Rogue Sloth

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

No worries, haha. I would be surprised if you matched my length every time while I was writing two POVs xD

And yeah, we'll have to come up with some next steps since we don't have this part planned out a whole lot yet. Do you have any ideas or preferences?

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I haven't!

And I finally got done! Doubling takes me so much longer than regular posts, haha. This is why I prefer to just do it occasionally xD Two MCs would be exhausting if I couldn't take breaks.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

The next week went by painfully slowly to Caspian. Trapped at home with no way to escape or properly blow off steam, he often found himself in front of the TV, watching basketball game reruns, or at the in-home gym attempting to rebuild his strength after all the injuries he’d sustained had left him feeling withered and weak. His broken wrist and ribs had all but fully healed a little more than halfway into the lockdown, thanks to the advanced medicine he’d received at the hospital, and even his wounded leg was well on the mend. His limp had disappeared, and the limb only pained him if he was on his feet too much during the day. Aside from a few developing scars on his bicep, thigh and cheek, he was almost as good as new.

However, his physical state was the only one that was recovering in any positive way. Internally, he was still stressed about a number of different things. His relationship with his father was still rocky, and they did their best to avoid each other in the mansion. The few times they had crossed paths, all Atlas had been interested in talking about had been whether or not Cas still believed Iris was innocent when she was now ‘evading the law.’ The prince had stood his ground and told the king that he was glad she’d gotten away while she had the chance, which had only convinced the reigning Maydestone that his Stockholm Syndrome hadn’t been cured and that he needed another therapy session with Dr. Foster as soon as the lockdown was lifted.

In addition to the unending tension with his father, Caspian was also worried about Iris. Rationally, he knew she was safe with Miles, but he still checked in with his friend once every morning to make sure nothing had happened to her overnight. Fortunately, that stressor was short-lived though. As each day went by and she was still safe, he felt more and more confident that she was going to be okay. Jacob had convinced the military that she had been taken away by other rebels, so the soldiers had only searched the streets of the capital and a few of the public buildings. They didn’t believe any of the high borns in the city had been accomplices in the crime, so they had left private residences untouched.

By the time the lockdown was over, the military came to the conclusion that Iris and her rescuers were long gone, and they could focus their efforts on matters beyond the walls of the capital. The orders were repealed, and the city was free to resume activities as normal. It also meant that Cas was free to leave his home and pay Iris a visit in person.

Having waited for this moment for seven days, he was understandably enthusiastic when he got up in the morning and readied himself to go to the Kinders’ house. He’d already texted Miles to let him know that he would be on his way, had showered and dressed himself and was heading to the garage when he bumped into Jacob, who was going the same direction.

The guard bowed his head politely and fell in step at his side. “You’re in an awfully good mood today,” he mused, glancing over the prince’s ensemble. “Where are you going?”

“I’m just visiting my friends,” Cas replied vaguely. “I need to get out of the house, you know?”

“Mhm,” Jacob grunted knowingly. “And do you have a plan… when you get to your ‘friend’s’ place?”

Cas faltered slightly. He knew the guard was asking him if he had a plan to deal with Iris now that things were finally calming down in the capital, but he didn’t have an answer. Truthfully, he hadn’t thought this far ahead. When he’d rescued her, he had just been trying to keep her out of the hands of the soldiers, and he’d succeeded. Now, he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to send her back to the other districts, but with everyone on the lookout for her, the capital couldn’t be her home either. There was no right solution.

And Jacob knew it too. “If you don’t have one yet, I’d suggest coming up with something soon, Your Highness,” he advised, casting the prince a sideways glance. “You only have so much time for your visit, after all.”

“I know,” Cas murmured. While it was unlikely that anyone would catch Iris now that it was assumed she’d fled the city, he couldn’t hide her with Miles forever. The plan they had come up with before was temporary at best.

When they got to the garage, Cas parted ways with Jacob, heading to his car while the guard walked off to inspect the newly fixed wiring on the side door. He climbed into the driver’s seat, feeling eager to be behind the wheel for the first time in far too long, and turned the engine. Luckily, Miles’ neighborhood was only a short trip away, so he could be there in fifteen minutes or less. Excited to check on Iris, he backed the car out of the garage and headed down the long private road at the side of the estate.

