Woods Random Legacy: Chapter 45 - Spooky Night

James had big plans for Spooky Day.  While his reputation had been hurt lately by Sondra's spreading of rumors - true rumors, yes, but that was beside the point! - around town, he thought that a holiday feast party was just the thing to restore him to his previous social status.  He'd make a lobster, that would show everybody just how great he was!  However, there was one thing to take care of first.
James: "You guys, yes all three of you, listen up.  I'll be busy all day getting ready for the party, a party for adults.  So just run along, now!  Do whatever it is you do all day when you're not at school, just don't do it here."
There, that took care of things.  Now to get down to business.

Alpha's plans for the holiday had consisted of a nice, long meditation up in the catacombs anyway, so the dismissal didn't bother her too much.  Epsilon had intended to go to the fall festival, but a steady rain had been falling all morning, so Alpha invited Epsilon up to the catacombs with her.  Epsilon had been telling her older sister the other day about how much she'd enjoyed her class trip to the town cemetery, especially how silly all the other kids were for being scared, so Alpha thought that she might enjoy seeing her own family graveyard.  Alpha had proceeded down the stairs before Epsilon got there, so the young girl hurried to keep up.  She shivered as she reached the bottom, though the air was hardly any chillier than it had been outside.  There was something wrong down here.  She didn't know what it was, but the sensation balled up deep inside her, making her feel almost ill.

She frowned, looking around, but saw no sign of her sister.  She briefly considered leaving, but knew that she'd have to at least tell Alpha that she was leaving, so she mustered up her courage and stepped quickly through the quiet tomb.  It wasn't until she'd reached the final accessible chamber that she found her.
Epsilon: "There you are.  Why are you so far in?"
Alpha responded without opening her eyes or dropping the meditation pose.
Alpha: "The farther in I go, the more peaceful it feels.  You can still hear the outside sounds in the first room back the hall, though the paintings in there are nice.  Did you know our grandmother painted those?"
Epsilon: "Whatever."
Alpha opened her eyes.
Alpha: "What's wrong?"
Epsilon: "Can't you feel it?  This place gives me the creeps."

Alpha: "I don't know what you're talking about.  I thought you wouldn't mind it down here, since the dead people didn't creep you out "
Epsilon: "It's not the dead people, they're not scary.  I don't know what it is, I just feel really funny.  I don't want to stay."
Alpha: "It's raining outside, where are you going to go?  Dad'll just get mad if you go back to the house."
Epsilon: "I'll go to the festival.  I'm not afraid of a little rain.  It's not like I'll melt, or anything."
Alpha: "Suit yourself.  Check in on Omicron on your way down there, alright?  I'm not sure if Dad'll be okay with him just hiding out under the shelter in the backyard."
As Epsilon hurried up the stairs and out of the catacombs, Alpha closed her eyes and began to lose herself in her meditation again.  She didn't know what had bothered Epsilon, the girl wasn't easily spooked at all.  But if there was something bad down here, then surely she would feel it too, right?

A feeling of lightness overtook her as her mind found peace.  There would be time to worry about that later.  For now, there was only herself and the flame of her meditation.  All else would wait.

As the guests started to arrive, James got more and more upset.  None of them were impressed by his culinary achievement!  Furthermore, the dishes they brought were almost an insult.  Mac and cheese, autumn salad, cookies, and a cheese plate.  A cheese plate!  How much effort does it take to cut a block of cheese into a bunch of tiny, uneven cubes?  And who brought waffles to a dinner party?  The people in this town were just baffling.

His views on dinner-appropriate food seemed to be shared by at least one other guest, as evidenced by the doorway collision that took place as they arrived.  Now they were all over the floor, and that served them right.  Stupid waffles.

Shortly after the party began, Epsilon arrived back from the festival.  It had been kind of lame, because of the rain, but she'd had a good time in the haunted house.  She went through so many times that one of the attendants gave her a Cracklin' Nackerbell gnome in appreciation.

