Chapter Eleven | Island Spirits Welcome page | Chapter Thirteen

The news that Saelua had died quickly spread in the growing village, and a feast ceremony was ordered for everyone to get together and mourn the all-important Village Mystic. Uacro, her son, was, quite obviously, next in line, because he was the only one with any training to do so, but he was still too young, so there was a sense of uneasiness in the village. What were they to do without their healer?

Utel showed up at the Temple early, and started the feast pit going, so that there would be plenty for everyone. Before long, the Temple was a buzzing hive of activity and everyone seemed to be thrilled for a day of celebration instead of the daily grind of surviving. Chief Guar showed up, and Utel brought him a plate of food near the large bonfire.

Chapter 4.6 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 4.8

Generation Four: Orange

Appearance: Orange hair, Island clothing style
Traits: Foodie, Good, Active
Aspiration: Friend of the World
Occupation: Lifeguard
House Goal: 40,000 worth

The Highs… and the Lows

I checked the weather before heading to the bus stop, and – by the time I arrived in the frigid city – I was certainly glad I had. After a quick morning call to Magnus’ father, he had mysteriously said he was working at the main firm in San Myshuno this morning, and asked whether I could meet him there. I didn’t really want to travel that far just to talk to him, but he sounded hurried and distracted, so I assumed it wasn’t the best day to ask him to do all the traveling. Maybe something was going wrong at the main firm? I pondered on it for a while as I watched the rain pour down on the windows of the bus, but before long, my other worries had pushed the curiosity completely out of my head.

I had been to the city before, with Mom, but I had never been to this particular part. I looked around, flabbergasted at the people that were all dressed in clothes that probably cost as nearly as much as my bedroom furniture was going to… and peered awkwardly at the directions I had penned on a now-soggy piece of paper.

WC: Day Seventeen < | Challenge Home Page | > WC: Interlude 3

Jaz slept fitfully, and by morning, was not in any better of a mood. Also, it was their day to help with chores, so cleaning out the toddler potty was first thing done after a quick breakfast, but before getting ready for the day.

WC: Day Sixteen < | Challenge Home Page | > WC: Day Eighteen

Saturday morning in the Judd household was crazy, but a silent sort of crazy. Everyone was tiptoeing around, trying to let Wendy sleep in. She rarely got to sleep in, and Matt was trying to let her take a relaxing morning while he took care of everything.

WC: Day Fifteen < | Challenge Home Page | > WC: Day Seventeen

By the time school ended on Friday, Jaz was a nervous wreck. They tried their best not to be, but knowing that later was their first violin lesson was giving them considerable anxiety. What if the teacher didn’t like them? What if they couldn’t understand how to play the instrument? There were so many what ifs… Jaz tried to ignore it, but sometimes the mind has a way of running off on its’ own.

At least school was over for the week. Jaz joined the Judd house homework party after school, but was barely able to concentrate enough to get their math homework done. The rest of it was easy, but the math teacher had thrown some new concepts at them today, and Jaz’s brain just wasn’t in the right place to learn it yet.

Chapter Ten | Island Spirits page | Chapter Twelve

Utel was getting along far worse than Nork. Instead of spending all their time fishing, she had a huge garden to tend, kids to watch, and meals to cook. Now, with Nork gone, all the handiness tasks also fell to her. Which included the broken toilet. After Nork had discovered how to make one, everyone had decided they were too good to use the bush, so the toilet seemed to break all the time.

WC: Day Fourteen < | Challenge Home Page | > WC: Day Sixteen

Another day in the Judd’s household – another hectic breakfast. And Jaz was happily in the middle of it, chatting about school with Penny and Wendy.

After breakfast, everyone scattered to finish getting ready for school, including Jaz. Then, they all scrambled for the bus, and Wendy looked around at the mess leftover from breakfast. With a sigh, she quickly rinsed the dishes, and put them all in the dishwasher to run.

Chapter 4.5 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 4.7

Generation Four: Orange

Appearance: Orange hair, Island clothing style
Traits: Foodie, Good, Active
Aspiration: Friend of the World
Occupation: Lifeguard
House Goal: 40,000 worth

Meeting the In-Laws

One day bled into the next, one painting looked pretty much like the next.. and, slowly, our bank account started to grow again. I looked sadly at the bank statement, sighed, and went back to painting. To get the house livable, we needed at least twice what we had. Greta was helping with the painting, but wasn’t having a whole lot of fun with it, either. Painting was what her parents had pushed her to study…. not what her life-dream had been. So – although she was a talented painter, it held no joy for her.

I knew where her heart lay, though, and I bought several packets of flower seeds for her, and encouraged her to take a day off of painting to start a garden. Her eyes lit up in a way I hadn’t seen in a while, and she clutched the seeds closely as though they were pure gold.

Chapter Nine | Island Spirits page | Chapter Eleven

Of course, the first people Nork contacted in his newly homeless state were his fishing buddies. All of them had mates, and had scattered to different homes except for Dhok. He and his mate, Makkaen, immediately offered some tent space for Nork, to Nork’s eternal gratitude. His first night away from home passed slowly, but the sun still came up the next day, and – with nothing else to do, Nork headed out with the fishing club to get resources for the still-growing village.

Chapter 16 | Chapter 18

Days passed as young Andric continued to be a nuisance (but a cute one) at night, and slowly began to grow into the man he would hopefully become. I continued my painting, trying to build my savings back up, and my lovely Mari continued studying Vampire Lore, Parenting, and practicing her Knitting. I had bought her a box of needlepoint supplies, as well, but it seemed that would wait until Andric was a bit bigger.