After heading over to work to snag some more spare parts and to check on a few projects, Aelia took a walk through the village and came upon something strange...
"Greetings, fellow sim, why are you out here digging in the soil?"
The man didn't respond but stood from his newly made dirt pile and smiled at Aelia.
"Sir?" Aelia questioned again, waving a hand in front of his vacant looking face. "Are your auditory processes functioning?"
"Ŵ€ŁĆǾM€ ŦǾ ŞŦŘɅŇĠ€ŘVIŁŁ€."
The man suddenly spoke with a voice that didn't sound possible, that same broken smile still plastered on his face, but he didn't look happy.
He looked empty.
Aelia lurched back as the man closed in, nothing in simpedia had mentioned anything about this. "Aah! What are you doing?"
"ŞPR€ɅDING TH€ MǾŦH€Ř'Ş Ş€€D."
That inhuman voice slid back out as if someone else was forcing the words.
"Ah, you are planting foliage?" Aelia questioned, this wasn't like normal sims, sure they could be... odd, but not this odd. There were a few strange looking plants around, nothing in her databanks suggested they were indigenous to this region... or this planet.
This was wrong, he needed to be helped. Aelia pressed her fingers to her temple, using her mind powers to push the possession from the man's addled brain.
His head tilted back with a loud groan, not particularly happy looking, but that vacant smile was no longer splitting his face in two.
"What in the woohocking..?"
"Are you unharmed?" Aelia questioned, turning the man's attention towards her.
"Uh, yeah? I think so?" The man mumbled, still looking a bit dazed.
"Wait, where am I, why am I just standing out in the middle of nowhere?" He exclaimed suddenly, "And who the heck are you?"
"You are near the Strangerville trailer park." Aelia mentioned helpfully, "And I am Aelia Novis."
"Okay... but why am I out here?" He replied slowly, "And why am I standing next to a small mound of dirt, did I bury someone?"
"That is too small of a hole for a sim." Aelia pointed out and he nodded again, rubbing at the back of his neck.
"Right... right."
"You were not in charge of your own facilities but I helped you ah- snap out of it." Aelia continued, "Saying something about your mother?"
"Madre? She- ughh, my head..." He rubbed at his temples, "Well, thanks for helping me- oh, I'm Lazlo by the way!"
"You are welcome, may I accompany you home to make sure you are still well?" Aelia asked, not entirely sure she trusted him heading off alone.
"Oh, sure! Would be nice to have some company." Lazlo smiled, gesturing for her to follow. He was a rather cheerful man, all things considered.
They arrived at Lazlo's rather eccentric home, and in the short time it took for them to walk back to his house, Aelia learned that they had a new addition to the family and that he was brothers with Pascal, the man Aelia had embarrassed herself in front of at work.
"Hey hermano, brought a guest home!" Lazlo announced, not bothering to wait to see if Pascal was ready.
"I have Tycho out you can't just-"
Pascal's eyes widen, "Oh my Watcher, Lazlo!" He choked out as he saw who the 'guest' was.
"Greetings, Pascal." Aelia smiled sheepishly.
"Don't worry, hermano! She knows about little Ty and is totally cool about it, plus she saved me from those weird plants that have been cropping up." Lazlo assured but Pascal gave him a look.
"Give us a moment, I need to have a chat with Lazlo." Pascal said through clenched teeth, attempting to remain calm in front of Aelia as he dragged his brother into the other room.
"Are you insane!?" Pascal hissed as soon as the door was closed.
"What? You know her from work right? She's totally cool with all this occult stuff." Lazlo waved him off, "Plus she's a total cutie."
"Yes. Yes I am well aware of that." Pascal wheezed.
"So? I don't see the problem." Lazlo shrugged, frowning at Pascal's glare.
"You don't?! You said it yourself, look at her!"
"Ohh, I see, you have a crush on her!" Lazlo grinned, prodding Pascal in the chest.
"Shuush!" Pascal whined back, slapping Lazlo's hand away.
"Come on, maybe she likes you too! You never know until you try, right?"
Back out in the living room, the boys found Aelia entertaining Tycho.
"See? This was a good idea." Lazlo whispered and Pascal had to admit his brother maybe wasn't wrong.
The three spend a few hours chatting afterwards and slowly but surely Pascal starts to relax. Maybe this wasn't a bad idea after all.
At Aelia's suggestion and Lazlo's enthusiastic agreement, Pascal admitted that it would be good for Tycho to have a someone around that actually knew how to care for children.
Then, whenever Aelia had some free time, she could teach Tycho a few things... and also spend time with Pascal as a bonus.
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