Trash Panda

Cirque du Sombre [Siaya Dragalorn & Summer]

Yay :D I'll get a reply post up sometime this week. Gotta get back into Rayth's headspace since it's been a while, haha.

It's going alright so far! And I'm in my last semester of my senior year ^^ I'll be graduating in May, assuming I don't fail any classes (I don't think I will). Then it's on to job hunting!

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

And Crow got Naida too xD I like this group

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“I had just gotten out of prison, love. What did you expect?” Crow rolled his eyes when Penelope teased him about his eating habits. “I needed to put back on all the weight I had lost when my old guards cut my portions.” The trip to Younis was by far the worst condition he’d been in throughout his life. Even when he’d been orphaned in the outer villages, he’d become a skilled enough thief to steal all the food he needed to satisfy his appetite. It was why he could boast a more impressive height than most other peasant men who were underfed during that crucial growing period in their youths. However, with grander stature came a grander hunger that took more food to quell. At least, that was what he had concluded when comparing his appetite to others’.

“I think you enjoyed watching this annoying thief,” he grinned at Penelope and planted a kiss on her cheek. Reflecting on their past, it amused him to think about just how much they had gotten under each other’s skin when they’d first met. If someone had told him that he would fall head over heels for the knight who had initially been the embodiment of everything he despised about the noble class, he would have laughed in their face. Now, two years later, he couldn’t imagine his life without her by his side, and he’d given up everything to ensure that he’d never have to find out what that would be like.

When Naida exclaimed about the break, Crow turned toward her and shook his head. Despite her complaining, he was impressed that she had managed to make it the rest of the ride without clamoring for attention again. It showed some growth on her part, and he hoped she would continue to work on it when they were back on the road.

Following Penelope over to join the princess, he sat down in the grass at her feet. The other three knights strode over to join them as well. Percival sat on a fallen tree on Naida’s other side while the Therouldes both remained standing across from them.

“You’re quiet most of the time,” Naida stuck her tongue out at her friend as they conversed. “I find silence torturous.”

“That’s because your head is so empty, there’s nothing in there to keep you occupied,” Crow snickered.

His sister turned to him with wide eyes, taken aback by the comment. After a moment, she folded her arms over her chest indignantly. “Ha ha, very funny,” she drawled.

“I think I am,” the viceroy shrugged, turning away from her as Preston brought him his ration for lunch. Unlike the first trip, there was plenty of food to keep him full and satisfied on the journey to Younis. “Why don’t you sit down?” he said to the attendant, patting the ground beside him. “This break is for you too.”

Preston’s eyes flicked toward Otto, and he quickly shook his head, “I’m still on duty.”

Crow frowned. It was out of character for the boy to treat him so stiffly, and he wondered if the baron’s words had gotten to him. Either way, he didn’t care what the older man thought of their unorthodox master-servant relationship, so he changed his approach. “Alright then. Sit down and rest. That’s an order,” he rephrased with a knowing smirk.

Preston hesitated for a moment longer before he nodded and planted himself by the viceroy’s side. Though he acted nonchalant, Crow could hear a quiet breath of relief escape through the boy’s nose.

“So,” Naida turned back to Penelope, too full of pent-up energy to let their conversation drop so soon. “You’re going to see Gavin when you get back to the battalion, right? Is that going to be weird now that you’re being courted by someone else?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

He got lucky xD

And Crow had to poke fun at Penelope about how she acted when they first met lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow sighed when Naida continued to stubbornly insist on talking instead of keeping watch. At the moment, her determination didn’t matter too much, since he and Penelope could speak about private matters later and the risk of danger was exceedingly low within the region of the inner kingdom. However, he hoped she wouldn’t keep refusing to do her part when they got closer to the border. After Penelope’s reminder of the mercenaries that had attacked them the last time, he wanted all of his guards to be on alert in case their unknown enemy tried to attack them again during this trip.

Listening to the two knights’ conversation though, his concerns gave way to amusement. As Penelope corrected the princess that he was her best friend, he casted her an affectionate smile, warmed by the sentiment. Of course, the same went for him, but it felt more significant coming from her, since she was surrounded by so many other people who cared about her. He only had a few people in his life whom he even considered friends, so there wasn’t much competition for the spot of a friend he valued above all others.

“She’s right, you know,” he chimed in when Penelope reiterated that his sister should start taking her job more seriously. “We’re not going on this trip for fun. It can be fun along the way, but I asked the king to include you so you could gain experience as a guard outside the citadel. That means actually guarding us.”

