Couldn't Mourn Forever part 1, 143

Village centre, Fire Moon 143.

"Out of the way, Caleb! Tegan has lousy aim!" Sivu yelled as his sister prepared to take her shot at the goal.

Another Bad Omen, 143

Burial grounds, Fire Moon 143.

On one hand, Zita couldn't quite believe this was happening. She knew Branch felt silly in the traditional white facepaint, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know what was going through Dayvid's head right now.

Unwelcome News, 134

Lluza, winter, 134
Asken is 35; Tia is 35: Briar is 12; Treneskris, Hatiro, Katari, Evrezeya & Kehansen are 3

narrated by Briar

Hey Aralata. I really need to talk to you right now.

You're not going to believe this - you're probably not going to like it either, I know I don't.

My mother came up to me this morning while I was doing my chores, and she told me that...

New Beginnings, 133

Lluza, winter, 133

Arafa and Markal's wedding was approaching fast. The first one to be held in Lluza, and to be honest Arafa wasn't quite sure she was ready for Markal's kids being around all the time as well as her own.

A Lot to Talk About, 133

VT says: Hi everyone! I'll be away for the month of June (again) but I wanted to get one more post up before then.

Since my last story post, the Pets & Apartment Life Sim Bin premades managed to slip into Kulo Seeri, and half the tribe left due to overcrowding, heading further north and establishing the village of Lluza.

Anyway... here, have an update. I won't be around to post any more until July, but I will be taking screenshots for future posts during what little Sim time I get. :)

**********

Love Troubles, Spring 131

Spring 131

Markal Go is 34; Abina & Kenda zan-Avira are 10; Moluu zan-Ace is 7

The last few months had been hard on Markal's family.

Abina had lost her sight last winter, and Aralata and Kitira had left for Teal Camp not long after the first spring thaws. The family was still struggling with a lack of food and resources from a fire just before the older twins moved out. They'd had help from the rest of the tribe, but even with two fewer mouths to feed it was clear that they barely had enough to get by. Markal's mother, who had come from SimNation as a young woman, would have called them "broke".

And then, less than a month ago, Zade had walked out. After that, it felt like nothing would ever recover.

Birthday Special: Mission to TS4

Sorry for disappearing again, everyone. You know how it is when everyday stuff gets in the way of blogging, right? Anyway, Sunday was my birthday, and that means it's (slightly late) special post time!

Dream Sequence: Zita

Emergency Meeting, Year 119

Year 119, fourth quarter
Casey z.Ellen is 69, Li Yoo is 60, Kim Yoo is 26

Daniel was late.

Li wouldn't have minded as much, but he'd been the one to call this emergency meeting in the first place.

Stranger Things Happen, Bluesky 29

Skyday, Bluesky 24th 29 A.G.S.

Rommy zan-Ace (55), Zareb zan-Ace (6)

One year had passed since the Nuidya tribe had settled in Kulo Seeri; one year, for former chief Rommy zan-Ace, without the responsibilities of leading the tribe. For nearly thirty years, ever since the Great Storm, the Nuidya had looked to Rommy to get them through the difficult times that followed. Now that he had retired, those duties belonged to young Sena Seerijata zan-Avira, in whose honour the new settlement had been named.

Rommy had never seen himself as a leader before the Great Storm. He had always been the quiet, bookish type, preferring to keep to himself rather than socialising and chasing girls like his brothers had. Remy, his twin, used to call him... what was that funny city word he used to use? A dirk, or a dark, something like that. But the storm had changed all that, forcing the survivors - all seven of them -  to take on new responsibilities. Still, that was twenty-nine years ago. A new generation was growing up, and Rommy could enjoy his retirement... and there was one aspect of his new life in Kulo Seeri that he was particularly enjoying.

She had arrived at the village gates late last spring, saying she "wanted to meet her new neighbours", as if this was a suburban neighbourhood in SimNation and they had just moved in next door. She introduced herself as Jill Taylor, and spoke of strange, mystical things, great power and how to use it for good. Rommy's niece Soleil had even begun to learn some of these skills from the elderly woman, and more recently, so had Rommy himself.

He had to admit, he did look quite good in the hat and coat.

Mostly, though, he wore the fancy outfit to impress Jill. It was almost as if he was under a spell himself. Neither of them were young any more, but he was beginning to feel like a lovesick teenager again. The more they saw of each other, the stronger the feeling became, and over the next year, the sense of loss that had been with him since his ex-wife Manewa left began to fade.

Rommy now spent every spare moment studying, as he had done in his younger years - this time, though, knowledge itself was only half the motivation. This time, he mostly wanted to show off in front of a woman. Remy would have been proud.

Zareb, Rommy's young alien son, was equally fascinated by the newcomer. Whenever she visited, he would rush to meet her and immediately let loose a stream of questions ranging from "how do you make the brush fly?" to "where can I get one of those hats?"

She seemed to have infinite patience with the small child, although she couldn't always explain things in a way his six-year-old mind could easily grasp.

It was easily the most excited Rommy had ever seen his son, too - mostly Zareb, the only child in the village, was alone with his toys and books. Maybe he would develop similar powers when he grew older. Stranger things have happened, after all - Rommy still remembered his parents howling at the moon.

He had known what he needed to do for a long time, but was only just beginning to gather the courage to put his plans into action.

