Growing (and Controlling) Violet - Belenen - Human Domestication Guide (2024)

Chapter 1: first night home

Chapter Text

Asher woke up with a start in an unfamiliar, strangely-proportioned room rather than his tiny, grimy bedroom. He blinked and squeezed his eyes closed and then looked again, and it all flooded back at once. This is where his impulsive decision had landed him. Achy, alone, and friendless in a hospital run by alien plant people -- with a mind altering implant already in his head and no idea what would happen next.

He ran over the decision in his mind for the millionth time. He was already worthless, living a pointless existence full of rules that made his life worse but that felt like risking death to break. He had no friends, a lover that he had finally admitted to himself was abusive, and parents who only liked to pretend for appearances and didn't really know him at all. It really was a choice between ending his own life, and turning it over to someone else in the hope that they'd be better than death. Rather than letting himself chicken out or avoid endlessly in the process of searching for the "right" Affini, he'd opted for the "express route" of turning himself in at a domestication center as a potential self-destruction case. There really was no other choice.

Still, he was feeling panic rise as the intensity of the unknown became as real as the bump on the back of his neck.

The door opened and a massive, overwhelmingly broad plant creature paused in the doorway. It was seemingly made of dark green vines with moss, lichen, and fungi all over in every shade of green. Its face was made of overlapping leaves, and hornlike branches jutted up and back from its forehead, with strings of succulent leaves wrapped around and dangling from the branches. It had broad shoulders, large breasts (are they breasts? Asher wasn't sure what to call the lumps on the chest of the decidedly not mammalian being), wide hips, a round belly, and thick thighs, which were revealed by the narrow, pointed skirt with high side slits that the creature wore. As the creature moved into the room, Asher realized that its lower body was joined together as it slithered forward like a snake. Its powerful arms ended in relatively small hands with clawlike thorns at the fingertips.

"Holy f*ck I hope this isn't mine" Asher thought to himself, with a sinking feeling. The creature smirked, flashing pointed teeth.

"Well, it's more that you're *mine*, little pet."

Asher gawked. What..? How..?

The creature seemed amused by his confusion and explained "I just finished my scan of your mind to check that the connection is complete, so I can still 'hear' your thoughts right now as if you've spoken them. Now I will turn down the sensitivity so that I only hear you when you are at an extreme emotional peak. It's more fun for both of us that way."

Asher was still reeling. How could this be real?

"Oh, yes, introductions. I already know you so well it feels moot. Vetivert Curio, 13th bloom, it/its. And you are now Lophion* Curio, 20th floret."

Asher shook his head in shock and annoyance. "I don't even get to keep my name? I chose it! It's important to me!"

Vetivert tilted its head. "If it was so important to you, why were you willing to trade it for a tombstone? No matter, the fact is that the life you lead as Asher was, to be frank, *wilted* and I don't want you bringing any of that into your new self. We'll see if you earn the right to name yourself again, and if Asher is still the name you want, I'll consider it. For now, you are Lophion, my little violet. Come now, time to go home."

Vetivert unceremoniously scooped Lophion out of the bed, plucking the blankets off with a vine, and wrapped him up in so many vines that Asher felt like he was in a basket, one so huge he couldn't see over the edge. He tried to shift position and found he couldn't move from the pose he was in, being carried like an infant and wrapped up so closely that he could barely move any limb even half an inch.

Asher felt really uncomfortable and wanted to see out, but he wasn't about to ask and possibly annoy his new -- owner, whoa. He felt a little surge of arousal and fear realizing all over again how powerless he was. He could still see up, but the narrow opening in the vines was mostly just a view of Vetivert's neck and chin. He realized he was being cradled against Vetivert's massive bosom and was surprised how soft and springy its breasts were, like thick moss. Somehow he'd imagined they'd be ropey, hard like the vines of its arms. He wondered what they were made of, and if he was against Vetivert's bare chest or some kind of plantlike clothing.

"We're home!" Vetivert sang out. Asher heard a door slide open and his heart started beating faster. Now Vetivert had him alone, at home, with literally no legal right to reject anything Vetivert might want to do to him. And he still couldn't even see around him, and still couldn't move! Vetivert moved into the apartment, and Asher could tell when they were inside because the quality of the light changed, and the sound suddenly dampened. The light was like in an old forest on an overcast yet sunny day -- so filtered that it felt like the light was coming from nowhere yet everywhere. The sound felt muffled like after a snowstorm, or when the power goes out. "sh*t, this has to be soundproof" he thought. Not that it was likely anyone would have come to his aid if he had screamed for help, but even that slim chance was out.

Finally, Vetivert unwrapped him from his cocoon of vines and set him upright on the floor. Asher felt strangely bereft and cold, and resisted the urge to ask to be picked up again. Instead, he looked around at the oversized furniture -- the bed and desk so high he couldn'tsee the top of them, the desk chair with its cushion at the height of his shoulders. Clearly, this was Vetivert's bedroom. Vetivert pointed at the foot of the enormous bed, where there was a pet bed sized for a Terran, with a soft, domed top.

"I didn't think you'd want to sleep alone on your first night, so I brought your bed in here so you don't get scared. Go on, check it out."

Asher felt insulted -- and maybe a little bit excited -- at sleeping in what was clearly an oversized dog bed. He walked over and looked in, and started to climb in to look more closely, when Vetivert's hand blocked his path and wrapped around his arm.

"No no petal, no getting in bed without a bath first!"

Asher wanted to protest -- he was feeling almost painfully sleepy -- but he followed as Vetivert lead him by the arm to the next room, where the oversized nature of the whole place was even more startling. A massive bathtub the size of a small swimming pool filled a good half of the room. It was already full of water that was slightly steaming and smelled of grass and cedar.

"Lophion, undress."

Asher realized that meant him, and again, wanted to protest but didn't want to displease. He took off everything but his underwear, and hesitated. Vetivert was just staring at him. He wanted to ask it to look away, but knew that wouldn't be a welcome question.

"Aww, is my little pet shy? You need some help, petal?" Without waiting for an answer, two vines whipped out, slithered up Asher's legs, and sliced through the waistband on either side. Then Vetivert slowly pulled the single strip of tattered cloth from between Asher's legs. Asher covered his crotch with his hands, trying not to notice how aroused he'd gotten.

"In you get!" Vetivert wrapped vines around Asher's limbs and lifted him into the tub like he weighed nothing, then slid into the tub with him. Asher stole a look at Vetivert's body to see if it was still 'wearing clothes' and realized that the smooth, featureless bumps from before had been replaced by shockingly Terran-looking breasts, and the little skirt had vanished. He couldn't see under the frothy water but he was very curious as to what, if any, genitals it had. From what he'd heard about Affini appetites, he expected to find out.

"C'mere Lophion, let's get you clean." Asher didn't know what that meant, but it didn't matter because Vetivert picked him up and set him in its lap. He felt his leg brush against something soft and long and wondered if it was a vine or... something else.

Then all thoughts fled his mind because Vetivert tipped him back and snaked what felt like thousands of tendrils through his hair, massaging his scalp. The vine tendrils released some kind of slick, soapy liquid into his hair and it tingled as the thin tendrils rubbed, and Asher started to feel floaty. He opened his eyes and noticed that the colors on the ceiling were moving, and gazed at them in wonder. Vetivert grinned at him and he realized that he was tripping.

"What. Did you. Give me..?" Asher slowly asked, not particularly caring about the answer. Vetivert didn't answer, just kept massaging, and other vines began on Asher's shoulders and back.

Asher woke up as Vetivert's hands began washing his chest. He started to panic and flail, but Vetivert's vines caught hold of his arms, wrists, thighs, and ankles and held him in place. "Shhhh, it's okay pet, I know you're sensitive and I'll be gentle." Asher froze and then sagged in defeat. "Goooood boy" Vetivert purred. Its hands were very lightly stroking a soft cloth over his chest, across his newly healed scars. As Vetivert continued touching his now flat chest, Asher felt an ache in his crotch and thought "oh no, f*ck, now it's going to think I'm easy, how much worse am I making this for myself, why am I getting so aroused, it's just washing my chest its not that big of a deal --"

A flower closed over Asher's face and he gasped as a cloud of pink pollen puffed in his face. He felt calm wash over him and it was like a wet blanket was thrown over a small fire -- his anxiety just went out. He felt like everything would be okay.

"I prefer to talk through these spirals but it's late and you need your sleep, so I'm skipping that tonight" Vetivert said as its hands finally left his chest and washed his belly, then moved between his legs. "Awww my little Lophion got excited! so much heat radiating here," it said, briefly cupping his crotch. Asher held his breath as Vetivert's hands gently stroked over his crotch, but Vetivert just washed it with the same gentle, easy pressure it had been using with every other body part. It parted his legs and washed his ass, sliding the cloth through his crack and gently washing his anus, which made him clench and unconsciously thrust his hips, pressing his crotch to Vetivert's arm with a little moan. Vetivert chuckled and finished washing him, then rose from the tub and lifted Asher out.

Asher realized how far gone he was when he couldn't even sit up on the towel Vetivert set him on. Her limbs felt like limp noodles. Vetivert gently dried him off, and when it got to his crotch, he was shocked at how intensely he felt the gentle drying strokes. He bit back his moans and started to worry that he might not be able to stop himself from thrusting into the touch, but then Vetivert stopped. Vetivert smiled and stroked a finger down his crotch, and he twitched and his belly clenched. "What a delight you are, Lophion, so eager, so responsive." Asher blushed and wanted to cover himself.

Vetivert lifted him in its arms against its plush breasts, no vine carry this time, and brought him into the bedroom. It tucked him into the pet bed and covered him up with blankets.

"Would you like some sleep music, or other media to fall asleep to?" it asked. Asher thought about responding but fell asleep before he could make words.

*pronounced LOW-fee-ahn

Chapter 2: claiming his name

Chapter Text

"I am relieved that I didn't end up with a sad*st" said Asher, forking another bite of waffles into his mouth.

Vetivert quirked a thorny eyebrow. "Oh? What do you mean?" it asked.

"Oh, just, when I turned myself in I checked off anything I was at all open to because I wasn't sure if anyone would want a, y'know, self-harm surrender, but I was a little worried I would end up with a sad*st."

Vetivert tilted its head and made a mockingly sympathetic frown. "Oh dear, I have some bad news for you then, petal."

Asher stopped chewing the bite in his mouth and stared. "But, you've been so... nice..?"

Vetivert grinned, flashing sharp fangs. "Being a sad*st isn't all whips and chains. I like to think of myself as a constructive sad*st. I use suffering to create something new, not just for its own sake -- though that has its place at times."

Asher was afraid to ask what that meant, but Vetivert continued.

"My favorite kind of suffering is the kind that unleashes hidden potential. For example, when I reviewed your scan I saw that you have a massively overdeveloped sense of shame. Personally I think shame is useless, but even among those who think it valuable, yours would be considered too much. And yes, it may be possible to rid you of that over time by building your self-esteem and disconnecting your sense of responsibility from things other than your own actions. But I think it sounds much more enjoyable to push that button until it breaks."

Asher had lost his appetite. He looked down at his half-finished plate as every source of shame in his head screamed at him. There was so much of him to be ashamed of that he couldn't even imagine what would be left if he had no shame. And what would stop him from doing bad things? And what kind of things would Vetivert be doing to make him feel shame? He shuddered.

"Lophion, finish your breakfast. We have a big day and you'll need your energy."

"For what, being ashamed of myself?" he blurted.

Vetivert laughed. "Maybe later, but that isn't what I had in mind for today. You need to bond with your name."

After Asher finished choking down his food, Vetivert plucked off the blanket Asher had wrapped himself in that morning. "You won't be needing this" it said, scooping him up and slithering to a room Asher hadn't been in before. It sat him on a velvet padded chair in front of a mirror and lashed him in place with vines. Pulling his legs apart, it tied his knees and ankles to the chair, while more vines encircled his wrists and upper arms, pulling his arms to his sides. He was completely immobilized and staring at himself fully exposed. The chair was much wider than his hips, which left his inner thighs fully exposed in this position.

It was the first time he'd seen himself after turning himself in, and he couldn't believe the changes in his body. His chest was completely flat, except for a little muscle definition, and his two-week-old scars looked completely healed. His hips were narrow, and his arms and legs looked strong and muscular. It was the most pleased he'd ever been to look at himself. He startled and blushed as he noticed Vetivert watching him check himself out. Vetivert grinned.

Vetivert coiled itself loosely on the floor in front of him, and stretched a vine in front of him. On it bloomed a five-petaled flower with two petals pointing up like bunny ears, three overlapping petals at the bottom, and intricate veins and white fuzzy hairs in the center. "This is your namesake. Lophion is the scientific name for the violet. It's delicate but strong, like you, and grows in shade, much like you've done, since you also have grown up without the sunlight of loving attention." Asher wondered how Vetivert knew that -- was it that obvious? Was he just a person whose very presence screamed "unloved"?

It then plucked the bloom, and pressed it to the center of his chest, where sticky sap from a delicate tendril held it firm to his skin. With a sudden loud rustle, violet blooms popped out all over its arms and several outstretched vines. Vetivert began plucking them one at a time and delicately skimming the petals over his skin before pressing each one to its own place. A hum like the sound of wind in an old growth forest began, with the faintest tinkling sound of raindrops in a still pool. Asher at first thought it was coming from the walls, and looked for a speaker, before realizing it was coming from Vetivert. It was -- singing? Asher listened and felt floaty, hazy, adrift in a sea of repetitive soft sensation as Vetivert repeatedly stroked him with petals and stuck them to him.

Vetivert's eyes glowed with satisfaction as it uncoiled to a standing position and surveyed its work. "Beautiful Lophion, my charming little violet." Its voice was so warm and sincere Asher almost believed it, but then scolded himself inwardly for falling for an obvious lie. Vetivert slithered aside and Asher saw himself and gasped. From neck to toe, his body was almost completely covered in violet flowers. The only parts left bare were his crotch and inner thighs. Even his toes had flowers apparently sprouting from them. He looked otherworldly and ethereal, almost like a fae. He suddenly imagined himself with wings the color of violets and felt surprised when his vision swam with unshed tears.

Vetivert stroked his hair and said, "I'm glad you like it, petal. I hope you like this next part just as much." Asher rapidly blinked his eyes clear and stared apprehensively as Vetivert picked up a paddle-shaped object. Asher's thoughts raced "f*ck f*ck f*ck what now, I can't take pain when I can't disassociate from it, I'm going to make it so angry and disappointed, it's not going to keep me -- wait why would that be bad if it's a sad*st, I didn't want a sad*st--"

Vetivert flicked a switch and bristles popped out of the paddle. Asher didn't even have time to react before it held his head steady and ran the brush through a small section of his hair. "It's just a coloring brush, little petal, no need to fret." Asher heaved a sigh of relief and watched as his dirty blonde hair turned into violet with each stroke. He was fascinated as no drips fell and no smell came from the process. When brush ran over a part of his head, it felt warm, but his scalp didn't burn or itch -- amazing! Vetivert smiled at his intent gaze and said "curious, petal?" He nodded slightly and it said in a commanding tone, "Ask." Without thinking, the question tumbled out-- "how does it work?"

