Chapter 15: Reunion
The view from the reading nook was amazing. The Scorpiris had been moving steadily toward a red dot in the distance, that red dot now taking up a whole wall. Hanging in geosynchronous orbit was the Sphenophyllia. Tori just sat there, her datapad in her lap astounded at the size of the vessel. She knew the Scorpiris was large, but the Sphenophyllia had to be five times the intelligence vessels size. How can something that large even move? Tori wondered.
Emma was dumbfounded; the sheer size of the Sphenophyllia was more than her little Terran brain could process. She could see shuttle craft moving to and from the surface and docking. Wonder if we are going to be going over to that vessel… She surmised that Mistress would, as she said she had to deliver a report on the search of the Proxmia stations, but she didn’t know if they would get to go with her.
“I’ll take care of them, love,” Lilium said, her vines joining Lavandula’s. “It’s only for a few hours. When it comes to Marissa and Allison, are they coming up, or are we going down?”
“I think the plan was for them to come up…” Lavandula said. “I have the appropriate Xenodrugs for both of them, we have the compiler, everything will be fine. It’s not like they haven’t been around us before, the XBWC has been doing weekly checks at my request.”
The pair glanced up as Tori exited her reading nook. “Um… Mistress, when are they coming?”
“It’s going to be a few hours, Petal,” Lavandula said, a vine reaching up to play with the girl's hair. “I still need to give my briefing to the crew of the Sphenophyllia, and then they can come up. I was thinking that maybe you and Emma could go down with me and we could bring them up together.”
“I like that idea…” Tori said, “I’ll message them and let them know when to be ready. Are we going to be going over to the Syphenophyllia with you, or no?”
“Not right now, Petal,” Lavandula said, reaching up to scratch behind Tori’s ear. Tori leaned into her owner and relaxed at the touch. “But we will be taking a trip over at some point. We’re going to be to be here for a little bit. If you think the Scorpiris has a lot to offer, just wait until you see the Syphenophyllia…” Tori tipped her head; she’d not actually seen that much of the Scorpiris, so she would have to take her Mistress's word for it. “Right now, I need you to be a good girl while I'm gone and listen to Lilium. Can you do that for me, petal?”
“Yes, Mistress,” Tori said, her head moving in a nod as well. “I'll be good; I kinda want to get into a new book series I found. I might even try writing something of my own… I have… ideas.”
“That sounds like a good plan and I can't wait to see what that cute little head of yours comes up with.” Lavandula replied, pulling her datapad out and glancing at it. “I have to get going. I'll see you after bit, love.” Tori watched as Lavandula and Lilium entwined vines before separating.
“Be careful, and good luck.” Lilium said as they separated. To Tori it reminded her of a set of parents kissing.
“Ew…” She giggled, causing Lilium and Lavandula to both turn and look at Tori.
“Something wrong, little one?” Lavandula said, her voice it’s normal sing-song pattern.
“Nope,” Tori giggled some more, “It’s something of a Terran tradition when a kid sees thier parents kissing…” Vines wiggled and a clicking sound emerged from the two Affini in the room.
“You Terrans are so cute…” Lavandula said. “I am glad that you belong to me.” This caused Tori to blush and turn away from her two owners.
“Careful, dear…” Lilium said, a vine reaching over to spin Tori back to facing the two Affini. “Don’t want to waste all of that blush before your friends get here…”
Tori’s eyes went wide. “What—” she stammered, her eyes darting between the two much larger creatures in the room. “What are you planning?”
Lilium and Lavandula looked at each other. “Us? Planning something?”
Tori and Emma were holding hands while sitting in Lavandula’s lap. There were seats for Terran sized people in the shuttle, but since the two of them had their owner with them, her lap was the safest place possible. Tori was nervous and squeezed both Emma’s hand and the vine that wrapped around her waist. She wasn’t nervous about the shuttle flight to the surface, but more so about seeing Marissa and Allison for the first time in years. She had met the pair when she was attending classes at Terran University and had kept in touch despite her transition and her various medical issues. Marissa and Allison had moved to Mars shortly after graduating to work for some company there; that was right before the war had started. As they had nothing to do with the war effort, they had remained independent citizens of the Terran Protectorate following the signing of the treaty.
“Nervous little one?” Lavandula asked, stroking the area right below the scar of the implant site on the back of Tori’s neck. Tori relaxed as her implant provided some Class E xenodrugs.