On Jill's next visit, the twenty-fourth of Bluesky by the new calendar, Rommy invited her to his home for the evening. Nothing unusual about that, he thought, she was around often enough. Nothing unusual about the visit, either, at least as far as there can be nothing unusual about a witch, a warlock and a half-alien child sharing sandwiches. As she was about to leave, however, Rommy prepared to take things to the next level.

"Wait - before you go, there's something I need to ask you."

(Zareb crouched in the vegetable patch behind them, under the pretence of pulling weeds)

As Jill turned around, Rommy made his move - city-style, with a ring and everything.

"I know this is a little sudden, but... but I love you, and I want us to be together... will you marry me?"

The words came out much more easily than they had thirty years earlier, when he asked Manewa the same question. There was a greater fear of rejection this time, but he couldn't put it off any longer. Trying to keep calm, he waited for the answer.

"Rommy, you are crazy..."

Oh, no... is there a rock I can go crawl under?

"But you are the sweetest crazy man I ever met. Of course I will."

Rommy leapt up to embrace his new fiancée.

Did that tomato plant just say "eww"?

*****

VT says: I actually wasn't planning on having any NPCs in the hood at all. I just forgot to tell the Visitor Controller to block them, and when Jill showed up, I thought I might as well have a couple of my Sims learn a little magic... and I certainly wasn't planning on her having two bolts of chemistry with Rommy, but what can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic, and (IMO) they are the cutest elder couple I have ever seen in four and a half years of playing the Nuidya.

28: First Day Away, Part 2

28 A.G.S. Monday, Spring 1
Girls' Camp, Kulo Kor: S'Ahmisa zan-Ace (15), Larkspur zan-Avei (15), Uchenna zan-Avira (13), Elle zan-Ace (12), Clarisse zan-Avei (12)


"I'd love to know who came up with this brainwave," Clarisse grumbled. "Why can't we just have a party or something when we come of age? I could handle a party. A whole season in the wilderness, on the other hand..."


"...is supposed to build character and create strong bonds between the young adults of the tribe." Uchenna zan-Avira completed the sentence, though not in the way Clarisse had intended.


"Anyway," she went on, "if you don't want to stay and become an adult with the rest of us, Your Highness, then you can just pack up right now and go back to SimNation."

"Shut up!" Clarisse shouted, sticking her fingers in her ears. True, she wasn't technically Nuidya, having come to the tribe from foster care in SimCity. Maybe she wasn't quite cut out for the Nuidya life. Why did she have to live with the constant reminders?

*****

At the other end of the campsite, the two oldest girls sat on the grass, talking about the next four days, what they would do when they returned - and, strangely enough, about SimNation and the rest of the world outside Kulo Seeri.

It was a subject that S'Ahmisa zan-Ace had been thinking about a lot recently. She had always known that she was named after a resident of Apple Valley, who had been a friend of her father and visited one of the old villages when she was a baby. What she didn't know was what things were like out there, and now, approaching adulthood, she wanted to find out.

"Maybe I could travel to another hood one day," she said to her best friend Larkspur. "I think it would be different travelling because you want to go somewhere new, not just because you have to."

Larkspur rolled her eyes. No Nuidya could survive in the city, everyone knew that. It was crazy to even think about it. Still, she wasn't going to crush her friend's ambitions.

"I guess so. I mean, Sims have come here from SimNation before, so... maybe it would be OK for one of us to go there." she replied after a moment's hesitation. And maybe the moons will land in the village centre and tap dance for us, too, she thought. A Nuidya in SimNation is like a fish in the desert.

*****

Kulo Kor is not a desert, and there is no shortage of fish in its waters. Both boys and girls had been given fishing equipment before leaving Kulo Seeri, and with the day moving along, Elle zan-Ace was taking the opportunity to learn to use it before what little food they had brought ran out.

"Need any help over there?" Uchenna picked up one of the spare poles and joined Elle at the side of the pond. "We could use some more supplies, and I could use some intelligent company. That Clarisse - I'm so glad our family didn't get stuck with her!"

Elle just managed to suppress a snort. Like Clarisse, Elle was one of the six children the tribe had taken in seven years ago. The two had known each other from preschool before being adopted, and Elle would be the first to admit that her friend's demanding ways drove everybody crazy. But...

"There's a good heart beneath the diva exterior, you know. It's just hard to notice it when she's flouncing about in that ridiculous dress, looking for a show to steal."

Uchenna quickly learned not to try recasting while laughing at sarcastic remarks.

*****

Meanwhile, the subject of the conversation was lounging on her bed inside the larger of the two cabins. Her daydreams were starting to give way to thoughts of her parents, who would have moved into the Elders' Lodge now that both their daughters were away.

Dad should be telling me to get up and help with the chores right now.

Mum should be doing that irritating mock bow when I walk in. I kinda miss that.

Never thought I'd miss them this much. Are they missing me, or are they just relieved that I'm out of the house?

I wonder if there are bears on this island? They wouldn't let us go if there were... would they?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of four other teenage girls outside the cabin door, yelling something about cooking fish.

Ick. I hope they're saying they've done it so I don't have to.

*****

VT says: I started this post yesterday, but didn't have time to finish it. Coming on today to find I've got my first follower gave me the motivation to finish it. I don't know who you are, but thank you. Major confidence boost there.