Completely lost in thought, Seni didn't even notice when their legs carried them to the xenoclinic.

It was a large, rounded building, much like others built by the Affini, but it stood out from the rest of the neighbouring structures by its size and it's apparent "seriousness". Nothing about it appeared dangerous, at first. It was white, with a large logo and name, "Coral City Xenoclinic", just like Seni's card said, located right above a big, sliding door entrance. The walls of the building were plastered in posters with propaganda about floret life, as well as various signs mentioning that only adult sophonts were allowed in the building. Nearly every one of the propaganda posters contained a picture of a smiling floret, some were with their Affini, others were in groups, always with some tagline the likes of "Become a floret now!"

Something drove Seni's attention towards one of them, located on a large screen at their eye level near the entrance to the building. It was a video, featuring a person on its left side and some text on the right, and-- "wait", Seni thought, "is that me?".

They took a closer look. The person in the video did indeed look exactly like them. They had Seni's characteristic short, light brown hair, reaching nearly to half of their ear in front and longer in the back, with a slightly overgrown fringe. Their eyes were accurate in their hazel colour and their eternally tired appearance, though Seni noted quickly that they looked a bit more empty than they remembered their own eyes being. Their skin, though it always had been a bright white, was also never as pale as on the picture. Overall, it was undeniable - the video showed a somewhat sadder, depressed version of themself. Then the picture changed.

The pale skin turned a healthier shade, with pink blush drawing itself horizontally across the person's cheeks. The bags under their eyes disappeared, and they took on the happy, blissful, unfocused look of a floret. They also seemed to have changed in colour, from a dark hazel to something that was closer to yellow. Their mouth was stuck in a wide smile, though gaping slightly, without a care in the world. Seni also noticed the person in the image was more visibly taken care of. Aside from their healthier complexion, they were clean shaven, reminding Seni that they also hadn't shaved their stubble in a few days, their face shape was slightly thinner, and the small, barely visible sagging in their skin was now gone entirely. They also had much healthier hair, with all the split ends and imperfections that had always been telltale signs of cutting their own hair at home now being gone, giving the cut a professionally done look. Finally, Seni turned their attention to the text shown on the screen: "Become the Best Version of Yourself".

Seni could feel their heart beating out of their chest. This person - this version of themself - looked so happy, and yet, they still looked like them. They thought back to the day before, when they talked to Anne. They hadn't made this comparison back then, but she had looked just like this - seemingly the same as always, yet different, happier, better cared for and healthier.

They stared deeper into the picture, as if looking for something, an answer, anything. Without them even thinking about it, their hand began moving towards the screen. They placed their palm on the cheek of this person. Suddenly, an echoing, feminine voice coming from behind finally broke their focus.

"Fallen in love, darling?"

Seni turned around to see a tall Affini figure. Their vines were twisting in various round shapes, forming their body, with a faint, reddish-purple glow emanating from their insides. The shape of their body was abstract, yet notably feminine. The vines shaped something like a dress surrounding where their legs would be. Higher above, more vines formed a shape like breasts. Seni's first thought upon seeing this figure was that it looked something like an old world feminine goddess. Seni looked up and realised the Affini was still staring at them with a kind smile and half-open eyes, waiting for a response.

"I, um..." Seni stumbled, looking for an answer in their head, then stopped and asked instead, "Is this me?"

"It's a computer generated image of you," the Affini responded. "Do you like it?"

Seni looked back at the picture. The screen was now showing both images; the sad, malnourished version standing next to the happy, cared for version.

"Um," Seni hesitated, "Yeah... It looks nice." They averted their view, looking at the ground, and blushed.

The Affini responded with a sly smile. "It could be real, you know?" they suggested.

A minute of silence followed. The Affini seemed to notice that Seni wasn't planning on saying anything in response, so they continued. "You've been standing here for quite a while. Were you about to go inside?"

"I was," Seni confirmed. "I was just... gathering up the courage."

"Perhaps it would help you to go together with me? I also have some business to take care of in there." The Affini reached out their hand. Seni gave them a look between horrified and embarrassed, so they quickly added, "Oh no, it's not what you're thinking, love! I'm not going to own you, in fact, I've already got my hands full with my own little one."

"R-right," Seni shakily responded, "Okay then, that would, that would be nice."

"What's your name, love?"

"I'm.. I'm called Seni Loren," they said and quickly added, "Uh, they/them."

"Seni Loren!" The Affini nearly screamed. "Oh, how wonderful to meet you, little one!" They reached out with their vine and forcibly grabbed Seni's hand to shake it. "Oh, my darling Anne told me all about you!"

