Alice found herself back outside, this time using her phone to guide her to the domestication facility… She was.. Nervous, apprehensive. She couldn’t help but think back to her last few moments with Dusty.

“...Alice, are you sure you want this? You’re basically throwing your life away-- Your free will away! I don’t want to see you like that…”

“...I’m sure. You’ve--You’ve seen how much I can’t take care of myself, they really aren’t all that bad. They’ll take care of us! I’ll be okay for once..!”

“...I dunno. It doesn’t sit right with me, girl. I haven’t seen you for what felt like months, and I find out you’re just signing yourself away to the Affini… It’s--It’s not fair.”

“Dusty--I mean--It’s not like I’m going away forever! I’ll be okay-- I think…”

“You think..? Look.. I just.. I’m sorry, Alice. I just wish I understood you a little better. I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you.”

“. . .”

“...I’m gonna go now. Best of luck, Alice.”

And THAT was the last time Alice saw Kai Dusty. Her memory of them leaving, back turned… Cool Hat still on their head… She could remember the tremble in their voice. The uncertainty intg h43854hOW FUCK

“Ow, ow ow ow…” Alice mumbled, holding her head… She just.. Ran into a window. Was.. Oh--She’s already at the domestication facility--Ohhh she’s already getting picked up in vines and tendrils aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAA--

“Oh, you poor thing..!” An Affini cooed, carrying Alice inside, carefully setting the girl down into the chair… Numerous tendrils slowly unwrapped around her, brushing her forehead… “Are you hurt, little one..? Did you get lost..? Oh dear, you look absolutely terrible…!”

“U-U-UHM… I’m--I’mfff...fffine, I swear--” Alice stammered, already flustered to hell and back by the looks of it… “I--Uh--I just wasn’t.. Spacing.. I was spacing.. out--And--Uh…”

She was interrupted--Hushed by a vine placed on her lips. She froze up, feeling her face grow redder by the second… Her eyes transfixed on the tendril--Her body shivering in pleasure as it slowly reached up to pat her head. oh god what was she even saying again

“........”
“a.”  

The Affini looked at Alice, looking… Rather eager more than anything. Alice stared at this beautiful plant… Alien.. Lady… She was--Fuck--How is she going to say things that won’t make her look like an absolute idiot?

“It’s okay, little Terran.” The Affini smiled warmly, trying their best to look calming (although, the slight tremble in their voice can only mean they’re excited to see such a cute pet-to-be…) “Did you come here to sign yourself up for domestication?”

Alice paused for a moment, glancing around the room… Looked just about an average hospital lobby… But.. More… Planty? Naturey…??? Alien…??? Flowers and vines growing along the walls, Terrans and Affini alike sitting around or doing work… Filling out paperwork--Actually there’s a crap ton of paperwork. LIke. Endless signature signing. Is Alice going to have to do that, too? What if she can’t remember all of her details about whatever? What if--

“...Little Terran?”

Alice blurted out a series of vague sounds that may come from a human, waving her arms a bit. “AAHHBEGBFGHBR--Y...Yes..? yes-- I wanted to… Uh.”

“..Sign up for domestication?” The Affini looked at Alice… Who just meekly nodded.

“y. Ye.”

The Affini clapped their Vague Plant-Like Facsimiles of Hands, “Oh, wonderful… Come now, would you like me to help you?” She asked, already carefully wrapping another vine around Alice’s arm as she’s lead to… What she thinks is the front desk? Maybe a side desk…?

“..Y..Yes.. Uhm.. Yes, Ma’am.” Alice replied, for a second, she swear she heard the Affini squeal in excited delight. The Vine wrapped tighter around Alice’s arm… She was given a pen and some documents to sign… In.. Text that Alice couldn’t read. Oh no--Was she supposed to study plant language before this--WHY COULDN’T SHE READ PLANT AAAAA--

“It’s okay, little Terran… It’s just a consent form. See? Right there…” The Affini led Alice’s finger across the bold words that read “Informed Consent Form”... Right under bigger and even bolder text in Plant Speak--Affiniscript. 

Oh.

Oh okay.

