3.7 Burn baby, burn

warning: verbal abuse, language, gore

     It was quiet in the house as Ian slept on the sofa downstairs. The old wallpanel in the toddlers room gave the impression of a lot cozier enviroment than earlier. Not that Skuld approved of all those baby and eco- friendly things, but she didn't care enough to be bothered by it.
    Mum.... Aino leaned closer, gently stroking her hair with chubby fingers. Skuld had never known toddlers could be so gentler, she'd just assumed they screamed, pooped and bit sims. Aino did the first two, but atleast the screaming was a rather rare occurence: Mum... so pwetty... She then carefully stroked Skulds cheek: mum.... smevv good...
     I know. Skuld carefully whispered back, very aware of the fact that Ian could wake up any time: Mum is very pretty, and Aino is ugly. You're a very ugly little girl. Ugly girls doesn't have any friends, and will never have any. Everyone hates ugly little girls.

    She knew what the toddler was looking for in an instance: Don't you look for that stupid doll of yours. If it were alive, it wouldn't have stayed here. No one likes ugly little girls like you, Aino. Even your name is ugly, everyone thinks your name is ugly. The girl didn't talk well and was developing slower than other kids. Skuld was very embarassed for that: When the first snow falls, mum is going to take that stupid doll of yours and throw it in the fireplace. Then it will burn, and be destroyed forever and ever. Even as deep as her voice was, Ians wholewooden room made sure it would be pretty much impossible to hear what was beeing said from outside the doors. Not that Skuld took any chances.

     With another gentle stoke of Skulds hair the girl kept showing affection: Mum smevv good... She couldn't keep a smile away when noticing the kid staring out the window, looking to see if it snowed. Kids were great. It didn't matter what she said or did; Aino just kept loving her: Aino stinks. No one likes stinky girls. It's very important that girls smell good, but you smell bad. Mum is slim and tall, and you are short and very fat. It's important for girls to be thin, because no one likes a fat girl. And you're fat Aino. It might seem a bit pointless pointing out to a girl that had to be thin and pretty, commercials and society would do that. But this way it would be a lot more difficult for the girl to unlearn it. Besides it was true. Skuld was thin and pretty, which is why she'd gotten away with a lot more than other sims. 

     ...mum is tall and slim, has pretty skin and beautiful blonde hair. Her hair glimmered like polished gold: Aino is short and fat, has ugly skin and ugly red hair. You'll never be as pretty as mum Aino, never. No one will ever like you, and no one will ever love you. She knew the girl understood, despite the lack of language. Ian did a good job using big words and explained things to her. But more importantly; Skuld was bored, so why not torment the kid a bit. It was a lot more fun than doing this to Ian: Ugly girls don't deserve love at all.

      Leaning closer, Aino tried saying something again. Her little voice shivering trying to keep tears away: I wuw mum... Her breath smelled of Ians homecooked meal with cinnamon, probably pancakes. No wonder the kid was fat. If anyone had seen them together, they'd probably believe it was some sweet mother- daughter moment. The girl was so sad that Skuld had trouble staying serious.

     Mum doesn't love you. Daddy doesn't love you. No one loves you Aino, and no one will ever love you. It was best to keep repeating it, that way she'd eventually internalize it: Do you remember why no one will ever love you?
     The girl was hesitant, but said it in the end: Aino ugwy...It was such an amazing feeling when kids finally learned what parents tried teching.
     Yes, that's right. And ugly girls doesn't deserve love. And they will never have any friends; you will never have any friends.... Do you remember that mum said she would burn your dollie when the snow falls? Skuld had almost forgetten about the most important detail.
     Aino nodded slowly, so Skuld continued: If you tell anyone what mum says to you, she will throw you in the fireplace, and then you will burn in the flames and you will die... Do you want to die Aino?
     The girl slowly shook her head, so Skuld went on: Then you can't tell anyone what mum says, because then you will burn in the fire. That will hurt for ugly, fat Aino.

     kiiiiiilll........ noooooow........ kiiiiiiill..... Ratatosk could be quite demanding when it wanted to. Frankly Aino thought it sounded like a good idea. But what if mum saw her? She loved mum, but it was a bit difficult to know what made her angry and not. Dad was a lot easier that way, he let her get away with everything.
     kiiiiiiill...... Well, when Ratatosk was right, it was right... 

     Grrr..... Aino made dinosaur sounds, as she grabbed the doll and pulled it violently out of the house. This was her universe, and no one was bigger and meaner! She was Ainozilla, the biggest, scariest dinosaurdragoncrocodile ever to have been around. The doll didn't stand a chance against her might! Ofcourse, she pretended it was a real sim and that it screamed in fear as the almighty Ainozilla violently dragged it out if it's house.

     Aino liked it when mum and dad spent time with her. Dad was fun and cuddly, mum sometimes said mean things and made her sad. Aino knew that if she was just a better daughter, mum would like her. So she tried doing everything right, which is why she hadn't thrown Ratatosk into the bathtub with mum again. She'd been very angry, even if the doll just wanted to learn how to swim.
     I kiiiiw you.... She gave the doll a menancing look, pretending it shivered in fear and cried for help. Then she had Ratatosk repeated what she said, it was a dinosaur to ofcourse. And everyone knew that dinosaurs could speak.

     Doing her best to slobber all over the dolls head, she turned towards Ratatosk, pretending it wanted to fight the meal from her. But she was having none of it- she was still the biggeste one! The dollie didn't talk or was real, but it was her best playmate. Aino didn't have anyone else then mum and dad, and ofcourse her toys. Ratatosk was her special little toy, and she loved it. It felt like a best friend, but it wasn't real. And she knew that, deep in her toddler heart. But sometimes dad played with them, and the doll also moved a bit around on it's own. Like from one end of the room, she'd blink and then it would be somewhere else.

