How Green Becomes Wood

"Next year, I'll ride everything and Dark can sit around with the baby. Surely it will not bother him at all, since I am doing it this year," Daizi said, trying to seem like she really meant it.

"We can take turns, anyway," Dark replied, smoothing her hair, "I am sure the twins will gladly ride everything twice, to be accomodating."

"Babe," She grinned, "we already are taking turns. This is your turn, next year is mine!"

"Oh, well, but that..." He paused, squinting down at his wife. Certainly she must be joking, he knew that, but even if she was, he knew that Even Daizi would not abide being told it would be unfair to make him miss a year of it. So he held his tongue, "We can ride in shifts of two, and whoever is not riding can watch her. That way nobody is waiting alone, or riding alone."
 
"Or one of you can take her to all the kiddy stuff, like the ball pits and the caterpillar trains if she's big enough," Xander pointed out slyly. "There's lots for her to do and see, too."

"I like the idea of nobody getting left out," Alec replied happily.
 
"I'll have to be the one on the caterpillar train with her," Daizi smiled, glad to be able to really imagine that future, "Could you imagine Dark fitting into something so small? Although, I'm not even sure if I would fit, I'm not tiny either."

"It may end up being one of you two who takes her," Dark said. It did bother him he would never be able to be the joint-rider with his daughter on those first few kid rides, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Anyway, nobody's being left out now. I'm teasing about not being able to go on rides, but really I'm okay. I think of it sort of like I'm just waiting with our daughter because she's not big enough for anything yet, and I'm happy enough to get to be outside of the house with you all."
 
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"Nobody rode with us on the caterpillar train. We just sat there like uncooked meatloaves until it was over and we could get out. The weird seat put my foot to sleep," Xander grumbled mostly to himself as he remembered the atrocity that was his first ever "rollercoaster" ride.

"Daizi, you are so thoughtful and kind," Alec told her. "And maybe a little sappy, but I think that is allowable, especially today."
 
"Next July she will not even be a year old yet," Dark pointed out, "so leaving her to her own devices on the ride seems an unnecessary risk."

Daizi shook her head and squeezed Alec's shoulder as they moved up in line, "You'll have to learn to forgive me for expressing how glad I am to be with my family. This time last year, I still firmly believed it would only ever be myself, Dark, and Cooger."

The line, despite its length, moved quickly, because the Gravitron had such a large ride capacity, so already Dark was directing Daizi to where they could stand to wait for them as the line moved inside the more gated portion.
 
Alec leaned close to Daizi. "Don't tell Xander, but I don't mind, not really," he whispered conspiratorially. "I think it's cute. I'm glad you are so happy to be with us, because whatever Xander says, we're both happy to be with you, too." He stepped away as Dark directed Daizi.

Xander ignored them, watching the ride with interest as he tried to figure out how it worked.
 
"In that case," Daizi whispered back, slightly ruffling Alec's hair, "I'm glad to have so corrupted you. It shows you're really settling in with us..." She lingered with her hand on hin for a few moments, and then released him, since she knew she couldn't hold him for any longer. They had rides to ride! So she let him be.

Dark watched the ride with a similar intent to Xander, "This is one I have never been able to build. I would like to, because this is one of my favourites as a patron, but it relies so heavily on centrifugal force, my little wood and gears... I would need to subtly attach the riders against the panels, so they look presssd on it. It is a puzzle I have not yet cracked."
 
Xander scratched his chin thoughtfully. "What if you made your figures look slightly flattened, just a little bit not pancakes, and used tiny dollops of glue to hold them on sliding platforms? Then it would look like it was in motion even when it wasn't, especially if you got the hair right. Then a bunch of tiny gears leading to a big one, or the other way around, could get the thing moving mega fast."
 
"Maybe." He looked up at the machine, "But I still am not sure if I could get the axis right. Watch how it rocks onto its side, I am not sure how best to accomplish that. And I cannot imagine the prototypes I would go through trying to get it right." Although, there was no harm in, if nothing else, going home and doing some preliminary sketches, "Maybe once my," he glanced towards where Daizi was standing, now at a distance by the gate, "other projects are finished... I am beginning to wonder if I should tell her about them before they are ready."
 
Xander stuck his hands in his pocket and tipped his head along with the gravitron. "Maybe, but only if you think it's worrying her or you wont get it done on time. I bet she'd love to come home and find it already put together all nice and neat. For the axis... maybe this is one you'll have to simplify and keep it permanently tipped to one side."
 
"Simplify," Dark huffed, almost indignant, "But, no, that is what I was thinking, about the crib: It would be really nice to have her come home and be able to lead her upstairs to show it to her. Getting it done on time, well, I have no choice but to manage that: regardless of if she knows or not, the baby will get here, needing it. I just worry, you know, since she is going to want to look to buy a crib. Maybe if I can lie and say Cooger's mother is giving us theirs. But I am not sure if she would accept that, or if she would want..." He sighed, while the ride operator ushered the three of them into the strange UFO shaped ride.

