1.21 The Returnable Gift

The kids have plenty to keep them busy at home, but Dustin never knows what he's going to be walking into, so it's a pleasant (or perplexing) surprise that today all is quiet.

“How have things been? You should invite me to see one of your shows sometime.”

Dustin stares at the text for a moment before responding. He shrugs and sends back a simple: “Will do. Let me know if you're ever in town.”

It's weird, but whatever. There's so many more important things to worry about around here than the oddness that is Loki Beaker.

Like the laundry. Thankfully the bills are less of a worry lately. But the laundry? That's a class action lawsuit waiting to happen. He's sure the smell of it covers the surrounding foothills and distracts drivers on the roads. Too bad a fancy, 'modern' city like they live has yet to invent a dry cleaner's. Everybody's here is rich, at least that's what the city council would like potential residents to believe. How else could they demand taxes fall in such a high overall bracket?

Jet is artistic, but there's more to him than that already. Even how he plays the xylophone reflects his preference for doing things differently. He likes to wait until someone walks in the room before banging on it- and he only deigns to play three of the seven notes that he can at any given time based on the colors he wants to hear, or, nobody's really sure why. Why they still allow him to play with it.

It helps to get his sister's attention too, doesn't have to just be adults. “Just play wis your toy, Jet.” She tells him constantly. “You don haf ta show me...”

“See? See?” He answers gleefully.

“I see. But you gotta play. S'ppost'a play it Jet.”

She's not watching him now despite what she said, not that he can really understand her. When she look up from her book again, that's when he will strike his favorite keys, and not a moment before.

Eh. Then again, why not? His memory isn't that great yet either.

They say a boy's first love is his mother, and Jet looks at Meghan as if that's true.

That affection doesn't help her at all in trying to explain that the potty has nothing scary in it. It takes several minutes before she able to approach it with him in her arms.

“I promise you'll feel batter about this soon, okay bud? You just have to trust me.”

Jet grabs a fistfull of her hair and hides in it. He's distressed enough that only tiny upset sounds come out of him for a moment.

A mother's best option sometimes is a bribe.

“I can't give you too much candy, but I promise you'll get something nice when you get this right, okay? Just focus on momma. Focus on me. And then try to relax a bit. It's okay I promise.”

The toddler allows her to slowly lower him onto the potty chair his expression a combination of trust and apprehension.

“Ca-? Ka...” If this kid's first word is seriously candy she was going to find her husband and... well she hasn't thought that far ahead. But it had better not be! He's always spoiling them with sugary things!

Meanwhile, the 'I had a great poo' face?

Jyoti doesn't have a bad relationship with her mother, but she's kind of quiet around her sometimes.

Meghan says all the right things...

But sometimes it sounds like someone else is speaking.

“Don't worry little girl I ain't gonna eatcha.” Malcom says in a deeper octave. Jyoti just freezes in place for a few moments before letting out a defenseless gurgle as if reverting back to a larval state will project around her a layer of defensive cuteness.

Meghan's there completely when she knows one of them needs her though.

And she and Dustin are always there for each other, making the most of their hit-or-miss schedules. The little moments of affection start to mean everything in a house with two toddlers- a stolen kiss here or the brush of some fingertips there might be all the time they have time for so they try to make it count.

Here's the memento from Dustin/Jyoti day.

They get to eat an early lunch together one day after taking care of the kids.

Dustin smacks his lips loudly, for once being annoying with no purpose. This is his favorite meal after all. Some things are worth aerating, have to be warmed up ...have to be enjoyed.

Meghan is rambling anyways. “And he texted you, so he might be in town right? Should we try to invite him over, or is that weird? I feel like the whole thing is weird, really, but I could swear that was him at your show a while back, remember I told you but you didn't think it was him.”

Dustin was done with this topic less than three seconds after it had began and too busy focusing on the meal to respond. He'd finally managed to make fish & chips, and it came out pretty good too (although it was nothing like his dad used to make). Flaying the fish had taken the most time, but he is sure he can make a dry base for the batter and have that ready to go for next time.

She finally throws her hands up in the air. “Fine, I know you're bored and I guess I don't care either, I just thought if he was there he should have just said hi.”

“There's a lot of guys who wear their hair long and blond around here.” Dustin finally says with a shrug. “Besides if it was him he probably was too awestruck by my kick-ass performance to notice that you were even in the crowd.”

