Saturday, December 8, 2012

Chapter 29: Book of Fables


"I've been reading Kvornan's grimoire," Aouregan says.
"So, what's in there? The secret of immortality? A recipe for transmuting base metals into gold?" Farrell asks.

"What it appears to be is a book of fables. I even recognize some of the stories, the tales my mother used to tell me."

"And you think there's some hidden message in all that?" Farrell asks.

"I don't really know. But Kvornan did say it contained the key to great power."


"Maybe he just really likes fairy tales," Farrell says, pulling her close to him.

"I think it's more than that," Aouregan chucks softly, "But whatever knowledge is in there is hidden well, and I may never discover it. Perhaps I'm too familiar with the stories to see any deeper into them. But maybe our children will figure it out. At the very least, it makes for a fine family heirloom."


Adolescence brings many changes, and for young witches, it brings on new surges of power. 


Shadow embraces his gift, and goes to his mother for instruction on controlling and increasing his magical abilities.


Aurora has inherited her mother's talent as well, but she has her father's mind, and even his skepticism. Though she possesses magic, she does not trust it, and prefers the more logical pursuit of science and mathematics.


"Tell me a story," Shadow requests. Iola came home from school with him so they could do their homework together, but an afternoon of memorizing dull facts is not as interesting to him as hearing the tales she can weave, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Once upon a time," she begins, as she always does, because there is a formula that must be followed, "A very long time ago, there was a dragon. He was out alone, not hunting. Just exploring. This particular dragon was not as happy in his nest as his brothers were, and often went out on his own, just to be by himself. While he was out he saw, from a distance, a pair of men, hunting. Now, this was the first time the dragon had ever seen humans; until very recently, none of their kind had ever been to the part of the world where these dragons lived. So of course, the dragon was very curious about these new creatures. But, as curious as he was, he was even more interested in their prey. The men were hunting a horse, but it was no ordinary horse."

"A unicorn?" Shadow guesses.

"No, not a unicorn," Iola  says, with an indulgent smile, "The men shot their arrows at the horse, and wounded, she transformed back to her true shape. You see, she was a fairy who had taken the form of a horse. The dragon was smitten by her beauty, and fell on the hunters, exacting terrible revenge for what they done to the fairy."

"She died?"

"No, but she was gravely injured. The dragon lifted her up into his arms and carried her to the other fairies to be healed." 


"His arms? If he was a dragon, wouldn't he have claws, and wings?"

"Only when he chooses to. Dragons have two forms, you see, the great lizard form we associate them with, and their secret form, which is actually very similar to a human's."

"Are you just making this up as you go along?" Shadow laughs, "Or did you you read this somewhere?"

"I'm not making it up," Iola answers, "It is written in our records. But I haven't read that history; I've seen it, Shadow. Because it's your history,"

"My history? How?"

"That dragon and that fairy are your ancestors."

"And you know this how?"

"You inherited your mother's talent, her magic. Well, I inherited something from my father, too. I see the past. All the stories I've ever told you have been the histories I've seen in other people."

"Why haven't you ever told me this before?" Shadow asks.

"Because I'm not supposed to talk about it," she says, "And it's the kind of thing most people will just think you are making up, or worse, think you are crazy for saying. I'm glad you believe me, Shadow," she finishes with a slight blush, "I don't like keeping secrets from you."


"What else have you been keeping from me?" Shadow asks with a laugh, pouncing on her and pulling her down onto the floor with him, "Confess, or I'll have to torture you," he says, tickling her until she doubles over in laughter.


"I do have one more secret to confess," she whispers as they lay on the rug together, panting to catch their breath.

"Let me go first," Shadow says, smiling affectionately, "My secret is that I love you. Now, it's your turn."

"That's not a secret, Shadow," Iola says, "You told me you loved me when we were children."

"I guess I did," Shadow says, "But we were just kids...I'm serious, now. I love you. I want you to be my girlfriend."

"I already am your girlfriend, Shadow. You just hadn't asked yet," she answers him, "I don't see the future as often or as clearly as I can see the past, but every vision I've ever had of us, every possible future I've glimpsed, we've been together."

"So that's your other secret, you have the sight? Like my mother?"

Iola nods.

"Are we going to be happy?" he asks.

"It's just glimpses into futures that might be. I don't see everything that's going to happen," she says quietly. "What I've seen of us, though, is very happy."

Shadow smiles and squeezes her hand. "Here's to our future, then."


"So, what's he deal with your brother and my sister?" Kyle asks Jesse, no looking up from his homework. He'd never been close friends with Jesse Horner before, but now that Delaney has gone head over heels for his delinquent brother, Kyle made a point of inviting home with him after school to question him.

"I stay out of Jack's business," Jesse says, a little harshly. It's enough of a struggle coming out from under his father's reputation as the town loser, and having Jack as a brother just makes it harder. He had hoped when Kyle invited him over he was finally going to get a chance at making a friend who wasn't going to hold his family history against him, but once again it's all about Jack.


"Hey, Kyle," Cassidy calls, barging into her brother's room, "Oh, where's Kyle?" she asks his guest who she finds alone in Kyle's room.

