Time for a fun activity in school for Elena, but it causes her to think of many new things.
Ch 11: Show and Tell
(Third Person POV)
That day after her first day of school, after dinner Sam had gone home. There were things that the young hybrid was told as they all sat in her room on her bed. Alastor and Heart talked to Elena about their past lives. Heart went first since her life was a little more innocent. How, when she was alive, she tried to move past everything that was thrown at her. From being abused as a kid by her parents, to the times in school when they tried to make her quiet, all up until she finally snapped. She killed her own parents in a blinding rage that she only regrets a tiny bit. Then how she went and killed herself in her holding cell.
Elena honestly couldn't believe that her mother actually did something like that. Although, she was in hell for a reason. Everyone was. So, hearing Heart saying that she killed her own parents was something that she found hard to wrap her head around. Only because her mom was a nonviolent person and didn't really want to hurt others. But it does go to show that after years of being pushed…eventually you push back.
After Heart was done, Alastor went and explained his past life. Especially as a young Creole boy living in the south. Things weren't easy for him or his mother. Then when he would start to dabble in magic when he was older. When his mother died and how his world just went darker and downhill with magic. Then went to starting to murder. Elena was afraid for a moment. To think her dad did all that and all that happened. He killed for sport at first and started to dabble in cannibalism but then realized he should use his powers for a better purpose. He took out smaller criminals that would get away with trivial things.
At that Elena saw that her dad was just a good guy. He did dreadful things but for a good reason. It was all hard to take in. It got a little harder when she heard about how Alastor died. Of course, it was then she realized why he had such a high fear of dogs. After he fell, the deer demon explained how he rose to becoming an overlord. Using his newfound power to take over others. How he rose to the top and then how everyone feared him.
Then he talks about how his amazing wife took him out of his darkness and saw there are better things in the afterlife. Showed him how to love and that its important. How family is important. He would use his powers to protect all that he loves and cherishes. Things he never thought he would want. Now that he has them, he can't picture life without them.
When both parents were done talking, Elena was silent. She had to take all this information in. Her dad was a big overlord that had a lot of power she didn't even realize and lots of people feared him. There's…there's no way she could stand up to that challenge. To meet those expectations people might think. Was she just going to be an embarrassment?
Heart put a hand on her daughter's arm. "I can see your gears working, pup. What's on your mind?"
"Yea, you can tell us. We know it's a lot of information to take in." Alastor added.
Elena was still silent. Then she finally spoke softly. "I'm not…scared of you. If that is what you are wondering." The adults were relieved to hear that. "But…am I going to just be an embarrassment to you? Since I can't meet the expectations of your name?"
The parents went and looked at each other a moment before looking back at Elena and Heart pulled the girl closer to her. Both of them felt it was Deja vu. It was like last year. They got in her head again, but this time it was the teacher. "My light, why do you think this?" Heart asked softly. "You're never an embarrassment to your father or anyone. Never."
Alastor went to pet the girl's head. "My fawn, your mother is right. You mean so much to me and nothing you say or do will ever make me love you less. I don't expect you to be any different. You are perfect the way you are."
Elena looked up at him. "Are you sure?"
"One hundred percent." Alastor answered and played with the girl's ear lightly. "You're my wonderful little light and nothing will ever change that. You are your own demon. Don't let others try to make your path for you."
"Exactly. You get to choose your own path in life." Heart said to her as she fixed the girl in her arms. "You get to be whoever you want to be. Your dad being who he is has nothing to do with it. Don't let your dad's reputation get in the way of your future."
"True words my wolf." The deer said as he wrapped his arm around his wife. "Who I am, doesn't make your destiny. Only you can. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Elena smiled and sat up to hug both her parents and they embraced her as well. "I love you guys." The girl whispered.
"And we love you, little light." Heart responded as she kissed the side of the girl's face.
"We hope we didn't scare you." Alastor said sadly.
"Never daddy. You're still amazing to me and I love you." Elena smiled with a wag of her tail and tackled Alastor back on the bed. The deer demon gave a surprised sound as the girl laid on top of him. He laughed and wrapped his arms around her to hold her close.
"Always a daddy's girl." Heart said with a chuckle. "Alright, let go of dad. It's time for a pup to head to bed."
