4.6: Shining darker

     Let's see.... Sekhmet was at her usual spot on the table, and Gilbert desperately tried getting her attention.

     Ptha was sleeping on the kitchencounter; keeping it sanitary over here.

     Aurora was sitting in the chair, and Halo.... Oh, that was so cute, she was meowing at the radio. But, if Halo was there, where was...

     Stressing around, Aino looked for the rest of the cats, just to find Nefertum hiding under the sofa. Okay, now up in six of them.

     Fitzgerald and Avocado were sniffing eachother. How had they gotten up here? Mummy Aurora or Daddy Ptah had probably carried them. But they were lacking one sister. Where was she? There wasn't enough time for this right now.

     Morgot was sleeping peacfully, whilst Belsebub kept himself busy scratching. Nefertum and Halos two boys had come out very alike in patterns. But where Morgot was a beautiful cat, Nefertum looked more similar to a rat. It didn't change the fact that a cat was still lacking.

     Sticking her nail into her mouth, Aino chewed on them. The nailpolish did nothing to prevent it; she'd lost a kitten. That was unforgivable! Persephone was nowhere to be found! What if she'd gotten out and ran out into traffic? What if she was flat! What if.... the doorbell interrupted her thoughs, and a familiar face stood outside.

     Looking smugger and more satisfied than any kitten should be allowed to, the neighbour had found her, again. Persephone was a little troublemaker and how she got out was a mystery. But she kept disappearing none the less
     All her cats were chipped ofcourse, but that didn't stop them from getting run over by cars: Did you loose something by any chance? It was good that Gustav was so nice about it, because the kitten had really fallen in love with him, and ofcourse he kept letting her into the house and fed her. Which made sure the kitten kept visiting him.

     Gustav... I am so sorry. I don't know how she keeps getting out. Persephone was a regular Houdini.
     No worries, she's absolutely adorable. I think she likes me. She was a kitten, they generally like everyone, but Aino didn't want to make him feel bad. Everyone needed to think that one cat found them special. Nothing was as amazing as a kittens love.

     Is she up for adoption? He looked so hopeful that it was difficult to answer: Uhm, no. She's a bit young at the moment.
     Oh... then he looked so disappointed that it was almost painful to watch. Persephone seemed to like him better than her, so maybe it was for the best? It would be the right thing to do, and Gustav seemed so sad all the time. Maybe he'd lost someone close to him: But... It's not long until she's old enough. If you want her then, you can have her...

     That would be great! He seemed all happy again: You know where I live, so just give me a holler then! Aino didn't want to part with her cats, but it was probably for the best. He'd be nice to her, and it would give her more time to spend on the cats she had left. After all, Persephone kept on running away without her noticing, crossed the streets and bugged her neighbour. It was better to have someone that could keep an eye on her.

     Sundaylunch at the families place, was usually a nice event, especially when dad cooked. Aino liked Maya, and she seemed to like her to. They'd moved from their appartment into a more suitable house, and it was probably for the best since they'd get old eventually. This way it was less stairs to walk up and down for them.
     They were sweet together, but no longer in that overly- in- love way. Which was good, because frankly it was a bit weird having a dad that acted like a giggling teenager. Good thing she wasn't in a position of giggling because she was in love with someone.

     She'd missed dads cooking, the sweet aromas filled the entire house at the moment. Aino was a pretty good cook herself, but it was something about dads homemade meals. She hoped there would be leftovers for her to take home. Maya seemed to like it to. With the way she kept shoveling it into her mouth, more fell back onto the plate. It was a hypnotic sight.

     Yet, one of her favourite things was that there were no nagging about grandchildren. She bet that both of them knew she was unlovable. Which was why she wanted to talk to dad about something. Not that she needed his blessing, but she did value his oppinion. And if anyone could advice her on it, it was him: I'm thinking about having a baby! It didn't have anything to do with mum at all. Really it didn't. It wasn't like she wanted her to be proud or anything. Even if she bet that mum would love to hear that she'd be a grandmother.

