burble burble burble burble

Lena opened her eyes sleepily as the mass of vines she was cocooned in gently started to unwind and move.

"Noooo, no getting up, stay and cuddle me instead," she commanded drowsily, grasping onto a vine.

"Oh sprout you have no idea how tempting that is," Ana's voice echoed as she carefully unravelled from around Lena. "You know, you could always come along with me to the comms department. You'd be more than welcome."

Lena was deposited gently on the moss of the grotto, blinking in the light, as the now humanoid shaped affini addressed her hopefully.

The human sighed and shook her head. "I...I want to. But I'm...I'm scared. I told you what happened when I tried to go to work before back down on Earth. What if I have another panic attack? What if I...lose control again?"

Ana reached out a vine, trembling with the barely suppressed desire to banish all fear and worry from her adorable human, before retracting it silently and swinging Lena up in her arms to kiss and nuzzle her. Lena rested her forehead against Ana's, staring lovingly into the sparkling green field of Ana's eyes. They were fascinating. Shifting, ever changing facets of green of every shade, Lena could get lost in them for hours.

Lena chuckled wryly. "I know it's just the remnants of capitalism talking, but the thought of being there and not being able to do anything to help drives me up the wall. I just...don't want to sit around in the hab all day waiting for you to come back you know?"

Ana hummed and narrowed her eyes, before taking out her tablet and poking around for a moment. "There. You have a playmeeting with Aster and xer floret set up."

Lena opened her mouth to argue then paused, thoughtfully. She didn't actually mind Ana making plans for her. She'd prefer the plans also involved Ana, but if Ana thought a playdate was what she should do, she was fine with it. Oh. "It's playdate love. Not playmeeting."

Ana ruffled her leaves. "Roots your Terran sayings are very confusing. They never quite make logical sense."

Lena stuck her tongue out. "Since when did anything humans do make sense?"

With a final pat and kiss, Ana left.

"ding dong"

Lena blinked. Did the hab just actually say ding dong? Before she could get over her disbelief, there was a scampering sound from the other side of the door, as if someone was running towards it very excitedly, and then it was wrenched open to reveal the excited expression of Sam, who swept Lena up into an exuberant hug before pulling her inside, talking away at a mile a minute.

"Ahhh Lena you're here I'm so excited to see you we're gonna have so much fun together I'm so excited your Mistress let you come!" Sam's pulling stopped as they flumped down onto a couch next to their owner, giggling up at Lena as she tried to pull together a coherent response to the deluge.

"Ana isn't my Mistress Sam, she's just....she's Ana." Lena said, before turning to Aster and giving her a polite smile. "Thank you for having me over Mx. Helianthi, you have a lovely hab."

Aster raised an eyebrow before patting the seat next to Sam. "You know, you don't have to be so stiff and formal. You should relax Lena. I could help you along with that if you'd like, you need only ask." Xe purred.

Lena sat down, staring at the swirling colours of Aster's eyes the entire time. They looked...hungry. Eager for the chance to dose her. In that moment it was easy to understand the feralist propaganda, to see the affini as merciless predators intent on breaking humanity beneath their vines until humankind was nothing more than a distant memory and all that remained were mindless pets. And yet.. she knew that Aster would restrain xerself, wouldn't do anything until she asked. It was a dichotomy central to the affini. Power on a scale that was practically unimaginable, all put towards making sure every single thing in the universe was safe and cared for.

Biting her lip, Lena looked down and fidgeted with a loose leaf from the couch. "Can I...can I ask you a question, Aster?"

Aster trilled curiously. "Of course little one, you can always ask me anything you wish."

"I...I'm worried that it's going to offend you or Sam. But. Well. If Sam wasn't your floret, if you were just living together, would you still be drugging them so much?"

Sam rolled over onto their back and stuck out their tongue.

Aster raised one pseudo eyebrow and gave Lena a look. "This isn't about me and my darling Sam, is it dear? It's about you, and my very shy and withdrawn friend isn't it?"

Lena blushed bright red. "she just, she doesn't drug me, or play with me, or anything. We cuddle a lot, sure, but even that is all initiated by me!" She sniffled a little, trying not to cry. "I just don't know what I'm doing wrong."

