How Green Becomes Wood

Dark stood by the water, holding Ivy up so she could see the penguins easily and she looked at them curiously, laughing when they splashed in the water. When Alec offered to take Ivy into the tunnel, he gladly passed them over and hoped they both had fun. Then he went to where he could watch them within the tunnel with Xander, "Why did you not want to join them?"
 
Xander shook his head. "Way too tight quarters with little kids who already don't know what personal space is." He pointed as a kid about four shoved past Alec despite his mother's attempt to catch him and scrambled through the tube. "See what I mean?"

Alec waited until the main crush of little kids passed and then climbed in. He awkwardly turned around in the tunnel and set her down behind him. "Come on, Ivy!" he called gently, coaxing her to crawl toward him. "We're going on an adventure!" He crawled backward, showing her how fun it was. It was easier to crawl backward than it was to try to carry Ivy.
 
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"I understand," Dark replied, watching as people tried to enter the tunnel, "I do not think I would fit. I would rather not become known as the man who got stuck in the penguin tunnel. I would never hear the end of it."

Ivy showed very little apprehension about following her brother into the tunnel. After a full day of being carried and pushed in a stroller, she was absolutely ecstatic to get to crawl.
 
Xander snickered. "No, you definitely wouldn't," he agreed. "They'd probably put one of those height charts up once they got you out."

Once they reached the observational part of the tube, Alec pushed himself up onto his knees and helped Ivy stand up on them so she could see through the clear plastic. "Penguins!" He told her happily. "Those are black and white penguins! What do you think, Ivy?"
 
"I am not sure if it is height as much as width," Dark replied, thinking about his shoulders, "but I definitely could not stand up in the tube either."

Ivy squeaked, touching the glass, eye-level with a penguin, "Ack!"
 
"Extra height usually also translates to at least some extra width," Xander remarked. "Oh, look, there they are. At least, there's their heads."

"Penguin!" Alec laughed, helping her stay steady but not fully holding her. "What do you think of the penguins?"
 
"It is a curse." Dark replied dryly before waving to Alec and Ivy.

Ivy giggled, too busy looking at the bird to notice her father waving. She leaned in, nearly putting her face on the glass and babbled with an excitement that had the cadence of words despite not saying anything real.
 
Xander snorted in amusement and turned his attention to the map. "What do we want to see next?"

Alec caught her and pulled her back just enough so that she wouldn't face-plant on the glass. "That's right! Look at those birds everywhere! We can't stay too long, other people want to see, so get your fill!"
 
"I believe we decided next we would go to the touch tank," Dark replied, looking down at the map. After a few moments he pointed, "Although the belugas are right there, so it may be worth taking a detour so we do not need to retrace our steps later."

Ivy gurgled in response but did not comprehend a single word her brother said, she was busy waving hello to the penguins.
 
"Balugas first, then touch tank. Makes good sense to me," Xander agreed, folding up the map again. "Heh, look, that penguin is hopping in a big circle, and I think the others are wondering what the heck it's doing."

Alec held her for a minute longer before putting her down and pointing down the exit tunnel. "That way, Ivy! Time to go that way! We need to go find Ba. Can you find Ba and tell him what we saw?"
 
Dark chuckled, "I like birds. Daizi and I cannot keep them because of the incense, but their behaviors are interesting."

Ivy would've fussed about being taken away from the penguins, but the tunnel was so interesting to her she happily crawled down the length of it to explore. At the exit, she crawled out and then stood up, looking around curiously. As she did, some young children started running near her and looked like they were heading on a course that would cause them to crash into Ivy.
 
"I could never keep a bird," Xander said seriously. "They are way too free and flighty and it'd just feel wrong to keep it in a cage. Even if it did get to fly around a lot. Milo likes birds, though. Has a couple."

Alec followed after Ivy, barely able to keep up. He half fell out of the tunnel but managed to catch himself and stood up. When he spotted the children, he tried to reach out to pick up Ivy, but she was too far ahead of him.

A younger woman stepped forward and pulled Ivy gently to her leg, using herself as a shield against the running children. "Walking zone, kids! No running!" she scolded firmly but not harshly. "We don't want to scare the animals or knock anyone down, do we?" She looked down at Ivy. "Now, who belongs to you, little sweet thing?"

"Oh! Mine!" Alec said hastily, stepping forward. "I mean, she's my little sister. Thanks for helping!"
 
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