3.2 Auribus Teneo Lupum

warning: language, gore

     It was a rare occurance that someone would find the summerday in the city directly cold, but compared to Isla Paradiso it felt like going from boiling water to a glacier. Summerbreeze felt like icecicles and he was still partially waiting for his skin to burn as soon as he went outside the house. As long as he didn't slip up and forget sunscreen he'd be good.
     For Ian the honeymoon had been a beautiful experience, even if his new wife could seem a bit insensitive at times. The poor thing couldn't help it though, she'd been through so much in her young life. He'd enjoyed their time together, and it had been a nice gesture of his father- in- law to pay for their honeymoon. Others might have gotten insultet, taken it as a sign that he wasn't capable of taking care of his wife himself. Ian didn't have that problem, he knew his father- in- law well enough to know that wasn't the case.

     A couple of days before they left, she'd insisted on going for a walk on her own and he hadn't been difficult to persuade. This places sun was murder for his poor skin. He'd watched the rain start pouring down, trying to phone her just to find she'd left it at their room. Before he'd gotten worried enough to search for her, she'd showed up. Her clothes and hair soaked from the rain that had appeared as suddenly as it disappeared. She'd taken him completely by surprise when she'd straddled him. Her skin still damp from the rain, Skuld had tasted salty and had been all smiles and seduction. Ian loved seeing her that way; all free and careless.

     Now that they were back home whatever had ridden her those days was gone. Skuld was back to her usual self, working at her alchemytable barely noticing anything around her, including him. If he tried touching her, she snared at him to get off her. Ian understood, he'd already made up his mind that he'd be there for her. No matter how snippy she could be at times. She wasn't like that constantly, and he would save her no matter how long it took. Because he loved her.

     He'd taken up business by finding old things on the dump and fix it up, even if his lovely wife called it dumpster diving. And she was right, but how else would be able to find old things to fix? Sims didn't have the slightest idea to what they actually had in their homes. They took beautiful items and treasures and just threw it out like it was trash! Then went and bought some new factory- made, massproduced crap. Sims were strange in their quest to get the most modern and up to date furniture.
     He was pretty sure he'd never get used to the smell, and most that went past him mistook him for beeing homeless and/or poor. If they had known what they were missing and how much they polluted as a result of their consumer- personalities, maybe more sims would have thought about this?

     This dumpster didn't seem to contain any hidden treasure though. Ian irritatedly kicked it so the lid closed. It wasn't the most stable- income career.
     Skuld hadn't been to happy about it and didn't understand why he couldn't get a real job. He never said the same to her, even if he technically could. Alchemy wasn't even a job even if the potions sold pretty well from what he understood. To think that so many sims thought a simple ointment or drink could make anything alright! He did his best not to judge. If the sim believed it helped it was probably all good. She'd lightened up a bit about it when he'd brought home insects, metals and gems for her. Turned out his career could help hers.
     All in all their work didn't really matter. Skulds fund kept a relatively steady income, and they make an okay ammount of simoleons on their own. It didn't give them a high end life, but they were able to keep a rather good lifestyle without the big expenses. Atleast that's what Skuld said, he didn't have any control over their economy. She was better at it than him anyway, and he trusted her word, but she still complained about them not making enough. So it was a good thing that he was good at finding items on sale.

    The large, old workstation her dad had once given her was still in good use. It was one of the things she didn't want new. She liked this old one, the way it scented the basement and how the worn down wood always felt so smooth to the touch. It wasn't on her mind right now; it was the quest for eternal life and youth. It didn't matter where she looked, or what she mixed she wasn't capable the potential theories behind it. Which should be what she would imagine a potion like that would consist of! She knew more than enough about the subject, so why couldn't she figure it out?

     Beeing a genious, she wasn't used to not understanding. Things always came easily for her, it was simple. Then what was it that she didn't understand? Failing wasn't an option for someone as magnificent as her! She was better than this, better then anyone alive and she deserved the best of everything. Who else deserved to be young and beautiful whilst living an eternity if not her? Maybe she could talk to that bitchfairy again? Her mum was that overgrown mosquitos stepmum, so why not? What was the worst that could happen?