Seni's heart stopped beating. They instinctively pulled their hand away, and then quickly put it by their side, trying to regain composture. "Sorry, um, I don't like to... shake hands." The Affini retracted their hand in response and looked on with curiosity. Seni looked back up with a similar expression. "But... Anne? You mean Anne Honner?"

"Her name is now Anne Latem, first floret, my dear, but yes!" The Affini exclaimed cheerfully. "And I'm Aluna Latem, third bloom. I use she/her."

"Right," Seni said, trying to make a mental note of the names, and then suddenly remembered something and pulled out their mini-tablet. They wrote hastily in their notes app: "Anne Latem 1F. Aluna Latem 3B. She/her." Aluna looked down in amusement as they did so. "Sorry, I'm so bad with names," Seni awkwardly chuckled.

"It's quite okay, love," she responded, and nearly reached out to give Seni a head pat, but then stopped when she saw Seni cringe in anticipation. "Oh, excuse me. Do you want to come in, now?"

Seni nodded. Aluna turned towards the door and made a step forward, looking back to make sure Seni was following. The human took it as a sign to move forward, though they remained a few steps behind.

The inside of the clinic had a very similar feel to it as the outside, though with much fewer propaganda posters. Instead, the walls were covered in beautiful floral patterns, with moss and houseplants abundant in what seemed to be the reception or the waiting room. Despite the decorations, the place still had the sterile look Seni had associated human clinics with. As they took a few steps inside, a familiar sense of calmness overtook Seni. "Great," they thought, "Xenodrugs."

"Good morning, Miss Latem!" A deep voice exclaimed and Seni looked in its direction to see the Affini standing in front of them. "Oh, and who might this be?" They asked with audible confusion in their voice and turned into a half-whisper. "Isn't it a bit too early for a second floret?"

Seni was just about to scream in response, when Aluna interjected. "Oh no, what a misunderstanding! This is Seni Loren, they're not with me. They're only here to ask some questions, isn't that right?"

Seni nodded.

"As for me, I'm here to pick up a few things for my darling floret Anne." She turned to Seni again. "You'll be fine on your own now, won't you, Seni?"

Seni nodded again and the Affini worker turned to them as well. "Take a seat, Mx. Loren. (pronounced like Mixes) An associate will be with you soon." They were about to walk away when they turned again, remembering something. "Oh, I almost forgot. Would you prefer to speak to a human or Affini associate?"

Seni pondered for a moment. An Affini would probably fill them with more drugs to influence their decision, but they trusted that they could at least resist enough to ask to sign a contract later. On the other hand, the human associates were definitely all going to be florets, which Seni still found difficult to talk to, outside of their friend.

"Um, either is fine, I think," they replied with little conviction.

"Of course," the Affini nodded and turned to Aluna again. "Right this way, Miss Latem." Before both Affini walked off into the further rooms of the building, Aluna sneaked a wink towards Seni, indicating that everything was going to be alright. They felt reassured.

After a few minutes of waiting, Seni noticed an Affini peeking out of one of the doors in a hallway behind the reception desk. "Mx. Loren?" Seni perked up. "Come in, please." They gestured to the inside of the room with their head. Seni could have sworn they had seen the Affini somewhere before, but they disappeared into the room before they could get a better look.

They walked in the room. They expected something akin to a traditional doctor's office, but instead, it looked like a comfortable room, filled with floral decorations and patterns on walls. The centre consisted of a round table, with three chairs placed around it - two human-sized and one Affini-sized - and two of them were already taken by the Affini they had just seen and their floret. Seni thought back to when they were asked if they would prefer an Affini or human associate, and quickly figured they had simply been given both.

Seni sat down. The table first captured their attention, as it was covered in pamphlets boasting pictures of florets and propaganda catchphrases, just like the ones on the many posters outside the building. They reached for one, titled "What's Best For You", but before they opened it, their attention was taken back by the Affini.

"I believe we've met before, haven't we, Mx. Loren?"

They looked up. The face and shape of the Affini ringed a bell, as well as their enormous size, but they could not put a finger on it. They took a glance at the floret and quickly recognised their enormous shiny collar.

"Oh, right!" Seni exclaimed. The Affini gave them a waiting look. "I met you the other day at the park but... I'm really sorry, I'm famously bad with names." They laughed nervously.

The Affini's look turned into a smile. "I'm Salama Kkati, fourth bloom, and this here is my little one, Seris. My other floret, Suzy, is staying at home today, but don't you worry, she's perfectly safe."

