Trash Panda

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

They're great actors, haha

I've been picking my face claims kind of randomly, but I think the ones I've got fit the characters pretty well ^^

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“We’d have to find your ID fast,” Cas glanced back at Iris over his shoulder when she suggested that they spend more time together after they got back. “We only have one hour, and your curfew is at ten.” As much as he would have loved to pick up where they’d left off, he had a feeling they wouldn’t get more than ten minutes even if they hurried. The drive to and from the forest would take close to fifteen minutes since he couldn’t speed—without a recognizable plate number, he would get pulled over by a patrolman—and then they would spend up to twenty minutes looking for a little plastic card in the fallen leaves. Chances were, they wouldn’t get back to the mansion until right before the clock struck ten.

As they exited her bedroom and headed down the dark hallway, he fell quiet. The guards were in the east wing by now, but there were still servants to look out for. Like Iris, he’d planned ahead to wear dark colors in the hues of black and navy blue, but they could still be seen if someone happened to get up for a late trip to the restroom or a snack from the kitchen. He didn’t want to have to explain himself to anyone. The servants would most likely take whatever he said at face value, but if word got back to his father that he and their barely welcome guest had been sneaking around the mansion at night, he would have to answer to the equivalent of an interrogation. Just the thought of it made him shudder, and he picked up his pace to get to the car as fast as he could.

Fortunately, they made it to the garage door without getting caught. Cas stepped inside first and held the door aside for Iris. “Careful, there’s a step down right in front of you,” he whispered. Once they were both standing on the concrete floor, he closed the door so the room was enveloped in darkness and took her by the hand to lead her over to a wall on their left. The vehicles he was looking for were supposed to be used in emergencies only, so they weren’t kept with the other cars. Instead, the Maydestones had a second garage that was unattached from the main building. The only reason he’d brought her to the first garage was because there was a door at the front that they could use to get outside without triggering the security system. It was hooked up to the wires that connected the rest of the portals to the silent alarm, but three weeks ago, a rat had chewed them up and severed the door from the others. With any luck, the security team would have forgotten to fix it.

Turning on the flashlight on his phone, the prince crouched down by the corner of the door and narrowed his eyes as he searched for the frayed wire. After a moment, he spotted it and grinned to himself. It looked like security had forgotten about it after all, which meant that he and Iris could slip out without anyone knowing. He righted his posture again and unlatched the door, leading the way into the courtyard.

On the other side, there was a large shed-like building with a door that had a fingerprint scanner. Cas used his own access to get inside and then turned his flashlight back on to reveal a set of three, rather mundane-looking cars. There was nothing special or luxurious about any of them, but that was point. To blend in with the other vehicles on the streets in the event of an emergency getaway, they were all common models that were owned by plenty of other people in the capital. The biggest difference between them was their coloring in black, silver, and white.

“So far, so good,” he mused, casting a smile back at Iris as he stepped over to the silver four-door in the middle. Instead of walking up to the driver’s side, he trotted around to the passenger’s and opened the door for her. Since the cars were supposed to be accessible quickly, they were always left unlocked, charged up, and with the key hidden inside the glove box. “Ready to go?” he asked as he waved a hand for her to get inside first.

~Bonsoir~

While the half-breed ordered a Saint to bring a chair over for Victoria, Vail held her up, trying to process everything that was happening around him. When he’d left the Hygrace manor that morning, he had thought he would be petitioning the Order to allow him to offer his assistance, learning their plans to fight back against the Wynters, and then waiting until nightfall for the battle to commence. He certainly hadn’t been prepared to be greeted with an angry Victoria, accusations of being unfaithful, and an entire clan of vampires, one of whom was apparently her long-lost brother. It was enough to make his head swim as he attempted to keep up with it all.

Watching James tensely, he was further intrigued by how smoothly the demand flowed off the half-breed’s tongue. He didn’t know any other vampires who would speak to a human in such a manner. It was both humble and bold in the same stroke. Most of their kind wouldn’t even hold eye contact with a Saint long enough to address them, let alone bark orders with the expectation that said orders would be obeyed. Yet the man James chose to fetch the chair did so without skipping a beat. He wondered if the unusual interaction was due to the fact that Victoria’s brother had human blood coursing through his veins or if he felt comfortable around hunters because he was a child of Lady Diana Crest. Either way, it was a scene he had never witnessed before, and he found himself staring until the man returned with a seat for the weak-kneed Crest heiress.

