The Smith Family has moved in to a wonderful suburban home in Willow Creek. Richard has begun working at the local hospital and has moved up quickly to the position of Assistant Nurse. As Izzie was still young, Elizabeth had decided to stay at home in order to care for the youngster. She enjoyed the quality time she is able to spend with her daughter, as well as her other two children, even if William can be a bit of a handful at times.
Once Izzie entered school, Elizabeth found it hard to be at home all day alone, and decided to begin a career. She found out she loved painting while on a date with her husband, and that became her career. [more...]
William Smith branched out on his own by moving to his very own apartment in San Myshuno. He enjoyed his single life, but only for a brief few weeks. He got a job as a Tech Guru and eventually asked his girlfriend, Cassandra to move in with him. Even one of his sisters would come to live with him for a few days. That Love Day Cassandra tricked William into trying for a baby and she was now pregnant. Once William found out he only hoped that his new title of eSports Gamer came with enough pay to support a growing family. [more...]
William and Cassandra finally got married! Morgana's toddler years are filled with fun and learning, but the apartment began to feel less cozy and more cramped. After the power went out unexpectedly in the middle of the night the couple, who had been saving for a while, finally decided to move into a house where they would meet some rather interesting neighbors. [more...]
Morgana figured out the secret of their neighbors and got transformed into a vampire for her trouble. She is trying to adjust to her new life as a vampire, which led to some friction between her and her parents and even between her and her sister. She confronted the boy who did this to her, but there wasn't much that could be done about it now unless she could some how find a cure and transform herself back to a human. [more...]
It was long after celebrating William's transition into bona-fide adulthood that it was time for another birthday. Well, actually it was time for two birthdays! It was now Cassandra's turn to drop the 'young' and just be an adult, but it was also time for Amellia to enter grade school. In truth there was a day or two between them, but, why not just bake one cake and celebrate both birthdays now is what William thought as he began baking.
For Morgana this was a bittersweet day. With her younger sister's transition from baby to toddler the two had grown very close and Morgana hoped that having a sister even closer to her age would be even better, but this was also a reminder for Morgana that while her sister grew and aged she would remain the same age forever.
Over the past few days Morgana had grown to actually like being a vampire. Staying up late at night and seeing the Newcrest and even more when so few people were around was exciting and she was beginning to grow used to her powers and even gain more which was also interesting, but, times like this were really hard on her.
This didn't mean Morgana would be sad or down on her sister's birthday. After all, she was genuinely happy for her sister and the new opportunities they could share together. She only wished she could rid herself of the images of her entire family dying while she continued to live. Of course, she couldn't forget how she became a vampire. Perhaps, just maybe, her sister, her mother, and/or her father would also want to live forever like her. She wouldn't force them. She hadn't had a choice, but she would make sure they all had what she didn't.
That was a conversation for another time though. Now was a time for happy celebrating as each of her family members celebrated gaining more knowledge and experience and entering new phases of their life.
Morgana had played dolls with Amellia since Amellia was old enough to pick up a doll, even if it usually ended up in her mouth. There was something much nicer about playing dolls with her now though. It wasn't just that the dolls didn't go in her mouth. Amellia was able to help come up with stories for the dolls and contribute to what Morgana was trying to do with them at a much higher level. Amellia wasn't quite as creative as Morgana, at least not yet, but she was certainly better than she had been as a toddler.
It was no secret that Morgana had really started to grow close to her sister in recent years, but, now, they were starting to get closer than ever. Of course Morgana could do more than just play dolls with Amellia. Amellia was older now and that left a lot of possibilities.
When Amellia was a toddler, trips to the park were not that fun. There wasn't really much that such a young child could do at Newcrest Park, but Amellia was older now, and she could play on the jungle-gym and the monkey-bars with Morgana.
The two did play together, but the park was public, and, even on a cloudy and windy day like this one, it was far from empty. It wasn't long before a boy approached the girls. Morgana didn't trust him, but Amellia seemed to want to get to know the boy. The two chatted while Morgana continued hanging on the monkey-bars and trying to ignore what was going on.
