A Clover and a Bee

It’s finally beginning to feel real: in front of Lark is an actual crib, for an actual baby. Nikolas had set it up this afternoon. He’s taken over most of the planning and preparation since it’s apparent that Lark is apprehensive about her pregnancy. “It’s nice, I guess,” Lark says, “But why put it up here? There’s a spare room downstairs.” “Yeah, in the basement. Newborns don’t sleep through the night, and like hell I’m stumbling down all those stairs at two in the morning.” “Good point. But, um, what about the teddy bear?” Lark frowns at the stuffed bear in the crib, a ferocious looking werebear. “Oh, that. It’s a gift from Karl. I thought it was cute.” “I don’t like it,” Lark shudders. It reminds her too much of that movie she had watched with Karl, the one that had given her nightmares for several consecutive nights. “But it’s so friendly looking!”

How can three minutes be so long? That’s hardly any time--it’s more than enough time to microwave a burrito, for example, or be disappointed in bed. But in this instance it’s inching by at a snail’s pace.

The Aurora Skies Museum of Art and Cultural History is the pride and joy of Aurora Skies’ growing art scene. It had recently been renovated thanks to a ballot initiative, and its collection had been significantly increased. Art lovers from all around the island flock to the museum, taking in the beauty of creativity of its exhibits.

A crash rings out, echoing in the small basement. Lark Bee--the cause of the commotion--looks suitably horrified. That was a twenty simoleon bottle of juice she just shattered, all because she was trying to show off while mixing drinks. “Shit,” she mutters under her breath.

It’s the first day of spring, but the island is still covered in snow and ice. And even though it’s slowly melting in the afternoon sun, the snow sucks any warmth out of the air, driving most sims to stay indoors if possible.

Luna is nearly done with her twenty-fifth book. She can hardly believe that she has written this many. At the beginning of her career, a chapter could take her days to write. Now she can finish a book in a couple of sittings. The book--titled The Queen’s Gambit --is loosely based on Bastian’s quest to find his daughter. Luna had to fill in a lot of gaps, but she managed to cobble together a strong plot based on her brief conversations with the mage as well as what Lark told her later about seemingly prescient dreams she had experienced. She was surprised when she learned that her daughter dreamed about Dom and Bastian’s adventures in the fae realm. Luna sometimes wonders if there’s something special about Lark, something otherworldly like there is about Elysia. But Lark appears to be nothing but normal other than her brief brush with the fantastical and ethereal. Despite the plot holes Luna clumsily covered and the strange motivations on the part of the novel’s antagonist, The ...

Sheba has been very lethargic recently, worryingly so. She sleeps constantly, and moving seems to strain her. Quentin--her de facto caretaker, despite Sheba’s obvious preference for Lark--has started to grapple with the idea she might need to be put down soon. Thus, he isn’t surprised when one night, Sheba begins to moan and pant. This is it , he thinks grimly, I guess I should call the vet.