Trash Panda

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cas paused when Iris brought up her healing leg. He’d been so caught up in all the fun they’d been having during the movie that he’d nearly forgotten she was still injured. It was hard not to, since her cheery mood hadn’t been dampened in the slightest, and the jumper she was wearing covered the bandages. He made a mental note to keep an eye on her if or when they went back into the city, just in case the strain of walking around made her leg worse. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her to be in pain longer than she needed to be. If she showed any sign of wincing or excessive limping, he would make sure they could get back to the house right away so she could rest.

“Just give them five minutes,” he insisted with conviction when she said she was sure his friends were harmless. “You’ll see why I warned you.” Honestly, it might only take them three. He was fond of Jay and Miles, but the two weren’t always great at making first impressions, especially with girls they thought were hot. His lip twitched as he repressed a grimace at the mental image of Miles trying a cheesy pick-up line and Jay egging him on for his own amusement. He would have liked to believe the other high borns would go easy on her since she didn’t even know who she was, but he knew them too well to be optimistic.

In hindsight, it might have been a good idea for him to tell them that he was trying to pursue her, if only to make the two think twice about causing her any trouble. He absently rested his hand over his jean pocket where he’d stowed his phone. It wasn’t too late to set precedence. All it would take was a few seconds for him to tell them he’d changed his mind. However, he was hesitant. If he warded them off by admitting his own interest in Iris—which he couldn’t even lie about, since the feelings were really there—the full force of their harassment would fall on his shoulders. He already knew they would pester him endlessly for details. They prided themselves on being the first to find out all the juicy gossip about the prince’s life. He suspected it was why they pushed him so hard to find out what had been going on since the night he’d found her.

At least they might lay off her, he reasoned with an internal sigh. He could handle Jay and Miles, since he’d gotten used to their prodding, but he didn’t know how Iris would deal with them. As much as he disliked the thought of confessing his crush to his friends, he had to admit it was the safer option. He’d have to remember to text them back before the end of the day.

When Iris teased him about his bragging, Cas shrugged. “I think I’ve earned the right to be proud of some parts of my life,” he retorted with a cheeky smile. Parting his lips to add another remark, he froze when she suddenly added a sarcastic “Your Highness” to the end of her phrase. The unexpectedness of it made his eyes widen, but he couldn’t hide the amusement in his visage.

“Since when did you get so cocky?” he teased, sauntering to her seat and leaning over her with his arms crossed in mock chastisement. It was impossible to keep up a serious façade when the sound of her giggles made him want to laugh as well. Instead, he smiled at her good-humoredly. “For the love of God, Iris, please don’t call me that unless we’re at some formal event, and I’ll only let you do it then because you’d be arrested if you didn’t.” It was a dumb law that his grandfather had put into place to force respect from the citizens of Aspiria, but until he was king, there was nothing he could do to change it.

Realizing how close he was hovering in her space, he straightened his posture. “We’ve got about an hour left until dinner,” he said, changing the subject to get his mind off the fleeting moment that had nearly made him flustered again. He really needed to watch himself around her. “Here,” he offered his hand to help her up from her cushioned recliner. “Is there anything else you wanted to do before we eat, or do you just want to go back to your room to rest?”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

It's a futuristic world that's based on "what if" the world decides to use nanotechnology and microchipping on a widespread scale ^^ Basically it's a fictional commentary on the adverse effects that kind of technology could have on a society if placed in the wrong hands (i.e: big government that uses it to suppress free thought/speech like "1984"). There are other social comments too about how ethics are changing and the direction that could take us. I've been doing a lot of research for months, but I really like how it's turning out!

Yep, my peers were having a low key meltdown ^^; Our projects are due on Sunday, so we're all cramming to get everything done.

That's good! I'm sure you'll get it finished in time :)

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Definitely! I haven't had time to work on it in a while, but I'm finally almost done with the world building ^^

Thanks! It was probably the worst studio we've had in a while though xD All the technology crapped out on us. Murphy's Law defeated everyone, haha

That's good! Is it looking like you want it to?

I got my post up for you too ^^

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cas had already had a hunch that Iris wanted to spend more time with him tomorrow—she hadn’t been very secretive about her enjoyment of his company so far—but when she suggested that they could explore the city together, he smiled nonetheless. There were plenty of places he could think of that they could check out. She was right about the potential of someone recognizing her too. They hadn’t been out for very long when they’d stopped by the mall earlier that day, but that didn’t mean no one would ever approach her. He already drew more than enough attention by himself anytime he went out. With heads already turning to gawk at their future king, someone was bound to catch sight of Iris too. Hopefully at least one of those people would see her as more than just the prince’s mysterious companion for the afternoon.

“I’d like that,” he encouraged with a nod. “As long as you’re staying here, we’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the mansion, so we don’t have to hang out here all day. Let’s go back into the city tomorrow.” Stretching out his legs again, he turned back to the movie screen. Though he had gotten pretty distracted during the middle of the film, he recognized the part that was playing now. There wasn’t much left before the final fight between the main character and the antagonists. It was a great scene, but they had both seen it before, so he didn’t mind talking through it.

