Mel woke up gently to soft sunlight streaming through her window. She stretched lazily, standing up from the bed and making her way to the kitchenette in the next room. She grabbed a fresh bagel from the counter (living on an agro-world had its perks) and poured herself a glass of cool water. Reaching across the counter, she pulled her medications from their shelf. After popping two pills into her mouth, she took the bottle containing her new Xenodrug regimen and squirted 3 drops into the glass in front of her. Mel sat herself on the comfortable couch which faced the window, enjoying her bagel and sipping the medicated water. This entire wall of the hab unit was made of transparent polymer, giving her a lovely view of the park outside. She watched the breeze play through the trees as the birds chased each other from bough to bough. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply and relished the sunlight warming her skin. Her mind and body felt at peace. “Hmm, at this rate I'm not too far off from a plant myself.” She joked aloud.

 

Sylnathi had been right, of course, she was a very smart woman. The new medication was helping Mel quite a lot and the worst side effect she noticed was a mild lack of focus. She had a tendency to drift off mid-thought, but nothing too bad. The number of patrons at Orion's Blossom also thinned out after its initial boom and she began to recognize regular visitors at certain times. Many of Mel's days were spent at the kiosk, serving tea and tending to her plants. Occasionally, Sylnathi would request her help with the agricultural equipment and she'd take a day or two off to help her instead. She could even schedule her own vacation time, updating the hours for Orion’s Blossom right from her data pad. When there wasn't much to be done, she sat outside her establishment on the soft grass, reading stories or drawing sketches of patrons (with permission, of course).

 

Mel eagerly looked forward to Sylnathi's weekly visits. The plant woman visited Mel more often than that, for a drink at Orion’s Blossom or just to say hello, but they'd begun a tradition of spending a few hours together each week. They'd swap stories, drink tea, and enjoy the sunshine together. Sylnathi would also offer Mel another personal dose of Xenodrugs, which she rarely refused. The injection felt so much stronger and more intimate than her baseline prescription. She often found herself in a quiet daze afterwards, head pleasantly swimming, only to wake an hour or two later wrapped gently in Sylnathi's vines. The Affini's touch only became more comforting and pleasurable as Mel spent more time with her. She became loath to leave her friend's embrace when they parted. It was a new normal, one which Mel enjoyed immensely!

 

At one of these meetings, Sylnathi asked, “Melrose, what are your thoughts on the Human Domestication Program? Have you ever considered such a path for yourself?” Mel paused for a minute. If she didn't have her new Xenodrugs she probably would have panicked at such a question, but her medications and the Sylnathi’s affectionate touch tempered her emotions. She thought about what she'd heard, how the Affini made ‘pets’ of those who were subdued through conquest, their will broken and their rebellion brought to heel. It was a stern reminder of the Compact's superiority; their fiercest enemies converted into willing subjects. Many Terran military officers now happily gave public speeches praising their captors.

 

“I thought that was a punishment, for prisoners and the like.” Mel said, turning her head up to face Sylnathi. The motion made her head spin as the Xenodrugs pumped through her body.

“Not a punishment, no!” the Affini smiled down at her. “Domestication is simply a different way of living. Not too dissimilar from what we share now actually, but closer and more… intimate.” Mel shuddered happily as the tendrils holding her tightened slightly and Sylnathi continued, “It is also often the best path forward for dissidents and rebels. Incarceration is a detestable practice and we do our best to avoid it whenever possible. But challenges to the Compact cannot be allowed, for everyone's safety! Better to let troublesome Terrans live out their lives peacefully through domestication, wouldn't you agree?”

 

“I guess so, yeah!” Mel smiled up at the plant woman, but after a moment her expression faltered and she looked out across the park. “I don't know if it's for me though. I'm really happy here! I like living next to the park, I like working at Orion's Blossom, I like my visits with you…” Mel trailed off, wistfully. “I don't want this to change. I don't want to be assigned to some stranger or shipped off to another world.” Sylnathi gave a hearty laugh and Mel looked up again in surprise.

 

“My dear little Melrose,” the Affini woman chuckled affectionately, “Perhaps I should be clearer: I want you to stay with me, here on Thypso. I want you to be my Floret. Is that something which might interest you?”

Mel sat still, stunned by the proposition. “I- I don't know.” She stammered.

“That's alright, you don't have to decide anything right now.” Sylnathi cooed. “But in the same way you said you didn't want to be shipped off-world to live with a stranger, I'd rather not be assigned a pet at random either. That's why I asked you. I have no desire to coerce you, but I hoped you might take my offer willingly.”

 

Mel stared deeply into Sylnathi’s twinkling eyes, bright blue with reflective inlays like flakes of gold. Her head swam with the gravity of the proposal and the Xenodrugs flooding her brain. “I care deeply for you, Melrose. You do know that, right?” Sylnathi asked quietly, her arms and her vines holding Mel tightly.

“Of course I do!” Mel whispered back, returning her companion's affectionate embrace.

 

As they parted ways that afternoon, Mel repeated the offer again and again in her mind; a driving question that she couldn't yet answer.