@ZhakiraP Thanks so much for the comment. Glad you are enjoying it.
@lanlyn Thanks so much for the comments. I'm trying to do things I've never done before in this story and my Bridgeport story. The story itself is new for me. Captioning pictures was my norm. Loved trying werewolves which I had never done before. The mummy curse and cure is new for me too and never realized until I researched it that there was more than one cure.
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Family
Rafe and Autumn's Story
Homecoming Welcome
The kids get tired of playing with the blocks and want to ride the spring riders. Autumn and Shea oblige them as they await the arrival of their men.
Shea hears a vehicle arriving and rushes across the yard onto the deck and leaps into Seth's arms.
She looks into his eyes reassuring herself that he is back to normal
Shea rains kisses over his face not wanting to miss a spot. Seth is loving the attention and takes her in his arms and kisses her with all the love in his heart.
He takes her hand and they rush across the yard, waving at Autumn and Rafe and the kids as they pass by. In tandem they enter Shea's fairy house and enjoy each others company in private.
Rafe greets Autumn with a passion filled kiss and whispers a promise for later. They smile and laugh happily as Shea and Seth rush by them.
Rafe snuggles and chats with Will who is growing up and talks quite intelligently now. It won't be long before he becomes a boy. Rafe wants to cherish each moment of his toddler days, but also looks forward to his boyhood and watching him shape into the man he will be. Christina chatters to him happily. Most of her talk is still baby talk, but he can usually figure out what she is saying. She apparently missed her Daddy and Auntie Shea was sad and quiet and missing Uncle Seth.
It gets dark quickly and they take the kids upstairs to get them settled for bed. Rafe rocks Christina as Autumn bathes Will. They get the kids settled and enjoy some private time loving each other, and fall asleep in each others arms.
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Family
Rafe and Autumn's Story
Home to Barnacle Bay
Rafe, Seth and Autumn spent the next week cataloging, photographing and finishing up reports of their excavations this season. Rafe sent in his request to the Minister of Antiquities for his plans for next seasons excavations. He did not expect any opposition to those plans and in fact got a call that they were approved before they left for home.
They both enjoyed time off with their lovely ladies.
They enjoyed a family picnic on the lawn and Autumn set up a tripod to take a picture and of course it caught them before they were quite ready.
The sunrise is golden their last morning in Al Simhara. They have packed the paintings that Shea and Autumn worked on and shipped them home. The kids toys and a few of the artifacts that Rafe and Seth are taking back to study are loaded up in the jeep and they are ready for the trip home.
After a long trip they arrive home. Will is excited to be back home and hugs his sister reminding her she was just a baby when they left and couldn't even walk. The adults smile at the kids and sigh happily, glad to be back in Barnacle Bay as well.
@Puddinroy Hi! Thanks so much for the comments! Shea was a happy lady!
@Mikezumi Thanks for the comments. Just a short update to get them home. Am moving on to Bridgeport, hopefully pics of your grandsims soon on the other thread.
@meerkattime Thanks so much for the comments. I love my little kiddo's in the stories!
@bekkasan Loved the homecoming updates. ...Great screenshot of Shea in Seth's arms! ...The flowers around the fairy house are beautiful. ...And sweet pics of Rafe greeting Autumn and the kids. ...Neat shots of Seth and Rafe organizing and cataloging their relics. ...Wonderful group pose. ...And now everyone is back home, safe and sound!
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Family
The Family Trees
I did the family trees for my Bridgeport family save so decided to do them for the Ballan Family as well. I hope this will help any readers keep things straight since I play all my saves so haphazardly. I added these to the original first post as well as here.
Victor, a vampire and his wife Gardenia, a witch are the founders of the family. His sister Autumn was brought in to the fold when @aricarai remade the pizza girl and I had to have her version in my game. The children are Alice, a witch, twins Josef and Jillian, vampires, Dylan, a witch, and twins Lucas and Lexi who are hybrid vampire/witches with the mod from Nraas.
Alice is now a young adult and married to Adam Moonwalker, a werewolf. His mother was a fairy and he and his friends next adventure will be to track his family on his mother's side.
Autumn married Rafe Sinclair, a vampire and former pirate from Barnacle Bay. They have two children Will and Christina, both are vampires.
Seth Armor is Rafe's best friend, business partner, bro, might as well be a brother. He is human, recently almost a mummy. He married Shea, a fairy, who escaped from the clutches of the dastardly Lestat. She was taken in by Rafe and Autumn and became their nanny while she recovered from her abduction.
Marshall Flynn is Adam's best friend, turned to a werewolf by Adam after Marshall was attacked and dying. Marshall married Jennifer Doe who is human. Jennifer is Alice's best friend. Marshall has two sisters Maggie (also a best friend of Alice), married to Joseph Doe and Cora. Joseph and Maggie have had their first child and I forgot what they named it!
Dedric George is another best friend of Adam's. He was originally hired by Victor to help look into Adam's fairy family. Dedric went to university with them and they all became best friends. He will be able to help them as they travel in lands that are traditional to fairy's. Hopefully, Dedric will meet someone special while they travel.
@bekkasan I enjoyed looking at your family trees and reading about the relationships. Great references for your story. Isn't it cool how these little sims characters come alive for us? Complex backstories, friendships, families.
@lanlyn Thanks so much for checking it out. It really is amazing how they work themselves into our hearts. The Ballan Family was originally just a short save to test the lighting mod and their story just kept growing and growing and now they are my favorites....but don't tell the others.
Author's Note: When I last played in this save with this branch of the family, Adam and his lovely bride Alice had gone to Barnacle Bay for a few days of fun in the sun, as well as visiting Alice's Uncle Rafe who had some information Adam needs for his quest. Adam's best friend and fellow werewolf Marshall, Jennifer, his sweet bride and their close friend Dedric have gone to Barnacle Bay with them. If you want to review this part of the story it is here the last chapter at the end of the page and first on the next page. I've brought forward part of the story as a memory so new folks will know what is going on. Hope it helps.