Elena groaned but got up off of Alastor and sat back in bed. "Ok fine. I have to."
"That a girl." Heart smiled and kissed her head. They both got up from the bed and turned to tuck the girl in. Her mother made sure the girls night light was on before turning off the main light of the room.
Both parents wished the girl goodnight and gave her a kiss before walking out of the room, leaving it open a crack just in case. The two went to the living room and sat down. Alastor was silent and Heart noticed her husband's mood. She wrapped an arm around him. "What's wrong Al?"
The radio demon leaned into her and wrapped his arms around her, "I thought so sure she would have been scared of me." He whispered.
"I didn't think so." Heart whispered back as she smiled. "Elena loves you no matter what. She looks up to you."
Alastor sighed, "I know…and that is what scares me. I don't' want her to be like me."
Heart went and started to run her fingers through his hair and gently rubbed his ear tufts. "Don't worry about a thing my love. She will be ok. She can make her own choices. If she wants to do something when she is older, we should just support her. You can show her just about anything."
"I know. Especially when it comes to her magic." Alastor sighed. "That will be fun when she starts showing more signs of that."
The hybrid chuckled. "If she even gets them. We will reach that hurtle when we get there. Now-" She lifted the man's head to look up at her and he saw the grin on his wife's face. He felt a dusting of a blush come to his face. "-How about I get your mind off of things Mr. Radio Demon? Can I have a piece of you?"
Alastor grinned and sat up more to take her face in one of his hands, "Petit loup diabolique. Oh comme je t'aime." (You devilish little wolf. Oh how I love you.)
Heart's face softened at his touch and she leaned forward to put a small kiss to his lips "Je t'aime aussi." (I love you too)
[Four Months later]
After that first day of school, Elena felt better about going into first grade now. It was a little hard, because the teacher gave her a challenging time, as well as CJ since he sat next to her. She tried to push through it though and ignore it all. After a few months, it all seemed to mellow out in her opinion. They didn't bug her as much and CJ seemed to cheat off of her now and then. There wasn't much she could do about that though because the bull demon didn't seem to care. It annoyed her but she just pushed through with her work and got good grades throughout the first half of the school year.
Today there would be something a little different in store. Before the day ended, Mr. Toro had something to tell the class. He looked unhappy about it.
The bull demon sighed before he started. "Now I have an announcement for you all. Normally I wouldn't do this but all the other first grade teachers are making me so I'm doing it so they can get off my ass about it." He cleared his throat. "At the end of the week we will be having a…show and tell." He groaned.
All the kids looked at each other a little confused as this was the first-time hearing this.
Mr. Toro rolled his eyes. "Show and tell means you bring in something that is meaningful to you and you tell us a little bit about it. That is why I am giving you all week to think about it. You can bring in any items, even other demons if you want. I don't care. You'll get extra credit for participating."
All the kids got excited and already had ideas in their head about what they might bring at the end of the week. Elena was confused and not really sure. What should she bring? It was honestly confusing to her. Should she bring her dad? No no, they would be expecting parents. So that was out of the question.
The bell rang and that was the bell to leave. The school day was done. Elena quickly put all her books away in her desk and headed over to her cubby where her book bag was. She put all her homework inside and started to head out the door. Sam was already there waiting for her. The two walked down the hall to head out of school.
"So what are you thinking of bringing Friday?" Elena asked Sam, maybe she could get an idea.
The imp hummed in thought. "I'm honestly not sure. I need some time to think on it. Although part of me is thinking about a picture of me and my folks when we went on vacation to the wrath ring."
"Oh, that sounds nice! I sometimes forget that imps can go between rings." Elena said with a chuckle.
"Maybe you can too. You are hell born after all." Sam said.
"True but I'm born from sinners, so I don't know if that has influence. I'll ask my Aunt Charlie next time I see her." Elena sighed. "As for Friday, I'm at such a loss at what to bring."
"Why not your dad?" Sam suggested.
"And scare everyone in class? No way." Elena answered right away with a shake of her head. "I love my dad and he means everything to me. My mom would love to come but I know she wouldn't be able to hold her anger back from meeting Mr. Toro or seeing CJ again. So, I don't want to bring my parents. Especially if they are busy."