     Aino wasn't really sure if the lady in the chair was real though. Dad and mum couldn't see her, and she never said anything, but sometimes she would nod or smile at Aino. Sometimes she sang for her, and slowly walked around the room looking for something that she never seemed to find. And she smelled a bit bad, like it did outside when it was raining and the earthworms got run over. Other times she was just gone.
     But she was pretty sure she was nice though, not like the man with the dark hair she sometimes saw around town. He didn't look like he had faded like the lady in the chair had. She was so used to the lady, that she could just stay there if she wanted to. Maybe she was a bit like Ratatosk, but just different?

     For once Ian was out by himself. As much as he loved spending time with his daughter, it was nice beeing alone a few times. Especially when he worked with metals, tools and other sharp objects. He always did his best fixing up things he found, but frankly he hadn't had the energy to do a lot lately. But that didn't mean he shouldn't try. And even if he wasn't feeling awesome he was still doing his best contributing to the household funds.

     Ofcourse it didn't take long before he ended up at the porcelain- throne, throwing up what little he had been able to get down this morning. Honestly it was getting a bit troublesome. Not to mention embarassing when it happened in public. Sims always seemed to assume he was drunk or something. Did he really look like a drunk?

     Not that he got any sympathy when he got home either, but for once it wasn't just demanding. Skuld had broken the shower, and since he was a rather handy sim it was an easy fix. Even if she complained a bit in the background.
     Well, it's getting tired and old, he kept his mood up despite feeling nasceous: It's bound to break a lot. For some reason Skuld didn't understand that it took a bit more to fix up this old thing than just a wrench. Atleast he'd had a spare gasket. 
     Leaning over him, studying what he was doing, Skuld said: It's not that old.
     Yes it is. It might look like a more modern one, but this is rusty and is probably as old as the house. A small exagerration. His wife might be a genious, but this was actually beyond her knowledge.

     Well, I fixed it anyway. Good as... old... Calling it new was a gross overstatement: We should really buy a new one. Actually the entire bathroom needed an upgrade. Ian loved old stuff, but this tub was to gone to fix up more. And when it came to wetrooms, that was different. This could cause a leak and destroy the entire walls and floors to the point it would need to get switched out, and plastered anew. It could result in mould and he didn't even want to think about how the pipes here looked.
     Skuld didn't look very happy at the thought of spending simoleons. Not that Ian got why, he could probably find something for a good bargain, but Skuld was opposed to shopping on sale for some reason. Probably because of her upbringing in a very wealthy home.

     We can't afford a new one, She answered with hand on hip: Not until we get our income up. Ian felt like sighing. He got it; he didn't make enough simoleons and he should work harder. He worked as hard as he had the energy to. Taking a deep breath again, he did his best not spitting out a "you're welcome". That was passive agressive, and he really didn't want to be like that. He just wanted them to be happy, but his wife sure made it hard sometimes: I need to go out a few hours. She said: I need more components.... Ian just didn't understand how she kept burning through all the stuff she kept finding.

     That was one big, ugly mutt alright! And so fast asleep that it didn't even react to the sim standing outside. Skuld had done her homework this time around to; the dog was huge, but old and had trouble walking. It was the worst guarddog ever to exist, and she really meant it. She'd been around there before to, but it had just slobbered all over her and limped after her with a wagging tail, so desperate for attention it was even more annoying that Ian. But, the big, ugly dog matched it's even bigger and uglier owner. And that owner didn't limp or slobber.

     The bright yellow nearly made her blind for a second. What was it with old sims and not locking backdoors? Didn't they know it was dangerous? Bad sims could just walk inside the house. Good for this one that she actually had a real purpose. 
     Even if it had been ages since she'd last seen him, she remembered what he'd been capable of. She hadn't been able to find even one single way to be able to walk out of this alive, unless she did it quickly. She'd love to torment. But where she was at now; best to just kill and take it from there.

     Wolf the genie, the one that laid sims to rest around him in bloody lumps of flesh was best to avoid a fight with. She didn't know a lot about genies at all, but she'd been lucky with this one. Seemed like he was another one that liked to keep to himself. And by the look around the livingroom, he liked reading. Maybe supernaturals were natural loners or something? On the other hand, maybe he was just a weirdo and no one wanted to spend time with him. That was probably it. Not everyone could be as lovable as her.

     Why hadn't he aged though? Should't he be ancient and grey by now? Or maybe he hadn't been as old as she'd thought he'd been as a kid. Skuld hated admitting she didn't really know what exactely a genie could do, but despite all the direct damage he could be able to deal, she was still a lot more worried about something else: Banishment. Genies could banish sims, but she had no idea to where. That was never mentioned and she wasn't in any mood to find out. Quietly pulling out her special little poison, Skuld readied herself for the worst.

     She simply walked up to the genie. By the time he noticed she was there, she threw the poison at him. The book he'd been reading slid out of his hand, and that was pretty much it. No drama, no gore, no fight, just a quiet death. Not very satisfying, but that was something she had come to learn was necessary at times. Wolf was potentially extremely dangerous, and she didn't want to die. So now he was dead instead. Which made it easy having the energy to bottle up his essence, it looked exactely like the other ones. A bit disappointing really.

     First thing Skuld did was to take his earrings, he was dead so he didn't need them anymore. Then she'd pulled his shirt off, which made his damned carcass fall of the sofa. She'd hauled it around, propping it against the wall. She had promised to come home early, so Ian was expecting her.... But she couldn't let the chance of looking inside a genie get away from her. And the guy was blue. Blue! Was that even possible when having a normal inside? It was an insult to science, not to take a look

     Maybe she'd been a bit to eager? This was a bit much blood, and even the carpet was full. Fuck... The biggest surprise was to see that his blood had the same colour as hers, she'd thought it was blue since he was.. .well... blue.
     But no sign of unhealthy living, just a normal sim body. Well, normal was a bit of an understatement. He was hot... wait... had been hot. That's what she'd meant; had been, as in before death. And Skuld really liked destroying pretty things, even after all this time. Maybe it was something in the brain that made them to supernatural? Could she take a look? Though, cutting craniums were a bit more work and she didn't have any saws. He didn't look like the type that had saws to chop the top of skulls off either.

