Mane pressed the button next to the entrance of her current caretaker's habitation unit. The button rang, as it did, and alerted Effus of Mane's return. Mane wasn't left standing there much longer before the affini opened the door with gusto. She looked down at Mane with a soft glow that transformed almost instantly into a star-like explosion of radiant delight. 

"OH, SWEETIE! YOU LOOK SO CUUUUUTE!" Effus squealed with joy. Dozens of grasping vines wrenched Mane off of the ground and yanked her against the affini's soft, wriggling body. She was warm and soft, and her vines were delicate to some degree in the way they handled Mane. Nonetheless, Mane kicked against it and found herself grimacing with negative emotion. 

"Put- me- down-!" Mane squealed with agitation as she tried to fight and worm her way out of the plant's grasp. A very disappointed and only slightly guilty Effus relinquished her hold within seconds, but didn't let that color her expression too much. Mane was dressing cuter and presumably she had even consented to doing so, after all. Effus apologized for the intrusion of her vines on Mane's space. 

"I'm very sorry if that upset you, little one," she said with concern. "I was just so excited to see you all dolled up and dressed so CUUUUTE!" Just about all of Effus' vines took to a fit of wild flailing, which Mane could only assume was some kind of stimming. The human sighed and muttered out forgiveness, too moved and embarrassed by this genuine show of affection (and the associated feelings of being validated) to reject the seemingly heartfelt apology. Her face turned somewhat red and she averted her gaze as she used her free hand to play absently with her hair. The shopping bag that hung from the grasp of her other hand swayed a little bit with the awkward movements of that arm. What should she even say? 

"I'm...sorry, that was mean," Mane forced herself to say, though this time it wasn't because she fundamentally thought or even felt otherwise. She just...didn't feel up to talking, just now, but she knew that she still needed to apologize. Words jumbled up in her throat and got caught. Her brain blanked out in a still panic. What to say! She needed to speak, that much was fundamentally obvious, but the wrong words could only change the situation to be even worse! Mane's mouth wired itself tightly shut and static blazed painfully across the bounds of her skull. Her eyes stared forward with no emotion, yet somehow they did so angrily. 

"Heyyy, hey, it's okay," Effus said and crouched down. "You just felt overwhelmed. You've barely been here a week, and you've made sooooo much progress! I'm so proud of you, sweetie. Now you get to dress how you want, too! Oh I'm so giddy!" More frantic vine spasms signaled to Mane that the plant charged with her care was very happy. She tried not to take it personally: of course she had made progress. She was going out independently, buying clothes, and making friends. Even if it felt to her like Effus meant that she was improving by apologizing to Cordelia, as though what she'd done was so wrong that not only was apology required but a moral failing not to give, she knew...she felt like she knew...that isn't what they'd meant. She was projecting her father's shittiness onto Effus and she knew it. 

Rather than allow herself to fixate on her father's proud praise of her for "improving" their relationship, when really she'd just been broken and given the fuck up, she decided to reward the plant's show of restraint and care by asking about their day. Mane walked to her room (failing not to be distracted by how frickin PRETTY the legs crisscrossing under her were wrapped gently by both socks and a skirt) and threw her voice back behind her for Effus, asking, "So what did you two do?" Effus giggled. 

"I went to a meeting and then came home and snuggled with Airy. She is currently passed out. She finished off the grapes, sorry. We'll have to get more."

"A meeting?" Mane asked Effus, her interest now genuine. "Oh, right, you're medical staff. I guess you can't really dodge going to work any longer, can you?" She dug through the fridge and found clementines, which she took three of. She carried them to the smallest couch (which was still affini-sized, so getting onto even it took some doing) and clambered onto it. She started peeling the first with her nails, and seemed, to some degree at least...at home. Effus felt delighted. 

"Oh, it wasn't about work," she answered, "though I could absolutely stay home with you for as long as was needed, if the need arose. Leaving my floret alone- that's Aria, dear, I'm not calling you a floret- would be terrible if she needed me. You, as a medical charge, too. Though Cordelia and Mort would both take you if need be, I assure you."

"Of course, of course," Mane muttered gently as she finished pulling off the last patch of clementine skin. It was almost supernaturally perfect underneath, with none of the white strings that felt weird to chew. "I take it the meeting was about me, then?"

"Well, uh. Yes. It was about you," Effus responded. She wriggled but it seemed based on her tone that this time, her wriggling was more defensive in nature. "Some other affini are...um….not pleased about-"

"My meltdown in the hanger, or the murder?"

"...both."

"Eh, fair enough." Mane tossed a slice into her mouth and delighted in the taste. It was...a clementine. Delicious and citrus-y and easy to bite. She downed one slice after another and finished the fruit exceedingly quickly. "I guess that makes sense."

"I…" It seemed self evident to Mane that Effus hadn't said something, and was worried she'd lied by ommission accidentally. Mane shrugged and tried to give the plant a reassuring smile. 

"The gravity of affini out there disliking me isn't setting in yet, I'm sure it will eventually. For now I'm eating fruit." She peeled the second clementine and then devoured it, too, in a rapid and almost animalistic fashion. Effus collected her thoughts before she tried to do any more talking. "This fruit is delicious. Th-thank you for doing the, uh...the grocery shopping. I...appreciate it." Effus' face seemed to light up with joy at the show of vulnerability and appreciation from her human ward. Mane, honestly, had no idea how to feel about that and thus decided simply not to. 