"Hmm, tough cookie you're in then." Sam said with a shrug.
Elena sighed and the two walked out of school. Once in the parking lot, Sam waved by as her mom was there to pick her up today. Elena then saw her mom there waiting for her. Her tail wagged as she quickly walked up to the car and hugged her mom.
"Hello pup, did you have a good day at school?" Heart asked as she took the girl's hand to put her in the car.
"I had an amazing day. It went well. We started to learn how to subtract big numbers today." Elena told her.
"Oh, wow that is amazing. What was your word of the day?" The hybrid asked the girl as she put her into the car and buckled her up.
"Short! S-h-o-r-t!" Elena spelled out.
"Wonderful my pup! You are amazing." Heart said and leaned down to kiss her head.
Elena clapped and Heart went to the driver seat and started the car to head to the hotel. Elena was still lost in thought about what she should take with her to show and tell. She wasn't sure why it was so hard to think of something.
Heart looked at the girl in the rearview mirror, "You're awfully quiet back there Elena. You are usually talkative about your school day. What's on your mind?"
The young hybrid got snapped out of her thought. "Oh! Well, Mr. Toro is hosting a show and tell on Friday. I'm just not sure what to bring in." Her ears went up. "Maybe you can help me mommy!"
"I can certainly try my best." Heart giggled. "We'll put our brains to use and we'll think of something."
Elena chuckled and her mother smiled as they arrived at the hotel. The two walked in and sat on the one couch to do Elena's homework. She was halfway done till Heart had to go up to her small art therapy session with the residents of the hotel. Nifty offered to watch her and they finished her homework together. Heart hated bugging the woman from her work in order to help Elena, but she always said she didn't mind.
Times like these are when she missed Veronica. The white fox left the hotel a little after Charlie's wedding. She helped around the hotel so much when she was here. No one knew why she left and no one ever really found her. It's like she disappeared. I think the most heartbroken from her leave, was Alastor. After finding out she was his lifelong friend from back when they were alive, it's like the two couldn't be separated. She just hoped the fox was out there somewhere. Alive and well, living her best life. One day she might come back. At least she wishes so.
After the art session went by and Heart returned, Nifty went back to cleaning. Heart sat next to Elena. "So, now that we have some time to ourselves. Let's think of this show and tell item."
"Oh yes! I almost forgot. I guess doing my homework distracted me enough." Elena giggled.
Heart chuckled as well "That can happen. Now, let's put our heads together and think."
"Well, Mr. Toro said it can be anything. Even another demon." The girl said.
"A person? What about your father?" Heart suggested.
"I have thought about that." Her ears went back, "Probably not the best idea though since CJ is in my class and I know he won't ever forgive him from the play in kindergarten. Plus, he might scare my other classmates."
"Ok fair point. We unfortunately have an important meeting with Charlie and the staff on Friday so we might not be able to join anyway." Heart told her.
"No worries. So, parents are out of the question. Honestly, I don't want to take a demon with me. Too much of a bother to them." Elena said aloud. "So maybe an item."
"What about one of your paintings?" Her mom recommended it.
"That could be something, but I want to think of other things."
The two listed off some things Elena could take to show and tell. She wanted the thing to be meaningful and something she cared about. It was hard. They even thought of pictures like Sam planned to do. They didn't realize how much time passed until Alastor came walking through the door.
Elena heard the door open and she got excited. "Daddy!" She cheered and ran up to him.
Alastor was already ready for the girl so he was down on one knee and caught her in his hold. "Ah my little fawn." He hugged her tightly as she hugged him. "I missed you today."
"I missed you too." Elena whispered to him and let go from the hug.
Alastor stood up and Elena took his hand and brought him over to Heart. The woman stood from the couch and went over to wrap her arms around his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"And I missed you." Alastor whispered and held her close to his body and put his face in her hair, being careful of her horns.
Heart played with the short hair on the man's head "Did you have a bad broadcast honey?"
Alastor paused, "I'll tell you about it later." He said and unwrapped himself from his wife and looked down at Elena. "Now then, how was school today my light?"
"Wonderful! Me and mommy were trying to think of things for show and tell on Friday." She told him excitedly.
"Show and tell huh? Did you decide on what to take?" The deer asked.
