Abandoned by her mother at an early age, Citrine has always been loved by her family and she loves them all the more in return. But even that love can't fill the hole inside of her, and chasing after her past only leads to more heartbreak.
Peppermint: Huh–hey, EG, look!
Eternal Glow: Hm? Oh!
Lucky Penny: Oh! You’re the new student we were supposed to get, aren’t you?
Fern: I think so!
Fern: Name’s Fern! My parents and me just moved into town this past weekend, so we’re still getting settled.
Peppermint: You just moved? From where?
Fern: Oh, some little town out in the mountains. I don’t think you’ve heard of it. Um…who’re you guys?
Lucky Penny: Oh, shoot, right–I’m Lucky Penny, my friends call me Pen. You call me that too, if you want.
Lucky Penny: That’s Moonflower and EG–
Moonflower: Please don’t call him Egg.
Eternal Glow *snort* Please.
Fern: *snort* Never! Oh, hey, that necklace–you’re enby?
Peppermint: No, I’m Peppermint.
*kids laugh*
Peppermint: I am non-binary, though. They’s what I use.
Fern: Cool!
Citrine: And I’m Citrine. It’s nice to meet you, Fern.
Lucky Penny: So, is your family gonna stay in town or are you guys gonna move again or–
Fern: Dunno! My Uncle makes those decisions and I–
*loud rumbling*
Fern: Haha! Sorry, I skipped breakfast this morning! Guess my tummy’s not happy about it.
Moonflower: We’ve got plenty of snacks! Oh, and sandwiches, too.
Eternal Glow: And I’ve got some Sixam-style sushi, if you wanna try that? It’s…not alive, I promise.
Fern: I think I’ll stick to sandwiches, thanks.
Pyro: Well, I see you’re all getting along. Time for lunch?
All: Yes, please!
That evening…
Fern: This is me! Hi, Mom!
Spring: Welcome home, sweetie!
Spring: Oh? You’ve brought friends home already?
Fern: Kinda?
Fern: This is Pep and Citrine, they–agh, Mom, stop! You’re embarrassing me!
Spring: *laugh* Hush, you.
Fern: Ugh…anyway, this is Pep and Citrine. They live at the big house down the road.
Citrine: It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Strike. Fern said you moved here from Glimmerbrook?
Citrine: What was it like?
Spring: *chuckle* Cold. Very cold. I missed mild winters too much, so when this house went up for sale, well, we pounced.
Peppermint: Even thought you had to move all this way?
Spring: Nothing that willpower, elbow grease, and duct tape can’t fix! And a whole lot of boxes.
Spring: But enough about that. Thank you two for being nice to Fern–this move’s been good, but a little hard on her.
Fern: Mom…
Spring: Oh, shush. I can be glad you’re making friends already, can’t I?
Fern: Yeah, yeah….*sigh*
Spring: Come here, silly girl. Ooh, this might just be the start we needed.
Citrine: Yeah…the Springs are…great.
Spring: Well, it’s getting late and we’ve got so much to unpack. Would you two like an escort home or…
Citrine: Nah, we really live just down the road. Maybe we can come visit someday?
Fern: Can they, Mom? After we’re all unpacked and Dad gets back, I mean?
Spring: Hm….well, we’ll have to bring it up with your uncle, but…I don’t see why not.
Fern: Yes!
Spring: But you have to bring it up with Mantis yourself, okay?
Fern: Yes, Mom.
Spring: Good. Now, goodnight you two!
Citrine/Peppermint: Goodnight!
Fern: See you tomorrow, guys!
Peppermint: Hey, did Mrs. Strike have tattoos or something?
Citrine: Huh–oh, yeah! She did…I wonder what they mean…
Moonstone: What does what mean, baby?
Citrine: There’s a new girl at school, and her Mom’s got these tattoos, like Dad and Pops. We were wondering what they mean.
Moonstone: Well, a lot of tattoos are very personal. What did they look like?
Citrine: Thorns? Like…well, like thorns. Not a thin line, though, they looked kind of like…those big thorns from Granny Spinels stories about the forests?
Moonstone: Huh. Well now, that’s certainly unique looking…
Citrine: Yeah! You’re telling me.
Peppermint: I know Uncle Cal got the moon to Auntie Amber’s sun, and Uncle Nova’s got stars from around Kahje…but what makes thorns personal to someone?
Citrine: Um…maybe she’s a gardener?
Moonstone: *laugh* Maybe, but…okay, you know how roses can mean love, right? Well, some thorny plants can mean surviving hard times. Maybe she wanted something for that?