Eventually the boy said something to Amellia that Amellia didn't like. Morgana jumped from her perched and yelled at the boy. No one messed with her sister! The boy was lucky she kept her fangs out of it. Amellia was so impressed by what Morgana did that she vowed the two of them would be Best Sister Friends Forever. Morgana liked the sound of it and vowed she would always be there even when Amellia grew older.
Unfortunately, as Morgana was a vampire, there were several hours where spending time with her sister just wasn't an option. She may have convinced her mother to lift the curfew, but Amellia still needed sleep, while Morgana just didn't. Morgana could travel to the city and enjoy the artificial city lights at night, but she had to go alone. It was the perfect time to get homework done, but she wished she could show her sister. Sure days were getting shorter, and Amellia might actually be awake on some night, but what are the chances the weather would also be clear?
It was times like this that Morgana couldn't help but weigh her options, however dark they might be. She could always just turn Amellia into a vampire like herself, but she knew what it was like to not have a choice in the matter, and wouldn't want Amellia to suffer like she did, even if she now was getting used to her life as a vampire.
Burning in the sun was certainly uncomfortable, but it was something Morgana could protect herself from if she made sure she had plenty of energy. Of course begin under a roof or under the cover of thick clouds were the obvious best protection. It had been cloudy pretty often and Morgana was able to play with Amellia outside, but, of course, the day they decide to finally build a snowpal together, the sun would be out.
Amellia urged Morgana to just go inside, they could build it later, but Morgana remembered the last snowpal she had tried to make with her mother and the fact that it was on the literal first day of spring, and that was before she became a vampire. Who knew if the pair would even get another chance!? Besides winter would definitely be ending soon as this was the last day of the year. So, despite the discomfort, Morgana kept going until the snowpal was up and decorated, then immediately ducked inside. Where she was met with the worrying eyes of her mother, well aware of her weakness.
Amellia was perfectly content spending the rest of the day reading or playing on the computer while Morgana rested and regained the energy she lost protecting herself from the sun while the sisters built their snowpal. She felt a little guilty as she occasionally popped into Morgana's room to make sure she was okay, but her vampire sister seemed to be doing just fine.
By the time Morgana woke up Amellia and the rest of the family was already in their pajamas but, despite the late hour, no one was asleep. Ever since their first New Years together William and Cassandra had stayed up and celebrated the new year together. This year was no exception. As soon as Morgana made her way down the stairs she noticed the TV on, the countdown was about to start. She was just in time.
As soon as the countdown reached zero William and Cassandra got lost in each-other's eyes and lips. Feeling a bit left out, Amellia turned around and gave her sister a nice big hug. Morgana beamed as the hugged her sister back. All she really needed was Amellia, who cared about anyone else?
Even while living in the city, and just feet away, William had never been to a GeekCon. It wasn't that he never wanted to go. William had been working in the video game industry for years and grew up with computers and gaming. It was just that he never could find the time. When he started working he always had to work while the con was on then he had a family and there was diaper changing, or watching a toddler, or even more diaper changing to keep him away. Amellia was finally in school now, she was the last of the kids to hold him back, so he could finally attend a GeekCon. What's more he got to attend with his wife!
These cons alway had a few lunch pads just waiting for people to build rockets on. William remembered how the noise would keep Morgana up when she was younger. Of course William was always secretly envious of the people who actually got to work on these things. He may have grown up in a big house, but there wasn't enough of a yard to put a rocket in and then he moved to the city, so it was still out of the question. Of course now he had space, but no money, so, naturally, he took the opportunity to avail himself of the pads at the con.
Of course his motivations weren't to explore space, and he would love to say he was doing it just for the thrill of rocket science, but that wasn't entirely the case either. You see he wife was there and there was one activity he always wanted to do with his wife that could only be done in a rocket. Unfortunately, the hack-a-thon started and William had to leave the rocket. Cassandra didn't find it nearly as fun to work on the thing by herself so she went to enter a game contest. While the two were busy someone else finished their rocket and took in into space. Talk about rude!
Oh well, if they couldn't woohoo amongst the stars they could at least woohoo under them, so to speak. William lured his wife into an observatory and they began their little activity. Fortunately, it turned out to be just as fun as William thought it would be.