     Dad nearly choked on his food: You're thinking about it, or are you pregnant?
     Thinking about it. It wasn't like she'd just told someone that she didn't want a family. Actually it was, but she was allowed to change her mind. It didn't have anything to do with mum at all.
      Ian nodded, still eating: Okay. You have a boyfriend?
     Aino shook her head, which made him ask another question: You're thinking about artificial insemination with a spermdonor then?

     Maya interrupted them: I thought that was illegal...
     It's illegal to perform the prosedure here, but I can just go to Bridgeport and have it done. It's legal to do in another town. She'd already checked it up ofcourse.
     Oh okay. I just thought there were rules that you had to be a couple and such...
     Not in Bridgeport, or Starlight shores. They were the closest she knew of. Well, there were other places to ofcourse, but getting information hadn't been that easy.

     Isn't it expensive? Ian was levelheaded about this. He would love to have grandchildren, and a lot of them; atleast five. But he didn't nag her about it, they would come when time was right.
     Aino nodded again: It is. But I sold the house, and got a smaller one. So I have a really good profit now. It wasn't why she'd sold the house, but it was done either way: It was to expensive to keep in the end. She still lived on the same street though. Ian was impressed at his daughter. She seemed like an airhead at times, but there was nothing wrong with her intelligence.

     The new one is still big enough for a baby, and the cats. 
     Ian nodded yet again: You know you have to give some of the cats away then, right? She had 11 cats at the moment, like the crazy catlady she'd always dreamt about beeing. Well, until she gave Persephone away ofcourse. 
     What?! She didn't want to get rid of more cats: I promised to give away one already! But dad was without mercy: You still have to many. A baby is a lot of responsibility, and there's a chance you won't be able to take proper care of them.

     In addition, it's the pregnancy in general. You're not going to be as mobile as you are now. It's going to be hard just to clean their hairballs from the floor. Maya chipped in, she'd been pregnant three times and knew what she was talking about.
     She hadn't thought about that: I want what's best for the cats...
     You have to many, and should give some more of them away. Dad was absolutely clear on that.
     Hanging her head in shame, Aino knew he was right. She loved all her cats. They were well fed, tame, clean and healthy. But she noticed that it qucikly got out of hand, and took away all her ability to be spontaneous. And it had been easy to give Persephone away, she knew that she would have a good life.

I do. I'll start working on giving them up for adoption. Ian looked a bit hesitant for a moment, before saying: I wouldn't mind a few cats....
     Me neither. Maya chipped in: I'd love to have a couple of cats. 
     Aurora just had kittens and there's Belsebub and Morgot to. You can have one or two if you want. They would really have a great life with dad and Maya.
     I'll come and pick them up in a few days, okay? Well, that was easy. Maybe she had kept all those cats for other reasons.

     They finished eating before she asked again: Is it that difficult having a baby?
     No, not really. It can be very little sleep in the beginning. And you can become dehydrated, or worst case you can get problems with your pelvis, making it difficult to perform certain tasks.
     She didn't want to have problems with her pelvis! What was she going to do if that happened: That doesn't sound like it's "easy"...
     Don't worry about it, Maya said: We can talk about that if you decide to go through with it.

     With all the family time, Aino thought it would be a good idea to take a little trip and meet Daniel. Not that she was infactuated or anything! They were friends, and beeing friends was the best. And she didn't want anything else! Nope, not at all. Standing outside the liquor store, she thought about maybe getting some wine, and they could have a drink together. Just outside in the garden, or inside his house. She could see his house from here. They were so lucky to live close to the liquor store. Ofcourse she had a cellar full of nectars, but they were a lot sweeter than wine.

     Who was that? An attractive woman came out from his house, which was odd because he wasn't seeing anyone special right now. It wasn't like she wanted to be that special someone! But, who was she? Probably just a co- worker. Good thing she was only interested in beeing friends, or else she'd might be jealouse right now. Which she wasn't...

     And why was there another attractive woman coming out from the house? Not that she was jealouse..... Because that would've been very sexist, to be angry with two beautiful women. They didn't owe her anything, and it wasn't like she owned Daniel, and she was just a good sim... acting all correctly and decent... Because if she was jealouse her jaws would've been hurting right now, from clenching her teeth together in anger, which she didn't...It was probably just dads food that had gotten stuck in her teeth!

