A Normal Grocery Run During Which No Domestication Occurs - Ch 1 and 2

Hey folks! In case the title wasn't self-evident here's another HDG universe story (this one will be quite a bit shorter than Inosculate tho). Full disclosure the title of this one might not be entirely accurate, big surprise I know. Since HDG stories seem pretty popular with y'all and I also do quite like the universe I plan to definitely continue writing more HDG stories sporadically.  That being said I do intend on getting back to non-HDG smut as well as my less smutty longform novel writing works, so anyone who misses those do not fret! Anyway, hope y'all enjoy!

Ch 1.

Two weeks had passed since the Affini Compact had arrived on, and subsequently claimed Duri as their own. Tensions were high, rumors were circulating around the more pro-Terran corners of the net that the affini were starting to feel they’d bitten off more than they could chew… or photosynthesize or whatever. Irene wasn’t so sure she bought that. These were the people who had taken Terra in three years; the notion that a single colony, even one of the larger colonies, could pose much trouble to them was simply ridiculous. Within a day of their arrival, the resistant planetary government had been toppled and was in the process of being reformed as part of the compact. The affini had a foothold in every major city, Duri’s Planetary Defense fleet had been completely pacified, the ground forces had been routed and forced to either surrender or join the New Resistance—self-stylized champions of ‘Duri Freedom,’ because apparently Terra’s surrender meant ‘Free Terranism’ was a loser ideology and ‘Free Durianism’ had other stranger, and smellier connotations.

Still, things on Duri did seem to be a little off compared to reports Irene had read from other planets. Things definitely weren’t going as smoothly as she had come to expect the inevitable affini invasion to go. If the planet really was giving the Compact trouble, Irene suspected it was a simple matter of resources. Non-violently pacifying an entire planet couldn’t be an easy task, and, for some reason, the affini had only brought along one ship. Granted, it was quite the ship; Irene had done thorough, perhaps even obsessive research on the Affini Compact’s pacification of the Accord in her spare time—to stay up on current events and prepare for the inevitable, of course, and for no other reason at all. As such she knew that even among the Affini’s massive classes of ships, Sempervirens was quite large. Coming in at over quadruple the size of even the largest city on Duri, and that was only taking its length and width into consideration, the ship was ostensibly a floating country. Still, one ship, no matter how large, sounded like not enough resources to claim an entire planet. Initial reports and footage from Terra had shown dozens, perhaps hundreds of ships. Of course, Terra was certainly the more populous planet, but not hundreds of times more populous.

Why, exactly, that was the case was not something Irene could begin to speculate on. The Affini Compact was vast as it was advanced, and it’s people were enigmatic as they were fascinating. Perhaps they’d simply made a miscalculation; perhaps an emergency somewhere else had re-routed the other requisitioned ships; perhaps Sempervirens was actually enough but something aboard the ship had been giving the affini trouble. Any way she looked at it, it didn’t really matter; none of that changed the situation on the ground. And that was what mattered, because the only evidence Irene needed to point to which all but proved that the affini were running into some sort of issue, was the state that Duri was currently in compared to accounts from other colonies.

Monte Cruces, the third largest city on Duri and Irene’s home, had been effectively split in two. The affini districts comprised approximately two thirds of the city, stretching from Monte Cruces’ southwest corner to expand outward, forming an uneven border which slithered in a crude semi circle around the remaining third. The affini side of the city was a budding utopia, still recovering from the struggles and cruelty of capitalism and brutality, but a place where everyone’s needs were provided for, and those who struggled to cope even within post-scarcity could seek shelter under the protective vines of a benevolent alien. At least, that’s how the rumors went; the rumors coming out of the affini controlled districts, to be specific. The areas yet unintegrated into the compact, or the ‘unoccupied districts’ as so many of their denizens called them, had their own far worse rumor mill.

