Reasonable

Amberle sat on her couch waiting for him. She stared down at her feet, every so often wiggling a toe to see it press against the top of her shoes. Her suitcase sat near by. There was no choice. He had given her none. He knew all her friends and could attack any one of them. There was nothing she could do to stop him.



Except for this. He had visited her last night (could she really have only found out yesterday?), but she definitely hadn't been in the mood for talking to him. Her cat, CJ, had hissed violently at the unnaturalness standing in her apartment reminding her of that one strange night. It was clear that this was not his first time in her apartment.

Henry had told her that he needed her to be ready to travel. Amberle cursed her own luck. She had thought it was getting better. The last time she had any sort of kitchen fire had been months ago. Most of her mornings had started out rather well which had only given her a false sense of luck on her side. Of course all her luck was simply piling up for this big doozy. Her first time and it's with a vampire.



Henry appeared before her, but she kept her eyes down.

"I'm ready." Amberle couldn't look him in the face. She knew she would search for those teeth that could rip her throat out. The ones that had killed three people, draining them completely of their blood.

Henry stood before her, uninvited, having somehow snuck into her home for a second time (that she knew of). "The cat?"

"I left him with Samantha." Amberle dared to look up. "He doesn't like you, you know. Especially when you sneak into my house."

Henry crossed his arms. "He's not the one I'm concerned about."



"I don't know if I like you either right now." Amberle turned her head away from him.

The silence between them bloomed like a mushroom cloud.

"Amberle..." Henry's voice was soft and deep the way it had been the other night when he had tricked her. But it seemed as if his words stumbled and faltered so that he could only say her name softly.

Amberle's anger brewed. She hadn't been acting like herself that night. He must have used his powers of persuasion to get her into bed. "I suppose you got what you wanted. Now what're we doing? Are you going to just drop off my body in the middle of the woods?" The words spit out of her mouth. She was sure her face was a twisted mass of anger, so she kept her face down.

Henry's voice tightened. "If I were going to kill you, we would have had no needs for these games." There was no response to that; Amberle kept silent. Henry sighed. "Perhaps when you are more reasonable, you will let me explain."

Amberle glared up at him. More reasonable? Was it unreasonable to be angry about being tricked? "I am reasonable." She stood up, but finding him too close, she turned her head. "Let's just go."

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One day by the sea

Moonglow sat staring out over the sea and giggling to herself as if someone were telling her jokes only she could understand. Ann smiled at the young girl. Moonglow often sat laughing at things that only she could see. She was truly a magical child.





Ann bent down to dig in the dirt. She was looking for a particular piece of sea glass that was to be dropped into a new beauty potion she was cooking up. The baby's laugher rang through the air. Ann could tell she hadn't moved from her spot.

The sand moved easily beneath her fingers until her fingernails scrapped along the wet bottom layer. The sand became more difficult to move then, and Ann had to work to dig deep. The piece of glass she needed was just under her fingertips. Ann stopped. Something was wrong.

The absence of Moonglow's laughter left a void that stopped Ann's heart.

Ann turned to see the baby was crawling recklessly towards the sea as if she were expecting arms to envelope her.


Ann's feet stumbled through the sand too slowly to reach the baby in time. The waves lapped at her hands and feet, sucking at the sand beneath. Ann flung herself at Moonglow, grabbing her with both hands and lifting her high from the water.

As it slowly dawned on Moonglow that something frightful had happened, the baby began to cry in Ann's arms. The unthinkable had almost happened. Ann had almost lost her first true heir to the sea which had helped name her.


Ann knew then that she could stay no longer. There was something afoot, something that Ann could not sense herself because her own innate magical ability was weak.

She had to find them a new home in a place no one would find them.

*****************************

And here's the kick off for the next season (Summer 3)!

This promises to be the oddest season yet.

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Random Ama

We managed to move over the course of two days-- but not whole days, only at night because everyone had to work. It was more like one day really. So the place is a MESS. But I got my bookcase put together and now I have my computer set up again all nice and cozy. Hmm... how long can I really go without being able to see the stove? Do I really need to see the stove?

Well, I figured sort of as a celebration I'd post some pics I haven't really been able to turn into a story. And I figured I'd feature Ama because she is the daughter of one of my favorite sims and so she's becoming one of my favorites as well. (If I still have this blog when she's a teen, I can see trouble with a capital "A.")





Right now she's just a cutie with attitude though. She likes to get up in the morning and greet her ants in her little ant farm,

She has this thing with bugs. Bug hunting is her favorite thing to do. This is Ama hunting bugs in front of her mother's work. (Remember when she got grounded that one time?)

