“That was…umm…fast”, she said.  “Ummm…what is it?”

“It’s a surprise”, Gladialis said with a smile.  “Why don’t you go get dressed, and we’ll go?  I made us a reservation for an hour from now.  Something that looked really interesting.”

Kitten nodded, and wandered back to her room to get dressed.  Pulling on the soft shirt and the shorts, she blinked.  Funny, she mused, how quickly she’d gotten used to seeing the cuffs around her wrists and ankles.  She should really talk to Gladialis about that.  Looking critically at herself in the mirror, she frowned, feeling the normal wave of disgust and pain.  And made a decision, after looking around and not seeing what she needed.

Walking into the kitchen, she walked over to the compiler.  Unsure how to activate it, she looked up.  “Lena?”

“Yes, cutie?”

“Could you…umm…can you please make me a razor?”

“Sorry, hon.  No can do.  Talk to Gladialis if you need something like that, ok?”, Lena said, and then her optical sensors registered Kitten nodding.  “Sorry, I wish I could help you.  Talk to Gladialis, ok, cutie?”

“Sure, Lena.  and..umm…th…thank you anyways.  Hey Gladialis?”, she asked as she wandered into the living room, having not met success in the kitchen.  No Gladialis.  “Lena, where’s Gladialis?”

“She’s in the library, cutie!!”, Lena answered.  She chirped a happy “you’re welcome, little cutie!!” as Kitten thanked her, and then her optical sensors watched as Kitten walked into the library, holding her plushie.

“Gladialis?”, Kitten asked as she walked into the library, amazed at all the books that were there.

“Yes, Kitten?”, Gladialis said as she got up from her chair.  “Are you ready to go?”

“Umm…almost.  Do you…ummm…can you make me a razor?”, Kitten asked and watched as Gladialis looked at her with some type of expression that she couldn’t decipher, her flowers rapidly blooming and closing.

“A razor?  Whatever for, Kitten?”, Gladialis asked, carefully marking her place and setting her book gently down on the side table.

“I…ummm…it’s…it’s…it’s my face”, she whispered quietly, and watched as Gladialis cocked her head in curiosity, and then understanding.  “I..umm..”

“Kitten…there are…if you could do away with that altogether, never have to shave that area ever again, would you?  I have a sap that could do that.  Think of it as a super-depilatory that’s permanent.  And it's on the approved list from the doctor, I checked”, Gladialis said.  A razor… She wasn’t sure that she could do that.  She trusted Kitten, but there was just… She missed what Kitten said as she was busy thinking, and blinked.  “I’m sorry Kitten, I was wool carding.  What did you say?”

“I…umm..I asked if you just ‘happened’ to have something like that on hand?  Or..umm…vine?”, Kitten asked, and blushed as Gladialis shook her head.

“Oh no.  I began making it as soon as you came here and I got to know you better.  Kind of a just in case, you know?  I want to help you be your best self as much as I can, and if this will help in any way, well…I..umm…I wanted to be ready to offer it”, Gladialis said, blushing.  She watched Kitten think, and was about to tell her that she could wait and decide later when Kitten blurted “Yes!!!”, and then blushed an adorable shade of magenta.  “Pl…umm…please can you do that?”

Kitten had made nerve wracking decisions before.  The decision to become a nurse.  The decision to not struggle and fight the Affini.  But this… This was more.  She’d be altering herself.  But she was…she blinked, thinking again.  SHE was already thinking of herself in the proper gender…and everyone here was accepting her.  Nobody who knew her here had misgendered her once, and Gladialis had corrected the few who did… and there was nothing that said that she had to agree… She agreed before she could talk herself out of it.  She watched as Gladialis smiled gently at her.  