As far as Irene could tell, the rumors were the standard fare of anti-affini propaganda. They would capture humans and force them to work—which admittedly didn’t sound too distinct from things before the affini arrival either—they turned dissenters into mindless husks, their favorite food was some sort of smoothie made from human brain, eyeballs and bone-marrow. Of course, all the information she’d found coming out of affini conquered planets suggested otherwise. Admittedly though, that too was propaganda. Propaganda didn't have to be a lie though, right? Irene had actually looked up the definition of propaganda before to check, then decided the dictionary may not be the best way to explain such a complicated and nuanced concept. Either way, she was torn.

One the one hand, the affini were interstellar conquerors—intergalactic conquerors if their propaganda was to be believed—that sort of foreign policy wasn’t necessarily the approach Irene approved of. On the other, if they really were only acting out of force because they wanted to save the Accord’s people from its brutal, uncaring policies, could she really blame them? Irene had a lot of time to ponder such questions, considering she had lost her job when her company ceased to exist. There wasn’t a lot to do in ‘unoccupied’ Monte Cruces; she couldn’t really go anywhere, the streets weren’t safe to linger in.

The only time Irene left her apartment was to get groceries from the nearby store, which had been both understocked and overpriced. Nobody was receiving new shipments of goods; the affini, of course, were offering free food and shelter to anyone who wanted it; they had even made attempts to deliver relief goods into the unoccupied districts. Unfortunately, the guerillas in the district had either destroyed the shipments, or horded them for themselves. Irene had considered going out into the affini districts to get food from them, but again, she wasn’t certain whether she could trust them. Stories of drugged food ran rampant on the ‘free’ net. It wasn’t that Irene believed them, it was that she didn’t want to risk gambling on her doubts.

Consequently, Irene spent most days lying around, rationing her dwindling food supplies, with little to do but fixate on all that unfolded around her. Over and over again, she would weigh the pros and cons of the Compact’s approaching takeover, wondering if she should do something about it. On the one hand, things had hardly been good before, and were even worse now. On the other, the affini’s true intentions were an enigma; she knew what they wanted her to believe, but had no way of knowing if it was true. Even if she were to do something other than passively wait for them to cross into her district, what would that be? Irene wasn’t a soldier; besides, she’d heard that captured rebels were forced to become their pets, which was… not something Irene wanted. Absolutely not.

Sure, the affini would have her believe all domestication meant was to be given a partner who would provide love and care for her—for whomever was domesticated. They wanted humanity to believe their pets were the most precious beings in the universe to them; that a pet’s owner most often filled the role of a sort of romantic partner mixed with loving caretaker and full-time dominant. And yes, fine, when it was described that way Irene could sort of, maybe see the appeal. She’d heard their drugs could leave someone in a state near permanent adoration and blissful submission, but just because she thought that sounded kind of hot didn’t mean she was naive. The whole thing was clearly just a ploy to convince humanity to lay down their arms and surrender. It was a perfectly crafted ploy, after all, who wouldn’t want a life like that? So clearly she couldn’t trust it. Even if those dumb, idealistic parts of her really wanted to believe.

Unfortunately, Irene was running out of time to deliberate over such things. The affini controlled more and more of the city each day, and her apartment was growing close to the border. The even more pressing matter, however, was food. All she’d been able to salvage from the nearby grocery store were nutritionless, bland, ration bars which left her both hungry and undernourished. After a week straight of eating them alone, Irene felt like garbage. Worst of all, she was nearly out. The previous night, Irene had suffered a bit of a breakdown when she’d heard several bursts of gunfire right outside her window. She’d spent about an hour cowering in her tiny apartment’s tinier closet, convinced any moment either some twenty foot tall plant, or jack booted thug would kick in her door. When Irene finally worked up the courage to crawl out and take care of her needs, she’d been so upset, exhausted and just fucking starving that she’d indulged herself on the majority of her remaining ration bars.