“That's stupid! And of course he knew we were both there I told him we were having Jet's birthday at the park that day. I didn't invite him directly, we were just having a conversation. And do you have to make it look like you're literally french kissing every bite of your food? It's making me nauseous, and-”

Dustin smacks his lips once more for emphasis before swallowing that bite. “Try not to sound so jealous, Meghan. It's not like you don't know what I can do with my tongue.” He says with a smirk. “I can't help it if the way I eat turns you on.”

She scoots her chair out from the table with a loudish scrape across the floor. “You know what, I haven't actually slept yet. Have fun with the kids. It's too early for this.”

“It wouldn't be the first time I kept you up past your bedtime.” He says before adding, “Let me know if you need me to come tuck you in. I'll make this fish jealous of you.” He promises, in case she didn't get the innuendo the first time.

She groans, unamused. “Why do you always tease me like this? I'm exhausted lately.”

“Maybe I just like to watch you walk away.” He replies easily with a shrug of the shoulders and a grin. “That, and I can admit I have a damn woohooty wife. Nobody would guess that you're the mother of two completely perfect children.”

She blushes a bit but is halfway across the room already so he doesn't see it.

He always knows just what to say, when did he get to be so smooth? She still manages to fall asleep a few moments later, exhausted from being up half the night.

Little upgrades, here and there. The kitchen gets rearranged ever so slightly.

Dustin decides to take a few days off so Meghan can catch up on some much needed rest.

He's supposed to be tending the garden but gets distracted feeding the lab specimens.

And overclocking his cerebral enhancement machine from his college days. Maybe it's the fact that both he and his wife are approaching middle age that makes him want to reminisce a little from time to time? Either way this really did need to be upgraded to today's technological standards. Such a delicate and complex task requires careful application of an absolutely basic flat-head screwdriver, of course.

Satisfied that his skill with electronics is as flawless as ever, he finally gets back to watering the garden.

Meghan takes advantage of her husband being at home to hang out with Jyoti for once, and heads off to the science lab for a mother-daughter day of tinker toys and Hobersim spheres.

Not long after the two leave, Dustin is perfecting one of his newer tricks with one eye on Jet when the doorbell rings. He scoops the toddler into a playpen and heads to the door.

Dustin is used to the type of person that lives in Starlight Shores, and he's become acquainted with nearly a third of the town due to the nature of his profession. It's quickly apparent that the woman outside is not one of the typical Starlight Shores locals. Her eyes alone root him to the place where he stands. As if she were seeing into his very soul.

He laughs internally as he comes down the stairs to greet her. What a stupid thought.

Despite the lateness of the hour he greets her as if she's selling something. Her skin is slightly cool to the touch, which is an oddly refreshing feeling.“I know it's late, but I really hope you're selling girl scout cookies.” He jokes. “My wife loves anything with caramel.”

The young woman shakes her head. “I may have something she'll appreciate more than that, but it'll take some time to explain. May I...come in?”

Despite his good humor she seems very serious. He takes a moment to think about it, then steps back and inclines his head towards the house.

“After you.” He tells her at the door.

He isn't sure in the end, why he invited her into the house. He simply feels no threat from her.

The woman, under bright and artificial lights is absolutely radiant. Even her skin has an unnatural glow. She quietly identifies herself as Moira.

He offers her a cup of tea or coffee but she declines.

Instead, she places and incredibly odd-looking plant (or is it one flower?) on the table in front of her, before bothering to explain anything at all. The darkest feathery petals curl around her fingertips as she sets it down, making it look for all the world as if it doesn't want to be separated from her.

The smell it produces is pungent.

Dustin eyes it for a moment and watches the woman. “If you'd like to wait for Andrea,” He begins, sure now that she must be a colleague from the Research Center at the hospital, but before he can say more the woman shakes her head serenely.

“I'm here for you, Mister Sparrow.”

He stares at her, smiling congenially. The way she said that was as if they were old friends. Which is weird, he knows they'd never met before. As always he falls back on humor in unusual situations. “And I'm here for my wife and our children. But you and I have never met.”

“No we haven't. But before that, I have something of an apology for you.” She takes a seat and crosses her legs delicately. “Do you know what this plant is? This is an extremely rare flower. There's a saying in latin, 'momento mori'. It means, 'remember that you will die'. Or more clearly, remember your mortality. This plant is a gift for you, with that in mind.”

Silence hangs over the room for several moments. “And what is it, exactly?”

“They call it 'death's reward', it has a long complicated official name but to most it is mors lucrum.”

“...because it smells like death?” He asks too quickly. He can feel the acrid smell coming off of the plant in waves.

