How Green Becomes Wood

"I agree with that," Daizi said, "The people who bred Enkidu were, I believe. We followed the case for awhile."

"I will go get him," Dark said, setting Ivy down on the couch before standing to go let Enkidu downstairs.
 
"Enkidu is a very good dog, very loyal, but he still gets overexcited with new people," Alec told Emma.

"Oh, that can be a problem sometimes," Emma agreed, nodding. "Does he get out for doggie playdates?"

"No, but I don't think he really likes other dogs," Alec confided.

"Unusual, but it happens sometimes. Dogs are like people. All sorts," Emma said. She looked down at Ivy and smiled. "Hello, Ivy-ka-dar. You are very cute. Can you walk yet?"
 
"He will interact with other dogs when we walk, but he is primarily interested in taking care of his own space." Dark explained, "We dog sat once, and he went around collecting all of his toys onto his own dog bed. He is not reactive, simply disinterested. When we do take him to a dog park he seldomly initiates play." Then he went upstairs to let Enkidu out of the bedroom.

"Qadira," Daizi patiently corrected, shifting Ivy to look at Emma, "Ivy, habibti, can you tell nice Emma you just started walking?" Ivy looked at the stranger with her big, dark eyes and smiled a bit, but didn't quite know what she made of her.
 
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"Oh, that's wonderful, Ivy-Qadira!" Emma told her, pronouncing the name with great care. "That is really cool. You must have run of the house, don't you? You're so cute. Do your brothers answer your beck and call?"
 
Ivy watched her cautiously and then turned back to Daizi for reassurance. Hearing those jingles and feeling the way Ivy grabbed at her, Daizi gently reassured Ivy she was okay and then said, grinning, "Ivy, baby, can you tell her yes, of course they do?"
 
"They do," Alec confirmed with a giggle, "and sometimes she comes to fetch us!" He told Emma an abbreviated version of what he'd done with Ivy to fetch Xander, and she laughed.

"That's great," she said, glancing at Xander. "You're a good brother!"
 
"They both are," Daizi smiled, rubbing Ivy's back.

Dark came downstairs with Enkidu right at his side, looking up at Dark as he walked until he caught sight of the rest of his family, at which point he happily scampered over, tail wagging. He stopped short seeing Emma and went over to sniff her.
 
"Hello, Enkidu," Emma greeted him but did not reach out to him. She looked at Dark. "He is a beautiful dog. So big, too!"

"He's a great dog," Alec repeated.

"A very good boy," Xander agreed, reaching out to Enkidu and giving him a brief pat.
 
"He was smaller than average as a puppy, he grew much larger than our vet expected," Dark said proudly, scratching Enkidu behind his ears before sitting back down. Ivy quickly crawled over both of their laps to reach her puppy dog. "You may pet him if you would like."
 
"Thank you!" Emma turned to Enkidu and held out her hand, letting him come to her. "Here, Enkidu. May I pet you? You are a very good guard dog, and you seem patient with a baby. Good boy!"
 
Enkidu sniffed her cautiously but soon enough accepted her offer of pets.

"He is amazingly patient with her," Daizi said while Dark helped Ivy to gently pet the dog, "but he's clever enough to recognize how little she is, and how frail she was when we brought her home. It also helps, I'm sure, he grew up with someone like me around."
 
"Animals are amazingly smart when it comes to knowing the difference with children and people with different needs. I love them about them," Emma said, happily petting Enkidu. "They are so empathetic, and they communicate so well."

"That's not what people usually say about animals. Normally, they are complaining about how they can't talk to their animals," Xander remarked.

Emma shrugged. "Animals talk. They just don't talk like people, but they try to meet us halfway. The least we can do is the same."
 
Ivy may have been unsure about how she felt about Emma, but Enkidu had no such revelations and already had his big head resting in her lap, his eyes half-closed as he relished in the attention.

"Animals absolutely communicate," Daizi nodded, "although I do still wish we could speak the same language and have conversations the way we can with humans, but that's just my selfish desires to know what he's barking at in the middle of the night."
 