"Goooood boy" purred Vetivert. He felt warmth in his chest and a pulse in his crotch at the praise. "It coats each strand with nanobots which I've programmed to the color I want. Once I finish using this, I can change your hair color in an instant from my tablet, though I will probably keep it as some version of violet, my little Lophion."

Asher eyed the color of the strands that had been changed so far. "It's shiny, is it metallic?" This time Vetivert's "good boy" sent a thrill down his spine. "No, this is the shimmer version. Perhaps we'll try the metallic next."

When Vetivert had finished with his hair, Asher felt incredibly relaxed and cared for, though still uneasy about being so exposed. He wondered why it had put him in this position. Couldn't it have done all that without posing him like this?

An owl hooted, startling him, and he looked around for the animal. "Oh, that will be the florets I borrowed from Saliceae," said Vetivert, stretching a vine towards the door. Briefly Asher thought that it meant that the florets were owls, and then realized that was probably Vetivert's version of a doorbell. Then panic set in as he realized he was still sitting there spread out and exposed, clad in flowers that hid nothing. And was now going to be seen by two other people! He almost asked Vetivert to cover him, but bit back the question, certain that the answer would be "no."

Two terrans came in, nearly skipping with glee, holding hands. "Oh my gosh Mx. Vetivert, he's so adorable!" exclaimed one, clapping their hands together dramatically. "And hot, damn!" said the other. "Lophion, this is Aster, they/them," said Vetivert, pointing to the tall one who spoke first. They were very busty and wore fishnets and a tiny, dark red dress. "And this is Arrowroot, he/him," pointing to the second, shorter one. This one had a flat chest with faint scars and wore a chainmaille vest and shiny black pants that were so low-cut they revealed that he didn't have any pubic hair.

Asher was immediately smitten by Arrowroot and a little intimidated by Aster. "Um, hi, I'm --

Vetivert cut him off. "Let them guess your name, petal, I set up so many clues!" Asher blushed, feeling guilty about almost ruining Vetivert's plan or more likely, and even worse, disappointing it by saying the wrong name.

Aster hopped up and down a little in excitement. "oh! Oh, ummmm, Violet!!!"

"That's so close! Good guess!" Vetiver said, petting Aster on the head. Aster beamed and closed their eyes, leaning into the pets and forgetting all about the name. Arrowroot piped up "uh, I don't know it but maybe the species name for violet?"

"Exactly! Good boy!" Vetivert praised, petting Arrowroot as well. Both of the pets nuzzled in and looked blissful, and Asher felt a pang of envy.

Vetivert looked over at him with a knowing smile and stroked his inner thighs with a vine. He shivered. "His name is Lophion."

"Oh I love that!" said Aster.

"It suits him perfectly" added Arrowroot.

Vetivert gave them extra pats and then shifted to a more serious tone. "Aster and Arrowroot are here to perform the final part of your name bonding, Lophion. With my guidance and help, of course." Vetivert adjusted some kind of flexible machine above the mirror, and Lophion suddenly realized that it wasn't a mirror, it was a screen, and the flexible machine was a camera. Vetivert zoomed in the view to his thighs, and he saw his naked crotch in high definition. He blushed and tried unsuccessfully to squirm as he watched chillbumps cover his exposed skin from embarrassment (just embarrassment, he told himself).

"What..?" he stammered. Even this barely-comprehensible question got an approving thigh stroke and a purr from Vetivert. "They're going to apply your first body art, petal. I'm having them decorate your perfect thighs with violets."

"A tattoo? TWO tattoos?" Asher panicked inwardly. "I'd never even considered getting a tattoo! My mother always said only slu*ts and druggies get tattoos! also oh godde this is going to hurt, it's going to hurt so so bad, also f*ck, these two florets are going to be touching my thighs for so long, and here I am naked, I'm going to be so aroused, they're both so hot. f*ck, even thinking that made my c*nt pulse, I really hope they didn't notice..." They giggled at him and he suddenly realized he'd said all that out loud. "Why did I say all that? I didn't mean to say that!"

Vetivert purred and petted his thighs, then answered "I put some topical class-Ds in the sap I used to attach the blossoms to you. It's had enough time to absorb now, and will continue to slowly dose you until I remove them. It removes your ability to lie, and encourages you to express yourself, to the point of forcing you when you are asked a question. This will let me know when the process is finished."

As Aster and Arrowroot set up some mysterious equipment that didn't look like any tattooing stuff he'd ever seen -- or imagined -- Vetivert leaned in close to his face and asked, "any questions, petal?" He blurted "do I have to do this? I don't want to!" Vetivert stroked his face and purred approvingly and then said "yesssss petal. I could just use the implant and essentially do a find and replace and you'd forget you'd ever had any other name, but the processsss is the fun part." For the first time Asher saw the predator gaze in Vetivert's face, and he trembled.

"Will it hurt?" He blurted. Vetivert's grin grew wider and its fangs glistened. "Oh yesssss, of course. But your pain will please me, and will bond you to your new name in a way pleasure alone never could. And you want to pleasssse me, don't you?"

Asher struggled, tried to say no, while the truth built up inside and finally burst out as "yes yes yes yes yes yes yes." The two florets giggled and he felt humiliated. Why? Why did he want that? Maybe this was a trick, a hypnosis thing instead of a truth serum. Yeah, that must be it.

Vetivert curled up roots on either side of him to make seats, and Aster and Arrowroot settled into them, each holding what looked like a long-stemmed flower with a needle tip. Asher started to breathe quickly with fear.

"Hm, that won't do" Vetivert said, unfurling a vine to reveal a blossom Asher hadn't seen before. "This will keep your breathing steady and even so that you don't disrupt the artists." It closed the blossom over Asher's face, and the blossom puffed at him, making him gasp to inhale the pollen. Suddenly he couldn't breathe at any pace but a slow, even one, and even as his mind panicked, his heart rate remained steady.

The two florets leaned over and began pricking him with the needle-tipped flowers, and he wanted to gasp at the pain but he couldn't. Vetivert began to stroke his hair and face and murmur "you are my Lophion. Your name is Lophion and you're my little violet. Lophion, my precious Lophion. Lophion, my soft-hearted petal, my darling pet." The words faded into the background as Asher began to moan with the pain, a sharp bite that faded to a dull ache and then began rising to a stronger and stronger ache.

The florets set their flowers down and Asher breathed a sigh of relief. Vetivert asked,

"Who are you?"

"Asher"

Vetivert nodded to the florets, and they each picked up another flower and began again. This time each prick felt like a little electric shock, which blossomed out into a mix of pain and pleasure. He wanted to writhe and thrash, but couldn't even twitch -- at least not on purpose. His c*nt felt like it was pulsating, and it certainly could twitch.

"Lophion, my perfect little slu*t. Lophion, my eager little f*cktoy. Lophion, my good boy." With each of these phrases, Asher's mind grew sharper, and a jolt went through his crotch. He felt each phrase like it was the simplest fact, like saying he had feet, or a head. It felt impossible to disagree.

He felt a light touch on his crotch and looked down to see a thin vine slithering up against his c*nt. It curled in an S shape, pressing into his lips at the bottom and delicately stroking the length of his small dick. Asher watched with awe -- those class Gs had really made a difference while he was in the hospital. The thin tendril lightly stroked him erect and then spiraled around him, barely touching for most of the spiral but sending a single circle of tightness in pulses up from the bottom to the top, then from top to bottom. It was simultaneously teasing and satisfying, and he desperately wanted to thrust into it, but couldn't. He also felt painfully aware that he was being stroked in front of two -- three! -- total strangers. He felt slick starting to drip from him and he unconsciously murmured "no no no no no no no" as he felt it drip down to the chair.

"Do you want to be my Lophion?"

"Yes!" he blurted, too distracted by the sensations to even try to resist. He couldn't tell if he was even in pain anymore; all of the sensations blended together into an overwhelming flood of need for *something*, something unnamed and shapeless.

"Who are you?"

"Asher" he said, and felt disappointed, then surprised at his own disappointment.

"That's okay pet, you'll get there," Vetivert said soothingly, stroking his face with its hands. The vine around his dick tightened slightly and began to stroke faster, and it felt so discordant that his breathing stayed slow and even, like a giant hand was pressing air out and pulling air in.

The florets changed instruments again and this time each prick set off a ripple of itchiness, and if he could have, Asher would have clawed his skin off to ease the sensation but it just kept happening. At the same time, the vine in his crotch flicked out tiny hairlike thorns that made it feel like every cell in his entire crotch was individually begging for more, more, more. He could feel how swollen his lips were from how tight the vine felt pressed between them, and his dick was so hard it ached. Then the vine loosened and gave slow pulses instead, and Asher began to beg.

"Please please please please!" he didn't know whether he was begging it to stop or to give him more.

"Who are you?"

"Asher -- noooo!" he wailed. He had tried to say "Lophion" but the class-Ds wouldn't let him. He wanted relief, he wanted it, he needed it, more or stop, just whatever would relieve this intensity!

The florets laid down their flowers again and the vine stopped moving. He waited anxiously, wondering what tormenting sensation the next set would bring, as the itching on his chest faded but the desperate yearning in his crotch made him want to scream.

Vetivert leaned over him and gently blew a cloud of blue pollen into his face. He coughed, and suddenly could breathe at his own pace again, and move -- as much as the vines still binding him allowed. Her hips began thrusting unconsiously. Vetivert moved fully behind him as the florets stood on either side, now holding blossom clusters with no visible needles.

"Are the tattoos done?" he asked hopefully. They looked done to him, glancing at the screen which had been zoomed out again, but he'd thought that twice already. "Yes, now these lovely assistants are going to seal them with quick-healing solution. It will hurt, but they'll be fully healed by tomorrow so that you can walk around."

Asher started panting with fear as Vetivert wrapped additional vines around his waist and shoulders. "Shhh pet, it will be okay. You will be able to claim your name, I promise."

Looking at Vetivert in the screen, he pleaded, "I'm scared! Can't you take away the pain?"

Vetivert smiled and a chill ran through him. "Yes, I could, but I want you to feel it. It's the pain of rebirth." Vetivert's hands intertwined with hers, and it began humming in his ear "You are my Lophion, my Lophion, my Lophion."

Aster and Arrowroot began slowly sweeping the blossom clusters over Asher's thighs, and he felt them get warmer and warmer until it felt like they were on fire. The florets stopped, and waited, and the warm sensation began to feel tight, like when glue hardens on the skin. Then it suddenly cracked and he screamed -- it felt like his thighs had split open in six places! The two florets began stroking his thighs with their hands and the solution started falling off in hard, dry flakes as the burning, cracked feeling started to fade.

In its place came waves of pleasure, and soon his screams of pain turned to moans and whimpers of arousal. The vine on his crotch tightened again and began pulsing in an erratic rhythm. Asher looked at himself in the screen, looked at the fanged creature holding him firmly in place and the two incredibly sexy people standing next to him and petting his newly-tattooed thighs, and his small dick being perfectly stroked by a gigantic plantlike monster, and suddenly felt like this couldn't be real, he must be dreaming. But then Vetivert sunk its fangs into his shoulder and the flash of pain made it very clear this was real, and he screamed and shook as he came.

"Goooood boy" Vetivert purred, as the florets sat down on Vetivert again, snuggled up next to Lophion and holding hands across his torso.

"Who are you?"

Hoarsely, he murmured, "Lophion, your Lophion."

Chapter 3: anxiety and relief

Chapter Text

Lophion slowly blinked and stretched, feeling very well rested but also a bit out of it. Last night felt so surreal. If not for the tattoos he'd be sure it was a dream. He had a screaming org*sm with three people touching him. HIM, who could barely allow himself to whimper when he'd had sex before, who needed all the lights off and the curtains drawn. And they all just watched him do it. He felt his cheeks get hot and squirmed at the memory.

And then -- and then they cuddled with him! At Vetivert's command, the two florets had peeled off the violet blossoms stuck all over him, and then Vetivert had finally unwound the vines attaching him to the chair. It had deposited the three terrans in its giant bed, and somehow both Arrowroot and Aster were naked, and Lophion was sandwiched between them, getting his hair played with by one and his hands massaged by another. He'd cried a little, silently, at the tenderness, feeling undeserving and so confused why they were being so kind to him. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

Now, as he became more alert he realized that he was still in Vetivert's bed, but the two florets had gone. He wasn't sure where Vetivert was at first, and then realized that what he thought was mounds of blankets and cushions was Vetivert's body, sprawled out and shapeless under a ridiculously massive blanket. He was laying on top of it, on a really squishy area with vines heaped around on all sides, as if he was in a little nest of Vetivert. He wondered what body part he was laying on, or if there were even consistent parts or if Vetivert wove itself into a different configuration each time. He dismissed the question as too invasive to ask. He didn't want to be offensive.

He thought about Aster and Arrowroot, and wondered why they left without saying goodbye. Did he do something to upset them? Did he get aroused in his sleep and unknowingly bother one of them? Did he snore? Did his breath get gross?

Oh f*ck, he didn't thank them for any of the things they did, and they were so kind. Sure, the tattooing caused him a lot of pain but that was just Vetivert's choice, and they were so so sweet after. They must think he's some kind of arrogant asshole who just takes everything other people do for them for granted. Not worth seeing again or even saying goodbye to. Of course he would be so selfish that he drove away the first people to be kind and loving to him in... ages, maybe ever to that level. He just didn't think about other people's feelings like a decent person would. Godde, he's such a sh*tty person. If he'd been even halfway worthwhile, they wouldn't have just dipped out without a word. They must be so disgusted. Now he's made two enemies and he'll need to figure out how to avoid them, f*ck.

Vetivert's voice interrupted, rumbling from everywhere at once, "Petal, where is this flood of anxiety coming from? What are you thinking about?"

Lophion's mind raced to come up with an answer that didn't make him seem as bad as he really was. "Um, it's not anxiety, I just need to use the bathroom but I'm scared to jump all the way down."

Vetivert's tone grew sharper. "That was a dodge. Tell the truth."

"Um, I felt like it was rude of me to not say goodbye to Aster and Arrowroot and I'm worried I hurt their feelings."

"That sounds closer to the truth, but I can feel that there's more to it. Are you worried they're going to judge you?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Are you the one with hurt feelings?"

Tears stung Lophion's eyes. "Well, I shouldn't have hurt feelings, they didn't do anything wrong, it was all me, I was so self-centered I didn't show ANY gratitude or give anything back, so it makes perfect sense that they would leave..."

"Lophion, petal, they weren't offended or hurt by you. No one expected you to process instantly, and the whole event was deliberately centered on you. To change the focus to them would have ruined the entire experience. You were meant to sink into it and experience it wholly, and you did. You were perfect. You were a good boy."

Lophion felt the "good boy" warm his chest, but couldn't bring himself to believe that he hadn't failed miserably. Vetivert moved to an upright position and began weaving itself back into a vaguely humanoid shape, then pulled Lophion close. "I'm going to give you an example of just how wrong you are about how people perceive you."

Vetivert's belly opened up and Lophion fell back into a soft, mossy space with phosphorescent mushrooms and lichens scattered across the "walls" of Vetivert's belly. Confused and panicked, Lophion thought "f*ck, this is it, I'm getting eaten, I bet that glowing stuff is going to melt me into a goo for this monster to absorb, if only I hadn't been such a f*cking useless anxious selfish sh*thead!"

