Work Text:
The first time Kali took her medicine, it wasn’t even her choice. She'd panicked, spinning herself up into a frenzy about her rescuers and spitting venomous threats at her warden. Slowly backing away from the approaching Affini, her terror tried to mask itself as hatred. “You freaks think you know what's best for me? You're sick,” she snarled, breaking her stare into those glinting eyes to glance at the vines extending from the alien.
It called itself ‘Ashreya Pilifera, 3rd Bloom’, in a calm voice that didn't threaten or patronize. The disarmament tactic had worked on Kali for a little while, who was just surprised that she was being treated like… a person. Not like a glitching program or a skittish animal, but as someone worthy of mutual respect. But the illusion had quickly dissolved when the Affini attempted to explain the situation. It was another captivity, this one dangling conditions for release in front of her like bait for a fish.
“You want to call me a feralist? I’ll be a fucking feralist- if not wanting to be drugged and experimented on and brainwashed and put on display means being a feralist, I’ll shout from the intercoms that I’m feral.” Her words came out in one stream, her shallow breaths becoming part of the sentence. “You try to make me your pretty little pet, and I’ll rip my own faAH-”
Her words were cut short by the sensation of vines wrapping around her wrists and pulling them back behind her, causing her to back directly into the wall. Then, before she had a chance to recover her words, Ashreya itself stepped towards her. Simultaneously, the Affini pinched Kali’s nose shut, and a vine shot itself over its shoulder directly between her teeth. In her surprise, she had no choice but to inhale- and for a brief moment, the scent wiped away all traces of fear and anger. The air she breathed carried the aroma of petrichor and wild berries, and she wasn't even sure how she knew that. She breathed in deeply, the pleasant feeling of freedom rolling over her senses. She could feel evening sunlight, crunching leaves beneath her, and a breeze in her fur- her fur?
The vines withdrew from her face, and reality snapped back into focus. The taste of berries still filled her mouth, sweet and tangy, but the anger in her chest flared again. “Did you just fucking drug me? You overgrown fucking- you- I…” she trailed off, her breaths evening out slightly as she closed her eyes tightly. She glared up at Ashreya, some unrecognizable feeling flashing in her eyes. “What is this?”
“Aerosolized pollen from an irikshoq’ai flower that was grown in a synthesized hydroponic medium,” it explained, watching the Terran closely. “I call it the Belyayev solution. The medium contains several components known to us as xenodrugs. The mixture is mostly Class-E and Class-C, with a nutritional component derived from a Class-A and Class-H. The pollen by itself has some psychoactive properties for many sophont species, but I have found that this process produces profound medicinal effects for recovering Terrans. How are you feeling, Kali?”
The rising and falling of her chest had slowed down significantly, and she found her mind… quiet. She was able to look around. This wasn't a laboratory room, or a prison cell. It was a home. Plants both xeno and Terran grew around them, seemingly out of the walls. It was like nothing she'd ever seen before. It was gorgeous. She looked back at Ashreya, noticing the subtle gradient in the tiny flowers that dotted its body. In fact- the creature was quite beautiful. What had first appeared to be skirt was, in fact, a pattern of large leaves that formed a similar shape. Some parts of its body were transparent, and she only noticed this due to a blue light gently pulsating from behind its chest. Colorful petals grew from its hip and shoulders, and the same fluff that tipped its strange antennae ran down the length of the tail that swished gently behind it. It seemed to wear an animalistic wooden mask, but the eyes were still emotive, moving in a way that didn't… quite make sense. The mask didn't cover the lower jaw, however, which seemed nearly human in its structure despite its floral material.
She met its eyes, seeing it in its entirety for the first time. “I’m… fine,” she said, only now remembering that she was restrained against the wall- its vines were gentle and comfortable, but the grip was nonetheless firm and uncompromising. “I’m fine.”
—
The tenth time Kali took her medicine, she said yes. She had woken up in the middle of the night, not fully separated from the dream she had just been living, back on the defected shuttle with her crew. Ashreya had stopped Kali before she even remembered it existed, binding her wrists behind her and pinning her to the nearest wall. It had asked consent to administer the medication the previous eight times, and each time the process had been the same: she’d deny the medication, inevitably work herself up even more, and get dosed anyway for her own safety. This time, however, something piped up in the back of her mind, and said that it didn't want to be scared anymore. She nodded.
Tears flowing down her cheeks, she let Ashreya pinch her nose and inhaled the pollen, letting the scent of fresh earth flow across her mind, bringing with it visions of another life. It was so easy to breathe in. It was so easy to let go.
Ashreya’s core pulsed in the darkness of the hab, the light showing faintly through the translucent streaks in its chest. She couldn't look away.
—
The twentieth dose, Kali asked for first. She could feel a sense of fear beginning to bloom behind her ribcage, and though she had no explanation for its presence, she knew it was only going to get worse. She’d been looking through her window at the rest of the hab ring for over an hour, hoping to head the feeling off herself, but all she managed to do was slow its growth. Finally, with a frustrated sigh, she pushed herself out of her hammock and padded over to Ashreya’s room.
“I need some of that pollen. Please. I…” she steeled her nerves, closing her eyes tightly. “It's the only thing that helps.”