     Finding bitchfairy was an easy task; now she just needed to keep her tongue in place and call her Merete instead. Skuld was a bit ashamed of beeing married to a supernatural, but it also made her a good sim and Ian should be thankful she even wanted him. Standing outside a supernaturals house was embarassing to. Usually Skuld wouldn't show herself to close to any of "those", but she could live with it when it was to her advantage. Ofcourse Merete would love to help her, who wouldn't want to do everything to make her life better?

     Some old hag came limping down the hallway, leaning heavy on a cane; so Skuld put on her best pretend- friendly face. At first she thought it was bitchfairy, but the raisin lacked wings. No one liked the elderly did they? They reminded Skuld of what she wanted to avoid- to think this one had been young and pretty once. Well, atleast young.

     The old troll seemed startled for a second, maybe she hadn't seen her throught the glass- but that didn't keep her from starting. Maybe if Skuld hadn't been so heavy in thought about Merete, she would've gotten who the old crust was pretty quickly.

     May I help you young lady? It was something about the old troll that made it obvious she wasn't aware of where she was. Now that Skuld bothered looking she noticed the squinty eyes- Clearly the eyesight was far from good.
     I'm sorry, Skuld smeared on the sweetest smile, voice and manners: I was looking for Merete. I was under the impression she lived here. Then she had to repeat it again with a louder voice, as the old lady had problems hearing to.

     Finally she smiled: Merete's on the phone. Would you like to come inside and wait? Clearly the old troll didn't think about the fact she might have let someone dangeroud into her home. Not that Skuld was dangerous in any way, she just removed sims that didn't serve a purpose. That was different.
     I'd love to, Skuld said with her kindest voice: Thank you so much!

     She could actually hear bitchfairy walking and talking in another room. Why did it seem so silly that a supernatural used a cellphone? What was so special about the anyway? They couldn't even communicate with eachother without a simple phone? It didn't matter what they called themselves, they were still cattle.
     The troll was still looking at her, smiling, before finally saying: You're a very pretty young lady. Ofcourse she was, what a stupid thing to say. But she managed to force out a smile and gracefully, seemingly shy said: Thank you.... As long as the troll didn't offer ancient cookies or sticky old- sims candy.

     I used to be pretty in my youth to, the old troll said. Skuld doubted it, but still answered: You still are... making the old lady smile. She was a master at sucking up when she wanted to. It was a good idea to charm her, incase the bitchfairy got a big difficult. Not that she had any reason to. After all, who would wish to not make her happy?
     You look awefully familar though, she said out of the blue: What's your dads name? What was this about? Skuld was getting a bit irritated; please don't tell me that dad has humped this one to. Dad was so gross. She even started to wish Merete would be done on the phone soon, to save her from this old crust.

     With all the talking granny did, Skuld hadn't noticed the woman on the porch. As she entered she said: Now mum, let's not bother the guest all that much. I'm sorry, she talked to Skuld now: Mum's a bit forgetful at times. Aren't you mum? Is there anything I can help you with? 
     This was not like her, first she didn't know Merete lived with an old lady; then there was another woman present to? She really should have looked deeper into the adresse before visiting: I was looking for Merete.
     Mum, why don't you go and tell Merete that someone is waiting for her? The troll smiled and nodded finally leaving to tell bitchfairy. It was tough work pretending to be friendly.

     When the old lady first went, it didn't take long before Merete entered the room. She was far from as tall as Skuld remembered, but that supergirly cutesy voice was still annoying. The difference was that she no longer looked the part as age also had started taking a hold of the supernatural.
     Leah, take your mum out and grab something to eat. Me and this one have to speak a bit privately. Despite that voice she had a lot of authority going, even if Skuld couldn't remember that either. She mainly remembered the tale she'd told and ofcourse her first time seeing a sim dying. It was one of her best memories. Bitchfairy waited until they'd left the house before she kept talking.

