In light of her entire situation, Eryn had been far too flustered to properly explain what, exactly, Class-J xenodrugs actually did. And, given hindsight, Piper was happy to have gone in blind. The inherent surprise and mystery to it all made watching Eryn knowingly succumb to the drugs that much more exciting. At first, she’d faced them with a defiant glare and a stiff upper lip. Then the Class-Cs kicked in. Eryn’s gaze found Piper, and it stayed; her pupils dilated, swelling until her Irises were barely visible. Slowly, perhaps even unconsciously, Eryn leaned closer to Piper. Where once Eryn’s breathing had been uneven and shallow, the rise and fall of her chest slipped into an oddly familiar rhythm, though Piper could not place where she knew it from. When a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead, and Eryn’s only response was to shudder, stifling a moan, Piper knew her Class-As had taken hold as well. 

Yet, even under the effects of those same drugs which had rendered her a cuddly ball of contentment less than a day ago, Eryn managed to keep her back straight, and her head held high. When it came to the Class-J dose, Piper was unsure what to look for in her darling little affini; then she saw it, and she knew. It started slowly, simply with Eryn beginning to relax. Her squared shoulders slumped, as did her posture. Still, even as she dropped, Eryn kept her eyes glued to Piper’s smiling face, watching over her. Speaking of her eyes, her lids began to droop, taking on a sleepy, dreamy quality as her gaze lost any sense of sharpness or focus, but never wandered. Last came Eryn’s jaw. Through the entire process, she’d kept her lips pursed and teeth clenched. But as the Class-J’s settled in, Eryn’s lips parted, her teeth unclenched. 

Soon enough, Eryn was swaying in place, and beaming up at Piper through dim, but awe-struck eyes. Her mouth was left hanging open in a slack-jawed smile; a bit of drool trickled from her lips. As Piper leaned in to wipe the girls’ mouth, her vines brushed across Eryn’s bare skin, eliciting a gasp, then a delighted shudder. Overwhelmed, Eryn collapsed face-first into Piper’s lap. Piper swooned, and scratched her ‘pet’ behind the ears, eliciting a moan, then a round of giggles as Eryn squirmed closer. Once settled, Eryn rolled onto her back, and peered up at Piper in pure amazement. “Heeey Piper?” she slurred. “You’re reeeaaaally pretty.”

Giggling, Piper ruffled Eryn’s hair. “Now now, little one. You’re supposed to be calling me Mistress now, remember?” 

Apparently, Eryn needed a few moments to process Piper’s words. Once she had, her face scrunched in confusion. “Wait… is everyone here already? D-don’t tell them I’m actually—” Piper pressed a vine to her lips, silencing her.

“They aren’t here yet, silly. But you’re going to have to be careful with what you say. And it’s best we practice before they arrive, don’t you think?” As it turned out, Eryn most certainly did not think—at least, she didn’t seem to think much. Or, perhaps, she was thinking a lot, but had a very narrow scope to her thoughts, a scope which mostly involved gazing at Piper in adoration while being held and pet a lot. 

Either way, Eryn nodded, and gave a sleepy, “Yes, Mistress.” 

Not long after, Piper heard a knock at her door: moment of truth time. She stood, and gently set Eryn down the the couch; this proved to be a mistake, the look of despondent betrayal which crossed her face had Piper scooping Eryn right back up, and holding on tight. Eryn relaxed immediately; Piper couldn’t hold back a satisfied smile, and spent the next several seconds doting Eryn senseless. Another knock at the door roused Piper from her task; she crossed the room, unraveled, then re-raveled the vines in her shoulders to work out any stress kinks, and opened the door. Naris Olen stood in the doorway, their two florets clinging to either leg. 

“Eryngium, darling! It’s been far too long,” they cried, immediately pulling Piper into a full body hug, which Piper sheepishly returned. 

“Erm, hullo Naris, it’s good to see you!” She stammered.