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Family
Adam's Quest
During the long drive to Moonlight Falls Adam's thoughts often turn to his conversation with Rafe. Once again as he enters the town of Moonlight Falls that conversation surfaces in his memory.
Rafe and Adam descend into the underground caverns and crypts that Rafe has excavated under his home. Rafe explained that he prefers to keep the important papers and books away from prying eyes. He opens the hidden door to his archive room. He shows Adam a diary that he obtained from a book merchant. He found an interesting story that may shed some light on Adam's lineage. The diary belongs to one of the court fairy's. He has no idea how it ended up in the merchants shop.
Adam sits in the chair and begins to read. I write this tale so the world will know what happened to my precious Prince Kailon. I was his nursemaid, his nanny, his companion, and his governess during his youth. I loved him as if I was his mother and I miss him dreadfully. I want the world to know what happened and it not be swept under the rug and hidden by the Fairy Court. The tradition for centuries in the Fae world is that the Queen of the Fairy's will choose mates for her sons and daughters from the oldest families in the land when they are born. The chosen remain with their families, but are raised and educated and provided with the best of everything until the fates determine who will be the mate. The most important of the mates of course is the Prince or Princess that is heir to the throne. The Queen has an arrangement with the fates that the chosen one will be determined for the heir at the16th birthday. This provides time to continue preparing the chosen one for his or her duties. They do not meet until chosen. Once the fates make their choice the chosen one will move into the palace to further their education in royal protocol and history, combat and many other arts. Although they are segregated they do meet at formal dinners and are allowed to get to know each other under careful supervision. The bond is forged and witnessed once both reach the age of 18. The ties from a bonding are permanent as their souls are joined, they become one soul, two hearts and cannot be broken even in death.
Prince Kailon, eldest son of the Queen met his young bride after the fates made their choice. He fell instantly in love with her and she with him. A true love match. They married on her 18th birthday. She became pregnant within a few weeks. She disappeared a few months later on a trip to visit her parents. They searched for months and months. No trace was ever found of what happened to her or the security party that went with her. Prince Kailon was found dead one morning six months after she disappeared. The searches were suspended as they knew she no longer lived. The bond that was forged between them was not broken even in death. Prince Kailon and Princess Nissa may not have been together at death, but their spirits rest together in the realm of the Fairy's forevermore. Trejalla Elmtwig, Court Fairy.
Rafe tells him that he looked into the marriage of Prince Kailon and Princess Nissa. According to the records, Nissa was a Willowisp before her wedding. Like Victor he can find no information on the Willowisp family since the disappearance of Nissa. Rafe advises him to travel to Moonlight Falls as suggested by Victor. "The timing of the marriage, pregnancy and deaths are crucial to my suspicions. My guess is that you are the child of Prince Kailon and Princess Nissa. Your fairy genes are dormant as the werewolf genes are stronger. I think the werewolf Drogo bit you as an infant to prevent you from becoming a fairy. He had probably told the clan she was pregnant with his child. I imagine that is the only reason they didn't try to kill her or overthrow him as leader. To be honest, I'm shocked he did not kill you outright. We can run some tests on you now if you would like. Once you discover what happened to the Willowisp family they may agree to testing as well. It might be difficult getting DNA from the royal family, but, we can try that too."
Adam is stunned with what he just read as well as with Rafe's speculations. He is not surprised that Drogo lied to him about his mother leaving the fairy community because of love for Drogo. He did not know about bonding when he lived with the clan, but if they had been bonded Drogo would have died when his mother did. "I think Drogo liked having someone around that was easy for him to abuse and torture, that was too young and too small to fight back. He might be my werewolf sire, but it would be nice to know he is not my blood sire. Dedric and I practiced on each other in university running scans and taking samples. We did some analyzing and that is when I found that I did inherit some fairy genes from my Mother. I guess it is possible I may have some genes from my father as well if I am truly not Drogo's blood son. I have much to think about. Thank you so much for doing the research and finding what you did."
Adam shakes his head clearing the thoughts from his mind as the sign appears ahead telling him Welcome to Moonlight Falls. He follows the directions to the house the realtor gave them. He pulls up in front of the rental and they all pile out of the car, stretching their legs as they look at their home for the near future. After wandering through the house, picking bedrooms and unpacking they meet down in the living room and start making plans. They want to explore the town and get to know some of the town families especially any of the occult families who may have information they need. The Vault of Antiquity is full of historical data, genealogy, and some artifacts according to both Rafe and Victor and would be a good place to explore. Today, they will take it easy and try to make the place livable and just relax after driving for several days. (I did some minor renovation to the house cause it was just ugly and plain. I didn't do much, just a few touches here and there to help....its a rental and didn't want to spend too much time on it.)
Dedric relaxes by taking another DNA sample of Adam to evaluate. "We need to make sure the specimen is fresh and the uni one is several months old now." Alice relaxes in the rocker. Marshall and Jennifer enjoy smooching and checking out a new object in the den that was turned into a laboratory.
Dedric and Adam work in the lab while Jennifer stocks the refrigerator. Marshall meditates in the back yard and has a lovely view even though he closes his eyes. Alice goes to the alchemy shop to see if they carry any ingredients that she does not have. She and a zebra butterfly get to know each other.
They went to the point for a grill-a-thon that evening, but only a few other townspeople showed up. Well, that is three more people they know now and one was a fairy. Marshall introduced himself to her. She is one of the Goodfellow fairy's. They enjoy roasting marshmallows before going back home and settling in for the night.
