How Green Becomes Wood

Milo looked over at the two adults and then back at his camera, "I don't know... I've never even done normal ghost photography before. I don't know if I could get the lighting right."
 
"Well, if Ba holds fully still like a piece of furniture, and Mama steps out of the frame, it should work, right?" Alec suggested. "I mean, if you don't want to, this is your photoshoot. I just thought it would look cool."

"Instead of overwhelming him with ideas, why don't you help me set up the system for the other ghosts?" Xander demanded as he stretched a string carefully over to a lamp so a "ghost" could hang below it. He had a few set up like that with access to the strings out of frame. If it worked, he should be able to tug the strings just enough to give it the hazy effect that would give the illussion of a ghost.
 
"Your choice," Xander assured him. "You can say whe- Wait, where did you get that mannequin?" His words were directed at his brother, who had just carried in a smaller mannequin dressed in white, flowing garments.

Alec set down the mannequin and glanced between it and Xander. "This? This is Fiona! She's been living under my bed. Don't you remember after the last play when they wanted to get rid of her and the play director let me have her since her parts wouldn't even fit the others?"

"No!" Xander cried. "No, I don't remember any of that! Why do you have a mannequin living under your- Mannequins don't live, why am I saying she's living under your bed?"

"Because she has an eternal headache," Alec said primly and turned the head enough to reveal a nasty indent where someone had either smacked her or dropped her on a corner. "Also, she's missing a foot, but I fixed that. I thought she'd help fill out the ballroom dance."
 
Dark frowned slightly, looking at this large intrusion. Some part of him, for reasons he didn't understand, felt stressed by its presence. "But why did you... want her?" He could not help but ask.

"I don't know why being under the bed would help," Daizi said mildly.

Milo meanwhile, fiddled nervously with his camera equipment. There was so much happening, and he appreciated the help and the ideas, but he didn't know how much of it he actually wanted to try and photograph, but he also didn't know if it was okay for him to say no and assert the fact he had a vision he wanted to work with.

Watching the teen for a few moments, Dark said, "Unless you have a secondary mannequin, I do not believe Fiona has a dance partner."
 
Alec looked at Dark blankly. "Who wouldn't jump at the chance to have their very own mannequin? Especially if they aren't full-size. She's more like late-teen size. It's very nice. Although you do have good point about her not having a partner. Hmm. Well, I'll just put her over here for now in case she's needed later." He picked her up and trundled away in that awkward manner of someone trying to carry a dressed mannequin.

Xander groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, not sure what to even do with all of this. "Okay." He looked up at Milo. "What do you want to do? I've gotten the ghosts set up, I think, but I can move them. What looks right to you?"
 
"I do not personally imagine feeling much of a compulsion to own one," Dark replied mildly.

Milo took a few moments to gather himself and breathe out at least some of the anxiety and then started giving directions again, taking pictures in the different rooms he had selected until he was satisfied and the only thing he had left to attempt were the dance pictures, but those he was holding off on because he wasn't certain if he wanted to take inside somewhere or out in the garden after it got dark.
 
Alec settled down and did his best to focus and help. Once in a while, he did make a helpful suggestion about the lighting of the colors in the room if he felt they might distract from the picture's subject, but he willingly followed every instruction Milo gave. Xander gave no suggestions, only followed Milo's every word, doing exactly what he was told.
 
The more minor suggestions were easier to take, it was only when it felt like ideas were being pitched too rapidly for him to focus on any of them that it stressed him out. It was a project he was passionate about, it could be difficult for him to cope with suggestions he wasn't prepared for.

Finally, he worked up the courage to try the ballroom scene. It was awkward and uncomfortable to be directing his former teacher, but as he wrung his hands he forced himself to look at the two adults and asked, "Do you think you could, um, d-dip her? Because," he swallowed, "We need the movement, right? And, I was thinking, a good way to disguise it would be if she were dipped down, because then you could sort of," He demonstrated a swaying motion with his arms, "and it'd be subtle enough I think it may work."

"I certainly can," Dark replied, "but how would she be able to leave the frame, since I need to stay in place?"

"Just drop me to the floor, habibi," Daizi replied with a crooked grin.

Milo's eyes widened, not realizing she was joking, and looked quickly to Xander in concern he had said something wrong because he truly hadn't thought about how she'd get out of that position.
 