     Eying her up and down for a while, Merete finally talked: If it isn't the little blondie that caused my father to die.. What could you possibly want with me? Clearly not one for pleasantries, but Skuld couldn't have cared less if the fairy liked her or not. That didn't mean she wasn't aware that it was easier catching flies with honey, and since this one had wings, Skuld did her very best beeing nice: It's nice seeing you again Merete. You know, my husband and I are trying to start a family. I just couldn't stop thinking about my own and the mother I've never met.... Taking a look around the room, Skuld wondered if Merete was really a granny in disguise because this room looked like it'd been designed by someone ancient.

     The old troll that had been in there made the place stink of old sims to, like moths and dust. Old sims were so gross. Merete didn't seem impressed with her smooth talking skills, but Skuld was sure she'd be persuaded eventually: Then I realized that you are the closest thing I have to her! She tried her best looking sad: I just wish to have some contact with you, and her. I'd love to get to know you better and....
     Cut the crap, that sweet voice promised flowers and sunshine no matter how hard she tried sounding like an authority: You just met your mother and halfsister and barely even looked at them. And you and your mother look quite alike, despite her beeing old and grey.

     That ugly old troll had been her mother?! They didn't look anything like eachother, no matter what that bloody fairy said! She was beautiful and the granny was hideous! It was a lot worse having Merete seeing straight through her though, but wasn't one of Skulds many talents making sims doubt themselves? Who was better than her making sims feel low and wanting to make her happy: That was... that was... She looked shock and ready to cry: But.. I wished I... could you phone them and make them come back? Maybe we could...
     Do you really believe that'll work? It wasn't easy tricking a trickster and Skuld really needed bitchfairy on her side.

     So instead she did what her type usually does when getting busted; got angry and accusive: I wouldn't have tried to trick you, if you hadn't...
     Didn't I just tell you to knock it off? Merete hadn't gotten any less cute, and clearly wasn't as dumb as she should have been: I'm a fairy. You can't pull that shit on me and expect it to work. Then she pulled a smug, victorious grin, irritating the heck out of Skuld. She hated fairies: Now spit it out, or I'll send you out of her puking gold to match your golden locks. Did she just make a terrible wordplay? That was so annoying! This woman was even more irritating than Ian!

     Skuld didn't have a habit of responding to threats, but anything to avoid more wordplay: You told me it was possible to live forever and you'll tell me how. Cutting to the core didn't help either as that giant mosquito actually laughed at her: Why would I tell you? 
     What was the point of responding with a question, she was supposed to "yes": Because I can make it happen! Who could do that if not her? She didn't want to end up like a stinking granny: After you told me, I can't stop thinking about it. I'm a great alchemist, probably the best that has ever been. If anyone can do it, it's me. 
     What are you waiting for then? Merete laughed at her again, she hated beeing laughed at.

     If I could, I'd done it by now. Acid dripping from Skulds lips, she hated that fairy: But I can't do it on my own. Whatever the secret is, it defies common logics. I haven't missed anything but none of my attempts have worked. You're a supernatural, you've got to know something!
     Merete kept laughing, making Skuld angrier by the second, but she was willing to humiliate herself to make this happen. And if she had eternal life, it meant she'd have an eternity giving this winged bitch a lot of pain: Just tell me what I need to know, and I'll share it with you. 
     That made that sweet giggle stop dead.

     No you won't, Merete said: You'd never share anything like that with anyone. Besides.. for once she decided to share the truth. Even with what little she knew, she'd gotten it was a dangerous path to walk. Maybe she could get revenge for her father that way: ..a potion isn't enough. Not for an ordinary sim.
      I'm not ordinary, Skuld spit out, completely forgetting about catching flies with honey. Right now she wanted to strangle them with her bare hands.
     You sure aren't, bitchfairy smiled acidly: but in this case you are. There's no way in any bloody abyss you'll be able to do anything like that without the help of a real supernatural. One who already knows the secret. And there aren't any. She finished the sentence with a smile.
     There was no doubt Merete wanted one for herself, but strangely enough Skuld trusted the fairy was telling the truth. Or else she'd rub her nose in it.

