Raised By Frogs-An Amphibia AU

Chapter 20: Scouting Mission

Crunching leaves.

Squishing mud.

The cries and trills of wild birds.

The fluttering wings of insects.

The splash of puddles left behind from the previous night's rainstorm.

These noises were like a majestic orchestra to Marcy as she ran through the great, wild, marshy forests that made up the borderlands west  of Newtopia.
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For the past year,the twelve year old had been assisting the scientists working at the castle laboratory, her interest in science and the creatures and plants and everything related to Amphibia's  biology having skyrocketed since her encounter with them when they'd captured the barbari-ant the year before.

She'd wasted no time in asking King Andrias about visiting the laboratory during her break from her royal lessons after lunch, and he had given her his permission to go, as long as these visits didn't interfere with her education. Since then,Marcy had been visiting the scientists during her lunch break,and it hadn't taken her long to get to know all of them personally.

When she'd first come to visit,the first thing they'd asked was to study her. They'd been fascinated with her ever since her presence had been announced, and now that she was going to be seeing them more frequently, they were very interested in studying her and unlocking all her biological secrets.

They'd proposed a deal- If she'd be so kind as to let them study her, show her around the lab and she could get involved with their current studies and projects.

How could Marcy refuse such an offer?

From there on out,she'd acted as both an assistant and research subject for the royal scientists. They'd spend the first half of her visit studying her- Taking hair,skin cell and - When Marcy had felt brave enough to face a needle- Blood samples from her and studying them thoroughly,all while asking Marcy questions regarding her senses, what she and her kind ate or could not eat, what she remembered about her kind from her short time back at home. Once she had answered their questions, she was then free to ask hers,asking them about what they were studying, where they'd found what they were studying,and what she could do to help.

At first,they'd only showed her their latest research subjects-usually large insects, sea creatures from the ocean surrounding Newtopia,  or some strange fungi they'd picked up from their travels to the forests west of Newtopia. They'd show her their notes and tell her their observations, then would let Marcy observe the subject and tell them anything she'd observed.

Despite Marcy being a child, they never treated her like one or talked down to her. They used proper scientific terms to describe things, let her make her own observations, and, most of all, they listened to her.

Truly listened to her.

They would let her speak, and they would listen to her and evaluate what she had to say before giving their own responses.

It was this that made Marcy love visiting the laboratory most of all.

No one had ever listened to her like they did. Her own parents, King Andrias, Lady Olivia....Even General Yunnan didn't seem to really listen to her as much as the royal scientists did.

It was refreshing...

It was uplifting.

It made her feel like she actually mattered and that she was genuinely cared for.