“Let’s go do this in the bathroom so we can wash it off when it’s done working”, Glasha said, and followed Kitten to the bathroom.  Indicating the counter, she pulled out the stairs, then watched as Kitten ignored the stairs and climbed up on her own, and she chuckled.  “Well…that’s one way to do it.”  She produced a vine that was bulging with an oddly green/yellow sap, and she looked at Kitten.  “I’m going to need to touch you, Kitten.  Is that ok?  Both for the sap and to make sure I don’t miss anything.”  Kitten nodded, clearly warring with herself, and Gladialis smiled.

“You're so brave, Kitten!!!  I’m so proud of you!”, she cooed as her hands cradled the girls face gently.  Judging by the blush and the tiny squeak, Kitten was trying not to run, and Gladialis smiled tenderly at her, awed by her bravery.  “This will feel cool and a bit astringent”, she said as she began to run the tip of the vine over Kittens skin, spreading the sap everywhere.  Smearing it with the side, running the tip over her cheeks.  “Do this with your lips, Kitten”, as she brought her lips together tightly.  Once Kitten did so, she dragged the vine over her upper lip and lower lip, making sure that every inch was covered.  Then she moved down, running her vine over her neck, noting how Kitten blushed and shuddered as she ran her vine tip over a specific spot on her neck.  “You ok?”, she asked Kitten, who had flared her nostrils and shut her eyes, a muffled squeal that sat behind her lips.  Suddenly nervous that she’d hurt her in some way, or had stepped across a line somehow.  ‘Oh DIRT, I did something wrong!!’

Kitten could feel the slight sting as the sap began to work, but that was overpowered by the feeling that rushed through her as Gladialis carefully moved her vine over her skin.  She’d had some girlfriends before she’d been kidnapped, but none of them had ever touched her with this level of…. If she didn’t know better, she would have said that Gladuialis was trying to memorize the feel of her, treating her like she was some three thousand year old urn that she could actually touch.  And that spot… she shut her eyes as she tried to battle the feeling of arousal and a need to squirm.  ‘Stop!!!  She’s being so nice and considerate and you’re just being gross and disgusting!!!  Stop!!!’, she told herself and her traitorous body.  Not trusting her voice, she gave her a quick nod.  “Started stinging a bit”, she said as Gladialis finished rubbing the sap onto her neck.  She blinked as Gladialis took her hands off her head, feeling the loss, and she blushed again.  She turned and saw herself in the mirror, giggling.  “I have a green beard!!”, she laughed, and watched as Gladialis laughed, her flowers blooming further.  

Gladialis smiled, and after a minute or so, the sap began to turn yellow, a sign that it was done.  Grabbing a towel and wetting it, she cradled Kittens head and began to wipe the sap off.  It came off easily, taking fine dark hair along with it, leaving nothing but skin behind.  “There we go”, she cooed, her eyes sparkling.  Careful not to let Kitten get lost in them, she finished, then grabbed a separate towel and wiped her face again, just for good measure.  “How’s that?”, she asked, wondering what Kitten was thinking.  She watched as the little Terran ran a hand over her face, and then smiled widely.

“This is amazing!!! Thank you!!!”, she squealed, and then jumped down off the counter.  She took a step and hugged Gladialis’s leg, smiling up at her.  “Thank you!!!”, and blushed as Gladialis bent down and hugged her back, the vines of her half-skirt rustling as flowers bloomed. 

“You are most welcome, little one”, the Affini said, the air filling with the pollen of her flowers.  “Anything I can do to help you, you merely have but to ask.  Ok?”, she said, and hugged Kitten again.  This was…the feeling of her vines actually holding the little Terran that she respected was not something that she’d ever forget.  Especially since the girl didn't squeak or shrink back this time.  Was this why so many of her kin had been quick to take florets?  It was a heady feeling, and she blushed as she broke the hug and stepped back, smiling.  Watching Kitten take these steps, becoming her best self…THIS was the most wonderful thing in all of creation, she was sure of it.  Would stake an entire Bloom on it.  “I…umm”, she said, blushing as she watched Kitten blush as well.  “I’ll go fill the water bottles”, she said, and then turned, nearly hitting the open door.  Squeaking and taking a step back, she heard Kitten giggle as she said, “Who put that door there?”