     Skuld was to depressed to go back home after the meeting with Merete. Instead she headed to the park. The idea had been to catch some bugs, but even that couldn't salvage her mood. Not that she'd given up in any way, but how on simplanet was she going to find a supernatural that knew how to do that? Especially if Merete claimed there weren't any. Hopefully it meant no- one bitchfairy knew of. She'd delved deep into the library at university and found nothing. The cities libraries and antique vaults were equally useless, same as the alchemyshop and the new clerk. And now even the same supernatural that told her, claimed it couldn't happen.

     Despite all, the worst thing was that her own intellect and sense of logics had failed. That stung. Not even the humiliation of asking for help mattered in comparison. How could she fail? She never failed, she was perfect! Skuld was the emmbodiment of perfection, and she'd failed.
     For now she just wanted to get in a better mood. Skuld bet none of the cattle ever had problems like this. Their problems were lesser than hers, just like the so- called life they lived. They weren't valuable, like her. She could kill them and raise them back from the dead with her potions, no one else could do that. Not that she'd ever bothered giving anyone their life back, why would she want to do that? She could turn sims into supernaturals, make them loose weight with a simple ointment. It would have made her rich, but she didn't want fat sims the gift of getting thin! Or to make it easier for thin sims to stay that way!

     She was really the closest thing to a living god that had ever walked the face of simplanet. Though  now that she'd talked to bitchfairy, Skuld found herself wondering if it was possible to strip the supernaturals of their powers completely, or atleast to block them from using them someway. She had to check that later on.     Skuld really wanted to imrpove her mood a bit, to be happy like that useless woman crossing that park. Just look at her, completely unaware of her important problems. Other sims just didn't feel things like she did. They were lesser than her; that woman was lesser than her. Bet she'd never had real problems. What a useless form of life.

     She just wanted to see what ordinary, unimportant sims did on their sparetime. That's why she walked after her at a distance. It wasn't like she had any off plans, it was all about seeing what cattle did. It had to be simple, beeing one of them. Didn't she have the car parked around the area? Not that it meant anything ofcourse, just a thought that went through her head.

     Why would someone walk into a dark alleyway in this city, Skuld wondered as she followed the woman. Didn't she know these places were dangerous? Why would a single woman walk around in the dark and not expect something to happen? And why did she walk faster? She couldn't help feeling a thrilling senstion as the woman quickened her pace as she got closer. This was kind of fun. Why were cattle so easily terrified? Didn't she hear her clacking heels? It should be obvious that she was a woman, and everyone knew women were harmless.

     As the woman started looking around herself, staring into the shadows Skuld started having trouble staying serious. Finally the woman talked with a voice reeking of terror and uncertainty: Who... who is it?
     Skuld liked laughing at scared sims, but it was one thing she liked even better: Hi. She sounded as kind as possible, making her voice way lighter than it usually was. No one saw them after all, and there weren't any cameras either. But in case someone overheard them: I'm Diana... Diana Summerset. 
     Visibly realxing, the woman smiled back in the dim light and came closer: Wow, you startled me, she laughed, still a bit full of sinking adrenaline.

     I'm Khalia, her smile relaxed this time and she was short. A lot shorter than Skuld was. Almost the height difference of a man and woman.
     Khalia, Skuld repeated: That's an interesting name! Skuld said even if she didn't think so. Every name other than hers was terrible.
     My parents were originals, she laughed politely: Do you want to walk with me? Khalia sounded almost appologetic.
     Sure. Are you going far? Who knew? Maybe the woman had someone waiting for her, or meeting her halfway?
     Yeah, she answered actually looking a bit perplexed: I live on the other side of town, so I took a shortcut to the subway. She pulled a face at the thought.
      I'm going to the other side of town to, Skuld said: and my car's nearby. I can give you a lift. Atleast you won't get groped by strangers in my car. It was a tempting offer, it had to be. It was a lot better than feeling strange mens hands between the legs or on the breasts.

