Archive of Our Own

“...Fuuuuuuuck this.”

I sighed, glaring up at the veritable mountain of stairs while trying to mentally calculate how late they were going to make me.  I already had gotten a fair bit lost trying to navigate the new transit system, meaning I had been forced to walk an extra kilometer on a Bad Joint Day.  Then I had to stand in the train car, since there wasn’t a single chance in any hell I was going to climb up onto one of those gigantic fucking seats on my own, and I wasn’t going to be batting my eyes at a 3-meter pile of condescension and misleading bullshit.  

And after all that, what do I get for my troubles?  A short walk to some stairs that looked less like a way to traverse comfortably up a hill, and more like a harrowing climb better suited for those idiots who try to climb Mons Olympus in under half a Terran year.  I let out another long sigh, louder this time now that I was alone.  Was a ‘therapeutic’ massage really worth busting my ass up stairs clearly made for someone with a gait three times my own?  No, of course it wasn’t.  But it was better than the alternative, and I was too damn stubborn to back down just for something as trivial as a little pain.

Just as I began to shuffle forward to begin climbing the first step, I felt the all-too-familiar grip of a hand far larger than my own rest delicately on my shoulder.  Despite its size, the featherlight touch made clear that the owner of said hand was quite deliberately holding back their strength.  As I turned around I set my face into a disinterested scowl, my preferred expression when dealing with the affini.  This one was a dazzling display of colors not typically seen on the Illastria, with vines of fuschia and purple and red and pink that were offset by flowers of the most brilliant white I had ever seen.  The petals flexed slightly as I looked at them, as if waving at me.

“Good Morning, little one.”  Little one.  My scowl deepened as the affini continued, “Would you like some assistance getting to a higher floor?”

“No.” 

I always kept my interactions with affini to a bare minimum, as a rule.  The chances of unwanted touching and unneeded praise exponentially rose over the duration of any given conversation.  I shrugged off their grip and took a step forward, only to wince as I raised my knee high enough to clear the first massive stair.  The stars-damned thing had to be at least two feet tall, and I had been too busy this morning to do the stretches I had been prescribed.  

That was part of the reason I was even doing this, anyway.  I had been voluntold by my nosy roommate that she had received a Wellness Check…for me.  Me!  I wasn’t home at the time, so the affini in question had apparently passed on an ultimatum of sorts: a series of tasks that I needed to complete before that same time next week, or I was going to be moving in with them.  Some of the tasks were a bit annoying (who has time to ‘meditate to soothing nature sounds’ an hour a day?), but one in particular stood above the rest.

• Go to a Veterinarian and receive care.

Which…hell fucking no.  No way, no how.  Doctors had been some of the worst people to speak with in my life; weeks wasted on filling out the same documents, talking to bored whitecoats who would tell me to try the same things that never worked, the occasional ‘oops, I forgot to properly inform you that this medicine has side effects’, and eventually getting so frustrated that I started all over again.  Doctors fucking sucked, even if they went by a different title these days.  

So I bent the rules a little.  Technically, a massage therapist was not a Doctor…I think?  Maybe it was in the Compact, which honestly would be even better for my plan.  Either way, this totally counted as receiving care, and after I was done here that Wellness Check affini could take their condescension and shove it directly up their ass.

All I had to do was finish climbing some of the stupidest stairs I had seen in my life. 

I only barely managed to make it to the top through sheer force of will, albeit with my legs wobbling like jelly by the final step.  I collapsed onto a nearby bench to catch my breath, glaring at the affini as they easily completed the climb.  Because it wasn’t enough to touch me without my consent, they also had to silently follow me up.  As if I would ever need their help.

“What…what do…you want…?” I snarled.

They tilted their head to the left, blinking all six of their eyes slowly.  When they spoke, it was strangely emotionless, carrying little to none of the rich layered melodies other’s voices often held.  Honestly, I wasn’t going to complain; it felt a bit more like I was talking to a terran.  “To look after my patient, I suppose.  You are Amelia Baer, yes?”  

“...Amy, yeah.”  I managed to put the pieces together while I pulled my body up from the undignified slump I had left it in.  My shirt had plastered itself to my back from the sweat, but I was not going to be trying to fix that now.  “You…you’re, uh…Aiden Rose, or whatever?”

A high and light laugh answered me, the affini’s vines shaking in rhythmic waves.  “Close!  Aven Rose, Third Bloom.  She and her, please.”  

While she maintained a humanoid appearance in her head, chest, and legs, her arms appeared to have relaxed back into loose bundles of long tendrils, which were rather hard to distinguish from the long vines making up her floor-length ‘hair’.  She gestured with some of them to point behind me as she continued, “And if I may, welcome to Anastasias, my clinic and home.”

I twisted to look at the building, a rather tall thing that drew upon some ancient style of terran architecture I couldn’t care less about.  It was the lone bit of architecture perched atop the hill I had just climbed, looming over me as I squinted up at it.  Ah.  No wonder she had followed me, then; there wasn’t anything else to do on this stars-forsaken lump of earth.

“...You, uh, live here?”

