’s the only one here who would bother to learn something as boring as cooking.”

Crow glanced at the male knight, who seemed to be ignoring their conversation as he prepared bowls for the stew. Though he wasn’t particularly fond of Penelope’s ex suitor, and he had no intention of ever growing friendly with the man, he knew they couldn’t keep fighting with each other forever. As was evident from their horrid interrogation at the tavern, they needed to work together if they were going to get anything done. Perhaps this could be an opportunity for him to win some favor with the knight.

“It may be boring, but it’s a useful skill,” he said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms loosely over his chest. “I think he’s got the right idea. You nobles would be better off if you learned how to do more for yourselves. You can’t expect to rely on someone else to feed you forever.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope blinked as he denied her offer. She realized he was likely right in assuming that he'd only drag her down if he took her hand so she let it fall to her side and waited for him to stand up on his own. Once he was up, she began to shift away from the wall so they could head over to the dining table, only to feel his arm wrap around her waist. She looked up at Crow with a questioning gaze as he offered to help her over to the table. Knowing she could make it on her own now and that he was likely still tired, the knight was about to protest, but didn't as he held her against his side. It was only a short distance anyways.

"Thanks." Penelope smiled at Crow as he helped her over to the table and pulled out the chair for her. She sat down and leaned back against the chair with a soft exhale and watched as Gavin set the table and began to dish out the servings. The male knight hesitated at Crow's words, eying the thief as he praised his skill.

Crow's words also happened to strike a cord with Penelope, who suddenly had her eyes widened in alarm. With the setting of a small peasant house and the previous thought of the war's end, the knight suddenly realized that she would have no idea how to do some of the more simple tasks that the wives of peasants usually took care of in the home. She had only been trained to be the wife of a nobleman, which certainly didn't include simple things like cooking, cleaning or even child rearing. All of the knowledge she had on that was limited. She only had knowledge of how to handle business matters, managing servants, and other etiquette. All of which would be useless to her in her future with Crow in the outer villages.

"What's wrong?" Gavin asked, frowning concernedly as he looked over at her, quickly noticing her bewildered expression.

"Uh... Nothing." Penelope paused and shifted a bit in her seat. She was reluctant to say anything in front of Crow, worried he'd think less of her. "But uh... When thin's die down, maybe you could teach me a bit about cooking.. And uh whateve' else you learned growing up with tha' servant."

Gavin blinked in surprise and hesitated for a moment, glancing towards Crow before looking back to Penelope. "Sure.." he replied with a small shrug.

Penelope gave him an appreciative look before focusing back on the food in front of her. She grabbed her spoon and began to eat the stew the male knight had poured into her dish, feeling a little relieved that there would still be a way to prepare for life in the outer villages before the end of the war.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow glanced at Gavin for a moment before looking away again. He wanted to stop the fighting between them, but that didn’t mean he wanted to try to befriend the knight. Whether or not Gavin appreciated his compliment meant little to the thief. He just hoped that it would be enough to lessen the tension between them and let the knight know that even though he didn’t like him, he wasn’t unwilling to work together. Of course, it was also entirely possible that the other man just assumed he was trying to manipulate him somehow, so he didn’t bother to say anything more on the subject.

A brief silence fell over them as Gavin distributed the bowls of stew. Offering a curt nod of thanks, Crow picked up his spoon and dipped it into the warm broth, stirring it slowly as it cooled. He was just about to lift a bite to his mouth, when he heard the knight ask Penelope what was wrong. Pausing in his tracks, he knitted his brow concernedly and turned to look at her to see what Gavin was talking about. For a moment, he worried that she was feeling sick from the alcohol she had drank, but that didn’t seem to be the case. She didn’t look ill; she almost seemed like she had been startled by something. He frowned, wondering what had made her look so alarmed.

“Uh... nothing.” Penelope looked uncomfortable at the question. “But, uh... when thin’s die down, maybe you could teach me a bit about cooking… and, uh, whateve’ else you learned growing up with tha’ servant.”

Crow blinked in surprise at her sudden request, and then flushed as the pieces fell into place in his mind. He averted his gaze, realizing that his earlier comment had included her too, even though that hadn’t been his intention. He hoped she didn’t think he was disappointed in her for something as simple as not knowing how to cook. She was already giving him more than he ever could have hoped for by simply agreeing to run away with him after the war. He couldn’t ask anything more of her on top of that.

The thief brought a spoonful of stew to his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. In all honesty, he hadn’t really thought about the specifics of what their lives would look like once the war was over. After all, it hadn’t been that long ago that he’d believed he would never settle down with any woman. Expecting to live alone, he hadn’t bothered to come up with any expectations for what he wanted in a wife. His childhood hadn’t been very conventional either. Since his mother had raised him by herself, he also didn’t have any preconceived ideas about what a “proper” family should look like. He supposed he could make some guesses based on what he had seen in families like Silas’s, but he had never been one to follow the lead of others to begin with. He preferred to abandon tradition to do whatever felt most natural for himself.

Sneaking a glance at Penelope, he studied her furtively from the corner of his eye. Though she seemed to be insecure about her ability to perform the tasks of a peasant housewife, he couldn’t see her taking on that role anyway. He remembered her telling him long ago that her father had believed she would make a better knight than wife of a nobleman, and the thief believed he had been right. He didn’t want her to feel like she had to settle for mundane work such as cooking and cleaning when her strengths lied in fighting and defending others. While there was no way for her to continue being a knight when she left to be with him, he was sure they would find some other way for her to use her talents for the people of the outer villages.

The rest of the supper went by quietly, only interrupted once by Zenith, who came over to tell them all that their sleeping quarters had been cleared out before she left to join her husband for bed. Crow finished off his food quickly as usual, and once Penelope was done too, he rose from the table and took her hand to lead her to the adjoining room, where he laid out his bedroll for them to sleep on. When that was done, he stood up again and peered into the other room. Gavin was washing the dishes, and it looked like he had convinced Olivia to help him too.

