How Green Becomes Wood

"I would have to change my name for the third time and move," Dark said dryly, walking up to the twins' model, "This is interesting. At least you were enjoying yourselves, I suppose."
 
"You did very well with them," Dark said, fairly impressed as a deep fan of miniatures. He looked up at Xander to ask a question, but then his expression changed and he rose to his feet. There had been no crunching of leaves or snapping of branches, so certainly there was no animal, but his eyes were focused on something in the near distance.
 
"I did that one," Alec said, pointing. Then he looked up and realized something had changed. "Ba?"

"What's wrong?" Xander asked, pulling Alec closer and slightly behind himself.
 
Dark walked up to a tree which had tried to fall but was propped up by another. In the center of the fallen, and clearly dead, tree, was a large, ugly, bulbous mass, and Dark put both of his hands on it in aparant delight, "Do you know what this is?"
 
"And it is on a maple," Dark said, looking over his shoulders at the twins, "The chatoyancy. It is a stress response to injury or illness and it grows like this, they are sort of like tumors, and they. are. magnificent."
 
"It does look pretty cool," Alec agreed. "So, you want to chop it off so you can use it?"

"Before you do that, don't you think maybe we should let the others know that we aren't lost anymore?" Xander suggested.

"I suppose we could attempt to go do that while you stare at the tree, but I'm not sure that would work out well," Alec said in amusement.
 
Frowning for a moment, Dark started to walk away but then paused and took out his phone, making a pin on his maps app to track the coordinates. "Okay, let's head back, it's this way."

~~

Waiting at the house, Cooger checked his watch, "How soon till we send out a second search party?"
 
"Are you sure you haven't gotten turned around?" Xander asked mildly.

~~

"Let's give him another five minutes," Lex sighed, checking her watch. "Unless you think he needs rescuing."
 
"Quite sure," Dark replied, checking the gps to confirm he was going in the right direction. Thankfully, unlike when the twins were quite sure, he was correct.

~~

"If he needs rescuing, he's waiting for more than five minutes," Cooger replied dryly, "If he's going to be a fool, that's on him."

"He probably just found them," Daizi said confidently.
 
The twins followed Dark and Enkidu, tired and very happy to be heading back toward the cabin.

~~

Lex snickered at Cooger. "Yeah, I bet he's found them and is giving them a talking-to about wandering off with his dog."
 
"He probably is," Daizi laughed softly, adjusting Ivy in her arms. It was getting to be her nap time, and it showed in how she was cuddled up.

"Nobody can claim he doesn't love that dog," Cooger said, peering at the tree-line. Soon enough, Dark emerged, Enkidu at his side, "You know, that looks something like out of one of those old, creepy fairytales."

"Imagine if it was me leading them," Daizi quipped, "A witch leading children through the woods."
 
"The vampire leads his prey - or his servants - out toward the unsuspecting revelers in the cabin," Lex grinned.

"Enkidu looks like he's really happy about following a vampire," Toby said happily.

Alec waved happily as they drew closer. "Mama! Baba! We're alive and here!"
 
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