How Green Becomes Wood

"I was unsure if you meant it would be enlightening for her, or enlightening for us," Dark replied, "but I suppose it would be in both directions."

Daizi shrugged easily, "You were once an impossible dream of mine."
 
Alec laughed. "Definitely both ways!" He smiled wistfully. "Seriously, though, I want a house with some color other than white or grey. Maybe blue, or a soft yellow, or maybe some kind of green. Something that will set it apart and make it look friendly and welcoming, but not overbearing. And I really do like the idea of a white picket fence in the front yard."

Xander raised his eyebrows. "You dreamed of randomly adopting a teenage delinquent and then reforming him?"
 
"I think it will be lovely, ultimately," Dark replied, "and very confusing for your children, if you have any, to go from yours to mine."

Daizi chuckled, amused by his characteristic obstinacy, "No, maybe not, but I dreamed of being a mother. It did not happen how I expected it would, yet here we are, on my third mother's day."
 
"I think it'll be wonderful because then they get to see how not everyone needs to express themselves in the same way. And if any of my kids are goth or emo, even temporarily, they can go to you for advice and maybe borrow some old clothes," Alec smirked.

Xander considered that and nodded. "A fair point, I guess. I just... don't really have anything like that. I guess... I could hope for a horse?" He shrugged.
 
Dark chuckled, "What sort of clothes of mine would they be able to borrow?"

"You could hope for a horse," Daizi promised him, "It's just a dream, but there are plenty of people, of my sort of thinking, who say the act of saying a dream helps to manifest it for you."
 
"The accessories! Or maybe a shirt to wear as a dress," Alec said cheerfully.

Xander shrugged again. "Maybe I just don't know how to dream. I don't even know where I'd begin. Saying I want a horse feels the same to me as saying I'd like to be able to fly by flapping my arms."
 
"Maybe," Dark replied, "But I struggle to imagine someone being so excited to wear their grandfather's clothing."

"I guess it's a skill like any other," Daizi replied gently, "It's enough to just say you'd like to own a horse one day. The biggest hinderance is cost, right?"
 
"Depends on the kid. Some would find it cool and retro," Alec told him.

Xander thought about it. "Cost and availability of space to keep it. Money solves a lot of problems, but it can't make land appear. I don't think."
 
"Retro comes for everyone, dear father," Alec said sagely. "Especially by the time you are a grandfather."

"Yes, but I mean if it is available to buy. If it's not available, you can't buy it, no matter how much money you have," Xander said. He paused and frowned. "Well, maybe if you had enough money you could buy it."
 
"Depending on when you have kids, if you have them, I will hardly be the age most grandfathers are," Dark retorted.

"That's true, but there is always somewhere," Daizi told him, "Is there anything like a marina but for horses, where you would pay rent on someone else's land?"
 
Alec placed a hand on Dark's shoulder. "I hate to tell you this, Ba, to a kid... all parents are old, and grandparents are ancient. No matter the age. Therefore, you will be retro."

Xander had to puzzle over the "marina for horses" bit, but once he understood what she was asking, he nodded. "Yeah, there are stables, or some private owners will rent out their land to other people if they don't need it. So, yeah, land's possible. With money."
 
"Yes but that does not mean I like to think about it anymore than you like to think about how old Ivy will find you," Dark told him.

"With money," Daizi agreed, "But you're crafty, and already have some sense about that. When you aren't in high school, and you have more time to work, you will earn more than you think. If you were not so admirable and did not value making your own way as much as you do, I would remind you my family is not exactly hurting financially."
 
"Ivy will never find me old because I will always appear as a fairy godfather to her," Alec said with a mischievous smile.

"Yeah, your family isn't hurting, but what happens if..." Xander stopped, not wanting to say what he had thought. "If I try to make my own way and fail, then at least I'll know exactly what went wrong. But if I work enough to afford a horse and everything that comes with it, then I doubt I'll have enough time for a horse. Time-sharing a horse is as good as it gets, and I'm fine with that reality."
 
"And how do you intend to be her fairy godfather?" Dark asked curiously.

"I don't know much about horses, or their costs," Daizi admitted. Then, leaning over to tug on his sleeve, she told him, "But I'll dream it for you, if you don't want to risk being the one to carry the burden of it.
 
"I'll be the one to let her do all the messy stuff and give her the sweet treats," Alec told him.

Xander hesitated a moment. Then he smiled a bit and gave her sleeve a return tug. "Thanks. That would mean a lot to me."
 
"Cooger lets her do messy stuff, when he watches her," Dark said, "and I am certain he supplies her with sweets when he thinks I will not notice."

"I will." She promised, and there was no need to claim she meant it. In all her life, Daizi had only ever made one promise she had not meant, and even then she tried to make herself stay true to it. But this was an easy promise to keep, because she had been doing it already. Of course Xander wanted a horse of his own, it would've been more surprising if he had said he didn't want one. Yet, even if she had been somehow unaware of that desire, some of her biggest deeams were that her children would realize theirs. Still, once it had been named, it was easier to work towards.
 
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