Rhia wasn’t a particularly religious person, she was a Christmas and Easter Christian. So on Easter she found her butt in a seat at a church in New York City. She wasn’t picky to any denomination, any flavor of Jesus would do for her, so she went to a little church walking distance from her dorm.

The weather was still chilly by Rhia’s Texan standards, but the sun was out and shining, promising to bring warmth in the future. Rhia left for church in an cream lace knee length dress with three-quarter length sleeves and light pink heels. Normally she wore sleeveless to show off her hard earned arms but it was chilly and she was going to church. She could church it up for Jesus for one day. Besides, she was still showing off plenty of leg.

The church was one that a friend of hers from NYU went to. Rhia had never been to it before and decided she would go to it since her friend had invited her. The church was small, nondenominational, and played contemporary music. It felt like they were trying to make worship a party. Rhia could go along with tha for an hour.

It was on her way home, after saying goodbye to her friend, that Rhia heard a commotion. Curious, Rhia walked a block out of her way following the noise. Finally, she rounded a corner to see what all the fuss was.

Zaid has not planned on leaving the house that morning, but Jude had been called into work for one reason or another, and during the hasty rush to leave, it was noted they were out of coffee. The remaining dredges were just enough to get his boyfriend alert before leaving, and Zaid decided he may as well try to replace the empty bag before Jude returned.

The store wasn’t far away, so Zaid decided to walk there instead of taking a cab. He was halfway to the store when a little girl pointed to him, and giggled at his ears. “Look, it’s the Easter Bunny! Mr. Bunny, did you bring Easter eggs?”

Zaid blinked, looking down at her, and one ear tilted to the side. Oh no, it was Easter, wasn’t it? He never would have left if he hadn’t processed that revelation faster. Already the girl had pointed out his tail, and the mother cooed encouragement, obviously thinking this childhood mistake was adorable.

”Oh, I’m not the Easter Bunny. I just have bunny ears. I’m sorry,” he tried to explain.

The little girl looked up at him, and then came the trembling lower lip. The frown, and oh the WAIL!!! His ears flattened in surprise and he grimaced, waving frantically to stop her. ”I’m sorry, I don’t have anything to give you! I’m not-“

“Shame on you! Making a little girl cry! You know what, I think she’s right, you are the Easter Bunny!” The mom looked at him as she said that statement, and there was a sudden jolt through the crowd. What...what was that? Suddenly there were excited mutterinfs and more kids joined in.

“Easter bunny! It’s the Easter Bunny!”

“Easter Bunny!”

”I’m not the Easter Bunny!”

“Easter Bunny!”

Someone tugged his tail. Zaid yelped and backed up. The mom smirked knowingly and Zaid glared, ears flat. Another mom squeeled and tries to grab his arm. Zaid backed up quickly.

”Undo it!”

“Enjoy the next two hours, Easter Bunny,” she mocked.

Then, the crowd launched forward.

Zaid did the most logical thing, and ran for his life.

He got one block away as the yelling grew in volume, and was ready to make some type of leap to escape when he had to dart sideways to avoid crashing into a certain person. Rhia! Oh Stars it was someone familiar!

”Help! They won’t leave me alone!!!” he threw aside dignity and grabbed her arm desperately.

The fuss almost collided with Rhia. She had gone around the corner and almost immediately collided with a familiar looking bunny boy. Zaid managed to move to the side to avoid colliding with Rhia. To her credit, Rhia had noticed Zaid with just enough time to try and sidestep. Had Zaid not actively avoided the collision they would have ended up on the pavement, Rhia was sure. There was only enough time for her to exclaim, ”Zaid!” before he was grabbing her arm and asking for help.

Well, when someone asks for help, you help. ”Who won’t leave you a-” Rhia looked to where Zaid had come from and saw a mob of people running toward them yelling about the Easter Bunny, ”-lone?” Rhia looked from the crowd back to Zaid, unsure what she could do to manage a crowd. ”Wrong day to walk while bunny.” Rhia said before grabbing Zaid by the hand and hauling him around the corner.

”Let’s find somewhere to hide you!” Rhia said as she moved down the street. She was not a runner and certainly was not experienced in running in heels. Lifting? Sure. Sometimes you just have to squat or deadlift a couple hundred pounds in heels. Gets people’s motor’s running. Running? Not so much.

