Chapter 1
I watched the streetlights come on as night fell over the city. The streetlights hadn’t been the same, since the affini had come. Time was when they were these bright, blaring things that hurt to look at. Those streetlights were my enemy .
They were… no, don’t say that, that’s stupid. Utterly alone on the north bridge, the best view overlooking town, one might say, no one could see me facepalm. Stars, I thought I’d buried that stupid shit long ago. She was dead, okay?
She… hadn’t even been a she, for a time. But that's besides the point. What was I doing? Ah, right. The streetlights. There were lots of things I could focus on as I gazed at the city below, but they were the current object of my attention.
The streetlights hadn’t been the same, since the affini had come. Time was… no, stop it, you’re repeating yourself, Serenity. The streetlights now , what were they like? Little balls of light growing from leafy stems. They didn’t hurt my eyes anymore, but somehow blanketed quite a wide space around them with a warm, inviting glow. With the rest of the city dark, you could see the stars, now. It couldn’t help but remind me of the cloak I used to wear, my Shroud of Woven Night…
Blegh. Kid shit. I was 23. I really oughta leave that crap in the past. No matter how much of a comfort the Shroud might have been…
Oh, come on, now, Serenity! A comfort? Was people laughing at you a comfort? Focus on the stupid streetlights!
They just sort of… came out of the ground, rising up, curling neatly over to hold the lights enticingly overhead. There was one above me, at the moment, watching over like some mother figure that wasn’t long gone.
Oh, determined to brood tonight, are we?
I angstily pushed black locks out of my face, and looked at the stars. Were there any ships circling overhead at the moment? Probably. These were strange days for the Terran Accord… no, the Terran Protectorate, now.
They had just… appeared, one day. Aliens from the stars, bringing such alien concepts as “free housing” and “clean water”.
They were hiding something. Was it their weird human pets? No, they seemed quite proud of them.
Stars, what a bunch of… freaks! Giant plant people, who looked like us for some reason. And why? Aliens looking like humans was just some shortcut of unimaginative media.
But I was getting off track again. They were aliens, and they were here, and they decided to look like us. I say “decided”, because, well, looking was one thing. They sure didn’t move like us. They glided. They flowed. Sometimes, they even oozed .
Shapeshifters. Looking like humans was a game to them. But games had a goal, a prize. What was theirs? They’d already swept aside our mighty fleets, the best ships money could buy. They’d already… told me I didn’t need to work anymore, which was another strange aspect of… all this.
Allegedly there were still human ships out there, brave crews fighting for our freedom, or something. But the heart of human industry was looking awfully planty, these days. How long could they hold out?
“All alone up here, petal?” Ah, speaking of these botanical overlords. One had silently sidled up behind me, a shadow coming to rest on my shoulders. Dealing with the affini was something that needed care. If they thought you were unstable or something… stars forbid . So I did what I must, and adopted the proper tone for addressing these strange beings.
“Yup! It’s okay, though, my friends know where I am. I was just watching the sunset before going home.”
“The sunset has long passed, petal.” I turned around and saw him, a trio of eyes gazing back down. Nothing unusual besides everything — an affini like any other.
“I know. I just like watching from up here, y’know?”
A vine ruffled my hair, and I knew I had passed some unspoken test. “Of course, petal. Planning on staying here much longer?”
“Nope! I’m heading to bed soon.”
The affini smiled at me. “Would you like me to walk you home?” Stars, they were so damn strange.
“I know the way! Thanks though.” With that, I made to leave.
“Have a wonderful night, petal!”
“I will!” I hurried home, before the affini could insist on escorting me. They sure were awfully friendly. But I’d make no mistake. The affini were my enemy.
I got back to my hab. That’s what they called homes now, apparently. Habitation units. Habs. Mine was spacious, comfortable, and had a device that made just about anything from nothing. Just some casual space magic. To say nothing of how much bigger the space was than my old and dusty apartment.
“Welcome back, o Lady of Darkness!” my hab AI greeted me. I’d set it up to say that one night when I was drunk. I didn’t know how to change it back to normal.
“Hey there, hab.” As long as no one knew about it, it was probably fine, right? I never really entertained much in the way of visitors. I’d fix it later, I decided.
I flopped onto my couch, curling up under a starry blanket which looked deceptively close to the long lost Shroud. Again, it wasn’t anything anyone would ever know about.
Just a star-patterned blanket. Nothing childish about it… cozy and warm, and… nothing more.
