Trash Panda

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Iris said she wouldn’t go crazy, Cas just shrugged. He could tell she wasn’t the type to take advantage of his offer, so he trusted she wouldn’t go over the top. Not that it mattered if she did. He didn’t mind covering the cost for her to have a decent sized wardrobe. He had more than enough money to pay for it. As long as she was enjoying herself, he would leave her to do as she pleased and follow along with a credit card to charge everything on.

While she wandered the store to pick out all the different clothes she wanted, he trailed behind her, keeping close enough to help her if she needed it but also giving her a little space so she wouldn’t feel pressured to hurry for his sake. When she searched the lingerie section, he took out his phone to absentmindedly check for new text messages, uncomfortable at the thought of watching her choose underwear. He definitely didn’t know her well enough to do that.

There wasn’t much, but he did have one text from Miles, who was pestering him again for details about what had happened two nights ago. He rolled his eyes, sending back a simple: ‘Busy now. I’ll tell you later.’ Hopefully that would be enough to get his friend to let it go for now. He wasn’t trying to keep it a secret from him or Jay, but he didn’t have time to repeat the story again while he was helping Iris get settled in at his place. They would just have to wait until he could give them an update when everything had calmed down.

As she asked him about the people staring, Cas looked up again, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He glanced over his shoulder to find another group of shoppers watching him. As they saw him turn their way, they all averted their gazes, trying to pretend like they hadn’t been ogling. “Yeah,” he answered, turning back to her again with a smile. “Don’t worry. I didn’t think you were trying to be insensitive.” He looked over the pile of clothes she had picked out. “I grew up being stared at everywhere I went, so it’s normal to me now. I don’t pay attention to it very much anymore, to be honest.” The only reason he’d noticed this time was because he’d been concerned that it would make her uncomfortable, since she probably wasn’t used to being the center of attention like he was.

At her follow-up question, he lifted his shoulders again. “I mean, sometimes. I know I can’t get away with doing anything stupid in public, because someone is always watching me, but I try not to read into it too much.” He hooked his thumbs in his jean pockets, glancing back at the staring girls once more. “They’re more nosey than judgmental, I think. As long as I don’t give them a reason to start gossiping, they’ll probably just brag that they saw me at the mall today.” He rolled his eyes. They would probably say they’d seen him with a girl too, but he kept that to himself. It was important to make sure Iris had everything she needed to get by at the Maydestone house. He didn’t want to make her worried that she might get looped into the rumors and want to leave before they could get all the supplies she was missing.

“Okay, let’s check out then,” he led the way over to the counter when she had enough. “You’re welcome,” he smiled at her again when she thanked him. Approaching the girl at the register, he helped Iris set some of the clothes down on the table—not the underwear, since it still felt weird to him—to be scanned. Once the worker finished ringing it all up, he took out his wallet and retrieved his card, a solid gold-colored piece of plastic that only members of the royal family owned. Of course, the transaction went through, and he collected the bags, so she wouldn’t have to carry them while she hobbled on her crutches.

When she asked if he needed anything, he thought about it and then shook his head. “Not for me,” he said as they headed back out of the shop. “But we still need to get you some toiletries. Luckily, there’s a place that sells bathroom stuff on this level not too far from here. I think that’ll be our last stop unless you can think of anything else you need before we go.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I think so too! It’s definitely rich enough xD

Awesome! I’m at campus to do studio work now, so I’ll get a reply up for you when I go home in 2-ish hours ^^

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Yeah, makes them more well-rounded, I think

Got my post up!

Also, for reference, I modeled the mall in the RP off the ones they have in Las Vegas ^^ I got to visit last winter, and they're amazing!

here's an example

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cas turned toward the mall as Iris said nothing was coming back to her yet. He was a bit surprised, since everyone in the capital liked to visit this place. There were plenty of stores for shoppers to visit, but there were also good restaurants, a virtual reality arcade, a movie theater, and other sources of entertainment to suit any type of visitor. Personally, he frequented it for the arcade, where he could lose his sense of time and waste hours playing games until his father called to make sure he was still alive.

