The restaurant that Lillian had picked seemed to be a similar deal to the cat cafes that Sarah sometimes visited back on Terra. Yet when she stepped inside she found that the cafe was not full of cats, instead they had fuzzy little slug-like creatures that trotted around on four stubby little legs. They were about as big as an average housecat, with large round eyes and soft fur covering their bodies that came in a wide variety of colours, giving them a cute, if alien appearance. The place seemed pretty quiet, with just a few other Affini and their Florets sitting down to lunch together.

After getting seated one of those strange little creatures hopped its way up onto Sarah’s lap with a surprisingly large leap. Unsure as to what to do with the thing that had now nestled in her lap Sarah looked to the two plants that had brought her here, however they had been conversing in affini for some time and didn’t seem to notice Sarah’s dilemma. Leamhan proved to be a bit more helpful, giving Sarah a wide beaming smile as she noticed the little creature on her lap. 

“Awwww, he likes you!” She said, reaching over to scratch under the creature's chin, eliciting a series of purrs and chirps from the thing as it nuzzled into her hand. 

Sarah also reached down to pet the creature. Even with the limited tactile feedback she got from her prosthetics she could tell this creature's fur was surprisingly soft, feeling it brush against her hand as she ran it down the things back a few times. “What is it?” she asked, giving Leamhan a curious look.

“Uumm, I’m not sure what their proper name is, I just call them fuzzies! They’re super cute right!” 

Sarah gave the ‘Fuzzy’ a scratch behind its little ear, causing a shiver to run down its body as it happily purred in her lap. Now that she had seen one up close, she had to admit these things were rather charming. A lot like the stray cats she used to play with when she was a kid. Pretty soon one of the servers came over to their table, a girl in a flowing yellow sundress and a collar around her neck, another floret no doubt. That sinking feeling in the pit of Sarah’s stomach came back. She knew that the affini intended for her to become a floret but she had no idea what being one actually meant and hadn’t yet had the guts to ask. This server and Leamhan looked happy enough, but the glazed look in their eyes and Leamhan’s slightly ditzy attitude worried her. Were they really happy, or were they just too high to be anything else?

Sarah quickly suppressed those thoughts as it came to her turn to order, picking the BLT off the menu and handing it back to the waitress.

“So thats two deluxe nutrient slurries, a BLT and a Salad, Is that right?” 

Each of them gave a nod in the affirmative and the waitress gave a big beaming smile in response. 

“Awesome! It’ll be right out!” 

With the distraction of the waitress gone Sarah found her mind drifting back to thoughts of being a Floret. Though brooding over it wasn’t getting her anywhere, no, if she wanted answers she would actually have to ask the questions. With Lillian and Willow still deep in conversation she decided to ask Leamhan, maybe a first hand account would prove more enlightening. “Hey, Leamhan, Can I ask you something?”

The Moth turned her attention away from the Fuzzy that had made its way into her lap and focused on Sarah. “Yeah! Sure!”

“How did uumm, how do you and Lillian….get to know each other?” Sarah glanced awkwardly between the two of them trying her best to phrase her question in a way that would seem like she was prying too much. 

A strange look flashed across Leamhan’s face, regret? Sadness? Some mixture of the two? Sarah wasn’t quite sure. “Oh umm, I guess we first met when Mistress took me as her Floret.”

“So, did you volunteer for domestication or did it happen…..the other way?” 

Leamhan picked up the Fuzzy in her lap, holding it to her chest as she looked down towards the creature. “N..no, I didn’t volunteer.” 

Silence fell between the two, Sarah was curious to find out more of the details of how Leamhan came to be a floret. There was obviously some kind of story there but from the way the moth was acting Sarah knew it was likely not a happy one. Probably better not to push any further. “What is it like? Being a floret I mean, a..are you…..happy?”

Leamhan scratched under the creature's chin, eliciting more happy purrs and mewls from it. “Yeah, I am happy. Mistress has been good to me, she’s helped me become a person I can be proud of.” A peaceful, contented smile crept across Leamhan’s face, replacing the sullen look from before.