“Oh, yes!  My clinic used to be located further downspin, but I decided to move my practice into my hab.  As beautiful as it is to observe, I don’t tend to do as well when the forecast calls for snow.  Would you like to step inside?”  One of her thicker vines extended out towards me, which I ignored entirely as I shoved myself fully back onto my aching feet.  

The large wooden doors opened soundlessly outward as we approached, a trick that had been mildly entertaining the first time I had seen it, but by now only made me roll my eyes.  Great, she had a Hab AI that can detect and recognize an authorized sophont.  Big whoop.

I followed the Aven inside, the soft padding of my sandals out of sync with the far slower click Clack of her heels on the patterned wooden floor.  The entrance opened up into a large hallway that extended all the way up to the third floor, the walls lined with all manner of oddities and knick-knacks in display cases.  I was led about halfway down the hallway to a doorway on the right, the outside of which read AVEN ROSE, DVM.  Whatever that means.  Doctor of Vine Massages, maybe?

Her ‘clinic’ was smaller than I had expected.  It was clearly still sized for an affini, but the dim lighting and dark paint made it feel…cramped.  There was a series of drawers on the left and back of the room, and a strange assortment of stuff on top of them.  I squinted at a large clear bowl in particular, which appeared to be filled with…

“Why do you have a bunch of rocks?”

Aven laughed as she saw where I was looking.  “Part of my tools of the trade, as it were.  Hot stone massages can feel wonderful on a sore back, or so I’m told.  I heat them up in this,”  She motioned to what looked suspiciously like a slow cooker filled with water, “and place them on a patient’s back after massaging them.”

“Oh.”  I looked back to the affini, who was standing over what had to be her massage table.  She was altering some of the settings to resize it to someone of my height, as whoever had been here before clearly was at least three feet taller than me.  The table seemed to be divided up into modular sections of padding that slotted together, or alternatively could be removed entirely.  There wasn’t that much space under the thing, which was a bit surprising.  Wouldn’t a massage therapist want me at her waist height, instead of mine?  

After getting the table set up the way she wanted, Aven went over to the drawers and retrieved a few items.  First was a padded thing that looked like someone had taken a long cylinder and cut it perfectly in half lengthwise, which she placed (flat side down) about two-thirds of the way down the table.  Next came a crisp white sheet and blanket, both of which were draped over the majority of the bed, leaving space for my head to peek out near the top.  She finished by retrieving one of those special massage table headrests (the kind that looked like a bizarre donut, so you could still breathe easily facedown), affixing it before finally turning back to me and extending her arm-vines and hair out in a fanning ‘Ta-da!’ motion.

I crossed my arms.  “So what now?”

“Well, normally I ask a few questions to get a sense for what you are looking for.  But between the forms you filled out online to make this appointment, as well as getting the opportunity to observe your journey to my front door…well.  I think I have a clear idea on what all needs done.”  Aven gently patted the table with a few of her vines.  “All you need to do is remove your clothing, climb under this blanket, and lie facing upwards.  The padded bolster here,” she tapped the half-cylinder, “is to rest under your knees, providing support.  I’ll knock in a few minutes, and then we’ll get started~”

I watched warily as she flowed gracefully past me and out the door, which closed behind her with a soft *click*.  I took a deep breath, trying to quell my distrust through sheer force of will.  I would get through this, go home, and everyone would leave me the fuck alone.  I could practically feel the cold glass of lemonade I would compile in hand, could smell the warm cookies I would absolutely treat myself to after the bullshit of today.

I began to strip down with the efficiency of someone who had many years’ experience with stiffness and aches, tossing my discarded clothes on the lone terran-sized chair near the door.  The room was thankfully more than warm enough that I was comfortable, even completely nude.  

The covers Aven had thrown over the table were soft and silky to the touch as I awkwardly slid underneath them, shuffling my body to the left until I was more or less centered, and the crook of my knees rested directly on the bolster…thing.

Without a pillow to rest my head on, I found myself staring directly up at the ceiling, which was covered in a myriad of ornate wooden vinework through which shone some kind of backlight in the same colors as the affini herself.  Purples and pinks and yellows drifted slowly across my field of view in big amorphous blobs, lending to an illusion that the carved vines were somehow crawling along with them.  

I briefly entertained the idea that this might be what the inside of an affini would look like, but dismissed the thought.  It’d be better for me if I just closed my eyes and rested instead of watching a light show until it gave me a headache.  Thankfully I didn't have to wait too long.

*Knock knock-Knock*

“Amy, are you ready?”  Aven opened the door fully, letting the already-too-bright light from the outside cast over my face, all but forcing my eyes to stay squeezed shut.  

“Yes,” I managed to hiss with only moderate annoyance.  “Now close the door.”  

It thankfully shut less than a second later, plunging the room back into the dim lighting of before.  While I waited for my eyes to readjust, I heard the swish of vines as the affini moved around the table, coming to a stop on the side where my head rested.

“Mmmm…I can tell you’ve got quite a lot of tension that needs working out.  Ah, do you have any preferred scents, dear?”  She held out a few pump-bottles above me, for all that was worth; learning affini script wasn’t exactly a high priority when your vision isn’t as good as it used to be.

“No.”

