Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow bristled when William turned his harsh words back on Penelope. She’d never once betrayed her kingdom, and it irritated him to hear the older knight say that she had. He wanted to remind their former comrade that they had been the ones to carry out the mission in Younis, and that she was the one who had saved him from a brutal execution. Since then, the lieutenant had also fought valiantly in the war, slayed the bandit who had threatened the triumph of her battalion, and even successfully convinced the king to instigate a peace treaty with their enemies. She had done more for Brerra in a few months than the bitter man had probably done in his entire career as a knight. However, he didn’t need to say so as Penelope defended herself against William’s asinine accusations.

Beneath the table, the viceroy placed a hand supportively on her leg. If he ever had any hope that the older knight would change, it was gone now. He had done everything right, even giving up his life as a wanted thief to be with her, but William could only see him as a criminal who was just playing some sort of angle to benefit himself. It was clear that nothing they could say or do would change his mind, so he did the next best thing, turning away from the knight to keep eating his supper. The lukewarm food was better company than the man who would heckle them in front of the whole kingdom if he ever had the chance.

Fortunately, William didn’t pester them for much longer, and Crow felt the tension ebb from his shoulders as the knight stormed away from their table. “I think it would certainly be quieter around here if you had,” he sighed, wrapping an arm around Penelope’s side as he felt her lean into him. Despite their disagreements, he was reluctantly happy that they hadn’t abandoned their former comrade in Younis though. There was already far too much killing in their kingdom over trivial things, and he truly didn’t believe the older man deserved to die for clinging to his beliefs. He just hoped William would give up on trying to dissolve their courtship soon. He might not have wanted to kill him, but he didn’t know how much longer he could go without throwing a punch if the knight kept harassing them.

“At least this is the last we’ll see of him for a while,” he pointed out with a smile. “He can’t follow us out of the citadel when we leave.” That was another perk of traveling together, he realized. Once they were on the road, it would just be them, Preston, Naida, Percy, and the two knights Albin assigned as his other guards. His attendant and his sister were openly supportive of their relationship, and Percival didn’t seem to have an opinion one way or the other—at least, if he did have one, he did a good job of hiding it. Even if the other guards disapproved, he doubted they would say anything because they were close to the king. They wouldn’t risk falling out of his father’s good graces just to object to their courtship. It would be nice to get away from all the judging faces in the palace until everyone cooled down.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Same. I like romances that don't work out right away. It's fun seeing how the characters overcome obstacles to end up together!

I'm definitely excited :D I can do that too. Every tattoo I have has a meaning behind it. I prefer them that way, since they'll be on my body forever.

When it comes to piercings, I usually get those on a whim though, haha. All the ones I got on my ears were impulse decisions. The only one I planned to get was my nose ring cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Of course xD He can never just let them be happy

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow nodded as Penelope told him about her day, taking another bite of his supper. When it came to parting ways on the trip, he hadn’t thought much about location or time, but he supposed he preferred to wait until the last possible moment. After all, they would be spending at least two weeks away from each other once they split off at the border. He wanted to see her as much as he could, before he wouldn’t be able to see her at all in Younis.

Thinking about the border, he wondered if he would be able to slip away from the group at all to visit his old companions. Their hideout wasn’t anywhere near Wellspring or Silverpool, but he had promised them that he would stop by whenever he returned to the outer villages. If his father hadn’t already outlined the route he wanted them to take, he would have redirected his entourage to travel further north before making the journey westward toward their neighbor’s citadel. He drummed his fingers contemplatively against the table, trying to come up with a way to stop by without drawing attention to himself when William’s voice jarred him from his planning.

The viceroy groaned and turned around to see that the older knight had come to harass them one more time. He didn’t understand why William cared so much. It wasn’t like he was still a wanted thief. He and Penelope had taken every measure to ensure that they could be together the “right way,” or so the nobles in the inner kingdom would have said. It was ridiculous that their long-ago comrade was still going out of his way to try to keep them apart.

“Not as long as you continue to bring disgrace to the knights of this kingdom who work hard to uphold our values,” William snapped. “A guard should never be romantically involved with her convict. It’s shameful.”

“I’m not a convict anymore, so that point is moot,” Crow shot the knight a glare, disliking the words he used to describe the woman he loved. “In fact, she and I are both higher ranking than you, so I don’t think you have a right to stand there and act like you have any authority over either of us.” Usually, he wouldn’t drag the status card into an argument, but having gotten to know William in the past, he was well aware that nothing else would make the stubborn man bite his tongue.

“You may have convinced the king somehow, but I’m not so easily fooled,” William growled under his breath. “Once a criminal, always a criminal. It’s only a matter of time before you slip up, and the whole kingdom will see your true colors, thief.”

