How Green Becomes Wood

"I just want to arrange them nice in the vase, I picked blooms I like, and they smell nice, but I want it to look pretty for the rest of you, too." Daizi replied, setting out the flowers, "I don't know if the colours work together, but the scents do."
 
Alec closed his eyes and took a deep sniff. "Oh, those scents work amazing together!" Opening his eyes, he started carefully arranging the flowers to a more visually appealing presentation. "You know, it would be interesting if Uncle Tristan's shop could offer bouquets based off scent profiles."
 
"Maybe," Daizi agreed, gently tracing one of the petals with her finger, "I'm not sure how how many people would recognize the subtleties. It would be lovely for those who did. I just thought, it would be nice to bring some of them inside. Soon most of the flowers won't be blooming, anymore."
 
"That's true," Alec sighed. He looked at the flowers for a moment. He checked his phone briefly before asking, "Are there any flowers in Pennsylvania that bloom in winter? Or close to winter?"
 
"Holly and Ivy stay green all year round," Daizi replied, "but they aren't flowers. I know there are flowers that do bloom in winter, we just get so much snow, I don't end up planting many. Some years I plant snowdrops."
 
"Those are pretty!" Alec smiled happily. "Uncle Tristan uses a lot of non-flowers, he told me, but he doesn't think he could keep the shop open with just seasonal things."
 
"Luckily, he or his suppliers have access to a greenhouse, and that makes it easier for him," She said, picking up the vase and bringing it to the dining room, "It's nice to have, isn't it? Sometimes I dry out some of my best flowers to keep them longer."
 
"Yes, but they, the flowers, I mean, don't seem quite the same when they are grown only in a greenhouse," Alec said, following her. He checked his phone quickly. "They just don't seem as strong, you know what I mean? They are still very pretty and smell good, but not as robust."
 
"I think there's something about having real sunlight," Daizi said, "but I don't know, really. I'm not very familar with greenhouses, except at the botanical garden, and I like how there are also butterflies all year in a greenhouse."

She and Dark traded Ivy off so he could cook dinner, and only a few hours later, Dark was bringing dinner to the table while Ivy was being changed.

"The flowers look good," Dark said to Alec when he came in, "You did well helping Daizi set them up."
 
"Thank you!" Alec said cheerfully as Xander came to join them for dinner. "It's not as good as something Tristan would do, but I think I'm getting better. Did you know that Japanese samurai used to practice a form of flower arranging? It's called, um, Ik something. Ik-banana!"

Xander stared, not having heard the start of the conversation. "Huh? Since when did bananas become icky?"
 
"I heard something like that," Dark admitted, suspecting Alec mispronounced something, but didn't know how to correct him, "but I do not know the name of it."

"The name of what?" Daizi asked, coming into the room with Ivy, who began to squeal and point at the flowers on the table.

"Do you like them, Ivy?" Dark asked, turning his attention to his daughter. "I think she agrees the flowers are pretty."

Grabbing onto her mother's face, Ivy pointed to the flowers and continued to squeak out in delight.

"You really like them, huh habibi?" Daizi grinned, nuzzling Ivy and walking closer to the table to see them better.

"ah-wa!" Ivy chirped, still pointing.
 
Dark's mouth truly fell open slightly, having seen the way Ivy pointed and made such a specific sound. "Hummingbird," He breathed, utterly stunned, "What did you say? What are they?" Like Xander, he pointed to the flowers.

"Ah-wa!" Ivy said, giggling at how everyone looked at her.

Utterly speechless, Daizi was truly only able to squeeze Ivy in close and press her face against her hair. It was a word, a true word! And it was in Arabic! She was too busy trying not to immediately begin to cry to even think of something to say besides her daughter's name on repeat between kisses.
 
Alec laughed and clapped. "Well done, Ivy! Well done!"

"Looks like we know her preferred language," Xander grinned, watching them.

"Look like we're going to have to brush up on our language skills," Alec said.

The twins exchanged glances. They were actually pleased Ivy had chosen an Arabic word as her first. Her parents needed that.
 
"Oh, Ivy-Qadira," Daizi finally managed to say, her voice a bit choked, "Tifla, Mama is so proud of you." She kissed her head once more and held her close. It wasn't something the twins were likely to notice, but it was early. She said a word early, after all of her milestones being late. They had to be so much more patient than many other parents, but here Ivy was, speaking early.

Eyes gleaming, Dark responded to the twins, but couldn't look away from his baby, "When it is only the three of us home, we only speak in Arabic to her. She has an unfair advantage."
 
"Oh, man, that is a seriously unfair advantage!" Alec laughed. "No wonder she already sounds so good. Better than Xander, anyway."

"Hey, I'm not that bad," Xander protected mildly, not really caring.
 
"I get to tell everyone," Daizi sighed happily, finally sitting down at the table, but not yet placing Ivy in her high chair, "Jiddi is going to be so proud."

"We considered naming her Zahra, actually," Dark mused, reaching out and rubbing his finger against Ivy's cheek, "But we did not like how it sounded with Hala, and Daizi's name means light, and her mother's, I believe, meant Dawn, so it seemed important to include Hala."

"And I liked naming her 'Capable.'" Daizi said, still quite near tears.
 
"I think Ivy suits her quite well," Alec said with a nod. "And it does fit thematically! I don't know what Alec means. Or Xander. I think I did at one point, but I've forgotten. I should look it up."
 
"I would guess they mean the same thing," Daizi suggested, slowly settling back down, "They're both diminutives of Alexander, but I don't know what Alexander means either."

"It is probably still connected to Alexander the Great," Dark added, finally beginning to actually eat his dinner, "Daizi chose Ghalib for me because it means, 'to overcome' and 'to defeat.'"

"And Marzuq means prosperous."
 
"Those are both very good names for you," Alec told Dark. "I like them a lot."

"Mama is very good at naming things," Xander agreed. "Well, Mini, can you breathe now after all that fuss? You earned it, of course."
 
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