Trash Panda

~Bonsoir~

Even with the intoxicating aroma of Lady Crest’s blood muddling his thoughts, Peter was a determined and efficient healer. As he applied pressure to her injury to slow the bleeding, he remembered his encounter with the girl’s father years ago. Alexander had had an intriguing scent about him as well, and now he knew it must have been the unique blood that flowed through both of their veins. Swallowing the saliva that built up in his mouth, he leaned away from her slightly in a conscious effort to reign in his inner predator. In her current state, he knew her weakened heart would stop beating if he fed on her now. For the sake of maintaining some semblance of peace with the Order, he couldn’t kill her.

However, as his dark brown eyes traveled over her face, he supposed he could understand why his son had been so infatuated with this human. She was lithe and beautiful, at the peak of her youth. At her age, her physical features could rival most female vampires who maintained their spry appearances forever. But mortal beauty was fleeting. He was sure Vail would thank him later when the spell was broken, and he realized what a huge mistake he would have made if he had chosen Victoria over the far superior Sylvia.

Peter’s thoughts were broken when his sultry patient suddenly whispered to him. His unreadable eyes met hers, but he didn’t speak. It was bewildering that she would try to protect Vail when he was clearly the one who had left her in this pathetic state with his bite, and he marveled what his heir must have done to wrap her so tightly around his finger. Even if the two claimed they were in love, the clan leader knew better. The girl lying beside him was nothing more than a novelty, an amusing toy for one who had grown bored by the mundane repetition of immortal life. His son had been taken by her forbidden charms, but the thrill of having his way with a human would wear off. All he had to do was sever the attachment a bit prematurely.

“It is presumptuous of you to tell me that you can make my son do anything,” he said venomously, indignant at her assumption that Vail could be made docile by a member of the species his kind so easily controlled. “He acted of his own free will and shall face the consequences accordingly. Now, please, do not speak. I don’t have the patience to argue with you at the moment.”

--

Vail walked briskly through the dark halls of his family’s manor, anxious to return to his bedroom before his father could change his mind about helping Victoria. He made quick work of gathering all the supplies the clan leader had requested: a bowl of ice, a coil of sterile bandages and a cup of hot tea. The latter was the most tedious, as it forced him to slow his pace on the way back so he wouldn’t spill the scalding liquid on his hand while he trod up the stairs.

He had almost made it back when he bristled at the sound of his cousin’s voice.

“Vail, what’s going on?” Caleb, another one of his uncle’s children, queried from behind him. The other vampire had his head tilted back and his lips slightly parted as he took in the scents in air. “Is there a human in the house?”

“Yes,” Vail said dryly. “The servants are in their quarters.”

“No, no,” Caleb licked his lips hungrily. “I smell blood.” His eyes landed on the bandages in the younger Hygrace’s arms, and his eyebrows lifted bemusedly. “You know… if you brought a meal back with you, it’s only polite to share, cousin.”

“Mind your business, Caleb,” Vail narrowed his eyes at the other vampire warningly. He opened his mouth to tell him to go back to bed but faltered when he saw two more of his cousins ascend the stairs. It seemed the pervasive scent of Victoria’s blood had attracted more than just his father.

“Where is that delicious smell coming from?” Caleb’s younger brother, Euler, was practically drooling on himself in his lust to feed.

“I think there’s a woman in cousin Vail’s room,” the eldest, Hosiah, tilted his head.

“He brought back a delicacy that he doesn’t want to share with the rest of us,” Caleb curled his upper lip back, baring his fangs. Even though the four vampires were family, the instinct to hunt and prey clouded their better judgment. It wouldn’t take long for them to fall into a frenzy.

Vail edged away from the other three, his hazel eyes flitting between them warily. In other competitions over humans, he had the advantage of the status and strength that came with the Hygrace name, but against his cousins, they all stood on equal ground. He couldn’t take on all of them either. “Stand down,” he snarled, exposing his elongated canines in the same threatening manner as Caleb. “The human I brought back isn’t prey. She’s here for medical attention, and none of you can touch her.”

“All I’m hearing is that she’s an easy target,” Euler chuckled, blatantly ignoring the heir’s order by taking a step forward.

“You’re not our leader yet, Vail,” Caleb grinned cruelly. “Besides, all we want is a taste… Just one bite each, and we’ll be on our way.”

“Is that so much to ask?” Hosiah joined the others.

The next moment happened in a flash. The three cousins lunged at the one standing in their way, and Vail spun around and raced to his door. Using the ice bowl to cover the full teacup, he slipped into the room and slammed the door behind him, pressing his back against the wood to keep out the frenzied vampires pounding and scratching it from the other side.