"Right, Miss Kkati," Seni responded. There was a hint of obedience in their voice that they quickly noticed, and they realised they're not equals in this conversation. As if to make up for that, they added, loud and clear, "I'm curious about becoming a floret." They saw the kind, idle smiles on Salama's and Seris' faces turn into mischievous ones and quickly realised that saying something like this only served to make them feel even less equal.

"Oh, yes," Salama responded. "I could tell you were the moment I met you." Seni became pale. Was that what that was? And was it really that obvious? Normally, they would have become stuck in their head out of panic again, but the light xenodrug in the air prevented it and allowed them to regain their composure.

"So um, what I'm curious about is..." Seni gathered their words and realised that they hadn't actually prepared for this. They broke the train of thought and started again. "Florets seem to be very happy. I want to be happy like that too but..." They paused again. "I am afraid of losing my current life. I mean, I know I have to lose a part of it, but..."

"My dear Seni," Salama interrupted, "Florets don't lose anything but the things that make them hurt. And they gain so much more in return! You understand that, right?"

"Yes, but..." Seni finally gathered the courage to look the Affini in the eye. "I don't want to lose the things I love! My hobbies, my special interests, my family and my friends!" They noticed they were almost screaming, so they calmed down their voice. "I want to be happy, and maybe... I think I want to serve an Affini, too, but I don't want to lose what makes me... me, you know?

"Of course, darling," Salama said and turned to her floret. "I think it would be best if my Seris answers this question, wouldn't it?" She patted Seris on the head.

"Yes, Mistress!" Seris exclaimed to his owner with excitement and turned back to Seni. "I didn't lose anything, Mx. Loren. I don’t think you knew this, but Suzy is my wife. We were together before she was owned by Mistress, and when I saw how happy she was, I joined her! It was the best decision I’ve ever made!" He looked a bit embarrassed but nevertheless happy to talk. "We are still a family, Suzy and I. The only thing that changed is that the two of us are happier, because we belong to Mistress!"

"So, I'll still be able to live the way I want to?"

Salama shook her head and smiled again. "Oh no, darling, you will live as your Mistress or Master tells you, of course. But this does not mean you're going to be cut off from the people and things you love, as long your owner decides that those are good for you."

"That makes sense, I guess," Seni dismissed, "Even so, there is another thing…"

They thought back to their evaluation. When the Treaty was signed, the same thing happened to nearly every human on Earth. One day, an Affini came to their house, examined their mental and physical health, relocated them from their shoddy apartment to a comfortable hab unit, and put them on the right regime of xenodrugs. They replaced their old antidepressants with brand new alien drugs that felt much better, though not perfect. And they replaced their HRT. The Class-G they’d been put on were so much stronger, and they allowed for changes that no human medication was able to do, even with the most expensive surgeries.

Still, after that, Seni had been promptly marked as “safe” and had never spoken to their case worker again. They were given their contact on the Overnet in case they needed anything, but they never had a reason to message.

Seni looked around the room nervously before continuing. "I don't know if I'm fit for domestication. I remember my evaluation, and the Affini said I can take care of myself, so..." They hesitated. "Doesn't that mean I am supposed to live on my own?"

Salama pulled out a tablet from her leaves and looked for something inside it. "Let's see, Seni Loren... This says you are a level two. Nothing wrong with domestication for you."

Seni unwittingly tilted their head. "A level two?"

"Oh yes, allow me to explain. You see, we internally classify sophonts by their ability to take care of themselves, and their safety." Salama turned on a screen in the corner of the room, showing a diagram of the classification levels. "Sophonts on level one are deemed perfectly capable and safe. They are happy without an owner, they do not have any serious issues that prevent them from engaging in self-care, and they do not have any thoughts or tendencies that make them dangerous to other sophonts."

"So," Seni attempted to summarize, "Level ones are the ones who are happier on their own than with an owner?"

"Oh no, darling!" Salama explained. "Every sophont becomes happier when they are domesticated. But we believe it to be more humane to give them a choice, if it is safe to do so."

Seni nodded solemnly, so Salama continued.

"Level three sophonts are the opposite - they have problems, mental or physical, that we deem domestication to be the best solution to. Without an owner to guide them, they would become destructive either to themselves or others, and we simply cannot let that happen. This is why level three sophonts are not given a choice in their domestication."

"And finally, there's little darlings like you!" Salama looked like she was barely stopping herself from giving Seni a hug. "You're not dangerous, and you can survive by yourself, but you still have some serious problems that domestication would definitely help you with, so you're classified as level two."

"Serious... issues?" Seni repeated after her.

"Our records show depression, social anxiety, and intrusive thoughts, to speak generally. Do you mind if we talk about those in more detail here?"