And so, the following day Irene found herself lying in bed, stomach already growling after her meager, even smaller than usual breakfast, wondering what the hell she was going to do. In a vain attempt to distract herself, Irene began to scroll through her tablet for local news. Typically, she liked to start with the pirate news-sites operated by the local resistance, then check the local affini reports. Mainly, this was because, while Irene couldn’t bring herself to not check both sides—for the sake of remaining as critical and unbiased a consumer as possible, obviously, and not to feed the ever escalating war inside her between her worst fears and most naive hopes—the affini news was always much more positive and ending on their particular spin let her pretend things were going to be okay. After hearing the gunfire last night, though, Irene wasn’t sure she wanted to check the resistance’s news; whatever had happened, she didn’t want to know.

She decided instead to skip right to the affini news sources. Ultimately the actual news pieces on the affini feeds was usually quite boring, which was ultimately what made it good news. Typically it was just the latest reports on how much additional territory in the city the affini had claimed, along with a request for anyone living outside the affini controlled parts of the city to please join them and be provided for. Most of the affini feeds weren’t really news at all, and instead public interest stories about little individual achievements, cultural events, or how particularly cute one floret or another was. It wasn’t boring, but it was hardly news that affected someone outside their districts. Perhaps they too were a ploy to attract people from the unoccupied parts of the city. One in particular, though, caught Irene’s eye, almost as though it were made for her specifically.

The story was simple and short, about a local restaurant opening up which served Terran comfort food. What really caught Irene’s attention was the cover image, a human—probably a pet given how she was dressed—looking absolutely delighted as the tastiest looking pizza Irene had ever seen was set in front of her. She ran her tongue across her teeth, desperately trying to find any lingering scraps of her breakfast as her mouth began to uncontrollably water in time with a sudden growl from her stomach. Unbidden, her mind wandered back to the countless promises of free food and shelter which the affini had promised so many times to any who were listening. What was the harm in visiting one of their districts and just asking?

She could take something small, a few days of groceries, only pre-packaged goods from brands she trusted, real food, though, not ration bars. If the affini weren’t lying, she would be able to walk right in, grab some groceries, and leave safely. If they were lying then, well, they were going to reach her part of the city eventually anyway. At the end of the day, it was better to be optimistic about the inevitable than pessimistic, Irene decided. This way, at least, she could maybe get in, get a glimpse of what the affini had to offer, and possibly get out without being taken; that would at least give her some inclination as to how truthful the propaganda was. Sighing, Irene got out of bed, and glanced down the hall. Was she really doing this? Her feet began to move on their own. Apparently so. She waded through her apartment, over the scattered mess on her floor which she’d been meaning to pick up for weeks now, and reached her front door. Irene took another slow breath, nodded to herself, put on a brave face, and tied her shoes.

It was still late morning, which meant things were relatively calm. Things really only got dangerous toward the nighttime; apparently the New Resistance had it in their minds that the affini were somehow slower or weaker at night since plants needed to photosynthesize. Irene didn’t want to be the one to point out to a bunch of jackbooted meatheads that the plants literally flew around in spaceships so they could probably do without. Either way, being out in the open could mean she’d be accosted by some asshole with a hardon for power who thought it was his business what random pedestrians were doing. Fortunately, it was a pretty straight shot to the current edge of affini occupied Monte Cruces, only about a kilometer to the south of her.

Doing her best to look as innocuous as possible, Irene pointed herself toward the border, and began to walk at a pace which could be considered leisurely, but not overly so, because the longer she spent out the longer she was at risk to run into some kind of trouble.

Despite her worries, however, Irene’s walk to the border was uneventful; at least, it had been uneventful right up until the end. She heard it before she saw it, the crowds, the chanting. There was a demonstration going on; her heart sank, of course there would be. As she drew closer, the crowd came into view, hundreds of humans, all crowding the main street at the edge of the affini occupied districts, all holding anti-affini signs and chanting slogans as hateful toward affini sympathizers as they were to affini. Would Irene be considered a sympathizer for simply going in and getting something to eat? Who was she kidding? Of course she would be. This crowd wasn’t normal people with normal objections and concerns about an alien species trying to take over; these were hardline ‘Duri Freedom’ supporters, the sort which would just as soon advocate for gunning down minorities in the street as they would defend themselves from ‘oppression.’