Where to hide though? Run into a store or restaurant? Slide into a chair of a restaurant with outdoor seating and have Zaid crawl under the table? Jump in a cab? ”Hang on….” Rhia slowed to yank off her heels so she could move faster, ”Okay.”

Rhia did not argue, thankfully. She was in a dress and heels which probably wasn’t the best evasive outfit, but with the shoes gone, they were a little better off. Zaid just needed to think quickly.

Since the mob had kids with them, they were slowed down and temporarily confused by the loss of their prey. Zaid tried to explain what was going on as they ducked down a side street. ”There was a mom, and the kid asked if I was the Easter Bunny, and I said no! So, she punished me! And, they are chasing.... Stars, I don’t know how to stop them!” Could he identify the mom, maybe? Had she stayed around to watch? Could he just jump somewhere and hide? A tree, maybe there was a tree...

”We were out of coffee and I didn’t realize it was Easter! I would have at least worn a hat! Oh, a hat! Would a hat work?” he looked around for a shop or something they could duck into. A souvenir stall was nearby and he jumped inside, flattening himself behind the door. The storekeeper shot a look, but seeing the ears he seemed to understand. The owner had blue skin, and obviously had their own moments of mutant based prejudice based on the nod.

As they moved, Zaid explained what was going on. Someone was using Rhia’s punishment schtick. She was more out of line than Rhia had been at the wedding though! Rhia had an idea of how to stop them if they could find that woman and her child again. ”If we can’t get away… Do you think you would recognize them again? I might be able to make her unpunish you.” Swapping a parent with their kid sounded like a good way to have someone agree to what you wanted to Rhia.

Running out of coffee was a good reason to go out. Hell, even knowing it was Easter, the pursuit of coffee alone was worth the risk. Then Zaid had an idea, getting a hat. He looked around, while Rhia looked back behind them. She didn’t see Zaid’s pursuers, but she heard them. If Zaid was going to go in somewhere for a hat he needed to go fast! ”Might work, but get it quick!” Rhia looked back and Zaid was jumping into a souvenir stall. Rhia stopped outside to play look out. ”Might want something to cover the tail too.”

The herd of people came into view and Rhia said through the door, ”Here they come… Keep those ears down.”

Zaid managed to find a baggy”I Love New York” hoodie, and scrambled to get into it while Rhia called out warnings. He pulled the hood on tight as the crowd paused, and moved to the counter to pay while a little girl stood in the doorway, looking suspicious. “He’s nearby! Maybe he is hiding some eggs for us!” She exclaimed. Zaid wasn’t sure how such a statement could sound so terrifying, but it did. The store owner gave an understanding grimace, and Zaid almost left before spotting a package of coffee on another shelf. Well, at least one problem could be solved. He bought that too and snuck behind Rhia, nose twitching slightly at the scent of the crowd that was still close.

”I can point them out, but what if they already took off? The city is huge, maybe I can just find somewhere to lie low for a few hours.”

A group of teenagers wandered into the stall grumbling about the missing bunny. Zaid decided they needed to keep moving, and snuck to the street, trying to think of somewhere safer.

”Is the museum open? The toy store? Somewhere I can vanish in a crowd,” he felt like the group was magnetically following him. Was the brainwashing that strong? He clung to the coffee for safety.

Rhia watched as the crowd charged by. They were starting to fracture some. A few were hell bent on plowing forward, a few were looking to the sides wondering where the Easter Bunny had gone, and some were trailing behind looking more closely around them. When the bulk had passed Rhia said through the door, ”Most of them are passed. Still close by though.”

When Zaid rejoined Rhia he had on a “I Love New York” hoodie with the hood over his ears. He said that he would be able to point them out before suggesting just finding somewhere to lie low. He was right about the city being big. Rhia suspected the culprit might want to watch their chaos, but it was Zaid’s call. ”Well if you happen see them let me know. I’ll straighten it all out, Rhia style.” Which meant to make such a big mess of things that people gave up and did what she wanted. ”Otherwise… I think the museum might be open?” She questioned it as she said it. She had never been. She was bad at doing the New York thing. Unless you thought the New York thing was going out to clubs every night. In that case she was a professional at the New York thing.”Let’s head that way, if we find another crowd on the way we can slip into it.”

