How Green Becomes Wood

"Oh." Xander walked in and found a place that looked safe to sit. "Okay." He felt awkward, but this looked like a game he could play. Maybe. If he didn't overthink it too much. "What do you have left to find, Mini?"
 
Ivy babbled and went back about turning things over, rooting through the floor with the same curiosity as a dog looking for hidden treats.

"She has two alphabet blocks left," Dark said, watching Ivy with an ease that made it very clear that this was what he spent most of his days doing now.
 
"I think she just likes to play," Dark replied, stopping to cheer as Ivy found another block and crawled over to show it off to him, "I am sure it has something to do with recognizing object permanence and figuring out how things look when they are covered. I am working on teaching her how to play hide-and-seek."
 
"I think Christmas will be quite fun." Dark said, sitting back on the couch.

Ivy continued crawling around, flipping things over. She had no idea where this last block was, but she was absolutely determined to find it all on her own.
 
"No, you are not," Dark promised.

Finally, Ivy flipped over the last pillow to find the block and squealed in delight, holding it close to her face before hurriedly crawling over to Dark to show him the block. She handed it to him, then he handed it back to her. Then she handed it to him. And he handed it back. This went on for several turns. Then Dark said, "Can you show Xander the block?" at which point she crawled over to Xander and handed it to him.
 
Xander held out his hand and accepted the block. "Thanks, Mini." He tossed the block back and forth in his hands dramatically a couple of times before offering it back to her. "There you go!"
 
Ivy giggled, taking the block back. She made an attempt to copy Xander but instead of throwing it, she just dropped it with force, narrowly missing her own toes.

"Does Ivy-Qadira want to hide the blocks this time?" Dark asked, getting off the couch and going over to Xander and Ivy. When she just looked at him, he hid one of the blocks beneath a corner of the blanket verrrry slowly, and then handed her a block, at which point she copied him and hid one underneath a pillow.
 
"Um... oh no! Where did it go? I have no idea where it went?" Xander asked, looking at Dark uncertainly as he tried to copy the higher, coddling voice he'd heard others use.
 
Ivy started collecting more blocks and hiding them under things, sometimes sticking it beneath a blanket, lifting it up again, and putting the blanket back down.

"I guess we have to look for them," Dark told Xander, confirming he was doing the right thing.
 
Xander hesitated and then got down on his hands and knees. "Alright, where could it be?" he asked, looking around. He picked up the blanket near where a block was but took care not to reveal the block. "Hmm. Where is it?"
 
Pleased Xander was playing along, Dark also lifted up corners of things, "Ivy-Qadira, you are so good at hiding your toys! I cannot find them!"

Ivy just sat and grinned, absolutely delighted.
 
Xander wandered around for a bit longer before making a grand show of finding a toy. He patted the blanket and all around the toy, examining the shape. Then he pulled back the blanket and picked up the toy. "Found one!"
 
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