How Green Becomes Wood

Dark agreed they could think about that, and then led everyone back to the car. Transitioning Ivy to the car seat was precarious, and they were unsuccessful in moving her without waking her, and Daizi stood over her carseat attempting to get her to settle while Dark folded the stroller into the trunk.

After everyone was buckled, Dark drove Milo to his house, and then took the rest of them home. Ivy needed her last feeding of the night, her tiny two little teeth brushed, and to go to bed, Enkidu needed his dinner and a walk, but it had been a perfect day.
 
Alec fell asleep between Milo's house and their own, meaning Xander had to wake him up when they got home. He wandered sleepily into the house and helped feed Enkidu before going to take a shower. The smell of the carnival was great when at the carnival, but not so great when carried home. Xander took Enkidu out for his walk and then showered when he returned. Then the pair collapsed and slept the night away, completely dead to the world in seconds, surrounded by their prizes. They felt like conquering kings! It had, indeed, been a truly perfect day.
 
After getting Ivy to sleep for the night, Dark and Daizi wandered into their bedroom and flopped inelegantly down on their bed.

"It is much harder having a day out with Ivy." Dark said, staring up at the roof of their canopy bed.

Daizi nodded, knowing she should get up and change but wanting to lie down for a few minutes before she did. "She had fun though," she murmured.

"It all almost fell apart with the duck," he replied, shutting his eyes for a moment, "I was about to bribe the carnie to just let us keep it."

"We couldn't let her have it, a thousand kids have touched it by now, we don't know where they've been," Daizi replied, rolling over towards him, nuzzling her head against his shoulder. And before they had time to say much more, they were waking up in the morning.
 
The next couple of days went by smoothly with Xander taking on new custom orders and Alec focusing more on working out. Alec even asked Dark for some pointers, though he was a little shy about it. As much as he knew it was healthy and, for him, a means to reach an end goal, he felt like he was encroaching on Dark and Xander's thing. It was silly, and he soon got over it, but it was still a little awkward.

Then Tuesday came. Xander drove Alec to his Cyr wheel lesson before heading to the horse ranch. Alec had an hour at his lessons, and then he stood outside waiting for Dark to pick him up. He looked anxious and yet happy. Exhuberant, even!
 
Dark was glad to help Alec work out, and he suggested an easy, somewhat short routine he could really focus on, rather than overwhelming himself with trying to do everything all at once.

On Tuesday, when Alec got into the car with him, he asked, "How did your lesson go? Have you gotten to use the wheel yet?"
 
Alec scrambled in and put on his seatbelt before answering. His words came out in a rush. "Kind of. At the end of the lesson, we were all - there's four of us plus the teacher - allowed to try out one of the wheels! Oh, if I want to do more advanced lessons, I have to buy one of my own, but I won't need it for the beginning stages. It's a lot of how to keep yourself safe and exercises and stuff and slowly integrating the wheel. Anyway, I got to use one of the practice wheels, and I pinched my fingers exactly like how he warned me I might do. It looked like that happened a lot, except I was the only one to do it, so that wasn't exactly encouraging. Still, I got to do it, and I didn't break anything!" He paused for breath.
 
Dark nodded, beginning the drive home, "I think it is normal when you are new at something to struggle with it, and not everybody takes equally well to something immediately. If it is something you enjoy, that only means you need to work a little bit more at it. Often, people who need to work harder and train more at the start end up better at it than those who took naturally to it, because when the skills start becoming more difficult, they already know how to train for it, whereas those who took naturally to it need to learn to work hard. The question is, then: Did you enjoy it?"
 
"Absolutely yes!" Alec chirped. "And you are absolutely right! I don't think any of us at the class are naturals, but that's okay because that means we all have equal opportunity to work hard together to improve! The others are all significantly older than me, but I think the wheel will be a great equalizer. And the teacher had some great music for us to practice to! At reasonable volume, unlike last weekend, right?" He grinned, remembering Lex's party next door.

It had started off quietly enough with people arriving and chatting and then had slowly grown louder. Friday had been tolerable, and they'd quieted down at a reasonable hour, but then Saturday was as loud and boiserours as it could get. A couple of the neighbors had come over to complain and compare it to living in a trailer park. Lex and whichever family member had turned it down the first time, but the second time when the "trailer park" thing was said, they'd smiled, nodded, and turned the music up. Then, around seven in the evening, Lex had physically wrestled a guy out onto her front lawn before turning it into a screaming match. They'd used words that had Alec covering Ivy's delicate ears and Xander taking notes. Across the street and down a couple of houses, one couple set out folding chairs and were watching the show. Alec was pretty sure he saw them holding popcorn. The shouting match ended when the guy made a move as if to attack Lex, she punched him in the face, and then she'd given him a towel for his nose and brought him back inside. That had been the most exciting thing to happen. After that, it was just noise until three in the morning on Sunday. Dead silence followed until people started driving away Sunday afternoon.
 