Ama likes talking about bugs when company is over for dinner. In this case, their guest did not react the way Ama expected-- much to her great disappointment.


My favorite pics of Ama came from the time she caught some fireflies outside so she could sleep by their mysterious green light.

I love this one. Her eyes look like they're shining brightly as she watches the jar of bugs.


Ama gets it from her mother. Bonnie Centowski is the sort of sim who will be your best friend in a matter of minutes. If you aren't careful, she'll have you outside in the makeover chair she keeps out back giving you a new hair style that you won't be able to say no to.

Like Orlando's guest the other day. Orlando Centowski shows up with this odd sim wearing too much make up and one of those slutty outfits from the Night Life expansion, and Bonnie welcomes the woman into her home as if she were a friend of the family! She gives her a free make over, and even offers her a discount if she comes by the clothing store and lets Bonnie pick out a new outfit for her. (Hmm, ok, maybe Bonnie did notice the outfit.)


Bonnie was something of a troubled teen, and that happened to be when Orlando came into her life. He was rather plain compared to her colorfulness. I think Bonnie at first only used him as an excuse to get out of the house and simply never bothered to delve any deeper into the boy.

Until college that is. Bonnie had never been one of those girls to dream of getting married in a white dress in a church with 500 people she hardly knew watching. She certainly was not the type of girl who would want some extravagant or public proposal.

But Orlando showed he understood her better than anyone else. He invested his own money to help her start her own clothing shop. It nearly brought her to tears to think someone could believe in her like that. And then, while she stood there fighting back tears, he proposed with a knowing smile on his face.

And they've lived happily ever after since.

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THIS is why I call Amberle my bad luck elf

Oh dear. Well, I haven't done a good job writing it in because she's actually been rather lucky lately. (Perhaps it's simply been because she's been eating lots of cereal and making lots of sandwiches.)

So for the next season, I'm trying to get some pics (while actually playing them for fun to see what they do).

This was just a test run, not something I have planned really.

Henry likes fireplaces and candle light (for reasons other than he's a romantic at heart).



Right after this shot, I realized that I didn't have free will on. So I turned it on. What's the very first thing they decide to do? Hop onto the couch for a quickie. That's where the issue starts.

I decide to turn my head to give them some privacy, and when I turn back there are flames reaching from the fire place across the floor to the sofa.

OMG PANIC!

THEY CANNOT DIE. But they weren't stopping fast enough. Before I knew it, they were on fire, literally this time.


Then, I start laughing hysterically. I've never ever had this happen before. I've heard it could, but usually when things are too close. The sofa is like two spaces back. What the heck happened?

Amberle's luck. I'm going with that. This is as good as the time she burned her kitchen trying to make crepes suzette and then set herself on fire while trying to flambé the crepes.


Well, I was laughing way too hard by the time they were on fire, and I even turned to my boyfriend and asked him if he remembered my bad luck elf. "Is she on fire again?" He asked before he even turned his head.

Luckily there was an open kitchen that had a fire alarm, so I didn't have to reset.


They're safe for now. But no cooking or fireplaces for a while!

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Butterflies

Amberle lay still in bed with her eyes still closed against the late morning sunlight shining into the room. Despite his gentleness it had hurt her more than she had expected. She wasn't quite sure why sims would return to try again. But then she thought of how gentle his touches had been. The way he had kissed her it was almost like butterflies alighting gently on her cheeks and jaw. He smelled so warm, and his arms were so thick she couldn't help but feel safe between them when he had laid his weight on her so that each breath pressed his chest against hers. In that moment she had trusted him completely. It was a beautiful memory; one of the few she could rank highly. If it meant going through the process again to have such memories, she would.




Amberle halfway sat up so that her elbows sunk into the mattress. She had realized right away that she was alone. The sun was shining through the window. She had slept later than she normally would on a school day. But school was out for the summer. Sleeping in late would have to become her next project.


There was a note left on his side of the bed in a quickly scrawled script. A key ring with two keys rested on top of the note. "Sorry-- had some business to take care of that'll take me out of town. I'll be back later tonight. Please feel free to make yourself at home."

Amberle slipped back into her dress, trying to smooth out the wrinkles it had gained from laying one night crumpled on the floor. (In the back of Amberle's mind, she dreaded the ribbing she would get from Samantha who would undoubtedly be looking for her return.) It was odd to feel so at home in someone else's apartment, and she knew she could easily head back downstairs to her own, but he had said to make herself at home. So she would make herself at home.