Another giggle rewarded my curt response, and the bottles withdrew out of sight.  I didn’t hear anything for a bit, but I couldn’t see what was happening above me without making it obvious I was craning my neck.  Wasn’t she going to-

“AAah!” 

I couldn’t help but squeal as what felt like icy tendrils attempted to shiver across my bare neck, my body reacted instantly, curling itself into a ball under the blankets out of blind desperation.  “What the fuck was that?!”

“It’s the lotion, dear.  Is the scent not to your liking?”

“It’s freezing cold!  Can’t you do something about it?”  I scowled up in her general direction, but I could only barely see the top of her head from my current angle.  I slowly uncurled myself, irritably readjusting the blanket as I did so that my feet wouldn’t stick out the end.  I waited, but she didn’t respond.  “Hey!  Did you hear me, yo-ohhhh…”

If before was like frigid meltwater poured into my skin, this was like someone had taken the essence of a hot shower and cascaded it over me, with perfect firm pressure dappling down my shoulders.  The tips of Aven's vines were rounded, pressing expertly into my muscle groups and drawing tension out of me like water from a well.  

The lotion she had chosen was a layered tapestry of scents; cherries and chocolate, yes, but also some kind of floral undertone that danced down the back of my throat with every inhale, and the barest hint of berries tracing along my tongue.  

“Is this better, then?” Aven spoke casually as she began to properly work on my shoulders and neck, softly kneading at my muscle and flesh as if she might shatter me into glass if she pressed hard enough.  With the dozens of new connections to my skin, though, she probably immediately felt the way I tensed up at the question as she added, “Not to worry, sweetie.  It's simply that I take quite a bit of pride in my craft, and want to bring you to the pinnacle of satisfaction.  You’re my first terran, after all~.”

“...It’s acceptable.”  I fought down a quiet moan as Aven pressed a bit more firmly on a sore spot, clenching my hand tightly and breathing through the pain as it released.  “So if I’m your first, exactly how long does it take before you know what you’re doing?”

Aven answered my question not with words, but by vibrating her vines in a way that resonated with something, some part of my body that made me feel like I was dissolving under her touch. I couldn't help but let out a breathy sigh of relief as the pain in my joints did something it had never managed to do before: it lessened. 

"What th...mmmfhow?!" I managed to ask, at which she chuckled...though it was different.  Rather than the strangely emotionless giggle from before, this one had an undercurrent of something…something.  I couldn’t put a finger on it, really.  There was feeling in it, but it wasn’t just the pride I had expected.

"Practice, of course; lots and lots of practice.  The anatomy of each sophont species we have met have all had unique intricacies, of course, but when the Compact have met as many as we have, you begin to take note of certain evolutionary traits common in certain categories.  As I know you cuties are a tailless bipedal species who evolved from tailed quadrupeds, I was able to assume a few things."  

She lifted my left arm out from the blanket, holding it at a particular angle as she began to massage her lotion into the muscle groups connecting it to my torso.  My toes began to curl as she worked out knots I didn't even know existed; every time a vine became dry, a newly lotioned one took its place smoothly.  

A wave of new vines flew across my upper arm, while the ones at my shoulder slowly ebbed away behind them.  Whatever she had rubbed into my skin made it tingle pleasantly in the air, a small reward for enduring the treatment, I suppose.  

Unfortunately I could barely even enjoy it as something else tugged at my attention: a rhythm she conducted, tapping away like drum beats against my skin.  There was something about it, like the pattern was slowly shifting and the way it did so was itself another rhythm; a rip current lurking beneath the surface waves, threatening to drag me under.  

A pattern within a pattern.

Was that all it was?  Were there more layers to it, a fractal of endless rhythms to fall into?  It gave me the unnerving sense of Purpose, that it was a puzzle for me to solve if I only focused, listened, felt it deeply enough.  And all the while she continued speaking in that same soft, easy tone.

"Now I do hope you understand my position here, but it appears you have good reason to visit my clinic~.  I’m noting an unusual amount of inflammation and stiffness as I progress, something that could hardly have been caused just by the stairs you so valiantly scaled earlier.  Could you tell me a little bit about that?”

My normal reaction to someone prying into my existence was to tell them to fuck off, but again the tone in Aven’s voice stopped me.  There was that genuine…something, some immutable quality that blended with the scents in the air and helped ease my worry.  I bit my lip before murmuring, “I…yeah, I guess.  It’s…something I’ve been dealing with for a while.”

“Mmmm.  Am I right to assume the Accord’s attempts at assistance were less than sufficient?”  Aven practically spat out the word ‘Accord’, the sudden vitriol jolting me back into the moment.  

I began to shift and sit up, only for Aven to gently press me back down with a slow shake of her head and a quiet, “Shhhh.”  Clearly she didn’t mean to scare me.

I settled back onto the padding fully, idly watching her vines writhe over my fingertips.  We sat in the quiet for a bit, both of us together.

Eventually, I spoke.  “Yeah, they weren’t very good.”

She nodded, pushing, pulling.  My fingers were curled, uncurled, again in that damned rhythm.

“Then I am truly glad you saw fit to seek out my help, Amelia.” 