     Oh, that was definitly not co- workers. But still, she was totally not jealouse....Gah, redheads were the worst...

     Well, that was modern. Was he making some simoleons on the side?! Did fortunetelling pay that poorly!!! Not that she was jealouse! She was just... Couldn't the redhead talk a bit louder, so she could hear what this was about? Not that she wanted to know... Wait, what if he saw her! Then she looked like some stalking freak!

     Hiding at the topfloor in the liquor store, Aino hoped the clerk wouldn't come and nag her about buying something. That would've sucked; because it wasn't like she was jealouse, or that she'd scream in someones face if they talked to her right now. Good thing she wasn't in love, or bitter, because this would've felt really bad then. And she was not bitter, not at all.

     The illuminated track was a pretty good place to jog. Not only was it safer there than running on the pavements. It was also no cars that made tons of noise, and there were usually other sims present. Wether they were there alone, or just to spend some time with their family. For a safety point of view, she was never able to decide wether it was safer to be alone, or with other sims; because noth were potential safe and unsafe.
     For now she was just just jogging; not because she was mad. Nope, she'd just remembered that it was about time that she took a longer run. Because she did, a few times a week, just usually not here.

     It wasn't at all her mothers influence either, that made her do something as boring as jogging. Aino preferred swimming, but it was getting a bit to cold for that. So now she jogged instead. She definitly hadn't run from one side of town to the other in a share fit of rage, and kept running to try to calm down.

     Damned useless piece of dung men... she hated men. They weren't usable for anything! That didn't include dad ofcourse, he wasn't a man; he was dad, that was different. Some old fart shook her way across the track forcing her to slow down for a second, so she wouldn't run her over. Bet she wasn't married or had kids, or she'd be dead a long time ago! Bet that stupid blond dude with the perky nose had left his wife at home with three.... no, ten screaming kids!! Because she hated men! So there!!

     Wow, would you look at that. Old fart was here to play.... throwing the ball into the hoop over and over, whilst blondie kept failing. Go, old fart! It was guaranteed then, she was single and had been her entire life! Good for her that she kept humiliating way younger guys. Ainos jaws were slowly unclenching, leaving her increasinly less angry. She didn't really have any reason to be mad. What was wrong with her? Why did she keep reacting this way? She had to stop beeing so jealouse. It was unhealthy.

     Old fart was unstoppable. Wonder why she'd had a cane to begin with? Probably to trick blondie into thinking she was useless. it was so typical men to. As soon as a woman got older, they thought she was useless because the only value they saw in women was that they still thought they were fuckable!! Not that she was bitter or anything.... Drawing breath through her nose, the chill was starting to get to her. She hoped she didn't come down with a soar throat. It was something about cold air, and jogging that gave her a light cold. But probably not this time, because it wasn't that cold.

     Running around and around in circles, the taste of iron started filling her mouth. She wasn't planning on going until throwing up, she wasn't terrified of gaining weight. Well, maybe a bit. But she just wanted mum to be proud of her. As promised, she hadn't visited mum again. Because she was still trying to get over the fact that she'd been wrong about her doll. She'd always really knew that he wasn't a doll. She'd just clung on to any excuse she could to stay in her little imaginary world. Which she still did, but atleast now she had an awereness about it. But she still struggled to know what was real and not. Maybe she always would be this way, wondering what part was real and what wasn't?

     The playset looked inviting. Aino loved playing with toys, but rarely did anymore. Because it made sims thinks he was a weirdo. For some reason grown ups weren't supposed to. Maybe if she did go through with an artificial insemination, her and her kid could play all the time! Not that she wanted to destroy her pelvis, but that rarely happened according to Maya. But with her luck it would probably split in half or something
      Wonder if Old Fart would join her on the swing? She seemed cool enough atleast.... did she dare take the chance of exposing herself like that to another sim?

     Where was Old Fart and blondie at? Had they left? Looking around, Aino realised that she was all alone; at night, in a park... Okay, there's no reason to be scared. It wasn't that remote, it was houses and workplaces very close by, but it was far away from home. This is just a location where no sims are at, and no one knows you're here... Yeah, that did not help at all... Did she hear a sound? What was that? Was it a zombie?!

