Cecil lightly began to open her eyes and wake up fully, The first thing she saw was that she was surrounded by vines, She felt panic for a second before the day's events came back to her, She and Oleander had spent what must have been hours cuddling with each other and watching TV before she had felt a small pinch on her arm and she had fallen asleep.  

‘She must have drugged me’ shot through her mind, anger boiled up that she had been drugged without even being asked or given the ability to consent but as she lay surrounded by vines she had to admit that it didn’t seem that bad, She felt relaxed and comfortable and she didn’t feel as if her mind had been altered in any way. 

It was a strange feeling, Cecil had been scared of domestication when she had heard about it but not for the reasons the Affini seemed to expect and Oleander probably wouldn’t understand either she thought, But laying here in Oleander’s vines was oddly comforting in a way that she hadn’t felt before. 

“Good morning my precious Floret” Cecil heard the voice all around her as the vines surrounding her began to uncurl and she saw the eyes of Oleander looking down at her “I hope you slept well” 

“I did, thanks” Cecil started, Oleander seemed to beam at her response “Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed your—” 

“I didn’t like being drugged” Cecil interrupted in a somewhat accusatory tone. 

Oleander’s expression changed, the accusation seemed to hamper her previous glee “I… Exdela told me that you didn’t like Xenodrugs it’s just… you just seemed so happy… I didn’t think you’d mind” Oleander muttered, she seemed genuinely upset to Cecil, It was a strange sight, Cecil had never heard of any Affini being apologetic over drugging someone, part of her had expected Oleander to justify it in some way and it was oddly comforting that she wasn’t.

Seeing Oleander upset made Cecil feel slightly bad for bringing it up, Oleander had been only nice to her she thought, she took a deep breath and spoke “I suppose it wasn’t that bad” she said reluctantly. 

Oleander’s expression changed immediately “oh thank you dear” she quickly said enthusiastically “Would you…” Oleander started nervously before cutting themselves off “If you don’t mind… Could you tell me why you don’t like Xenodrugs” Oleander slowly asked hopefully. 

“I’m just… scared” 

Oleander lightly began to pet Cecil’s head caringly “Scared of what my precious Floret? I’d never let anything harm you” 

“Not of any physical harm I’m just scared that the drugs will… change me somehow… that it won’t be me being domesticated but just someone else in my body” 

Oleander looked thoughtful for a time “Thank you for telling me Cecil” they eventually said “But I want you as my Floret dear, I won’t let Xenodrugs change you” 

“You… You do?” Cecil muttered.

“Of course, I do my precious pet” 

Cecil lay back deeper into Oleander’s vines as she began an onslaught of cuddling but managed to mutter out a few words before surrendering to it entirely.

“Thank you… Mistress”

“Thank you… Mistress” 

Magnus thought back on the words as he was carried comfortably in Exdela’s vines, That pizza had been delicious, much better than anything he’d had on Terra before, The first day of the rest of my life he thought and he felt excited, He didn’t know why he had ever resisted the idea of becoming a Floret, it all seemed so appealing now.

He hugged further into Exdela, He felt so secure and satisfied when near his Owner, In Terra, he had always felt so alone, His relations with his only sister had broken down so he had just been left to fend for himself in the cutthroat society of the Terran Accord. 

Magnus almost shuddered at the recollection but the feeling of his Owners presence kept him feeling happy, He thought about never having to deal with that again, He wouldn’t have to make any more stressful decisions or concern himself with really anything anymore, It sounded almost blissful to think about. 

Soon Magnus found himself being placed down in front of a large building and felt one of his Owner’s vines lightly surround his neck forming a makeshift collar quickly seeing the same happen to Mabel as Exdela slowly walked them both in “This is the Office of Transitional Neoxenoveterinary Archeobureaucracy dears” She said as she walked inside towards what appeared to be a front desk of sorts. “We keep a database of every adorable sophont in the compact”

The Affini behind the desk seemed to light up when she saw Magnus and Mabel their whole expression seemed to grow brighter somehow “Are these your two adorable rescuees Exdela?” They asked familiarly.

