c a s s a n d r a

my heart is WEAK, tear it down piece by piece, leave me to t h i n k taking my breath away, now i need some sleep. i thought my D E M O N S were almost d e f e a t e d but YOU took their side and you pulled them to f r e e d o m. they know my s e c r e t s and won't LET ME GO. cassiopeia blake. xxiv.

[oflurr]

FREDERICK

“I’d say you’d look cute, but I don’t think anyone can look cute doing that.”

Cass stopped doing her one-armed push ups to stare at the other in disbelief. “ Thanks for the status update. I was obviously only exercising in hopes of wooing a man. Who taught you to be such a vapid imbecile ? ” 

[oflurr]

MEDEA

“Listen, I know you’re trying to pull the whole initiating me act right now, but let me tell you, it isn’t going to work.” She told the person on the phone. “Now, you can either deliver what I requested, exactly as I requested it, or you can not get paid. You’re choice. Let me know when you’ve made it.” Hanging up the phone, she looked to the person who joined her in the room before speaking again. “Sometimes you just can’t let them think they’re going to win.” 

“ Dare I ask who pissed you off ? ” Intimidation tactics were certainly a skill Cassie had learned how to utilize and become familiar with, but that made it no less entertaining to see this woman go off at some poor unfortunate soul on the other end of the line. “ And what did they think they were winning ? ”

[oflurr]

ARIA

“No swimsuit, huh? Don’t say I have to convince you to go skinny dipping,” Aria teased, looking up at the mention of the cookies. “Okay but.. those are the best,” she admitted. “Yes could you grab me some please? I’ll explode from over-eating later.”

“ Right. You can unfortunately convince me of many things, but skinny dipping in broad daylight ? I like to think we have some class, Syrene. ” Rolling her eyes, Cassie dusted off her denim shorts and headed off, returning with a small plate of their favorite flavors. “ No swimming for precisely thirty minutes after your last bite, you hear ? ”

[oflurr]

RAE

“Alright then,” Rae began, stepping aside and gesturing to the brunette. They had been taking turns at the games that some people had set up on the side of the street, one of them being a dunk tank. She couldn’t help but see if the other could really had better aim or if it was just empty words. “You give it a try. You talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?”

@ofcassie

“ I was born to walk the walk, ” Cassie retorted, a playful tone in her voice as she pocketed her phone. After picking up her softballs, she stepped up to the line. “ Just watch your step. I’d hate to see you get splashed from how hard this guy falls. ” With a little wave at the person in the dunk tank, Cassie closed one eye and threw the ball hard towards the center of the target, a satisfying plunk following. “ And what about you, huh ? Is painting your only talent ? ” 

[oflurr]

ELLIE

“So you think you can beat it?” She asked the person standing in front of her booth. “I’d to let you know that this isn’t the usual punching machine you see, but let’s see how well you do. You might even win a prize.” She offered to bring out her special machine as a game at the barbeque, knowing it would be a good chance to get word out about her business. 

“ I don’t think, I know, ” Cassiopeia replied with a crack of her knuckles. “ Not your usual punching machine ? What, like it’s rigged ? ” Despite her suspicions, she wasn’t exactly concerned. Punching things ? That she was plenty good at. Without hesitation, she swung, slamming her fist into the machine with all her strength. 

[bellarke]

You can’t win so why bother?

[oflurr]

ARIA

“I am already full,” Aria admitted, falling back onto the chair across from the other. “How are you doing over there? Still thinking of grabbing something else or are you just itching to go swimming instead?”

@ofcassie

Cassie struggled to finish her last bite of barbecue before answering, “ Shh, Ari. I told you someone else will steal those cookies if we don’t get to them first. Want me to grab you some ? ” She asked as she stood. “ Damn, I wore dark colors for the water balloon fight, but I forgot a swimsuit. ”

[oflurr]

RAEGAN

“Hmm that could work,” she considered. “I’ll definitely give it a try, thanks!” Raegan smiled. “Anything that saves me a trip to the store is well appreciated. I’m not a big fan of shopping,” she admitted with a shrug.

“ Yeah, don’t mention it. ” Honestly, what would her friends think if she was off giving laundry advice as a pastime ? Her lips quirked upwards in amusement. “ Really ? You’re just into staining clothes as a career aspiration ? ”

[oflurr]

ANNABETH

“Oh shoot!” The girl blurted out when the pack of chips she had been carrying ended up flying everywhere and she just about managed to keep her balance too. “I suppose I am lucky I wasn’t carrying a drink, right?” There was a pause before the red head looked at them with a serious expression on her face brows knitting together. “You have a bit of a chip on your shoulder don’t you.” It was a statement of face and she reached out to touch the others shoulder pointedly, fingers returning with one chip delicately clasped between them. “See what I did there? Chip. Shoulder.” Grinning, she popped it into her mouth.