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Story
Adam's Quest
Wisteria's Fate
As the household sleeps, someone else is stirring. A fairy appears in the back garden coming out of the little fairy house. The fairy changes her form once she is a safe distance from the little house. She looks to the main house and realizes someone is living in it. She senses other members of the occult society as well as a human. Her senses tell her the new neighbors are a witch and two werewolves, a fairy and a human. 'How interesting' she thinks to herself. What a strange combination of peoples. She feels a disturbance in the air around the house but does not know what it means. Her curiosity gets the best of her. She sneaks into the house in fairy form and reverts once safely inside. She finds the fairy first as he is sleeping in the room downstairs. Her heartbeat quickens as she watches him sleep. He is very handsome. She trembles and feels faint. She does not understand the disturbing feeling she is getting in his presence. She leaves the room as swiftly as she entered it. She slips upstairs and finds the others. Moving quietly she peers into the bedrooms upstairs. How strange, it seems that one of the werewolves and a witch are together and the other werewolf is with the human. Both couples are snuggled in bed so close together that she can't tell where one begins and the other ends. They are definitely lovers and she smiles at the romantic vibrations that they give off even in their sleep. She leaves the house avoiding the room with the male fairy since it disturbed her so much. She flies silently in the night to the community garden. She has made it her job to work with the plants in the community garden, weeding them, talking to them and keeping them happy and watered and fed.
Meanwhile, back at the house Adam is awakened by the sounds of someone trying to enter the front door. The house does not have an alarm system, but with two werewolves and a witch in the household it is really not needed. By the time the others got downstairs Adam was already in a fight with the burglar as well as getting hearts with her! Yes....her. Equal opportunity burglars around this town! No police showed up and Adam let her run off since she didn't even get in the house to take anything. Hopefully word will get around town that the newcomers are not to be messed with.
The fairy finishes her job and tidies up the loose seeds lying around and goes back home before the sun rises. She is very shy and even though most communities accept fairy's readily she is a bit timid so she prefers to work at night and sleep during the day. She goes through the woods and slips into her home before the others are stirring. She sips on some pineapple juice, does a few chores, takes a quick shower and tucks herself into her bed and falls asleep quickly. Her dreams are disturbing instead of restful. A grey eyed fairy chases her through the valley and into the woods, laughing as he catches up with her, taking her hand in his and swinging her around and around as he dances her around the trees as the music of the woods surrounds them. Her heart beats wildly and he pulls her into his embrace. The kiss starts softly and tenderly and she puts her arms around his neck pulling him closer wanting more......she wakens, her heart still beating wildly realizing it was just a dream.....just a dream.
She sits up on the side of the bed breathing deeply trying to settle her heart and nerves. "By the fates", she moans. "I am not ready to meet my soulmate even if he is cute!" After the dream the disturbing sensations she was feeling made complete sense. She moves over to sit on the couch to think about how this is going to change her life. She wonders if he is aware of her. She keeps the fairy house under spells to keep anyone out so they might keep him from sensing her. She realizes it will do her no good to run though. They are destined by the fates to be together and some will say she is lucky to have found him so early in her youth. She wonders how old he is. She thinks from what she saw he is not much older than her. Should she go knock on the door and introduce herself? Should she just keep hiding. Should she just run as fast and as far away as she can? Her mind is whirling with thoughts and she can feel herself start to hyperventilate. She tells herself to stop panicking, she tries the slow breathing again, and suddenly feels a soothing aura that settles her mind and calms her breathing. She curls up on the couch, and lets the aura do its job and she falls fast asleep.
Dedric feeling restless decides to go to the attic where Adam and Marshall set up the martial arts equipment. He cannot figure out why he has been so unsettled since they moved into this house. He has not been to Moonlight Falls in years but never experienced this before and it worries him as to what it could mean to Adam. He senses someone nearby is upset, but cannot tell who it is. He says the words of calm and soothing and an aura surrounds him and feeds out to all those nearby. He hopes it helps the one who needs it the most.
Thanks for reading and the comment! Much appreciated!! Playing with Rafe and Autumn however briefly in the Mermaid story made me want to get back to this family. I love them so much!
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Story
Adam's Quest
The Vault
Dedric, still feeling restless after pummeling the training dummy takes a shower. After his shower he is feeling more like himself, he snickers, and sets a fairy trap on the shower to prank the next one to use it. He decides to do a little research while he waits for the others to wake up. Using his analyzer he gets a sample from the seed on the shelf and he will analyze the seed and see if he can genetically alter it to a better product.
The girls decided the first order of business for them is a spa date. The guys were busy with various pursuits so Alice and Jennifer headed out in the Mustang to find the local spa. Alice got a new haircut and Jennifer got a new haircut and outfit. They introduced themselves to several of the locals while they waited for the guys to meet them at the spa. Alice chats with Ayden Van Gould who she has met as a girl when her father Victor hosted the Vampire council dinners. He is anxious to met her husband and she lets him know he is on the way to meet up with her.
The guys arrive and admire the girls new looks and compliment them. Adam introduces himself to Ayden Van Gould, who is the leader of the Vampires in Moonlight Falls. Ayden already knew they were coming having heard from Victor but it is nice that Adam performs the courtesy. Dedric watches Branch Timbley, who he has met years ago try to flirt with Jennifer. Marshall will be here in a few minutes and Dedric grins at what will happen if he catches him flirting. Jennifer quickly tells Branch to stop that nonsense as she is happily married. Branch apologizes quickly and begins to chat with Dedric.
The Vault of Antiquity is well known for information on the occult world. Adam doubts it has anything that Rafe or Victor don't already know but he does not want to leave anything untried. They spend the rest of the afternoon reviewing dusty old tomes in the vault of antiquity trying to find a mention of the Willowisp family. It is as if they no longer exist. The Royal Fairy family went into seclusion many years ago after the disappearance of the Princess and death of the eldest son and heir to the throne. The Fairy world concerned for the safety of the remaining family encouraged them to remain in Bir-na-Ca, the Realm of the Fae. It is possible they went into seclusion as well in the fairy realm and it would still be extremely difficult for him to get an audience with the King and Queen let alone a commoner or another occult. They will continue to search.
