Chapter Text
Liam took a deep breath as he stepped out of his hab, letting the icy pre-morning air of winter fill his lungs. He had always liked being up in the hours before dawn. Just over a year ago, before the Affini arrived, it was just part of his work routine. He would leave the house before the sun crested the horizon and take a meandering walk to his job at the Capria Archives. The walk gave him time to think on anything that was bothering him, work through solutions to the rapidly degrading storage systems the archives used for the public domain collection, and decide which of his playlists he’d listen to that day. Now, since the Office of Transitional Neoxenoveterinary Archeobureaucracy (Isn’t that a mouthful) took over the Archives and put him out of the job, as they didn’t need his maintenance anymore and the whole ‘eradication of capitalism’ thing they had going on, Liam continued his morning ritual of a pre-dawn walk to think through everything that had on his mind.
His path today took him towards the Affini part of town, as they had some of the nicer scenery and larger parks. It was a risk for an independent like him, he knew that, but treating it like a risk would only make things worse for himself. He didn’t want to look like one of those annoying feralists whose posts he occasionally saw on the overnet before they disappeared with the update “This user has since been domesticated.” No, feeling calm and confident in the Affini distract was part of his healthy independent lifestyle. A lifestyle that kept any prying vines from digging too deep.
Today’s train of thought was fairly simple, with only a few items on the docket for him to think through. One of his independent friends, Abigail, recently volunteered for domestication and had been asking him to meet up with her and her new owner. He still wanted to hang out with her, they had been very close as she was the same kind of nerd as him, but he was worried about spending too much time around Affini and the observations they might make during that time. He also hoped she hadn’t changed too much. He maybe kinda sorta had a crush on her since they met three years ago when she was studying pre 24th century media at Capria University and came into the archive. They’d hung out a lot since then, and she helped make a lot of the playlists he’d listen to while he worked, so she was probably his best friend, someone he trusted with things he couldn’t trust with anyone else. It’s not like he could afford to lose her, that sort of self isolation would definitely result in a wellness check.
That brought him to the second item on the docket. Abby had added him to a few overnet group chats that seemed full of florets, and he was pretty sure there were some deeper implications. The main one seemed to just post memes that were, as one member put it, ‘based and Affini pilled’. That one was at least fun, and some of his memes got good reactions. But the other was a little different. It was called <The Seedvault> and seemed like a good mix of independents and florets who would make ironic jokes about how awful domestication was, and how little they wanted ‘a tall plant mommy’ to scoop them up and domesticate them. He truly didn’t understand why Abby had added him to that, as it was basically a more specific version of their main chat.
He wound his way deeper in the park, settling down in a grove filled with flower arrangements that were almost certainly planted by florets as a fun filled day with their owners. He sat squarely in the middle, ignoring how the slightly dew damp grass felt on his pants. It would be a good space to wait for dawn before and consider the third item; the Affini themselves.
It had been a year since they arrived on Capria, and everything had gotten so much better. Architecture, medicine, the compilers giving you any food you want. It was like a dream he didn’t want to wake from. But with all the good, came the not so good... The ever present spectre of forced domestication. Obviously he knew there were plenty of sophonts who benefited from it, like people who truly couldn’t take care of themselves, and it was a much nicer alternative to how the old Capria Sheriffs dealt with criminals, but then there were also normal independents who disappear one day and reappear a month later drooling over a new owner. He wanted to avoid that specifically.
The problem was, he was the perfect candidate. He liked the Affini well enough, struggled with self worth issues, addiction, and some other things he’d much rather stay buried. His first appointment with an Affini doctor (or Vet as they call them, since doctors only deal with Affini, vets are for everyone else) had gone well, and he’d been given a quick assortment of prescriptions to help with his allergies (can’t have hay-fever around a bunch of plants) as well as a low dose Class E, to help replace his smoking habit and deal with some general anxieties. A few weeks later he was given a clean bill of health and officially cleared as an independent.
All well and good. The only problem was his job. He loved his old job in the Archives, and threw his entire self into it. With that gone, it left a lot of time for him to think, and he wasn’t a fan of the spiralling rabbit holes it seemed to lead him on. It only started after being cleared as independent, so he hadn’t needed a psychologist checkup at the time, but now he was seriously looking into booking one. Affini psychologists were apparently way more effective than Terran ones, with a whole bunch of extra tools, and that meant they would absolutely find out all of Liam’s little secrets and ship him off for domestication.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to calm down and centre himself. That wasn’t a healthy train of thought, and if he wasn’t healthy he would be domesticated. Deep breath in, then out. Okay, picture the Yard, all those trains parked and secured, and send a safe one out. A safe train of thought… He opened his eyes and took in the flowers again. The sun was just peaking over the horizon now, lighting up the tops of the trees with a bluish golden glow. It was nice. Calming. It was the scenery like this that stopped him from ending it on his second attempt…
No. Derail and start again. That’s not healthy either. He’s doing much better now than he was back then. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath in. And out.