     Really? That would be great! Thank you! Seemed like Khalia didn't like getting groped either.
     No problem, Skuld smiled; We girls have to look after eachother; keep eachother safe. Right? Skuld had parked in a secluded spot, she always did. She just happened to have lots of valuable stuff in it; like knives, some potions, shower- in- a -can... just in case of emergency ofcourse.
     Khalia couldn't have agreed more.

     Look at that, female sims didn't look that different from males on the inside. Other than the female reproductive system ofcourse, but it didn't interest her that much. She acted completely different to; this one hadn't begged or even cried- she was just paralyzed and let it happen. To bad, Skuld liked it when they begged. But women tended to be braver then men.
     She'd taken the leatherstrap the woman had around the neck; it would be a shame letting it go to waste. It wasn't like Khalia needed it anymore now. Not that Skuld was going to wear it, but maybe she could use it for something someday maybe?

     She had to head home now, Ian probably wondered where she was.

     It was getting late and Ian had stayed up worrying about Skuld until he'd heard her taking a shower. She must have returned either when he was upstairs or in the kitchen. She probably didn't want to disturb him incase he'd be sleeping. Which would've been the normal thing to do at this hour. It was so cinsiderate of her, but he liked talking to her. So he sat quietly in the sofa waiting for her to come out of the bathroom.

     She looked a bit startled when she saw him, as she finally finished washing up. But it quickly dissapeared as soon as he started talking: Hi. Where have you been all these hours?
     Cracking into a smile, she answered: I looked for components, and completely lost track of time. I'm sorry... It was nice seeing how happy she was. She was so beautiful when she smiled.
     Ian just couldn't be mad at her for forgetting to call him: It's okay my love, I'm just happy you love your job so much. But you need to be careful so you don't overwork yourself.

       What was up with the look she kept giving him? She walked towards him, looking all sweet and giggly: What? He smiled at her: Do I look funny? Well, he kind of did actually, but that didn't seem to be the case. Biting her lips, whilst still smiling Skuld was beeing unusually cute as she slid up to him.

     He chose not to worry to much about it. He liked it when she was all smiles and without worries.

     I know you're here

     Why do you keep hiding? I can help you with what you seek. I was eternal, before my death by others hands. I know the secret to eternal life. We can help eachother. If you give me what I want, I can help you with what you're searching for.

     This is a good deal for you.

     What do you need? 
     It's simple, but a bit messy and timeconsuming. Only someone clever and patient will be capable of doing this. 
     I can handle it.

     I don't doubt it. What you need to do, is harvesting the essence of two sims; a male and a female. Then one supernatural each.
     How am I supposed to do that?

     You kill them. Then you capture the essence in a bottle. I assume you know how to do that?
     Ofcourse I do.
     Good. Then you need to harvest the essence of the two sims; then a supernatural each. Fairy, werewolf, witch, genie, vampire and ghost.
     What about meresims and plantsims?

      Mere and plantsims? They aren't considered real supernaturals. They are more.... freaks of nature. I don't need them. 
     And how am I supposed to kill a ghost to harvest it's essence? They are already dead.
    You aren't capable of figuring it out on your own? Maybe I should take my offer elsewhere...

     No need to, I can do it.
     Good, do we have a deal then? 
     We have a deal.

     Skuld was getting used to have recurring dreams. It was probably her subconcious mind trying to tell her how to find eternal life. And as much she usually didn't admit to this type of hokus pokus, it had happened before whenever she'd be gritting her teeth about something. It made theoretical sense, didn't it? One of each supernatural sim, to gain something that only they were supposed to have? But what would be the point of two common sims? On the other hand, why did she care? She'd figure it out as she went along. And if it was just a dream, what was the problem? It wasn't like sims actually mattered other than for her personal use.

     And kill a fairy? She knew just the one to start with. Come to think about it, she knew just the supernaturals and sims to get rid of.
-----------------------------------------------
pose: annely-sims, simsimi, siciliaforever, traelia, ag,

So, "harvesting essence into a bottle" is just something I made up to make it some more exciting, and because alchemy uses bottles. It kind of beats finding a bunch of crap in game. It'll be explained in another chapter. And as it comes to illogical uses and absurdities, just pretend you don't notice.


Thanks for reading