When they leave the vault it is getting dark. They start the walk across the park to where Adam left the car and find some fun things to do to help relax after their afternoon in the vault. Where is Dedric? He got side tracked. Twoot Twoot! He laughs with delight as he travels around in the train. He has not done this since he was a small boy.
They decide to eat out rather than going home to cook. Dedric tells them the diner always had pretty good food when he was in town in the past. They arrive at the diner and it is such a pretty evening they decide to eat outside. They order their meals and sit and watch and nod at the towns people as they come to have their dinners. Dedric looks up and notices someone he has not seen in a number of years. Flora Goodfellow, she is an elder fairy now and he is pretty sure she was involved with court life at one time in her youth. He tells Adam she would be a good person to talk with. (I added the lighting mod that I use in Midnight Hollow back in the game. It got too dark too early! I had taken it out for the Sunlit Tides Mermaid and Cowboy story. I love how it changes sunsets in the other worlds and extends the day also.)
Meanwhile, back at the fairy house Wisteria woke up and realizes she left her dishes sitting out all day. (I have never seen a sim hold their nose before! I've seen them do the gag thing, but not this. LOL)
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Story
Adam's Quest
Styles
Wisteria cleans up her mess and fixes herself a decent meal. (I had to change her little kitchen around as I forgot the uni fridge can't be 'cooked' from. I put the small fridge in from one of the SP's and gave her a cook space by adding a cabinet. She can only use recipes for the cook top since she doesn't have an oven.) After eating she cleans up her mess so she won't have stinky dishes later on and decides to practice her painting. While painting her mind wanders back to those dreams and how she felt when she woke up. She is looking back now and it doesn't seem as scary dancing through the woods and being kissed like that by that handsome fairy.
Dedric's prank pays off. Magenta is not Adam's color.
Alice needs to practice her magic so she decides to do a simple charm spell on Jennifer. Jennifer has been a victim of many of Alice's bungled spells when she was younger. She automatically curls up and tries to make herself as small as possible. The spell is successful. Alice rarely fails now. Jennifer is happy and feeling very lucky today.
Alice and Jennifer go to the Fae Rae Arboretum to see if they can pick up any clues about the destiny of the Willowisp family. They enjoyed wandering around in the fantastic fairy land following the trails and pathways and exploring various caves and log tunnels. It was a fun visit, but no clues were found. Jennifer was a bit disappointed since she was feeling particularly lucky and only found a few seeds during their explorations. She decides she will give them to Dedric who can either study the seeds or plant them.
Marshall and Dedric go back to the vault for one final look to be sure they didn't miss anything. Adam will join them later.
Adam is still working on a potion discovery and will join up with his friends later. He finally discovers a new potion....liguid horror. He gets on his laptop and goes through his notes that he took from his discussions with Victor and Rafe. He runs across a few of the names of the Werewolf clans in Moonlight Falls. Hmmm, I do need to contact the werewolves in town he thinks to himself. He calls Dedric and finds out they are done at the vault. Dedric tells him where to meet up.
The guys decide that they need some spiffing up since their ladies got new hairdo's. It must have been men's day at the spa and they all finished at the same time. Adam got his hair trimmed and Dedric got his cut and styled. Marshall decided he didn't want anything done to his hair. He got a special skin treatment. (Adam's is the same hair he had, just a retexture that I hope controls what I call the 'see thru hair effect' with certain angles and close ups. Dedric got a new style and will show a closer picture later. Marshall's got a new skin I wanted to try. )
Adam excuses himself and tells his friends he will see them later. He arrives at Pappy Wolff's home and introduces himself. Pappy takes one sniff of Adam and immediately tells him. "Get off my property you no good, rotten, scum of the earth, low down by product of Drogo! Adam is taken aback by the sudden verbal attack on him and tries to calm Pappy down.
"All I hear is blah, blah, blah."
"I might be old, but I can still take on a whippersnapper like you."
Adam finally convinces the old man to take another sniff, a deeper one this time. "I'm not going to fight an old man so just take another sniff and use your instincts and all your senses this time."
Pappy stops his screeching and sniffs deeply and does it a second time and a third. "This cannot be!" he shouts. "It's a trick! But....I've always been the best sniffer in the clan. I can find things hidden miles deep that others cannot sense! It is only a legend, a story to tell the pups to scare them before bedtime about the WereFae!" He looks at Adam's face and eyes and realizes his senses are not wrong. He is looking at the legendary WereFae. He stumbles a bit as realization sets in. "But, you stink of Drogo, who was a lowdown, no account varmint of the lowest order when he was alive. How can this be?"
Adam leads him over to a chair and sits him down. He tells Pappy his story. He asks about the legend as he has not heard of it before. Victor nor Rafe mentioned anything about a legend involving a hybrid werewolf and fairy. Pappy tells him that his Grandfer told him the story when he was just a pup. "Were stories were never written down, but passed from generation to generation by the storytellers. I've told my son the stories and he told his son and so it was through the ages. It is a new age now and things are being written down, but some stories are missed or lost because story tellers die or forget. I'm old now and I forget things, but I know I told my son the story. He can tell you the story better than I can."
Adam thanks him, shakes his hand and using the mind meld techniques he learned at university he reaches out and joins minds with Pappy Wolff. What a jumble of thoughts in that brain. No wonder Pappy doesn't remember things very well anymore thinks Adam. Pappy calls his son to let him know that Adam will be contacting him so he will not be attacked since he still stinks of Drogo who was not at all loved by the other were clans. (For those that don't know the history....Drogo is Adam's werewolf sire. He was raised to believe he was his father. He was an evil werewolf whose clan attacked humans and other were clans and was shunned by other werewolf clans. He was killed in a raid and Drogo's brother Benot took over the clan and Adam was banished as a child to survive or die on his own. He survived and made his way to Midnight Hollow as he had heard it was a town friendly to occult peoples.)
