She slowly woke, warm, feeling well rested.  A slight ache to her legs, but the most delicious sort of ache.  The one that told her that she’d actually slept enough, and it was time to get up.  Yawning, she rolled over, having ensconced herself in the blankets that had rapidly become a blend of her scent and Gladialis’s pollen.  She had to admit to herself that it was nice, was very  relaxing.  Yawning and stretching one more time, she thought about rolling over and taking another nap.

So she did.

The next time she awoke, she felt even better than before.  If being out of the Navy meant JUST getting a chance to sleep, then she was all for it.  Opening her eyes, she looked up, and immediately got confused.  There was a ceiling where there shouldn’t be a ceiling.  And walls around her.  ‘Was this some sort of prison?  Some weird experiment thing?’  Looking towards her feet, she could see that there was an opening, and she crawled towards it, having left the safety of her little blanket nest.  Once she got out and up, she turned and looked around.  

She was still in her room in Gladialis’s hab.  She knew that because of the moonlight, because of her belongings, meager as they were, and because she could hear old-timey music playing.  But what she didn’t see was her bed.  What she had crawled out of looked like an oval about six feet across and seven feet long, covered, and full of blankets and pillows.  ‘A nest’, she thought, and blushed.  ‘A pet bed.’  Opening the door, she heard Lena chirp a “good morning”,  and she smiled as she made her way to the bathroom.  “Good morning, Lena.”

“Hey Gladialis, the cutie is awake!!”

“Thank you, Lena”, Gladialis said and closed her book.  Getting up, she began to make breakfast, throwing the leftover potatoes from last night into a hot pan and heating up some water for coffee.  She poured some beaten eggs into another hot pan and began to scramble once the eggs were starting to set.  She didn’t know how Kitten liked her eggs, so this was a good way to start, she had figured.  Not every sophont liked runny eggs, and some had issues with textures.  She didn’t think Kitten did, but she also didn’t know if Kitten ever HAD eggs, and this seemed like a good introduction.  She waited, stirring, and then waited some more…and breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she heard the ‘THUMP’.

“Lena , what was that?”, she asked, smiling, amazed at how quickly that had become part of her morning routine.

“Probably a kitten jumping off the bathroom counter….again”, the AI responded without missing a beat.

“Oh.”  Gladialis smiled, continuing to stir the eggs, content.  Turning to get the milk, she jumped as she found Kitten in her chair, looking at her.  “Kitten!!!  You startled me”, she said, having jumped almost a foot off the ground.  “I think that I’m just going to assume from now on that you’re always behind me”, she said with a smile.  “Coffee?”, she asked, and grabbed the milk as Kitten nodded eagerly and made grabby hands.  Plating up the eggs with the leftover potatoes on the side, she served it to Kitten who eagerly took a spoonful.  Without blowing on it to make sure it wouldn’t burn herself.  Gladialis threw her vines up as Kitten giggled and then made her customary ‘ashefashefashefashe’ sound.  “One day, you’ll actually blow on hot food first or let it cool down before eating and all my flowers will fall out”, she said as Kitten laughed again.

“But it’s not hot!!”, Kitten said, and eagerly grabbed the coffee.  THAT she could tell was hot, so she put it to the side after taking a small sip…. for a moment.  “Ummm…can I ask you something?”

“Sure thing!!  what’s on your mind, Kitten?”, Gladialis asked, sitting down at the table.

“Umm…I…umm…whydoIhaveapetbed?”, she blurted, blushing.

Gladlias stared as she slowed the words down, and parsed them out.  “Oh…you mean your bed?  Do you not like it?  Is it too much?”, she asked, suddenly worried that Kitten had taken it the wrong way.  Roots, this was bad, she should have known better.

Kitten blushed, and slowly shook her head as she toyed with her fork.  “No…it’s..umm…I wasn’t expecting it, and..and..umm..it doesn’t mean that i’m your pet now, does it?”, she asked.  She hadn’t seen or felt a collar, but maybe there was some sort of in between part?

