Chapter 5 Confrontations Abound
Chapter 5: Confrontations Abound
Delaney noticed that they were flying in the direction of the apartment building, not toward the outskirts of the city where her parents lived. She craned her neck to look up at Praxus. “I thought we were going to take the datapad and comm unit back to my mom…” She trailed off, confused.
Praxus reached out with a vine and pet Delaney’s hair. “We will,” Praxus continued petting Delaney, who sighed and relaxed a bit. “I want to check on every one before we go over there. We need to see how Natalie and Iris got on today.”
Having Praxus petting her still felt strange, but it was not really any different than when Natalie would do it as she tried to fall asleep. “Ok…” Delaney turned her attention outside the canopy of the Camassia. “Probably wouldn’t hurt to check on Lilly and Kirsten too.”
“We will be touching down here in a few.” Praxus manipulated the controls. “I’ve been talking to your siblings' owner,” The craft descended and gently settled onto the roof next to the Nepeta. “We have permission from her owner to tell your parents that your sibling is still alive, but nothing more than that. They are still trying to figure out if they would like to have a conversation with your parents or not.” Praxus opened the canopy and without sitting Delaney on the roof of the building, climbed out of the shuttle and entered the building.
“Would it be,” Delaney paused as they entered the stairwell, blinking a few times in the relative darkness after they had entered. “Would it be possible to start referring to my sibling with a name, even if it's one that isn’t correct now?” She glanced up at Praxus’ face, her eyes glowing a very slight purple color.
Praxus glanced down at the relatively small Terran in her vines. “We will start using her name, once I have received the ok to inform you of it.” She smiled, the smile both disarming and threatening at the same time. “We will not, however, use a name that is one that a sophont is not using for themselves any longer.”
Delaney couldn’t shake the tone that Praxus’ voice had taken; it was stern but loving. She knew that her voice often sounded similar when she had to get a point across to Lilly and Kirsten. “Yes, Mis—“ Delaney stopped herself from finishing the word, starting to blush. “Yes, Ma’am”
“That’s a good girl.” Praxus cooed, exiting the stairwell on the fourth floor and heading toward the apartment. When they entered, Ophelia and Nova were holding Kirsten and Lilly in the air with their vines, allowing them to ‘fly’ around the living room, chasing each other. Both were giggling up a storm and having a blast; Kirsten saw Delaney first.
“Mommy!” She shouted, and without missing a beat, the vines that held her aloft flew her over and let Delaney give her a kiss on the forehead. A few seconds later, Lilly came flying in and a kiss was planted on her forehead as well. She flew away after the kiss, giggling. Iris sat in the living room just watching the scene unfold.
“Where’s Mama?” Delaney asked, guessing she was somewhere in the apartment.
“She’s in her office,” Iris’s voice came from the living room. “Insisted on continuing working in there after we got back from the office. How was your day?”
“Eh…” Delaney shrugged. “Only had one person walk out on us, but I feel like I didn’t get much done because…” She shot a glance at Praxus. “Someone kept insisting I take a break every two hours.” The thought trailed off as Delaney kept looking at Praxus, her feelings on the matter showing on her face.
“Terrans have a history of working themselves to death,” Praxus intoned, vines gesturing wildly. “I am not going to have my future first and second florets work themselves into the ground.” Delaney glared at Praxus; It was intended to be a stern, defiant response. "You know, you Terrans are so cute when you're angry."
“Can we go in my office?” Delaney started walking toward her home office. Praxus shrugged and followed Delaney into her office, closing the door. Delaney sat in her chair and turned to face Praxus. Praxus paused when she saw the scowl on Delaney's face, her form wilting ever so slightly. “Let me start this by saying ‘no disrespect intended…’” Delaney’s voice was forceful, with hardly any shaking in it. “I do not appreciate you attempting to usurp my independence, nor my role as the head of this household.” Delaney had trouble deciding which of the three sets of eyes of Praxus’ that she should look at so she looked at the middle pair. “Until such time as I either decide to enter a domestication contract and become a floret willingly, or I do something to prove that I am unable to care for myself or my family and you do what you have to do, I am an independent. I do not need to be treated like a pet, neither does the rest of my family. I hope I make myself clear.” Delaney watched as Praxus did what she would call, at best, raising an eyebrow as the Affini didn’t have eyebrows. Praxus then stood up straight, her eyes changing from a light purple color to ruby with specks of orange. Her commanding presence suddenly made the room feel very small and Delaney attempted to slide further back into her chair.
