Rogue Sloth

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Iris told him not to apologize, Cas fell quiet. He knew it wasn’t entirely his fault that the soldiers had interrogated her so brutally, but he still felt a little responsible. He was the one who had told her to surrender to them at the border. At the time, he’d thought they would just hold her in a cell, and he could get her out by talking to his father. Instead, he’d woken up from surgery to find out that she had already been questioned multiple times, and his father was unwilling to see her as anything other than a traitor. Even if it wasn’t his fault that those things had happened, he had nothing else to say to her other than ‘I’m sorry.’ He didn’t know how else to acknowledge the suffering she had been through.

As she reached up to run her fingers through his hair and attempted to smile, he didn’t match the expression. Even as she spoke about her coping mechanisms, he could see that she was still trying to act tough in front of him. She might have thought it was working, but in reality, it was doing the opposite. It was apparent to him that she was wearing down every day, becoming more heavily burdened by all the trauma she’d endured. He had buried it in himself to some degree, but he knew he was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode the second he could no longer keep it all suppressed. By contrast, it felt like she had sprung a leak. Her negative emotions seeped out constantly, and her formerly bubbly personality had been replaced with something that looked like depression.

Noticing the tears in the corners of her eyes, he stroked her back gently. It seemed like she was getting dangerously close to her breaking point, and he wished he could tell her to just let it all out. However, Jay and Miles could come back at any second, and he didn’t want to put her in a position to be vulnerable in front of two people she didn’t know or trust. He sighed quietly to himself. Until he could think of a way to secure more than a few minutes alone with her, there was no way for him to help her process everything.

When she spoke again, he shook his head. “It’s fine. You just went to hell and back, so he can’t judge you for being jumpy.” He knew Miles didn’t look down on her for it too. His friend was honest, but he wasn’t unreasonable. Just because he’d been surprised that she wasn’t an obviously heroic person didn’t mean that he thought any less of her. If anything, he would probably be more compassionate now that he knew she’d been scarred too.

He opened his mouth to say so and then faltered, turning red as she said they both needed a night alone together. In the back of his head, he knew she didn’t mean what he thought she meant, but the fleeting image that crossed his mind when she said ‘enjoy each other’s company’ was still enough to make him flustered. The stroke of his hand on her back ceased, and he cleared his throat awkwardly, “R-Right. Talk…” Inwardly, he chided himself for jumping to conclusions, but the way she’d spoken so softly and caressed his cheek with her fingers had made it impossible not to take a plunge into the gutter.

Forcing himself to recover, he sighed, “I’d like that, but I have no idea when we can be alone. I have to go home tonight to make sure no one suspects that I was involved in helping you escape from the soldiers, and my dad might enact another lockdown if he thinks the capital is in danger. I wouldn’t put it past him. If he does, I’ll be stuck at home for at least a few days.” He studied her face solemnly. “I’m sorry. I wish I could stay here with you, but this isn’t over until the military gives up its search for you. I have to see it through to the end to make sure you’re safe.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Good luck with that! It sounds tiring.

And yeah, I don't think I'm gonna have time to relax until after we move into the new house next month xD Maybe not even then. We have some other friends from out of state who want to visit us after we move!

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Thanks! It was a lot of fun ^^ The busyness never ends though, haha. I have to clean the house today because my mother in law is visiting us tomorrow, and then my mom is visiting the day after she leaves.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

As they made themselves comfortable in Miles’ bedroom, Cas noticed that Iris wasn’t relaxing like he and his friends were. He wasn’t entirely surprised, since she had been overwhelmed when she’d stayed with him before the incident in the woods. In the beginning, he’d assumed her awkwardness had to do with the fact that he was the crown prince and he’d invited her into the royal family’s manor. Now, however, he was starting to realize she was uncomfortable because she was surrounded by so much wealth and luxury. Aware that she was not and had never been a high born, he guessed that it was probably strange for her to dip her feet into the waters of people whose net worth in their little fingers were worth more than entire towns in the impoverished districts.

Tracking her with his eyes, he watched with a frown as she slipped into the closet to change out of her hospital gown. He wished she wasn’t so nervous around him and his friends, since they were the ones who had welcomed her into Miles’ home. She seemed to act like she was walking on eggshells around them, either worried about doing something that would make her seem even more out of place or unhappy because she already felt so out of place that she didn’t want to be there. He couldn’t determine which case it was, but after getting to know her over the course of the last week, he was fairly sure it was one of the two.

