"And this…" Alina said gently, drawing a neat triangle on the board with the chalk, "is a triangle. Can anyone tell me something that's shaped like a triangle?"
Her voice echoed softly in the classroom, and for a moment, she thought they might be too focused to respond. She turned around to look at the babies, and her heart melted.
All their little heads were bent forward, concentrating hard on their blank papers. Tiny hands clutched crayons and pencils, and their tongues peeked out from the corners of their lips as they drew with so much focus, like it was the most important task in the world.
Then, slowly, she saw movement.
First, Luna lifted her fluffy little wolf head and tilted it, one ear flicking. She blinked her eyes. "Mountain," she muttered sleepily, holding a purple crayon in her hands..
"Good job, Luna!" Alina smiled brightly.
Drake raised his hand dramatically and said, "My dragon wings! They're like triangles when I stretch out."
Alina laughed softly. "That's amazing, Drake."
Felix, who sat like a prince with his legs crossed, leaned on his elbow and said in a lazy tone, "My mom's spicy pastries. They're always triangle-shaped."
That made the class chuckle.
"Pastries count too," Alina said, smiling and shaking her head.
Rocky tapped his paper gently. "Tents," he said in a quiet voice. "Like camping."
"Very clever, Rocky."
Kelpie lifted his hand slowly. His voice was soft, almost like a bubble. "Some fish tails…"
Alina tilted her head, impressed. "You're right. That's such a creative answer."
Then finally, Lucian raised his eyes from his notebook. "The tip of my father's sword," he said calmly, like it was just a fact.
Alina blinked for a second but gave him a warm nod. "Yes, that's a triangle too."
After drawing a square and two more shapes on the board rectangle and Cylinder—Alina decided to take a walk around the classroom to see how her tiny students were doing.
Her heels made soft clicks on the floor as she moved between the rows of low desks. Each little one was buried in their work, tongues poking out in concentration, crayons gripped tight in their small hands. The atmosphere was calm, filled with the innocent sound of scribbling and soft hums.
She paused when she reached Boo.
He was sitting quietly in his corner, legs swinging off his chair, eyes focused with a kind of serious expressions. His tiny fingers were gently pressing glitter along the edges of a circle he had drawn. His shape wasn't perfectly round, but there was care in every curve, as if he believed this glitter-covered circle was the most important thing in the world right now.
Alina crouched down beside him and smiled.
"You're being so careful, Boo…" she whispered.
Boo didn't answer. He blinked slowly, then looked at her with a cool smile before returning to his work, carefully adding one last sprinkle of shimmer. He looked proud, in his kind of way.
Then her eyes shifted a little to her left—where Luna was seated.
Luna, on the other hand, was staring at her paper like it had personally offended her. She had drawn a... well, Alina wasn't quite sure what it was. A round-ish blob that tilted sharply to one side, with three tiny triangles sprouting from it like ears. Maybe it was a shape. Maybe it was a monster with a round body.
Alina tilted her head. "Luna, sweetheart… is this your circle?"
Luna puffed up proudly. "Yes! It's a super special circle."
Alina smiled gently and tried not to laugh. "I can see that. It's very… unique."
Luna said proudly, "It's not just a circle, it's a warrior circle!"
"Well then," Alina said warmly, placing a soft hand on Luna's head, "that is the bravest circle I've ever seen."
Luna's ears perked up and she beamed like she'd just won a prize.
Alina stood up again and continued her walk.
After that, the class ended peacefully and now it was nap time. Alina stood near the board and wondered if they had any sleeping room specially made for these babies but before she could even ask, she noticed something surprising.
All the babies already started moving on their own.
Luna shifted and quietly walked to her bean couch, still sleepy, and curled up into a ball like a little snow cloud, hugging her tail. Boo slowly floated into the air and stayed mid-air, his arms crossed like he was meditating, but his little eyes slowly shut like he was too tired today.
Drake turned into his baby dragon form and flopped right on his desk, curling his tail like a blanket and snoring a little. Vlad Jr. blinked once, and the next moment—he turned into a bat and flew to the ceiling to hang upside down.
Rocky didn't move much, but his body turned into a smooth gray boulder with a soft thump. He was peacefully sleeping already.
Kelpie quietly walked to the corner of the class where a soft small couch was placed, curled up like a little fish out of water, and slowly covered himself with a tiny soft towel someone left there.
Then there was Felix.
His little body shifted and changed, and in the next moment, a beautiful silver fox with many tails stretched on his mat. His fur looked shiny and soft, and Alina had to stop herself from reaching out to pet him. His breathing was slow, eyes closed, and his soft ears twitched now and then.
Lucian, as always, looked serious and calm. He walked to the shelf, took out his blanket and small pillow, came back to the wall corner, and spread it neatly. He lay down like a small grown-up and pulled the blanket up to his chin, eyes already closing.
And finally… there was Sable.
Alina noticed he didn't move at all. He was still sitting on his chair, hugging his knees, his eyes looking around silently. He looked small… so small. Like he didn't know if he was allowed to sleep.