Naval Feral Control Clerk Daffodila Cyprus, Third Bloom, had seen many wondrous things in her time in the Terran System.

She was present for first contact with the Terrans, albeit at the onset of her immature Third Bloom. She participated in the various short-lived naval encounters with the Accord's quaint armada, and the subsequent signing of the ceasefire and agreements. And after that, the tracking, overtaking, and domestication of various rebellion groups (The United Liberation Front, The Terran Succession States, The Free Human Movement, ad infinitum). Her portfolio of operations successfully undertaken was, simply put, expansive.

However, all of these exciting and multitudinous experiences paled in comparison to the visual buffet that was the intoxicatingly dazed expression frozen upon her obedient pet, Samira Cyprus, First Floret.

The sophont was seated in Daffodila’s loving vines, providing an ergonomic shape for her to sag into. Her pet’s hypnotic lenses were beginning to uncloud, and the affini allowed herself to giggle, for Samira’s eyes were visible through the haze. She could not perceive a speck of resistance remaining… and likely would not again, at least until the next heat cycle struck and Samira begged to be “put back.”

Even now, the sophont began to stir, responding to the Class H antidotes and muscle relaxants with tepid breaths. “...mistress… Mistress!”

Daffodila beamed brightly. “There’s my good girl! Hush now. Drink some water first."

With a practiced vine, she offered a gourd shaped bottle for Sammi to use. Her pet drank greedily, finishing down her last gulp with a gasp before turning to the affini with the sweetest expression she had seen in weeks. Although she could already tell how her pet was going to respond, she asked anyway.

"Your thoughts on our scene, darling?”

Samira brimmed with delight. The sophont looked adorable; she was still recovering from the repeated orgasms that they together had induced in her, and the light in her eyes was only beginning to return.

Her pet beamed. “It was everything I needed it to be, Daffi. Stars… I really am seeing stars…” 

“Oh, silly floret,” the affini giggled, “that’s probably the lenses. I’ll take those off of you.”

After a quick peck on her pet’s cheek, Daffi deftly pulled the lenses off of Samira’s face, and set them aside on the cupboard, next to the affini’s own hypnosis set. Her pet’s eyes were still so out of focus, but as Daffi placed a hand on her shoulder, Samira began to stir a little more.

“We’re back… back hoooooooooooooomeee…” her pet let out a soft string of giggles.

Daffi grinned. “Yes we are. No more dreaded Oklahoma for you.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Samira replied dazily. “But you capture the feeling well every single time. I liked how you moved the encounter with Jones in the hangar towards the end… it made me feel a little competent before I got completely owned.”

Oh, Sammi. Always ready to give pointers and praise, she was. Daffi found it adorable that her pet had so many opinions about the hypnotic play they engaged in. The affini began to massage Samira’s thighs, which always tensed up a little too much when she got all worked up. Her pet let out a squeak in response.

“I know that the layout of the ship wasn’t exactly accurate to your memories,” Daffodila spoke as she worked out a particularly sore knot, “but I thought that narratively it would have been more engaging. Also it would be hotter.”

Samira giggled between moans as she struggled against the massaging vines. “Well, it worked!! Speaking of hot… that… that new beam thing you put in there... in the beginning...”

“Oh, that?” the affini hummed. “I thought it might add a little spice to the experience. I know it shook the roots of the scene up a little, so I apologize if it didn’t conform to your usual tastes.”

Samira’s sighs were beginning to eat up more and more of her words. “Nnnnn… no don’t apologize… nnnnnfff… it was …. Suuuuuuuuuuuper hoooooooot…haaahh… don’t know how a weapon like that would work in real life… but…  nfnng… if it ever becomes real I’d love to beta test it someday… nnnfg…”

Daffodila nudged Sammi's chin until their lips met, allowing them to kiss. As her pet gasped in delight, she finally relaxed into the vine strokes. Only after a few minutes of making out, the affini pulled back with a grin. 

“Nerd.”

Samira pouted a little… “N-not fair…”

“Indeed, it’s not. And you like it that way,” Daffi spoke, letting a tinge of controlled venom enter her voice. It was enough to make Sammi squirm a little more.

Her pet’s eyes almost rolled back again as a “yes mistress” left her tongue.

Daffi sighed. She could tease her floret all night, but they did have an engagement to go to, and perhaps putting her under again wouldn’t be compatible with their plans. 

“Now… I know it’s a little late, but you did say you wanted to catch the Equinox fireworks with your friends, right?” the affini pointed out.