“What?  My floret?  Oh, Everbloom, no.  Kitten…I saw that you were having such horrible nightmares and you were sleeping in the closet.  and I wanted to help you come out of that closet, and so I did some research.  Turns out that having a…a…a nest, an enclosed space, is very therapeutic.  Something about not only having your own smaller space, but also the fact that it’s closed in makes you feel safer.”  

“And you just… ummm…got new furniture just for me?”, Kitten asked.  Gladialis nodded, catching her eye, and Kitten blushed.  She was so earnest, it was easy to forget just how much she was willing to do for her.  How much ANY of the Affini were willing to do for a sophont under their care.  Body mods, xenodrugs, therapy, furniture….she was pulled from her thoughts by Gladialis tapping on the table.

“You looked like your body was here but your mind was millions of miles away”, she teased, and pointed.  Kitten looked down and blushed as she realized that she’d taken a forkful of potato and then forgot that it was in her hand as she got lost in thought, fork in midair.  

She squeaked, blushing harder, and covered it up by eating that forkful.  “So…umm…what’s on the agenda for today?”, she asked, trying to change the topic.

‘Stars, but she’s cute’, Gladialis thought, and then worked hard to ignore the thought.  She shrugged, shaking her head.  “I hadn’t really decided.  I was going to see how you feel and then go from there.  Perhaps get some research done, or go to a museum or anything that catches your fancy, really.”

Kitten thought as she chewed.    “Maybe get some reading done in the morning, and then we can go out somewhere after?”, she asked, and took another sip of coffee as Gladialis nodded.

“A fine idea.  You let me know what interests you, little one”, Gladialis said.  She finished her bowl, and then washed and cleaned it.  By the time she was done, Kitten was done as well.  She took her dishes, shooing Kitten off to go read.  It was a matter of a few minutes to clean and dry everything, and when she walked into the living room, Kitten was laying on her stomach, fully engrossed in her book.  Gladialis took a minute to just enjoy the sight of the little Terran, her mouth partially open as her eyes moved slowly over the words.  Clearly enjoying the book.  Crossing over to the Cabinet, she pulled out a few reference materials, and turned her legs into a comfortable pile of vines to do some research.

Kitten had no idea how long she was reading, but she sighed in satisfaction as she finished the book.  She looked over, seeing Gladialis also reading.  Her water bottle was empty, so after jumping off the couch, she wandered to the kitchen and debated pulling a chair over to the counter.  In the end, she decided to climb up and fill her water bottle that way.  Which, she realized in hindsight, might not have been the best idea.  She had no idea how the sink worked, since there didn’t seem to be any levers or handles.  She figured it out by waving her hand in the air frantically.  And the faucet turned on…except her other arm was underneath it at the time and got covered with hot water.  Not hot enough to burn, but certainly not something she wanted to drink.  It took more experimentation to get the water to be cold.  ‘Of course…She just slides a vine down this side…that makes sense, actually’, she thought as she filled the water bottle.  Jumping off the counter, she padded back into the living room to find that Gladialis hadn’t moved.  Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

“Hey there!!!  You have someone at your door, cutie, isn’t that exciting?”

“Hey Gladialis”, Kitten said, and wasn’t surprised to see that Gladialis hadn’t budged.  “Gladialis”, she said, a bit louder.  There was no answer, so she took a deep breath.  ‘Don’t be ridiculous, you just spent all of yesterday having her cart you around like you were her plushie.’  Grabbing a vine, Kitten gave a tug and saw Gladialis jump, and then look at her sheepishly.  Or that’s how she chose to interpret the wooden mask.  “There’s someone at the door.”

“Oh.  Why didn’t you answer it?”, Gladialis asked as she reformed her legs again.  “The door opens for you, I told you that.  You’re not a prisoner, Kitten, you can open the front door if you want to, or go for a walk, or whatever you want.”  She got up and walked over to the door, opening it to find Leiara standing there.  “Hello, Leiara”, she said and entwined vines with the elder Affini.  “Won’t you come in?”

“Loveity loveity loveity to!!!”, she said and slipped inside.  Today she was wearing a hat, something huge that was nearly as wide as she was tall.   Small leaves and berries hung from the bottom, and it hit the sides of the door as she came inside.  With a thought, she contracted the hat, and it shrank, taking up less space.