“Umm, you did”, Kitten said, giggling as Gladialis sputtered.

Gladialis smiled, loving the sound of Kittens laugh, while simultaneously never hating a door more and wanting to hug it for letting her hear this sound.  “”well…good”, she said, and sidled out to fill the water bottles.

Kitten turned and climbed back up on the counter, looking at her face.  Amazed.  Gladialis had once again been telling her the truth.  She…There were so many thoughts warring within her head.  But she couldn’t deny the evidence that was staring her in the face.  That WAS her face.   Gladialis had said that she wouldn’t push, she hadn’t, and  she’d been nothing but open and supportive.  And she’d delivered on everything she said.  And so had Leiara.  She blinked, looking again at her face, lost in thought, until Gladialis called her from the doorway.  

“Kitten?  You ok?”, she asked, and saw Kitten blush, and nod.  “No itching or burning?”  Kitten shook her head, and then jumped down, landing on the ground with a thump.  Gladialis grinned, and held out the soft-soled sock/shoes that she’d compiled for Kitten.  “One day you’ll use the stairs and I’ll probably Rebloom on the spot.”

Kitten giggled, and then sat to put her footwear on.  “Umm…Rebloom?  What does that mean?  I’ve noticed that all the Affini I've met, well except for Hesplex, have always…umm…they always give a number bloom.”

“Well, if an Affini sustains enough damage, or it’s simply time, then we Rebloom.  It’s…it’s like a rebirth and renewal all in one”, Gladialis explained.

“So you all basically are the same before and after, but younger?  Like a new Gladialis, younger but exactly the same as you are before you rebloom?”, Kitten asked.  Like the algae tanks at home, where the algae would simply keep growing back, no matter how much they harvested.  Well, as long as they had the correct nutrients.

“Sort of”, was the answer.  “A new Bloom will have most if not all of the memories of their previous Blooms, and most of their personality.  But with a fresh take on things, I guess you’d call it.  But the core of who we are stays the same.”    Gladialis shrugged.  “When an Affini introduces themselves, they give their Blooms as a way to show how old they are.  The higher the Bloom, the more elder, and therefore they have more experience.  A way for us younger Affini to show respect, especially when there are not that many ways for age to appear, other than size.  Like Leiara is a Thirteenth Bloom, but the Captain of the Baiera, Vriotharlusa Naralinaanan, Twenty Eighth Bloom, is far older by about four thousand Terran years.  Which means they have more experience, and so their words carry more weight.”

“Four THOUSAND!?!?!?!”, Kitten exclaimed, looking up at Gladialis.  “That’s…..You’re telling me that the Captain is older than most of recorded Terran History?!?!?!”

“Oh no.  That’s just how much older they are than Leiara.  But there are Affini who  are older than them”, Gladialis said, enjoying the way that Kittens mouth hung open.   “There’s one named Thunder who’s at least one hundred Blooms old, if not more.  They say that Thunder is bigger than some meteors, but I don’t know about that.  Or what their actual name is, they just go by Thunder.”  She shrugged.  “Sometimes, even Affini are the victim of hyperbole.”  She giggled as Kitten just goggled at her, unable to imagine it.  “Let’s go, Kitten.  We can talk more about this on the way, if you’d like.”  She smiled as Kitten nodded and followed her to the door, then turned.

“Goodbye, Lena”, Kitten called out.

“Goodbye, little cutie!!!  Have a nice time doing whatever you’re going to be doing!!”, the AI cheerfully replied.  

Kitten smiled and followed Gladialis to the elevator, which was waiting for them.  “Good morning, Elie!!”, Kitten chirped, and then smiled as the elevator AI responded with a happy “good morning, cutie!!  Where can I take you this morning?”  Before Gladialis could respond, Kitten did.