“It is, it is,” they replied, pulling away. They looked down to their florets, giving each an affectionate pat. “Darlings, say hello to Miss Soetis.”

“Hello Miss Soetis,” Alek and Ginger droned in unison. 

Piper beamed, and bent low to ruffle each floret's hair in turn. “Aww, look at you two, your outfits match, how cute!” To her surprise, the entire exchange felt quite natural. Admittedly, the two pets were adorable. 

As Piper righted herself, Naris gestured toward Eryn. “And who’s this adorable little cutie?” 

As if she sensed the attention shifting toward herself, Eryn tightened her grip on Piper’s torso, pressing closer; Eryn soothed her with a gentle stroke across her cheek, eliciting a moan. “This is Piper, my new floret,” Piper answered, desperately hoping her nerves wouldn’t show through. “She’s a bit shy.” 

Naris’ glowing amber eyes fixed on Eryn, and they remained silent for what felt like far too long. Had something gone wrong? Did they know? Was the jig up? Piper had heard stories of affini being capable of all sorts of amazing feats, could they somehow see through the facade? Nari’s contemplative gaze broke, melting into an adoring smile. “Awww,” they cooed. “Poor thing. She seems very well behaved, though. And she clearly can’t get enough of her new owner, so adorable.” 

Relieved, Piper grinned. “She is, but where are my manners? Come in, come in.” Piper stood aside, and ushered her guests into the living room; she could do this. Over the next half hour or so, the remainder of Eryn’s friends trickled in, and Piper found herself slipping into a natural routine. Someone would knock at the door, Piper would bundle Eryn up in her embrace, and answer the door. Piper would then smile, say hello, and just sort of passively reciprocate whatever greeting she received, be it a hug, an intertwining of vines, or something else entirely. Next came the important part: introducing Eryn. This wasn’t important because it was difficult, Piper needed to do little more than hold Eryn in place while whichever affini cooed and fawned over her, but it was still a non-negotiable. 

For her part, Eryn played her role masterfully. She didn’t do much. Mostly, she clung to Piper’s chest, nuzzling her cheek into soft, inviting vines, accepting whatever random pets from other affini she was given, and occasionally moaning or whimpering “Mistress,” in a voice which dripped with needy adoration. But, to be fair, little else was expected of her. Piper wasn’t entirely certain how much more Eryn was even capable of at the time. 

Once the last of Eryn’s guests had arrived and settled in, Piper was faced with a new challenge: actually socializing without the constant disruption of new arrivals derailing any sufficiently in-depth conversation. Luckily, Eryn’s friends seemed far more interested in cooing over the little cuddle pile of florets now rolling around on Eryn’s floor than having much of a lively conversation. Piper was more than happy to just keep her mouth shut, and spend the next several hours amusing herself with the dazed little sophont in her lap. Then, Piper had a realization: this was her golden opportunity. She could use this to get the inside scoop on the unfiltered thoughts and opinions of average affini. 

Admittedly, Piper was starting to doubt most of the propaganda she’d heard in her days as a rebel; that didn’t mean she was eager to place all her faith in the new management just because they looked nice on the surface. She cleared her throat. “So, uh, how’s conquering the human race been treating everyone? I mean, I always knew it would be difficult, but I just can’t believe how much I had to hide from Piper to make her believe we weren’t going to do anything nefarious with her until it was too late for her to fight back, haha, am I right?”

The room fell silent, as several pairs of eyes, and a few odd stray eyes, fixed on her. Piper froze, wincing, had she blown it? Peony was the first to start laughing. Their partner Topaz followed suit, soon every affini in the room was chortling and giggling mercilessly. “Oh, Eryn you absolute clone,” Peony guffawed.

“You mean clown?” Piper offered. 

“What?” Peony squinted, then shook their head. “No, no, I’m not talking about Terran intercourse; I’m talking about that joke you just told.”

