The Cottoneye Witches of Monte Vista -- FAILED, Please move to Graveyard

[RainBeau]

Ohhhh. Okay. That fits her hair!

[SimBlip]

It's always nice to learn something new. I didn't know the expression '23 skidoo' either.
Qusul's world must be amazing with so many suns.

[MarianT]

Chapter Thirteen – Full Moon

Dear Diana,

   Thanks for the advice -- I’ll try to remember to dance. Your little niece Shelley looks like a real cutie.

   We had a real scare the night of the full moon. FYI, it wasn’t zombies. Mom has them well under control. In fact she was hoping for more zombies than the two we got so she could finish off her lifetime wish. For some reason, the cure elixir works better than the potent cure elixir, at least as far as her LTW is concerned. She doesn’t mind, however, as the cure elixir is easier to make.



   Nor did the scare come from any ghosts. Uncle Cam had a little trouble with the ghost of the stray cat sleeping on his bed.



He didn’t realize the blue blob was a ghost until it looked up at him and meowed, whereupon he freaked out.



   No, the scare came from Qusul, who disappeared for over a day shortly after he became an elder.



   Actually, the scare didn’t come from his leaving, but from our discovery that a dish of ambrosia had left with him. We couldn’t help wondering if he would eat the ambrosia while he was out in space. And then, as the hours passed, we couldn’t help wondering if he would ever come back. Mom was philosophical about the whole thing, even though as the dynasty founder, she had the biggest stake. If Qusul didn’t come back, we would still have each other, she said. Luckily, Qusul did return, telling us some story about visiting the planet Sixam, where some dolphins had given him a towel to use when he hitch-hiked.

   On a more interesting subject, Virgil is growing up. He’s walking on his own now.



He has also been potty-trained, and is quite pleased with himself.



I’ve been talking to him about going to college – something that might be possible by the time he graduates from high school.



Qusul has been talking to him as well, telling him a story about the time he went to the moon. We were all thrilled when Virgil said “Moon!”



   I’ve gone back to work, but am not getting promoted as quickly as you are. Even after two days, I’m still only a test subject. Anyway, I’m enclosing one last cute shot of my two valentines:



Lots of love, Aurelia

Sixth Report from Tier 3 Agent Qusul

Delta Sector Commander, I salute you!

High gratitude for elevation in rank!

Humbly regret to tell you that cannot return permanently with ambrosia recipe, ingredients, and storage device. Will bring one serving of ambrosia to Delta Sector Command base on Sixam for analysis, but must return so that attractive wide-nosed woman will not fail.
Instead, will bring gifts:  a vibrational device with kinetic figure and fashionable outfits to be replicated.

Everyday:



Nightwear:



Cold weather:



   Indoctrination of small wide-nosed one continues. Have bestowed proper hair on him and warned him against (untranslatable) monsters.



Prosper and live long! Tier 3 Agent Qusul Ayohod

[Magz from Oz]

Amusing update.  Is the reference to the dolphins on Sixam a salute to "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" by Douglas Adams?

[MarianT]

That would be my guess. It's been a long time since I read A Hitchhiker's Guide, but I did remember the bit about a towel being necessary, so I recognized the reference in the pop-up.

[Dextra2]

If mice ever tell Qusul that the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything is 42, we should be informed. (I love The Hichhiker's Guide To The Galaxy! One of my favorites when it comes to si-fi!)

[MarianT]

Chapter Fourteen – In the Kitchen

Dear Diana,

   It’s been a busy time for me. Besides raising a toddler, trying to get promoted at work, and fishing (not to mention keeping Beppe happy), I’ve been working on my spell-casting ability at Mom’s request. Not to brag, but I managed to land a good-luck charm on Uncle Cam my first time.



   A few days later, I found out why. Mom confided to me that she had completed all her requirements for taking ambrosia – except one. She needed to cure two more people to become a Mystic Healer. She could wait for the next full moon and take care of the zombies in the yard, but she wanted to do it as soon as possible. Was I willing to try using the Toadification Curse? If it backfired, she assured me, she would be able to cure me instead of my victim test subject. I tried Uncle Cam first.



   The curse didn’t seem to affect our relationship, so I did Beppe next.



   I was surprised to see that he turned brown rather than green. I must admit, I’m tempted to go to the Festival and see what other colors I can get.

   Anyway, Mom purchased the “No Bills Ever” lifetime reward, and then sat down to eat her first dish of ambrosia. She sniffed the meal first.