"Everything like this is always much simpler in theory than in practice. But we spoke long before I started building about what sort of crib we would like, so at least I do not have to worry about that."
 
"Sounds like a real messy affair," Xander stated. "How's it taking you so long, anyway? It's just a basket to plunk the kid down when your arms can't take the weight any longer."

"Instead of lying, which is never a good idea, why not buy yourself some time by offering to go crib scouting with the understanding that you aren't buying one that day, you are just seeing what is in stores on offer and discussing them?" Alec suggested. "And keep her busy and distracted in other ways." He glanced around the ride. "Where are the seatbelts?"

"You just stand against the walls on this one," Xander told him, hiding his uncertainty as he moved to one of the empty upright pads.

"Sounds... highly unsafe," Alec said worriedly but copied his brother.
 
"I am making the crib and a cradle, which is part of it, and the cradle is more complicated. But the crib has what feels like a thousand slats, and I have to sand everything, cut everything..." He shrugged, "and I have to make it look nice, obviously. The crib is actually nearly finished, it is the cradle that needs a lot more work still. And I suppose we can go look together. We have been looking online, we already know about what we want, which is what I am building, but--Picking the rest of the furniture, because we want it to look right together. We know we want a dark wood."

Dark settled in beside Alec on the pad, looking not at all nervous about the ride, "Some have a little strip of fabric that vaguely blocks you off, but it is extremely unnecessary, do not worry."
 
"I always worry. It's practically my superpower," Alec pointed out dryly. He pressed himself against the mat and held his breath.

Xander grinned and tensed, waiting. "This is going to be epic!"
 
"You and I are very similar in the way," Dark replied. Slowly, then, the whole disc began to slowly turn.

Then, faster. And faster. Pressing them tight against the wall, so that it took a great deal of effort to even look straight ahead, much less sit up off the wall or even stretch out an arm. As the ride began to lift up, spinning them around on that axis whose existence confounded Dark, some other riders carefully and with great effort bent their legs beneath them, or a few particularly daring ones flipped themselves fully upside-down.
 
Alec didn't dare move for fear of disrupting whatever spell held him so firmly against the mat, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel exhilarated. So fast! SO FAST!! And the circle was big enough he didn't actually feel too dizzy. FASTER! His lips stretched in a grin.

Xander, in his usual way, started fighting the force nearly as soon as it started. He pressed himself forward, seeing how far he dared lean. It wasn't far, but it was something. He rolled onto his side with great difficulty and started squirming around experimentally. This was insane! Fun, but inane.
 
Strangely, Dark always found this weird therapeutic in a way. It could be conceptualized as one giant weighted blanket, and so with his eyes closed and his arms folded across his chest, as soon as it was safe to do so, he pulled his legs up on the wall, and with only slight smile on his face, let himself feel the heavy press of gravity while they spun around.

When he opened his eyes and saw the flashing lights and the faces of all of the other riders, he was very grounded, but with them closed, he might've been anywhere. When Daizi could ride, before the ride got too tough to move, she would sometimes sneak into his booth so they were held so closely together by the natural forces of the universe, even though it was probably needlessly risky to do so, but she wasn't there then, so he enjoyed it on his own.

All too soon, the ride began to slow, and all bodies began to drop as pressure returned to normal levels.
 
Alec felt like he could finally breathe when the ride slowed to a stop, gently letting all of their mats slant back down so their feet touched the ground. "That was amazing!" he breathed. "I felt like I was getting a hug from the entire world." He stood still for a moment, testing himself. He felt a tiny bit dizzy, and his legs wobbled, but over all he felt far better than after the tilt-a-whirl. Strangely happier, too. "I want to go again."

"A hug from the world? That sounds really crushing," Xander said, giving his brother an odd look. He stretched cautiously. "That did feel good, though. I think I cracked my back in three different places."

"I prefer a hug to a chiropractor," Alec replied.
 
"I used to go to a chiropractor. I do not think it actually helped me much, but Daizi has been considering going to one. To get in," He glanced at Xander, and decided not to finish his sentence. He wasn't sure if hearing 'to get in alignment' would be a bridge too far for him or not, so he let it go, "I do like this ride, though. It is one of those that really scare little kids, but when you actually ride it, it is surprisingly relaxed. Come on, we should go find Daizi."
 
"What are we going to do next?" Xander asked, grinning. "I see why you like the carnival. This place is awesome!"

"And a haven for adrenalin junkies, I see," Alec said dryly as he followed his brother and Dark. He couldn't help grinning, as well, though, and basically trotted over to Daizi. "That was so much fun! Even if it didn't have a seat belt or other safety features like that. It was so fun!"
 
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