How Green Becomes Wood

"It's not that hard to learn. I mean, children do it, right? I don't think it's the sort of thing you can be too old to learn, if it's something you're interested in learning how to do." Milo replied, "I really liked riding it, because you can go really quickly, and travel far."
 
"I'm more interested in wheels attached to motors now," Xander replied.

"The new kid in school, Toby? He's our next door neighbor, and he's obsessed with wheeled things," Alec told Milo. "I don't think I've seen him on a bicycle yet, but he's been on skateboard, scooters, rollerblades, and skates. Have you ever tried one of those? They don't look as easy as a bike, but it's faster than walking and easier to pack."
 
"It's hard to roller skate down a mountain," Milo replied, "I liked the bike because it had ten speeds, so it was really adjustable to suit anywhere I was in the country. And I liked how I was able to either strap my stuff to the back of it or attach a basket, so I didn't have to carry anything."
 
"That sounds awesome. Like freedom." Xander brushed the bird seed off his hands and scooted back away from the cage. "What kind of games do you play? Never got into them myself."
 
"I like RPGs a lot. Quests and adventuring is cool, you know? And I used to play a lot of DnD with my dad as a kid," he specifically did not mention how this, too, he had also told this to the twins, "but then I didn't have people to play with, so I moved to video games that felt like tabletop games. And I don't really like First Person Shooter games, or really any game where the goal is just to kill as many people as you can."
 
"I remember you saying something about that in the past, but I don't think it fully clicked that it was computer games," Alec mused. "We could never afford a computer growing up, and now that we can, I guess it just never entered our minds."

Xander glanced around. "You got any tabletop games you wanna play?" He was starting to feel restless just sitting and hoped that there would be something to focus on. A game would work, computer or tabletop or really anything.
 
"No, with my dad it wasn't computer games. Now it is." Milo explained, now uncomfortable and uncertain that he was misunderstanding what Alec was saying, "I might still have dice. I might still have my player handbook, but it's all online, now. If you know where to look. I mean, I guess we could do something? Normally you prepare a little bit more."
 
"I mean, depending on what we're doing," He said, getting up and taking his laptop and charger from the dufflebag, "I can probably find a one-shot online, then I'd just have to read through it. Teaching you both how to play and making characters would take longer."
 
"How does this... DeeDee game work, exactly?" Xander asked with a frown. "I hear about it, but I don't actually know what it is."

Alec rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Of course, when I try to explain, he doesn't pay attention," he grumbled quietly. They both scooted out of the way to give Milo plenty of room.
 
"The DeeDee game?" Milo asked, squinting at Xander, trying to figure out if it was some sort of joke, "And, you really just take dice and tell a story. I'd tell you where you are, you'd say what you want to do, and depending on what it is you roll. It sounds really confusing but once you get into it, it's surprisingly intuitive."
 
"D and D," Alec muttered.

Xander tipped his head. "Really? That sounds easy. What takes all the prep?"

Alec glanced at Milo, amused. "The story, the setting, and there's rules. You can do whatever you want inside the rules. Right, Milo?"
 
"Yeah, pretty much. But he's right, it's putting together a good story that takes work. It's not fun if there's not a goal. And it's supposed to be collaborative where we all bring stuff to tell the story, you know?" Milo tried to explain, but knowing it was kind of difficult to grasp if you had never experienced it.
 
"Not really," Xander admitted, "but maybe some other time you can show us."

"What would you rather do than teach us how to play an awesome but complicated game?" Alec chuckled. "We are your guests, and therefore at your mercy!"
 
"You can't put that kind of pressure on me, I don't know what people do when they have people over," Milo said, looking at Alec like he was insane, "What do you do when you have people over?"
 
"Hmm, well, Sloan's not allowed over often, and when Petrr comes over, it's usually for band practice," Alec said thoughtfully.

"Your choices are games, a project of some type, or long conversations," Xander informed him.
 
"...I guess we could play a game. My grandma has like... monopoly and clue, probably some others," He told them as he rose to his feet, "I don't know what kind of project we would do."
 
"Do you need help fetching it?" Alec asked, moving to stand.

Xander found a loose piece of paper under the bed and picked it up. "We could make tiny, mini, itty-bitty scrapbooks with no pictures. Or learn origami," he said dryly, holding it up as an example.
 
Milo headed to the bedroom door, holding it open for the twins, if they chose to follow, "You can come to help pick the game, if you want. And don't go under my bed."

He hadn't noticed, but the scrap piece of paper Xander held was actually a short letter from his mom.

Hey, baby, the letter read, if Xander read any of it, I know this has been tough, but I'll be out so soon, and we'll be able to put all of this behind us, settle down, and be a real family again. I promise. I won't even smoke anymore!

I hope school is going well. I'll try to call you soon. Please send me more pictures.

Love, mom.
 
"It was sticking out," Xander stated so Milo wouldn't think he'd been deliberately snooping under the bed. He glanced at it automatically and saw what it was. He did not try to read it, but his quick glance at the short letter did tell him the basics. It was from Milo's mom and she was promising something. He quickly tossed it back under the bed, giving it a little flick so it's fly farther and be safer. He knew he shouldn't judge someone in a situation like Milo's mom, but he'd heard enough promises like that to choke on them. She wasn't going to keep it. He knew that as strongly as he knew Dark and Daizi would do everything in their power to keep any promise they made. She might have the best intentions, but intentions and promises without good credit meant nothing more than sand on the beach. He should know. He'd heard enough of them to choke him. He stood up, deliberately shoving the thoughts aside. It wasn't his place to go poking around in Milo's private business anymore than he already had.

"I love snooping in people's gaming selections!" Alec grinned as he followed Milo with Xander behind. "It's fun to see how many games we have in common and how many I've never heard of."
 
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