   After she’d eaten it and had her age reset from 80 to 69, I asked her what it tasted like. “Indescribable,” she said. “Indescribably good or indescribably bad?” I asked. Mom just smiled. Now I’m trying to figure out if it’s good but she’s trying to convince me that the taste is really awful so I won’t be tempted to get into the ambrosia beforehand, or if the taste is so bad that she’s afraid I won’t work on my requirements as hard as possible if I know that.



   The other important thing that happened in the kitchen was Virgil’s birthday. Mom says we need a larger room, or maybe a dining room, and I have to agree. Poor Beppe was almost crushed by the door.



   Virgil is now family-oriented in addition to being brave and athletic. Here’s his new wardrobe:

Everyday


Formal


Pajamas


Athletic


Outerwear


   We’ve also changed his room around a little.
 


He’d like to get rid of the rocking-chair, but it’s always occupied by Uncle Cam, Mom, or Qusul. Maybe with so many elders in the house, we should get a few more rocking-chairs so they all can be happy.

   I’m impressed by your accomplishments, and have resolved to try harder at work. I got my first promotion yesterday, but I’m afraid it’s going to take me a long time to get the next eight. Love, Aurelia

P.S. Shelley is just precious! Can’t wait to see how she grows up.

Seventh Report from Tier 3 Agent (ret.) Qusul

Delta Sector Commander, I salute you!

Pleased that new clothing has met with your approval.

Very pleased to report that attractive wide-nosed woman has ingested ambrosia and age has been reset.



Full immortality will be conferred when she harvests death flower plant, protecting herself from accidents.

After conversation with attractive wide-nosed woman, regret to inform you that am unable to obey your command to return home. My permanent absence would invalidate her efforts. Attraction higher priority than duty. Therefore submitting my retirement.

Prosper and live long! Tier 3 Agent (ret.) Qusul Ayohod

[cathyknits]

Congrats on immortality!

[RainBeau]

He's not kidding about her being attractive! I never thought of it that way! Wow. How sweet

[Tilia]

That resignation is so beyond adorable.  I just realized I've never used toadification!  I know what I'm doing after work. 

[SimBlip]

Congratulations on your first immortal!

[Rhoxi]

Yay! Grats to immortal number one!

Aw . . . Qusul has a little crush? "Attraction higher priority than duty." Very sweet.

[Magz from Oz]

I hope Qusul's attraction is returned.  Nothing worse than giving up your day job for someone who's just not interested!    Lovely update.

[MarianT]

Generation Two

Chapter One – Honeymoon

Dear Diana,

   “Let’s go to China,” Beppe said to me soon after Virgil started school. “You can catch some fish, I can explore some tombs, and –“ snuggle – “we can have that honeymoon we never got because you were pregnant.”

   How could a girl turn down an offer like that?

   As soon as we arrived in China, we began making up for all those nights when Virgil’s Circadian rhythms didn’t correspond with ours.



   Maybe that was a mistake, because after that, the paparazzi were following me like I was a tuna and they were starving cats. Anyway, for a few days we had a great time. I fished, bringing my total to 200 (only 150 more).



   Beppe explored several different tombs, which I thought was pretty impressive considering all the phobias he has.



   In the evening, we cuddled and talked about all kinds of things. One night, he told me that he didn’t want a bunch of girlfriends any more. Now his lifetime wish was to live in the lap of luxury.



   All was lovely, and then one afternoon, as I was leaving the base camp to fish, I said hello to a woman visiting from Egypt.  All I did was say hello, but somehow our conversation was magnified into some romantic tryst, even though there were a half dozen people around. I didn’t even know what was going on until Beppe confronted me and accused me of cheating on him.



   “And to think I changed my lifetime wish for you,” he said. “When all the time you were cheating on me with someone else.”

   “I wasn’t!” I protested, but it didn’t do any good. He wanted a divorce.



   We spent that night in separate, uncomfortable, beds.

   The next day was our last in China. We decided to get away from the other tourists and go off on our own to work on our relationship. Just to make sure we would have a happy ending, I zapped both of us with a love charm. It worked on Beppe, but it backfired on me, and I found that I was furious with him for even suspecting me.



   After shouting at him, I burst into tears. “How could you believe I’d be unfaithful to you?” I sobbed.



   “I’m sorry,” he said. “Can we start over?”

   He looked so penitent that I forgave him.



   We renewed our vows in a simple ceremony.



   Virgil was fine when we returned home, and I don’t think Mom and Qusul missed us at all.



   I’ll keep you posted of any new developments. Love, Aurelia

[RainBeau]

Wow! How dramatic! They actually broke up? That's terrible! I'm glad you managed to repair the relationship. As for Mercy and Qusul...when he first showed up, I would never have suspected this happening.