A powder puffed out from several nearby mushrooms and Lophion held his breath, prolonging the inevitable, when a vine's sudden hard slap on his thigh made him gasp. He breathed in the spores and his anxiety faded. The thoughts were still there, but they had blunt edges, and they didn't seem as real. He tried to ask what the spores were, thinking that maybe this would work better than the Terran medicine he'd tried, but something about the space nullified the sound coming out of his mouth.

"Good boy for trying to ask a question, petal, but you'll have to wait" said Vetivert as it stroked his head with an inner vine. "I have set your little nest up with noise canceling right now, so you can't interrupt. You can ask me about your concern later."

Lophion felt Vetivert moving around, but couldn't see anything. He was frozen with worry about what was going to happen, and he really did need to pee. He tried tugging on a vine to see if Vetivert would check on him, but it responded with a scolding tone, "just settle down and listen, pet."

He resigned himself to holding it and hoped whatever this was would be over soon.

The slight sway of Vetivert's movement shifted to a much more noticable sway, and he imagined that it was slithering much faster than he'd seen it do before. It slowed, and stopped, and Lophion heard a warm voice speak to Vetivert in Affini and Vetivert replied in the same language. Then there was a bit more movement, and Vetivert seemed to settle in place.

"Hello you precious cuties" it said in Terran, and to his horror, Lophion heard Arrowroot and Aster exclaim with happy greetings and felt Vetivert flex slightly, which he assumed was it petting or hugging them.

"I just wanted to know what you thought of my new pet. But I really want to get your most honest opinions, so, Saliceae, would you mind giving them a solid dose of class-D?"

The warm voice replied, "of course Veti, you know I'm almost as fond of it as you are." A brief pause was followed by Vetivert asking again for the florets to share their opinion. Lophion felt sick to his stomach. It was bad enough that they probably hated him, now he wouldn't even have any doubt to comfort himself with.

Arrowroot said "well I thought he was incredibly sweet. I was a little bit worried that after we put him through so much he was going to be mad at us, but he didn't seem upset at us at all. And he was so open with his feelings, even after the class-Ds wore off, he just stayed present and let us pet him and play with his hair. I think he maybe cried a little bit, which kinda broke my heart. He must have needed that so bad."

Aster added, "totally agree, also goddamn he's hot. When we were cuddling after, I had such a hard time not grinding into his luscious round ass -- groan -- but I thought he needed just softness so I held myself back. But I really just wanted to f*ck him until he couldn't move --" Aster broke off with a slightly embarrassed giggle.

Arrowroot made an enthusiastic noise of agreement. "Yeah, and also, when I was massaging his hands he kept nuzzling my back, it was so sweet it made me want to cry." Lophion hadn't realized he was doing that, and felt embarrassed and relieved that Arrowroot liked it.

Vetivert moved slightly, petting them or something and the two florets made happy noises. Lophion felt SO curious and also a little envious.

"Thank you so much, cuties. I have to admit my new little pet has some strong anxieties, and was worried you had been offended by him somehow."

"What!" "No way, why?"

"He didn't know why you left this morning, and started making himself believe it was his fault."

Arrowroot sounded so worried as he asked, "Oh, did you tell him that we had to get home because we missed Goddess too much to stay longer?"

"We would have left a note or something if we'd known he'd be hurt!" Aster exclaimed.

"No I didn't tell him, because I thought he needed a stronger reassurance than just my words," Vetivert said, and started to open its belly. Lophion realized he was still naked, and about to be exposed, and flung his hands over his crotch.

The florets babbled happy nonsense and reached out excitedly as they saw Lophion. Vetivert reached in and pulled him out, dashing his last hopes of hiding. It set him on its lap and reached over to pick up the other two florets, who were holding out their arms and bouncing, wordlessly begging to be in Vetivert's lap. When Vetivert set them next to Lophion, they flung their arms around him and simultaneously exclaimed about how of course they weren't upset at him, they just needed their Goddess, four hours is an AWFULLY long time to be away, etc, as Lophion sat silent and overwhelmed by their hugs and their chatter. Lophion stole a look across at the goddess being referenced, and saw a very smooth, sleek Affini with glossy, serrated green leaves over deep purple vines, with puffy yellow flowers on her shoulders and trailing down her body, and round white berries clustered here and there. He looked down again, overwhelmed past words by the number of questions in his head and the sensory overload of the words and touch. He tugged on one of Vetivert's vines and it gazed at him.

"Do you need something, pet?"

He found his voice enough to say, "yes, I need to use the bathroom."

"To urinate?"

what the f*ck why would you ask me that "um, yes" he stammered.

One of Vetivert's vines plucked his hand off his crotch and another vine opened up like a stand-to-pee device and closed around his crotch, sealing firmly but not constricting. He stared at it, uncomprehending. Was it saying no, he was not allowed to pee? At some point he wouldn't be able to stop it happening! "Wha..?"

Vetivert smiled at him. "Now you can urinate whenever you need to, pet. No need to leave the cuddle pile."

His mouth dropped open. "I can't do that in front of people!"

"Of course you can, pet. It's okay."

Lophion remembered that it had said it was going to push his shame button until it broke. His face was on fire. To make matters worse, Aster was leaning over and staring at his thighs. "I'm so proud of our handiwork!!!" they said, and then Aster and Arrowroot both were staring at his thighs and running their fingers along the design. If he hadn't been focusing so hard on controlling his bladder, it would have been really arousing. As it was, it made him want to slap their hands away, but the fear of offending them kept him from doing it.

Vetivert looked at his rumpled up facial expression and said "poor little thing, you look so miserable! Go ahead and relieve yourself, petal! I have a filter in that vine for this very purpose, you needn't worry that it will harm me."

Lophion thought angrily that he wasn't worried about that at all! He said nothing, focusing completely, as the screaming in his bladder made it impossible to think about anything else.

Aster got a wicked look on their face. "I know how we can help" they said, grinning at Arrowroot. He grinned back and said "oh yeah! We did that with Ms. Baccata's floret that one time!" He turned to Vetivert. "Mx. Curio, would you hold his arms and legs?" Before Lophion could even flail, he was being held spread-eagle between Aster and Arrowroot.

"Anything else you need?" asked Vetivert with the most smirking tone Lophion had ever heard. Aster piped up "yeah! Something super soft and fluffy!" Lophion could only watch as Vetivert unfurled two feathery ferns and the florets plucked them. "Nooooooo!" he wailed in dread.

"Hush petal, don't be rude" said Vetivert, covering his mouth with a vine.

Lophion squirmed as hard as he could but barely moved an inch. Aster and Arrowroot were both giggling, the traitors, as they began slowly drawing the unbearably tickly ferns across him, finding which spots created the strongest reactions. Arrowroot went after his belly, while Aster tickled his inner thighs. The more Lophion tried to get away, the worse it got, and finally a spurt came out. He managed to stop the flow for a second but then Aster evilly pressed down on his lower belly and he couldn't stop himself, he let go, and let it all drain out. He shuddered at how good the relief felt, even while the shame of having pissed in front of all of them made him try to hide his face, and a sob caught in his throat. He felt like his emotions were completely exposed and they must have seen the joy and comfort he felt at being forced into such intense vulnerability. Who would want such a thing? Something was wrong with him --

"Goooood boy," Vetivert purred, and the spiral in his head stopped. He didn't quite believe it, but he couldn't argue either. "You did so good, Lophion" Arrowroot murmured, and gently kissed him on the lips. "Yeah! Watching you let go and shudder was really hot" said Aster, with a cheery pat on Lophion's thigh. "Quite a fun show" said Goddess Saliceae with a delighted smile. "I think you might become a regular playmate for my worshippers."

Lophion didn't know how to react. "Th-thank you" he almost whispered. Vetivert sat him back upright and let go of his limbs, but did not release the vine surrounding his crotch. It stayed connected as Vetivert then tucked him inside its belly again, and he laid down immediately. He was so emotionally worn out he felt like he could sleep for days. Vetivert closed its belly around him.

"I believe my little floret has had all the stimulation he can take for today" said Vetivert, returning Aster and Arrowroot to their Goddess. "Thank you for being your delightful selves and helping him so much yesterday and today. Saliceae, please let me know if we can return your kindness in some way."

More words were exchanged, but by then Lophion was asleep.

Chapter 4: Serigla crumpets and Arrowroot comforts

Chapter Text

Lophion awoke to the smell of something amazing, unfamiliar but sort of like strawberry and fresh yeasted bread. He wrapped himself in a blanket and ducked out of his bed, padding out of Vetivert's bedroom towards the smell. Vetivert smiled at him as he came in.

"Good morning petal! You're such a charming mess with that hair all scruffy" it said.

Lophion blushed and muttered "thank you," then came closer to the counter where Vetivert was standing. He tried to see what it was doing, but couldn't see over the counter. Vetivert's lower vines unfurled and flowed towards him, pressing against the back of his knees suddenly enough that he started to fall back, then catching him and lifting him up in a seated position where he could see over.

"Is that better, petal?"

He wasn't sure what to say because he didn't want to imply that he liked being scooped up with no warning, but he did like it... so he didn't answer, and instead asked "what is that?" pointing to the sizzling lumps of doughlike stuff on the heating portion of the counter. Vetivert quirked a brow, but let it pass.

"Serigla crumpets" it answered. "Serigla is a fruit that humans find very tasty, and it is high in some vitamins that you've been lacking for years, according to your scan. I checked you for allergies, so I know it will be safe for you."

Lophion looked doubtful. "I'm allergic to strawberries though" he said, wondering if Vetivert hadn't mentioned additional ingredients. The crumpets were pink and smelled so much like strawberries!

"There are no strawberries, and serigla is not genetically related to strawberries" it said patiently. "I understand that it does taste and smell rather similar though."

If that's true, maybe I won't miss strawberries anymore! he thought, feeling excited. It was one of his favorite foods as a kid, and he was so sad when he developed a severe allergy to it. He even snuck some strawberries once after he found out, but when he ended up in the hospital he didn't try that again.

Vetivert heaped a plate with the steaming pink crumpets and added a generous dollop of cream, then brought both the food and Lophion to the table. Lophion eyed the gigantic table and imagined that he was going to need to sit on the table itself or stand on a chair in order to reach, because sitting on the chair would bring the table surface above his head. But Vetivert sat down and placed Lophion on its lap, and he realized that the reason there were only Affini-sized chairs is that everyone else would be held. He felt like a child in a booster seat, and was glad there was no one around to see him.

He reached for the fork and butter knife, but Vetivert had already picked up the silverware and begun cutting the crumpets into pieces. When it dipped a bite-sized piece into the cream and lifted it toward his mouth, he leaned back and exclaimed "I can feed myself!" It paused, and said "is there something you want to ask for, my Lophion?" Hastily, he said "yes I want to feed myself." Vetivert just sat there, holding the fork. He realized it was supposed to be a question and said "please can I feed myself?" "Goooood boy," it purred, petting him with a vine and placing the fork into his hand. "Just make sure you chew each bite enough."

Lophion put the first bite in his mouth and closed his eyes in ecstasy. The flavor was so intense! It was like the best strawberry he could ever remember tasting, but more so. The alien fruit had been blended into the batter for flavor, but the texture was -- unbelievable. So crisp on the outside, and full of air bubbles, so that when he bit into it it made a crushing sound, almost like cereal but soft. And the cream added just enough moisture and balanced out the slight saltiness. It was the best thing he'd ever tasted in his life! And he could almost cry at getting that strawberry taste again.

Vetivert chuckled and he felt the vibration in his back. "I'm glad you're enjoying it, my little violet, but you'll need to keep going." Lophion realized he'd just stopped after that bite, eyes still closed, thinking about one of his precious few good childhood memories -- when he visited his grandma and was able to pick strawberries in the garden and eat them still warm from the sun. He shook off the reverie and began eating with gusto, counting his chews to make sure it was at least 10 per bite. He didn't want Vetivert to use his usual chew-chew-swallow as an excuse to feed him.

As he ate, Vetivert ran thin tendrils through his hair, gently untangling and smoothing it. "I hate to have to leave you today, but I have to go to work and you're not yet ready to go with me" it said. "But don't worry, I've arranged for Saliceae to watch you. She and Arrowroot will be coming over soon."

Lophion felt a confusing swarm of emotions at that. Sad, happy, nervous, excited, disappointed, scared? The one that was most surprising was that he felt sad at the idea of Vetivert being away. It's just because this is a strange new place with REALLY weird rules and Vetivert has become familiar, he told himself.

He was looking forward to seeing Arrowroot again -- weird as their interactions had been, Arrowroot was super sweet and cute, and he thought nice things about Lophion. He should get ready - f*ck, he still didn't have any clothes. What he'd been wearing when he arrived had vanished from the bathroom, and he hadn't seen anything that looked like clothing anywhere. He can't just wear a blanket!

Lophion realized he'd need to ask. "Um..?" he said hesitantly. Vetivert effortlessly turned him to face it, looking at him with raised eyebrows. Dammit, I was hoping it would ask if I needed something, he thought. "Um, could I please have some clothes?" he asked, feeling guilty. "Sure petal" it answered, "I'll compile some for you." It then spoke in Affini, and a few seconds later, the hab AI made a whooshing noise. Vetivert set Lophion on the floor and slithered over to the compiler, opening the small door and retrieving a pile of fabric.

"Here you go petal, I'm going to get ready now" it said, handing him the pile and slithering out of the room. He unfurled the fabric and at first, felt relief at finding a t-shirt and pants. But when he looked closer he realized the t-shirt was a crop top, and the pants were translucent. In this stuff he'd be more than exposed -- he'd be on display! He realized there wasn't any underwear, and gathered his courage to ask.

Vetivert emerged from its bedroom and again he said "um..?"

"My name isn't 'um'," said Vetivert sternly. "You may call me Mx. Curio, Keeper, Owner, or if there is a title that you like, you may ask to use that and I will consider it."

"Uh, Mx. Curio?"

Vetivert waited.

"Can I have some underwear please?"

"Good boy, yes you may." Another Affini command, and Vetivert pulled a pair of underwear out of the compiler. They were solid in the front, but had translucent stripes of mesh on the back, and they were gathered down the crack. More lingerie. Next time I'll need to be more specific, or it might get even worse, he thought.

The owl hooted and Vetivert slithered to the door. Saliceae and Vetivert greeted each other by entwining a few vines, and then Saliceae walked inside. Lophion was struck by the size of her form, not having seen her stand before, and realized why her florets called her "Goddess." She looked like Ishtar and Ọṣun and Aphrodite had a foursome with a particularly shapely tree. Every part of her was smooth and lustrous, and the way she moved was like a dance - every step swung her hips dramatically from side to side, and the vines that draped around her arms continuously moved in slow waves and curls.

Saliceae and Vetivert exchanged some Affini speech, and Vetivert gave Lophion some head pets before leaving. Not until it was gone did Lophion realize that Arrowroot was nowhere to be seen. He felt very nervous about being alone with Saliceae, and felt tricked by Vetivert because it had said Arrowroot would be there.

