After making sure each little one had their share of papers, scissors, and glue, Alina moved to the mat and settled herself right between Rocky and Felix. From there, she had a perfect view of the whole group—their curious faces, wiggling legs, and the occasional fidgety hands that she knew she’d have to watch closely around the glue.
"Alright, everyone," she began with a smile, "I’m going to show you first, so watch carefully."
She picked up a piece of soft pink paper and began sketching a simple flower shape with a pencil, her movements slow and steady so they could follow along. On a piece of green paper, she drew a single leaf and a long stem. "First, we draw our shapes," she explained in her gentle teacher voice.
Vlad Jr. was watching intently with his chin in his hand, looking like he was analyzing her every move. Boo was floating upside down above her shoulder, nodding dramatically like he was grading her performance. Kelpie leaned forward so much his nose almost touched his paper, while Sable’s eyes never left her hands, as though trying to memorize each motion exactly.
Once her shapes were drawn, she picked up her scissors and began carefully cutting them out. "We cut slowly, so we don’t tear the paper," she said, holding up the pink flower cutout for everyone to see.
Drake, meanwhile, was sprawled on his stomach, chin resting on both hands, watching her like she was performing a magic trick. "Looks easy," he muttered confidently—though judging by the way his scissors were currently upside down in his hand, Alina knew his flower would probably come out looking like an alien.
When she had her flower, leaf, and stem ready, she picked up the white sheet of paper and arranged the pieces on it. "Now we stick them together," she explained, squeezing a thin line of glue along the stem before pressing it down. She glued the leaf next, then placed the flower at the top.
Finally, she reached for the small pearl box, pinched a single shimmering pearl between her fingers, dabbed a tiny drop of glue in the flower’s center, and gently pressed it down. The pearl caught the light, making the whole craft look delicate and pretty.
"Wow!!" Drake’s eyes widened, lighting up as if she had just revealed a real treasure. His gaze was glued to that sparkling pearl, and his mouth opened slightly like he’d forgotten how to blink. "Teacher... that’s not just any pearl... that’s the king of pearls!" he declared dramatically.
Boo rolled his eyes from above. "It’s just a bead, drama dragon."
Drake shot him a look of pure betrayal. "It’s not just a bead! Look at it—sparkly, round, perfect! Teacher, can I have two pearls? Just two. One for my flower... and one for... my treasure box."
Alina chuckled, shaking her head. "One pearl each, sweetheart. We have to share."
Drake sighed like she had just crushed his lifelong dream, then whispered under his breath, "One pearl... for now."
Rocky, sitting beside her, tilted his head. "What’s a treasure box?"
Drake leaned toward him with wide eyes, as if sharing the secret of the universe. "It’s where you keep the most important things in the world like pearls, shiny rocks, and half a cookie you save for later."
The whole group burst into giggles, and Alina couldn’t help but laugh too, her heart warming at the sight of them all leaning closer to start their own little flowers, hands already busy with pencils and scissors.
However, Boo narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Drake, watching him the way a guard watches a suspicious stranger near the royal crown. Drake was leaning over his paper, scissors in hand, but his eyes kept flicking back to the pearl box like it was calling to him in a secret language only dragons could hear. His mouth was parted slightly, almost as if he was... drooling.
"Boo!" Alina called gently, catching him mid-glare.
He jumped and quickly spun around, a guilty grin on his face. "Boo was not staring! Boo was... um... making sure pearls are safe!" He giggled and floated back to his spot, finally picking up his paper and drawing something that vaguely looked like a flower—though his petals were so sharp they looked more like tiny ghost flames.
Rocky, meanwhile, was hunched over his green paper, cutting each leaf with such care that he paused every few seconds to check if both sides were perfectly even. The moment one looked slightly off, he’d frown, start over, and mutter to himself, "Needs to be right... needs to be right."
Kelpie was sitting beside him, he shaped his flower into something that looked suspiciously like a seashell instead.
Sable, quiet as always, sat in the corner with his shadows curling softly around his feet. His flower was neat and precise—almost neat, as if every line had been measured with an invisible ruler. But instead of putting the pearl in the center, he glued it at the tip of the stem.
Felix, instead of making a normal leaf, had decided to cut one that looked exactly like his own tail, fluffy edges and all. "Mine’s a fox flower," he announced proudly. His pearl sat right in the middle, glinting like a jewel nestled in fur.
Luna was curled up by the window, holding her scissors in both little hands, tongue peeking out as she concentrated hard. Her flower’s petals were uneven, and the leaf had a small bite mark in it—clearly from when she’d gotten frustrated and decided to "teach it a lesson." But when she glued her pearl on, she gave a satisfied nod like she had just completed the greatest work of art in the world.
Vlad Jr. had drawn his flower in neat, elegant curves and was now inspecting it as though it were a royal emblem. "Presentation matters," he murmured to himself, gluing each piece with graceful precision. Then, without looking up, he added, "Drake, don’t even think about it."
Drake froze, hand halfway toward the pearl box. "I wasn’t!" he said, looking extremely offended. "I was... uh... checking if the pearls were... lonely."
Boo immediately zipped over to the box and plopped himself down on top of it like a fluffy, floating guard. "No pearls for dragons," he declared.
Drake groaned and flopped dramatically onto the mat. "One pearl... for now..." he mumbled again.