Dark nodded austerely. He was not a man who typically begrudged a party or two, he and Daizi knew their Halloween party was known to grow a bit boisterous, and he knew how loud the parties back with Daizi's family could be, but the music was loud enough to leave them with a sleepless, grumpy baby all of Saturday, and the screaming match grated on his nerves. It was, admittedly, a little too close to home. They had been warned, so he supposed they could not complain, he did not want to be that sort of neighbor, because he never had been before--and anyway, plenty of other neighbors were making their opinion on the issue known--but it nonetheless it was something he was dreading living next to for the rest of his life. In the future, he would have to ask in advance when the big family gathering was going to be so he could plan a weekend away. But it was not easy to not be frustrated with them as he paced the house with his crying baby who could not take her nap because of the noise next door.

Daizi did still take her walk with Enkidu, but she chose to leave Ivy home for it, because considering the noise and the singular case of violence, she didn't really trust bringing her daughter out into that environment, even with her ear protection. Considering what she had heard about Lex's brother, it made her a little nervous, but she thought it wasn't fair that a guest to the neighborhood should prevent her from taking her dog on a walk. Although, neither she nor Dark did anything that would make their household come across to outsiders as Arab.

"I am cut up over their celebrations only lasting a weekend." Dark said sarcastically, choosing his words with the utmost care.
 
"Oh, yes, very, very sad," Alec said with a serious nod. "Judging from the fact that I haven't heard Lex working in her forge for the past two days, I think she would agree with you." He smiled at Dark. "I like our family a lot better."
 
Dark drummed on his steering wheel at a stop sign, and then said, "Daizi's family can be loud. One day, I am sure, you will visit Egypt and likely attend a wedding there, it is nearly inevitable, and you will know how loud and overwhelming it can be. And there are occasionally arguments--but I do believe, generally, on the typical day, our family is quieter and more friendly with each other."
 
"Maybe they're not happy with her because she moved so far away, so even while trying to be happy for her, it came out once emotions were high," Alec suggested after some thought. "Some families do seem to take stuff like that as a personal insult, especially if they are on the more poor end of the financial spectrum. Oh, except didn't her sister marry money, as they say?"
 
Dark raised his shoulders slightly, "I would not know. All families have their particular quirks and reasons behind those quirks, but it is their business. I just know next year I intend to request for more warning so we can plan a weekend trip away. If it falls at the same time each year, then Ivy will be over a year old, but still needing naps, and I do not have much desire to repeat the experience."
 
"Maybe we can drop by and talk to her sooner than later," Alec suggested. "Maybe take her some of your cooking!" He grinned. "Maybe I'll ask her for some music options to practice and work out with." His grin faded as he looked out the window. "I can't wait to tell Xander all about it," he almost whispered.
 
Dark chuckled, feeling a bit like bringing Lex food was like they were apologizing to her but he wasn't going to say as much, "From the sounds of it, she will have plenty of music recommendations that may be in the right tempo for your interests. It is interesting, I think everybody has their own preferred soundtrack to exercise to." He glanced at Alec, "How do you practice without the wheel?"
 
"Lots of practice with body mechanics and exercises to help you find that proper form," Alec said. "The instructor said that getting a wheel is really important, but it's not the most important thing, so don't go breaking your budget, especially if you don't even know what to look for in a wheel. I was thinking of staying back next week and asking for some wheel-buying advice. I have money saved up from our performances at the pizza place and what Xander gives me for modeling his products. I think I might be able to afford one! That or I'm being way too optimistic and have no idea how much wheels really cost."
 
"I would not know the cost of one," Dark admitted, "Do you think we have the space to practice at home? Or would you need a ride to a more suitable space? We can make either work, but you would have a lot to answer for if you left wheel tracks in your mother's garden." He was half joking, but he really didn't know how much space or what terrain the wheel needed, and the most open space they had was in the yard.
 
"I would never do that!" Alec stated emphatically. "Not only because her garden is precious, but also because I need a smooth, firm surface. Like a gym or a skateboard park or a dance floor. Don't worry, I'll look into it and figure it out."
 
"Yes!" Alec grinned as he followed Dark. "It was so much fun, and so high energy! I really like my teacher, and I think I'll like my fellow classmates, and I cannot wait to learn more about how to spin! Thank you for letting me do this and picking me up!" He spun in circles all the way to the front door where he had to stop so he could walk in and take off his shoes. He touched salt and called, "Mama! I'm home! So's Ba!"
 
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