Rogue Sloth

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Jay and Miles do that a lot xD

Okay, perfect!

I can, haha. I'm excited because I've heard you can see the Grand Canyon from the summit. And yep! I'm bringing Kai with me because the trail is dog-friendly :)

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

A smile tugged at Caspian’s lip when Iris reveal that she understood some of the hardships that he was going to have to face when he became king. Of course, it was impossible for her to grasp the full weight of it all, since she had never needed to make decisions that could affect an entire country before. He supposed she had some idea though, since she was the daughter of a former leader of the rebellion. He would have been surprised if her father hadn’t had high expectations of her as well. He studied her discreetly, wondering what she could have gone through before they had met. Did she even know, when so many of her memories were still locked away?

Unable to ask while Miles was in the room with them, he busied himself by looking over the menu while his friend backtracked hurriedly from his last comment. “Sorry, I guess you wouldn’t have known about the rules we have about not going in there,” he apologized, remembering belatedly that she wasn’t from the capital. High borns were well aware of the risks and heeded the warning signs posted around the perimeter of the woods. There were some parts that were safe, while other parts were known to be used by hobbyist hunters. Either way, though, no one was supposed to venture into the trees after dark. Someone who had come from beyond the city wouldn’t have been able to tell which areas were safe and which were dangerous.

Listening to the conversation, Cas glanced up from his phone briefly as Iris stepped over to look over his shoulder. Although she had done nothing but walk closer to him, he still felt his heartbeat quicken with irrational excitement at her proximity, and he had to try hard to keep the emotion from bleeding into his face. “Good luck with that,” he wished her sarcastically when she insisted on paying him back. Aside from the fact that he knew she didn’t have money, he wouldn’t have accepted reimbursement for the food no matter if she was rich or poor. She didn’t stand a chance against his determination to treat her to lunch.

“I was thinking of getting this one,” he said pointing out one of the restaurant’s specials. “It’s got a few high-quality white cheeses with salmon, dill and red onions. I’ve had it before, and it’s really good.”

“Ooh, yeah,” Miles pitched in. “Let’s get one of those and the one with bacon, pesto and onions. I know Jay likes it, so he won’t complain about the options when he gets here.”

“Okay,” Cas nodded, making the selections on his phone. “We can get garlic bread too.”

“Great,” Miles grinned. “You’ll love the pizza from this place, Iris. It’s some of the best you can get in all of Aspiria. The chefs were professionally trained in Italy.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Yeah, we were relieved to hear it.

I think Cas will end up stealing a moment with Iris after Jay and Miles get trashed xD

Also I may not be online too much tomorrow because I'm going on a super long hike up the second tallest mountain in Arizona. It'll probably take all morning and a little of the afternoon to get done, and I have to go to the new house after that because it's being treated for pests. I won't have internet while I'm there.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“Can’t say I’m surprised,” Miles shrugged, unperturbed by the fact that people beyond the city walls didn’t celebrate much. From what he understood about the districts, the commoners who lived there were bland, pessimistic individuals who wasted their days working and complaining. “But that just means we’ll have to show you how we party in the capital. Celebration is a form of art, and that art requires a bottle of bubbly. It’s the law!”

Cas shook his head amusedly at Miles’ exclamation. It was true that they usually popped champagne when they had something to celebrate or someone to honor, but there was no law. He wondered if Miles expected that he and Jay would finish the entire bottle without any help. If they were opening a new one, they were going to have to, since that particular drink didn’t keep very well after the first day. If they were planning to dabble with drugs on top of that, they were going to be extremely inebriated by the afternoon. He just hoped they wouldn’t do anything too stupid while they were crossfaded, since he didn’t feel like stopping them from trying to leave the mansion today.

When Iris accused Miles of being spoiled, the high born barked a laugh. “More spoiled than the man who’s going to inherit an entire country from his dad?” he snorted. “Good effort, but I don’t think that’s even possible.”

At his words, Cas averted his gaze uncomfortably. He had already known what his friends thought of his position as the crown prince, but they were far off their marks. While he couldn’t deny that there were perks to the royal status, the weight of his insurmountable responsibility was practically suffocating. He had never looked forward to being crowned king. Even when he’d been to the other districts and felt the pull to change things in Aspiria, he still recoiled from the thought of actually stepping up and doing it. As soon as he took over for his father, every eye in the nation would be on him, waiting to see if he would succeed or fail. To the prince that was entirely too sensitive to the way others perceived him, the pressure was crippling.

So, when Iris changed the subject, he was happy to move on. “I don’t know if I would call that hardy,” he disagreed with a laugh, finding it funny that she would use her condition as proof for being tougher than either of them.

“Yeah, that just sounds clumsy to me,” Miles snickered. “Maybe you need one of us hardy men to keep you company, so you don’t step in a pit fall next time.” Meaning the statement in a joking manner, he nudged her again before hitting ‘send’ on his text and stuffing the phone back into his pocket. With any luck, Jay would join them within the hour.

