She awoke groggy and cold, a hard surface pressing against her.

 

She tried to turn over and tuck herself in but she didn't have a blanket over her. Odd. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, instinctively reaching for... glasses? Did she wear glasses? It appeared not as her vision focused to reveal a cute nurse with brown eyes and green hair watching her patiently from below.

 

She looked around. She appeared to be in some kind of oversized doctor's office, laying upon a large metal table. Posters hung on the walls advertising medicine and treatments in a language she didn't understand. A desk with a chair too big for any human sat in the corner of the room with a closed laptop resting on it.

 

She refocused her attention on the nurse in front of her. The top of their head didn't even reach her knee with the size of this table. They wore light blue medical clothing though appeared to be missing a name tag of any kind. Medical staff had name tags didn't they? They smiled with patience and care at her. She was starting to feel awkward.

 

"Where am I?" she croaked out. Her throat was dry as sand.

 

The nurse picked up a plastic cup from next to her and handed it to her. It seemed to contain water so she downed the lot not realising how cold it was. She gasped, her poorly kept teeth stinging from the sudden temperature change.

 

The nurse raised an eyebrow in concern, "Are you okay?"

 

She nodded in a manner perhaps not quite as convincing as intended but smiled and hoped they wouldn't think too much of it.

 

The nurse wrote something down.

 

Oh dear.

 

She suddenly felt a lot of anxiety build in her chest. Was this some kind of test? She had just woken up here but earlier she was...

 

She was...

 

"Where am I?" she snapped again.

 

The nurse winced. She felt a pang of regret.

 

"U-uh you're in a Compact General Sophont Hospital and Veterinarian on the planet Cusia-1," they stuttered out.

 

Cusia. That rang a bell at least. She had no idea why though.

 

"You appear to be a little disoriented, would you like me to come back later?" they asked patiently.

 

"No I'm fine." Was that convincing? She felt convincing. It wasn't a question. It was a fact. She was fine!

 

"Oh wonderful. Well if you wouldn't mind then, I have a few questions I'd like to ask?"

 

"Sure, shoot." She just wanted to get this over with, find a blanket, and go back to sleep.

 

"Wonderful, well first my name is Gabe Agate, Fourth Floret, they/he. I'm a nurse here. Could you tell me your full name please?"

 

She went to respond...

 

And came up empty. What? Of course she had a name... right?

 

Her name was...?

 

And she grew up on...?

 

She spent her life...?

 

Shit.

 

The nurse wrote something down again.

 

Oh no no no no. Was she failing? This wasn't good. How could she forget her name!? Stupid! Stupid!

 

"No worries, do you remember the name of your owner?"

 

"Owner?"

 

She felt like there was something she was forgetting. What was that title the nurse had after their name again? Fourth?

 

"I see. Well don't worry, everything is okay, you are whole and healthy and everything is going to be fine."

 

Yes that made sense. She felt her anxiety ease somewhat. She didn't mind not remembering anything if this cute nurse was here to help her remember.

 

"You were in some state when you arrived," he said reading the clipboard they were holding. "Overdosing on some serious xenodrugs, whoever supplied them is in serious trouble.

 

Xenodrugs? Overdose? What the fuck did she do? The only thoughts she could conjure were emotional scarring from a past left shrouded in fog. Pain? Anger? Determination?

 

The nurse caught themself when they noticed the woman's reaction.

 

"But of course, you have nothing to worry about! Are you feeling up to meeting the... uh... doctor?" The way he emphasized doctor did not sit well with her.

 

What kind of doctor worked in an office built to treat giants? And why was she here? She wanted to voice these concerns but froze when the door behind the nurse opened. The puzzle pieces began to click into place as the mass of writhing bright pink vines made it's way through the door and reformed inside as a large humanoid mass of plant matter. Crimson wooden plates clicked together forming an articulate face and muscle-like armour around it's body. The pink contrasting the deep red made the sight much less threatening. Poppies grew around it's false collarbone, wrists, and ankles, whilst two strange cattail-like antennae sprouted from the top of their head.