     No, this was real. That sound wasn't all in her head. Someone was here!! Someone was lurking in the bushes, ready to ambush and kill her! She was going to die. She was going to die in sweaty clothes and without any makeup on! Breathing heavily and biting her nails, she tried staring into the shadows, desperately trying to make them look like something scary that she could panic over.

     At full speed, a deer came jumping over the lawn. It was so quick that it nearly fell on those skinny legs. It hadn't been in her head, it just wasn't a murderer. It was an animal that nearly made her crap her pants. She'd never seem one that close before! What an experience. She couldn't wait to tell Daniel! No, wait. She was mad at him, but she could tell dad! Wait? Were deers dangerous? 

      I can't even go for a jog without running into you.That was not the deer.... Aino hadn't seen him in ages, and to be truthful she'd hoped he'd moved. He might not have gotten a lot taller, but his frame was wider than most sims that walked around: Hey Kol... She whispered it, so he wouldn't notice that her heart just stopped beating. She'd rather it was a zombie that came to eat her brain.
     Shut up! His voice had gotten a lot darker to; he sounded like the grown man he was
     Yes sir.... Why had she run all the way here? Her legs were tired, a sensation of tiny muscle contractions nibbed inside her body. She should've just stayed on the road and taken the catcalls and groping: Why are you still here? Kol kept his voice low, even if no sims were around: The river is right behind you.

      Wouldn't it be fitting if you ended it in the water, like so many of the ones your mum killed? Was he going to kill her? Was this how it had felt for the sims mum had murdered; a sensation of loosing time around you? The only view left was the world twirling, twisting itself around the darkest places of your mind: Do you ever wonder how it feels like to die? Aino did her best to pay attention, but her head kept wandering; he was going to kill her: Drowning has to be one of the worst ways to go, don't you think? Water filling your longues, not beeing able to draw a breath. All the time knowing salvation is close at hand...

      What was going to happen to her cats? What if her neighbour didn't want Persephone anyway? What if dad didn't show up to pick up a cat? Then they'd starve to death! Her poor little babies: I've always fantasised about killing you; especially drowning. It's something about the thought of holding your head under water, whilst you fight to get away.... You wouldn't be able to put up a fight anyway. It had to be hard for him though. he'd just been a little kid and seen his home and dad burn. Wonder if he'd smelled his fathers burnt flesh in the air, and if he still did? Like she smelled mums potions sometimes?

     Maybe he didn't understand that his dad had been dead before the fire: I'm sorry. Or that he'd been dead before mum cut him open. Wonder if he'd gotten the tokens mum had taken from his corpse back from the police? Aino felt a bit sorry for him, even if he was scary.

    Do you have nightmares? He all of a sudden asked. She didn't. She rarely remembered what she dreamt at all, because she had trouble sleeping, so when she slept it was usually no dreaming involved. But the few times it happened, it was very vivid: No. I barely dream at all.... Are you going to kill me? Maybe it was for the best, that way he'd feel a bit better. And she'd be dead, so she wouldn't notice anything.

     Kol took forever to answer, like he was thinking it through: No, I'm not going to kill you.... yet. Didn't I tell you that I wouldn't be satisfied before you have nightmares about me? Oh, she'd forgot. It wasn't his fault, it was just that she barely slept. If she slept well, she'd have nightmares all the time, about him and her mother, and zombies ofcourse. Because zombies were scary: You'll wish I killed you tonight instead. Maybe the living dead would've been better to meet. Atleast they'd just eat her.

     There's no way you've gotten that much stubble in such a short time! The game- on club wasn't the hotspot today, but it had a pooltable and hopefully some women. It was still a suitable place for meeting up with a new friend: Well, as you can see; I have more stubble. So I win.

     Every man needs a stubble contest with another man at some point in their life. It was the manlyman way to bond: No. That's to much facialhair in that time

     Well, it's right here on my face, so what other evidence do you want?