Citrine: All down both arms and her chest?
Moonstone: ..hmm, a big reminder.Well, you can ask her someday, I’m sure. Right now it’s time to get ready for dinner.
Peppermint: Dibs on the sink!
Citrine: Yeah, yeah…I’ll be right there! Just…need to check something…
-
Citrine: Keep watch for me, Ori?
Ori: *whine*
Citrine: Museum Director Solana Dorada sat down with our crew for an interview…watch clips here..
-
Peppermint: Citrine! Bathroom’s yours! …Citrine?
*Interview playing*
Peppermint: What’s that?
Citrine: Shh!
Interviewer: Can I ask you a personal question, Director?
Solana, interviewed: Well, I can let you have one!
Interviewer *laugh* How kind! You’re an attractive young lady, so tell us: do you have any dreams of settling down, having a family?
Solana, interviewed: *chuckle* No, no. There’s no children in my future. I’m married to my work, and that’s all the family I need.
Citrine: …
Peppermint: …Cit?
Interviewer: Well, tough luck for our viewers! But that’s all the time we’ve got for today; thank you for sitting with us, Director Dorada!
Solana, interviewed: Happy to help inspire a new generation of explorers.
Interviewer: Oh, I’m sure you will.
*Video ends*
Peppermint: …Cit?
Citrine: …*sniff* What?
Peppermint: Um. …dinner’s ready.
Citrine: …kay.
Ori: *whine*
Nova: You’re awful quiet tonight, Citrine. Everything okay?
Citrine: …yeah.
Calcite: You don’t sound okay. What happened?
Citrine: Nothing.
Peppermint: Um–
Citrine: Really, it’s nothing. Just…don’t worry about it.
Moonstone: Citrine, honey, what’s wrong? You were fine when you came home…
Citrine: I…really, Gramoony, it’s nothing. I…I’m okay.
Moonstone: And I’m a mermaid. Citrine…
Saffron: Kiddo, you can tell us anything, really!
Citrine: …it’s nothing. May I be excused?
Calcite: You may. Just…shout if you need us?
Citrine: Yeah.
*Door opens, closes*
Saffron: Okay, she is not okay.
Moonstone: No she is not.
Moonstone: Citrine? *knock on door* Honey, can I come in?
*silence*
Moonstone: *sigh* I’m coming in.
Citrine: *soft crying*
Moonstone: Oh, honey…come out of there. Let’s talk about this?
Citrine: …’kay…
Moonstone: …so…that’s what she said.
Citrine: Why would she say something like that? I thought…
Moonstone: Sweetheart, sometimes people…sometimes they’re just too hurt.
Citrine: Was it something that I did?
Moonstone: No. She loved you as best she possibly could, and she loved Amber, too. The three of you could have been…*sigh* That doesn’t matter now. What matters now is that this? How she feels, what she’s done? That’s not on you.
Moonstone: Everyone does the best they can with what they have, some times that’s not enough…but it’s all they have.
Citrine: …it really sucks sometimes.
Moonstone: Yes. Yes, it does.
-
Moonstone: Try and get some rest, alright? We’re just down the hall if you need us.
Citrine: ‘kay. G’night, Gramoony.
Moonstone: Goodnight, sweetheart.
-
Moonstone: She’s down. Pep?
Calcite: Worried, but down. What was that?
Moonstone: A mess, that’s what.
Saffron: What happened?
Moonstone: She found an interview Solana did, and Solana denied ever having had a kid and said she didn’t want any.
Nova: Ah. I see.
Calcite: ….That would explain why she never answered our messages.
Saffron: You don’t think she was just trying to avoid having to answer personal questions?
Moonstone: I don’t know. What I do know is I don’t care. She hurt our baby. That’s not right.
Calcite: No, but…she said it would be best if Citrine didn’t know her. Maybe this…is just her way of doing that.
Nova: Denying she even exists? Watcher, that’s not right.
Nova: And it’s not fair to Citrine, either.
Calcite: No, but. *sigh* Look, we legally adopted Citrine. It was, essentially, a closed adoption without the biological parents wanting anything to do with the kid. What they decide to do afterwards is….their decision. No matter how fair or unfair we think it is.
Nova: So you don’t want to send Solana a scathing email?
Calcite: I want to read her the riot act in at least five different languages! But that’s not going to help Citrine, so…I’m not going to. She’s the one who matters here.
Moonstone: Hmph. It doesn’t feel right, just letting this lie.