I put the TV on. The affini had practically everything at my fingertips; old cartoons and anime, archived sports, just about every movie; it was a living history of terran media. And that was to say nothing of the shows being made now. Many of them involved their pets, their “florets” — and those were, in a word, horny.
Yeah, that was the word. A level of kink that Accord prime time had lacked. Cooking shows, sitcoms, even dramas, starring collared humans and always with vines lingering just offscreen. Displaying their planty mastery over us by having likely-drugged actors dancing to their tune. The acting ranged from nonexistent to… actually world class, I had to admit. It was just such a huge range of what one could get that I wasn’t about to know until someone opened their mouth.
Again, I had to wonder — what was their game ? What did they get out of vastly improving our standards of living, absorbing and parroting our culture, and making us their pets?
Well, besides pets.
Still deep in my brooding , I flipped on an anime from a few years ago I remembered enjoying. Something from pre-plant times. Were they simpler times? I mean, work had been simple enough. Draining and dehumanizing, maybe. But… simple.
I really wasn’t used to all this time on my hands. It led to me watching a lot of anime. Or sometimes just watching the wall. But that was probably fine, right? It just left a girl wondering what to do.
Of course, the affini were there, too. Barging in for biweekly “wellness checks”. Yes, I was happy and healthy. Totally. Trust me. No, I didn’t want to be a pet. Yes, the new hormones were working spectacularly. And this was actually true; things I never had expected to happen were happening. My breasts were growing again. My voice was changing. In a way that I liked .
So fine. By technicality, just about everything the affini had done to change my life was a good thing. But how was I supposed to just trust that? Something was gonna happen. A rug was gonna be pulled out from under me.
And a normal human could do nothing to stand up to their cheerful conquest. The world needed someone who was more. Plants were fed by the sun, but who stopped the sun? The Dark Lady of Evernight!
I was standing on the couch, my hand pointing in the air. I… sheepishly sat back down.
I had killed the Dark Lady of Evernight, way back when they were still the Dark Lord of Evernight. Back when I was still in school. I’d held on for an admirably long time, of course. Hiding under my Shroud. I was bullied relentlessly. Teachers looked my way with concern. Finally, one day in the tenth grade, I buried the persona for good. The bullying didn’t exactly stop, but it became… sparser. I threw myself into my classes. I started to figure out why puberty had been so uniquely traumatic.
Because I was a girl. The Dark Lord wasn’t just my shield against reality, it was my shield against myself. But hiding under my Shroud hadn’t stopped my voice from getting deeper, and it hadn’t stopped the scraggly hair growing on my face.
The affini sure had, though. All these changes in such a short time made me really start to… miss the Dark Lady. Despite everything, that persona was my fondest memory of my pre-transition life. Sometimes I even deluded myself into thinking she could return, that she, now as a woman, could be my truest, most powerful form. She could control darkness itself, and no harm could ever hope to penetrate the Shroud.
But then people would start to talk. And they’d say it was my stupid, stupid way of coping. Coping with being a college dropout, with working a dead end job. A delusion I’d hide behind because I couldn’t handle my own reality. An embarrassment, that Serenity. To herself and everyone else…
Bringing her back now? I didn’t need the plants laughing at me along with everyone else. Someone else would have to stand up to their evil plans for universal domination, their plans to rob us all of our agency.
My gaze drifted back over to the show I was watching. The protagonist was monologuing, staring down the big bad even as everything else had fallen.
“To stand against this passive slumber, this seductive sapping of our very wills! Even if everyone else is to lay down their arms, I will fight eternally! For I am—“
“The Dark Lady of Evernight!” I shouted, over whatever it was the protagonist had said. Blushing, I realized I was standing again.
It’s fine, I was alone in my home, nobody was watching… but even so, how embarrassing…
I sat back down and put my head in my hands. Shaking my head, I freed a hand long enough to turn off the show.
Maybe… maybe there was some kind of outlet for this nonsense. Maybe I could start writing again. That had been fun; for a while Evernight had persisted in the world of fiction, penned by me. Anonymously, of course. No one would ever know it was me, so long as that persona stayed buried. Sure, I’d uploaded a few of them here and there, but only the best of my stories, naturally, which more or less meant that nothing written before a certain point had passed muster. My masterworks were written when I was in college, but it unfortunately turned out that putting all my time into building my little universe instead of doing coursework was not conducive to passing grades.
