Petal didn’t really have words for the rest of that night. Just an endless need for her Mistress. A need which Delphinium was more than happy to give her an endless supply of.

Millie had also been rather needy, as always. She complained about not getting to actually see Delphinium put the collar on her precious Petal, but her complaints were quickly mollified when Delphinium brought Petal with her back into the bath. It’s not like she minded washing her again, or anything. 

Petal had seemed a little bit worried about the bath, at first, worried that the water might somehow damage the collar. Like there was anything that Petal could get her hands on that could damage it. The only way it was coming off was if Delphinium took it off, and she couldn’t see that happening until it was time for her dearest Petal’s surgery.

Her vines were already twitching, thinking about how it was going to feel, to bind her Petal to herself. Petal was completely hers already, of course, but there was still nothing quite like the look in a floret’s eyes when it knew it would never be apart from its owner again.

Millie managed barely another minute of relative stillness, cuddling up with her soon-to-be connivent, before she started squirming and splashing enough for Delphinium to wrap her up tightly in her vines so she could actually finish getting her cleaned without flooding the hab. She ended up giving her an extra couple of minutes, because it was utterly adorable to watch the two of them play like that.

Eventually, she finally did wrap her vines around Millie’s limbs, to hold her still enough to actually finish washing her and to make her feel as utterly powerless as she actually was. Of course, then Petal gave her an absolutely adorably needy look, and she just had to do the same for her. Even after the years the Millie had been with her, Delphinium still wasn’t entirely sure if she actually couldn’t stop herself from squirming, or just enjoyed the feeling of being held in place. Petal, however, definitely seemed to just enjoy being held in place, testing herself against Delphinium’s vines infrequently, and always with an adorable moan.

Finally, quite a while after they were both decidedly clean, Delphinium plucked them from the bath, drying them off. Petal was even more delightfully eager to obey than after her earlier bath. Millie was her usual squirmy self, needing to be held in place whenever she was supposed to be staying still. It was fortunate that she didn't flail about in her sleep, at least. Her darling Petal was going to need a lot of rest after such a long day. 

After she was done drying them off, Delphinium also saw to their teeth, sending a bundle of tiny vines into each of their mouths. Millie squirmed through this, as well, but Delphinium was used to that. Petal was also surprisingly squirmy, but Delphinium realised when she moaned that it was probably because she was enjoying it too much. 

Maybe she should consider some class-Ms for Petal's daily care needs. She definitely seemed to be enjoying powerlessness, and there was nothing quite like being completely unable to move their own body to make a floret feel powerless. She mentioned enjoying being puppeteered, too, so maybe class-Ps would also be a good idea. She was going to need to get herself some new grafts for her new floret, which was always exciting.

For now, though, she carried her adorable little not-humans to Petal's bed. It was much smaller than she was used to, but that just meant that she'd have to squish up with her beloved pets, and she certainly wasn't going to complain about that.

Petal feels… weird. Incredibly comfortable. More than she's ever been in her life, maybe, but that isn't what feels weird, at least, not quite. There's a pleasant smell in the air, like flowers in bloom. The bed feels different, no less inviting, maybe even more so. And it was warm, in a strangely pleasant way that warmth usually wasn't, unless…

Petal opens her eyes. Millie is in front of her! They slept in the same bed. Petal spent a night with Millie! This is so exciting! Is that why she feels weird? The excitement of having spent time with Millie, of having crossed that barrier? That doesn't feel like it. 

It feels big, like when she realised her name, but she can't quite put her finger on what it is, yet. Millie looks to still be asleep, and the bed…

It isn't a bed. It's too green, and leafy, and viney. Petal reaches up to her neck, and touches

Her collar.

She's a pet. A floret. More than that, she's Delphinium's floret. Although she's pretty sure there's some paperwork she needs to do, to make it official. 

… 

That sounds like Delphinium's problem, not hers. Petal yawns, and stretches, and-

"Good morning, my dearest Petal," Delphinium's voice is warm, as she gently strokes a vine down Petal's cheek. "I trust you slept well~?"

