How Green Becomes Wood

"This late in the year? Really?" Daizi asked, a bit incredulous, but nonetheless handed Ivy over, "Your brother is going to show you pretty bugs, habibti!"

After this, Dark waited until Daizi seemed certain it was not a prank before he came walking after her. He was trying to be subtle, but she knew the sound of his footsteps what this was. Without thinking about it, and trusting she knew every inch of her garden, she turned heel and ran, shrieking, "No! Goose!"

He was faster than her, certainly. She might've bested him, but she seldomly had the freedom to just run freely, and even now, in a place she trusted, she had to be careful, unable to say for certain what she was running towards. But it was obvious he was purposely slowing down so the game wouldn't end too soon.
 
Alec took Ivy over to where he really had seen some ladybugs and helped her find them. He took great care not to let one get close to her hand so she wouldn't crush it or eat it, but he did let one crawl just on her forearm, his hands ready to brush it away at the first sign of discomfort. When Daizi started to run, he brushed the bug away and lifted Ivy up so she could watch, too.

Xander had to skip quickly out of the way, and then he turned, laughing. "Run, Mama, run!"
 
Ivy was absolutely fascinated with the lady bugs but didn't quite know what to make of them and the way they tickled her arm. She might've sat there for hours had her mom not started shrieking and caught her attention.

"Mama?" She said, grabbing for Alec and lightly tugging on him, gurgling uncertainly until she saw everyone else laughing.

Cooger thought about making a joke about how there was something predatory about this, but while everyone else was distracted, he was busy filling his flannel with leaves.
 
"Look at Mama go! She's so fast!" Alec encouraged Ivy, laughing as he watched. "Is Ba going to get her? Is he going to get her?"

Xander was still kind of watching Cooger out of the corner of his eye, suspicious of his uncle getting closer, but he didn't quite catch what Cooger was doing. As long as Cooger - or anyone, for that matter, since no one was to be trusted - didn't come near him, it was fine.
 
Finally, when it looked like Daizi was at genuine risk of actually running into one of her flower beds, Dark sped up in an instant he had flipped her up and over his shoulder. Although she shrieked and lightly banged on his back with her fists, demanding to be set down, she was glad her face was facing down, because the feeling of his hands on her body tossing her around like she weighed nothing turned her face bright pink. Dark pretended like he didn't feel it too as he marched dutifully to the leaf pile, "Do not fear, Spider, my love, I will set you down."

"Goose!" She cried, squirming as if it would help her situation at all--and it helped neither situation--"Don't! Khalas! Khalas! No!" She shrieked again, helpless as Dark reached the pile and tossed her into it with an ease which hopefully didn't look too much like something he had done before. When she landed in the leaves, her face was very pink and as Dark battled his temptations, Daizi rolled over in the leaves to get back onto her feet and just run away from them, calling for Enkidu.

Cooger, meanwhile, laughing at Daizi being tossed into the leaves and ignoring everything else about it snuck up onto the porch to set his own trap.
 
Ivy giggled, squirming to be put down and wanting to crawl over to her parents, "Mama!" She cried happily, "Mama!"

Panting, Daizi bent down, scooped up a fistful of leaves, and followed Alec's voice over to them. Tossing the handful of leaves at Alec she said, "Ladybugs?"
 
Alec giggled and tried to bat the falling leaves aside. "I really did see them, and I really did show them to Ivy. Not a lie in sight! Ivy wants to come to you. Are you ready to take her? I made certain she isn't carrying anymore ladybugs on her person."
 
"You betrayed me," Daizi teased, taking Ivy into her arms before sighing, "I don't think there's any chance of getting her down for a nap, she's too wired. We'll pay for this later."

Up on the porch, Cooger waited until he was well forgotten, and then dumped his flannel full of leaves down on Xander's head.
 
"I can help look after her," Alec volunteered. "I don't mind."

Xander let out a yell of shock and whirled around, glaring up at Cooger. "Oi! What do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "You don't look like much of a raincloud to me!"
 
"Keeping her occupied is the easier part," Daizi said, sitting down beside him and hugging Ivy close, "She'll just be grumpy when she's over tired." When she sat down, Ivy wiggled out of her arms, picking up leaves like she saw her family doing and dropping them with a little giggle. Feeling the leaves hit her legs, Daizi playfully cried out, "Ivy! How could you!?"

Cooger grinned down at Xander, "I'm just being conscience, couldn't bring ya to the leaf pile so I thought I'd bring the leaf pile to you."
 
Alec clapped. "Yay, Ivy! You're throwing leaves! Kind of. You'll be throwing things soon enough. That'll be a fun stage, won't it?"

"I oughta bring you to the leaf pile," Xander grumbled good-naturedly as he tried to get the leaves out of his shirt. "How come it always looks like more leaves on the ground than on the tree?"
 
"I think Xander will like it a lot," Daizi replied, smiling and gently dropping leaves over Ivy's head. "It's going to be another very big year for her. We get to take her sledding when it snows."

"'Cause trees are big," Cooger replied with a shrug.

Dark took a breath, looking around the admittedly more peaceful yard, "Are you all hungry? I can go make lunch."
 
"When is it not going to be a big year for her?" Alec asked with a little smirk. "Lots of first, right, Ivy? Lots of firsts!"

"Starving," Xander said. He gestured to the yard. "Maybe we should put them back in a pile."
 
"Maybe when she's thirty," Daizi replied with a little smile, reaching forward to touch Ivy's hair, enjoying the little noises her baby made. It was so sweet to hear all of her little gurgles and babbles as she played. It was a big beautiful waiting for her.

"I suppose so," Dark said, turning back to the yard, "It will make it easier to remove when we are done. But I am going to cook lunch, I will leave the rest of the raking to you all."
 
Alec smiled and stood. "I'm going to help rake up. Have fun!"

"Of course you are," Xander snorted in amusement. "What if I wanted to cook?" But he grabbed a rake and got to it.

Alec joined in, and the pair industriously got to raking and cleaning up. Xander lightly tapped Cooger with a rake before handing it to him with a smirk.
 
"Then you should not have suggested we rake it back into a pile," Dark said with a little glimmer in his eye as he retreated inside to cook.

Daizi sat in the sunlight with Ivy, who gradually, now that it was quiet, crawled back in towards her mother and soon was snuggled sweetly in her lap, fighting off sleep with every ounce of her strength.

It didn't take too long before Dark came back outside with food on a tray which he set out on their patio table, "Would one of you be willing to go inside for drinks, plates, and utensils?"
 
"I got it!" Alec volunteered instantly and headed inside. He paused outside the threshold to give himself a good shake and brush off, and then went to wash his hands before grabbing utinsals and drinks.

Xander started putting away the rakes and cleaning up.
 
Cooger helped to clean up before stopping by Daizi who was cradling Ivy, "How's the kitten?"

"Oh, she's sleepy," Daizi replied, rubbing Ivy's back in big, slow circles, "but she doesn't want to be sleepy because she knows there's so much more fun to be had."

"And unfortunately for her, she's right," Cooger said, helping Daizi up with one hand so Ivy wouldn't be jostled too badly, "You still gotta eat, though."

"I know, and I'm starving. I'll just go see if I can lay her down to nap in the nursery, she'll probably sleep better if she's in a dark room."
 
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