     Skuld felt the phone vibrating in her pocket again. It was probably Ian, it was always Ian nagging. Thinking she spent to long, or didn't spend enough time with them. She didn't care about them, how difficult could it be for him to understand? He had to be the dumbest guy ever!
    Sighing heavily, she realised she didn't have the time to clean up the mess. Or to check his brain at all. Besides, she needed to clean off all the gore. She had clothes with her, but using the shower here was a bad idea.

     Though, maybe she could wash off the worst with a towel, take it with her and then stop at a showerhouse and take a real shower. She'd taken new clothes with her. Looking at the open fire and all the books, she got a great idea. The house looked like it was made out of sement, but it wasn't. It was a wooden house, with thin walls and lots and lots of books in it. Big carpets to. It would make sure that firesims would be at the scene quickly, but that also meant that evidence burned. Atleast enough from her atleast. She didn't care if they found him at all.

     After cleaning the worst of herself, Skuld locked the cat in with the dog, that way they'd die to. And that was to funny. With the fire already roaring in the livingroom, she started a few more just to throw the cops off. Then she ran as fast as she was capable of out of the place. Good think it was a small house, because it spread quicker than she'd anticipated. More flames was better for her.

     The outdoor pool was a pretty safe place to take a shower at, especially in wintertime. Though, safe and safe. She'd probably get an infection from the mouldy floor, or some other nasty disease. Drying her hair in that gross handdrier had taken a longer than she wanted to. But it was well worth the trouble. Stepping outside, Skuld realized that it was snowing, and had been for a while. That meant she had a little promise to keep to her darling daughter! Question was if she should do it before or after beeing frisky with Ian. The whole killing thing just made all her hormones boil, and Ian was a quick fix. That was probably it, it wasn't like mauling sims turned her on.

     Ian was waiting for Skuld to come home, he kept trying her phone but she just didn't pick up. He was in terrible shape, even for beeing him. He'd thrown up all over himself, and hadn't even had time to put clothes back on, for round two. She had to come home soon!

     Finally home, Skuld came in to a scene of Ian lazily lounging halfnaked on the sofa. What a lazy bum. Ian was of another mindset though: Skuld, hey my dove. Again with the flying rats? He didn't sound to good, but he was probably just faking it. He had no idea how horny she was! Ian was so selfish, why couldn't he think about her for a change?
     He just kept going, he sounded like he was about to fall asleep: I feel like sh... terrible. I really need to lie down. Can you keep an eye on Aino please? He hadn't wanted to take a nap with the toddler still awake. When he wasn't sure he'd pass out or sleep, it was best to stay awake. What if he'd pass out, and something happenened!

     Ofcourse it also would give her the opportunity to keep the promise to her daughter: Sure Ian. Just take a nap and I'll keep an eye on her. He looked so grateful that it was funny: Thanks my love, you're the best. Then he layed his head down and closed his eyes. Oh, he was going to nap here? It didn't matter to Skuld, she would be able to fix it anyway. She was the best after all.

     Waiting the short time it took before Ian started snoring, Skuld lit the fireplace. She wanted to make sure it was nice and warm before holding her promise to Aino. In addition the flames would make Ian dry up so he'd had to take a shower to remoisten. That was gross, and so funny Skuld once again found herself giggling. The girl followed her every move, but if she remembered the promise was another thing.

     Without a fuss, the girl let Skuld pick her up, even dropping that damned doll as soon as she came near. Aino was a pretty sweet kid, Skuld liked that she was easy to manipulate.
     Wuve mum... Aino whispered in her ear, and with a short look over her shoulder to check on Ian, Skuld whispered back: mum doesn't love you. No one loves you. You'll never have any friends... It seemed to hurt the girls feelings, which was why she did it: Do you see that outside the window Aino? That's snow. The first snow has fallen. Do you remember what mum promised to do when the first snow fell? She felt the fat little body tense up.

     Don't buwn Tatatos.... she pleaded, with silent voice the lower lip trembling.
     Mum likes to keep promises, Skuld whispered back. You can trust mum to do what she tells you. It was important that children learn to trust their parents: And mum doesn't want you to have that dollie. It's ugly, but not as ugly as you... She took another look back checking that Ian was still asleep- and the doll is your friend, and you don't deserve friends.

     Mum so pwetty... Aino did her best to derail the conversation, and she looked like she wanted to cry again. This was so funny, Skuld liked beeing mean to sims, even those smaller than her. Maybe especially those. She'd even killed a dog and a cat today. They'd slowly burn to death in that room. The memory made her smile a bit: Yes, mum is very pretty, and Aino is very ugly- no one likes ugly girls. You have to remember that... The girl would remember that, she would.

     Putting the girl down, she still tried clinging around her neck: Mum is going to throw your doll in the fireplace now. Then before the girl had to much time to think, Skuld added: This is how sims show they care Aino. Just for the laugh of it, and it would make sure to confuse the kid even more.

     Expecting the girl to throw a tantrum and cry, Skuld was slightly surprised when she didn't. Even when she picked up the doll, went behind the sofa and threw it into the fireplace. It landed with a heavy thud, made from wood as it was. Then she quickly made a run out of the room so that Ian wouldn't be able to blame her for the "accident". And when the doll landed, the girl finally started crying. Skuld hadn't just done it because she liked making Aino unhappy, it was also because she hoped the girl would get burned. It was fun when sims got hurt.

     Stupid Ian ruined her fun before she'd even had the time to properly get away. Litterally falling out of the sofa, he picked Aino up before having the chance to burn herself. That was so typical of him. For someone that had just been ripped out of a heavy sleep, just to see his daughter toddling into an open fire; Ian was surprisingly somber. Though she assumed he had some silly notion about staying calm as to not upset Aino more. It's not like the girl would've gotten severly injured. Maybe just the arms and maybe the face a bit. Nothing Skuld couldn't have gotten away with.
     Aino hadn't tried talking with that embrassingly bad speech. She just shrieked and howled uncontrollably. And so damned loud. How could he have that sound next to his ear and still be so calm?