Kitten blinked as Leiaras hat began to change shape, and then she realized that it wasn’t a hat.  It was Leiaras vines, in the shape of a hat.  She blinked as Leiara and Gladialis talked, and then Leiara turned to her, making her squeak.

“How is one of my favorite Terrans doing this morning?”, Leiara asked the small Terran.  It amazed her that she managed to pack THAT much blush onto such small cheeks, but there it was.  Kitten met her eyes, and Leiara was glad that she remembered to tone down the hypnotic effect.  WHAT was Gladialis doing wasting all this time?  Then she looked at Gladialis with a vine, and blinked.  So THAT was what was going on.  “I hope you know what you’re doing”, she said to Gladialis in the local dialect.   “If she’s ready and you wait too long, someone else will snatch her up and you’ll be left with nothing but memories.  Trust me on this one, little flower”, she said.

“i’m..umm…doing better”, she said, and blushed as Leiara gave her a curious cock of the head.  “Umm…a little misadventure with..with a Class-Z”, she said.  “I’m ok, i’m ok, Gladialis took really good care of me and all.  But..umm…yea.  But i’m feeling a lot better.”

“Well, that’s good, little Kitten.  Perhaps you just needed to get all that energy out at once so you could let yourself sleepitty sleepity snooze, hmm?”, Leiara asked.  “And i’m sure that you were totes adorby adorbz as you were sleeping!!  I’ll put an outfit on a wagery wagery small little bet that you…hmm….that you fell on Gladialis and she panicked”, Leiara said with a giggle.  The blush from both wasn’t lost on her, and she laughed.  “See?  It’s not hard.  An adorable Kitten like you would have nowhere to fall BUT on the one Affini that…hmm….is that pot roast I smell?”, she said, turning.  She wasn’t distracted in the slightest, but best for Kitten to find out for herself how Gladialis felt.  And for Gladialis to make a decision.

“Ye…yes”, a thoroughly embarrassed Gladialis said, her blossoms opening and closing.  “Umm…it’s going to be ready later”, and then watched as Leiara brushed her off.

“It smells really really yummy.  You should get yourself a stomach grafted on so that you can actually enjoy the things that you cook”, she said absently.  “I did that in my…Eighth Bloom?  Ninth?  I don’t really remember anymore.  Regardless, I came to check up on the Kitten and you, Glady, and give the Kitten this.”  She reached up and lifted her hat up.  A small parcel rested on her head, under her “hat”, even as her vines deposited two other packages on the couch behind her.  Anyone could have delivered those two.  But this,....this was special.  She reached it out, and then held it back, grinning.  “Do you know what this is?”

“Umm…no”, Kitten said, blushing as Leiara held it just out of reach.  

“This is something special.  A girls first dress should be a special occasion”, Leiara told her, and watched as Kitten blushed.  Her body language screamed ‘I want’ even as her hands slipped down, and then back up.  Conflicted.  So sad that these Terrans were taught that something as silly as the body one was born with should dictate anything about them.  Silliness, almost like a few Terran florets saying that her berries tasted like grapes and not snozzberries.  Of course they tasted like snozzeberries.  “I want you to promise me something, Kitten.  I won’t let you have this until you do.”

“O..ok”, Kitten replied, blushing and wondering what it was that Leiara wanted.

“Well, first off”, and Leiara plucked a berry off her hat.  “do you want a berry?  I grew them myself, guaranteed to have only a small-ish giant amount of xenodrugs in them, including  lots of loveity loveity love.”

“Umm…that’s ok”, Kitten said, blushing, and she watched as Leiara ate the berry, doing a little dance before turning back to her with a serious expression.

“Promise me that you won’t even open this up until you’re ready.  You’re ready, not because you think that it’s what’s expected of you, but when YOU are ready.  And when you do, I want you to see yourself in a mirror, and then spin.  Spin in a nice, big fast circle, and then tell me how it makes you feel.  Can you do that for me, little Kitten?  I think you can”, she said, smiling at her.  She had the urge to just use her gaze to MAKE the kitten do what she wanted, but that wasn’t the way.  And she suddenly understood Gladialis very, very much.  There was something about Kitten that just called to her, made her want to protect the girl and nurture her.  ‘Part of being an Affini’.

