The rings bustled with activity, light and joyful sounds of jubilation rising over the dull thrum of engines. Plant and sophont danced together in a writhing mass of action as they went about their business. With every step Zena took, her flowers wilted evermore, their downward facing and sorrowful languidity drew some inquisitive comments as to her health and the health of her pets, should she have any. She loved her brethren for it, their wholehearted compassion. With a weak smile, she waved them off and continued her slow march to the one person who she thought might be able to help her.

His home was vibrant, full to bursting with chromaticity and brilliant collections of life. Walking beyond the door, she was immediately struck with the distilled floral scents of tranquility. So thoroughly did they fill her body that she felt her vines relax their anxious coiling, a welcome feeling against the endless procession of worry in her mind for her little floret. Muffled sounds echoed from what she could only assume was the bedroom, the unmistakable low rumbling assuring her that he was home.

Kotahn emerged from the room moments later, a beautiful mix of serenity and exultation etched into his features. Only heightened was his mood when he laid eyes upon Zena, though it soon turned to concern as he registered the signs of distress that covered her features. "Zena, dearest friend, what troubles you so?" he said, instinctively addressing her in their native tongue.

"Kotahn, I am sorry to disturb you, but I need your advice. It's serious," she intoned, the worry in her tone reflecting that of her visage. He immediately interlaced his vines with hers, capturing her in an embrace. She took heart at the gesture, happily returning it. She hadn't realized how much she was craving physical affection until it was offered to her, and for a brief moment she considered not letting go, staying frozen in the embrace. Rationality took over soon, and she released him. His face was all attentive care and concern. He silently signaled for her to speak.

"It is about my floret. She's amazing, truly, and so deserving of love. When I am around her, I feel the desperate need to show her all of the affection that the universe should have. I want to see her smile and her joy -- I want to be the cause of it. I dearly want to care for her, but at every turn she pushes me away." Zena stopped for a moment, overcome with emotion at the thought of her dearest floret rejecting her, at the thought of the hateful glares and spiteful words.

One of Kotahn's vines coiled around the closest of hers, supporting her again through touch while she gathered the ability to communicate once again. Broaching the silence, he offered simply, "It is only natural, Zena, to want to care for her, to feel such deep and lingering attachment to her. We are Affini; it is our purpose, to care for them."

Zena affirmed the statement and made a thankful gesture. Gathering her courage, she spoke again, "She will not let me care for her emotionally, carnally, materially, in any way. She calls me a slaver who kidnapped her and keeps her against her will. She says she wishes to be placed back on the planet that we took her from. I can't understand why she would reject salvation as she does." Zena's pleading eyes met Kotahn's steady gaze, searching desperately for the answer written in his coiled vines and firm bark.

With sagely wisdom, Kotahn let some time pass before he responded. He let the frenetic pace of Zena's thoughts slow as she waited on his answer and only offered silent comfort. When he was satisfied that Zena was ready for his answer, he began slowly, "My dear Zena, you may be a Fourth Bloom, but you are as of yet naïve on the matters of the sophonts. We are salvation to the florets we take under our leaf, but they do not know this. They are fed lies regarding us, they are innately suspicious of others because that is what keeps them safe."

Zena, her mind racing and desperate for an answer, jumped to inquire again, "But how do I make her understand that I am what's best for her?" Kotahn silently admonished Zena for her impatience before continuing, "Our biorhythms make it easier for us, as you may have noticed with your floret, but they cannot do everything for us. The application of brute force rarely leads to success. Instead, you must break down their preconceptions of us."

Zena nodded eagerly, "Please, tell me all you can. I will do anything to help her."

It was unnerving, the relative silence. The eerie lack of incoherent screams and silence and droning intercom voices picked at the edges of her consciousness, urgently whispering something was wrong with her surroundings. An exquisitely soft plush blanket lie against her skin, divinely crafted sheets wrapped her in comfort, softly brilliant light filtered through the gossamer curtains to dance on her iris. She lounged in the lap of luxury, a piece of ambrosia reserved for only the high priests of her former society -- bureaucrats, warlords, corporate magnates. Her lip curled in disgust.