Aster cooed sympathetically and quickly re-arranged everyone, until Lena found herself sitting in a soft bed of xer leaves, with Sam behind her idly playing with her hair.

A low rumble vibrated through Lena's core as Aster hummed in thought. "You know, us affini are not a monolithic block. We share many things for sure, an urge to protect and care for and nurture others, and a society wide feeling of responsibility for all. But beyond that, we are indeed individual beings. You wouldn't have had a chance to see Ana out on the ship without you, but unlike many of us, she never even twitches a vine towards headpatting a sophont engaged in being particularly adorable. She has gone to a Class-J pet cafe maybe twice in all the time I've known her, and both times she was stiff and uncomfortable."

Lena tried to look up at Aster, only for a very firm hand from Sam to hold her in place to not disturb whatever they were doing with their hair, which had evolved from idle playing to purposeful brushing and fiddling with.

"Are you saying that Ana doesn't like the whole drugging thing? Or the cuddling even?"

Aster shook with laughter briefly before coughing to get xerself under control. "Ah. No. She quite enjoys drugging little cuties, and cuddling them and playing with them. She is just very worried about making sure they are ok with it first. Obtaining explicit consent, having them under her explicit care, things like that. I don't really understand the obsession with it myself, it isn't like you little ones really mind it, but nonetheless, it is there."

"So she was ok with drugging me and controlling me before, when I was a patient under her care. But now that I'm living with her of my own free will, she's what, worried that doing what she's already done to me I would take offense with and leave?" Lena let out a frustrated growl. "Dammit, why'd I have to fall for the most noble and kind plant in the entire sector. She wants explicit consent, eh? Well then maybe it's time for me to take a walk over to the clerks office then!"

Lena went to stand up, ready to storm the clerks office, only to have both Sam's hand and one of Aster's vines press down, holding her firmly in place. "Not until my darling is done with your hair you're not, dear."

The Sequoioidium did not just have one clerk's office. Or rather, it did not have one centralized office. Instead, much like mycelium spread throughout a forest, it had many small offices, all interconnected with an elaborate hypermetric system that allowed them to send forms to each other instantly.

The office closest to Ana and Lena's hab was built into the base of one of the towering spines that connected their hab ring to the rest of the ship, surrounded by a forest filled with alien trees and plants, with a wide, gently winding path leading through it to the the office. There was a friendly sign labelling it as a clerks office in terran, rinan, three different dialects of affini, and several other languages.

Lena, her hair done in an elaborate crown braid with flowers from three different systems woven throughout, stared at the door, a familiar mix of determination and fear churning in her gut. It was the same mix that she had felt before coming out to her parents, before entering the Academy, and before taking that damn pill. What she was going to do would have consequences. It would change things. She just didn't know how.

The inside of the clerk's office was surprisingly cozy. Pleasant lighting, flowers and small shrubs planted in various niches, and an affini humming happily to themselves as they filled out forms, sent other forms out, and gently pulsed with activity, a swirling mass of vines. "Oh! Hello little one, how may I help you today?"

Lena stood up straight and stuck out her chin. "I would like a domestication contract. I ne-"

"OH HOW WONDERFUL! Did your owner-to-be send you out on one last little errand before making you their floret? You are going to make such an absolutely adorable pet, so cute! You're the one who's living with Anaphylaxis right?"

The affini finally paused long enough for a visibly flustered Lena to get a word in edgewise. "I...not quite. I wanted to see a domestication contract. A full one, not just the bit they have florets sign. I was hoping you could get me a translation of all the forms that affini owners have to sign? I'm....I just want to know what's in them."

The affini paused, radiating concern and softness. "Of course little Lena. You just take a seat over there, and I'll put together a package with both the original affini, your local Terran dialect, and some notes on the translations.

With a wave of a vine, Lena was directed to a luxuriously comfortable chair, as she watched the clerk positively explode into motion. Her initial plan had indeed been to come to the clerks office, get a domestication form, and get Ana to sign it. But the gentle but firm ministrations of Sam and Aster, and the walk over, had moved her to a slightly different path. She wanted to understand the bond between floret and affini, not just from the perspective of a floret, but from the perspective of an owner. A floret gave up political rights, legal rights, everything to become a pet, and in exchange, never had to make a decision again, would become their best selves under the guidance of their owner. But what did the affini get out of it?

