A/N: Hello once again my initiates! Just a little info on this chapter, this takes place about a year later, when Sienna begins to sprout her ears and act...wolfish? Also, I added a scene where Sienna first starts kindergarten (I decided to skip preschool because what do you do in preschool? Play with dolls?) But anyways, I hope you enjoy!
Tris's P.O.V.
Tobias and I walk through the park silently. Sienna is being carried on Tobias's back with some kind of baby holder. She begins to bite his hair and head and he yells in pain, "Sienna, how many times has daddy told you not to do that?" Sienna giggles and begins to play with the back of his shirt. A gust of wind blows by us and blows the hood that Sienna is wearing off of her head, revealing her wolf ears. As quickly as I can, I run over and put the hood back on her head as she giggles again.
It isn't as fun as it seems trying to keep your child's...oddities as a secret from the rest of the world. Evelyn has asked us multiple times why we keep a hood or hat on her head and we were always nervous to tell her or anyone the real reason. We tell people that she gets cold easily, and that's half of a lie because Tobias used to get cold as a kid, or so it seems.
Tobias sits underneath a tree and grabs Sienna out of the baby holder and puts her on the ground. She notices a squirrel and growls, staring at it. Her tail pops out of her onsie and Tobias grabs her and puts her back in the baby holder. She howls and cries for what seems like an eternity, and I shuffle around in my bag trying to find her pacifier. Eventually, I find it and stare at it, it is the pink pacifier the doctors gave us from the hospital, and it has legitimate holes in the rubber because of her "fangs" that are also growing in. I shove it in her mouth and her tail disappears and her eyes begin to droop.
Tobias runs his hands through his hair, which is starting to turn blonde from the sunshine, and groans, "I really need to get my bearings straight." "You think you are the only one who needs to straighten out their priorities? I do too!" He laughs a hearty laugh and looks over at Sienna. Her head is on his shoulder, her eyes closed and her hood covering most of her face. She sneezes and wakes herself up. Lifting her head off of Tobias's shoulder, she examines her surroundings sleepily, and then drops her head back. Tobias bites his lip trying to suppress a laugh and I whisper, "So cute!" Though Sienna drains both of us, she is probably the best thing to happen to us.
4 years later
Tobias's P.O.V.
It's Sienna's first day of kindergarten, and Tris and I are reluctant to send her. A nagging fear tugs at my chest and questions keep popping into my mind, What if she scares the other kids? What if she takes her hat off? What if she hurts someone with her claws and fangs? I glance over at my baby girl, and she is eating a waffle happily, kicking her feet against the table legs. She gets up and walks over to Tris, "I finished! And I drank all of my juice too!" Tris pats her on the back and replies, "Good! Now go brush your teeth and put your hat on." Sienna nods and walks upstairs.
Tris sighs and begins to get her backpack ready, as I hear the tap begin to run and Sienna humming as she brushes her teeth. She turns off the tap and runs downstairs with her hat in hand. It is a small pink hat with long braids and white cotton ball like things at the end. It was a present from Christina. "Mommy? Daddy?" We both turn to look at her and she asks, "Why do I have to wear a hat? You guys don't wear hats." I walk over to her and respond, "Well honey, you have little doggy ears at the top of your head, and if people see them, they...uh-" I am unable to continue. I know that she's five, but she is incredibly smart for a five year old, and she might get hurt by what I say. Tris fills in my blank, "They might think that the doggy ears are strange."
"Oh," Sienna responds somberly, putting on the hat. She looks up and smiles, "I'm ready!" She grabs her backpack and runs out ahead of us to the car. When we get to the car, we notice that she buckled herself into her carseat by herself, and we check to make sure they are tight enough and head off to the school.
Once we get there, we unstrap Sienna and walk inside. There are many flowers and art projects on the walls and there are mothers and fathers waiting in a line to get into the classroom. The kids are small and wild, jumping up and down and knocking things off of the walls. Even Sienna is part wolf and she isn't this rambunctious. Tris whispers, "Nice job controlling your kids." and I laugh a little.
After waiting for a long while, we get to the front of the line and notice the teacher. She introduces herself, "Hello there! I'm Ms. Fawn, and I'm going to be the teacher for your daughter!" She shakes both Tris and I's hands and the teacher gasps, looking down at Sienna, "And who is this lil' cutie?" Sienna grabs at Tris's long coat and Ms. Fawn says, "Oh don't be shy! I'm not going to hurt you! What's your name?" "Sienna..." She mutters. Ms. Fawn replies, "What a beautiful name! Come inside, we have cookies and some coloring books on the tables!" Sienna runs inside and me and Tris decide that it is best to tell the teacher about her oddities.
The teacher nods, "I understand. So, she wears that hat because there are wolf ears on her head?" We both nod. She nods back, "Alrighty then! I'll protect her from some of those kids that decide that it's funny to pull her hat off!" Tris laughs nervously, but I just stay silent. We say goodbye and take our leave. As we are driving back to the house, Tris says, "I wish that she could have assured us." "But, she did, didn't she? She would protect her." "No, I mean that 'we aren't alone' or 'someone I know has the same problem too'. Something like that." Then I realize; she's right. It would've been nice to know that we weren't the only parents who had to deal with this. Like Amanda told me on that fateful day when Sienna was born, most Mesawolves are dead. Tris and I have basically nobody to ask.
When we pick Sienna up from school, she is grinning from ear to ear. "How was your day?" Tris asks, and Sienna responds, "Oh it was great! I colored and the teacher gave me cookies and apples and taught me how to sing my ABC'S!" She begins to sing in a tone deaf voice, " G! LMNO P! Q R S, T U V, W, X, Y AND Z! NOW I KNOW MY ABC'S! NEXT TIME WON'T YOU SING WITH ME!" "That's great!" I respond, "Did you make any friends?" "Yes I did! Her name is Claire and she went on the swings with me and we crawled under some logs!" Tris looks at me with a questionable face, "You aren't all dirty, are you?" "Nope!"
I decide to take the darker tone, "Did anyone try to take your hat off?" "Yeah..." Tris and I look at each other immediately, "There was this boy named Jared who kept asking why I had a hat on, and he tried to pull it off, but then the teacher ran over and said that he had to keep his hands to himself!" Phew, my mind sings to me.
That night, when we tuck her in for bed, she falls asleep instantly, and her ears twitch rapidly. Her tail also flicks underneath the covers. Tris calls me downstairs and she has a glass of champagne waiting for me in a flute glass on the counter. I smile, and pick up the glass, clinking it against hers. "I guess she tired herself out today." Tris responds, "Yeah I guess so," She kisses me on the cheek, "Hopefully tomorrow will be even better."
A/N: I really enjoyed this chapter! It was fun to make, especially when she sang the ABC's! :)
Since it's really late where I live right now, I'm going to take a well earned siesta. Good night my initiates!