“Now Eryn,” Alruna chided. “Are you teasing poor, adorable little Piper over her past as a feralist?” 

“I uh…” Piper forced a chuckle, “yeah, that’s it, just teasing my darling a bit.”

Alruna shook her head. “Oh, you wouldn’t believe the things Felicia thought when I first found her,” she giggled, gesturing to the adorable little terran hugging the bee floret and nuzzling her face into another terran’s exposed tummy. “She actually thought she would have to ‘pay’ for things. Can you believe that?” 

“Alek and Ginger kept asking me not to send them to ‘the mines,’” Naris added, chuckling to themself. They continued, their voice now low and melancholy. “Honestly, the things my poor dears had to go through before we met. All of them, really, my core aches for each and every Terran who suffered under that awful ‘Accord.’” Something about their sincerity touched Piper.

“How, um, how did you change their minds?” Piper asked.

“Oh, Eryn,” Naris sighed. “Sometimes I forget how young you are. It was never about ‘changing’ their minds, it was about showing them the truth. I didn’t force them to believe anything, I simply fed them, clothed them, gave them safety and shelter where the universe failed to provide those things for them. I stayed by them when they were lonely, comforted them when they were sad or scared. I gave them a reason to trust me. I showed them why letting me take charge was the right choice. And that’s something no amount of silly ‘mind-control’ devices that Bramble cooks up in its lab can provide.“ 

“Huh,” Piper replied, stunned. The surprising part wasn’t their answer, it was that Piper believed them. “Perhaps there’s still a lot I have to learn,” she muttered. 

“It’s alright, you can still be that for little Piper,” Alruna reassured. Piper smiled, and looked down on the squirming girl in her lap. The mere sight of that blissed out expression of sleepy contentment and trust set a fire in Piper’s vines. And she realized that, no matter what happened with Bramble and its machine, she wanted this precious, darling sophont to be a part of her life. 

“Stars,” Peony began, calling Piper from her moment of reverie. “I must say, terrans are adorable, but Topaz and I will never stop being grateful for the fact that issues like ‘how to deal with feralism’ are never a concern with beeple. 

“You can say that again,” Topaz agreed. “Things with little ‘pis have been easy since day one. And I thi—”

“Wait, sorry,” Piper interrupted. “What did you just call your floret?”

“What? ‘pis?” Topz asked. “It’s the ‘nickname’ we use for apis. We call him little ‘pis. Did you not know that, Eryn?” 

“Right, um, it’s just that word sounds like another word—”

“Ah, yes,” Peony nodded. “We saw that. Some sort of association with a terran concept known as a ‘golden shower?’ We couldn’t think of a more lovely, and apt description for our darling little bee. his honey, too, is like a lovely shower of gold for all the eager sophonts around him.”

“Absolutely,” Naris agreed. “I know for certain that Ginger and Alek both love to drink ‘pis, whenever they get the chance.” Piper couldn’t help but notice that the pinnate pair chose that exact moment to burst into a fit of giggles.

“I believe it would actually be ‘drink from pis,’” Alruna corrected. 

“Maybe it’s partake of ‘pis?” Naris suggested, oblivious to the second outburst that elicited from their pets.

Piper realized at that exact moment that there was absolutely no chance any of these dorks could ever have some sort of secret evil plan. She considered trying to correct them, but decided not to spoil the florets’ fun. Besides, her energy was far better spent doting on Eryn; Piper was quite sure that she could never, ever grow tired of that awe-struck, adoring gaze.  

The evening progressed smoothly from there. As though to hammer home how silly Piper felt thinking Eryn’s friends might have had some sinister secrets to uncover, each and every affini proved to be exactly how Eryn had predicted; conversation seldom strayed from the subject of how adorable their florets were. Eryn herself remained perpetually shy and clingy, and rarely so much as poked her head out from under Piper’s embrace. Whether this was due to some lingering embarrassment her Class-Js had failed to excise, or a more general dependence and extreme attachment to Piper was unclear. Either way, Eryn’s friends were more than happy to fawn over ‘Piper’ from a distance. 

