Her live broadcast was ruined. Sienna decided to relax by laying on the mat. It felt good to just lay down and stare up at the clear sky after sweating. In terms of clouds, the beast continent and earth were similar.
A blue sky and white clouds.
One sun as well.
She raised her hand, peeking at that sun through her fingers. Sienna could not help smiling because it felt really good to bask in the warm sun again. "I will open an outdoor gym after I lose weight." she murmured.
A soft bleating voice interrupted her planning for the future. "Lady Sienna...water."
She lowered her hand. Standing there was Kroton, his woolly ears twitching nervously as he held out a jug and glass. Sienna blinked. She had not asked for the water and she certainly didn't plan to ever interact with Kroton again. But here he was again! "Is someone setting me up again?"
Kroton seemed to have heard her and he shook his head. "No..no, I just thought that you might be thirsty."
Still suspicious, Sienna looked around for figures hiding behind hedges with binoculars and cameras, ready to catch her in the act.
"My mom sent me." Kroton said.
Sienna relaxed. As long as it was widely known that she had not invited the young beast man out. "Ah, thank you," she said, taking the jug and glass. "Why are you working as a servant at your age?"
Kroton nearly dropped the tray in shock. "Y--You're talking to me?"
Sienna chuckled. "I don't see anyone else around here Kroton and stop trembling as if I am about to bite you. I lack the pointy huge teeth for that job. Sit down, tell me about yourself."
One of the gardeners eavesdropping on them fainted.
The world was ending if Lady Sienna was talking to servants now.
Kroton hesitated, then plopped on the grass, ears flicking like nervous antennae. "It's not that I am scared, it's just that you have never spoken to us before. Everyone says you don't like servants."
Sienna waved a hand. "They also said I was lazy but look at me now. Life changes."
Kroton's face lit up. "Then....may I tell you about my school?"
Sienna raised an eyebrow. "School? Go ahead. To be honest, I slipped and fell in the bathroom yesterday so I lost some of my memories. I have forgotten some things about our world." She saw his eyes widen and guessed he was about to yell for a doctor or something like that. Quickly, she asked, "Do sheep and lion beast men go to school together?"
Kroton launched into a torrent of words, "Oh yes. All beast men and women live together in harmony. I attend the Clawspire Glory Academy. I study beast lore and mapping. I want to be a navigator some day, guiding ships through annual mass migrations. My mother thinks its silly because it does not pay as well as being a servant here does."
Sienna laughed.
"She also thinks I am too talkative."
Sienna laughed again, the sound startling even herself. "Talkative is nice. Your mother is a good woman, I saw how well she protected you yesterday. I think I was not a good mother in the past. My children don't want to talk to me. Other than their names, I don't even know what they like. If I go near one of them, they will scream murder."
Kroton's ears perked. "Oh, I know what they like! They sneak into the orchard to chase glow-bugs even though they are not supposed to. Young master Eli loves orange juice with honey and sweet cakes. Young miss Ali loves to play hide and seek but she always hides in the pantry."
Sienna blinked. This was good information, she could use it. Her eyes drifted to his twitching ears and she smiled. "How is it that your ears are ridiculously soft?"
Kroton's cheeks flushed crimson. "Lady Sienna you are those non beast men that like to pat soft fur, aren't you?"
Sienna nodded. "I can't help it. It's cute and soft....I am not being a pervert, truly. Your ears just look like clouds."
Kroton bleated in embarrassment, but his tail wagged. "No one has ever said that about me before.."
Sienna rummaged in her bag and pulled out a packet. It was from the pet food that the system had rewarded her with. It was small like a candy bar. "Here, it's food. Try it."
Kroton looked at the packet curiously. He opened it and sniffed cautiously, the nibbled. His eyes widened. "It tastes like....roasted nuts, honey...no, roasted stars."
Sienna burst into laughter. "Roasted stars? Kid, maybe you should go into advertising instead of navigation."
He looked around nervously and shushed her. "Don't let my mom hear you or she will have a new goal."
They both laughed.
On different balconies, servants and their masters watched the pair. Some through binoculars, others, using their sharp senses of sigh.
"Since when does she laugh with servants?" Cyra asked Miro.
"Since today apparently." Miro replied. "I heard that she finds sheep ears cute."
"What has she given him to eat?" Lady Cadelaria asked.
Eli threw the binoculars down and run away.
Lady Cadelaria cursed Sienna softly. "Instead of caring for her son, she is laughing with another woman's son. Am I wrong to call her an unfit mother?" She walked off in a hurry, calling Eli's name.
Back in the garden, Kroton looked around like a thief and leaned towards Sienna. "Lady Sienna, I think we are being watched. Someone is hiding behind the hedge behind you."
Sienna looked over her shoulder and noticed a fluffy little black head with small white ears. "Come out."
Slowly, the figure emerged from hiding. It was Ali. Her cute face and supple cheeks were just as pleasant as her ears. "Come here. Bring my toy."
The little one walked over slowly, her head hung low. As soon as she reached Sienna, tears began to fall from her eyes. Her fingers clenched around the toy, making it squeak.
Sienna reached into the bag and handed the girl a snack. "If you stop crying, I will allow you to eat this."
Kroton blinked. "Lady, maybe try carrying and comforting her first."
Sienna took the snack back, just as Ali was reaching out for it. Her withdrawal made the girl bawl loudly. This made Sienna anxious because she knew papa bear was about to come bolting to save his pup.
God help her neck then because she could hear it cracking already.