"While you are an independent, your own admissions of knowing when you are reaching your limits are not followed. In the short time that I have known you, I have watched you try to ignore what your body is telling you about sleep, food, and taking breaks." Vines moved as if a sudden breeze had swept through the office and Praxus made a clicking sound that seemed to emanate from somewhere within the mass of her body. "I don't want to have to formally place you under a wardship, but if I have to in order to ensure your health and well being, I will. At that point, you won't get a choice and I will make every choice for you. I will do better at trying not to usurp your authority, but let me be crystal clear: You will become a floret. You will become my floret and, if I have anything to say about it, do so willingly. I have never had a floret become mine by force, and I will not start now." The tone in which Praxus spoke reminded Delaney of the way her father would speak to her and her brother, now sister, when they were young. It was a peremptory voice, one to indicate that the discussion was over.
Delaney crossed her arms. "You're not doing a good job of convincing me that my life would be better by becoming your floret. For being the 'Director of Compact Communications’ and the second in charge in the galaxy, you sure have an issue with communication."
"Those titles and hierarchy really don't actually mean much, truthfully." Praxus moved her vines around a bit and settled herself back into more of a sitting position. “The titles are to help you Terrans communicate with us by using terminology that you would understand. I am no higher ranked than any other Affini. My duties just include the messaging for the Compact within the Milky Way, and I'm basically the person in charge of this planet. This was by a vote of my peers..." She looked out the window for a second. "I was not seeking this role; I was voted into it because my peers feel that I would do well in the role, as do the other members of my habhold." She paused and looked at Delaney. "Speaking of, the first of the new hab buildings are going to be done in a few days, do you want to move into a building or a stand alone hab?"
Delaney just looked at Praxus. "What's wrong with here?"
"For starters, there is no way we can safely retrofit this building to meet Compact building standards. I mean the power arrangement in this building won't allow us to put a single compiler in, let alone outfit every apartment with one..." Praxus pulled her datapad out after it had dinged. "We can discuss what you would want in the hab once we get back from your parents place. That message was from your siblings' owner. I can now tell you that your sisters name is Tia Mongrove, First Floret, She/her Pronouns." There was a chime from Delaney's datapad that was laying on the desk. Delaney didn't look at it. She was still processing this news. "I just sent you her contact info, and next time they make their way to the Sol system, we will meet them, how does that sound?"
"That sounds great." Delaney replied, her voice quiet. "Tia Mongrove, First Floret. Do you have a photo of her?. Am I allowed to contact her?"
"No to the photo, she will have to send you one herself, and yes to contacting her," Praxus smiled. "Linthry has been telling her things that I've been relaying about how you're doing. He has not mentioned the family you've built to Tia yet, but she has asked if you are a floret..."
Delaney blushed. "Maybe soon..." she mumbled, looking down at her hands which she had clasped in her lap, they were lightly clasped, as something was slowly changing in her. There was something about Praxus that caused her to not be able to stay mad at her, and was very calming to be around. "We should go to my parents' place so we can drop the stuff off and get back here, then we can all sit and talk about the future..."
The Camassia touched down in the middle of the street behind the building that Delaney's parents lived in. Once Praxus had lifted Delaney out of the shuttle and she had climbed out, the two of them watched as the craft silently lifted into the sky. “Do not worry, I can recall her with my datapad.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready for this confrontation…” Delaney looked at the building, as if it were an insurmountable mountain in the way of her future, one that would have her living her best life with no compromises. Her parents were not going to care that she was showing up unannounced, but the twelve foot tall plant standing next to her was still going to be an issue. She was pretty sure, after watching videos of battles that happened in space where no Affini had been harmed, that there was precious little that a Terran of any sort could to injure an Affini. Due to her position in the newsroom, she often saw footage of events that occurred while the rest of her colleagues were kept in the dark on.