“Tenth floor please, and then down to the lobby.”  She pressed her nose to the window, and watched as they shot up.  her cuffs beeped once, but then stopped, and Kitten took a moment to appreciate just how small things were from up here.  She could see other buildings, but from this height?  Even Affini looked small.  Then she started jumping as the elevator went down, laughing as she took an extra second to land as the elevator plummeted.

Gladialis smiled as Kitten laughed, clearly having a good time.  But she was amazed.  Just four days ago, being in the elevator had sent her into a panic attack so strong that she had needed to be sedated.  and here she was, ten floors up and laughing about it.  Gladialis was impressed, and awed by the little Terran.  Once they were on the ground floor, she watched as Kitten said goodbye to Elie, and then walked into the lobby.  

Leaving the building took a bit longer than Gladialis had expected, not that it was a bad thing.  Waving hello to everyone, Kitten stopped for a few moments, talking to the other Terrans there.  Gladialis noted that she wasn’t so stiff around the Affini, even if she still shied away from anyone touching her casually.  But she DID offer a shy hello to Glasha and Thephra, who each gave Kitten a smile and told her that they were happy to see her feeling better.  Liara was currently having a small cuddle session with Khaya, laying on a wide couch, and they both lifted a hand up to Kitten, asking her if she wanted to join.  Gladialis watched as Kitten turned as red as a tomato, and stammered whole host of “ummms” and “Uh…I…ahh…errmmmm.”  After giving her a moment of adorable gay panic, Gladialis smiled and stepped in.  “I'm sorry to disappoint you both, but maybe another time”, she said smoothly.  “But we have somewhere to be, and we can’t keep this sophont waiting.  Kitten, are you ready?”

Kitten blushed and stammered an agreement.  “umm..ma..maybe another time”, she choked out, and then practically fled the building.  Gladialis was grinning at her, and Kitten pouted.  “What?  I…I froze, is all”, she said, and Gladialis just smiled wider at her.  “What?”

“I didn’t say anything”, Gladialis said mildly.  She didn’t stop smiling, it just got worse as Kitten pouted.

“Really?  Cuz you're not saying anything pretty loudly over there”, she huffed, and pouted harder.  “What?  I didn’t want to…you know, they were just being nice, and I didn’t want to get…You know, I don’t want to get in between them.”  She could feel Gladialis grinning at her, and after a moment, her composure cracked and she smiled.  Slightly.  “Ok, that sounded different in my head.  But what was I supposed to do?”  

“Cuddle them?”, Gladialis said, as if the answer was the most obvious one in the world.  

“Just like…just like that?  In front of everyone?”, Kitten said, aghast.  “And if they’re together, does that mean that they’re in an open relationship or anything?  I certainly can’t come between two people!!!”  She could hear her parents in her head, ranting about immorality, the licentiousness of such a thing.  How such people were degenerates who would be….She tried to put them from her mind, literally forcing herself to concentrate on Gladialis who was talking. 

“Well, let's look at the situation logically”, Gladialis said as she led Kitten to the mag-rail.  “Are they both consenting adults?

Kitten nodded.  

“And does that mean that they get to set the terms of their own relationship with each other?  Forget that they're both florets, that’s a different ball of tuna”, Gladialis said, deliberately butchering the idiom.

“Wax.  Ball of wax”, Kitten said absently, and thought it through.  Then she nodded.  She could hear her parents, especially her father in her head, but she ignored it.  She had never thought of it, but what two sophonts did wasn’t her business.  Right?  As long as they were both happy, did it matter?  “But what..umm…what if someone gets jealous?  Or hurt…or..”, and she trailed off as Gladialis raised a vine.  

“Good question.  And the answer would be that it’s something that all the relevant parties would be able to discuss, especially the sophont who is hurt.  BUT,” Gladialis stressed, “That is between them all.  Now, Kitten, let’s get back to the discussion.  So any relationship is between the sophonts in question, and they set the terms between them.  So the next thing would be cuddling in public.  That’s something that you need to decide for yourself if you’re comfortable with. I don’t think anyone would fault you if you weren’t, but again, that’s something for them both to decide for themselves.  AND you if you decided to join.”

