The Floret in the Mirror Draft Preview - Chapter 2

Welp, I've posted the first chapter publicly. Committed now. ;) 

Chapter 2 picks up right where Chapter 1 left off - mostly because this all used to be Chapter 1 and it just got too long. Once things settle down I do want to trade off chapters between Jess and... well, you'll see. ^^ 

Content warnings for this chapter: Affini big, dubcon affection. 

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Home, Again

Jess had taken a long while getting dressed. Most of that time she spent staring down at her body and marking all the changes. Layla hadn’t been kidding — Jess had really nice boobs, perfect teardrops that just overflowed her hand when she cupped them. Below them was the curve of her tummy, plush and soft in a way she hadn’t realized was gorgeous until this very moment. Her hips were wide, and though she couldn’t see it, she could tell from feeling around that her ass was no less stunning than the rest of her. Between her legs, surprisingly, the old equipment was still there, but softer than it had been, and somehow even more sensitive. Below that, two pillowy, perfect thighs topped a pair of knockout legs.

Holy fuck, Jess thought as she stared down at herself. She didn’t have a mirror to check her face in, but from the looks of things, she was a total hottie. Layla had to come check on her twice before she finally started getting dressed.

The clothes that Arvense had left — had said were hers, in fact, courtesy of that mysterious Mistress Layla had mentioned — were at least normal looking, though they showed off way more skin than Jess was entirely comfortable with. Her top wasn’t much more than a bright red sports bra, and the indigo blue jacket that went over it, loaded down with all kinds of colorful mission patches that had exactly zero meaning to Jess, was cut at about her ribcage, leaving her midriff totally bare. Her pants, jet black leather, were practically painted on and left her feeling very on-display; underneath them, a pair of panties with a strange combination circuitry-and-floral pattern were delicately emphasizing her bits.

The low wedge-heel boots she eyed with particular trepidation. She’d never worn heels before, and she was sure she was about to break the fuck out of her ankles, but once she slipped them on and took a few cautious steps she realized her body knew exactly what to do. It was deeply fucking weird, like deja vu but worse.

It was bizarre, too, to walk through a doctor’s office, including an almost bog-standard waiting room, where everything was over twice the size it should have been. Layla seemed totally unbothered by it, but Jess couldn’t help but stare. Going outside didn’t help — her first glimpse of the sky nearly knocked her on her ass. “Shhhfuck what the hell?!” she shouted, clinging to Layla as the vertigo hit. Above her, the ground curved up to become the sky

the sky that sears, cloudless, death on parched wings

and some part of her ancient lizard brain was certain that she’d plummet up to her death. “What the hell what the hell what the hell!” She swallowed heavily and forced herself to look away, squeezing her eyes shut. “Fuck, fuck, shit, fuck! Are we on an O’Neill cylinder or something?” There was a few of those in the Sol system, but she had no idea why she or a bunch of weird plant aliens would be on one of them — they belonged exclusively to quadrillionaires, after all.

“No,” Layla said, cuddling Jess up in her arms. “Just a relatively small ship that’s built the same way. Trust me, I understand; the first time I saw the Tillandsia’s interior, I almost threw up.”

“Ah yes,” a deep, thrumming voice said, accompanied by a soft, rhythmic thumping, like and unlike footsteps. “The first time I got to carry you.”

“But far from the last,” Layla said, a dreamy tone creeping into her voice. “Hello, Mistress.”

“Hello, my love.” The voice was getting closer. When Jess slowly let one eye open, the shape of the ship they were on rapidly fell to second place in the list of Things Jess Was Concerned About.

“Holy fuck,” she whispered as she stared up at the alien in front of her and Layla — she was half again Arvense’s height, at least, certainly over four meters. She had a thin build, with long limbs and rough bark for skin, though Jess could see the little vines woven together underneath it. Her hair, or at least, the needles that passed for it, were swept back from her head, ever so slightly asymmetrical. Her face was as unlike Arvense’s as it was possible to get, a wooden mask in dozens or maybe hundreds of pieces, all of which articulated to give the perfect impression of a handsome yet feminine human.“You’re huge.”

“Coming from you, that’s very funny,” the alien said, reaching down and beginning to stroke Layla’s gray-streaked hair — she immediately shuddered, let go of Jess, and fell to her knees, whimpering and moaning softly as a handful of vines slipped free of the alien’s hand and followed her down, continuing the assault. “But may I offer a counterpoint, Jess? I think it’s you who is very small and very cute.”

“Mmmf… aaahhh… Mmmmiiissssss!!” Layla was leaning into Tsuga’s calf now, rubbing up against it helplessly and making soft, helpless noises. Her tongue slipped out and began to lick at one of the vines, and Jess couldn’t help but stare. She’d gone from cool, collected, compassionate grandma to whimpering, helpless plaything in about two seconds.