Samira nodded. “Yes, mistress. It’ll be nice to see everyone again.”

The affini stretched a few vines across the hab, gathering clothing and other outing materials for the two of them. “Then let us prepare. I’ll have our things ready in a moment.”

“Wait…” Samira’s hand grazed at Daffi’s thigh, and she turned to face her pet, stopping her tasks.

“What’s wrong, little one?” she asked. 

Samira simply rested her body against the affini’s. “Cuddles first.”

Daffi's smile blossomed across her face, and she set her vines down.

“Of course, my pet.”

And so they cuddled, at least for a little while longer.

“Thank you…” Samira whispered, nuzzling at her owner’s neck. “Seriously. I’m so glad you picked me. You know?”

Daffi beamed with pride. “I do know. And I thank my stars every day that you chose to be with me, Samira Cyprus.”

Her pet flushed but looked delighted nonetheless, subconsciously wiggling a little more up against her Mistress.

Daffi decided that if the expression Sammi was making a few minutes ago was her favorite, this one was maybe a close second.

 

---

As the two Cypruses strode down the boardwalks of Teptin III, Daffodila leading Samira on a leash, she reflected on her career, if only briefly. 

She had always considered herself a bit of a taskmaster. Before her career switch into naval clerking, the affini had spent several cycles on the logistical side of the Compact, the most arduous aspect of the whole encounter. She had always been content and happy with her work, but after a while it was all becoming so… routine. It was only when she had begun to see her tips wilt that her good friend Belseth Lix had recommended she dip a different root into the human campaign; perhaps the taking of a pet herself.

The young blossom mulled the idea over; prior to joining the human domestication project, her own interests had been in other Affini. However, the beginning of her third bloom had been filled with such radical emotion, feelings that could hardly be contained even with the suite of drugs at the Compact’s disposal. Later that year, Wynomia Kress, at the time Daffi’s big romance, had expressed a desire to obtain a rebellious terran as a pet. “A fighter,” the affini recalled; and once those words had been uttered, Daffi had convinced herself that naval clerking was going to become her next true calling. Perhaps bringing a cute terran home would be a proof of her quality, her daring ruggedness and affection for sophonts, no matter how feral they seemed to be.

It was only after she had run her first sortie that Daffodila discovered that there was joy to be found in the act of taming itself. Seeing so many adorable terrans blissed out in her wake was the tipping point: she needed to have a pet, and for herself. But she couldn’t simply pursue that in the same way as most Affini. She felt drawn to the idea of capturing the ideal sophont, someone whom she could secure utmost loyalty from by virtue of her intervention. After all, feral or not, humans loved being told what to do. 

When she first identified Samira’s rebel wing floating through an unscanned sector of terran space, she knew that it was meant to be. What a dance they shared, weaving through the cosmos together in a daring cat-and-mouse chase as the sophont tried desperately to evade capture. Like most prey, Samira had given in quite readily once the appropriate methods had been deployed, but it was the thrill of the hunt that brought the two so intimately close. After capture Samira had requested to pair with the “leader” of the Affini efforts, and Daffodila simply had to oblige.

Of course, this also meant that the affini was required to take shore leave from her duties, which was not something she was used to. However, with Samira by her side, every day felt like an adventure, and doing paperwork on the side was more than enough to make up for her perceived lack of productivity.  

“You remember, don’t you, little one?” Daffi addressed her pet, who had been busy devouring a cone of “jupiter-flavored” ice cream as they made their way to the staging grounds of the fireworks display. “When we first met?”

Samira finished a particularly big lick. “Nnnnnyep! You only ask me every month or so!”

Daffi looked a little offended. 

“I do not!...” after seeing Sammi grinning at the affini, she let out a sigh. “...okay, perhaps I do. You’ll have to forgive me; it is such a fond memory.”

The floret danced around Daffi triumphantly, her dress flowing in the soft nighttime breeze, drips of ice cream falling onto the boardwalk as she did. “See! See! This is why I suggested we do a scene about it!” 

“It frankly amuses me that you humans derive such joy out of experiencing a fiction, even if it is a fiction based off of reality,” the affini remarked. “And… to be honest… illuminating.”

Her pet bowed dramatically. “Always proud to bring the good parts of the terran experience to my owner– omg! Quent!”

