Fermata
Scherzo for Bureaucracy in E Major
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
As much as her unexpected connection with Sia had made Presa happy, she was dreading the next step in the process of formally taking the human as her Floret.
The paperwork wasn’t that much of an issue, but the moment she made her way to the newly renovated Administrative Center, she could feel Daea’s smugness like an itch in her roots.
Even though the building’s shell was still an old Terran structure, the inside was much more comfortable to Presa’s mind. Ceilings had been raised, lighting was much more natural, and the overall aesthetics were much less...brutal.
She was a bit surprised to see a human sitting at the reception desk, but they gave a pleasant smile as Presa approached.
“Good morning, my name is David. May I help you?”
“Cupressaceae Garaveh, Fourth Bloom. I’m here to see about taking a Domestication candidate as my new Floret.”
David smiled, though she noted a bit of confusion in his eyes. “Congratulations, but - I believe you can complete that process through your data pad.”
Presa grimaced. “I attempted to. I believe that her file has been locked due to being a...special case.”
There was a spark of recognition in his eyes, and David’s mouth formed a silent ‘oh.’
“I think I see. Ah...if you’d like to have a seat in the lobby to the right, Miss Garaveh, I’ll page Administrator Piceoideaea to come down.”
“I think I see. Ah...if you’d like to have a seat in the lobby to the right, Miss Garaveh, I’ll page Administrator Piceoideaea to come down.”
She nodded, and tried to keep her annoyance off her face. It wasn’t David’s fault that she really, really had hoped to avoid Daea’s ‘I-told-you-so’ conversation.
Settling in on a comfortable bench next to a lovely set of full spectrum lamps, Presa let herself enough the bath of light and warmth, unfurling her branches a bit and letting herself spread out a bit more to get as much absorption as she could.
Presa had half expected Daea to announce her arrival by blocking the light, but instead she heard the sound of her friend settling down on the next bench, hand reaching out to entwine a bit with hers.
“I was hoping I’d hear from you soon.”
Presa hummed thoughtfully. “I was worried this was going to be an ‘I told you so’ talk.”
Daea shook her head, the needles that rose from her upper branches rustling. “Nothing of the sort. I do think she’ll be good for you, but I think it’s more important that you will be good for her.”
“Oh?”
Daea nodded, still moving with a dancer’s grace even in the smallest things. “Many of us were willing to give Sia’s conditions a try, but it was too much. Not because of anything she did or said, but because of who we are.”
Presa frowned as her head tilted with confusion. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“If you were with a more…conventional…floret, and they fell, what would you do?”
“Help them up,” Presa answered automatically.
“Just so,” Daea agreed. “Any of us would. But Sia wouldn’t be happy about that, would she?”
Presa sighed as she shook her head. “I can already tell that she wouldn’t.”
Daea smiled. “So - what would you do instead?”
Presa hummed again, a bit of a theme catching in her mind that she would have to jot down later. “Wait, I think. Perhaps ask what to do.”
Daea was practically radiating satisfaction. “Because barring a serious injury, Sia wants to stand up on her own - to prove that she can.”
“I can see it,” Presa agreed as she tapped out a rhythm on her trunk. “But surely others could, too.”
“See it, yes. But fewer can begin to understand it - and even fewer of those would be able to control themselves.”
Presa sat with that for a long moment before speaking again.
“It almost sounds like you think we will match because you expect me to neglect her.”
Daea’s tendrils squeezed reassuringly.
“Not at all. I know you’ll match because I know that you will respect her.”
“Oh.”
After that conversation, the paperwork practically did itself. In less than an hour, the formal adoption had been completed, and the appropriate status changes made.
Presea found herself walking to the Administrative Center’s exit with an excited bounce in her step and a sway in her fronds when she reached the reception desk, and David stood.
“Ah - Miss Cupressaceae?”
Presa blinked as she stopped. “Yes, David?”
“You’ve adopted Sia?”
“I have, yes.”
David blushed. “I…she’s a bit of a celebrity here, and all of us who volunteered to be Domesticated have met her at least a few times. Please be careful with her? She’s been through a lot, and I know her heart is…delicate.”
Presa reached out to gently stroke David’s arm, enjoying the adorable blush that rose on his skin. “I certainly intend to. Thank you for looking out for her.”
“She deserves to feel as loved and cared for as the rest of us,” David replied with a soft, blissful expression. “We all keep hoping she’ll find the right owner.”
Presa smiled as she gently pulled back. “I certainly hope I am the one.”
David nodded and returned to the desk, his eyes glassy. “Good luck, Miss Cupressaceae.”
As she left, Presa made a mental note to let Sia know about the well wishes, and perhaps if she had any interest in the young man. If she did, Presa would have to contact his owner and arrange for a time when their humans could spend some time together.
The thought made her smile as she walked back to where a taxi waited to bring her back to Sia’s home.
She still needed to arrange for her belongings to be properly packed and shipped, to discuss if she would move into Sia’s space or perhaps request a large enough hab that they could adapt parts of it for her instrument storage and use, and she hadn’t even gotten Sia a collar!
So much to do, but Presa found herself pleasantly excited and energized by the list rather than overwhelmed.
Perhaps she really had needed a Floret in her life after all.
Perhaps she really had needed a Floret in her life after all.
Glad I found this story greatly enjoying it