The corridors, wide and white as ever, turned and twisted this way and that. Ursula glanced between the tablet held in her hand, and the crowds of affini and florets that were all about. Her other hand held one of Mane's, confident and tight. She was following a map to the location of a swimsuit stop, which there were a surprising number of on the Crest- given that it was a spaceship. The pettily specific pleasures of the protectorate never ceased to amuse. 

"Oh heck, I might need sunglasses," Ursula murmured softly to herself. 

"The one near the beach probably has some," chirped Mane in an effort to be helpful. "I'd be surprised if it didn't. Wait a minute, actually- sunglasses? Why would you need those? We're on a starship." 

"Affini ships tend to have big big lamps on their artificial beaches," Ursula explained with a giggle. "To simulate the real thing, since they think humans' fondness for the sun is endearing. They tend not to be too bright, thankfully, but just in case it winds up being a bit much to look at for too long, I like to bring a pair." Mane nodded, her face betraying her interest in this subject. The two walked in silence, and soon crossed over into the human section of the ship. Ursula felt one of the other members of her system bubbling up to the surface, having sunk back under when they left Effus's hab. 

"Ursula," Ena interjected from inside Ursula's brain, the image of her scaled body appearing in Ursula's headspace and rolling her eyes, "we have been equipped more than sufficiently for any brightness not specifically engineered to damage eyeballs since we still had the implant." 

Yeah, Ursula responded internally, but it's better to be safe! Ena must have either felt satisfied by that answer or not have felt too invested, because she returned to the depths of their mind immediately. 

Mane and Ursula pressed through a small crowd of humans. Ursula noticed that Mane had raised her hood. Had she spotted someone who might recognize her? Ursula tried not to worry. There were no affini in this area- she'd chosen it for that reason. The human segments of protectorate territory were the places she felt safest- few if any of the affini, but close enough that the fascists who worshipped the old world would generally leave one alone in favor of juicier targets. Mane had killed one of their collaborators, though…

"Is everything alright, cub?" Ursula asked with concern. She squeezed Mane's hand yet again, and turned to smile warmly for her. "You can tell me, dear. I promise."

"Just felt shy," Mane answered. The girl in the coat wiggled. Was that really all? Ursula felt a cloying sense of unease. Still, she didn't want to pry too much so she opted not to push it. Instead she turned and, Mane still in tow, covered the last stretch around a corner. Once they made their way through it, they arrived at the entrance to a building labeled the Beachgoer's One Stop! 

—---

Mane followed Ursula, her heart racing. This was a lot that she'd just agreed to, she was realizing now, and…could she handle it? Her coat helped her feel more confident. She had nothing to fear with Ursula there, after all. She was taken, so most of even the affini wouldn't dare try anything with her, and if they did Ursula could call Erias in even faster than she had the last time. The tall, strong, confident, beautiful independent Terran was all the protection Mane could ever possibly need or dare to ask for. It was with newfound strength, which she had drawn from the sight of Ursula's unflinching stride, that she stood straighter herself and cast her eyes forward rather than down at the floor. 

As they walked, she saw a face in passing that she thought she recognized. Her heart spiked in terror instantly as she ran through who it might be. The first name and face that came to mind could be ruled out easily. Besides, the affini had her. Even if it was that person, they were no more a threat to her than Melody. No other specific name or face came to her, despite her frenzied digging. She put up her hood, just in case they'd seen her. Had they? She doubted it. If they had, they hid their recognition of her remarkably well. She wasn't unarmed, and as someone in affini custody that made her vastly more dangerous than any theoretical attacker would expect. 

Sure, her knife would fail against a gun, but guns were extremely unlikely. Sneaking a gun onto an affini ship was difficult and risky. It wasn't impossible when their guard was down, but the kind of reduced reactants you needed for the operation to succeed made the weapon dramatically weaker. That was when their guard was lowered, too, which given Mane's presence, the Crest's probably wasn't. Besides, with materials and production brought grinding to practically zero by the loss of the Accord, the possibility of wasting bullets by getting them confiscated made the risk of such an operation even greater. Anyone coming at her would be doing it with a knife or their bare hands. 

And they'd be expecting her to only have the latter. 

This knowledge reassured her somewhat. Between that and Ursula's calming, powerful presence…she was going to be okay. She felt some of the weight slide off her shoulders, and she was sure she felt her face get brighter. 

They turned the last corner and arrived. Mane was unsure whether to feel elation or disgust as her first impression. The stop had clear glass windows showing off some of their goods, much like any shop, but instead of mannequins there stood florets. Attractive florets, to be clear, with a variety of body types that you'd never see in a surf shop on a Terran planet, but the image of thinking beings used to show off merch was…uncomfortable.

They consented, of course, Mane was confident of that. She'd give the affini the benefit of doubt- and assume that consent was genuine. None of that "retroactive consent" bullshit that made her feel like a bull coming down with rabies. And there wasn't profit being made off of them, of course, at least not any more than whatever innate feeling the owner (of the florets, the shop, or both) got from their doing this service. That made it less gross, but the familiar echo of the Accord struck a nerve in her. 

"Ah. Yeah, that. If it makes you feel any better you can go ask about their day," snarked Ena, having fronted just long enough to throw that out there. Mane shook her head no. 

