The Best Easter Negg

      Silent patted the top of his head. “Calm down, Tender. Everyone else is nearly done.” He nodded his head and tried to keep from dancing but he was just too excited. Moments later, his siblings lined up behind him, pushing and shoving, gabbing gleefully about the chocolate neggs they were chewing. Tender shook his head; finally they were ready.

      Silent opened the door and Tender flew out as if there were a pack of meepits hot on his tail. Immediately, he spotted a pretty Sunflower Negg sitting inside one of the flower pots outside of the house. He made a beeline for it and triumphantly put it in his basket. He was the first one to find a Negg; he’d have been sad if he wasn’t.

      Trouppe, an Island Ogrin, stood on her hind legs and pawed at a Negg hidden up in the branches of one of the trees. She came just short and sat on her haunches in frustration. She noticed Tender watching her and gestured for him to come over. He wasn’t very keen on the idea; after all, it would keep him from hunting for Neggs, but he couldn’t ignore her.

      “What?” he mumbled, dragging his paws and looking at her warily from underneath his blue mane.

      “Thank goodness, Tender,” she cheered. “I can’t reach that Negg. If you could give me a boost, I could reach it no problem. Please?” Tender grumbled but obligingly allowed her to climb up on his back. She pawed down the Purple Negg and stuck it in her basket.

      “Thanks, little brother.” She ruffled Tender’s mane when she got down then trotted off with a little skip. Tender glared at her for a moment, then continued snuffling along, looking for the ever elusive Neggs. He found a Super Icy Negg hidden by the sidewalk in a patch of Starflowers. That was two that he’d found; not bad considering he’d been distracted by Trouppe.

      His siblings were all busy in the main part of the yard so he ventured to the side of the house, pleased when he found no one else checking it out. However, his pleasure soon dissipated when he discovered that the Easter Cybunny had not hidden a single Negg over in the corner. At least that’s what he thought until he discovered a giant Negg. It was huge, bold green with light green spots. It wasn’t like any of the other Neggs he’d found.

      When he put it in his basket, it took over the entire space and the other Neggs were crammed to the side in an effort to fit in with their mammoth companion. Tender came trotting out happily; surely he had to have the best Negg.

      Silent was the first one to notice what he had and her eyes widened in surprise.

      “What do you have there?” she asked, patting his head then eying the giant Negg with bewilderment.

      “The biggest and best Negg hidden by the Easter Cybunny,” he confided and patted the top of the green Negg with a smile.

      Torinaar, a Maraquan Techo, shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a Negg, Tender. I think you’ve got something else.”

      “Yeah, I have to agree.” Silent nodded her head, circling his basket to get a full on look at the giant thing.

      Tender defensively yanked his basket to his side, hiding it with his flank, and blurted, “What do you mean? It looks like a Negg and was hidden like a Negg. You guys are just jealous cause you don’t have such a cool Negg.” Silent was still gawking at his Negg and his siblings were chuckling at him. Suddenly the Easter Negg hunt wasn’t fun anymore.

      “I’m going inside,” he pouted and before anyone could protest, scooped up his basket and trotted to the house. Trouppe followed him, carrying her own basket with five or six colorful Neggs nestled in the bottom.

      “I think it’s a cool Negg, Tender,” she confided. “It’s very big and green.”

      “Thanks,” he mumbled but didn’t encourage her further. He just wanted to go sit and pout in his room with his giant Negg. Trouppe took the hint and left him alone, dragging her tail behind her. TenderHorn felt a tiny bit bad for raining on her parade but he shook off the feeling when he looked at his Negg. He knew it was special, he just knew it and he was going to prove it somehow.

      Once he was in the quiet confines of his nursery, he pulled the large green Negg out of his basket and set it on his bed. It was pretty and shiny; the light seemed to glitter off its smooth surface. Tender ran a paw over it and examined it for any imperfections. The surface was perfectly smooth, flawless, and so shiny that when he tilted just so, he could see his reflection.

      “You’re beautiful,” he complimented the Negg and snuggled around it. It wasn’t normally his naptime, but he was a baby and after all the excitement of Easter morning, he was more than ready to doze off. Soon his snores filled the silence of his room.

      He was woken by a sharp crack noise. He jerked away and listened intently, trying to figure out the source of the sound. He could hear his siblings jesting in the kitchen, where he knew they were making the traditional Easter Negg salad, but he couldn’t figure out what would have made such a crack sound. Then the Negg nestled against his flank wiggled and he jumped with shock. The Negg wiggled again and he stared at it, wide eyed. There was a widening crack down one side and little fractured cracks on the other.

      For a moment, he thought about getting Silent, but he was afraid of leaving the Negg all alone. What if whatever hatched got scared? He was a baby and knew that it wasn’t pleasant to wake up alone and frightened. The crack widened further and a little nose began to press through. Tender was panting with excitement. There was a baby Neopet hatching out of his special Negg.

      It seemed like it took forever to hatch, but in reality, it only took a few moments. When the Negg was fully cracked, a tiny little dragon-like creature sat before him, staring at him with big red and yellow eyes. It made a tiny squawk and tried unsuccessfully to rise to its feet. Tender leapt back, stunned. He didn’t know a lot about the different varieties of Neopets in Neopia, but he did know about the rare creatures. Sitting before him in a ruin of a once flawless green Negg was a beautiful Green Draik.

      “Hi,” Tender said softly so that he wouldn’t scare the little Neopet. It looked at him again with those big eyes, tiny and delicate, each scale reflecting a rainbow of green.

      “I think I’ll call you BestEasterNegg,” he decided and gently scooped up the little Draik. Proudly carrying the new addition to show off to the family, he strode into the kitchen. The banter stopped and everyone stared in awe at the little creature in his arms.

      “Is that... Is that?” one of his siblings gaped.

      “Yep,” Tender gloated. “It’s a Draik and its name is BestEasterNegg.”

      Torinaar started laughing, “All right, all right, you win. That is without a doubt the best Easter Negg ever found.” And with that statement, the family flocked to his side and tickled the chin of the new arrival. The Draik purred and batted its eyelashes as the family all swooned. Sometimes, family was what made the holidays truly special.

The End

Disclaimer: This tale is entirely fictitious. When hunting Easter Neggs, it is not common to find Draik Neggs hidden among the Neggs. In fact, there hasn’t yet been a documented case. So, don’t hunt around on Easter for Draiks.