The next few days went by in a blur for Loretta, the cycle of being fed, dressed, and bathed became a sort of regularity for her. Cherry was wonderful but the two rarely talked much about anything, given that Cherry spent all day working, leaving Loretta home with a datapad. That changed on the fifth day of Loretta’s wardship, with Cherry smiling at the girl as she browsed the overnet from her couch.

The ship they were on had docked with a mixed-use space station, and apparently, they were going to be moving onto the station for Cherry’s work, which had something to do with educating humans on advanced particle physics.

“So, petal, today we are going to go to lunch with a friend of mine, given that you have been stable the past few days I am certain you can handle it.” Cherry said with a smirk.

Loretta felt her stomach drop. She had caught herself in a mirror a few times over the past few days, and while she was already looking more feminine, there was another problem; mainly, she looked like a floret. Between the flowery dresses, glassy eyes, and clumsy movements, she was looking more and more like a floret each passing day. It didn’t help that Cherry was definitely treating her like a floret, at least, as far as she could tell.

“D-do I really have to?” Loretta asked, blushing. “It’s a bit embarrassing…”

“What is? The fact that you look particularly adorable?” Cherry said with a smirk.

“No! I just uh… look like a floret I guess. I don’t want people to get the wrong idea or anything.”

“Oh, and why would that be such a bad thing petal?” Cherry said, leaning forward with a predatory grin. “Everyone thinking that you belonged to me, my loving, cared for and adored pet~. A little needy thing desperate for my attention, their entire existence nothing but joy and happiness~”

Loretta blushed and averted her eyes. Did she know about the dreams? There was no way she knew about the dreams. That would be absolutely ridiculous. It didn’t help that the recurring dreams of belonging to Cherry were starting to impinge on her ability to keep her cool. If she couldn’t even deny this how the hell was she supposed to remain independent? Not that it seemed all that enticing these days… Loretta shook her head to snap herself out of it.

“I uh… um…”

Cherry smiled, before wrapping a vine around Loretta’s collar, eliciting a deep blush from the girl.

“Come on dear~, we wouldn’t want to be late~”

Loretta was dragged out of the hab before she even knew what was going on, blushing profusely, unable to come up with any kind of protest. The Affini led her out of the hab ring, and onto the station, they were currently docked to. Strangely enough, she wasn’t brought to the Affini hab ring there, she was brought to the human one.

All of the humans who saw her either ignored her entirely or looked at her with some mixture of pity or contempt. Loretta felt her cheeks burning red as she was led along like some kind of needy pet. Loretta would say this was the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to her, but she felt that her experiences on the Rings of Saturn were significantly more embarrassing, not that she remembered them well.

Loretta couldn’t help but imagine what those people were thinking, people who she fought a pointless rebellion to ‘protect’. They probably saw a pet, a cute little thing that only served the purpose of being pampered by her affini mistress. They saw somebody who was blissed out of their mind on xenodrugs, with all of their needs provided for by a xeno. Physical, emotional, and sexual. She decided to let that thought lie.

She heard a few humans muttering things about her. Statements like ‘Poor thing’, and pitying glances. Loretta for some reason felt excited by this but she didn’t want to be. She wasn’t some weird pervert who got off on the embarrassment! That would be gross. She definitely didn’t shiver every time somebody gave her a pitying glance or a resentful glare, forcing her to keep close to Cherry to hide her deepening blush.

Eventually, she was led into a restaurant that seemed to be catering to a mixed clientele of Affini and humans. Loretta herself was led to a booth near the back, where another Affini sat, with some kind of bee creature in her arms. Loretta herself was helped up onto the Affini-sized seat. She attempted to sit alone to assert her independence, but she found herself quickly put into Cherry’s lap, which she couldn’t find it in her to protest (it was extremely comfortable).

The two Affini at the table intertwined their vines as they greeted each other in what Loretta presumed was the Affini language, before all the attention was placed on her.

The other Affini spoke first. “Greetings petal, I am Hyacinthia Farrow, Fourth Bloom, She/her, who might you be cutie?”

“I uh…” Loretta blushed, averting her eyes from the pretty plant. “Loretta Pritchard.”

The plant seemed somewhat surprised, looking at Cherry before a smug, predatory grin flew across her face. “Of course, Independent are we?”

Loretta nodded, feeling the pressure of the two plants' gazes. “Y-yes miss.”

“So polite! A wonderful ward if I have ever seen one! Now I heard you have a degree in particle physics Loretta? Luckily for you, that is exactly what we are here to talk about!”

“Miztrezz really lovez her particlez.” The bee person in Hyacinthia’s arms said.

“Oh how silly! I forgot to introduce my floret, Beeverly Farrow, Third Floret!”

“Thatz me!”

“W-well it’s nice to meet you,” Loretta said.

“Zo! How iz it being an ‘independent zophont’?” The bee asked with air quotes.

“I uh…” Loretta said.