“We’re going inside anyway, so hopefully it’ll come back to you,” he said, turning back to return her smile. “I’m sure you’ve been here before too.” If she hadn’t, he would have been shocked. Even if she wasn’t like most high borns in the sense that she liked to cook and knew how to clean, surely she had similar hobbies as everyone else. Maybe she had visited the mall more often when she was in high school, so the memories weren’t as close to the surface? He had a feeling she would find it more familiar once they started walking around inside. Perhaps even a certain store would ring a bell to her.

Falling in step beside Iris, Cas was careful to keep up a slower pace than usual, so she wouldn’t have to push herself to keep up with him. “I can imagine,” he laughed when she spoke so eagerly about changing clothes. “Wearing the same thing day and night doesn’t sound very comfortable.” He followed her gaze as she marveled at the stores around them. Having grown used to the luxury, he didn’t find them very impressive anymore, but he could see why she would have been taken by the sight. The tall ceiling was designed to look like a cloudy sky, giving off a steady glow to make it feel like they were still outside. All the storefronts were made to look like separate buildings too, with different materials on each façade and roof faces on top. It would have been a breathtaking environment to anyone who had never seen it before.

“Okay,” he nodded, following her lead as she headed into one of the nearby clothing shops. When she brought up how she was feeling, he casted her a sideways glance. “I’m sure it’s normal,” he assured her. “You probably won’t recognize much until it all starts coming back to you. Walking around might help though.” He waited while she examined the clothes on one of the racks, looking absently around the rest of the store. This one mostly sold women’s clothes, so he rarely stopped by, especially since his mother’s passing. There just wasn’t anything he was interested in buying here.

Movement in the corner of his vision caught his attention, and he peered over his shoulder to see a group of women looking in his direction and whispering amongst themselves. He turned away from them again. Everywhere he went, people stared, so he was used to the treatment. He couldn’t help but ponder what they thought he was doing with Iris though. He wondered if it would have been better for them to go to a less popular shop, so he wouldn’t draw as much attention to them.

Someone else might recognize her though, he realized suddenly, gaining some optimism in the situation. Maybe one of her friends was at the mall today and would come over to say hi. Deciding it wasn’t the worst thing that people were staring, he left it alone for now.

“Pick whatever you want,” he said, stepping up to stand next to her. “Money’s no object. You can have anything you’d like.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I think so too ^^ Plus I find it fun to decide what kind of music Cas would like.

Thanks! I'm already done with one class for the week. Just have two more plus some studio work! It's a light load this time.

I'll get started on my post now too :)

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

That's good! I hope it turns out how you want it to ^^

No prob! It's fun to add images and songs here and there in the IC cx

I'm doing well so far! Just getting a little homework done before my class. I try to get everything finished by Tuesday or Wednesday, so I have the rest of the week free :) How about you?

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Ah, makes sense. Does it need much more work?

Depends on how you want to link it, because there are two ways.

How I do it in the IC:
>[url=LINK HERE][color=whatever you want]VISIBLE WORDS[/color][/url]
Example: Video

If you want a video to show up:
>[youtube]LINK HERE[/youtube]
Example:


Hope that helps!

Awesome ^^ Glad you like it

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Iris clarified that she had been talking about the fact that he hadn’t been irresponsible as a driver, Cas realized he must have misunderstood her. Now it made sense. She had just been referring to the fact that there were no blemishes on the outside of his car, not the cleanliness of it. “That’s true,” he chuckled. “I try not to scratch up the paintjob.” It also helped that it was pretty well known around the capital what kind of model he was driving. He didn’t have to worry about leaving the vehicle alone in a parking lot because no one would dare to even risk tapping it with their car doors or bumping into it when they backed out of their spots. He could trust that it would always be in the exact same condition in which he left it.

At Iris’s comment about his friends, he sighed exaggeratedly. “Well, I guess so,” he glanced at her with good-humored smile. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t give him shit about it.” In truth, she was right though. If Jay hadn’t agreed to take his car two nights ago, he probably would have waited at the party to sober up until he could drive it home, himself. He never would have noticed her cry of pain in the woods, and she might not have been discovered until it was too late. He shuddered at the thought.

