How Green Becomes Wood

Ivy might've fussed or made an attempt at stubbornness when she was told to let go, but Daizi just knelt down and held her arms out. This was more than enough to get Ivy to release her brother and instead to run into her mother's arms.

"You're such a good girl," Daizi praised, kissing the top of her toddler's head.

With the small human out of the way, Enkidu allowed himself to take up as much space as he wanted.
 
Xander gave all of his attention to the dog for a bit, afraid that if he didn't, Enkidu might actually shake himself to pieces. Once that was taken care of, he straightened and stepped toward Alec.

"Oh, my turn, now? I see where I rank," Alec teased. That didn't stop him from closing the gap and wrapping his brother in a tight hug. "Missed you," he whispered.

"Missed you, too," Xander whispered back huskily. And he had. Deeply, but not as distractingly as he'd feared. It had made him feel restless sometimes, and he wanted to be able to share stuff with Alec, but he hadn't missed his brother as painfully as he might have a year or so ago. Judging from the fact that Alec had been able to wait his turn for a greeting, it seemed the feeling was mutual. They were growing up, and it was a weird feeling.

After a good, long hug with his brother, Xander turned to say hello to his parents.
 
Dark and Daizi both knew where they ranked and were wholly unsurprised they needed to wait. Luckily, they both knew how to be patient, and it was nice to see their sons reunite. Although they never mentioned it to either twin, they had been a bit worried about how they'd do while separated overnight. Presumably, it was the first time it had happened and it was a relief to note how they were no longer so codependent they struggled to cope with being apart.

When it was finally their turn, neither made an attempt to touch him. Instead, Daizi happily welcomed him home and asked about the trip while Dark, in his muted way, expressed his relief his son had returned home safely.
 
Xander gently plucked at both their sleeves, the most he could manage for the moment, but it was important to him that he let Daizi know he missed her and was happy to see her again. He gave them the broad outline of how things were and then excused himself to put things away and shower. He hadn't used the hotel shower, and he was very happy to have his own bathroom back. He hadn't used to be so bathroom picky, but it turned out, when you had your own, clean, private space, it was hard to go back.

After a shower, he returned downstairs, feeling a bit more alive, and sat down to tell his parents and brother about what happened. He absently pulled Alec over into a half-hug while facing his parents. Then, very gravely, he told them, "Mama, Ba, I want to do HEMA. For real."
 
"Yes. Sword fighting and things," Xander confirmed. "It's got a ton of exercise, focus, discipline, sportsmanship, community, and the ability to practice on your own as well as with other people."

"Wow, that sounds really cool," Alec said in surprise.
 
"It's a small club, but they do have something," Xander confirmed. "They mostly offer sword, basic polearm, and grappling."

"Grappling? Like Judo?" Alec asked.

Xander shrugged. "Kind of like that. It's for disarming and stuff. Sounds like it's one of those, 'good to know, not required,' things."

Alec grinned. "You can be a swashbuckling rogue!"

Xander snorted. "I was thinking the Zweihänder or Montante. Really big two-handed sword," he explained to Alec's blank look.
 
"You learned about it all quickly," Daizi remarked, impressed.

"Those are really interesting ones," Dark agreed, "I have always admired the Parierhaken, it looks intimidating and has utility, it is perfect."
 
"It's just a bunch of nerds in their element doing something they're passionate about. Ask one question, and pretty soon, you've got an entire history on why or why not to use the term 'scimitar,'" Xander said.

"Sounds like you with horses," Alec muttered with a smirk as Kiki came to curl up in his lap.

Xander ignored him. "There was one person using a Montante, but it was just for show, not sparring. It looked cool. I'd have to get into a smaller sword to actually spar. I don't know what a parierhaken is. Is it just another name for a great sword?"
 
"They the part of the Zweihänder which protrude off of the blade," Dark explained, apparently knowing more than just a couple things about swords, "They are the... parry-catchers," He gestured with one hand to demonstrate, "So you can catch your opponent's blade and redirect it."
 
"Oh, that thing. Or those things, I guess," Xander said. "Yeah, they are cool. Good for hand protection, too."

Alec nudged him. "Okay, so you want to get into a really super cool sport."

"An expensive sport, especially the padding," Xander admitted.

"Aren't most sports?" Alec chuckled. "Anyway, what else happened?"

Xander proceeded to tell them about what had happened. There wasn't much he could say about the drive other than it was uneventful, and talking about the HEMA event was rather repetitive since he didn't know much about it yet other than, "Swords swung, this person won," but he was able to talk about things like how a short, very athletic man overcame the reach advantage of his opponent by basically diving under the sword in a ridiculous, martial manner that looked very cool. He talked a little bit about Milo doing his photography, some about what they saw in town during breaks, and then about who won the tournament as well as Milo's good news and their celebration lunch near the historical park. When he finished, he sat back, exhausted even with just hitting the highlights.
 
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