Comments
@ZhakiraP Thanks so much for the comment. Glad you are enjoying it.
@lanlyn Thanks so much for the comments.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
*The forum creeper giggles and slips back into the sewers*
@CravenLestat You are welcome to leave all the awesomes you want. I love those! Just keep the creepy crawlies away please.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Family
Rafe and Autumn's Story
Homecoming Welcome
The kids get tired of playing with the blocks and want to ride the spring riders. Autumn and Shea oblige them as they await the arrival of their men.
Shea hears a vehicle arriving and rushes across the yard onto the deck and leaps into Seth's arms.
She looks into his eyes reassuring herself that he is back to normal
Shea rains kisses over his face not wanting to miss a spot. Seth is loving the attention and takes her in his arms and kisses her with all the love in his heart.
He takes her hand and they rush across the yard, waving at Autumn and Rafe and the kids as they pass by. In tandem they enter Shea's fairy house and enjoy each others company in private.
Rafe greets Autumn with a passion filled kiss and whispers a promise for later. They smile and laugh happily as Shea and Seth rush by them.
Rafe snuggles and chats with Will who is growing up and talks quite intelligently now. It won't be long before he becomes a boy. Rafe wants to cherish each moment of his toddler days, but also looks forward to his boyhood and watching him shape into the man he will be. Christina chatters to him happily. Most of her talk is still baby talk, but he can usually figure out what she is saying. She apparently missed her Daddy and Auntie Shea was sad and quiet and missing Uncle Seth.
It gets dark quickly and they take the kids upstairs to get them settled for bed. Rafe rocks Christina as Autumn bathes Will. They get the kids settled and enjoy some private time loving each other, and fall asleep in each others arms.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
Shea jumping into Seth's arms was a real awwwww moment
Zumi and the Winchester Brothers
The Watcher's Caretaker - A Limited ISBI
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Family
Rafe and Autumn's Story
Home to Barnacle Bay
Rafe, Seth and Autumn spent the next week cataloging, photographing and finishing up reports of their excavations this season. Rafe sent in his request to the Minister of Antiquities for his plans for next seasons excavations. He did not expect any opposition to those plans and in fact got a call that they were approved before they left for home.
They both enjoyed time off with their lovely ladies.
They enjoyed a family picnic on the lawn and Autumn set up a tripod to take a picture and of course it caught them before they were quite ready.
The sunrise is golden their last morning in Al Simhara. They have packed the paintings that Shea and Autumn worked on and shipped them home. The kids toys and a few of the artifacts that Rafe and Seth are taking back to study are loaded up in the jeep and they are ready for the trip home.
After a long trip they arrive home. Will is excited to be back home and hugs his sister reminding her she was just a baby when they left and couldn't even walk. The adults smile at the kids and sigh happily, glad to be back in Barnacle Bay as well.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
Zumi and the Winchester Brothers
The Watcher's Caretaker - A Limited ISBI
@Puddinroy Hi! Thanks so much for the comments! Shea was a happy lady!
@Mikezumi Thanks for the comments.
@meerkattime Thanks so much for the comments.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
@lanlyn Thanks so much for reading and your comments. Glad that you are enjoying the stories.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
The Family Trees
I did the family trees for my Bridgeport family save so decided to do them for the Ballan Family as well. I hope this will help any readers keep things straight since I play all my saves so haphazardly.
Victor, a vampire and his wife Gardenia, a witch are the founders of the family. His sister Autumn was brought in to the fold when @aricarai remade the pizza girl and I had to have her version in my game. The children are Alice, a witch, twins Josef and Jillian, vampires, Dylan, a witch, and twins Lucas and Lexi who are hybrid vampire/witches with the mod from Nraas.
Alice is now a young adult and married to Adam Moonwalker, a werewolf. His mother was a fairy and he and his friends next adventure will be to track his family on his mother's side.
Autumn married Rafe Sinclair, a vampire and former pirate from Barnacle Bay. They have two children Will and Christina, both are vampires.
Seth Armor is Rafe's best friend, business partner, bro, might as well be a brother. He is human, recently almost a mummy. He married Shea, a fairy, who escaped from the clutches of the dastardly Lestat. She was taken in by Rafe and Autumn and became their nanny while she recovered from her abduction.
Marshall Flynn is Adam's best friend, turned to a werewolf by Adam after Marshall was attacked and dying. Marshall married Jennifer Doe who is human. Jennifer is Alice's best friend. Marshall has two sisters Maggie (also a best friend of Alice), married to Joseph Doe and Cora. Joseph and Maggie have had their first child and I forgot what they named it!
Dedric George is another best friend of Adam's. He was originally hired by Victor to help look into Adam's fairy family. Dedric went to university with them and they all became best friends. He will be able to help them as they travel in lands that are traditional to fairy's. Hopefully, Dedric will meet someone special while they travel.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
Author's Note: When I last played in this save with this branch of the family, Adam and his lovely bride Alice had gone to Barnacle Bay for a few days of fun in the sun, as well as visiting Alice's Uncle Rafe who had some information Adam needs for his quest. Adam's best friend and fellow werewolf Marshall, Jennifer, his sweet bride and their close friend Dedric have gone to Barnacle Bay with them. If you want to review this part of the story it is here the last chapter at the end of the page and first on the next page. I've brought forward part of the story as a memory so new folks will know what is going on. Hope it helps.
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Family
Adam's Quest
During the long drive to Moonlight Falls Adam's thoughts often turn to his conversation with Rafe. Once again as he enters the town of Moonlight Falls that conversation surfaces in his memory.
