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Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

That's cool. I have a couple friends interested in bank work :)
One wants to be a teller and the other wants to start his own company!

No problem! I've been working on some homework and staying busy. Got a big project due in less than a month, so I don't want to get behind

Your post was great! I liked the character of the doctor. I'll get started on a reply (taking a break from school work, haha)

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Good luck with that then!
That's pretty nice! What do you do for work, if you don't mind me asking? :)

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

That's good! It's nice when you can be productive, haha.
And cool ^^ do you usually get two days off every week or is that special?

Bravely Into the Night

“Nice that they care enough to try, I s’pose,” Skye shrugged at shorty’s explanation about the coffee. He sipped at his drink again, downing a little less than before as he got used to the feeling of gritty sludge sliding down the back of his throat. He had a hunch he would stick to black coffee most of the time, but it was good to know they had a peppermint flavor in the winter. He’d always been a sucker for the stuff. Plus, anything that offset coffee breath at least a little bit was good news in his book.

As the girl reached for his arm and gave him a tug toward her, he blinked, unsure what she was doing until he noticed the other soldiers gathering around the table. Must have been in their way. Absently, he noticed the roughness of her touch as she pulled him. It seemed out of place for a girl her size, but he wasn’t overly surprised. He’d never met a soldier with soft hands in his life.

“Got experience with both?” he asked with a smirk when she remarked about her death preference. It was mostly a sarcastic question, but there was a small part of him that was curious if she really did know what it felt like to die. He was morbidly interested in the subject. On earth, when you were gone, you were gone for good. He’d never met a group of people who had died and been raised again by white coats who grew bodies for a living.

As she went on to inquire about who he was, Skye nodded. “Just got in last night,” he confirmed. “It’s my first tour in space, but not my first tour ever. I spent a few years in Germany and Afghanistan before this.” Not that those tours really counted for much. Since the world was focused on fighting off the alien threat, no one was doing a whole lot of bickering with each other, which meant he spent most of his time training on the bases, playing games with the other guys and getting drunk off his ass on his days off. He hoped he’d see some more action on an actual warfront.

“Rifleman,” he said proudly in answer to her last question. “Master of the M4. What about you?” He looked her over again. “I’m guessing you don’t go anywhere near the front lines, right, short stuff?”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

No worries! It's been good so far :) Definitely made up my lack of sleep the night before, haha

How was work?

~Bonsoir~

The walk to the Crest manor had become more familiar to Vail than it should ever have been. He might have been able to make the trip with his eyes closed. Despite knowing how terrible his judgment was in growing so fond of a human, he was surprised how little regret he felt. He was still concerned that his secret visits with Victoria might lead to his death, but the worry was miniscule compared with his desire to see her again. Even though he knew he couldn’t stay long—he couldn’t risk being discovered by a Saint—he hoped they would have some time to speak. He wanted to know why she hadn’t contacted him in four days.

Moving as briskly as he could manage without looking too out of place among the other people on the streets that night, he made quick work of the trip to the Crest estate. As he neared the iron gates, he slowed his step, keeping watch for movement on the other side. He could still smell the metallic stink of silver coming from somewhere within the private grounds, but it wasn’t as strong as he would have expected for a group of hunters as large as Victoria had described. Regardless, he kept his guard up and proceeded with caution as he slipped inside. He didn’t know all the traps the Saints used to kill his kind, so he wasn’t going to let them catch him unaware.

Now came the challenging part: getting inside the manor. Having only visited the Crest’s grand ballroom, he had no idea how the rest of the building was laid out nor where Victoria’s room was. It wasn’t like he could simply waltz inside and explore the manor with trial and error either. If he wanted to find her, he was going to have to be clever about it.

Trying to come up with another plan, he snuck closer to the massive house, hoping an idea would come to him if he looked it over more thoroughly. However, as he did, a passing breeze made him pause. It carried Victoria’s scent, but it certainly wasn’t coming from the inside of the building. He turned toward the woods. It seemed like her smell was coming from the summer house where they had met before. He must have gotten lucky this time.

Changing course, he skirted around the edge of the manor to head into the trees, hastening his pace as soon as he was out of sight from the windows. Though he traveled faster, he still kept alert for any unusual scents or movements just in case there were any members of the Order guarding this part of the estate. Fortunately, he didn’t notice anything strange. He wondered if that meant the Lady was alone. There didn’t seemed to be any other humans around from what he could tell.