 

An Affini. She felt panic flood her mind and twist her gut into a knot. That was right. The Terran Accord was no longer top dog of the universe. The Affini Compact had stripped that illusion from under their noses. Humanity had fought hard, but the fight was over before it had even begun. She didn't know why she felt a compulsion to reach for a weapon. She knew she definitely couldn't let it show. She felt sick. Her mind raced and her heartbeat thumped in her ears so loud she wouldn't have noticed the Affini speaking if it wasn't for the vague simulacrum of a face they maintained. They loomed over her, something told her they were tall even for an affini. Their soft pastel pink eyes settled on her form and their faceplates bent into a soft smile that almost relaxed her.

 

Almost.

 

Thankfully it didn't seem she had been addressed yet. The nursed smiled at her and bowed slightly. "I'll be off now, don't worry you're in great hands. I'll be outside Zenni!" Gabe happily skipped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

 

The Affini—Zenni?—lowered themself to "eye"-level with her, briefly glancing at the clipboard they had apparently taken from the nurse when she wasn't paying attention.

 

"I see," they said in a confident feminine tone, "that makes sense." They turned their full attention to her and she felt the weight of their eyes bearing down on her as they spoke.

 

"My name is Doctor Zeniris Agate, Tenth Bloom, they/them pronouns. I'm a qualified medical practitioner for Affini, Human, and Rinian biologies. As well as several other species you may not be aware of," they said with pride. "You could call me a vet." The last word was annunciated with a playful inflection that made the woman's stomach twist tighter.

 

"Why a vet?" she asked, confusion plain on her face. She felt like she should know the answer, yet dreaded the next words to come from the Affini's mouth.

 

"Why because I specialise in looking after sweet florets like yourself of course," they said with the emotional weight of one reminding someone what day of the week it was.

 

The room span as she tried to wrap her head around this conundrum. Another puzzle piece was threatening to click into place. She connected the dots that stood so far apart and yet the string she tied was clear as day.

 

Floret? Affini? Owner? Veterinarian?

 

Her mind could only conjure one word to connect all of these.

 

Pet.

 

"Wait... do you think I'm one of your pets?" she asked with a trembling voice.

 

"One of my pets? Of course not dear, I wouldn't presume to take ownership of such a pretty human," Zeniris said, aghast. "Now whoever your owner is they are a very lucky individual to have you in their life."

 

Everything was wrong. She wasn't a pet! Sure she couldn't remember who she was or any of that but she'd know if she were a pet. Right? Stars damnit, if only she had remembered her name, she could just get out of here and figure everything out. Maybe she had just partied too hard and was missing a few things? That had to be right.

 

"Hey, hey," the affini soothed, "deep breaths now."

 

She realised she was hyperventilating and started holding her breath.

 

"No not quite, try again."

 

She chuckled and tried to calm herself down. The soothing thrum that had filled the background of her senses since they entered the room helped. It was calming. It was something to focus on. She felt like she could match her breathing to it's pace with ease, and with that felt the anxiety ease away.

 

"Very good girl. Now, is there anything you can tell me about yourself? Anything you can remember?"

 

She felt condescended, pitied, but most of all just confused and tired.

 

"I'm sorry I can't. But. I'm sure that I wasn't a... a 'pet'. I'm not sure what gave you that impression," she laughed. Of course it was all just a misunderstanding.

 

The Affini's eyebrow cocked with curiosity. "That's to be expected, you seem to have been drugged with toxic levels of Class-B Xenodrugs as well as several other abnormally high doses. I would presume some poor misguided soul is to blame. No one with common sense could ever think this amount was correct. Well I believe I have identified you, though I was also surprised to learn of your domestication. It must have been done off the books for some reason, but it is clear you are someone's floret."

 

"I assure you I am not," she spat defensively. Doctors were supposed to listen to people right?

 

Zeniris placed the clipboard down whilst paying close attention to her face. There was no anger in their eyes, just worry.

 

"You actually don't know do you?" they asked. "I believe your name is Yubel and I have something you should see."

 

"Me Belle?" Her head hurt. That name sounded... kinda right?

 

Zeniris chuckled as they retrieved a piece of paper from atop their desk. It was an xray. The name at the top was Yubel and the proportions of the Terran skeleton looked to be hers. There was no damage apparent in the visible section of the upper torso and head, but wrapped around it's back, attached to the nervous system by thin vines clinging to it like a parasite hugging it's host was a strange growth. This was ridiculous. She was sure she couldn't feel anything like that on her.

 

Yubel reached around the back of her neck and felt freshly healing scars adorning her nape.