Fermata
Adagio
by Fractured Puppet
Tags:
#cw:noncon
#consensual_kink
#D/s
#f/f
#pov:bottom
#sub:female
#accidental_hypnosis
#bondage
#cw:chronic_illness
#dom:plant
#drugs
#Human_Domestication_Guide
#hypnotic_music
#music
#pov:top
#power_exchange
#power_struggle
#scifi
#spoiler:theyre_both_useless
Sia Amadi
Age: 34 local years (41 Terran)
Gender: Female
Born: June 15, 2514 - Philadelphia, Terra
Occupation: Musician
Entered Domestication Program August 9 2553
First attempted pairing August 24, 2553
Pairing rejected September 8 2553 - Compatibility issue
Second attempted pairing November 9, 2553
Age: 34 local years (41 Terran)
Gender: Female
Born: June 15, 2514 - Philadelphia, Terra
Occupation: Musician
Entered Domestication Program August 9 2553
First attempted pairing August 24, 2553
Pairing rejected September 8 2553 - Compatibility issue
Second attempted pairing November 9, 2553
Pairing rejected November 10, 2553 - Brain scans indicate multiple points of potential disruption.
Third attempted pairing January 24, 2554
Pairing rejected February 1, 2554 - Compatibility issue + failed scan.
Domestication group offered Candidate an option to leave the program without consequences after the third rejected pairing.
Domestication group offered Candidate an option to leave the program without consequences after the third rejected pairing.
Candidate refused the option and reaffirmed desire to be Domesticated.
Fourth attempted pairing March 15, 2554
Pairing rejected…
Presa shook her head as she read through the file again as the car she’d requested took her to meet her potential new floret.
“I think I’m starting to see why you give Daea such a headache.”
Pairings sometimes did not work, of course. It wasn’t even unique to Terrans - Presa had learned about early Domestication attempts with other species where Affini had found the only way to keep their pets happy was to give them such high doses of pollen, nectar, or xenodrugs that they were practically comatose, and no one enjoyed that. After all, such a situation was completely at odds with their drive to give sophonts a chance to live their best possible lives.
Personality clashes these days were relatively rare but not unheard of, and from what she’d been able to learn about Sia Amadi, it seemed as if her personality was...challenging. Perhaps if her personality traits and the issues with adapting the Affini’s normal compatibility scans and metrics to Terran physiology had combined into a frustrating and uncomfortable situation for everyone involved. At least the scans would be adapted and tuned over time as more successful Domestications occurred, but if there was some mental or emotional barrier that kept Sia from being her best self, Presa had no idea how she would be able to help her.
Still, Presa had never considered learning about Terran music before, and she had to admit to being intrigued by the opportunity to study it with a native guide.
She felt the car slow as they reached what seemed to be a relatively large home for a single occupant. As she turned to look out the passenger window, there was a very pleasant looking garden that mixed native and imported species, combining them in patterns that made Presea want to spend a day just appreciating them, a path of what appeared to be manicured stone leading to the home’s front entrance, and an attached garage with a driveway to the side, where it would not affect the garden.
Interesting. Was that a deliberate choice, or just how this unit was built?
Her curiosity further piqued, Presa opened the door after the car had stopped and unfolded herself, stretching her vines and branches a bit as she walked and swayed up the garden path.
At the door was a video box with an announcer button, so she reached out to press it, pleasantly surprised by the chiming bells that followed.
At the door was a video box with an announcer button, so she reached out to press it, pleasantly surprised by the chiming bells that followed.
Presa hummed the melody to herself, almost missing the click as the video box activated.
“Yes?”
Presa straightened up as she faced the box, noting that the video screen had [NO SIGNAL] instead of displaying an image of the occupant.
“Cupressaceae Garaveh, Fourth Bloom,” she introduced herself with a polite nod. “I am here to speak with Sia Amadi about our potential pairing.”
There was a moment of silence before Presa heard the door unlatch.
“Please come inside. I’ll be with you in a moment.”
The inside of Sia’s home was rather pleasant. It had an open, minimalist feel to it that allowed Presa to enjoy the ample natural light from the windows.
Still, it was odd to hear the door latch and apparently apply additional air pressure when she entered.
Didn’t the files mention certain humans are extremely fearful of bacteria and viruses? Could that be part of her...difficulties?
Mentally noting that she would need to research that if she and Sia did attempt a pairing, Presa occupied herself by looking around the open front rooms as she waited. There was a sitting area with a comfortable looking couch, a low table, and a pair of overstuffed chairs that looked a bit too narrow for her comfort.
The kitchen seemed quite clean and neatly arranged, and Presa had to admit she spent a bit of time examining the live herb plants that sat in a set of small pots at the window, and bins of roots that she noticed next to the food conservator.