There had been battles between the Terran Cosmic Navy and the Affini that most people she knew had no idea existed. Her mind went to footage from inside an Accord vessel as the Affini boarded it. The sailors aboard the vessel threw everything at the approaching Affini. Someone had even thrown a sink but the Affini kept coming. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you…”
“Oh, Do not worry about me, I can hold my own.” Praxus extended a vine for Delaney to take a hold of. “This is not my first Domestication Campaign…” Her voice trailed off as Delaney gently grabbed the vine and Praxus led the two of them into the building.
Delaney found herself walking one step behind and to the right of her Affini. Her Affini? What the actual— Delaney shook her head. She knew that something about Praxus was having an effect on her, but she wasn’t sure what. Yes, some day, Praxus would be her owner, it had already been stated and that had been stated as fact, as though it had already happened. Now she was thinking of Praxus as “Her Affini…” No, that wasn’t quite right. Praxus would become her Owner or simply “Mistress” and she would become Delaney Rapiloni, First Floret Pinnate.
“— in?” Praxus' voice broke her train of thought.
Delaney shook her head again to clear her thoughts. "Huh?" She had been blindly following the vine that had been handed to her, like she was on a leash.
"I asked what apartment your parents were in." There was amusement in Praxus' voice, like she knew what Delaney had been distracted by. "Also, I am pretty sure I know what was just going through that head of yours..."
“Uh…” Delaney paused, trying to get her thoughts in order. “They are in apartment eight-fifteen….” She glanced up at Praxus, and smiled. “There is no way that you know what I was thinking about.”
Praxus smiled back. “Would you care to bet on it?”
“Ok,” Delaney decided she would play ~~Her~~ The Affini’s game. “What was I thinking?”
"About how you started to think of me as 'your Affini\~‘” Praxus’ voice sang. It was a sound that caused Delaney to smile, despite what they were about to do. “It’s not uncommon for a floret to start to think of their owner as ‘their’ Affini, even though that statement couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s the other way around, really, you belong to me.”
“But I’m not a floret…” Delaney complained, knowing that doing so was simply a formality. She would be a floret, it was a question of how long before she signed her own domestication contract. “At least…” She glanced up at Praxus, smiling. “Not yet.”
“Good girl…” Praxus praised. “I predict that in a few days time, we will be discussing the terms of your domestication contract, at least the parts you want in there. You want to take the elevator or have me carry you up the stairs?”
Delaney blushed. She had grown to like being carried by Praxus, it felt safe to be entangled in the Affini’s vines. “Can you carry me?” She glanced up at Praxus, her eyes pleading. “What do I get to dictate in terms of my contract?”
Praxus picked the Terran up as she giggled. "Well, you will get to tell me how you would like to be treated. Things you don’t want to have happen, pretty much anything you want to negotiate into the contract.” Praxus started to climb the inside of the stairwell as she spoke. “And I also get to lay down explicit rules for you to follow: no foul language, I am your owner and responsible for every part of you, you have no rights in the political structure of the Compact, I want you in dresses all the time, things like that…” The pair exited the stairwell and made their way towards the apartment.
Delaney shifted in Praxus' vines, turning to look up into the eyes of the Affini. "Wait, what?" She furrowed a brow. "You can't keep someone only in dresses. I’ve tried with Kirsten and Lilly, but I have to let them wear pants from time to time..." Her voice trailed off as Praxus smiled.
"Ah!" Praxus rubbed Delaney's back with a vine. "You might get pants from time to time, but it will be few and far between. Do you want something to help with the anxiety that you're feeling?"
Delaney paused for a second and then glanced up at Praxus. "Huh?" She knew that Praxus had asked her a question, but her mind was still reeling from the fact that she might not be wearing pants for a very long time, if ever again.
Praxus chuckled. "Would you like something for the anxiety? I can tell you're anxious and I can give you something to take the edge off..."
"What, are you like a walking pharmacy?" Delaney looked skeptical. "And how did you know that I was anxious?"
"I can feel the anxiety emanating from your body," Praxus frowned. "If you had an implant it would automatically handle the administration of any drugs. And yes, I am kind of a walking pharmacy. Just wait until the girls see what our Class G xenodrugs can do."
"Your... What?" Delaney stopped as the pair approached the door to the apartment that Delaney's parents lived in. "I don't know what will happen when they open that door and see you. Please protect me, and don't hurt them."