     He had to be more awake than good was, because it didn't take long before he noticed what the screaming was about. Let's see what dad can do. He was still calm whilst putting Aino down at a safe distance, and found a tool for the fireplace. With Aino wailing in the background, making poor Skulds ears hurt, he carefully pulled the doll out with the sharp end. It took a lot shorter than she'd thought it would, but then again; Ian was actually practical.

     Letting it cool down a bit, just to be on the safe side, he wiped the soot off with his hands and brought it to his daughter: I burned my butt!! He pretended talking through the doll, which finally made the kid stop howling. Instead she laughed a nervous laughter, not quite believing it was still intact.

     You see Aino, Ian had stopped pretending that he was the doll, thankfully: this doll is made by strong wood, and then treated with something that makes it difficult to burn it. The clothes are also made of  burnresistant fabric. It wasn't that hard to understand for a grownup, that kidstoys were made to handle quite a bit. And that flames, and melting fabrics were an obcious big threat to kids: And it's an old toy to, so it holds a lot better up than modern ones. It had a bit of a burn on the face, but she didn't seem to mind. Though he had to admit he was surprised the clothes had been that resiliant. But maybe the temperature in the fireplace wasn't that high yet?

     Ofcourse, Skuld wasn't a complete fool, so she'd made sure to skulk closer as the scene unfolded. Aino had yelled so loud, that she couldn't pretend not to have heard. But Ians reaction was nothing she'd expect: What is wrong with you? Are you out of your mind?!!!!
     The shock was overwhelming, and for once she didn't have to put on a pretend face when lying: I... I'm sorry. I just wanted to fetch her a bottle...     
     You left our baby alone with an open fire!!!! He was yelling. Ian was yelling at her: What the hell were you thinking?!! His nostrils flaring and the green eyes were hard under furrowed eyebrows, Skuld had never found him more arousing. 
     After the initial shock, she did her best to pretend beeing mortified: I didn't want to wake you... I didn't think.... 
     He even interrupted her before she could finish: You never think!!! You don't leave a toddler alone!!! Atleast not infront of a fire!!! She's just a baby!!

     Fucking hell Skuld!!! Aino had started whimpering in the background, clearly scared of the loud voices. But even that didn't make him stop:She could have burned herself! Do you understand that?!!
     This had to have been the angriest he'd even been in his life. And Skuld had never been more turned on: Yes... I was just afraid...
     ....of your daughter crawling into a fire!! He shouted the last word. Ofcourse she hadn't been worried about her crawling into the fireplace, she wanted the kid to.    
     No.. that she'd start crying because she was hungry so I wanted to fetch her a bottle...

     ...so she didn't wake you... I'm sorry. She looked as sad as she could: I just can't do anything right. I'm a bad mother. I'm a terrible wife. This game was so old, that it didn't take any effort on Skulds behalf anymore. Knowing just what to say to make him feel like he was the one wronging her. And he was! To think he actually yelled at her! Not that it wasn't hot, but that wasn't the point.
     He calmed down quicker than anyone in the world could. So slow to temper and quick to calm down: I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. How was it that that idiot kept appologizing when he meant she'd done something wrong: Your a good mother and wife, but really... You can't leave her. She's just a baby. Aino had calmed down again, almost like she followed Ians mood.
     ...I'm so sorry.... I could've... Ian was such an idiot.

     Don't think Skuld... Just be happy nothing happened to her. He couldn't believe how close that had been. His little baby could've ended up with burnmarks. That was dangerous, they could get infected and not to mention what it would've done to her selfesteem.
     I am, she stroked her hands over his neck: I'm so glad that you woke up. I don't know what I'd do without you... And just like that he was eating out of her hand again. To bad, angry Ian was kind of hot: I'll do better, I promise. 
     Ian didn't just feel in terrible shape, he felt guilty to. Maybe he'd been a bit angry, but the shock had taken all his calmness away: You're doing great already Skuld.
     How about I put Aino to bed, and then the two of us take an early night. You look exhausted. Skuld was such a doll towards him, and he was worn out. Nodding at her, he even took the chance of going upstairs.

     Skuld had planned on doing damagecontrole, but when she picked up Aino there weren't any fuss or screaming. She stroked fat babyhands over her hair: I wuw momma... Like nothing had happened at all. This was crazy! She had just thrown her favourite toy into a fireplace and the kid still liked her! Wonder how far she could pull it before the kids started hating her? It should be interesting to see.

     The kid was a dream to get to sleep, and as Skuld crawled into bed with Ian she was glad to see he was still awake: I'm so happy it went well Ian. And even if angry- Ian was hot, she knew she couldn't have him that way. It would've been to difficult to control him.
     Yeah, he answered: Kind of wonder how she got the doll into the fire though.
     I don't know, maybe it fell or something? So, are you very tired? Maybe I could thank you a bit more properly? Either she was the best liar in the world, or Ian was the dumbest sim to have lived. Most likely it was both.
     I don't need any thank you for that Skuld. You'd do the same thing. No she wouldn't. Ian was such an idiot. But it had been an interesting day for them. Especially for Skuld, but what he didn't know didn't hurt her. And that's the only important thing.

     Skuld pouted her lips at him: I mean; how about I thank you a bit more properly.... After a longer break she continued: ... as in having sex Ian. 
     Oh! He even managed to blush a bit: I'd love to Skuld. But I'm really not feeling well. How about tomorrow?
     Had he just turned her down? He couldn't turn her down, that was wrong. And sick. She was horny damnit: You don't have to do anything, I can do the work. You can just lay there and relax.
     Wasn't that what he usually did anyway? But then again, who was he to complain. It was such a rare occurance anyway so why not: Uhm, okay. Sure. Maybe she could screw up a bit more often, that would've been nice.

     But before anyone else woke up the next morning, she had to remember making more brew for that special someone
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pose: lonelyboy,ag, dreamangel, k2m1too,simswhen,

No pixeldogs or cats were harmed in the process of making this chapter. And I figured it wasn't a point in making to much of the murder this time, you know what she's up to anyway. So I'll probably do that from now on, and try to focus on whatever seems more important or interesting. Or not...
And yes the dead woman is Oriana. Disappointing I know, but I need some consistancy for something that happens later. And I didn't want to use an unknown sim, because there's enough sims already.

