Dog of War

 

They flushed a bright scarlet; they had gotten so distracted with everything that they forgot it was there. Oh, fuck, it had watched them playing with themselves! "I- that's- i-it's fine," they stammered, too flustered to properly think. 

 

"Nuh-uh, Princess! I saw you wince, you shouldn't force yourself to struggle like that. Just let me get Miss Verdun!"

 

The Affini was the last person they wanted to see like this! "I-I can manage just fine, thank you!" They strained one last time and failed to reach out well enough, letting out a gasp of pain.

 

"I'm getting Miss Verdun," the machine announced, followed by the chime that signaled it cutting vocals. 

 

That's... not great.

 

They brushed away a strand of hair, waiting for nerves that never came. If only they could have reached it... Had Miss Verdun given them the dress knowing they couldn't get it on by themselves? It seemed even having both hands again couldn't free them from her vines. 

 

They didn't get long to dwell on this matter as they turned to face the sliding door, keeping their eyes low enough to avoid meeting Miss Verdun's face as she entered. 

 

"H-hello." 

 

"Hello, cutie," Miss Verdun's voice was rife with amusement. "Jess tells me you're having some trouble getting dressed?" 

 

They wanted to protest, to insist they just needed a few more tries and they could tie it themselves. Instead they nodded, unwilling to disagree with her. She was correct after all, they couldn't do it themselves, as awful as that felt to admit. 

 

A vine gently reached under their chin and directed them to look up at her, a gentle smile on her face that made their heart skip. "There is nothing wrong with needing a bit of help. I will be there for you as long as you need me." 

 

They blushed under her warm gaze. What possessed her to say things like that?! "I- uhm- Th-thanks." They turned away, too flustered to think. 

 

They felt Miss Verdun move in close besides them, and as she grabbed the ribbon they couldn't reach. "Besides," she whispered into her ear as she pulled the lacing taut, her voice gaining that same infliction from last night. The one that could give capital 'o' Orders . " It's normal for a princess to be dressed by others, isn't it?" 

 

Whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck

 

They could practically feel steam pour out of their ears as their brain went thermonuclear and their heart jumped to warp. They were a princess? This was normal? It felt way too good to be normal . They couldn't really be a princess, right? That was just Miss Verdun's stupid placeholder nickname! So why did it feel so right? 

 

"There you are, all done," Miss Verdun hummed as she tied the ribbon, as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. "Now, are you ready for your walk?"

 

"A minute!" They exclaimed, struggling to get their breathing under control as their heart hammered away. In. Hold. Out. In. Hold. Out. "I need a minute, please!"

 

 

"Alright Princess, I'll be close by in the living room if you need me okay?" Miss Verdun's voice was practically ringing with that almost-music underneath it. 

 

In... Hold... Out... They nodded, beginning to calm down. They heard the door slide open and then shut behind them. They turned to confirm they were alone before collapsing into their chair. 

 

What the fuck was that?!  

 

They might have been facing away from her, but there was no way the Affini didn't notice the effect her words had. They hadn't handled that smoothly by any measure. They couldn't decide if that was worse than the fact it felt the way it did. This was... the appropriate thought wouldn't come. Everytime they nearly grasped it, it slipped out of mind. It wasn't ideal? Something like that. 

 

It's unfair.

 

That was it! It was unfair that the Affini was intentionally getting them worked up when they couldn't do anything about it! They were still feeling pent up from yesterday's teasing, and that certainly didn't help either. They had felt the stirrings of arousal on occasion before, a bit of rising heat in their groin that was easier to address than ignore if the situation permitted. This was different. This heat wasn't just confined to their cock, but burned throughout their entire body. Ignoring it before had worked well enough, it was merely a modest desire then, but this was different. This was starting to grow into a need .

 

They thought briefly of taking care of it, before forcing that thought away. Miss Verdun was just on the other side of the door! Even if they felt comfortable masturbating here, the dress would still be in the way. Perhaps after the walk, when they had some actual alone time, they could see about trying to eliminate this distraction. For now they just needed to calm down enough to face the Affini again. 

 

They focused on their breathing and slowing their heart, emptying their mind. In... Hold... Out... In... Hold... Out... In... Hold... Out... The heat began to fade, slowly, as the events were forced into the corners of their memory. It had worked this time, but they would need a better solution going forward. It seemed unlikely that Miss Verdun would always be willing to give them several minutes alone every time she got them worked up. For now, they needed to finish getting ready.