Emma giggled softly. "True, very true. It would be really nice not to have that language barrier when it comes to that!" She paused in her scratchings and checked her watch. "Oh, my mom should be here soon to pick me up. I should probably go outside to wait for her." She didn't move immediately, choosing instead to give Enkidu a bit more attention, seeking out his favorite spots. "It has been really nice to be able to come and meet you face to face, Mr. and Mrs., I mean, Mr. Dark and Mrs. Wahid. It's like putting faces to legends."
 
"You're too kind," Daizi said warmly, "It was great to finally meet you, after everything we've heard!"

"Would you like to take any of the food home with you?" Dark asked, standing so he could get a container in case she said yes.
 
"Oh, no, I couldn't." She patted Enkidu once more and then stood.

Alec stood with her. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Thank you, though, it was really good."

"I'll walk you out," Alec offered.
 
"It is really no bother," Dark assured her, but did not push the issue any further. Instead, he extended a hand to Daizi so the two of them could walk Emma to the door, "I am glad to have gotten to meet you officially, in this capacity."

"Tell your parents I said hello," Daizi told her genially.
 
"I will. It was a pleasure and an honor to meet you both," she said, offering her hand to them both. "And you, too, Ivy. Xander. See you at school."

"Emma," Xander said, hanging back. "See ya."

Alec walked out with Emma, hand in hand. After a moment of hesitation on the sidewalk, Emma crossed the street to stand in front of Sloan's house, and Alec asked, "Is it really that bad?"

"My mother would go ballistic if she saw something so Satanic in the front yard, you know that," Emma said dryly.

"Okay, but it's not necessarily," Alec started to defend.

Emma shook her head. "Never mind. What your parents choose to believe is their business, and it's not like we'd have to deal with it until after we were married, anyway. You're not Satanic, and that's what counts."

"I don't like the term Satanic," Alec said, managing to sound a bit firmer.

Emma blinked at him, her expression unreadable. "What would you prefer? Pagan?" she finally asked.

Alec flushed. "I'd rather not talk about it at all. I don't believe any of it, but that doesn't mean it's not important. It's important to Mama, so it's important to me insofar as not being offensive about it."

"I'm not being offensive, I'm calling it by the name I am accustomed to it being called," Emma huffed. Then she waved a hand. "Whatever. I suppose you might have a point. As long as you aren't Satanic and making deals with devils and demons, I do not mind. Anyway. Your mother is incredibly nice and not what I was expecting. It is a lot, though. I can see where you get your flair from."

"My flair?" Alec asked, looking down at his colors and then at the dark house.

"Yeah. You have bright flare, they have Gothic flare, but it's all flair, and you carry it well."

"Thank you," Alec said slowly.

"It's a lot better since you toned it down to a more mature style of flare," Emma added. "People can take you seriously now when you get a job."

Alec looked at her for a long moment. "What kind of job should I get?"

Emma shrugged. "Whatever you think is best. It'd be good if you stuck to something that you can study in the same college as me, though, so we can stay close. I don't think we'd do well as a long-distance couple."

"You have a good point," Alec agreed. "Emma? Do you like my family?"

She looked at him, surprised. "Of course! Your dad is intense and kind of intimidating, but in a good way, I think. Your mother is fabulous, really fabulous, and so inspiring! With what she's had to overcome and all of that. Your baby sister is so cute. Xander is, well, Xander. I don't care at all for the decor and what I think are their beliefs based off the decor, but it takes all sorts. Not to mention, you're you, not them, so that's fine, and I don't have to have my house like that. Or apartment, I suppose."

"That's good, I suppose," Alec said uncertainly. "You really don't like Xander?"

"Does anyone?" she asked, puzzled.

Then her mother's car came into veiw, and Emma turned to give Alec a quick, light kiss. Alec returned the affection, still blushing at the public display, and waved as Emma got into the car. He watched them leave and then walked back to his own house and let himself in.
 
Daizi waved as the door was shut and then she and Dark stood still besides each other. This required a full debriefing. Before bed. With wine. For now.

"She's... nice," Daizi said.

"Sure," Dark said.
 
Alec hesitated, one shoe off, the other shoe on. "Do you like her?" he asked cautiously. Whatever Emma's faults, he still liked her, and it was important to him that his parents like her, too. He honestly had no idea what he'd do if they didn't like her. Lots of dramatic possibilities crossed his mind, but he didn't really want to follow through with any of them. "She said Mama was fabulous," he added, hoping to earn her some points on that front.
 
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