How Green Becomes Wood

"On a day like this, the red pandas may be active," Dark said, walking along with them towards the giraffes.

"If I did see any of it, we'd have to call the press or the church or something," Daizi chuckled, tapping along with her cane.
 
Alec flopped his hand from side to side. "Camel, giraffe, whatever! Both are weird looking animals. Why go with a rhino as the answer for a unicorn? That's the boring answer!"

"Boring answers are usually the right ones," Xander pointed out.
 
"It's an obvious thing that most kids don't like thinking about," Xander complained. "Even if Matron does suit you."

Alec grinned and crouched by Ivy. "What's that, Ivy? Do you know what it is?"
 
"I do not like matron," Dark replied, his eyebrows slightly furrowing, "It makes her sound 80, or like she is the head of an 1800s prison."

"No," Ivy said, going over to hold onto Alec's leg.

"I had a dream once your father was terrified of giraffes," Daizi admitted.
 
"Head of a school, like one of those private places," Xander said. He glanced at Daizi. "He was terrified of giraffes?"

Alec grinned and pointed to the animal. "Giraffe. This is a giraffe."
 
"Must have been an interesting dream if there were giraffes and scared Ba's," Xander remarked.

"Very good!" Alec told Ivy excitedly. He counted out the giraffes and discussed what colors they were as the giraffes moved around, indifferent to the humans without food or treats.
 
Ivy squealed to be up so high, and reached out to the giraffes, although obviously nobody at the zoo, regardless of how tall they were or how long their arms were, could reach.

"I do not think so," Dark said, holding Ivy incredibly carefully, "Or else someone surely would have done so already."

"Maybe some people have used them to help clear away brush," Daizi offered.
 
Alec clapped, chuckling. "Yay, Ivy! Look how high you are!"

"There's a thought," Xander nodded. "I bet they eat a ton."

"They average 75 pounds of food a day," Alec said, reading the sign.
 
Alec laughed at that. "They have the same number of neck vertebrae as a human! Seven! And the skin on their lower legs is so tight, it acts like compression socks, and a pressure valve in their neck keeps them from passing out when they lower and raise their heads."

"Do they all have horns?" Xander asked. "I never really noticed their horns before."

Alec skimmed the sign. "Those are called 'ossicones,' and they aren't really horns. They're hardened cartilage covered in furred skin, and they are present in both males and females, but the males get bony deposits as they age, which makes their heads harder and heavier, which is handy in a fight."
 
"See, Goose, the giraffes wear compression socks," Daizi said sweetly.

"One could nearly imagine they detected an implication," Dark remarked, looking around, "but I know that simply cannot be true.

"Ghalib!" Daizi whined, "You're going to get blood clots!"
 
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