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The sun was blinding and beautiful, but the large trees with their pink blossoms perfectly shaded the two from the harsher rays. There was a cool breeze in the air. Vine Staff was sitting on the ground in her garden, the tall, lush grass surrounding her. Biograft stood behind her, vigilant as ever, watching her tend to the flowers with a trowel gripped in one hand. In their hands, it almost felt like holding their gear. The shape was even the same; just a much smaller, less threatening version.
Vine Staff spent time tending to the flowers, patting down soil compactly as she planted new blooms. There was a perfect range of colors. She felt incredibly proud of the way her garden was turning out, she was excited to show Katana how her hard work paid off. He always seemed so peaceful whenever she managed to convince him to spend some time with the plants. Just one of the many reasons Vine Staff loved plants so much. They really did bring out the best in everyone she cared for most.
She glanced behind her at Biograft, watching their analytical stare wash over the garden patch. She smiled, taking note of how Biograft looked so much less threatening with such a small tool in their hand. It looked almost like a shrunken Biograft energy sword, which made it all the more funny when looking at the robot's permanent, threatening expression of angry, downturned eyes. To anyone else, Biograft was a threatening killer robot, but Vine Staff saw more inside of them. Sure, there were hundreds of Biograft variants out there, but the one she always saw during the phights was different. They held all of the memories of talking to the other demons, something most Biografts never experienced.
It was interesting to spend time with someone who had such a different outlook. When no one else showed much interest in Biograft, Vine Staff was only more interested in cracking open the shell. In reality, it wasn't too hard to convince Biograft to do anything. There wasn't much of anything for them to do outside of their orders during the phights. A killer robot's life is fairly mundane when its task isn't being carried out.
It was a bit unsettling to Vine Staff to have the only purpose in life to be to end it, so she decided to teach Biograft about the beauty of life through plants. It had been ongoing for a while now, with this moment being one of many that Vine had invited them to her garden to help, or simply just to talk. Biograft wasn't much of a conversationalist, but Vine Staff learned they were a great listener. She appreciated that Biograft always seemed to take her words into their memory, randomly bringing them up at later times. Merely an illusion of free-thinking, yet somehow, comforting, knowing she could teach the robot her ways.
Snapping out of her thoughts, she smiled at the robot, dusting the soil from her hands and back onto the flowerbed.
"You don't have to just watch, you know! Here, come sit, Biograft." Vine Staff gave a pat to the grass beside her, motioning for the robot to sit next to her. "Do you wanna help me pick the strawberries?"
"AFFIRMATIVE." They proceeded to stiffly kneel to the ground, their vision locked onto the bushes in front of them.
"You can put them in this basket." Vine Staff set a small wicker basket next to Biograft's leg. Though it didn't break their stare on the bushes, Biograft sensed the motion from the corner of their vision. "Just be sure to be caref-"
Biograft's hand was already reaching out to a strawberry, gripping it tightly between two large fingers, smushing the berry into a seedy red pulp as they tried to pull it from the vine. Red mush and juice leaked from their grip, as it stayed perfectly tight on the now crushed berry. Vine Staff's eyes widened. She definitely should have expected this, asking a robot with no sense of their strength to grab something so fragile. But she enjoyed spending time with Biograft, even if their methods were very different. It was no reason to treat them unfairly.
"-Oh. That's okay...Biograft, you can just grab the stem by the berry and pull like this," Vine Staff sheepishly grabbed the stem just above where it meets the leaf of the strawberry, pulling gently with a snap. "That should be a bit easier for you. Don't worry about the plant right now, it's going to die soon. It's getting too cold for the poor thing."
She sighed wistfully, watching as Biograft silently proceeded to copy her motions, pulling berries off methodically and placing them in the basket.
Going to die soon...
The thought echoed in her mind. It definitely wasn't something she liked to think about; Her arm taking over, transforming her. It had been too many times that Vine Staff had tried to rid herself of her curse. She hated to bring it up anymore. Too many bad memories of Shuriken catching her in struggle, worrying about her, seeing her with a stub of an arm, only to see it grow back again.
For some reason, nature desired to consume her. While not a scary way to die, being enveloped in the beauty of flora, the fact that it could happen at any time was truly anxiety-inducing. Vine Staff knew she wasn't ready to leave this world yet. It was horrifying to think about the world moving on without her. And who only knew what would happen long after her friends and relatives passed as well. What would be left?
Just to watch every event happen, through the eyes of an old tree. Unable to speak to those who don't understand.
Vine Staff swallowed harshly, looking up at Biograft's unmoving expression. They seemed to be examining the base of the plant. She hoped they weren't thinking of uprooting it once they picked all the berries off. Sure, it was at risk of dying off, but Vine Staff was still rather sure that she could salvage the plant. She just wanted to find a quick reason for Biograft to not think about ruining the strawberries too much.
"Biograft? Can you promise me something?" Vine Staff finally spoke up.
"WHAT IS IT?" Biograft replied, not looking up from their task.
"I'm teaching you to care for the plants around us, and I want you to be kind to them. They aren't like us people, they can't hurt us, so we don't need to show violence to them." She started, glancing down at the ground, watching the blades of tall grass sway in the wind. "One day I will join them, and I can only hope you will be kind to me just as you are now."
Biograft turned to look at her, eyes silently analyzing her expression. "Like us people" seeped into their processing thoughts. Vine Staff really did see them as an equal, as a friend, even if Biograft felt mostly unfeeling about any other demon. They felt compelled in some way, feeling a kindness no one else had bothered to show them. It went down like a buzz of electricity.
"I hope you will remember and recognize me, when I take a new form..." Her eyes stayed focused on the ground, taking a deep breath in as she ran her hand through leaves of nearby plants.
"I WILL ALWAYS BE ABLE TO SCAN AND RECOGNIZE YOU. YOUR BIOSIGNATURE IS UNIQUE."
Vine Staff looked up, a weary smile growing on her face. Even from the thoughts of a supposedly unfeeling robot, she felt comforted. That there would always be someone left to roam the world that would remember her, even long after her brother and loved ones left this life. Someone to carry her memory, when everyone else would simply see a wise, old tree.
In a hundred years, an immortal robot will be roaming the earth, remembering the beautiful life a demon lived.
"Thank you, Biograft. It really does mean a lot to me."
"OF COURSE."
An almost human response. "Of course I would look for you"
Biograft's head stayed turned in her direction, but their upper body shifted to grab hold of the basket with both hands, holding it out towards Vine Staff. The pile of berries and stems sat in the basket, thankfully, with minimal visual casualties. The basket sat more on top of their palm than actually being gripped by their fingers.
"Oh, thank you. Here...We should head back in. It's starting to get chilly." Vine Staff gently grabbed the basket from Biograft's hands, their lack of grip making it much easier to take.
The two stood up, and Vine Staff gave one last look to the garden before they began to walk back to the indoors.
When the inevitable occurs, at least I will always have someone thinking of me, watching over me, honoring me.