“What… what are you doing to her?” Jess said. There was something about it that was familiar, and the noises Layla was making were starting to give her a strange feeling, almost like electric jolts in time with Layla’s moans that ran from the base of her pelvis to her solar plexus. She was even starting to get hard. Well, I guess that still works, she thought, shifting to try to hide it, but why the hell does this turn me on?

“Petting her?” The alien gave Jess a quizzical look. “I heard you were still having memory problems, but I didn’t realize they were that serious.” She still hadn’t stopped teasing Layla, and when she knelt down, the addled human immediately leaned into the alien’s hand as it came down on her head again. “Do you remember me?”

“N-no,” Jess said, swallowing heavily. “Layla called you Mistress…does that mean you’re… my…”

The alien laughed. “No, no, petal. I’m Tsuga, Layla’s owner. Tsuga Sequi, Ninth Bloom. Your Mistress lives just over there.” She pointed, but between the oversized architecture and the trees that loomed behind it, Jess was unable to pick out anything. “I simply came to pick up my Layla, and I thought it would be nice to show up a little early and check in on you. You gave us all quite a scare, you know.”

“Y-yeah,” Jess said, her eyes rapidly tracking back to stare up at Tsuga. Even kneeling down, she was a lot taller than Jess. “You’re… big,” she mumbled.

Tsuga smiled. “Still funny. Come along, let’s get you home.” One of Tsuga’s vines slipped free of her body and reached out to grab something at the base of Jess’s throat, and before she knew it she was being tugged along, gently but firmly. Paralyzed by the shock, it wasn’t until she saw Tsuga do the same thing to Layla, grabbing the ring on her collar with a vine and helping her up to her feet, that she realized what was going on.

Jess was wearing a fucking collar. Her hands flew up to explore it, from the delicate little ring in the front to the thin, smooth band. There wasn’t any clip or buckle or anything like that — it was just there, like it wasn’t meant to come off, ever.

“Layla, <heel>,” Tsuga said, the second word in some kind of alien language that Jess somehow understood intuitively. Her feet involuntarily moved in response to Tsuga’s tugs, and she fell in beside Layla, who was dreamily walking along just a few steps behind and to the left of Tsuga.

“What the fuck?” she whispered to Layla. “Why am I wearing a collar? Why are you wearing a collar? What the fuck is going on?!”

“We are wearing collars because we are florets,” Layla said. Jess felt her stride falter, but Layla simply leaned in and put an arm around Jess. “No, no, keep up. Walk here. And don’t be so nervous. I promise you’re safe.”

“What the fuck is a floret?!”

She stared at Jess as if she’d grown a second head. The lingering spaciness from earlier seemed to fall away, slowly. “A pet, dear,” she finally said. “We’re pets.”

Jess had no response. She simply stared right back at Layla until the older woman blinked, looked uncomfortable, and glanced away — though she kept her arm around Jess, and hugged her as tightly as she could given that they were being pulled along by a giant walking alien tree. The rest of the world fell into the background as her mind tried to order the

the unquiet beast, rampant; the tame beast, at peace

revelation she’d so uncomfortably received. There was no easy way to grasp it — how could a Terran be a pet? It didn’t make sense. The Accord’s watchword was Terran supremacy, Terran manifest destiny, and it would never tolerate this kind of an inferior relationship with a xeno. When the Cosmic Navy found out about this, or stars help her the OCNI, she was a dead woman.

Right? That was the only thing that made sense, the only way the universe could work, because—

–a relatively small ship–

–what do you mean that’s a shuttle–

–it can make anything?–

–that’s a computer?–

—oh fuck. Oh fuck. Jess’s head began to pound again, and she reached up reflexively to rub at her temple. Somewhere in the back of her head, she remembered seeing a massive disc-shaped thing in a gray and freezing sky, just before dawn, it’s bottom glowing a deep violet as heat poured from it. She remembered seeing a glossy box that could produce anything you asked it for. She remembered seeing the inside of of it for the first time, the translucent vines and stalks that served it for processors. She remembered.

She remembered just how advanced the Affini were.

“We lost the war, didn’t we?” she whispered to Layla.

“We did,” Layla replied, her voice soft. “You remember?”

“Not really. But…we would have fought, and we had to have lost it, right? I mean… we never would have stood a chance against this.”

“We really didn’t,” Layla agreed. “But it’s for the best, I think.” She chuckled. “And you probably don’t remember why it’s funny for me to say that.”

“Not…really?” But Layla only grinned in response, and shortly after Tsuga gently tugged the two of them down a path that led to a massive building, much larger than any of the other ones they’d passed. Out front was a broad, polished stone with words inscribed on it in several languages, one of which was English: “Tillandsia Central Network Services.”

