Trash Panda

Match Up in Malibu [Bee & Summer]

Jett could see the frustration building on Nathan’s face as Ashley clambered back onto his shoulders. On just day two at the mansion, he didn’t know any of the cast outside of the other celebrities that he’d met before, but this guy struck him as the competitive type. Not that he could blame him. With immunity on the line, the stakes were high, and whoever lost would be at risk of getting voted off the show. He would have started sweating too if he and Anna had lost the first round. After all, he hadn’t carved out a whole summer just to be sent packing back to New York with no scheduled tours or other ways to earn revenue. Vacationing at the beach in Malibu had been the whole plan.

Equally as determined to win as Nathan looked, he launched into the second round with Anna as soon as the host gave them the all-clear to start. Like the last time, most of the work landed on the sharp-tongued engineer, but he trusted her to hold her own against Ashley since she’d managed to do so once already. Who would have thought that in a game of chicken, brains would beat brawn? Apparently, Anna had discovered some kind of higher evolved strategy for pool games, because after a brief tussle, she pulled her opponent into the water again.

Jett turned his head away as the splash soaked his face and hair and let out a short, victorious holler. He’d been disappointed that he had been paired with Anna before, but not anymore. She was a surprisingly wicked competitor. If she kept it up for the next couple rounds, they might even have a shot at winning the whole damn tournament. It was a great place to start out when the show was still too new for them to have loyal fans who wouldn’t vote them off.

Now that their turn was over, he started to shift to let her climb down from his shoulders and then paused. Instead of helping her gracefully descend into the water, a devious smirk crossed his lips, and he leaned backwards so that they would both fall into the pool. Part of him had wanted to get her back for her sassy remarks that morning, but he was mostly messing with her because he was in a good mood after winning against Nathan and Ashley.

“Nice one!” he laughed, dragging his hand over his soaked hair when he resurfaced separately from the engineer. Wading toward the steps to get out of the pool, he lowered his voice, “Where’d you learn to do that pulling trick? That’s some sneaky shit.”

Cirque du Sombre [Siaya Dragalorn & Summer]

My to-do list exploded for a while, but I finally got everything back under control (I think) xD

Sorry that took so long! I'm most likely going to be writing a little less often in general because of how busy I am with this semester. It's already a third of the way complete, and I feel like I haven't gotten done with all the things I've needed to do ^^; It's just paranoia (my professors have been saying I'm right on track), but there's so much work left, it's a little overwhelming!

Cirque du Sombre [Siaya Dragalorn & Summer]

Lounging as comfortably as he could on the stiff bench, Rayth breathed slowly as he felt the swimming sensation clear from his head. The circus’s after parties were just as much of a benefit to him as they were to the rest of the nonhuman creatures in the troupe, but he still hated the lingering effects of the incense they burned every time they invited their prey into the backyard. He wished there was an easier way to subdue the guests that didn’t make him feel so dazed.
At least Lune seemed calm enough to have a civil conversation with him now. He followed her with his eyes as she sat down not too far away but still far enough that he could tell she didn’t trust him wholeheartedly. The gesture didn’t offend him. Just the fact that she had willingly stepped back into the big top with him alone was a step in the right direction. He wasn’t going to push her to buddy up when she wasn’t ready.
“It really is,” he confirmed, ruminating on the year he’d spent with Cirque du Sombre so far. Life as a ‘circus freak’ was the perfect blend of adventure and security. He enjoyed the traveling and the performances, and in return for his contributions, he was protected from monster hunters by Frieda and the rest of the group. The ringmistress was good at gathering humans for them to feed on too, but the runaway wouldn’t be able to partake in that feature of their dark organization.
Truthfully, he wondered just how long Frieda thought she was going to be able to keep the supernatural side of her circus a secret from Lune. The girl had to figure out sooner or later that there was something off about the other troupers. When she did, he hoped the faerie had some sort of plan in place to keep her from panicking.
When Lune said that Frieda thought highly of him, a smile pulled at the corner of Rayth’s mouth. Since he’d joined Cirque du Sombre, he’d developed quite a bit of respect for the ringmistress, so hearing that she had praised him to the runaway made him puff up inside. “That’s right.” Because no one here is on the menu, he finished silently. If the circus had been made up of human performers, it would have been harder for him to keep his fangs to himself, but he had no appetite for supernatural blood. He wouldn’t bite any of the other monsters even if he was woozy from malnourishment.
Well… he bit his lip as his scarlet eyes flicked down toward Lune’s neck. His nonviolent streak might be more difficult to keep up with an actual human living among them. However, he had just hit a century on this earth a few years ago. He liked to think he had enough practice not to lose control when the cirque already hosted after parties often enough to keep his bloodlust sated. As long as he was mindful around her between feeds, there was no reason for him to turn on her.
“I’m still… what I am, and I can’t help my nature,” he continued, making sure to set realistic expectations. “But when I need to drink blood, I always find a source outside of the circus.” He sought her gaze amusedly. “I may be a vampire, Lune, but I’m not a mindless animal. I can control myself if I have to.”
As he spoke, he idly reached back to pull the tie loose from his thick hair so that the dark curls fell down to frame his face. The performance had ended long ago, and he was more comfortable leaving it unbound when he didn’t have a reason to pin the unruly locks out of his eyes.
“Anyway, if you’re looking for an adventure, this is the place to be,” he assured the blue-haired runaway with a friendly grin. “We travel all over America, and everyone in the troupe is really… unique. I’m sure you’ll like it here if you give it a chance, and you shouldn’t pass up the opportunity just because of me. I promise I won’t bite.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