Eventually, he could see the lodge up ahead but something seemed off about it. There were no lights on in the windows. He slowed to a stop, confused by the scene before him. He was certain that this was where Victoria’s scent was coming from, but it looked like no one was inside. His eyes darted over the grounds with new caution. Was it a trap arranged by the Saints? Perhaps they had taken an article of her clothing to lure him away from the manor, where they could kill him in secret.

Unnerved, he took a step back, ready to turn around and go back the way he’d came, but then wavered as something else caught his attention. Looking a little closer, he thought he could see someone laying in the grass. A chill shot up his spine as he realized it was Victoria. Was she injured? He couldn’t smell blood, but perhaps she’d fallen and twisted her ankle.

Without giving it another thought, he hurried over to her side and knelt down in the leaves. “Victoria, are you alright?” he asked in a quiet voice, resting his hand on her shoulders. He could feel her tremble in the cold. Her body felt cooler than usual too, and he wondered how long she had been lying there. Worried she might be hypothermic, he lifted her off the ground and carefully swept her up into his arms to carry her into the summer house, where she might be able to warm up.

~Bonsoir~

Two more days passed, and Vail became certain he couldn’t obey Peter’s wishes even if he wanted to. After going over half a week without seeing Victoria, all he could think about was tasting her blood again. He longed to have just a drop to stave off his incessant cravings, but he still hadn’t heard a whisper from her. No letters had come in nor any other form of communication to tell him when and where to meet her next. He was beginning to wonder if he would hear from her at all.

Of course, Peter was quite pleased with the lack of word from the Crest heiress. The Hygrace leader seemed to think it meant she had given up on “seducing him,” as he believed was her intention. Since Vail had come home with no news of the Order after their last encounter, it only made sense for him to suspect something else was going on. He still didn’t know the extent of his son’s transgresses though. As far as he was aware, their meetings had been harmless; just talk and nothing more. Vail was careful to keep him from realizing just how far they had actually gone.

Despite the silence from Victoria, Peter had not wavered on his decision to make Vail marry Sylvia. In fact, Edison had just written back with his approval for the arrangement earlier that day. His haste made it clear that he was excited about giving his daughter’s hand to the heir of the Hygraces and forming an alliance with the most powerful clan in the nation.

Peter insisted that the two should begin courting right away.

Vail argued that he needed to readjust to a daylight schedule before he could court anyone.

With the new development, he was beginning to feel trapped between his responsibility to his family and his insatiable desire for Lady Crest. He felt tense with apprehension, knowing which path he wanted to take but unsure if it was still possible to follow. It had been quite a while since he’d heard anything from Victoria, and he didn’t know if he ever would again. She had told him not to go after her too; said it was too dangerous. Perhaps she had decided not to reach out to him anymore? He doubted that. Everything she had said and done the last time they’d met suggested otherwise. She probably just hadn’t had an opportunity to sneak out again.

He tried to distract himself from his thoughts about her by playing a game of chess against himself—after learning it was a pastime she enjoyed, he had decided to start practicing again—but found that it wasn’t easy to stop imagining feeding on her blood. His mouth watered just thinking about it. Though he wasn’t having the physical withdrawals he usually suffered from when he went too long without satisfying his bloodlust, the mental cravings were nearly worse. They consumed his mind, leaving little room for anything else. It was hard for him to focus on the game.

His eyes wandered to the window as he considered disregarding her warning and coming to find her in spite of the danger. He knew it was a bad idea. According to Victoria, the Crest manor was crawling with Saints. However, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could go without feeding on her again. He ran his tongue across his fangs, weighing his options. Perhaps he could go to the taverns and find someone else to prey on until he heard back from Victoria. It was a decent idea, but he knew it wouldn’t stop him from craving what he was really after: her blood. No one else’s could compare.

He leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Was he really going to risk his life to have her yet again? He was starting to question his sanity. There was no reason for a vampire to get so attached to a human. Yet he still found himself putting on a coat.

I’ll just stop by quickly, he reasoned as he crept silently down the stairs. As long as he didn’t linger, it was unlikely for the Saints to realize he was even there, right? It was a good enough excuse to convince him to venture into the night, giving in to his addiction as he sought out Lady Crest.