 

They grabbed their boots and pulled them on. There was room around their toes that wasn't there before. A reminder that this was, in fact, their last day of being able to wear them. Did that mean they had already started getting smaller, then? If they were any shorter, they could hardly tell. It was unlikely it would be noticeable for another day or two if it was indeed already in progress. 

 

They pulled the laces taut, and began looping them around, when suddenly the weight of the moment hit them. This was it, they would never tie their boots again. The only thing they had held onto for any significant length of time besides their coin. Tears welled up reflexively and they fought them back, they were not going to cry over boots . Even if these specific boots did mean a lot to them. 

 

Swallowing the sorrow, they finished tying them on and stood up to test their footing. As tight as they pulled the laces, it was still just a bit loose, but serviceable for a walk. It could be trouble if they had to do anything actually active, but that was already out of the question. Between the dress and the way the Class Es made it hard to even walk without stumbling, they couldn't exactly dodge enemy fire. 

 

They brushed the hair out of their eyes again, where was their hat? It wasn't with their boots, and Miss Verdun hadn't given it to them. Double checking just to make sure, they looked around the room. No hat. Well, it's not like a hat was going to materialize for them, and they had already taken several minutes. They would simply have to go out there and ask her about it. They crossed the room from the desk to the door on uneasy feet, taking one last deep breath before exiting into the common area. 

 

"Miss Verdun, do you still have my hat?" 

 

The Affini perked up as they entered the room,  but her vines coiled as she heard their question. "Ah, yes, I didn't think such a militant style of cap was healthy for you, so I decompiled it."

 

They frowned. Sure the cadet cap was a holdover from their mercenary days, but it was just a piece of clothing. "Well then, can I have a different hat? My hair keeps getting in my face." Also the brim was a handy visual barrier to keep Miss Verdun's eyes from meeting their own. Not to mention an obstacle for other Affini that didn't know not to pet them. 

 

Miss Verdun hummed, "Well if it's just your hair, I can fix that."

 

Gehhh. Well, they certainly weren't going to share the other reasons. "Fix how?" 

 

"Just style and braid it a bit." The prospect of Miss Verdun touching their hair after last night was daunting. They had only just calmed down. "A cute girl like you should have her hair done after all. It would be a pity to hide such an adorable sophont under a hat."

 

C-cute? Adorable?

 

They blushed at her words, despite themselves. She called everything cute and adorable; it was hardly a compliment with any weight! "I- I would still like a hat please." 

 

Miss Verdun sighed. "Alright, but I insist you let me help you with your hair tomorrow. Hat or no hat." 

 

"Why?" They knew why, of course. The Affini just wanted an excuse to pet them again. 

 

"Princess, this is the longest your hair has ever been, correct?" They nodded reluctantly. "Well it's apparent that you need help taking care of it. Have you even brushed your hair before?" 

 

They desperately searched for some way out of this, finding nothing. Their hair had rarely even gotten long enough to brush before, and that was normally when they cut it. Hair care had never been relevant. "...No." 

 

"Then let me help you tomorrow." Miss Verdun held up a hand as though swearing an oath. "I promise I'll keep my vines to myself outside of what is necessary." 

 

That was unlikely, but it was probably the best they were going to get. It wasn't like they could just let their hair grow long and skip the grooming it needed. "Alright, fine, but just tomorrow. You can show me what I need to do and I'll take it from there." 

 

"Of course," Miss Verdun smiled, "though I'll be happy to help you after if you wish." They had little doubt of that. "Give me a moment, and I'll fetch you a hat for today, okay?" They gave a curt acknowledgement and the Affini departed, leaving them alone in the common area for a few moments. She returned promptly, carrying a white wide brimmed hat, a ribbon with floral patterning around the trim that trailed off the back several centimeters. "Here you are," Miss Verdun proffered it, "this matches your outfit much better." 

 

It was fairly cute, if far from what they would normally wear. That was the whole point of this trial, though. They took it and fixed it on their head, adjusting their hair to make sure it stayed pinned to the side. It would be effective for its task at least, "Alright. I'm ready, Miss Verdun." 

 

The Affini's vines were kneading with excitement. "Of course, I'll follow you out, Princess." 

 

Why was she this excited for a walk? Did Affini get anything out of exercise? At least she hadn't tried to make them hold her vine again. "Alright." They stepped to the door and it opened, letting them outside. 

 

The sheer amount of open, flat space before then was almost overwhelming. In the distance clear waves gently lapped against obsidian sand, and near its shores was the massive urban sprawl of a Terran city. They could make out an impossibly large Affini vessel hanging in low orbit over the center of the city, flying the face of conventional physics. Around them were a few dozen Affini Habs, neatly arranged, but not in the manner they had been yesterday. This was not the Vervarium. 

