Magnus awoke yet he barely felt like he had, He could feel a very soft and comfortable bed upon his back, His eyes were still closed and his head felt very fuzzy as if he were still half asleep and he felt more relaxed than he could remember ever feeling before, sleeping felt more tempting than it ever had before, It had changed quickly from being something he felt was a nuisance for the time it took up to something that felt better then ever, Magnus felt as if he could just rest here for hours, He felt as if he probably could wake up fully if he wanted to but just couldn’t think of a reason to desire such a thing.

Magnus eventually regained consciousness the fuzziness in his head very much gone, He opened his eyes slowly and saw that he was in a spacious white room, It seemed to resemble that of an especially large hospital room, Magnus looked around and saw off to his left that Mabel was lying on another bed on the other side of the room, Somehow knowing that he hadn’t been left on his own was reassuring to him although she still seemed to be asleep.

Magnus sighed and then spoke out “Why am I stuck here?” He asked, “You’re not stuck here little one” The Affini reassured, “Some Terrans have woke up panicked after being rescued and we can’t have them hurting themselves in that distress can we?” Magnus weakly nodded in response “But for a well-behaved little Terran like you we can get rid of them” They said as their vines drifted over the binds on his arms as they came loose,

“Who… are you?” Magnus asked next, a long list of questions in his head, He found being left in a situation in which he had minimal understanding to be immensely frustrating. “I’m Exdela Rine Third Bloom, little flower and you are on Thalia’s Grace a small warship” They explained. “So your the one I was talking to,” Magnus said, more of a statement than a question. “That’s right petal, and when you and my precious Mabel were rescued from those nasty feralists I knew I had to come and see you both” Exdela explained, her vines extending to pet a sleeping Mabel.

“I don’t really know what a Floret is” Magnus began “I mean I remember Mabel said that they were pets but I don’t really…” Magnus was cut off by a vine gently hushing him “A floret is someone owned by a loving Affini, Florets are cherished and adored by their owner who helps them bloom and become their best selves, Their owner takes care of them so they don’t have any concerns or fears or stresses ever again” 

Exdela seemed to notice his apprehension “I don’t mean to rush you little one, You can become an independent citizen while you think it over” Magnus nodded in response relieved that he didn’t have to make such a significant decision so suddenly.

“Well, she volunteered to be domesticated dear Magnus so I’ll be taking her home… assuming she hasn’t changed her mind of course” Exdela explained a slight pinch of worry in her tone as she moved over to the front of Mabel’s bed “She seemed pretty excited about it back on the ship” Magnus decided to say hoping to reassure Exdela and in response, Exdela’s vines moved almost eagerly around Mabel.

“Your safe Petal, Forget those wide eyes fears. I’m here, nothing can harm you, my words will warm and calm you.” Exdela sang as she used her vines to pet and dote on Mabel and Magnus felt conflicted, On the one hand, he felt a tinge of envy, The sense of safety and bliss that Mabel seemed to feel was alluring but on the other, he felt somewhat relieved to still have his autonomy and right to make his own decisions, The Terran Accord had insisted for decades that pain and strife despite their unpleasantness helped people grow as individuals and Magnus couldn’t help but feel that there was an element of truth in this idea but his philosophical musings were interrupted when he was pulled back to reality as he felt Exdela move over to him Mabel still in her vines. 

Magnus felt very awkward and embarrassed as he was slowly picked up by Exdela’s soft vines and placed into a sitting position within them near Mabel, She still seemed somewhat dazed with her eyes demonstrating a look of awe and barely seemed to notice anything other than her owner-to-be, It made Magnus feel kind of nervous, He feared that being a floret would just be a life of dazing drug induced awe, never again able to feel mentally sharp or pursue any intellectual interests, The post-scarcity society that they advertised sounded great but what’s the point if your too blissed out to consider what you can do with the opportunity?

He was able to look around and the sheer amount of sights was overwhelming, The ship was huge and seemed to continue onward forever, Magnus assumed that it must have an end somewhere but wherever it was it certainly wasn’t visible to him and he began to question how anyone was ever able to navigate around inside a ship of such a size.