Thanks for reading

3.6 For science

warning; language, gore

     He could still remember the time he'd thought it was gross throwing up, especially in the toilet. It was, after all, the place where sims took a dump and pissed. By now he was so used to it, he almost got a bit worried when he didn't feel sick. Ian hadn't been well since he'd ended up in the hospital all that time ago, suffering from poisoning.
    Turned out it wasn't difficult getting poisoned by that crap either. All it took was to get some of it in the mouth, like touching the plant and putting the fingers in the mouth afterwards. And since he'd been intimate with his wife up against a cupboard that was filled with potions and components, it wasn't that strange. Doctor Odin hadn't even batted an eye, but calmly told it would explain it. Ian was pretty sure the brother-in-law had thrown a bit up in his own mouth at the knowledge though.

     Since then he hadn't touched anyting but the winebottles in the cellar. But he still felt like shit, and this wasn't the first time. It was almost a constat state of reality, and more often than not, he had to just swallow his own discomfort to keep going.
     He'd been to so many specialists by now that it was embarassing and they kept hinting at it beeing psychological. It wasn't psychological, his brain worked fine. He was ill for crying out loud, but the doctors tests kept coming back just fine.

     Aino had gotten a new "friend" whom she'd named Ratatosk, or atleast that's what Ian had deciphered the name as. Not that he had any idea where he'd gotten a name like that from at all, or even where that thing came from. None the less she was adorable when she tried saying it.
     They were inseparable, and often played together. This time they were reading a book of colours. Well, technically it was letters but Aino and Ratatosk still named the colouring with big enthusiasme: Geen!!! She pointed at the pink letter, then pretended the doll repeated it with a highpitched voice.

     Upon flipping the page, Ratatosk yelled: "moe geen!!". Ian found it to be the cutest thing ever, and the way she interacted with the doll was even cuter. It seemed like it was her rascal- part; that way she could blame it whenever she acted out. Like when she tried to hang around his leg; it wasn't her, it was the doll. Or when she tried climbing into the toiled, that was the doll to. That way Ian also could reprimande the doll instead of his daughter, and sometimes even ground it. To Ainos big despair, and he didn't have to feel guilty about reprimanding her.

     Ian picked up another book, pulling Aino close. She smelled so sweet as only a clean toddler can, her short hair soft against his arm. This one was about animals. Pointing at a cat, he asked: What's that Aino, do you know that? 
     Geen!! The answer was swift, eager and very wrong.
     Close enough... Do you know what colour it is? 
     Not surprisingly she answered: Geen, with as great enthusiasm as ever. He doubted she knew what even the word "colour" meant. But she'd learn eventually, there wasn't any need to rush it.

     Seeing something in the corner of his eye, Ian took a short look. Hadn't that doll been further away? Maybe it wasn't a physical illness he had after all, maybe it really was a mental issue. Sometimes he swore he could hear a woman humming in Ainos room at night, and now he imagined a doll moving around. Nice. He hadn't mentioned it to the doctor obviously, he didn't want anti- psychotic meds or anything.
    Showing the book to Ratatosk, halfway expecting it to answer on it's own, Ian asked: You know what animal this is? Luckily for his sanity, Aino promptly made the highpitched voice and screamed: Geen!
     As cute as it was, it was still a bit annoying to listen to. Mainly because the two of them often talked a lot: Put a sock in it Ratatosk. Aino hissed at him in return.
     Hey! No hissing!
     Aino looked up at him, reading the excuse: Wa Tatatos!! Having a doll to blame was probably almost as good as a sibling.
     Kissing his daughter on the forehead, Ian answered: I know it was Ratatosk hissing. I was just telling it to your dollie not to hiss. So cute, he just couldn't reprimande her for that. She was going to be such an obnoxious kid, if he kept letting her get away with everything.

      You know Ratatosk is a squirrel right? Ian laughed at her. It was probably something Skuld had told her, how else would she have known.
     NO! Tatatos dowwie! Dads didn't know the first about dolls.  Maybe he hadn't had any dolls when he was a child?
     Lifting her up from the floor, he took another inhale to keep from throwing up and stroked her soft hair. She was going to be another redhead alright: Screw this. Let's go and get some new furniture, some paint and fix your room up. This is a room for old sims, not little toddlers and shrieking dolls.
     SKU DIS!!! 
     Nervously looking around, Ian whispered: No, no. Don't say that. And don't tell mum, okay? He wasn't sure if he meant the room or the words. He had to start thinking about the language he used.

     Turned out that under the hideous wallpaper, it had been a pretty decent wallpanel. It had been a small hell getting it all off but it was done eventually. He'd filled the room with furniture he'd fixed up himself and toys that were enviromental friendly. Maybe he'd gone a bit overboard with the dinosaurhead, but atleast Aino liked it. For a while Ian hadn't thought he'd be able to finish, but after a nap he'd felt a bit better. He still hoped his healthproblems wasn't psychological.

     Skuld hadn't been thrilled about him fixing the room up, but after she'd realized that it increased the value of their house she'd stopped nagging about it. The best part was that he'd actually gotten her to spent some time with their daughter. It was so sweet that they were finally bonding.

     He couldn't help but wondering what they did together though. Maybe they just spent the time at the grandfathers? Aino didn't say anything special about anything, so they were probably having a good time.

     Skuld had no intetion of letting that little brat stop her from working. Besides the kid just talked to that creepy doll of hers anyway. Wonder where it came from? It was probably some crap that Ian had pulled out of the junk somewhere. Girl could lick garbagecans for all she cared.
     She'd figured out a very nice little potion for the next one, but she needed some pulverized gems for it. And yet sims wondered why potions were so expensive! She was excitet either way. It was going to be something completely different from pimplelard. Failure was never an option, but she'd be sure to keep herself saft with this one. Maybe she should try it on Ian first? Just to be sure? No. It contained gems, he just wasn't worth spending all those riches on.

     Ian had been running to the junkshop trying to find a musicbox with a dinosaur in it for Aino. But they didn't have any. What a terrible junkshop... Okay, fine. She wasn't really that interested in dinos, it was him that had wanted it. A little music for his daughter was just nice right?

