A Chat with the Bees

Disclaimer: I do not own Encanto. All rights belong to Disney.

Holding a pink crayon in his left hand, Antonio steadily colored the white space between the lines. Pico the toucan, perched on Antonio's shoulder, was snacking on a piece of cracker, absorbed in the creativity below him. On the flip side, a chilled Parce was in the middle of a grooming session near the chair. A tranquil rainforest ambiance filled the atmosphere.

Some cracker crumbs fell upon the paper; Antonio paused to brush the bits off with a hand flick, then returned to work. He colored in what was left before setting the crayon down and sitting back, checking over his art piece. It presented no other than his older cousin Mirabel, her vibrant pose complementing her outspread, sunny smile. She, of course, sported her signature attire and was radiant with each drawn part, which earnestly captured the girl's distinctive style. Given Mirabel was Antonio's closest cousin, drawing her from the top down did not serve as a challenge. He could precisely visualize those lime green-rimmed glasses, those customized pink espadrilles, or really any clothing item. And with them having shared the bedroom, knowing where she kept the same items she had to remove before sleep was a perk. The main struggle for him was the actual coloring. Those skills were still developing, but Antonio kept the colors inside his drawing decently. Based on the illustrations from his toddler years, he used to be way worse at it. It was tricky to color when there was blankness bordering the picture, making it easier for crayon tips to go on. Even so, he couldn't fret about this. In the end, Mirabel would love anything he gave her, and Antonio made his art with love. An impeccable picture wasn't mandatory to get her approval.

Antonio smiled, satisfied with the work he did. "What do you think, Pico?" he inquired the bird.

Pico swallowed the last of his snack before squawking a reply. Looks really nice. Pretty.

"Muchas gracias. What about you, Parce? Do you like it?" He faced to the right of him. The cat was still at it with his self-cleaning.

After finishing his back, Parce sat upright on his haunches and viewed the artwork closely. It's great, but it seems like something is missing.

Antonio chuckled at Parce's note. "I know, Parce. I need to draw Mira playing her accordion."

Girl makes beautiful music, Pico said, his round eyes on the wide gap between drawing Mirabel's hands.

"She definitely does," he agreed strongly. "I love when she plays songs on it."

Parce purred. Music to my ears...

The boy gave his chin strokes. "Her music really is the best. Well, besides Papi's and Tío Agustín's. They also play their instruments wonderfully. I especially like it when they play and sing songs together."

Your uncle may be clumsy, but he sure does know how to play the piano well, Parce said, licking his forepaw.

"Yeah, you're right," Antonio giggled. "It's fun to dance around to sometimes. Whenever I'm with Mira, we dance together. She lets me on her feet, and I enjoy that."

Mirabel kind girl, Pico squawked.

He met Pico's words with a wholesome smile. "She is very sweet, isn't she?" He grabbed a green crayon and started drawing the accordion, only to stop when the toucan nudged his cheek. "What is it, Pico?"

Want another cracker.

"All right, I'll get you another one." Antonio exited his chair and rubbed Pico's chest with both fingers. "I could also use a drink. All of that drawing has made me thirsty."