Carefully, Vail set Victoria down so she could rest, but he remained on his feet at her side. Surrounded by Saints and now a new clan with which he was unfamiliar, he preferred to be mobile in case he needed to move quickly. He was the only one in the foyer without numbers on his side, and the disadvantage was tangible in the midst of such a diverse crowd. So, as James approached, he stood stiffly and tilted his chin up when the half-breed glared at him. No words were exchanged between them, so he wasn’t sure exactly what would have warranted the expression, but he could take a guess. If Victoria’s brother had inherited his father’s nose, he would have been able to smell the metallic scent of blood that still hung in the air around both him and the Crest heiress.

The exchange between the united siblings went without his interruption. While they spoke, Vail held Victoria’s hand in silence, offering her support as he listened to them. It seemed that Lady Diana had told her estranged son quite a bit about what had been going on in London. James even knew that Lord Spencer had hurt his sister. His hazel eyes drifted to the widow, who was still standing beside her former vampire lover, before returning to her half-breed son, who had just asked him a question.

“Protector?” he echoed the title with some amusement. It was fitting, he supposed, since he did see it as his responsibility to keep Victoria safe, but there was so much more to their relationship than that. “My name is Vail Hygrace,” he answered with a polite bow of his own. “And I think you’ll find that lover is a more accurate description of what I am to Lady Crest.” Righting his posture, he met the half-breed’s blue eyes evenly. “Diana may not have mentioned me, but I will be staying here until the Wynters are removed from this city like the tumors they are.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I love that show! It was so good. I also love some of your face claims because of it xD

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

The next two hours went by in a blur to Caspian. No matter what he and Iris did, whether they passed the time talking or kissing on the sofa, he enjoyed himself. Even among the few girls he’d dated in the past, he’d never connected with anyone the same way he did with her. He felt comfortable to be himself when they were together. There was no need to put on a show, flaunting good qualities or possessions to win her affection. Ever since the day they’d met, he’d been perfectly content baring exactly who he was to her without any fear of being judged—outside of her occasional playful comments, that was. He knew she never meant to offend or belittle him when she teased him thought. The banter was fun and, now that they had gotten more physical, it was often punctuated with a crash of his lips against hers or vice versa.

Even more than their conversations, he took pleasure in the interludes between topics during which they would kiss again. In the back of his mind, he knew he needed to take things slow with her while her memories were still gone, but it was so hard to hold fast to the boundaries he’d wanted to set when everything she did lit him up like a fire. He was falling fast, and he knew it. The affection he felt for her was unlike anything he’d experienced for another person before. The closest thing he could compare it to was the fondness he felt for his parents, but even that wasn’t quite right, since that was a familial love. What he and Iris had was far more passionate, and it was strange to him how quickly the emotions had come on when they had only known each other for about a week. Although he’d never been one to believe in romantic concepts like soulmates, there was a part of him that was starting to second guess his convictions. How else could he explain why he felt so drawn to a woman he barely knew?

Caught up in the secret little world they’d built for themselves in her bedroom, the prince barely noticed when the soft alarm he’d set on his watch went off to remind them that it was time to go. Recovering from their most recent make out session, he sat with his cheek resting on top of her head, lulled by the feeling of her fingers tracing mindless patterns on the skin of his hand. The alarm went off for almost half a minute before he reluctantly opened his eyes and shifted to turn it off. “Damn,” he sighed, stretching his legs tiredly. “If we weren’t going out to look for your ID, I would have suggested that we call this whole thing off to stay here.”

Attempting to wake up a little more, he stood up from the sofa and pushed his arms over his head in another long stretch. Now that it was nine o’ clock, the guards would have migrated to the other side of the mansion, but he needed to be alert anyway, just in case anyone had stayed behind in the west wing. It would be harder to get out if they were seen, but it wasn’t impossible. Thinking about their upcoming getaway turned out to be useful too. As he imagined different scenarios in which he and Iris would have to run past the security guards, his heartbeat quickened, and he felt more awake right away.