"Hello little Lophion" said Saliceae in that warm voice. "My Arrowroot is sleeping off yesterday's party, but if he doesn't wake up soon, I'll wake him for you." Lophion was relieved. Arrowroot must be in her body, like Vetivert sometimes carried Lophion. "Do you want to join him?" Lophion hesitated, but while he was trying to come up with an answer, Saliceae lifted him up, opened her chest, and deposited Lophion inside, laying him down in a spooning position behind Arrowroot. Lophion froze, not sure what to do. There wasn't really room to move, and if he tried to move away or sit up he'd probably wake Arrowroot. He decided to just wait until he woke up, and curled his arms to his chest so that he wouldn't freak Arrowroot out if he woke up and unexpectedly found himself held.

Some time later, vines descended and began stroking both of them all over. Lophion woke up with a start, and Arrowroot awoke more gradually, stretching and turning over to get petted in more places. He giggled as some of the vines stroked him lightly enough to tickle. Finally, he opened his eyes and saw Lophion.

"Lophion! Hi!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around him. He tentatively hugged him back, feeling nervous and a little giddy. "Did you ask to come cuddle with me?"

He sounded so confident and happy that Lophion hated to admit otherwise, but he reluctantly said "no, she just put me in here because you were asleep." He looked a little disappointed, and Lophion wished he had asked, but how was he supposed to know he'd want that?

"Well, I'm awake now. Goddess, could you bring us out?" he called out. Saliceae opened her chest and pulled the two of them out, setting them gently on the floor. "Thank you Goddess" said Arrowroot, kneeling and then half-prostrating himself in front of Saliceae, with his arms outstretched on the floor.

She smiled beneficently at him. "You're blessed and worthy, my worshipper. No need for the full ritual right now; you may enjoy time with your new friend."

"Thank you Goddess!" he beamed as he hopped to his feet. "Show me around, Lophion!"

Lophion realized he hadn't really even looked around much, and there were probably places he hadn't seen. Well, better to explore with a Terran who might be able to explain some of the weird sh*t.

"Um, this is the kitchen and living room and dining room I guess?" He gestured vaguely to the open space. "And I can show you the bedroom and bathroom, and you've already seen that kinky room with all the velvet furniture and mirrors." He lead Arrowroot to the bedroom, and stepped through into the bathroom first. Arrowroot looked around, seeming to look for something, but didn't comment. Lophion lead him back into the bedroom and pointed at his bed. "That's where I sleep," he said. "I think there are more rooms down the hall but I haven't actually looked in."

"Let's check it out!" said Arrowroot, and they went down the hall, past the door to the room where Arrowroot had helped tattoo his thighs. There were four more doors in the hall. Lophion expected the doors to slide open at his approach like the others had, but none of the four opened automatically. "Try that!" Arrowroot pointed at a small glowing panel with a handprint shape on it. Lophion put his hand on it, but nothing happened. He tried the panels next to the other doors, but none opened.

"Well, I guess that's the end of the tour" he said, feeling embarrassed at how boring it was.

"What? Where is your room?" Arrowroot asked, looking incredulous.

"Um, I don't have one I guess?"

"Wow, Goddess had Aster and I both design our rooms like, our first night home."

"I didn't realize we were allowed to have our own rooms" Lophion said, feeling sad that Vetivert hadn't provided him a room. It barely gave him a bed!

"Oh, of course it depends on your owner, but lots of florets like to have their own space. The less spacey florets anyway," he added, giggling at his own wordplay.

"We can just hang out in your bed!" Arrowroot said cheerily, grabbing his hand and striding off towards the bedroom. When they got to the bed, he took off his shoes and then asked "clothes?" After a pause, Lophion realized what he was asking and said "on, please." "Okay!" he said, climbing in. Lophion noticed how his silky, stretchy pants highlighted his butt as he bent down a little to enter the domed bed, and mentally scolded himself for staring.

He climbed in after him and they sat and looked at each other for a second. Feeling awkward and ashamed of himself for being a bad host, Lophion said "sorry, I'm not very good at this. Talking to people, I mean."

"That's okay! I'm good at asking questions, and I'm super curious about you."

Lophion blushed and couldn't help but smile as Arrowroot grinned at him. "Really?" he asked, wondering what could be so interesting.

"Yeah! Like, why was it so easy for you to give up your old name? I thought we'd have to do at least a few sessions."

Lophion was taken aback. "I don't know..." he said, staring off.

"Well, how did you pick your old name to start with?"

"I guess technically my mom picked it? When I came out to my parents as trans, I told them I was going to change my name, and my mom told me that when she was pregnant with me she had decided to name me Asher if I was a boy. So I felt like it was meant to be."

"Did you like the meaning of the name?"

"Yeah, it means 'worthy to be loved'."

"Well that definitely makes it appropriate for you then," said Arrowroot with a grin, patting his knee. His heart jumped and sped up.

"Thank you" he said quietly, looking down.

"But like, if you liked that name and the meaning, why did you give it up so easy?"

Lophion felt ashamed of himself for being such a pathetic push-over, and it must have shown on his face, because Arrowroot scooted over next to him and wrapped his arms around him. "It's okay, it's not a bad thing, I'm just curious, because it seems like it must have not been a strong connection."

Lophion wracked his brain, looking for a reason. "I guess... it never felt like it really fit, once I learned the meaning, because it felt untrue."

"Oh Lophion, that's f*cking heartbreaking" said Arrowroot, squeezing him tighter. "You ARE worthy of love, so much so!"

"Why do you say that?" he mumbled. "You barely know me."

Arrowroot nestled closer. "For one thing because all living beings are worthy of love. And for two, you're sweet and smart and fun and cute! And for three, I feel love for you already."

Lophion covered his face with his hands and made a protesting noise. Arrowroot moved to sit in front of him and peeled his hands away from his face. He looked at Arrowroot and saw his face was serious, which took Lophion aback because he was always smiling. He started to worry he'd offended him when Arrowroot said,

"I mean it. I feel like we have some kind of connection. I felt it when I first saw you." Lophion's mind flashed to when he first saw him, that moment of what felt like recognition even though he'd never seen him before.

Arrowroot continued "I dunno what kind of connection, but I just have that intuition that you're an important connection to me, and I'm never wrong about that feeling. Everyone I've felt it about has become an important part of my life."

Lophion felt overwhelmed. He wanted to feel excited or happy, but he dreaded the moment when Arrowroot realized he was wrong about Lophion, that he was really just a meaningless lump who did a good job of acting like a person.

"How come you look sad and upset?" he asked.

"Because I know you're gonna realize you're wrong and I'm going to break your heart because I'm just not who you think I am!" he burst out.

"Oh Lophion. It's not true, but I know it will take time. Mx. Curio will help though. And me and Aster and even Goddess."

Lophion's emotions finally boiled over into tears, and he began to sob. Arrowroot pulled him down into the bed, against his chest, and held and rocked him. Lophion kept expecting him to get fed up and leave, but he just stayed with him, holding him, rocking him, and petting his hair, until he cried himself out.

Once Lophion was calmer again, Arrowroot asked if he'd be willing to watch his favorite show with him, and he nodded. They went back to the living room where Saliceae sat sprawled on the couch, and Arrow ran over with his arms up. Saliceae lifted him onto the couch, as Lophion walked up and stood awkwardly, wondering what to do. He couldn't put his arms up like a toddler -- of course, it was fine for Arrowroot to do because that was their dynamic but it would just be too weird and infantile for him to do that. Saliceae smiled down at him and asked, "do you want something, Lophion?" "Yes, would you lift me to the couch please?"

Saliceae frowned slightly. "Oh dear, I just realized you don't know what to call me. You were a bit out of it when last we met. You may call me Goddess or Ms. Azara. Use my title when you ask me a question."

"Ms. Azara, would you lift me to the couch please?"

"Of course, cutie." Saliceae lifted Lophion and Lophion was surprised by how different it felt from being lifted by Vetivert. Saliceae's vines were firmer, tighter, and while they were nice, they just didn't have that same feeling. Lophion felt a pang of longing. I want to go home, he thought, the same thing he always thought when he felt lonely. It was never a desire for a specific place, because he'd never felt like he really had a home. But he would hear that phrase in his head when he felt this. He didn't know why or even what home meant, really.

Lophion was relieved when the show began playing on the large screen on the wall facing them, and he got lost in the intricate story, punctuated with pauses as Arrowroot made excited comments. Saliceae petted both of them, and Arrowroot held Lophion's hand.

Chapter 5: growing connection

Chapter Text

It was after dinner when the door-alert owl hooted to announce Vetivert's return. As the door slid open, Lophion leapt the four foot drop from the couch to the floor and dashed over, flinging his arms around Vetivert. Only then did his mind catch up with his body and he hastily stepped back. It took an effort of will to let go of the vines he had clutched.

"Aww petal, you missed me!" Vetivert smiled down at him and he felt a wave of happiness so intense it made him sway, dizzy. It scooped him up with one arm and he forgot his dignity and wrapped his arms around its neck and nuzzled his face in. Had it always smelled like cinnamon, dragons blood, loamy earth, yeast, and - something sharp and green..? It was a heady scent and he couldn't get enough. He felt like it was making him high.

"How was he?" Vetivert asked.

"An absolute dream, honestly. I never had to tell him something twice. He's so well-behaved, especially for a sober floret." Saliceae reached over and stroked Lophion's hair. "And he and Arrowroot talked each other's ears off about storytelling, and shared some emotional intimacy that I wasn't privy to. They're practically pinnates now."

Saliceae picked up Arrowroot and held him close to Lophion. "Say goodbye now, little one."

Arrowroot touched Lophion's shoulder and asked "can I have a hug?" He startled out of his haze and said "of course!" He reached out towards Arrowroot and the two Affini held up their florets as they hugged. He started to let go after just a second, but Arrowroot didn't let go, so he hugged back. After a few seconds he felt himself sink into the hug, and eventually Saliceae chuckled and said "come now, my votary." Arrowroot immediately let go, and Lophion curled back into Vetivert's neck. Vetivert and Saliceae exchanged goodbyes, and then Vetivert and Lophion were alone.

Vetivert petted his back as it carried him over to the couch, and sank into the cushions with him now draped across its chest. When it asked about his day, he found himself pouring out the story. In the back of his mind, part of him was amazed that he wasn't continually checking for boredom or disinterest. Something about laying on Vetivert's chest made it feel like the most obvious fact that it would be interested in any detail he wanted to share.

When he described the "tour" and the four doors that didn't open, he left pauses, hoping that Vetivert would volunteer an explanation, but it did not. He took that as a sign that it wasn't willing to tell him, so he didn't ask.

When he described his interaction with Arrowroot in his bed, he glossed over his breakdown with "and I felt kinda bad and Arrowroot was nice to me." Vetivert stopped him and said "give me the full story pet, I don't want the floret cut." Lophion laughed a little, having learned from Arrowroot earlier that day that a floret cut was an edited version of a story that removed any potentially distressing parts. He backed up, and described it in detail. Vetivert wrapped him gently in vine after vine as he talked, and when he finished it said "Goooood boy Lophion, I am so proud of you. I know it is very difficult for you to let someone see your pain, and you did such a good job not shutting down."

He felt thrilled and floaty at the praise, and wondered what else he could do that would result in Vetivert feeling proud. Right now he felt like a good, approved-of person, and it was such a rare feeling for him. He basked in it, and marveled that he could feel this good at praise from someone he'd known for less than a week. He usually had a knee-jerk rejection to praise, expecting it to be a lie or manipulation. But he couldn't doubt the truth in its words, because his whole body was telling him it was sincere.

"How come I believe you?" He murmured. He meant it to be rhetorical, but Vetivert answered.

"You're attuned to me, petal. You can feel my emotions as I can feel yours. Well, not as clearly, but you can pick up on the gist. As we have more time together, you'll be able to feel them as clearly as you hear my spoken words."

This felt true, but he still didn't understand. "Why? How did I get attuned?"

"Part of it is the implant. It forms a connection between us that allows intuition to develop much more easily, rapidly, and deeply than it otherwise would. You can think like me in some ways, follow the same mental paths sometimes, because there is a small part of my mind blending with yours."

"The other part is my biorhythm. Similar to your breathing and heartbeat, my body has a biorhythm that Terrans pick up on, mostly through deeply subconscious instinct. You can feel when my biorhythm and emotions are in harmony with each other, and when they're also in harmony with my words, it's almost impossible to disbelieve. Your most animalistic instincts are convinced."

Lophion pondered this. "What if you're lying? Can you trick me?"

Vetivert paused. "Technically, yes. All affini are capable of lying at a level far beyond other sophonts' capabilities. However, I loathe lying. So for me, when I attempt it there is almost always a dissonance between my emotion and my biorhythm."

"What about other Affini?"

"With other Affini, you don't have the direct access to their emotions through the implant, so you can only go on their biorhythm and the physical ways they display emotion. If an Affini is trying to deceive you and is comfortable with lying, it will feel the same as when they tell the truth; there's no way for you to distinguish between them."

Lophion looked horrified.

"I see you're upset by this, but your distress is partly based on the illusion that you have been able to tell when non-Affini lie to you. The truth is: Terrans can't tell when other Terrans are lying either, if the liar can deceive their own self. That's all it takes to lie and be just as sincere as if you are telling the truth. There's a reason that Terrans never were able to come up with a true lie detector test. All you can tell is if there is a mismatch between what the person says and what they believe in that moment."

Lophion reflected on the times he'd been intentionally deceived and realized that many of them might not have been intentional after all. When his ex told him that he loved Lophion more than he cared about the perceptions of others, he might have believed he was telling the truth. Maybe Lophion wasn't a fool for believing him -- maybe there was actually no way to tell that that wasn't true.

Vetivert looked at him with alarm. "What is it, petal?"

Lophion considered claiming he had a headache, and realized that it wouldn't work, but he didn't want to think more about his ex. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, we don't need to get into it right now, but tell me the topic."

"My ex, Caleb."

"Goooood boy. Thank you for telling me."

Lophion let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He expected to get dragged into a conversation despite clearly saying no.

"Do you want some distraction from your distressing thought?"

Lophion sighed. "No, I think I'm too tired to focus on anything."

"Very well petal, let's get you ready for bed."

Thinking of bed reminded him that he only had the one dress and underwear, so he hastily said, "Mx. Curio, can I please have some loose, opaque pajama pants and a loose, opaque pajama top and some plain cotton underwear that are full coverage?"

Vetivert burst out in a hearty laugh. "Of course, my delightful Lophion! Such a good job asking specifically and directly for what you want! And using my title, where did that come from?"

Lophion blushed and felt pleased with himself. "Ms. Azara told me to use her title when I asked for something, so I thought that might be something I should do with you too."

"That was so clever and thoughtful, Lophion! I'm so pleased." Vetivert spoke to the compiler and brought him the clothing he'd asked for. It was blessedly soft, a marbled rainbow of colors. It was a bit bright and colorful for his taste, but at least it was not exposing at all. The requested "plain cotton" underwear had little flowers printed all over them, but they were a relief compared to the ruffled abominations he'd been given before.

Vetivert watched him brush his teeth and floss, which he did more carefully than was his habit to make sure that task didn't get taken over. It watched him change clothes, which made him uncomfortable but he just turned his back rather than asking for another favor. When he finished getting ready and finally climbed in his bed, it straightened the rumpled blankets and sheet, and tucked them around him. It asked if he would like some sound to fall asleep to and he said yes, and referenced a specific ambient music with rainstorm recording that he'd listened to to fall asleep for the past 20 years or so. He didn't think it would be available, but apparently the Affini collect music and soundscapes as much as they do pets. Vetivert put it on for him, and the sound seemed to come from the whole dome of the pet bed. It was even more soothing than he remembered.