She grabbed the key ring and took it with her downstairs to get used to the idea that she now had the key to his apartment. The tight ball of warning that had attacked her the first night she had been with him in his apartment still seemed intent on poking at her every so often.

The fridge was cleaner than any fridge she had ever seen. He had juice and milk, ketchup and mustard. No left overs though. Maybe that was part of why the fridge seemed to clean. The knot in her stomach attacked again.

On top of the fridge, there was an unopened box of cereal. It was as if he had bought it just for her.


The bowls she found were dusty. She had to rinse out one to use it. The knot kicked her. But perhaps he simply ate out? He wouldn't be the first male bachelor to order take out every night. Though she hadn't seen left overs in the fridge. And a peek into his garbage revealed no containers or much of anything.


Amberle sat down with her bowl and a newly rinsed spoon. As she ate, she glanced around. His apartment was beautifully decorated. Her eyes fell on the tapestries again.

She stood, leaving her hardly eaten cereal to turn to mush, and walked into the living room again. It hadn't changed since the first time she saw it, and yet her stomach was twisting horribly.

There was a door she had noticed the other time she had visited, but assuming it was his office, she had simply never bothered to ask. But now she was curious. She turned the handle, but it was locked.



There were two keys on the key ring he had left for her. Could it really be that simple? But Amberle remembered that his note had said to make herself at home. Amberle grabbed the key ring and tried out one of the keys in the door knob. The first key fit perfectly. The door swung open easily. Her stomach pain disappeared.

Heavy curtains blocked out most of the light from the window, but what little came in was enough.

Amberle gasped at the sight of the large, open coffin.



Quickly, Amberle shut the room, hung the keys back up, threw on her clothes and fled from the apartment.

*****************

This marks the end of Spring 2. Whew. A sim year has passed since I started this blog.

Also, I am moving! I got a new job, and it comes with an apartment, so my boyfriend and I are moving. (Okay, so it's really just down the street from where we are now, but still I hate moving.) So I think I'm going to take a week (possibly two!) off from updating (though hopefully not reading).

Next season, the things I have planned are probably going to be weird, but we'll get some back story on the land and on one of the characters, possibly two of the characters.

Here is a sneak peek.

For those of you who can't see it, sorry! But it will literally be illuminated in a few weeks.

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New blog to share

She just started her own blog, and I'd like to show her some support. Lady Timedramon has been a very prolific writer over at the TSR story forums.

I especially suggest you get an intro to her writing here. There is more of the story here. If you aren't a member of the forums, you should still be able to read and look at the pictures.

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Samantha's Threat

"Henry? What are you doing here?" Amberle's heart leaped at the same time her stomach started doing its flips.

He smiled so calmly and spoke so smoothly. "I saw the lights on and wondered if you would like an escort home."

Amberle stood still in disbelief. How did he know where to find her? Was he stalking her or something?




Samantha broke the silence from the back of the room. "I swear to god, Amberle," she seemed to shout in the little room, "If you don't go out with him, I WILL."

Amberle lifted her hand to her warm cheek and laughed nervously with Henry's calm chuckle.

~~~~~~~~~



"We're done here. Just remember to lock up." Samantha hugged Amberle tightly. "Kate and her sister are giving me a ride home. Don't worry. But don't be out too late." The last part she whispered in Amberle's ear and then she was gone and Amberle and Henry were alone, standing in the rain.

Henry seemed oddly unfazed by the rain. "Would you like to dance?"

Amberle couldn't help her look of amazement. "In the rain?"

"Why not? Everyone should dance in the rain at least once." He swooped in the way he had last time. His warm hands held hers tightly. "I must admit that you don't strike me as the sort of sim who would worry about such things."

"I'm not. I'm more worried for you." For Amberle, the outdoors was only natural. But she was working hard to fit in with the other sims in society, and it didn't seem like standing in a rain puddle at night with water pouring down was fitting in.


"Don't be." His back faced the open doors of the small room so that a shadow covered his face.

"You certainly like dancing."

He shrugged casually as fat rain drop soaked into the shoulders of his expensive looking suit. "I think it can be a good way to get to know someone. Don't you think?" He pulled in close so that his lips were near hers and she had to resist that old urge to close the gap between them. "We should head home. It's getting late. And I have a feeling Ms. Kerr might be waiting up for us."



The doors to the small building were shut and locked. Then Amberle and Henry were on their way walking through the rain.

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