A gentle cough broke Lena from her reverie. The clerk smiled and held out a thick package of paper, bound together with intricately knotted vinework. "A complete domestication contract in affini and terran with collected commentary. I hope this helps."

Thanking the clerk profusely, Lena picked up the heavy bundle and trudged off towards her hab. It was time to get some answers.

There is no greater duty or honour for an affini than taking on a floret. Taking on a floret means that your number one priority can no longer be your own pursuits or whatever catches your eyes. Your first priority must be to do what is best for your floret, no matter what.

This is a sacred* contract you are taking on, to your floret, to the affini people, and to the great ongoing experiment that is the Compact.

Lena glanced down at the footnote at the bottom of the page.

You will be impressed upon the importance of this duty repeatedly throughout this document. If at any time you feel any reservation towards any of the stipulations that will be placed upon you, it is strongly advised that you do not continue with the domestication process until you can sign with a clear and free conscience.

Part One: The Duties of an Owner

Lena shifted her weight on the kitchen stool to settle herself more. She had a lot of reading to do.

The sound of the hab door clicking open barely made Lena stir. She was deep into a section on maintaining proper nutrition while keeping in mind the happiness of the floret as well as acceptable levels of deviations. It seemed to almost be a debate between different schools of affini thought, written out in bureaucratic contract clauses, all recorded to ensure that the affini signing the contract would have a full understanding and be able to syncretize an individual position.

"Lena? Are you in here? Aster said you left early, I was planning on..." Ana trailed off as she walked into the kitchen. The table was covered with carefully arranged papers, sorted into piles in some inexplicable order, with Lena at the center of the chaos, a notebook next to her that she was in the process of filling with highly detailed notes.

"What? Huh? Oh! Mi-Ana, you're home. I was just uhhh. Reading. I must have lost track of time." Lena blushed bright red.

Ana picked up a piece of paper at random, scanning it with confusion. "Is this...a domestication contract? A full one?"

"With a translation into Terran, notes on the translation, and commentary. The translation of the commentary is a bit spotty in places, I've taken some notes for the clerks to improve it." Lena lifted up her chin and stared at the puzzled affini, a mix of determination and fear visible on her face.

Ana's vines wilted, and her eyes dimmed as she looked down at the ground. "You're looking for an owner aren't you. Is...is it going to be Aster?"

Lena's face melted into a look of utter adoration as she slipped out of her chair and walked over to hug Ana tightly. "No, you absolute dumbass. I...haven't decided yet. Also, if I'm going to be anyone's floret, I'm going to be yours. You dork."

Ana purred and grinned as she lifted Lena up to cuddle her in her vines. "Well, why don't we go over to the couch and go through it together. I can help with the translations."

Lena smiled as she leaned her head against her affini, and let herself be carried, as innumerable vines swept up the papers.

Lena frowned, listening intently as Ana explained the nuances of yet another section of the contract. "I don't get it, what is this section on about now? Some of these terms don't seem to translate exactly right."

Ana ran a vine through Lena's hair idly as she hummed. "In simple terms, it is explaining exactly why florets have to give up their political rights. There are several arguments for it, contrasted with one prominent argument against. The latter is an argument that hinges on giving all sapient beings political rights, regardless of status. It is considered a bit of a fringe argument, but it does colour many of the other aspects of Affini philosphy in ensuring that all creatures are treated as well as possible, so it is kept, to make sure we understand where it came from. As for the arguments in favour, the most prominent ones boil over to making sure that an affini owner can do whatever they need to for their floret with no chance of delay or ethical concern. Some of the drug regimens florets can end up on can lead to quite a delay before they'd be able to give informed consent." Ana chuckled.

"The other major argument in favour is about ensuring fairness. If florets had political rights, it would inevitably lead to affini who have florets having more of a say than affini without florets, which just wouldn't be fair."

Lena snorted softly. "Of course you worried about fairness between affini when making these contracts. How do you know all of this though? Did you have a floret before?"

Ana's vines retracted back into her core as all her leaves went flat and the light left her eyes, leaving them as nothing but dull green stones. "I don't wanna talk about it." she mumbled.

