How Green Becomes Wood

Dark stood by the water, holding Ivy up so she could see the penguins easily and she looked at them curiously, laughing when they splashed in the water. When Alec offered to take Ivy into the tunnel, he gladly passed them over and hoped they both had fun. Then he went to where he could watch them within the tunnel with Xander, "Why did you not want to join them?"
 
Xander shook his head. "Way too tight quarters with little kids who already don't know what personal space is." He pointed as a kid about four shoved past Alec despite his mother's attempt to catch him and scrambled through the tube. "See what I mean?"

Alec waited until the main crush of little kids passed and then climbed in. He awkwardly turned around in the tunnel and set her down behind him. "Come on, Ivy!" he called gently, coaxing her to crawl toward him. "We're going on an adventure!" He crawled backward, showing her how fun it was. It was easier to crawl backward than it was to try to carry Ivy.
 
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"I understand," Dark replied, watching as people tried to enter the tunnel, "I do not think I would fit. I would rather not become known as the man who got stuck in the penguin tunnel. I would never hear the end of it."

Ivy showed very little apprehension about following her brother into the tunnel. After a full day of being carried and pushed in a stroller, she was absolutely ecstatic to get to crawl.
 
Xander snickered. "No, you definitely wouldn't," he agreed. "They'd probably put one of those height charts up once they got you out."

Once they reached the observational part of the tube, Alec pushed himself up onto his knees and helped Ivy stand up on them so she could see through the clear plastic. "Penguins!" He told her happily. "Those are black and white penguins! What do you think, Ivy?"
 
"I am not sure if it is height as much as width," Dark replied, thinking about his shoulders, "but I definitely could not stand up in the tube either."

Ivy squeaked, touching the glass, eye-level with a penguin, "Ack!"
 
"Extra height usually also translates to at least some extra width," Xander remarked. "Oh, look, there they are. At least, there's their heads."

"Penguin!" Alec laughed, helping her stay steady but not fully holding her. "What do you think of the penguins?"
 
"It is a curse." Dark replied dryly before waving to Alec and Ivy.

Ivy giggled, too busy looking at the bird to notice her father waving. She leaned in, nearly putting her face on the glass and babbled with an excitement that had the cadence of words despite not saying anything real.
 
Xander snorted in amusement and turned his attention to the map. "What do we want to see next?"

Alec caught her and pulled her back just enough so that she wouldn't face-plant on the glass. "That's right! Look at those birds everywhere! We can't stay too long, other people want to see, so get your fill!"
 
"I believe we decided next we would go to the touch tank," Dark replied, looking down at the map. After a few moments he pointed, "Although the belugas are right there, so it may be worth taking a detour so we do not need to retrace our steps later."

Ivy gurgled in response but did not comprehend a single word her brother said, she was busy waving hello to the penguins.
 
"Balugas first, then touch tank. Makes good sense to me," Xander agreed, folding up the map again. "Heh, look, that penguin is hopping in a big circle, and I think the others are wondering what the heck it's doing."

Alec held her for a minute longer before putting her down and pointing down the exit tunnel. "That way, Ivy! Time to go that way! We need to go find Ba. Can you find Ba and tell him what we saw?"
 
Dark chuckled, "I like birds. Daizi and I cannot keep them because of the incense, but their behaviors are interesting."

Ivy would've fussed about being taken away from the penguins, but the tunnel was so interesting to her she happily crawled down the length of it to explore. At the exit, she crawled out and then stood up, looking around curiously. As she did, some young children started running near her and looked like they were heading on a course that would cause them to crash into Ivy.
 
"I could never keep a bird," Xander said seriously. "They are way too free and flighty and it'd just feel wrong to keep it in a cage. Even if it did get to fly around a lot. Milo likes birds, though. Has a couple."

Alec followed after Ivy, barely able to keep up. He half fell out of the tunnel but managed to catch himself and stood up. When he spotted the children, he tried to reach out to pick up Ivy, but she was too far ahead of him.