“Father,” he casted Peter a pleading look. It would be long before his raging cousins broke through the flimsy barrier, and the clan leader was the only one with the power to control them.

“You shouldn’t have brought her here, Vail,” Peter sighed, rising from where he had been sitting on the edge of the bed. “Move. I’ll handle it.”

With a nod, the Hygrace heir stepped away from the door, and his father exited the room to deal with the frenzy outside, leaving Vail and Victoria alone in the bedroom.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Fye partially caught onto them cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“You’re going to be amazing,” Crow nodded when Penelope said she would see him after. He could still see the nervousness written on her face, but he hoped she had calmed down enough to deliver a compelling speech to her intoxicated audience. As she walked away, he followed her with his eyes, leaning back against the cool, stone wall behind him. From his current vantage point, he didn’t have the best view of the pedestal where Oliver and Naida—he wondered what his sister was doing up there—were already gathered, but he chose not to move. If the knight needed to find his face in the crowd for reassurance at any point, he wanted her to know exactly where to find him.

Alone now, the viceroy stifled a yawn brought on from the long day and all the dancing he had been doing. He folded his arms over his chest and looked idly over the other nobles, most of whom didn’t seem to notice that the serious part of the party was beginning soon. A smirk curved his lip when he saw one of the men in the back of the ballroom stumble and fall. If he remembered correctly, that particular duke had been on the betting list that he and his half-siblings had made of the people they thought would make fools of themselves that night. It looked like he owed Willow another gold coin.

“I never had a chance, did I?”

Crow blinked and turned toward the sound of a feminine voice to see that Fye had approached him after Penelope left. The noblewoman had an amused look on her face as she met his gaze. “The Vermillion girl. You don’t want to just be friends with her, do you?”

The viceroy studied her quietly, surprised that she had caught on so quickly. He hadn’t thought that just touching the knight’s back would have been enough to give him away. At least she didn’t seem to realize that he and Penelope were already together. “Guilty,” he held up his hands with a lopsided smile, deciding there was no harm in playing along. Confessing interest alone wasn’t enough to hurt the knight’s reputation.

“Hm,” Fye smiled at him. “She was the knight assigned to that mission in Younis two years ago, wasn’t she?”

“Correct again,” Crow confirmed.

“That’s a long time to be smitten with someone,” she shifted to lean against the wall beside him, just close enough to brush his arm with hers. “Are you ever going to court her?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, safely treading the middle ground. “I’m sure you already know what I want to do, but as you can see, she has a lot going on.” He gestured with a wave of his hand toward the pedestal, where Penelope and the others were setting up to begin the speech.

“Well, that’s what you’d get if you chose a knight,” Fye looked up at him with a smirk. “Most of us aren’t that career driven.”

“I like that she is,” Crow mirrored her expression.

“Then best of luck to you,” the noblewoman chuckled.

“Thanks,” he turned back to Penelope just as everyone on the pedestal began signaling for the crowd’s attention. The speech was about to start.

~Bonsoir~

Not easily, at least xD Peter would have to personally walk her out the door, because he’s the only one the rest of the clan will submit to. Even Vail would have a hard time keeping them away from her though he has some authority as the next family head.

~Bonsoir~

They would definitely want to, but unless they manage to get inside his room, they shouldn’t get close enough to try. They’ll just be lingering like wolves nearby, waiting for a chance.

~Bonsoir~

Yeah, he’s hyper paranoid xD Between that quality and Victoria’s blood, which is already attention-grabbing, he noticed there was a trespasser right away.

I’m thinking they might have even woken up most of the other Hygraces too, which Vail will have to deal with when he’s out of the room (his cousins will all want to know what’s going on and where the blood scent is coming from).

Okay! Just wanted to make sure ^^

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Understandably xD Crow did his best to give her a last second pep talk

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

When Penelope finally graced him with her gaze, Crow was relieved. Even more than he wanted to put Cedric in his place, he desired to make sure she didn’t blame herself for what the knight had done to her. He wished he could gather her in his arms and kiss her like he used to, but he forced himself to settle with offering her an affectionate smile when she touched his arm. The subtle gestures weren’t as fulfilling, but he still enjoyed the fleeting moment they had together, acting like they were off in their own separate world.