Rhia led the way as they walked. Her heels in one hand, ready to grab Zaid and run for it if necessary. In a real pinch, maybe she just picks him up and runs. Zaid looked about as heavy as she was. Which was silly. Zaid was a bunny man and Rhia was a weightlifter. Her carrying him was likely the slowest of all possible options. Likely a better option to bully their way out of a crowd though.

It was good Zaid could not read minds. Had he known Rhia was plotting the possibility of carrying him out of this mess he would have just taken the risk of running for it, coffee in hand. But he was thankfully more focused on the lingering crowd, a few children and parents sprinkled in their path, many actively blocking the best escape.

Then, he caught a scent. He paused, grabbing Rhia's arm and sniffing again. It was hard picking out a smell in New York, especially when you had a bag of coffee under your arms. Thinking about it, he motioned for her to take the brew and then sniffed again. "I think....I think they're around here." He said cautiously.

His eyes scanned the street until he finally spotted the little girl and mom next to an ice cream shop. They were watching the crowd, while Zaid was watching them. He nudged to Rhia to point out the pair, and at the same time, a little girl paused and looked at him closely.

"Easter bunny?"

"Do something, quick! Please!" Zaid let out a string of Japanese that roughly translated to begging, when the little girl latched onto the hoodie, yanking at him.

"Where are the Easter eggs! Did you hide them already? Are you hiding them in your jacket? Where did your ears go?"

Rhia wasn’t walking long before Zaid grabbed her arm. She stopped and looked at him. He was sniffing the air. Honest to God, sniffing at the air like he really was a bunny. It was rather cute. Zaid then motioned for her to take the coffee he was holding and Rhia grabbed it. Must have been throwing off his sniffer. After a bit he announced that he thought they were around. They being the mother and child caused the crowd to relentlessly pursue Zaid.

”Okay.” Rhia quietly said to him. Well, as quiet as one could be on a bust street and still be heard. She watched the crowd that was milling about, hunting their missing Easter Bunny, ”Just point them out and I’ll take care of this.”

It wasn’t long before Rhia felt a nudge. She looked at Zaid and then to where he had pointed. A mom and her daughter next to an ice cream shop. ”On it.” Rhia said before she started walking toward them. She had to be close enough to use her power and close enough to let them know she was responsible and make her demand.

From behind her, Rhia heard Zaid telling her to hurry before carrying on in Japanese. Rhia quickened her pace and stormed right up to the mother and daughter. They had been watching the crowd, until Zaid got loud. The mother’s attnetion had gone from the crowd, to Zaid, to Rhia. ”Howdy, bitch.” Rhia smiled and brought her power to bear. ”I see you like messing with people.” Her power took effect and the mom and her daughter swapped bodies. ”So do I! I think I’ll keep y’all like this until the crowd leaves my friend with the bunny ears alone.” Rhia put her hands on her hips, it was the swapped mama’s turn now.

There was something a bit embarrassing about asking a stranger to rescue you from a mob of children. Given that he had once been swapped into Rhia's body, however, they sort of skipped the normal friendship growing routine. Plus, she had powers that could help in this situation. Zaid's ears only seemed to have made it worse.

Rhia launched forward to address the mom and child while Zaid tried to keep the kid at bay. "Mr. Easter bunny, how does a male bunny lay eggs?"

"I don't lay eggs. I'm not even a full bunny! I just have bunny ears."

"No, you're an Easter bunny! You must be hiding them. Do you paint the eggs like in that movie? Do you have a boomerang? Why do you speak a weird language."

"I speak Japanese. I grew up in Japan. No, I don't have eggs!" Stars, the kid was asking questions while the mom was yanking on his hoodie, as if she could find where he had hidden the Easter eggs. He was in danger of getting groped when he had enough and made a jump up on top of a nearby scaffolding. There was no way to look dignified as he scrambled over the railing and tried to cover his tail again with the growing crowd yelling below him. Rhia, please hurry! He flattened himself against the wall behind him, letting one ear free and trying to pinpoint where she had gone. All he could hear were the persistent whines below him until...they paused. Zaid breathed out and snuck to the edge of his hiding place, watching as a rather angry looking child stamped it's foot at Rhia.

