#benjamin littlebow

[melsie-sims]

After a fun night spent in the company of friends and new faces alike, Alyse was absolutely exhausted! She couldn’t believe Benji managed to stay awake for all of it.

“You were quite the social butterfly, weren’t you?” she said to the sleepy boy as she brought him into the girls’ dormitory and set him down in his crib. “Did you like everyone? I think they liked you. That woman — Saumya — she really loved holding you! I don’t think she wanted to let you go!” she laughed softly. 

Benji yawned and stretched. “Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma,” he babbled.

“Go to sleep now, okay sweet boy? We’ve both got a really big day tomorrow! I’m gonna start building new houses for the settlement, and you’re gonna spend the day with Auntie Luan! She might teach you how to crawl! Wouldn’t that be fun?”

[melsie-sims]

As afternoon turned into dusk, Alyse walked around the grounds with her baby, trying to get him to settle down before bedtime.

“This is where mommy’s been working lately,” she explained to the sleepy infant. “I have to get all of the stones first. After that, I use mortar to keep them together. It’s gonna be such a big, strong wall, none of our enemies are ever gonna get inside.”

She glanced at Benji as she spoke, wondering what kind of sim he’d grow up to be. Would he be a maker like both his parents, or would he want to do something completely different with his life?

“Once we’re done with the front-facing wall, we’re gonna start building the actual castle, where you’re gonna grow up. The cabin is gonna be a thing of the past soon,” she continued.

Benji yawned, his eyes beginning to droop.

“Kallie’s gonna have a huge kitchen to work in, with a pantry for all of her supplies and ingredients. The dining room is gonna fit dozens of sims… There’s gonna be a library teeming with books on all sorts of topics, and a place for Ackley to continue his writing… We’re all gonna have our own bedrooms too, so no more getting waken up at all hours of the night… Oh, and you’ll have a big nursery full of toys. You’ll see, Benji, it’ll be such a wonderful place!”

By the time she stopped talking, Benji was fast asleep.

[melsie-sims]

Everyone proceeded to congratulate the engaged couple, but Eze was a little distracted by the infant in the room.

“Is that Benji scooting over?!” he exclaimed cheerfully and went over to pick the little boy up from the dusty floor. “Oh my watcher, he got so big while I was gone!” 

Benji babbled incoherently, reaching for Eze’s face.

“Hey little pup,” he whispered, very aware of the infant’s scent. In fact, he was surprised he didn’t notice it the moment he walked through the door.

He was probably too distracted by his own nerves at the thought of what he was about to do.

“You running the entire settlement yet?” he asked playfully, bouncing Benji on his arm.

[melsie-sims]

When Alyse walked inside after working on construction all day, she had to stop for a moment to watch Luan cradling Benji. She was speaking to him softly in a language that wasn’t Simlish. Komorebigo perhaps? She couldn’t be sure. 

“Did you ever think you’d be spending your days as a glorified nanny when you left the Old Kingdom to come here?” she asked playfully, realizing she’d been staring with a stupid grin on her face for a bit too long.

“Not at all, actually,” Luan laughed softly. “Actually, I have to be honest, I didn’t think I would’ve still been here after almost two years.” 

“Well, I for one am really glad you are still here with us,” Alyse smiled. “And not just because you take such good care of my child.”

Luan looked down at the stirring infant and smiled softly. Her body didn’t have the ability to blush, but if she could she probably would’ve at the compliment. There was nothing quite like being told you were wanted. 

“Here, I’ll take him off you now,” Alyse continued. “I think he’s ready to be fed.”

[melsie-sims]

Eze and Kallie left the kitchen to do their own thing; meanwhile, Alyse got Benji out of his crib and got him ready for the day.

“How do you feel about practicing crawling this morning?” she asked the 8 month old.

He babbled and blew raspberries.

Alyse chuckled and got down on her knees in front of him. “Hi, Benji!” she said in a very exaggerated, happy voice. “Come here! Come see mommy!”

Benji’s eyes went wide with excitement. He tried to push himself up on his little hands but it proved to be a lot more of a challenge. He started to fuss.

“Come on, you can do it, I know you can! Come here! Come on, Benji! Come on!” Alyse cheered him on. 

Benji was not in the mood. He started to cry.

“Okay, okay, we’re done for now. It’s time for your feeding anyway. What do you say? Should we try that again a little later?” Alyse said, trying to soothe him.