After she donned her trick-or-treating costume, she headed out into the main room, where she found her brother.
Epsilon: "Hey, where were you?  I was looking for you earlier to go to the festival."
Omicron: "Oh, I was in here.  Nobody really noticed me, it was fine."
Epsilon: "So you're a tiger?"
Omicron: "Yeah!"
Epsilon: "Who did your face paint?"
Omicron: "Some lady, I don't know who.  She's the one who knocked the waffles all over the floor."

Epsilon: "Is that what happened?  I wondered why I smelled maple syrup.  I thought Dad was just being weird again."
Omicron: "No, it was someone else this time!  So what are you, Geo Boy?"
Epsilon: "No, I'm Geo Girl.  All the cool superheroes don't have to be boys, you know."
Omicron: "Oh, yeah, that's cool too.  Are you ready?  I want to go get candy!"

Despite the still-falling rain, they had a good time, bringing back a decent haul of goodies.  Epsilon helped Omicron to wash the paint from his face and they crawled into bed early, exhausted from a day of holiday fun.

It was late when Alpha left the catacombs.  She didn't expect anyone to be waiting up for her, so she took all the time she needed to center herself.  Overall it had been quite a productive, yet relaxing, day.  She looked forward to hearing how her younger sibling's days had gone.

As she walked down the hill towards home, her thoughts were interrupted by a voice.  Quiet and polite, but yet strangely commanding, it attracted her attention.  She turned, facing the pale man who had come up behind her unheard.
Magician: "Miss Woods, it's a pleasure to meet you at last."
Alpha: "Miss Bunch-Landgraab, actually.  Who are you, and how do you know me?"
Magician: "Oh, I've heard much about you.  You fascinate me.  It's unusual to meet a young woman with such strength of character, especially with an upbringing such as your own."
Alpha: "Excuse me?"
Magician: "Your father, of course.  A brilliant man, highly intelligent, but not a shred of decency regarding the care of children.  I'm sure you would agree."

Alpha: "Look, I don't know who you are, but how do you know my dad?  And why are you following me?"
Magician: "Following you?  No, it was a chance meeting-"
Alpha didn't let him finish, interrupting coldly.
Alpha: "A chance meeting at my family catacombs?  That doesn't seem very likely to me.  Just turn and walk away.  I can defend myself."
His demeanor changed as she spoke, his eyes becoming cold as he took a half-step back from her.
Magician: "Very well then.  I tried to be civilized about the matter, but you have left me no choice."

Before Alpha could speak, his eyes had already locked on to hers, holding her gaze to his.  His eyes began to glow with a harsh light, and she felt his presence, in her mind.  No, not quite yet, there was still a chance!  She couldn't close her eyes, but she visualized the flame of her meditation, flickering alone as the light of his gaze assaulted it.

She took refuge inside the flame, using the fire as a shield against his assault.  She heard his gasp of frustration and moved almost on instinct, twisting to the side and around as he lunged towards her.

She spun around on the ball of her foot, releasing the flame as his mental assault stopped.  He was standing a few feet away from her, seeming stunned.
Alpha: "I don't know who you are, but stay away from me.  And stay away from my family."

With those words, she turned and ran, afraid to look behind her for signs of pursuit.  But she reached her home without incident, shutting and locking the door behind her as she breathed heavily, shivering despite the warmth of her house.  Who had that been?  And what was he?

Atop the hill, the Magician watched the young woman run for her home.  He couldn't pursue her there, of course, unless he was invited.  He could catch her before she reached the home, but he didn't.  She was a puzzle now.  How could a human girl - for she was human, that much was obvious - have resisted his intrusion into her mind?  And to react to his attack with such speed...surely that was impossible.  And yet it had happened.  He wanted to know why.

~ * ~

Oh noes!  The Magician is after Alpha!  Good thing she's got her head put on straight, and doesn't fall for honeyed words from evil vampires.  That last scene takes place significantly later at night than the lighting suggests.  I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't too dark for you guys, so I shot it in early evening, and now I think it looks silly.  And please ignore his weird outfit, he changed out of what he was supposed to be wearing while I was fast-forwarding to evening and I didn't notice until I'd already shot way too much to go back.