"Yes Mistress!" Petal claps a hand over her mouth. She wasn't supposed to just say that!

"Good girl~."

"I- I- um-" Petal splutters. 

"Yes, dearest?"

"Th-thank you, Mistress."

"You're very welcome~." Delphinium ruffles Petal's hair.

"S-so, I… I guess I'm a floret, now?"

"Well, you still have a few niggling little political rights, but we can deal with that later~. For now, my dear, what do you think you are?"

"I am yours!" Petal blushes. Apparently Delphinium has the power to just make Petal say things, now. Or maybe there are just some things so important to who Petal has become that she can't stop herself from declaring them when prompted. Especially if it’s her affini asking.

Delphinium wraps a few vines around Petal, embracing her tightly. “Yes, my dearest, you are mine~.” Petal’s heart skipped a beat. Hearing herself say it was one thing, hearing it from Delphinium, from her Mistress, was completely another.

“I feel… weird. Different.”

“Good weird, or bad weird?”

“Good weird, I think?. I… it feels like there’s something… missing. But in a good way. Like… like… hm… sorry, I- I’m just being weird, I guess.”

Delphinium smiles down at her. “Good.” Petal looks up at Delphinium, slightly confused. “I want all of you, my dear, and every last part of you is mine. Including your weirdness~.”

“Oh, um…” Petal feels herself smiling. Stars, how is Delphinium just so perfect? “Okay, well… that’s probably good.” Petal nuzzles herself up against the mass of Delphinium that apparently served as her bed for the night. “I… I guess it feels like… like taking your boots off, after you've been on your feet all day, or, or maybe like lying down in a warm bed, after a cold day. It’s like… like there was an ache that had been there for so long that I didn’t even notice it until it finally went away.”

Delphinium lovingly strokes a vine down Petal’s cheek. “And what ‘ache’ do you think finally went away, my dear~?”

“Um… I- I don’t know? I’m sorry.”

“Shh, my Petal, it’s okay, you don’t need to know the answer yet~.”

“Do… do you, Mistress?”

“Of course~. But I think you’re going to look so much more adorable when you figure it out, if you figure it out on your own~.”

Petal smiles, blushing. “I’ll… I’ll keep thinking about it, then.”

“Good girl~. Now, I think it might be about time for you and Millie to have breakfast. Do you think you could keep an eye on her while I get started on that?”

“Of course, Mistress!” Petal feels herself being raised up slightly, and she watches in awe as the mass of vines and flowers that she had been sleeping in slide off the bed, and pull themselves into the shape of her beloved Delphinium. She and Millie, who had also apparently been kept out of the green wave, were gently lowered back onto the bed.

Delphinium leaned down over them, and gave them each a kiss on the forehead. “If you need anything, just let me know, okay, dearest?” Petal nods, and Delphinium glides out of the room, giving her florets each some more petting with trailing vines, before those too slide out of the room.

Petal stretches and yawns once more, before cuddling herself up against Millie, resting her head on her girlfriend’s arm.

“G’morning, Petal.”

“Oh! Uh… good morning, Millie. I hope I didn’t wake you up?”

“Nahh, I was already waking up. Besides, who wouldn’t want to be awake if it meant they got to cuddle you~!” Millie wraps her arms back around Petal, who squirms in her grip. “Glad to see you’ve got your words back~.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, well, y’know. After Mistress collared you last night, it was mostly just adorable, needy whimpering.” Petal’s heart skipped a beat, just from hearing about Delphinium collaring her. Possessing her. Making her Hers. She was pretty sure the weirdness had something to do with that. She still wasn’t quite there yet. Not being collared wasn’t something that went away. But… maybe it’s what replaced whatever she’d lost. Or maybe it was like a massage for feet that ache after a long day. Or a blanket, warming and protecting. Not taking the ache that went away, but something that actually soothed it where it had been.