[melsie-sims]

“Are you feeling well enough to entertain yet?” Eze asked, knocking his knuckle against the hatchframe to let her know he was coming up.

“Sure,” Alyse replied, her voice soft and a little scratchy. “I was hoping you’d be coming to see us. Do you wanna meet my son?” she added.

“I really do,” Eze grinned.  

Eze was unfamiliar with the sounds of childbirth until today, but babies were something he had plenty of experience with growing up in a crowded orphanage. This one wasn’t very different. He looked like a potato.

“He’s adorable, looks just like you,” he lied. 

“I think he looks a lot like Benjamin,” Alyse replied. “I guess we’ll see for sure when he’s less, uh, wrinkly,” she giggled. 

“Did you give him a name yet?” Eze asked. 

“I named him after his father. We’ll call him Benji for short,” Alyse replied.

“Well then, welcome to this still unnamed brand new settlement, Benji,” Eze told the potato-shaped baby. 

Alyse couldn’t help but hesitate before asking her next question, scared and excited to know the answer. “Can you tell if he’s, you know,” she gestured randomly at Eze’s chest. 

“A werewolf?” Eze guessed. “No. Not yet. It’s hard to tell when they’re so young, but in a few months it should be pretty obvious.”   

[melsie-sims]

Alyse had only just gone to bed a few moments ago when Benji began to cry in his crib.

“It’s okay, go back to sleep, I’ve got him,” Luan whispered, seeing the exhausted mother climbing down the ladder. “Go back to sleep,” she added when Alyse began to protest.

Luan rocked him and cuddled him for hours, trying not to focus too much on the scent she picked up from him — and no, it wasn’t a stinky diaper. It was very different.

It was the stench of a wolf...  not quite as overpowering yet as Eze’s, but definitely there… 

She sighed. This boy was going to lose control and transform into a beast one day… and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Did his mother even know?

It was well after 2AM when the vampire put the infant back down in his crib and sneaked off to do some painting.

As she put paint to the canvas, she continued to think about the infant sleeping in the cabin. She decided she wasn’t going to tell Alyse what she knew. It wasn’t her place.  

[melsie-sims]

Alyse really needed to fix some cracks in the stones surrounding the open fire, otherwise everyone was going to go hungry tonight.

“Oh my goodness, hello chunky boy!” Kallie grinned excitedly as the young mother handed him over to her. “Are you gonna take a nap while your mommy works?”

“Thanks for watching him,” Alyse let out a little sigh of relief. “It’s been a lot today. He doesn’t want to be put down in his crib. It’s just me, me, me,” she laughed.

“It’s fine, Auntie Kallie has got this!” Kallie beamed.

“You do seem like a natural,” Alyse told her as she began to apply some putty between the stones. “Have you and Eze discussed having one of your own?”

Kallie blushed. “Not yet, no, but… I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately…” 

“Well, I think you’d be an amazing mother,” Alyse grinned. “And call me selfish, but I’d really love someone close in age with Benji for him to play with.” 

“Duly noted,” Kallie giggled softly so as to not wake the sleeping baby.

[melsie-sims]

“Oh my stars,” Luan wrinkled her nose as a pungent odor wafted through the cabin. She didn’t need to look very far to find the source. “What ever am I going to do with you, Benji?” she sighed.

Kallie walked in a few seconds later, carrying the dishes from breakfast to the wash basin. 

“Urgh! What died in here!?” she exclaimed and then spotted the little boy looking very proud of himself on the wooden floor.

“I will get him bathed, before his mother walks in and accuses us of letting him scoot around in his own filth,” Luan said with an amused laugh.

“Good idea,” Kallie smirked. “I’m so glad I’m not you right now. I’d much rather do dishes than change soiled nappies.”

“Oh, I have a feeling you’ll be changing your fair share of nappies soon enough, the way you’ve been ogling that werewolf of yours,” Luan winked. "Now come, little one. We've got to get you in the bath."

[melsie-sims]

Alyse was already back at work following the birth of her son. There was so much to do and she was still the only handywoman doing all of the construction. She couldn’t waste any time resting!

Not that she minded. In fact, she’d missed her little workstation quite a lot during the last month or so.

Fortunately Benji was a very content baby. At one month old, he was happy hanging out with his mom in the morning sun while she worked.

“Was that a babble? Are you trying to speak?” Alyse cooed cheerfully. “We’ll go inside for your mid-morning feed in a bit.”