--

For Miles, the lockdown went about as well as it possibly could have. He found that he enjoyed spending time with Iris, watching movies and shows and playing games to pass the time. There was something melancholic about her, but it wasn’t difficult for him to pull her out of her off-and-on moods with a bit of well-place humor. He also felt more and more drawn to her as the days went by. She had a sweet and thoughtful disposition that attracted him like a bee to honey, and he woke up each morning looking forward to the activities they would do together.

He was also feeling good about how their escape had gone overall. Following Jay’s instructions, he had called the police station to report his car as stolen, and the officers had bought the lie hook, line and sinker. Unfortunately, his car had been impounded as evidence, but it was better than being arrested, so he couldn’t complain. As long as the police didn’t see him as a suspect, he would happily let them keep his car until they were ready to return it to him.

By the time the lockdown had ended, he was almost upset about it. He would no longer have the joy of keeping Iris all to himself, but at least he would be able to see his friends again and get out of the house. Cas had already texted him not too long ago that he would be coming over for a visit. Jay hadn’t said anything yet, but he was sure he would be stopping by sometime later in the day as well to catch up with them.

Stepping out of his closet, where he had just finished getting dressed, he glanced at Iris with an amused expression. “No way. I could never get bored of keeping you entertained,” he denied, smoothing down his shirt over his torso. “It’s been like having a live-in audience for all the stupid shit I do. Making you laugh is the ego boost I’ve needed.” He paused. “Well, need is a strong word, but I definitely liked it.”

Striding over to the bedside table, he picked up his phone and slipped it into his pocket, “By the way, Cas said he’s gonna be here soon. Sounds like he got sick of being cooped up a lot faster than I did.” He turned back to her with a lopsided smile. “How someone gets sick of a royal palace, I’ll never know. That place is a dream to live in.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I had to send out some time-sensitive emails in the middle of writing my post, but I'll have it up soon! I'm around halfway done :)

I'm excited for Cas and Iris to reunite after being apart for a week

Cirque du Sombre [Siaya Dragalorn & Summer]

“Never,” Rayth confirmed with a nod when Lune reacted in shock to his answer. It wasn’t that he’d never wanted to meet another half vampire. It would have been exciting to find someone else with a foot in two worlds, just like himself. However, he’d never had the luck to cross paths with any. As far as he knew, it was possible that he was the only supernatural in all of North America who was the product of love between a human and vampire.
When she confirmed that he had been close in his estimate of her age, he smiled proudly. It usually wasn’t that hard to guess how old a human was, but every once in a while he was left dumbfounded when he thought someone was far older or younger than they actually were.
“I wouldn’t be a very good vampire if I couldn’t function at night,” he pointed out. Predominantly nocturnal, he needed all of his senses to work after the sun went down. Living with the circus had changed some of his habits, since he no longer ventured out on his own to hunt, but he was still at his strongest when the moon was shining overhead.
His blood red eyes flicked up toward the softly glowing disk at the thought before he strode ahead to the next car in the line. “A little of both?” he replied to Lune’s question with a slight inflection as he hopped up on the rail to reach for the door. “I don’t think it’s common for vampires to fall for their prey and have kids with them, so my instinct says there probably aren’t very many others like me in the world. But I also spent over sixty years with my human family near the Pueblo reservation in New Mexico, where there are no other vampires at all.”
He gave the door a sharp tug, and it groaned as it slid open, granting them entrance to a pitch black space on the other side. The car was lined with windows, so it was usually illuminated with natural light during the day, but at night, there was nothing to keep it lit. Trains designed by humans ran wires through the passenger cars so the occupants could turn on lights inside, and there were outlets and switches that suggested these had been built the same way. However, the monsters of Cirque du Sombre were at home in the darkness, so they didn’t bother plugging anything in or replacing the bulbs in the old, burnt-out overhead fixtures.
Rayth went on, “I like to think I’ve become well-traveled since I left home, but I still haven’t found any other half-vampires. Or very many pure-blooded vampires, for that matter. We don’t share territory very well, so we tend to stay away from each other unless someone trespasses on our turf.”
He leaned away from the car so that he hung precariously by the hand that grasped the sliding door handle. Glancing down at Lune from his perch, he paused for a moment and then extended his free hand to help her up if she needed or wanted assistance.
“This is one of the sleeper cars,” he told her. “There are seven of them in total, and I’m not sure if this one has any empty beds, but I figured we can keep walking through the inside of the train now… So you can start getting a feel for your new mobile home.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Sure! And yeah, it's not the best week for anyone lol

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Go ahead and throw in the skip if you want to! I don't have to write out Miles' conversation with the police.