Curl, uncurl.

I suddenly really hoped she wasn’t familiar enough with terrans yet to understand the meaning of a blush, though judging by the satisfied hum she gave I wasn’t in luck.  

Hoping to change the subject, I blurted out the first thing I could think of.  “So, um.  Your flowers?”

Curl, uncurl.

“...Yes?”  She gave me a bemused look, slowly blinking at me.

“I…are they…do they do anything?”  I blushed, realizing I had nothing to actually ask.  I blindly reached for more words, hoping my brain would shake a few of them loose.  “I- not that they have to, or anything?  Just, I know that affini often have special ones, and yours all look the same, and…yeah.”

Aven stepped fully into view at that, her vines swishing from the inertia of her movement as she answered, “My flowers are modeled after white roses; given the name I chose for myself in this language, I thought that they were rather apropos.  I’m told they symbolize love, purity, and new beginnings.”

My skin tingled as she extended a vine tipped with one of the roses, allowing the petals of it to brush gently over my forearm.  I couldn't help but gasp ever so slightly at the electric tingles trailing behind it; it was like my sensitivity had ramped up dramatically.

….wait.

“Did…is there, um, that stuff in the lotion?  Those drugs that make you all….weird?”

Aven flowed around to my other side, beginning again with the shoulder.  “I create each lotion myself, using only natural ingredients.  Is something the matter?”

I decided it best I not tell her that I was reacting to her touch; the last thing I needed was an affini with an intent to domesticate me.  I had managed to avoid any potential issues thus far through careful avoidance of the more obvious traps and tricks they had clearly set up to ensnare oblivious idiots amongst the population.  

“No, that's fine.”

“Wonderful.  Oh, do you mind if I play some music and nature sounds?  I find it can really help clients settle.”

“No, I'm fin-” I sighed as the music began anyway, a quiet melody played on some stringed instrument paired with what sounded like leaves rustling.  “...sure, whatever.  Just keep it quiet.”

“Well of course!  If I had it too loud, I couldn't continue our little conversation, after all.”  Aven had a way of tossing back her head when she laughed, again making her hair to shimmer with the movement.  I tore my eyes away from the display with effort, trying to force my body to relax through willpower alone.  This…had little effect, especially as I could easily still see her out of the corner of my eye.  

“So Amy, I must ask: who is your Veterinarian?  I’m impressed that they were able to find such a balanced suite of xenodrugs, while still providing adequate pain relief for you.”  

The question was phrased with the epitome of innocence, but everything about it screamed danger.  It was the same honeyed trap that some of my last doctors had tried on me; I knew better than to take it at face value.

“I’m actually in the process of transferring between healthcare professionals at the moment.  I will have it resolved soon enough, though.”  Aven carefully slid my arm back to the cocoon of heat under the covers, moving next to the foot of the table so she could gain access to my (admittedly quite sore) feet.  The rush of comparatively cooler air as she lifted the blanket sent goosebumps running up my shins, the anticipation adding pink to my cheeks.

I bit my lip as the affini began to press and massage the soles of my feet, her vines almost completely encasing them as they worked.  I could scarcely process the dozens of touches as she worked in rolling waves, starting from the base of my heel and climbing up to the tips of my toes before beginning anew.  She honed in on the spots I put the most pressure on (like the ball of my foot), pressing over and over until seemingly satisfied by the mewls escaping my throat.

My hands clawed at the soft padding as they curled into fists, which only seemed to encourage the affini to more deftly find and attack my weak points.  Even the arch of my foot, something that normally was a bit too sensitive for sustained pressure, was given the perfect treatment: a gentle yet firm circular massage with a thicker set of vines, punctuated with frequent deep massages elsewhere to confuse my brain and prevent it from getting overwhelmed.  

Despite the increase in intensity, Aven’s tone was as calm as ever.  “And how has the search for a Vet gone thus far?  Any potential candidates?”

“Nnn…nnnone so far,”  I managed to gasp out as Aven squirmed her vines in between my toes, pulling them into a long stretch and causing me to arch my back slightly.  “I hAAAve high stANDards, but I’ll f…FIND one soon.”

Aven’s vines came alive as they crawled up my calves, having successfully encased my feet in pleasure; I realized with another blush that it was likely due to how responsive I had been from it all.  I felt more of the lotion applied to my legs, its fresh cherry scent coaxing the slightest of smiles on my lips.

The laughter that spilled from hers was harsher than before, and I finally placed the feeling that had been taunting me, just out of reach.

Aven’s voice dropped slightly lower as she purred, “Of course, of course…and that’s why you tried to get out of your latest appointment with me, then?”

It was the feeling of a trap shutting around me.  

“Y-you…wh…”  My brain barely managed to catch up with the words, and a cold knot began to tighten in the core of my stomach.  “L-latest?”  

“Oh, yes!  I’ve tried quite a few times to get you in for a visit, sweet pea~.  You dodged and made excuses for a full month; why do you think you received a Wellness Check?”  She was still cheerfully rubbing my legs and feet, though her touch did little to lessen my stress; the vines were less like a blanket and more like a cage.  “I’d even paid a visit to your hab, only to  find you weren't even there!  Well after something like that, how could I not accept your silly little attempt to…what’s the phrase?  ‘Put one under me?’”

