How Green Becomes Wood

"There are certainly worse things to believe in," Tristan said cheerfully. He reached out and tapped Ivy's highchair lightly. "Although, purely from an outsider's perspective, I would say you believe in a couple of other things, too." He pushed himself forward. "I should probably start packing up to head home, but first, I had something to give to the boys." He looked up at Dark. "This was a delightful evening."
 
Dark pursed his lips together and looked down at the product of many hours of his work, "This was not breathed into existence by fickle Gods nor was it foretold in the grounds left in my coffee cup. There is nothing cosmic in it to believe in, it is merely the result of my hands. Otherwise it is logs, and still it will rot as we all will, and fade from all memory. But I am glad to have it, while it is mine to have." Then, he nodded to Tristan, and stepped aside to let him pass more easily, "Far be it from me to stop you. I believe I have other guests I should be seeing out soon."
 
It did not seem Dark knew quite what Tristan had meant, but while Tristan had cautiously enjoyed the conversation, he was running out of energy and did not have it in his reservoir to explain what he did mean and extend the discussion. Maybe another day. For now, he headed toward the living room, saying to Dark, "Thank you very much for showing me your work. They are quite special pieces, and you do excellent work."

In the living room, charades was in progress, but it was the last round and Alec was trying to get them to guess "teapot."

"Large person stretching?" Tom asked, bewildered.

"Dancer in a tutu!" Becky called out.
 
Daizi had returned back downstairs and was sitting on the couch listening to the teenagers play, unable to help them at all, while Ivy was passed amongst those who enjoyed holding her. She was getting sleepy, so it was the perfect time for her to be held by those who liked a particularly snuggly baby. Milo still did not join in the games, but he seemed to be enjoying watching and photographing them.

When Dark walked back into the room, he paused to watch Alec, formed a guess in his own mind, but sat down silently besides his wife, quickly scanning the room to be certain of who had his daughter at that moment.
 
"Alright, I give up. What is it?" Peter begged.

"It's a teapot," Xander said dryly.

Alec stopped in the middle of bending. "Yes! Yes it is!"

"Teapot? What does a teapot have to do with nursery rhymes?" Tom demanded.

"I'm a little teapot? Short and stout?" Alec prompted.

"I know the rhyme, but how was that a teapot? And how long did you know?" Becky demanded of Xander.

Xander snorted. "Pretty much as soon as he started."

"Then why didn't you say something?" multiple voices wanted to know.

Xander shrugged. "It was funny to see how long it'd go."

Sally giggled as she rocked Ivy against her shoulder. She was having as much fun just watching as she would have been playing.

"Okay, what do we do next?" Alec asked. "Suggestions?"
 
"Don't worry, I couldn't tell he was being a teapot either," Daizi teased, squeezing Dark's hand and pulling it into her lap.

Dark glanced around the party, nodded to see Ivy was comfortable, and relaxed into the couch. Catching Xander's eye, he nodded towards Tristan, not wanting to call out in front of everyone he was preparing to leave, but wanting to send the twins that way before they got wrapped up in something.
 
Xander caught the look, but it only confused him. What about Tristan? He looked toward his uncle curiously.

Tristan saw Xander glancing at him and took the opportunity to say, "I am getting ready to head out."

"Oh." Xander nudged Alec. "Tristan's leaving."

"Oh!" Alec said, hopping up. He hurried over and leaned over to hug him. "Thank you so much for coming!"

"You are very welcome," Tristan said, awkwardly returning the hug. "I am very happy for you both! Before I go, I have something for you."

"What is it?" Alec asked curiously, stepping back as Xander came to join them.

Tristan pulled out two small, well-made journals, one black with red lettering and the other red with black lettering. He handed the black one to Xander and the red one to Alec. They had the boy's names embossed on the covers with "Memorybook." "It is not quite a journal, though I suppose you can use it that way. They are for you to record memorable events that happen with your family. Good things, bad things, anything that stands out to you."

"Cool," Xander said, high praise from him, as he flipped through the pages.

"There's even spots for pictures and little things," Alec remarked. "Thank you very much!"

"You are very welcome. I hope they come in handy for you," Tristan smiled. He said his goodbyes to everyone, agreeing it was good to meet those he hadn't met, and removed the plastic covers from his wheels before heading out and down the ramp to his car.
 
"Thank you for coming, Tristan," Daizi smiled, "I hope we will see you next week for Ivy's birthday?"

Dark stood to walk Tristan to the door, because he felt like it was proper, and then returned to the rest of the party. It was clearly winding down and as much as everyone seemed to be enjoying it, he was looking forward to when it was just his family home again. Although, with how relaxed Ivy was---Sally could stay as long as she liked.
 
Tom's father arrived to pick him and Becky up not long after Tristan left. Becky gave Alec a big hug, tried briefly to give Xander a hug, and left them with a gift she and Tom had pooled together to get them: A family pass to the aquarium, good for the next six months! Becky whispered to Xander that the fine print said they could exchange it for a Zoo pass, if they wanted, but there'd be a five-dollar fee.
 
