I sort of threw this together so it's kinda meh. I wanted to do something for Easter for a while but did not want to give it any religious overtones because of course not everyone is down with this. But who doesn't love a good egg hunt?
Don't own anything.
"Okay, ready kids?" A man called out.
"Yes!" A chorus of voices rose from the field. "Alright then get ready get set go!"
An army of unruly screaming children streamed out onto the grassy knolls.
One of then was Rafael. He ran into the fray searching for the illusive Easter egg hidden in the tall grass, bushes and trees. Rex watched from the sidelines giving helpful hints like, "No over there, over there to your left! There's one to your left no your other left!"
Rafael trying to follow his father's instructions ended up running around in circles. Finally, he found one but was too slow. A bigger kid snatched it before he could get to it. Rex incensed, was about to go and take out the kid but was held back by Circe. She shook her head and Rex had to stand back and watch.
They had agreed that this year they would not help Rafael with his hunt. Holiday had sat with them and explained that if they wanted Rafael to be more independent they had to let him do things on his own.
Rex readily agreed. Circe had a harder time letting go. But in time they realized that Rex was equally as overprotective as Circe was... just in different ways.
Rex would step in whenever he saw Rafael being pushed around. Holiday gently pointed out that he had to allow Rafael to fight his own battles. That was the only way he could gain confidence. So far all Rex saw was him backing away from the fight and it annoyed him to no end.
But Circe forbade Rafael to use his powers in any confrontation, which was probably a good thing. They didn't want their neighbors frightened of them.
So Rex stood frustrated as he watched Rafael be outmaneuvered, outnumbered, and outsmarted. When the timer went off he didn't have a single egg in his basket.
"Sorry kid." The official said. "If you want you can try again in the next hunt."
Rafael happily agreed. So again his parents watched him lose eggs again and again to faster kids.
"This is ridiculous." Rex muttered
He tried to talk to the officiator. But Circe held him back.
"Look you're the one who agreed to this. And if you want Raffy to be more independent, you have to let him do this by himself." Circe admonished. Rex grumbled but stayed put.
At the end of all the hunts, Rafael only got one egg.
"Hey buddy, you did good." Rex tried to sound positive.
"Yeah, I got an egg dad! It's my favorite color too." Rafael seemed unfazed by the lack of eggs.
"Sure, baby. We're proud of you" Circe said encouragingly. Then she shot Rex a look when it looked like he was about to say something. Rex closed his mouth.
Violeta didn't say anything the whole time. She merely frowned and kept quiet.
0o0
When they arrived home, Rafael went upstairs followed by Violeta. She went into his room.
"Okay, what's the deal, hermano?" She asked with her arms crossed.
"What do you mean?" Rafael asked as he put his one egg on his desk.
"I know you're faster than that. I've seen you outrun kids to the swings at the park. So what's up?"
"Shhh," Rafael put a finger to his lips. There was a knock at Rafael's door.
"Raffy? Hey can we come in? Oh, Violeta, we didn't know you were here. Can we have a moment alone with Rafael?" Circe said as she opened the door.
Violeta just shrugged and left the room.
Circe and Rex came in and sat down on the bed.
"We just wanted to let you know how much we love you and hoped you had fun today." Circe began.
Rafael nodded vigorously. "I did."
"Anyway, your father and I got you some of your favorite candies. Happy Easter." Circe handed him a basket full of treats.
"Thank you, mommy." Rafael gave his mother a big hug and then his father.
"Okay, buddy. Don't eat them all at once." Rex said as he snatched a candy bar from the basket. Circe slapped his hand and he dropped it. She firmly led Rex out of the room while he protested.
"So that's your game." Violeta commented as she sat on Rafael's bed. She was listening at the door and came in when their parents left.
"Yeah, the eggs never have anything good and this way I got to play and have mommy and dad feel bad enough to get me the good stuff." He shoved a chocolate egg into his mouth.
"You're sneaky." Violeta said as she took a handful of gourmet jelly beans.
"Yeah." Rafael said as he shoved a marshmallow chick into his mouth. Then as an after thought he added, "Don't tell mommy."
"I won't." Violeta replied as she unwrapped a chocolate egg.