"I'd rather just…push on past," said Mane. "I'm sure their day is going beautifully. They look happy enough, and I doubt you get dressed to pose in a bikini all day thinking 'gee, wouldn't it be AWESOME if that killer on the news grilled me about my life choices?'" Ursula laughed, but it was an unsure kind of laughter. When Mane smiled appreciatively, Ursula seemed to take her laughter as having been the right move and turned back towards the store. The duo walked inside. 

Mane immediately gravitated to a plastic imitation of a human head, which had a pair of goggles strapped to its "eyes." She picked it up with a mischievous look in her eyes, and flicked them sideways in Ursula's direction. 

"Alas, poor Cain. I knew him, Ursula."

"Oh GODS DAMNIT!" Ursula bit her lip to keep from dying of laughter as she gripped her sides. "Put the prop human head back!" Mane did as she was told, albeit while giggling. Much of the mien of fear and anxiety that she'd been carrying atop her back melted away. She wasn't being watched, she wasn't in danger. She was free…well. She was free as she could ever be, born into the lot that she was. And she could hardly complain- she had essentially won the lottery of chance after all. 

"Ah, here," Ursula purred. She'd found a rack. "Sunglasses, huzzah!" She picked through a couple, trying them on, before settling on a pair she liked. She grinned at Mane and hooked the sunglasses onto the hem of her shirt as she licked her lips, eyes flashing with red speckles for a split second. "And now, we move on to doing the fun part!" Ursula froze. Something seemed to worry her. She shrank awkwardly away, until something changed. Her eyes became a piercing red, signaling that Ena had taken the wheel. 

"Sorry about that," Ena said to Mane, "she felt…awkward about doing this and asked if I could take her place. I was delighted to, naturally. I hope you don't mind." Mane squeaked, face bright red. She nodded sheepishly. Ena laughed and crossed her arms. One of her fingers tapped a nail on her lips. "What a good girl you are!" She was standing next to Mane in an instant, one hand hooked around her hip and one cupping her face. Mane's cheeks heated up as blood pooled beneath them and turned them pink. Ena's breath was hot, hotter than most humans'. Knowing her, that was Very intentional. "It's a shame I'm trying not to rock the boat with her, because goodness you're a sweet little thing!" Mane squeaked again and wiggled as much as her stiff, awkward posture would allow. Ena stepped away and relinquished her holds from Mane, but was still smiling wide. 

"Th-thank you," Mane mewled helplessly and raised her hands to bury her face in them. "Mewwwwww!" 

"Gosh, you even mewl like a little lion cub," Ena growled lovingly. "How preciousssss." She reached over and traced a line across Mane's face with a nail, but Mane pulled away. The red of Ena's eyes rapidly vanished, supplanted by green. 

"Aw, dear," cooed a worried Ursula, "do you need help shaving?" Mane nodded nervously. "Ah. I can see why that might interfere with this stage. Not much use being pretty if you can't see it in yourself, now is there?" Mane sheepishly nodded in agreement, and Ursula set about searching through the store. "Now then, where would they have razors…they would, here, right? I feel like they ought to…"

"I-it's fine, I'm sorry, we can-" Mane tried to placate Ursula, feeling like a burden. Ursula was not having it. 

"It's perfectly alright darling," Ursula insisted. "Hah! Shaving cream! And…a razor!" She grabbed one off a nearby shelf. "This is the same kind as…here, hold this." She tossed a can to Mane, who fumbled but didn't drop it. Ursula consulted her tablet, digging through archived conversations from her days before the implant. "Here we go! Yes, this is the same one. Very good!" She hopped with joy, and Mane tried not to stare as her boobs bounced a bit. "Now, come with me? There's a shower where we can get you shaved." 

Mane suddenly realized what precisely was being offered and her body locked up. Her face felt volcanic levels of hot. "O-oh, um. S-sure!" She had not expected this to be a possibility when she woke up that morning. 

"Well?" Asked Ursula. Her ears twitched and so did her nose. "Is everything alright, dea-"

"Y-yes! Just you're very hot!" Squealed Mane in spite of herself. "And the class G's have only made you hotter! Nyaaaa!" Ursula giggled and reached out, resting a hand on Mane's head. 

"These were all human engineering," Ursula giggled. Mane hadn't specified her boobs, but judging from the way she bounced on purpose after saying that…Ursula was well aware anyway. "Everything was, except the bear ears. Old fashioned HRT did plenty for me~"

"Oh g-gosh," Mane swallowed, staring up into Ursula's face. "I- d-damn, that's…heck." She was standing so close, her hand felt so soft and gentle on Mane's head…resting its soft, loving weight on her scalp…

Tears slid out of Mane's eyes that she wasn't aware of. She was relaxed, her eyes closed. She sighed happily, nuzzling up into Ursula's touch. Ursula purred and pulled Mane into a gentle embrace with her other arm, squeezing close. 

"There there, cub," she whispered into Mane's ear with all the understated power she could muster. "If you need to let more out, it's okay. I'm here. You're safe." Mane collapsed against her. She gulped twice but never made a sound, instead just snuggling up closer. Ursula's body, warm and soft, filled her with hope and happiness. "Good girl. Let it out. It's gonna be okay."