Time to pack... (open) - Sunflower Beach

She'd been quiet at the Regency, quiet the whole way home though, she'd been alone for that part. Truth of the matter was she'd barely been holding it together, but she was too tired to break down. Much too tired. Which meant the only reaction she allowed herself as she parked the rented car outside her home and stepped outside, was a single crimson tear that was quickly brushed away with the back of her hand.

She'd failed.
That... upset her.
But more than that upset her was the fact that Jamie hadn't told her, hadn't bothered informing her of a meeting that she should've been invited to since it was her job on the line. Though, guess he, like everyone else, simply expected her to know. As if that had been able to fly had a Primogen not been informed of a meeting until it was well on its way.

It didn't matter now though...

She opened the car and picked up the first of the carefully packed boxes of books and tools, having emptied the Harpy's office of any personal belongings before leaving. It was how it was going to be. And she doubted she would be able to change that. She just wished... honestly wished, he'd just raged at her instead. To have been yelled at, beaten, broken, would've been better than this. Better than feeling like she was getting hit int he back from those she trusted the most.

Silly to think she was accepted among the Toreador.
Silly to think she was accepted by Jamie after she'd let Medwyn get hurt...

The blond turned and started carrying the boxes inside in silence, the two ferrets meeting her at the door but seemingly falling silent as well when they didn't receive a greeting from her.

If it hadn't been for Medwyn, she would've just up and left, found someplace far far away where she wouldn't have to deal with all of it. But, regardless of the situation, she loved him, more than anything, more than her own life. And as such, she couldn't just leave.
She could though, get out of PSL, out of that woman's reach, out of Jamie's way. Just far enough away that she wasn't actively a problem for anyone, but close enough that she could visit Medwyn. For... for as long as she was still allowed to do that at least...

The box was put down and another retrieved. Five in total, which were tucked into the corner of the living room before she headed upstairs. Good thing she didn't really need much... She could always default to what she could stuff into a duffel bag and be good with that.

If only the aching lump that had gotten stuck in her throat would go away... If only...

"Need a hand?" Cass had come up behind Teddy, her truck parked nearby. She'd known this was coming and all Teddy needed to do was say the word.

She stopped, one hand on the door leading to the upstairs bedroom where she hadn't set foot since that night Medwyn had left.

At first she didn't turn around, but rather just paused long enough to pull herself together a she turned her head to throw a smile over at her friend.
She looked... tired.

"Hey Cass. You've gotten stealthy" she said softly.

"Yeah, I have," she agreed, noting the look but not speaking on it. "So, do you need a hand?"

Teddy pushed the door open and motioned towards the bed that looked as if it hadn't been slept in, because, well, it hadn't been slept in for well over a month by now.
"Sit down if you want. I'm just gonna pack a few essentials. You know, clothes, teddy bear, cash so I can't be tracked by credit card" the Caitiff said with a soft chuckle that sounded a bit lack luster.

Cass leaned up against the wall, watching fairly quietly. And then from her pocket, she produced 2 keys on a ring that jingled a little.

"Home away from home."

There was a soft chuckle from the blond as she pulled her blazer off and chucked it aside, glad to be out of the damn restraining piece of clothing.
"You were always good at planning ahead" Teddy said, still with that same soft tone of voice as the ferrets watched from the open door. "I never was. I always winged it..." she sighed as she opened a closet door and pulled down a well worn duffel bag from one of the shelves.

"No, I was always good at making people believe I had a plan," she gave a half-smile. "Most of the time? I was winging it, too. This time, I planned. As much as I could, anyway."

"Good, because, I kinda gave up planning" when those she thought she could rely on turned her away. Not that she blamed them, but she was allowed to be sad over it none the less.

She chuckled the duffel bag on the bed and quickly moved to get out of the black pants and high heels she was wearing, fr once having walked into the house while wearing shoes. Both pants and shoes were discarded on the floor with little care as she grabbed a pair of worn baggy jeans from a drawer and pulled them on. Feeling at least a bit more like herself once she was back in more travel friendly clothes.