For a moment, she considered turning back, but what if that in and of itself looked suspicious, what kind of person would approach the affini occupied area, then turn back as soon as they saw protestors? A sympathizer, that was who. Hiding her face, Irene turned a corner onto another street running perpendicular to the one she’d been on. She speed walked a few blocks, just to put some distance between herself and the demonstrators, then turned back toward the affini controlled area. The border was a little farther south from this point, but no more than a couple blocks so. Irene could definitely still see demonstrators lined up there as well, but there were fewer, they were pressed up against some kind of transparent barrier, it almost looked like glass but it was so huge and fit the area perfectly, there was no way they’d just made a glass barrier to fit this exact intersection, right? Then again, Irene was at the point where she wasn’t sure she could put anything past them. On the other side of the barrier, a few affini stood watch over the crowd, appearing stern, but calm, towering over the protesters.

This was the first time Irene had seen them in person, they truly were breathtaking. Otherworldly to a fault, towering over those around them, beautifully decorated and delicately featured, each and every one of the affini she saw were ethereally pretty. One of them, who appeared to be a woman, locked eyes with Irene, seeming to notice the distant human staring at her. As though simply by looking at her, the affini woman could determine Irene’s reason for being there, she gave a little nod, then a friendly smile. Her eyes subtly nodded to her left, and Irene followed the gesture, only to see a small vine tapping the glass on the far end of the barrier, away from the protesters. The vine lightly tapped the barrier a couple times, then traced a rectangle, before swinging a little, as though indicating a door opening on a hinge. Irene locked eyes with her once more, the affini gave her a solemn nod, as though to say ‘be careful,’ and returned her gaze to the crowd.

Cautiously, Irene began to approach, walking slowly, and not giving the protesters too wide a berth so she wouldn’t look suspicious. Then, as she drew near, Irene began to subtly shift her trajectory toward the ‘door’ the affini woman had indicated. This wasn’t a trick right? There was no way; it had to be real, even if the affini were malevolent they’d taken great care to avoid seeing people hurt or killed. If they truly were evil, then all that went on behind closed doors. Irene tried not to think about what that implied given that she was literally about to go behind said closed doors, and instead quickened her pace toward the apparent meeting spot. She was maybe a mere thirty feet away when she heard someone cry from behind her, “hey! What the fuck are you doing bitch?”

With a sharp gasp, Irene’s heart hammered in her chest and she threw herself toward the door, sprinting at full tilt. More shouting came from behind her, along with a slurry of colorful expletives, though nobody seemed to advance on her, perhaps they were afraid of what the affini might do were they to stop being peaceful. Either way, Irene wasn’t keen on sticking around to find out. She was terrified of these people; she knew what they were capable of, and Irene didn’t want any of that suffering inflicted on her. Panting and shaking, she bolted toward the barrier, and, sure enough the glass seemed to part ways for her. Without stopping to think, she ran, eyes blurry crying and scared into affini territory. As she crossed the threshold her foot caught something, perhaps the curb of the sidewalk, and she hurled forward face first. Her heart lurched in her chest, but only for a moment.

The next thing Irene knew she’d been caught, then scooped up into someone’s arms. As she caught her breath, her whole body trembled, and slowly, Irene opened her eyes. The smiling face of the same affini woman who had directed her earlier came into view. Something about seeing that face up close was entirely different from afar. This woman was stunning, heart-stoppingly beautiful. Her smile was warm, her grip was snug, but soft and comfortable, her scent sweet and calming. And that was all before she spoke; the plant’s voice was something else entirely. Humming softly, she shushed Irene, then stroked her face with a stray vine. “It’s alright, little one; you’re safe now. The Affini Compact will take good care of you.”

Irene believed her.

Ch 2.

