Rogue Sloth

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cas turned to Iris again when she thanked him, not expecting her to say anything about the rescue at that moment. A warm smile spread over his lips, and he nodded, “Of course. You can always count on me, Iris.” At least, he wanted to be there for here whenever she needed him. So far, he hadn’t done the best job of keeping her safe—Ethan had nearly strangled her in the streets, and the soldiers had used their most horrific instrument of torture on her—but he was striving to do better. She was the first person who had ever supported him the way she did, and he loved her for it. From here on out, he planned to do everything in his power to make sure nothing else happened to her, even if it meant going behind his father’s back to do so.

When Jay and Miles got back, and Iris joined in teasing Jay about the dare he’d been forced to take part in, Cas laughed along with them. He was glad that she was already starting to feel comfortable with them. His friends could be a lot to handle sometimes because they were so wild, but she seemed to be adapting to their manic energy well enough. He glanced at her furtively, happy to see that her spirits were lifted too. She’d been struggling so much on the inside lately that it had been a while since he’d seen her smile so much. He couldn’t help but find the bright expression on her face attractive.

Turning back to Miles as his friend chose Iris to be his next victim, he subtly rolled his eyes. Judging by the tone of his voice, it sounded like he wasn’t going to go easy on her just because she was new. He hoped the other high born wouldn’t be too ruthless on her, but as she chose to do a dare instead of answer a question, he glanced back at her bemusedly. Yet again, he hadn’t expected her to be so bold around his friends. Even though he’d warned her that they were crazy, she had chosen to test the waters. An amused smile tugged at his lip.

“Oh, I like you,” Miles grinned ferally. “Cas, you found a great addition for our group.”

“I know,” Cas agreed, seeking Iris’s gaze again. He was glad that his friends had warmed up to her so quickly too. When he eventually told them that he was interested in her as more than a friend—and that the same was true vice versa—he hoped that meant they would be supportive even though she wasn’t a high born. Knowing that his father would never approve, it would be nice to have at least a couple people in his corner when the word got out.

As Miles thought over the kind of dare he wanted to choose for Iris, he fell quiet for a few seconds and then raised his hand in the air. “Okay, I’ve got it,” he declared. “You have to eat the spiciest pepper I can find in the cooks’ supply. Whole. Nothing to drink for ten seconds afterwards. Think you can handle it?”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I'll probably be posting a little slower for the next few days while I have family in town, just fyi :)

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“If I don’t get them back, they’ll just walk all over me,” Cas justified with a laugh. His friends still walked on eggshells around him when there were other people around who could overhear them, but when they were alone, they usually treated him more like a regular high born. He suspected that part of the reason why they picked on him was because of his status though. He wouldn’t have put it past them to secretly take pride in the fact that they could make a fool out of their future king with cheesy party games like this. They certainly milked every opportunity they had to do so.

Taking another small sip of his beer, he nodded when Iris said she understood why he was friends with them. Jay and Miles were wild characters, but they were honest, and they usually had good intentions. Out of all the people he’d been friends with over the years, they were by far the best of the bunch. Though they didn’t seem like it, they were a good influence on him. He had always enjoyed letting loose and pulling ridiculous stunts with other guys, but they helped him relax in a different way, setting aside his concern for his image and forgetting about all of the responsibilities that constantly weighed on him. He always had a good time when he was with them.

“As you just saw, even truths aren’t always safe,” he pointed out with a shake of his head, still a little annoyed that Jay had decided to ask him such a personal question right off the bat. If he’d been alone with only his two friends, he would have been less reluctant to step up to their challenges, but he was still getting to know Iris. The thought of discussing anything in the realm of relationships made him cringe, since the two of them hadn’t really talked about what they were doing yet. He still wanted to find a time to speak with her one on one to express his desire to be with her in spite of all the new barriers they would have to overcome if they tried.

From the bathroom, he suddenly heard a hiss followed by Jay’s loud complaint: “God damn it, that’s cold!”