Kind of a short chapter, but hey, at least it's an update.  That's better than I've been doing for the past several weeks.

So I tried to write this last night, but I got stuck listening to Epsilon's mother's music(which I picked out the same night I found Epsilon's, along with a particularly badass song for the generation 2->3 transition sequence) on repeat and having sad feels, so it didn't happen. :\ I don't know why I got stuck on that, as Acadia isn't even in this chapter!

Woods Random Legacy: Chapter 44 - Growing Into Autumn

On the first chilly day in autumn, Alpha decided it was time to celebrate Epsilon becoming old enough to attend school.  She woke up early and biked down to the store to purchase a cake, making careful use of her hard-earned simoleons.

Epsilon was excited to begin school, even after Alpha's warnings about the other children.  She wanted to learn new things, and play with educational toys that James wouldn't buy.  It was nice of Alpha to get a cake for her - delicious, too! - but it wasn't really necessary.

The school required a physical for all new students, so James was finally forced to take Epsilon to the doctor's office.  They were concerned about her narcolepsy, but the doctor posited that she may be growing out of it, as the episodes had grown much less frequent lately.  They did find that the girl required glasses, though, and the eye doctor let her pick out a pair of cute purple frames.  They'd be perfect for her first days of school!

She took after her father in her choice of leisure activities.  Now that she was old enough to sit at the chessboard, she loved spending time playing with the pieces.  The few books kept around the house also intrigued her, though most of them were written at an adult level and therefore were beyond her comprehension.  She did choose to keep one relic from her early childhood, though.

The sheep toy, which had been a favorite of hers since Alpha had purchased the toy box containing it, had more than earned its spot on her bedside table.  She might not play with it as a little kid would anymore, but she could look down to it in the mornings and enjoy her memories associated with the plastic animal.

Her first day of school was every bit as hard as Alpha had cautioned it might be.  Not only was she teased about her parentage, but the girls especially teased Epsilon brutally about her hair.  It just wasn't natural, they said, and asked how much her mother hated her to let her go in public like that - oh wait, she doesn't have a mother!

By the time she got home from school, she just wanted to curl in in bed and cry.  Alpha was busy helping Omicron with his talking, so she didn't want to bother her older sister.  Instead, she completed her homework in silence, retiring early to bed.  Why couldn't she just be normal?

(Soundtrack for the next scene.)

When she awoke, she wasn't in the top bunk of her house anymore.  The room was dim, illuminated only by a faint light somewhere behind her.  Her limbs were heavy from sleep, but she pushed herself up and looked around.  She was in a library.  It was obviously a dream.  Even if she had sleptwalked, the library in Sunset Valley didn't look anything like this.  It couldn't.  This place was so...perfect.

She got to her feet and stepped towards a shelf.  The books were old, older than anything she'd seen before, yet they felt real under her fingers.  This didn't feel like a dream at all, but it had to be.  This library was unlike anywhere that existed in the real world.  As she ran her fingers over the spines of the books before her, she felt a breeze across the back of her neck.  She turned quickly, but saw nothing, hearing only the sound of the phantom breeze among the books.

Was she alone here?  It was impossible to tell, but it wouldn't matter anyway, in a dream.  If it meant her harm, it would show itself.  Until then, she would explore.  Stepping to one of the windows, she looked out.  A lonely expanse of blackness was all she saw, and she quickly stepped back from the window.

She felt the dream slipping away from herself and struggled to hold on to it.  A library!  There was so much she could discover here!  But the pull of wakefulness was too strong, and she soon opened her eyes in her bed.  Sitting up, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then looked down over the rails of her bunk to her older sister, who was staring at her.
Alpha: "Epsi, what did you do to your hair?"