I couldn’t help but tremble slightly as the ramifications of her words slammed into my chest, the adrenaline beginning to ratchet up my senses.  “I would like to leave now.”

“I’m sure you would, petal.  But I’m afraid you have already used up all your good will for the time being, especially when you insisted on climbing up all those stairs when you knew it wasn’t good for you.”  

The vines continued to slither up my legs, passing my knees and showing no signs of stopping.  “But don’t you worry, dear.  I’ve already got things back under control.”

A ray of hope. 

“I…you mean we’re good now?  This was enough?”

“No, dear.”  Her eyes, which up until now had been a tranquil blue, shifted to a dizzying display of purple as she dropped the sing-songy voice entirely.  “I’m saying that I will be making those difficult choices for you from now on~.  The paperwork was filed while you were undressing, actually!  Congratulations, petal.  Your new name is Amelia Rose, First Floret!”

I tried to throw the blanket off, to grab the side of the table and yank myself to safety…only to find my arms unable to comply with my demands, flopping weakly instead of obeying.  “Wh…what did you do to me?  I thought this was just lotion?!”  

“Oh, it absolutely is!  But I mixed a bit of my paralytics and sensitivity enhancers into the lot.  But!  Don’t!  You!  Worry!”  A vine came up and gently tapped the tip of my nose with each word.  “Like I said, all of the ingredients are completely natural, and some of them even came from Terra!”

“Nonononono….”  I shook my head vigorously, but my verbal protests already felt faltering.  “I’m an independent, I’m not…you can’t just-”

“I can.” 

She gently drew away the blanket, the only barrier between us stripped away with sheer glee and a wicked smile.

“And I will.  It’s already done, Amy.  The choice already made.  All that’s left is to relax while I finish the massage, and then I will be doing what should have been done weeks ago.”  

“I won’t…I won’t let you.”  Tears welled in my eyes, and began to thrash my head from side to side.  “I won’t consent to this, and I’ll fight you every stars-damned step.”

Her vines lashed out so quickly I didn’t even see them move, pinning my head completely in place while they rubbed more of the lotion on my neck.  With the same gentle and genuine voice, she cooed, “Your cooperation was never expected or required, my sweet.  Many wild animals will yowl and hiss when they are hurt, when they need care.  But just as a bone that healed wrong may need to be broken, so too will I break you.  And when it is all said and done, you will thank me.”

I tried to scream, but the same paralysis that pinned my limbs had grasped me by the throat, locking my voice away until my firm command was reduced to a whispered plea.  “I don’t…please, let me go.  I-I’ll go to my appointments, I’ll be a model citizen!”

“You’ll do as you’re told, petal.  Not as a citizen or a person, but as my obedient and well-trained floret.  Now, let’s get you turned over~.”

Aven stepped up to my right side, carefully wriggling her vines underneath me and manipulating my body onto my stomach, taking care to nestle my head into its cradle.  I felt her hand suddenly come down on the back of my head, the pressure unyielding.  “Comfortable?”

She drugged me and violated my consent, and now she speaks of comfort?  I wanted to spit in her face, to bite and scratch…anything but think about how I hadn’t felt this free of pain in years, in a lifetime.  She had taken the burden from my back, and all she asked in return was to rip me to pieces.

“F…fuck you.”  

“Quite.”  Her vines, which had been in the bottom left of my vision, stepped away, and I heard her rustle around in the drawers.  “Now where did I….ah!”  The slithering noises grew closer again as she bent down to place a strange…bowl…thing…directly below my head.  The inside of it, though empty, began to glow with a strange light.  “Tell me, have you used a scent diffuser before?”

I said nothing, watching as a tear managed to escape my eye and drip down to the bowl, whereupon it hissed and dissolved to steam.  Aven sighed.

“That’s alright, dear.  We’ll get things sorted soon enough.”  Her vines came directly back into view, depositing a few small waxy-looking cubes into the bowl.  Yellow, purple, pink- just like her.  Her voice wrapped around my mind as she whispered, “Let me just set something else up quickly, and then we can really begin.”

I watched in horror as the cubes began to dissolve from the heat, releasing a potent scent that I couldn’t help but breathe in.  They had the same overall smell as the lotion, but even a single panicked inhale was enough to knock me near senseless.  Whatever drugs she had dropped into the bowl were clearly fast acting.  Within seconds my sensitivity skyrocketed well beyond anything I had ever felt before.

And I could feel everything.

My brain was convinced I was no longer lying on firm padding; instead I felt the softest of pillows beneath me, luxurious and opulent as my cock began to harden from the contact alone.  I felt every whorl of air as Aven stalked around me, and couldn’t help but shudder and moan as she ran a small flower from my neck down to my tailbone, then back up again.

“Mmm...I think you’d look adorable with one of my flowers just tucked next to your ear.  A pretty little petal for my petal, don’t you think?”  