She threw the blanket off and watched it flutter to lie on the bed, the air biting against her body, sapping her delicious warmth away. She bit her lip. The instinctual part of her brain demanded to grab the blanket back. She overrode the voice and forced her body to acclimate to the cool air. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, resting her soles against the ground for a moment before heaving herself out and beginning to pace up and down the room. Thoughtlessly, she brought her thumb to her mouth to chew the nail before chastising herself and dropping it.

It was half an hour before Zena returned, and the entirety of that time was spent in anxious perseveration. She gave up pacing by minute 12, instead preferring to sit with her back against the far wall with her eyes pinned to the doorway. By minute 17, she found the whirring of the fan unbearable and began humming to drown it out. Minute 22 brought the inexorable knowledge that there was someone in the room with her, waiting in every soft shadow for the chance to commit unspeakable acts. She wouldn't give them the pleasure, and so she kept her eyes darting to every crevice and hint of movement. At minute 25, she became certain that her humming was attracting attention to her and she ceased making any noise whatsoever, much to the fan's delight. Minute 26 was the painful agony of indecision. Minute 27 was the fateful acceptance of death. Minute 28 was the tears dropping silently from her eyes, drawn from a well of pain in her chest that she couldn't yet feel but knew the approach of. Minute 29 was gratuitous sobbing over her situation, over the sheer helplessness of it all. Even as a slumrat she had options, but no more. By minute 30 she started scratching her neck, certain that the weight of the collar she wasn't wearing was suffocating her. Minute 31 brought blessed silence.

Zena bounced into her abode, the joy in her steps only able to be brought forth by the knowledge that the horizon saw the dawning of a new star, shining the brilliant light of hope down upon her. She called out in her sing-song lilt, "Lily! I'm home~!" She drew up her form to be more human-like, reasoning that it would be easier for her floret to empathize with her like this. The silence answered her call. She cooed out again, "Lily~?"

Nothing.

Zena shrugged, hoping that the enigmatic sophont was merely asleep in her bed. She had designed it to be as pleasingly soft and pleasant as possible when she learned she would be adopting a floret from the latest domestication wave, and it filled her heart with elation that it was being used to bring peaceful rest to Lily. Her vines carried her swiftly to her room, her best approximation of a smile plastered across her face. It didn't last long.

At the sight of her floret with her face buried in her knees, Zena let out a fearful hum before bolting to be by her side. Lowering herself in front of Lily, her vines instinctively bloomed out to wrap around the human's small form, a cocoon of bark and branch and plant protecting the sophont from the outside world. Lily raised her head, staring into Zena's gaze with a pained, panicked expression. There wasn't a hint of recognition in her eyes. Lily's breathing accelerated, the oxygen barely having time to be absorbed before it was expelled again. Her eyes darted from Zena's face to the vines surrounding her to the cracks in the cocoon and back again. Small tremors wracked her form, barely visible to a human eye but keenly obvious to an affini's.

Zena let out a sound of alarm before exploding out of the room toward the hab unit. "Class-Z, now! Low strength." The hab unit, sensing the urgency in her voice, did not give a response. Instead, bright light from within the unit burst forth, leaking out of any crevice as the machine whirred to life. Within seconds, the chamber opened with a vial of liquid of dark green hue. Zena grasped the vial in her vine and rushed back to Lily, head returned to between her legs.

The affini whispered, "I'm sorry, little floret, but I don't have time to ask if this is okay," as she grasped Lily's arm and trivially located the vein. She pressed the needle in until blood pulsed into the syringe before pushing the sedative into her bloodstream. She mindlessly dropped the vial out of sight as her attention returned fully to protecting Lily. As she rebuilt the cocoon, a vine snatched the blanket from where it lay on the bed and dragged it over. As it covered Lily's shoulders, her muscles seemed to relax. The shaking receded, her pupils undilated, her breathing slowed to full, deep breaths.

Zena made a satisfied hum of relief. Lily's head perked up at the noise, bringing new eyes to meet Zena's gaze. She had never seen such a tender sight before, her face relaxed and unassuming. There was confusion there, Lily still didn't seem to recognize her, but there was no hostility or distrust either. The floret gently tugged the blanket off her shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. Before Zena could express concern, the girl wrapped her arms around Zena's core, pressing her face against her chest and breathing in deeply.