“Are you alright down there little one?”
“Stars!” Liam jumped, gripping his chest. He looked up at the flowing collection of vines and bark that made up the Affini. It’s shape was incredibly human, closely following a woman’s body, with subtle mounds to imply breasts hidden under a papery grey imitation shirt that flowed into a pencil skirt of layered pale green leaves. Her bark covered legs emerged from the bottom of the tight skirt and yellow-blonde follicles sprouted from her head, flowing back into a bun-like bulb that gave her a faintly academic appearance. All she was missing was the glasses… “Sorry, I’m fine, you just startled me.”
The Affini tilted her head, the two metallic eyes looking down at him with a mix of blue and green sparkles. He looked away. He knew how hypnotic those eyes could be.
“I’m sorry, it certainly wasn’t my intention. I just saw you sitting here alone in the cold and wanted to make sure you were alright.” She smiled kindly.
Liam understood the implication of ‘without an owner’ in her words and smiled back at her, putting up that happy independent persona that made him so well liked. “It’s fine, I completely understand, especially considering we’re in the Green District. I probably would have done the same in your position, just in case I was a floret, you know?”
“Of course.” The Affini’s smile widened, her eyes settling back to a pleasant green. “My name is Rosserae Dryandra, Fourth Bloom, She/Her. I am still curious what you were doing out here so early…”
Of course she was, and Liam already had an answer prepared. He never lied to the Affini (apparently they could tell), instead twisting the truth into positives, “Liam Royal, independent, He/Him, a pleasure. I was practising my morning ritual. I go out for a walk to get some exercise, then sit somewhere nice and take in the scenery for a while, and work through solutions to anything that’s bothering me. It just so happens that the Green District has the nicest scenery, thanks to you and your passionate florets.”
“That’s very sweet petal.” Rosserae gave him a little pat on the head, which Liam grit his teeth and endured. He always hated when sophonts touched his hair without permission, but luckily Rosserae seemed to sense his discomfort and stop quickly. He spent a moment brushing his hair flat again and moving on. “It also means if the solution is ‘ask an Affini for help’, I have plenty of options.”
He knew they loved it when you asked them for help. Something in their brain that was hard wired to want sophonts to rely on them, but it was a lot easier to imply you ask for help than to actually do it.
“So, how about today?” She asked, “Any help that you need, I will happily provide.”
Liam sighed mentally. He didn’t want to refuse and come off rude, since the Affini sometimes see that as a challenge, but he wasn’t keen on discussing what he’d just been thinking about. It would be too easy to slip up. He needed a happy middle ground. “Perhaps you could walk me home and talk through something with me.”
“Of course petal, lead the way.” She gestured with her vine out of the park and Liam walked ahead with his hand behind his back, exaggerating gazing up at the scenery. Rosserae followed beside him, and Liam could feel her eyes looking down at him with a curious amusement.
“So, I figure it’s worth getting an Affini perspective on this, but my best friend was domesticated last week, and has been asking to hang out again. I really want to, but I’m not sure what activity would be best for meeting her new owner.” Rosserea nodded along to what he was saying, “I’m worried I’d struggle to include her Affini in our usual activities, or that they would be bored or something. Abby hasn’t really told me much about them, so I was leaning towards a lunch or picnic where we could just all get to know each other…”
Liam hadn’t been leaning towards a picnic, but he wasn’t going to let himself be caught without a plan in front of an unknown Affini. “So, what do you think?”
Rosserae hummed, then copied Liam’s pose, holding her hands behind her back. “Well, I think your idea for a picnic sounds like a wonderful idea, but I feel there is something you’re holding back.”
Curse Affini for being so perceptive. She could tell something wasn’t right, but not the specifics. Liam could steer wherever he wanted. “Well, Abby also added me to a group of mostly florets who all send images about being domesticated. I hope she’s just joking about her new life and wants to share it with me, but I feel out of place there. And I don’t want to make her upset by leaving.”
Rosserae let out a little giggle this time, “I see. Maybe she’s trying to point something out to you~”
This time Liam laughed, only a bit forced, “Maybe, but she knows me well enough to know if I wanted to be domesticated, I would have done it by now. I’m more worried that she thinks I secretly want it and is trying to make me open up about something that isn’t real. It wouldn’t be the first time she missed the mark on something like this.”