A younger woman stepped forward and pulled Ivy gently to her leg, using herself as a shield against the running children. "Walking zone, kids! No running!" she scolded firmly but not harshly. "We don't want to scare the animals or knock anyone down, do we?" She looked down at Ivy. "Now, who belongs to you, little sweet thing?"

"Oh! Mine!" Alec said hastily, stepping forward. "I mean, she's my little sister. Thanks for helping!"
 
Dark was about to ask about how Milo was doing when he spotted black hair pop up and caught sight of the children running in that direction. Immediately he began hurrying towards his daughter but if Alec, who was in the tunnel behind her, couldn't reach her in time, he certainly had no chance.

When the stranger pulled her in, Ivy didn't react until she looked up and realized she didn't know this person. Her dark eyes went wide and her chin started to quiver. When Alec identified himself as her brother, she looked over and held her arms up to him, "Ack!"
 
Xander followed Dark a couple of paces behind, watching things unfold. He was ready to help, but he doubted he'd need to.

Alec smiled and bent down to pick her up. "It's alright, Ivy. The nice lady was just keeping you safe. Let's say thank you to the nice lady." He guided Ivy's hand in a brief, tiny wave.

"Oh, you are so welcome. She is so sweet and cute!" the woman smiled, her eyes bright. "Such dark hair! You're so precious! Are you on a day out with your big brother?"

"Actually, our dad's here, too," Alec answered the question, figuring it was meant for him more than Ivy. "Ivy, do you see Ba anywhere?" He'd already spotted Dark but was encouraging Ivy to look for him, too.
 
Once she was in her brother's arms, Ivy relaxed immensely and was able to look at the stranger more curiously. When she tried to look for her father, she didn't see him, so she looked back at the woman and gave her a shy smile before hiding her face against her brother.

Then, Dark came up and gently asked, "Ivy-Qadira, Tifla, what was that?" while gently touching her back. At the sound of his voice, she raised her head and gave him the brightest smile she could and immediately reached out to him. Of course, he took her and the moment she could, her fingers were holding onto his beard. After murming something to her in Arabic and rubbing her back, he looked at the woman, "Thank you."
 
"Your daughter is just the cutest thing," she told him after only a brief pause where she took in his brooding, smoldering, attractive nature.

"There you are, Linda. What's the hold-up?" asked a second woman, coming to join her.

The one called Linda indicated Ivy. "Only the second most adorable baby in the world after mine."

The second woman looked at Ivy - also briefly giving Dark a look-over - and exclaimed, "Oh, my goodness, you are nearly right!"

"Nearly?" her friend demanded.

"Second cutest after my baby. When she was a baby," her friend told her with a mischievous smile. To Dark, she said, "Oh, she's precious. How old?"
 
A twittering of giggles followed Dark's assertion, and a third woman joined the pair, drawn in to see what the fuss was about.

"Oh my goodness, that has got to he the most adorable baby I've ever seen!" At her friends' glares, she hastily adjusted, "After yours, of course!" She smiled and nodded, but when they looked away, appeased, she caught Dark's eye and shook her head.

"She looks so like her daddy!" Cooed the first woman who'd helped Ivy.
 
"I think it is our colouring," Dark said, his expression just as it always was despite the pride he felt at the praise, "I see her mother most when I look at her. Tifla," He murmured to Ivy as he smoothed her hair, "Can you say hello to the nice ladies?"

Due to the security she felt when her Baba was holding her, Ivy raised her head again and waved hello with one hand while still holding Dark's beard with her other one. Then she made a quiet noise and nuzzled against her father.
 
That sent the three ladies in an absolute tizzy, "awing" over Ivy and nearly swooning over how adorable she was. They asked about her favorite foods, if she was a good sleeper, if she had a favored color yet, and all the usual things.

The twins stood back, leaning against the wall and alternating between watching the penguins and Dark as they slowly grew bored. At least the penguins were interesting, but if Dark took much longer, they were going to leave him behind!
 
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