He's not home from work yet, but we're going out for dinner tonight and then seeing a movie after that ^^ He also has something planned for tomorrow night, but I'm not sure what it is. All I was told was that wherever we're going, we have to wear red lol

Aw, that's sweet! And nice! Are you excited to start the new position?

~Bonsoir~

Oh okay. Good luck getting the job! :)

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Yeah, I managed to get enough done that I only have a couple things to do for school this weekend ^^ Just in time to have a relaxing valentine's day with the hubby, haha. And okay! How's work been? You got promoted recently, right?

~Bonsoir~

Finally found time to get a post up! How is it going with that promotion?

~Bonsoir~

Vail closed his eyes as Victoria leaned into his chest, enjoying the feeling of her warm body pressed against his in the porcelain tub. That was something he could never have if he had chosen to be with another vampire. Humans may not have been as sturdy as his own kind, but the heat that Lady Crest’s slender frame produced made his cool skin tingle pleasantly. He was fond of holding her, and even though the intimacy that had been developing between them had been interrupted, he could still keep her close in a harmless embrace. The fragrance of the bathwater would mask her scent from his family as well. When he returned to the Hygrace manor, all he had to do was say that he had fed on a woman wearing a strong perfume if anyone asked about the floral scents that now clung to his bare flesh. Peter couldn’t accuse him of visiting his lover on mere feminine aromas alone.

The peck she placed on his cheek roused Vail from his thoughts, and he opened his eyes again to see her face. Her sultry words drew a smile to his lips that lingered as she leaned in to press her mouth against his. There was a mild disappointment inside of him now that he knew they would have to be mindful of the potential consequences of sleeping together in the future. However, as he was not a human with a powerful urge to reproduce, he wasn’t so attached to the prospect of intercourse that he would sulk about the loss. And she was right. There were other ways they could be with each other without risking the inception of a half-blood child. With that thought in mind, he arched his back to lean over her and pulled her in at the waist, deepening the kiss as he caressed her soft skin with his fingertips.

---

Drying himself off with the towel he had borrowed from Victoria, Vail was careful to collect as many of the water droplets as he could. It was one thing to tell his family that he had fed on heavily perfumed prey, but it was quite another to convince them that he hadn’t been up to anything else if he came back wet on a cloudless night. While he had joined his human lover in her bathtub, he had taken care not to soak his ash brown hair with any stray splashes, since it would take longer to dry off, but he still had to mop up the water that glistened on his pale torso. Even though Peter had reluctantly backed down from trying to force him to keep his distance from her, the Hygrace heir knew he had pushed his luck with the clan leader more often than he should have recently. He didn’t want to start fighting again if he could avoid the conflict.

“I can’t take all the credit,” he glanced up at Victoria with a hint of amusement, wrapping his towel around his lean waist. “You make it easy to tell when you like what I’m doing.” It had been the same at The Shire and again in his bedroom. Every twist of her body and sound that escaped her lips cued him to her preferences. He had only needed to pay attention to her responses to know what she fancied, and the fact that he had kept to himself for the last century had little to do with his performance. “I should say that you know your way around a man’s body as well,” he commented as she approached. “At least, you know your way around mine.”