“Is she always like that?” Miles asked, apparently also noticing Iris’s nervous behavior. While she was gone, he stepped over to the sofa and plopped down at Cas’s side, kicking off his shoes and putting his feet up on the coffee table. “No offense, but when you said we were gonna be busting out the person who rescued you from the Scourge, I imagined someone more… bold? She seems skittish.”

Cas shook his head, “No, this is new. What did you expect though? She’s been through a lot in the last week too.” He recalled the first few days he’d spent getting to know her. Back then, she had been a little nervous, but she’d still been a relatively happy person in spite of her amnesia. He had enjoyed spending time with her, talking and laughing and lapping up her genuine down-to-earth spirit. Now, she seemed to be a bit of a shell of her former self. But who could blame her? He’d witnessed her father abuse her, her ex-boyfriend nearly strangle her in cold blood, and he knew the soldiers had tortured her during her interrogation. That was a lot for anyone to endure in just one week. They couldn’t expect her to bounce back to normal the very next day.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Miles frowned, looking him up and down. “But you seem okay, and you even got shot. How are you still so calm right now?”

“Honestly, it hasn’t really hit me yet,” the prince admitted, glancing at him with a shrug. He’d been so busy worrying about Iris lately that he hadn’t had a chance to sort out his own trauma yet. Somehow, he had a feeling that when everything finally came crashing down on him, he was going to be an absolute train wreck. He nudged his friend with his shoulder, “When it does, I expect you and Jay to be there with lots of booze. You got that?”

“Yes, sir,” Miles flashed him a dopey grin and saluted.

In the next moment, both men turned toward the closet as the door opened, and Iris came back into the bedroom. In spite of himself, Cas stared at her, finding her stunning even though she was just wearing his friend’s workout clothes. The shirt and shorts were oversized on her small frame, but he still thought she looked as beautiful as ever. She could make a garbage bag fashionable, he thought with a subtle shake of his head.

“I’ll take it,” Miles offered, getting up from the sofa and taking the gown from her hand. Cas noticed that the other high born’s eyes lingered on her for a fraction of a second longer than was socially acceptable before he turned away to take the hospital linens out to the trash bin in the garage. He pondered over it briefly, wondering if his friend was attracted to her too, but didn’t dwell on it for long when he realized that they were finally alone.

Taking advantage of the time they had, however long it may be, he got up from his seat as soon as the door shut behind Miles and closed the distance between himself and Iris. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a fervent kiss to her lips, relieved to be able to hold her again. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get you out before… before the soldiers used that drug on you,” he breathed when he pulled back again, meeting her gaze mournfully. “I know it might be a long shot, but is there anything I can do to help you? I hate seeing you like this. If there’s anything at all that you need, just tell me, and I’ll do whatever I can to get it done.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Character design is fun in general, haha.

Got a little distracted, but I managed to get one more post up this morning! :)

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cas nodded when Iris repeated the title with a raised inflection, “Yeah, they travel the world planning luxury vacations for people, which is why they’re never here.” It was also why Miles’ family owned a mansion in one of the nicest neighborhoods in the capital. His parents were some of the best travel agents in the business, so between the two of them, they made upwards of half a million in credits every year. They also hired some of the best investors to put that money to work and grow their wealth even more without lifting a finger. Miles didn’t have to work because his half of the inheritance was more than enough to set him up for life; and his sister had become a model because of the perks of the job rather than the paycheck. They were the poster children for all the other high borns in the capital who did the same thing. Their parents and grandparents had worked high-paying jobs to build their wealth, and now they were all so rich, a lot of the younger generations just lived off the income generated by their flourishing stock market. Their fortunes were self-sustaining.

He walked with the others into the building, wincing faintly as his limp grew more pronounced because of all the running they had done, and turned toward Iris when he noticed she was looking at him. The discomfort etched into her features told him she was feeling out-of-place, so he offered her a reassuring smile to tell her without words that everything was fine. He and his friends had already decided that this was the best course of action, and Miles had been more than happy to open his home to her until they could find a more permanent solution.

“Let’s go to my room,” Miles said, waving a hand for the others to follow him down one of the nearby halls. “The maids probably all went home for the day, but just to be safe, we should hang out in a room where I know they won’t bother us.”

“You guys go on ahead, I need to use the bathroom, so I’ll meet you there in a few,” Jay said, branching off down a different corridor. He and Caspian had visited their friend enough times to memorize the layout of the enormous, sprawling mansion without needing a guide, so Miles just nodded and led the way to his bedroom.