“My two adorable Florets too” 

“Oh congratulations you two cuties, I’m sure you’ll both be very happy,” The Affini said looking down at them both and lightly petting them both at once. “Being kidnapped by those nasty rebels must have been a horrible experience, We’ll have to make it up to you two” 

“We just need to ensure my adorable Magnus here is in our records and we also need a domestication contract so he can become mine officially” Exdela explained with an almost predatory grin.

The Affini seemed to look through paperwork for a few seconds “Magnus Ferocium” They said after a few seconds “Isn’t that interesting” They continued to no one in particular whilst seemingly writing further paperwork “We’ll add you two to our records as two extremely cute Florets, We’ll be sure to update your names too… Mabel Rine First Floret and Magnus Rine Second Floret” She said as she appeared to hand a piece of paper to Exdela “We could do with two happy pets for a broadcast, Would you and your lovely Florets be interested Exdela?” 

“We’d be delighted, especially with all of those silly Feralists out there” Exdela confirmed.

‘Feralist’ Magnus was sure that he had heard the word before but he didn’t know what the term itself actually meant. 

“What’s a Feralist, Mistress?” 

Both Affini turned to Magnus upon hearing the question, His Mistress carefully placed a vine on his shoulder before speaking “A Feralist is a sophont that rejects the Affini Compacts' assistance, They reject domestication and want us to leave” She said carefully.

“You wouldn’t believe some of the horrible lies they spread about us dear” The other Affini added. 

“But… why? This place is amazing and I love being with Mistress” Magnus asked in genuine confusion.

“We ask ourselves the same question all the time my dear Floret… But that’s Feralists for you” Exdela laughed as she left lightly pulling Magnus and Mabel with her. 

“Time for us to go home my dear Florets, Your new home Magnus” 

Magnus smiled in response, he felt excited going to his owner’s hab, being around Mistress at all times sounded amazing, He’d never be lonely or without someone to care for him. 

“It’s just a short walk away” Exdela added as the three began to walk, Mabel and Magnus walking slightly behind Exdela, Magnus had no idea how he’d navigate normally, Most of these streets looked the same to him but Exdela’s soft vine around his neck kept him walking in the right direction, Looking around he saw several Florets all with collars being led around by their owners, It made him feel around his own for a few seconds partially in longing, But it made him feel strange watching these other Florets be walked around, He thought for a second, This moment made him feel more like a Floret then any of the others did and he didn’t know why, He supposed it was just the sense of being walked around by his owner just like any other Floret, Somehow everything else had just felt normal but this of all things made his status as a Floret sink in truly. 

Unexpectedly Magnus felt himself walk into what he assumed were tough vines, swiftly knocking him out of his head, He looked up and saw an unfamiliar Affini with bright white flowers all over them look back down at him “You should be more careful dear” He heard the Affini admonish. 

He heard the voice of his owner before he could respond “Anemone” He heard called out, He saw the Affini look off to the right and Magnus followed them finally seeing Mistress approaching Mabel still behind her “Are these two yours Exdela?” The white-coloured Affini asked.

“That they are Anemone,” She said slowly pulling Magnus into her grasp “Magnus here agreed a few hours ago,” Exdela said with barely concealed joy. “Weren’t you going to take on a Floret too Anemone?” 

“Oh I’m going to meet them now, I’m quite excited really” They replied in an oddly monotone way, “They think I would be good for taking on a Feralist, less… oh what was the word they used… Condescending” They explained. 

“Well good luck to you” Exdela offered “I don’t think I could take on a Feralist, Seeing that look in their eyes…” Exdela was sure that Anemone knew what she meant, The fear many sophonts experience when they are brought into the Compact's care was often high, and seeing them so scared can be difficult for even the sternest Affini.  Whilst thinking about this she oddly felt a change in Magnus, She could normally his light shuffles around in her vines but they seemed to have suddenly stopped, Exdela looked down to see if he had fallen asleep only to see him wide awake but almost frozen solid, It seemed concerning and her instincts urged her to take him home immediately, He still had a contract to sign and then she could go about offering a Xenodrug regimen to help him adjust.