Same! It'll be an interesting part to write out.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

After tapping ‘send’ on the text he had written discreetly to Miles, Cas sighed and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He wished he could do something to convince his father that a lockdown wasn’t necessary, but he couldn’t risk drawing attention to himself. There was no good reason for him to tell the king that they shouldn’t take every precaution against the rebellion, especially when he had just gotten home from being abducted by them. If he even said a word about it, he already knew what Atlas would think. The monarch would accuse him of being brainwashed again and treat him like he was incompetent.

The thought made his chest feel tight with a mixture of hurt and frustration, and he took another bite of his food to mask the roiling emotions. He had to remind himself that he shouldn’t pander to his father for approval. Not anymore. Not when he had Iris, who didn’t think he was just a screw-up who was too soft to be king. He wasn’t cut out to lead Aspiria the same way his predecessors had before him, and he couldn’t let Atlas manipulate him into thinking there was something wrong with him for being kind and understanding of others. He also couldn’t let him find out that he was the one who had helped Iris escape from the hospital. The safest play would be to go along with the lockdown for a week, pretend he was on board, and then see Iris as soon as the restrictions were lifted.

With a subtle nod to himself, he finished off the rest of his breakfast, said a quick goodbye to Jacob and headed back to his room to nap off the last of his hangover.

--

“Um,” Miles said dumbly when Iris asked him about his type. The first answer that had popped into his head had been “you,” but the thought of saying that out loud made him want to crawl under a rock. He did have a thing for sultry blondes—who didn’t?—and he liked her willingness to get in the metaphorical dirt with the lads, but he wasn’t about to admit it out loud. That was way too risky. He was going to save that for a time when he could escape if things went awry and she said that she wasn’t attracted to him too. The beginning of a week-long lockdown was definitely not the best time.

Fortunately, he was spared the awkwardness of trying to dance around the question when Iris told him about dresses in the other districts. “Oh,” he mused. It was odd to him that women outside the capital preferred grays and muted tones, but he supposed culture was different everywhere. “Well, if you like bright colors, the capital is the best place to buy things like this,” he gestured to the other clothes on the bed. “I’ve seen high born girls wear all sorts of interesting colors. Depending on how things go, maybe you could go shopping later to find something in your size.”

When she said she didn’t know many card games and suggested that they could watch a movie instead, he shrugged. “Why not both?” he posed casually. “It looks like we’re gonna be spending a lot of time together, so we can do whatever you want until the lockdown is over.” The one good thing about being trapped at home was that there was plenty of things for them to do. His home may not have been quite as elaborate as the royal palace, but the Kinders were still wealthy. They could keep themselves occupied with all sorts of activities as long as they avoided the help.

Suddenly, his phone went off again, and he looked at the screen to see that Jay was calling. He stared at the caller ID for a moment before he blanched, remembering that he was supposed to have woken up early to meet his friend and get his car back from the alley. “Shit,” he groaned, turning to Iris apologetically. “Sorry, I have to take this.” Turning away from her, he lifted the device to his ear, “Hey, Jay. So sorry. I know we were supposed to get the car earlier, but I overslept and—”

Dude, slow down. It doesn’t matter, Jay cut him off.

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?” Miles frowned.

I swung by downtown when I was heading over to pick you up this morning, just to make sure everything was still okay, you know? Anyway, when I got there, I couldn’t even get close to the car. The alley was swarming with police. I drove up to ask what was going on, and they just said they’d located a vehicle that was involved in a crime.

“Are you serious?” Miles squawked, slapping a hand to his forehead as the color drained from his face. “Oh my god. Fuck, man. They have the plate number! They’ll know it was me!”