“Stop squirming!” Miles yelled at him in return. “I hate this just as much as you do.”

At the sound of their bickering, Caspian laughed again, pleased that he’d been able to get back at them for making him play the ridiculous game in the first place. After a few minutes, the two returned, and Jay raised both of his arms to prove that he was now hairless. The prince applauded them exaggeratedly. “Looking good, Jay,” he whistled.

“I hate you,” his friend muttered, plopping back down on the floor where he’d been sitting before and putting his shirt back on.

“I told you I would do anything,” Miles shrugged, obviously proud that he’d gone through with the dare. “Anyway, it’s my turn now.” He brought a hand to his chin and looked at each of the others in turn until his gaze landed on Iris. He smirked slyly, “Alright, new girl. Truth or dare?”

Beyond Expectations [AHeartlessNobody & Summer]

Despite how worked up he had been before the human had influenced him to doze off, Caeyin slept soundly through the night. He’d sprawled on his side as comfortably as he could with one arm bound to an immovable object, eyes closed and jaw hanging slack as his chest rose and fell with slow breaths. The trick she had used had worked wonders, relaxing him so thoroughly that he didn’t stir again until the next morning, and even when he did, he was still so drowsy that he was reluctant to leave the grip of the world of dreams.

A low groan left his throat, and he shifted his stiff body on the ground, not yet opening his eyes. For a moment, he was disoriented. The visions that had flitted through his mind while he’d slept had been vivid scenes of the colonists’ ship and even of his people’s home planet, a world he’d never been to before, Lunair. Each dream had been pleasant and warming, so he clung to them until he passively sorted out the fact that none of them had been real and that he was actually on the Earth, assigned to prepare the way for the rest of his people to descend and make the planet their new home.

He had also been taken prisoner by an irritating human.

As the latter thought entered his mind, he was prompted to finally open his eyes, slightly disheartened when his gaze was filled with the familiar sight of the vehicle. Nothing had changed. His wrist was still chained to the pole, and he still had no way to free himself.

He swallowed reflexively, noticing how dry his mouth had become over the course of the night. He could only last five or six days without water before he would succumb to dehydration, and he wondered if the human was aware that his kind needed it to survive. On the outside, they seemed similar enough. Perhaps she needed it too. If she was planning to keep him around as some sort of pet, she would have to provide him with nourishment eventually or he wouldn’t last very long.

Tiredly, he rolled from his side onto his back, resting his free arm across his midriff and fixing his gaze on the ceiling. His shoulders and neck felt sore after he’d laid in a semi-awkward position on a hard surface for such a long time. His chained wrist hurt a bit too as the metal began to chafe his skin, and dull bruises had begun to form under the constant pressure of the binding. The discomfort was more of a nuisance than anything else though. His kind healed quickly, so if he did live long enough to get away, it would take no time at all for the minor injuries to disappear. He was more concerned about whether he was going to recover from the mistakes he’d made yesterday or die at the hands of his captor because of them.

Belatedly, he realized that he had woken up to what sounded like the crinkling of a package, and he glanced sideways toward the back of the plane, where he found that the human was already awake, eating a meal of her own. The sight and faint scent made his empty stomach cramp, and his luminescent eyes fixated on her container of water. Watching her only reminded him that he wouldn’t have access to his own food and drink as long as he was her prisoner, so he forced himself to look away. He had to hold fast to his convictions, which meant telling her nothing and suffering the consequence of starving.

He didn’t look at her again until he heard her get up, instantly alerted by the sound of movement. He braced himself for her to confront him again in another attempt to get information, but instead, she seemed to have a different plan in mind. As she approached a shelf with a plant on top, Caeyin sat upright and leaned against the wall, studying her quietly from behind. To his surprise, she took care of the plant and even spoke to it as if she’d formed a bond with it. He’d never seen anything like that before, and he hadn’t expected to see such gentle behavior from a creature that had threatened to kill him numerous times. He’d assumed humans were cruel and savage, not empathetic. It was an odd shift from the way she had been acting yesterday.