Saffron: When did violence become your first answer, Moony?
Moonstone: When my grandbaby cried herself to sleep!
Calcite: Mama…
Calcite: …honestly, I’m with you. But what’s best for Citrine is to just…move past this. To keep loving her, right?
Moonstone: …why did you have to learn my reason.
Saffron: Because we raised a good kid. Or two.
Calcite: It’s not just that. Citrine’s got this big idea of her mom built up in her head, and when Solana can’t live up to that…
Nova: She’ll just get hurt again.
Nova: And because Solana is as human as we are, there’s no way she can live up to an ideal. *sigh* There’s no good answer, is there.
Moonstone: No. Ugh. *thump*
Calcite: The only good answer is what we’ve been doing already. Love her, support her, do the best we can. The rest….
Saffron: The rest…life has to handle. …Wow, that sucks to say out loud.
Moonstone: Don’t remind me.
Nova: …this sucks all around, doesn’t it.
Calcite: Yeah. It really does.
The next day…
Pyro: Alright, that’s enough for today. I’ll see you all on Monday. Have a good weekend, kids.
All: You too, Mr. Blast!
-
Peppermint: I can’t wait for you guys to meet the others! It’s gonna be great!
Eternal Glow: I dunno…9 doesn’t really make for a fair basketball game, Pep.
Peppermint: Not a game game, but just a free for all or something! Come on, it’ll be fun!
Eternal Glow: Fine, fine!
Moonflower: We’ve still gotta go home and change first, anyway. I’m not playing basketball in a dress!
Lucky Penny: You’d be fine, Moony! No one’s gonna look up your skirt, I promise.
*chatter continues ahead…*
Fern: Hey, you okay? You were quiet today.
Citrine: Fine.
Fern: yeesh…doesn’t sound fine.
Citrine: …sorry, no, I’m good. Really.
Fern: Is it the cemetary? Did you…I mean, your Dads and Grams are good, right?
Citrine: No, yeah, they’re fine! I…um…it’s my Mom. Kind of?
Fern: Kind of?
Citrine: She…she didn’t want me.
Fern: Wait, but your Ma’s dead–oh! Oh, your other mother, right, sorry. She didn’t want you?
Citrine: She didn’t want any kids! She said she didn’t have a family in her future and she never answers any emails and I don’t–it sucks!
Fern: I bet! Grown ups can be so stupid sometimes.
Citrine: I wanna ask her why she didn’t want me but she won’t even say hello and I can’t keep asking Dad and Pop and just—argh! It’s so frustrating!
Fern: I bet! If my Mom or Dad did that…I’d wanna punch ‘em!
Citrine: Tell me about it…
Citrine: It’s just…*sigh* It sucks. Thanks for listening, Fern.
Fern: Anytime. We’re friends, ‘member?
Citrine: Yeah, I remember. Thanks.
Fern: Besides, I know a couple things about…weird families. My Uncle decides what we do and where we go and how long we stay in a town…it’s nothing like your Dads or your Grams.
Citrine: Wait, he just…decides for you all?
Fern: Yep! Been like that since I was a baby. We didn’t stay in Glimmerbrook long, either.
Citrine: Does that….does that mean you’ll have to leave the Springs, too?
Fern: I dunno. Maybe? …would that be bad?
Citrine: Well, yeah. You’re my friend. I’d miss you.
Fern: Oh. W-well, we’ve got our phones and our Simsbooks, so we’d keep in touch for sure! I’d answer your messages, I proimise.
Citrine: *snort* Thanks.
Citrine: But I’d rather you don’t go anywhere. I like having my friends all in one place.
Fern: Haha, me too. Besides, I like it here. It’s a lot warmer than Glimmerbrook–if I never see snow again, it’ll be too soon!
Citrine: That bad?
Fern: Worse!
Fern: Ugh, I dun wanna talk about it! Let’s go before we’re late to this game!
Citrine: Ugh, Rose’d never forgive us. Come on, guys! We gotta move!
Later…
Citrine: So you went home to change because you didn’t want to play in a dress…and you changed into another dress?
Moonflower: This is my playing dress! I don’t care how dirty it gets. The other one I do!
Citrine: Fair enough!
Oceana, Oh, quit teasing. Pep, you’ve gotten rusty!
Peppermint: No I haven’t! See?
Peppermint: Oh–
Citrine: *snort* Whose ball was that?! There’s so many up there!
Oceana: Just throw! Something’s gotta go in!
Citrine: EG, duck!
Eternal Glow: Nope, my shot!