"How dare you! Put us back! Why would we listen to you? Maybe I should have them chase you instead!" The little girl demanded. The adult woman was nudging the ground with a foot, looking uncomfortable.

"M-mom, your shoes hurt. Can we switch back now? This isn't fun, you said today would be fun."

"Darling, mommy is dealing with a situation here, please be patient."

They argued for a few more moments before the daughter discovered she was holding a purse and the magical 'money card'. The threat of taking off to the toy store seemed to sober up the mother, who agreed to the terms.

The crowd eventually blinked, seeming lost. A few muttered about a weird Easter dream before going back to their day. Zaid continued waiting, not eager to be manhandled again by climbing down too suddenly.

Rhia giggled as the mother, now the child, made demands of Rhia. It was just too cute! The haughty attitude juxtaposed with the little body. ”I wouldn’t if I were you.” A look at the daughter now in her mother’s body gave the giggles a second wind. When the little girl told the adult that mommy was dealing with a situation, Rhia crossed her arms over her abdomen and held her sides.

The back and forth continued between the mother and daughter. Rhia let out a guffaw and a snort when the daughter realized she had the magical money card. That was also what it took to change mommy’s tune. Rhia seized the opportunity to demand that the mother, ”Undo whatever you did to my friend and then give him an apology. Otherwise I tell your daughter how to get to the toy store and offer to babysit you while she goes to pick up whatever she wants.” And to the daughter she asked, ”Does that sound like fun, honey?”

The mother said she would not apologize, she tried to blame the whole thing on Zaid. Rhia was having none of that, she started giving directions. It was when she offered to walk the daughter there and then wait with the mother outside that the mother relented. She undid the swap and promised to apologize to Zaid.

”Good. Now y’all wait here. I’ll get Zaid. When you’ve apologized I’ll swap you back.” Then heading off a protest added, ”If he doesn’t want it I’ll release you then and there. Be warned, if you take the chance to sick a crowd back on him or I I’ll swap y’all right back! Once I’ve swapped you I can do it again for the next couple days no matter where you are!” Rhia bluffed.

A nod of the head from the mother.

Rhia walked back toward where she had left Zaid. She had to look around a for a bit before she looked up and saw him, ”Hey!” She waved at him, ”C’mon down. I got her to call off the hounds. Aaaaaand, she wants to apologize. I told her to wait where she was. That we’d go to her.” Rhia grinned a mischievous grin, ”You’ll want to get this apology in person.”

Zaid felt a bit too much like a rabbit and less like a man the longer he hid. Sometimes, having the genes of a prey animal made it difficult to fight through your instincts. One side was saying he needed to get it together and climb down, the other still had his heart racing a million miles an hour and anxiety coursing through him. It was like being two separate people, or, things. He was relieved when Rhia finally called to him.

"Coming!" He at least felt more dignified dropping down, landing on all fours and then brushing his hands off. The hood fell down in the process, but no one mugged him, which was a good sign. He quirked an ear at her explanation, curious what was making her so excited. Together they walked over to where the child and mom were waiting, and Zaid instantly knew what was amusing.

The angry face on the child made him want to giggle, but he kept his face blank. Stuffing his hands in his pockets he waited.

"Sorry, for trying to get you mugged by Easter hunters. Okay, can we switch back now?"

"Moooooom, you have to mean it! Hurry uppppp I want to finish my ice cream. Yours is mint, I haaaate mint," the daughter whined.

The mom grumbled and tried again, "I'm....sorry. I get you didn't mean to upset anyone." She glanced at Rhia. Zaid glanced at the daughter. The adult looked back and grinned, obviously having forgotten what started all this.

"Your ears are still cute even if you aren't the Easter bunny! Can I pet them? Are they soft? Can I get ears too?"

"Uh, thank you. I....I mean they're kinda soft? I don't have a way to give you ears, but I mean, maybe one day there will be a way?" He did not have the heart to stop her from rushing over and petting one of his ears. She almost knocked the ice cream into his face. He stood very still and his nose twitched once as the mint ice cream got close to his shoulder. He gave Rhia another look that maybe it was time to change back before either a) he burst out laughing or b) the ice cream landed in his face.