I sighed and made ready for bed. No one could fight evil without a good night’s rest, of course…
I rolled out of bed at around 11 AM the next day and decided I’d go into town to keep up appearances. Performing the basic acts of hygiene necessary to prevent an affini from questioning… things, I dressed myself in a safe, (and boring,) outfit, fresh from the compiler (that’s what they called their magic stuff-makers).
I stepped out into a bright and summery day, which, while far from ideal, would simply have to be endured. The city itself, beyond just the streetlights, had been transformed by the affini. The very sky had bent to their will, being cleared of a once omnipresent smog. This was, of course, another improvement. The catch would become apparent eventually, I was sure.
My “neighborhood,” if you could call it that, was row upon row of hab units built into a hillside. Every third or fourth building was a little shop or restaurant, and between every fifth or sixth building was an elevator that would take you to higher tiers.
I wandered over to one of the many new restaurants that were cropping up. The food seemed to be universally fantastic. And also free. Generally speaking, however, these restaurants did have a catch.
“Hi!” the greeter said. “I’m Xander Perrenia, Third Floret! Would you like to be seated?”
“Yup,” I said with a nod. This restaurant seemed to provide a mix of different things, as opposed to settling on any one culture. Just as long as you were fine with being waited on by pets.
“Right this way then!” Xander led me to a quiet booth for one. I thanked him and sat down. The menu had no shortage of options, that was for sure. Affini seemed to have a better grasp on the human culinary tradition than humans did, but I had given up on being surprised by that fact. I guess if you had literal creation down as a technology, food was no trouble.
Another floret took my order. Did one affini own all of them, or was it a group effort?
“Good day, petal. All alone?”
Oh, stars dammit.
They looked decidedly feminine, and were covered in sloping and floppy leaves, which coalesced to create surfaces not unlike roof shingles.
But, y’know. Green.
I forced a grin. “Not anymore, it seems.”
The affini scooted closer. “May I?”
No. Please no. “Sure!”
They didn’t grab a chair, per se, but rather just squatted down, shortening and spreading out somewhat. I hadn’t exactly been prepared to share my mealtime with this creature from the depths of the uncanny valley, but… it wasn’t so unusual either. Affini were always coming up to me, just to see how or what I was doing. The first time that had ever happened I had run away screaming, but they were very… patient about it. This one was looking at me, as if expecting me to initiate conversation.
“Are these… your florets?” I asked, gesturing at the human waitstaff.
“They aren’t, but they sure are cute!” the affini said. “Oh, and I’m so terribly sorry. My name is Philodendron Velvera, 3rd Bloom. She/her. And you are?”
“Ah… Serenity. Also… she/her.”
“A lovely name for a lovely sophont,” Philodendron said. Sophont. That was a word they liked. I think it just meant ‘person’.
“Picked it myself!” I added, doing my best to chuckle.
“What inspired the choice? Was it the word’s meaning?”
What had inspired the choice? It had been back in high school, after Evernight’s demise. I think I’d wanted a name that would preserve the fonder memories, but was still distinct from my deadname. The night sky was serene. Perhaps I’d never truly let go.
“I just liked how it sounded.” Not a complete lie.
“A name like that makes me think of the night sky,” the affini said.
I coughed. “Huh. Cool?”
“And is there anything as beautiful as the night sky? Truly it is the window to space for us on the surface.”
My food arrived. The floret waiter squirmed with apparent pleasure as Philodendron gave them headpats.
“I’ve thought about getting a floret myself,” she said, her eyes sparkling. I nearly choked on what I was chewing on. This was… a dangerous topic of conversation.
“Are there, um, adoption centers?” I asked. Human adoption centers. How perverse.
“For sophonts who’ve signed their desire to be domesticated, yes!” Philodendron said.
“Um… maybe check there,” I suggested, with as much tact as I could muster. How many people were really signing up to be pets?
“Why, petal! I never considered that!” The ancient plant art of sarcasm.
“Alright, alright. Maybe obvious.” What am I supposed to say, woman? Plant? Plant…woman?
“But I appreciate your suggestion nonetheless,” Philodendron said. She grinned. “Are you ever lonely, petal?”
“HappilyIndependentThankYou!” I reasonably countered.
“Oh? I see,” she replied. “Did you think I was going to ask you to be my floret, petal? But we’ve only just met.”
“Uh. Well. Um. Y’see. Um,” I stammered. Philodendron made some sort of shuddering motion, and a noise that approximated a giggle.
“But y’know,” she said, “you really are cute.”