"What about Alex?" she asked, even as she moved to pick out a few articles of clothing that where stuffed into the bag with little ceremony. Her own lover no longer lived with her. She only saw him every other day and if she stayed quiet... he didn't need to know she'd no longer be in PSL. Not as long as she was within distance to drive back and forth to visit him.

"Between being with him, at Jamie's and holed up in Ethan's domain, I doubt anyone will really notice if I'm gone so long as I keep coming back. No worries."

Cass couldn't just leave like Teddy could, but she could make it work.

She couldn't properly leave either. She couldn't leave Medwyn. She didn't want to leave Medwyn.
But staying there? Now? With Areron as Harpy and Jamie.... Jamie... She pushed the thought away as quickly as it had made its way into her mind.

"Hoping no one will notice it either that I'm not around" Teddy said, continuing to pack the bag with little things that might not make much sense but which apparently were important to her. "I'll keep coming back to visit Medwyn every two days. Outside of that... I don't think I'll be missed, which makes laying low a lot easier" and safer. A lot safer.

"No, I understand," because in her own way, she felt the same. "You know? We work better on our own. At least I think so. No expectations that we have to please everyone all of the time and... We just follow the Traditions and do what we do and everything will be fine, you know?"

"Yeah..."
The blond ducked down under the bed, retrieving a small wooden box that appeared to have been tucked up against the wall under the bed for some odd reason.
"It'll be fine" doubtful, but... She brushed her hand over the lid. She could hope... hope that despite it all she hadn't lost Medwyn. If she lost him... she'd probably just break all together.

"You can disagree with me if you want to. It's okay."

She shook her head, tucking the small box in with the few pieces of clothing she'd picked out.
"No, I don't disagree" Teddy said, looking up at Cass again with that same lackluster smile as before. Because try as she might the Caitiff was already a bit broken.
"Did you have to pay a lot for the place? I can chip in you know"

"No, it was a steal, actually." Oh.. um... "Not literally. Don't worry about the money, I'm not." Because it wasn't her money she used, heh. "The place needs some work, some furniture. But that's easy enough to get. There's a few chairs and a couple of beds in there already. I mean, they're air mattresses, but they'll do."

"If I don't have to sleep outside I'll be happy" though, she did bring two more things. She grabbed a shirt off a nearby chair, one that obviously did not belong to her. And a pillow. Though not from her side of the bed.

Cass would have done the same thing had she been in Teddy's position. "Yeah, you don't have to be outside. But... there are bars on the windows, so... It's the city, it's not close to the beach. I hope that's okay."

"That's fine" she said with a light shrug of her shoulders, the bag barely half full as she closed it up. "I've never lived close to the beach before anyways. München's not exactly a coast city" the blond smiled gently. "Besides I don't really feel like swimming much these nights"

She nodded before she turned to head back down the stairs. "Do you want me to round up the critters?"

"It's okay" Teddy grabbed the bag and moved to follow her downstairs, closing the door to the bedroom behind her.

"I need to fix a few more things before leaving. Could... could we go tomorrow?" she asked softly as her feet touched down on the ground floor hardwood floor. "I've made some promises I need to keep" and people she needed to talk to.

"Yeah, sure," she nodded. "You have my number... Just let me know, okay?"

Teddy dropped the bag on the floor and took a couple of quick steps towards the Toreador, wrapping her arms around her and hiding her face against the other woman's shoulder
"If you see him, tell him I won't be in the way..." she muttered in a whisper. Obviously not speaking about Medwyn.

Cass held her close for a moment and nodded. She knew Jamie didn't hate Teddy, not at all. But her saying it wouldn't actually help anything. So she just held her and kissed her forehead.

"I'll tell him."

"Thanks"
No, the arching lump wouldn't go away. It likely wasn't going to go away for a long, long time yet...

Teddy nodded and offered her another smile.
"Too bad neither of us can drink. Otherwise I would've suggested popping that way too expensive cognac your fiancé got us for the house warming party" she chuckled. "I could do with getting hammered right about now"