     He still bought one ofcourse, but the figuring wasn't that interesting. And he ran into Maya, who was still dating his father- in- law. They talked about how great it was growing their own vegetables, the impact it had on the enviroment and how much better it tasted. He wasn't surprised about her wanting to talk about plants though, atleast not with the ammount of meat her boyfriend chowed down. Wondered why that guy hadn't just bought a slaughterhouse yet.

     Maybe he shouldn't have redecorated the room? Ian once again woke up during the night feeling sick. He just couldn't seem to get a break from anything the last days. He hated waking up from feeling sick, and hated throwing up even more. The bathrooms smelled like vomit all the time. Or maybe it was just his imagination.

     Atleast it seemed like the toddler liked the room and spent all her time in there. Not that she hadn't done it anyway, but she still seemed to like it a lot better this way. It had been so empty before, and just so much more suited for elderly sims. Fine, he knew it probably wasn't the ideal little toddlers room, but kids furniture and toys just contained so many chemicals. He wanted it to be good for the enviroment, and he wanted it to be healthy for his daughter. And now it was.

     Ian wasn't exactely sneaking up at her, but the kid seemed deep in conversation. He was used to her talking to that doll, but when she held the doll up to the chair and went: Ju wike? he wasn't sure if she was talking to him, the doll or the chair.
     It's a very nice toy Aino. I like it. He did like most parents and interrupted her playtime.
     No! Waydi in cheeeeeeer. She ended the sentence with a sulkyface and he could've sworn she rolled her eyes at him.
     You were asking the lady in the chair- taking another look he waited to see a doll or something.

     ...okay.... Kids and their imagination was unbeliavable. Though, from her perspective the ornament on the back could probably be interpreted as a face of sort: Did she like the crocodile?
     DAGON!!! Dad's didn't even recognize a dragon when they saw one. Especially the really awesome ones with ribbons.
     Yes, yes: Did she like the dragon then? He still wasn't sure if he should keep pretending with her, or tell her that it was just imagine. Personally he thought she was a bit young to be corrected yet.
     Waydi in cheer owny sing.... nite... No talk.
     The lady in the char only sang at night then. But didn't talk. Nice, that was nice: Well, why do you ask her then? No wonder imaginarylady didn't talk, not with that doll shrieking about. And Aino talked more than enough on her own.
      Did she roll her eyes at him again? She was a toddler, wasn't she a bit young to think her dad was anything but awesome: Waydi nooods... and that irritated voice at the ending there, like he was supposed to know that her imaginary friend only sang and nodded.

     She nods now, does she? Well, Ian swooped his daughter up in his arms and said: How about you, me, Ratatosk, DragonBow and the lady in the chair goes to the playpark? She could use some air, and frankly so could he. And it was best taking it whilst it was still early. That way they had all day to look around.
     Dadda... she sounded like a grown up: Waydi not weave house.... Dwagon eat babbi. So the lady didn't leave the house, and the dragon ate either babies or barbies?

     Well, we can't have the dragon eating anybody can we? Aino laughed at him: Or maybe we can, maybe we can take it with us and it'll bite old sims bums?! Kids were easily entertained, but seriously, with the way he was going she would end up like an obnoxious kid with no manners: So just the two of us, and dollie then?
      Aino hesitated:...no.... 
     They have a dinosaur you can ride there. 
     It sealed the deal, and he finally got her and the doll out. He hoped they'd meet some other parents with toddlers, but they probably wouldn't be that lucky. They seemed to be hiding whenever he had her with him for some reason.

     The only thing making the illusion of heat, was the sun that still warmed on his back. That was also the only thing that made sims believe it was still okay to just wear a jumper outside. Ian had been sure to dress Aino more then properly, but he might have exaggerated a bit. She didn't feel warm atleast. He had to admit it wasn't the only thing he worried about at the moment: Tatatos!!! Then she squeeled, pretending to be the doll wanting to get out of the stroller. Ofcourse it meant he had to grab the doll and put it on the ground: Ratatosk can't go with you on the dinosaur okay? You know how dollie is, it'll just eat the dinosaur or something... That made her gurgle and spit out a laughter.

     It wasn't the doll that bothered him either, other than it was a bit annoying that she wanted it to go everywhere she went. It was her language, it just didn't seem to get any better. He hadn't talked babytalk to her, neither had Skuld. So why didn't she articulate better? Everything else seemed to be in order, other than what was to be expected; like calling a green horse a dinosaur for instance, though that was partially his own fault.
    Tatatos wookin ta dadda buuuuutt..... She laughed when the "dinosaur" started playing music, and she threw herself around on it. Keeping making something that was supposed to be dinosaur roars, it became a horendous cacaphony of sounds, making Ians poor eardrums nearly cracked. He had a headache as usual.

     Ian gave it two thumbs up: Ratatosk is looking at daddys butt?! Well, then I'll kick Ratatosks butt!! She laughed louder, sounding more like a shriek than anything. Aino had all her teeth and the doctors said her speech was nothing to worry about. But that's what they always said wasn't it? And then when they finally listened, it was usually to late to do anything with anything. She pretended she was the doll, and screamed a long, highpitched "NOOOOO" in return.

     Skuld had this idea in her head, that since he took Aino out pretty much every day, he was exaggerating how tired he felt all the time. He'd take her out if both his legs were broken, but that didn't seem to sink in with his wife. Was it bad of him to be this annoyed at her? As soon as Aino got older he was going to get her to go to couples therapy with him. He didn't want to loose his wife or marriage. He wanted to have the type of marriage that his parents had, he didn't want to be a quitter.
     Wuw dadda, She snuggled close to him as soon as he picked her up.
     Aaww... daddy loves you to...
     Wuw Tatatos... 
     You love Ratatosk to? Dollie loves you to Aino, everyone loves you. She hugged him a bit harder with those fat arms then. That was so cute.