“A little bit, Mistress.” Tori replied, smiling up at Lavandula. “It’s been years since I’ve seen them in person, and I’ve changed so much…” She paused, a tear escaping her tear duct. She didn’t even reach up to do anything with it, sensing a vine going for it. “Last time they saw me in person, I was barely hanging on, Now I’m flourishing.”
“You did do a pretty good job at hiding…” Lavandula said. “But it’s ok, you’re in good vines now.” Emma giggled as a vine reached up and tickled her neck. “The two of you have nothing to worry about, I will protect you.. Who knows, seeing people that they are close to be happy as florets might bring them into the fold…” Tori was actually kind of hoping that would happen. She knew that neither one of them had to work any more, their jobs effectively gone with the Affini taking over the planet. There was a very slight shudder as the shuttle docked. Without missing a beat with the vines stroking Tori and Emma, Lavandula stood and made her way to the exit of the shuttle. Once they were in the spaceport, Lavandula sat the two girls on their feet and hooked vines into the leashing rings on their collars. Tori pulled her datapad out and sent Marissa and Allison a message that they had landed and were on their way to the hab that the two girls shared. Lavandula had seen the reports from the local office of the XBWC, but she also wanted to see the condition of the hab with her own eyes.
Lavandula led Tori and Emma up to the building that contained the hab unit that Marissa and Allison lived in. The three of them entered the building and went to the fourth floor. Tori walked up to the door for the hab and pushed the button that acted as the doorbell. A few seconds later the door opened and Marissa and Allison stood there, both smiling, but with Allison appearing apprehensive. The three of them walked into the hab, Lavandula leading the two Terrans in on leashes.
“Good afternoon, Miss Trell.” Marissa said, the smile on her face when she saw Tori was much better than Tori could have hoped for. Lavandula released the vines that were acting as leashes and Tori ran to Marissa and embraced.
“I’ve been waiting for that for too long,” Tori said, releasing the embrace after a few moments. She looked at Marissa and Allison. “Since we are all finally together, let me properly introduce to everyone. Allison and Marissa, This is Lavandula Trell, Fourth Bloom, She/her pronouns. She is my owner, protector and guardian. The other human with me is Emma Trell, Second Floret pinnate, Also one of my girlfriends and one of the only reasons that I’m able to stand here…” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Emma give a slight wave. “Mistress, Emma, I’d like to introduce Marissa and Allison Cunningham.” Tori pointed to the brown haired girl, and then the auburn haired girl. They both smiled.
“We’ve been waiting for that hug for way too long as well,” Marissa said. “I’m so glad to see that you are doing well and being taken care of.” She turned her attention to Lavandula. “Would you like for us to show you around, Ma’am?” She was showing deference to the being that had the potential to completely upend her entire life.
“If you wouldn’t mind,” Lavandula’s sing-song voice sounding very peaceful to Tori’s ears. “As Tori has informed you, I have been getting updates whenever someone from the XWBC comes by. You two are not at risk of getting involuntarily domesticated.”
“Well, that’s good to know…” Allison said quietly to Marissa.
A chuckle escaped Lavandula’s mouth. “Indeed…” . She looked around the common area of the hab, silently noting things that seemed like they could be changed; there wasn’t much. “So how are you two finding life in the Compact?”
“I like not have to work any more.” Allison said, shrugging. “I hated my job, now I can find other things to do to fill my time.”
Lavandula smiled, her smile disarming and refreshing. “That is an advantage of life in the Compact…” She glanced around the hab unit. “What is it that you have found to occupy your time?”
Allison looked at the floor, and then up at Lavandula, before smiling. "I have been writing..." She paused, searching for the words that she wanted to use. "It's something I actually enjoyed doing as a teenager, but then I had to grow up and be a productive member of society" Her voice took on a haughty tone, causing Marissa to start giggling. "I'd honestly rather spend my time using my imagination than toiling away in in a factory building things that I could never afford..."
Lavandula looked thoughtful. "What about you, Marissa?" she asked. "What are you doing to pass your time?"
Marissa smiled and looked at Tori. "Well, I finally got around to reading that series about the dinosaurs from Pre-accord times..."
Tori practically started jumping up and down. "We should watch it!" she said, excitedly. "I bet Mistress will let us watch the original version, not the floret cut..."
"The..." Allison said, her head tipping to the right in confusion. "Floret cut?"
Lavandula smiled at Tori, basically telling her to explain the idea of a floret cut. "Uh..." Tori said, reaching up to rub the back of her neck right below her implant. "The floret cut is usually one that doesn't have any of the blood, gore, death that the non-floret cut has. A lot of florets are... sensitive to such things."
