How Green Becomes Wood

Xander frowned. "A flower and a tree share the same name? That's not confusing at all. What if some old book says something about making something from hemlock? How are you supposed to know which was used?"
 
"Context, I suppose," Daizi suggested, "If the recipe describes wood, you know to use the tree, if it's a recipe to kill someone, you use the plant. Also, I believe Poison Hemlock is from Afroeurasia, but the trees are from North America."
 
As they went to the picnic spot, Dark pointed out some of the more interesting trees and what their wood was used for. Daizi tipped her head back to listen feel the sun on her face and just enjoyed listening to her husband talk about his adorably nerdy hobby.

Once they made it to the picnic spot, she took the blanket from the stroller to spread it on the grass, but Dark absolutely refused to not be allowed to help. Watching her two parents lay the blanket out, Ivy made a cute little noise and grabbed the edge of the blanket so she could help too, but didn't really do much one way or another.
 
There were only so many people who could spread out a blanket, so Alec and Xander stayed back until the blanket was down. Xander then helped to weigh down the corners, and Alec set out the food, remarking excitedly over the fine spread they had. Delightful! Picnics were grand fun. As long as the weather cooperated and there were minimal bugs.
 
The food Daizi and Xander had prepared together was lovely, and since Ivy didn't have a high chair or any specific place to sit, she kept walking up and around them in between getting bites of food. She never wandered too far, and would sometimes present half-eaten morsels of food to her brothers and parents to try to share it with them. Or, she'd happily lean against one of them and babble their ear off, although when she attempted to do this with food in her mouth, her parents did attempt to redirect her.

"Do you know," Daizi said, while Ivy climbed over her, "I once told Sally I hoped Ivy would be a very loud, active baby because I wanted her---don't pull Mama's hair, habibti---to be very much alive?"

"She is that," Dark said, his eyes gentle.
 
"You certainly got your wish," Alec said with a grin, delicately setting aside a pice of bitten fruit Ivy had handed him.

Xander was trying very hard not to appear as grossed out as he was. "I'll say this: she entertains me."
 
"And thus began your journey as a father... after you'd already been a dad of teens. Kind of backward," Alec grinned. "But she was so very tiny and cute!"

"Fragile," Xander agreed. "Very fragile."
 
"I had been on that journey for long before she was born," Dark said, holding his hand out to Ivy and pulling her close when she huried to take it.

"She was fragile," Daizi agreed, a bit of sorrow still creeping in when she thought back to then. "She still is, really. But not like she was."
 
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