“Careful,” Crow narrowed his eyes. “That almost sounds like treason.” He glanced past the knight to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. It surprised him that the knight would go so far as to say that he was smarter than their ruler, but even more than that, he was concerned about what would happen if Albin found out that William had called him ‘thief.’ He disliked the older man, but he didn’t want to see him sentenced to death over words spoken in anger.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cas finally worked up the nerve to go for it ^^

I'm good with whatever you decide to do there!

I'm thinking I want to have an arrow with music symbols on/around it! I like arrows aesthetically, and music has always been an important part of my life. I'm sure my artist can come up with an amazing design. He's super talented!

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

And we got there, haha cx

I've got tattoos on my hip, calf, thigh, and a quarter-sleeve on my bicep! ^^ I love all of them, and I want to get my next one on my forearm.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“Alright, fair enough,” Cas smiled amusedly when Iris asserted that she’d done him a favor by napping on the sofa. Her kindness continued to astound him. Even though he knew she was joking when she’d made that first claim, the words that followed seemed to have come from a more genuine place in her heart. She was the kind of woman he could imagine volunteering to join citizen-run relief efforts when poor and homeless people had still been living on the streets of the capital years ago. Her nature was inexplicably selfless, more so than any other high born he’d met before, and he wished he could ask her what had happened in her life to have made her turn out this way. Unfortunately, with her memories still gone, that question would have to wait for another time.

He had similar thoughts about her optimism. It was one thing to look on the bright side of a situation, but the way she spoke about the good things in her life was different than other citizens in the capital too. He didn’t know many people who would look at their health and shelter as a reason to be content. Those two things were both supposed to be a given in their society. Every member of the upper class had a roof over their head, and medical technology had advanced so much that severe conditions like his father’s were few and far between. Most of the time, if an individual became ill, pharmacies were stocked with remedies to provide a cure. Because of that, everyone was far more concerned with their public images, luxury items, and entertainment, but Iris didn’t seem interested in any of that.

As she became flustered over his confession, Cas shifted his weight on the sofa. Maybe it would have been better to sweep the whole incident under the rug rather than bring it back up again now. He hadn’t meant to make her uncomfortable by admitting the reason he’d tried to kiss her at the park. He had just wanted to make sure she knew he hadn’t been trying to take advantage of her or anything like that. But, of course, it seemed like his explanation had done more harm than good. He silently chided himself for making things worse and opened his mouth to reiterate to her that just because he had a stupid crush didn’t mean he was going to act on it. However, before he could speak a word, she collected herself enough to say that she liked him too.

Cas stared at her, tongue tied. He hung on every word that fell from her lips. She liked him, and she verified that it was unlikely that she had a boyfriend. The assurance made him feel weak with relief. The matter of whether she was available or not had been weighing on him since he’d first realized he saw her as more than just a friend. To know that she thought she was single lifted that burden from his shoulders.

He also lingered on the fact that she had growing feelings for him. Having been so caught up in hiding his own interest from her, he hadn’t even noticed that she had any feelings for him whatsoever. Every once in a while, she had said or done something to make him question if there was something between them, but every time, he’d decided that she was just a naturally friendly person. The little touches, the soft smiles, the honeyed compliments. Suddenly, he saw it all in a new light, and he was thrilled.

“Are you serious?” a grin took over his lips as he looked at her. “I don’t care if it’s cheesy. My god, I thought I was the only one catching feelings this whole time.” He shook his head and laughed. “I don’t know what I did to make you like me, but I’m glad you do.” He paused briefly before sliding over to sit closer to her on the sofa, no longer worried about appearances now that he knew how she felt about him.

With their hips brushing in the shortened proximity, he met her gaze with an emboldened smile. His heart raced with excitement this time, and he slipped his arm behind her back. “I feel better about this too,” he added sotto voce, leaning in to finish what he’d started in the park. This time, there was no interruption as he pressed his lips against Iris’s, meeting her in a tender kiss.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I'm not sure yet, but that's definitely a possibility!

I've got both xD I have four tattoos and seven piercings! Hopefully I'll be getting a fifth tattoo this summer, a graduation gift to myself lol I don't want too many more of either though, because I like having some without being completely covered ^^

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

It's going to be great, haha. And definitely! Although it's still a little up in the air how much longer Cas's father will live because he's so sick.

I'm between tragus, helix, and forward helix, but I'll probably get a helix piercing beneath the one I got with my friend the last time we went ^^ That's what he's doing too, and it's fun to get matching piercings with friends. I really want to get a bellybutton piercing, but my husband thinks they're gross, so he vetoed it xD

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Glad you liked it, haha. Cas and Iris are adorable

My day has been good! I had a doctor's appointment a little bit ago, but now I'm just hanging out at home. I might be going out with a friend later to get impulsive piercings too xD We went last year, and he texted me asking if I wanted to do it again.