Dog of War

"Goodbye, Daisy." They waved as Miss Dawnbloom carried her off, their cheeks still burning with the fresh memories of being fed by Miss Verdun. They could hardly believe they just... let her do that. 

 

We'd be damned if that wasn't the best thing we've ever eaten, though. 

 

Well, maybe tied with those berries Miss Verdun seemed to keep on her. Or just below them. Fuck, just thinking about them had their mouth watering. Wanting to eat when they weren't actually hungry was new, and strange. Thoughts of food and the various snacks they'd tried were starting to become pervasive. 

 

"Are you ready to go?" Miss Verdun asked. 

 

They nodded. "Yes, can you help me down?" 

 

Miss Verdun slowly moved her vines in, as she lifted them and stood up from the booth, subsequently setting them down. They straightened out their dress as Miss Verdun moved back over to the counter. "Thank you for the recommendation, dear. She very much enjoyed it." Oh, good, she was speaking for them again.

 

"Of course, just about everyone loves it!" Mr Bell beamed. "If you want to take some home sometime, just let me know and I can make a batch for you!"

 

"I think I just might!" 

 

We can never come back here.

 

The entire affair had been nothing short of utterly embarrassing. Worse yet, Daisy had been there to see all of it. They felt certain she would taunt them later.  A shame, considering how good it was. 

 

Miss Verdun returned from the counter. "I'm ready when you are, Princess." 

 

Well they sure weren't going to stick around. They gave a quick 'Thank you' to Mr Bell as they hurried past him and out the door, Miss Verdun following closely behind. Now free to walk as they wished, they stepped off, taking care to keep their steps short enough to not trip over their skirt. They continued walking the direction they had been heading before stopping at the ice cream parlor. 

 

There were even more people out now, as the local star was approaching its zenith. More of them appeared to be independent. Terrans walking about free from Affini influence made them astutely aware of their own state. Between the companion dress and the sway in each step, with the occasional vine from Miss Verdun helping them stay upright, any Terran that glanced their way would surely mistake them for a pet. The only things that would even make them think twice about their assessment were their lack of collar, and that they were actually looking around, instead of gazing up at 'their Affini.' 

 

Their mind returned once more to escape as they carried on. Getting Miss Verdun and Miss Dawnbloom to spend time alone together should be simple. The two were clearly harboring more than just feelings of friendship for each other. Going out with Daisy unsupervised was going to be more of a challenge. After all, they could simply stick them in one Hab with Daisy as they did... whatever it is Affini in love did. 

 

Sex?

 

They really didn't want to know how that would work. They would need to come up with a compelling idea for going out with Daisy at the same time. Perhaps they could have a 'date' of their own? Maybe there was some event they could attend together, that could work. The prospect of using Daisy in such a manner was... somewhat unpalatable actually.

 

It isn't like she would be physically harmed. Miss Dawnbloom could always just administer Class Bs or employ the implant, Daisy will be fine.

 

Yes, she had an owner, tons of friends besides them, and was remarkably emotionally resilient. Daisy probably wouldn't even note their absence by the next afternoon. They had to worry about their own neck, literally. There were still two main obstacles- The first was procurement of the tool, the second, a route of escape. 

 

Both of these problems would likely prove easy to solve if they were inside the city proper. Here, far away from the massive urban jungle they knew, there were daunting issues, and either could prove a fatal flaw. Disappearing inside the city would be cinch, but it was a least thirty clicks out, if not more. A long distance to cross on foot without cover and with a freshly removed arm. Then there was still the matter of monitor- it seemed to only alert Miss Verdun of their moods, but it seemed unlikely that the Affini device would only alert her in the event of the monitor seeing them as dead. It would likely ping all the Affini nearby. 

 

Perhaps we could traverse to the city and do it there?

 

Convincing the Affini to let them head out with Daisy in the area they firmly controlled was one thing. Convincing them to let them go into a city of forty million without supervision was another. They would certainly figure out that something was up.

 

We could slip away from Daisy and head into the city alone. 

 

Just ride the transit that would be full of Affini alone and carrying a laz-knife? That was doomed to fail. Either a nosy Affini would pry, or the firebreak would pick up on it. Plus, there was still the problem of getting the laz-knife in the first place. They couldn't imagine the Affini letting any of those stay in the hands of Terrans, at least not without close watch. 

 

There has to be a holdout group of rebels, we could convince them to smuggle one to us. 

 

The Affini surveillance state would make even the ad corpos blush, no chance they weren't already monitoring them. Besides, what would they even say? 'Hi, I betrayed my entire ship to the Affini but I didn't think the Terran collaring plants would try to collar me, can you please help?' They couldn't exactly terrify them into compliance anymore. 

 

It only has to remove the arm instantly. It doesn't have to be a laz-knife.

 

That....hm. A laz-knife would be the most portable and easily hidden, but there were other ways. Various types of machinery, maybe even carefully employed explosives in a non-Affini building, perhaps a falling blast door. 

 

The old silo network! 

 

That had to be it! There were many interconnected underground tunnels running between surface to space silos and various weapons caches from the Accord around here. Each had blast doors that could drop in a fraction of a second if the emergency protocols were tripped. That could certainly remove an arm. They were only on the most classified of maps, and had been emptied of their weaponry years ago. The Affini certainly knew of them, but given that they were still working on bringing the planet up to the Compact's basic standard of living, a bunch of empty buildings was likely a low priority. They were esoteric enough that an average Affini would be unfamilar with their interconnections, and might even still have some forgotten rations. Assuming they were still there, and they could find an entrance, disappearing into the tunnels would be a cinch. 

 

The issue now was locating them. They had a good memory, and could practically see the old maps in their mind, but they only showed how they interconnected underground. They had a few ideas where they might lie, but trying to do the necessary recon with an Affini looking over their shoulder was challenging. Cross-referencing maps on the Pad was equally certain to give the game away.

