Chapter Text
"Thank you for your hard work today! The flowers look absolutely beautiful," The jet black nandroid shouted, waving goodbye to the gardeners as they packed up and left for the day.
The robot stood by herself in the manors garden with only the ancient apple tree in the center to keep her company. What could be considered a smile slowly crept on her stone face as she gazed at the strikingly colorful flowers sticking out of their freshly made earthen homes. Flapping her yellow-tinted apron in the gentle breeze of a beautiful spring day to clean it of dust. She cast her eyes upon the wrinkled bark of the apple tree, the sun's rays perforated through the leaves to warm her marble skin.
" Peep!"
She glanced around in a panic, trying to locate where such a strange noise had come from. It didn't match any of the known two hundred and forty seven species of wildlife that inhabited her lord's gardens.
Was it an invasive species? She thought, gently lifting a stone to inspect its underside. A shimmering green beetle stared at her before flying away, its hiding spot no longer viable.
" Pe-eep!"
There it was again! She glanced toward a row of large sunflower stalks, their seeds ripe for picking.
"Hmm?"
Silently crouching down to inspect a small mound of soil by the base of one of the flowers.
Doesn't look like a termite nest or ants hill. She processed, asking for feedback from the manors mainframe. Startled, she jumped back as the mound began to fidget and rumble, like a small volcano on the verge of releasing toxic gasses and the planet's ichor. She brought her shimmering golden eyes closer to the mound, hoping it was the intruder she was looking for, Maybe it's a mole?
The dirt mound top ruptured as a small rotund frog came out from its burrow. It gazed up at her, slathering a fresh layer of mucus on its eyes as a protective measure against the sun, and clean them of mud.
" Peep!" It squeaked in a higher pitched tone, trying to ward her off.
Gently pinching it's soft underside between her fingertips, she scooped it out of the dirt to inspect it closer. It screamed amphibian hellfire at the nandroid for having disturbed it's daily routine and destroying it's home. She found it somewhat slippery, so she gave slightly more pressure via her golden joints to hang onto the squirming frog, but not crush it. She noted the frog was brown with tan spots. It's greatly rotund body and stumpy legs made it appear to have no neck. She summarized it was more adapted for walking rather than jumping like many of the other species. It's general appearance reminded her of a sugar-coated jelly donut.
I don't recognize this breed. Did one of the gardeners leave it behind ? She hypothesized, flipping the frog end-over-end in her hands while it released a pathetic sounding war cry.
She sat it down in an open palm, where it rolled on its sides, dazed from her rinse cycle attack. She prodded it with a finger, finding it exceptionally squishy. She rubbed it's stomach more fervently, resulting in it squeaking hysterically.
"I can't keep him here, I don't know if it'll be detrimental to the garden. I know! I'll keep him under… "supervision" until I can determine he isn't a threat ." She tittered, rubbing her pinky across her bottom lip. She stroked the creature with her thumb, further infuriating it to the point it took in air, increasing it's girth in hopes that would scare it off. However, to no avail the tactic did not stop the assault upon its flesh. Strike upon strike of her thumb stretched it's skin back and forth as it laid flat on its stomach whimpering it's last ounce of protest, of willpower to the colossus. A malicious smile began to crack through her stone-faced expression.
"I shall name thee, Mister Peppybottom," she cooed to the frog with half-lidded eyes.
" Sorority! "
She hastily stuffed the frog into the front pocket of her apron and spun around to face the person who had called her name. She clasped her hands over the middle of her apron to hide the outline of the critter beneath her usual idle pose.
Her eyes go wide upon seeing her owner walking up the stone path in her direction, she quickly combed down her golden locks and gave him a curtsy, "Good evening, my lord. Is something troubling you?"
"I was trying to call you, but there seemed to have been interference… Well, no matter. I have a few guests coming within the hour to inspect some of the latest projects,” He stated, flicking open a silver pocket watch to check the time. He shook his head with a sigh, clasping shut the time piece before shoving it back into his pocket. Pulling out a piece of paper, he held it out for her before he continued on with his orders, "Can you get something together for them before they arrive?"
"Certainly, my lord! I shall have the chefs get started at once. Do you have anything specific in mind to impress them, or perhaps something that will leave them… breathless ?" She sneered, emphasizing the last word with a tone of malicious intentions.
"No, no…" He scratched his chin with his thumb, his mouth agape calculating his next statement. He shut his mouth and looked her in the eyes with a squint, "Not yet anyway. I just need a normal dinner for eight."
"Eight? Is Lady Aria joining you as well?"
"Certainly, I wouldn't be a very good husband if my wife "ate" all by her lonesome, right?" he chuckled.
She gave him a curtsy, accepting her new orders, "Very well. I shall get to it right away, my lord."
"Good, I have work to attend to. I shall ring you, if there is anything else." He spun on his heel and left, his black suede shoes clacking on the stone path.
Sorority waited until he was out of her line-of-sight before letting out a high pitched sigh. She hurried to a rusted bucket by the base of the apple tree. She gently scooped up two handfuls of tilled soil and dropped them into the bucket. Reaching into her pocket, she tried to pull out the frog without squishing it and gingerly placed it within the steel confines of the bucket.
Clapping her hands free of residual dirt, she squatted down and watched the frog try to clamber out, only to fall onto its back after each attempt, over and over. Eventually the frog got tired and laid down on its stomach. She booped it on the nose, causing it's eyes to recoil into their sockets from the stimulus, causing her giggle. Checking her internal clock, she noticed she would be late if she continued to slack off. Lifting the handle, she carried the bucket with her as she trotted out of the gardens and toward the manor.