How Green Becomes Wood

"You are not imposing," Dark assured her, and although he clearly would prefer it if she did remove them, since she had agreed to stay for a while, he said, "it is okay if you leave them on. With the gardening and my dog playing outside, I was going to have to wash them later today or tomorrow anyway." He stepped aside to allow her further into the house and then set the box down on the kitchen counter. It would have been preferrable to bring it right up to the twins' room, but he decided, all things considered, it may be better to have it close at hand.

Daizi gladly accepted Xander's help and stood with a quiet grunt before reaching down and picking up the basket of berries. Enkidu was a good boy, but she did not trust him unattended with a bowl-shaped item full of food, especially since currant berries were toxic to dogs. And while she could still bend, she was going to make the most of it, "Come on, I'm sure it'll be grand. And if not, we have so many berries you can wash to excuse yourself from the conversation."

She went inside the house, heading towards about where the sounds were coming from, and said, "Hello Ciara," immediately she could feel the slight awkwardness, and unable to resist, smirked and said, "Long time no see."
 
Ciara nodded and stepped cautiously into the floor. She paused when Daizi spoke and seemed unsure of how to respond to the joke. Then she saw Xander. "You must be Xander."

"You must be Ciara," Xander greeted her guardedly.

"Yes, I am Ciara, I am you mother's sister," she said simply.

Alec pointed to the couch. "You can sit, if you'd like."

Ciara took one of the chairs, tucking her ankles under herself neatly while Alec and Xander squished up close on the couch, leaving room for Dark or Daizi. Probably not both, but they tried. The prim and proper Ciara looked very much out of place in the gothic-inspired house.
 
"It's okay, you can laugh," Daizi said, sitting next to the twins. Dark, meanwhile, sat on the loveseat, even though it meant sitting alone, "it's an easier joke than the one I made the first time I met the twins. Do you remember that?" She turned towards them, still finding it quite an amusing joke.

They all sat a bit awkwardly, not really sure what the right thing to say was, "The twins are on summer break, now," Dark said.

"Can I get you anything?" Daizi asked, "We still have this really lovely mint lemonade, it's wonderful on days like this. I can go and pour you a glass. Or a cup of tea? It's silly to talk over nothing. It makes us seem very inhospitable."
 
"You freaked us out by pretending to be some kind of, I don't know, witch or something," Xander said, rolling his eyes.

"A glass of lemonade sounds very nice," Ciara said. She folded her hands in her lap. "I have not heard anything from Declan for a while. I hope that is going well?"

Alec looked down. Xander frowned and took Alec's hand. Neither of them had really smiled much since that day. Alec still managed one now and then, but Xander seemed to be slowly taking after Dark's ability to expressively emote, in that he didn't.
 
"Pretending?" Daizi asked, laughing lightly. While the twins had been unexpressive, she was trying to be even lighter and warm, to hopefully make it easier on them, "I'll get that for you." She stood, smoothing her dress, her hand lingering for a moment as she did, and then left to the kitchen, bringing the basket with her.

Dark paused for a moment, feeling the weight of her sentence, and it was awkward but he replied honestly, "He left, actually. On Wednesday. And did not say goodbye." He skipped the details, not wanting to make either twin relive it, "Since then we have been focusing on the home. We did not think to call."
 
Ciara's lips thinned again. "Ah. I see." She glanced at the twins. "It appears that he left quite a lot of damage in his wake, as well." She sighed softly and gave the tiniest shake of her head. "I apologize. I had thought that perhaps in meeting them, he might be prompted to take proper action and face the consequences for once. It appears I erred in judgment. I apologize for the damage I inadvertently brought to your family."

"It's alright," Alec said. "You were just trying to do the right thing, and it meant we got to meet you. That's a good thing, right?"

Ciara blinked, again seeming to be taken off guard by the quick forgiveness and the desire to actually know her. "I suppose it is."
 
Daizi came back into the room and handed her the glass of lemonade, "It is good to know you hope for the best in people," she said, and reclaimed her seat, "I'm not one for dwelling on the past. Not really, or I suppose, not unnecessarily. We know so little about you."

"And it is very kind you brought the twins some of their mother's belongings." Dark added. They did want her to feel at ease, because they wanted the twins to have some of their biological family in their lives, in a positive way, even in a small way.
 
"Yes, I found them in the attic. I'd quite forgotten it was up there," she said, sipping the lemonade. "Thank you, this is very good."

"Is that what that box is?" Alec asked, indicating the box.

She gave a nod. "It is."

"Can we see it now?" Alec started to stand eagerly, but Xander gently nudged him back.

"I'll get it," he said. He stood and went over to get the box. It was big, bulky, and heavy, but he managed to get it to the table without dropping it. "Here you go."

