How Green Becomes Wood

That day, Ivy fell asleep for her nap right in her father's lap which, rather expectedly, completely melted his heart and he cautiously lifted her up and held her close until Alec really started putting everything back, at which point he lay her down in her crib so he could help to move the couch back. Like his son, he put special care into making sure everything was where they always had been. Once things were back to where Daizi knew they were, she was finally able to fully relax.

The peaceful week was a relief which was need after... everything that happened in October. Still, there were a few nights where Dark didn't sleep as well. On those nights, Daizi held him tight with her cheek against his shoulder and it didn't quite help him fall asleep but it did help his thoughts to quiet. During the day, Daizi was back at working in her office for much of the day. Her therapy was only bi-weekly so she didn't have any appointments that week.
 
The twins came home chattering about their latest homework assignments and which teachers were nicer than others in reguards to said homework. After the pair changed - Alec for his work at the flower shop, and Xander for his therapy session, Xander approached Daizi.

"Are you still up for going?" he asked her. "We'll be leaving in, like, five minutes."
 
"A really good idea. They like to put everything in their mouths, like Ivy but worse with much better reach and bigger mouths," Xander said dryly. "One of them has a thing for zippers. I don't have a lot to do with that horse, myself, but anyone who's wearing any kind of zipper, she tries to get ahold of it and zip and unzip it."
 
"That is good information to have," Daizi replied, grabbing her cane and the sunglasses she had selected for that particular outing, glad she had decided against wearing her shirt that zippered down the front, "Horses are very clever, I suppose that's why they matter so much to so many societies. The Ancient Greeks loved them, there is at least one house I know of which was found with horses buried in the floor along with the family."
 
Xander paused in the middle of grabbing his keys. "They buried people in the floor?"

"Hurry up, Xander! I don't want to be late!" Alec called.

"We're coming. Hold your horses," Xander scolded.

"That's your job. Mine is to hold the flowers," Alec retorted.
 
"It's not that uncommon," Daizi replied, turning to kiss her husband and baby goodbye before walking with her sons to the car, "Many people are buried on their own land and I don't believe back then... That was Mycenean times, the one I'm thinking of, but the practice continues through the Hellenistic, although later it translates to being in specific tombs and tumuli and the like. I haven't done a lot of horse-based research, but one of the most important social classes throughout Ancient Greece was the charioteer."
 
"I guess that makes sense," Xander agreed.

They headed out, and Xander dropped Alec off at work. He drove out to the house stables, making an effort to make small talk with his mother as he drove instead of sitting in silence like he normally did. It was not an overly long drive, but it was a fair distance.

When they arrived, he checked himself and his "one guest" in qnd then led Daizi through the stable grounds, pausing at the corral where someone else was working with a horse. Then they went on to the barn.
 
Xander led the way to the right stall door and whistled, calling for the big horse. The little pony, Daisy, trotted in from the pasture first, his hooves clipping quickly across the wood floor, and looked around, but he seemed underwhelmed by what he found. He came over to check them out but moved aside as Big John came in. The large horse hadn't hurried too much, as big horses normally did not rush, and his hooves clomped with a weight that sent the floor trembling. He looked at Xander, pleased to see the human, and this his nose flared. He caught a familiar scent. His head came up, his ears forward, and he hurried to the door, whickering softly as he approached.
 
"Marhaban, habibi," Daizi murmured softly, hearing the heavy hoofbeats and feeling them in the ground. She wanted to reach out her hands immediately to him but wasn't sure where he was or really what the proper horse greeting technique was still. "How have you been?" She asked gently, "I've heard you've been doing better."
 
Xander guided his mother a couple of steps closer and kept one hand on her back. "Brace yourself," he warned. "He's happy to see you."

Big John thrust his head over the stall door and put his nose right in Daizi's face, breathing in deeply of her scent. He wanted to know where she'd been and how she was doing, and in his horsey way, he was investigating and asking her questions just as she asked him. He nuzzled her shoulders, his heavy head pushing against her firmly no matter how gently he tried to treat her. Then he laid his head on her shoulder and tried to nudge her closer, practically asking for a hug.
 
Daizi gently caressed his sweet face and only flinched a little bit in surprise when his big nose tickled against her, since she couldn't see it coming. But once he began nuzzling her, she gladly leaned in and gave him the best hug she could manage to give a horse, "It's okay," She murmured to him, stroking his neck with one hand, letting him settle as tightly against her as he liked, "I know, you must feel so much. It's okay, sweet boy."
 
Big John took a deep breath and let it out in possibly the world's most massive sigh as he rested against her, his eyes drooping in relaxation. He stayed there, listening to her voice and breathing in her scent. It was a safe place here. A good place. He liked it here, and he liked this human. His ears twitched now and then, and occasionally his lips twitched in a way to show he was listening.

"You're the only person he does this to," Xander remarked. "I think he'll stay there all day."
 
"I don't mind waiting with him," Daizi replied, continuing to stroke Big John's neck, resting her face against him, "It makes me feel sad to leave him. I don't like walking away from creatures who need this," She nuzzled the horse gently and said, "You can be one of my babies too. Yes, you can be."
 
"That is one big baby," Xander said, amused but pleased. "He really is doing a lot better. I bet you can even feel it in his neck. He's filled out a lot, and he's putting on some muscle. He still doesn't seem to like a lot of people. He's polite about it, like, ridiculously polite, and always does what he's told, but he's pretty selective about who gets his attention."

Daisy came over then and pushed against Big John, tossing his head. He wanted some attention, too! Big John tried to ignore him, but finally moved his head away from Daizi just a little so he could shift his weight and better deal with the short nuisance.

"Daisy get jealous of Big John's attention," Xander smirked.
 
"He does feel better," Daizi murmured, taking the time to feel the changes in Big John's neck more intentionally, "I am so glad you are doing better, sweet boy."

When Daisy came pushing in, she chuckled lightly and asked, "Jealous others giving him attention or jealous of him giving others attention?"
 
"Both, I think," Xander said. "Daisy is a spicy boy. He likes people, but he's really strong-willed. You have to prove to him you're worthy of his attention."

Daisy put his head over the door and asked for attention from Daizi, curious about this person who kept his horse's attention.

"Do you want to go for a ride?" Xander asked.
 
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