Unexpected Appearances and Surprises Around Albia
Keeping my Norns and Grendels happy is what makes up the majority of my playing time, and I thoroughly enjoy it! Unfortunately, Nanum was in a predicament of despair… Ever since she became an adult, she battled an illness and was hounded by a rather annoying Norn. She hadn’t smiled since childhood, even with all of the food and toys in the world. So I tried a new tactic and led her to the bright, sunny garden. Just like that, Nanum found the happiness she had been missing! She played with the spinning top like she was young again, and found that long-lost smile. Finally! We left Ledebourii alone to ponder “oogh” and all.
If Nanum’s smile surprised me, I was left in utter disbelief when Jucunda suddenly laid another egg! She was rather startled herself, and even Pentlandii looked rather confused. Grendels certainly know how to fly under the radar when they can’t be monitored by the Observation Kit! Martagon was near the makeshift nest, and Jucunda decided that a sleeping Norn was the perfect guard for her egg. Off she went, so that Martagon was even more confused than anyone when he awoke. Good thing those eggshells can’t be breached by anything… I had a feeling the egg would have been trampled among all the puzzled looks and poses!
Remember how young Rubellum started a rivalry with Hansonii not long ago? As soon as the youngster entered adulthood, he hunted down Hansonii for a showdown. They sized one another up, threw a few slaps that I couldn’t prevent, and then did something utterly strange: They became friends. The two Norns stayed right near one another in the cave beneath the temple, only separating once in awhile to relieve their crowdedness and take solitary naps. I laughed at yet another unexpected turn of events! Creatures 1 Norns are rather different in that they really don’t form opinions and memories about individuals: Their collected experiences dictate how they “feel” about Norns, or Grendels, in general. Still, Hansonii and Rubellum looked like they were real friends!
With Nanum back in the garden and Martagon not too far away, I was hoping for a reunion and a lesson in how nice a Norn could be. As it so happened, Nanum went off to join an enormous group of Norns. Almost everyone not mentioned here was formed a horde! Candidum was in that group for some time, yet she decided to take a quiet walk back to the incubator area. Martagon was simply too nice to ignore, and the two could soon share the label of expectant parents. Martagon was particularly excited, since this was his first egg! This also reminded me that this sixth generation of Norns and Grendels was far from done hatching, and I had no youngsters to take care of anymore. Check back soon to meet someone new in time for the 20th anniversary!
It’s always nice in Creatures 1&2 when after a period of sadness you manage to make a Norn appear cheerful again! And although these versions lack the ability to recognize individuals it does sometimes seem like they develop preferences, even if they are only based on proximity.
I have my own sick C1 troubles now – after I kept her separated for a long while from any fertile males my Gen 3 norn got herself together with her group of peers and got pregnant. The dreadful part is she has a misplaced receptor for laying an egg and it doesn’t tie to progesterone; she’s essentially stuck eternally pregnant unless I decide to use a Cob, find out a way to stimulate the receptor or Norns choosing socializing over eating kills her.
And I got the cutest Norn in a long time in Docking Station but his half-life gene mutated giving him 47 minutes of life.
Is it just a bad week?
I think it helps that the happy Norn faces are just too cute to resist! I always want them to smile, as corny as that sounds. There’s still the challenge of teaching them and letting them live on their own, yet it’s nice to actually make a difference.
Oh dear! That’s one very unfortunate mutation. It reminds me of a Norn I had who suffered from the same thing: She could get pregnant, but would never be able to lay the egg. Of course it will bother me that I can’t think of who she was because I documented her life here on the blog… For a moment I thought it might have been the case of Signe, but she suffered from infertility.
Sorry to hear about your Norn! That certainly is a short life, but I hope he’ll have a nice one. Judging by how devoted and knowledgeable you are, I’m sure it will be a good one. Here’s to hoping things improve very soon!