Chapter 1.1: Solitude
Tara Lupin moved to Sunset Valley from Appaloosa Plains after her eighteenth birthday. Tara grew up in foster homes after her parents died when she was a baby. Tara was an odd mixture of races, Russian and Caucasian and Hispanic and possibly a few other things as well. It was a mixture that was only possible in the United States of America, the melting pot. Tara's parents left her some money that she received when she became a legal adult.
Tara used the money to have a small, two room house built on a lot by a waterfall in scenic Sunset Valley.
Tara had a small three-piece bathroom.
Her bed was in the corner of the bedroom/living room/dining room/ kitchen.
The kitchen was small and the appliances were cheap, but since Tara lived alone it was all she needed.
Three big windows faced the waterfall near Tara's home. The little table were she ate faced one window while her little living room faced the other two.
Tara's first order of business was to find some things to plant. Tara wanted to farm. Appaloosa Plains was a farming community. Tara loved plants and being outside. She liked the idea of being able to grow her own food. Most importantly, Tara needed a job where she wouldn't have to be around other people.
She was able to find apples and lettuce, the perfect things for an aspiring farmer.
It was a beautiful day so Tara decided to call a cab and go to the park. Maybe she would be able to find some more things to plant there, or maybe she would make a friend. The cab driver gave Tara a funny look when she got into the cab. Tara's hand brushed over the thin scar on her face.
Tara smiled as she walked around the park. The weather was gorgeous and the flowers were beautiful. There weren't many people around.
A woman with cherry red hair sat reading a book. Tara decided to go and introduce herself.
Tara felt self conscious when the woman stared at her scar. It wasn't that bad, was it?
The woman nervously shook hands with Tara and said her name was Autumn. A loud noise distracted Tara and she looked away.
When she turned around Autumn was walking away as fast as she could.
Tara felt dejected. Why was everyone so afraid of her?
At least she found a mushroom to plant in her garden.
Tara was feeling a little depressed when she got home. Planting her garden made her feel a little better.
Tara went inside, her stomach growling. She didn't trust herself to cook so she just made some salad.
Tara tried to focus on how great it would be to eat salad from her own garden, but all she could think about was how much she wished the salad was raw steak.
That night Tara turned. She'd only done it a few times before. One night Tara was out for a walk, back in Appaloosa Plains. She was attacked by a werewolf. She was in the hospital for weeks. That werewolf turned Tara and left her with the scar on her face.
Tara had trouble controlling her impulses. She lived in solitude for the safety of others. Tara hated living alone. Werewolves were supposed to have packs. As far as Tara knew, she was the only werewolf in Sunset Valley. Becoming too close to a human was out of the question. Besides, humans didn't want to have anything to do with her. Tara leaned back and howled, one long, lonely note.
The rest of the night was spent running around, on the hunt.
When Tara turned back she couldn't remember the past few hours. Tara hoped nothing bad happened.
The next morning Tara got a call from City Hall, telling her to register as a self-employed gardener.
The same cab driver took Tara to City Hall. From the way she smelled, she hadn't changed clothes since the last time Tara was in the cab.
Tara told the cab to stop outside of a house that had a sign in the front lawn reading Pets for Adoption. Maybe what Tara needed was a dog.
A man in an ugly jacket came out and shook Tara's hand, inviting her to come inside.
All he had was cats. Tara hated cats. She just wanted to chase them. Tara thanked the man for letting her have a look at his animals and went home alone.
Her garden was her consolation.
Time passed. As the months rolled by, Tara learned how to better control her transformations and what she did while she was a werewolf. She spent most of her time hunting for rocks and insects to sell.
Tara only went into town for groceries. When she got lonely she talked to her plants. She'd seen on the gardening channel it was good for the tomatoes. It kept her sanity, so she did it.
Tara took excellent care of her plants. Money was tight as she waited for them to grow, but Tara didn't need much.
She was ecstatic when her first batch of crops came in.
She harvested enough apples to pay two months' worth of bills.
Tara was learning how to cook when she wasn't gardening.
She kept her tiny house spotless.
Tara unclogged the toilet when it broke, which was often.
Sometimes she found time to watch the cooking channel.
Tara decided to uproot her apple trees and plant new, better quality plants.
They grew well. Soon Tara's apples would be worth more than before.
Tara kept the butterflies and inexpensive gems she found on her midnight hunts. Werewolves were very good at finding things.
One night Tara found a hunk of metal worth over 4000 simoleans! Being a werewolf helped keep her bills payed.
One night Tara was feeling particularly lonely. She decided that maybe some grilled cheese would cheer her up. Tara loved grilled cheese.
She burned it. Of course. Tara's shoulders slumped. Lately she'd just been going through the motions, not sure why anything mattered without a family of her own.
That night when Tara turned she did what she usually did. In the early hours of the morning she went into the house and looked in the mirror. It was time to face reality.
As the sun rose, Tara sat in her rocking chair and stared out of the window. Who would ever love a monster?