As they traveled through different spaces, Cas let his gaze wander over the décor. He’d always liked the way his friend’s family had designed their home. While the Maydestones boasted old world wealth with over-the-top decorations and artwork, the Kinders had bought sleek, modern furniture that was equally as luxurious but not as overwhelmingly “in your face.” Miles’ bedroom reflected the aesthetic as well.

When they stepped inside, his friend flipped the light switch on to reveal an oversized suite that had been upgraded with all the latest design trends that his parents kept up with. It was also pristinely clean, which, to Cas, meant that the maids must have stopped by recently to pick up the sloppy high born’s messes. As little as Miles cared about cleanliness, he knew there was no way he’d kept up with the massive room by himself.

Cas strode over to the sitting area at the foot of the bed and practically flopped backwards onto the sofa, relieved that he could finally sit and relax now that they were safe from getting caught. Meanwhile, Miles disappeared into his walk-in closet. When he reappeared, he had a plain black t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts in hand. “Here, Iris,” he said, offering the clothes to her. “I can swipe some of my sister’s clothes for you tomorrow, but for now you can wear my stuff if you want to get out of that hospital gown. The bathroom is through the glass doors, or you can use my closet to change if you need more privacy.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Miles is fun, haha. Personality-wise, he's similar to a couple of my other favorite MCs I've made before.

Thanks! I woke up before my husband, so I might be able to squeeze a post in before he's up this morning ^^

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I think Miles will be good for getting Iris to relax now that he knows to avoid asking questions about her personal life ^^

Also, I'm on my weekend trip with my husband for our anniversary now, so I'll be posting less often tomorrow and Sunday!

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Iris fell silent in response to Miles’ question, Cas peeked at her over his shoulder and frowned. He wished he could know what was going on inside her head, but there was no time to open that can of worms while they were still fleeing from the scene of their crime. He would just have to wait until he had a chance to be alone with her, like everything else he wanted to say and do. Although who knows when that will be? He thought with a pang of wistfulness. When they got to Miles’ house, he wasn’t going to be able to whisk her into another room to talk in private without raising suspicion. He’d told his friends that they weren’t romantically involved to keep the word from leaking back to his father somehow, so he had to keep pretending like they were just acquaintances, at least for now.

“Miles, manners,” he sighed, turning around to fix his gaze on the dimly lit highway in front of them. “She’s had a rough few days. Give her some time to process everything before you interrogate her…” As he spoke the words, he faltered slightly, suddenly connecting the dots in his head. It had probably been the questions themselves that had caused Iris to clam up. After everything she had been through at the penitentiary, undergoing intense questioning and even being injected with the most potent truth serum in Aspiria, the thought of answering any more inquiries must have left a bad taste in her mouth. He wished he could be the one sitting in the back seat of the car with her, so he could hold her hand or do something to show her that he was there to comfort her.

“My bad,” Miles backpedaled sheepishly. “I didn’t realize it was a touchy subject.”

“Speaking of it though,” Jay spoke up this time, shooting the prince a curious glance. “When are you gonna tell us more about what happened after you disappeared? We’ve only heard bits and pieces since you got back. I think you owe us the whole story after everything we just did tonight.”

“I know, and you do,” Cas agreed earnestly. “I promise I’ll fill in the gaps as soon as we have the time for it. Deal?”

“Deal,” Jay nodded, satisfied with the answer.

For the next ten minutes or so, everyone lapsed into silence, and Jay drove the car down the highway that would take them to the residential district where Miles’ family lived. The streets were blissfully quiet, and they made it without any unwanted appearances of the police or the military. Jay steered the vehicle into the garage in the back and put it into park, but before they got out, the three men took off the hospital scrubs they had been wearing over their other clothes. Balling them up, they threw the stolen garments into the trash bin, and Miles once again offered Iris a hand to get out of the car if she needed it.

“Mi casa es su casa,” he grinned, flourishing a hand toward the door that would take them inside the building. “Come on in. My parents are never home, and my sister went to bed hours ago to get her ‘beauty rest.’ We pretty much have the place to ourselves.”

“His parents are luxury travel advisors, and his sister is a model,” Cas explained as he stepped up to Iris’s other side. He offered her a warm smile, “That’s why we thought this would be a good place for you to stay while the capital’s security is out looking for you. The house is usually empty, so you’ll be safe here.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Miles doesn't have the best social etiquette xD He's friendly but doesn't read a room well.