Mixed-Up Norns!

SpringRain back again with more stories of my adorable herd of Horse Norns. I've decided I'll have to find a way to label saved screenshots of them better as I continue to get them mixed up. I'll try to tell the stories as best as I can; some of the events just may not be in order. These things did happen though, and I'm hoping to be able to share them in more logical sequences from here on out. (That said, I must apologise for the lacklustre post previous to this. Writing while anaemic certainly does not help one to be at their most creative spirit at times).

They are all lovely in their own way and each one definitely has their own personality...it's just hard to tell in a picture. I've slowly gotten to know each one as an individual while watching them grow up in the land where it never rains and the soft blanket of darkness never falls across the land.

I don't think I've included enough shots of Mister Fluffbum in with all these furry Norns. He's definitely still alive, despite having the odd 'senior moment' or two. Norns flooded onto his island so he escaped across the ocean for some peace and quiet in the platform above the jungle under the rope bridge.

This is an add-on which I injected, wanting more spaces for my Creatures to roam. I thought it would help prevent Albia becoming too crowded, although  I do find myself wishing the floor wasn't invisible because it tends to look like either a glitch or that I have creatures with special levitation powers. Fluffbum and the others certainly seem to enjoy it, though. They don't often go all the way under the bridge unless they want to escape from others, or that's how it seems. Most are content to hang around where the Grendel Mother Tree grows and pick juicy apples from its lower branches. Maybe seeing that little bird all safely tucked inside its nest made Fluffbum sleepy too. It does look nice and cosy. He might want to finish off his Cola first though. I don't think sugar rushes to the head aid one in gaining the best restful slumber.

He eventually wandered over to pick some apples after finishing off the fizzy drink and I brought him a toy to play with. Virtual pets playing with virtual pets! Hee hee.

It seems like we never have enough toys. Creatures appear to really enjoy the bouncy ball and the spinning top in some stages of their lives, yet after a while they don't seem as entranced or entertained by them. By far the most popular would have to be the rubber ball. Sometimes it helps if I play with the toy with them or show them how to use it, or sometimes it helps to swap out toys or bring in new toys. At least, it seems that way. Not many creatures will play with the top on their own unless I tell them 'toy' and click it a few times.

Leaving Flufbum to finally drift to sleep under the rustling apple boughs for a while, I went to check on two sleeping beauties in the lighthouse tower. Handsome Aidan and lovely Lancelot  were expecting an egg! It seemed they had the perfect timing with the kiss pop and the sleeping. Often when one Norn falls asleep beside others, the other Norns will keep trying to interact with them, tickling, talking, sometimes giving a little slap and ultimately waking them up. Sleep is such a rare commodity in a world with so many padding paws, I was glad to see these two catching some elusive Zs. Plus, they looked totally cute! X3 So neatly positioned, don't they just remind you of those stone lions that guard museums and temples? Hee hee...Albia has it's very first guardians of the lifts.

Aidan wandered away to get a few licks of honey after waking up but not long after he promptly fell asleep again! I was worried when I saw him standing up while snoozing. This usually means they are going to toss, turn and move about, waking up without their sleepiness or tiredness reduced. Thankfully that wasn't the case. He didn't move a wink and his sleepiness drive actually decreased. He must have been so exhausted that he just dropped off where he stood. Maybe it was the soothing sounds and movements of the waterfall that sent him off to dreamland. I would find it very amusing if all of my Norns started to sleep like this though. Seeing as one of the names they are known by is 'Horse Norns' it would be very fitting!

In the next picture, Aidan is actually awake believe it or not. I seem to have a knack for taking pics of him with his eyes closed. He's leaning over to hold his and Lance's growing egg, prompted by me saying 'egg' to draw his attention to it. I like to try and get parents to notice their eggs, since even though they probably don't know it's their child inside, at least they can acknowledge there is an egg there and try to do something with it. It makes for some very sweet moments. <3 I'm sure Aidan couldn't know that the little baby within was his. :D Does anyone else wish Norns could recognise their family members like this though?