Lena looked at her affini in concern, before wrapping her arms around Ana as much as she could. "It's ok love. I'm here. You can talk to me about whatever you need to. I won't judge you."

Ana looked down at the terran trying to comfort her with a quiver in her voice. "I don't want to lose you as well."

Lena grabbed two fistfuls of leaves on either side of Ana's face and pulled herself up until she was face to face with the affini. "Talk to me then. Tell me what happened, what you fear."

Ana deflated and sighed, before sending a single vine snaking out to grab a radio from the now carefully organized workbench and bringing it over, holding it reverently. "This is an Andranu radio. On half of a paired set. Part of Andranu culture is gifting these to people you care about deeply. They're incredible works of art, and can receive signals from its mate from an incredible distance. When both are active, they emit this wonderful signal all the time. To an Andranu, it can tell you how far away the other is, what condition it is in... an incredible amount of information."

Tendril thin vines traced gently over the radio, following the fine patterns engraved throughout.

"Her name was Kirulek. She was a geologist, they had been working on trying to stabilize their planet well before we showed up. We hit it off immediately, and we grew close. I was fascinated with her. But...I pushed too hard. She wanted to stay independent, and I didn't respect that enough. We had a fight. I was supposed to go with her to study a volcanic fissure, but she left without me. I was sulking because she had rejected my advances once again, and she was angry because I wasn't listening to her. So she went off alone. When the radio stopped, I panicked and we rushed to search for her. But it was too late." Ana carefully placed the radio down on the table, reverently brushing it with a vine.

"I was flirty and had fun with you when you were a patient. It was just a bit of fun, I thought you were just absolutely adorable, and there was no harm in a bit of flirting. You'd heal up, and off you would go, no harm no foul." Ana twisted around and grabbed Lena's hands. "But you came back! You came back, and at first I was so hopeful, but you didn't show any signs of wanting to be my floret, and I didn't want to scare you away too. So I did nothing."

Lena cuddled Ana close, letting the distraught affini hold her until she calmed down. "I'm not going anywhere. Already tried that, it almost got me stabbed. I'm staying here with you, no matter what we end up being to each other."

Ana shifted slightly, looking at Lena with narrowed eyes. "You've said that before my dear. You're willing to settle for anything, as long as you get to stay with me. But this is the Affini Compact my darling. We do not merely settle. We make everyone into their best selves, we strive for perfection. So tell me, Lena, not what you'll settle for, what you want. What you truly desire."

Lena squirmed and twisted, before slumping in defeat. "I...don't know. I really don't. I like it when you play with me. I like it when you ask me for advice. I like when you come home and your face lights up to see me there. I like it when we cook together, and when I cook for you, and when you cook for me. I even find myself wanting to walk around the ship, collared and leashed, so I can smugly show everyone that I did it, I got the best affini around."

She looked down and sighed. "But I'm afraid of what I might lose. Not my political rights, it isn't like we had many of those under the Accord anyways, and it's not like your lot would allow the Protectorate to make any terrible decisions. I'm worried that I'll lose that spark that attracted you to me. I'm worried that I'll lose something that makes me fundamentally me. It's not just that I want you to have a pet who was once me, I want you to have me as your pet." Lena looked up at Ana, eyes wide and yearning.

Ana grinned softly, and gave Lena a little scritch. "Did you hear what you said at the end there little one? You want to be my pet. You liiiiike me."

Lena stared up at Ana's grinning face for a moment, and then they both burst out into giggles, collapsing into a snuggling pile.

After an extended period of snuggling close to each other, Lena found herself sitting in Ana's lap, legs and arms held securely with more vines holding her close and secure. As Ana started to talk, Lena could feel the vibrations gently thrumming down the vines and over her body.

"You know that not every affini treats their pets the same. It is an incredibly personal thing, and as you read in the contract, very....sacred, for lack of a better word. There are some affini who want their pets to be very prim and proper. Sit right, speak right, be adorable little dolls for them."

Lena's face blushed at the mention of being an adorable little doll, and Ana grinned and ruffled her hair.