Exdela rushed to her hab after, picking up Mabel and placing her next to Magnus and soon got back to her Hab Unit and placed him comfortably down in a Terran Sofa she had fabricated, She’d prepared plenty of Terran furniture for Mabel and Magnus for when he’d volunteer.

He seemed to have gone back to normal from the odd freezing she’d seen earlier, Part of her longed to ask Magnus about it but she didn’t want to hamper the mood for when he’d sign his contract and she felt that she could easily solve whatever issue he’d had with a Xenodrug regimen anyway and so she slowly put down the contract she’d picked up earlier and placed it on a small Terran table in front of him.

“Would you like to sign your domestication contract Flower?” She asked excitedly.

Magnus looked at the contract for a second and slowly read over it, ‘Above all else, you, Magnus, must obey your Guardian, Exdela Rine, Third Bloom in all things. This is for your safety, well-being, and care.’ Magnus raised his pen to the box to tick and lowered it to the paper—

Magnus nearly dropped the pen out of shock entirely when the hab door swung open intensely and an Affini rushed hurriedly in, He looked to Exdela who seemed just as confused as he did.

“We’ve made contact, We need Magnus!” They exclaimed.

“I’ve already told you no” Exdela swiftly replied. 

The sight of two Affini arguing was odd, Magnus had never seen it happen before but he quickly felt some anxiety return as they argued about him over something he didn’t understand. 

“What’s going on?” He asked, Both Affini stopped bickering to turn to him, Magnus looked to his Owner who seemed somewhat upset, Exdela sighed before speaking “We’ve… We’ve found your sister… Valda” Magnus was surprised by the confession, He hadn’t thought about her for years, They’d never really gotten on too well and he’d quickly broken off contact with her “She’s a Feralist I’m afraid… A pack leader too” Exdela revealed before pausing and turning to the other Affini “Some of us wanted you to talk to her and see if you could convince her to surrender to the compact” She turned back to face Magnus “I didn’t want you to take on that stress and worry” 

Magnus took it in for a moment before asking a question that he found on the tip of his tongue barely thinking about it “What… will happen to her if she did?” 

The other Affini suddenly spoke “Well she’d be domesticated… There are plenty of Owners capable of taking on a Feralist like her, She'd become a happy pet like you” 

Suddenly Magnus felt the most horrible gut-wrenching feeling in his stomach, The feeling was shocking having only felt pleasure with his Owner recently but he remembered feeling it earlier in his owner's vines too when they were talking about a Feralist, it made him go silent and pale for a while.

Exdela looked concerned and quickly grabbed Magnus up with her vines laying him down within them in what had become his usual spot “What’s wrong dear?” 

“I can’t do it…” 

“You don’t have to my precious Floret, You won’t be forced to," She said caringly

“No… You don’t understand Mistress” Magnus replied with a strange mix of sadness and anger.

Magnus rejecting her so quickly and suddenly seemed to shock Exdela who tensed up for a moment.

“It’s from Terra… I just can’t stand to see people forced into a life they don’t want… Whenever I heard about it even in passing on Terra it gave me the worst feeling… I just felt it now” Magnus tried to explain “But I know now, The feeling will just continue If I do nothing,” He said with an almost pained expression. 

“I can give you a Class F Xenodrug flower, That should help with those kinds of feelings” Exdela offered.

“No,” Magnus said strongly.

“Why not my dear Floret? I can’t just let you suffer like this” 

“It’s my… moral compass…” Magnus said sluggishly as if not fully knowing what he was going to say “There was a time on Terra before… All this… I could cause harm to anyone and not feel a thing, I was… ruthless, I think but over time it waned away, This… horrible feeling made me… kinder to people… I don’t want to go back to how I was before, Mistress” He tried to explain.

“What about a Class B Petal, You could forget about all of this” She proposed.

“Maybe” Magnus replied, The thought of forgetting about this was appealing but it just seemed so unsatisfying, Suddenly Magnus felt a prick in his arm and felt himself grow sleepy.

As he fell asleep his mind jumped to pictures as it often did of himself in that situation, He thought about being forced into Domestication, being forced into taking Xenodrugs... It was not pleasant.