"So, fourth place is Rocky."
For half a second, Rocky did not react at all.
Then his eyes widened so much they looked like small boulders themselves.
"?" he whispered, his small voice trembling slightly with disbelief. His little stone hands started shaking, the paper on the table crinkling under his fingers. His eyes grew watery, tears gathering at the corners like morning dew on stone, because he could not process whether this was good or bad or sothing in between.
"I am fourth?" he repeated, almost in disbelief, as if he had never expected to be anything at all.
Queen Granite imdiately pulled him into her arms, kissing his forehead firmly with a series of loud and loving smooches. "Yes, my pebble. Fourth place. My wonderful little rock."
King Boulder’s chest expanded proudly, his massive fra seeming to grow even larger with fatherly pride. "Strong foundation," he said deeply, his voice rumbling like an earthquake of approval. "Good start. Many layers to build upon."
Rocky blinked rapidly, tears spilling over and rolling down his small stone cheeks, but they were not sad tears. They were overwheld tears, happy tears, tears of a child who had not known he could do sothing well until soone told him so. "I did not even know," he whispered, still clutching his mother’s sleeve like a lifeline.
Alina smiled gently at him, her heart lting just a little. "You did very well, Rocky."
Rocky nodded, still too overwheld to speak, but his small smile said everything.
She looked back at her list, letting the mont settle before continuing.
"Fifth place is Kelpie."
Kelpie froze completely. His small body went still, his gills stopped fluttering, and even the water droplets that usually floated around him seed to pause in midair.
Then—
"Yes!" he shouted, his voice exploding with pure joy as he accidentally splashed water into the air from sheer excitent.
A tiny arc of water launched from his hands and landed directly on Drake’s desk with a soft plink.
Drake gasped dramatically, pressing both hands to his chest like he had been personally blessed by an ocean deity. "I have been blessed by the sea," he announced solemnly. "This water is holy now. I will keep it forever."
Lady Maris laughed softly, a warm and musical sound, pulling Kelpie closer and wrapping him in a gentle hug. "Control, little tide. We do not flood the classroom."
King Corvus smiled proudly, his sharp features softening with affection. "Well done, my son. Fifth place is excellent."
Kelpie bead so brightly he could have powered the entire room for a week. His small chest puffed out with pride, his gills fluttering happily. "Fifth is still top five!" he declared proudly to anyone who would listen.
"That is literally what it ans," Felix said calmly, though even he was smiling just a little.
Alina tried not to laugh again, pressing her lips together to maintain so dignity, but a small snort escaped anyway. She looked back down at her list, and the suspense in the room built again naturally because now there were fewer nas left and everyone knew what that ant.
Drake’s tail was swishing violently behind him, thumping against his chair like an eager drum.
Boo was vibrating in place.
Luna was pretending she did not care at all, her small face arranged in a mask of elegant disinterest, but her hands were digging lightly into her skirt and giving her away completely.
Felix leaned back in his chair lazily, though his eyes watched the list with sharp attention.
Sable squeezed Lucien’s arm nervously, his small hands pressing into his sleeve.
Alina glanced back at the list in her hand, letting the room settle again before she spoke. The soft rustle of paper seed unusually loud in the expectant silence.
"Sixth place is Luna."
For a second, Luna simply stared. Her golden-brown eyes widened slowly, her ears lifting straight up like satellite dishes, as if soone had just shouted her na in the middle of a battlefield and she needed to locate the threat imdiately. "?" she said, almost offended by her own shock, as if her brain could not quite reconcile the idea of being nad with the idea of not being first.
Alpha Ryker blinked once. His wolf eyes, usually so intense and watchful, softened with sothing that looked almost like wonder.
Then his chest expanded proudly, his broad shoulders squaring back as if he had just won a territorial dispute.
"Sixth," he repeated, testing the word in his mouth like fine wine, seeing how it tasted. Apparently it tasted very good, because a slow smile spread across his usually stern features.
Queen Serafina’s face broke into a wide and radiant smile that transford her elegant features into sothing warm and approachable. She imdiately pulled Luna slightly closer and pressed a soft kiss to the side of her head, right where her ear t her hair.
"My little moon," she said warmly, her voice carrying all the love in the world.
Luna looked between them, still processing this information like a computer trying to run too many programs at once. Her small face scrunched up thoughtfully. "But I rushed so questions," she muttered, her brows furrowing with the weight of her own critique. "I know I did. I finished too fast and I did not check my answers properly."
Alina nodded gently, smiling at her with understanding rather than correction. "Yes, you did rush a little. And you still did very well. Imagine how well you would do if you took just a little more ti next ti."
Alpha Ryker nodded firmly, his wolf eyes gleaming with approval. "Speed with strength. Good combination. We will work on patience."
Serafina laughed softly, a musical sound that made several parents smile. "And still competitive. She gets that from you."
Ryker did not deny it.
Luna straightened in her chair, trying very hard to look composed and dignified like a proper little princess should. But her tail was betraying her completely, swishing in quick and proud movents behind her like a happy flag waving in the wind.
Luna straightened in her chair, trying very hard to look composed and dignified and utterly unaffected by all of this attention. Her small hands folded in her lap. Her expression smoothed into careful neutrality.
But her tail was betraying her completely. It swished in quick and proud movents behind her, left and right, left and right, like a happy flag waving despite all efforts to control it.
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