Afternoon progressed into evening, and, as the energy of the writhing pile of florets strewn out on Eryn’s floor shifted from excited, squirmy and cuddly, to lazy, sleepy and cuddly, their growing chorus of yawns informed their owners it was getting to be time to leave. With Eryn already curled up against her chest and napping, Piper watched as her guests gathered up their pets, and slowly made their way to the door. Being a good host, Piper, of course, saw them out. And, as the small group of affini crowded around the door outside, bidding one another goodbye, Piper felt Eryn stir. She yawned, and, apparently curious about the commotion, poked her head out from Piper’s embrace. 

Perhaps the Class-Js were in the early stages of wearing off. Perhaps after her nap, Eryn was more curious and aware of her surroundings. Perhaps her brain simply chose that particular moment to scrape together the few thoughts left rattling around in her adorable, malleable little mind. Perhaps it was something else entirely. Whatever the cause, the effect was undeniable. As Eryn’s gaze fell on the crowd of onlooking affini, she froze. In turn, Eryn’s glassy eyes fell upon each of her friends, and slowly began to focus. Sadistic delight bloomed within Piper’s core as she realized what was happening. 

“Oh, Eryn dear! It seems your little Piper has decided she wants to say hello after all,” Peony sang, lowering themself to Eryn’s level, and smiling wide. “Hi there, cutie!” On cue, a furious blush bloomed on Eryn’s cheeks as she began to tremble, but remained frozen in place. “Aww!” Peony crooned. “Aren’t you just the sweetest little thing!” 

Despite her better judgment, Piper couldn’t resist twisting the knife. “Say thank you to Mx. Gallum, petal,” she commanded.

Eryn stiffened, then nodded. “Y-yes Mistress. U-um, th-thank you, Mx. Gallum.” 

“You’re most welcome, little one.” Without skipping a beat, Peony reached a vine forward, and began petting Eryn’s exposed head. Piper looked on in pure glee as Eryn’s shocked humiliation dissolved into a blushy pout. Beset as she was, Eryn attempted to duck her head, which seemed to do little besides expose an even better spot for Peony to pet. A quiet ‘meep’ escaped Eryn’s lips, and her fate was sealed. 

Peony squealed with delight, and redoubled their efforts, this time with even more vines. Mere moments later, Eryn breathed a long, low moan. And, by the time she had managed to stop panting, Eryn’s bratty pout was nothing but a memory, replaced by open-mouthed bliss. Having discarded her dignity entirely, Eryn began eagerly nuzzling against the offending vines. “Aww, such a good girl!” Peony cheered. Eryn responded with an eager, erratic nod. Smiling, Peony gave Eryn one last stroke of the cheek, and stepped back. The moment the affection ceased, a dazed, dejected look crossed Eryn’s face. “Aww, look at that! Poor dear, such a needy pet. Would anybody else like to give little Piper some affection? She seems quite eager now.” 

Topaz stepped up to fill the space left by her partner. “I’ve been absolutely dying to, my love.” Again, as Topaz approached, a moment of lucidity and recognition sparked in Eryn’s otherwise dull eyes. Realization, regret, shame, desire, they all coalesced into the most wonderful composition. This time, however, once the petting began, any and all conflict melted into distant bliss without even a moment of futile defiance. Like that, Eryn was a moaning, drooling mess. Topaz took her time with Eryn, finishing with an emphatic, “who’s a good girl?” which she refused to stop repeating until Eryn replied with a blushy, “m-me, Miss Gallum.”

By the time Alruna stepped in to take Topaz’s place, the only recognition left in Eryn’s eyes was the joyful recognition that she was moments away from another round of affection.

