"Anton, what...?" Marlysa began as she came into what was the nursery in their home before Easter Sunday arrived.
For the moment the nursery had equipment in it that was designed to preserve the proper temperature needed for Anton and Marlysa's eggs warm enough to develop and giving the two Iguana Animalians a very happy future with children to hatch and be healthy. The room's wallpaper was relatively soft colors arranged in vertical stripes that alternated between color. Normally the walls were pretty bare, as Anton and Marlysa hadn't gotten to figuring out what ideas they wanted to do for further decoration, but as Marlysa entered, she found her husband in a pair of black wind-pants and a white muscle tee applying stickers to the walls so that they surrounded the incubator they had. The stickers showed a few rabbits, ducks, and baby chicks and all had painted eggs with them as well.
Marlysa looked to them with some surprise as Anton finished placing the sticker and then looked to her. As he turned to her, he gave her a very warm smile, which in its own way made Marlysa smile. She could remember her time as a mundane iguana and remembered seeing Anton feel quite pained after his first wife, Joyce, had died. As a pet, she had respected Anton caring for her and she liked that, and then when she was uplifted it blossomed into real love. Anton was a kind soul and she didn't like seeing him so unhappy. Thus when he smiled, she couldn't help but smile back.
"So, what do you think?" Anton asked to her.
"I take it this is something that relates to Easter?" Marlysa asked referring to the coming holiday.
"In a way, yeah," Anton nodded, "or at least with how a lot of the popular culture views Easter, anyway."
"I still find this strange," Marlysa commented, "the holiday celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus, but the bible makes no mention of rabbits and brightly painted eggs and the things you told me about the various religious holidays do not relate those things."
"It is different," Anton admitted and came up to wrap one arm around Marlysa, "but in a way it is fun. Painting eggs was something my family did a lot of when I was growing up... it's different but fun. And I thought some holiday stickers would be something that would be friendly and wouldn't make us come off as some sort of hyper religious group... Religion is important, but there can be times when it's pushed too far."
Marlysa nodded. While Anton had never studied theology or anything like that, she'd found him to be quite smart the subject and when he talked about it, it sounded like he'd clearly been thinking about it.
"True, but I don't think our eggs will be hatching before Easter," Marlysa commented.
"Maybe, but it'd still be something that can add some warmth," Anton said to her, "that we have a happy family and will have happy memories to share.
Marlysa only smiled and the two nuzzled for a moment before moving to check on their eggs.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As Easter arrived, many Animalians did get involved in the fun and spirit of the aspects of the holiday that went beyond the religious aspect of the holiday. At the Brown farm and specifically near some of the apartments that had been built for the uplifted chickens that had been from the farm, a series of tables that had been set up with large trays of paint that was safe to use on eggs. The tables were also covered in newspaper and the uplifted chickens came out to look over some of the events that were to relate the painting of eggs, especially as they noticed a large number of people from Lyre and even other Animalians from either Lyre or Animalia. They all looked eager.
"Well it looks like we're providing a lot of fun for people for Easter," one of the uplifted chickens commented, "everyone is here to paint the eggs."
"So long as they have fun and have plenty to eat, Mary-Anne," another said to her friend, "though... I'd wonder who would be able to eat them?"
"With the eggs that we hard boiled... I'd assume the ones that would have the appetite to eat them would be some of the larger uplifted predators," said Martin Brown as and Josephine come up, "though it wouldn't surprise me that with so many Animalians now vaccinated against spreading the virus thanks to pregnancy or simply a wish to avoid infecting people... there just might be some humans that decide to give it a try."
"That is a strange habit, Mr. Brown," the first uplifted chicken, Mary-Anne, said.
"It might, I suppose," Martin answered, "but it's still something that would inspire fun."
The two uplifted chickens nodded as Mary-Anne offered a brush young girl who approached the table with her father. They watched as the girl smiled and dipped the brush into one of the pans and was soon spreading bright pink paint on the shell of the large egg. This was part of the fun that had been arranged for Easter, and Martin and Josephine were both pleased that the uplifted chickens were willing to provide their standard eggs that had no chicks developing in them for part of all the associated Easter fun. People coming to paint the eggs would get to enjoy all the fun of having colored eggs for Easter, and the uplifted Tigers, Lions, and Bears would potentially get something they could eat. And watching the child smile as she painted actually brought a small smile to Mary-Anne and her friend, as both of them had come to hold the opinion that holidays that made people smile were the best.