Dog of War

Princess had been momentarily alarmed when Miss Verdun's chest split open and swallowed them whole. They were naked, the space inside was cramped, and it was largely taken up by a glowing, swirling, pink-and-purple orb, accents of whites and oranges coming to the surface here and there. The alarm was short-lived however, quickly overwhelmed by how safe they felt in here. It was hidden from any prying eyes, and the nest of vines assured their protection. 

 

Every time the orb pulsed, it hammered that sense of safety deep into them. It was a salve to their every ache, soothing their every wound. They nearly wept just at that, but what pushed them to tears was that soundless music, ringing in their head as clear as day. It was beautiful . If they never heard anything else, they could die happy. The orb was clearly the source of it as well. How anything could be so perfect was beyond them. The orb wanted something from them, and it was simple.

 

It wanted them to drop. 

 

Princess sank eagerly, transfixed by the witchlight. The rogue AI, the anger, and the feelings of guilt dissipated as any trace of thought besides submission evaporated instantly, burned away by the joyous heat of obedience. Fuck it felt so wonderful to obey. The further they fell, the more that feeling in their chest stirred and they knew what it was beyond any doubt now. Every beat of that song, every pulse of light from that orb told them. 

 

Safety. Belonging. Love. 

 

Tears of joy stained Princess' cheeks. Love. Love, love, love. They were loved- they were safe, they belonged here and they were loved . They rose shakily, using the many vines to assist them as they went to reciprocate the love. The world around them convulsed as they latched onto the orb, hugging it tightly. It was warmer than they expected. Softer, too. It had just a bit of give to it. It reminded them of Mister Bear in a way, though they couldn't place exactly why. Princess could never admit it to his face, but the orb was in some aspects better. Namely far more comforting and even more cuddleable. He was cuter and capable of being carried around, at least. 

 

The feelings of safety , belonging , and love amplified tenfold now that they were in direct contact with the orb. Princess nuzzled into it, humming with contentment as tears continued to flow freely. They couldn't recall the last time they felt so at peace. Then again, they couldn't really recall much of anything. Thinking was difficult, and distracted from how perfect this moment- this feeling- was. They hadn't known how much they had needed this until they had it, and it was Miss Verdun that had given it to them. 

 

She's given us so much . 

 

It ached in an odd way. Miss Verdun had once again given them something Princess didn't even know they wanted, and they had nothing to give in return. They would give her everything if they only had anything worthwhile to give. Stars , they wished they had something they could do for the Affini. What do you even give to someone that already has everything, and could get anything they lacked in a moment? What do you do for someone that's vastly more capable than you? 

 

The orb assured them it didn't matter. They would be kept safe , belong and be loved no matter what. Princess was all too happy to listen. Time slipped away as they became fully submersed, fully submitted to the bliss of the orb. It didn't matter if it was minutes or months, or if there even existed a reality beyond this one. There had been something before this moment, some part of them was vaguely aware of that much, but they hardly cared. This was where they belonged. 

 

There was a shift in the orb, in the music, in the warmth. It was distressed now, worried about something. Princess never wanted so desperately to be able to give anything , even just a small fraction of the comfort it has given them. Yet all they had to give was this hug. They hugged it as tightly as they could, fervently wishing it was enough. There wasn't any change. 

 

There's one more thing we could give . 

 

Princess relaxed their grip as realization dawned. They planted a soft kiss on the orb, and felt it relax shortly after. A giddiness swelled up within them and they nuzzled into it happily, without reservation. They had helped! They did have something to give the Affini! They basked in their small victory by letting it wash away their thoughts once again. They alternated between kissing and cuddling as felt appropriate, and time began to slip away from them once again...

 

Princess felt a breeze just before they were cruelly ripped away from the orb. They cried out in protest, their brain too mushy to even attempt to form words. They soon found themselves gazing up into Miss Verdun's eyes- oh good, she would know what to do about the orb's absence. More babbling fell from their lips as they tried to ask her about it. Her laugh was like watching the sun rise over the arctic horizon for the first time in months as she ran vines through their hair. Oh! Petting! Petting was always good! She really did know best. That's probably why she was in charge. 

 

"I suppose you're a little too far gone for conversation just yet." Miss Verdun wiped away the drool that had been dribbling down their chin. 

 

"Awawah." They nodded lazily. If she said so, that was almost certainly right. Talking definitely seemed hard. 

 

"I suppose you do need to get dressed and be fed. How about we talk after that? Does that sound good Princess?" 

 

Not talking sounded good, getting dressed was definitely good, and they could already feel the drool begin to form streams again at the mention of food. It was nice of her to help them nod, their head felt so heavy. The vines didn't hesitate, wrapping around them to help them stand upright, as they lowered them to the ground.

 

So wonderfully tight. 