However, just because she was tender towards a plant didn’t mean she was better than the rest of the kind. His momentary intrigue was replaced with a twinge of bitterness as he reminded himself that her people were the ones who had taken his parents’ lives. They needed to be exterminated for the safety of the other colonists. It was non-negotiable, and it was why he’d been sent ahead of the rest: to finish off any survivors he came across.

“Why bother?” he asked her with a scathing edge to his voice, leaning his head back against the wall as he broke the silence between them. “It’s only a matter of time before the others find you here, and they’re going to kill you when they do. Why spend your time tending to a plant when you most likely only have a few days left on this planet?”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Yeah, Cas and Iris needed it.

Jay and Miles are hard targeting Cas though xD

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cas sighed when Iris agreed with Miles that they should play truth or dare. Having played games like this with his friends before, he knew exactly how it was going to go down. They were just going to end up trying to come up with questions and challenges that would make each other so uncomfortable that they would either be humiliated or get completely wasted as an alternative, since the only way to get out of the truth or the dare was to drink. No matter what, Miles won. However, if everyone else was voting against him, he couldn’t get out of it, so he reluctantly lifted his shoulders and casted Iris a half smile, “I say you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, but if you really want to let Miles have his way, then I guess that’s what we’re doing.”

“Hell yeah,” Miles grinned, filling their shot glasses with the new bottle of vodka that Jay had brought out for them. “And we’ve got the good stuff this time.”

“I also brought beer chasers,” Jay added, indicating the three cans he’d set down along with the liquor bottle.

“Thanks,” Cas said as he took one and opened it. Disliking the taste of vodka by itself, he planned to take full advantage of the lighter drink in between shots.

“I think I’ll play too,” Jay decided, taking a seat next to Caspian. “I’ll just take shots of water.”

“That’s cheap,” Miles scoffed. “If you play, you have to answer all the questions and do every dare, because water isn’t a real penalty.”

“Fine,” Jay agreed easily with a wry glance at the prince. “Unlike someone, I don’t care if I look like a jackass.”

“Excuse me for having a sense of dignity,” Cas rolled his eyes.

“For now,” Miles objected with a snicker. “Two more shots, and you won’t even know what dignity is.”

“I bet I can kick that off,” Jay volunteered, turning toward the prince with a conniving glint in his eyes. “Cas, truth or dare? Choose wisely.”

Of course, they’re making me start the game, he thought dryly, unsurprised. At least they were playing in the privacy of Miles’ bedroom, where the only people who would see him make a fool of himself were his closest friends and Iris. His dark eyes flicked to her face briefly. Thoroughly smitten with her, he was hesitant to let go of the image he’d crafted of himself when she was around, but he supposed she was going to see this side of him sooner or later. He’d already told her that he enjoyed the night life in the capital, so hopefully it wouldn’t be too shocking to her that he and the other high borns did stupid things like this.

Meeting Jay’s gaze, he picked the option that would hopefully be safer: “Truth.”

Jay grinned, “What’s your biggest kink?”

“Yeah, nope,” Cas shook his head, immediately downing the contents of his shot glass. He knew his friends would be ruthless right from the start of the game. The taste of the liquor made him wrinkle his nose, and he chased it with beer to get rid of the bitter flavor. Already, he was starting to feel warmth spread through his body as the strong alcohol began to take effect. He turned to Miles, “You’re up.”

“Dare,” his friend answered without hesitation. “Hit me. I’ll do anything.”

Cas thought for a moment and then smiled as an idea came to him, “Really? Then go shave Jay’s pits.”

“Shit,” Jay groaned.

“Alright, come on, big guy,” Miles hopped to his feet, waving a hand for his friend to follow him to the bathroom. “I’ll get the razor.”