The initial shock of everything Irene had been through wore off quickly enough, and with it, the immediate profound comfort and safety she’d felt in that affini woman’s arms. This wasn’t to say she immediately sprung backward into completely mistrustful of the Compact, but once Irene had been set back down and given a chance to take in her surroundings, a healthy bit of caution had crept back into her mind. At the very least, her new affini friend had respected her request for a bit of space and a moment to sit and catch her breath, quickly carrying her off away from the protesters and into a small indoor community center the affini had set up. The space was clean, well furnished, and air conditioned, providing Irene a comfortable place to calm down relaxing in a cozy recliner.

Strangely, however, despite being a community center, and a nice one at that, Irene was the only human there. The affini woman, who introduced herself as Curbita Mosch, Second Bloom, seemed to sense Irene’s suspicion at the lack of other humans, and explained there were few humans lingering about in the immediate vicinity simply due to how recently the surrounding district had been claimed. The affini were still retrofitting the buildings in their new territory so as to meet their standards of accommodation, as such few humans had reason to hang around. Those who lived in the surrounding apartments, Curbita assured her, had not been forcibly relocated or anything of the sort; instead, she explained, they were mostly still just “a bit skittish.”

Irene couldn’t help but take note of the woman’s word choice, how it carried an inherent sense of playfulness and affection, but also no small amount of condescension. Apparently winning the hearts and minds was a difficult task for hyper-advanced alien plants too, not just humans. Either way, Curbita had explained, any rebel cells who had once occupied the area had been disarmed and pacified, and had been “taken in by caring guardians,” and didn’t pose any threat to anyone. Despite herself, Irene couldn’t help but feel a tad more secure from just how much care and effort Curbita put into assuaging her worries, though she was starting to feel a tad restless; the long she spent lingering the more likely something might go wrong if the affini weren’t as benevolent as they appeared on the surface.

Seeming to notice Irene fidgeting a little, Curbita gave an understanding little nod and withdrew a tablet from somewhere inside her vines, which was quite a surreal thing to watch, a person just reaching inside herself and pulling something out like her whole body was one big pocket. Casually, she crossed one leg over the other in mimicry of attentive human posture, and leaned forward with the tablet resting on her knee. “I can see you’re growing a little impatient, Irene, I didn’t mean to ‘daily doily’ as you humans say,” she giggled to herself a little, seeming as pleased with her apparent use of a human expression as she was oblivious to its incorrectness. Irene had to admit, it was hard to be scared of someone who went out of her way to act like a dork but couldn’t even do so the way she’d intended. “Let’s get started with your placement, I assure you that despite this rather cobbled together accommodation,” she gestured around herself, indicating the incredibly comfortable and luxurious room around them, “we have plenty of wonderful homes available that will more than suit your liking.”

Irene stiffened, her heart rate rising and breath catching. Curbita thought she was trying to relocate? Suddenly things didn’t seem as fine as she’d thought. Irene had to act fast, who knew what sort of liberties such a creature might think to take with the kind of person who would willingly seek over to the care of a species reputed for keeping humans as pets? “Um, well, y’see, I um…. I’m not here to move in. I just um, I just came to get some food,” Irene stammered. Cocking her head to the side and blinking a few times in confusion, Curbita seemed to take a moment to process what she’d just heard. Was this really that unusual?

“So, if I am to understand you correctly. You walked into affini territory simply because you were hungry, and you wish to return to your current accommodations outside our territory after that?” Curbita’s tone suggested she hardly believed what she was saying.

“Well, um, yes? I d-don’t really want to move. I like my current home,” she lied. “And if I moved here wouldn’t I have to be a pet? I definitely don’t want that,” Irene told herself as much as she did Curbita. Irene tried not to remember how nice it had felt to be wrapped up snug and safe in Curbita’s vines. It didn’t work out, and perhaps the wistfulness she felt was also written into her expression, as something seemed to catch Curbita’s attention. She raised a quite literally perfectly sculpted eyebrow and her lips curled into a smirk.