Milo left around the time as Becky and Tom did, although he didn't have anything to give them. Instead, he just murmured a quick reply to Xander and Alec, waved to whoever could see him, and quickly left. As people continued to trickle out, Sloan made a polite goodbye to everyone left and walked back across the street. When she left, Dark quietly got up and watched out the window until she was safely inside her house. It was a safe neighborhood, but it was dark, and she was walking. He needed to be certain she made it inside.

Daizi overheard when Becky and Tom gave them a gift, but decided to wait until the party had cleared out to ask about it.
 
Xander told Milo to tell him when he got home, thanked him again for coming, and watched him head out. When Sloan left, he joined Dark at the window watching to make sure Sloan got there safe. It wasn't something he would have initially thought of, but when Dark did it, he found himself copying.

Ciara waited until there was a gap in those leaving and quickly exited herself. On her way out, she gave them each a wrapped gift to be opened later. Xander's a keychain she'd had specially made. It was his new last name in tungsten, and it was specifically designed so that if he held one end, he could use the other to break a car window if he needed to escape a rolled car. One small part could also cut through a seatbelt. She did not say it, but in a pinch, it would work well as a self-defense weapon. Alec got a small but very nice beige, crossbody bag, also with his new name on the strap. It was highly efficient in its storage capacity, and even though it was not a color Alec would have picked out, he could tell it would go with a large majority of his outfits and be really practical. She was quick with the gifts, quick with the goodbyes, and quick to slip out the door.

"That leaves us," Sally said, snuggling Ivy close for just a moment longer.

"This was a great party," Peter said. "You guys are really good at throwing a shindig. I can see why your house is legendary for Halloween parties."
 
"And me," Cooger chuckled.

"You do not count," Dark said, "You are always the last to leave."

Daizi smiled, "Our Halloween parties are better than this. Not that this was a bad party by any means, but when we do Halloween, we go all out. It's weird to be missing it twice in a row, but it would be impossible to do both it and our vow renewal, since they're back-to-back. Next year, though..."
 
"Next year will be amazing!" Alec assured her. "And your renewal will be so fantastic, you'll forget all about missing this year's."

"I doubt that, but I bet we'll all sleep through it," Xander remarked.

"We should be going," Jack chuckled as he rose. "Sally, release the baby, dear."

"Oh, fine," Sally pouted. Gingerly, she transferred Ivy to her closest parent. "Thank you for inviting us, and I look forward to the next celebrations in your life!"
 
"Sleep through what? Halloween or the Vow Renewal?" Daizi asked, feeling like she should probably be offended by that.

Even after almost a year, Dark still nearly melted into a puddle when he took Ivy into his arms and she immediately snuggled into him. Turning slightly, she held onto his shirt with one hand and smiled up at him with her sleepy eyes. She was precious.

"Let me walk you out," Daizi said as she stood, "Thank you again for helping us prepare for this yesterday."
 
"Halloween," Xander told her.

"It was my pleasure to help!" Sally assured her. "If you need anything at all, let me know! Otherwise, I shall simply turn up with gifts."

"It was nice to spend some time talking to you," Jack said. He hook Cooger's hand, too before helping his wife keep her balance while she put on her shoes. Then they slipped out, calling their fairwells.
 
"Always a pleasure, but we'll see each other in only a week, so it's a hardly a goodbye," Cooger replied, shaking Jack's hand.

"I think we have it in hands for next week, but thank you," Daizi smiled, squeezing Sally's hand for a moment, "Don't worry, you'll get plenty of more time with Ivy then. And you're always welcome to visit."
 
"Thank you, darling," Sally said, kissing Daizi's cheek. Then they left with Peter, leaving the house empty save for Cooger.

Xander flopped into a chair with a massive sigh. "I am exhausted now."
 
"I am too," Dark admitted, loosening his tie with one hand, "And so is she. Normally she is not this worn out this by this time in the evening."

"She'll have to get used to it if she wants to enjoy her birthday party," Cooger chuckled.

"Ivy-Qadira is only little," Dark replied, looking down at Ivy and rocking her.

"If she falls asleep now, she'll wake us up in the middle of the night," Daizi frowned, returning to the couch, "What did your friends give you?"
 
"Tom and Becky chipped in together to get us a family pass to the aquarium! It's exchangeable for the zoo," Alec told her. "It's good for six months! We can go however many times we want."

"Isn't most of the zoo closed at this time of year?" Xander asked with a frown.

"Oh, dear, that's true," Alec frowned. "Great gift, not so great timing. Hmm. At least the aquarium is warm."

"And it does have some hands on stuff," Xander remarked, inspecting the gift Ciara had given him. He hadn't unwrapped the box yet. He started picking at the tape carefully.
 
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