How Green Becomes Wood

"Pick what book you want," She replied warmly, although she knew they were just joking about that part, "but, speaking as someone who has gotten in the habit of taking naps at the same time Ivy does, she has the right idea."
 
"That would be so peaceful," Daizi sighed, "Would you like that, Ivy? Oh, but you'll be in your crib! Maybe when you're older--yes, when you are older!--" She bounced Ivy up, grinning brightly at her, "Then you'll be able to snuggle in bed. Until then, you can just enjoy how relaxed we are!"
Of course she knew this grand nap plan wouldn't involve them all layered in one bed, that was certainly a one-time thing, but to her, it was still a wonderful, special memory. Dark said nothing, choosing instead to avert his gaze, the tiniest little smile on his face.
 
"Well, if we're going to be the spread-out napping house, then Ba has to join, too," Xander stated.

"That's true!" Alec said, waving his fork for emphasis. "He needs a nap, too, and then it'll just be you having a peaceful bubble bath all by yourself."
 
Daizi tipped her head lightly on an angle, and Dark looked very curiously at his baseboards. "That's a good point," She said slowly, "Sleep is when your body does the most healing, it's smart for him to at least try to nap. I'd give you whatever the opposite of coffee is, Goose, if only I knew what it was."

"Melatonin, I think."

"But I can't knock you out for too long," Daizi commented, bumping her shoulder against his.
 
Alec snickered and finished his breakfast first, eating fast so that he could be the first one on his feet to clean up. The way he saw it, he was the least injured one here outside of the person whose special day it was. It only made sense that he should be the one to get up and clean. Xander mumbled a half-hearted protest that was ignored. As everyone finished eating, Alec cleared off the table and started on the dishes, humming happily as he did so. Today was going to be a great day! He wanted desperately to get to lunch when he could give Daizi her first gift, and then dinner so they could give her her second gift, but this wasn't a day to be rushed. This was a day to meander and enjoy. Maybe he'd break out a game they could all play together later.
 
After breakfast, Dark did do his best to help clean up, regardless of how Alec tried to circumvent him, while Daizi took Ivy to the living room for playtime. It wasn't work, definitely, she loved getting to play. There had been a period of time where play had gotten a little bit boring, but the bigger Ivy got, the more there was to do with her. And it was more fun now that more people were around, because when it got a bit dull, she could sit back and enjoy Ivy's laughter when others took over.
 
Xander put in a small amount of effort to help clean, but between Dark and Alec, there actually wasn't much for him to do. So, after a bit, he wandered into the living room. Ivy's playful squeals didn't hurt as much as they did a few days ago, so he was able to take them for longer. He still sat with a decent amount of room between them and secretly bounced a toy for her to watch without Daizi knowing. Doing stuff like that seemed to make Ivy happy, and happy Ivy meant happy Daizi.
 
Ivy was having a wonderful morning playing with her family, and Dark, laying on a pillow to protect his rib, got down to look on Ivy's level and played peek-a-boo with her, entirely astounded that Ivy truly found it such a funny game. He understood the reasons why she did, but it seemed so absurd that him just covering and uncovering her face made her laugh that hard.

When Ivy seemed a bit overstimulated, Daizi helped Dark stand up before scooping Ivy up, "Let's go outside," She said, "I need to check on my berry bushes."
 
"Have fun!" Alec called after them.

Xander wandered upstairs to take a break, but he'd be back down after a bit to see how things were going. Since Alec was on his own, he put on music for Daizi - keeping it turned lower for Xander's sake - and let it play even though she wasn't in the house. Berry bushes could only take so long, after all. She'd have to come back in eventually.
 
Alec paused in surprise. He genuinely hadn't realized he was invited. When Dark clarified, he happily followed them out. "Xander needed a bit of down time, but he'll be back," he reported. "And he couldn't take the light right now. Do you think the berry bushes are doing well?"
 
"I said let's," Daizi replied, handing Ivy off to Dark, who was forbidden from bending down to do gardening work until he was healed, "I had intended everyone who wanted to. I think the berries are fine, the strawberries are probably just ripe enough to pick, so that's what I really need to check on. I spent so much of yesterday weeding, I didn't even check the berries. And I want to check my apple tree, I know it's still probably too young for it to produce fruit, but I'm hoping it will be an early-bloomer."
 
"The blooms of the trees are my favorite of all the flowers," Alec admitted. He smiled at Ivy and gave her a tiny tickle before walking toward the strawberries. "I had an idea about your strawberries, Mama."
 
"I was adamant we wouldn't plant bradford pears, I hear the flowers are beautiful, but I think they smell terrible." Daizi commented, not even getting into the ecological impact of the treats. "What's your idea?"
 
"Are you familiar with small, stone or plastic-made-to-look/feel-like-stone birdbaths?" He took her hand and guided it to the appropriate height. "They stand about this tall and this wide, more or less. Strawberries don't need really deep soil, so what if you plated them in something like that? Then you would have one less thing to bend over for, and the strawberry vines could trail out over the edges. Hanging strawberries would have less chance of rotting in the dirt like the ones that just rest on the soil all the time. Like pumpkins and watermelons!"
 
"I know the birdbaths," Daizi hummed, sitting down on the grass to check on her berries, "I haven't thought about planting my strawberries in them. That sounds gorgeous, especially if we plant it in something with... gargoyles or something else like that decorated on it..." She turned one strawberry in her hand. It was ripe, but she was trying to gauge it purely on touch and smell, "but I'm not sure if I can transfer this bush without killing it."
 
"You could just transplant the runners that are already trying to take off if you're worried about killing the parent plant, and I'm sure we could find a really cool birdbath! Or a simple one that we can paint and transform. Right, Ba?" Alec grinned. He didn't tell her the berry was ripe and wouldn't unless she moved on. She was accustomed to working without sight. She'd tell him if she wanted help.
 
Dark nodded, "If only Lex worked in stone rather than iron."

"That sounds poetic. Alec, habibi, will you grab me a basket? Some of these are definitely ready to be picked, I want to get them now before they rot on the vine."

Ivy squeaked and squirmed, so Dark carefully sat down so he could set her in his lap near to Daizi. Once there, she looked at the bright red plants her mother was looking at, and tried to grab them herself.
 
"Ooo! A stone gargoyle planter would be cool, even if it wouldn't be historically accurate," Alec grinned. He trotted off to fetch the basket, soon bringing it back to Daizi. "Here you go."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top