“Of course not, dear. As long as you keep being a good girl we won’t force you into domestication.” Curbita’s tone lingered and luxuriated on that magic bit of praise which seemed to so universally turn women like Irene to jelly. It worked; she squirmed in her seat, blushing and breaking eye contact. A delighted little giggle rang out musically from Curbita’s lips. “Only those who are a danger to themselves or others are forced into domestication. You’ll live here as an independent citizen, not a pet. You’ll have your own place, one far nicer than whatever ramshackle hovel the old system built, along with access to all the luxuries the Affini Compact has to offer, all at no cost, of course. That being said, if you do change your mind about ‘not wanting’ to be a pet, you could always volunteer. I assure you our florets are afforded only the peak of comfort and luxury, and I’m certain a human as adorable as you could have her pick of an owner.”

There was a look in the affini’s eyes, like she knew that Irene had spent a few too many nights up late wondering if it really wasn’t too good to be true. Irene shivered; She tried not to think about all the propaganda broadcasts she’d seen of happy, gorgeous human women collared and dressed in colorful dresses, speaking in voices full of distant bliss about how happy and in love with their owners they were, all while nuzzling into the sides of tall, equally gorgeous plant women. Irene tried not to imagine herself in their place. It didn’t really matter, though. She didn’t need to; Irene had already spent plenty of nights doing exactly that. Shaking her head, Irene centered herself; she couldn’t let this plant get under her skin. Irene was only here to get in, find something to eat, see what life under the compact was like, and get out, not to sit around being flirted with.

“Well, um, that’s nice and all but I really am only interested in getting enough food for another week or two, and then I’d like to go home. I’m really quite content where I am.” Would anyone who heard that believe it? She hardly sounded confident, and simply by virtue of being here to get food didn’t that imply that her living situation was actually quite bad?

Expecting the affini to show a hint of disappointment at her rejection, but this time, she didn’t even look surprised by Irene’s response. Instead, Curbita flashed another smile, it was calm, serene, but in control, like Irene rebuffing her was nothing more than another step in a choreographed dance. There was a certain smugness to it, but for some reason more than anything Irene just found it comforting. Curbita was such a pretty woman, and had been very understanding so far. Surely if she meant Irene any harm she already would have done so, right? She was alone with her, out of sight, if she had any attempt of snatching Irene away to some prison or factory this would be a golden opportunity. Instead she’d just been… nice, patient, understanding, attentive and accommodating of her every little hesitation.

The affini cleared her throat and on cue Irene immediately snapped back her attention to the present, focusing her attention back on her host, which certainly seemed to please Curbita. She gave Irene a gentle pat on the hand.  “That’s quite alright. We certainly don’t want to force you into relocating to somewhere you don’t want to be. I would be happy to help you with your food troubles, though; honestly it breaks my heart that you even have such a problem to begin with! There’s a grocery about a half kilometer south here. It’s rather small, but I’m sure you’ll be able to find whatever you need there. I can take you, if you’d like.”

In one smooth motion, Curbita rose to her feet and beckoned Irene to follow with a warm smile; without waiting for a response, she turned and began to stroll out the door. Words of protest gathered in the back of Irene’s throat, but she swallowed them down, and rushed to follow Curbita. She didn’t want to be caught alone out here; sure, Curbita had been kind to her, but who knew what kind of impression some other affini might get from a human girl wandering alone. Just because one affini didn’t seem to mean her any harm did nothing to suggest that among an entire race of intergalactic conquerors there couldn’t be some unsavory characters. As such, Irene never strayed too far from her companion; Curbita didn’t seem to mind, though, neither did Irene.