Trying to ignore the other high born’s obvious flirting with Iris, Cas nodded in response to her question. “You were gonna try to pay, but I already told you I wasn’t going to let you do it,” he reminded her stubbornly. Taking his own phone out, he pulled up the restaurant’s webpage to order delivery. “What kind of pizza do you guys want? If Jay is coming, I’ll get two, so we have enough for everyone to eat as much as they want.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Yeah, I'm glad neither of us has to be tested.

Oh definitely xD It could cause some more tension if they don't have a chance to talk about it until later that day or even tomorrow.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Iris said that Jacob had probably helped her because he believed in him, Caspian reddened slightly. He hadn’t thought of that. Reflexively assuming he hadn’t done anything worth being respected—he fumbled often when he attempted to take over his father’s responsibilities, he’d allowed himself to be fooled and captured by the rebellion, and he’d even helped a known and wanted rebel escape from the military—he was surprised that she thought the guard looked up to him. He was also flattered that she said Jacob believed in him “like she did.” Though he was still uncertain where they stood on a romantic front, it brought him pleasure to know that she still thought he was going to be a king worth following.

“Maybe,” he murmured, shuffling his feet bashfully.

When Iris told Miles she didn’t like his ideas, the high born gawped at her incredulously. “Why? It’s customary to pop a bottle of champagne when you’re celebrating something. If I didn’t offer, it would be bad manners.”

“It’s less about that and more about the fact that you just offered after getting all of us trashed a week ago,” Cas clarified dryly.

“So?” Miles stared at him uncomprehendingly. “I think it’ll be fun, but I guess I just come from hardier stock than you do.”

“I mean, I was the one who was taken by the rebellion, beaten almost to death and managed to come back alive,” Cas reminded his friend with a wry smirk. “But sure, you can say you’re hardier than me if you want to.” Despite the gibe, he knew his tolerance to alcohol couldn’t match a lot of other high borns his own age. With nothing better to do with their time, most of them spent their nights drinking and doing drugs at wild parties around the city. He participated when he could, but even then, he didn’t often indulge as much as the people around him. Because of that, he wasn’t able to wreck his liver and bounce back the next day like they could. It was just a matter of exposure.

“Alright, you got me there,” Miles relented, throwing up his hands. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, tapping away at a text message. “But if you two aren’t gonna join me, I’m inviting Jay over to do the fun stuff.”

“You do that,” Cas laughed. When Iris said they could decide on a restaurant, he pondered their options, deciding that he could be the one to pick, since Miles and Jay were going to be content with their sinful pleasures. If they were getting high, he knew they would eat whatever he put in front of them without question. “We could order from that pizza place I told you about,” he suggested, glancing at Iris with a smile. “We can’t go out because the city guards could recognize you, but they deliver. I think I owe you a meal from them anyway.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Yeah, we did a couple days ago. His coworker was negative, thank God. We're all good here :)

Cas isn't great at dealing with it either, haha. He's getting a little petty because he's mad and he can't address the root of his anger without giving away his feelings for Iris xD

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“You heard me,” Miles grinned at Iris cheekily, getting her back for calling him a sore loser. “I stand by it. You were a rebel of Aspiria, and now you’re a rebel of rebels. It’s fitting.” He couldn’t tell at all if she was reciprocating his playful flirting or if she was just teasing him in a friendly manner. She was too personable to differentiate between the two. However, she had yet to push him away when he’d sat beside her on the sofa, so he took it as a green light to keep making an effort without pushing her boundaries too much. Besides, it was amusing to poke fun at her. She was a good sport, and she return each verbal blow with a swing of her own that only egged him on.

Meanwhile, Caspian felt restless as he watched one of his closest friends sidle up to Iris so comfortably. He wished he could just say something to ward Miles off, but his tongue was tied as long as they were trying to keep their relationship—or what was left of it—a secret from everyone else. Additionally, he was no longer certain if it was even his place to tell other men off from her at all. If she had decided that she wanted to test the waters with someone else, he couldn’t stop her.

He averted his gaze uneasily. They had exchanged ‘I love you’s at the rebels’ prison, but what if it had just been the heat of the moment to her? In retrospect, they hadn’t been together for very long, so their ties to one another weren’t very deep. Maybe all it had taken was one week apart for her to decide she wanted to be with someone else. Of course, it was also possible that he was overreacting and that nothing had changed between them, but it was hard to stay positive when it looked like she was chatting up another man right in front of him. His initial excitement to see her again was quickly being replaced with hot tendrils of jealousy and doubt.

“You don’t owe anyone anything,” Miles waved a hand dismissively. “We’re helping because we want to, not because we want something from you. And I swear to god, Nox-Fleuret, if you try to pay me back, I will kick your ass to the curb.” As he spoke the fake warning, he poked her shoulder with one finger to emphasize the point.