"Other affini seek out more wild and adventurous florets, who will lead them on adventures and make every day different. Quite a plus when you're as long lived as one of us. Me personally, I'm a bit, well, hands off. I like to see just what my playthings get up to, and subtly direct them along the paths I choose for them. I find your swearing endearing my darling, and would only take it away from you temporarily, to watch you squirm and see how creative you can get. But well, what do you want little Lena? What will make you feel happy and secure in becoming truly mine?"

Lena chewed her lip, trying to think. What did she want? What things did she want written down before legally signing over her freedom and legal rights, before she became Ana's. But a thought slowly formed in her head. She already was Ana's, in every way that mattered. A piece of paper wasn't going to change a fundamental truth of the universe. Lena belonged to, and with, Ana. Lena without Ana was adrift and rudderless, she always had been. Now that she had this wonderful, dorky beacon of light in plant form in her life, she could never leave. A dreadful thought bloomed deep in her heart. One day Ana would be without Lena. One day her plant would be all alone again. Lena's eyes filled with tears at the thought.

"Hey, hey now little one, none of that." Ana said gently, as tiny vines went and cleared the tears off of Lena, drinking them up and absorbing them. "What is it, my dearest?"

"I...I don't want to leave you alone again. I'm yours, that's already decided and true, and has been since, dirt, since that first night here in the hab. But one day I'll be gone, and you'll be alone again. How can you bear it?" Lena sniffled and looked up at Ana, eyes filled with fear and grief for the future that she was seeing in her mind.

"Hmmmmm. Technically I shouldn't just yet, but..." the gentle pinch of a needle pressed into Lena's arm followed by a rapidly spreading warmth, blanketing her mind. She could still feel her emotions and think clearly, but it was like she was viewing them through a pane of glass.

Ana leaned back and hummed lowly, vibrating as she sat in thought for a few minutes. "I met an older affini once, back near the Core Worlds. They had just finished their personal mourning ritual for a floret, and had been flirting with an adorable little sophont. I asked them how they could be looking for another floret, so soon after losing their old one. They told me that they missed their old floret, and they always would. No one could ever replace him. But he had given them the gift of companionship and comfort for some brief number of years. Through his eyes, the universe had seemed fresh and exciting and wonderful. Now they would get to experience the universe through someone else's eyes, get to care for and nurture someone else, and through that new floret, his memory would live on. They were a better affini for having had him, no matter how long it had been."

"One day you will be gone. But I plan to treasure every moment I get with you, and I plan to make that day quite a ways in the future. My only regret is that we couldn't arrive sooner, so I couldn't get even more time with you." Ana grinned down at Lena softly, enjoying the slightly blissed out look on her face.

"This is my promise to you. I will keep you in sage and aster, bind you with honeysuckle, and shower you with lavender and lilac. If ever we are separated, by some cruel twist of fate, you will need no radio to hear my voice, for I will give you a part of me, a gift to help you and keep you safe." And with that, Ana folded Lena into her vines, and for a time, all was softness and pleasure.

Eventually they did fill out a proper contract, Lena writing out careful clauses, each time glancing at Ana to make sure that it was ok to be wanting so much. And each time Ana would smile and stroke her back and reassure her. But eventually, it was done. Messy, filled with annotations and notes and crossed out clauses, but still perfection. All that was left was to sign their names.

Lena looked at the space for her name and licked her lips. Ana had gone off to the workbench at some point, and she was still waiting for her to come back so they could sign it together. She was really going to do this. A small part of her was trembling in fear, what if this was the moment the affini finally showed their true colours and started being cruel? But almost all of her felt more free than ever before, and that small part was shrinking in the face of overwhelming opposition.

Finally, Ana came back from the workbench, holding something behind her back with a vine.

Lena looked up at her owner, gratitude and joy filling her face as she pressed herself against her Mistress.

Ana grinned cheekily, and pulled out what she had been hiding from behind her back. It was a collar, formed from twisting vines with tiny flowers bursting with colour throughout, and wires and circuitry, scavenged from the workbench and turned to a much more important purpose intertwined.

With a simple click, the collar snapped into place around Lena's neck, and Lena looked up at her Affini.

"Ready, love?"

"Ready, Miss."

And they signed.

Anaphylaxis Poaceanum, Third Bloom.

Lena Poaceanum, First Floret.