“But…but don’t you miss being free, being allowed to make your own decisions?”

“Maybe…I’m not sure. But I do know that I’m happy like this, and that Mistress always has my interests at heart. Even when it didn’t seem like it at first.”  

Sarah still didn’t know what to think, Leamhan made all of this sound like it was completely normal, but the idea of being forced to give up her rights, to become some alien’s pet, it just wasn’t right. But….But what if you don’t want to be a floret, even if they want you to be one?” 

“If being a floret really isn’t going to be good for someone the Affini won’t force it on them. Not that there are any florets that I know that weren’t happy in the end.”

Something about that last statement set off a feeling of creeping dread in Sarah, the idea that they were ‘happy in the end’ just didn’t sit well with her in the slightest. Just as Sarah opened her mouth to speak again, the peppy waitress returned, their food in hand.

“Two deluxe nutrient slurries, a BLT and a Salad!” She set Sarah's food down in front of her and then flashed another bright smile. “I love your dress by the way! It’s so pretty!” 

Sarah blushed and turned away, the sudden compliment taking her by surprise. Eventually she managed to stammer out a reply. “Th….thanks, y…your dress is really pretty too.” 

The waitress blushed in turn, glancing to the floor before replying “Th…thank you! I hope you enjoy your meal!”

WIth a polite smile Sarah picked up her sandwich and dug in as the waitress moved on to the next table. While her food was delicious, in fact it was probably the best sandwich she’d ever had, she found it difficult to enjoy, her mind still stuck on her conversation with Leamhan. She glanced again at the waitress, this girl who had complimented her, who would she have been without the Affini? Would she still be a waitress? Would she still have liked her dress? Would she still be as happy as she seemed? From the way she acted, the girl was completely happy to be a floret, to be a pet. But the Affini wouldn’t have given her a choice in that matter if what Leamhan said was true. Did the Affini really have the same thing in mind for Sarah. Not just forcing her to be a pet, but to mess with her head so badly that she actually wanted to be one.

Sarah’s gaze turned to the two Affini, vines dipped into their nutrient slurries, slowly draining their glasses. What was it they had been talking about for so long? Was it about her? Her breathing became a bit heavier as anxiety crept up through her body. If they were talking to each other in Affini it meant there was something they didn’t want her overhearing. Something about their plans to domesticate her maybe? It did seem pretty weird that the captain of the ship was giving her a personal tour just out of the kindness of her heart. What if this was all just a pretext, a chance for the Affini to size her up and get inside her head before moving to the next stage of domestication.

Again Sarah looked over to the two Affini sitting at their table, the occasional glances they made towards her as they conversed seeming much more sinister than before. Her hands were trembling now as she felt fear building within her. All of this was just a ploy to make her an obedient house pet. Sarah looked around the room, feeling as if at this moment, all eyes were on her. Her mind raced at a mile a minute searching for a way out of this, for a way to escape. But where would she go? She probably couldn’t even run from this table let alone get off the ship and even if she did somehow get off the ship where would she go then? 

A voice called out to Sarah but she scarcely heard it. The panic coursing through her body drowning out all other stimulus. Escape seemed impossible and fighting these creatures was even less likely. Was she just doomed to end up a mind broken pet, too blissed out to ever say no to her Affini overlords? No, she wouldn’t let it come to that. No matter what happened it would not come to that. 

It was then that Sarah felt something grip her shoulder. Almost leaping out of her chair she swivelled round to see what had grabbed her and found one of Willow's vines resting atop her shoulder. 

“Sarah dear, what’s wrong?”

She could feel Willow's eyes bearing down on her. Clearly she was doing a bad job of hiding whatever fear she had been feeling. Her hands were trembling and her breathing had become heavy and ragged. Forcing herself to meet Willow's gaze Sarah managed to push out a few words in response, hoping against all odds it would be enough to convince Willow that she wasn’t scared out of her mind.