When Iris mentioned Jacob, Cas risked turning back to her, surprised to hear that Jacob had been the one to send her to the hospital. The guard hadn’t mentioned that when they had talked before. “He did?” he mused, wondering why Jacob had gotten involved at all. Usually he said he was too busy to deal with the affairs at the penitentiary, so he had obviously made an exception for her. He doubted he would ever be given an answer to the question though. The guard was far too reserved to explain what had caused him to make Iris his personal responsibility.

The sound of Iris’s hands clapping together pulled the prince from his thoughts, and he nodded at her idea. Putting his own sour mood aside, he agreed that they should celebrate now that the worst was over. She deserved to have closure after everything she’d been through. “I don’t know,” he said contemplatively, trying to come up with an idea. “Miles, this is your house. What do you think we should do?”

“I have a few ideas,” his friend smiled mischievously. “Champagne, takeout from a restaurant of Iris’s choice, and, if anyone wants to have a little more fun, something from my stash.”

“Ugh, more alcohol?” Cas wrinkled his nose. “My stomach is still recovering from the last time we got drunk.”

“Then don’t have any,” Miles shrugged. “That’s what the other stuff is for.”

“I think I’ll just stick to the food,” Cas shook his head. He wasn’t very fond of the drugs other high borns like his friend indulged in either. He used them every once in a while, but he preferred not to touch the stuff unless he was feeling especially daring at a party. Usually when Jay and Miles got high, he was the one making sure they didn’t do anything stupid before they sobered up.

“Suit yourself,” Miles rolled his eyes and turned back to Iris. “So, what are you in the mood for? I bet I can name a restaurant that makes any kind of food you would want to eat.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Sounds good to me! We can decide later then :)

Sorry that one took a while! I had a hard time focusing for some reason.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“I feel a lot better,” Caspian confirmed with a smile when Iris asked how he was doing. He’d caught the slight waver in her voice, so he wanted to assure her that he had almost fully recovered. His injuries had been severe, but the medicine in the capital was unmatched by any other countries on the continent, so even though only a week had gone by, he was practically healed. All that was left to remind him of the wounds were the slight ache in his leg that formed when he spent too much time walking on it and the white scars that were developing over the worst of his surface injuries. For the most part, he could scarcely tell that he’d been stabbed, shot and broken just recently.

As she went on to tell him about when she and Miles had been up to during the lockdown, he nodded along attentively, glad to hear that she had stayed busy. The one thing his friend was good at was providing distractions when times were hard. His chipper attitude and eagerness to take everyone’s minds off their troubles were appreciated by both himself and Jay. “Oh yeah?” he mused. “What games did you play?” He was also relieved that she was still gaining memories back. It may not have been much, but to him, it was a sign that she was still recovering from the head wound that had given her amnesia. Any progress she made toward recovering the person she had been before that night was important to him.

“We had a whole week, so I taught her a few different ones,” Miles answered. “Rummy, Hearts, Spades, Blackjack, even Go-Fish.” He glanced at her with a smirk and then scoffed when she accused him of cheating. “Whatever. If anyone has been cheating, it’s you. I’ve never lost at Rummy that many times in a row in my life! I know you’ve been pocketing aces, Iris. Don’t try to deny it.”

Watching the two banter as if they were old friends, Caspian felt another sting of envy that threatened to wipe the pleasant expression off his face. He wished he could have been the one to be locked up with Iris for a whole week. He’d had that much time with her when they had been in the districts, of course, but their time together hadn’t been all fun and games. They had been running for their lives from the rebellion. Absently, he leaned into his chair and folded his arms over his chest, struggling to mask his jealousy. He knew he shouldn’t be upset. It had been his idea to hide her with Miles when she’d left the hospital, after all. To be frustrated that the two had bonded would have been hypocritical. Yet he couldn’t help himself. Insecurity bubbled up inside of him, and he remarked flippantly, “I believe her. You know you don’t always play fair, Miles.”

His friend turned toward him with a frown, catching the subtle passive-aggressive tone of his voice but not understanding what had provoked it. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Inwardly, Cas cringed, knowing he was letting his emotions get the best of him again. Miles didn’t deserve that. Even if he had taken interest in Iris, it was because he didn’t know they were together. But are we still? He wondered suddenly, stricken with a flash of worry. Before the lockdown, he’d thought he and Iris were on the same page, but what if she had only fancied him because he was the only eligible man around? Now that she’d spent a week getting to know someone else, what if she’d decided she liked the other high born better? They had never talked about being exclusive with one another, so she’d had every right to explore other options while they were apart. He swallowed hard, wishing they could be alone so he could find out where her head was at now that she’d spent time with someone else.

“You’re safe now,” he confirmed in response to Iris’s question, dodging the one his friend had asked by latching onto the other subject. “I talked to the head of security about it… Jacob. He figured out that we were the ones who helped you escape, but he agreed not to say anything after I explained the whole situation to him. He said he would tell the soldiers that you were taken back to the districts already. I know him well, and I’m sure we can trust him to keep his word.”

“Wow,” Miles whistled. “That was lucky.” He turned back to Iris. “Looks like you’re in the clear, rebel girl.”