Turning back to Penelope, Crow stepped over to where she was standing and slipped his arms around her, pressing one hand to the small of her back and the other between her shoulder blades as he pulled her into a close embrace. He met her lips in a deep, yet tender kiss, trailing one hand from her shoulders up to the back of her neck. When he pulled away again, he met her gaze and smiled affectionately.

“I love you, Penelope,” he breathed, touching a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I don’t care if you can cook or manage a house. Honestly, you could be the worst chef in Brerra, and I would still want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He chuckled softly and ran his fingers through her long hair. “No one ever said any of those tasks would be your job anyway, so you shouldn’t worry about learning them all for my sake. I may not be as skilled as Gavin is with his fancy spices, but I do know how to prepare some simple dishes. So, until you learn how to cook—or even if you decide you don’t want to learn at all—I can take care of that for us, alright?”

He pressed one more kiss to her lips and then met her green eyes once more, “Don’t forget, we’re in this together. You don’t have to stress yourself out about the things you don’t know how to do, because I’ll be figuring it all out right alongside you. Whatever our life is going to look like, I’m sure we’ll make it work, just like we always have before.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope quietly ate her stew, still silently thinking about life after the war. Though she was still intoxicated, she found that between the worry and the food that she was sobering up more. Enough to not lose her focus as easily as before. The thought of doing the work of an average housewife wasn't appealing to the knight. It never had been, after all she took pride in her work as a knight and fighting abilities. Leaving all of that would be difficult enough so the thought of taking on work she had never even learned before easily stressed the knight out even more.

She knew she wouldn't let housework become her whole life once she left with Crow, especially since she doubted she would be very satisfied with doing such simple chores, but it would be something that she needed to do. The knight subtly glanced towards the thief as she finished up her stew. She also didn't want to disappoint him. Whatever expectations he had for a wife, she wanted to be able to meet them. Penelope might have been giving up a lot to be with him but she wanted him to be just as happy and satisfied with their life in Farhill too. He would be giving up parts of his life too after all, even if it wasn't as much as she was.

Gavin will teach me.. I've got enough time to learn before then.. She thought reassuringly to herself as she finished her dish. Her gaze flickered over to Crow as he stood up and took her hand. The knight got up and followed him quietly as he lead them over to the other room. She let out a tired yawn, more than ready to lay down as a mixture of a long day's travel, alcohol and a full stomach made her drowsy. The knight was just about to move to lay down on the bedroll when Crow pulled her into an embrace.

Penelope blinked and wrapped her arms around him as she eased into the kiss. She smiled against his lips, enjoying their closeness. As he pulled back and reassured her, she glanced sheepishly off to the side, realizing the thief had been quick to pick up on her earlier discomfort. Her heart fluttered at his words and she couldn't help but feel quite relieved. The knight smiled up at him. "Thank you.." she mumbled with a faint blush on her cheeks. "I love you too... And you'rre right. We'll figure it out. I didn't want to let you down if you were expecting all of that."

She leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his lips again before pulling back to meet his gaze. "I mean, you always promise to make me happy and I know you will, I just want to do the sssame for you.. If that meant learning about how to manage a home, then I'd do it." Penelope gave a small shrug and leaned her head against his. She paused and glanced down at the ground. "I still think I should learn a bit from Gavin though.. At least then we wouldn't be completely going into it blind."

[Rogue Sloth]

When Penelope looked up at him with rosy cheeks, Crow smiled, feeling a burst of affection for the knight. He found her bashfulness endearing and was glad that his words had been reassuring to her. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel like she had to meet a set of expectations that he didn’t even have. All he cared about was that she would be willing to work with him on sharing responsibilities, and based on what she had said to Gavin earlier, it sounded like she was already planning to do just that. If he ended up being the one to cook for both of them, that was fine too. He didn’t mind doing it if it would take some stress off of her. After all, they had never followed traditions to begin with, so why start now? As long as they were getting by, it didn’t matter who did what chores in his opinion.

He leaned in to meet her lips as she kissed him again, enjoying the moment. It was the first time they had talked about what their lives would look like after the war, and he was glad they’d had the conversation now. Speaking with her about the future made him feel closer to her. He leaned his head against hers, his heart swelling with fondness for the knight. He couldn’t wait for the time to come when they would finally get to be together all the time, and he hoped again that the end of the war would come swiftly.

“You already make me happier than I’ve ever been,” he assured her with a grin. “Just the fact that you’re willing to give up everything is more than enough for me. I couldn’t ask for anything more than that.”

As she went on to say that she should still learn some from Gavin, Crow shrugged. “If you really want to learn, then go ahead. I’m not going to stop you. Just don’t get it in your caring little head that you need to take over all the duties around the house.” He poked her forehead with one finger and smirked at her teasingly. “I couldn’t care less about what a ‘proper wife’ is supposed to do. Whatever you need—cooking, cleaning, even taking care of children—” he blushed slightly. “I’ll be right there to help you, okay?” He kissed her again, more passionately this time both to show her the sincerity in his promise and to distract himself from his slight awkwardness at bringing up the prospect of a family.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of a whistle by door and pulled back from Penelope to see that Olivia and Gavin had finished washing the dishes and come to set up their beds for the night. The female knight was looking at them with her arms crossed and an amused smirk on her face. “I’m starting to wonder if we should have given you two your own room,” she snickered. “Just imagine what we would have walked in on if we’d come in a few minutes later.”