"She's teasing," Xander assured Milo mildly. "They do this kind of thing all the time. Would it ruin the shot if Alec ran in and helped her slip out of his hold?"

"I could help her kind of spin away from him and out of the shot!" Alec agreed quickly. "If that would work. Would it?"
 
"Um," Milo paused, thinking heavily about it, "I think if you could just help her get down, and then she could crawl away, it'd work. Spinning might be too much movement, but we could try it? I don't have a lot of film left, but I have enough that we could try it a few different ways. We might also be able to take it so I take the start of the exposure with just the background first instead of last like I've been doing. I'm really not sure what would work the best."
 
"Probably yeah," Milo replied and after looking around for a few moments, pointed out where he wanted Dark and Daizi to be standing and then asked Xander for help rearranging the lights. It was a bit tricky, because they had to try to try and backlight Daizi without catching Dark in the same glow. Meanwhile, Dark put his hands firmly on Daizi's waist and back, dipping her down in an elegant, clearly practiced motion. With one hand on her husband's waist and the other on his shoulder, relying mostly on him to support her weight, the faintest blush came to her face. Because of the week she had, and how shattered she was, been able to touch more than was technically allotted for in the bet, but those embraces weren't romantic, they didn't make her heart flutter. All of those touches, as needed as they were, felt like crawling back into a safe, warm bed after a hard day in the rain. Being made to stay perfectly still in this position... didn't feel like that.

Once Milo was satisfied with the lighting--completely oblivious to the thoughts and feelings of his models--he went back behind his camera, adjusting how he framed the shot, and said he was starting the exposure.
 
Alec waited on the sidelines, ready to race in and do his part. He was careful to stay out of the shot and mentally practiced what he was supposed to do.

"It's looking good," Xander murmured to Milo.

When Milo gave the word, Alec scampered in and quickly and carefully helped Daizi down before they escaped out of view once more.
 
When he found himself having to awkwardly stand as though he were still holding his wife, even though he now was not, Dark suddenly found this whole situation much more awkward than he had previously. Daizi sitting on the ground, outside of the frame, laughing just about how silly it was to have to be whisked away like that didn't help at all. But it was good to hear her laugh again.

They did it a few more times, and those awkward few moments never really got less awkward, and if anything it was worse because he had to just... strike this unnatural pose and hold it. The last three Milo said they could try spinning Daizi out of frame, although he still wasn't sure how it'd work, "We should probably practice the movement before shooting it, it seems more complicated."
 
"I'm not thinking of a big, dramatic move, though it might accidentally turn into that," Alec admitted. "Just a quick thing. Maybe I could show you if Xander were to maybe hold-"

"No."

"Not even for the sake of example?"

"No."

"Never mind. I'll try to explain it. So! Mama is standing kind of like this." He did his best to hold a dipped position, leaning back as far as he dared and trying desperately not to fall over. "If I stand on this side and take her hand," he wheezed, moving his arm to demonstrate, "then all she would need to do is roll out of Ba's arm like this." He awkwardly have spun half rolled sideways. "And I'd be here to catch her." He leaned over for a gasp of air. "That's a really hard pose to hold!"
 
"Okay, cool," Milo replied, not finding any problems in that.

"You're certain you can catch me like that, habibi?" Daizi asked, not totally doubting him, considering he had been doing cyr wheel for a few months now and had to exercise to support that hobby, but also guessing she probably weighed more than he did and he may not be prepared for it.
 
"I'm positive!" Alec assured her. "And if I fail, Ba will be right there to save you! It'll be fine."

"Famous last words," Xander muttered.

Alec came over to where Dark and Daizi were supposed to pose and readied himself. "Okay! Let's give it a try and see what happens!
 
"Alright..." Daizi said, hiding her nerves as best as she could and letting Dark dip her down again. He adjusted their pose slightly so he could help "aim" where Daizi would be rolling. When Alec took her hand to let her know he was ready, after only a brief hesitation she let go of Dark's hand and rolled into Alec's arms, hoping she didn't miss and that Alec had properly estimated her weight.
 
Alec grunted as Daizi's weight landed against him, and he sagged just a little, but he quickly recovered and shifted to help her stand and scurry to the side like they would if it was a real shot. "How did that look?" he panted, racking his hair out of his face as he glanced toward Milo.
 
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