Not In SimNation, Summer 97

We now return to our regularly scheduled blog. No more interruptions (let's hope).

Stoneday, Bluesky 6, 97

Viru is 45; Lily is 42; Serendipity is 18; Larkspur is 17; Clarisse is 16 (Hestrie zan-Avira is 16)

Serendipity had been in Kulo Seeri for three months now.

Coming from Apple Valley to the tiny tribal village in the middle of nowhere had taken some getting used to, but she was starting to settle in and enjoy her new life. She was staying with one of the Nuidya families until she found her feet in the new setting. Viru and Lily zan-Avei had been welcoming and supportive, but between Viru's duties as raganga (shaman) of the tribe and an unexpected late pregnancy, they didn't tend to be around (or awake) that much. Most of what Serendipity now knew of Nuidya life, she'd picked up from their daughters Larkspur and Clarisse... or from Hestrie zan-Avira.

She'd met Hestrie at his twin sister's betrothal celebration (which had been the first big hint that "we're not in SimNation any more!" - Hestrie and his sister were sixteen; the groom-to-be was a year younger and apparently had a brother the same age who was already married). Despite him being a couple of years younger than her, they had become good friends over the last few months - maybe something more, he did seem to enjoy flirting, but Serendipity wasn't too sure on that one.

As well as finding out more about Kulo Seeri from Hestrie, she'd been trying to answer his questions about life outside it... with limited success. She was starting to get used to saying things like "No, SimNation isn't just one enormous city" or "Pet demons, Hestrie?" about fifteen times in one conversation. The most recent of those conversations - about how different the sort of jobs back home were to the Nuidya definition of "work" - had been interrupted by Larkspur, wanting to talk to Serendipity in private.

"Are you serious about Hestrie?" she asked.

Serendipity was not expecting that question. "I don't know... why?"

"Because. If you are... I'd advise you not to be. He'll probably stick around for a night or two and then lose interest.

"Trust me on this one. It happened to Clarisse. She told me they woohooed at Amin and Uchenna's betrothal party, and he's been completely ignoring her since."

And that's when he started talking to me, Serendipity thought. She couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. Hestrie hadn't seemed like that type at all.

Well. She'd arranged to meet up with him in the evening. He'd hear about it then.

*****

"Amiray, Serendipity!"

Hestrie's casual Maltiazi "hi!" was met with absolute silence.

"Uh... is something up?"

"You know very well what's up. I know you were with Clarisse before. You do know the world doesn't revolve around you? Maybe if you'd thought about how she'd feel about being ditched right after..."

"Ditched? We were never together in the first place! What... oh. You... you know about the party?"

Serendipity didn't reply, but her look clearly said "duh".

"What happened with Clarisse... just... well, I was never really that interested in her in the first place. She was the one who wanted to get together." He smiled and put his arms around her. "Then you turned up."

She couldn't stay annoyed with him for long. He was just too...

"Oh. Hi, Clarisse."

*****

In a village as small as Kulo Seeri, there were very few secrets and even fewer that stayed that way for long. Things that were kept hidden were nearly always things that would hurt someone in some way if they got out. Aurora zan-Ace knew that a little too well. It wasn't like she'd ever pretended to be Kim's mother or anything.

As Clarisse's former mentor, responsible for preparing her for the rite of passage into adulthood - not to mention the fact that she had been in a similar situation herself a few years ago - Aurora had been the first Sim the younger woman told about her, Hestrie and Serendipity. She'd managed to resolve the situation with her husband and Li Yoo that time. Hopefully, she'd be able to do it again for the young trio.

"Sims do these things sometimes," she explained. "It's not like they're thieves who deliberately set out to steal your heart or your boyfriend and then vanish into the sunset. Not in every situation, anyway. It wasn't the case when it happened to me, and I doubt it's the case with you two. Serendipity, you didn't know that anything had gone on between Hestrie and Clarisse, am I right?"

"No. I didn't know. If I did... things wouldn't have gone that way. I certainly wasn't planning our future or anything like that, and if you think I'm going to consider it now..."

"You have to admit," Clarisse butted in, "he is pretty sweet. Like one of those big sugary desserty things I used to like when I lived in SimCity." She giggled, then went on, "But I've got to admit - too much of him can make you sick!"

"Does this mean you're not interested in Hestrie any more?" Aurora asked.

"Well, I'm always going to like him. It's just... now I know about it all, I think I'd probably be better off with someone with a slightly longer attention span!"

*****

Serendipity still felt a little bad about not breaking it off with Hestrie. Clarisse didn't seem to mind too much any more, but still... only a few days after their discussion with Aurora, and somehow they'd reached the exact same point in their relationship that Hestrie had lost interest in Clarisse after. She didn't want to be in that situation, but for whatever reason, she still wanted this one.

Part of her was saying "Bad idea. I give it three days."

That part of her could be right, it could be wrong, but right now, she wasn't listening.
**********
Here's a bonus picture: Lily zan-Avei and her newborn son Otolo. Sorry about the lighting, but I'm sure there'll be a lot more pics of Otolo in broad daylight in future updates.

Completely Useless Factoid: I name all my Nuidya Sims in Maltiazi, a language I created for that purpose. Otolo's name means "a plant that grows or ripens late in the season" - Larkspur was Viru and Lily's only biological child and they'd tried for another for years. Otolo came along after they both reached their forties and gave up. They were expecting another within 12 hours of his birth - @$£!^& ACR. XD