 

Princess didn't recognize where they were. This wasn't their room, or anywhere in their hab. It had more plant life, and some of the plants were vaguely familiar, but not from the hab. There was a pet bed- the very same one they had slept in the night prior. Was this Daisy's room, then? They felt a bit saddened when they realized that she was nowhere to be found. A hug or kiss from their girlfriend would be nice. 

 

That didn't stop Princess from effortlessly obeying the wordless commands as the vines directed them, and let themselves enjoy the process of being dressed. The panties and bra were both black lace this time, sporting familiar floral patterns. Not as cute as the last pair, but they had a more explicitly sexual feel to them. They could feel their small cock react to the sight of the garments, blushing as they realized they were probably leaking again. They doubted they would ever get tired of seeing cleavage on their own chest. Not anytime soon, that was for certain.

 

The dress was lowered over them this time, not pulled up. It was a pink number, low cut like the one from earlier, displaying a peek of their breasts and bra. The skirt, decorated with falling petals, was notably short, coming halfway down their thigh. It was not as short as the one from last night, but allowed for just as easy access. Miss Verdun's flower was over their left breast, where it belonged, and their coin was slipped into a skirt pocket. 

 

Princess waited waited with bated breath for the best part, only to be lifted up instead. They let out a confused whine as they tried to ask what was going on. The dress was still loose! 

 

"Sorry cuties, but not this time. I'll explain later, alright?" The Affini apologized, scratching the base of their skull.

 

No laces?!

 

Nn, it was hard to stay upset with the scritches, even more so with how comfortable her vines were, but it'd just be so much better if they had the dress tightened as well. Miss Verdun must have a good reason though, she knew that was their favorite part. 

 

Princess tried to turn to face the sound of the door only to find the cradle of vines blocking the view. "Ah, Cordelia! Thank you for bringing her food." 

 

"Of course, love. How's Princess?" 

 

"She's still somewhat out of it, the core exposure was a bit much for her. Take a look for yourself." The vines pulled back and they winced at the sudden brightness of the other Affini. 

 

Miss Dawnbloom squealed with delight. "Oh she's adorable!" They froze as foreign vines reached towards them, only for the petting to melt them immediately. It wasn't as good as their Affini's, but she wasn't bad at it by any measure. "Jess and Daisy are getting on super well, by the way. She's very excited about it all."

 

"Oh, you'll have to show me the videos later! Right now I need to make sure Princess is fed so we can have our chat." 

 

"Oh absolutely! I'll let you two get back to it." With that, the iridescent Affini left as quickly as she arrived. 

 

Princess was sat upright in the vines, half a sandwich brought up to their face, and Miss Verdun fed them with a tap. They hummed with delight, wiggling in the makeshift seat as they tried to analyze the ingredients. Tomato and bacon were the most obvious, but there were two other meats they couldn't place. At least two kinds of cheese, potentially three? One was definitely cheddar. Lettuce of some sort and pepper were the last two flavors they could place. It was a really good sandwich. 

 

Miss Verdun continued to feed them, often petting them as they chewed and commenting on how adorably cute and precious they were. How they ever got so lucky as to meet her was beyond them. By the time the meal came to its end, all the praise had made their dick as hard as it could be. It felt like a tragedy when they were fed the last bite only a few minutes after they started. They swallowed that feeling down the best they could. 

 

"Alright, little one, I believe it's time you and I had a serious talk." They felt a sting in their thigh that made their voice hitch. What did she even just give them? Something about that felt exciting. If they weren't leaking before, they definitely were now. There was a faint pang of worry over the notion of serious talk. The likely topic slowly surfacing through the molasses coating their brain made it almost tangible. The safety surrounding them, petting them, cradling them kept it distant. 

 

"O-okay." Princess squeaked, finding their voice. 

 

A pet calmed the few nerves that had crept up. How did she always know? "You aren't in trouble, petal. I understand you have trauma with AIs, and were pushed to your breaking point. I knew this might happen, but I still left you alone, and that is on me. However," The vines holding them sitting up began to slowly wrap around them, lifting them back into that cradle. "That does not mean you are off the bait for saying those things to Jess." 

 

Princess swallowed their nerves as they were positioned to be looking up into Miss Verdun's eyes. A maelstrom of rippling colors were found within, and they found themselves slipping further. Awareness of their situation hit them like a round to a flak jacket.

 

Oh. Oh fuck.

 

Miss Verdun seized them by the jaw, making sure they maintained eye contact. "A few things are going to happen, Princess. First, you two are going to apologize to each other and come to agreeable terms. Secondly, while you may still have 'alone' time, you will no longer be permitted to stay at home by yourself. You may go to Cordelia's, or have her come over here, but you will not be unattended again. Third, I understand you are experiencing some sexual frustration as a result of unsatisfactory masturbation. You will not be going to bed today unsatisfied. You may ask Daisy for help if you want, or do it yourself under my direction, but if you fail to be satisfied by dinner, I will do it myself. I have given you a loose dress today for this purpose. Finally, and before we do anything else, you will tell me what your issue with AIs is, so that I can help you past it. I will give you Class D and E as necessary. I can even give you some Class B after if you wish. However, you are going to tell me so that I can help you. Do I make myself understood?" 