"I will always protect you, little one." Praxus rubbed Delaney's back "I didn't file a notice of intent just to let you get hurt somehow. As for hurting them, that will depend on them. I won't hurt them, but if it becomes necessary to subdue them for some reason, I will do so with as little damage to them as possible. Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be..." Delaney replied, before reaching up and knocking. There was the sound of footsteps from the other side of the door and then the door opened. Delaney looked face to face with her dad. He smiled at her.
"Delaney, Come on—" His voice cut off as he looked up at Praxus. "What the fuck?!"
"It's ok, dad..." Delaney responded, her voice calm and level. She had a vine gently rubbing her back and there was something that was calming soothing her. "I'll explain everything to you and mom at once. May we come in?" She squeezed the vine that she still had hold of, despite being the one that was now standing in front. She was used to standing in the front as everyone normally stood behind her.
He glanced from Delaney up to Praxus and back to Delaney. "Ok..." He turned, causing Delaney and Praxus to follow. Praxus closed the door after she had entered the apartment. "We have company. Delaney stopped by and she brought,” He glanced up nervously at Praxus. “A guest." The trio entered the kitchen, which looked like it had a few days before when Delaney had been there.
Diane looked up from where she sat at the kitchen table and frowned at her daughter and the Affini standing behind her. "Delaney, what is going on? Have the plants come for our brains now?"
Delaney furrowed her brow. "No..." She replied, rummaging around in her bag for the datapad and comm unit that belonged to her mom. "We stopped by to bring your datapad and comm unit back, and to tell you something that will probably be a relief." She placed the two item she withdrew from her bag on the table and then looked at her parents. "First let me introduce you both to Praxus." Delaney gestured to her parents. "Praxus, I'd like you to meet my parents, Richard and Diane Wilson." She smiled. "Mom and Dad, I'd like to introduce you to Praxus Rapiloni, Fifth Bloom." Richard glared at Praxus, hatred in his eyes.
"Delaney, how could you befriend the same species that killed your brother?" Richard asked, now standing behind Diane, almost as if he were willing to sacrifice her to save himself.
"Well," Delaney placed her hands on the back of the chair that was in front of her. "That's the news that will probably be a relief..." She looked at her parents. "They're alive. They were domesticated when the CNS Republic was boarded and captured. I don't have all the details yet, but that is what I do know." Diane's mouth dropped and a tear fell from her eye.
"He's alive?" Diane asked, reaching up to wipe the tears away with one hand and pat Richard's hand with the other. "Is there a way we can talk to him?"
"Not at the moment." Praxus said, her voice soothing. "I'm still working with their owner to figure out next steps." Delaney noted that she omitted that Delaney had been given permission to speak to Tia, and had not provided the information about the change in her name.
"Owner?" Richard said. "You're telling me that my son is a plant fucker?"
"Enough of that talk." Praxus' voice was firm and commanding. Delaney watched as her dad went from slightly slouching to pretty much standing at attention. "I've read the report on their domestication, I've even seen their contract. I can tell you both that this was not a domestication in which they had no choice in the outcome. They chose domestication as it would provide a better life for them. Due to my position in the Compact I have access to pretty much everything. At the moment, we are still trying to work out an arrangement. If they wish to communicate with you, I will provide the information to you on how to do that. Do you have any questions for me?"
"Can you relay a message to their..." Diane’s face grimaced, as if she had a sudden pain in her body somewhere. "Owner?"
"I can, yes." Praxus replied. "You can send it to Delaney when it’s ready. I will relay it and we will let you know when we have an answer."
Richard looked at Praxus. "I can make an educated guess as to why you are using gender neutral pronouns for Harrison, can you tell me if they... changed genders, and if so, what is their name now?" He looked apprehensive, as if someone being transgender was the worst thing in the world.
"Richard," Diane started. "I'm more thankful that our child is alive. I wouldn't care if they had been turned into a chicken as long as they are happy and healthy... You've been nothing but judgmental about the family that our daughter has built, mainly because of the fact that three of them are transgender. Transgender, by the way, is how to properly refer to one whose mental gender doesn’t match their physical gender. Start using that term, because I am pretty sure that it applies to one of our children." She glanced at Praxus and Delaney, who were mirroring the way that Richard was standing behind her. "I suspect that we aren't going to receive any more information as Praxus has not been given permission to tell us more."