That dried root is...ginger, I think. I recognize the shape of those bulbs in the other bin from the reading on native Terran flora! They must be the 'garlic' humans seem to consume so much of.
There was an unmarked jar filled with little green pods that Presa didn’t recognize, but when she opened the jar there was a pleasantly camphoraceous scent that made her think of some of the more exotic flora she’d encountered in markets back home.
She’d just put the jar back in its place when the sound of footsteps focused her attention. Presa left the kitchen and had reached the sitting area just in time to see a human arrive who she assumed must be Sia, but it was difficult to tell through the fully sealed biotainer and filtration suit she wore.
The suited figure turned to face her and Presa realized the suit’s visor had been tinted and polarized in a way that made it quite difficult for her to see through. It was a strange way to greet a guest, and it made Presa’s vines and branches twitch nervously until she settled herself back down.
“Welcome, Cupressaceae. I apologize for keeping you waiting, but I needed to be properly dressed.” Sia’s voice was filtered by the suit, but there was an interesting timbre and accent to her words.
Presa knew she was taking a bit too long to respond, and tried to escape her confusion by waving her hand as casually as she could. “I appreciated a chance to enjoy the sunlight here. Your home is lovely. Also - please, call me Presa.”
“Presa, then.” It was difficult to tell if she was nodding inside the suit, but Presa got the impression Sia had tried. “Thank you very much.”
She was really starting to wonder who was actually in charge of this interview.
“I have to admit that your suit looks very out of place,” Presa observed as she tried to get back on stable ground. “Everything else I have seen here has been quite elegant - particularly the garden.”
Sia shifted her weight from one foot to the other, almost as if she was preparing to leave before Presa had brought the garden up.
“Horticulture - and keeping a few herbs and flowers in my home - has always been a hobby of mine. I was too dedicated to my music to do more than dabble, but when I decided to emigrate here I felt it was a good opportunity to indulge another passion.”
Presa sat up a bit straighter. “Yes - your music! I would like to know more about how you perform.”
It was difficult to read Sia’s body language, but Presa thought she seemed surprised by that.
“That is not what I usually hear at this point in the conversation.”
“I’m a composer,” Presa said matter of factly. “It’s part of why Daea suggested I come meet you.”
This time it was Sia’s turn to pause for a bit too long. “Daea? Do you mean Piceoideaea?”
Presa nodded. “We’ve been friends since before my Second Bloom. I was already devoted to music, and she was…” Presea thought back to the passionate, temperamental, graceful dancer she had known then, and felt her phloem and sap move a bit quicker. “She was an artist too, in her own way.”
“I never would have guessed.”
Even through the filter, she could pick up the surprise in Sia’s voice.
Presa couldn’t help her grin. “She does seem very responsible now, doesn’t she?”
Her hearing was sharp enough to catch the soft giggle that nearly disappeared beneath the sound of the suit’s air exchangers.
“I was going to say stern,” Sia admitted, “but it amounts to the same thing.”
“I suppose it does,” Presa agreed with a laugh. “But - I really would like to know more about your music, Sia.”
Sia shifted again, clearly considering her before she spoke again.
“Can I ask you to promise me something?”
Presa raised her fronds with curiosity. “Within reason? I would need to know more to give you a definite answer.”
Sia’s helmet tilted slightly to the side, as if she was giving a little shrug of acceptance. “Fair enough. If I ask you to come to my studio, and I remove the suit, I would like your word that you will not attempt to...treat me. No pollen, no sap, no aerosols or other drugs.”
Presa hummed thoughtfully. “I understand from your file you have...difficulties...with our Xenodrugs.”
Sia nodded again. “I do.”
“Can you explain what your concerns are?”
A nearly imperceptible shake of the head.
“If you really want to understand my music, it will be easier to show you than to talk about it like this.” Sia took a half step back, and gestured towards the hallway. “I am asking for trust before I bare my soul to you.”
If Presa had lungs, that matter of fact statement would have taken her breath away.
“Oh.”
Something in Sia’s voice seemed like she was smiling. “Oh, indeed.”
Presa stood up to her full height and placed one hand to her core. “Then I give you my word, Sia Amadi, that I will not attempt to influence your mind or drug your body, if you will please allow me to hear your music.”
Sia somehow managed a sort of bowing curtsey despite the suit. “I accept your promise, Cupressaceae Garaveh, Fourth Bloom. Please follow me.”
Today's debut comes with a double release, but I'm planning to release future chapters weekly - there are a couple more in the can, and I plan to keep putting more out there as we follow Presa and Sia on their journey!