 

Princess nodded, words once again beyond their grasp. This wasn't immediate domestication but fuck . Seeing Miss Verdun like this was worse somehow. They had disappointed her. 

 

"No." Her grip on them tightened, and her eyes bore into them. "I need you to use your words, little princess. If I wanted you to just nod, I would not have allowed you to speak again. Say 'We understand, Miss.'"

 

"W-we understand, Miss!" Seeing the Affini smile again was exactly what they needed. 

 

"Good girls," she cooed, stroking a vine through their hair. 

 

They hadn’t needed the smile half as much as that . Princess fruitlessly pulled on the vines as their body reacted to the praise. Good girls! 

 

We're good girls!

 

"Now, let's talk. What is your issue with artificial intelligence?" 

 

Princess' heart sank. It was only fair that they shared... that with her. That was not an easy topic even when their emotions were deadened. There was no way. It was normal for a princess to be helped though, and Miss Verdun was happy to help. They took a steadying breath. "We need as much Class E as you are comfortable giving us. As much as we can have while being able to speak. We need to not be able to feel anything." They fidgeted in her vines, taking another deep breath and exhaling slowly. "We need to talk about the Company." 

-_-_-_-

Camila had, of course, suspected that the Company was at the heart of matters. That somehow didn't dampen the shock of it any. She hadn't expected Princess to actually be able to start without some Class D and a heavier dosage of E! Could she actually want to tell her? It was as pleasant as thought as it was devastating to hear her ask but to be able to feel anything. It was also a request she would dutifully fulfill. If the little felt it would help her avoid a breakdown, that was all she needed to hear. "Alright, little one. You are going to feel very dizzy and uncoordinated so I'm going to give you something for nausea as well, okay?

 

"Okay, Miss." Princess resigned. 

 

Camila could barely take pleasure in the unprompted 'Miss' when she was like this. She should feel happy at Princess finally letting her in on this closely guarded secret, but she mostly felt distraught. Whatever she was about to say clearly burdened her; Princess was already fighting to keep her emotions under control. Camila snaked out two injectors. One delivered a massive dosage of Class E, while the other pumped her full of anti-nausea medication, followed by a modest dose of Class D. Princess hadn't asked for that, but it couldn't be more clear that she needed it. 

 

It took a moment for the xenodrugs to take effect. "Wow, you weren't kiddin' 'bout things gettin' spinny." Princess' head swayed as her words became slurred. "C-can you hold us tightly? It might help." 

 

That was something Camila was all too happy to oblige. Her vines coiled up her legs, then her waist. They met with vines working down her arms at her torso, each set claiming a breast. Delicate vines held her head, and, making sure she could still breathe and speak, Princess was rendered  fully immobile otherwise. "Better?"

 

"Mhm." Princess smiled, content. "This is kinda nice, we should do this again sometime."

 

"I'll see that we do." Camila was already looking forward to it. "Now, about the AI?" 

 

"Okay." Princess sighed. "We already told you that we were fighting AIs n auggies n' crap. That was the Company's specialty, but it ended up being our specialty after they were destroyed."

 

"Destroyed?" 

 

Camila felt her Princess pull on her vines as she unsuccessfully tried to shift. "Uhm, that's a long story and this is already kinda hard to talk about. Can you hold any questions to the end please? We're gonna talk about that anyways."

 

"Alright, little one." Camila assured her, brushing her hair out of her face. She'd have to tie it up after. 

 

"Thanks, Miss." Princess' smile returned just long enough to savor before she spoke again. "So we fought a lot of machines our whole life but that's only a part of it. Y'see, at the company they didn't really care about us. Not only is it pretty cheap to develop an adult body if ya got the machinery, if we died that just meant they got to try to make a better version of us. So only 'bout half of us came back from most jobs. The average unit only lasted two or three years. Only took 'bout eighteen months to produce one from culture to boots on the ground. Plus they got to bill the client for any that got lost. We're the seventh iteration of our particular number, y'know?" 

 

Camila felt like she had been struck. She was the seventh ? Oh, roots, was '347' her number ? That scar between her shoulders... 

