How Green Becomes Wood

"Non-zero, but I cannot say for sure how high the probability is," Dark replied, "Should I take a picture of the two of you with the kangaroo to send to Peter?"

~~

"No," Cooger chuckled, "He's an aardvark. His whole family are aardvarks."
 
"Yep," Xander said.

"Yes. Absolutely yes," Alec grinned. He grabbed Xander's arm and pulled him over to what looked like the best spot for the picture. He posed in his usual cheery self. Xander posed in his usual stoic self. They stood back to back with a kangaroo in the background.

~~

Lex looked at him blankly, having no idea what an aardvark was. It sounded like a made-up word to her. She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're making that up."
 
Dark crouched down slightly so the angle of the photograph wasn't wholly unflattering to his smaller sons, and then angled to make sure the kangaroo was fully visible. After he took it, he walked closer to the twins to make sure they liked it.

~~

"I'm not," Cooger replied, fighting for his life not to laugh, "He's an aardvark, I'm telling you."
 
"Looks good," Xander said after giving it a close look.

"Hey, the kangaroo's even looking over. That's great luck," Alec noticed. "That's a good picture."

~~

Lex pushed herself up so she could face Cooger more directly. "Then what the hell's an aardvark?" she demanded, her tone caught between annoyance and bewilderment.
 
"Who said it must be luck?" Dark said, daring to be glib for a change as he sent the photograph to both of them. "Come, we must show Ivy her beloved aquatics."

~~

"It's not a bear!" Cooger replied, unable to fight back a grin, "I don't know, it's a mammal of some kind, but it sure as shit ain't a bear!"
 
The twins snickered, and Alec guided Ivy to be with her father so he could push the stroller. Xander hopped along behind, and when they got to the aquatics section, he took advantage of a bench to take a break. Alec sat with him for a moment and used the time to send the picture to Peter.

~~

Lex crossed her arms. "Jasper Caleb Cooger, are you laughing at me because I don't know what some exotic animal is?" she accused. "And 'some kind of mammal that's not a bear' ain't exactly the best of helpful descriptions!"
 
Last edited:
Having to slow down to a speed their nineteen-month-old could keep up with was a bit agonizing, but Ivy looked so proud to be hurrying along with her family. There was another big, internal building where the penguins and some select fish were kept, as well as (oddly) vampire bats, but from the outside they could see sea lions both above and below the water by going down a ramp. Inside a second building in the aquatic area was an entirely separate, large indoor exhibit purely for the dolphins.

When they approached, one sea lion was sitting on a rock honking while the other two were swimming back and forth. This made Ivy's eyes widen and stamp her feet in excitement, "Yalla!" She chirped, squeezing tightly to her mother's hand.

~~

"I'm not laughing," Cooger defended himself, "But I don't know what to tell you! They ain't a bear, they ain't a cat, or a marsupial I'm pretty sure, but I don't know what they are!"
 
Alec was absolutely fascinated by the penguins and was possibly more reluctant than Ivy to leave. Both twins glued themselves to the bat exhibit and watched with wide-eyed fascination every tiny bit of movement they could see in the nocturnal creatures.

When they go to the sea lions, Alec grinned at Ivy. "She's definitely her father's daughter!"

~~

Lex snorted and relaxed back onto the couch. "I'm going to have to go to the library now and figure out what the hell an 'Aardvark' is, then."
 
"They spend a lot of time together," Daizi said, absolutely besotted by Ivy mimicking her father.

"Just wait until she gets to see them below the water," Dark said, lifting Ivy up so she could have a better view of them above the water, which made her shriek in even more delight, "And for the record, she gets squealing in delight from you."

~~

"Is it the 80s?" Cooger teased, handing her his phone, "You don't need to wait until you can make it to a library."
 
"Absolutely," Xander agreed. He and Alec stood up and moved to try to get a better view of the sea lions. "I wonder if they are soft?"

Alec stood on his tiptoes. "I bet they feel like silk! I hope they have a touch pool here."

~~~

Lex made a face at him as she took his phone. "This might be faster, but it's not as tactile!" She looked up aardvarks and stared. "What the hell is that?" she demanded, trying not to laugh. "That doesn't look anything like Arthur!"
 
"I think they are soft," Dark replied, holding Ivy steady while she squirmed and clapped her hands in sheer delight, "I know they have fingernails."

"They might have a replica of how they'd feel," Daizi suggested, keeping one hand on her husband's elbow since the crowd was thicker here.

~~

"It's an aardvark! And I don't know why Arthur doesn't look like one, but he is one anyway! Maybe he's deformed or something, and that's not cool to make fun of!" Cooger teased.
 
"Really? They have fingernails? Why?" Alec asked. "Do they need it for... digging or something?"

~~~

Lex handed Cooger back his phone and then poked him in the side. "Fine, I won't make fun of the poor 'aardvark.' He's a beautiful specimen."
 
"That's weird," Alec said.

Xander nodded to Ivy. "Nice job, Mini. Careful not to insult the lion of the sea."

Alec snorted. "How could she do that?"

"Do you know what those honks mean? Because I don't," Xander pointed out.
 
"I think they are that way," Alec said, pointing.

For once, he was right. The path led down to a massive underwater window that was not yet super crowded, so it was easy enough to get in and let Ivy see the window. Ivy and both the twins. Xander couldn't hide his own wonder at the sight of the podgy sea lions gliding through the water as gracefully as anything.
 
Down in the shelter beneath the glass, there was a zoo employee with a temporary tactile display, so Daizi went to interact with it and ask the employee questions. In the meanwhile, Ivy stood against the glass, wide eyed and thrilled so see the sea lions swim past her like that. They were so fast!

Dark stood back, watching his three children watching the sea lions. Guessing they'd be there for a while, he leaned against the wall, took out his sketchbook, and angled himself so he could draw the wonderment on both Ivy and Xander's faces. It was really nice to be a father.
 
"They are like really funny rocks," Alec grinned. "Rocks with adorable faces."

"Rocks?" Xander repeated, confused.

Alec nodded. "Like those rocks that are polished by the waves," he explained. "Except these one... ripple. Yeah, they're not really like rocks."

Xander snorted. "No, but they're cool as rocks in a waterfall."
 
"You should come feel this, Alec," Daizi said, "You had been curious if they were soft."

"Are you here with your family?" The employee asked casually.

"Yeah, it's our daughter's first zoo trip actually," Daizi answered.

"Is that the little girl pressed about as far against the glass as she can?" The employee chuckled.
 
"Yep, that's her!" Alec said brightly as he bounced over. "She loves watching them swim! She already liked all things water, so now I bet she's going to love it even more! Is there something to pet, Mama?"

Xander followed more slowly, being careful of his footing as he hopped over to see what was there to interact with.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top