Elvira is tapping idly at the personal tablet Akash had seen fit to give her when she hears the door to the affini’s and her hab unit slide open. She quickly locks the tablet — more a habit than anything else, she is certain Akash must be able to see what she does on it — and places it down on the table, turning to face the door.

As the door slides shut behind her, Akash reaches out her vines to pull Elvira up and out of her chair. “Hello, my darling Second Floret.” Elvira initially recoils at the mention of that part of her new name, but she takes a deep breath and follows the vines pulling her towards the wardrobe.

“We’ve only got a few minutes before we have to leave for your appointment at the xenoclinic, so let’s get you dressed!” Her gaze fluctuating between the floor and Akash, Elvira nods, “Y-yes, Mistress.”

She’s been dreading this moment since Akash had informed her of the upcoming procedure several days ago. She’ll be sedated, and then an affini planttech implant will be installed in her body. It’ll bond with her bodily systems within a few days, and she’ll be Akash’s forever.

She feels nauseous at the thought of how little, nothing really, she’s done to try and stop it from happening. She rationalizes that even if she had tried to resist she’d just have been even more drugged up — since her surrender, she’s had mercifully low xenodrug doses at least. Besides, a part of her thinks, obeying Akash does feel good. She can feel herself blushing, the idea of being so permanently bound to Akash’s will was certainly frightening, but in the debasement there was also a hint of exhilaration.

She’s pulled out of her thoughts as Akash’s hands and vines start to undress her. She closes her eyes tightly, but doesn’t resist as the affini pulls her simple underclothes off, replacing them with fresh ones and a loose gown. Cautiously, she asks “M-Mistress?”. Akash tilts the human’s head up to look at hers. “Yes, Elvy?”. Elvira swallows nervously, “Do.. Do I have to have this done?”

Akash sighs, cupping Elvira’s cheek in her hand. Patiently, she answers. “Yes, darling. All of our wards have this implant installed.” She pauses for a moment, examining the human, half her height, “It won’t be that bad, Elvira. You’ll feel a bit sore, and be a bit uncoordinated for a few days, and then you’ll barely know it’s there!”

Elvira grimaces briefly. “I.. I know, I’m just.. Scared”. Akash scoops the human up into a tight hug. “I know dear, but I’ll be right by your side the whole time, ok?”

Elvira stares at the floor in the waiting room of the xenoclinic, breathing rhythmically in an attempt to stay calm. Having filled out some digital paperwork at the front desk, Akash sits next to Elvira, holding onto her hand securely. The human didn’t want to admit it to herself, but Akash’s grip was also reassuring. More so than the breathing, really.

After a few minutes’ wait, another affini in what Elvira recognized as a medical uniform approaches them. They and Akash briefly converse in some affini language, and Akash gestures for Elvira to stand and follow them deeper into the facility.

She does so, keeping close enough to Akash that her slack leash almost reaches the floor. Noises emanate from behind some of the closed doors they pass. Elvira tries not to think about what might be causing them.

Soon, they reach a small-by-affini-standards room. Utilitarian, a hospital bed in the middle, with a chair next to it. Several ominous looking ports and recessed instruments lie in wait, embedded in the wall behind the bed. Elvira squeezes Akash’s hand anxiously.

The affini pulls Elvira up and onto the bed, booping her nose quickly. “How are you doing, darling?”. The human takes a deep breath and answers. “I.. I’m really scared, Mistress”. Her voice wavers, and then breaks as she starts to cry. Akash smiles warmly at Elvira, smoothing her hair back.

“You’ve been such a well behaved girl today, I’m very proud of you~” Elvira sniffles as she looks upwards, almost becoming lost in the affini’s brilliant cyan eyes. The hiss of a medical injector interrupts the moment, and Elvira’s head swivels around, seeing the affini in the medical uniform discarding the spent injector.

She gasps, already feeling the sedative take hold. She turns back to Akash, suddenly pleading, in one final desperate attempt to avoid her fate. “P-please Mistress, I don’t w-want this!”

“It’ll be alright, Elvira. I promise. I’ll be there when you wake up” Her vines slide around the human, partially abating her shivering. As Elvira loses consciousness, she focuses desperately on Akash’s touch, the sensation calming her as her vision fades.