“I can invite my friends over in the evening if you really want to meet them,” he offered, just in case she had made the alternate proposal because she was curious to find out who he associated with. “You might want a couple drinks before they get here though. They can both be a lot to handle sometimes.” He was only kidding, but there was a hint of truth behind his jest. Miles had a reputation for being a flirt, and Jay had a bold personality in general. He wouldn’t have been surprised if either of them decided to test the waters with Iris when they met her. And why wouldn’t they? She was gorgeous. The two high borns were probably eager to meet her because they wanted to find out if she was available.

As she went on to explain why she wanted to go back to the city with him, he murmured in understanding. They had managed to get a few of her memories back so far, so it wasn’t too far of a stretch to guess that she would remember more of them if she went back to places she had been before. All it could take was one vivid enough memory to bring back everything. Who knew? Maybe she would taste a specific food or even see a street sign that would take her back to a previous time. It was worth a try.

At her joke about him being her tour guide, Cas barked a laugh. He’d never been referred to in such a way before. He could almost imagine the looks of astonishment on the other high borns’ faces if he walked her around the city, pointing out highlights and telling her interesting facts. It would certainly draw even more attention to them than usual. One of the nosy media writers might even spin it into a headline. Still, he wasn’t offended by the remark at all. He liked her candor and the lack of fear she had about speaking whatever was on her mind, even if it was ridiculous.

“I’d make the best damn tour guide in all of Aspiria,” he teased, casting her a smirk. “I know the history of every pebble in this country, since I’m supposed to rule it someday. You’d learn everything there is to know about the capital.”

Turning back to the screen, he watched the last few minutes of the movie before it finally ended and the credits started scrolling. He reset his recliner to its original position and stood up, lazily stretching his arms over his head. It wasn’t even four o’ clock, but between the busyness of the day and the lack of windows in the dark room, it felt much later to him.

“I need to move around,” he announced, lifting his hand to his mouth as a yawn escaped from his lips. “Sitting around for so long made me tired.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

No worries! I got some work done on the novel I’ve been wanting to write, so it’s been a productive morning ^^

I’m in class right now, so I’ll get a reply up later!

How’s your day been?

~Bonsoir~

Hey, sorry it's taking me a while to get back to you! The last few days have been really busy. I'll try to get a post up today, but if not, I should have one for you sometime tomorrow ^^

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Okay! Have a good night :)

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Got it done ^^

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Try as he might, Cas couldn’t fully take his mind off of what had just happened between him and Iris. He couldn’t believe how hung up he was on something as small as the brushing of their hands, but crushes never were logical. It wasn’t like he could just hit an off-switch and not care about the way his stomach fluttered when she touched him. The fact of the matter was that he found her beautiful outwardly, and the more they spent time together, he thought her personality was attractive too. The more he thought about it, he was surprised he had never met her before the incident in the woods.

Then again, the capital was a densely populated city, and he doubted she would have been among the crowds of admirers who had followed him around in the past. She seemed far more grounded than the hordes of women—and a few idealistic men—who fantasized about being with the crown prince. She didn’t strike him as a partier either. If they had never happened to bump into each other on the streets, there was no way they would have met before.

After a few more heartbeats of silence between them, Cas glanced at Iris as she spoke up again to comment on the movie. More than happy to jump on a new subject, he rolled his eyes at her sardonic assessment of his taste in film. “Alright, Ms. Critique,” he gibed in return. “Next time, you can pick what we watch, since your standards are obviously more refined than mine.” He shot her a teasing smile. Even though he knew she was only messing with him, he was curious to see what she would choose if given the chance. Since they seemed to share interest in the same genres, he knew he would probably like whatever she picked. He just wanted to take every opportunity to try and jumpstart her memory and, if he was honest, to get to know her better.

When she went on about wanting to know who her family and friends were, his smile melted. He wanted to assure her that she would remember them eventually, but he had already run that subject into the ground. Every day they had spent together, he’d made a point to remind her not to give up hope, but still no one had come to find her. He was surprised that two full days after she had gotten hurt, her family and friends hadn’t even called the hospital to find out if she was there.

They have to call sometime though, he reassured himself. If she was gone long enough, someone was bound to suspect that something had gone wrong. It was just a waiting game until they did.

“As of right now, not much,” he shrugged when she changed the subject to ask him what he was doing tomorrow. “I do have a class in the morning, but other than that, I shouldn’t have anything else to do unless something comes up at the last minute.” Most of the responsibilities he’d taken over from his father were short notice. Despite his illness, the king was an independent spirit who refused to let his son help him unless he saw an opportunity to teach him something valuable or he was too sickly to get out of bed that day. It was why Cas made a point to keep his phone close at all times when he was out of the house. If Atlas needed him home early, he had to be able to report back right away.

“Why do you ask?” he turned to her again curiously. “Is there something you want to do tomorrow?”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cool ^^ I'm thinking that would happen either tomorrow or the next day, depending on where Cas and Iris are by the time he hears word about the rebels in the market.

I'll get started on my next post now too!