"Of course, Mane! I'm glad you like it! If you ever want anything I got you a little notepad on the fridge to write it down on, okay?" Mane pulled her arms closer and looked away for a moment. Effus shifted closer with concern but stopped a respectful distance away. "Is anything wrong, dear? Did-"

"No, just-" Mane said and trailed off. A few seconds later she managed to finish the thought by adding "embarrassed, is all." Effus nodded along and watched as Mane peeled the third clementine. The human started to eat it in silence, her eyes pointed down. The safe, the smart, and the wise thing to do would have been to simply let the matter of the other affini rest. She knew that, on an intellectual level, but yet something inside her brain still wanted to KNOW. What had these ivory greenhouse spires of bark and leaf said about her? "What did they say?" 

"Oh, uhhh," Effus was either wracking her brain or trying to think of how to sugarcoat it. Mane ate one slice of the third clementine, eyes boring into Effus as if to put holes in her. It was clear she wasn't going to accept anything but the truth. Effus tightened and then relaxed her leaves a few times, which made a distinctly plant-like, yet still undeniably alien, sound with each cycle. At last she spoke. "The meeting was tense. They seemed to think you were dangerous. You're not, and I told them as much." She reached out towards Mane, then paused. "May I stroke your hair?"

"Sure," Mane mumbled. Effus' vine was cool and soft. Its texture felt nice as it ran through her hair and gently scratched her scalp. Mane trembled with happy feelings. "I'm sorry I keep pushing everyone away," she mumbled. She felt it, too, at least as long as she separated the people from from the circumstance. Divorcing Effus from the affini empire, Mane felt sorry for her as a...being, if not for her as what she represented. Mane ate more of the fruit and nuzzled into Effus' touch. She...liked this. Just being cared for and relaxed felt nice. She knew, inevitably, that things would escalate. She dreaded it. But putting that dread aside, in the now, in the remaining hours that Mane, the butterfly spawned from the busted-ass cocoon named Christian Greshul, had as herself...she might as well get as much joy out of them as she could. 

She sighed. Thinking about the inevitable promised a meltdown. She thought about the delicious fruit instead. 

"Mane?" Effus looked down at her gently. "Would you like to go get ice cream?"

"Um," Mane muttered. She looked away and held an arm gently. "Later, maybe? I kinda wanna...just…" she couldn't think of a good excuse. Fear started to bubble up as she remembered what situation, exactly, she was stuck in. Effus probably wouldn't get angry with her for saying no, but she knew better than to risk treading on her invites twice in rapid succession. "S-sorry! Effus we can go-"

"No, no, husssssh darling it's perfectly alright if you want to stay here and relax for a while." Effus smiled down at Mane with a reassuring glow in her eyes. "Are all your new outfits that revealing? It's a good look on a lithe thing like you." Mane blushed extra hard. 

"N-no. This is the least, actually." Effus giggled and Mane writhed in quiet embarrassment. "Melody picked them out for me, mostly." Effus seemed to become temporarily enraptured with delight at this information, which got yet another bit of wiggling out of Mane. "Oh, random but- I want couches."

"But we have couches," Effus said incredulously. Her bark face twisted with oblique confusion. "We have, like, eight couches."

"Human couch!" Mane pouted. 

"Human cou….oh, I see, I understand. I can get a smaller couch for you, I suppose that works. Annoyed with having to climb up into these?" Mane nodded almost angrily with smug intent. Effus couldn't help but let mirth vibrate through her leaves. "Understood, dear. Thank you for voicing your wants, very good little human." She petted Mane's hair again and trilled over her ward with pride and delight. "I was so upset in the meeting, you know. When the other affini just...they were so convinced you were dangerous and bad, and it was so...incorrect. I love you, Mane. You're such a good little one, and you care so much about your other little humans, and even when you get angry you put yourself in front of Melody like that and...gosh." She wanted to pick Mane up again but she opted out of it for her ward's sake. 

"I don't think that's accurate…" Mane mumbled. "Thank you, but...it's a very biased way to look at me."

"And?" Effus challenged liltingly. "You've been through a lot, Mane. I was thinking...about what you said, the day after we met. About how it's easy to show mercy when the enemy is weak?" She sighed. Mane tilted her head and tried to figure out what was going through the affini's head. "I think you were right. We...we're so used to nothing being able to threaten us and I think it colors how we react to actual danger some. You're a good girl in a hard place. But I'm here with you, and I love you. Okay?"  

Mane nodded gently. She couldn't quite say that she was satisfied with this, but it would do for now. Even this limited bit of vindication was new to her, after all. She smiled.

"Thank you, Effus. I'm...I'm going to go take a nap now, I think."

"Good girl. Would you like some xenodrugs to help you fall asleep?"

"No thanks, Effus. I'm tired enough right now that I won't need the extra help, I think. Thank you for the offer anyway, though." Mane hopped out of the couch and walked into her room, shutting the door behind her. She walked over to her bed and collapsed into it. The image of Melody's radiant smile came back to her.

"We love you." 

The words from that propaganda video hadn't come through her in a long time, but here and now they did. The context felt somehow different. It still wasn't trustworthy, but it was the affection promised by a person unaware of her baggage or their privilege, rather than the poorly painted imitation of a silver-tongued hiss someone would use while offering a pyramid scheme.

"We love you." 

The words didn't threaten to stab her anymore. They were just...there.

"I love you too…" mumbled Mane as she relaxed in her luxurious new bed.