“Here we are,” Tsuga said, unwinding her vine from Jess’s collar and giving her a gentle stroke across the shoulders. She shivered, her knees almost giving out as the feeling rolled through her body — it felt, on some deep level Jess couldn’t identify, like the thing to do when you were touched like that.

“Wh-what?” Jess blinked, staring up at it. “This is… a house?”

“Well, it’s where your Mistress lives,” Tsuga said. “It’s… sort of necessary, for her. You’ll see. Just go on in, she’s waiting for you, and she’s very eager to see you again.”

“Uh… okay,” Jess said, swallowing and looking up at Tsuga, “see, here’s the thing, I’m still not entirely sold on this whole pet thing, and uh…kind of freaking out a little, I think?”

“Well,” Tsuga said, kneeling down and stroking Jess’s hair, which only made her knees wobble even more, “then it’s a good thing you’re home. She’ll take care of you, alright?”

“She will,” Layla agreed, hugging Jess tightly. “Just the same way Tsuga takes care of me. She loves you. She loves you more than there are words for. Just trust her, alright? She will never, ever hurt you, and she will always, always be there for you.”

Something about those words twisted Jess’s stomach into a knot. Tears began to slip down her cheeks, and she hugged Layla back. “Stars, I’m fucking crying again,” she mumbled into Layla’s shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Layla whispered into Jess’s ear. “You’re going to be fine. And you can always message me if you want to talk, okay? Literally any time, day or night.”

Jess sniffled and nodded. “Okay,” she whispered back. “Thanks, Cass.” And there was that tickling feeling in the back of her head again–

–you get into the network, I’ll hold them down–

–just a flesh wound, you’ll be fine–

movement in the depths, leviathans untamed

–couldn’t be prouder of how you held up–

–as Jess remembered the time that the screws had fucking shot her during the Revolution while she was breaking into a security checkpoint’s router.

“That’s…” Layla broke the hug — gently, but Jess certainly felt the push. There was a hard and very familiar look on her face. “That’s not my name,” she said, in that same authoritative voice from earlier. “And I haven’t gone by it in a long time.” Then, as quickly as they’d hardened, her features and her voice softened once more. “But I am glad that you’re remembering.”

“S-sorry,” Jess managed to say. She felt like her throat was going to close up on her, and she had no idea why.

“You’re fine,” she said, ruffling Jess’s hair. “Don’t be a stranger, alright?” Jess nodded, but before she could say anything Tsuga wrapped her hands around Layla and lifted her up into the air — she laughed and immediately turned to cuddle up to Tsuga’s chest, curling up into a little ball in Tsuga’s arms. Tsuga said nothing, but simply winked at Jess as she began to stroke Layla’s hair, and somehow Jess understood the implicit meaning behind the wink: you could be having this right now, you know.

It took Jess a moment to work up the nerve to step forward, to lay a hand on the smooth, polished surface of one of the absolutely gigantic doors in the enormous facade of the huge building. She couldn’t possibly move it, could she?

But before she could even try to push, she heard a voice. “Welcome home, cutie!” it said, in a voice that seemed to violently reject not only classification as any one gender but possibly as any one species. “Admin says you don’t have to solve any puzzles today, so come on in!” The surface of the door suddenly developed hairline fractures that spread into the shape of a smaller, human-sized door that slid silently out of the way, revealing the dimly lit interior.

“Wh-what?”

“No puzzles, just come on in!” the voice repeated. Jess stared into the dark, willing her eyes to adjust, but nothing revealed itself. After a few deep breaths, she screwed up her courage and stepped over the threshold. Where else was she going to go, after all? With Layla and Tsuga?

The first thing she noticed was the smell — not any smell in particular, but simply the familiarity of it. It smelled comfortable. It smelled like home. She felt tension in her shoulders she hadn’t even been aware of drop away almost instantly as she looked around, trying to find details in the shadowy corners. The floor was covered in a strange grass that, as Jess’s eyes finally began to adjust to the darkness, she realized was glowing a soft blue. She took a few hesitant steps forward, feeling the soft and feathery blades against her toes.

“Welcome home, flower.” The voice, rich and deep and with a presence like a goddess had descended to speak to Jess, came from above, warm but distant, from shadows that Jess still couldn’t piece. It was like a hand gently closing around her heart, cradling it in a firm but delicate grip. When she looked up, though, all she could see were distant lights, glowing softly along the ceiling, and the thick vines running up to it. “How are you feeling?”