Kitten nodded.  “I get that, and it’s just…umm…like, where …umm…back home, that…that would..umm..”, and Gladialis nodded.

“That would never have been considered appropriate or allowed?”, she said, and Kitten nodded.  “Well, Kitten, you’re not back there.  You’re here.  And that means you get to decide for yourself who you’re going to be, not fit into any mold that someone else has set for you.  Take a look at some of the heroes of Terra.  Your species has made heroes of those who defy Fate, like Odysseus, Batman, to name fictional characters.  Real-life sophonts, like Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, Gandhi, and others.  You decide who you are, and what you’re comfortable with.  Not someone who is systems away”, she said, having guessed what one of Kittens hangups were.  Especially based on one of their earlier conversations on a train, remembering the floret being cuddled by their Owner.  She looked over, seeing Kitten nod slowly.  

“Another thought, Kitten.  In Terran culture, that may be considered taboo.  But you’re dealing with Affini culture now.  And here, that’s not only tolerated and accepted but celebrated.  There’s nothing that any Affini wants more than for their floret to be happy, and if that means that they cuddle another Terran on a couch, then so be it.  Happiness is not something that should be hidden.  Granted, there are SOME things that won’t happen in public, but harmless cuddling?”, and she smiled.  She saw Kitten nodding, and grinned.  “Or is the problem that they’re both really pretty and Laria has a crush on you?”

“Wait…what!??!  She has a…no that’s…are you….ummm…she…she has a …I don’t think so”, Kitten said after her brain finished squealing so fast her mouth couldn’t say anything other than some incomprehensible sounds.  She got on the train, climbing up to a seat, waving away the offer of help from Gladialis and the other Affini sitting there.  “I..umm…She’s just being polite.”

“Polite?  She offered to make you the filling in a cuddle sandwich.  That seems awfully polite, if you ask me”, Gladialis said, enjoying the way that Kitten squirmed and blushed.  Roots, there was something just so delightful about seeing it.  And the part of her that she was ruthlessly suppressing wanted to see more.  Wanted to BE the cause of it.  ‘Stop stop stop she’s not your floret.  She’s your friend and you need to stop.  you KNOW she’s going to be Independent.  So stop this rotting thought process’, she told herself.

“That…she’s…umm…yea…you know…you don’t want anyone to…umm…to feel left out”, Kitten said lamely, blushing even harder now.

“But there were other florets there, and none of THEM were asked to cuddle”, Gladialis said, looking up innocently at the ceiling, and grinning as Kitten squealed and hid her face behind her plushie.  Now THAT was beyond adorable.   “Just a thought.”  She let the conversation die down, Kitten slowly regaining her composure, but now with a thoughtful look on her face.  Well, if she had questions, she could ask.  

Their train ride took a bit more than twenty minutes, since they were going quite the distance.  Kitten and Gladialis made small talk, and then Kitten buried her nose in her tablet.  Suddenly she remembered that notice she’d seen earlier, about a floret who wanted cuddles.  It didn’t seem quite so outlandish, not in light of what she just heard.  She just couldn’t wrap her mind around it at first, but it was easier to think of it the way that Gladialis explained it.  As long as everyone was happy, did it matter?  Questions to think of.  But the same could be said of her.  As long as she didn’t hurt anyone, did it matter how she lived?  Or more importantly, who she lived as?  She wasn’t hurting anyone.  Her mind whirled, and before she knew it, Gladialis was kneeling in front of her. 

“Hey Kitten, we’re here”, she said.  Her ward was quite deep in thought, and Gladialis was curious about what.  ‘All in good time.  Kitten will tell you when she’s ready.’   She held the door as Kitten jumped off the seat, and then they walked a few minutes to a shop.  It was called “The Frozen Tusk”, and a small bell tinkled merrily as Gladialis opened the door and stepped in, holding the door for Kitten.  “Hello?”, she called out.