He rested his hands on her hips, his hazel eyes flicking toward the bathroom door as he heard the distinct turn of the knob at the front entrance. At the same time, he picked up the now-familiar scent of her mother. “I hadn’t thought about it,” he mused, turning back to Victoria and letting his gaze drift down to the fresh bite mark on her snow white neck. “But I’d like to see you every third night again if I can. Now that I know which room is yours, I can stop in through the window too, so no one has to know I’m here.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I think I'm caught up on everything in my life (I hope), so I'm finally getting around to writing posts for everyone I left hanging here ^^; My posting speed will probably be slower than it has been in general for a while though. I'm in the middle of the bulkiest part of my research for my capstone project, so it's taking up a good chunk of my free time.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cas nodded wordlessly when Iris said that she hadn’t slept well. He could already tell that she hadn’t because of the shadows under her eyes and the paleness to her cheeks, but hearing her admit it out loud just added to the leaden weight of guilt in his chest. If there had been a way to keep her out of the conflict with the terrorists, he would have done it in a heartbeat, but unfortunately, the timing of it all couldn’t have been worse. He could empathize with her for losing sleep over everything too. Having stayed up until four in the morning to stay in touch with the soldiers and security team, he was exhausted too. If the men on the other end of his com device hadn’t just said that the interrogation would be resuming shortly, he would have suggested that they both take a nap to recover. As it was, he wouldn’t have the luxury until the interrogators were done with the prisoners and the disaster was settled.

Feeling her pull away from his embrace, the prince rolled his shoulders and leaned back into the plush sofa. “Just a little,” he smiled back at her with a weary playfulness. “But you’re still just as cute as always, so I’m not complaining.” As the words rolled off his tongue, his smile widened slightly. It felt good to be able to speak to her so openly, without worrying about making her uncomfortable or ruining their friendship. All the tension that had been building up inside of him since the day they’d met had evaporated like water on a sultry day. Now that he knew they were on the same page, that tension had been replaced with an excitement to find out where their relationship could go. Of course, he didn’t assume that they were in a real relationship at the moment. One impulsive kiss didn’t add up to that, but the prospect of becoming boyfriend and girlfriend after they got to know each other better certainly wasn’t off the table. After all, he liked everything he’d learned about her so far, and he hoped she felt the same way about him.

As Iris suddenly brought up the idea of going back to the woods to look for her missing ID, Caspian raised his brows with intrigue. He’d had the same thought just moments before. If she believed they could find her lost belongings there too, then they were probably on the right track. Enthusiasm blossomed within him as he imagined how great it would be to go back to the forest and get everything they needed to send her home. She could go back to her family and friends and hopefully start to recover more of her memories when she returned to them. Selfishly, he looked forward to getting to know more about her as well. Though she wasn’t trying to be, the amnesiac was a mystery box to him that he wanted to unlock. He couldn’t wait to find out more about the past that had been sealed away by her head trauma.

“I’m not that bad,” he rolled his eyes as she teased him about being squeamish again. “And, for the record, I think I handled that situation better than most people would have. Your leg looked like it had been dropped in a food processor.” He prodded her knee jokingly. With the depressing mood lifted at least a little, he wanted to close the distance between them again, but he restrained himself. They had kissed the night before, and he’d locked lips with her one more time that morning, but they still hadn’t had a chance to talk about it. He didn’t want to smother her if she wasn’t ready to pursue something more than friendship with him right now. Given that her memories were still gone, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she wanted to hold back even though she had said that she liked him. So, he folded his arms over his chest and sank into the cushioned seat, pulling one knee up onto the sofa as he made himself comfortable in the crook between the back and armrest.

“I think you’re onto something though,” he continued on a more serious note. “I didn’t check the ground to see if you had dropped anything when I found you. If you had your ID on you when you stepped in that bear trap, that’s the best place to look for it.” He leaned his head back, looking up thoughtfully at the ceiling, and sighed. “We probably won’t be able to do that for a while though. Security has the whole city on lockdown, and that goes double for this place. Until the escaped prisoners are back in the military’s custody, we can’t leave the mansion.” Unless they snuck out, he could have added. However, he kept the detail to himself. As much as he wanted to go looking for her ID, a plastic card wasn’t worth the risk of running into the terrorists who had just tried to attack his family. They were better off staying inside the mansion, where they were safe.

The interrogation is set up to resume, a soldier’s voice announced in Cas’s ear. The Aproveset is effective for another two hours. Shall we begin questioning the prisoners?

Go ahead, Winston. Remember to prioritize names, locations, and strategies. Wring them of anything we can use to take down their damned organization.

Yes, sir.

“And I think that’s my cue,” Cas exhaled, tapping his earpiece since he knew Iris couldn’t hear the conversation on the other end. Standing up from the couch, he stretched his legs and looked down at her with a halfhearted smile. “Looks like the prisoners we have are still alive, so I have to oversee the interrogation. With any luck, they’ll tell us everything we need to find the two who got away and finally win the upper hand against the Scourge.” He leaned down to touch a quick kiss to her forehead and turned to head for the door. “You should try to get some sleep, Iris. I promise I’ll come back whenever I find a chance to get away from this shit show.”