    They stayed at the playground until she was bored, then they went down to the beach. There, her and dollie proceeded to chase eachother. Which mainly consisted of either her, or him throwing it around and her toddling past it. It was remarkably good handcraft on that doll, even it it was ugly as sin. Strong wood, and the joints were flexible and easy to move, but also stayed in place. It was brilliant.

     Waydi in wawa. He had to ask her again when she tried whispering in his ear, causing most of his neck and ear to become wet with spit: There's a lady in the water? He asked her.
     Waydi in wawa. Biiiiiiiiiig fowe..., Ian had talked to much to her, that it wasn't difficult for him to understand, even if it sounded like gibberish to other sims: There's a lady in the water on a big flower? This time he had to have understood it wrong: nooooo..... waydi haaave big fowe heeeeeweee, then she put her hand on her chest.
     Oh, there's a lady in the water with a big flower on her chest? Aino nodded slowly: Tatatos see to.... Ratatosk saw it to: Fowe wed wike daddas hay.... It's red like daddys hay? She actually sighed at him before picking in his hair: haaayyyyy..... 
     The flower is red like daddys hair?!!! Damn it, she knew how to pronounce "hair".

     It was a bit to cold to swim now, but for some reason he'd still believed he'd see a woman swimming around with red flowers on a swimsuit. But it was to cold for normal sims to swim, and to warm for the polar bear club: It's to cold to swim now Aino. She had very vivid imagination, but that was very common to. And he'd found more than one article on all the creepy things children said. Which he was never going to read before bedtime again.
     No wimwim, wun. Not swimming, running then.
     Dad wants to be able to run on the water to, Ian smiled at her: Is she jogging like mum does? 
     She looked at the water a long time, before setting two serious eyes in him: Wunn away fwom pai bi boj
    She's running from the pai? I mean pale big boy? You mean like a man, like dad? She nodded again
   Pawe mam...mam...maaan she almost got it atleast: dwess back....ugwi
    Either the pale man wore a dress on his back, or he was dressed in black. Though the first part would be a lot funnier: he wears black? And had she said ugly? He'd dreaded the day when he would have to explain about how calling sims ugly and fat was wrong. It was so difficult to explain when simnation told her that it was only a certain way of looking that was accepted.

    Wife go WHAM WHAM WHAM!!! She made a stabbing motion against his chest, and he was confident she meant knife, not wife: Waydi wawa biiiiiig fower taaa.... She rubbed her little hand all over his chest, and said: Waydi dwess ha, she coverered her face: The lady in the water has a big flower on her chest, and her dress is covering her face?
     This was bad, she must have picked that up from the tv, or him and her mother talking about something. That was such an easy mistake to make, thinking children were deep in their play and then really overheard anything that was said. He had to be more careful, this was shocking! Good thing she didn't understand what it really meant, but still: he had to start thinking before talking a lot more.

      The only big, pale man here is daddy! That was no lie, to this day he'd never had a tan. He'd been sunburned a bit. He blew raspberries on her stomach, failing miserably before hoisting her up in the chilling air: But daddy is a greeeat swimmer, and when Aino gets older dad will teach you how to swim to! She didn't seem overjoyed by it. Maybe whatever she had picked up on had made her wary of water. Or maybe she was wary of it to begin with? It didn't matter, she had to have picked it up somewhere.

     He got so busy trying to get his daughter to talk about something else, he completely forgot something important behind.

     Ugh.. Ian, you smell like a rotting fish! Skuld had to admit he didn't really smell that bad, she mainly did it to make him feel bad about himself. But there was something that smelled a bit strange around the place.
      I don't smell Skuld. It's impossible for me to smell like a fish... Patience Ian, patience.... He took a deep breath. How could she not notice it before now, when she'd sat right next to him sharing a meal a few minutes ago.

     It's probably just the fried banana, he explained, knowing well it was nothing that smelled at all: unless you're pregnant again ofcourse.... No way was she pregnant, they didn't sleep together often enough in his mind atleast. He didn't want to be that guy, but it was a bit difficult having someone with that much lower sexdrive. But that was just how it was, and even if it did sting a bit; he did his best to accept it. He had to admit her tight outfits didn't help a lot. Even he was well aware that her body didn't exist for him to look at.
     Oh shit!! You think?!!! Skuld grabbed her stomach, desperately trying to figure out if there was something in there! She didn't want more kids! She didn't even like the one she had now!

     Skuld wasn't pregnant, if she had been it would've been showing by now, that's how long it had been. But he still went outside to air off a bit. Maybe he did smell a bit bad? And since he was going out he might as well take the laundry with him, hanging it up to dry in the socalled fresh air. It wasn't to bad at this place though, it wasn't the most heavily trafficed road around. Ian never got far enough to even start: Damnit! He had forgotten that blasted doll on the beach! Aino would be horrified and probably never sleep again! She'd never forgive him! He was such an idiot!

     Rushing down to the beach he had to realize it; the doll was gone. It didn't matter where he looked, or how much he dug through the sand; it was gone. It had been so many sims at the beach to catch the last rays from the sun, and now it was gone! There had been so many kids, either one of them could have taken it with them. He was the worst dad ever to have existed!

     Most of all he wanted to sit down and cry, but instead he had to rush into the stall and throw up. It was nearly becoming a habit by now. Maybe it was something that just happened when he was under stress? No, that didn't explain why he woke up in the middle of the night to call for the almighty moose.

     He couldn't even look at his daughter as he went to tell her, but he could hear her talking to that empty chair as usual. It was nice she had such a great imagination, but this would be difficult: Aino, sweetheart, dad has some bad news for you... The thought of her disappointment was to much even to think about. With all those lovely toys she had, her and that doll was the best of friends. Maybe he should try to find a real toddler she could play with, or those clubs for sims with small children? But there was always so many women there. Not that he had a problem spending time with women, but he always ended up feeling like some novelty.

     Dadda ba nunu? Aino looked at him for a second, before continuing playing with the blocks, sometimes showing a block to the chair. He hadn't forgotten it? Wow, he must have been completely gone. He was so sure he'd forgotten it, and couldn't remember Aino holding on to iteither. Maybe Skuld had done it? It would explain why he couldn't find it when he'd been looking in the stroller earlier...
     ...No... No dad doesn't have any bad news for you at all..... That was just, wow. He'd really messed up the day hadn't he? To think he'd spent all that time on the beach, when the doll had been here all along. Idiot.