Seni looked down at the table. "No, that's okay." They looked up at Seris and quickly added, "But, um..."

Salama jumped in her chair sightly. "Of course! My darling Seris, I believe Seni would prefer to speak about this one-on-one to me. Do you mind going in the waiting room? I'll be right back with you once we've finished talking."

Seris got up. "Of course, Mistress!" He got up and began to walk off. As he was reaching for the door, he stopped and added, "And don't worry, Mx. Loren! Whatever it is you're struggling with, the Affini will help you!" He gave them both a wide, genuine smile and left.

"Isn't he just the sweetest?" Salama asked rhetorically. "Now, to talk about your little issues."

Seni didn't know what to say, so they nodded and looked up at Salama. She continued talking as she looked into her tablet.

"Our records show that you struggle a lot with thoughts of hurting yourself. It also seems that you sometimes see yourself hurting other people too, don't you?"

Seni looked away in shame. "Yes, that's... that's true. How did you know?"

Salama tapped on something in her tablet. "We have view of your searches on the Overnet, as well as confessions you would occasionally post back on your Terran internet, years ago," she explained and then gave Seni a reassuring smile. " Don't worry, we do not spread these or use them for any purpose that would hurt you. They are only for authorized Affini, as well as your potential owner."

"These thoughts hurt you, don't they? It breaks my heart seeing a cute little sophont like you carrying such a heavy weight in your heart." She put her hand on her chest. Seni once again just nodded, not knowing what to say.

"If it reassures you, we know those are only thoughts. That's why you are level two. We know you are not willing or able to hurt anyone."

Salama put down her tablet and focused her attention on Seni again.

Seni muttered something under their breath, but Salama couldn't hear what.

"Excuse me, darling? Could you repeat yourself, please?"

Seni hesitated, then spoke again, only a little bit louder. "May I have a hug?"

Salama relished at the suggestion. "My! I was told you weren't one for physical affection, but of course, my darling, I'll give you a hug if you wish! She reached out her arms and her various vines, and Seni slowly walked closer, but they were quickly grabbed and pulled abruptly toward the Affini's body.

It was the best feeling they had ever experienced in their life, at first. The light dose of the xenodrug in the air made Seni so much more sensitive, and every stroke of vine on their body was pure pleasure. The vines were careful not to touch any exceptionally sensitive parts of Seni, but they were carefully examining what they were allowed to touch, what made Seni moan in pleasure and what made them recoil. After only a minute of this, Seni began to struggle with their arms, signaling to Salama that they had had enough. She slowly and carefully put Seni down, and they sat on the floor, breathing heavily.

"How was it?" Salama giggled. "I've been told I'm a good hugger!"

"That was...." Seni struggled to catch their breath between words. "... really.... really nice..."

"All the more reason to become domesticated, isn't it?" She reached out with a vine to help Seni up, but they didn't take it, and stood up on their own instead. "An owner could make you feel like this, and even better, whenever you wanted!"

Seni steadied their breathing. "I'll ... I'll have to think about it."

Seni walked out of the room, one hand holding a folded piece of paper and the other clutching Salama's. They looked around the waiting room. How long had they spent in there? On one of the Affini-sized chairs there was Aluna, apparently video-chatting with someone on her tablet. She turned around and immidiately turned her attention to Seni.

"Seni, love! I was just talking about you, come over here for a minute, won't you?"

Seni let go of Salama's hand and obediently walked up to Aluna.

"Look who I've got there!" she said, turning the tablet towards Seni. On the screen there was Anne, looking at her with a wide excited smile.

"Seni! You're at the clinic? I knew you were thinking about it, but I didn't expect to see you there so soon!" She said, laughing through her words.

Seni blushed deeply. "I was just here because I was curious! I'm not signing anything..." --they quieted down their voice to barely audible-- "yet..."

Anne laughed out loud. "Anyway! Look who's here with me." The camera moved and the screen showed Tanny working in the kitchen. Seni buried their face in their hands.

"No way... Please don't say you told her too!"

Tanny spoke without looking at the camera. "That you're becoming a pet? Yeah, I know."

Seni would have buried their face even deeper if it were possible. "It's! Not! Like that!" Tanny was grinning on the verge of laughter.

Aluna finally interrupted. "Be nice, you two!" She then looked at Seni. "What do you say I bring Seni over for dinner today, if they're okay with that, of course?"

The two girls behind the tablet agreed, but Seni considered for a moment. "No thank you, I'm very tired, plus..." They subtly showed Aluna the paper, without bringing it in view of the tablet, "I have a lot to think about."