Epsilon: "Huh?  I didn't do anything."
Alpha: "Uh, look again."
Epsilon reached behind her and grabbed her ponytail, pulling it to the front.  Huh, that's strange.  Her hair was snow white!
Epsilon: "...I didn't do that!"
Alpha: "How can it just turn all white like that?"
Epsilon: "I don't know!"
Alpha: "Okay, it's probably alright.  Come down here, let me have a look."
Epsilon climbed down the ladder and stood in front of her sister, nervously fiddling with the sleeve of her pajamas.  Alpha reached out and touched the hair, letting it fall from her fingers.
Alpha: "It's soft, and strong, better than your hair has been since you were young.  But it's white.  I don't understand it."
Epsilon: "If it's better than it was when I was younger, that's a good thing, right?"
Alpha hesitated for a moment, then smiled warmly.
Alpha: "Right, that's a good thing.  Come here, sorry if I scared you."

She hugged her younger sister tightly.  The confidence was an act, though.  What could cause someone's hair to turn white overnight?  The doctors had said that nothing was wrong with it at Epsilon's check-up, but it still scared Alpha.  And what would the other children at school say?

She distracted herself by making sure that Omicron knew how to talk.  He grasped it more quickly than Epsilon had, the young boy having quite a lot to say.
Alpha: "If you get hurt, you know you can always come to me, right?  I'll help you put a band-aid on your boo-boo."
Omicron: "Ban-na on boo-boo!"

Other lessons needed to be imparted as well.
Alpha: "Okay, so you know what to do with the dirty dishes when dad leaves them in the kitchen, right?"
Omicron: "Wash!"
Alpha: "That's right!"

Of course, Alpha wasn't with Omicron all the time, frequently leaving the boy to his own devices.  He didn't much like being alone, but even that was better than being with his father.  Sometimes, Omicron could feel a sort of wrongness emanating from the man, strong enough to make him scream and prompting James to shout for Alpha to come put the kid to bed.  James wasn't quite sure what was wrong with that kid, but he sure spent a lot of time crying.

Alpha was a junior in high school now, so with her added workload for classes she was glad that Omicron was getting older and didn't need so much of her attention.  She often would ask her cousin Valerie over to work on their homework together.
Alpha: "Yeah, so, this is my house."

Alpha: "Please try to ignore the lunatic in the next room."

Valerie: "But it's soooo hard to concentrate!"

Alpha: "Tell me about it."

Of course, she also set aside time to train.  Martial arts was her one distraction from her daily responsibilities, and she made the most of the few moments she had to herself to practice.

She decided one evening that her goal in life was to reach physical perfection.  Not only must she train her body, but also her mind and spirit.  The art of meditation would be her next area of study, which she hoped to begin once Omicron started school.

Soon enough, that time was here.  Alpha procured a second cake and held another quiet celebration in the kitchen, before letting the younger children loose to go enjoy their evening.

Epsilon chose to study the art of chess from the perspective of the white side.  After all, moving first may bring with it significant advantages.  Omicron, while invited by his sister to join her, chose to rehearse his greetings for school first.  While he wouldn't attend until after Spooky Day, he wanted to be sure to make a good impression for the loads of friends he'd have!  Epsilon didn't have the heart to enlighten him otherwise.

~ * ~

This chapter took forever to make happen, I apologize.  It was that stupid dream sequence!  I made the set, then put off importing a child version of Epsilon.  Then, after I got Epsilon imported, I found out that the set hadn't properly saved!  So I had to go back and re-do all the design and CASTing.  I hope it added to the story though, along with the music I found.  I'm a pretty big Doctor Who fan(mostly the new series, but I've been watching the classic stories when I've gotten the chance, and they're good too - very cheesy sci fi, of course, but good), and as I was writing this chapter I was browsing some of the soundtracks on youtube, and I stumbled across Amy's theme, suddenly realizing that it fit the dream scene perfectly.  I'd even go so far as to call it Epsilon's theme, through her child and teen years, even though she's a very different character from Amelia Pond.