Later on, Aidan went to meet Riding near the Lover's Leap and another egg was on the way. This should hopefully mean more red coloured Norns. Gee Aidan, you're causing ladies to fall asleep everywhere you go! ;) Sleeping peacefully below was Meriadoc. I'm not sure if she is the youngest but she certainly has been the smallest for longest. If there was a contest for who could stay small the longest, she would have won.

Zooming off around the world again, I went to do the rounds to see something exceptional in the garden. While everyone else had long since grown, Meriadoc was the last of my Norns to become an adult. She stayed a child/teen for the longest time as the hours slipped by and like some of the Norns in the past generation, I had feared she would never age. She, like they, had fortunately proved me wrong. Merry had grown at long last and I couldn't wait to find this pretty red Norn a mate. A sweet tempered and playful creature, she also had a soft spot for the hand and I knew I wanted to see at least one baby take after her. She happens to be one of the only Norns in my world who really enjoys the spinning top and will play with it without prompting.

A little encouragement from some Mugug fruits along with some attention from the charming Chip soon had a baby on the way. These luscious looking fruits are the reason why generation 4 practically zoomed into existence. I think I definitely went overboard providing the fruit to my creatures so generously and have learned from the experience that they may be best reserved for special cases or Norns having difficulty with breeding. Nevertheless we weren't exactly flooded with eggs so more was better in this case.

Chip didn't look too happy at the tiny single egg sitting beside the pink lemonade vendor. I'm sure no Norn wants to see that look on their mate's face when presented with such a wee gem. Merry was standing nearby and looking on, and I can just imagine what she might want to say to him. Ahaha! He was right though - we need more eggs than that.

Thanks to Chip's suggestion, the next couple of pictures will show eggs everywhere! But first please meet Lily the 2nd. She is the Norn with the lighter coat in the right hand corner, trying to approach Lancelot, who's chosen not to play and is running away! Silly Lance. Perhaps she forgot that there's a wall and a dead end that way.

Chip resides happily above them both, playing with the learning computer while he seemingly rests his paw on a jelly that he's probably saving for a sweet snack. I'll have to come along and wipe off the computer from time to time to keep little paws from getting it all sticky. Lol.

Riding had laid her egg at last and I spent some time encouraging her to eat the plentiful honey around the platforms and play with the slideshow toy while her baby took it's time to grow. It always makes me laugh when Norns get confused with this slideshow and try to push it, only to keep rolling the drop screen instead. The other thing they do is walk in front of the camera when I am trying to click it and their heads get in the way, so I end up giving them tickles and not being able to click it. Either way, they have a good time and I have a giggle at their antics.  

I smiled again when I found Chip with Lance snoozing by the clock in the kitchen. Sure enough, not content with one or two eggs, he had been up to mischief. Another egg was a cause for joy. They couldn't have chosen a more suitable location.

Eggs, eggs, everywhere! One of these polished presents belongs to Lily the 2nd (the blue one on the left, next to Arabic) and our most difficult and fuss pot Norn, Angelette, has an egg too.  I'd be curious to see whether there's a reason Angelette has trouble with performing commands, eating and sleeping. Her mother, Pommes, had the same kind of issues. They both also preferred to spend most of their lives in the viewing dome strawberry patch with Fluffbum, who shared his food and toys without any complaints.

 Another egg from Riding was laid right beside the jukebox. Maybe its mother wished to introduce it to a life of rock n' roll early on. A Norn with a musical career can do very well in Albia! XD Then again, I just hope it doesn't do too much rocking and rolling. Eggs rolling about the place on a platform as high as this would be very alarming.

Marching around in a pile of bananas Aidan, Lancelot and Riding spent some fun time together. Riding has had almost the most eggs out of all the girls so far which could explain her change from gold to silver. She was otherwise fit and healthy though and kicked around in the bananas just like the younger ones.

The final snapshot taken while we waited for all our eggs to hatch was another of the adventurous Aidan standing asleep in the lift! He seems to have made it a real habit of late and whenever I catch him doing it, it brings a grin to my face. Silly, sweet boy...please keep that smile on your face!!