“Since you’re a volunteer, we want to make absolutely sure you want to go through with the domestication process.” Explained the cute plant, carefully adjusting Alice’s grip on the pen she was given. “...Of course, if you change your mind about this, you can always come back later when you change your mind… About changing your mind on enlisting yourself for Domestication.”

“Uhhh…” Alice raised a finger to say more.. Only to receive a head pat, causing her to make an “a.” sound and lower her finger.

“Oh, I’m sorry… That’s… Quite a lot to process, just sign here, here… Aaand… Here, okay sweetie..~?” The Affini guided Alice’s hand to the blank spots that she was supposed to sign. Each time, she tried her best to write in cursive, before giving up and just writing her name normally after crossing out her first attempt.

Alice Lapinlace

“...Alice Lapinlace…” The Affini looked over the paper.. “What a beautiful name you have, Alice!”

“O-Oh, thanks! I.. Uh.. I grew it myself!” Alice gave an uneasy smile…Well, she’s not wrong, she got her name legally changed a good few years back. Lapinlace is a super cute last name, and she hopes nothing happens to her name in the future! That’s a rather silly worry, however, and she quickly discarded that thought and went back to signing signatures.

Once she was done, the Affini took the paper and pen away from her, guiding her to a seat and sitting down… Asking her various questions that could’ve been answered with “yes” or “no”. Most of it wasn’t.. Anything particular, until she was asked…

“Have you ever received Xenodrugs before?”

Alice paused for a second, looking at the cute plant alien… Shaking her head. “N..No, Ma’am.”

“...Would you like to receive Xenodrugs? We can start on a very low dose… But it might be good to help manage your stress, Alice!” The Affini’s smile seemed to widen slightly as a flower opened up near Alice… A flower with a weird.. Flower.. Syringe…

Alice stared blankly for what felt like an uncomfortably long time (in actuality, it was five seconds.)

“...Sure.”

“Very well, just hold still, dear… We’re going to give you a low dosage of Class A Xenodrugs… This should help you relax and not be so…” The Affini looked up and down at Alice, observing how much of a visible wreck she is. “...Anxious.”

Alice sharply exhaled, keeping her hands clasped together… “Wait--Wait will… Will this hurt?”

“No, not at all… Close your eyes for me, okay?”

Alice did so… Anticipating a sharp prick… A jab of the needle… But.. Did.. That any of it came? What was that feeling? Was that it? How is she gonan gfflfffeelelll oh hhhhh go d  OHHH god its kicking in oh dear GOD what thWhthe

OKAY okay fuck uh. Fuck.

Alice opens her eyes, dazed. And.. dazed. Dazed. She was being pet??? Headpats good???? No--headpats good. Okay shes.. She found herself signing more papers…? Signatures..? No information??? She.. Sort of wrote. Wrote with help. Vine wrapped around hand. Oh god it felt. So good. So. tingly and good and fuzzy and aaaaaaaaaaaaa????

“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it, Alice…?” The Affini cooed to the dazed Alice, who sort of… Just nodded. Yes. nod. Like that. Nod nod nod nod nod.

Fuck-- no shes. probably more. Xenohigh than she thinks--like--its… the xenodrugs convincing her that she’s absolutely zonked--she’s not that bad. It’s okay. She’s fine. Totally. 

“(...Oh Stars did I gave her too much???)”

totally fine.

         Absolutely fine

One hundred and one percent fine, most +certainloh hey where are we going

Alice lightly slapped her face in attempts to focus a little more… It.. Wasn’t very effective, she felt.. Numbtingly..? Is that a word? Alice is making it a word. She felt extremely Numbtingly at the current moment, stumbling as she held onto this nice plant alien that’s been helping her with the whole… Domestication.. .Process.. Thing…

“....lice, can you answer some questions for….”

oh shit she has to. Okay. Snap out of it Alice! You’ve got some.. Questions going on! Focus, focus! Just… Try.. To ignore the whole.. Sensitive.. Fuzzy.. Feeling you’re getting…

“So, Alice… What kind of owner are you looking for…?”
“..Um.. Someone that’s… Nice to me, I guess…? Someone that.. Doesn’t.. Treat me harshly.”
“Of course! Do you enjoy excessive amounts of cuddlin--”
“yes.”
“...Good Girl!  Do you ….”