Alec leaned over and opened it. Right on top sat a small picture album. "Oh! Do you have time to look at this?"

Ciara hesitated. "I did take out a few that had no relevance. I don't know that it would be all that interesting."
 
Dark and Daizi both set back as they went into the box, both of them understanding that this wasn't about them. They wanted to give twins the space to feel whatever they'd feel about what was in the box.

"Pictures are important," Daizi did say, and Dark nodded almost solemnly. She knew, because she couldn't see any of the ones she had. He knew, because he didn't have any from his childhood or from his family.
 
Alec and Xander opened the album between them and looked at the first page.

Ciara could see the pictures well enough to tell what they were from her position, and she indicated the first one. "That is a picture of our family. Our mother and father, myself, your mother, and... and our younger brother."

"Wow, our mum looks so young here!" Alec said in surprise, peering at the picture.

"How old was everyone?" Xander asked.

"Uh, let's see," Ciara squinted a little as she thought. "I would have been twelve in that, Tara ten, and Seamus was six."

Alec turned the album around to show Dark. "Look at the pigtails!" he giggled, pointing to the two girls with unruly, bright red hair sticking out stubbornly as they leaned into each other with mischievous grins. The little girl in the picture looked a world away from the woman sitting across from them.

"Do we have an uncle, then?" Xander asked uncertainly.

Ciara turned her glass around in her hand. "Seamus died in an accident about a year after that picture was taken. I took out the three pictures that had him in it as I do not have any others."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Alec said sympathetically. "That must have been so very hard."

Xander said nothing. Just moved a little closer to Alec.

"It was," Ciara said, taking a deep breath, "he was our parent's baby, and I don't think they ever got over it. A year after Saemus, we lost our father. Our mother was so crushed I feared we'd lose her, as well, but Tara and I were still young, so she pulled herself together as much as she was able, and we continued with life. Mother and father were both only children, and they had hoped to have a large family, but things didn't quite work out that way."

Alec and Xander looked at Ciara. No wonder she was such a cold fish! She was as alone as they were.

Ciara indicated the next page. "I left that picture in. I thought you would enjoy it. It was when our family went to visit our roots in Ireland. We still have some distant relatives living there."

Alec and Xander squinted at the picture, and Alec grinned. "Is Seamus wearing a leprechaun outfit?"

"And what are you and our mum wearing?" Xander asked.

"It is called a Leine," Ciara said with something very nearly like a smile. "We were experiencing Ireland as our ancestors were. Supposedly. It was likely all tourist hogwash, but it was a fun day."
 
"It's really hard to lose a child, and a sibling," Daizi said softly, both hands migrating to her belly. She knew both, although she was the younger sister, not the older one. Even with so few details the story hit her hard, as she sat beside two of her kids with the third inside of her. But she hoped, even through all of the emotions that had been stirred up, that it would be on some level comforting for Ciara to see that these strangers who took care of her nephews understood, or at least empathized.

Dark didn't voice his thoughts, but he thought about how both of Ciara's siblings had died in accidents, and how crushing that must have been for her. But he would never say that, he was not one for poking wounds, "It is always good to visit where you come from, especially if you still have relatives there. If it is possible to go back.... and Ireland is a beautiful country. We have no relation to it, well--Daizi might, somewhere, one of her great grandparents,"

"Great-great-great, at the most recent," Daizi corrected, and Dark repeated it.

"Was English, so if that relative was part Irish, Daizi would be too," He looked over the pictures.

Without thinking about what she was really saying, Daizi couldn't resist the joke, "Yeah, watch this baby come out with flaming red hair because they're less than 1/64th Irish."
 
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"That would be epic," Alec said straight-faced. "Truly epic!" Then he broke into a smile. "But unlikely."

"Impossible," Xander said dryly.

Ciara set her empty glass on the table. "Perhaps someday I might return. If I do, I will see if you are in a position to come with me."

Alec pointed to a picture. "This is you and our mother, right?"

Ciara nodded. "I had just graduated highschool, and we were celebrating."

"You look really close. What happened?" Alev asked softly.

Ciara's lips thinned. Then she sighed. "A lot of things that, looking back, were not worth losing a sister. In part, it was due to Declan. I would really rather not go into details right now, but I will say things that seem so obvious and clear during the event later reveal themselves to be something very different. Such is the blessing and the curse of hindsight." She stood and brushed off her skirt. "I should be going."
 
"Hey, I'm blonde, anything's possible. Although, if she did everyone would think I had been unfaithful," Daizi chuckled, "Or if you are babysitting her out in public, they may think she is one of yours... Thinking about it, it would probably be for the best if she gets those dominant genes."