Cirque du Sombre [Siaya Dragalorn & Summer]

Rayth shrank a bit when Lune scowled at his question. Apparently she didn’t want to share anything about herself with him. He hoped he hadn’t crossed a line. He hadn’t meant to make her mad when he’d asked why she had joined. Honestly, he’d just assumed she would give him the same spiel everyone else did: that she was looking for the circus’s protection or on the run from hunters. It was why he and most of the other members had sought Frieda out when they’d found it, after all.
Not wanting to get snapped at for being rude, he opened his mouth to change the subject but didn’t get the chance before Lune surprised him with an answer. Her explanation didn’t clear anything up either. The way she talked about “controlling parents” reminded him of the runaway kids he’d heard about who would join the circus to escape their lives. It definitely wasn’t what he’d expected to hear anyone say about a group like Cirque du Sombre.
He studied her a little more closely, red flags raising in the back of his mind. Something was off. Lune didn’t speak or act like any other creature he’d met before. He was starting to wonder if she was even a monster at all. If she was, she had to have been hiding it, but he couldn’t fathom a reason why she would want to do that.
He didn’t have time to chew on the thought when the girl suddenly stumbled, latching onto his arm for stability. “Whoa,” he caught hold of her wrist with his opposite hand, steadying her like a rider might do with a horse. It was a stupid gesture, he knew, but he hadn’t been expecting her to lose her balance like that. If he didn’t know better, he might have thought she was feeling the effects of the incense even more than he was.
She’s feeling the incense. His eyes widened as the realization struck him. Now he was certain of it. Lune was human—at least partially. She had to be if the drugs in the air were affecting her. He had so many new questions: Why had Frieda allowed her to join? Was she a half-blood like he was? Did she even know what she was walking into? He had to bite his tongue to keep from spilling everything on his mind at once.
“Don’t worry about it,” he assured her as she stepped away from him. “It takes time to get used to.”
Thinking over everything she had said to him so far, he was starting to get the impression that she was just a normal girl who’d run away from home. She probably had no idea that supernatural creatures even existed. He glanced over his shoulder nearly pleadingly, hoping Frieda was still around. The ringmistress had to know she’d just accepted a human into their ranks… didn’t she? He wasn’t sure how to handle this.
As Lune complimented his “costume,” Rayth could only gawk at her. He didn’t know what to say. Part of him was tempted to play along and pretend the vampire bit was part of his act to preserve her innocence, but what was the point? It was only a matter of time before she learned the truth about the circus members. She might as well find out before she was surrounded by monsters of every shape and size.
He took a steeling breath.
“Um, well, you guessed right,” he started slowly. “But only in half.” She was going to run away when he told her the truth. He just knew it. Still, she deserved to know what she was getting herself into. If she decided it was too much to handle, it wasn’t his job to change her mind.
He met her gaze with a resigned shrug, “Let’s just say when the Reaper costume comes off, the ‘contacts and fangs’ stay on.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

They're the worst. I've been getting them almost every day lately, so I definitely feel that. Excedrin is the only thing keeping me going xD

Okay! and thanks! The meeting went fine ^^

I finally got my post up too.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cold air had to be one of the fastest ways to sober up. The longer he walked, the more clearheaded Cas felt until he was sure he would wake up tomorrow morning feeling just fine. Good news for him, since he was sure he couldn’t ditch his lesson tomorrow even if he wanted to. Economics was his weakest subject, and his father had told him that he would be covering it extensively for the next two weeks to make up for his ineptitude. If he didn’t show up to the first class of the series, he knew he was going to get an earful about how “irresponsible” he was and how he needed to be more “mature” if he was going to be king. Needless to say, it wasn’t the best way the spend any afternoon.

Lifting his phone from his pocket, he checked the time again to make sure he was still on track to get home before midnight. The glow of the screen reflected off his face in the dark. It was eleven-forty right now. There was still plenty of time left, so he had nothing to worry about. He glanced away from the device, toying with the thought of turning on some music to pass the time. He’d brought a pair of wireless earbuds, so he could shuffle a playlist if he wanted to. However, he turned the screen off and stuffed the phone back into his pocket instead.

Even though the idea was tempting, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being followed. He knew it was just the paranoia. Everyone always thought someone was watching them when they were alone in the dead of night, but despite the knowledge that he was safe in the capital, he couldn’t bring himself to willingly cut off his hearing and let himself become an easy target for a mugger—or a member of the Scourge.

He shuddered just thinking about them. The rebellion had threatened him and his family on numerous occasions, and even though nothing bad had happened to them so far, he always kept the enemies in the back of his mind, wary for the day when they might try to follow through with one of their incessant death threats. It probably wouldn’t ever happen. The military in the capital city was trained to protect the royal family at the cost of their own lives. It would take a lot for the rebels to get past them and the stronghold around the Maydestone manor and the guards on the inside. To even try was practically suicidal.