Marissa and Allison shared a brief look. "Well, I guess that it's a good thing that we're not florets..."
"That part is irrelevant. I will have to watch this movie and see if it's ok to not watch the floret cut..." Lavandula chuckled.
"Yes, Mistress." Tori said, her voice deferential. She would do what she thought was best for the girl, regardless of what the floret wanted. Her wishes would be taken into account, but sometimes what you need isn't necessarily what you got.
"Yes, ma'am" Allison and Marissa said at the same time.
"If you are with florets, you will most likely end up with the floret cut..." Lavandula said, a tone to her voice indicating that the conversation was over.
"Yes, Miss Trell." Marissa said; Allison just looked perturbed.
Lavandula noticed Allison's expression. "What's wrong, little one?"
The girls expression soured further. "For starters," Allison said, her voice trying to sound stern, but also starting to tremble. "I'm not a floret, I am in independent citizen of the Terran Protectorate. Regardless of any notice of intent, as long as I either am proving that I am capable of taking care of myself and that I am not a danger to myself or others, I shall remain that way..." She paused, and Lavandula sensed she wasn't done with her diatribe, so she waited for the very cute when angry Terran to finish. "You might have managed to convince Tori and the others that them giving up every right they have was a good idea, but, I will be damned if you think you can walk into this hab unit and tell me what I can and can't watch." She paused for another breath and Lavandula pulled a chair over and without a word slid it behind Tori, tapping the back of her legs with another vine to indicate that she should sit. Tori did so, having responded well to gesture training and learning a lot of new gestures. Allison watched this take place and frowned again; A vine touched Tori's lips, indicating that she wasn't to speak.
Vines moved a second chair to Tori's right and and also beckoned Marissa to come and sit next to Tori. Marissa followed the instructions of the vine and was also told not to speak. A third seat was placed on Tori's left and Emma, without being told to do as much, placed her self in the chair and held her finger up to her lips. She had been paying attention to what her owner was doing with her pinnate. "I can't believe you listened to her, Marissa..." Lavandula hadn't said anything about their hands so the three girls joined hands. Tori and Emma shared a look; neither knew what was actually happening right now. A chair moved behind Allison, and a vine tapped the back of her leg, indicating that she should sit. Allison just glared at the Affini. "No, I am not some animal that you can control..."
Tori and Emma watched as vines started to move toward Allison. "This can be done the easy way, or the hard way. The three behind me, they obviously chose the easy way." Tori silently plead with Allison; the two locked eyes. "I will tell you that you will be sitting in that chair. You can do it on your own, or I can make you."
"You and what army?" Allison said, her voice defiant. "You can't control me like that, I'm independent." Vines shot across the room so fast that Tori, who was used to seeing quick moving vines, had trouble keeping track of them. Allison was sitting in the chair, vines pinning her legs to the legs of the chair and her arms held at her sides. Tori just sat there, knowing how safe Allison really was, but also hoping that she knew that fighting it was going to be an exercise in futility.
Lavandula circled around Allison's bound form, looking at her in the same way that a large predator looks at its prey before going in for the kill. "As of this moment, you are no longer an independent citizen of the Protectorate." she said, pausing behind Allison so that she could look at the three that were seated where she had requested they sit. She winked at the three of them. "You are now in a wardship. Your belligerent attitude toward me, someone that has saved the life of one you care about, someone who has decided to set up things to protect you should you need to be involuntarily domesticated. For the next little while, there is very little that have to worry about and you will get to see what being a floret would entail for you.” She walked around she was facing Allison who had tears in her eyes. “Do you have anything to say?”
“You can’t do this…” Allison said. “I am an independent citizen of the Terran Protectorate.” Lavandula stopped and looked at Allison and then turned to look at the two florets and the independent behind her.
"Has she acted like this before?" Lavandula asked, a pair of eyes straying back to look at Allison.
"No, Ma'am." Marissa said. "Although she has been spending a lot of time doing things on her datapad that she's not letting me see, but that's kinda normal for her. She's always thought of her self in charge..." Words were not spoken, but a look was exchanged between Allison and Marissa that would have made an Affini wilt.
Lavandula noticed this and turned her attention back to the girl that she had bound to a chair with her vines. "Are we trying to hide things from our Pinnate, little one?" Allison glowered at Lavandula.
"She didn't need to know what I was doing..." Allison said, defensively. "And she never really asked what I was looking at..."
"Ok..." Lavandula replied. "I'm going to give you one chance to tell me you were looking at. If you don't tell me on your own, I'll give you some xenodrugs to help you along..."