"Yes, probably," He shook his head, and turning back to Ciara said, although he expected her to refuse, "You are welcome to stay longer if you would like." The fact she had actually followed through with her promise of looking through the box had earned her some favor in Dark's eyes, but learning about where she had come from, with the pictures, to him, really explained her behavior. And he liked that she wasn't making excuses like Declan did.

In the meanwhile, Daizi stood, "I can walk you out, or, hold on," she went back into the kitchen, leaving the glass where it was because she had no idea where it had been sat down. A few moments later she returned with a small mason jar she had filled with some of the currant berries, and offered them to Ciara, "Here," she said, with an easy smile, "take some home with you, we have too many. I hate people leaving my home empty handed."
 
"Thank you for your invitation, but I really must be going," Ciara said politely. She paused in surprise when Daizi offered her the jar of currents. "Oh. Thank you. This is most kind of you." She accepted the jar and held it up, looking at the berries with a glimmer of true interest. She lowered it and looked between the twins. "It was very nice to meet you both."

Alec scrambled to his feet and moved around to face her better. "You will be coming back again, right?"

Ciara hesitated. "I am not certain that would be a good idea," she said slowly.

"Why? Because you're afraid you might actually like us?" Xander challenged. "Or is it because we look too much like Declan?"

Ciara stiffened a little. "I will not make any promises I cannot keep," she said simply. "Therefore... Let us just see where things take us. Alright?" She turned to let herself out but paused again at the door. "And you do not look too much like that man. You favor your mother far more." She nodded to Dark and Daizi. "Thank you for your hospitality, and I hope all goes well with your pregnancy." She let herself out and walked down to her car.
 
"I hope you enjoy them," Daizi said when Ciara took the berries from her, "You can't find them in stores," but neither she nor Dark interrupted the conversation between Ciara and the twins. To both of them, her not instantly promising the moon was another thing about her which put them at ease. She didn't seem reckless with them like Declan did. When it came to Alec and Xander, they liked cautious people.

Still, they walked her to the door, and Dark said, "Thank you for being willing to come in, and for being willing to talk about her, and your family. I know it could not have been easy," while Daizi murmured a shy 'thank you,' before telling Ciara to get home safe.

Then the shut the door, after she began to drive off, and Daizi turned first to the twins to ask, "Okay... How was that? How are you?"
 
Alec considered his answer before replying, "Shaky, but okay. I think I hope she decides to stay in touch."

Xander grunted, still sitting on the couch and flipping through the album. "I don't know if I do or not, but I hope she decides quick if she's coming or going."

Alec looked up at Dark and Daizi. "What do you think of her? Does she seem okay to you?" He trusted their instincts, especially after what had happened with the last family member they had.

"She seems edgy to me, and plays her cards close to her chest," Xander grumbled.

Alec didn't bother to point out the irony of Xander's statement as he waited for Dark and Daizi's reply.
 
"I think she's grieving," Daizi said gently, after taking a few moments to think, "She's lost her sister, which means she ran out of time to make amends, and you look like her, so... I think it's... probably difficult, because she's not only confronting the fact she wasn't there, she's confronting the fact her sister isn't here."

Dark nodded, his wife having spoken much of what was on his mind, "I heard her crying, the last time we spoke on the phone. I do not think I was supposed to, but I did. And I also would not be surprised if seeing you reminds her of her brother, or who he would have grown older to become. And, for me, I appreciate that she is cautious, rather than agreeing more than she has."
 
Alec nodded. "I think I understand and agree. Maybe she just needs time and gentleness. She doesn't have people like you like we do to help her and take care of her." He edged over and hugged Daizi gently. "Are you okay? You seem sad."

Xander fished a picture out of the protective sleeve and held it up, judging it critically. "I don't think we look like either of them," he said. "See, I found a picture of her and him together, but I don't think we look like either of them."

The picture was of Declan, Ciara, and Tara all standing together and dressed up for some event. Their names were on the back along with the date, but no indication of what the event was supposed to be.
 
Dark looked over at the picture, not wanting to guess what the event might have been, "That is because you are a mixture of them both. And of all four of your grandparents, eight of your great-grandparents... When our baby reaches your age, you will not be able to say definitively which of us she looks like either."

Daizi hugged Alec back, "I'm okay. Thank you for asking. I just had a little boy, and an older brother too. So I emphasize with your aunt, and with your grandparents."
 
Xander stared at the picture. Then snorted in disgust and tucked it back into the sleeve. "I doubt we'll ever been meeting those grandparents, and I'm glad of it. One damaged aunt is enough for me. Maybe too much." He stuck the photos back in the box then stood and stretched. "Don't we have berries to pick or something?"

"I don't think you ever mentioned your brother. I'm sorry," Alec apologized to her. "I hope this isn't too painful for you."
 
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