How Green Becomes Wood

Ivy sat on the porch, more bundled up than the rest of her family since it was only in the low 50s and she was still quite small, curiously petting Hank. He was a very different cat than the one she was used to, and the gravelly way he purred surprised her. The rest of Kiki's sisters had all been adopted out, except for Poppy, who was still much smaller than her sisters, and who sat in the windowsill, clicking at the birds.

Walking over to Lex and eyeing the box warily, Cooger said, "What've you got here? Hopefully not another three months of work for me."
 
Lex snorted. "I do know how to give housewarming gifts, you know. Oh, wait, hang on. I forgot." She reached into her pocket, pulled out a crumpled, red stick-on bow likely from Christmas, and slapped it onto the box. "There we go! Happy land purchasing!"

Inside the box was a selection of some of the finest steaks she could find, ready for the grill whenever he wanted.
 
Raising his eyebrows, he said, "Now this... This is work I am glad to take on. Damn." He smiled up at her, "Thank you. I'm... Well, hell, I'm probably gonna eat all these. But today, we're doing burgers, and we've got all sorts of sides set out already. Can I get you something to drink? I got that one soda you like, the one that is always out of stock when you want it."
 
Lex leaned up and kissed his cheek. "You done good, Jasper," she murmured to him. "Real good." She smiled, her eyes twinkling with pride. She wasn't talking about the soda. She drew away and started walking toward the others. "A soda would be fantastic! Thanks for finding my brand."

"It's real cool that you got the land, Mr. Cooger," Toby grinned, offering a fist bump.
 
"It's no problem," Cooger replied, heading towards the house, "I know a guy, he keeps an eye out for me." Then, returning Toby's fist bump he said, "It was a real battle, I swear. But we got it now, and I'm excited to really explore it."
 
"You haven't looked around it yet?" Toby asked. "Cool. You're going to make, like, trails and stuff around, yeah? How smooth are they going to be?"

Alec came out to join Xander, out of earshot of Cooger and the others. "How are you and Enkidu doing?"

"Good," Xander said. "Hey, did you hear Cooger saying he hasn't explored the new land yet?"

"Really? Wow, cool! It's like sight-unseen, then!" Alec grinned.

Xander nudged him. "What do you say you and me go check it out a little before we eat? Just a little lookie-loo. Enkidu could use the exercise, and I want to know if it's any different from what he's already got."

"Sure. We can blaze a trail," Alec agreed, grinning. "As long as we don't go too far."

"Too far from a burger? Heck no!" Xander assured him stoutly.
 
"I've been through parts, but it's too dense to know all of just yet. And the trails will still be pretty rough, I really just follow deer trails and clear the brush up just a bit. They'll be bikeable, but that's all." Cooger told Toby, guessing he was hoping he'd be able to skateboard down them, and then went inside to put the stakes away and bring his lady a drink.

Meanwhile, Dark was sitting on the porch next to Ivy, watching Daizi as she tried to meander to the dock. Occasionally he called out a direction to her, but every time she yelled back that she could find it on her own.
 
"Bike? Sweet!" Toby said, brightening. It wasn't skateboarding, but it was a good second best. He hoped Cooger would let him give it a go when the trails were ready.

Lex sat down next to Ivy, opposite Dark, giving her plenty of room. "And how's the little one doing, eh? What's Xander call you, Mini, right? How are you, Mini?"

The twins wandered off, not actually trying to sneak, but slipping off on their own with Enkidu in tow.
 
Recognizing Lex, Ivy smiled and waved hello, before going back to petting a perpetually unbothered Hank.

"She is doing well," Dark replied, not noticing the twins walking off with Enkidu since he was speaking with Lex, "I am certain she is delighted to be outside in warmer weather again."
 
"It is easier to breathe outside now that it's warmer, isn't it?" Lex asked, taking a couple of deep breaths. "Soon, she'll be running all over the place, won't she?"

Toby followed Daizi to the pond, curious about the water feature. He let her know he was around so he wouldn't startle her, but he was more interested in walking around the pond than sticking near an adult.
 
"I am surprised she is not already," Dark said, "I think all of the cats have her distracted. Otherwise she would be running around after her mother." Raising his eyes, he called out to Daizi again, "If you fall into the lake, I am not jumping in after you."

"I'm a better swimmer than you anyway!" Daizi called back.
 
