Adult-FanFiction.org : Books

Cellulose & Steel	By : Not-Taylor Category: Misc Books > FemmeSlash Views: 1028 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own HDG or its characters and I don't make money from this work.

Chapter List
- 54
- 55
- 56
The large clump of mostly coordinated vines makes a loud noise as though wind were passing through a grove of trees. Not that Ember’s ever heard such a phenomenon in person, but the sound matches how it imagines that. Over the minutes since Violet Cornucopia’s departure, Verda’s been assembling herself gradually but steadily. Hard as it is to believe, that bizarre conversation seems to have helped. At least she’s not a vegetable any more… figuratively speaking.
“Are you going to explain why Violet thought you were affini?” Ember was hoping not to have to.
“I didn’t say otherwise when I was calling. The receptionist must’ve assumed.” It shrugs.
“Why would that be, tdaiyn?”
“How would I know? She wouldn’t shut up and didn’t bother asking me very much.”
“Mmm. That sounds like yet another of your messes for me to clean up. These things always have associated paperwork.” She sighs, shivering slightly. “I suppose I should be grateful you cared enough to look after me. Why did you do it? You could easily have pretended I wasn’t here.”
“Because I’ve been thinking, and I realized that no matter how hard you fight against my people’s fundamental human rights, you think you’re helping people. You’ve even been trying to make the Compact a kinder place, assuming everything you’ve said hasn’t been a complete lie, and I know you could’ve drowned me in xenodrugs and didn’t. That means something, even if you did kidnap me. And I don’t believe I could’ve gotten out of here without you being alerted.”
“Pet-”
“That doesn’t make me your pet, Verda. Your worldview is wrong. Just because I’m aware that that doesn’t make you a bad person doesn’t mean I’m going to give in to your demands.”
“But you understand why I can’t let you go either. There’s… no point in repeating that discussion.”
“No. I don’t know. I couldn’t let you die here.”
“You tried to kill me before. Why is this different?”
“Because even if you do things that hurt me, I know now that you don’t really want to hurt me. That probably doesn’t make any sense. You wouldn’t do what you do if you understood Terrans better. And maybe you can be educated, or something. And the fact that this,” Ember says, gesturing to the air generally. “This isn’t war. Even if I have the legal right, as you’ve violated dozens of rules of combat… Letting you suffer that way when getting you help would be trivial is wrong. I couldn’t leave you alone and in pain.”
“I’m proud of you for deciding that, tdaiyn. You’ve proved my assessment of your character correct.”
“Skip the flattery.”
“Very well, my somewhat tolerable floret,” Verda says with a smirk. She must be feeling better now. That means it doesn’t have to coddle her any more.
They pause, carefully eyeing one another. Verda’s face is still a bit of a mess, even if she’s pulled the rest of herself into a more regular shape. Other Affini seem to have somewhat floretlike forms, but not Verda. Hers is much more like the horrible thing Ember saw in the mirror yesterday. The leaves over what would be her chest area are pointing in every direction, leading it to realize just how much effort she puts into her superficially careless aesthetic.
Not that her captive is much better. It didn’t sleep during the night, not that the thought of doing so occurred to it. Ember was worried, mostly for itself. There was also something in the air, a bit like how Song’s interior felt immediately before the Affini attacked. That faint wrongness felt somewhere in the back of its mind kept it awake. Of course, that’s a very fancy way of saying that it was freaked out by Verda’s outburst. That was unlike her. She must put lots of effort in looking careless in how she acts, too. The idea that she’s been hiding her real strength, expending energy on an illusion hardly anyone but other affini would even notice, is… slightly short of horrifying. A cultivated weed is nothing a Free Terran can’t handle, of course.
Something in her parched, useless eyes makes Ember pause. She probably doesn’t believe that they can survive together, which will lead her to ask again for it to find a new home and “mistress,” even though she doesn’t want that. She could be talked into something… maybe. She’s scrutinizing Ember with equal attentiveness to its. This is somebody who stormed a military vessel full of armed soldiers with just a protective vest. The alien plant is no pansy.
“That name you picked… That’s a type of fire, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
Verda quickly searches for the definition. “‘The last remnant of a dying fire that hasn’t gone out.’ It’s very you, Ember.”
Being called that feels much nicer than expected. The name is the result of long deliberations, combined with picking something hastily under pressure. Most importantly, it feels right, and it wasn’t picked for anyone but its owner. It’s a keeper.
“Ember Edok, second floret…” She nods with thoughtful satisfaction. ”It’s also very Affini.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Listen to it. Compare that with the other Affini names you know.”
She’s right. She’s… right? What on Terra… Verda starts to rustle quietly.
“Now think of your previous name. Both of them, if you’d be willing.”
No. It’s a trick. What’s she trying to do to it?