Stars, why were affini LIKE THIS?
Blushing fiercely, I stared down at my food.
“Am I making you uncomfortable, Serenity?” the affini asked, cocking her head. Her eyes flashed softly.
Yes!
“N-no… of course not.” I scarfed down what was left, and wiped my face. “Um, I’ve gotta meet some people…”
Philodendron nodded and made way. “Very well, Serenity. It was lovely meeting you.”
“Um… thanks.”
Stars, if this was as I was being treated when I was normal, how was being the Dark Lady any worse? Maybe, just maybe… affini would avoid me if I revived that persona? They had to have limits, right? Like, “oh. This girl is Weird, and I’m a weird space alien!”
But that was probably just wishful thinking. If anything, they’d decide my posturing made me cuter and utterly swarm me.
And of course I found myself blushing at that thought. Of course!
For the rest of the day I brooded my way across the city. Mostly just people watching. The brave new world was still novel in its own right, just with the complete night and day difference between now and how things were. The local factories had all shut down, but that didn’t kill the economy like they always threatened it would. Gleaming and towering office buildings had been quickly repurposed into places people could get together, for recreation or food or both. Their obnoxious skylights had been dimmed, which also contributed to the these days-visible night sky.
The more I wandered, however, the more I realized I was one of the few humans traveling alone. Many trailed behind or were carried by an affini, and those that weren’t mainly traveled in groups, warily viewing their surroundings. Strength in numbers, I guess.
The humans with affini wore these glassy and cheerful expressions; definitely not all there. The ones who’d given in to our seemingly-benevolent invaders, one way or another.
I imagined myself as a pet sometimes. And I mean, who didn’t, at this point? But it was always a depressing fantasy. Deliriously happy, sure. But not all there. And not myself. I wouldn’t have a care about anything outside my master. Just an ambulant puppet. I mean, sure, that could be hot. But it wasn’t me.
Throughout it all, though, I had my affini repellant. My trusty pair of headphones. Bulky things covering your ears were the universal sign of “don’t bother me.” I mean, I didn’t have them on at the restaurant, because that would’ve been… kinda weird? Yeah, kinda weird. The affini might find it kind of weird. And who knew what would happen then?
I could try to hide in my room. Affini did not like it when you hid in your room . They give us these big fancy houses and don’t want us staying in them. By the third or fourth wellness check, I’d gotten the idea. Pretend to be normal. More than ever, pretend to be normal.
Everything about my life had changed for the better, but I felt more trapped than ever. How did that work?
What was wrong with me?
I probably looked down. Couldn’t look down. Not when there were affini about. They might try to cheer me up .
Okay. Come back to Terra. Life is good for Ms. Serenity. She doesn’t have to work, nor ever worry about money. All she needs to do is toe the invisible line for the rest of her—
Okay, well. My grounding exercise didn’t work. Start over. The things I knew.
My life was Not better back when my worst worries were freezing or starving to death because I lost my shitty service job. It was better now, now that all I had to worry about was forever losing myself—
Alright! Yup! Going to the north bridge now. If I was so determined to brood , I might as well do it in my special spot.
It had been quite a walk, but luckily only seven affini had offered to carry me. There were rumors, no, more than rumors, that they were setting up a comprehensive metro network soon. The sort of thing that took years, they were naturally promising in weeks. And I’d first heard about it weeks ago.
They were very apologetic that it couldn’t be sooner.
Anyway, my face was red, and I was sweating buckets, but I made it. But wait. Someone was already there. A rather… tall someone. Tall and planty. Still at a distance, the affini looked at me. I squinted.
Four scarlet eyes — well, many colors, but mostly scarlet — stared back at me. A crest of thorns, yellow to red, embellished their shoulders, and a flowing and organic looking black cape spilled out behind them. White petals growing out of their waist curled downward into a convincing mimicry of billowy pantaloons which quickly tapered at the knee. Before they’d turned to face me I’d made note of more white petals emerging from the back of their head in some sort of imitation ponytail. So was their hair made of pants or their pants made of hair? More thorns circled their ankles and wrists. Altogether, I wasn’t sure if the whole look was intimidating or just a mess.
In one fluid motion, the affini crouched, and then jumped up meters into the air. They sailed forward and forward, as I took several steps back. They landed neatly in front of me, one foot forward, knees bent, and arms out. Standing straight up, and easily twice my height, they looked down at me.
“Are you the one known as the Dark Lady of Evernight?” they asked, their voice a planty contralto.