“Right then,” he turned back to her with a grin. “Let’s go get your missing things.” With that, he strode over to the door and pulled it open as quietly as he could, poking his head into the hallway. He took a moment to make sure the coast was clear before he gestured for her to follow him and turned off the light switch on his way out of the room.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

He's kind of a movie nerd xD

And true! It's gonna be so interesting to see how their relationship progresses after tonight

We can skip over the rest of their time waiting to leave if you want. I imagine they'd spend most of it alternating between chatting and 'enjoying each other's company' haha

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cas laughed when Iris became flustered at his declaration that she was a bad girl. If she really was, her reaction told him that she didn’t see herself that way. She even tried to brush off the title by comparing herself to him. He rolled his eyes at the mention of the parties he went to. “Yeah, some bad boy I am,” he snorted. “Checking in with my dad whenever he calls me and making sure I get home by midnight. I don’t think a few jello shots make up for all the rules I have to follow when I go out.” He would have liked to stay up until two in the morning, drinking and partying with the other young adults in the capital though. If he was ever offered the chance to be a normal high born instead of a prince, he would have taken it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, he would never be so free when he would have to take over as the next king of Aspiria someday. Being a ‘bad boy’ wasn’t in the cards for someone like him, even if it was something he wanted to do.

“And what flirtatious attitude are you talking about?” he went on, cracking an amused smirk as he leaned his head back against the cushion behind him. “If either of us is flirtatious, it’s you, and you know it. I’ve just been nice to you this whole time, but you kept making those little passes at me that made it damn hard for me not to do anything about it sooner.” To prove his point, he placed a hand on her arm in a manner reminiscent of the way she had touched him before either of them had admitted that they had feelings for each other. “Just admit it. You were after me from the start, and you got what you wanted… bad girl.” He snickered, unable to keep a straight face as he teased her with the nickname.

As she tried to claim that he was the bad one between them one more time, Cas shook his head. “And that’s why I’m not a bad boy,” he reiterated, looking away from her to fiddle with a shoelace. “I’ve never… taken advantage.” He coughed awkwardly. The media liked to paint him as a playboy who never kept up a long-term relationship because he couldn’t be tamed, but the reality was that he had never slept with anyone before. One-night stands were off the table because of his status—word would definitely get out if he ever had a fling, because no high born woman would keep it a secret that she’d bedded the crown prince—and his overbearing father prevented him from holding onto a relationship with someone long enough to comfortably get that far. Now that he was almost halfway through his twenties, a part of him believed he wouldn’t be able to sleep with a woman until Atlas arranged his marriage. After all, anyone he met now most likely had a sexual history already, and the fear that he wouldn’t be able to live up to expectations had become yet another barrier in his love life.

More than happy to get off the subject of his lack of experience, he looked up again with a grin when Iris called him James Bond. “I may have gotten more invested in this since you convinced me last night,” he admitted with a shrug. Even that was an understatement. Since he’d agreed to sneak out with her, he’d transitioned from apprehensive to eager to absolutely thrilled about the prospect of pulling one over on the guards. If they were successful, he would always have the knowledge that he’d been clever enough to get past the royal family’s security team without anyone ever finding out.

When Iris explained that she was ready, he reached for her hand, finding her enthusiasm adorable. “That was the plan,” he confirmed. “We just have to wait about two hours before we can leave, so the guards won’t see us go. Until then…” A mischievous smile crossed his lips, and he took the empty plate from her lap, setting it down on the carpet below them. “We might as well think of something to do to pass the time,” he spoke in a low tone, holding her by the waist as he leaned in to kiss her.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Little does Cas know, he just gave his enemies the perfect cover to kidnap him without anyone realizing until the next day cx

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Iris opened the door, Cas smiled, happy to see her bright face after another long day. To his relief, it looked like she was doing well. Her skin wasn’t as pale as it had been the day before, and her voice sounded full when she giggled. Even before she confirmed that she had merely been too excited to eat, he guessed silently that she was still planning to sneak out of the mansion with him that night. Their plans were still in motion, which meant he could still live out some of his favorite secret agent movies. He couldn’t wait.

