It's in the coming days that Jupiter, Grey trailing after her more often than not, that she learns her new home.
The house itself is nice, big, really, and comfortable. It's strange to suddenly have her own room, to have a bed she doesn't need to make herself small on, but rather instead can sprawl out like a starfish, but nice. Her impression of Seraphi's extravagance makes her see how much more grounded her grandfather is. Sure, he has the wealth that many on Earth would struggle to obtain. Yet he does not spend it outrageously. And he also does not let it sit idle, more often than not donating vast quantities the second he has earned them. The house out in the rural area of Illinois is comfortable, gives every single one of its inhabitance space, and... Places to come together.
It's a nice house. A nice house full of the people she loves or will come to love, and that has value. Every beam of wood supporting it, every brick makes it stand higher and higher in her heart.
But it's the outside that grabs more of her attention.
The greenhouse is definitely perfect. Soothes that part of her that likes to have her hands in creating life, instead of taking it away. The front lawn is open and spacious, grass green and vibrant in the summer, The empty flowerbeds clustered close to the house are for her to pick to her heart's content and an actual vegetable garden stands in the back with a sprawling yard.
Their closest neighbors have corn. Like actually growing corn, just starting to get tall stalks that she knows would be fun to play in once they are tall enough. Each day she inches closer, curious about how it would feel to rush through the rows and be sheltered from the sun.
"Jupiter," calls Grey, ever careful, "Remember that your Elder said it was dangerous in the field."
Jupiter sighs, and turns her back on the growing corn. She skips to her friend, grinning at them with a closed mouth.
"I know, I know, they have a bee farm. I could get stung if I get too near where they pollinate."
Grey actively shudders. They are composed, and amazing actors. Neither her mama nor her grandfather even suspected that their live-in-nanny was anything but human and it was only because Jupiter knew that she caught her friend's alien behavior at times. But they can't hide the fact that living next to an apiary makes them nervous. They are extremely frightened of stinging insects. Something about them really freak them out, and when Jupiter had asked, Grey had only replied that it used to be a way for humans to execute other humans, and it had really had been horrified by it. They hadn't given details, and Jupiter hadn't pushed.
"Now come, your break is over and we have your literature hour to complete."
Jupiter sighed. Grey was taking their role as her nanny/tutor seriously and was super strict about their schedule. She didn't mind- Grey had always been curious about humans, and they did know a lot. But sometimes she wished they would play hookey with her.
"Can't we do it outside, it's so pretty outside-"
Grey's rolled their dark eyes. When they are alone in the house, they don't bother with their 'Venus' face. Jupiter had programmed their old Keeper Sheeve to give off a buzz like a pager if any life signal got near the property, so they could hide behind it in time. The adventure of setting up the monitoring perimeter had been fun if nerve-wracking, they had been hiding through a stolen cloak that Grey had stolen from a small and ill monitored Keeper facility a few days before they had officially moved into the house with them.
"As long as it's in the greenhouse. I am not going to be anywhere near this field if I can help it."
The greenhouse was directly opposite from the cornfield and would be unbearably hot before long. But Jupiter suspected that Keepers were originally from a hot, humid place or maybe a tropical forest of some kind, because Grey really liked it in there, and never seemed to mind the heat. They did, however, get horrifically sunburned and Jupiter wondered if their planet's atmosphere had had better protection against UV rays...
"Whatever you want, Grey, as long as we can see outside!"