She was getting closer, but she still wasn’t quite there. She could afford to take her time. She can almost see herself falling back asleep like this, cuddled up to Millie. Millie, on the other hand, seems to have other ideas. She keeps shifting and squirming, and before long, she pulls herself free of Petal, and stands up.

“Awww, Millie, you were warm~.”

“And you’re really cute, but I’ve been lying in bed, for, like, hours.”

“Hmmm, okay. Help me up?”

“Babe, you can stay in bed if you want.”

“But, but… I don’t wanna be alone. And if you’re going to Mistress, I wanna go too!”

“Yeah, yeah, okay. Gimme your hand.” Millie steps in front of Petal, and Petal reaches a hand out towards her. Millie takes it, and suddenly Petal feels herself rushing forwards, she somehow manages to turn this into standing up, probably with some assistance from Millie that she’s too tired to even notice.

Petal and Millie make their way into the main room of the hab, where Delphinium is in the kitchen, cooking something that smells utterly amazing. Millie rushes over to her side, and is quickly pulled in by some vines. Petal on the other hand, runs out of energy half way, and collapses on the couch.

She reaches down, and picks up the list of cons, and is just… confused.

lose freedom T
lose free will T
lose political rights T
what if I change my mind? M
what if they stop me from being able to change my mind even if I should? M
what if they change my mind and I'm not me anymore? M T
have to choose which one M
what if the affini changes their mind? M
I'll never get to make another real decision in my life T
I'll be admitting that I'm not good enough to be a real person
would I even really be a human anymore? T W
would I be betraying humanity somehow?
what if something goes wrong with the implant? M
what if I just become a puppet?
I won't be able to stop the affini from doing anything to me
maybe I'll just be too high to think all the time
what if I go with Millie's mistress and we break up? M
it might be a trick
███████████████████
can I trust Delphinium? M T W

She crosses off the question about trust without a second thought, followed by the question about her breaking up with Millie. Petal just can’t imagine that Delphinium would even let it happen. Same goes for the implant, and changing her mind. Delphinium wouldn’t have her get the implant if it could be bad for her, and Petal can’t imagine that She’d ever let her change her mind about being a floret, even if she wanted to.

Which just leaves her freedom, her free will, her political rights, and her ability to make decisions. Her independence. Petal just stares at the list blankly, with an almost empty feeling. A weird feeling. The weird feeling. 

It’s funny, before the Affini showed up, they were made out to be so important. The Terran Accord was built around the pretense that its citizens were free, that they had political rights, that they could make their own decisions. But all of that was a lie. How could you be free when you needed to serve somebody else to survive. How could you have political rights if they could be stripped from you if you even thought about trying to apply them. How could you make your own decisions, when all of the decisions were made for you, by those who actually had power.

Before the Affini showed up, Petal hadn’t even known what it meant to actually be free, to actually be independent. They came, and they gave everyone what they had been told they already had. Maybe that’s why the feralists are so angry about it. If they ever acknowledged what the Affini have done for humanity, then they’d have to admit that they’d never been Free Terrans, just… cogs in a machine dedicated to making them miserable, so that the ridiculously wealthy could pretend that they were ever so slightly better than the rest of the ridiculously wealthy. Even as florets, officially stripped of all political rights, they were still guaranteed safety, and wellbeing. Which was so much more than the Accord ever guaranteed anyone. More than the Accord ever allowed almost everyone.

But now, Petal had all of it. She could do anything she wanted with her life. She was free to go anywhere, do anything, she could make any decisions she could ever want. She had political rights that guaranteed her a safe and happy life. She could be independent in a way that humanity hadn’t been allowed to be for centuries. And she didn’t want to be.

And she wasn’t.

Petal looked up instinctively, and saw her affini, her Mistress, her Owner looking down at her. Her eyes once more awash with the patterns of purple and gold that Petal so loved to get lost in. Her human-like face carved into an expression of pure love and adoration.

“There’s the look I was waiting for~.”