Rafe and Adam descend into the underground caverns and crypts that Rafe has excavated under his home. Rafe explained that he prefers to keep the important papers and books away from prying eyes. He opens the hidden door to his archive room. He shows Adam a diary that he obtained from a book merchant. He found an interesting story that may shed some light on Adam's lineage. The diary belongs to one of the court fairy's. He has no idea how it ended up in the merchants shop.
Adam sits in the chair and begins to read.
I write this tale so the world will know what happened to my precious Prince Kailon. I was his nursemaid, his nanny, his companion, and his governess during his youth. I loved him as if I was his mother and I miss him dreadfully. I want the world to know what happened and it not be swept under the rug and hidden by the Fairy Court. The tradition for centuries in the Fae world is that the Queen of the Fairy's will choose mates for her sons and daughters from the oldest families in the land when they are born. The chosen remain with their families, but are raised and educated and provided with the best of everything until the fates determine who will be the mate. The most important of the mates of course is the Prince or Princess that is heir to the throne. The Queen has an arrangement with the fates that the chosen one will be determined for the heir at the16th birthday. This provides time to continue preparing the chosen one for his or her duties. They do not meet until chosen. Once the fates make their choice the chosen one will move into the palace to further their education in royal protocol and history, combat and many other arts. Although they are segregated they do meet at formal dinners and are allowed to get to know each other under careful supervision. The bond is forged and witnessed once both reach the age of 18. The ties from a bonding are permanent as their souls are joined, they become one soul, two hearts and cannot be broken even in death.
Prince Kailon, eldest son of the Queen met his young bride after the fates made their choice. He fell instantly in love with her and she with him. A true love match. They married on her 18th birthday. She became pregnant within a few weeks. She disappeared a few months later on a trip to visit her parents. They searched for months and months. No trace was ever found of what happened to her or the security party that went with her. Prince Kailon was found dead one morning six months after she disappeared. The searches were suspended as they knew she no longer lived. The bond that was forged between them was not broken even in death. Prince Kailon and Princess Nissa may not have been together at death, but their spirits rest together in the realm of the Fairy's forevermore. Trejalla Elmtwig, Court Fairy.
Rafe tells him that he looked into the marriage of Prince Kailon and Princess Nissa. According to the records, Nissa was a Willowisp before her wedding. Like Victor he can find no information on the Willowisp family since the disappearance of Nissa. Rafe advises him to travel to Moonlight Falls as suggested by Victor. "The timing of the marriage, pregnancy and deaths are crucial to my suspicions. My guess is that you are the child of Prince Kailon and Princess Nissa. Your fairy genes are dormant as the werewolf genes are stronger. I think the werewolf Drogo bit you as an infant to prevent you from becoming a fairy. He had probably told the clan she was pregnant with his child. I imagine that is the only reason they didn't try to kill her or overthrow him as leader. To be honest, I'm shocked he did not kill you outright. We can run some tests on you now if you would like. Once you discover what happened to the Willowisp family they may agree to testing as well. It might be difficult getting DNA from the royal family, but, we can try that too."
Adam is stunned with what he just read as well as with Rafe's speculations. He is not surprised that Drogo lied to him about his mother leaving the fairy community because of love for Drogo. He did not know about bonding when he lived with the clan, but if they had been bonded Drogo would have died when his mother did. "I think Drogo liked having someone around that was easy for him to abuse and torture, that was too young and too small to fight back. He might be my werewolf sire, but it would be nice to know he is not my blood sire. Dedric and I practiced on each other in university running scans and taking samples. We did some analyzing and that is when I found that I did inherit some fairy genes from my Mother. I guess it is possible I may have some genes from my father as well if I am truly not Drogo's blood son. I have much to think about. Thank you so much for doing the research and finding what you did."
Adam shakes his head clearing the thoughts from his mind as the sign appears ahead telling him Welcome to Moonlight Falls. He follows the directions to the house the realtor gave them. He pulls up in front of the rental and they all pile out of the car, stretching their legs as they look at their home for the near future. After wandering through the house, picking bedrooms and unpacking they meet down in the living room and start making plans. They want to explore the town and get to know some of the town families especially any of the occult families who may have information they need. The Vault of Antiquity is full of historical data, genealogy, and some artifacts according to both Rafe and Victor and would be a good place to explore. Today, they will take it easy and try to make the place livable and just relax after driving for several days.
(I did some minor renovation to the house cause it was just ugly and plain. I didn't do much, just a few touches here and there to help....its a rental and didn't want to spend too much time on it.)
Dedric relaxes by taking another DNA sample of Adam to evaluate. "We need to make sure the specimen is fresh and the uni one is several months old now." Alice relaxes in the rocker. Marshall and Jennifer enjoy smooching and checking out a new object in the den that was turned into a laboratory.
Dedric and Adam work in the lab while Jennifer stocks the refrigerator. Marshall meditates in the back yard and has a lovely view even though he closes his eyes. Alice goes to the alchemy shop to see if they carry any ingredients that she does not have. She and a zebra butterfly get to know each other.