When she agreed with him about the quality of the speakers, he grinned proudly. It was one of his favorite features, since he liked listening to music anytime he was traveling around the city. Having a quality stereo system only made it better. It was also adjustable, so he could toy around with the bass and treble depending on the kind of music he wanted to play. Ever since he’d gotten the car two months ago, he’d had a lot of fun experimenting with the sound.

Glancing briefly at Iris again, Cas noticed she was moving rhythmically to the beat of the music by tapping on the dash. He bit his lip to suppress a laugh, not wanting her to think he was making fun of her. He just thought it was cute how much she liked the song that was playing. It was also good to see her so lively now that she was out of the hospital. Before, he hadn’t even seen her get up from her bed, but now, he could tell she had a lot more energy than he’d originally realized. It was a good sign, he thought, because it probably also meant she was healing well. He couldn’t imagine she would be this happy if her leg was hurting her.

As she explained that she had a bit of an ache, he nodded. There would be plenty of time for her to rest when they got to his place, so hopefully she would recover quickly. Even if her memories took some time to resurface, it would be nice if she could lose the crutches to walk on her own again.

“Alright, we can make a stop on the way,” he said, taking a brief look around to decide which outlet was closest to them. Recognizing the street up ahead, he slowed at the light and turned right to bring them to a mall that was within a mile of where they were now. “Maybe we can split it fifty-fifty,” he shrugged at her request to pay him back. “It’s no trouble for me to cover it though. You don’t have to worry.”

When they arrived at the mall, he drove up the length of the massive, crowded parking lot and pulled into an open space close to the entrance. Another perk of being royalty, there was a designated spot for the Maydestone family in most large lots around the capital, so he never had to walk far when he visited. It was also helpful since it meant Iris wouldn’t have to worry about straining her leg from the car to the door.

Taking the key out of ignition, he climbed out of the car and circled around to get her crutches from the back seat before he opened the door to help her get out. “Remember this place at all?” he asked, offering her a hand in case she needed it again. “It’s a pretty popular spot, especially among girls who like to shop together on the weekends. You’ve probably been here before.”

Cirque du Sombre [Siaya Dragalorn & Summer]

Flopping down in a chair across from Frieda, Rayth leaned his head back and exhaled slowly. Now that they were on the edge of the back yard away from the bulk of the incense clouds, he could start to detox from the drugs. However, it was going to take some time for his wooziness to wear off. His head was still foggy as if one of the clouds had settled inside of it, and his limbs felt limp with exhaustion. At the moment, he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and rest it off, but he couldn’t do that yet.
“So, what did you wish to speak to me about, Rayth?” Frieda asked, coaxing him to fight back against the chemicals and pay attention to the matter at hand. She had settled comfortably in the other cushioned chair with one fishnet covered leg crossed over the other. There was no hint of intoxication in her bright eyes, but he hadn’t expected to see any. She was a pureblooded faerie, and an ancient one at that. He didn’t think there was anyone in the circus who was older than her except, perhaps, for the oracles she kept around as a sort of advising board.
He’d heard a rumor from the other creatures that faeries grew more powerful as they aged, sort of like fine wine. If it was true, no amount of drugged incense would be enough to make her even a little tired.
“Rayth?” the ringmistress said his name again, and he blinked, realizing he’d lost his train of thought.
“Right, sorry,” he mumbled, wracking his brain to remember what they were supposed to be talking about. After a minute, it came back to him. “Remember when you told me to help Lune get settled in?”
“Yes,” her alert eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
“Well, I was going to,” his head lolled to the side, so he lifted it again to meet her gaze. “But she ran.”
“She ran?” Frieda’s expression was unreadable, but there was an edge to her voice that made the vampire certain he’d messed up.
“Yeah,” he shrank down in his seat. “But it wasn’t my fault. She’s a human. I told her I’m not, and she got scared. I wasn’t going to chase her down… That’s not the kind of sanctuary this is. Right?”
Frieda pursed her lips, idly tapping her slender index finger against the armrest of her chair. It was clear that she was thinking deeply about something, but Rayth was too dazed to fathom what was going on inside her head.
After a long pause, she spoke again, but what she said came as a surprise. “Go lie down. We need all able hands ready to help with the tear down.
Rayth stared at her blankly, caught off guard by the sudden change in subject. “You’re not mad?” he asked and then immediately bit his tongue. Now wasn’t the time to poke the bear. If she was going to let him off, he shouldn’t have questioned it.
“I see no reason why I should be,” the faerie smiled at him, rising gracefully to her feet.
“But I just lost our newest member,” he tilted his head, baffled. Internally, he wished he could duct tape his mouth shut. The incense took away his filter, so he couldn’t stop himself from spilling the questions on his mind.
Frieda chuckled. “I don’t believe you did. Now, get some rest, Rayth. That’s an order.”
“Okay,” he mumbled, standing up more shakily. As he made his way over to the fence, he lingered on the ringmistress’s words. Why does she think I didn’t lose Lune? He thought with a confused look on his visage. I saw her run away. She’s gone.
Maybe the faerie had decided Lune wasn’t worth keeping around since she was a human. Maybe she had said he hadn’t lost their newest member because the girl wasn’t their newest member at all. Of course, that had to be it.
Satisfied with the explanation, he settled down in the grass, facing the fence, and propped his head up on his arm. He took a slow breath, enjoying the smell of clean air now that he was too low to inhale the smoke that hovered overhead. With nothing else to do, he could finally focus on clearing out the mental fog that plagued his thoughts.
He shifted on his side until he was comfortable and closed his eyes, taking advantage of the chance to rest before he would have to help the others clean up the yard.