"Mom," Delaney tipped her head, before smiling. She had never seen her mom stand up to her dad like that; It had always been a 'Dad is in charge of the household' type environment. "How did you figure all of that out?"
"Remember, I used to work in intelligence during the Rinan conflict..." Diane winked. "I was OCNI and I still have contacts." She smiled at Delaney and Praxus. "I have been doing my own research and searching. Miss Praxus, would you please pass on to her that we love her and would like to hear from her..."
"I refuse to believe that my son is property of a plant, I am pretty sure that this is a false flag to lure us into some sense of security. They have already gotten into her head and have corrupted her." Richard just stared down Praxus.
One of the datapads in the room emitted a ding and Delaney felt Praxus moving a bit behind her. A few seconds later, a datapad rested on her head. Delaney simply glanced up but stayed still. "Oh interesting..." Praxus' voice sounded surprised. "Delaney, sweetie, um, we need to respond to the ACS Effortless Dawn. Well, more specifically, we need to go pick up the others and respond..."
Without missing a beat, Delaney pulled her datapad out and sent a message to Natalie, Kirsten, and Lilly, instructing them to get ready to move. "I've told the girls to get ready..."
Richard looked incredulous. "You're taking my daughter to an Affini ship?"
"Please keep Delaney and her family safe, Praxus. I have no doubt that you could do better than we did." Diane's voice was firm.
"Dad, I trust Praxus to keep us safe, if she says we need to head up to the Effortless Dawn, then there is a reason for it." Delaney replied. "If she says that the eight of us need to go, then we all need to go for some reason. I will let you know anything that I learn about my sister once I'm allowed to share it with you."
"I'll keep them safe, Mrs. Wilson." Praxus said. "We will be in touch." Praxus glanced down at Delaney. "We're closer to the roof, so I'm bringing the Camassia there, you game?"
"Yep." Delaney said, giggling as Praxus picked her up. She watched as her dad's jaw dropped at the ease at which the Affini had picked up his grown daughter, cradling her like he had when she was a child. Without another word, the pair practically disappeared, the door closing silently behind them.
By the time the Camassia touched down on the roof of the apartment building, the six others were all seated in the Nepeta with what Delaney would call the Drivers seat unoccupied. Clearly that spot was for Praxus and her. Praxus didn't even sit Delaney on the ground as she moved from the helm of the Camassia to the helm of the Nepeta. As soon as Praxus and Delaney were seated, Iris reached up and tapped a display, causing the canopy to come down and provide an airtight seal. "Everything is set, just hit the button..." Iris said. Praxus reached up and pushed a button, and the Nepeta shot off the roof. "Delaney, I'm thinking a standalone hab, that way we can have a place to dock the shuttles."
"We're going to be moving?" Lilly asked from Ophelia's lap.
"Most likely," Delaney tried to turn in Praxus' lap. "We need a place that is big enough for the eight of us."
"Mommy," Kirsten's voice came from the other side of the back of the Nepeta. "Are we going to become broccoli?"
"Are we..." Delaney started to say out loud. "What are you talking about, little one?"
"I keep hearing everyone talk about broccoli." Kirsten's voice was quiet, but audible in the Nepeta. "I don't even know the last time I had broccoli."
“Are you referring to florets?” Nova asked, thinking she was confusing the term that Affini called their pets with a different meaning of the same word.
“That’s what you all keep talking about.” Kirsten giggled. Outside the canopy, everything had turned mostly black, with a large spacecraft in the distance. “That’s broccoli.”
“Ah…” Nova’s voice was full of humor and her eyes glistened. “We use the term ‘floret’ to refer to our pets, they are the reason for the compact, after all.”
“So are we going to become pets?” Delaney heard Kirsten say, but her eyes were drawn to the Everlasting Dawn as they approached. The vessel was primarily green with hints of reds and oranges on the edges of the vessel; not the normal drab gray color the Terran Accord vessels were. The whole vessel shimmered, and rotated. With the exception of the fact that it rotated, it looked like a flower that had just bloomed. That was when she saw the splashes of color in the rings: pinks, purples, oranges, blues, and even white.
“She’s pretty, isn’t she?” Praxus asked, sensing the awe that Delaney was feeling.