     It didn't take a scientist to figure this out: I don't need evidence. There's no way some palearsed ginger have gotten more stubble than me, in the same ammount of time. 
     It's not ginger, it's brown. He was not ginger! It wasn't red.
     Completely irrelevant. And it was ginger: My hair is dark, yours is light. You wouldn't have seen it that well. That thing on your face, is not a twoday stubble! Did he think he was born yesterday? He might not be the king of stubble, but no one got that much in two days.
      It is a twodaystubble. He kept on with the charade, so Daniel answered: You cheated. 
     I didn't cheat!

     Grabbing Hans' face, Daniel performed a reading that suited him: The spirits disagree with you... the spirits are saying.. they are saying that you are a liar- that you already had stubble by the time you sent the dare. Not that he'd thought Hans wouldn't cheat, but that was beyond the point.
     Mumbling into his hand, Hans sayed: What are you...
     Sssshhh... don't interrupt the spirits. Especially because you might as well lick my palm if you talk. Not wanting to know how his palm tasted, Hans wisely kept quiet.

Pretending to focus, Daniel continued: The spirits are saying that blondie that pretends that he's a brunette, needs to pick up the tab for his lies..... and that the sexy darkhaired guy that nailed two women automatically wins the bet...
     Please! Talk about lying: You haven't....
     Palmlicking..... The spirits are wise in this one; you cheated, so I win either way. Winning on walkover was the sweetest victory! 

     Daniel finished the reading, and Hans finally admitted: Fine, I lied.... I had almost a week of stubble... His facial hair wasn't the most prominent one.
     Really? That's more than a week of not shaving! I'd look like a yeti if I didn't shave for a week.
     Let's just go downstairs and get the damned tab, okay. He had hoped he'd looked a bit more impressive. Everyone knew that the ability to grow facial hair, was what separeted the men from the real men. Or something like that.

     Elegantly avoiding Maren, she either hadn't noticed him or she ignored him to, Daniel stared at the old man shaking around at the dancefloor instead. A while he'd been worried that he was actually having a seizure of sort, but he didn't collapse. Fascinated, waiting for the old raisin to fall over and die, he took a long while before noticing the phone vibrating in the pocket. Wonder how long it had been ringing? If just Hans stopped hitting on the poor bartender, they would've been out of here by now.

     A strong light exploded, throwing a short confusion his way. It would probably been a bit more efficient if he were drunk, now it was just annoying: Hello? What?! he didn't hear anything other than some mumbling: You have to speak up, I can't hear you. Even pressing his hand against the other ear didn't help, so eventually there was only one thing to do: Just stay on the line, okay. I need to get to another room... 

     The mens room could be used for so many things; including but not exclusively to talk on the phone. And then he wouldn't risk running into Maren either. Not that he thought she'd say something, but she'd broken up with him because of Aino, and now he was on the phone with her: Okay, what were you saying? I'm at the Game on club. It was still a bit difficult hearing her; she was talking with a low voice as if she worried someone would hear: You're not interrupting.

     Don't hang up. It's okay, you're not interrupting anything. I'm here with a friend. I won a bet, so he had to pay for snacks and all. We were just leaving... Where it's at? It's across the arborway arena. He had to ask her to repeat herself a couple of times before hearing: You're at the park, running? At this hour? Okay, fine. It wasn't that late. But he'd always assumed she went to bed early. Atleast it was close by: No, it's okay. You're not interrupting anything. No, I'm not mad.

      He really had to learn how to say "no" to beautiful women. It was just something about Aino that made him want to take care of her; kind of like a little puppy. Then ofcourse there were things he wanted to do with her, that was just nasty and wrong if you thought about puppies in that way. But right now it was just the first part: Just stay where you are, okay. I'll be right there. My friend might come with me, okay? No, it's no problem. I'll be right there. No, I'm not mad...

     Maybe there really wasn't any magic. Maybe the so- called supernaturals weren't super in any way, but just sims with diseases. Diseases they could be cured from. Maybe Steins unicorn that she remembered from childhood was just a horse with an illness. Could it be that it was all a dream, her imagination gone wild, or the thoughts of a child gone wrong. Was she even an adult? Could it be, she was still a child, and she'd wake up and mum and dad would be together and it was all a nightmare? Or maybe she was just on a fast trip to the loonie- bin. That was probably more like it.