~Bonsoir~

As soon as Victoria gasped at the feeling of his fangs, Vail could tell something was wrong. Though she had flinched at his bite before, she had never responded as if she was in that much pain. Wary that she wasn’t handling it as well as usual, he kept her in the corner of his vision as he retracted his teeth from her neck. The blood that followed flowed more freely than usual, albeit noticeably slower. It was just as addicting to him as always though, and it didn’t take long before he was distracted by the rich taste that wetted his tongue. Surely she was fine anyway. Even if the puncture had hurt her more this time, it was over now. The rest of his feed couldn’t do any more damage than the initial bite already had, so he relaxed again.

However, it wasn’t long before he began to feel suspicious that something else was wrong with her. Her blood, though delicious as always, had a strange consistency as if it had been mixed with water. He pulled back slightly, confused. He had never fed on a human who had already been drained of her blood in such excess before, so he hadn’t known about the effect it was going to have on her. He was quick to make the connection though. What else could have caused a reaction like this aside from what Spencer had done to her days before? He was certain that the other vampire was to blame.

He was just about to tell her that he was going to stop so she could treat the bite, when suddenly, he smelled a spike in her fear pheromones, and she grasped at his shirt. The unexpected movement made him tense, just in time for him to brace her as she fell into his arms. It appeared she had been too weak for him to feed on after all. He studied her still-bleeding wound with a frown, absently wondering why she had offered her neck to him if she couldn’t withstand the blood loss. There wasn’t time to ponder over it now though. Her punctures weren’t clotting. She needed something to put pressure on the injury.

As she moaned and whispered his name, he hushed her gently. “Just lie still,” he murmured, carefully laying her down on the floor. He would have moved her to the lounge, where she would have been more comfortable, but he didn’t want to jostle her too much, so he set her where she was while he looked over the room for something he could use to treat her wound. There wasn’t much, but after a moment, his eyes landed on the table. It was lined with a decorative cloth that looked easy enough to tear.

He stood up from where he had been kneeling and stepped over to the furniture, gripping the edge of the cloth firmly as he ripped off a piece lengthwise. With the makeshift bandage in hand, he crouched down by Victoria again and got to work patching her injury. It didn’t take long—he merely tied the fabric around her neck like a choker—and when it was done, he picked her up to move to the chaise lounge. He set her down gingerly and sat beside her, resting one hand over the cloth to add more pressure.

Gazing down at her, his expression softened slightly, and he trailed his free hand against her cheek. She looked so frail to him, and he was reminded that she was more fragile than one of his kind. He needed to remember to be more careful with her in the future, so he wouldn’t cause her to become this weak again.

“Victoria, how are you feeling?” he asked in a quiet tone. He was unsure if she was fully conscious or not, but either way, he hoped the sound of his voice would bring her some comfort in the midst of her pain.