"Its getting late. We should get back to the castle." River pulled his shirt back on, and held his hand out and Penny took it, and they walked back to the castle. As they walked back, River looked up and saw a Spanish Imperial Eagle sitting on a tree. River scowled and called at the bird, "Talbott! What the bloody hell are you doing following us?" The bird screeched and flew off. River shook his head, "I'll never understand that man." Penny sighed. "He's just lonely." River looked at Penny, confused. "Lonely? Talbott? He's always preferred to be alone. Why would he be lonely?" Penny smirked. "He's preferred to be alone because its all he has known. I know him better then he thinks, and he wants to love someone. He's spent the past ten years alone, and no one to give any affection to, or anyone to give the same level of affection." River thought for a moment. "You know," he said with a sly smile, "I think I know the perfect witch for him." Penny gave him a confused look and River said, "Chiara. They have a lot in common, you know." Penny shook her head. "That would never work. He won't ever admit to wanting to love someone, and I don't think Chiara will be over you. You're not really easy to get over Riv." River laughed. "I hope you mean that in a good way." Penny smiled and said, "Always." River smirked and kissed her for the first time. It was a quick kiss on her lips, and he picked up the conversation before she could respond. "Um, anyway I think Talbott will be open to wanting to try it. When we were talking, he gave me some advice and told me he didn't want to love anyone because he was afraid of getting hurt or hurting someone else. I told him I understood that, but it was worth it. I told him it was a leap of faith." Penny nodded in agreement. "That seems right. He was certainly more open with you about it then he ever was with me. How are we going to set them up?" River puffed his chest up and said, "By using a strategy I have used for the past seven years when dealing with the cursed vaults." Penny smirked and said, "Oh yeah? What's this brilliant strategy called?" River smirked back at her and said, "I think I like the sound of 'Winging it.'" Penny laughed and at this point the two had made their way back to the castle. Once they got to the common room, River checked his watch and said, "It's quarter after eight. You want to do anything else?" Penny shook her head. "No, I'll probably go to bed." River nodded and tapped the barrels in front of the door. It swung open and Penny said, "Night Riv." She pulled his head closer to him and kissed his cheek. She started to walk away, but River grabbed her hand and said, "Hey." He twirled her around and she landed right in front of him, her body pressed against his. River kissed her on the lips, longer then last time. River felt his heart melt, rise back into his chest and go in a hundred different directions. When they finally separated, Penny smiled at him and said, "That was…" River laughed softly. "Different." She nodded. "Right. Goodnight Riv." She walked into the common room and River watched as her golden braids bounced after her. River smiled to himself and went to his own dorm. He opened the door and was greeted by Diego. "Hey lover boy. How's the date?" River laughed, "Oh ho, alright." He picked up his pillow and threw it at him. Diego laughed and said, "Here, you can have this back." He tossed it back at River and the two started laughing hysterically, and began beating eachother with the pillows. Eventually, they calmed down and River said, "Alright, I'm going to bed. Goodnight!" Diego rolled into his bed and said, "Night man." River fell backwards into his bed and pulled his sheets over him.