“Your recent names. Not the one over which you had no control,” she clarifies, quickly realizing what she just implied. “Still, those don’t matter so much, do they? You have a wonderful name now, and I’m going to use it. I’m not going to bother registering it officially until I have other documents to submit, which will be shortly I’m certain, so if you change your mind soon it’s not a problem. As long as you understand that that will mean you can’t pick another new name for a few months. I’m not entirely sure of the conversion into Terran time… That’s just officially, obviously. Nothing is stopping me from calling you something that makes you feel comfortable.”
“Do you not remember anything we just discussed?”
“Of course I remember, but I’m still rapchik and I still have legal authority over you, and you still need my assent to change your name.”
“...”
“I’m aware that you’d prefer another arrangement.”
“Do you remember telling me to call myself a stray?”
Her expression is reply enough. The guilt and shame of before reappear, possibly greater than when she was crying. This time, she doesn’t break down. Ember can tell it’s taking a great deal of willpower to keep herself together.
“I’m sorry, Ember. That was weakness I never should have let you see. At the time I was feeling inadequate, but I realize that I can’t simply banish my problems. I have no choice but to be strong enough to care for you. You’re my floret, and that’s a deep obligation. You’re not going to become a stray, tdaiyn. I promise that everything possible will be done to make you happy, because I still want you to accept my ownership willingly. Giving up on you is not an acceptable outcome, pet.”
She looks determined in an alarming way. Ember can’t imagine this ending well… but at least she’s probably not going to use the class O xenodrugs on it. That could change at any time if it resists, of course… Learning what’s going on is more important (and safer) than reminding Verda it’s not a floret, Ember decides.
“I overheard the whole conversation you had with the other affini. What’s the ‘impulse’?”
“I’ll tell you when you’re ready and no earlier.”
“Why not just tell me now?”
“Because, tdaiyn, I’m not in the mood for that discussion. If you’re content not to tempt the Fates, don’t push against my limits today.”
“That reminds me of something else. You were both speaking very strangely. Why?”
“You’ll have to be more specific.”
“You said a lot of things in a way nobody with your linguistic proficiency should.”
“I’m still not sure what you mean. Did you notice anything else strange about the conversation?”
“No…”
“Not the occasional word of Affini?”
“No.” It’s certain they weren’t speaking Affini.
“You’re going to be examined by somebody competent as soon as I figure out who that could possibly be. I’m concerned about you, darling.”
“Does that mean you’re taking away my access to firstbloom-firstfloret content?”
Verda laughs openly and the residue of her depression evaporates. Her ability to recognize a joke soothes Ember. It sounds as though her core is purring.
“Seriously Verda, what even is that?”
“The type of story in question… concerns an extremely young affini and the first floret she cares for. It’s extremely idealistic and sentimental. The florets in those stories often behave oddly because the authors usually haven’t had florets themselves. There’s… a common subplot in which rapchik asks the chkcha to find somebody more adept at domestication, but the floret begs to be allowed to stay. It’s very melodramatic.”
Chkcha must mean floret. The Terran wonders if Verda is aware she used a new Affini word without defining it. Or maybe she did a while ago. It remembers something similar from somewhere.
“That’s starting to sound familiar.” Quite a few stories Ember has happened across come to mind.
“Or where they struggle to maintain the ugly secret that the affini is chkcha every way but officially. It appeals to a very particular sort of affini.”
Ember can imagine that’s the case. As weird as that is, it’s also oddly human. The time when it was desperately low on friends is easier to remember than it had thought. Would it have been hard to fall back into that pit if not for the Cosmic Navy? There’s no point in dwelling in the past, pondering hypotheticals of how life could be worse.
“That’s what that affini was saying about you,” says Ember, breaking itself out of its introspection.
“Correct, darling. The message was that we were being… I know you have a word for this… Kyudere? Hokoridere? Bakadere? I can’t think of the correct term.”
“I don’t think I’ve heard any of those words in my life.”
“They’re probably not right anyway. Do you see what I’m referring to, at least?”
“Violet thought we were roleplaying. Why? I don’t get it.”
“Because, from an outside perspective, you were playing the role of the excessively competent floret, saving the clueless and inexperienced affini from her insecurities.”
“But that’s ridiculous!”
“That’s how it must have looked, given the prank you played on Emergency Services, when looking after you is my responsibility.” Verda smiles a little and rustles. “Having to be goaded into admitting you’re not an affini is very common in the genre.”
“I’ll be careful not to admit it next time.”
“I’m sure you will.” They share a laugh that only slightly distracts Ember from the nature of its relationship with its captor. Even if she claims to have given up on various ways of ending its existence, she’s still a weed and can’t be trusted. Still, the hope remains that all of this might lead to something mutually acceptable- until a chance to fight back against the Affini presents itself, of course.
- 54
- 55
- 56
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Cellulose & Steel