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Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cas deflated slightly when Iris said it was unlikely that they would make it to the capital today. Even though he’d seen it coming, it was still disappointing to know that he would have to keep waiting to get home. He missed his bed, good food, his friends, and even his father. After coming within an hour of losing his life, he wanted nothing more than to return to what was familiar and put the kidnapping behind him. He was sure he wouldn’t leave the mansion for at least a week when he got back. The world was more unforgiving than he’d given it credit for, and he wanted to hide away from it long enough to rediscover some semblance of normalcy.

Following her back into the city, he kept his head down to lessen the chance of anyone recognizing him. He wasn’t sure if the people outside the capital would be as quick to spot him as the high borns in the capital were, but he didn’t want to find out. There was no way to tell if any of the men and women around them were part of the rebellion or if they were even sympathetic with the Scourge’s cause. Right now, he had to assume anyone could sell him out, and he couldn’t afford to be thrown back in a cell a second time. Or worse, killed on the spot. Just the thought of it was enough to leave a bitter taste in his mouth, and he kept close to Iris, using her as a second set of eyes and ears.

When she answered his question, he glanced up at her from beneath his hood. For some reason, the mention of a best friend surprised him. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because when they had met, she hadn’t had any memories. Her life had been a blank slate; no friends or family or any other people to mention. It was also weird to him to picture her living in the Tongsen slums rather than somewhere in the capital as he’d first imagined. He was still getting used to the reality that she wasn’t a high born.

It also didn’t slip his notice that she’d avoided using pronouns when she spoke about her friend. He studied her quietly, unable to keep himself from wondering if the person who had helped them was a man or a woman. He hadn’t known that she’d had a boyfriend when he’d gotten close to her, and even though he’d told himself that he needed to keep his distance now, he found himself hoping that there wasn’t yet another man in her life who was important to her. God, stop it, he chided himself with a wince. She’s the daughter of the Scourge’s leader. It doesn’t matter if she’s close to another guy… It’s not like he would be my competition. Despite the mental reminder, he felt his face warm up at the thought of competing for her attention, and he fixed his gaze on the ground, trying desperately to will the ruddiness away. Apparently, it was going to take longer than half a week for his residual feelings to fade.

“It’s good to know I’ve got at least one more ally out here,” he muttered, doing his best to keep the reflexive jealousy out of his voice. Even if he wanted anything to happen—which he didn’t, now that he knew she was a rebel—nothing could anymore. Assuming he survived long enough to get back to the capital, he was going to be Aspiria’s next king. He had to mingle with women on his own class, potential partners who didn’t deceive him about who they were and who weren’t associated with the enemies of the crown. Any chance they had of being together had been squashed the instant she’d told him that her last name was Nox-Fleuret.

Trying not to feel discouraged by the fact, he wasn’t paying enough attention to realize that Iris had stopped walking. He stepped into her outstretched arm and jumped, realizing abruptly that he’d been spacing out. Gathering his wits, he followed her gaze to the gate up ahead and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he recognized one of the men standing in their path. It seemed like the other rebels had caught onto his disappearance already and were trying to hunt him down again.

He quickly pivoted on his heel and followed Iris away from the gate, murmuring a string of swears under his breath. If Ethan spotted him, he already knew he wasn’t in good enough shape to run. “Are you sure there’s no other way we can go?” he asked, glancing sideways at her as they headed for a housing complex. He really hoped they weren’t going to be delayed because of her ex-boyfriend. “What about that friend of yours? Do you think he can help?” Even though he knew he had to stop looking at her that way, he couldn’t help himself. He had to dig subtly to figure out the gender of the person she called her best friend. Besides, it was a practical question too, because he genuinely wanted to know if her friend was willing to help them get out of the district.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Good timing then haha. Have a good night! Hopefully I'll get one more post done before I go to bed later

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

If you want to do a test, the long one on eclectic enneagram is the best online option ^^

Also, I may not get another post done until later. I've been working intermittently on my project, but I need to focus on it a little more this afternoon to meet the deadline I set for myself today

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

It's great, haha. I've got two books on it xD It's helpful for real life applications too, but I enjoy using it to make well-rounded characters.

