AN: Sorry for such a super late update! I promise to get back on my earlier posting schedule starting tomorrow :)
A Drone Named Jeffrey
Chapter Thirteen
Animal
It all started with a faint pattering on the roof.
Now, I've grown used to certain sounds during the night. I don't react when the mutt next door starts baying at anything that breathes; I barely pay attention to the old humans that bathe in the pool on the other side; and when the car down the street backfires, I no longer think that I'm under attack.
But this somehow jerks me straight out of recharge, which is a very disgruntling thing. I don't recharge very often because honestly if I stay well fueled I don't need to recharge every single night, so when I get brought back online in such a rude and sudden way, I don't like it. It makes me very grumpy.
I sat in my vehicular mode, listening to the soft sounds as they crossed the tin roof. It definitely wasn't the sound of rain, which—as rare as it may have been at times—I had learned to identify. Neither was it some branch falling from the tree above the garage because surprisingly I've learned to identify that sound too.
What I heard was only concentrated in one area and stopped and started at random intervals. I listened to it for a while—just trying to figure out what I was hearing—until I finally transformed. I pushed the door of the garage opened and checked the area around me before stepping out.
Slobber mutt immediately started barking, but it backed down the moment it heard my blaster hissing to life. With a satisfied nod at the sight of the mutt retreating to its tiny house with its tail between its legs, I turned my attention back to the roof for what had disturbed my night. It took me a moment to find it huddled up in the corner because its dark coloring made it hard to find in the lack of light (and I wasn't about to waste my energy with switching to night vision).
I stared at the little animal, and it stared back with eyes that glowed when the light caught them. I must have stared at it for too long because the weird armor animals seem to all possess fluffed up along its back and tail, and a low snarl emitted from it. I tilted my head to the side. "Get off my roof."
It hissed and swatted at me when I attempted to poke it. I pulled back and angled my finger in the light of the porch light, staring at the series of shallow scratches that had been left behind. "That didn't hurt."
It didn't care for my words and swatted again. I kept poking at it, finding my annoyance from earlier fading into amusement as it became a game to see if the animal was fast enough to actually scratch me. After a while, it grew tired of the game and turned away. I leaned forward as it picked something up in its jaw and stalked across the roof towards the tree, keeping a close eye on me as it went. "Is that a squirrel?"
It growled at me and jumped onto the nearest branch, the dead squirrel's tail dragging along between its front legs. I watched it carefully descend the tree, finding a surprising amount of awe at its fluid movements. Once it reached the ground, it took one final look at me before heading towards the fence that divided our yard with Sir Mutts-a-lot.
Curiosity got the best of me as I listened to the dog begin its yapping before abruptly cutting off with a pitiful whine. I chuckled and returned to my garage.