     She should just tell; if she told him about her mother, he'd leave and then she could just lock herself away with her cats for the rest of her life. He was busy having a couple of girlfriends at the same time anyway, so why did she even bother?
     What happened? She didn't really remember that much. It was probably something wrong with her head: I fell. 
    You're clothes are clean.
    Inside the clubhouse...

     She was really one for keeping secrets, and also kept imagening that no one was able to see through it: Good thing the fall didn't break your neck. She seemed more removed from reality than usual to: What?
     There's a bruise on your neck. Wondered what had happened to her? She could've been mugged ofcourse, that was always a possibility.
     Oh... I probably bumped into something when I fell. Maybe it was just him, but the whole thing was suspicious: How did you fall?
     Tripped over my own feet.

     Well, atleast she hadn't tripped on her own feet; it was a lot more likely she'd been mugged. Or evven just randomly beaten up: Okay.... Don't tell me if you don't want to.
     I'm beeing honest. She just didn't want to tell. Because she couldn't talk without telling to much, and then everything went downhill anyway.
     No, you're not. But it's your choice. You're a grown up, you can decide for yourself. 
     I'm not lying... It shouldn't be classified as a lie; it was self- preservation.
    Okay, whatever you say.

     Was he mad at her? She didn't want him to be mad: I'm not lying.... 
     Stop it, he sounded tired: Just stop it. Okay? It's cold, we're not dressed for the weather. My friend's waiting for us. Let's just get out of here. He wasn't angry or anything, but it would've been so much easier if she just told things as they were.
     He was mad at her. She really didn't like angry sims: But.... 
     Daniel was really just tired. How was he supposed to take care of her, when she didn't tell the truth: Just stop, please. It would've been so much easier if he actually could read minds.
     Okay. I'm sorry. she whispered, making him feeling guilty about the whole thing: It's okay...
 

     Was this some kind of joke? Was Hans his "friend"? Oh, he was definitly going to tell him about her mum! With the way she'd treated him, he was probably still vengful. Ah well, maybe it was for the best: Hi.
     Hey... he looked as awkward as her. This was awkward. He was another sim that she'd never imagined she'd see again: You didn't tell me that we were picking up Aino... saying it to Daniel obviously.
     I didn't know you two knew eachother.
 

      From school! Hans quickly said: We went to the same school, and she was the only one that ever wanted to go to a museum with me. We were kind of friends! He was also a terrible liar, and Aino wasn't any better: Yeah! Museums... and snowball fights! Right Hans? 
      He nodded. Not that she got why he lied about it. But maybe that meant he wouldn't tell about mum? Why was he beeing so nice to her anyway? She didn't deserve it.
     Daniel just looked from one of them, to the other: Okay.... And obviously didn't believe them either.

      It's really getting cold though! Hans said way to loudly: Yeah! Aino mimiced him: It's really getting cold! 
     Maybe it's about time we leave! He said, just to have Aino repeating it: Yeah, maybe it's about time we leave! Daniel on his hand just wondered why he always ended up knowing oddballs. But as long as they could get inside again, he was happy.

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pose: billsim, ersel,

There's no reason to get rid of the cats, but it's a bit to many at the moment. I just needed a valid reason to get rid of some of them. But the cats are actually a lot over at the neighbours, and especially that cat and that neighbour. And Daniel's the town gigolo (which is why he's slept his way through town), so it suited so well. Which means he is making simoleons on the side. The ladies both bought the services, and the pop- up about it was to close actually they were three, but that seemed a bit extreme. So not what happened, but it was to funny to pretend otherwise ;) Because of my extremely immature sense of humour

NB: all stubble will disappear. I'm just trying to get better at giving male sims facialhairs, and female sims makeup. But these two just looked bad with it. Daniel rolls tons of romantic wishes towards Aino, and she had rolled a few flirt wants, but still nothing to exciting from her part. Seems he's more into her than the opposite. Stupid heir... Roll wants to have babies already!! She just wants more cats.

Thanks for reading