"Goodnight, my little violet."

"Goodnight" he mumbled, eyes closing, as Vetivert went to its bed.

He thought he'd be able to fall right asleep; he was SO tired and the bed was perfect and he had his sleep music -- but he couldn't. He tossed and turned, glanced at his communicator and realized it had been an hour. He felt emotionally itchy, like he needed something. It was like hunger or thirst but it wasn't those things. Eventually it clicked -- he missed Vetivert. He felt like he couldn't relax because his body just didn't want to be any further away from Vetivert than necessary. He wanted to feel its biorhythm and lay between its soft mossy breasts and smell its incredible foresty scent.

He lay there for another hour, hoping the feeling would fade and he'd drift off, but it just got worse. Finally, he got out of his bed and walked over to the side of Vetivert's bed. He tried to figure out a way to climb up, but it being at shoulder height really made that impossible without a stepstool. He almost went back to bed so as not to bother Vetivert, but then he remembered how much it praised him for asking for the pajamas. He felt along the edge of the bed until his hand felt a lump, and he reached under the covers to touch Vetivert's vine.

"Yes, Lophion?" Hearing its not-at-all drowsy voice, he wondered if it had been just laying there waiting for him to figure out what he wanted and go for it.

He struggled to get the words out, but managed to ask, in a timid voice, "Mx. Curio, can I sleep with you?"

He'd barely finished speaking when several vines swept him up into the bed. "Of course, blossom, you can sleep with me whenever you want. All you have to do is ask."

He snuggled in between its massive breasts and pulled the blankets over himself. He was asleep almost immediately.

Chapter 6: Lophion's first outing

Chapter Text

Lophion ate the meal Vetivert had compiled and cut into bite sized pieces for him, counting his chews again. He was still feeling uneasy about his impulsive choice last night. Stars, it was like he just had no inhibitions when he got tired. His impulsiveness was going to be his doom.

Vetivert interrupted his self-scolding session and said, "when you finish, we'll get you ready to go out. It's time you got to know your new home! And I want to show you off to my friends."

Lophion hastily swallowed his last bite and asked, "Mx. Curio may I please have an opaque, loose fitting, full-coverage outfit for today? And plain cotton underwear?"

Vetivert patted him and purred, then said "good job asking, but not today. I want to show off my new pet, especially your new petals."

petals? Oh f*ck it means my thighs he thought.

Vetivert went over to the compiler and spoke to it, then handed the resulting pile to him. "Get dressed, and then I'll fix your hair" it said.

He took the clothes to the bathroom, relieved that it didn't follow. The relief soon vanished as he examined the clothes he'd been given. The underwear were solid in the front but sheer and gathered in the back, and embroidered all over with violets. The pants were made of a pale green mesh with violet flowers embroidered in a gradient with many flowers at the hem, and fewer flowers scattered moving up to the top, not hiding anything. The shirt wasn't a shirt at all, it was a vest, pale green with thin violet ropes across the front and violet-shaped buttons attaching the loops in a bizarre military-style look. At least it buttoned all the way up. He glanced at himself in the mirror and immediately regretted it, his face going bright red.

In a last-ditch effort, he went back to Vetivert. "What if I get cold? Could I have a jacket just in case?"

"No need to worry petal, the climate is controlled, and if somehow you get cold, I'll just tuck you in my chest to warm up."

Lophion filed that away as a potential escape-from-social route as Vetivert began combing his hair with its vines. Then it knocked his legs out from under him with sudden pressure against the back of his knees and caught him as he fell, which seemed to be its favorite way of picking him up. It strode to the door and he protested, "Can't I walk?"

"Oh! I completely forgot shoes" it replied, and went to the compiler, still carrying him. His heart sank as he saw the shoes it pulled out. They were ballet stilletos -- absurdly tall heels that forced the feet into an "en pointe" position. Vetivert set him on the counter and put the shoes on, quickly lacing them tightly up his ankle. At least he wouldn't break his ankles in these -- since he could not flex his feet or ankles at all.

Vetivert stood him on the floor and he teetered and grabbed onto its vines for balance. He took a few tentative steps. "Are you sure you want to walk, petal? You look awfully unsteady."

well yeah I am, now that you've hobbled me! he thought.

"I can get used to it" he insisted.

"Very well, you may try, as long as you don't hurt yourself. Your wobbly tottering is absolutely adorable and your little hands clinging to me is so precious."

Lophion stopped listening, since he was having to concentrate all his effort on staying upright, even with one of Vetivert's vines in each hand. He wanted to give up before he even stepped out of the hab, but he was going to prove he could do it!

They moved slowly out of the hab, Lophion staring at the ground to make sure he didn't trip. Vetivert placed a vine under his chin and forced his head up. "Look around petal! This is your new home." Lophion reached up higher and clung tighter to its vines to keep from falling. He finally looked around.

The light inside the hab made sense now. The faceted, domed roof was speckled with translucent skylights, and gigantic trees stretched up all around. It literally WAS sunlight in an old growth forest -- or simulated sunlight at least. He wondered how old the trees were, and what that said about the age of the spaceship. And the fact that there were no other habs in sight -- what that said about the amount of space that was pure luxury. Sure, the forest had a dense understory, but still, he'd expect to be able to see another building!

A flat, mossy path led away from the hab; it looked soft, but all he could tell with these shoes was that it was easily punctured by heels. Every step was a struggle. Vetivert kept tipping his head back up every time he'd drop it to look where he was walking.

As they slowly moved down the path, the wild-looking brush gave way to a manicured hedge taller than Vetivert that ran as far as he could see in either direction. They went through a gap in the hedge and emerged on a wide street, with the hedge on one side and rows of buildings on the other. Everywhere he looked, there were Affini and their florets. there's a city right here, he thought in amazement. He hadn't realized how much of the noise of cities he'd been in was mechanical and electric. Without the roar of cars, clumsy air circulation devices, and poorly insulated electrical current, there was no cacophony. It was still a bit noisy, but the noises were the sounds of people walking and talking. You could still hear the wind rustle and hum in the enormous trees that cast shade over the entire street.

Vetivert sighed. "I wanted to let you walk, but at this rate we're going to be late. Do you want me to help you walk, or carry you?"

He couldn't imagine how it would help, but he didn't want to be carried, dammit. "Walk," he said.

Vetivert stretched two vines down to his feet, and twined them around the heels of the horrible shoes. It began slithering faster, puppeting his feet to an unnatural stride, like he was a doll being walked by a child. Affini and florets were looking at him and giggling. Realizing that he'd be far less conspicuous if he was carried, he said, "I've changed my mind, Mx. Curio, will you please carry me?"

Vetivert didn't pause. "No, this is fun!" it said with perverse glee. It started lifting his feet even further with each straight-legged stride. He had visions of dolls being made to do the splits and worried the stretching would get too much, but it stopped before that point.

He couldn't really pay too much attention to the surroundings because he was so distracted by the staring and giggling as he was making ridiculous strides without his control, but he did notice that they passed at least three parks, all with playgrounds designed for Terran adults and other florets. He wanted to check them out and try all the unrecognizable equipment that he hadn't seen before. He also smelled so many different food smells from various restaurants, both recognizably Terran and completely alien. He started to feel a little excitement at the idea of getting to try a new cuisine without having to save up for months.

Eventually Vetivert slowed to a stop in front of a transit line. When the train pulled up, it puppeted his feet into the train while lifting the rest of him with vines -- something that was physically impossible for him to actually do since the floor of the train was a good four feet off the ground. Vetivert climbed in and placed him in its lap, leaning against its chest. He closed his eyes and rested against its soft breasts.

"This is us!" said Vetivert as it lifted him up and slithered out of the train. He had hoped it would keep holding him like it was on the train, but it resumed walking him as soon as it hit the ground. He felt humiliated and it just got worse when Vetivert started moving slowly through a very crowded space. Affini petted him whenever he came within reach, without regard to what part of him they were touching. Florets giggled at him being held and walked like a doll, and one Terran tried to imitate his enormous strides, but fell down and started crying. They were immediately scooped up by their owner and comforted.

He felt like this part had been going on for hours, and even looked at his wrist-worn communicator to check, but it had only been three minutes. Why was Vetivert going so slow?? He just wanted to arrive already and stop getting petted by Affini and even some florets, who were drawn to his floral thigh tattoos and wanted to see what they felt like.

At last Vetivert went into a tall building. The enormous lobby was full of sophonts; it was clearly a popular gathering space. Vetivert slithered over to the elevators, puppeting his feet. One sophont patted those in the group they were cuddling with and pointed at him, and they all looked over and giggled and waved. He wanted to dissolve into the floor.

The elevator opened, and Vetivert slithered in. "How did you like the trip, petal?" it said. "It was horrible, so uncomfortable and humiliating!" he burst out. "I hate these shoes and I hate being puppeted and I hate being touched by strangers and I hate being stared at!"

"Reeeeally?" Vetivert slithered a vine down into his underwear and explored -- "What's this then?" it asked as it encircled his erect mini dick and ran a tendril over the tip. He felt it pulse at the touch and gasped, and Vetivert continued lightly caressing the tip, making his whole body twitch as his belly contracted hard. He felt panicked as he watched the numbers flick rapidly on the display. He didn't know which floor they were going to -- it could stop at any time and someone would see him!

"What? Wha, I, don't, what if someone sees?"

"They can look away if they're uncomfortable" it said. "But I think most sophonts would find your little twitches and gasps adorable." It kept stroking him and he closed his eyes and helplessly tried to detach, to keep the arousal from building past the point of no return. Despite his best efforts, he ended up curled over, panting and begging Vetivert to stop, with only Vetivert's vines keeping him from collapsing.

They reached floor 44 and the elevator stopped. To his extreme relief, it pulled the teasing vine back, but as it walked him out of the elevator and down the hall, he felt every millimeter of his swollen lips rubbing against his throbbing little co*ck with each gigantic step, and it was just as arousing as the stroking in the elevator. He focused on slowing his breathing, trying to calm his body.

"Clever petal! Controlling your breath is a great way to bring your body in line. Not that it will work for long, but I'm proud of your ingenuity!"

He felt a mix of pride and dread, overshadowed by arousal.

Vetivert stopped in front of a door and it slid open. An Affini with large, fluffy leaves and fuzzy vines stood there, smiling at them. "Vetivert! And floret! Come in!" Vetivert greeted them in affini with a warm tone, then slithered inside, marching Lophion in as it did so.

The Affini leaned down to put their face on a level with Lophion. "Look at those dilated eyes! You must have had a fun trip!" Lophion blushed as Vetivert chuckled and said "oh yes," petting his belly with a vine and just barely flicking his crotch as it did. Lophion didn't think anyone could have seen that brief flick, but his twitch in response was humiliatingly obvious.

The affini straightened up, still smiling. "I'm Cneorum Zeydora, 17th bloom, he/him. You can call me Mr. Zeydora, petal. You may hear me called Kudzu as well."

"Hello Mr. Zeydora, I'm --

"Lophion Curio, 20th floret, he/him" Vetivert interrupted.

"Welcome, little Lophion! My florets are in the cuddle room, feel free to join them." Kudzu pointed to a doorway nearby, which had slowly changing soft colored lights inside.

Lophion did NOT want to go hang out with more strangers, but did want to sit down. His calves were aching from the stretched pose of his feet.

"Can I go, Mx. Curio?"

"Of course petal! Go make some new friends. I'll give you something to help." Vetivert snaked out a vine with a large flower on the end, and closed it around his face. It puffed at him and he coughed and gasped and breathed in multicolored pollen.

"There you go!" it said as it slowly withdrew its vines from him. He attempted to take a step and stumbled, and Vetivert caught him, laughing. "So clumsy, petal! you adorable bumbler." It lifted him and set him next to the wall, and he placed a hand on it for balance. Leaning on the wall, he was able to gradually make his way to the room with the colorful lights. By the time he reached the doorway, the colors felt like they were petting him in waves, and his dread at meeting new people had evaporated. He felt really good.

Inside the room was a large circular couch, recessed into the floor, with lots of pillows scattered everywhere. The floor above the couch was also padded. In fact there were no hard surfaces he could see, except for the shelves built into two of the walls. On the shelves were a strange assortment of items. Books, which made sense, ear defenders or headphones which he thought was really thoughtful, but also towels, blankets, bottles of some kind of liquid, strange machines, and - sex toys, including some massive dild*s. And impact toys! Oh stars, was cuddle room a euphemism? he wondered. But looking at the florets on the couch, they seemed to be cuddling in a non-sexual way. multipurpose, maybe.

There were four sophonts in the cuddle pile. The terran with cat ears and the beeple both looked blissed out beyond cognition, and the other two looked relatively mentally present, as far as he could tell. One was an absurdly tall Terran (must have come from low-gravity) with antennae and long white hair, and the other was a species he didn't recognize. They had a vaguely Terran form, but they were broader, and instead of legs they had eight tentacles. Their arms looked just as flexible, ending in a hand with a triangle shaped palm and three webbed fingers, the webbing forming almost a circle. They had no hair on their head and their skin was lavender-grey and rubbery-looking. Their ears were round and had a small fin-like frill around them. They did not have a Terran-like nose -- instead they had two flat slits that flexed as they breathed. Their eyes were huge and black, wide-set in their face. Lophion was fascinated and wanted to know all about them, and just barely stopped himself from launching into a bunch of inappropriate questions.

The tall Terran hopped up with surprising grace and offered a hand to Lophion with a flourish.

"Hyacinthe Zeydora, second floret, he/him. Call me Hya!"

Lophion took the hand gratefully, and then took his other when he offered that too. He still almost fell as he hobbled his way into the couch, then sprawled out with relief.

"Lophion, 20th floret, he/him."

The aquatic floret smiled at him and said "Laydekeri Zeydora, first floret, fae/faer. I go by Deki most of the time."

"Yeah only the unlucky get to call faer Laydekeri" added Hya.

"Unlucky?" asked Lophion.

"Well really, the unlucky call faer Queen Laydekeri"

"They're not unlucky" Deki interjected. "I would argue that they're quite fortunate."

"So does that mean you're a switch?" Lophion asked.

Deki's lips twitched. "Not really. I don't have a submissive bone - or cartilage - in my body."

Lophion felt very confused. "But aren't you a floret?"

"Yes. Our owner is... unusual in his preferences. He's a switch, and while he owns me in a legal sense, I own him in an emotional sense."

Lophion had no idea this was possible, and wondered how the f*ck anyone could dominate an Affini.

Hya stretched out his overly lanky body and preened. "and I'm his little f*ckboy" he said, turning his head to touch his chin to his shoulder coquettishly and flicking his eyes upward. Lophion was taken by how long his white eyelashes were, and he wanted to touch them.

"Your tattoos are so beautiful" Deki said.

"Thank you" Lophion muttered, blushing at the acknowledgement that they were so visible.

"Do they have texture?" asked Hya. "They look like they do."

"Um, I guess so, there's a little ridge around the outer edge of the petals."