Allison visibly paled. She was wondering how long Lavandula would keep playing the charade... "I..." the girl stammered. "I was looking up how to get domesticated without asking for it..."
Lavandula tipped her head, confused. "Why would you look that up, little one?"
"You were looking up what?" Marissa asked, her voice giving away the betrayal that she felt. "Why didn't you say something to me?"
"I'm going to let the four of you talk while I arrange for a private shuttle back up to the Scorpiris. I need something that has Terran sized seats..." Lavandula said. "Victoria, you're in charge."
"Yes, Mistress." Tori said; she was the First Floret, after all. As soon as the door shut behind Lavandula, Tori spoke. "What in the frost are you doing, Allie?"
Tears were starting to well up in the girls eyes. The vines that had held her to the chair were no longer there, but she wasn't going to move until she had been given permission to. Tori stood and walked over to where Allison was seated. Allison had tears start pouring down her face. "I'm sorry..." she said as Tori used a tissue to dry the tears from Allison's face. "Marissa, I've wanted this ever since that first video call with Tori," She paused and blew her nose. "I just didn't know how to ask for it. I looked up what a Notice of Intent was and how it affected my rights as an independent. I figured the best way to for Miss Trell to force her hand would be to act out." Allison peered around Tori and looked at Marissa. "Please forgive me."
Marissa glared at Allison. "We had said shortly after the Affini took over that if we were going to be domesticated, we would do so together." Marissa started to cry, and Emma scooted over to Marissa and just hugged her. "I feel like we can't do that now..."
"Can I just say that Tori and I said we would never let ourselves be domesticated," Emma said, still holding Marissa. "But, everything has a way of working out. I didn't get a choice in my domestication, neither did Tori, but knowing what we know now, I don't know that we would have ever met had things turned out differently. The most important thing is that we are together now, and we will not be separated, and as you are also pinnates, you won't be separated either."
"I feel like I've fucked everything up," Allison said. "I'm sorry." She watched as Marissa stood and walked over to where she sat, before crouching on the floor and looking at her. The whole thing reminding Allison of a child who was being scolded.
"You've not fucked anything up, sweetie." Marissa said, her voice gentle. “What makes you think that you’ve fucked everything up?”
“Because I’m going to end up domesticated and you’re not going to be with me and we will never see each other again.” Allison was full on crying now, not just a little sniffle, but a full blown ugly cry.
Emma looked at Allison. “I can assure you that your pinnate is not going anywhere.” She said gently. “Since I know that Lavandula has filed notices on both of you, she did that to keep you together, regardless of how you come to be domesticated or when it happens.” Her gaze shifted to Marissa. “When she filed those notices, she did so in a bid to keep you together. She knows what she’s doing, I trust her with my life.”
Tori looked at her friends and soon to be family. “Allie, Marissa, I spent five years on the run and if I knew then what I know now, I’d have been there for domestication. Is it for everyone?” She paused, and glanced at Emma. “No, but you have an advantage that we didn’t have… You are getting a wardship, for us, it was instant domestication. We will never be independent again, and I’m linked to Mistress via the implant; That can’t be removed from my nervous system. You at least have a chance to get a taste of what your life would be like.” Tori pulled her datapad out of her pocket after it dinged. “Mistress would like to know if we are ready for her to come back in?” Victoria knew that Lavandula could just walk back into the hab when she was ready, regardless of if the four Terrans were ready or not, but she was giving them time to rectify the issues that Allison had inadvertently introduced.
“I’m ok with her coming back in…” Marissa said, glancing at Allison, who glanced at the floor.
Allison’s voice was barely audible when she finally spoke. “I’m ok with Miss Trell coming back in…” A few water spots appeared on her shirt as tears escaped her eyes.
The four Terrans were quiet as Lavandula entered the hab. She had already reprogrammed the Hab AI so that she could just enter as the primary occupants were now her wards, not that it would matter soon. She gave it a standard Terran week before Allison and Marissa were known as Allison and Marissa Trell, Third and Fourth Florets Pinnate. Tori and Emma both smiled when they saw Lavandula, Allison continued to look at the floor and Marissa just looked apprehensive. “There is a shuttle ready to take us back to the Scorpiris as soon as Marissa and Allison pack bags of anything they need. Don’t worry about clothing, we can compile stuff on board. Bring anything else that you may need or want. Tori and Emma, please help your fellow Pinnates get their stuff together, you know what I’m referring to.”
Twenty minutes later, the shuttle was docking with the Scorpirirs. Marissa and Allison both sat there looking out of the shuttle window, mouths agape.