“I’m going to get you back for this,” Jay hissed to Cas as he reluctantly got up and walked off with Miles, pulling his shirt over his head as they disappeared around the corner.

Once they were gone, Cas leaned back on the palm of his left hand and turned to Iris, “What did I tell you? They’re crazy.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Jay and Miles are even good at getting Cas to lighten up xD

And I thought it was a good post! Impressive for just writing it on a phone

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“Apparently we’re not as good at rescue missions as we thought,” Cas said haplessly, grimacing at the churning in his belly as his body reprimanded him for swallowing the sickeningly strong liquor. He’d eaten dinner earlier in the evening, but it had been long enough ago that he didn’t have the benefit of drinking on a full stomach. “Why do your parents even have that stuff?” he asked Miles incredulously.

“It was a souvenir from my mom’s trip to Russia last year,” his friend replied, leaning with his back against the base of the sofa. “The cooks use it in some of their fancier dishes. We don’t drink it straight.”

“I can see why,” Cas shook his head. The back of his throat still hurt from the single shot he’d just taken. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he woke up the next day to find that the alcohol had burned him on its way down. For a moment, he was tempted to ask why Miles hadn’t recognized the bottle until after they’d drank the horrendous liquid, but he stopped himself when he thought about how oblivious the other high born was in general. It would have been more shocking if he’d caught it right away.

When Iris proposed that they play a drinking game, Cas turned toward her amusedly. He’d had no idea that she had such a wild side. Even after Jay had brought them the wrong bottle of vodka, she was still eager to keep drinking with them. Her spontaneity was exciting, and he smiled, liking the idea she’d come up with. “That sounds like fun,” he agreed. “Did you have anything in mind?”

“Ooh, I do!” Miles raised his hand eagerly. “Let’s play Most Likely. Or Truth or Dare.”

“What are we, high school girls at a slumber party?” Cas snorted.

“Oh, come on,” Miles rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to be a high schooler or a girl to enjoy humiliating your friends. I just want to make you do something embarrassing.”

“Oh, well now that you’ve revealed your master plan,” Cas said with a false note of enthusiasm before falling flat: “No.”

“Spoil sport,” Miles huffed, glancing at the door as Jay came back into the room with the more tolerate vodka for shots. For a moment, he drummed his fingers on his knee and then locked eyes with Iris as an idea came to him. “You know what? Let’s take a vote. I say we play one of my ‘slumber party’ games. What do you think, Iris?”

“This isn’t a democracy,” Cas drawled, fighting the urge to laugh at his friend’s ridiculous antics.

“It is now,” Miles asserted brazenly, throwing an arm around Iris’s shoulders. “We’re overthrowing the party king. Join us or be locked in the dungeon.” He pointed at the closet.

Cas stared at him briefly and then narrowed his eyes, “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t,” Miles smirked mischievously. “But he would.” This time he pointed at Jay, who caught on quickly and folded his arms over his chest in a tough stance.

Cas glanced at him over his shoulder and exhaled resignedly. “You should be given an award for the lengths you go to get your way.”

“It’s a gift,” Miles raised his hands in a shrug. “So are you in?”

“Fine.”

“Great,” he grinned and turned to Iris again. “So, what do you think, Lady Iris? What kind of game do you want to play with His Royal Tightass?”

Beyond Expectations [AHeartlessNobody & Summer]

Caeyin balled his hands into fists as the human insisted that she was going to do whatever she pleased with him. Her claim that he was in no position to be making demands of her irked him, not because he thought she was wrong but because he knew deep down that she was right. As much as he loathed to admit it, he was at her mercy because he’d underestimated her. She was the one with a free range of motion and at least one or two weapons that she could use to keep him down if he tried to fight her. He despised feeling trapped, but as long as he remained stuck to the pole she’d chained him to, there was nothing he could do to break free.

However, that didn’t mean he would give up and let her have her way.