"Can I feel?" Deki started to shift closer while asking.

what the fuuuuuuuck who asks that??? Lophion thought, but said "um I guess so?"

Deki reached out and faer palm over one of them, then the other. Lophion was already so turned on from the elevator ride that this made him want to squirm, but he held still.

"Oh I see" fae said. "It's very faint."

"Yeah" Lophion breathed, waiting for Deki to remove faer hand.

"Can I look at them close up?" okay that's GOT to be a flirt, thought Lophion, as his heart started pounding. "S-sure" he stammered.

Deki flowed off faer chair and smoothly sank in front of him, between his legs. His breathing quickened as fae looked closely at the tattoos on his inner thighs, stroking the edge of the petals with faer fingers. He worried that fae could smell his arousal.

After a minute, Deki gracefully rose, leaning faer face next to his ear to whisper, "your scent is intoxicating." Fae went back to faer seat and Lophion let out the breath he'd been holding. He realized that he had forgotten where he was and that there were other people around, as he came back to himself. if Deki had asked for anything else, I would have kept saying yes and never stopped, f*ck!

Hya grinned broadly at him. "It's kinda like that" he said. "Deki gets what fae wants."

Lophion blushed and squirmed. does fae want me? because fae can have me, he thought.

A wave of guilt and shame came over him as he wondered if this was a betrayal to think. I'm already owned, and Vetivert puts so much effort into me -- even if some of that effort is definitely things I don't want.

He withdrew into his mind and started scolding himself for being ungrateful, greedy, promiscuous, slu*tty, disloyal. He didn't deserve anything good, Vetivert ought to just put him on class O's and be done with him.

Deki startled him by putting a hand on his knee. "Are you okay, Lophion? Was it okay that I touched you?" fae asked.

Lophion realized he had his arms wrapped around his chest and was rocking back and forth slightly. He forced his arms down by his sides.

"Yes, it was okay, I'm just worried that it would upset Ve -- Mx. Curio."

Deki relaxed and gave a quiet laugh. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that. Mx. Curio enjoys it very much when its florets play with others."

"Yeah but... its not here" and being dominated is different than just being sexual.

"That doesn't matter. I know it enjoys it just the same."

how could you possibly know that, Lophion thought, but said "oh, okay."

"I'll show you" said Deki, picking up faer communicator and typing in a message. After a minute, faer communicator buzzed, and fae grinned and showed the screen to Lophion.

FaeQueenDeki: hey Mx. Curio, I think your new floret is super adorable and I'd love to play with him sometime. I promise I'd give him back in one piece (though maybe a little banged up -- nothing you couldn't fix). Might you be willing to loan him to me?

VCurious: we'd have to discuss particulars first, but that sounds delightful. I'd be happy to loan him out for an afternoon. How's next week?

Chapter 7: "I've got you"

Chapter Text

Lophion reread the reply from Vetivert quickly, then turned it over and over in his mind.

happy to loan him out
A thrill of belonging; he was owned. Arousal; he was property. Pride; Vetivert wanted to show him off. Excitement; he would get to play with Deki.

happy to loan him out
Unexpected freedom; Vetivert didn't mind him connecting with other dominants? Rejection; didn't Vetivert want him enough to feel possessive? Loneliness; did it not feel attached to him like he was starting to feel attached to it? Fear; was he going to be abandoned?

happy to loan him out
Despair; did Vetivert not want him at all? Did it want to get rid of him? Was it tired of him already? What did he do wrong? Had he failed a test by saying yes to Deki? Was it because he said the trip over was horrible? He did feel like it was torture, but he also really loved it if he was honest, but as usual he showed only ingratitude and petulance.

He felt a vine stroke his head, and flinched before realizing it was Vetivert. "Hello pet. Deki let me know you needed me."

Lophion realized he'd been sitting there staring at the wall for who knows how long. Deki and Hya had left the room, and the other two were asleep. Stars this was embarrassing. He just checked out mid conversation. Deki was going to think he didn't like faer, or that he was too incompetent and spacey to play with! He'd ruined everything! It all crashed in and he started to sob. Vetivert scooped him up in its vines and hummed soothingly at him as it slithered with him to another room and closed the door.

"It's okay, my beloved violet, I've got you."

"Yeah but for how long?" he burst out.

It looked surprised. "Are you afraid I won't keep you? Why?"

"Because you just so casually let some other dominant take me away," he wailed.

"Oh petal. You could never be taken away. You are mine, and I don't mind lending you because I know there is no chance that I could lose you. You're always mine, forever. You're my floret. A part of me is with you all the time."

"Are you mad at me for saying that the trip was horrible? It wasn't, really."

Vetivert laughed softly. "Of course not petal, you forget how easily I can read you. I know what you like. I know what you want. I know when you're covering up shame by pretending disgust or discomfort."

"Do you... feel attached to me?"

Vetivert's vines tightened. "I love you, Lophion" it said in a deep rumble. He felt it hit him like a bucket of warm honey, a shock followed by immediate, all over soft flowing warmth. He couldn't even feel doubt, though his scared little mind reached for it. Vetivert loved him. It truly did.

He started to ask if it would get tired of him and stop loving him, but before he could frame the question, it continued in that irrefutable voice, "I will always love you, and it will only increase. It is not possible for it to go away or even decrease because of anything you do. I can stop you from doing anything that would sour me to you, but I can't imagine needing to."

He felt flooded with relief, and a desperate urge to be closer. He put his hands on its chest, between its breasts, and tried to burrow in between the vines. After a second, it realized what he was trying to do and cooed delightedly at him, opening a Lophion-sized opening which he scrambled into and then attempted to pull the vines closed behind him. It chuckled and closed him in.

He looked around and realized he was higher up than when he had previously been inside Vetivert's body. It was brighter, but it wasn't the phosphorescent fungi making it bright. He looked up, and in a loose net of vines he saw a glowing, pulsating light. It was a vivid violet color, but as it pulsed it shimmered with rainbow. It was transparent, with iridescent flashes floating inside.

He had never seen anything so beautiful in his life, and he needed to touch it. He put both hands on it and Vetivert shuddered, so he quickly pulled them back, worried that he'd hurt it. But the glow called him so strongly that he put his hands back on it, and this time he felt Vetivert purr.

With it in his hands, the feeling of needing to be closer to Vetivert rose to a fever pitch. He clasped it to his chest and rubbed his face against it. Vetivert shuddered, and the net holding the glowing object stretched and became loose. Lophion laid down and curled around it, holding it to his chest and rubbing his face on it. He couldn't stop.

It felt so ecstatically good. It felt like pure relief from every fear and sorrow he'd ever felt. It felt like an org*sm for his heart -- but a soft one that went on and on. He never wanted to move. He didn't want to do anything else ever but lay here and hold this, pet it, rub his face on it, touch it with as much of his body as he could.

He needed more skin contact with it. He let it go and as quickly as he could, stripped everything off but the shoes -- he didn't know how to get them off and he wasn't going to waste time on them. He curled back around it, feeling bliss and relief as his thighs, chest, arms, and face could touch it without any filter. He lay there in utter contentment, completely still except for one thumb that kept stroking it, unconsciously.

He wanted to name this feeling, but every word he thought of wasn't exactly it. More specific than love, more intense than happiness, broader than safety...

Home. He was home.

Chapter 8: preparations and proper chewing

Chapter Text

Lophion woke up groggy, and it took a moment to realize where he was. He was on Vetivert's chest, nestled between its breasts, and they were laying in its bed. He remembered they were supposed to be at Mr. Zeydora's hab, and he sat bolt upright.

"Something the matter, petal?"

"How did... uh... why did we leave?"

"Well, touching an Affini's core is often a very intense emotional experience for a floret, and you'd already had an intense day. I really didn't expect you to burrow your way into me like a little piece-hermit*. I decided to reschedule showing you off, and brought you home. You were so sound asleep that you didn't wake up even when I pulled you out."

"Core? That's what that glowy thing is?"

"Yes, it's the equivalent of our mind, the part of us that reblooms."

"Oh." He replayed the conversation in his head, and was struck with guilt and shame that his breakdown had caused Vetivert to lose the event it was looking forward to. "I'm sorry I ruined your day" he said in a small voice.

"You didn't ruin my day, petal. You touching my core was... a beautiful moment for me. After that I didn't feel like focusing on anything but you, alone."

"But you had to reschedule your whole plan."

"It's okay, it's my turn to host next, and my place works better for the plan I have anyway."

"Your turn..?"

"Yes, our little tribe likes to meet about once a week."

"How many sophonts is it?" Lophion felt proud of himself for remembering not to say "people."

"Hm. There's Kudzu and his two florets, Saliceae and her two, and then you have yet to meet Mx. Kantemon Lonicera and its floret, and Mx. Russelia Rhipsalis, though you did share a room with two of their three florets."

"Thirteen? That's so many!" he said with dismay.

"Well, not everyone can make it every time, so it varies from week to week. But they'll probably make the effort for this."

Lophion lapsed into silence, thinking about seeing Arrowroot again.

"Wait a minute, so Arrowroot has been here before? Why did he ask me for a tour then?"

"You'd have to ask him, but I'd imagine he wanted to see your room, or wanted to see how much of the hab you have access to."

"How come I don't have a room?"

"You didn't ask."

"Can I have a room?"

"Of course, petal. Would you like to design it yourself?"

He almost said yes, and then thought about other people seeing it. What if they didn't like how he set it up? He'd never really decorated a room before.

"Not really.."

"You can pick from the example designs I have then."

That idea still made him nervous, but he figured he couldn't f*ck that up too badly. Then he belatedly processed the rest of what Vetivert had said.

"How come I don't have access to those four rooms down the hall?"

"I like to make the introductions to those rooms gradually. But in a few days when we have people over so I can properly show you off, you'll get to see one of them."

Lophion thought that sounded really ominous.

"What do you mean by 'show me off'?" he asked nervously.

"Oh, don't worry about that, petal, you'll enjoy it."

---

Despite Vetivert telling him not to worry, he did hardly anything else for the next few days.

He did manage to pick from the room designs Vetivert showed him, and was hopeful that the result would make a good impression. He chose a design called "art deco" with a lot of geometric shapes to it. He liked the forest design a little more, but it felt too on-the-nose.

He assumed one of the locked rooms was going to be converted to his room, but instead the hab grew walls that cut off part of the living room and part of Vetivert's bedroom, creating a small, pie-slice room between them.

When he first walked in, he realized this wasn't exactly the design he had picked. Instead of a bed, there was a couch and two armchairs. The vanity table and bookshelf were the same, and the walls had the sconces shaped like half-folded hand fans. He walked back out and asked Vetivert why there was no bed, and it smiled at him.

"Because you sleep with me, pet."

His thoughts flicked to Deki, and he thought, "a bed isn't just for sleeping," but said nothing more on it.

For its part, Vetivert seemed to get more excited with each day that passed. Its normally relaxed vines twitched more and more, and the draping succulent strings on its branch-horns turned a brighter green and seemed to get rounder.

Large, mysterious packages arrived at the hab, which Vetivert took into one of the locked rooms without a word, then stayed in there for a while each time. Lophion tried to see in as the wooden door with wrought iron strapping closed, but he couldn't see around Vetivert.

---

On the morning of, Lophion was so nervous and stressed that he didn't have an appetite. It was the first time in a while that his appetite had vanished, and it made him realize that it was no longer normal for him to feel food-repulsed.

He smelled serigla (or seri-berry, as Vetivert told him most florets call it) crumpets frying and felt guilty that he had no appetite. He reluctantly padded to the kitchen and Vetivert lifted him up to the counter height like always.

"Um, I don't think I can eat this morning" he said. "I'm too nervous."

Vetivert heaped a plate and brought the food and Lophion to the table. "I can fix that" it said, and brought a large bloom to Lophion's face. The petals closed around his head and puffed in his face, and he coughed and breathed in. They sat quietly for a moment, as a rush of relaxation filled Lophion. Vetivert combed thin tendrils through his hair, and he shuddered at the sensation as pleasure sparked through his body, especially his crotch.

"Feeling better, petal?"

Lophion realized with amazement that he did. He was so hungry! He stabbed the fork into one, two, three, four pieces of crumpet and shoved it in his mouth. His mouth was so full he could barely chew, and he forgot to count -- instead he swallowed after three hasty chews.

"Lophion!" Vetivert sounded stern, and Lophion flinched. "Apparently you can't feed yourself today."

"No, I can, I totally can, it was just one bite!"

Vetivert pulled the fork from his hand and used vines to pull his hands to his lap. "I can't have you getting a stomachache from swallowing your food whole" it said firmly.

"I will set the pace for you. When I tap your cheek, open your mouth. When I tap your chin, close and start chewing. When I stroke your throat, swallow."

Lophion burned with humiliation. He knew how to eat, dammit! Sure, he had had indigestion a lot more before he started counting his chews around Vetivert, but that was probably more to do with the quality of food, right? He stubbornly kept his mouth closed when Vetivert tapped his cheek.

A sharp pinch on his nipple made him gasp, and Vetivert slid the bite in instantly. He was so shocked he didn't think to move until it tapped his chin. He thought about spitting it out, but it tasted so good and he was so hungry! He started chewing and almost swallowed too soon, but caught himself just in time, chewing more until Vetivert stroked his throat.

"Goooood boy," Vetivert purred. He felt his heart leap at the praise. The next bite, he focused on following the signals perfectly. He wanted to be good for Vetivert. It hummed with approval as it continued feeding him, and by the time it finished, he felt both satisfied and giddy.

"Let's get you dressed," it said, bringing him over to the compiler. He waited, his giddiness fading somewhat as it mixed with dread. Vetivert spoke to the compiler and removed a stack of clothing, which it handed to him. He didn't bother to look at it before going to his new room to change.

It was a relief to have a private space to change, at least. No more staring. He laid the clothing out on his couch and frowned at another pair of frilly underwear and a clingy jumpsuit. "Why can't I ever get something NORMAL! Ugh." The blue jumpsuit seemed surprisingly simple and nearly opaque, though it was super clingy and fit like a second skin. Once dressed, he surveyed himself in the mirror, and realized with horror that the color of the jumpsuit was changing. Around the hotter parts of his body, it was turning green, then yellow, then orange. As he watched, the areas over his crotch and nipples turned bright red, and his face soon followed. There was absolutely no hiding arousal in this outfit, and for some inexplicable reason that was making him wet.

He left his room and saw Vetivert sitting on its bed, smiling at him.

"I see you like your new jumpsuit" it said with a smirk.

Chapter 9: introductions and a colorful welcome

Chapter Text

Vetivert ordered him to spin, and he reluctantly did so. "Hm, I think I'd like it better without those" it said thoughtfully. Two vines slithered up under his jumpsuit and cut the side straps of the underwear, while another went up between his legs and pulled out the scrap of fabric. Lophion felt somehow more exposed, even though the underwear hadn't hidden anything, and he clasped his hands over his crotch instinctively.

"Perfect" it said. "Now, I have a choice for you. For the event today, I've prepared a blend of D-e, to disinhibit expression of emotion, mixed with A and a little extra E, with just a touch of M and C.* That will help with the anxiety and allow everyone to get to know you more easily, and help you be open."

"No thank you" said Lophion hastily.