Delaney was aware that Praxus had said something, and was aware of a conversation that she should probably be part of between Nova and Kirsten, but her attention was drawn to the vessel that they were approaching. She watched as the Nepeta approached an opening that was stationary as the whole vessel rotated around it. “How does something that big fly?”
They passed through the opening and into the hanger bay where the vessel was guided via autopilot to a bay and it gently touched down, before a large dome settled down over the craft. A few moments later there was a quiet hiss as the dome filled with atmosphere. Only then did the canopies on the Nepeta raise automatically. The four Affini got out of Nepeta carrying the four Terrans. Delaney looked around, she could see several over craft that were all in domes like the Nepeta, but some had corridors that led to a long corridor that ran around the room, while the bay they were in had a corridor that went down about twelve feet and ended in a door.
“Welcome aboard the ACS Everlasting Dawn” Praxus’ voice was full of pride, as if the whole vessel, and its occupants all were her responsibility. The four Affini’s datapads all dinged at the same time, but none of them looked at them as they descended the stairs. The door at the bottom of the stairs more closely resembled a tree trunk than a door. That was when Delaney realized that there was enough room under the dome for the Camassia as well. As they approached the tree trunk, it quietly slid open, and Delaney could tell that there was a large space beyond, but it was dark and not easy to see. As Praxus and her crossed the threshold, lights in the room came on, revealing a room that resembled the living room and kitchen in the apartment, but scaled up at a size that was easily three or four times as large. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any real seating for Terran sized sophonts, but I’ve heard that the floor is comfy. I will work on getting some Terran sized furniture in here.”
“Welcome back, Miss Praxus.” A soft female voice came from everywhere and nowhere all at once. “There is a request for you and your floret to meet up with Captain Trisetum as soon as you’re settled.”
Delaney looked up at the ceiling, some twenty feet above her. “Wha?”
“Thank you, Isabelle.” Praxus said aloud. “Please send the Captain a message indicating that we will be along shortly? Also, please request some Terran sized couches from the catalog, and compile four beds, all in pastel colors, and extra comfy.” One set of Praxus’ eyes glanced down at Delaney, and a smirk appeared on her face. “Isabelle is the Hab AI. Every hab has one, and they can do a lot of things.”
“Mommy,” Kirsten’s voice was quiet. “Um, I need changies and I don’t have my diaper bag. I was asleep and when I woke up we were in the Nepeta I’m sorry…“ she sounded like she was about to start crying.
“I will take care of her,” Nova replied, starting to spin Kirsten around in her vines to cradle her as if she were an infant. “Isabelle, Please use the compiler in my room to compile a diaper to fit this little one I have in my vines, as well as a pacifier. We did not bring that either.”
Delaney scowled as she listened; Kirsten was her responsibility and she was displeased by Nova just deciding that she was going to change the girls diaper. It would be something that she would have to bring up later after her and Praxus had returned from the meeting with the Captain. Isabelle’s digitized voice broke her out of her thoughts.
“Yes, Miss Nova.” Isabelle’s voice came from the ceiling. Nova carried Kirsten off toward a hallway off the large main room.
“Wait…” Natalie spoke for the first time. “Nova’s room? Are the four of you, like, polyamorous like us?”
“We are,” Iris sang. “The four of us are in a romantic relationship, much like the four of you. That is why we all are taking care of one of you each, but we can all step in and help with everyone else should it be necessary.” There was a quiet ding from inside what looked like a kitchen, from a large device that resembled a microwave. The door opened and revealed a stack of very fuzzy pillows that were pastel purple, pink, yellow and green.
“Praxus, why did Isabelle refer to me as your floret?” Delaney asked, she was still in the comfort of Praxus’ vines, and despite the air in the room being slightly chilly, she was perfectly warm.
“Because you have already been entered into my database as Delaney Rapiloni, First Floret Pinnate.” Isabelle’s voice came from everywhere and nowhere.
“But I’m…” Delaney started and then stopped. She had already gone down this road since she’d been awake today and she knew that it was only a matter of time. “Never mind…”
“Am I in there?” Lilly’s voice came from behind Delaney and Praxus.
“You are, indeed," Isabelle responded. "I have you in the database as Lillian Rapiloni, Fourth Floret Pinnate.”
“What’s a Pinnate?” Lilly asked.