“No, but please I have to ask you to let me speak.” Moira's voice is so sincere he stops for a moment, and watches her. “I-I'll try to get to the right conclusion here.” She promises with less confidence in her voice than she probably intends. “This is something I'm going to give you, and ask that you keep it with you always, never let it leave your clothing, or where you sleep at night. I said that this is a gift but also an apology, and I can explain that too, I think.”

He raises and eyebrow. “That seems like an awfully personal request coming from someone I've never met. What's the purpose of something like this, of my keeping it on hand?”

“Payment. For the boatman you may call it.”

Dustin is usually very patient, but his son will need his attention soon and every question he gets an answer to is bringing up a few more. This is shaping up to look like a long conversation. “Not to be rude, but I have a kid sleeping in the next room who will require a meal soon and I don't read a lot. Can you get to the point about the uh, the boatman?”

He hands fidget ever so slightly, she lets her manicured nails run over each other as she speaks. “Are you familiar with the story? The one who ferries the dead across the river Styx? Without the service of which, all souls would be lost to wandering.”

“So you're saying that this boatman exists?” His voice is incredulous even to his own ears. “And the flower, not coins, or money, is his payment to take someone across?”

“Well... this is more of the opposite. Suppose you could pay the boatman not to take a soul- to leave the person he was supposed to take alive, and accept payment such as this instead?”

“Then I'd say it sounds like the sort of thing everyone would carry with them at all times.” He stopped and mulled over the words for a few moments. “Are you saying that it exists? The river, hell, everything, that they aren't mere concepts? How can you know what the boatman needs, if you are alive yourself?”

Moira nods, her glowing eyes solemn. “In one form or another. And I know this because of my very nature. You've probably sensed it, that I am unlike you? Normally it makes people very cautious, though really you don't seem overtly afraid. My kind are known to make people... disappear. Some instinctively sense this, keep their distance.”

“I'm a magician, I make people disappear everyday.” He says immediately. “And you don't have that sort of homicidal vibe. But I'd love to know what you really are.” He grins at her in excitement.

“I'm the kind that drinks the blood of mortal men.”

He sits up a little more straight at that. “Really, are you?”

“Really I am.”

“But if you don't drink blood, will you die?”

A wistful expression overtakes her features and she allows this question to take her off track. “Eventually, yes. There are ways to extend life, however.”

“And you have some connection to death, and to even the 'boatman', then? Because you're like some kind of vampire, the undead? Is that where this is going?” Dustin is stupidly happy his son hasn't started yelling for anything from the other room yet. He doesn't get to have these conversations everyday. “So why'd you make the allusion that you aren't mortal? You can die, so we both are.”

She laughs at this, under her breath. “Really I suppose you're correct. I can see why my friend likes you so much. You are intriguing. What I can't see is, why he wants you dead.”

Dustin narrows his eyes. “We're talking in circles here, aren't we. Who is your friend? Fortunately or not for me, many people around here know me, and I don't know all of them.”

She opens her mouth to speak and he gets another bright idea and interrupts her again. “Actually, I've never met a vampire in person before, not that I'm surprised you exist. There are too many historical stories, but anyways, can you do something to prove it to me?”

“While I am feeling fairly peckish Mister Sparrow, if you're asking me to feed from you I'm afraid that we don't do that sort of thing with just anyone. I for one almost... never do it.”

He smiles. “I'm not saying that, but some sort of proof would collaborate your story well, don't you think? About the afterlife and how this crazy flower thing uh, comes into it?” As Dustin eyes the bloom, still on the table, he watched as it's curled and feathery outer layer of petals straightened and recoiled again, with no airflow in the room. Small parts of it were moving.

“You're under no obligation to believe me.”

“Oh don't say that, that's so boring! But I guess we don't have a lot of time here either. Don't you have special abilities as a vampire?”

“There are some, they vary by the individual, and their diet somewhat. Mostly we have more or less ability based on our progeny. Nothing I'm going to explain at this moment. I could explain the apology part of this... but I'd like your promise that you'll carry this with you first, before I explain the why.”

“I'm going to promise no such thing. Explain or don't, that part is up to you.”

She lets out a slow breath at that. “You want your children to grow up with their father, don't you? That should be enough of a reason.”

He frowns at that. “Of course I need to be there for them.”

“So you'll carry it with you?”

He shakes his head. “I'm not sure... this all seems pretty far fetched, even by my standards. I don't want to turn into some paranoid guy who looks over his shoulder all day for the sake of a just in case scenario where someone you know comes to kill me. No child of mine is gonna see their dad running away from something. I won't let them grow up to be afraid of the dark, let alone some phantom assailant you've created here. Who is it anyways?”

