Backyard/Vegetable Garden

Dark sighed, seeing he had managed to say something incorrect, again, and when Olivia expressed it did not need to be perfect, he put on his 'I am talking to a child' smile and said, "I am very glad to know my best is enough, some people are a lot more demanding. You are very gracious, Miss Olivia." Hopefully that would be enough to soothe some of the issues. It was very frustrating. He didn't even have many supplies left, he needed to buy more, and the creation took a long time.

Oh well. He heard Selene tell her daughter he didn't want to make a toy for her, which is not what he said, but it wasn't worth the debate. He ran one hand through his hair and figured he'd probably have to make a Cerberus toy and leave it with a bow on their doorstep if he wanted to not ruin the relationship with the neighbors ten minutes after meeting them, and it wasn't what he wanted to do, and it went against what he stood for, and he didn't care what the mother thought of him, but he feared he would make Ivy's life difficult if he didn't attempt to make amends.

But, they were inside now, so he went beneath the tree and told Ivy she could come down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she started sharing all her fears and concerns with her father, crying as she did so. Dark hugged her close and dried her tears and did her best to assuage her fears, and he promised that Olivia, at the very least, seemed quite nice, and was probably very sweet if you got to know her. But mostly, he just let her be upset, and reminded her it was okay to feel the way she was feeling, and made sure he was a good, comforting for her.
 
A bit further away, Ishade did his best to focus on giving Jenny a good wash and not Mr. Dark and Ivy's... Life. He was already feeling guilty for being so nosy last night, but at least he had done that out of concern for Ikanov. His idiocy truly had no limits. Actually he may need to have a talk with Dark to make certain it wouldn't be a problem. Maybe he had just been too stunned and sad to retaliate. Their resident couch hoarder tended to have that effect.

Jenny shook and got him very much covered in water, then had the audacity to snort and whinny. Like a jerk. But it took him out of those thoughts and made him laugh a bit as he gently shoved at her. Not that she noticed, she was so big Ishade couldn't dream of having an effect on her like this.

"You're a bully, you know?" He said to her, shaking his head from side to side in mock disappointment. In response she made a brrrr sound and moved her head up and down. She let a mix of water and saliva to spray out of her mouth as her lip moved. It was funny and gross, and they played a bit before Ishade got to start drying her the best he could. The day wasn't too hot, but she had still been quite sweaty by the time the others had returned from church.

Once he was done, he put a lax halter on her and left her tied outside to dry. The rope on it was a bit long, so she could nibble on some grass while she was at it. Then he took the rest of her gear to the stable to put it in place for the next time she was ridden and once he was done headed back inside. Doing his best to either ignore Dark and Ivy to avoid interrupting their intimate family moment, or giving them a nod of acknowledgement if any of them did so first.
 
Ivy remained anxious and sniffling, but she wasn't crying anymore by the time Ishade finished caring for Jenny and came back around. Even at ten, her eyes were tumultuous. She had some of the same heat Rose had detected in Dark, but something else too. She watched Ishade walk towards the house with her hands hanging limp at her sides, unbothered that he had seen her, and Dark didn't bother to stand up. He stayed kneeling, with one arm around his daughter's shoulders, and politely acknowledged Ishade's presence.

Then, knowing Ivy was distracted, he dropped his arm, and in one quick, smooth move, stood up, and flipped Ivy upside down, causing her to shriek as her father held her off the ground with her legs in the air. She had calmed down enough that Dark knew he could initiate play to get her thinking about other things, and by the way she cackled, it seemed to be working. She squirmed trying to get down, although it was purely for play, it was obvious she was not attempting to escape in earnest, but Dark held her up, and it clearly took no real effort on his part, he held her as if she weighed nothing.
 
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