Epsilon is the most adorable kid ever.  That bit with her hair turning white was a weird bug in my game, where her outfit and hair was reset to something bizarre.  I decided to roll with it, and made the hair actually change color in the story.  What could it mean?

I'm glad that Alpha had some time to be a teenager, even if it was just a few sim-days.  I think she's about 3-4 days from aging up to YA when this chapter happens.

You might be wondering what happened to the imaginary friend arc I started and then stopped mentioning.  Well, the imaginary friend has gone AWOL in my game, so I've just dropped it from the story.  It's easier than trying to fix it somehow.

THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO MANY FOREVERS TO HAPPEN I'M SORRY! D=

Woods Random Legacy: Chapter 43 - Responsibility

While James pulled in a steady income, he didn't offer much to Alpha for pocket change.  While he provided the basic necessities - food, clothes, school lunch money - he didn't see what point there was in giving her an allowance.  She'd just spend it on something silly.  So she turned to completing odd jobs around town to save up some money.

The school's boiler was making a funny noise, and they said they'd pay her if she could get it working again.  How hard could it be to fix a boiler?  She'd watched James fiddle with the plumbing around the house when it started acting up more than once, and if he could do it then she certainly could.  The basement was dark and creepy, though, so she resolved to finish the job as quickly as possible.

So much for getting it done quickly.  After several hours of work, the boiler was finally running smoothly again, and Alpha walked away with $300 in her pocket.  It wasn't much, but if she saved it it could go a long way.  Maybe she could even go to university, one day.  For now, though, she took out $55 from the meager fund to buy a colorful toy box for the younger children.

Epsilon loved playing with the fluffy toy sheep, though she managed to lose it alarmingly often; it was never gone for long, however.  When she got bored of the sheep - or couldn't find it - she had just as much fun by climbing into the box itself and spying around the room.  Alpha had to pick the sleeping toddler up out of the box more than a few times.

Omicron was growing up quickly, soon getting old enough to be let out to play by himself.  He was always clumsily dropping things or crawling into furniture, though, so Alpha tried to discourage him from following his sister's example when playing with the toy box.

He and Epsilon preferred to play together, yet apart.  Omicron would fuss when he was alone for too long, but as Epsilon had very little interest in actually playing with her little brother she often chose to remain across the room, playing by herself with her sheep.

There was a lot to do with taking care of two toddlers.  Alpha's prom was held in the middle of summer, but she chose not to attend.  There were more important matters to take care of at home, and she knew that she couldn't count on James for any of it.

True to form, when Leisure Day came around James left the house early to attend a party he was throwing at the public pool.  He'd only invited a handful of people, but he hoped that they would each bring friends of their own.  More people was always more fun!  He made sure to get changed before he left the house, in order to minimize the time before he could dive into the refreshing water.

That, of course, left Alpha home with the children.  James hadn't even asked, he'd just walked right out the door.  Typical.  Alpha hid her irritation well when instructing Omicron in the proper use of the potty, as it wasn't appropriate to take out her anger at her father on a little kid who couldn't help who he'd been born to.

After Leisure Day, summer drew to a quick close, the weather becoming chillier by the day.  While she hadn't had much help from James apart from potty training - the lesser of two evils, as he didn't want to change diapers - she'd managed to help her younger siblings develop their life skills satisfactorily.  Epsilon was walking and talking, even if she didn't have much to say to anyone but Alpha, and even young Omicron was starting to toddle around.  Epsilon would be starting school soon, though, and there were some things that Alpha needed to prepare her for.

