Ennervia’s mind was screaming internally, trying to process how willing the girl was to be domesticated. Weren’t independent Terrans supposed to struggle with giving in? Weren’t they supposed to fight for their independence no matter what until they were forcibly broken?

All this human was doing was dazily snuggling against her on the maglev ride back home, muttering cute little words like ‘mistress’ and… ugh, she couldn’t get attached! She would mess it up and have the cute thing taken from her.

Unfortunately for the plant, her floret seemed to be already able to pick up on this, looking up at her with the cutest glazed look in her eyes. The thing barely even acknowledged the rain and thunder in the background, her eyes on her mistress, who was Ennervia.

“Is something wrong, mistress?” AGH! THE MISTRESS WORD AGAIN! ROOTS, WHY DID THIS HUMAN HAVE TO BE SO CUTE?

Ennervia took a moment to calm down, deep breaths, or as close to breathing as Affini got anyway. The plant could feel the nervous energy wriggling through her mind, and she was almost certain her floret (she still hadn’t gotten used to that word) could feel it too. Ennervia couldn’t lie to the little thing. It would break her heart.

“I uh…” Just say it. “No, not particularly… I don’t know if I’m fit to take care of a floret. I don’t know if I’m the right owner for you, dear.”

Aurora seemed to scrunch her nose at that, staring up at her mistress in disbelief. “But you are the perfect owner! You saved me! You are kind, loving, uh… kind….”

Aurora’s brain was obviously slow from all the Class Es she was on, but it was so cute.

“Sweetie, you barely know me.” Ennervia insisted.

“I don’t care! You are my mistress!” Aurora replied, nuzzling against the big gay plant and letting out a cute little squeak.

Roots, why did this girl have to be so insistent? Why couldn’t she see that there were far better owners for her out there? She already dressed like a floret even before they met. There was no way in hell she didn’t have a dozen Declarations of Intent from other Affini. What did she do to deserve this?

“Stop spiraling, mistress, and cuddle me!” The pouting Terran said, causing the Affini’s thoughts to melt away.

She noticed that the maglev was mostly filled with Independent Terrans, looking at the two like they were some kind of crazy, with the one or two Affini there letting out awws as they watched them interact.

Ennervia couldn’t help but be deeply embarrassed as the attention remained on them, and the Affini couldn’t help but pull her floret close and use her in a similar way to how many florets used stuffed animals. She used the pressure of squeezing her pet to vent out the embarrassment, causing the floret to let out a few moans of delight. This was accompanied by a few more coos from the other Affini and more slightly concerned glares from the Terrans.

Damn Class As.

* * *

Aurora hadn’t known her mistress long, but she had learned one thing already. Her mistress was a big stupid idiot who thought she didn’t deserve her. Aurora’s thoughts were spacy and distant. The only thing she was able to really think about was how much she loved her mistress. However, it seemed her mistress was struggling to be able to love her.

That was almost certainly because the big plant was a big stupid dummy and kept telling herself dumb things in her head. Aurora knew what that felt like! That is what she was like before the Affini, and even before Mistress! Aurora tried to sit up to look her mistress in the eyes, but her head fell slightly to the side due to her weak and delayed movements. But it was ok! Her mistress adjusted her head, and it was all better!

They had since gotten off of the meglov…? Magiv…? Train thing. That would do. Words were hard right now, but that was ok. Her mistress would handle those now! Mistress had arms around her waist and was snuggling her close as they got off the train, with a blanker of vines over her head to prevent her from getting wet. Mistress was so thoughtful! Even if she didn’t know it!

“Miiiiistressssss.” Aurora said, playfulness in her voice.

“Y-yes, dear?” Her big dumb plant replied.

“Stop being a biiig dummy” Aurora replied, trying to reach a hand up to boop her nose but only managing to reach her neck before her arm dropped to her side. “I want to be your pet.”

“I uh…” Was all the plant could reply with, causing Aurora to nuzzle into her chest.

“Yours.” Aurora stated matter of factly.

Ennervia seemed to turn from her usual green to a brighter yellowish shade, which Aurora guessed was like her big dummy blushing. That means she was winning! Aurora giggled as her plant broke eye contact, looking elsewhere.

“U-uh… we are home. I uh…” Ennervia seemed indecisive.

“Give me a bath! I’m cold and wet!” Aurora insisted, hugging her tighter.

Ennervia turned an even brighter shade of yellow as the door to the hab opened, and Aurora relaxed into her plant's arms. They were nice and soft and thick.

“A-alright, dear.” Ennervia said. “Hab, please fill a bath! A-also set language setting to English/Floret.”

“You got it, cutie!” the hab replied, causing Aurora to giggle.

“Baaath time!” Aurora said.

* * *

Ennervia was doomed. It was as certain as the heat death of the universe or that florets are cute. In fact, that later one was the current problem. Aurora was too cute and was insisting. Ennervia bathe her. Ennervia’s body was stuck the ugly blushy shade of yellow it did from the overflow of sap as she brought the floret into the bathroom and began stripping her.