“He's.. someone you've known for a while. But please, I don't think he knows this is a motive he has, he tries to hide his thoughts about it from even himself, but that wife of his, she might push him into it as some sort of revenge. Supposedly, the story is that you managed to marry the girl that he loves. Or did love, I'm not sure it matters which.”

Dustin sat silent in the chair for a long while, because a smile cracked his lips that he could not stop from spreading. Eventually he stands and leans on his chair, trying to hold back the laughter. “You're telling me you brought this magical life-flower here for me to carry around like a coward because Loki Beaker, of all people, is somehow still pissed at me? Take the flower back. It sounds like it means a lot to you anyways.”

Moira's eyes widen before she shakes her head in the negative. “No don't say that, I can't do that! You have to take it! It's true that they aren't easy to get a hold of -and normally my kind has greater access, you were right that there is a connection- but I know he struggles with the idea of harming you- I've seen his dreams about it-”

“Pfft. Dreams. Loki Beaker. This is hilarious. Better yet just send him here now, I'm not gonna lose to the likes of him. Not now, and not ever. You can even have a front row seat, not that I think you'll get much of a show.”

“He's not the same as he was when you knew him, and-”

“Look, I'm not sure what you think you're atoning for by being here, but seriously I'll be fine, and you don't owe me for whatever wrong you think you've done. This is a great damn joke, though, I wish I'd thought of it. What a punchline!” And the room echoes with his laughter for a long time. When he finally composes himself he shakes his head. “Well, my wife's gonna be home with our daughter any minute now so-”

Moira stands, hugging herself delicately. “He's not the same as he was before, he's more like me than like you actually, and I am at fault for that. His life has been ruined by the both of us, and-”

“So he drinks people's blood now?” Dustin's gray eyes shone with humor still and so Moira has no idea how to respond to it. “This story is great, you should come by every weekend and build onto it. Besides, I would probably pay actual real money to fight him again, as a vampire. He might actually have a chance if that's the case.”

“But you have children.”

“One of which is on her way back home. So take your awesome prop- better yet my wife would love to study it so maybe you could leave it. But I doubt I'll be using it as a get out of mortality-free card anytime soon.”

“Keep it with you.” She repeats.

“-and you never change either.” He says with a smile. “But seriously, Loki is an idiot, but he ain't that stupid to come and fight me over something we've long since resolved. He wouldn't gain anything from it, he's too practical so I don't think you know him well enough honestly. If he's really like you, would that do it? Because you don't seem like the type either.”

“It's probably more about regrets than revenge, but I've done all I can. The rest is up to you.”

“Oh don't worry I'm going to be amused by this visit for weeks. I'm sure the laughter alone with lengthen my life and-”

“Will you try to take this seriously? Please?” She finally pleads with him. She looks around at the cute domesticity of the home the Sparrows live in. There was attention to detail that comes with careful planning in some places, and other areas, for example the plastic dining set, spoke volumes about the life that was still very much being built. Was this young man truly willing to give up everything because he doesn't want to believe what she was saying?  Moira is not a very persuasive person, but there was a part of her that believed that as long as she was able to come here and warn him that she would be able to safeguard against further death. This was all a consequence of her mistake after all.

Dustin shakes his head, snapping her out of her moments of introspection. “I doubt that I can. It goes against my nature in more than one way, but thanks for the weird gift, you're uhm, absolved of all supposed responsibility, is that good? I do not hold you responsible for whatever you did... so wait, did you bite him? I thought you said you didn't bite people?”

“I... did, actually.” She says quietly, her voice laced with shame.

“Huh. Cool. Well thanks for all the weirdness and I hate to push you back out the door but you really do have to go, unless you want to have to explain all this to my wife.”

“I...I'll go. Thank you for your time and if you have any other questions, I'll try to stop by again.”

“That's not really necessary, but thanks.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just had to wreck the sexual tension with the word woohooty. (I use simlish and english interchangeably by the way on purpose, not to confuse anyone that sometimes I might say 'people' or 'sims' or whatever in the blog. It's more fun that way I think? What do I know I'm just bored too easily.

Dustin is a brave sim, I figured it's less than a 50% chance he takes the flower seriously at this point.

Well I was going to go somewhere (fairly obvious by the end of this update) with the Loki storyline, but then something random happens in my game that wrecks everything. Not as in the game became unplayable or anything like that (although this town is a glitch fest), but as in something that happened randomly tore a hole in my building story, but is probably a good thing after all? I don't think I was going to be doing nice things to my sims.

But we can probably blame Dustin for messing everything up. More on that later. Also even though the main story has been Loki-heavy lately, he's not actually going to be around very much. It's like I can see into the future or something...