I couldn’t even speak at this point, my willpower entirely focused on keeping my hips from thrusting and grinding myself against the table in a humiliating display that tempted me beyond reason, beyond understanding.  My limbs may have been all but deadened to me, but my torso was free to arch and wriggle and writhe, and some part of me struggled with the realization that as good as things already felt…

It was about to get a lot worse.

Aven’s vines were barely even a grazing tickle at first.  It felt like she was dangling a single tendril over my back and swinging it like a pendulum, each pass dropping it down another micrometer, another breath closer.  Taunting, teasing, and it was making it damn near impossible to remain in control of myself.  Another swipe and I gave in with a moan of despair and lust, thrusting down into the padding in time with her movements.

The worst part was that it felt Good.  My breath came in ragged gasps as she played with my body like a toy, as I moaned and bucked like I was an animal in heat.  The humiliation of it all mixed with the knowledge that she was doing this to break me, that every single breath I took would only make it easier.  

Dimly, I realized something else.  The music and noises she had put on were steadily growing louder, and I…I was breathing to it. 

I couldn’t stop myself, couldn’t slow or speed up, couldn’t ignore it.  My diaphragm tightened and released in a haunting rhythm that pounded into my ears and swirled into the scent of cherry desire and chocolate indulgence, overwhelming me even as she whispered more promises….and I wasn’t…I couldn’t…

What felt like the full weight of Aven suddenly bore down on me, massaging my whole body at once with a million billion vines that sought only to take and break and shape.  I screamed soundlessly, unable to so much as twitch a finger beneath the assault on my senses.  It was too much.  It was too much.

“Breathe in…and Breathe out.”  Aven’s voice warbled like I heard her underwater.  “And feel your attention, your focus drawn to a single point of existence.  All other thoughts fall away, kneaded out of you with my touch, my words, my control.  The fear is gone, now.  The doubt is gone now.  The pains you have lived with are but ghosts of your past, and soon they will be even less.”

I believed her.  Stars help me, but I believed her.  My whole world, my whole existence was Aven.  Everything around me, every point of experience was utterly in her control.  I hadn’t felt anything in the last eternity that wasn’t by her vines; I hadn’t breathed fresh air for years, or was it days?  Seconds?

She tapped the back of my neck carefully, precisely.  “You will be broken, dear.  And when I have had my fill enjoying your limp and helpless body, I will place a part of myself inside of you, replace the parts of you no longer needed to be a happy sweet girl.  And then I will train that girl to be anything and everything I want.”

“Nn…nnn….”  I weakly protested, even as my throat became coated in cherry and chocolate intoxication, even as her vines pressed in on my head and pulsed, feeling like they were phasing through my skull and piercing my brain.  Maybe they were; she was more than strong enough.  Maybe her vines were scrambling my thoughts already, reducing the proud terran to a simple pet.

“Yes, dear.  Yes, I will.  I will use your own biology against you, will train and condition you with the hundreds of little quirks hidden away in your mind.  Your body is designed to reward itself, and I now and forever control when that happens.”

Aven wrapped vines around my waist and forced my hips to raise until I was propped up on my knees, yet her hand remained on the back of my head.  My cheeks burned at the position I found myself in, a humiliating mockery of doggy style that exposed the last thing I wanted her to see, to feel.  But she already knew -of course she knew- and I felt her vines wind down and around my newly revealed erection as Aven cackled, the laugh of a predator who was toying with helpless prey, enjoying the way it squirmed before her.  She ran claws up my thighs as she savored how I shivered, how my tongue ached to beg for more.

“Your mind may fight it, but your body is already eager to learn.  Breathe in.”

My body obeyed, an exhale shoved aside for an inhale before I had a chance to even think.  The drugged scent was inside me, pervaded every centimeter of my being.  The submission of the action rolled through me like a wave, forcing another screaming moan from my throat.

“Good pet.”  I was rewarded with a single slow stroke of my cock, down to my tip and back up to the base, her vines wrapped around my hips and binding my feet.  I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t change a single thing about any of this.  

“Breathe out and relax.”  My lungs were all too eager to follow this time, released from her spell as I struggled to keep myself from breathing too quickly and getting even more high.  Another agonisingly slow stroke, punctuated by a light splatter of my precum dribbling down my leg and onto the padding.  There was an amused burst of rhythms from Aven as she swiped a vine through it and wiped it across my back.  “See?  Much better to just relax and listen to my pretty voice, you sweet little thing~”

“Nn…nnoooooooh?”  The words, the barbs and insults and clever little traps I wanted to lay…even if I could speak, they were all useless.  I was…I was helpless.  And the thought of that only turned me on mor-

No!

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to maintain the grip on my sanity.  But every breath drew me further under, drowning even as I freely breathed.

With every iota of will remaining in my frame I slammed my mouth shut, forcing myself to ignore the music, to ignore the feeling of emptiness without the warm cinnamon of the drugs inside of me.  Aven’s grip on the back of my head shuddered as her laugh began anew, each time sounding more and more like a growl than an expression of mirth.  Vines wound around my neck as she spoke in a voice of velvet, “Precious little thing, do you really think that will matter?  Here, let’s make this easier…”

Plink pli-plink!