That was a bit of an exaggeration. Abby had once told him to do some introspection on his gender, because some of the things he said sounded ‘eggy’ and when Liam had looked into it, it meant she thought he might be trans. He wasn’t. Being a guy didn’t make him uncomfortable, he wasn’t dysphoric about his body or anything, and none of the trans girls’ experiences he’d read about really resonated with him. Stars, she only said it because he let her dress him up in women’s clothes one time as a joke and he played along… It was fun at the time, but it didn’t have to mean anything.
Rosserae nodded sagely, obviously considering how she’d get her vines on him. Liam knew the Affini would side with Abby. How could they not? Right now he looked like a silly independent in denial. At least he was almost home and we wouldn’t have to worry about Rosserae for the rest of the day. He was sure she’d want to talk again though, maybe he could share his overnet username? She’d certainly like that…
“I think you need to be honest with her, and assert your boundaries around her pushing you on things that make you uncomfortable. I’m sure she’d understand, I think she is probably enjoying florethood a lot right now and wants to share that with you, but you are right that the two of you are different.”
Liam looked up at Rosserae in surprise. That certainly wasn’t the answer he was expecting from an Affini… It almost felt like a trap. He really hoped it wasn’t. “I suppose that is the best path isn’t it…” He mused.
The door to his hab was in sight, so he needed a finite way to wrap up what had ended up being a fairly pleasant walk. “Well, this is me here. It’s been wonderful meeting you Rosserae, so I look forward to doing it again sometime.” He tried to play a bit coy, keeping the air light.
“I look forward to it too. If you ever need more help, my overnet account is RaeOfSunshine.”
Liam pulled out his pad and sent her a friend request, “There we go. Now, I’ve heard getting a Notice of Intent is one of the highest compliments an independent can receive from you lot, so if I don’t see one pop up in the next few days I’ll be very disappointed Rosserae.” He joked, opening his door. This was always a dangerous play, but it had helped figure out intentions in the past, and he was able to steer clear of Affini who had the wrong opinions.
“We’ll see petal.” Rosserae smiled as she gave him a final wave and turned away. Liam almost collapsed against the door. This was not how his mornings were supposed to go, and it made the rest of the day look so much longer. “Hab, would you randomly select something from my ‘Breakfast’ collection and compile it please?”
“Of course, my liege.” The hab chirped back, and Liam smiled with a toothy grin at his silly nickname.
---
Rosserae watched Liam shut the door as she turned to leave and felt the wave of safety from his biorhythm, even though the door. She knew he had been quite guarded the whole walk back to his hab, and this just confirmed her suspicions. Liam was not the shining example of independence that he seemed to be, and she had some digging to do.
She was originally drawn to his appearance. Of course, seeing a lone sophont in a park would make any Affini investigate, but his cute shoulder length hair, fluffy and brown like a ball of fur, and adorable smile had won her over. His clothes were admirably practical for the weather, and he seemed quite well put together all things considered. But his biorhythm has been the thing to make her stay. Before she had approached, it was discordant, confused, but seeing her had made it jump to two distinct tunes; hesitation and attraction.
Her trip to the Office of Rituals and Records had a new and much more interesting goal now, and she doubled her pace. She was much faster by herself than when walking alongside the little sophont, and it only took her another ten minutes. She was honestly more surprised that Liam took a hab so close to the Affini district, as most independents want to be as far away from potential domestication as they could get, living on the university side of town. The upside is it meant she could ask for her new hab to be right around the corner from his own…
She casually strolled up to the front desk, which was currently unoccupied, (Unsurprising to Rosserae, considering it was only just after sunrise) and pressed a little button to let whoever was in know she was there.
Moments later, a tall Affini emerged from the door, holding a sleeping Beeple floret in their arms. “Aldus Wollemi, Ninth Bloom, He/It. How can I help you?”
“Rosserae Dryandra, Fourth Bloom, She/Her, and I must say your floret is absolutely adorable this morning, Aldus,” Rosserae whispered and Aldus nodded in response to her compliments, “But I do have a few things to get done. The first is relocating my hab from the Verdant Dell to Capria. I had a walk around this morning and have a general area picked out already, if that helps.”
“It does, we can have you moved in before lunch if that suits?”
“Perfect, thank you Aldus. My second request is to have access to the records of an independent living here by the name of Liam Royal. I had quite an interesting conversation with him this morning and it has sparked my curiosity about some things.”