Calm down, Jay said quickly. We can still fix this. That’s why I didn’t call you right away. I came up with an idea.

“Spill it already,” Miles prompted him impatiently. “This is my life on the line! You know the king doesn’t fuck around with traitors.”

I know. Don’t worry. Just call the police station as soon as you hang up with me and report your car stolen.

“Won’t that sound suspicious since I’d be reporting it after the police found it abandoned in an alley?” Miles asked dryly.

Not necessarily. Just build off the story we came up with to cover our asses. Tell the police you were at the club with me and Cas. I was the DD, so you rode with me, but you accidentally left your garage door open when you left. When you got home, you were completely wasted, so you didn’t notice anything was wrong until you woke up today. Say you were about to run to the pharmacy for painkillers, and that was when you realized your car was gone. The cameras that caught us going in and out of the club with back up your alibi.

“What if they ask me why they found it behind the same club where we were supposed to be hanging out?”

Just act as surprised as you can if they tell you where they found it. It isn’t impossible that it was a coincidence. Besides, they have no idea that you or I even know who Iris is, so they can’t pin either of us with a motive for helping her. You’ll be fine. Just call the station and make the report, and the rest should take care of itself.

“If you say so,” Miles took a steeling breath. Hanging up the call with Jay, he shook his head and turned back to Iris. “Sorry again but don’t say anything for a few minutes… I have to phone the police station, and if they hear any voices in the background, we’re both screwed.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Yep! I just have to start moving stuff in and get the remodels scheduled :)

That is nice of them!

Probably skip right after I write one more post. I had a piece with Jay that I needed to wrap up (they were supposed to get the car that morning. Miles forgot and hasn't noticed that Jay still hasn't come by to pick him up)

Yeah, it'll be even worse for Cas when he notices that Miles has a thing for Iris too xD He'll be jealous that his friend has been spending so much time alone with her and worried that Iris will start to like Miles better

Beyond Expectations [AHeartlessNobody & Summer]

Caeyin wasn’t surprised by the human’s unwillingness to answer his question, but her response vexed him nonetheless. His upper lip curled back slightly, and his violet eyes narrowed when she said she hoped he would get himself killed by one of the things that had just attacked them. He opened his mouth to retort that his comrades were just fine on their own, but the words died on his tongue. In truth, he had no idea what had become of the others. He’d been separated from them a day ago, and they weren’t due to reconvene until tomorrow. Although it pained him to admit it, it was possible that at least one of the other scouts had stumbled upon a feral human and been unable to fight it off. They were far stronger than he’d been told to believe.

Instead of arguing with her, he turned his head away with a roll of his eyes and planted himself in one of the mounted seats just beyond her arm’s length. I should get rid of her, he thought as he toyed idly with the weapon in his hands. The human was uncompliant, insubordinate, sharp-tongued, and not at all helpful to him. Coupled with his ordered to get rid of her kind on-sight, he had every reason to aim the projectile gun at her head and pull the trigger. However, something stilled his fingers.

As infuriating as she was, she had still stopped the male human from sinking its yellowed teeth into his throat. It felt wrong to repay a lifesaving gesture with coldblooded murder. He let out his breath in frustration. Had she not done that, he could have killed her without a second thought, but now he felt like he owed her. He wanted to wrinkle his nose with disgust at the thought. A Lunairan indebted to a human. It was ridiculous, but it didn’t change the fact that he now felt obliged to let her live, if only for a little while longer.

“If you’re not going to give me what I want, then just shut up,” he ordered exasperatedly, resting his weapon loosely in his lap and casting her a scathing, sideways glance. Really, he was more frustrated with the dilemma she had put him in rather than her hateful words, but either way, he was getting tired of going back and forth with her. Having decided not to finish her off right then and there, his next course of action was to reach out to the other scouts and bring them to the winged vehicle to see her for themselves. With any luck, one of them would kill her in his stead.

He turned to the closed window on his other side and lifted the edge just enough to peer outside, keeping watch for movement on the ground beyond. He just had to wait long enough that he felt comfortable venturing out without worrying about being ambushed by another deranged human.