She slowly but surely slid off the clothes the girl wore at the hospital, a standard hospital gown with some clothes underneath, before reaching up to her neck and finding the collar. Right... The girl was wearing a choker.

The limp cutie looked up at her as she slipped the thing off and giggled. “Once this bath is done, I want it to be your collar mistress.”

This did not help Ennervia’s blushing at all. Not one bit. She would be reblooming by the end of the week if she wasn’t careful. She was coming near the end of her second bloom anyways. She knew intense emotions like this could start the process early…

Aurora met Ennervia’s eyes with a glazed-over stare that showed pure desire and longing. This wasn’t a joke or a trick, and this girl wanted nothing more than to be hers. Why couldn’t Ennervia accept this? This gift that she was slowly but surely unwrapping to wash. She knew why… she kept telling herself she didn’t want this, that she wouldn’t be good enough, but she knew it in her core that this was what she wanted. But she couldn’t let herself give in. She just couldn’t. It would hurt her and Aurora for her to keep this one, for her to give into that basal urge to take this one as much as she wanted.

Aurora looked a bit sad at the pause, taking her Mistress's hand. “P-please. I want to be yours… put your collar on me….”

Roots, those cute pleading eyes, the slight tears at the edge of them… the whimpering and begging and need. Any idea of resistance boiled out of Ennervia’s head as she sighed. “Of course, dear, anything for you.”

Ennervia was rewarded with a tight squeeze and a squeal of delight. “Thank you, mistress!”

She sighed, finally picking the girl up and lowering her into the bath. She had taken the same Terran care classes everyone else in Terran space had. She shoved all those silly doubts out of her mind. She had to do this for Aurora’s good, if not hers. She knew that.

She poured soap from a bottle into her hand, soap she had delivered just today to take care of this girl, and began to wring vines all over Aurora’s body. The girl let out so many cute gasps and moans that Ennervia quickly got lost in the bathing.

Every new area she stroked caused a new unique gasp of pleasure. These were soon accompanied by cute murmuring or whimpering as her entire body got this treatment. Ennervia, for a brief moment, understood what everyone had been going on about. How these Terrans were just so gosh darn cute.

Every single gasp was accompanied by a slight jerk as if the girl's body were barely under her control, and Ennervia drank it up. Spoon, she had poured the shampoo onto some of her vines and began rubbing them through the girl's hair, finding that the scalp was especially sensitive.

Ennervia lost herself in the bathing. Time flew by the plant, unable to keep track of how long she spent exploring the cute little thing's body, but eventually, she snapped out of it, and she found herself staring at a naked and panting floret clutching on her vines, mumbling for her mistress.

She shook her head… no she couldn’t let herself get lost like this. She couldn’t get attached. She couldn’t let Aurora get more attached than she already was. She scooped the girl out of the bath, leaving the Terran mumbling in displeasure before she was quickly dried off and brought over to Ennervias bed.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have the time to get Aurora her own room, so this would have to do for now. She did know that sleeping with something spurred human pack bonding considerably, but she couldn’t force the poor thing to sleep on the couch. Not alone, at least…

Sure it would make it harder to help the girl realize she didn’t need Ennervia as an owner, but she was willing to accept defeat this once. She was about to lower the girl into bed when she cleared her throat.

“Miiistress, you are forgetting something, aren’t you?”

What could Ennervia be forgetting? The girl had eaten at the hospital. She was bathed and clearly tired… she was doing everything right, wasn’t she? Did she forget something? Did she mess something up? Would Aurora hate her now, beg to be relocated? Why did the thought already terrify her? Isn’t that what she wanted? No, Aurora deserved better Ennervia was a-

“Stop spiraling, dummy! You’re forgetting my collar!”

Ennervia’s thoughts froze at the sound of her floret, already so aligned with her own natural rhythm. She cringed at the implications and cringed even more about collaring her pet. That would be asserting ownership, at least in the Terran's eyes. She knew that she had seen so many florets collared by their owners, led around on leashes. Putting a collar on this one would be accepting defeat in some small way. Accepting that, to some extent, she wanted this. 

Could she do that? She looked at those pleading eyes and moved over to her closet. Her closest friend had given her something as a gift a while back. Her coworker, Hazel Retalia, Fourth Bloom. It was a collar, a special one.

Ennervia looked at it. It was clean, sleek, utilitarian, and straight to the point, but more importantly, it had a line of poetry in English wrapped around the side in a clean but floral font.

To give my heart to you is perhaps the hardest thing I will ever do.

It was so Ennervia. It made the plant shiver slightly. She picked up the collar and looked at her pet. This would go beyond merely filling the girl's request. It would be acknowledging that she wanted this on some deeper level. That this was as much for her good as it was for Aurora’s.

Did she want to do that?

Ennervia walked over, presenting the collar to the girl, who merely expectantly stared at her in the eyes. Ennervia knew that this would be a struggle for her, where it seemed to come so easily to Aurora. Even if she didn’t want to give in yet, not completely…

She shook her head, wrapped the collar around the girl's neck, and with a click and a pleased moan, Aurora was hers.