Alpha: "You'll be going to school soon, Epsi.  It's a big step to take."
Epsilon: "I'll learn things?"
Alpha: "Yeah, like math and science and language arts.  You'll love it."
Epsilon: "Yeah!"
Alpha took a deep breath.  Things had gotten a lot worse at school since Sondra and James had broken up - she suspected that Sondra had been spreading rumors about James sleeping around and who he'd had children with.  Alpha could deal with it, but Epsilon was young, and still so innocent.
Alpha: "Some of the kids at school might be kind of mean.  They'll make fun of you, and tease you for things."
Epsilon: "Why?  It's not nice."
Alpha: "I know it's not nice, but sometimes they do it anyway.  They even do it to me, but I try not to let it bother me."
Epsilon: "They tease you?"
Her eyes got wide as she tried to imagine her older sister getting made fun of by other kids.
Alpha: "Yeah, all the time.  I just don't let it bother me, alright?  They might say stuff like you don't have a mom."
Epsilon: "I don't have a mom though."
Alpha: "No, you do have a mom, I met her when I was little.  I think she loves you a lot, she just had to leave.  But the kids don't understand that.  Just try not to let it make you sad, okay?  If anybody is bothering you, you can always come to me, okay?"
Epsilon smiled and reached out to give her sister's neck a hug.
Epsilon: "Okay!"

It was getting late, so Alpha stepped away to put Epsilon down for the night in the nursery.  No matter what happened in the next few months as Epsilon started school, they'd handle this together.

~ * ~

I'm actually keeping track of the money belonging to the children of this generation, separately of what's in the main family funds.  It's a bit annoying, but I figure that James won't buy them anything that isn't necessary.  Toys, cake, skilling objects, phone repairs, university, and so on are "extras," so they'll have to find the money on their own.  It was especially challenging at this point in the generation, because Alpha couldn't take a job after school and also take care of the children, so she was limited to opportunities, which suddenly became few and far between for her.  It's been a fun way to play, but I definitely don't want to do it every generation!

And yes, I have been having Alpha do 90% of the childcare.  James feeds and potty trains when Alpha's at school, but once she's home she does all the socializing, care, and teaching.  James didn't help to teach any of the walking/talking skills, fitting with his role as the parent who does only the bare minimum.

Omicron's hair is the same color as Eliza's was.  It drove me crazy for way longer than it should have, trying to figure out where I'd seen that color before.  I knew it wasn't anything that EA put in my game!

Woods Random Legacy: Chapter 42 - Custody

On the other side of town, things were hectic at the Woods household, dealing with both a toddler and a newborn baby.  Sondra handled most of the work, cheerfully at first, but as the days went on she began to get frustrated with James's unhelpfulness.  One day, she cornered him in his bedroom, the traditional location of all his unpleasant discussions.
Sondra: "Look, something's going to change around here."
James: "What do you mean?  Things are going fine.  I've got a son, and you're a great help."
He gave her his best winning smile, which quickly faded when he saw the look on her face.
Sondra: "Right, that's exactly it.  I'm the great help.  I do everything while you just laze around and play at being a chef, or stay out all night at some party or other."
James: "I really appreciate it."
Sondra: "Well, you know what I'd appreciate?  You actually stepping up and taking some responsibility.  You're a grown man, with a family!  But you take no interest in any of your children."

James: "That's not true, I was just in the nursery talking to Omicron earlier today."
Sondra: "What about your daughters?"
James: "They're great.  Alpha's always a help, and Epsilon seems to be learning lots of things."
Sondra: "You hardly pay any attention.  Do you even know what Epsilon's first word was?  You also still refuse to take her to see a doctor.  I'm telling you, there's something not right about that girl.  The way her hair is so faded out and brittle can't be healthy."
James: "So she has dry hair, so does half the population of the world.  That's why they sell so many fancy hair products.  She doesn't seem sick, I hear her laughing and stuff."
Sondra: "Half the time.  And the other half she spends falling asleep at random, even if she'd just gotten up from a nap.  Narcolepsy isn't normal, James."
He shrugged in response.
James: "What do you want me to do about it?"
Sondra: "See, this is what drives me crazy!  You just don't care about them, it's like they exist only as a minor distraction to you.  You know, I was at the store the other day.  Know who I ran into?"
James was confused at the non sequitur, but played along anyway by shaking his head.
Sondra: "Rickey.  We ended up talking, and you know what I realized?"
She didn't wait for James to respond before continuing.
Sondra: "I really don't know why I left him in the first place, especially not for you."
James: "I'm smarter than he is."