I cracked an eye to see that she had added a few orange cubes to the mixture below me, all the while her vines and hand began to tighten down on my throat.  Aven leaned over my body until her lips brushed against my ear and whispered, “The next time you breathe, you’ll smell this lovely aroma of oranges; that would be the bonding enhancer I just added at triple the dosage needed.  Not enough to melt your silly brain entirely, but more than enough to put you right where I want you.  The only thing keeping you from that fate right now…is my help.”

The feeling around my neck tightened to the point that my head began to pound.  “Now I’ve gone ahead and made this quite easy for you.  In half a minute or less, you’re going to pass out from oxygen deprivation to your brain.”  I already was.  I could feel the pounding increase, my body beginning to spasm, to try and protect itself at all costs, and the desperate scream bottled within as it realized how trapped I was.  At the same time, I felt something warm and wet squirt onto my asshole, and a moment later something very, very Big pressed up against it.

“And until then, I’ll just give those baser instincts of yours a reason to pay attention to their new Owner.”

I barely had a moment to think before what had to be the biggest vine she had slid into me with one long, smooth stroke.  I felt the grip on my neck tighten with each thrust in, and ever so slightly loosen as she pulled out, allowing my choked pleas to barely escape before Aven thrust again.  By the third time, I was seeing spots in the corners of my eyes that flashed as she bottomed out in me.  By the fifth, I realized I wasn’t even trying to speak words.

The lights in the room began to dim as she fucked me, my vision narrowing until all I could see was the glowing colors of the bowl, like a glowing affini eye that taunted and mocked.  

“Because I could make any part of you feel this good, you know.  It wouldn’t even be that difficult.  But I wanted to give you the gift of submission, and there is a part of you that craves to have your face pushed into the dirt as you are used .”

The pleasure was indescribable, my brain struggling to process it all even as it starved, even as the bowl began to dim into darkness.

“There we go, dear…let yourself slip away so softly...”

Oh stars, I was going to die.

As the last fragment of consciousness slipped from my fingers, three things happened simultaneously.  

The first was the vines on my neck going slack, allowing my body to instinctively pull in a huge gasp of breath of drugs and cherries and chocolate and citrus, shuddering with glee as it passed over my tongue like a lover before entering my throat.  They stained my soul with her colors, her desires, her wants and needs.

The second was the heady mix flooding my system, weaving with the rush of chemicals my brain released from the sheer joy of being alive and creating a blanket of euphoria that wrapped tightly around my existence.  I could feel the desperate urge to thank her for letting me live, for giving me air, for keeping me safe…and I was far too spread apart to argue against it.

The third was a final rough thrust from Aven that pushed my body over the brink and into the largest orgasm I had ever felt in my life.  I used the deepest breath I had ever felt to scream out in brilliant bliss as my body clamped down on her vine, my eyes rolling back into my head as I surrendered entirely to her control.  It stretched on and on, an endless rolling wave of pleasure that reverberated through me in a rising crescendo.

“And then we will begin again.”

The vines around my neck tightened once more, cutting off my next inhale before it had a chance to begin.  I spasmed, tears falling freely down my cheeks as the tunnel darkened once more.  If I had air in my lungs I would have already begged for mercy and told her I would do anything to make this stop, anything.  

I was not given the opportunity.

At least this time as the consciousness slipped from my fingers, she slid her vines into my palms for comfort.  I couldn’t even clench my hands around them, so she had to do that for me.

     The vines on my neck loosened.  

     I gasped for air and found only drugs.

     She stuffed an orange cube into my mouth and let it dissolve.

     The vines tightened once more.

Balanced on the precipice between consciousness and insanity, too weak to even think about fighting as the cycle began anew.

     The vines on my neck loosened.  

     Her fingers hooked my cheeks and stretched my mouth into a sloppy grin.

     She whispered that I was already doing so well for her.

     The vines tightened once more.

I wasn’t being punished.  I didn’t want this, but it wasn’t a punishment.  It felt too good to be a punishment.  It felt too right.  The cracks were filled with cherry and chocolate, and my muscles and mind were massaged into soft workable clay as I drooled citrus into the bowl.  

     The vines on my neck loosened.  

     I didn’t want it to end.  I didn’t want it to begin.  I floated on the line between them.

     My orgasm was a reward for good behavior.

     The vines tightened once more.

Again and again and again…each time I came back more woozy, more dazed.  The orgasms felt so much better now.  I don’t think I could go back.  I didn’t want to go back.  Not anymore.

“What are you?”  She commanded.

“I…I’mmmm human?”  

“No.” 

And back down I went.  Trial and error, over and over.  I couldn’t think very well, but I knew I would learn it sooner or later.

“What is my name?”

“I…A-A…Aven?”

“No.”

My life was measured in orgasms, in thirty-second windows of existence. 

“What’s your name?”

“A-”

“No.”

I wasn’t quite sure if there was ever anything before this, to be honest.  It was too difficult to remember.  The lies of my previous life were too hard to keep straight.

“What are you?”

“I…I don…”

The cycle paused.

“What are you?”

I coughed, taking another shallow breath, missing the comfort of her rhythm and the blankness of the orgasms already.  “I don’t k-know?  I…I don’t…I don’t know what I am…?”