"That's not the choice, pet. You have a choice about how I administer it. I tend to prefer aerosols, but for longer lasting effects, an injection is necessary. Would you prefer a needle or needleless?"

Lophion had frozen at the reference to injection, but relaxed at the option for no needle. The Affini must have some high-tech device he'd never heard of, he guessed.

"No needle! Definitely needleless."

Vetivert smiled in a way that made him feel he'd chosen the wrong answer. "That's my preference too, pet. You're so perfect."

It slithered off the bed and coiled around him, tipping him backwards and bringing its huge face next to his. His heart started pounding, and he felt the most intense urge to run, but he was so firmly bound he couldn't even flinch. It tipped his head and looked at his neck, and he felt an animal panic telling him he was about to die. "No no no no no" he started whimpering frantically. It ignored him, and flipped him over.

Vetivert lowered its head and opened its jaws wide, then ever so gently closed them on the side of his neck. He was relieved; maybe this wouldn't be painful after all.

Then Vetivert started gradually increasing the pressure, and sharp pain came with it. Its fangs felt like shards of glass pressing into his neck. He started whimpering again, as it got more and more intense until he felt a pair of small pops. Then the pain was somewhat relieved, but the pressure was still there. It started to feel good, like the bites he remembered his Terran ex giving him. He relaxed.

A flash of heat flooded his body as he felt a strange pouring sensation inside his neck. The heat-sensitive jumpsuit responded, flashing green over all the blue areas and fading back to blue. He felt a deep sense of relaxation and moaned contentedly.

Vetivert slowly withdrew its fangs and licked the round wounds with its forked tongue before flipping him back over. "Feeling better, pet?"

"Yes" he whispered. "I feel really good all over." He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of being held so close.

"Goooood boy," it purred, laying him down on the bed. "Now you lay here and relax until everyone gets here and settled, then I'll bring you in."

Lophion knew that he ought to feel anxious at that idea, but the feeling just didn't come up. Laying perfectly still, he felt like he was wrapped up in warm soft clouds. Vetivert handed him a fuzzy blanket, and he brought it to his face and began slooowly stroking his face with it. Vetivert looked at him, smiling, and tapped its cheek several times. It seemed to do that when it thought he was being especially cute.

He overheard voices -- Affini, Terran, some others, and Deki. He hadn't realized before how distinctive Deki's voice was. A low, sing-songy sound, with all faer words drawn out. It made his heart skip a beat, but instead of feeling anxious he felt -- excited? He didn't feel a desire to run and hide, but actual anticipation of getting to see Deki again. He almost sat up, but decided that he was too comfortable, and he'd just wait for Vetivert.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Vetivert came in and beamed at him. "Such a good boy! You just lay there patiently like you were told. I'm so proud of you." He felt a flush of pride with only a little guilt at not having made the choice for the reason Vetivert thought.

It scooped him up in its arms and carried him into the room with the iron-strapped wooden door. As it slithered inside the room, he looked around. The ceiling was high, and the walls looked like stone. In the center of the room was a rectangular table with terran-height seats around it, and another circle of chairs around that which were Affini sized. Above it was a wide, glowing concave sphere of light, making the table brightly lit but without glare. In the large seats sat four Affini, two he'd met and two he hadn't, and in the smaller seats sat Arrowroot, Aster, Deki, Hya, the cat-ears Terran, the Beeple, a Rinan, and a Quinoth.

Lophion assumed the table was for eating on, until Vetivert laid him on it and he realized it was cushioned. Vetivert touched buttons on the side and it shifted so that he was in a lounging position, his back elevated and knees slightly up.

He grabbed hold of one of Vetivert's vines and blurted "I want to know what's going to happen!" Vetivert stroked his head and smiled. "I'm showing you off, pet, I already told you!"

"I'm scared!"

"I know pet, that's normal, but it's okay."

Arrowroot sat next to his right shoulder, and he leaned over and murmured, "Do you want me to go first?"

Lophion's panic was almost breaking through the chemical suppression. But of anyone, he felt most sure that Arrowroot cared what happened to him. "Yes, please" he whispered.

Arrowroot stood up and introduced himself, which made Lophion incredibly confused. He slowly stammered out his own name and he laughed "you don't have to introduce yourself, silly. Just relax!"

Arrowroot began to run his fingers over his body, and it felt so amazing he closed his eyes and moaned. In the back of his mind, he felt shocked at his own willingness to moan aloud, but he didn't stop. Arrowroot stroked his arms, his legs, his belly, his neck, his hair. Arrowroot avoided his crotch and chest, but Lophion could feel his body reacting. One of the Affini voices cooed and said "oh look, he's starting to light up!" His eyes flew open and he looked down at himself. The jumpsuit was changing color, yellows coming back in to the areas that had faded to green after he got dosed into relaxation. Arrowroot held his face in his hands and smiled at him, then kissed him. It was an incredibly sweet kiss, and it felt amazing. He felt a little dizzy when he stopped and sat back down. He heard Saliceae praise Arrowroot and an unknown Affini commented on how adorably loopy Lophion looked after the kiss.

"Say thank you, Lophion" Vetivert ordered.

"Thank you" he murmured, barely audible. Arrowroot smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

Aster stood up quickly and said "Now me!" They moved close to Lophion's face and said "hiiii Lophion! You already know me so I'm going to just give you some options. Do you want something sexy or something painful?"

Lophion thought pain might be less embarrassing to experience in front of a group of strangers. "Um, painful I guess, but can you go gentle please?"

"Sure, baby! I'll give you the warm-up!" Aster walked over to the wall, opened a cabinet, and came back with a suede flogger. They gently flogged Lophion's thighs, which stung for the first few smacks and then just started to feel warm and heavy. "Would you turn him over, Mx. Curio?"

Lophion started to turn over himself and realized it was too much work. All his limbs felt so heavy. Vetivert scooped him up, pressed more buttons on the table, and then laid him on his stomach. Now the table sloped down from the center in both directions, poking his ass up in the air. Aster giggled and caressed his ass before beginning to flog again. They flogged his back, butt, and upper thighs, as Lophion started to feel almost sleepy with relaxation. The soft heaviness of the flogger felt more good than painful. Aster finished up with a hard smack on his ass, and then exclaimed happily.

"Oh my stars! I love this jumpsuit! I made a handprint!" they sang out.

Saliceae cooed and said "yes you did! Such a beautiful print! What a talented little sad*st you are!" Lophion blushed and almost wished he could see. Vetivert lifted him up again and readjusted the table, then set him back down. "Oooohh, you liiiike that flogger huh?" teased Aster. Lophion realized with dismay that not only had the jumpsuit turned orange over his crotch in almost a perfect outline, but he'd dripped onto it, and the jumpsuit was glittery where the drips had fallen.

Aster looked into his eyes, leaning over so that their large breasts draped across Lophion's chest. "Too bad you didn't pick sexy," they grinned. They stroked their breasts across Lophion's chest a little before standing up. Lophion felt a little regretful about that too, but at least he hadn't been moaning, he told himself.

Vetivert poked Lophion's shoulder as Aster sat back down and relaxed into praise and petting from Saliceae. Lophion was confused by the poke for a second and then blurted out "thank you" and Aster giggled. "You're welcome baby," they said.

The terran with cat ears stood up as Aster sat. "I'm Jingles Rhipsalis, she/her, second floret!" she chirped. "Do you want a hand massage or a headrub?" Lophion knew his hands were going to be way too sensitive, so he chose headrub. As Jingles came up to his head, he noted that she had a long swishy cat tail, as well, and her head hair seemed more like fur.

Jingles sank her hands into Lophion's hair and he moaned loudly, then clapped his hand over his mouth. "None of that, pet," said Vetivert, wrapping a vine around each wrist and forcing his arms to his sides. As Jingles continued to run her claws lightly along Lophion's scalp in small scritches, he moaned again and again, amazed at how incredible the sensations were. He'd had nearly-org*smic headrubs before, but on these drugs it was practically an out of body experience. He kept getting shivers throughout his whole body, and his eyes closed as he forgot about anything else and drifted in the feeling. When Jingles stopped, everyone clapped. She skipped back to her seat, jumped on to it, and bowed dramatically. Lophion couldn't help but smile at Jingle's happy pride, despite his embarrassment.

Embarrassment which only increased when he noticed that even though the orange had faded to yellow, the glittery patch on his jumpsuit had grown. He wanted to use his hands to cover himself but that was no longer an option. Vetivert poked him again and he immediately said thanks.

The Rinan stood up. "Bitsy Rhipsalis, he/him, third floret. I'll rub your feet" he said brusquely, grabbing one of them.

"No, I --" Lophion started to say, but was cut off.

"Accept the gift, petal," ordered Vetivert, and Lophion closed his mouth tightly. He would use his willpower to keep from making noise, he could do it, the drugs were probably wearing off by now right?

As Bitsy began rubbing his feet, he realized he probably hadn't even reached the peak of the drugs yet. He could not stop himself from moaning, then whimpering, then panting. As Bitsy moved to his other foot, he started to squirm and rub his thighs together, feeling desperate, whining. He knew he was dripping wet. The Affini cooed and through a haze he heard Saliceae say, "Awww look at him, so needy! So responsive! Just precious!"

Finally Bitsy stopped and everyone applauded again. Lophion opened his eyes and watched him silently climb onto his chair.

"Thank you" he said before Vetivert could poke him again. "Goooood boy" it purred.

Bitsy looked at him with a smug satisfaction, then closed his eyes as his Affini stroked his head and said "oohhh look, you made his jumpsuit turn so red over his crotch! And he's so glittery with wetness." Lophion wished he could hide his face at least, but the most he could do was squirm his hips a bit and turn his face away.

The beeple came up close to his face before saying "Ziffi Rhipsalis, they/them, third floret. I'll hold your hand." They picked up one of his hands in two of their - paws? Lophion wasn't sure what their fuzzy little graspers at the end of their limbs should be called. Lophion looked at Ziffi and they gazed at him and he felt his eyes prick with tears for some reason. It seemed to be a really long time and no time at all when they went back to their seat. Their Affini looked positively bursting with pride, vines curling and twitching as it petted Ziffi.

"Thank you" Lophion murmured, this time meaning it.

Hya stood up. "You already know me," he said. "Mx. Curio, would you hold him forward so I can climb up behind?" Vetivert's vines pulled Lophion forward as it lowered the leg section to flat. Hya climbed on the table behind him, so that he had one leg on either side of him, and wrapped his arms around him, tightly. He shuddered at the warmth of his arms and his body against his back. Hya held him tight, and after a moment he felt himself relax into it, leaning his head back against his chest. He hummed a quiet tune and rocked him slightly for a little while, then climbed down. Vetivert took hold of Lophion's wrists again.

"Thank you" he said, smiling at Hya. He smiled back and waggled his antennae and giggled as Kudzu picked him up and lavished him with petting.

An insectoid sophont stood up. It had a short body with disproportionately long legs, a semi crystalline carapace, an oblong head, large speckled eyes, and long, horn-like antennae that stretched up and slightly back. Its back was shaped like a shield, and its colors were incredible. It clicked, and a voice synthesizer translated: Mulodi Lonicera, it/its, first floret.

Without further comment, the quinoth climbed up on the table and stood over Lophion. He felt distant terror, but minimized enough through his drugged haze that he just stared. Mulodi began to do a complex dance, fluttering its wings, unfolding and stretching its forelimbs, swaying its body. He was mesmerized, his terror evaporating as he became overwhelmed with the beauty and grace of its movements. The bold colors of its body created a variety of patterns as it moved its limbs at different angles. It wasn't until it stopped moving and leapt off of the table that he realized he was crying at the sheer beauty of the complex dance.

"Thank you" he said, sniffling. It gave a little bow of its head and settled next to its Affini, who laid a vine across its back and clicked at it. Even without translation, the sense of pride came through.

Then Deki rose.

Lophion's gaze locked on to Deki, who gracefully flowed up the table with faer tentacles. Faer lavender-grey skin shone with iridescence where the light hit it, and faer eyes glimmered as fae smiled at Lophion. Fae moved forward over Lophion's body until fae was poised above his lap, but not touching Lophion at all. Fae leaned forward, a small smile on faer full lips, and said, "what do you want, Lophion?"

Lophion mumbled sounds that might have been intended to be words, and fae smirked. "I'm going to need actual words," fae said in a sterner tone. "Whatever you want" blurted Lophion. Deki's smile widened. Fae gripped the jumpsuit he was wearing and ripped it open, moved backwards and ripped it again down one leg, then down the other, completely exposing Lophion's body. Lophion gasped and flinched, squirming at the exposure. Deki placed tentacles one at a time across Lophion's thighs, belly, and chest as he whimpered at the contact. Once fae was spread out with five tentacles across Lophion, fae began to tighten the suckers one at a time, in slow ripples. Lophion began to whimper and pant.

The squeezing of the suckers felt like he was being pinched or lightly bitten, though it looked like nothing was happening when he looked down at the tentacles across his skin. Deki began increasing the length and intensity of each pull with faer suckers, and Lophion's whimpers got louder. Deki began to gently stroke Lophion's nipples, very lightly running faer ribbed palm across his chest. Lophion closed his eyes and unconsciously began thrusting his hips, and his whimpers of pain mixed with whines of desire.

Deki wrapped a hand around Lophion's throat, and his eyes flew open in panic. Deki leaned so close to his face that he felt like he was swimming in Deki's eyes, they were so huge. This close, he could see that they weren't just black, but many concentric circles of near-black colors. He blurted out "please, please, please."

"Please, what?"

"Please, Queen Laydekeri"

Deki laughed, a deep, bell-like laugh. "I meant, what are you begging for?"

"I, I, I don't know" Lophion gasped, as the pain from the suckers got more intense.

Deki's hand tightened at the sides of his neck, restricting his blood flow without restricting his breathing. Fae gradually increased the pressure, and Lophion began to feel his lips and between his eyes go numb and tingle. He started to panic, chest heaving as he tried in vain to get more oxygen to his brain. Deki didn't let up, and his vision began to narrow.

Then Deki released his throat and he felt the blood rush again, and he started crying. Deki placed a hand on his face and asked, "Do you want to stop?" He shook his head. He never wanted this to stop. He wanted Deki to f*cking ruin him, shred him. He couldn't think about anything but Deki. He'd forgotten he was on a table that might as well be a stage, in front of a whole group of strangers.

Deki smirked and went back to gently stroking Lophion's nipples with both palms, but instead of using faer suckers to squeeze his body, fae began to give slaps with faer tentacles at slow intervals. Lophion cried out with each one, louder as they got more intense.

Finally, Deki stopped slapping him, and he opened his eyes. Staring into his eyes, Deki began squeezing his nipples, and leaned faer body forward, brushing against his crotch. Lophion began bucking his hips to rub his crotch against Deki, who stayed just barely far away enough that he could never get a satisfying rub. He began whining loudly, and Deki smirked at him and said "I love making you desperate." Lophion whined even more and bucked harder, hoping his desperation would earn him release. Instead, Deki squeezed harder and harder on his nipples, until he stopped moving because the pain was so all-consuming. Then in one swift movement, Deki leaned back and slapped his c*nt, and he screamed and came, his body convulsing with spasm after spasm as he squirted.