Crow rolled his eyes at her sultry comment, “We were just about to go to sleep anyway.” He took a step back from Penelope and let his arms fall from around her, taking her hand instead to lead her over to the bedroll he had laid out earlier. Laying down carefully—he was still feeling sore—he shifted to make room for the knight and wrapped his arm around her once she was lying beside him.

“I can’t wait until the day when we won’t be interrupted anymore,” he whispered in her ear as he settled down against her side.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gazed at him affectionately as he assured her that she made him happy enough. It was comforting to hear, especially since she had similar feelings about him. She was happy just being with him as well. As he poked her forehead, the knight blushed a little again at his teasing words. "Alright, alright." she said with a soft laugh. Her blush deepened slightly as he mentioned helping with children as well. Even though they had already mentioned having a family, the subject still brought a bit of bashfulness out from the knight since it was so far in the future. Hearing him still including it in their plans though warmed her heart with fondness for the thief.

She met his lips with equal passion, pressing closer to him as they kissed. The knight might not have had a clue about how to take care of a home but knowing that she wouldn't have to do it alone eased all the worries that she did have. So long as they worked together, Penelope was certain they could make any situation they faced work. She pulled away from him as she heard a whistle and turned her head to see Olivia smirking at them.

At her comment, the knight gave a small snort and nodded her head in agreement with Crow. She gave his hand a small squeeze and followed him over to the bedroll he had laid out. She stretched her back out and then moved to slowly lay down besides him. Penelope smiled to herself as he wrapped his arm around her, still excited that they were able to fall asleep together again. "I know. I can't either." she mumbled softly in agreement. "Hopefully that day will come soon enough.. Goodnight, Crow. I love you."

Turning slightly, she pressed a kiss to his cheek before laying her head down and closing her eyes. Tired from the long day and cozy laying in his arms, the knight didn't have much trouble falling into a deep sleep.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Goodnight, darling,” Crow murmured, pulling Penelope close to himself and closing his eyes. “I love you too.” Finally able to lay down for the first time that day, he could practically feel his tight muscles untwining. He let out his breath in a content exhale and nestled his head against the knight’s, enjoying the feeling of holding her in his arms. With the security of a roof above his head and her warm presence at his side, it didn’t take long before the thief drifted off into a light sleep.

--

The next morning, Crow woke up to the smell of cooking breakfast. Still half-asleep, he stretched languidly and yawned, reluctant to get up right away. Instead he lifted his head just enough to look around the room, noticing that Gavin and Olivia were both gone. It seemed like he and Penelope were the last to get up, which wasn’t surprising to him since he had been so exhausted the day before from his poor sleep, and she had gotten drunk at the tavern. Glancing towards the door, he was a bit surprised that Gavin hadn’t bothered to wake them up, himself. Usually, the knight seemed to want to get an earlier start to the day. He glanced down at Penelope, who was still sleeping in his arms. Her former suitor had probably decided to let them stay in bed a while longer for her sake, since she needed the rest to recover from the alcohol in her system.

Laying his head back down, he smiled softly as he studied her sleeping face. He found everything about her beautiful—the gentle curve of her eyelashes, the soft pink in her cheeks, even the way her rosy lips were slightly parted. He lifted his hand to brush a stray lock of brown hair from her forehead, tracing his fingers gently along the edge of her face as he did. She was so pretty. He felt like he could just stay and stare at her forever. However, he could already feel her beginning to stir as she woke up.

He leaned in and pressed a tender kiss to her lips, trailing his hand down from her cheek to rest against her jawline. He lingered for a moment before he pulled back to meet her gaze. “Morning,” he said, smiling at her fondly. “How did you sleep?”

[BuzzingBee]

Vaguely aware of something brushing against her face, the knight began to stir from her rather deep sleep. She hadn't even managed to open her eyes yet when she felt Crow kiss her. She smiled against his lips and kissed him back, feeling warm with affection. It was definitely a nice way to start the morning in her opinion, even though it didn't get rid of the slight headache that she was becoming more aware of as she woke up.

"Morning.. And good, although my head hurts a little now. What about you?" she asked and wrapped her arm around him. Holding him close, she nestled her head against him and closed her eyes for a moment. The ache was quick to remind her of everything that had happened the night before. Though it was a bit foggy when she looked back on it, she remembered enough to feel slightly embarrassed for letting herself get so drunk, even if Olivia had played a large part in it.

Penelope frowned slightly as she also recalled that they had not gotten any further leads on tracking down the thieves. "I should have been more careful around Olivia, especially in a tavern." the knight sighed as she pulled back slightly from him to meet his gaze. Penelope blushed as she also remembered various conversations she had with Crow, from complimenting his beard to the more prominent memory of her worry about not being able to take care of a home. "Gods, sorry about yesterday."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow closed his eyes as Penelope pulled him close to her and rested her head against him. Every time she wrapped her arms around him like this it sent his heart racing. He doubted he would ever grow tired of her touch, and he looked forward to the day when he would be able to wake up beside her like this every morning. That will be the life, he thought with a sigh of longing, squeezing her close in a tight embrace as his mind wandered yet again to the future they looked forward to sharing.

“I slept great,” he said in response to her question, opening his eyes again to meet her gaze. “Much better than last night, that’s for sure.” He smiled as he thought about how much better this morning was than the last. Yesterday, he had been almost certain that they would be splitting up, and she would be going back to her life of nobility. Now, he was more confident than ever before about the strength of their relationship, and he couldn’t wait to see what the future was going to bring.