“Good Girl.”

I thought I had screamed before, but those were quiet mewls compared to what came from me as Something pressed against my back, white-hot pleasure carving itself all the way down to my soul, bending it like molten metal into a new shape.  It was Everything, it was existence, it was death, it was life.  

It was Aven.  It was her rhythm, searing itself down to my bones, to my atoms, to Me. The vines on my neck were loose, but we both knew I wouldn’t be able to draw breath like this.  I was utterly in her control, suspended before her will like a fly in her web.

And then it lifted away, and the vine returned around my neck.

“You are a floret.”

The words imprinted into my mind, deeper than the deepest foundations of my identity.  It came before all else.  

I felt the vine tighten again and surrendered to it, drooling happily into the bowl below as I began to lose consciousness again, waiting for my next reward.

“What is my name?”

“I d…I don’t know?”

“No.” 

My heart plummeted at the rebuttal, and I felt a fresh wave of tears cascade down my face.  I had upset her, I had failed.  

As the vines began to tighten once more, I desperately squeezed out, “Miss Rose?”

“...Good Girl.”

The burning pleasure returned again to my back as I pushed into it, as I helped it imprint more firmly into my flesh.  I wanted it, I needed it, the pleasure it brought was Good, and I was weak before it.

“My name is Miss Rose, or Mistress.  What is your name?”

I smiled lazily, giggling.  “Whatev….ever Miss Rose wanted it to beee.”

“Good Girl.”

I was pressed flat against the table, mindlessly rutting into the padding as Miss trained me, molded me, recast me into hers.  Time ceased to be a meaningful word, as Miss had not told me it was important.  All that was, was submission…obedience…and pleasure.  

There were moments where she lifted me up and held me carefully, putting something cold on my back while she sang to me in a language I could scarcely understand, yet had rivers of tears stream down my face.  Other times she would feed me sap from her vines, or add more of those cubes to melt in the bowl.  She told me I had a Purpose now.  All dolls have one, and mine was Very Important.  And one day soon, my Purpose would be so tightly woven into me that nothing could ever ever remove it.

I was being conditioned, I knew. 

I didn’t know why, and that was okay; pets didn’t need to think about choices, or reasons.  She was weaving new instincts for me to fall back on; she was wonderful like that.  Soon enough, I wouldn’t have to even think about if something was allowed; I would just know, as surely as I knew how to breathe and blink and beg for her touch.

As the moments slipped by, I could tell she was drugging me harder.  When the pleasure was such a constant in my life that every touch of my fingers to the padding sent me spiralling off into a mindless haze, she told me it was because I was being readied for her.  That she was going to implant me, right here in this room.  She was a Veterinarian, after all.  She had already prepared her core sample.  She showed me it, too; let it rest on my neck in its cool glass cylinder while I rested and healed from her Hot Core Treatment on my back.  Giving me her reward every time I felt it squirm slightly, every time I begged for it to happen already.  

The last thing I remember before slipping into unconsciousness for the final time was the feeling of her hands on my throat, and the drugs slipping into my lungs that would keep me under.

“Oh, there you two are!”  I looked up to see the face of my old roommate, the one who had answered the door for Miss Rose…was it four weeks ago?  Something like that.

Mistress gently extended a vine and shook her hand, beaming with joy as she said, “It’s lovely to see you again, dear.  How have you been?”

“Pretty good, all things considered.  Thank you for meeting up with me, by the way; I knew Amy was fine from all the pictures and videos, but I just…had to see it in person to believe it, I guess.  You look so much better now though, Amy!”

I smiled and happily replied with a simple, “Thank you!”

“...You’re, uh, welcome?”  She tilted her head at me, then looked back at Mistress, who laughed in her silly fake laugh, not the real one she uses when we’re alone.  I felt her vines tighten possessively around me, a few of the smaller ones taking care to specifically wind around the flower over my ear, stroking the stem that linked directly back into my brain.

“Part of her training; she’s been limited to the words, ‘Thank’ ‘You’ and ‘Miss’ for the week.  She is learning to rely on and trust others to advocate for her. And who will you always trust to have your back?”

I felt the scarlines from her core’s imprint on my back tickle slightly, and I giggled.  “You, Miss!”

“O-oooooh!  Gotcha.”  My roommate darted forward and squeezed me in a hug, taking care to avoid hitting the bandages on my lower back.  Getting a tail was probably something I had always wanted to do…but even if it wasn’t, it made Miss happy, and that made me happy.  We separated from the hug as my roommate looked me over one last time and said, “Well, I have to get going.  But talk to me soon, alright?  We can get coffee together, or something.”

“Miss you!”  I waved as the girl left, then sighed and leaned against Mistress.  I felt her vines wind around me, kneading and soothing muscles that hadn’t ached in weeks.  She was even more gorgeous to me now, though that may have had just as much to do with my new ocular implants as it did the actual implant.  

I loved how the flecks of gold seemed to float in my irises; Miss said she did it just for me, like everything else!  They were there as another reminder of how beloved a toy I was.  And when I was permitted to think more deeply, when I was able to ask myself how I felt?

I couldn’t be happier.