Chapter Eighty Three

After wrapping Coryn up in a fresh blanket, Dory took him upstairs to the newly redecorated (and expanded) nursery and put him to bed.  

She then proceeded to go and investigate some of the other changes to the house which Nik had arranged.  Outside, he had arranged for some of the old paddock area to be converted into a patio with a swimming pool and hot-tub, while the garden plot which her grandfather had started had been moved into a brand new greenhouse. 

Investigating the greenhouse, Dory was delighted to discover a sprinkler and composting arrangement which allowed her to water and compost all the plants at once as well as the greenhouse itself keeping them protected from the new weather systems.

Nik meanwhile had been enjoying himself far too much at the festival lot to follow his wife home and see the birth of their son.  Indeed, her absence left him free to entertain himself in the fashion he most enjoyed...Using his powers to cause misery for the unfortunate sims who had also chosen that night to visit the festival! 

As Coryn grew, Dory and Nik developed a routine of looking after him, with early morning snuggles a major priority for Dory.

In addition to which there were the more prosaic elements of looking after a small baby, feeding, bathing and changing of nappies being regular requirements.

 

And Dory was deeply paranoid about what might happen to Coryn, insisting on sleeping in the rocking chair in his nursery to prevent anyone trying to steal her second child! 

In the meantime, Mira was left largely to her own devices, and she had been racking her brain to try and think of a way of easing the burden Nik had placed on Elenie.  What she hadn't realised was that she had allies in this desire...

When Misty jumped onto her lap one day, she was feeling lonely enough that she began talking to the cat about the situation. 

"I just don't know what to do, I know Elenie is Dory's child whatever that ******* claims, and I'm sure he knows it too.  I'm certain he has some sort of ulterior motive for persuading Dory that her little girl's really a changeling but she won't listen to me, I swear he's bewitched her somehow!  I don't dare try talking to Elenie, even though I'm desperate to let her know not all her family have forgotten her, as he's threatened to hurt her if I try and talk to her, or anyone else for that matter!"

When Mira reached this point in her ruminations Misty looked up at her, mewed, and jumped down, whisking away out of the door.

She had a brief conversation in cat with Merlin about the situation, before heading out into the remaining paddock area to find Taliesen.  

Taliesen seemed to have been waiting for her, and, once she had finished mewing her story to him, his horn began to glow white.  Misty had received the occasional blessing from him before, but this time as the sparkles began to clear from around her she found a small notebook lying on the ground between them.  Taliesen lowered his head and gazed at her and she understood his plan.

Upstairs in the barn, Mira had begun reading while she turned Misty's odd behaviour over and over in her head.  When the door creaked open at first she thought that Nik had discovered her unformed plans and come to threaten her some more.

When she saw that Misty had returned, she bent down to greet her, expecting her to want some fuss and attention. 

When Misty produced (seemingly out of nowhere) a small notebook and  placed it in front of her, Mira was stunned.  

"Now where did you get that from little one?  And what do you want me to do with it?"

If she'd been surprised before, it was nothing to her shock when a series of pictures appeared in her head.  First an image of Taliesen enchanting the notebook, then one of Mira writing in it, following this a picture of her ripping a sheet out, screwing it up and throwing it to Misty.  More images followed, Misty playing with it and Nik taking it, unscrewing it to find a blank piece of paper and dropping it, and finally, Misty presenting it to Elenie, who was then able to read words on it which had been invisible to Nik...

Mira stared at Misty in shock "Was that you?  Are you telling me that Taliesen has enchanted this notebook to allow me to write letters to Elenie?  Letters that Nik can't read?"

Misty mewed back at Mira and somehow Mira was certain that she had understood her correctly.

Elenie herself was fully occupied every day.  Her chores around the house seemed neverending, especially since there always seemed to be more empty plates to be washed than people eating in the house!

Even when she had washed up, cleaned the house and made the beds, she then had to spend hours on schoolwork which no-one ever explained to her, leaving her to try and work it out from books on her own.

And with autumn having finally arrived, a new task had been added to her chores,  raking up all the leaves that now fell from the trees.

As a result, it was always late by the time she was finally able to unroll her sleeping bag in the barn and finally get to sleep.

Soon enough it was time for Coryn's first birthday, Dory held him up to the cake they had bought for him, while Nik and Mira watched and cheered.

After helping him blow out the candles, Dory placed her baby gently on the floor in time for the birthday sparkles to surround him and for him to grow up into an adorable little toddler.

Unbeknown to them however, as Coryn grew up in the main house a sadder event was taking place in the upstairs rooms in the barn.  Elenie had been making the bed while the cats all played around her when suddenly the room turned chill and a dark figure entered the room.  As she, Merlin, Misty and little Jewel watched the Grim Reaper picked Rascal up.

After giving her a good cuddle, he placed her back down again and a light shone down from the ceiling.  Rascal looked up at it, over to her family, and then leapt up, disappearing into the light. 

After the Grim Reaper had left, Elenie noticed sparkles form around Jewel and the little kitten aged up into a beautiful fluffy cat who looked remarkably like her father. 

Now that Coryn was a toddler, Nik and Dory made plans to visit the newly arrived autumn festival.  Dory phoned her cousin and her twin brother and invited them for a family day out.  Nia however was not able to make it, she had just had a baby of her own, but she sent her husband Kane along instead.  Dyan on the other hand did turn up, despite his dislike for the outdoors, having left his girlfriend Joey at home looking after their toddler son and instructing his little girl to come over after school.

An enjoyable day was had by all, everyone coo'ed over Coryn, who enjoyed himself immensely on the spring riders and playing with his toys in the sand.

While the adults enjoyed themselves exploring the activities around the festival.  Dory in particular spent several hours going round the haunted house, although she couldn't persuade her brother to join her.

As sun began to set she challenged Kane to a pie eating contest (which she won) while Nik chatted away to Dyan. 

Finally, the whole party had their picture taken together, and Dory was surprised when she emerged from the photography booth to realise that she had completely forgotten it was her birthday that day.  

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Pet Spam

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Town News

• Willem McKinley (Dyan & Joey's son) aged to toddler
• Carita Sabo aged to a child
• Mort McKinley-Sabo aged to young adult and got a job in teaching
• Bernard McKinley, Kane Clemetis-Sabo, Dyan Yat Sen & Bobbie Clemetis aged to adults
• Blue Marlin-Mitchell & Irish Marlin-McKinley died of old age
• Bernard McKinley & Christy Sabo had a baby boy called Gayle (who has since aged to a toddler)
• Brook & Grant Sperie-Sabo had a baby girl called Emily
• Niamara and Kane Clemetis-Sabo had a baby girl called Naomi
• Shadow & Sterling Fields-McKinley are expecting a baby
• Raina Sabo-Harris & Ralph Marlin-Crist got married and are now expecting a baby
• Menolly Clemetis has broken up with Derrick Harris-Crist