"The amount of warm clothing you have on her is probably slowing her down, too," Lex pointed out, amused. "Probably needed for someone as little as her, but if you added another layer and a couple of scarves, she brings to mind a kid from an old Christmas movie who falls over and can't get back up."

The twins walked with Enkidu until they reached the edge of what they remembered Cooger's original property being. They went farther in, looking around and admiring the trees.

"We really should come out here more often. It's really cool," Xander remarked.

Alec took a deep breath and let it out. "It makes me want to start a homestead!"

Xander snorted at that. "With cats and chickens?"

"And maybe a horse or two," Alec pointed out cheerfully.

"Okay, I'm listening."
 
Lex chuckled, amused. It almost like Dark was defending their dress choices for Ivy. She certainly was not intending to make it sound as though she thought it was a bad choice. The comparison amused her, that was all. "I'm sure she's very happy not to be stuck inside. She looks quite happy to be out here petting cats and watching her Mama not swim." She reached over and offered her hand to one of the cats passing nearby.

~~

"Where are we?" Alec frowned, turning around.

"In the trees," Xander said with more confidence then the felt. "Somewhere."

"Helpful. Very helpful," Alec said dryly.

Xander snickered but then tried to take it seriously. "We haven't been walking that long. We can't be too far out."

Alec stood still, listening. "I don't hear anyone. Shouldn't we be able to hear the others?"

"Maybe the trees are dampening the sound," Xander suggested. He pointed. "I think it's that way."

They started walking in what they hpped was the right direction. After five minutes, nothing seemed to have changed. They tried a little farther before stopping.

"Nope, we are completely lost," Alec sighed. "Not even a street to follow or a sign. I'm already missing the city."

Xander looked down at Enkidu. "Hey. Where are we? Can you lead us back? Let's go back."
 
"I do not know what she is up to," Dark said, looking back at his wife, "but she is certainly dedicated to it."

With a little grunt, Ivy stood up on Dark's lap and pulled at him, "Baba!"

"Yes, Hummingbird?" He asked, looking down at her, and when she continued to tug at him he asked, "Do you want to go walk?"

Stepping out onto the porch, Cooger handed Lex the bottle of soda and said, "You should show her the chickens."

~~

Enkidu looked up when he heard his name, and then went back to furiously sniffing the dirt.
 
"Thanks, babe. Yeah, she'd love the chickens," Lex said as she accepted the drink. "Has she seen a chicken before?"

~~

The twins watched Enkidu for a moment. Then they looked at each other.

"Worth a shot," Xander shrugged.

"Now that we've tried that shot, what now? If we keep walking, we're just as likely to be walking away from the cabin as we are to be going toward it," Alec pointed out.

Xander turned slowly in place. "Well, the new plot was, um, I think it was West of the cabin."

"No, East. I remember seeing it on the map, and it was on the east side," Alec said.

"Are you sure the map was facing north-south, and not turned in any direction?" Xander asked uncertainly.

Alec nodded firmly. "It had one of those little pointy things in the corner and everything."

"Alright, so if the new land is to the east, then we need to go west." Xander looked up at the sun to guage it's position. "That way."

"We could always try standing still and waiting for someone to come looking," Alec suggested.

"We could, but we really didn't go that far, and I don't want to be the idiot that got lost three feet from the house," Xander replied.

"We kind of are the idiots that got lost three feet from the house," Alec pointed out dryly.

"Fair, but I'm hoping to get back before we panic anyone," Xander sighed.

"And if we're farther lost, then hopefully it'll be worth the panic a little more?" Alec asked.

Xander stopped walking long enough to glare at him. "Go trip over a log."

"Already have!"

As it happened, the map had not been arranged north-south, and they were going the wrong way. But very, very slowly.
 
"I think so," Cooger replied, leaning against the railing, "I mean, the girl's been here before."

Setting Ivy on her feet and standing up, Dark said, "A better question is if she remembers she has seen a chicken before. Yalla, Ivy," with his hand down at his side, he gestured for Ivy to follow and walked very, very slowly towards the chicken coop so Ivy could hurriedly toddle after him.

~~

Enkidu happily continued sniffing along the paths, getting a few brambles in his fur and enjoying his adventure!
 
Lex watched them go, the giant and his wee toddler following behind. "I gotta admit, that is almost sickeningly adorable," she said with genuine fondness. She opened her soda and took a drink. "What is Daizi up to down there? Toby looks like he's trying to catch a turtle."
 
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