 

They whipped around to face the only possible culprit. "Miss Verdun, where are we?!" 

 

The door slid shut behind her as she stepped around in front of them, "It's Cassius, petal." This was Cassius ?! Cassius was a dreary, near-lifeless rock with an atmosphere too thin to breathe, toxic oceans, and a blotted-out sky! This place looked like archival photos of Terra from before the environmental collapse! 

 

"I don't blame you for not recognizing it. We have been rather busy with overhauling the infrastructure and restoring the environment the last two years, but there's still a lot to do."

 

"And why are we on Cassius?!" They saw the monitor flash yellow out of the corner of their eye. 

 

"Breathe, petal." Miss Verdun placed a vine on their shoulder, In... Hold... Out... some of the tension eased, and the Class E began to take hold again. "Good girl." They felt their cheeks flush a bit at the praise. "I brought you here because I noticed you were worrying about being near your former crewmates. I thought an environment where you wouldn't have to worry about that might help you."

 

A maelstrom of emotions raged inside them. This... was to make them feel better?

 

She moved the entire Hab just to make us feel comfortable? 

 

"Okay, but how?"

 

Miss Verdun blinked, "'How' what?"

 

"How did you move the entire Hab in one night," they clarified. "We were on the ship just yesterday." It dawned on them that the ship in question was the one hanging in the distance. It seemed even more massive from the ground than when they were on it, somehow. 

 

"I put in a request, of course. It's fairly standard paperwork," she answered as if that wasn't patently insane. 

 

"You can just move the entire Hab?" 

 

"Well it would be awfully inconvenient if you couldn't. Imagine if you had to travel without your home!"

 

The Affini never ceased to astound. That aside, it was nice that they wouldn't have to worry about bumping into anyone they knew. No one here should remember them enough to put the nervous wreck they were now together with the stalwart mercenary they had been. It still felt wrong to be allowed distance from a mess they had caused, but they were hardly going to miss it.

 

We could potentially escape now.

 

The realization gave them the first bit of hope they had felt in days. They could escape. It would take careful planning, and they would have to find a way to remove the monitor, but there was doubtlessly lackluster security on Cassius compared to the Vervarium. Disappearing into the city should be easy enough if they could get the cuff off. There still wasn't any way they saw to do that easily, it would drug them at the first sign of something wrong. They would have to-

 

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" They heard a familiar squeal, interrupting their line of thought. Daisy tackled them into a hug, causing them to nearly lose their footing. "WE'RE NEIGHBORS NOW!!!" 

 

-_-_-_-

 

"Be careful, petal." Cordelia lightly chided, moving to Camila's side. "Princess is on Class Es and isn't as steady as normal." 

 

"Sorryyyyy," Daisy apologized, continuing to adorably latch onto Princess, "I'm just so excited! We're gonna see each other all the time now!" She pouted up at Princess. "Did you forget rule one again?" 

 

"Sorry, I'm just... A bit shocked by all of this." Princess wrapped her arms around her future pinnate. "Miss Verdun did not deign to inform me about the move, or that you be accompanying us." She grumbled.

 

"Yeah, Mistress said she had a surprise for me, but I didn't think it was going to be this amazing!" Daisy turned to beam at her owner, "This is the best surprise ever!

 

"I'm glad you like it, petal." Cordelia gave the girl a few pets. Princess eyed the vines with suspicion until they withdrew back.

 

Camila wrapped an arm around her friend as they enjoyed the moment between the two Terrans, Cordelia leaning her head on her own. She had been worried that this might not work out, that Princess might react poorly, but seeing them together eased those fears. She still didn't feel great about postponing Princess' therapy- she was supposed to start today after all, but it was worth it. All the paperwork, finding a new therapist who could see her tomorrow, finding a place where two habs could be placed by each other, making sure the area was safe, and getting little rest as a result of all the work- it was worth it. Seeing the smile on Princess' face as the worry fully left her biorhythm made it impossible to think of it any other way. 

 

That wasn't the only thing Camila got out of it of course. She was practically sharing a Hab with Cordelia now! That alone had her vines nearly writhing with joy! She would have to be careful though, their pets might be on course to becoming pinnates, but they were just friends after all. If she knew how Camila felt about her, it might scare her off. She had to keep it together. For Princess. 

 

As Cordelia nuzzled closer, it occurred to Camila that keeping it together might be a touch more difficult than she thought.