“A Pinnate is a pair or more of sophonts that shouldn’t be separated for moral or ethical reasons.” Iris replied, her voice gentle. “The four of you are Pinnates, we are not going to separate you under any circumstances. Pinnates are held in even higher regard than our florets, if you can believe such a thing..."
"I'm going to take Delaney and meet up with the Captain," Praxus reached out and grabbed a few things from the counter in the kitchen. One of them, Delaney noted, looked suspiciously like a sippy cup. Praxus tucked the items away in her body and turned to Iris. "If you could get the rest of the family down for a nap while we are gone, I would like to show them some of the sights aboard the Everlasting Dawn."
"Yes, Ma'am," Iris waved a vine as another vine reached out and touched a trailing vine of Praxus' as she left the Hab.
"So," Natalie began, still entwined in Iris' vines, but not feeling like she wanted to be out of them. "If the four of you are polyamorous, that means that Praxus is the one in charge..."
"That is correct, little flower..." Iris smiled, and her voice was very musical. "Praxus is in charge, I am like you, basically the second in command and then Ophelia and finally Nova."
"Once we are all florets, do I still have to be the second in charge?" Natalie asked quietly.
"You won't have to be, no," Iris rubbed Natalie's back, before continuing. "Are you unhappy in your role?" The pair moved into what Natalie guessed was the living room.
"Unhappy, no..." A tear rolled down Natalie's cheek, and a vine reached up and stopped it partway down the cheek. "It's just a lot to take care of the girls. I've had days where I cry myself to sleep due to the stress. I'm not going to lie, I’ve often wondered why I chose to take care of others; I’ve wondered why Delaney has chosen to take care of the girls in the way that she has. Even for all the struggles with their mental health,” Natalie paused, glancing over at Lilly, who had fallen asleep in Ophelia’s vines. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
“We’re here now.” Iris’s voice was soothing, and Natalie felt herself relaxing. “Give all the issues to us, and we will take care of them. Out of curiosity, when did you last take your meds?”
“How?” Natalie asked, glancing up at the grin that Iris had on her face, her teeth looked like sharp thorns.
“We had gotten copies of the various databases, remember?“ Iris chuckled. “That thing had information on every Terran that has ever lived in it.” Six of her eyes remained fixed on Natalie and the other two glanced up as Nova entered the living room, Kirsten in her vines, also asleep. "One of the things the database had was a list of known medications that everyone was taking. It may be a little out of date, but my question still stands."
“Um…” Natalie looked everywhere except for at Iris. Suddenly a pair of vines gently moved Natalie’s head so it was stationary and caused her to look directly into Iris’ eyes. Iris’ eyes were now swirling purple with hints of green and orange speckles.
“When did you last take your meds?” Iris asked again, her voice still soothing, but it had an edge to it that wasn’t there the first time. It was a tone that meant that Iris demanded an answer.
Natalie tried to look away from Iris’ face but found herself unable to. “It’s been... Weeks.” Her voice was breaking, like it had when she had gone through puberty the first time. “We haven’t had the credits to get my meds in addition to the meds for the girls. They needed theirs more than I needed mine; so they got them before I did.”
Iris’ eyes stopped spinning and she smiled. “See that wasn’t so hard, was it?” She watched as Natalie nodded. “I can give you your meds, but I need to talk it over with Delaney before I do.”
“Why do you need to talk it over with Delaney?” Natalie was confused, she was independent; why would Iris need Delaney’s permission to give Natalie meds. “I’m capable of making my own decisions about my care…”
“Not according to Delaney.” Iris smiled. “It’s ok, I’ll be able to make the decisions for you soon enough, and you won’t have to worry about such trivial nonsense.” Iris pulled her datapad out and tapped on it. “I would like you to take a nap, little one..."
Delaney looked up at Praxus. "Where are we going?" They had boarded a tram, and were the only two on it. Praxus had done a few things on her datapad and they were suddenly zooming along. She put the datapad away and looked down at Delaney.
“We are going to the situation room off the bridge where we will meet with the Captain and he will probably have his floret, Allison with him,” she paused as her datapad chimed, causing her to pull it out and look at it. “Umm,” Praxus vibrated, “Would you be okay if Iris gave Natalie some xenodrugs?”