“Fine,” Naida groaned in defeat. “But I don’t see the point. We’re not even close to Younis, so there’s nothing to look out for.”

“Think of it as practice,” Crow shrugged, deciding not to say anything about the possibility of mercenaries in Brerra yet.

Fortunately, the princess finally gave in and started to let her gaze wander dully over the trees as they got further from the citadel. The viceroy could tell that she wasn’t invested in keeping watch, but it was better than nothing, so he didn’t complain. Instead, his thoughts wandered back to his old companions on the border, whom he still wanted to visit but wasn’t sure how. Their route to Younis didn’t come close to the thieves’ camp, and he doubted the knights would just accept a change that would add an entire day to their trip. His eyes drifted back to Penelope. As much as he wanted to stay with her until the last moment, he wondered if it would be better to part ways in Wellspring, so that she could get to his companions before he reached Silverpool and let them know that he was in the area. It was something he would have to ask her about when they were alone.

The first half of the ride went by without any trouble, and at Crow’s declaration that he was hungry, the group stopped for a break to eat lunch around high noon. After being constantly ignored and disregarded during his last trip to Younis, the former thief was pleased that the knights had to listen to him this time. He slid down from Baine’s back and stretched, trying not to get too stiff from riding since they had quite a long way to go. Preston did the same as he dropped to the ground from his horse and dug in his saddlebags for their food. Most of the rations were bread, fruit and dried meat, but it was enough to fill the viceroy’s stomach, so he was content.

“I have to say, so far I like this much better than our assignment two years ago,” he said with a lopsided smile at Penelope. “There’s no more strict guard telling me when I can and can’t eat.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Okay, I'll do that! And we're having people over as we do every Monday evening, so I need to get my cleaning done. I'll get a post up tomorrow!

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I loved it ^^ I can't wait for the morning.

In my next post, I can either take it to when Cas wakes up or throw something in where he gets woken up early (like overhearing his father wake from his nap down the hall and go into a rage when he finds out what happened while he was drugged). Just let me know what you prefer, so I don't rush you if you're not ready for the morning yet!

And okay! I'll go that route with the execution scene then

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow almost threw Percival under the bus because of that xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow nodded when Penelope said they could try to find time alone when they stopped for a break or when they reached the inn. Although he wanted to tell her about the mercenary sooner rather than later, he supposed it wasn’t an immediately pressing issue. They were still inside the bounds of the inner kingdom, so if there were any enemies who would try to stop them, they would be hard pressed to strike while there were so many other knights posted in and around the cities. The danger wouldn’t come until after they traveled too far to call for aid if the paid killers made an appearance. There was still plenty of time until then.

He parted his lips to agree to the knight’s plan when his sister interrupted them again. He exhaled in mild annoyance. They had been joking that he was the one who needed a babysitter, but it seemed like the princess needed someone to look after her more than anyone else. She couldn’t even go five minutes without pestering them out of boredom. He turned around in his saddle again to cast her an unamused frown, “How did you ever get through an entire guard shift at the castle if you can’t even stop talking for part of a trip?”

“Tybalt usually gives me a post with someone else,” she mirrored his expression. “I just talk to them until it’s over.”

So you’re spoiled, he thought dryly, though he kept the observation to himself. It wasn’t surprising anyway. After he’d learned more about the way Albin raised his children—or at least the ones he had kept—he’d had a feeling that Naida hadn’t been exposed to many situations in which she didn’t get her way. The trip they were on now was going to better for her than he’d thought, since her eyes would be opened to the reality that the whole kingdom didn’t revolve around her.

“Why don’t you try paying attention to your surroundings instead of talking with us?” he suggested, turning around to look ahead again. “That’s what guards are supposed to do, after all.”

“You’re just trying to exclude me again,” Naida accused him suspiciously.

“I’m not,” he assured her. “I just think you need to learn how to be comfortable with silence.” He glanced over his shoulder at Percival. “Maybe Percy could teach you.”

The knight’s eyes widened slightly, clearly unexcited about the prospect of trying to convince the princess to keep her mouth shut, and Crow offered him an apologetic smile.

“Not right now,” his sister shook her head. “Penelope is only going to be traveling with us for a couple days. I want to talk to her for as long as I can before she’s gone.” She winked at him playfully. “You may be marrying her, but she’s my best friend.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

That's what I was thinking ^^ It would put Iris in a really tough spot.

As for the kidnapping, maybe it would be better for Cas to be the one to announce the prisoners' execution then! If Iris saw him do that, maybe it would push her over the edge to agree with Ethan.

Me too! It's going to have some really fun twists and turns