They went to the point for a grill-a-thon that evening, but only a few other townspeople showed up. Well, that is three more people they know now and one was a fairy. Marshall introduced himself to her. She is one of the Goodfellow fairy's. They enjoy roasting marshmallows before going back home and settling in for the night.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Story
Adam's Quest
Wisteria's Fate
As the household sleeps, someone else is stirring. A fairy appears in the back garden coming out of the little fairy house. The fairy changes her form once she is a safe distance from the little house. She looks to the main house and realizes someone is living in it. She senses other members of the occult society as well as a human. Her senses tell her the new neighbors are a witch and two werewolves, a fairy and a human. 'How interesting' she thinks to herself. What a strange combination of peoples. She feels a disturbance in the air around the house but does not know what it means. Her curiosity gets the best of her. She sneaks into the house in fairy form and reverts once safely inside. She finds the fairy first as he is sleeping in the room downstairs. Her heartbeat quickens as she watches him sleep. He is very handsome. She trembles and feels faint. She does not understand the disturbing feeling she is getting in his presence. She leaves the room as swiftly as she entered it. She slips upstairs and finds the others. Moving quietly she peers into the bedrooms upstairs. How strange, it seems that one of the werewolves and a witch are together and the other werewolf is with the human. Both couples are snuggled in bed so close together that she can't tell where one begins and the other ends. They are definitely lovers and she smiles at the romantic vibrations that they give off even in their sleep. She leaves the house avoiding the room with the male fairy since it disturbed her so much. She flies silently in the night to the community garden. She has made it her job to work with the plants in the community garden, weeding them, talking to them and keeping them happy and watered and fed.
Meanwhile, back at the house Adam is awakened by the sounds of someone trying to enter the front door. The house does not have an alarm system, but with two werewolves and a witch in the household it is really not needed. By the time the others got downstairs Adam was already in a fight with the burglar as well as getting hearts with her! Yes....her. Equal opportunity burglars around this town! No police showed up and Adam let her run off since she didn't even get in the house to take anything. Hopefully word will get around town that the newcomers are not to be messed with.
The fairy finishes her job and tidies up the loose seeds lying around and goes back home before the sun rises. She is very shy and even though most communities accept fairy's readily she is a bit timid so she prefers to work at night and sleep during the day. She goes through the woods and slips into her home before the others are stirring. She sips on some pineapple juice, does a few chores, takes a quick shower and tucks herself into her bed and falls asleep quickly. Her dreams are disturbing instead of restful. A grey eyed fairy chases her through the valley and into the woods, laughing as he catches up with her, taking her hand in his and swinging her around and around as he dances her around the trees as the music of the woods surrounds them. Her heart beats wildly and he pulls her into his embrace. The kiss starts softly and tenderly and she puts her arms around his neck pulling him closer wanting more......she wakens, her heart still beating wildly realizing it was just a dream.....just a dream.
She sits up on the side of the bed breathing deeply trying to settle her heart and nerves. "By the fates", she moans. "I am not ready to meet my soulmate even if he is cute!" After the dream the disturbing sensations she was feeling made complete sense. She moves over to sit on the couch to think about how this is going to change her life. She wonders if he is aware of her. She keeps the fairy house under spells to keep anyone out so they might keep him from sensing her. She realizes it will do her no good to run though. They are destined by the fates to be together and some will say she is lucky to have found him so early in her youth. She wonders how old he is. She thinks from what she saw he is not much older than her. Should she go knock on the door and introduce herself? Should she just keep hiding. Should she just run as fast and as far away as she can? Her mind is whirling with thoughts and she can feel herself start to hyperventilate. She tells herself to stop panicking, she tries the slow breathing again, and suddenly feels a soothing aura that settles her mind and calms her breathing. She curls up on the couch, and lets the aura do its job and she falls fast asleep.
Dedric feeling restless decides to go to the attic where Adam and Marshall set up the martial arts equipment. He cannot figure out why he has been so unsettled since they moved into this house. He has not been to Moonlight Falls in years but never experienced this before and it worries him as to what it could mean to Adam. He senses someone nearby is upset, but cannot tell who it is. He says the words of calm and soothing and an aura surrounds him and feeds out to all those nearby. He hopes it helps the one who needs it the most.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
This was such a good read!
And Dedric´s future wife is soo beautiful!
I hope she doesn´t run away!!
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/953447/streuner-a-cat-s-tale
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Story
Adam's Quest
The Vault
Dedric, still feeling restless after pummeling the training dummy takes a shower. After his shower he is feeling more like himself, he snickers, and sets a fairy trap on the shower to prank the next one to use it. He decides to do a little research while he waits for the others to wake up. Using his analyzer he gets a sample from the seed on the shelf and he will analyze the seed and see if he can genetically alter it to a better product.
The girls decided the first order of business for them is a spa date. The guys were busy with various pursuits so Alice and Jennifer headed out in the Mustang to find the local spa. Alice got a new haircut and Jennifer got a new haircut and outfit. They introduced themselves to several of the locals while they waited for the guys to meet them at the spa. Alice chats with Ayden Van Gould who she has met as a girl when her father Victor hosted the Vampire council dinners. He is anxious to met her husband and she lets him know he is on the way to meet up with her.
The guys arrive and admire the girls new looks and compliment them. Adam introduces himself to Ayden Van Gould, who is the leader of the Vampires in Moonlight Falls. Ayden already knew they were coming having heard from Victor but it is nice that Adam performs the courtesy. Dedric watches Branch Timbley, who he has met years ago try to flirt with Jennifer. Marshall will be here in a few minutes and Dedric grins at what will happen if he catches him flirting. Jennifer quickly tells Branch to stop that nonsense as she is happily married. Branch apologizes quickly and begins to chat with Dedric.
The Vault of Antiquity is well known for information on the occult world. Adam doubts it has anything that Rafe or Victor don't already know but he does not want to leave anything untried. They spend the rest of the afternoon reviewing dusty old tomes in the vault of antiquity trying to find a mention of the Willowisp family. It is as if they no longer exist. The Royal Fairy family went into seclusion many years ago after the disappearance of the Princess and death of the eldest son and heir to the throne. The Fairy world concerned for the safety of the remaining family encouraged them to remain in Bir-na-Ca, the Realm of the Fae. It is possible they went into seclusion as well in the fairy realm and it would still be extremely difficult for him to get an audience with the King and Queen let alone a commoner or another occult. They will continue to search.