 

They stopped and sighed. This wasn't getting them anywhere. All the places they could think of that might be nearby were still a few clicks away. Worse yet, the pace they were being forced to walk was maddening. Each slow, half-length step just made their legs cry out to run. It didn't help that all the cheery faces were starting to grate on them. 

 

Miss Verdun's voice was full of concern as she spoke for the first time since leaving the ice cream shop. "Is something wrong, Princess?"

 

"This isn't working," They deadpanned. "I can't do this as my primary exercise." 

 

"Petal?" 

 

"It's just," they took a breath to steady themselves, "it's too slow, and with this dress I can't even walk in a manner that stretches my legs. A shorter walk isn't bad but as for these long ones, I'd rather just enjoy my time in the Hab." 

 

Miss Verdun's vines kneaded over each other. "I'm sorry, little one. It's been difficult to think of something you would accept for physical activity that wouldn't also be reminiscent of your time as a mercenary."

 

"You could just let me work out," they grumbled. They would have to be in good condition to make their plan work anyways.

 

The Affini's vines began to coil up tightly. "That's-" She stopped and hummed for a long moment. "I still don't think that's a good idea. However, I just came up with something, if you'd like to hear it."

 

They prepared for the worst. "And what is this idea?" 

 

"Well, Daisy lives just next door, why not help her in the garden?"

 

They blinked. That... Actually sounded promising. It had to be more physically demanding than these infuriating leisurely strolls. "That sounds worth a try at the very least."

 

The tension in the air dissipated as Miss Verdun relaxed. "I'll have to talk to Cordelia first, of course, but I'm sure she would be happy to let you help Daisy. I know Daisy would love to see you."

 

"I'm sure she'll say yes," they forced a smile, "but for now, let's head back."

 

Camila returned their false smile with one warm and genuine, and there was a sour taste in their mouth. "Of course, Princess."

 

-_-_-_-

Camila entered the Hab, Princess following behind her. "I was thinking of making some hamburgers in a hour or so, does that sound good?" Hopefully the thought of a meal would cheer her up, there was still a dour tone to her. Seeing her upset like that was painful, and made worse knowing that it was the result of a problem she failed to address. 

 

"I'm sure it is excellent if you are making it," Princess replied as she knelt to start untying her boots. Suddenly, she stopped, as though she had been frozen in place. Turmoil brewed inside her, quickly converging into a storm of sorrow as she began to tremble, her hands a scant few centimeters from the laces. 

 

Oh, dirt, Camila was afraid this might happen. "Are you alright, petal?" She already knew the answer of course. She could practically feel the little one's heart breaking. 

 

"It's-" Princess choked back a sob, and wiped her forearm along her face. "S-sorry... I shouldn't cry about this. They're just boots..."

 

There was a faint anger that bubbled up inside like a heated kettle as Princess once again tried to downplay her sorrow. It was lost as Camila's vines itched to sweep them, to comfort and pet them until everything felt right again. 

 

"Well what if you just wore them for the rest of the day," she offered. It would simply be delaying the problem, but Camila could hardly stand seeing the little one like this . 

 

Princess sniffed and shook her head. "There's no point in putting it off like that. I need to do this." Her hands shaking, she slowly began to untie the laces, undoing the knot on one boot, then the other. Unwrapping each of the laces. She let out a broken sob and wiped at her face again as she pulled the first cross section loose. Camila fought to contain herself as a tear splashed against Princess' boot. This was important to her, and she wouldn't appreciate intervention. Both boots were soon loosened and she hesitated for a moment, crouched there over her shoes. Every cell in Camila's body cried out to sweep her up now , a primal need to comfort her deep in her core. Finally, Princess exhaled, standing up, and removed the boots, breaking down into full sobs the moment her second foot hit the floor.

 

Camila could contain herself no longer, she would deal the consequences, if any, later. She swept the crying girl up into her vines and began to run her vines through her hair, along her back, drying her cheeks. Everything she could think of short of xenodrugs. "Shhh, it's okay, Princess . You're okay." She continued offering what comfort she could, letting her biorhythm ring out in an attempt to soothe her. Princess turned her head, burying her face and clinging desperately to her vines as she continued to cry. 

 

They stayed like for several long minutes that seemed to drag into eternity. Princess' tears soaked into her vines, salty and bitter, as Camila gave her much needed affection. The poor girl had really been struggling to come to terms with her desire to transition versus her love for her boots. She had underestimated just how strong the Terran pack bonding instinct was, a mistake she wouldn't make twice. It was likely made worse by the fact that she had few personal items she had kept long term. Her boots were the only thing that she had on the scale of years outside of her lucky coin. She didn't even have relationships to fill the gaps. 

 

Princess' sobs began to grow quieter and farther apart as they eventually turned into an occasional sniffle. The sorrow in her rhythm dulled to exhaustion. Cautiously, Camila slowly turned Princess in her vines until her face was pointed at her own. Her eyes were still wet with tears and her cheeks stained with them. Camila brushed her hand through their hair, giving them her best smile. "Are you feeling better, Princess?" 

 

She made a grumbling intonation. Better, but not good.

 

"Would you like me to put you down?" 

 

Princess wiped at her face and nodded. 

 

Camila set the girl down, a few vines lingering just a moment to make sure she was steady. "I'm sorry for doing that without permission, little one. I hope it wasn't too far over the line." 

 

Princess looked over at her boots and for a moment Camila was afraid she might break down again. Instead, she sighed. "...It's fine." She turned to look at some midpoint between the boots and Camila, rubbing her arm nervously. "Thank you."

 

A joy Camila had never felt surged inside her core at the unexpected turn of events. "You're welcome, Princess."