“They steal from the army, the Sheriff has to respond. If they want to steal from someone, they should steal from a stealer. There are plenty of men who have grown fat off the war who shouldn’t have. They get robbed, and who can they complain to?”

Marion nodded.

“It’s just a suggestion. Only take from those that can afford to lose it, and don’t take more than they’re able to do without. Keep the violence to an absolute minimum. That makes it harder for the Sheriff to justify hunting them down.”

There was a finality to his sentence, as if it were that easy. “That’s not enough.”

“It’s a start.”

“Laying low isn’t enough,” she repeated. “Not with winter on the horizon. You’ve seen their camp, they can’t survive there.”

“That’s true,” he said softly. “I’m surprised they’ve lasted this long.”

“They need real shelter, they need to stockpile, they need to be able to protect themselves from others who would see them as easy targets, too.”

She felt a puff of warm air on her neck, Robin’s laugh. “You want me to build houses for them? I appreciate your confidence in me, but…”

“They’ll need help for all that. They’ll need to pay for that help.”

“Which means even more coin.”

“They’ll also need to pay for that help to keep quiet.”

“Which means … a stupid lot more coin.”

“It means more than coin, Robin. They need allies.”

“Alright,” Robin rolled with the idea. “Then they need to be a force for good. There are others out there who need help as well. If they’re going to be stealing a stupid lot more coin, we might as well shoot for the sky. Enough that they can endear themselves to the people. They’ll need friends in the villages, in the towns…” He trailed off, thinking it through.

“And stop being such a wart about it.” She brought her hand up to her shoulder, reaching for him. A few moments later, his hand slid into hers. “You’re here with us, you might as well enjoy it. Try to pretend you’re not an ass.”

“That may be asking too much,” he said, but she could hear his smile this time, and he squeezed her fingers.

“I’m serious,” she followed. “If you’re going to be here for a month, I need you to believe in this. This is not some casual distraction from the war. It’s not enough to just avoid the next disaster, we need to work toward something. Do not idle your time with us. I need this to work. And it’s going to work.”

She could feel him hesitate. His breath abated, even the constant sway of his feet stopped. But his hand was still in hers.