For example, it gives a look into a person's potential abilities, the things they can do when they're emotionally healthy. For Cas, he has the potential to be a great altruistic leader, but right now his ambition is stifled because he never receives any praise from Atlas. Feeling useful and loved is key to 2s, and because his father makes him feel worthless, he doesn't have the confidence to practice being a leader, even though he would be a natural. When he starts getting the affirmation he needs from another source (i.e: Iris later on, I'd assume), he'll have the energy he needs to step up and be a good king.

It's little details like that that help to bring the character to life ^^

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Iris asked what he didn’t understand, Cas just stared at her. ‘All of it’ seemed like an appropriate response, but he could tell by the look on her face that responding argumentatively would just make things worse. So, he said nothing while she went on the reiterate her belief that every district outside the capital was suffering. At first, he didn’t engage much because he assumed she was just spouting the propaganda of the rebellion again, but the strain in her voice gave him pause. As hard as it was to believe, there was a small part of him that was starting to wonder if there was more going on than he knew about. They had walked for quite a while yesterday, yet all he’d seen for miles was old, dilapidated buildings and homeless people. At the very least, he had to concede that the percentage of poor citizens was much higher than he’d thought.

While she continued, he shifted away from the edge of the river and stretched out his legs, leaning back on the palms of his hands. A contemplative expression had settled over his face, and he listened a little more closely to what she was saying. He just couldn’t understand how it could be true. He’d looked at the numbers himself. Aspiria was well-off economically, so how could there be so many jobless people with no access to the most basic necessities? He wanted to believe she had been misled, but it was getting harder to hold onto that stance when everywhere he looked, he was surrounded by poverty. If they didn’t come across a single well-to-do family by the time he returned to the capital, he was going to have a lot of questions for his father.

“They won’t shoot me,” he disagreed with her assertion that the soldiers working border patrol would kill him. “I may not have any identification on me, but they know my face.” For better or for worse, everyone in the capital knew who he was. When he was there, it was sometimes frustrating because he couldn’t get away from all the people who wanted to talk to him or take pictures of him in public. Now that he was stranded in the middle of the twelfth district, however, he was glad that he was so easily recognizable. Every soldier in the kingdom of Aspiria knew who Atlas’s only son was.

When Iris trailed off, Cas glanced at her curiously, wondering what she had been about to say. Before he had a chance to ask though, she changed the subject. “Do you think we’ll be able to get back to the capital today?” he asked as he forced himself to stand up from the ground. Based on her comment about his wounds healing before he made it home, he had a feeling she was going to say no, but it was worth asking about anyway. At the very least, he hoped she could give him a timeline, so he’d have a better idea about how long it was going to take them to get to the inner-city border.

As they walked, he could tell she was setting a slow pace to help him keep up with her. Although no words were exchanged about the subject, he was silently appreciative of her effort. “So,” he mused, thinking of another question as he considered everything she’d said to him so far. “If you don’t have any money, and if there isn’t a grocery store nearby, where did the food and water you gave me last night come from?”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

It's a great resource! It accounts for personality changes when people are feeling secure or stressed, which is nice because people aren't static by nature. For some examples, Cas is a 2w3 (Helper/Achiever) and Atlas is a 3w4 (Achiever/Romantic)

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

As Cas stepped out of the bomb shelter with Iris, his gaze wandered to the closest buildings nearby. Even though it felt like they had traveled far the evening before, it seemed like they hadn’t left the run-down part of the district yet. Everything manmade that he could see looked old and damaged. It obviously hadn’t been taken care of by maintenance workers for quite some time. The sight wasn’t very reassuring to him, since it meant they were probably still far from the capital, but at least it meant they had a decent chance of staying hidden from the rebels. He didn’t think the members of the Scourge would spend very much time in an area like this if they didn’t have to.

Turning away from the city’s edge, he followed Iris into the trees, walking carefully to keep from tripping on any roots or brambles. He was already sore enough as it was, so the last thing he needed was to fall and give himself more bruises. Fortunately, he didn’t have any trouble aside from the lingering ache from his preexisting injuries, and he made it to the river without stumbling. He knelt in the grass beside the water’s edge and rolled his sleeves back to keep them dry. Before he could dip his hands into the cool liquid, however, he paused at the sight of his own reflection.