Rhia and Zaid made their way to where the swapped mother and child were waiting. The child looked mad and the mom was uncomfortable and displeased. Rhia could only imagine the fidgeting and complaints of the child in the mother’s body were really driving home the lesson from Rhia to the mother in the child’s body.

The mother in her daughter’s body gave a sorry excuse for an apology before asking to be swapped back. Rhia Shook her head. Before she could say anything, the child in the mother’s parroted what she had likely heard from her mother in the past about apologies. Rhia did have to keep herself from laughing at the reasoning. The daughter wanted to swap back because… She didn’t like her mother’s choice in ice cream.

It was just too precious.

A second attempt was made at an apology. It was a much better attempt at an apology than the first. And it was none too soon. The child in her mother’s body was interested in Zaid’s ears. She mentioned them and then approached Zaid to pet them. As the ice cream came close to smearing across Zaid’s shoulder, he looked to Rhia.

Rhia smiled back at Zaid and then let the swap end. The mother and daughter returned to their normal bodies. Which left the mother standing close to Zaid, her hand on his ear.

”And remember. Be good or I just swap you right back. If I see any crowds come after us in the next couple days you’ll spend a whole weekend as each other. Wouldn’t that be fun?” Rhia said to the mother as if she was talking to a child as she smiled sweetly.

Holding out an arm to Zaid, Rhia asked, ”Shall we get off the street before other children start thinking you’re the Easter Bunny? We need to catch up. I haven’t seen you since the wedding, and we still need to schedule that gym session!”

Zaid was relieved as the ice cream moved away from his face. The mom kept her mouth shut, which was as much agreement as could be mustered, and the two of them hurried away. Zaid pulled the hood back onto his head as Rhia escorted him from the main street, face flushing a little with embarrassment. ”I can barely keep my days of the week in order. We are remodeling and it’s been a mess. I think the floor is slanted. I have no idea how to fix a floor. And then, coffee. Clearly I should have drank some caffeine before I left.”

He watched a few more kids pass, many dressed impressively in their Sunday best. Zaid got a few looks, but no one mobbed him this time. That was a relief. ”I mean, all the running was not the gym trip I was planning on. Maybe next round will be more conventional? Weight lifting? Less cardio?” all things considered he was good natured about almost being mugged.

He glanced at her outfit and felt bad all over again, ”Do you need somewhere to sit? I don’t imagine it felt great running around barefoot. I’m sorry, again, really. I have a sort of knack for attracting bad situations like you wouldn’t believe.” or maybe she would? She just witnessed him chased by children after all.

The mother and daughter fled. While the mother did not give verbal agreement to Rhia, the speed of her retreat following complete silence seemed to be acceptance enough. Rhia, ever the mature adult, stuck her tongue out at the woman. As the woman didn’t see it the effect was lost, but Rhia still found it fun.

Rhia led Zaid off the main street, one look at Zaid’s face under the hoodie told Rhia how embarrassed he was. Zaid let Rhia know what was going on in his life. Remodelling and a slanted floor. Add to that no coffee that morning and being chased by a crowd and Rhia would be surprised if Zaid even knew which way was up!

”Well, let’s get you some coffee! It sounds like you need some. My treat.” Rhia said with a smile. Though to be fair, she would put it on Daddy’s credit card so it was more like his treat. Coffee was certainly a living expense.

Rhia had to laugh, a gym session with her would certainly be less cardio. ”Yes. Next gym session will be in an actual gym. With weights. I’ll warn you though, I don’t go easy in the gym. I like it heavy.” Both the weights and the workout playlist.

Zaid looked at Rhia before asking if she needed to sit down. ”Oh. Yes, please! I have rocks stuck to the bottom of my foot.” Rhia slowly rubbed the bottom of one foot against the concrete in an attempt to dislodge a pebble. ”And don’t worry about it, I’m just glad I could help. Besides, you’ve seen the kind of bad situations I can create for myself.”

”Let’s find somewhere that serves coffee to sit down. Two birds and all that.” Rhia turned to face toward an intersection. ”This is New York City. I don’t think I’ve ever been more than a block or two away from coffee the whole time I’ve been here!” Rhia said with a grin before setting off in search of coffee and a chair.