When they leave the vault it is getting dark. They start the walk across the park to where Adam left the car and find some fun things to do to help relax after their afternoon in the vault. Where is Dedric? He got side tracked. Twoot Twoot! He laughs with delight as he travels around in the train. He has not done this since he was a small boy.
They decide to eat out rather than going home to cook. Dedric tells them the diner always had pretty good food when he was in town in the past. They arrive at the diner and it is such a pretty evening they decide to eat outside. They order their meals and sit and watch and nod at the towns people as they come to have their dinners. Dedric looks up and notices someone he has not seen in a number of years. Flora Goodfellow, she is an elder fairy now and he is pretty sure she was involved with court life at one time in her youth. He tells Adam she would be a good person to talk with. (I added the lighting mod that I use in Midnight Hollow back in the game. It got too dark too early! I had taken it out for the Sunlit Tides Mermaid and Cowboy story. I love how it changes sunsets in the other worlds and extends the day also.)
Meanwhile, back at the fairy house Wisteria woke up and realizes she left her dishes sitting out all day. (I have never seen a sim hold their nose before! I've seen them do the gag thing, but not this. LOL)
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
Midnight Hollow, The Ballan Story
Adam's Quest
Styles
Wisteria cleans up her mess and fixes herself a decent meal. (I had to change her little kitchen around as I forgot the uni fridge can't be 'cooked' from. I put the small fridge in from one of the SP's and gave her a cook space by adding a cabinet. She can only use recipes for the cook top since she doesn't have an oven.) After eating she cleans up her mess so she won't have stinky dishes later on and decides to practice her painting. While painting her mind wanders back to those dreams and how she felt when she woke up. She is looking back now and it doesn't seem as scary dancing through the woods and being kissed like that by that handsome fairy.
Dedric's prank pays off. Magenta is not Adam's color.
Alice needs to practice her magic so she decides to do a simple charm spell on Jennifer. Jennifer has been a victim of many of Alice's bungled spells when she was younger. She automatically curls up and tries to make herself as small as possible. The spell is successful. Alice rarely fails now. Jennifer is happy and feeling very lucky today.
Alice and Jennifer go to the Fae Rae Arboretum to see if they can pick up any clues about the destiny of the Willowisp family. They enjoyed wandering around in the fantastic fairy land following the trails and pathways and exploring various caves and log tunnels. It was a fun visit, but no clues were found. Jennifer was a bit disappointed since she was feeling particularly lucky and only found a few seeds during their explorations. She decides she will give them to Dedric who can either study the seeds or plant them.
Marshall and Dedric go back to the vault for one final look to be sure they didn't miss anything. Adam will join them later.
Adam is still working on a potion discovery and will join up with his friends later. He finally discovers a new potion....liguid horror. He gets on his laptop and goes through his notes that he took from his discussions with Victor and Rafe. He runs across a few of the names of the Werewolf clans in Moonlight Falls. Hmmm, I do need to contact the werewolves in town he thinks to himself. He calls Dedric and finds out they are done at the vault. Dedric tells him where to meet up.
The guys decide that they need some spiffing up since their ladies got new hairdo's. It must have been men's day at the spa and they all finished at the same time. Adam got his hair trimmed and Dedric got his cut and styled. Marshall decided he didn't want anything done to his hair. He got a special skin treatment.
(Adam's is the same hair he had, just a retexture that I hope controls what I call the 'see thru hair effect' with certain angles and close ups. Dedric got a new style and will show a closer picture later. Marshall's got a new skin I wanted to try.
Adam excuses himself and tells his friends he will see them later. He arrives at Pappy Wolff's home and introduces himself. Pappy takes one sniff of Adam and immediately tells him. "Get off my property you no good, rotten, scum of the earth, low down by product of Drogo! Adam is taken aback by the sudden verbal attack on him and tries to calm Pappy down.
"All I hear is blah, blah, blah."
"I might be old, but I can still take on a whippersnapper like you."
Adam finally convinces the old man to take another sniff, a deeper one this time. "I'm not going to fight an old man so just take another sniff and use your instincts and all your senses this time."
Pappy stops his screeching and sniffs deeply and does it a second time and a third. "This cannot be!" he shouts. "It's a trick! But....I've always been the best sniffer in the clan. I can find things hidden miles deep that others cannot sense! It is only a legend, a story to tell the pups to scare them before bedtime about the WereFae!" He looks at Adam's face and eyes and realizes his senses are not wrong. He is looking at the legendary WereFae. He stumbles a bit as realization sets in. "But, you stink of Drogo, who was a lowdown, no account varmint of the lowest order when he was alive. How can this be?"
Adam leads him over to a chair and sits him down. He tells Pappy his story. He asks about the legend as he has not heard of it before. Victor nor Rafe mentioned anything about a legend involving a hybrid werewolf and fairy. Pappy tells him that his Grandfer told him the story when he was just a pup. "Were stories were never written down, but passed from generation to generation by the storytellers. I've told my son the stories and he told his son and so it was through the ages. It is a new age now and things are being written down, but some stories are missed or lost because story tellers die or forget. I'm old now and I forget things, but I know I told my son the story. He can tell you the story better than I can."
Adam thanks him, shakes his hand and using the mind meld techniques he learned at university he reaches out and joins minds with Pappy Wolff. What a jumble of thoughts in that brain. No wonder Pappy doesn't remember things very well anymore thinks Adam. Pappy calls his son to let him know that Adam will be contacting him so he will not be attacked since he still stinks of Drogo who was not at all loved by the other were clans.
(For those that don't know the history....Drogo is Adam's werewolf sire. He was raised to believe he was his father. He was an evil werewolf whose clan attacked humans and other were clans and was shunned by other werewolf clans. He was killed in a raid and Drogo's brother Benot took over the clan and Adam was banished as a child to survive or die on his own. He survived and made his way to Midnight Hollow as he had heard it was a town friendly to occult peoples.)
The Cowboy and the Mermaid