Jess nearly tripped over her own feet as she stumbled backwards. “Wh-who are you?” There was something achingly familiar in the voice, the timbre and resonance of it tickling something in the back of Jess’s mind, but no memories

waves lapping at the lakes, the song of surf and wind

welled up this time. “I don’t… I don’t remember–”

“I know,” the voice came back. “I know about the memory loss. I’ve been watching you carefully this whole time, you know, ever since I learned that–” The voice halted suddenly. “I am Gallica Lophophora, Seventh Bloom, my love. I am the network and digital systems administrator for the Tillandsia, and I am your owner.”

The word owner made Jess shiver again. “Y-yeah, still kind of fuzzy on all that… pet stuff, you know?”

“I know,” Gallica repeated. A long vine descended from the shadows along the ceiling, reaching slowly down towards Jess, and when it made contact–

–such a clever little Terran–

–oh, I simply must have this one–

–my perfect little hacker–

Jess’s body responded without her. She fell to her knees in the soft grass as the vine coiled around her shoulders, around her body, warm and inviting. If Arvense’s vine had been comforting, if Tsuga’s had been strong and loving, Gallica’s vine was home. Her body knew that this was where she belonged. Her mind, alas, was still playing catch-up, still grasping at fraying threads of memory, of being held in Gallica’s vines, of being stroked and petted and teased and toyed with and fucked–

–plantfucker–

–you sold us out I’ll fucking kill you–

“But I hope you can understand just how important you are to me,” Gallica went on, even as Jess remembered a burly man almost breaking her jaw with a sucker-punch. “Even without your memory, this feels right, doesn’t it?”

“Y-yeah,” Jess whimpered, happy and terrifying memories whirling just out of her reach as the vine’s gentle stroking overwhelmed her. “B-but…wh-why…?”

“Why?” Gallica laughed. “Because you’re mine. You know it without even knowing it, my darling. Isn’t that beautiful? Isn’t that marvelous? You know just where you belong.”

“But…” Jess slowly lifted up an arm and pointed up at the shadows, where the voice was coming from. “Why… are you… up there?” she whimpered.

“…ah. May I make a confession, little one? When I saw the recording of you responding to Arvense with fear, I… I suppose I developed a little fear of my own. I was so worried you might look at me that way when you first saw me. So… I thought it might be best to stay at a safe distance, just for now. But you seem to be reacting well so far. Do you feel safe, little one? May I show you the rest of me?”

Jess shuddered, leaning into the touch of the vine and biting her lip. It felt so good to be touched like this, to be touched by Gallica. It felt right. It terrified her as much as it thrilled her, to fall so easily into behavior like this. She couldn’t run, not even if she wanted to — and she didn’t want to. Not in any way she had a choice about, at least. “Please,” she whispered, not entirely of her own volition.

“Very well, petal,” Gallica said. The vines leading up to the ceiling began to shift, as if something was moving among them. Without any warning, an enormous tree trunk, easily over a meter thick, descended from the shadows, landing with an incongruously soft thud as it shaped itself into something like the back leg of an animal. Another trunk followed, just like the first. What came next broke any sense of scale Jess could apply — between those legs, trailing up and slowly descending, was a torso thicker than either of them. Another trunk descended, this one shaping itself into something like an arm, putting its weight down on not-entirely-human knuckles. Another trunk, another arm, just like the first, and still there was more to come, another torso, narrower than the first, with arms a little more human-like, and between them a head bearing a tall crest upon which were mounted a dozen glistening, glowing eyes, teardrop-shaped, gently cycling through a kaleidoscope of colors. There was a chin, and lips, incongruously human, full and impossibly soft looking, curling up into a warm and loving smile as every single one of the eyes fixed upon Jess.

She was the size of a house, maybe even bigger. Jess couldn’t accept what she was seeing, couldn’t process the difference between their sizes, even as the enormous plant xeno leaned down and reached out for her. Even her smallest, most human-like limbs were so enormous that a single one of Gallica’s hands was able to cradle Jess comfortably. She sat in Gallica’s palm, reflexively clinging to one of her long thumbs, each thicker than Jess’s own legs, staring up at Gallica as more and more vines began to coil around Jess’s limbs. She tried to say something, anything, tried to ask how Gallica could possibly be so big, but when she opened her mouth no sound came out.

“Shhhh.” Gallica’s other hand came down, her gigantic fingers stroking Jess’s back with impossible grace and delicacy. “Be still, little one. You’re home. You’re safe. You’re safe.” There was something strained in the way she said it, Jess recognized on some level, beneath the overpowering awe and instinct to worship the massive Affini that held her — a sadness, somehow. “You’re safe,” Gallica repeated again. “I will never, ever allow anything bad to happen to you ever again.”

And somehow, even though she’d only known Gallica for about five minutes, Jess believed her.