After their fun, it was William's turn to enter the game tournament. He was a champion gamer after all, he could not not enter. Sadly, this left Cassandra with little to do. She tried her had a learning some programming, but quickly learned that was her husband's domain, not hers.
Though Cassandra did want to have more fun in space, she wasn't going to let a free rocket just sit there on the landing pad. She took of on a little space adventure. She even brought back a few space rocks. William didn't even notice she had gone. He was in "the zone".
Space exploration was fun, but it was also very tiring. Once William had finished with his game tournament (he took 1st) he went to find his wife. She was nowhere to be found on the con grounds, so he checked the local karaoke bar. He found her napping on a couch not far from the entrance. Perhaps he should wake her and take her home, but, then again, she was always so cute when she was napping.
Morgana had to admit she was surprised there was no where there when her and Amellia got home. Work schedules between her parents were usually pretty well aligned so some one was always there, or would be there soon, plus there was the fact that she knew her mother had the day off.
She wasn't really worried though, and neither was Amellia. You see Morgana was a bit older than she looked and was more than capable of watching her little sister and the house for a few hours. Naturally she could use this as an opportunity to become the most popular kid in her elementary school, but decided to show how responsible she was to her parents instead. Still there was no reason she couldn't invite one person over. It would be a good chance for her to make a new friend after all.
It was nearing the end of spring and William, despite playing video games as a job, was getting kind of sick of his daily grind. Cassandra had just started a new full time position as she was getting nowhere in her retail career. She didn't have much in the way of vacation days, but was eager for a family vacation nonetheless.
The four packed up for a return to where the couple had honeymooned, Granite Falls. They would, of course, not be staying in the small, one-bedroom cabin, but a much larger cabin with three beds, one the parents could share and one each for the girls.
Unforuntately the couple had just as much luck on this vacation as they did the last time they were here. It didn't take them long to realize that it was raining, they could feel it as soon as they arrived. Morgana thought the clouds provided excellent cover from the uncomfortable rays of the sun, but the rain made everything soggy and muddy and just overall unpleasant. Amellia couldn't argue there, but added that the clouds did make everything seem so much more depressing.
While the family waited to see if the rain might let up, Amellia decided to catch up on homework. It'd be nice to have it done before she got back to school. Morgana, who had already done her homework due to no longer needing sleep, decided to stay up in the loft with her sister and read a book.
Of course, Cassandra, for one, hadn't come out to Granite Falls to sit around and watch TV or read books, even nature books. She could do all that at home. She had come to Granite falls to actually experience nature. Yes it was raining, but the rain was part of nature, right? Sadly, she couldn't even convince her husband to go out with her, but that didn't stop her from venturing out to the information booth and at least seeing if there was anything she could be doing other than sitting in the cabin.
Much to her desmay, but not to her surprise, every activity had been canceled due to the rain. She asked the ranger if they had any idea when the rain migh let up. She was informed that it would likely be raining until night and probably most of the next day. She hung her head and was about to turn back toward the cabin when the ranger's face suddenly went white. Cassandra turned around and was suddenly confronted with a large nose, large, round ears, and beady black eyes.
It was someone dressed in a bear custome. Cassandra wasn't sure if the person was trying to get a laugh by scaring people half-to-death or they just came from a bear's night at a nearby bar, either way she could almost instantly tell the person wasn't actually a bear and decided to try and scare them right back. Wouldn't you know it, it worked! Now it was Cassandra's turn to laugh.
Cassandra came back after having her laugh and William had just about finished making dinner. She decided to have a chat with her husband while he finished dinner. She just had to tell him what happened.
Soon dinner was on the table. Amellia had just finished a bath and came to the table already in her nightgown and ready for bed. It wasn't as if it was late, but there really wasn't much to do at the moment. Morgana, though she no longer needed to eat, decided to join her family at the table just to enjoy their company.
Amellia started telling a funny story of something that happened at school before the vacation. It was well worth it for Morgana to just sit there and listen. Everyone else had already finished their food, but were eager to hear the rest of the story, so they waited to clean up.
