Day… Five of the April one-shot challenge! Happy Easter, to those of you who celebrate it! I've had the plan in mind for an Easter one-shot for a few weeks now, and thought I would wait until now to write it because I wanted it to be uploaded on Easter.
When you wake up, there's a bright, yellow egg in front of your nose. It doesn't smell like the other eggs, which smell like grass and grain and other things that Jordan and his friends feed to the prey-birds. It smells… odd, like the way Jordan's funny eyes smell, only slightly less because those, at least, smell like Jordan. This egg is strange. You begin to wonder whether or not it's actually an egg – and that thought leads you to whack it with one of your front feet. Unlike a real egg, it rolls to its side and then straightens up again. It doesn't smash underneath the force of your attack. You get to your feet and, after batting at the not-egg a few more times, pick it up in your mouth.
Maybe Jordan will know what the not-egg is. He'll tell you! You'll just take it right to your best friend and he'll explain why the not-egg was in front of you. If it's a trick from that Tom guy, then that Tom guy will get all of his crops set on fire. The not-egg is not a funny joke.
Jordan greets you with a sleepy smile when you climb up onto his bed. You drop the not-egg onto his chest, questioning him immediately what it is and why it exists and what it's for. He only grins, sitting up in a motion so quickly that you nearly topple backwards – and would have, if not for him reaching out to catch you before you can.
"Good job, Polaris," he cheers. "You found one."
One? What is it?
"This is called an 'Easter egg.' You need to go find the others, and I'll give you a reward, okay?"
Reward?
You like rewards. Maybe it will be one of the shiny blue things or the shiny green things! You like those things.
Jordan gets out of bed and you hop out of his arm, darting around the house to find more of the not-eggs that Jordan call Easter eggs.
You find three more not-eggs. One of them are under the bed in the guest room; another is in the vault; and the final one is at the edge of the infinity pool. You struggle with that one. Mostly because water makes your skin feel funny and you don't really like the anxiety that the thought of drowning in it brings. Jordan praises you for find the not-eggs, but tells you that there are still others outside.
The first place you head to, is Tom's base. It's the third once since Jay arrived because they keep getting blown-up… mysteriously. You don't really know what to think of Tom still, but he doesn't really tease you quite as much anymore. Probably because you kept trying to light him on fire every time he did, so he's learned not to.
Tom greets you by tossing one of the not-eggs your way. "Only one I have for you, dragon," he informs.
You pick up the not-egg and return it to Jordan, before running over to where Sonja and Tucker live. The path to their castle is strewn with the not-eggs, and you struggle with all of them. You don't want to keep running back and forth. It takes too much time, and there are so many not-eggs. You're on your way back from taking the third one on the path to Jordan when Jace stops you and hands you a bucket.
"Put them in this," the other Guardian suggests, clearly in one the hunt for the not-eggs. "You should be able to carry the rest in it. You can just drag it around by your teeth."
You oblige him because Jace is right. You fit all of the eggs on the path into the bucket, with plenty of room left over, and then you rush into Tucker and Sonja's home. Tucker chuckles at you, and Sonja announces that they've hidden the not-eggs, but that she thinks you look very cute with the bucket of not-eggs.
It takes you a while to find all of the not-eggs in their castle, but you do. You put them in the bucket and run off to look around outside and search more of the buildings created by Jordan's friends.
There are three not-eggs in Declan's house; two in the Pirates' cave; one atop either end of the Scales of Justice; five in Jerry's Tree; four outside the Wizards' base; and a few scattered in the trees that you have to climb to reach.
Lara and Jay wander by and Lara adds another not-egg to your bucket. "Jordan asked me to hide this, but I think you've found so many that you've earned just being able to have it," Lara tells you.
Jay points to one of the trees. "I hid mine up there. Think you can get it?"
You turn to look at the tree he's talking about. The branches have been chopped off of the tree, and the not-egg is nestled between a thick pile of leaves. You won't be able to climb down very well if you do get up into the tree. While it's not a long fall, you still don't feel comfortable enough to fly down after you get it.
You look back at Jay and offer a protesting noise.
The smile he offers you is kind. Jay has always been kind to you, even if he butts heads with the others. He's like a big brother.
"I won't let you fall, Polly," he promises. "But you've gotta try to fly sometime."
Lara nods, although her expression is one of mild concern. "You'll be fine, Polaris. Neither of us will allow any harm to come to you."
You hesitate a moment before giving the bucket to Lara. Climbing the tree feels like a death sentence, but you quickly snatch the not-egg from its nest. You glance back down and notice that Jay is watching you extremely carefully. He'll protect you, right? He won't let you get hurt.
You hop from the tree and try to get purchase with your wings – and for a moment, you do. Flying feels wonderful. It feels free. But just as you adjust to the feeling, your wings stop working like they probably should and you start to fall.
Jay catches you instantly. You curl closer to him and then lean over, dropping the last not-egg into the bucket. Lara smiles at you before handing the bucket back. After a moment of calming down, you head back to Jordan to see whether or not you've successfully hunted down all of the not-eggs, only know realizing that it's becoming late – and wondering why Lara is out so late, when she has been very vocal about her dislike of night mobs.
Jordan counts the not-eggs, grinning at you. "Forty," he declares, "that's all of them. Good job, Polaris!"
You bounce around, delighted, and then settle to wait for your reward. It's not quite as good as one of the shiny things, but a meal made up of steak, pork chops, and chicken is very welcomed as well. Jordan is a very good cook. He always knows what your favorite foods are, and he doesn't mind that you snatch a few pieces from his plate as well. It seems like the meal is more for you than for him anyway.
When night finally falls, you find yourself wandering over to the bucket of not-eggs – all forty now located safely within. Out of some instinct that you don't quite understand, you drag the bucket back to your bed and lay all of the not-eggs out in a pile. You stare at it for a moment, wondering why you're doing it; however, that moment is fleeting, as you carefully curl yourself around the not-eggs. Your tail circles them and you shuffle your wings until one comes up to gently rest over the pile.
Something about it feels right.