Before she could tell what had happened, Daffodila found herself being pulled by her pet’s leash towards a grassy hill. She spotted the others; Reluta Phlix and her adorable floret Quentin; Wyrax Mynst with his companion Joan, and Camora Vustiviex with eir pet Mickey. Already the humans were busy cuddling, chatting, exploding with affection for one another. 

Reluta gave a bashful wave, while Wyrax chuckled. Camora, meanwhile, was in on the action, using eir limbs to usher the humans closer together.

“They really are so darling, aren’t they,” Daffi said cheerily as she approached, detaching her leash from her pet so that she could go play uninhibitedly. 

Wyrax watched the humans cuddle with a smirk. His voice was the least “human-like” compared to all of them, sounding more like wind blowing through reeds than a discernible set of vocal chords. It was still quite enjoyable to listen to, just… took some time for sophonts to adjust. Most of the humans playing together already knew him, so it wasn’t a shock. 

He spoke softly. “Joan’s been excited to see Sammi for days. They keep talking about getting breakfast together sometime… if only they’d get up early enough for that!”

Reluta shifted slightly, speaking with a sharp chirp that reminded Daffi of springtime birds whenever she heard it. “It’s never like that with Quentin; they’re a bit of an early horse, it seems. Always journaling and reaching out to their friends.”

“The saying,” Quentin wandered over to poke Reluta, “is ‘early bird, Mistress. I don’t know where you got ‘horse’ from. I thought we went over this!”

The affini blushed. “Quent…dearest. I told you not to embarrass me in front of the others! Shoo! Back to your human cuddle pile, dear.”

With a stray vine, she shooed her floret back to the others, and glanced back at the other affini sheepishly. Daffodila and Camora giggled, while Wyrax let out a gust of a guffaw.

“One cannot blame zese zophonts for ztaying up zo late,” Camora buzzed, covering for Reluta; ey had spent many cycles working with beeple as a medical doctor, and hadn’t quite made the adjustment over when ey learned to speak terran. “Zey had hard lives before we entered zem.”

“Well… then it’s a comfort that they are so happy together,” Daffi replied. She watched as Samira began to “play captain” again, the other pets listening in rapt attention as Samira gave detailed instructions. 

“...Ensign Mynst! Make sure that we have enough water for everyone, including the affini! And um… Engineer Phlix, you’re on ice cream duty. And Private Mickey, it's your job to say hi to other florets and ask if they want to join our cuddle pile!” her pet ordered.

Joan raised her hand in protest, whining. “But… Samira!” 

“It’s Captain Cyprus!” Samira pouted in response.

Joan grumbled. “Okay… Captain Cyprus. I was on water duty last time. What if you did water duty?”

Samira frowned, and put a finger to her chin. “Well, as your captain I think I must be responsible. I thank you for reminding me about this grave miscalculation. You can be on owner duty instead!”

Joan’s scowl grew into a smile. “Oh! Yay!”

“Ensign!” Samira crossed her arms dramatically, trying to coach the other pet. “This is important work! You have to make sure that if the owners spend too much time talking about business, that you can bring them back to enjoying the moment! There is no slacking to be had here.”

“Yes ma’am!” Mynst’s pet saluted Cyprus's, and then they went back to cuddling.

“...busy busy busy,” Wyrax tsked. “Even after all this time, they’re still at it. I’m impressed.”

Daffodila blushed. “Well, you know how it is. Some bonds transcend domestication.”

“Hey, don’t be so bazhful,” Vustiviex chided the naval clerk with a finger. “After all, it’s you who brought all of these lovely zophonts to us in ze firzt place. We zhould be zo lucky to have such vibrant pets.”

Phlix wrapped her arms around Daffi. “Agreed! Daffi should feel proud about her accomplishments. This is a day for celebration. So let us celebrate.”

The vast night sky of the terraformed planet gave way to flares, then sparkles, then dazzling arrays of light. As the fireworks began to shower the night sky with intricate arrangements and soft explosions kind to the human ear, Daffodila leaned back and tried her best to enjoy the show. At some point Samira wandered off to look for water, and returned, straining, with a massive barrel of water that was probably too big for everyone to go through. All of them had a good laugh, then Daffi summoned several vines to bring the poor exhausted pet to her lap. Together they snuggled and watched the display.

“I love you, my mistress,” Samira squeaked.

The affini replied with a soft kiss to Samira’s head. “I love you too, my pet.”

The Cypruses relaxed with their friends, knowing that another wonderful year was waiting just around the corner.

After a long naval career, perhaps both of them had earned this moment.