“I’m not hurt,” he assured her, trailing his fingers lightly across her shoulder blades before he let his hand fall back to his side. “I’m angry that he thought it was alright to do something like that to you.” The image of her former suitor leaning in to kiss her when she had nowhere to run brought a flicker of frustration back into his visage. “I don’t care if he used to court you. He had no right to act like you were still his to do with as he pleased. Even if we weren’t together now, it was presumptuous of him to think you’d want that.”

When Penelope said she wished she could just tell the truth, Crow sighed. “Hopefully it won’t be much longer,” he murmured, absently letting his eyes follow the curves of her dress. If other men continued to approach her, he didn’t know how much longer he could keep the secret before he snapped. They might not all be as bold as Cedric had been tonight, but it was still difficult to watch her be stolen away every time he tried to hold a conversation with her. He longed to be able to put his arm around her and tell the others to back off.

Almost as if on cue, the viceroy tensed as Dimia began calling the knight’s name. He glanced over his shoulder at the searching noblewoman and then back to Penelope, who was clearly not ready to present herself in front of the entire crowd yet. If the speech hadn’t been time-sensitive, he would have helped her hide for a little longer so she could compose herself. But, unfortunately, there wasn’t time for that.

“Hey, you can do it,” he reached for her hand, giving it a quick, comforting squeeze before letting go again. “This is what Toreus chose you for. I know you’re going to be great. And if you need any support, I’ll be right here the whole time.” He casted her a lopsided smile. “Now go convince those drunken nobles to end the war.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“If you say so,” Cas lifted his shoulders in a shrug, though there was an amused smile on his face when Iris got flustered over his offer to reserve a restaurant for them. He knew the attention a stunt like that would draw to them. Every tabloid in Aspiria would eat it up if word got out that the crown prince had bought out an entire building to take a girl on a dinner date. But that was the intent. “If you change your mind, just let me know,” he said in a luring tone, idly swirling the liquid in his glass as he casted her a sly smile. “Maybe it’ll give your family a wake-up call if they see a news article with a candid shot of you walking out of a restaurant with me above the headline.”

Of course, a photo like that would also start up the gossip train that circulated throughout the capital, but he didn’t mind. If anyone asked that knew her, it would be easy to explain that they had been trying to get the media’s attention in order to send her home. Plus, if it turned out she didn’t have a boyfriend, he was interested in asking her out on a real date later on. Hopefully by then, the intrusive photographers wouldn’t be quite as interested in capturing every public second of his dating life.

“I warned you,” he reminded her nonchalantly when she teased about not wanting to meet his friends anymore. Really, he had a feeling that Jay and Miles’s playfulness was the one trait about the pair that she would enjoy. It was their rampant flirting that he was concerned about, but with any luck, that wouldn’t be a problem once he sent the message that he was interested in pursuing her. The thought of admitting he had a crush on an amnesiac girl still made him cringe, but it was better than the alternative. As long as they didn’t scare her off, that was all he cared about.

At her comment about his drinking, Cas smirked amusedly. “There wasn’t even a full shot in that drink,” he said dismissively. “If I got hungover off a mini margarita, that would be pretty pathetic.” Chuckling, he lifted his glass to his lips to take another sip, cleansing his palate of the less preferred beverage. The scotch had a much more pleasant taste that lingered on his tongue even after he swallowed.

“Martini, huh?” he mused when she said she liked the second drink better. “I’ve always thought those tasted like soap. I’m glad you like it though.” Sipping his own drink once more, he could feel a hint of something in the back of his head, and he relaxed into the cushioned booth. After a tense evening with his father, the alcohol was a much needed stress-reliever. He just had to remember to pace himself, so he wouldn’t sink too deeply into the clutches of intoxication around Iris.

“You don’t have to wait for someday,” the prince laughed. “Here.” He slid his half-full glass to her across the tabletop. “I’m having a scotch whiskey with a little lemon in it. If you want to have a taste, I don’t mind sharing; but if you like it, you have to order your own.”

When she asked him what he liked to do after his lessons, he drummed his fingers on the table in thought. “A lot of different things. I go out with friends to parties, of course, but I also like to watch sports.” He gestured idly at the flat screens on the walls around them, all of which were playing different games. “I don’t have as much time for hobbies as I used to though,” he added with a thoughtful frown. “This past week has been pretty laidback, but I usually have to help my dad with his work more often. It’s just a lot of meetings with dignitaries and reading scripts for talk shows, since those are the jobs he can’t do very easily while he’s ill.”

Shrugging again, he met Iris’s gaze with another smile as he brushed past the serious topic, “Maybe we’ll figure out what your hobbies are tomorrow.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Seeing her so upset calmed him down at least xD