[melsie-sims]

Kallie and Gemma left the loft, giving Alyse some time alone to bond with the baby.

She could hear everyone downstairs erupting in cheers as they undoubtedly got the news that she’d given birth to a son. They were such happy sounds, and she was happy as well… beyond the moon, in fact…

So why did she feel such an overwhelming sadness wash over her?

“Hello little one,” she whispered to the little boy as she cradled him close to her chest. “Your name is Benjamin, after your dad… He was such an amazing man, and one day I’m gonna tell you all about him.”

As she stared into her son’s face, a single tear fell onto his forehead.

[melsie-sims]

While Ackley and Gemma were having a moment on top of the wall, and while Alyse continued to work on construction, Kallie was indoors making a ton of flour that would hopefully last them through the winter months.

Of course, she was also taking care of little Benji for the day.

“How about we do a bit of tummy time while we wait for the next batch of flour?” she asked the wiggling little boy.

Although he wasn’t so sure at first what to do, with Kallie’s guidance he got the hang of rolling over pretty quickly.

“Good job!” Kallie cheered. “Oh, your mom is going to be so pleased when I tell her what you did!”

[melsie-sims]

When Alyse woke up the following morning, she could just vaguely hear Luan and Gemma talking quietly downstairs. She yawned, stretched and then started getting ready for the day.

It was rainy and gray outside — again — so she had no real way of knowing how late it was. She glanced next to her at Kallie’s empty bed. Did she miss breakfast?

“Good morning, how did you sleep?” Luan asked her when she finally came down.

“Oh, um… good thanks, you?” she asked before she could stop herself. She knew vampires didn’t sleep. Why did she ask that?!

Luan smiled, amused by the other woman’s embarrassment. “I painted a masterpiece last night so I’m doing very well,” she said.

“How was Benji?” she wondered, going over to scoop him up into her arms. “Did he actually sleep through the night? I didn’t hear him cry once.” 

“He was a snuggly little bug,” Luan smiled affectionately toward the infant in Alyse’s arms. “I’m glad you got a chance to sleep properly. You look much better this morning.”

“Thanks… I think?” Alyse laughed.

[melsie-sims]

Back at the castle, Alyse and Benji were beginning their day with a nice warm bath. 

“Noooo! You stinky boy! Don’t splash me! AARGH!” Alyse was being all sorts of dramatic for her son’s amusement. 

She had no doubt his little giggles could be heard from the kitchen.

“What else are we going to do today, hmmm? Do you think you’ll hang out with Auntie Luan while I do some woodworking?” Alyse continued to chat to her baby while she scrubbed between the folds of his pudgy limbs and washed his light brown hair.

[melsie-sims]

Alyse couldn’t believe how fast time was passing her by.

How could three months have already gone by since she gave birth to her son? It felt more like three days sometimes.

Watching him now as he blinked the sleepiness away, she couldn’t help but get a little emotional.

He was getting so big, and looking more like his father every day.

“You’re a wiggly little one today, aren’t you? I’m gonna have a hard time carrying you around if you keep this up!” she laughed as she picked him up from the crib.

[melsie-sims]

It was nice being back at camp instead of holed up in a damp cave during the hours of sunshine. Luan could stay safe indoors and enjoy some of her favorite hobbies, not to mention make simoleons for the group.

She was alone for some time when Alyse came inside holding her newborn.

“Hi, do you mind if I come inside and feed my baby?” she asked.

“Of course I don’t, go ahead!” Luan smiled and quietly averted her gaze, giving the other woman some semblance of privacy. “I can’t believe we have a baby in the settlement now. Having him around will be a breath of fresh air.” 

“Yeah, it’s definitely a change, in the best way,” Alyse agreed. “Do you like kids?” 

“Sure,” Luan smiled. “It took me some time to come to terms with not being able to have some of my own… only male vampires have that ability… but I do enjoy having children around.”

Alyse looked horrified. “Oh, I didn’t think—”

“It’s okay, really… Hey, if you wanna go back to work I could take care of him for you. I think he might appreciate being out of the sun for a few hours too,” Luan suggested.

“Really? You’d do that?” the young mom asked. "Okay. I'm done feeding him. You can turn around."

“Yeah, it’s no problem, really!” Luan grinned and came to sit next to the bassinet.

“Thank you so much! You’re a life-saver, honestly!” Alyse beamed.