“I..I’m fine, really, I’m fine” 

“You are clearly not fine Sarah.” Vines coiled around Sarah’s hands, steadying them as WIllow’s mask-like face moved down to her eye level. “Please, tell me what’s wrong.” 

Staring into Willow’s eyes, Sarah found herself drawn into the endless dance of light and colour within them. They were like a roiling lilac sea, with flashes of dark blue and purple just below the waves. Her breathing slowly calmed as she felt the panic and fear fade, as if they were being pushed down and out of her mind, leaving it in a claiming haze. Wait…why…why was she so calm now, she was….so scared a minute ago. But now, all she could think about was…..WIllows eyes.

A realisation pushed through the calm that had settled in her mind, her eye’s, Willow’s eyes, they were, doing something to her. Every second she stared into them Sarah could feel her mind slipping further and further. Mustering all her willpower she managed to rip her gaze away from the Affinis enchanting eyes and look to the floor. Even if she had managed to escape Willows gaze she still needed to give her an answer.

“Honestly it’s nothing, I…I’m just a little tired that’s all.” From the way Willow’s vines gripped her hands a little tighter Sarah could tell that she wasn’t convinced, Unsurprising, it wasn’t exactly a very convincing argument. Yet for some reason Willow still relented.

“Ok dear, If you’d like we can head back to Lillian's hab once we’re done here, the tour can always wait until you’re feeling more up to it.” 

“No no, it’s fine really, I…I’d like to keep going.” Even if this tour was some kind of a trap it couldn’t hurt to get to know the ship better, besides, she didn’t want to arouse more suspicion than she already had.

“Alright dear, I trust you.” Willow reached out to pat Sarah on the head, flashing her a warm smile that Sarah caught out of the corner of her eye.

A pang of guilt gripped Sarah’s chest as WIllows says she ‘trusts her,’ though she had no idea what she had to be guilty about. Sure she wasn’t being completely honest with WIllow, but that was for her own safety and besides the plant had just been messing with her head a few minutes ago. She should be feeling angry, not guilty. She took a deep breath, if she was gonna make it out of this without becoming a broken housepet, outbursts like that needed to end now.

Quietly Sarah finished off the rest of her sandwich and soon the waitress returned to clear their table. Empty plates in hand the girl flashed them a wide grin as she spoke. “I hope you all enjoyed your meal! And please, come again soon!”

Again Sarah gave a polite nod, collecting her things and making her way towards the door with her group. However, just as she was about to leave she heard a voice calling from across the room, quickly making its way towards them. “One moment miss!” 

Turning around, to her surprise Sarah saw the waitress, who had quickly hurried over to them. The girl's face was bright red as she played with a lock of her hair, struggling to look Sarah in the eyes as she began to speak. “Hey umm, i know you don’t really know me and all but umm….I thought you looked really pretty and i was just wondering, could I umm, could I maybe get your contact info, maybe we could, go out for a coffee sometime?”

Wait, was this girl…asking her out? When the realisation of what was going on hit her, Sarah’s face turned bright red. She didn’t get asked out all that often, especially not by girls as cute as this.

“Oh uuh, yeah, sure!” Flustered, Sarah fumbled for her datapad, eventually managing to pull it out and hand it to the girl. “I..I’m Sarah, Sarah Hadley. I..it’s nice to meet you.”

Her face lighting up, the girl quickly took the Datapad from her hands and tapped away on it before handing it back. “I’m Emma! Emma Goldwine, guess I’ll, see you around yeah?” 

Looking down at the tablet Sarah indeed saw a new contact, with her only other contact being Willow. “Y…Yeah, I’ll see you around.” 

“Alright, I gotta get back, see you soon.” Emma gave a joyful wave before heading back into the Cafe, and Sarah turned to walk out the door with the rest of her group. Maybe this tour wasn’t the worst thing after all.