Cherry chuckled and began petting Loretta’s head, causing the girl to hold back a moan as she rubbed into the hand. Why did it feel so good? Why was she melting so much? Loretta was supposed to be independent! She didn’t want th-

Cherry began scratching under her chin and Loretta let out a soft moan, only causing her to blush further as she broke eye contact with everyone. She didn’t want to be a pet! She didn’t. She did not. This was beneath her. Oh, stars it felt so good. Loretta began to slump against the plant behind her as her thoughts were blasted away by the petting.

Every touch was like electricity to her mind, perfectly hitting all of her most sensitive areas. Every time she tried to think to protest the thought was obliterated by the touch. In this state, Loretta began to hear it. The beautiful song resonated with her very soul, one of infinite depth and complexity. It seeped into Loretta’s very essence, bathing her in its melody.

The song wiped away all of her worries and fears. Every single hangup and anxiety which had plagued her for years was washed away in the sheer depth of the song. It was a pattern, she could tell that much, but a complete picture fell further out of reach. The more she understood about it the more she found true understanding was impossible. It was like a fractal in sound form, with all the beauty and complexity one would expect.

Loretta vaguely heard people talking around her but she didn’t mind, she was bathing in the music. The wonderful endless fractal song. It made every touch on her skin like hot searing fire into her brain, wiping away any thoughts but those of submission, of obedience, of Mistre-.

Loretta gasped as she shot up, panting as she looked around like a scared animal. The rest of the party looked at her with wide eyes, but Cherry did not stop petting her. Loretta realized she was being fed, the damn plant cutting up the steak before them and dropping it into her mouth.

Loretta plopped down onto the floor and put some distance between her and Cherry. “W-what the hell was that?”

“Petal, I think it would be for the best if we explained this at home, it may be somewhat hard to swallow for you.”

“But to put it zimply~ You a what zome would call a zeed.” The bee said, letting out some kind of rhythmic buzzing that Loretta can only guess is the beeple’s laughter.

“S-seed?” Loretta said.

“Zomebody who would do zo much better az a floret but doezn’t know it yet!” The bee said, causing Hyacintihia to burst into laughter.

Loretta began storming off causing Cherry to follow. “I wouldn’t worry about them too much Petal, they just think you are cute.”

“A cute potential pet? I thought the point of this was if I behaved I could get my independence!”

Cherry sighed. “We will talk further at home dear.”

Loretta was walked on a leash once more, which she begrudgingly allowed as she was led back to the hab. What even was that? Why did she allow those things to happen to her? She wasn’t some useless pet who needed to be doted on like that; she definitely didn’t like it. Who would like to be treated like that?

The walk back was quiet, Cherry giving Loretta nervous glances but nothing more. She preferred it that way, she didn’t want any of this. She didn’t want to be her useless pet. She wanted to just be able to lock herself into a room with Fluffy and never leave. That is all she has ever wanted.

Loretta didn’t pay any mind to anything occurring as they went back to the hab, but eventually, they arrived, and Loretta was placed on the couch with Cherry next to her. “So, for rhetorical purposes, I would like you to explain the symptoms you are experiencing for me.”

Loretta rolled her eyes. “Feelings of extreme submission, spacing out, higher sensitivity to physical contact, a desire to call you a certain M word I’m definitely not going to say.”

“Alright, that is, in fact, a consequence of my biorhythm. As you get closer to an affini their biorhythm affects you more and more, this begins rewiring your internal brain chemistry, causing you to desire affection and care from the affini in question.”

“So you brainwashed me into being a needy bottom?” Loretta asked, clenching her fist.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to call it brainwashing, but that is fairly close, yes. To be entirely fair, you are extremely susceptible to biorhythms overall.” Cherry said.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, biorhythms have much more of an effect on people who strongly desire the feelings they provide deep down. Those being safety, comfort, and submission. From what we can tell from your records you strongly desire all three.”

Cherry’s demeanor had changed heavily. She had gone from her normal ditzy self to somebody terrifyingly well-informed and able to articulate complex ideas. She wasn’t sure which was an act but the consequences were a rather disconcerting change of character.

“I-I don’t want to be a pet! Stop trying to tell me I want to be a pet! I just want to lock myself in a room with fluffy so I don’t have to think about what happened on that damn ship ever again!”

“Loretta, dear, we can help with that. There is no need to suffer all alone.” Cherry said, reaching a hand out, which was swatted away.

“I definitely didn’t want to be brainwashed into wanting help! I just want to be alone!”

Loretta knew that her arguments were flimsy, she knew that this didn’t make any sense, but there was still this part of her screaming that she didn’t want to be a pet. That she just needed to be alone forever, the same part of her that contemplated suicide back in the escape pod, while the rest of her screamed to let Cherry in.

Loretta began to cry as she stood up and retreated to her room. She had to think about this. She had to decide what she really wanted. She was so close to letting Cherry in and now she was pushing her away, crying alone in a bed. Loretta squeezed Fluffy before she fell asleep.