     Clear, crisp air was covering the cemetary, the frost had started taken hold of the dirt thus clenching it's smell. It wouldn't be long before the first snow started falling, unless the weather was to be unnaturally warm ofcourse.
     Nice weather didn't help at all, as the dreaded stone said: Here lies Rikard Bergstrom, beloved husband, father and brother. It was so typical-

     -why did he do this to her? He was supposed to be next on her list! And he went ahead and just died like that? Didn't he have any manners?! He should have known that she wanted to kill him, but instead that arse had gone ahead and died on his own! How dared he?! She'd had such a grand plan, so many dreams of revenge and then he'd just fallen over and died of old age like that? How rude. As soon as she'd learned she needed to kill off some supernaturals, she'd known that those filthy bastards that had insulted her like that as a child was going to be the lucky ones. And he just .... died... Skuld was mortified for herself. She'd never get revenge over him. Never. Never ever even the slightlest...

     Even if the dead for some reason could come out of their graves, and stand amongst them, she couldn't have done anything to him. His essence was gone, and she wasn't a necromancer either way. What a fucking arsehat!! If Ian hadn't been such a fucking nag about spending time with that kid, she might have actually managed to take the fucker down before he went and fucking died on his own!

     Atleast she had gotten two of the ones she wanted, Skuld went to look at her work. The one that almost made everything end, before she had even started. Just seeing Bashirs tombstone made her boil with anger. She hated that guy, but in the end he just hadn't been a match for her. It sure had been close though, as much as she hated thinking about it. Acidly thinking about the irony of how him and his wife barely spending life together, they now rested side by side, cold, dead and rotten deep down in the ground. How fucking romantic, she nearly hurled at the thought. But it didn't change how dead he was, or how dead fucking Rikard was. What was she supposed to do now? She had to find another target.

     Not even searching for bugs made her mood any better. And it wasn't just that either, she'd had a list of who to kill and in what order. From what she could remember, Rikard was the biggest guy and a werewolf, so he should've been the physically hardest target. That's why she wanted to start with him first, to have time to think about what to do with the others. Werewolves couldn't really do anything as far as she knew, other than transform into some ugly, hairy shit. It was different with fairies and the like. This was just.... she drew a deep breath again.

     She walked into some big, run down, dirty abandoned farmhouse. Whatever this place had been once, it was long since lost. Atleast no one was here, and it was covered in dust. She was sure she saw rats and cocroaches running around in the corners. Who was going to take the place of Rikard was another thing she had to considere. The only werewolf she knew was Biorn, but that might be a bit obvious, and he was the mayors son so that might be another problem. But what other choice did she have? Fuck!! Not to mention she hated his guts to, and it would probably make Lucky unhappy...
     Luckily for her she got her thoughts ruined by a couple of voices: Dad, I'm scared.... It belonged to a child.
     Don't worry sweetheart, you wanted to see fireflies didn't you? This is the best place in town. That belonged to a man, a very old guy by the sound of it.

     No I didn't. You said we should we should go and see them, she sulked and crossed her arms over her chest.
     The old man seemed to ignore her: Aren't they beautiful? When I was your age, I caught them in a jars. I just never got over how shortlived they were. 
     That's because you're so old, you didn't have real toys.
     The man laughed warmly at the girl: We had toys, I was just really fond of nature.... He seemed to get lost in thoughts, as old sims often did.

     Did you bring the jar?
     I don't want to catch some gross insects! The girl nearly cried, clearly thinking bugs were scary. Skuld thought she was a spoiled little girl, that was probably how her own daughter would end up. And the boring old man was a lot like Ian. It was so funny that they hadn't noticed her yet. Kind of thrilling really. She'd never actually seen how an old sim, or a child looked on the inside. She usually liked it when they fought her to, an elderly and a child could almost be a bit simple. But how else would she learn, right?

     Fireflies still flew around them, barely caring that sims were present as Skuld pulled her trusted knife and slit the old mans throat. It went surprisingly simple, she'd thought the blade would get stuck in the wrinkles. But she made sure to keep it nice and sharp, it was her workknife after all. An even bigger surprise was that the little girl didn't even start screaming, or running. Good for Skuld, but not so good for the little girl. She didn't need these to fight or beg, this was just for science, yes, science.

     Though, for some reason it still felt a bit like an anti climax when the old guy just fell to his knees, gurgling and taking his damned time dying. And the girl just sat and stared at him with big eyes, nearly hyperventilating. What a bummer, but that didn't mean she couldn't get anything out of it. The little girl didn't need all of those things in her hair though, and the old man had a nice watch he had no use for.

     That had been an interesting experience, and so stressreleaving not to have any purpose other than... scientific, yes, scientific. And she had learned a lot, like the old mans heart probably wasn't the best. The little girl had been in excellent shape though. But more importantly she'd learned something new, or more likely; rediscovered something she already knew about.
     It was a bog. The river might be a river in the rest of the city, but this far away from town it was a bog. Things sank in bogs, few were likely to come here as there wasn't any interesting birds or anything. And it was unlikely difficult to search a bog. That was good to know for later purposes.

     Ian wasn't one to complain when having a luxuryproblem as beeing intercepted by a newlyshowered woman in underwear in the garden. Whatever she spent her days with, he was sure it had something to do with her job. And for once it was nice that she was home a bit earlier than usual.

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First, no worries: Skuld isn't pregnant.
Second: Maya appeared on her own, it was just funny that they kept talking about vegetables.
Third: The ghosts appeared on their own, so I just had to put them up. They are both from generation one.
Fourth: Skuld had her heart set on the supernaturals from chapter 2.25: Nidreisingr.
Fifth: Stupid Rikard went and died on his own, so it's not Skuld that has to change plans, it's me. So she killed a couple of innocent sims instead. Mainly because I'm cleaning out a lot of sims to add some new blood.

Thanks for reading