When she went on to apologize for her actions the day before, Crow shook his head. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, smirking at her amusedly. “I’m pretty sure you think you were a lot more bothersome than you actually were.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then met her gaze with a teasing glint in his eye. “You know, you’re kind of an airhead when you’re drunk… But you’re my airhead, so I’m going to take care of you anyway.” Leaning in close, he nuzzled his cheek against hers in a playful manner and laughed, “Plus, I got to learn a new trick to use on you, so I’d say it was worth the inconvenience.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope was glad to hear that he had slept well, especially after knowing he had had trouble the night before. She rolled her eyes at him as he teased her and gave a small smile. "Well, thank you." she chuckled. As he nuzzled her, she blinked in surprise and gave a soft laugh. "I'm glad you were able to make the most out of airheadedness then." she joked and pressed an affectionate kiss to his cheek. Looking at him,, the knight's amused gaze softened, feeling a burst of fondness for the thief as well as longing for the future. Since they were resting in a peasant home, she could easily picture that their mornings after the war would look somewhat similar to this one.

However, reality stepped in again as she heard someone enter the room and clear their throat. Penelope turned her head to see Gavin standing at the entrance with an uncomfortable look as he tried to keep from looking directly at them. "Oh good.. You two are already up." he mumbled. Crossing his arms he turned to step back out of the room. "Breakfast is ready so let's eat quick and then get moving again."

Penelope let out a quiet sigh and nodded. "Alright. We'll be there in a moment." she assured the male knight before he stepped out of the room. She turned back to Crow and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before beginning to move away from him to get up. "Looks like we better get moving before he cuts us off from breakfast." she muttered jokingly.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow smiled as Penelope kissed him on the cheek and met her gaze as she looked at him. He couldn’t help but stare at her, finding her deep green eyes especially attractive in the early morning light. If they weren’t constrained to a time limit, he would have wanted to lay beside her all morning, taking his time to get up so he wouldn’t have to part with her. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before they were interrupted by Gavin’s sudden appearance, and he was reminded that they wouldn’t be free to have such a peaceful morning during this mission.

He leaned into Penelope’s lips as she kissed him and then moved to get up as well. “He’d better not,” the thief scoffed. “Because I’m not going anywhere until I have something to fill my stomach.” Once they were both up, he headed into the adjoining room, where Gavin and Olivia were already seated at the dining table for breakfast, and off to the side, Zenith was reclining on a blanket with her back against a wall while she instructed her two daughters, who were knitting blankets.

Crow watched the three for a moment with interest. He guessed that Zenith was trying to prepare her family for the upcoming winter. It made sense to him, especially since last year’s winter had been one of the harshest he had seen in the outer villages. The weather had been mostly dry, but he couldn’t remember the last time it had been so cold. If the next winter turned out to be anything like the last, all of the villagers were going to have a hard time getting through it, especially with the ongoing war.

Turning away from the family, he followed Penelope over to the table to join the others. He sat down in one of the open chairs and reached for a plate to fill with food, his eyes flicking towards Gavin. As soon as he had approached, he had noticed that the knight had seemed to have strategically chosen to sit in the chair across from Olivia, so that he and Penelope would be forced to sit on opposite sides as well. Normally, Gavin’s meddling would have annoyed him. However, it was only one meal, and he had already spent the entire night sleeping by Penelope’s side, so he decided it wasn’t worth fighting over it.

For a while, Crow said nothing as he focused on finishing his breakfast. It was almost a peaceful silence. Gavin wasn’t shooting him any dirty looks for once, since he seemed content in having separated the thief from Penelope for the moment, and Olivia was tame enough as well. Unfortunately, the quiet did last long. It was interrupted when the female knight decided to ask, “So, what’s the plan for today?”

“We need to get back to the barons and report our findings—or lack, thereof,” Gavin answered simply with a pointedly cold glance towards Crow.

“Hang on,” Crow narrowed his eyes at the knight. “We didn’t find anything because none of us stayed focused on the task at hand, not because there’s nothing more to be found here. I say we take one more day to speak with the villagers, just to be certain we aren’t missing anything.”

“I doubt we’ll learn anything new if we linger here any longer,” Gavin eyed him suspiciously. “We’re going back today to give our report and come up with a new angle.”

“You sure are quick to give up,” Crow folded his arms over his chest.

“And you were quick to recommend wasting our time in a village that clearly has nothing more to offer us,” Gavin retorted distrustfully. “The more time we waste here, the more time the real culprits have to prepare another attack. We need to act fast if we want to stay ahead of them. That means not spending precious hours chasing a dead lead.”

Crow curled his lip, clicking his tongue in frustration when he realized that the knight was only trying to rush them because he still believed the thief was attempting to throw them off course. It seemed that Gavin was set on believing that he and his thieves had been the ones behind the murderous raid on their camp, and the lack of a solid trail on Jaxon’s group was only further convincing him that his suspicion was true. He averted his gaze, feeling a pang of annoyance. As long as the knight’s focus was on proving him guilty, it was going to be difficult to get him to focus on looking for evidence of anything otherwise. However, he also knew there was nothing more he could say to change the hardheaded man’s mind, so he didn’t push the matter.

Gavin nodded, seeming to take Crow’s silence as defeat, and turned back to the others. “It’s settled then. Once everyone is packed up, we’ll begin the journey back to our camp.” His hard eyes wandered back to the thief once more. “We’ll catch those criminals yet.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small laugh and followed Crow into the other room. The knight was quick to note how Gavin had strategically placed himself in a position that would force some distance between her and Crow. She felt a bubble of irritation at his constant determination to separate them but she kept it to herself as she moved to sit down at the other empty seat at the table. They would have plenty of time to still be near each other for the rest of the trip. It was senseless to get worked up over such a small time apart during a meal.

As she began to eat her breakfast, she listened as Olivia asked about their next move. Having been drunk the night before, she was curious as well what the plan would be now. It seemed that they hadn't gotten any good information so she wondered what they would do now that it seemed they had reached a dead end. Penelope glanced between the thief and knight as the two began to bicker. Gavin was clearly blinded by his distrust of Crow, making the female knight frown slightly as he seemed satisfied thinking he had won.