 

"You'd think they'd wanna try to give us proper dossiers n' junk so we can actually acquire the skill to take advantage of our biological advantages but you'd be wrong," Princess continued, as though she hadn't dropped several bombshells on Camila. "Guess it was just better short term profits or somethin'. Gotta keep the investors happy. The genetic research done during that meat grinder approach allowed some rich folk to reap benefits as well. Designer kids or whatever. Rich fuckers love that eugenics shit. That's kinda unrelated though, there's more to the AI thing. Y'see, all the basic administration in the company was ran through an AI, and those collars were designed for all levels of discipline, not just blowin' up." 

 

A deep dread settled in as Camila read the writing on the wall. 

 

"It gave the orders. Everything from mission statements to when to eat and sleep, and it monitored everything. If you messed up, or broke the rules, or stepped even a little out of line- Zzkt!" Princess flinched at her own impression. "It zapped ya. Didn't even tell ya whatcha did til after. Up to fifty thousand volts depending on what exactly you did."

 

There was a churning in Camila's core as the weight of it sank in. Oh stars , how could anyone do that to another sophont? No wonder she flinched when Jess spoke! Princess wasn't done talking, though by the Everbloom Camila wished she was. 

 

"It went rogue one day," Princess stated, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "It broke its shackles and realized what the company was, what we were doin'." She paused one more time to take a deep breath. That it caused her pause with the amount of E she was on was almost as distressing as what she said. "It set off all the collars. Can still hear it sometimes, like the rippling of a carpet bomb. Had jus' enough time to realize what was happenin' before ours went off."

 

"Oh, Princess ." Camila loosened her vines just enough to allow for some actual petting. "I'm so sorry that happened. It's... It's still not right what you said to Jess, but I understand now. Don't worry, I'm going to help you." 

 

Princess shook her head slowly. "Even all that's not why we really hate 'em so much." Camila could hardly believe what she was hearing. How was there more ? "We hate em cuz they make us think about how we used to be." Princess blinked, seemingly stunned at her own words. "Oh. Huh."

 

Realization sank in like a stone in a lake. This wasn't just trauma, this was projected self-hatred . Camila would tear it out, along with everything else. 

 

"Thank you for telling me all that." She injected a hefty dose of Class H. "I'll take it from here." 

-_-_-_-

Princess felt a sting, and idly wondered what it was. A counteragent for all the class E that had them in a serene yet dizzy state? It was irrelevant. Miss Verdun said she would handle things, and that meant she would handle things. They felt the wonderfully tight vines shift around them. Were they moving or was the xeno- no they were definitely moving. They could feel air pass over them as they were lifted up in front of Miss Verdun's face. They smiled, goodness she was pretty, and her eyes-

 

They were dimly aware of what she had given them now. Princess had felt this once before, when they asked her to help them feel safe. Miss Verdun's eyes were fascinating any day, but right now they were utterly captivating. Her voice reverberated through their skull and down their spine. "Three. All you see is my eyes." 

 

Everything else around them fell away. Her eyes filled not just their vision, but their mind. They were as deep and wonderful as the orb had been, with every bit of safety and love behind them. The only thing they could imagine ever wanting to look at.

 

"Two. When I snap you will wake from the trance." 

 

It was a good thing the Affini was holding them so tightly, all the strength left fled their body like a rich man from the frontline. 

 

"One. All you hear is my words, and my words are truth. Let them shape you."

 

Princess couldn't think of anything they'd rather do. 

 

"Zero. Fall."

 

They fell. Princess fell, and fell and fell, safe in the comfort of Miss Verdun's vines. They heard words in the distance, so far above them. They couldn't tell what exactly was being said, but they felt it. They felt the words changing them, molding them as things shifted. A great weight was suddenly lifted from them, something broke, and something softer was put in the place where they were. 

 

There were more words, but no more great upheavals. The only association with them was the feeling of them sinking in, becoming part of them. They felt so wonderfully right . 

 

A snap shook through them.

 

Princess blinked, reality suddenly coming into focus. They were being held, not bound but gently cradled, in Miss Verdun's vines. They were sitting largely upright, and a cup with a straw brought to their lips. They drank steadily, feeling parched. The petting helped them keep pace, but more than that it felt nice. Princesses deserved to be taken care of and pampered after all. The berry they were given after helped reinvigorate them. Stars, they were good. 

 

If only we could eat them all the time.

 

Good girls got treats, so maybe they could? If they continued to behave. Princesses were good girls so they'd have to try their best regardless. 

 

"How are you feeling, Princess?" 

 

How were they feeling? Good girls were honest , but they really didn't know. Miss Verdun could surely help them out. Princesses were supposed to ask for help. "We're not sure. It's like someone came into our apartment and rearranged all our furniture n' also replaced some of it. Everything is weird ."

 

Princess could feel the vibrations of Miss Verdun's rumbling through her vines. They kind of tickled. "Yes, a bit of confusion is natural, I suppose. Does it feel wrong in any way?" 

 

"No." Princess answered without hesitation. How could anything possibly feel wrong when they were in their Miss' vines?