How Green Becomes Wood

The noise from next door was a bit irritating, and although it wasn't too overwhelmingly loud, because, thankfully, they did not share a wall, but it was definitely enough to be noticeable where once it had been quiet. It could be dealt with, and never once did either Dark or Daizi even think about complaining--they knew how difficult moving was--but it did seem to affect Ivy's sleep, and when the noise wasn't bothering her, it bothered Enkidu, who would leap up and scamper to the nearest door to bark, which then woke Ivy. But it wouldn't last, and it wasn't their fault.

The lights weren't an issue: they couldn't bother Daizi, and they had blackout curtains which kept Ivy and Dark from being bothered, although he wasn't sleeping anyway. And since he couldn't sleep, he occasionally strode out into his backyard or onto his front porch, lost in the shadows, but he was more focused on the stars than on the neighbors. He didn't know why he was restless, but he was, and so made the most of his sleeplessness.

Still, even he wasn't up all night, and he did manage a little bit of sleep, after midnight had passed, and he joined them in the morning with his usual amount of rest.
 
"Good morning!" Alec greeted Dark and Daizi cheerfully. "And good morning to you, little mouse," he smiled at Ivy.

Xander just yawned and shuffled in to the breakfast table. "What's on the docket for today? Anybody got plans?"
 
"I think I'm content with my plan for the day being having nothing to do," Daizi said happily, making tea while Dark cooked, "I'm not in sole care of Ivy, these are my days off too. But I might go on a nice walk, if the weather is good. And I need to work on my garden. I'm worried about what this past winter and shifting so much focus on Ivy has done to it. We're coming into full Spring, now, I've got to help it along."

Dark turned looked over his shoulder and his eyes glowed as he looked at his wife, "Your 'nothing to do' sounds an awful lot like 'a lot to do.'"

"But I am not going anywhere, so it feels like nothing."
 
"The weather looks pretty nice from the window," Alec told her. "I can help you in the garden! Do you want company on your walk, or are you looking forward to having some alone time?"

"I gotta finish a commission for my store, then I got nothing to do," Xander said, stretching. "Guess I could help in the garden if you want."

"And I can help look after Ivy!" Alec offered.
 
"Wow," Daizi said, genuinely touched at how both boys were immediately offering to help or spend time with her. Not all mothers were that lucky, "You're both welcome to help in the garden. I'm not really sure what needs done. Weeding, definitely. And I hadn't really thought about if I wanted to be alone or not... I'll think about it. It might be good to go while she's napping... but it's also good for her to get fresh air."

"I can sit with her outside while you garden," Dark suggested, setting breakfast down for them, "that way she gets fresh air but you have time to yourself."
 
"I wonder if there's such a thing as a racing stroller," Xander mused.

"Xander!" Alec scolded. "You are not taking Ivy racing!"

"Why not? She'd love running," Xander grinned. "Don't moms take their kids jogging and stuff?"
 
"They do make strollers you can run with," Dark said, "I think you can configure ours to. I have not done it yet, I am too nervous about jostling her too badly, but you can."

Daizi gave her daughter a little forehead kiss and then reclined in her seat, "I can't use a stroller easily. I guess around the neighborhood I could, since I know it so well, but elsewhere it's difficult. I basically have to use her like a battering ram, which isn't ideal."
 
"At least she's little right now, which means you can just carry her in one of those sling things," Alec said. "That'll last for a while, right?"

Xander shrugged and polished off his breakfast. "I'm going to go get my work done. I'll see you guys later."

"Have fun! Be safe!" Alec called, waving.
 
"I'm not worrying too much about the future of transporting her," Daizi lied with her full heart, "it'll be awhile before I can't wear her in a sling, and I don't go many places alone." She shut her eyes and squeezed Ivy tight before giving her one more little kiss and finishing her breakfast.

Dark watched the two of them with a little loving smile on his face. It was really, really good to be home with them again for two whole days. But he pulled himself out of whatever sweet thought his mind was in and asked, "What about you, Alec? Do you have any plans for today?"
 
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"I thought maybe I'd practice piano for a while and maybe play around with some ideas for what we could do for the talent show this year," Alec told him. "It's a little - a lot - early, but Sloan mentioned it the other day, and I was thinking about it. I figure at least coming up with some ideas wouldn't hurt."
 
"It never hurts to be prepared." Daizi said, "Let me know if you need help or ideas."

A little bit after both she and Ivy had finished their meals, she went outside to work in the garden, trying to get it neatened up and thriving. It wasn't nearly as bad as she had feared--the twins had done a good job in the autumn--and Dark sat out on their favourite bench with Ivy, so he could give his daughter fresh air (as promised) and also be able to spend time with his wife. After Ivy had her next meal and had fallen asleep for her nap, Daizi pulled on her shoes, leashed Enkidu, and went out for her walk. Because she knew the neighborhood so well, she didn't bother with bringing her cane, only her sunglasses. It was nice weather, really, and she was glad to be out enjoying it, although it felt incredibly strange to be out without her daughter. It was rare for them to be seperated.
 