"Hold on," she spoke up now, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked over at Gavin. She didn't want him to get away with shutting down Crow's plan just because of his distrust of the thief. If there was still potentially information to be uncovered in Aramoor, she didn't want to let the opportunity slip away. "I think he's right. We shouldn't be rushing off when we barely managed to complete anything last night."

Gavin's satisfied look faded as she spoke up and the male knight frowned slightly. "We talked with the villagers. They didn't see any group that came through here that would match the description he gave us.. It's best if we just go back and figure out a different plan."

"I was drunk and you two were working together. I doubt we really asked them as much as we could.. In fact, I don't even remember asking them." Penelope retorted. "Gavin, we traveled all this way, we should be making sure we didn't miss anything." As the male knight grew silent, she let out a long sigh noticing him glance towards Crow again. It seemed he was having a difficult time trusting her, likely believing her judgment was too clouded. Feeling another bubble of irritation and a pang from her headache, she gazed sternly at Gavin.

"My judgment isn't clouded by bias, make sure yours isn't either otherwise we're never going to catch those criminals." A small smirk crossed her lips and she winked at him adding, "Consider that a direct order from your higher up."

Gavin flushed slightly and Olivia laughed, "I knew it was only a matter of time before you pulled your lieutenant card."

"I just want to catch the people responsible for this." Penelope mumbled glancing down at her plate. The knight thought about how hard their camp had been hit and how many guards had been killed. Millicent popped into her mind and a stab of guilt followed. Even though she wasn't directly responsible for her death, she felt she had played a big hand in it since the archerer had taken her guard shift. She wanted justice for her and the others. "I'll do what it takes and I don't want to leave until we're absolutely certain there's nothing here."

Gavin gave her a sympathetic look and leaned back in his chair. "I know..." he sighed somberly as he recovered from his initial embarrassment at her words. He gave a displeased expression and glanced over at Penelope. "Alright... Maybe we should stay and double check." he finally agreed. However, he turned to Crow and narrowed his eyes. "But I think we can handle this part alone. You can stay here and wait for us." He clearly didn't want the thief to think he had completely won. Penelope guessed that he likely wanted to use his absence to keep the thief from throwing them off course or look for any information that would help support his argument against Crow.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow glanced across the table as Penelope defended his idea to remain in Aramoor for one more day. While he appreciated her support, he doubted anything she could say would change Gavin’s mind. Her former suitor was hell-bent on pinning him with the atrocities in their camp, and the fact that they hadn’t heard even a whisper about Jaxon and his thieves wasn’t helping his situation. Unless they found someone who had seen the group pass through and could point them in the right direction, he knew there would be nothing else that could convince Gavin that he was innocent.

He shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable as he watched the knight from the corner of his eye. Until this point, Gavin had been mostly civil with him—well, as civil as anyone could expect a knight to be with a thief—but there was no telling if that would stay the same. If they couldn’t find a lead on Jaxon, it wouldn’t be much longer before Gavin concluded with certainty that he had been at fault. The knight seemed to have been holding back from doing anything to him for Penelope’s sake, but Crow couldn’t imagine that he would stay this calm forever if he truly believed he was in the presence of a man who had murdered his comrades in cold blood. He was going to have to keep an eye on him in case Gavin decided to take advantage of his proximity and attack while he still had the chance.

“Consider that a direct order from your higher up.”

Crow blinked and looked up at Penelope in amusement. With all the disputes happening amongst the group, he had nearly forgotten about her status as a lieutenant. He glanced towards Gavin and bit back a smirk as he saw the knight turn red with embarrassment. He guessed that Gavin was so used to viewing Penelope as an equal that he’d forgotten that she outranked him as well. For her to suddenly use the power she had to make the decision to stay in Aramoor must have taken him by surprise.

It was beginning to look like things would settle down, but of course, Gavin had to make one last remark to keep the thief from getting his way.

“You want me to just sit around and do nothing while you three go out and interrogate the villagers by yourselves?” Crow folded his arms over his chest and met the knight’s gaze stubbornly. “No way. I’m the only one here who knows what we’re looking for. You need me.”

“We have plenty enough to work with already,” Gavin said with rivaling determination. “We’ll be just fine on our own.”

Crow clenched his jaw, prepared to keep arguing with the knight about it. However, just as he was about to open his mouth again to retort, his eyes flicked towards Zenith, and he paused as another thought flitted through his mind. “Alright, fine,” he said, resting his hands behind his head and reclining back in his chair. “If you’re so sure you can handle it on your own, I don’t mind taking a day off.”

Gavin stared at him, seeming taken aback by his abrupt change in attitude. The knight studied him for a moment before reaching towards his belt and retrieving a set of cuffing chains, “I don’t suppose you would mind wearing these then? Just so I know you don’t try to “help” us behind the scenes.”

Crow fought the urge to roll his eyes. The knight was taking every precaution to make sure he couldn’t sabotage them. If only he would put that energy towards catching the real thieves who had raided their camp, then perhaps they would start making better progress. “Chain away, my friend,” he said, holding out his hands in an apathetic shrug. “I was just going to take a nap anyway.” He glanced towards Penelope and shot her a subtle, conniving wink that her former suitor didn’t catch.

Gavin’s lips thinned into a straight line as he eyed the thief, searching for signs of deception. Crow’s compliance seemed to only make him more suspicious that something was off. “Very well then,” he said after a pause, rising to his feet from the table and moving to stand near a wooden support beam near the center of the room where the blankets had been laid out.

Crow got up and ambled over to the same spot. “In case you were wondering, I’m left handed,” he said with a smirk as he offered the knight his wrist.

“I’m sure that’s a lie,” Gavin snorted as he took hold of the thief’s right hand and clasped the chain around it.