Elvira’s eyes flutter open. Her body feels incredibly heavy, but she manages to roll her head to the side. Seeing Akash sitting there fills her with relief. The affini looks up from her tablet, smiling gently at the human. Elvira opens her mouth to ask how the procedure went, but before she can say anything Akash shushes her.

“Everything went perfectly, dear. They’ve just got to run a few more diagnostic tests and then we can head back to our hab unit.” Elvira nods, slowly sliding a hand out towards Akash, stopping quickly as she hears the noise of the room’s door sliding open.

A different affini wearing a medical uniform walks in, carrying various medical instruments. Elvira grimaces in anticipation. To her surprise, they introduce themselves in a terran language. “I’m Jilae Hean, I’ll be checking that your implant has begun to interface with your body correctly.”, they pause, tapping on their tablet briefly. “Ah, Elvira Nele, yes?”

Briefly glancing at Akash, who nods, Elvira answers “S-Second Floret, Y-yeah.” Jilae pauses a moment, looking contemplatively at Akash, questioning, “Second..?” Akash tenses and looks about to respond when Jilae shrugs unconcernedly, “Well, no matter”. Akash readopts a more relaxed pose, shifting in the chair slightly.

Jilae turns to Elvira and smiles, producing a metal rectangle with a toroid ring atop it. “I’m going to position this tool over several parts of your body. You shouldn’t feel anything, but if you do, let me know, ok Elvira?” She nods slowly, keeping her eyes fixed on the device.

Jilae gently lifts Elvira into a sitting position with their vines. They don’t feel anything like Akash’s. They run the tool above the center of Elvira’s chest, her limbs, back, and finally the base of her neck. Elvira feels nothing but a sense of melancholy. After a few seconds above each point, the tool beeps. “Looks like the implant is already growing into all the places it should be!”

She turns to Akash, holding out the tool. “Here, you’ll need this for your ward’s checkups over the next few days”.

Akash politely pushes the tool away, “I’ve already got one in my hab unit, thank you”. Jilae nods, withdrawing their arm. “In that case, you and your ward are all set! If you notice any abnormalities do send us a message.” They turn and begin to leave, stopping right before the door. “Oh, and do be gentle with her, she’ll absolutely be more sensitive than normal for a few days.”. As the door slides shut behind them, Akash grins broadly at Elvira.

Trying to pretend that she doesn’t realize what Akash is implying, Elvira asks “W-what?”. The affini places a leafy hand on the human’s exposed neck, near her collarbone. Elvira yelps in surprise, quickly giving way to a moan as she squirms on the bed. “Wow, you certainly are more sensitive now~” Removing her hand from Elvira, Akash laughs, “I suppose I’ll give you something to keep you from moaning so vigerously all the way back to our hab unit — unless of course you’d like to entertain all the passers by~”.

With great effort, Elvira manages to shake her head, eyes going fuzzy from the motion. Akash pulls her tablet back out, and taps a few times. The human soon feels a wave of coolness flood her body. She starts to vocalize something, but stops short as the calming effect hits. Distantly, she can feel Akash picking her up out of the bed. It does feel very nice where her skin is touching Akash’s, but her body and mind are more than content to simply experience that pleasure without any external reaction.

She feels so comfortable, curled up in Akash’s arms, that she doesn’t even notice they’ve reached the hab unit until she’s placed down on the bed. As if underwater, she can hear the affini saying something, and then doing something on her tablet. A warm feeling spreads into her body, and just like that, she’s aware again.

“W-what was that?” she asks, her eyes blinking rapidly as she begins to readjust to thinking. “Those were class-e xenodrugs, darling, they’re powerful sedatives. You’ve had them before, but the implant will make them all the more effective~”. Elvira softly groans. She really had no defenses left, not with planttech inside her.

Akash smiles, laying a hand atop Elvira’s chest. The human squeaks loudly, even just the weight of the affini’s hand against the gown enough to entice a reaction. Akash laughs softly, and presses harder for a slight moment, then removes her hand entirely. Elvira stares up at Akash with unabashedly needy eyes, just for a few moments. “I promise you, my little free terran, you’ll learn to love me soon~”

With a start, Elvira realizes that she already does.