Half a kilometer was hardly a long walk, a few blocks at most; Irene hoped she would at least be able to use the opportunity to get a better look at what life under the affini compact was like. Unfortunately, she couldn’t glean much from the immediate area. Just as Curbita had suggested, the entire area was mostly abuzz with affini working to retrofit, and at times demolish and reconstruct entire buildings. It was rather strange, watching a familiar neighborhood be completely transformed, but all the renovations she saw being made appeared safer, cleaner, and quite frankly prettier. When Irene asked herself what was actually being lost here by all this construction, she came up with very little besides a legacy of prideful, inflexible cultural stagnation and brutal capitalism.

Irene did at least manage to catch a glimpse here and there of a few other humans either going about their business, or watching the activity from a distance. None of them seemed harmed; some looked a tad nervous, but Irene suggested anyone could suggest the same thing about herself. Really the people she saw just seemed normal, not much to take note of at all. Perhaps the most striking thing of all, though, was just how quiet the flurry of affini activity was.

Everywhere Irene looked she saw heavy machinery and materials in some state of assembly, but none of the usual racket she would have expected came with it. There certainly was some noise, but it was hardly distracting, mostly quiet whirring and humming from the various construction vehicles. “Surprised?” Curbita asked, seeming to already know exactly what Irene was thinking. Irene gave a small nod. “One of the earliest things we perfected was how to make our technology bearable to be around. This is a residential district, some of the locals may not like us being here, but we have no intention of disrupting their days or, stars forbid, keeping anyone with an atypical sleep schedule from getting a healthy amount of sleep! Actually one of the first things we do for any retrofitted habitation building is install proper sound insulation! It’s so unacceptable how your Terran… or... Durian ‘habitation lords’ pay such little consideration to something so basic!” Irene gave a thoughtful hum; considering her apartment a nearby business’s loading dock she certainly appreciated the sentiment, considering work often started as early as four in the morning for their employees. “You seem surprised,” Curbita commented.

“Just not used to that level of consideration for others’ wellbeing.” A question was forming in her mind; namely, just how much performative consideration could any conquerors be expected to showcase before it became impossible to call performative? Before she had the chance to properly consider such a question, she felt a gentle push from her left side toward her right. She paused and glanced toward Curbita, who had wrapped a vine across her back and over her shoulders to gently guide her rightward.

“You seem a little deep in thought, dear; we’re supposed to follow this street here to the right now and you didn’t even notice me start to turn.” Another gentle tug from her vines and Irene blushed, then hurried to follow, allowing the tug of the vines to draw her closer to Curbita than she’d been before. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Irene dear. I’ve known plenty of sophonts prone to letting their minds drift. Stick close to me, okay, little one? That way you won’t get lost.“ If Curbita heard the little squeak which escaped from the back of Irene’s throat, she didn’t noticeably react.

The pair walked one more block, before rounding another corner to the left—this time, Irene was ready for the gentle tug at her side indicating the turn, and eagerly complied, earning an approving smile from Curbita which sent little tingles down her back. Upon rounding the corner, what had to be the grocery Curbita had mentioned came into view, though, it was somewhat perplexing; Curbita had called the grocery ‘small,’ and perhaps it was, if one were to compare it to a mega mall.

The building and its surrounding area was easily four stories tall, and took up an entire city block; it was also clearly entirely affini constructed. In fact, Irene even remembered what used to be there: a collection of business parks full of nameless, faceless corporate offices. In its place was a gorgeously designed building with huge, artful glass windows, decorative flourishes all around the outside and a sprawling plaza complete with a dazzling fountain, lively garden and outdoor seating area for eating or relaxing in. A number of small food hawkers littered the area, each with a respectable line. The smell of delicious and diverse cuisine—not that ‘traditional Duri cuisine’ crap—wafted through the air. She could almost taste the rich aroma of honest to goodness spices wafting through the air. “This is… small?” Irene asked, struggling to take it all in.