After everyone was done cleaning up, Morgana, who no longer needed sleep, but was getting a bit thirsty, decided to head out. Everyone else had gone to sleep and the rain a slowed to a small drizzle.
While she was out, Morgana came across a lit firepit. Her parents had warned her and Amellia to stay away from strangers, especially at night, but Morgana was a vampire now, and she was quite thirsty. The two sitting by the fire weren't so much strangers to Morgana as they were a meal. The girl approached the firepit and sat down. The pair, who seemed to have just met themselves, didn't think much of the young girl who plopped down on the log near them despite the late hour.
Even though Morgana was quite thirsty, it hadn't become so unbearable as to preclude her having a little bit of fun. The girl introduced herself and began asking about the pair and telling them about herself, leaving out the vampire part. She even told a ghost story. The pair soon began heading to back to their cabin. That was Morgana's cue. She picked on and used her bat form to follow them. Once their was enough distance between them and the other stranger, the girl showed her dark form and sunk her fangs into her target. Once she had her fill she returned to her cabin.
When Morgana returned to the cabin she was surprised to find Cassandra sitting on the sofa. She wasn't reading or watching the TV, but she had a rather sad and distant look on her face. Morgana sat down, but didn't say a word. She wasn't exactly sure what to say or how to help her mother. Cassandra asked if she had gone out hunting, Morgana said that she had. It was silent for another few moments until the girl finally asked if something was bothering Cassandra.
Cassandra reminded Morgana that the mother will die before her girl. Morgana suddenly grew distant herself. This was something that was altogether natural. Children are supposed to outlive their parents, but, for Morgana, there was something more. She wouldn't just outlive her parents, she would outlive her friends and even her younger sister. In fact she had already thought about how she was going to remain a child while Amellia would soon be entering high school.
It was while Morgana was deep in her thoughts of the future that Cassandra proposed something. She proposed that Morgana turn her into a vampire. That way she wouldn't be alone forever. Morgana liked that idea and had even thought about turning Amellia and William to, but didn't want to go against their wishes. If someone offers themselves, that was different though. Unfortunately, Morgana had to shake her head. She didn't yet have that power, but it wasn't like she couldn't learn it.
The rain finally stopped altogether in the wee hours of the morning. After her conversation with her mother, Morgana had decided to take a bit of a walk. She wanted to see the campgrounds and experience the wonders of nature at night. When she returned to the cabin, her sister was already awake. The two decided to just look at the stars together while they waited for their parents to wake up.
Morgana grew tired of waiting and decided to head into the cabin for a bath. Once she had finished she decided to wear her nightgown, at least until her sister got dressed. After all, what was the point in having matching gowns if they never wore them together?
Once Morgana had finished changing she found Amellia downstairs putting a bowl in the sink. She must have just finished breakfast. Morgana wondered if her sister was aware of what day it was and she wasn't talking about the second day of vacation or the fact that spring was nearing its end. She approached the girl as she rounded the table making sure she had cleared all her dishes and promptly produced a rose. The shocked look on her sister's face was enough to tell Morgana that Amellia was completely unaware that today was Love Day. The rose was, of course, to show how much Morgana appriciated her.
After explaining the day and the reason she was giving Amellia a rose, the girl accepted and even managed to produce a rose of her own to give to Morgana. Morgana was happy, but wondered if William would have wake up. After all, she had bought two roses.
Though Love Day was always about expressing you love for your partner, it was different for adults. They had more ways of expressing love than small pecks on the cheeks and flowers. William and Cassandra, who had no idea their kids would be up at this hour, decided to express their love in a way that only adults could. This would not only be a celebration of Love Day, but also a remembrance of the last time the two went camping. Fitting considering the weather.
If the girls had heard the love making in the other room they had not reacted to it in any way. Once the couple had finished they went to have breakfast. William cooked a breakfast scramble that even Morgana partook of (despite not needing to eat). Once the dishes were cleared Morgana gave William her second rose. William was well aware that, for children, love had a different meaning and gladly accepted his daughter's expression before heading to the living room to check the weather.
It was as he had feared. The rain would soon be returning and it would be hanging around most of the day. He really needed to learn to plan these vacations better, or at least find days with less rain.