It smiled, and held out a hollow vine. Embarassment flushed over her cheeks, but she took the offer, inhaling the medicine deeply. For a moment again, she felt the breeze rushing through her fur, running across the forest floor, chasing something small and fuzzy and-
They opened their eyes, stepping away from the Affini. “... thank you,” she murmured, and she couldn't help but mean it.
—
The thirty-fourth dose, Kali almost thought something was wrong. For two weeks, Ashreya had held the vine behind it while preparing breakfast. It was a compromise, with the Affini insisting on a daily dose and the Terran embarrassed by needing it. This time, they thought there was a little bit of resistance on the inhale. They couldn't be sure, and before they had much of a chance to think much about it, they’d inhaled as much as they could. After a brief flash in the forest, again, they came back to themself- and smiled at Ashreya.
—
For the fifty-third dose, Kali sat next to Ashreya on the couch, legs pulled up next to them. They were watching something on the TV, some series that was scavenged from the depths of a Terran archive. It was funny, and they were enjoying themself, but they were fairly certain the Affini was more excited by it than they were. It had suggested it, and spent several minutes talking excitedly about the historical context behind the show’s expert writing. As if a botanical scientist couldn't get any nerdier. Kali smiled to themself and leaned against their warden, and for a moment, all they could think of was how warm, happy, and safe they felt. Years of fighting it, of running and panicking and letting themself be abused… if only they’d known what they were missing.
They tapped it on the shoulder twice, and took a slow pull on the hollow vine presented to them. There was an audible sound as their inhalation met resistance, and they were back in the forest once again. Their ear twitched as they heard something in the distance, and crouched in a bush. They couldn't be sure what they were seeing. It was a creature taller than it was long, walking with its front paws in the air. It looked… wrong. They blinked. The screen was back, and they had grabbed ahold of Ashreya’s arm. They were safe.
—
The seventy-eighth dose of Kalin Pilifera, 4th Floret’s medicine came face-to-face. They opened their eyes for the first time since they were brought in for the surgery- once upon a time, they would have fought this to their dying breath. Now, they understood. It was a piece of their best friend, their caretaker, their lover- one that they could carry around with them, and that it could use to better take care of them. They were worried, before, that they would wake up and it would feel utterly wrong. Or worse, that they'd feel… apathetic.
But, no. When they woke up, they could feel a bit of Ashreya’s life-force within them, its energy and its touch. They carried it with them. It was perfect. They carefully sat up, reaching to hug their owner- who held up a finger with a playful expression, and held out the vine containing the irikshoq’ai. They laughed, taking it and pulling. It was a process, some kind of bottleneck enforcing a slow draw. They furrowed their brow, frustrated at how slow it was, and pulled harder, and harder-
The taste of wild berries blossomed into ecstacy. For a moment, they were in the forest, low to the ground, running freely in the twilight; then they were in the local Compact clinic, looking at their owner, feeling their implant pulse in perfect harmony with Ashreya’s core. “What was…” Kalin trailed off, the Affini instantly grabbing their attention. They looked up at it, and suddenly- it was all they could think of. They moved closer to it, and it giggled, gathering them into its arms. They needed to touch it, they felt like they were burning up, they needed Ashreya.
It picked them up entirely, and began to carry them out of the clinic. “I think I’ll take my floret home now,” it said, glancing down at Kalin. They tried to keep themself in check- they wanted nothing more than to whine and dig until they could wrap around its core, but they could wait. They could. Could they?
Luckily, Ashreya stepped out of the clinic, then broke out into a vine-assisted sprint back towards their hab. Kalin clung on, utterly secure in the knowledge that they were safe. When they reached the hab, it spared no time getting inside. It barely waited until the door was closed to reveal the answer to their last question.
“You must have gotten a bit of phytotoxin,” it said, donning a smile laced with mischief.
“Phytotox…?”
“Just enjoy the ride, darling,” it laughed.
“More, please- I didn't get the full… the medicine dose?” They looked up at their Affini, eyes pleading.
“Alright,” it agreed, holding the vine out once again. They took ahold of it immediately, and again- inhalation was slow, and frustrating, and-
Stardust flooded their senses again, like a drop of soap hitting oil, and they felt alive. For just a little while, they lived in a world where they were perfect, Ashreya was perfect, and only perfection could exist. They kept going, kept inhaling, and there was something sweet they felt on their tongue. They weren't inhaling anymore, the pollen didn't matter, it was just them and it and they needed to taste it forever.
The vine moved out of their mouth, and Kalin breathed in, and they realized now that they hadn't been breathing. Now they were panting, looking up at their warden, and they needed it more than anything else.
—
Dose one hundred and forty-six came only minutes after waking up. Kalin gave Ashreya a playful glare as he pulled harder and harder, only to get nothing. On his knees, he worked at the vine, ears pinned back with the effort. The Affini watched with a pleasant stare. Oh, it was enjoying this, watching its pet work so hard for his medicine. His tail swished, and he stopped for a moment to take a normal breath. When he tried again, there was a small pop- and the scent of the forest quickly filled his lungs, much quicker and much more than he’d expected. It was bliss, it was pure relaxation, and he leaned against his warden’s side.
“You're evil,” he giggled, nuzzling their arm.
“You're adorable,” it responded, wrapping its arm and a handful of vines around him, holding him steady. For a few minutes, they simply enjoyed each other's company. Kalin closed his eyes, letting it gently scratch behind his ears.
“Thank you, Ashreya,” he whispered. “For everything.”