“Oh certainly,” Curbita insisted. “There’s an entire galaxy of different cuisines out there; we barely even managed to satisfactorily cover the fifty most popular styles of Terran cuisines by ethnicity while still ensuring accommodation for the most common dietary limitations. I’m sure you’ll find the selection for less popular Terran cuisine styles and non-terran cuisines sorely underwhelming; besides, this place doesn’t even have an in-built habitation complex, and its community recreation area is sorely underwhelming. Of course, as we build things out we’ll make improvements. But… well,” almost conspiratorially, Curbita leaned in close, stooping low and practically whispering to Irene. “Don’t tell any of the people for whom this is the closest grocery option, but I hear it won’t even be getting its own dedicated transit station for a few months.”

From the perplexed look Curbita gave Irene in response to her open mouthed disbelief at what she was hearing, it seemed the affini was not only being completely genuine, but honestly considered such things to be the norm. “I um,“ Irene began. “Right.” Again, she looked around, taking in what must have been hundreds of humans, all clean, comfortably dressed and healthy gathering around to eat and enjoy themselves. There were also several affini around, intermingling with the humans, helping run the food stalls, or simply relaxing in the sun. Nothing about the scene before her suggested to Irene that humans and affini were doing anything but simply coexisting. She even saw a few pairs of human and affini who looked suspiciously similar to some of the affini and pet pairs she’d seen on the propaganda broadcasts and Irene couldn’t help but think if that really were the case then they looked genuine—she silenced the line of thought before it could conclude.

Luckily, in that exact moment Curbita gave her something new to focus on. Her vines lightly caressed Irene’s shoulders, then slid off her, causing the girl to shudder. “Well, dear, here we are. Remember now, you’re welcome to as much of whatever you see inside the grocery—as well as from the surrounding restaurants or stalls. Honestly you’re welcome to pretty much any good or service in the area, up to and including a home, just as a reminder. I assume from here you should be good on your own, though? If you do wind up a little lost I’m sure there are plenty of affini willing to give you all of the... direction you might need, little one.” Curbita’s tone practically dripped with implication. “Either way best of luck, dear, do be sure to look me up when your part of the city is finally integrated into the Compact, I would be delighted to catch up.” With slow deliberation, she began to turn away, slowly gliding off in some other direction entirely.

A moment of panic gripped at Irene’s chest. She couldn’t just wander around affini territory on her own! Any number of things could happen like… like… well, she wasn’t entirely certain what, but Curbita would certainly make sure none of them did! Besides, she didn’t know the first thing about navigating an affini grocery store and what if she had questions about the food or what if someone had questions about why someone from the other side of the border was running around in affini territory? What if people thought she was a rebel spy or something? What if she got lost and asked an affini for directions only for them to assume she was an escaped ex-rebel pet-to-be on the run and said affini just gave her a condescending but also very hot smirk then snatched up her in their big, strong, gentle arms and pumped her full of pleasure drugs before carrying her off to be assigned an owner who would force her to spend the rest of her life in a constant state of mind-numbing bliss lovingly splayed out across some hot plant-lady’s lap?

Face flush, and breath’s coming quick, Irene looked from the departing Curbita, to grocery, then back, before dashing after the affini woman and grasping her by the hands. “W-wait!” Irene cried. Curbita stopped short, and turned slowly, smiling sweetly down at the girl. For a moment, Irene thought she saw a hint of smugness in the plant’s eyes, but it was probably nothing.

“What is it, dearest?”

“I um, do you think that maybe uh...  I just don’t really know my way around affini customs and that building looks so big and I don’t want people to assume the wrong thing about me! Do you think you could maybe, um, do you think you could come with me?” Irene was honestly impressed she’d managed to get any of that out at all, considering how much she was stammering and blushing the entire time just from looking at Curbita. The affini was standing so close to her. It had the combined effect of both making the whole interaction feel intimate, and causing Curbita to absolutely loom over Irene, forcing her to look way up just to glimpse the affini’s smiling face.

"Of course, little one; I’d be more than happy to accompany you. It’s perfectly okay to ask for help, you know, nothing at all to be ashamed of. Some humans just need a bit more guidance and care than others. That’s what the Affini Compact is all about, providing and accommodating for everyone’s needs, no matter how involved.”