Still, just knowing there were people out there who wanted him dead kept Cas from letting his guard down completely in the darkened city streets. It turned out to be a good thing too, because not long after he put his phone away, he practically jumped out of his skin at the sudden sound of a voice crying out. He spun around on his heels, searching for the source of the noise only to wind up confused when he didn’t see anyone else around.

He took a step back toward a tree next to the sidewalk, covering his back as he’d been taught to do to keep from getting attacked from behind. His heart hammered nervously, all intoxication fleeing from his brain as his fight or flight instincts took over. Someone else was nearby. That much was certain. The question was: Who? And why did they sound like they were in pain? His eyes shifted to the forest just beyond the capital perimeter, and he swallowed apprehensively.

Reflecting back on the sound, he was pretty sure it had come from the somewhere within the trees, but why would someone be wandering around the hunting grounds at this hour? There were signs posted everywhere in the city to keep out of the woods at night. The place was a minefield of traps and pitfalls designed for animals. All of them were marked with brightly colored flags to alert hunters of their locations during the day, but the warning signs were practically invisible when the sun went down.

He pressed his shoulders against the tree, absently noticing the way the rough bark tugged at the fabric of his shirt. Maybe he should call the police to come check it out. They were much better equipped to handle who or whatever was in the forest than a prince who’d never even been in a fight before. He was just about to reach for his phone again when a second noise made him pause. It sounded like something had fallen pretty hard just beyond his sight.

He bit his lip, feeling conflicted. It was definitely a bad idea for him to venture into the pitch black woods alone, but what if whoever was out there was hurt? The voice he’d heard before had sounded like it was a cry of pain. Even if he called the police, they might not get to the person in time if they were already badly injured. He glanced back into the city, but still no one else was around.

I hope I don’t regret this… he groaned inwardly, forcing himself to step away from the tree and walk tentatively into the woods.

As he searched for the person he’d heard, he turned on his phone flashlight to make sure he didn’t step on anything dangerous that might be lying around in the grass, shuffling his feet to displace the leaves that had gathered there as well. The last thing he wanted was to have to explain to his father why he’d gotten his ankle caught in a bear trap in the middle of the night, so he was extra careful as he wandered deeper into the trees.

Sweeping his flashlight over the ground, he gasped as the beam suddenly caught the edge of a dress instead of the usual foliage. Someone really had been trespassing out here after all. Forcing down his unease, he lifted the light a little further to envelop the rest of the girl’s body and then nearly staggered when he saw the state she was in. Dark blood ran from a massive puncture in her leg, and her hair was matted with the stuff as well.

Cas averted his gaze, lifting a hand to his mouth as he fought the urge to lose his dinner. He’d found injured animals near the edge of the capital before, but this was the first time he’d seen another human being with wounds this severe. Despite his better judgement, he snuck another peek at her. It looked like she had stumbled into a hunter’s trap and passed out from blood loss—probably hit her head on the way down too. For a moment, a cold chill shot up his spine as he realized the impact might have killed her, but his fear was quickly laid to rest when he saw the faint rise and fall of her chest. She was still breathing.

Slowly, he inched closer to her and knelt down in the grass, letting the light shine on the girl’s face as he got a better look. He didn’t recognize her, but the citadel was full of all sorts of people, so that didn’t surprise him in the least. She was probably from a different part of town, or maybe she just didn’t go out to the same kind of parties he did. He couldn’t help but notice she was kind of cute too. Her pretty blonde hair, girlish face, and pink lips stood out to him despite the urgency of the situation.

Not right now, Cas, he chided himself, chagrined as he realized he was paying more attention to her physical features than thinking about how he could help the unconscious girl. There wasn’t time to ogle. If she really had passed out from blood loss, she needed medical attention fast. He glanced over his shoulder at the barely visible city through the trees. The hospital wasn’t too far from here. Maybe he could carry her.

Shuffling a little closer to her side, he braced himself as he slipped one hand behind her knees and another around her shoulders. It was difficult to move her when she was a deadweight in his arms, but he managed to stand up without losing his balance. He let out his breath, his heart racing from the effort of getting her off the ground. Even though he was fit, it was no easy task to lift an unconscious person. At least it was done now.

Carefully, he adjusted his grip on the girl to make sure he wouldn’t drop her and turned to make his way back into the capital, trying not to think about the blood staining his clothes where her head rested on his shoulder. This definitely wasn’t the way he had thought he would be spending his night, but he needed to get her to the hospital so she could get her wounds treated.

Looks like I won’t be home by midnight tonight.