“Oh, damn,” Crow sighed dryly. “And I was so hoping you wouldn’t figure me out. Looks like my plans have been foiled.”

Gavin just scoffed in response to his sarcastic comment and gave the chain a tug to make sure it was fastened securely. Once he was sure the thief was confined, he turned back to the others. “Let’s get going. I don’t want to lose any more time than we already have.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope rolled her eyes as Gavin still insisted on working without the help of Crow. The female knight was about to argue against Gavin again until she noticed Crow's change in attitude as well. She raised an eyebrow at the thief but didn't say anything. She knew him well enough to guess that the thief was already making different plans of his own so she relaxed. However, as Gavin pulled out the chains, she snorted and shook her head.

"Gavin.." Penelope groaned in protest. She crossed her arms and glanced towards Crow in surprise as he easily agreed to the male knight's terms. Catching the wink he gave her, the female knight bit back a smirk. Seeing that the thief was clearly planning something, she decided there was no sense in arguing with the male knight. Besides, knowing Crow, he could get out of the simple chains on his own. As Gavin turned back to them, she let out a sigh and nodded her head in agreement,rising up to her feet.

"Alright." she mumbled and turned to follow the male knight as he headed for the door. She glanced back over her shoulder at Crow and gave him a small smile. "See you later." Penelope looked back ahead and followed the other two knights out the door.

As they headed back out into the village, Olivia let out a sigh and glanced around before looking over at Gavin. "So exactly what is your plan?" she asked.

"The same plan as usual. Talk to the villagers to see if they've seen anything." he responded with a shrug.

"Yes but it's broad daylight so I doubt many will be drunk. Which means, you're going to have to lie a lot better in order to find out more information." Olivia pointed out, smirking slightly.

"Not to mention you just chained up the best liar out of all of us." Penelope added accusingly. Though she didn't argue against him chaining up Crow, she didn't plan to completely let him off the hook for it. His constant suspicion of the thief was growing tiring and likely holding them back form finding the real culprits. The female knight hoped they would find evidence or leads to Jaxon soon to get Gavin focused on the criminals they were really after.

Gavin blinked and shifted his gaze ahead. "We'll be fine." he insisted, shaking his head. "I think we all know enough to get by... I doubt we'll even be able to find anything anyways." He let out a soft sigh and picked up his pace slightly as he lead them through the village and back towards the tavern.

[Rogue Sloth]

“I’ll be here,” Crow waved his chained hand when Penelope said her goodbyes to him. He watched as the three knights exited the house before finally letting a victorious smirk take over his lips. While he would have liked to go with the others as they searched for information about Jaxon, this situation might actually work out in his favor. Now that Gavin believed he was napping at Silas’s place, he couldn’t accuse him of trying to ruin their interrogation again.

He crouched down to retrieve his pick lock key from his boot and popped open the simple lock on the chains that Gavin had used to bind him. Child’s play, he thought with a roll of his eyes as he let the metal restraint fall to the floor. Like almost all of the other knights he had dealt with before, Gavin obviously didn’t have much experience dealing with a thief such as himself. He put his key back in its hiding place and straightened his posture again.

“Your friends don’t seem to trust you very much,” Zenith spoke up from where she sat with her daughters.

“It’s just the one,” Crow shrugged, stepping over to sit beside her. “I let him have his way sometimes though. He’s more bearable to be around when he thinks he’s won.”

“Are you going out then?”

“No,” he shook his head and leaned back on his hands, stretching his legs out in front of himself. “I’m staying right here.”

“So, you are letting him win?” Zenith quirked a brow in amusement.

“Wrong again,” Crow grinned at her mischievously. “Speaking of which, do you mind if I borrow your daughters?” As he mentioned them, both of the girls looked up from their knitting to listen in.

“Letha and Alice?” Zenith frowned confusedly. “What do you need them for?”

“Just a game I thought they might enjoy,” he said casually, glancing back at the two girls with a wink. “I might also have some rewards for them if they’re good at it.”

“I want to play,” Letha perked up, turning to Zenith with pleading eyes. “Please, mother, can we?”

“Me too,” Alice nodded vigorously in agreement.

Zenith sighed and feigned an exasperated look at the thief. “Fine. As long as he doesn’t get you both into trouble, you can play his game.”

The girls stumbled over each other in their thanks towards their mother and then turned towards Crow expectantly as they awaited him to explain what he wanted them to do.

“The game is simple,” he started, shifting to lean against the wall beside Zenith. “All you have to do is follow those people who were here with me earlier and listen to their conversations with the other villagers. If you hear anyone tell them about a big group of people, come back and tell me what was said. For every bit of information you bring me, I’ll give you one of these.” He held up a copper coin that he had drawn from his coin purse, smirking as their eyes grew round at the sight of it.

“Now, here are the rules,” he dropped the money into his pocket as he went on. “You can’t let any of them see you when you’re listening, and if you lie to me about any information, you won’t get any rewards.”

“How will you know if we’re lying?” Alice crossed her arms.

“I have a trick,” Crow shrugged airily. “But I’m not going to tell you what it is.”

“Tell us!” Letha scooted closer to him.

“Fine,” he sighed in mock defeat. “Whenever you lie, you get a red dot on your forehead that only I can see, right here.” He poked each of them between the eyes. “It happens every time you don’t tell the truth, so don’t bother trying to get around it.”

The two girls gasped and looked at each other in astonishment.

“Think you understand the game?” Crow asked. He waited for them to nod before he waved a dismissive hand. “Go on then, get started.”

As the two raced out the front door, Zenith turned to him with amusement, “You know they’re going to lie to you anyways, right? How will you really be able to tell if they’re trying to trick you?”