Cassiopeia was mid-way through reading the front page of the local newspaper when an egregious noise erupted beside her. The newspaper dropped into her lap as she took in the other quickly and confirmed she wasn’t in any actual danger. That didn’t stop her eyes from going wide and taking a step back as the other touched her shoulder. “ Personal space, have you heard of it ? ” she quipped uneasily. “ Yeah, yeah, you’re a regular comedian. Have you considered a less obnoxious food ? ” 

[oflurr]

HENRYK

Listening to her speak, he couldn’t help but laugh a bit before shaking his head. “No, I have to say that I keep my vigilante nights to a minimum. I just got a little over excited with a new workout and strained it a little more than I planned.” He commented, a smile on his lips. “Cardio it is! How about we start with some stairs and then some sprints?” 

“ Ah, I see why all the criminals have been running amok lately, ” she retorted, as if she’d witnessed more crime than someone accidentally crashing into another with their bicycle lately. “ Stairs and sprints ? I can live with that. ” Smirk still glued to her lips, she continued, “ As long you swear we don’t do whatever new workout that was, yeah ? Do you... do anything other than being a gym rat ? ” 

[goodreadss]

“And that’s the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.”

— Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner (via amortizing)

[oflurr]

RAEGAN

“There doesn’t seem to be enough detergent on this planet to get acrylic paint out of clothing, huh?” Rae chuckled, mostly to herself as she looked down at what she was wearing before shrugging and smiling at the person looking at her. “I can always buy a new one. Thanks for pointing out the stains to me though. I appreciate it.”

“ Acrylic paint, ” Cassiopeia repeated, thinking back. “ That’s water-based, right ? It should be, if I remember correctly. “ Detergent wouldn’t really work. ” She rolled her eyes at the other’s frivolous remark. “ Try rubbing alcohol to break it up, unless you’re already prepared to throw your money at retail shopping I guess. ”

[oflurr]

KRISTOFF

“Oh- what.. sorry, I wasn’t talking to you I was talking to… well- the dog.” Kristoff commented with a small embarrassed smile as he gestured to the dog that was sat beside him.

“ Well, this is riveting, ” Cassiopeia deadpanned as she leaned against the wall. “ You and Fido over there keeping juicy secrets ? ”

[oflurr]

HENRYK

“Oh this?” He said, pointing to the brace on his knee. “Don’t worry about it! Just a little twist on my knee. Brace is more a precaution than anything. Shouldn’t stop me at all!” Henryk spoke to the person, a smile on his face as he spoke. “So, what were you looking to do today?” 

“ How’d you get it ? ” Cassiopeia inquired. “ Wait, don’t tell me. Midnight vigilante mission ? I’ve been there. ” With a smirk, she continued stuffing her backpack into the public lockers. “ Do you care if we just do some cardio today ? I have an early shift. ”

[oflurr]

JANETTE

“Animal biology.” she stated as she glanced at the other. “It seems easy enough but during exams they pull out all the crap don’t they.” a small laugh escaped her lips as she ran a hand through her short bob. “You feel prepared and then you get in there and you forget everything you thought you knew.” 

“ Animal Biology. Can’t say I ever took that one. Are you going to be a veterinarian ? ” Cassiopeia had only been out of college a little over a year, but there wasn’t much she missed about it. “ I couldn’t tell you if it’s a placebo effect, but you can try that crazy theory about the peppermint. Apparently if you eat one while you study and while you take it, your memory is more expansive. Or it could just be a conspiracy by peppermint company trying to get people to eat that shit. ”

[oflurr]

TARAN

“Not the weirdest name that I have seen given to a cat, or a dog, for that matter,” Taran said, chuckling under his breath and moving to look into the caged door of carrier, looking over the cat’s face that his own met with. He smiled gently, and the animal only shifted in the crate. “Yeah, no worries. We can get him right in.” Standing up straight, he tilted his head in a soft, jerking motion. “Follow me,” he instructed, turning toward the back of the office. 

“ Oh ? What is ? ” Cassiopeia asked about the strange names, curiosity getting the best of her. Carefully, she lifted the cat carrier by the handle, following the veterinarian. “ He doesn’t hate you, at least. He wouldn’t stop hissing at the last vet who saw him, before I even let him out. ” Off to a good start, it seemed; a splendid discovery considering all the things she needed to accomplish after this surprise appointment. 

[oflurr]

LEONARDO

Leo had been in process of cleaning up his tools, getting ready to close for the night and retire upstairs to his apartment, it was only when he noticed a shadow in the corner of the room he realised he had a customer, “Sorry- I was just about to close up, though if it’s important or an emergency I guess half an hour more can’t hurt.”

Cassiopeia hadn’t meant to sneak up on the other, but blending into the shadows came with ease to her. “ No worries. I gotta get back soon, anyway, I just wanted to check up on my order for ... ” she glanced down at the vibrant lemon-colored Post-it note in her hand. “ -- A gate latch shaped like two intertwined hearts. ” A cringe followed. “ It’s an errand for Mrs. Chevron, in case that weren’t glaringly obvious. ”