“You should try anyway,” he advised, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the hallway was still empty before he stepped into her room. “This is your last chance to eat until breakfast tomorrow, and you wouldn’t want to regret skipping a meal if you wake up starving in the morning.” Turning back around to face her, he waited until she had closed the door before he spoke again, so there would be less of a chance of any passerbys overhearing them talk. “Plus, it would be a good idea for you to make sure you’ve got some energy when we go out to the woods and start rummaging through the leaves for your ID.”

At her question, he broke into another grin, unable to hide his excitement. “Yeah, I am,” he nodded. “To be honest, I’ve never done anything like this before, but I guess that’s what happens when you get involved with a bad girl.” He winked at her jokingly. There was still no telling what kind of person she had been before she’d lost her memories, but he liked to think he was starting to get a clearer picture as they spent more time together. She was certainly more of a risk-taker than he was, and those habits were starting to rub off on him in the best way. If they did manage to stay together after she recovered from her amnesia, he looked forward to seeing what kind of trouble they would get into in the future.

“Exactly,” he agreed when she said she wouldn’t want to waste the food he’d brought for her. Following her gesture, he sat down beside her on the sofa and passed off the plate for her to take. “It’s chicken with mushrooms and cheese,” he explained in answer to her next question. “I had my portion not too long ago, so I can assure you it’s as delicious as everything else you’ve had from the royal kitchen so far.”

Once she’d taken the plate from his hand, Cas made himself comfortable on the sofa, drawing one knee to his chest and lacing his fingers around his ankle. “I had a few hours free before dinner, so I came up with a way to get us out of the house,” he said, casting her another eager smile. “The guards will be patrolling the east wing from nine until ten, so if we go then, no one will see us. We can take one of the emergency cars too. The plates on those aren’t registered under my family’s name, so the soldiers in the city won’t recognize it. As long as we get back before security rotates back to this side of the building, no one will even know we were gone.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Caspian arrived at the kitchen, he was quick to notice that Iris wasn’t there. He stopped in the doorway with a concerned frown. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen her at lunch either. He hoped she wasn’t having a bad day. Even though he had been hesitant about sneaking out of the mansion last night, his excitement about it had been growing since he’d started working on a tangible plan to get past security. He’d convinced himself that she was right, that as long as they made the trip fast there would be no risk. With his reservations pushed to the back of his mind, he was left feeling thrilled about acting like a modern day James Bond and getting by all the guards who were skilled enough to keep terrorists out of the building. If Iris had woken up feeling ill or depressed, all the work he’d done would have to be scrapped.

Although he tried to remain optimistic, he asked the cooks for an extra plate to take to her bedroom just in case she had missed all three meals that day because she couldn’t get to the kitchen. He ate his own dinner quickly—this time, the chefs had prepared a flavorful mushroom asiago chicken dish in white wine—and thanked the servants politely as he picked up the spare serving from the counter and headed down the hallway that led to the amnesiac’s temporary quarters.

On his way there, his heart already began to pound eagerly. If Iris was still feeling up to going out with him, it would be the first time he’d ever pulled a stunt like this. He had his qualms with being born into the line for the throne against his will, but everyone knew he wasn’t the rebellious type. He cared far too much about pleasing his father to step out of line more than he already did by going to parties and occasionally dating women, and the only rules he broke there were the informal ones that Atlas placed on him because he thought they would make him a king one day. This time, he would be blatantly disregarding the safety measures put in place by the royal guard. Just the thought of it sent a thrill of excitement up his spine.

So, by the time he reached Iris’s room, he was already grinning to himself with unchecked exhilaration. It was a good thing there were no guards patrolling the corridors in that wing at the moment, because he hadn’t thought far enough ahead to come up with an explanation for his behavior. Hoping that the amnesiac was still feeling up for a little adventure that night, he raised his fist and knocked on the door. “Iris, are you awake?” he called. “I brought you something to eat.” The plate in his hand had turned into a perfect cover to explain why he would be visiting her room at such an odd hour.