Sondra scoffed at that, rolling her eyes.
Sondra: "Of course you'd think so.  You know what, James, I'm leaving you.  It's over, we're done.  I just can't deal with you anymore, not with how you treat everybody around you.  There's something just not right here."
James: "Fine, leave then.  I managed without you just fine, and I'll keep on managing when you're gone."
Sondra shook her head again, clearly not believing that.
Sondra: "Oh, really?  Well fine, then, I'm glad we're in agreement.  I already have most of my and Omicron's things packed, we're leaving now though.  I'll send for the rest later."
Who did she think she was?  Omicron wasn't going anywhere.
James: "Uh, no, I think you're misunderstanding something here.  You're leaving, yes, but my son is staying here.  He's mine, and I need an heir."
Sondra: "Like I'd leave him here with you.  I've seen how you handle children."
James: "You won't have any say in the matter.  Statute 687b, look it up.  If I invoke that in court, I will ruin you, and you won't be able to come within fifty yards of him."

The words were cold as he said them, and despite not having much legal knowledge, something about the tone of his voice made Sondra know that he was telling the truth.  There was nothing she could do to fight this.  He had won.

With Sondra gone, Alpha began taking up even more of the slack around the house.  Housework, like laundry and the dishes, took second priority to taking care of her younger half-siblings.

While James occasionally socialized with Omicron - not going so far as to change the dirty diapers, though - he did his best to pretend that Epsilon didn't exist.  It was frustrating, but not surprising, as the young girl's face bore a strong resemblance to that of her mother.  Even if James hadn't talked about it in over a year, Alpha knew that he was still hurt from her sudden departure.

That didn't excuse any of what he was doing, though.  Whatever that woman's issues had been - surely she had a lot of them, like attracts like - they weren't Epsilon's fault.  It just wasn't fair for him to take out his frustration and hurt on the little girl.  At least he seemed determined to involve himself in Omicron's life, so thank goodness for small victories.

Alpha couldn't spend all her free time with Epsilon, as she was still struggling through her own school years.  She had almost no time to herself to meditate or train, so sometimes she had to leave Epsilon alone.  Luckily, she didn't seem to mind.

Epsilon took to Alpha's old peg box, quickly mastering the concepts.  She was a smart girl, and Alpha was determined to help her succeed, even if everything in life seemed to be stacked against her at this moment.

Sondra had sent a strange doll in the mail to Omicron.  James didn't care much for it, but also didn't care much about it - it would stop the baby crying for attention in the middle of the night, at least.

Alpha was glad that Omicron had a toy of his own, as she'd only had her own doll to give to Epsilon.  She'd been worried that the little glowing thing on top of the toy's head would keep the kids up at night, but Epsilon slept like the dead and Omicron didn't seem bothered by it.  It was an eccentric doll, sure, but Sondra had sent it, so it had to be harmless.

~ * ~

Just in case anyone had forgotten, James is in fact a huge jerk.  Still scheming and planning, even though he's made it to the top of his career.  Could his new plans involve his son?

I'm not entirely happy with Sondra's breakup with James, from a story standpoint.  It's really hard for me to write characters who break up for no good reason, and I had to do it three times this generation(well, twice, Epsilon had a pretty good reason).  I think I made it work, but it could have been a lot better.  Single rolls are just hard, story-wise, especially if you have a male heir, so you can't just get him knocked up.  Severin Overlord has the monopoly on butt babies for the next while, I think.  I'd just seem like a lazy copycat

I'm actually really surprised that nobody who commented on the last post seemed to notice either of the two hints I dropped to Anne's identity.  The more obvious one was Epsilon's hair color, which isn't an EA default and was quite different from Anne's(dyed, obviously) hair color and anything from James's family.  The trickier hint was Anne's necklace, which you can see her wearing as Anne here.  As the Seer/Arcadia, it's visible here in chapter 26 and all through chapter 41.