The group burst into laughter again, tails flicking and pearls jingling, and Alina couldn’t help laughing with them, her cheeks flushed with amusent. "I’ll... keep that in mind," she said, still smiling. "Though I think I’ll survive if I just stick to talking."
"Talking," one rmaid repeated with a teasing grin. "That’s what all romances start with!"
Alina sighed, laughing softly. "You sea won are too dangerous," she said playfully, and they all bead, taking it as the highest complint.
anwhile, inside the special play area for babies, Luna was having the ti of her life. She had made two new friends—sothing rare for her, since back in her pack, most of the wolves her age were boys who only cared about racing, wrestling, or chasing tails. Even in kindergarten, all her classmates were boys too. For once, she was surrounded by girls, and it felt like stepping into a whole new world.
The three of them had decided to play house. Luna, of course, declared herself the pack leader—which, in her version, ant she got to sit proudly on the biggest shell cushion and give everyone "important tasks." Her new friend Fiona, a giggly little rmaid with lavender hair, had beco the "husband," complete with a seashell tie that kept slipping over her nose. The other girl, Sunny, a tiny sea sprite with bright orange fins and freckles that glowed like fireflies, played the "wife," busy cooking seaweed soup in a toy coral pot.
"Sunny! You forgot to stir the soup five tis clockwise!" Luna said sternly, folding her tiny arms like a serious Alpha.
Sunny blinked, holding up her spoon. "But I only know spinny ways!" she said with a tiny pout, twirling in a circle instead.
Fiona burst out laughing, pretending to clap her hands. "Spinny soup! Spinny soup!" she sang, and bubbles floated up from her hair.
Luna tried to keep her Alpha face serious but failed miserably, giggling so hard that her tail wagged behind her. The three of them collapsed together in a heap of laughter, their tiny voices ringing through the bubble playroom.
"Luna! Luna!!! Can I join you?" Boo floated toward them with sparkling eyes, his little ghostly tail wiggling like an excited puppy’s. Two tiny rmaid girls glanced up from their toy pot, startled by his sudden arrival, while Luna turned around slowly, narrowing her eyes in mock seriousness.
"No! Go away!" Luna said, puffing her cheeks and folding her arms. "This is a girls’ ga only!"
Boo froze midair, looking absolutely heartbroken, his glow dimming like a flickering candle. "B-but I can be a girl ghost if you want..." he said softly, his voice trembling with drama that could make anyone cry and laugh at once.
Before Luna could answer, Sunny—ever the kind little peacemaker—gasped and waved her spoon excitedly. "Wait! We can include him! He can be our baby!" she declared with all the authority of a tiny queen, her fins fluttering.
Boo’s round eyes lit up instantly, glowing brighter than the pearls around them. "Baby?! I can be baby?! Okay!!!" he squealed, spinning in a circle of pure joy before dramatically plopping himself down beside Luna’s feet, pretending to be a crying infant. "Waaaah! I’m hungry, Mama! Feed , Mama Luna!" he wailed, holding his tiny ghost hands to his mouth.
Luna pinched the bridge of her nose like a tired mother and sighed. "You’re the noisiest baby ever!" she said, though her lips twitched in amusent.
Sunny, fully in character, rushed over with the coral toy bowl. "Here, baby! Soup for you!" she said proudly, handing Boo a spoonful of nothing but sea bubbles.
Boo slurped the bubbles loudly, his ghostly cheeks puffing out. "Mmm! Best soup ever, Mama!" he said with exaggerated delight, then imdiately rolled on the floor pretending to sleep. "Baby tired now. Baby dream of snacks..."
Fiona, who was playing the husband, laughed so hard she nearly fell off her cushion. "He’s the funniest baby ever! Look, he’s already snoring!"
And sure enough, Boo was making soft "snore-snore" sounds while floating upside down.
anwhile, on the other side of the play area, Vlad Jr. didn’t look amused at all. He sat near the bottom of the coral slide with his arms crossed, a deep little frown on his face. His shiny black shoes tapped softly against the floor, and his red eyes flicked toward the noisy crowd of children playing nearby.
Drake, who was supposed to be his best friend, was now racing around the bubble playground with two shark boys who seed just as loud and wild as him. The three of them were splashing through the shallow water, laughing, shouting, and pretending to be sea dragons. Vlad Jr. sighed heavily, looking exactly like a miniature nobleman whose patience had reached its end.
"Hmph," he muttered under his breath. "He forgot the mont he found new friends..."
He rested his chin on his palm, staring blankly at the floor like a tiny philosopher lost in thought, his small bat wings twitching irritably behind him. Just as he was about to sink further into dramatic sulking, a sudden roar of laughter burst behind him.
"Ahahahahhh!" Drake shouted as he shot past him in a blur, his shark friends chasing right after, snapping their pretend shark teeth and splashing sand everywhere. "Catch if you can!"
One of the shark boys tripped mid-chase, causing a wave of sand to fall over Vlad Jr.’s perfectly combed hair. The vampire boy froze, his entire body stiff with disbelief. Slowly, he looked up, strands of sand-covered hair falling over his forehead.
Drake turned around, still laughing, until he saw his friend’s dripping face. "Uh-oh..." he mumbled, instantly realizing his mistake.
Vlad Jr. blinked once, then twice, his tiny lips curving into the calst but most dangerous little smile imaginable. "Drake," he said in his softest voice, "run."
And Drake did exactly that. "Aaaahhhh! He’s mad!!" he scread, dashing away as Vlad Jr. chased him with all the fury of an offended prince.
Boo, who had been watching the whole chaos unfold from a distance, pressed a tiny ghostly palm to his face and sighed like an exhausted parent. "Boys..." he muttered dramatically.
Before he could complain further, a small tug ca from behind him. Sunny, the bright little sea sprite, was holding a toy plate shaped like a clam shell. Her fins shimred with orange sparkles as she bead up at him.
"Baby, co here! Momma made fish for you!" she said in her sweet, bubbly voice.
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