Citrine: Hey! *laughs* Oh, it’s on now!
Later…
Lucky Penny: What did you want us to see, Cit? It’s just scrub and desert out this way…
Rose: I mean, cacti are neat, but they’re kinda boring…
Oceana: Cacti? Isn’t it cactuses?
Rose: It’s supposed to be cacti, but…well, cactuses works, too.
Citrine: No, it’s not cactuses, Oceana. It’s something my Dad showed me, and now I wanna show all of you. Because we’re all friends, and it’ll be our secret.
Fern: If your Dad knows, isn’t it also his secret?
Citrine:…okay, well, ours and Dad’s.
Citrine: But it’s kind of a ways, so come on! We have to be home by dark!
Peppermint: Oh, great. *sigh* More running.
Citrine: Here it is!
Candy Corn: Whoa, hold up. This is that old quartz mine, isn’t it? The one they shut down like…fifty, sixty years ago?
Moonflower: Don’t ask me, we’ve only lived here for ten years.
Moonflower: I just hope it’s…safe.
Lucky Penny: What, you scared of the dark, Moony?
Moonflower: The dark? Nah. Being buried alive? Yes.
Citrine: Dad promised it was safe! And it’s a lot cooler inside, and there’s a pool, and crystals, and–
Eternal Glow: And what’re we waiting around here for? Are we going in or not?
Citrine: We’re going. Just–stay close. The tunnel’s a little dark!
Oceana: A little? That’s more than a little–Citrine! Ugh, hang on, we’re coming!
Lucky Penny: Okay, that was more than a little dark! Someone tell me I don’t have spiders on my hair!
Peppermint: You don’t have spiders on your hair.
Fern: But there is one on your shoe.
Lucky Penny: EW GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!!!
Candy Corn: Penny, easy! It’s just a little one!
Rose: She…
Citrine: She’ll be okay. Come on, we’re almost there.
Eternal Glow: Almost where? It’s an empty mine…
Citrine: It’s the shell of a geode, EG. Come on–you’ll see.
Citrine: See?
*gasps of surprise and wonder*
Oceana: It’s so pretty!
Candy Corn: It’s like a painting…
Peppermint: And this has always been here?
Citrine: Dad said he and Mom and their cousins used to hang out here all the time. Your Mom, too, Pep.
Peppermint: So generations have stepped where we’re stepping now…wow. Now there’s some history.
Lucky Penny: I wonder why they stopped mining…
Moonflower: Who cares? I’m glad they left it this pretty.
Eternal Glow: It sure is something…huh. What kind of crystals are these?
Fern: Magic ones. They’re all over the place in…well. I’ve seen them before.
Lucky Penny: Magic? Here?
Fern: Sure, why not? Something had to bring us all together. Why not a little magic?
Citrine: …yeah. Why not a little magic?
That evening…
Citrine: Wineburg U? I thought that school was like, really expensive!
Calcite: It was–probably still is, but we had a family based discount on our side since there were…six of us going at once. Ha.
Citrine: Uncle Mint didn’t go, too?
Calcite: No, he was going to a different college. We actually didn’t meet until the wedding, which was…an interesting time, to say the least. Your Gramma Sundown was not happy about that.
Nova: If you thought Gramma Stella has a temper, it’s nothing on how heated things got that day.
Moonstone: I didn’t need to see to see that wasn’t going to go well kind of heated.
Citrine: Yikes. But why Wineburg U? Didn’t other schools offer the same courses?
Calcite: They did, but Wineburg U was the only one that offered them all together like that. We’d gotten so used to hanging out together that it didn’t…really feel right to split up before adult life kicked in.
Nova: And my parents were stationed in Wineburg’s Diplomat Row, so it made sense to stay local.
Citrine: Huh. Does the Springs have a university?
Moonstone: They do! It’s a community college, but the alumni are so talented! You couldn’t ask for a better school in the area.
Saffron: Campus ain’t half bad, either.
Citrine: Huh. Well, maybe I’ll go there when I’m older.
Calcite: Great! No time like the present to start planning for higher education!
Citrine: Dad! I’m thirteen, not thirty!
Nova: *laugh* Hey, that wouldn’t be a bad time, either.
Citrine: Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Gramoony, did you and Gramron ever–
Peppermint: ARGH!!!
Everyone: Pep?!
Peppermint: I’m fine!
Nova: That doesn’t sound fine, champ. Come on out here, please?
Peppermint: Ugh, fine.
Calcite: Watcher…you scared years off me, Pep!
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