Crow met her gaze with a devilish grin, “Because now, every time they lie, they’re going to do this.” He pressed one hand to his forehead.

“Clever,” Zenith laughed. “Where did you come up with that idea? I didn’t think you had any children.”

“I don’t,” he shook his head. “It was a trick my mother used on me when I was young. I’m sorry to say it worked for much longer than it should have.”

“Well, I think I’m going to have to borrow it,” Zenith chuckled again and leaned back against the wall.

“Go ahead,” Crow did the same, closing his eyes and letting out his breath in a long exhale. With Zenith’s daughters doing all the work for him, all he had to do now was sit back and wait. It was turning out to be a peaceful morning.

[BuzzingBee]

After working besides Crow for the last few days, it was a bit strange to return to searching for the thieves with just Gavin and Olivia. Though a bit less fun without him by her side, it was more peaceful. Olivia had less of an incentive to cause trouble and Gavin was relaxed now that he believed the thief to be out of their way. The knights even managed some idle chatter until they stopped to speak with a group of villagers they came across outside of the tavern.

"Travelers, eh?" as an older man as he eyed them.

Gavin nodded his head. "From Myrefall."

"Myrefall?" echoed a woman with a curious look. "Why in the gods names would you travel to here from there?"

"They're probably faring better then we are here that's for certain. Unless the battles have started going further in.." added a man, who eyed Olivia a bit nervously as she leaned closer to him and winked flirtatiously.

"It is but I'm looking for friend of ours that went wandering for a while." Gavin replied with a shrug.

Penelope eyed the male knight, noticing him struggling a little with piecing together a story. "He's an annoying bastard that likely picked off more than he could chew leaving like he did." she remarked to the villagers with a huff and shook her head. "But he's still our friend.. Plus his family's getting worried so here we are." She gave a shrug and gave a tired expression. "Maybe you've seen him pass through here? He's traveling with a large group so they'd be hard to miss?"

"How big? We've had a couple groups come through here recent." the older man mused.

"Yes but I believe most of them are just trying to get away from the war... Or maybe get to it.. It's hard to tell with all this chaos." the woman sighed.

"Maybe he was with one of them.." Gavin mumbled, avoiding the question. "Where they recent? Like within the last week or two?"

"Eh two were." the man replied. "'Bout a group of seven came through but they didn't stick around long. I just happened to notice them passing by.. The other group was around five and they came into the tavern."

"Oh I remember them. I doubt your friend was apart of that group though.. They all spoke some different language." the woman pointed out.

"Maybe he was with the other one then." Penelope said with genuine hope. Crow made it sound like Jaxon's group was rather large but it was still possible that some had split off from the main group to travel faster through Aramoor. "Do you remember anything else about them?"

"Not really." The man shrugged. "From what I could tell they were heading west towards Weldrake but that's all I've got."

"How long ago?"

"Week and half or so. It was a while ago."

Penelope nodded her head. "Well at least it's something to go by. Thanks for telling us." she gave him an appreciative smile and then stepped away from the group, followed by Gavin and Olivia.

"I guess we should just head back now." Gavin mused once they were far enough from the peasants.

Penelope raised an eyebrow at him. "What? We've finally got a lead. We need to keep digging.. Maybe someone spoke to them."

"He said they were heading west though. If those were the thieves, shouldn't they have been heading towards Younis or at least coming from it to a point where he would have noticed?" Gavin pointed out with a frown. "I doubt it's them..."

"Maybe they were and he just didn't notice it. They could have been heading back to wherever they're located." Penelope said with a shake of her head. "Let's just ask a few more people about it."

Gavin looked hesitantly at her before giving a small nod. "I guess so.." he agreed. "Let's go then." Taking the lead again, the male knight headed off into the tavern.

[Rogue Sloth]

As Crow waited for Zenith’s daughters to return with news of the thieves, he almost felt tempted to take a real nap. There wasn’t much else to do in the small house, and Zenith had begun humming a song from the village as she knitted her blanket that was beginning to lull him to sleep. He yawned tiredly and stretched his limbs, sinking a little further down the wall as he did so. It would probably be a while before Letha and Alice came back with any word from the knights, so perhaps he could fit in a little extra sleep…

“I noticed you and that woman seem to be close,” Zenith’s soft voice caught his attention. He looked up to see her eyeing him with a curious expression, having set down her unfinished blanket to take a break.

“You did, huh?” Crow smiled tiredly and stretched again, sitting up a little straighter now that the prospect of napping had grown dimmer.

“She’s different than the one you were traveling with before, right?” Zenith pressed, obviously eager to get more information out of him.

“Yes,” he nodded, understanding that she was referring to Rikki.

Zenith rolled her eyes and nudged him teasingly, “Well? Are you going to tell me about her or just keep me waiting all day?”

Crow chuckled softly and shook his head, “I see you still like to gossip just as much as the last time I saw you.”

“What do you expect?” Zenith grinned. “I’m a mother of two with an overprotective husband who won’t let me out of the house while I’ve got our third on the way.” She rested a hand on her round stomach, her gaze softening briefly before she looked up at him again. “Your visit has been the most entertainment I’ve had in months, so out with it already. Who’s the new lady in your life? Is she just another fling or something more?”

Crow laughed again, finding her enthusiasm amusing. “Fine, I suppose I can tell you,” he caved, feigning a reluctant sigh. “She’s not a fling. In fact, she’s the first woman I’ve ever been with who isn’t.” His expression softened as Penelope’s face flashed through his mind, and he went on quietly, “She’s far too special to me for something that trivial.”

“Are you courting her then?” Zenith asked.

“Not quite,” he answered with a shrug. “Trust me, I would if I could, but with the war going on, things are too complicated for that. I can’t say much on it, but we’re both heavily involved in our own ways. There’s just no room for something like courting right now.”