"We haven't figured it out yet." Heart told him.
"Oh no, well we must figure this out." Alastor said with an excited tone. "Tell me what all you have figured out." He said as they sat on the couch together.
The two then listed off some things they thought of and when they finished Alastor was lost in thought.
"You know, I think you forgot one thing in you list." The radio demon finally said.
"What's that?" Elena wondered.
"Owen." Was all Alastor said.
The two went silent. Then looked at each other and then back to Alastor.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Elena said a little dumbfounded that she didn't even think of her favorite stuffed animal.
"Me neither. Huh, wow Al. I think you solved our problem." Heart said just as dumbfounded.
"That is because you were thinking too hard my lovely little ladies." Alastor said as he patted both their heads.
They both chuckled and hugged the deer demon.
"I'll take Owen for show and tell. Thank you, daddy." Elena thanked him.
"You're welcome my fawn. I think all will go wonderful." Alastor then stood. "Now! I plan to make dinner today for the hotel so I have to get to work."
"Want some help?" The two asked.
"The more the merrier!" The deer said happily and they all headed into the kitchen.
[Friday, Show and Tell Day]
When Friday came around finally, Elena had Owen all tucked away in her backpack and was excited to share him with her classmates. She put him in her desk so she could have an eye on him, he sat perfectly on top of her books. Once class went on, Elena got more excited and noticed some people had some things ready for today. They were having the show and tell close to the end of the day. So once the last lesson was over Mr. Toro informed everyone that it was time for the event to happen. Everyone got ready and some went to their cubbies to get their things from their backpack. Some kids did actually have other demons show up too. She was surprised.
They all got to sit at their desks while they went around the room. Edward, the kid she had from kindergarten, brought in his favorite book. Sam actually brought in a picture of when her parents went on vacation, it was a picture of the harvest moon from the festival. Some kids brought in a parent, one brought a pet, some brought in pictures, someone actually brought a stuffed animal. That calmed her from bringing Owen. CJ, brought in a picture of his dad, of course, since he couldn't be there with them because of his work.
It was Elena's turn then. She took a deep breath and took Owen from her desk to the front of the room. She was calm and collected with ideas of what to say for the most part.
"Alright, Elena, what have you brought today for show and tell?" Mr. Toro asked.
The girl took a quick moment and then spoke, "I brought in my favorite stuffed animal I had since I was a baby." She lifted the stuffed deer to show everyone. "This is Owen, he is a small stuffed deer that my dad made for me before I was born." She held the plush close to her. "When I was a baby and learning to talk, I called him O. So, he had a name before I even put a name together for him." She chuckled. "I take him almost everywhere with me. When he gets broken my dad fixes him for me. He is just my close companion and I wanted to share it with all of you because he is important to me."
Most of the kids seemed to like what she brought in and found Owen extremely cute. Of course, CJ and his other friend just looked at her with an unamused look and thought it was stupid.
"So, you got this from your dad?" Mr. Toro asked.
"Yes sir. He made it for me. It was like a small gift to me. My parents even have a picture of when my mom was pregnant with me and Owen was in the pictures." Elena answered.
"Very nice." The bull said dully. "Alright, you can sit now."
Elena's ears went back a little. That was all he was going to ask her? He asked the other kids so many other questions about their stuff. She tried to not let it bug her and she went back and sat down at her desk.
After Elena a few more kids went and showed their stuff. Then one of her students, a boy shark looking demon who she knew was named Ivan, went to the front of the room and he had a taller shark demon next to him. She was intrigued because the female demon wasn't tall enough to be his mom, so who was she?
"Ok Ivan, who did you bring for show and tell?" Mr. Toro asked him.
"I-I brought my older sister, Isabell." Ivan answered.
"Oh sister? This one is new. Why have you brought your sister?" The bull wondered.
Ivan was a little nervous but his sister wrapped an arm around him and he seemed to calm. "Um, I brought in my sister today because she is the most important person to me. She makes me feel safe and secure. She is always there when I need her most. Sometimes we just seemed glued together."
"Exactly, my little brother is amazing." Isabell added. "He makes me see that I can be a better demon. I used to get in a lot of trouble. After Ivan was born my parents had me watch him to learn things and after a while, he grew on me. Now I can't picture my life without him."
