Cress (The Story of a Plantsim)

[Audren]

Wow, that Cowplant really is scary- Hey, look! Cake! Maybe I can get a sli- *dies* 

Poor Raja, even if he was a thief. Must be a bad way to go.

[karlissa]

Perhaps cow plants are smarter than they let on.

[Swirl-Girl]

Good boy! *Scratches behind "ears" cow plant thumps it's pot*
I hope Cress recovers from this ordeal.

[Pyro0001]

I love this story! The plot is awesome, and your writing style is amazing. Cress is a cutie!

[Sutz]

Author's Note: Thank you all for the kind comments! They mean a lot to me! On with the story!



Everything hurt. Everything felt far too heavy and far too hot. Cress groaned softly as she became fully aware of all the pain she was in. Groggily, she opened her eyes.
"Welcome back, my darling."
She was at home, in her room, on her own bed. Her mother Christina was next to her.
"What happened?" Cress whispered.



"Mercy," said her mother. "You're home and safe. Your sisters rescued you. There's nothing to be afraid of any more."
"But... Raja Ansari... that laboratory... the CowPlant...!"
"Ssh, ssh, my darling, you are a little behind the times. Raja Ansari is dead, destroyed by his own creation. The police have already come and gone. Your sisters told them everything that had happened, and was said. They've arrested Raja Ansari's widow, but she seemed oblivious to what had been going on in her basement; it looks like she didn't even know you were there."



"Mother," whispered Cress. "I... I was so scared. He said... he said I was giving up my life for a good cause. I was so scared, Mother."
"I know, I know," Christina helped her daughter sit up and then hugged her close. "But he's gone now, darling. It's all over, and from now on I promise I'm going to take proper steps to make sure no one else tries to use you for your powers until you are ready and willing. I promise you, Cress."



Cress knew her mother was sincere, and it gave her more confidence. She also could tell that there were many other things Christina wanted to say, but was holding back for some reason. She knew her mother well enough now to read her more subtle expressions. But Christina said no more.



When Cress had regained a little more strength, she went downstairs to where her sisters were waiting. Both Christa and Chrissie were relieved and overjoyed: Cress had been ill for so long after her ordeal that many times they thought their efforts were to be in vain and they would lose her, but here she was - damaged, yes, weak and in pain, but still here and alive, their own precious sister. Their family was still complete.



And that, they all knew, was the most important thing of all.



Author's Note: The above image I think is my favourite image I've ever taken with Sims 3. Once again thanks to Berry and ForeverHailey for the poses!

[Gogowars329]

Glad to see the family all back together!

[karlissa]

Cress is quite important isn't she.

[Sugarnibble]

Aww, great story! I can't wait to see what happens next! I honestly loved Plantsims in Sims 2, but I never seemed to find the time to expirement with them in Sims 3 yet. Oooh, and I'm so jealous of your Cowplant and Lunar Lakes, two things I really, reaaallly want. 

[Sutz]

OK, everyone, just a heads-up:

Because my computer hates me, the file that I was using for Cress's story has become corrupted and none of my backups are working. The good news is because Cress is what she is, I can replay everything right up to the point to continue the story and Cress will pretty much stay exactly the same. The bad news is that Cress' best friend and future mate who was vital to the next stage of the story was not one of the premade townies and moved in after the game started. When I lost the file, I lost him too.
So I have a little bit of reworking to do! Fear not, dear readers - Cress' story WILL continue, but I ask for your patience while I attempt to regain what I lost.

[Swirl-Girl]

Oh no! That must be so aggravating!

[Teacup Chihuahua]

Oh how annoying for you  Hope you can fix if soon

[Sutz]

Good news, everyone! Thanks to nearly an entire day of frantically playing on top speed, I've pretty much got back to where I left off and set for the next part of the story.

Cress herself has the same facial structure, obviously, but a slightly different leaf-undersheath, a little darker and more olive green. There's nothing I can do to change that, but I was careful to recreate everything else as exactly as possible. I need to set off and take some more screenshots now!

[Swirl-Girl]

We don't mind. We're all just happy that the show will go on!

[Sutz]

Author's Note: Thank you so much for your patience, everyone! Now back to the story!


The climate of the Lunar Lakes moon was warm and tropical. Winters were quite rare, coming round only once every few years or so. For this reason, Cress didn't experience her first winter until she was nine years old. It was several months since her unpleasant experience with Raja Ansari and the police inquests had just finished.
Lunar winters were rare, but when they did come, they were intensely bitter.

Almost immediately this started posing some new challenges for Cress and her family. Very quickly it was discovered that Cress had difficulty generating her own body heat, as most humans do. She could do it, but not as easily and certainly not as effectively. Her plant DNA had essentially made her cold-blooded. There was a nasty incident shortly after the winter season began when she was waiting for the school bus in the snow and collapsed from the cold.




Cress was OK, but the family realised that there was no way to tackle this issue but to insist that Cress start wearing human clothes, at least when she was outside.
Cress hated wearing normal clothes, but she hated being cold much more, so she decided to put up with it. She discovered quite quickly, though, that once she got used to the clothes, they allowed her to enjoy the curious powdery white stuff that was now covering their home.


All around her, the native Lunar flora had not shed their leaves like Earth plants were wont to do, but they were still dormant, unabashed by the weather. As Cress shivered in her thick coat, hat and scarf, she still partly wished she could hide herself away during the winter months.


“Nice snow angel,” came a voice. Cress got up and found she was being watched by a young boy with dark skin and laughing eyes. She knew him, vaguely – he was in the year below her at school.
“Why are you green?” asked the boy. “And why do you have leaves instead of hair?”
Cress shrugged. “It's complicated. Basically I'm half-plant, half-human.”
The boy nodded, asked no more. “Cool. I'm Sammy.”
“I'm Cress. How do you do?”
She wasn't sure how she knew, but something curious shifted that day.


The winter dragged on, but brought with it happier things too.
“You're pregnant, Selene? That's wonderful!”


Chris and Selene's daughter Kunama (meaning 'Snow'), Christina's first grandchild, arrived later in the winter. Chris and Selene had settled well into their new house and a close friendship was quickly developing between Christina and her daughter-in-law.



Chris wasn't the only one moving on. Both Chrissie and Christa now had boyfriends. Christa was set on sharing her life with Finn Lucas, while Chrissie had found a match in Jax Benton.



They often teased Cress good-naturedly about her rapidly-developing friendship with Sammy James.
“I mean, come on! Chris has Selene; I have Jax; Christa has Finn and you have Sam. The only one among us who doesn't have a partner of any kind is Mother and she's way past it now.”
“Chrissie!”
“I heard that!” came a disembodied voice from the bathroom.
Cress felt too young to have a boyfriend yet, but she couldn't deny that she felt totally relaxed in Sammy's presence. He was clever and kind and funny with a concern for the environment unusual in someone his age and so he was fascinated by her connection with the natural world. It was his friendship that was allowing her to enjoy the winter so much despite the discomfort.


The cold eventually ended and the first signs of spring started to appear.


Just in time for Cress' birthday.

[karlissa]

Really? Cliffhanger