"He went down to kitchen, he'll be back up in a minute, he said," Jesse tells her.

"You're Jesse Horner," Cassidy says, "Your brother..."

"Is dating your sister, I know," Jesse sighs, "And you'd rather he weren't. I'd rather he wasn't related to me, but I can't do anything about that, either."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean--"

"No, it's all right," Jesse says, trying to recover from his bad first impression on the pretty teen, "It's just, no one ever sees me, they just see Jack's brother, you know?"

"Actually I do know. I'm Delaney's sister, after all. Sure, she's no Jack Horner, but she's the one that gets all the attention." 


"I'd be happy to pay attention to you," Jesse says smiling flirtatiously.

"Aren't you going steady with Wren Woods?" Cassidy rebuffs his advances.


Unaware that her siblings are busy grilling Jesse for information, Delaney is downstairs writing a love letter to Jack, who couldn't come home with her this afternoon because he's in detention.


New wrinkles have sparked a midlife crisis for Elliot. "My career is over and I'm getting old," he says to Claire, "I must not be as attractive to you know I was when me met."


"Elliot, you just get more handsome as you mature," Claire gushes, "And I'm the luckiest woman in Drake's Hollow to be with you." 


Late that evening, Jack Horner pays a visit to the Brannon house, tossing pebbles up at Delaney's window to get her attention.



Delaney gets up to investigate the noise, and seeing Jack waiting for her, she dresses quickly and runs downstairs to meet him.


They sneak off together to hang out outside the sports club by the driving range that no one visits at night.


"So, I've heard a rumor that you're the one who stole all the chalk from the teacher's supply closet," Jack says as they sit close together, watching the stars.

"Huh, I didn't think anyone saw me," Delaney answers.

"You know what people are going say, Laney. That I'm a bad influence on you..."



"I don't care what people say, Jack, about you, or me," Delaney says, sitting up to lean in close to him, "We're our own world, we don't need any of them telling us who to be or what to do."

_______________________________________________________________


Having 5 teens in the house at once makes it very hard to pay attention to all of them. I didn't realize until after I was going through my screenshots for this chapter that I only had one pic of Aurora as a teen. And not a very good pic, either, lol.

So, Jesse Horner comes home with the kids after school. He is going stedy with another teen in town, but he has the flirty trait, and he kept flirting with Cassidy. Then she'd flirt back and he'd reject her flirts because he's in a relationship. I managed to get a pic of the one time Cassidy spurned his flirt attempt. Later that night I got an SP pop up saying he and his girlfriend broke up.  haven't decided if Cassidy will pursue him or not.


Shadow's favorite color is pink. Making a pink bedroom for a teenage boy is a challenge in itself.
Other favorite colors in this family: Kyle and Delaney like Spiceberry, Cassidy likes Hot Pink, Aurora likes White, Farrel like Spice Brown, Aouregan likes one of the dark green shades, and Elliot likes White. Shelly was into Hot Pink.


Obligatory 'this chili is too hot' pic.

34 comments:

  1. As always, you have beautiful design sense. <3

    Poor Jack.

    I had a feeling the Hawksquill girl would get the gift. =) It'll be cool to see what other stories she tells over time.

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    1. Thank you, Becky.
      I've a;so some done some decorating in their living room and the sun room, but I have used that in shots yet. I figure by the time this generation has done, I will have gone above and beyond both the Luxury and Expansionist rolls.

      I think you meant poor Jesse? Because Jack isn't in much of a pitiable situation this chapter. And of course, mistaking Jesse for his brother just adds insult to injury...lol.

      The Hawksquill gift runs really strong. I did enjoy having her encapsulate one of the Summerdream chapters as a little fable.

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    2. Yeah, I meant Jesse. Oops. ^^'

      Hey! Isn't it good to see me slip up on a name?

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    3. No, it's worrisome. *pokes Becky's brain*

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    4. *carefully sweeps up brain shards*

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    5. Don't get MorcuCorp get hold of those...

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    6. I'm sorry, but the army of Becky clones is already in production...

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  2. Uh oh--rebellious girl! :P

    I like Shadow and Iola as a couple---they are too cute. I hope the Happy part stays true!

    I'm curious about the hidden knowledge in the book of fables---

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    1. Yeah, Delaney has her rebellious side. That might be what attracts her to Jack in the first place.

      Iola and Shadow do make a nice couple, and they do understand each other well coming from the backgrounds they come from.

      I'm quite sure the old book of fables will be coming up again. =D

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  3. I know you only had one picture of Aurora, but she looks lovely anyways, very much like her Mom. I appreciate she's the more 'logical' one and Shadow's the magical / mystical one of the twins, how neat!

    I expect they'll figure out just what those 'fables' are about in the book and I look forward to seeing how things shake out for Delaney and Cassidy too. Phew, all those teenagers, yeah that's gotta be tough!