It was slightly distorted by ripples, but he could still make out his face as clear as day. The Cas he saw staring back at him almost looked like a different person though. His hair was bedraggled, and his usually clean-shaven jawline was peppered with stubble. Across one cheek, a dark bruise had formed where Regis had punched him; and across the other, he could see a long, thin cut from the glass shard that had grazed him when the rebel leader had smashed his bottle. Smudges of old blood mixed with dirt painted his skin in random locations, starkly visible against the naturally light tone of his visage.

I look like a hot mess, he cringed, understanding now why Iris had suggested he clean himself up. He cupped his hands together and dipped them into the river, bringing some of the water up to his face to scrub away the grime. At the same time, he listened to her explain that she couldn’t buy groceries because she didn’t have any money. The revelation was mildly surprising to him, since he’d thought she would have at least a few credits to get them by while they were on the run. However, he supposed she must have been in too big of a hurry to think about grabbing any spare change on their way out. It was an inconvenience, but he was sure they could manage even if they had to beg on the streets a little to secure a meal.

“We’ll figure it out,” he assured her, checking his reflection again to make sure he’d cleaned off as much blood and dirt as he could. Once he was satisfied with his work, he dried his face with the sleeve of his hoodie and turned toward her. The mention that pharmaceutical goods were usually stolen brought a frown to his lips. “No taxis and no pharmacies? You keep saying you don’t have some of these things, but I don’t get it,” he shook his head. “That just doesn’t make any sense. Maybe this area doesn’t have any, but what about the nicer parts of this district? If Tongsen doesn’t have any pharmacies, how does anyone buy medicine?”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

It's ingrained in him, haha.
Have you ever heard of the enneagram? It's a range of personality types kind of like Myers Briggs, but even more accurate. I use it when I make characters, and Cas would be considered the Helper type cx

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Iris said she hadn’t really slept, Cas felt a pang of guilt blossom in his chest. She’d done so much to help him escape from her father, and in return, he hadn’t even thought to make sure she was faring alright once. Belatedly, he noticed that the only trash in the room had come from the bread and pie that he’d devoured the night before too. He didn’t have to ask to know that she must have skipped dinner. Uncomfortable with the revelation, he shifted his weight on the mattress. It didn’t matter that he was injured. Even if she’d insisted that he take the bed and eat all their food, he still could have considered her wellbeing before he did so. He was chagrined that he had been so selfish. This was no way for anyone to behave, let alone a crown prince who was supposed to become a respectable leader one day.

“I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I didn’t realize you didn’t have your own bed or food.” An apology couldn’t turn back time, but he hoped she could hear the sincerity in his voice. Moving forward, he intended to pay more attention. If they weren’t able to get back to the capital by the end of the day, he wanted to make sure her needs were met alongside his own. It was the least he could do to repay her for everything she was doing for him. She’d turned against her own father to help him escape, and now she was running with him to make sure he got home safely. It was more than most people were willing to do for someone else, especially someone they didn’t know well.

When she said they needed to keep moving, he nodded and forced his tired body up from the bed. As expected, every part of him ached with the motion, and he grimaced, hoping the stiffness would fade once he started moving around a little more. That always seemed to work when he was sore after an intense workout, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to guess that it might be the same for what he was going through now. If climbing out of bed wasn’t the worst part, he was going to be in for a very long day.

“Sure,” he shrugged his right shoulder at her offer to go to a river. Out of all the places she could have named in the middle of a city, a river seemed an odd choice for cleaning up, but he remembered what she’d said about how many rebels there were in this district. They probably couldn’t go very many places in broad daylight without risking someone recognizing him and alerting the other members of the Scourge. He shivered at the thought of coming this far only to end up back in Regis’s house of horrors. If washing his face in a river meant he could avoid that awful fate, then he wouldn’t complain.

He picked up his jacket from the bed and put it back on, pulling the hood over his head with his good hand. The fleece wasn’t as comfortable anymore because of the blood that had dried on the inside, but it would help him hide his face, so he wore it anyway. “Once I’m done cleaning up, we should get you something to eat,” he said decidedly, walking with her to the door. “Is there a grocery store nearby? I don’t mind waiting outside if you want to go in and buy something.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cas finally noticed he hogged the only bed in the shelter xD