Nearly an hour later, Piper’s guests had finally taken their leave, each and every one of them having received ample opportunity to pet Eryn senseless. The hab was quiet; Eryn was draped across Piper’s lap, happily curled into her chest. With the days’ activities behind her, Piper felt all too ready to retire for the evening, and Eryn was certainly not about to object. That being said, Eryn was hardly in a position to get herself ready for bed. Humming to herself, Piper began to tend to her body’s needs. Her body, how strange, Piper had hardly even thought of it as such all day. It was her body though. 

As much fun as getting to tease Eryn in this towering plant-form, Piper did feel unmistakably out of place, off. She was currently undressing her own body, watching it as it dozed peacefully on the couch. Inhabiting Eryn’s body was novel, it was exciting, but Piper had no doubt that it would not be long before those feelings wore off. That being said, if Bramble did take too long to fix the machine, and Piper did reach that point, she’d at least have something to brag about. After all, that would have to be the absolute weirdest form of dysphoria anyone had ever felt in all of human history. Piper chuckled to herself, and shook her head as she slid a very damp, very sticky pair of panties down her own legs. At least Eryn was clearly enjoying herself. 

As Piper carried Eryn to bed, she felt a buzzing from somewhere in her vines. Piper grumbled, and fished out Eryn’s tablet: a new message from Bramble. Not bothering to wake the sleeping girl this time, Piper tapped the notification. “Hey you two crazy kids! Hope the experiment is going well! Good news!! I made a breakthrough this evening. I should have the machine up and running some time tomorrow. I’ll be in touch!” A mixture of relief, and melancholy thrummed in Piper’s core. 

Of course, Piper absolutely wanted to get back to her own body, that much was already apparent. At the same time, though, it was all so soon. She was still having quite a bit of fun, and was honestly looking forward to one or two more days looking after Eryn. And that was the biggest worry of all. Once things were back the way they were meant to be, what would that mean for Piper and Eryn? Without a doubt, Piper wanted Eryn in her life, but what options would she even have? 

Looking down at Eryn’s sleepy, blissed-out form, the idea that Eryn had once wanted to be Piper’s owner was comical. She couldn’t imagine a future where their positions were reversed, not even for a moment. As much as Eryn loved to brat and pout, anyone could see that she had thoroughly enjoyed every moment of pampering, and drugged-up, submissive bliss. So what, then, keep their dynamic as it had been, but back in their old bodies? Or perhaps mellow things out a bit, and try to have a more tame relationship while they figured things out? Would Eryn even admit the truth that was so plain to everyone? Piper couldn’t say, and now was not the time to worry over such matters.

Piper set Eryn down upon the bed, and took care of a few last minute things around the hab before bed, humming to herself as she did. The tune seemed so familiar, though Piper couldn’t place where she knew it from. Oh well, it was hardly worth fretting over. Satisfied, Piper returned to the master bedroom, and was greeted by a sleepy stirring from her darling Eryn. Yawning, the girl sat up, and blinked at Piper, cocking her head. “Mistress…” she whined. “Come cuddle please?”

Stars, Piper could never deny such a darling request. “Of course, little one,” Piper crooned, crossing the room, and wrapping herself around Eryn. “The party is over, by the way, you don’t need to call me Mistress, anymore, dear.”

“Oh…” Eryn murmured. 

On instinct, Piper began stroking Eryn’s hair. “I got a text from Bramble, dear. It said the machine should be ready tomorrow. We can go back to normal soon.”

Eryn tensed, and squirmed in closer to Piper’s embrace. “You mean, you’ll be back in your body?”

“Mhm, and you in yours,” Piper replied.

“You um—you won’t leave me, right?” Poor darling, Piper could feel the anxiety radiating off her. What else was there to say, but the truth?

“Never.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Eryn nuzzled into Piper's embrace, resting her head upon Piper’s chest. “Okay. Um, Piper? I uh, I think I might love you.”

Bright, vibrant joy hummed outward from the depths of Piper’s core. She pulled Eryn in closer. “I think I might love you too, Eryn.”