“Why do they all look so disoriented and dazed?” Magnus eventually built up the confidence to ask “Well their xenodrugs cause a drop in mental and physical dexterity, an unintended side effect I’m afraid, Although it does make them look adorable” Exdela explained sweetly. 

“Well, that depends on what you want out of them sweetheart” Exdela replied sounding oddly excited “There are recreational Xenodrugs which are very popular among Florets, They can also help deal with anxiety or trauma and there are also Xenodrugs to help you sleep and plenty of others dear.” She explained before adding “Would you like to try any Petal? You could try a low dose of one.”

For a moment he felt nothing and he considered if perhaps the dose was too low to have a noticeable effect but just as Magnus prepared to ask Exdela he felt a vine caress his arm as it lit up in pleasure and he spontaneously found himself leaning into the vine as it moved away “That’s a light Class A dear, It’ll make any touch much more pleasurable” Exdela explained before lightly petting his head Magnus took a moment to try to consider the implications of such a drug but his thoughts were quickly blown away as Exdela began to coddle and dote over him with her vines patting him all over. 

As Magnus lay facing a plethora of pleasure as Exdela’s vines caressed him he heard Mabel speaking and with great difficulty, he was able to focus on it enough to make it out “He’s so adorable” He heard Mabel say in a somewhat pouting way “You can have some too once we sign your contract precious Floret to be” He heard Exdela reply “Dear Magnus probably won’t be far behind” He heard Exdela continue in a very mischievous way before her vines stopped caressing Magnus enough to allow him to speak easier “Hey, I’m still not sure about becoming a Floret” Magnus spoke although in an oddly lighthearted way “You accepted Xenodrugs from me without much contention dear, Many sophonts take a while to accept any willingly, And you took to them very well, Did you even notice when we arrived at your hab?” Magnus looked confused for a second before looking around, He hadn’t considered his surroundings for a while but when he took the time to actually look he noticed that they weren’t moving anymore but were instead inside a large room with Exdela sitting on an oversized couch.

“How much does all this cost? I mean this room looks huge” Magnus questioned “It’s all free dear, The Affini Compact is post-scarcity remember” Magnus nodded in response “I remember hearing that but I suppose I’m still somewhat surprised that it’s actually real” Magnus explained in a rather somber fashion, “So this whole room is mine?” He asked still sounding somewhat surprised “Of course dear, Well until you decide to become my Floret at least” Exdela added teasingly, Magnus softly laughed in response “I’ll consider it I assure you”

His thoughts were interrupted when Exdela suddenly moved a few vines suddenly and pulled out a small piece of paper “Now seems like a perfect time for you to sign your Domestication Contract, Mabel” Magnus looked around for Mabel having lost track of where she was since the Class A’s and saw her sitting down on another couch surrounded by vines and her face seemed to light up in glee quickly when she heard Exdela’s words “Normally we’d probably wait a few days but after the incident with those nasty feralists I think It might be better to speed it up for you Flower.

Magnus watched the scene in contemplation, Just seeing another Terran in a collar was a very strange experience but he couldn’t deny that Mabel and Exdela both seemed extremely happy at the situation even if it did seem strange to him, He wanted to think about it more but he soon began to feel a certain weariness come over him, The kind of weariness that would have previously cause him great annoyance yet with his new experiences with the Affini had replaced with more of an excitement “Is there any bed in this Hab?” He asked, “Of course, there is Petal” Magnus heard as he quickly found himself lifted up and moved around by Exdela’s vines as he was moved into another room with a large white bed in it which he was gently placed upon, “Would you like any Xenodrugs to help you sleep, Flower?” Magnus thought about it for a second, He absolutely did but he felt somewhat embarrassed and didn’t want to seem too eager so he decided to respond with a terse “I suppose so” but he felt that his eagerness might have slipped through “We’ll visit tomorrow for a wellness check, Ok Petal?” Magnus felt curious as to what that meant but sitting on this bed made him feel far too tired to question it so he simply replied with a nod as he felt Exdela’s vine inject a Xenodrug into his arm “Sweet dreams precious Floret-to-be” He heard as he faintly felt her vines position him into a more comfortable position as he fell relaxed into some much-desired sleep.