“Why is Iris asking to give Nat xenodrugs?” Delaney questioned. It wasn’t out of the question, she just wanted to know the reasoning.
Praxus skimmed the datapad’s screen before responding. “It looks like Iris had asked her when the last time she had her meds was and it came out that she hadn’t had them in a while.”
“She decided she could go without her meds so that we could get Kirsten’s meds. If you’ve seen any medical records on our family, you know that Kirsten is on a handful of meds for what amounts to low blood pressure when she stands up. It’s pretty well controlled at this point,” Delaney paused. “Her meds are by far the most expensive out of all of ours. Natalie put her daughter first.” She glanced up at Praxus. “I guess this doesn’t bode well for me taking care of the family, does it?” She had tried so hard to take care of her family and as she thought about her shortcomings a tear slipped from her eye and started rolling down her cheek. Vines tapped a few things on the datapad and the tram slowed to a stop.
Praxus picked Delaney up and spun her around so the two were facing each other. “This is one of those situations where you and Natalie put your family first; did you go without any medications that you need at the same time?” Praxus’ voice was its usual tone, no hint of anger, or accusation; just a desire to get all of the information prior to rendering a verdict on the matter at hand. “Did you weigh the pros and cons of you and Natalie going without your meds to the quality of life that Kirsten would have had if she didn’t have hers?” A vine started to rub Delaney's back, causing her to relax. “If you made sure her quality of life was the best you could give her with what you had and you and Natalie were not too adversely affected by going without any medications, then you did the noble act of putting someone before yourself. That’s quite the opposite of not taking care of your family, Delaney. I’m sure you don’t hear this often enough, because being the one in charge of a large household is a task few can properly handle, but good job, keep up the good work and I’m proud of you.” Praxus smiled down at Delaney.
Delaney was taken aback. ”You’re…” her voice trailed off, trying to process what her ears had heard. “What?” It took a few seconds for her brain to finally catch up and provide thought to what Praxus had said. “But I failed to take care of my family. That’s something to not be proud of. You should be angry with me, not proud!” Delaney was, for the first time in a long time, raising her voice.
Praxus didn't say anything, she just smiled, letting Delaney get the outburst out. "Except you, as the head of your household, and Natalie, second in charge of the household, put the needs of sophonts in your care before the needs of your self." Praxus smiled again. "Do you know how often that it would have been someone putting their own needs before that of another?” Delaney just looked up at Praxus, clearly not knowing the answer. “It’s far more common that people put their own needs before those of others, not the way that you and Natalie did it. If anything the two of you deserve a gold star for being compassionate Terrans in a world that is not built for it."
“But,” Delaney started before a vine reached up and touched her lips. “I failmed at aking are of em.” She spoke around the vine. A sweet sap leached into her mouth and she greedily swallowed it.
“And that’s ok…” A smile crossed Praxus’ face, something had happened and Delaney didn’t know what exactly. “The sap that you just ingested is full of Class A, D, and E xenodrugs. Let me tell you what you’re going to feel: The Class A is going to increase your sense of touch, as well as your other senses, but it’s really designed to go after your sense of touch. The Class D is going to cause you to tell the truth, even if you don’t want to; and finally the Class E is going to help you with the anxiety that you’re feeling.”
“Ou rugged e?” Delaney’s voice was still broken by the vine in front of her lips. There was no more sap on it, but it still affected her speech. “I fought ould rust ou…”
“You can…” Praxus smiled. “Please don’t be mad at me, I’ve done this at the request of the Captain. You are a special person and I want no secrets while we are talking to him, and neither does he.” A different set of vines pulled the datapad out and the tram started moving again. A vine started rubbing Delaney’s back, and she just closed her eyes and enjoyed it. Through the dress that she has put on that morning, which thankfully was a very soft material, she could feel the texture of the vines that Praxus had woven into her hands. She could feel the multiple tips gently running in circles. For such a light touch her body responded as if it were receiving a full massage. “This is also so that you can see that our xenodrugs are not bad, and that you can trust us to give them to your family,” Praxus removed the vine from Delaney’s lips, and looked down at her.
“I can’t believe you did that…” Delaney protested, “I would have let you give them to me. I’m willing to be the guinea pig to protect my family.” Delaney’s voice wasn’t accusatory as much as hurt. “I thought I could trust you.”