Deki lifted faerself to the side of Lophion's body and wrapped faer arms around Lophion's shoulders, stroking his face. Lophion gazed at faer in awe and whispered "thank you... Deki," wanting to use faer title but not sure if he was allowed to.

"Looks like you like pain quite a lot for such a sweet little thing," fae said with a little laugh.

Then Vetivert used thorns to slice the shoulder straps of the jumpsuit, the last bit of fabric holding it on, and pulled it out from under him. It wrung the jumpsuit like a rag, pouring Lophion's cum on his belly. Lophion jumped at the sensation and then felt shock and horror as he saw the source of it. He wanted to leap away, but Vetivert was pinning him in place with vines.

Lophion cried out in anger and humiliation. It was bad enough to put him on display and make him come in front of everyone, but then to pour his own cum on him and make him lay there with with it dripping down his sides??

"This is too much!" he whined.

Vetivert stroked his hair and said, "I'm the judge of that, petal. But you're doing such a good job. I'm so proud of my perfect little slu*t." Lophion didn't feel any less humiliated, but it was tempered a little by the warm praise.

Deki climbed down and Lophion felt bereft without faer touch, but that was quickly replaced by apprehension as the four other affini joined Vetivert in standing next to the table. He felt, on a visceral level, just how small and fragile he was compared to them.

One with a body made of long grasses with red blossoms and stems which looked like some kind of cactus smiled at him and said "Russelia Rhipsalis, 22nd bloom, they/them." what the f*ck why are they introducing themself RIGHT NOW?!? he thought. On the other side, an Affini made of smooth, peeling bark, thin vines and soft leaves with blue berries scattered throughout said "Kantemon Lonicera, 10th bloom, it/its."

Now can I go? he thought and groaned with frustration and embarrassment.

All five affini reached out a vine with a bloom on the end, and puffed a colored pollen onto his belly in various spots, as he stared in disbelief. Vetivert then took a vine and ran it through the cum and colored powder, making some kind of abstract design. From below the table, it pulled out a large strip of thin, flexible material, and laid it across his belly, patting all of the cum into it. When it pulled up the material, nothing was left on his skin, and he was grateful for that small mercy.

Vetivert held up the material and beamed. "Lophion's first painting! This is going on the wall in the living room."

Chapter 10: aftercare, a gift, and research

Chapter Text

Lophion burst into tears and Vetivert instantly swept him up in its vines. "My little Lophion has hit his limit for the day, friends," it said, gesturing towards the door. As the guests began to meander towards the door, it quietly asked Lophion, "Do you want any of the florets to stay overnight with you? I made sure they'd be available."

Lophion, still weeping, considered asking for Deki, but then realized that he didn't know what that would look like and the unknown was too hard. He shook his head.

Vetivert bundled him up completely, covering his body and shielding his face as it made its goodbyes to the guests. They called out farewells to Lophion but he didn't respond.

After they left, Vetivert took Lophion to get ready for bed, brushing his teeth, bathing him, and changing him into pajamas. He had no energy to protest the new intimacies, and anyway, he was glad that he didn't have to do it. He felt wrung out. He was asleep in its arms before Vetivert even put them both in bed.

---

The next morning, Lophion woke up with a headache and a -- soul ache? Something like? He felt an unnameable yearning and loneliness. He hadn't felt loneliness like this since -- before Vetivert took his home. He reached out for a vine, but none were there, and he felt abandoned. How could it leave him right now? He pulled a pillow to his chest and sobbed.

A loud rustle thrummed into the room and Vetivert was suddenly all around him, forming a dome over his body as he lay curled up, and stroking his head and back.

"I'm so sorry you woke up alone, petal. You seemed like you'd be sleeping a good while longer and I didn't want to disturb you." Lophion turned to face it, wrapped his arms around its neck, and cried harder, this time with relief. In the back of his mind, he'd been worried that he did something wrong at the event and it was mad at him. After he wept himself calm, Vetivert pulled him back to look into his face.

"In your history there are some experiences of heavy masoch*stic scening. Do you know what "sub-drop" is?"

Lophion nodded. "Yeah but I never had that problem before."

"Deeply emotional play is often far more intense after the fact. I intend to help you process those emotions today and make you feel safe, taken care of, and loved. Tell me some ways I could bring you comfort."

"I don't know, can't you pick what to do?"

"Lophion," it said sternly. "Take a moment and reflect. Understand that I will do anything in my power for you, and make a guess."

Lophion snarled and crossed his arms, prompting Vetivert to rumble and its head-branches to twitch in a way he associated with its amusem*nt. The amusem*nt distracted him from his reluctance to think about it, and then Vetivert started petting his head, running thin vines through his hair. Soothed, he decided to give it his best effort, and thought about things that brought him comfort.

The first thing that came to mind was chocolate. Then coffee. Then being in Vetivert's chest. He looked at Vetivert's face and felt its curiosity like it was his own. It was a shocking sensation -- a sudden transplant of emotion. this must be what it was talking about with feeling each others feelings because of the implant, he thought with wonder.

Vetivert interrupted by waving a vine in front of his face. "Oh Looooophion!" it said in a singsong tone. "Oh! Yeah. Well. Things that help me feel good are chocolate, and coffee, and... um... being-in-your-chest," he finished all in a rush.

Vetivert beamed. "Excellent job, petal! You did such good self reflection! Good boy!"

Lophion blushed and couldn't help wriggling a little and grinning widely at the enthusiastic praise.

"After breakfast, I will take you to get chocolate and coffee, while you relax in my chest."

"I don't have to... be social?"

"No, pet, today is a day for you to rest. No social unless you ask for it and I think you have the energy for it."

"Um, also, I have a headache."

"Oh that's sad, petal, I'm sorry you're suffering."

Lophion was taken aback for a moment, hearing this as "No, I won't help." Then he remembered.

"Mx. Curio, may I have some medicine to make my headache go away?"

"Goooood boy," it purred. "Yes you may. Take a deep breath," it said as it put a blossom in his face. He breathed in and coughed and his headache immediately lessened. A moment later and it was entirely gone.

"It's like magic!" he said to himself. As his headache lifted, it was replaced by a growl in his belly. He wanted food NOW!

"Mx. Curio, can I have something really quick today? I'm starving."

"Good boy!" with head strokes. "Yes, I'll compile something. What would you like?"

---

When they finished breakfast, Lophion slid off of Vetivert's lap and then turned to face it, feeling eager to be in its chest again. Impulsively, he put his arms up like he'd seen Aster and Arrowroot do, and Vetivert froze. He'd never seen it go totally still before and he worried he'd offended it somehow, but then it swept him up and rubbed its face on his belly, with a loud, happy hum.

"You beautiful, perfect little thing! I can't believe you just asked for uppies! I need to get tear grafts because if I had them I absolutely would have cried at how precious that was!"

Lophion felt a little embarrassed but happy to have made Vetivert so happy, and also an instantly transplanted happiness that Vetivert was feeling. This feeling someone else's feelings thing is gonna be confusing, he thought.

---

Vetivert left the hab with Lophion tucked inside its chest, blissfully hugging its core. It hadn't even made him change to super skimpy clothes -- he was just in his full-coverage loose pajamas. But that didn't last long because just like last time, he needed maximum skin contact. He stripped and settled back down, feeling a purr from Vetivert as he nuzzled his face against its core.

He became a bit alert when he heard Vetivert enter a shop, and he smelled an overpowering chocolate scent. His curiosity won, and he tugged a vine. Without opening its chest, Vetivert asked, "yes, Lophion?"

"Can I have a window? I want to pick!"

Vetivert rumbled with amusem*nt and opened a small area between its breasts, with a little awning over it to make it more difficult for others to see him. He sat crosslegged behind the window, which was just large enough for his face, and looked out.

An affini nearby looked over, cooed and said "awwww is your floret in there?" Lophion ducked, then realized that the question meant it couldn't see him, and peeked out again. Vetivert spoke in Affini and the affini nodded and went back to shopping.

Lophion looked at the shelves again. He was awed by the sheer variety, including so many flavors he'd never heard of. "Mx. Curio, I can't decide, can you pick out a bunch of dark chocolate kinds for me to try? No nuts, salt, or caramel!"

"Goooood boy," it purred, and he felt like he was going to pass out from the intensity of hearing that while so close to its core. He quit paying attention and curled up with the core again, and Vetivert closed the "window."

He must have blissed out again because it was the smell of coffee that brought him back to alertness. "Holy sh*t, this smells so much better than every coffee I've ever tasted. It's like the coffee died and was reincarnated as an angel! Lemme see!" He tugged on a vine impatiently and Vetivert opened a window again. He looked out and this time, he knew exactly what he wanted despite the dizzying array of options. "Turkish coffee! With extra cardamom -- and add cinnamon!" Soon, Vetivert handed him a beautiful ceramic mug of coffee. He assumed that meant they'd be staying there while he drank it, but soon Vetivert was moving again. When they entered the hab, he thought to himself "we're home."

---

Later, after Lophion had inhaled the best coffee of his life, and tried 16 of the 30 different chocolates Vetivert had gotten, he curled up on its chest with one arm stretched inside, petting its core. It purred as he did so, and he felt deeply relaxed and content.

"Do you have any questions about yesterday, petal?"

He squeezed his eyes to refresh them, and pulled his arm out so he could concentrate. "Yeah, so many. Starting with, why???"

"Why what?"

"Why did you set that up, why did they all do it?"

"When one of us takes a new floret, we always do this. Usually it happens after you've met everyone at least once, but I didn't want to wait longer."

"But why though"

"It helps with bonding between our florets, and it helps a new floret feel connected or at least feel connection possibilities. It eases some of the culture shock. And it is always the most beautiful, precious performance. An absolute treasure."

"Why do you want your florets to bond?"

"Because collaborations are fun, silly pet."

Lophion gave up on that line of questioning. He fell silent.

Vetivert then asked, "so how did you feel about the evening, petal?"

Lophion waved his hands helplessly. "Lots of stuff? I dunno!"

Vetivert rumbled and said "I should have asked a more specific question. But first -"

It stuck a flower in his face and the puff made him cough as usual.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes very much, it was almost certainly the most amazing experience of my life," he blurted, and then looked chagrined.

"I expected as much. What was your favorite part?"

His answer surprised them both: "It's a three way tie -- Deki, and Arrowroot, and Mulodi."

"Why Arrowroot?"

"Because he made me feel safe. Well, as safe as I could feel in that situation."

"And Mulodi?"

"Its dance was so beautiful, I didn't know dance could be like that!"

"And Deki?"

He stared off for a minute, no words coming up. When he looked back at Vetivert, it was grinning.

"What?!?"

"When you think about Deki, you smile a little and blush and squirm and your heart rate jumps up. It's as obvious as if you're saying Deki-deki-deki-deki-deki-deki-deki-deki."

Lophion hid his face in his hands and grumbled, then peeled his hands away to ask,

"Is that... okay? That I like Deki? ... a lot?"

"Of course petal! Terrans are social creatures -- you need more than just an owner. From my observations, most of you need at least two additional sophonts to be close to, and many of you need an additional wider circle of connections."

"Well I mean, I think I like faer as more than a friend. More than a lover. Like... I think, maybe, I might... I might want faer to own me or something."

"I'm good at sharing, petal, don't fret."

Lophion stared into the distance, processing. "Really? But like, you own me, isn't that a conflict?"

"Like I said before, you are mine, and I am willing to loan you to sophonts I trust if it will increase your happiness or growth. It is always temporary, because you are my floret, and I am your owner."

Lophion nodded, content with that answer for the moment.

"Uh, this feels like a weird question to ask, but what is Deki? Is fae a biomodded Terran or...?"

"Deki is not a Terran. Fae is a Ocythoen. They're an aquatic race that we domesticated a long time ago. It is unusual for them to live on a non-aquatic ring, but then, many things are unusual about Deki."

"Like fae owning faer owner?" Lophion giggled at the paradox.

"Exactly like," Vetivert smiled.

"Is it, uh, rude to ask like, about what sex fae is? Or if fae has sex? Or... I have so many questions!"

Vetivert shook its head with a click. "I just realized I forgot to give you a present!"

Wow, okay, I guess that topic is dropped, must be really rude I guess, he thought.

Vetivert sat him down on the couch and went into one of the locked rooms. It came back with two items -- a tablet, and an intricate bracelet.

"I've been meaning to give you a replacement for your old wrist-worn communicator, which can't connect here and is basically just a timepiece. This one has a much larger holographic display, but for the sake of protecting your eyes from strain you should still use the tablet if you're spending more than a few minutes on it."

Lophion took the bracelet and tablet with a sense of awe. He'd never gotten new, top-of-the-line tech before, but even the stuff he'd seen and envied didn't look this good.

The bracelet was a wrist cuff made of intricately woven silver framing an oval digital screen. He put it on and it closed with a small click. When he pushed the mushroom-shaped button on the side, a holographic screen popped up. His old wrist-worn communicator had a 2 inch square holographic screen, and this one had a one foot square screen. Absolutely massive. The oval digital screen was so crisp and easy to read, as well.

Vetivert took the tablet back and tapped through a menu. "Here! I set it up keyed to you -- you can change your username. By default it is VetivertCurioFloret1. You already have connection requests!"

"Also you can search the overnet of course, to find answers for your questions about Deki without making faer feel awkward or uncomfortable. Anything you can't find answers to, you can ask me if you're worried it's rude to ask faer."

Lophion felt relieved. It wasn't too rude to want to know.

He went to change his username, but hesitated because he didn't want to use the same one he'd used for so many years. He decided on VioletSpryte, then looked at the connection requests and smiled -- Arrowroot and Deki had both sent requests. He accepted them, and opened up an overnet search.

"Mx. Curio, how do you spell the race name?"

"O c y t h o e n," it replied. "I'll leave you to your research, petal, you can get my attention anytime by tapping the leaf on your bracelet."

He looked at the bracelet and noticed a silver leaf to the left of the screen. On the right side of the screen was a silver flower. "Wait, what does the flower do?"

"That's for recreational xenodrug release. I left it empty for now, but let me know if you want me to add something."

Satisfied, he went back to his search, muttering to himself.

"Ocythoen... ohs-eye-though-en... aquatic race, 8 tentacles forming lower body, two upper tentacles for grasping, which end in 3-fingered circular hands, hairless, yes obviously... hermaphroditic? Wow. Ovipositor, oh my stars... venom glands?? Neurotoxins!?! some class M and class S* xenodrugs are synthesized from ocythoen tetrodotoxin...? f*ck!"

He set down the tablet and stared off. It's one thing to FEEL like you're gonna die when you're playing with someone, it's a whole other thing to know that they literally have a venom gland RIGHT THERE that can make your whole body shut down in less than two minutes.

After his curiosity won out over his fear, he picked up the tablet to read more. But the rest of the information read the same -- all physical description, nothing about their culture, relationship styles, or sex habits. He tried searching for more info on other sites, but the rest were all clearly Affini describing their pets, because it was useless streams of synonyms for "cute" with basically no real content.

Experimentally, he tapped the leaf on his bracelet. "Yes, Lophion?" Vetivert's voice projected from the bracelet. "Um, I have some questions that I can't answer with the overnet," he said. "Can you come talk to me?"

He could feel its pride as it said, "certainly, pet. Good job asking for what you want."