Safe to say, Alice was starstruck. Basiya was… So kind to her-- She prompted questions out of her, petted her hair… Just-- Being touched by her was nice. Though to be fair, Alice couldn’t recall the last time she’s been touched by anyone, really. It’s only been like.. A day? A day or so..? But she couldn’t stop thinking about that day.

The day her life changed. Maybe. Probably. She looked at a note she was given. Contact Information for Basiya Nach, First Bloom -- Contact information about a nearby domestication facility, as well as directions easy enough to understand. She kept it close to her as she got on her computer, ready for another day of cuddling with one of her plushies and surfing the web.

Safe to say, it was about as boring as ever. With the exception that her adblock doesn’t seem to be working anymore-- Which frankly, kind of sucks. And yet--Most if not all of the advertisements she’s seeing are just… Promoting domestication?

Saying things about how “Life can be so much easier” or how “You have a place to belong to.”

“We can help you bloom.” “We’ll take in anyone!” “You’ll be so adorable as a pet!”

...Stuff like that. Honestly, Alice would expect to find this stuff in the more… Kinkier parts of the web--But.. Right, Affini have a thing for pets. Domesticating humanity was their whole reason for the whole… Thing. Still, those humans in the advertisements…

They seemed happy. They seemed to be in bliss. Maybe that was just whatever intense xenodrugs they had in their system but… Alice couldn’t help but feel a great deal of envy. Not a care in the world, having someone take care of them… Alice wishes it was that easy.

...Wait.

Wait, it could be that easy.

Right?

Alice looked at her note again. The domestication facility… This one didn’t seem… Too far away.. But--It’s.. So far away--Well, it’s NOT but… It FEELS far away. Feels like too much trouble. But… No. Would it? Maybe…? Is it even worth it to be domesticated? What if she somehow CAN’T be domesticated?

What if Alice is so bad at being domesticated she just never gets domesticated again and just like, DIES somewhere? What if, what if, what if…..

Actually, that’s enough of that. It’s time for Alice to go back to bed and scream into her plushies. Except she doesn’t really have the energy to scream so she just buries herself into a pile of blankets, pillows, and stuffed things. Only to get bored and reach for her phone to start doomscr--Er, To start browsing social media in hopes of seeing nice things and totally not about how much the world sucks right now.

Turns out, there’s a lot of discourse on the internet about the whole “human domestication” thing that the Affini are doing. Oh, and more Affini propaganda on the side. Honestly, she wishes she could forget all this. She… huh.

She… Wants… To be a pet.

...It’d be beneficial for her--Someone will be able to take care of her and all… And… Huh. Would it be worth it? Worth what, exactly? Worth.. Worth worth worth…. Ugh. If she can keep her beloved plushies, her entertainment… Why not? Why not become a pet? It’s probably the best choice for her. (...Oh god is--Is she falling for propaganda? In this day and age? ….Probably, yeah. She couldn’t really care too much about it.)

Okay. That settles it. Enough self-monologuing. Enough lying about doing nothing! It’s time to progress to the next stage! The next destination! The next chapter in her life!

It took all of Alice’s strength to get herself out of bed… To get properly dressed for once. Well, sort of properly dressed, considering her mental state she wasn’t really ready to go all out. A frilly white blouse… A black long skirt (with pockets of course)... And some worn shoes that still fit comfortably. Brushing her hair out of her face, she’d take another deep breath…

Inhale.

Exhale.

You’ve got this, Alice. Grab your phone and headphones, kiss your favorite plushie on the head (“I’ll be back soon...Ish.”) and head out that door.

….Head out the door.

No-- no dont walk away. No. NO YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BED. NOPE. NO. YOU GOT THIS. NOW OR NEVER.

GOING BACK. TO THE DOOR. YES. DOOR.

IT’S OKAY. it’ll be okay. You’re okay.

Just.

Go.

Outside.

.

.

.

.

Oh shit, the outside.