“What else could you possibly want to do with me?” he asked dryly. “I’ve already told you that I won’t be compliant.” Despite the situation he’d landed himself in, he wasn’t afraid of her. The worst she could do was inflict physical pain or kill him, and it sounded like she was reluctant to do the latter. He wondered if she was considering keeping him around as some sort of pet. Perhaps she was lonely and wanted company, and since there were no other humans, she had decided that his presence was the next best thing? Or maybe she wanted a breeding partner to save her species from extinction and hoped they would be genetically compatible enough to reproduce. The thought made him wrinkle his nose. No matter what she was planning, he was determined to dig in his heels and fight her tooth and nail until she became too weary of him to continue trying.

When she walked away from him and sat down, he held her gaze obstinately. She had managed to break his mental link once, but if she attempted to go to sleep, he would just do it again. Any chance he had to grapple for power with her wouldn’t be missed. She didn’t seem to be getting ready to go to bed though. As he fixated on her narrowed eyes, he pondered what was going on inside her head as she studied him. Her prolonged staring made him uncomfortable, and he fought the urge to shift his weight.

“I think you’re afraid to kill me,” he challenged her, scratching the itch to break the disconcerting silence. “You don’t have the gall.” He closed his mouth and turned his head slightly, keeping her in his peripheral vision as the uncomfortable feeling persisted inside of him. It wasn’t dissipating, but rather, it seemed to be getting stronger. He blinked as he realized belatedly that the sensation was actually the absence of the fiery emotions that had filled him seconds before. Strangely, his temper had soothed itself, and he could feel his muscles relaxing against his will. It was almost as if he’d lost control over his own body.

Distressed by the forceful calm, he shook his head and flexed his fingers and toes, trying to fight back against whatever was taking over him. For a few minutes, he seemed to gain some ground, but eventually a tide of exhaustion washed over him, and he swayed. “What did you do to me?” he demanded with a slight slur to his voice, certain that the human was the one behind the phenomenon. He turned toward her again, but the drowsiness made his vision go dark, and instead of questioning her, a groan slipped from his lips and he collapsed on his side, unable to stave off the pull of sleep any longer.

Cirque du Sombre [Siaya Dragalorn & Summer]

As soon as Lune said that the rules of social engagement were overrated, Rayth was convinced that he was going to like her. He’d already gotten that impression from their first conversation, but the casually-made statement solidified his theory. Anyone who paved their own way in the world rather than worrying about what others thought of them were A-OK in his book.
“Thanks. I eat my vegetables,” he replied, letting the gate close behind them once they had both passed through the opening in the fence. If she had been more comfortable with his supernatural heritage, he would have added that the regular meals of human blood helped too, but it was best not to talk about that.
The way she angled her body to keep him in her sight at all times didn’t slip past his notice, and he wondered what she thought she was achieving by watching him so carefully. If he had wanted to feed from her, it would have made no difference if he came at her from the front or the back. He could easily restrain her in the blink of an eye either way.
However, the needless behavior seemed to soothe her, so he tolerated it as they made their way to the train and walked alongside the railroad toward the cars meant for the troupe members.
“Actually, I haven’t figured that out yet,” he answered her question with a helpless shrug. “I’ve thought about it before, but I’ve never met any other half vampires, so I don’t have anyone I can ask. All I know is that I aged like a human until I turned eighteen, then I either stopped or slowed down so much that I can’t tell if I’m aging at all anymore. I guess I’ll find out which it is in another century or so.”
Assuming he lived that long, he mused. While he stayed with the circus, he was safe from hunters, but he’d lived long enough to learn that he couldn’t predict where his life would go ten or five or even one year from the current day. Nothing was certain, and he’d taught himself to ‘go with the flow’ because there was no sense in worrying about things that were outside of his control.
“Since you asked me, it’s only fair that I get to ask how old you are now,” he posed, taking a second to look her over in a scrutinizing fashion. “My guess is seventeen. Am I right?”