Elena listened and her ears went up. Her gears started to turn as he talked. Ivan's sister seems to be an influence on him in a good way. The shark was usually really shy and soft spoken in class, but when he stood up there now with Isabell next to him, he seemed like a different demon. More confident. Elana started to wonder what it would be like…having a sibling.
"Aw that is nice Ivan. Is there anything else you'd like to add?" Mr. Toro said.
Ivan thought. "Only that, I am glad to have my sister with me. I love her." He said and hugged the older shark.
"I love you too bro." Isabell said and hugged him back.
Some kids rolled their eyes while others thought it cute. Elena thought it was adorable. Honestly, she would love to have something like that. To have a sibling to share that kind of bond with. If she asked her mom, would she consider it? Have her parents even thought of that? Her having another sibling. It's something she would ask her mom when she got picked up today.
"Ok, thank you Ivan. You may go back and sit down." Mr. Toro said and continued on to the next kid.
Elena watched Ivan sit at his desk with his sister behind him. If she had a sibling…how would their relationship be? She honestly didn't pay attention to the rest of the other kids. Her mind went to work on things. Thinking of what to say to her mother when she picked her up today. Aunt Lizzy was her mom's sister, maybe she can tell her how their relationship was?
Before they knew it, they got through all the students and now they were just getting ready to leave for today. Elena watched as Isabell helped out Ivan so much and made sure he was taken care of. Honestly, she kind of wanted that. To take care of a little sibling like that. She thought it was a wonderful thing. It was nice not having to worry about the last hour of school. The bell rang and all the kids rushed out of the classroom.
Sam walked next to Elena. "I figured you would bring Owen in. I've seen you sleep with him every night when I'm over."
Elena blushed and giggled a little embarrassed. "I actually wasn't sure what to bring at first. It was my dad that helped me."
"I'm glad then. If you showed up with something else then that may have been weird to me." Sam chuckled.
"I liked your picture by the way." The girl commented.
The imp's face lit up with a smile. "Thanks! I had an enjoyable time during the festival that year."
The two girls walked out of the school and down to the parking lot. Sam ran off to greet her mom who was there to pick her up and Elena spotted her mom in her usual spot. She ran up to the woman and gave her a hug. Heart hugged her back tightly.
Heart brought her out of the hug, "Hello my little light. How was school today?"
"It was great. Show and tell went good as well! It was a lot of fun." Elena told her mother with her tail wagging happily.
"Well, I am glad you had such a wonderful time dear. You can tell me more about it on the way to the hotel." Heart said as she took the girl to the side of the car.
Once Elena was in the car, Heart got in the driver seat and they drove to the hotel. On the way, Elena talked about the things some of the kids brought in for show and tell. Some interesting, some not that interesting but even so it was a cool day.
"So, what was your favorite thing that someone brought in?" Heart asked as she stopped at a red light.
Elena paused for a moment to think. Then she remembered, this might have been a good time to bring up about what she was thinking. "Well…someone brought in their older sister."
"Their older sister? That is a different one. Why did you like that?" Heart wondered as she started driving again.
"I don't know. It spoke to me I guess." Elena took a pause and she saw her mother look back to her with a raised eyebrow. "Hey mom, can I…ask you something?"
Heart was worried about what her daughter might ask her but she tried to brace herself. Luckily, they were pulling up to the hotel. "Sure dear, ask away."
The girl was nervous in the back seat and played with her shirt. "Well…I wanted to ask if…maybe…I could have a sibling?"
When Heart parked the car, she honestly didn't know how to feel. She has thought about it for a while now honestly. Wanting to have another kid but she never had a serious talk about it with Alastor. Would he even want to? Is it too soon? Even so…Elena was asking for this. She honestly never would have thought the girl would want that.
Eventually the woman turned around to face the girl. "You know, I've thought about that for the last two years now." Elena looked excited. "But…it's something I have to talk to your father about first. Ok? He has to be on board with this."
"I understand mom." The hybrid girl still looked excited.
Heart nodded with a smile. "Good. I'll talk to him about it tonight ok. Just don't expect anything right away. All right?"
Elena nodded. She was just excited that her mom even said yes to the thought. Hopefully, this will all work out.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the chapter ^_^