The twins both helped in the garden, as promised, though they did end up goofing off with each other more than actually tending the garden. It was a good thing not much needed to be done. They left Daizi to walk alone, neither of them thinking anything of it. It was a good, safe neighborhood.

Wheels rattled along the concrete sidewalk then shifted to a low, smooth hum as Toby guided his board onto the asphalt road. One of the wheels was not responding right, and he was focused more on trying to figure out what was wrong with it than with the single pedestrian walking along the middle of the sidewalk. Pedestrians usually moved to one side, so it should be no problem. He cut a couple of sharp turns, testing his board, and then hopped it over the curb onto the sidewalk. He glided toward the woman walking down the sidewalk, fully expecting her to move to the lawn side of the sidewalk. If he stayed closer to the road side, there would be plenty of space for them both. He was so confident he didn't pay attention until he was too close. He let out a shout and jerked to the side, tumbling off the sidewalk as he did so. His arm brushed the woman's, and his skateboard narrowly missed banging into her ankle as he took the fall rather than run right into her side.
 
It wasn't a normal sound, or at least, not one Daizi was familiar with. The sound of skateboard wheels on pavement, and so she hadn't even realized something was coming towards her until it was unmistakable, and then there was the yell, and she felt someone's arm against hers, and felt the whoosh of air.

She yelped in surprise, and tried to leap back, but she didn't know which way to go. One hand, instinctively, went to Enkidu, because he could see, and she had to trust which way they needed to go. Her other hand flew to her heart, which both raced and froze all at once, impossibly, and all she could think was how glad she was she hadn't brought Ivy with her, because if she was a little bit slower, or this wheeled stranger was, and she had been carrying her--And it was her neighborhood, she knew everything in her neighborhood, she was on the sidewalk, it was supposed to be safe.
 
"Ow," Toby grunted from the pavement. He checked himself quickly. No bones sticking out where they shouldn't be and everything was still facing the right direction. He did have a new tear in his pants and a scraped knee and with one bloody palm, but he was used to that kind of thing. He scrambled up to see the tall woman still standing but looking like she was going to have a heart attack. "Hey, lady, are you okay? Why didn't you move?" he demanded worriedly, a bit of a frantic edge in his tone. If she'd gotten hurt, his mother would kill him! Or worse, take away his board.
 
"I didn't know," Daizi replied, taking a few deep breaths to settle herself. She was okay, she wasn't hurt, Ivy wasn't even there, she was safe at home napping. Everything was okay. "I didn't know, I couldn't have known. I'm okay, just... a little shaken, I guess." She swallowed, pushed her hair back, then dug her fingers into Enkidu's fur. For how excitable a dog he could be at home, now he sat tall beside his owner, resting his weight against her leg, curiously watching this stranger.
 
"How could you not know?" Toby blurted out of confusion. His first instinct was to look at her ears, but she didn't have any kind of earbuds. Then he took in the dog and the glasses. He didn't think about the fact that Enkidu had no type of working dog vest. "Oh, wait, are you like, blind? Um, visually impaired, I guess?"
 
"Yes I'm blind," Daizi exhaled, still calming her nerves. Her brain was stuck on what if he had crashed into her and if she had been carrying her daughter. "Are you okay? It sounded like you fell. I would've moved if I had known where you were going."
 
"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry," he said, stepping forward and limping a little on the scraped leg. "I'm fine. Just some scrapes. I'm so sorry, really, I was trying to figure out why one of my wheels wasn't responding and thought you'd move. Sorry, I'm an idiot. It's not your job to move 'cause this is a sidewalk not a sideroll, right?" He smiled lopsidedly, holding his scraped hand in the other. "Are you sure you're okay? I can walk you home or something if you want if you're shook up."
 
"No, I'm okay, really," Daizi replied, holding up one hand. It only trembled a little, "I think one of my sons and husband would probably skin you. And my other son would never let me walk alone again." She chuckled lightly, very much wanting to go home and collapse against her husband. By the time she made it home, she was certain she'd be calmed down again, but it really was a terrifying moment, "What are you riding, anyway?"
 
Toby brightened at the question. "It's a retrospec- wait, where's my board?" He glanced around, realizing he'd lost track of his beloved skateboard. It hadn't gone far, rolling a few feet before bumping into the curb and coming to a stop. "Hang on! I gotta go grab it." He trotted away and picked it up before returning to Daizi. "It's a retrospect rift drop-through longboard!" He grinned and held it up before realizing two things: 1. Daizi could not see and 2. he very much doubted she knew what that meant. "It's, uh, a skateboard meant for city travel. It's not super expensive or anything, but it's a pretty good board. Oh, uh, and I'm Toby, by the way. Just moved here."
 
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