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    1. Aurora actually has a weird face when you see it straight on. She got a lot of her mother's features, but I'm guessing the facial structure came from Farrell and they don't exactly blend well. I'll try to get more pics of her in upcoming updates.
      Shadow seems to have gotten his mother's face with only his father's hair color. I am a little sad neither really looks like Farrell, but that's how it goes.
      I'd love to be able to devote more time to each teen, but it really is hard to keep track of them all.

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  4. I still love Delaney, even if she does have her rebellious moments. I feel that Aurora, with her logical mind may be able to interpret the book differently than one with a strong attachment to magic. Perhaps she will figure it out. Along that line of thoughts, if Aouregan shared with Farrell maybe he could help.

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    1. I was a rebellious teen myself, so I totally relate to Delaney and her thing for Jack. If she's lucky it won't get her into trouble.

      Maybe a logical mind could interpret the book differently, if the logical mind could get past the talking animals and such. I know a lot of logical types that just kind of shut down when presented with magical world views. But, it's true that someone like Farrell probably wouldn't be that rigid in his world view, hving had to deal with magic head on as often as he has.

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  5. I'm happy to see Jack and Delaney together. I'm still hoping that the two of them end up happy together and not that some plot twist happens. But then, that's just the romantist in me.

    Great chapter! I'm excited to see where all these relationships lead.

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    1. Thanks, Tsuki!
      I understand, I'm a bit of a romanticist, too.
      Jack and Delaney are cute together, even if they are troublemakers.

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  6. Jack and Delaney - thick as thieves. Sorry, had to be said. :P

    I like them together; they seem like they understand each other, although I'm not entirely sure this isn't just a phase that Delaney is going through to be... I don't know... herself? Maybe separate from her sister? Unique? I hope there isn't heartbreak in either of their futures and that Jack is able to prove everyone wrong that he *can* be something. Maybe he feels he has to act that way because everyone already perceives him as a "troublemaker"? /rant.

    Anyway - great chapter! I can't wait to see what you have in store for all those pesky teens (especially Iola and Shadow).

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    1. LOL, good one Giga!
      It is hard to tell with teens, if they are forming their real personality or going through a phase and acting out. It's certainly true that Jack could just be going with what is expected of him. We'll have to see what the future brings them, and Iola and Shadow.

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  7. Shadow is cute!

    Also, I love seeing the teenagers interacting, with all their drama.

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    1. I think Shadow is cute, too. And my teens do have lots of drama this generation.

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  8. Shadow and Iola are adorable. I hope that their future does't rip them apart. The story should start, once upon a time, two hundred years ago, haha... aren't they all two hundred years ago? Loved their scene.
    I still say Jack has a bad reputation because he likes sweet things ;) And He got the pie in Delaney ^_^
    Love this story ...

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    1. LOL, well, I'd be lying if I set that story two hundred years ago, since it was a good 20-30,000 years ago.

      Yes, Delaney pie...And he stuck in his thumb and pulled out a plum? Oh, dear.

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  9. Cool, a key to great power hidden in a book of childhood fables! I love it :)

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    1. Thanks, Ali! I've been reading about the shamanic roots of some fables and how some of them detail the shamanic spirit journey, and that's been inspiring me a lot on this story line,

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  10. I love Iola and Shadow. Hopefully they'll make some pretty babies together. I'm still not won over by Jack OR Jesse. Although, I feel your pain with all the ridiculous flirt-spurn nonsense just because one of the Sims has a partner. Stupid psychic relationship police.

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    1. Yes, I'm curious about what Shadow and Iola's babies would look like.
      Though Jesse is no Jack, as he keeps trying to point out, he does have that flirty trait. I get annoyed that the flirty trait will make them flirt autonomously with other Sims but when the target of their flirting flirts back, it's all 'eww, I'm in a relationship'. I wish EA's coding were a little more fine tuned.

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  11. I love that last picture of Delaney and Jack. They look really good together, and I think I'm secretly a bit invested in them, so I really hope Jack doesn't break her heart in any way!

    Iola and Shadow are also oh so cute. Your sims always look so uniquely gorgeous. <3

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    1. Thanks, Elly,
      There are a few readers who want to see Jack and Delaney end up happy together. We'll see...

      Shadow's looks mostly come from his mother, but he may have his father's nose. I like him and Ila together, too.

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  12. I am kind of in love with Iola and Shadow's relationship. <3 I look forward to catch up with that generation as well. And that last pic of Delaney and Jack is really pretty. Even if he turns out to have bad influence on her, they are awfully cute together.

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    1. I love Iola and Shadow so much!
      Their generation has been a lot of fun for me so far.

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  13. lol, I try to decorate according to the sim's favorite color - but I don't think I would have attempted a pink room for a boy. I should learn to be so indulgent. :P

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    1. I admit I enjoyed doing Shadow's pink color theme a little too much in this generation.

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  14. Shadow and Iola are just so incredibly adorable together. I feel sorry for Jesse. It must be tough living in the shadow of an older brother who has a bad reputation. The last picture with Delaney and Jack was very sweet, and I hope everything turns out alright. They're just harmless troublemakers. Let's hope it stays that way.

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    1. Yah, it has been tough for Jesse, being Jack's brother.
      Shadow and Iola really are just the sweetest couple. <3

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