“Hmm,” Zenith frowned thoughtfully. “If she’s not a fling, but you’re not courting her either, then what are you two?”

“I’m not really sure,” Crow shook his head. “But I don’t think that labels would make our feelings for each other any more or less real.” He looked up at her with a smirk. “Besides, I’ve never been orthodox in anything I do. What we have now just feels natural, so I don’t see any reason to change it.”

“So,” Zenith’s eyes turned slightly mischievous, and she leaned a little closer to him. “Do you intend to marry her?”

“You really want every detail, don’t you?” Crow snorted.

“You’re avoiding my question,” Zenith pointed out, refusing to let him change the subject. “You say you’re not orthodox, so does that mean you plan to keep things as they are indefinitely, or are you going to marry this woman?”

“Well,” Crow shifted his weight. “Not indefinitely, but I’m also not sure when I’ll be able to ask her—”

“Ah!” Zenith clapped her hands together, her features alight with excitement. “So you do intend to marry her.”

“Alright, alright,” Crow held up his hands in defeat. “You got me.” He met her gaze with a wry grin, though there was a faint blush on his cheeks. “You’re pretty nosy, you know that?”

Zenith opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off by the sound of the door handle rattling followed by the pounding of feet as her daughters returned to the house. Crow looked up as they ran over to him, fidgeting excitedly.

“We got something,” Alice said eagerly.

“What did you find out?” Crow asked.

“They talked about two groups,” the girl explained. “One with five people from another kingdom, and another with seven people heading towards Wheldrake.”

“Wheldrake?” Crow quirked a brow. If it was Jaxon’s group, he wondered what they would have been going there for.

“There was also one with ten people!” Letha added, slapping one hand to her forehead.

Crow exchanged a knowing glance with Zenith and then turned back to the girl, prodding her playfully in the stomach, “Liar.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved two copper coins, handing one to each of them. “Good work so far. Keep it up, and I have more where those came from.”

“Thanks, Thief,” Letha beamed. The two stowed away the money he had given them and then hurried off to keep spying for him.

“Well, at least they’re staying out of trouble,” Zenith sighed, picking up her blanket to resume knitting once her daughters were gone.

“You looked like you needed a break from them,” Crow said simply, leaning back into the wall again. “I’m happy to help.”

“I’m not sure if I should thank you or slap you for that comment,” she rolled her eyes.

“You know what I meant,” he chuckled, gesturing at her pregnant belly.

“Alright, I’ll let it slide this time,” Zenith’s looked at him with a bemused smirk before going back to her knitting.

Another silence fell over them, and Crow closed his eyes, leaning his head against the wall and exhaling softly. Even though he knew he couldn’t leave the house without risking getting spotted by the knights—Aramoor was too small of a village for him to conduct a separate interrogation on his own—he wished there was more that he could do to pass the time. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the best way for him to prove to Gavin that he really wasn’t sabotaging their efforts to find the culprits behind the raid. It was boring, but at least afterward, the knight might give him more freedom to make decisions. It was worth a shot.

[BuzzingBee]

As the knights continued to speak with a few other peasants, they weren't able to find much more information. Most people hadn't seen the group and those few that had didn't know much else aside from noticing how big the group was. One man did inform them that they had traveled through at a rather late hour, which was likely why so few people had even noticed them. While it wasn't a complete dead end, it certainly didn't seem like they would be finding out much more from the people of Aramoor. Penelope let out a small sigh, wondering what they could do about the unknown group. There was still a chance that it could be the thieves they were searching for but it was small and the group could very well be someone else.

"I don't think we'll find much more here." Penelope finally spoke up looking ahead at the other two knights.

Gavin sighed and nodded in agreement. "No one knows anything about the group anyways."

"And we don't really have enough details to ask more." she pointed out with frown. She couldn't help but feel like they might have been more successful if Crow had been able to tag along. After all, the thief knew more about who they were looking for than any of them. Gavin shifted a bit and looked back ahead silently, deciding it best not to reply to her additional comment.

"Yeah, and we've been followed all day." Olivia added, causing the male knight to turn to her sharply.

"What?!" he asked in alarm. Penelope raised an eyebrow at her friend questioningly.

Olivia smirked and nodded towards a nearby building. Gavin looked over at the building and walked towards it cautiously. The male knight was tense with his hand on the hilt of his sword as he moved to peak around the corner. Penelope followed, now a bit curious as well. She had assumed it was Crow but Olivia's knowing smirk made her guess again. As the two rounded the corner, they caught a brief sight of the two girls, giggling quietly as they darted away from view. Penelope blinked in surprise as she quickly recognized them to be the daughters of the villagers they were currently staying with. If they had been spying on them all day then that meant...

"Did.. Did he seriously send children to spy on us?" Gavin grumbled as he turned back to other two.

"I.. I guess? Or they just followed us on their own.." Penelope shrugged as Gavin looked to her for answers.

Gavin shook his head, looking irritated. "I doubt that.." he growled then narrowed his eyes at Olivia. "Why the hell didn't you say anything earlier?"

Olivia looked at him and laughed. "They're children, Gavin. I assumed you'd at least be able to tell when you're being followed by children. Seriously both of you were so wrapped up in talking with the villagers you forgot about checking your surroundings. Tsk, tsk."

Penelope and Gavin exchange an embarrassed look. While she wasn't upset about being followed by Crow's young henchmen, she was slightly embarrassed for letting her guard down so much. She should have paid a bit more attention to their surroundings but the prospect of a solid lead had stolen all of her focus. It seemed that had also been the case for Gavin as well, even though he had been rather certain Crow was guilty.

"We were just focusing on the task at hand unlike you." Gavin grumbled and turned abruptly to lead the way back to the home. "Come on let's get back.. We've found out as much as we could here."