Rosserae didn’t like that Aldus frowned at her. He leaned forward, towering over her further. “If he’s an independent, I can only give you access to his public records. Things like medical history, chat logs with other sophonts and other private information will be withheld unless you are his wellness case worker or are recommending him for a wardship, and even then, that would likely go to an Affini other than yourself.”
He was stern, but certainly didn’t understand why Rosserae was here. She giggled at his attempts at intimidation, they might have worked on a young bloom, but certainly not her. “That’s perfectly fine Aldus, I’m more interested in how many Notices of Intent have been filed for him. I have a sneaking suspicion that every Affini he’s ever talked to has done so.”
Rosserae smiled as Aldus’s mossy eyebrows rose. “I see, well, let’s get a desk set up for you.” It typed some things into his pad, then guested to the door on her left, “You’ll be at desk 84. Let me know if there is anything else you need this morning, Rosserae.”
“Thank you Aldus.” She smiled, overeager to dig into Liam’s past. Trying not to seem rushed, she slipped her vines down into the chair at desk 84 and dove in.
And it was an absolute treasure trove.
Liam Royal was raised by two relatively wealthy parents, had an unusually normal if privileged childhood compared to many. Went to a private boarding school, then Capria University on a scholarship and studied Systems Engineering and a Masters of Information Science, ending up managing the Capria Archives collection of public domain resources. He worked there for two years as a graduate before the Affini arrived and the Office of Transitional Neoxenoveterinary Archeobureaucracy added the archives to their collection, staying to manage the collection and add information about other xenosophont species. Liam didn’t stay once the Affini were there, retiring to live a life free of work.
Rosserae dug a bit further, discovering that in his last year at the archives, Liam hosted a radio show playing old music for the university where students could call in and request things from ‘Capria’s Prince of Public Domain’, and even continued for a number of months into the Affini renewal, but stopped suddenly three months ago. Strange...
Next was the Notice of Intents, and suddenly the end of his time as a radio host became clear. There were about eight NoIs for Liam himself, but almost fifty for ‘The Prince’. Rosserae opened one and read through it. Apparently a first bloom thought his voice and jokes were absolutely adorable and he wanted to cohost the show with Liam. A number of other requests talk about calling in and flirting with him by submitting more and more obscure requests. She moved to the ones on Liam himself, starting current active NoI, lodged just six hours after the Affini arrived on Capria. A second bloom by the name of Lilly Acmena was working with the OTNA and met Liam while he was working. She noted he was very polite and respectful, as well as very knowledgeable on the Capria archival systems which made it very easy for the OTNA to integrate its data. She even helped him book in with a vet onboard the Verdant Dell to get him assessed right away, taking him up there herself and filing the notice while he was in the appointment. Clearly she was expecting an overworked sophont delivered into her vines… Rosserae chuckled when she thought about the poor girl’s disappointment when Liam walked out independent.
Most of the NoI’s after the first are much the same, noting Liam’s intelligence, respectful manner and some even implying a hidden submissive streak. Almost all were from young blooms. It certainly explained her time with him this morning. If he’s been dealing with this much Affini attention just in the first year of Domestication of Capria, the strategies of communication he used were almost necessary.
Rosserae was more impressed that no one had managed to get their vines on him yet, but then she noticed one more thing. Liam had accessed each and every Notice of Intent he received. So he knew what the Affini were saying about him, and Rosserae was certain he wasn’t friends with everyone on the list. That led her to the conclusion that Liam wanted Affini to file NoIs, so he could read their actual thoughts on him, and if he didn’t like what they said, he’d give them a wider berth.
Liam was much smarter than any of these other Affini seemed to give him credit for. She knew he would be happy with all of them, but she wasn’t sure how much of that cunning would remain, that effortless charm and wit. It’s easy to make a floret happy, it’s much harder to keep a floret independent and happy, and the amount of care Liam put into his image made Rosserae think a wardship was likely closer than he would like. She pulled out her tablet and opened up the messaging app.
To: <RoyalWithCheese>
<RaeOfSunshine> 9:28am
Would you be interested in spending some more time together this morning? I just found out my hab will only be available after lunch and I’m afraid I don’t know many people on Capria yet, let alone in Cawford…
<RoyalWithCheese> 9:34am
Sure, I’m free from about 11 onwards… Maybe lunch somewhere? I could introduce you to a place I like.
<RaeOfSunshine> 9:35am
That sounds perfect. I’ll meet you at your hab at 11.
She put her tablet away and leaned back in her chair. He was taking the lead on things, proving he could make decisions while still being incredibly amenable. Rosserae was almost sure he wasn’t really busy, but was just stalling for time.
Liam was definitely going to interest her for some time yet.