Rogue Sloth

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

We’ll see about that, Cas thought, glancing up at Iris with an amused expression when she poked his arm. Though her touch was playful, it still sent butterflies flitting in his stomach. It was familiar and warm, like a comforting place that he longed to return to; yet at the same time, it was electrifying after they had gone an entire week without being near each other. He bit his lip as he keyed the information into the checkout on his phone, finding it ridiculously hard not to reach out to close the distance between them. He wished they could be alone and inwardly regretted sending her to stay with Miles during the lockdown.

“Luigi’s makes plain pizzas too, but we never order those,” he told her succinctly when she commented on the suggestions he and Miles had made. In the capital, only children ate the bland options provided by restaurants, while adult high borns were expected to have more refined palates. They were all raised on the richest spices and seasonings the world had to offer, and as a result, almost everyone acquired expensive taste by the time they were fifteen or sixteen years old. After that, they ordered the gourmet dishes not just because it was expected of them but also because they genuinely enjoyed the flavorful recipes.

“Yeah, after you try these, you’ll never want to go back,” Miles promised her confidently. He was a little surprised that Iris had limited herself to cheese and tomato pizzas all her life, but he guessed that she had just never been pushed to try the toppings that were better. If the people outside the capital didn’t dine on gourmet food at every meal like the high borns did, maybe her family had never even given her the chance to get out of her comfort zone with unique dishes. “If you don’t think the pizza is good, I will literally give you two hundred credits and chug the whole ass bottle of champagne,” he added, slapping one hand on the sofa beside him with unnecessary emphasis.

“Damn, now I kinda hope she hates it,” Cas snickered, hitting the key to submit their order and putting his phone away. All they had to do now was wait for the driver to arrive with their lunch.

“She won’t,” Miles grinned confidently. “I’m certain of it. I’ve never met a single soul that didn’t think Luigi’s makes the best pizza in Aspiria.”

“We’ll find out then,” Cas shrugged, his eyes tracking Iris’s movements as she went back to the sofa and sat down. Though it was irrational, he felt a pang of disappointment, wishing she would have stayed by his side a little longer. Her visit to his chair had been so short that he couldn’t tell if it had been an excuse to get close to him or if she had really just done it to read the restaurant’s menu over his shoulder. For the second time that morning, insecurity simmered beneath his skin, and he shifted his weight uncomfortably.

To make it worse, as soon as Iris sat down, Miles threw an arm over the back edge of the sofa behind her. The gesture would have been incredibly discreet if not for the fact that he had been flirting with her rather overtly just minutes before. However, because he knew exactly what his friend was thinking, Cas seethed with silent jealousy and glanced toward the bedroom door to tear his eyes away from them. Part of him was tempted to ask if something had happened between them, if only for the sake of clearing the air, but he didn’t trust himself to approach the topic without revealing his own interest in Iris.

Tense with anxiety and unsure how to deal with it around them, he rose abruptly from his seat and then cleared his throat. “Speaking of champagne, I’ll go get a bottle from the kitchen for you,” he offered, masking his desire to get away with a reasonable favor.

“Okay, thanks,” Miles nodded. “We’ll be here.”

You don’t have to remind me, the prince thought, biting down on the tip of his tongue to stifle the petty words. Needing some time alone, he stepped out of the room and strode to the kitchen without making eye contact with the maids he passed by in the halls.

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.