The questions went on and on, asking about various things.. What she’d like in an owner, what she currently does, This, that… It was starting to blur in Alice’s head slightly...

“...Now, I know that the Brain Scan can be a little scary to new pets, but I promise it won’t hurt you a bit… Would you like to have something to keep you calm during the scan anyways…?”

Alice nodded, and she was left alone for only a second before an incredibly soft (and bizarre) looking plush fell in her hands… It looked like.. A moth…? Like--A cute.. Space.. Moth Creature… Alien..??? It was soft and huggable….

...Oh shit SHE’S HOLDING A PLUSH! YES! Hell yes! Everybody knows that Alice FUCKING loves plushies! This is her new companion, another valiant party member in her quest to try and be hapOh--She’s being led to a new machine… Something with.. A bunch of rings and… Oh--She’s in it now. Hug plushie tighter.

The machine is… it’s…

oh. pretty lights. alice likes the pretty lights.

….pretty.

              pretty.

   p

oh its over? oh. ...When did.. ????

“..Oh. Um… This…” The Affini trailed off, looking at some sort of receipt. “(That.. That can’t be right, can it???)”

“..Huh?” Alice mumbled, staring at the Affini, rubbing her own eyes… “Wha...whasgoingon…??”

“Well…”

“As I explained, Alice… We used this machine here to scan your brain--However the results… Just came up as… Oh No.” The Affini explained, frowning… Looking actually perplexed for once.

“Oh...No..?” Alice cocked her head to the left, hugging her newfound (temporary) plushie tightly… “W-Wait, is it bad? Do I have like.. Super mega brain c--”

“No no, the results… It.. Literally says ‘Oh No’.” The Affini quickly explained, brushing a vine along Alice’s head (causing her to shiver in SHEER delight…) Another vine held the ‘Receipt’ up to her face…

It… All it said was “Oh no. :(“

“...Oh.” Alice blinked a few times…

“I’m sorry, we’ll have to try again, alright? It’ll just be a m” Aaaaaand just like that Alice was staring at pretty lights again! Wow--Look at them move and stuff! Pretty, pretty lights… She wanted to reach them--but her head was too numb to--OH FUCK SHE’S AWAKE AGAIN WHATS GOING ON--

“A..Again?! This can’t be right.. Um.. Oh dear…”

Another Affini poked their head in, looking quite concerned… The (admittedly rather pretty but otherwise alien) flower on her head curled inwards slightly. “Is everything alright…?”

“Yes! Well.. No, I can’t seem to scan this Terran’s brain… It’s.. Quite perplexing. This.. Really hasn’t happened before…”

“...Have you tried asking the machine politely? Or maybe we can just use another one--Oh you’re… Already…”

“(please give us actual results please give us actual results please give us actual results…)”


Alice couldn’t keep track of the conversation any-longer as she was pulled back into Pretty Light Land. Swirling in her head--In her mind… Looking at the pretty lights made her feel… At ease, for once. More at ease than she’s been before, it feels. This is great. She loves pretty lights, they remind her of--...of…

                  of… ...oh. it’s over. ...again.

“Ah, there we go..” Sighed Alice’s Affini Assistant… “(I.. Can’t believe that worked…) Right! All that’s left is one last thing--A Medical Examination… Don’t worry, it won’t be anything scary.”

“Medical.. wha..?”

“And as soon as we’re done--And if we’re lucky.. We’ll already have a potential owner set up for you! Exciting, isn’t it..?”

“s..sure..?”

“Come along now, Ms.Lapinlace!”

Alice was then scooped up by more vines and carried to another room--This one looking more.. Familiar. A sort of.. Doctor’s Office-ish Doctor’s Office… At least, that’s what she thinks. She watched as she was set down on the Medical Sort Of Bed Thing, being unwrapped, left to look around--Still hugging that Space Moth Plush she was given. 

“Alright.. Shall we begin?” The Affini grinned at Alice, who just… Meekly nodded.