Kitten blushed, but nodded.  Unsure that she would ever wear a dress or ever be…it was in public, and people..what would people say?  They would laugh, and…and…oh Goddess, what would her parents say?  She’d look like…all her insecurities came rushing back, but she tried to put a brave face on and ignore them.  Not that she fooled Leiara for a moment, not the way that she was watching and her face softened.  Was that…was it sympathy?  Disgust?  Not disgust, she realized.  No Affini would ever feel disgust for something like this, or for any other sophont.  Even when they talked about Free Terrans, it wasn’t…it was with this sense of sadness and worry.  Like they were missing out on something good, and the Affini didn’t want them to get hurt or worse.  “Umm…sure”, she said, scuffing a foot as she looked down.  Unsure that she could take a moment more of Leiaras expression.

“Kitten?  Can I give you a hug?”, Leiara asked her, her voice softer, calmer.  Perfectly pitched to soothe a nervous Terran, with a slight tremolo to give it that burst of authenticity that could push past stubborn Terran nonsense.    She was rewarded with a small nod, and Leiara bend down, and enfolded Kitten in a warm hug.  “Shhhh, it’s ok.  It will be here when you’re ready, little one.  And so will I to make you as many as you want, ok?”, she said after she let go and stood up.  “Now…I brought the rest of your everyday clothing and left it there”, and she indicated the packages behind her.  “And now, I have to go.  My floret is minding the shop and goodness knows what she’s made.  Knowing her?  An atomic powered toothbrush that also functions as a laser guided cloth cutter”, she said fondly.  “You should come by and meet meet meetey meet her, you’d like her.  Just don’t ask her to build you anything.  I’m still getting the stains off the ceiling from the last sophont.  Tra-ta tra-la”, and she waved goodbye and left, her hat filling the hallway once she cleared the doorway.  “I have berries!!!  Who wants berries??”, Leiara began to sing as she walked down the hall.  

The door closed, leaving Kitten holding a package, feeling the fleeting warmth of Leiaras hug, and her scent.  She blushed, and held the package up to Gladialis.  “Umm…can…”, and she took a breath, trying to put her thoughts in order.  “Umm…can you hold this for me?”, she said after a moment and much thought.  “Leiara said..umm…well, you were there.  So…so…when i’m…you’ll be the second sophont to know.  Can you?”

Gladialis smiled, and nodded.  “I’m honored and happy to do that for you, Kitten”, she said, taking the package.  “I’ll keep it safe for you until you’re ready”, she said.

Kitten nodded, and walked over to the two parcels.  “Umm…I’m just going to leave these here for now.  Can….can we see if there’s any..umm…i want to DO something.  Not just research or…or walking around.  I want..” and she waved a hand.  Unsure of how to explain what she wanted.  All she knew was that she wanted…no, she needed to be out and active.

“I see.  Well, there are arcades, restaurants, museums, shops, libraries, classes”, she said, and then watched as Kittens face lit up.  

“I want to…umm…make something.   Are there places where…umm…I can learn how?”  She wasn’t sure why, but she wanted to learn how to make something.  Maybe because of the conversation she’d had with Liara and Dugiit.  Or maybe it was because she wanted to give something back, not just be a parasite on the system.  On Gladialis. Who knew?

Gladialis nodded.  “Of course!!  What did you have in mind, Kitten?”, she said as she pulled out her tablet.  She watched as Kitten shrugged, grabbed the parcels, excused herself, and then came back.  In that time, Gladialis had pulled up a list entitled, ‘Places where your floret can make cute things while you watch as they act adorable!!!’  She discarded half of them since it seemed that not only were xenodrugs allowed, they were recommended.  ‘No…Kitten isn’t a floret, let her learn something that is a fun challenge’, she thought.  She kept searching, and then something caught her interest.  Messaging them, she received an almost immediate answer and had to stop herself from dancing.  She looked up as Kitten came back into the room, and smiled at her.  “I found something I think you’ll enjoy, little one.”