Chapter Text
“So these are your students… but you’re also sending them off to war?” Halesia twisted her head to the side in an imitation of a confused expression.
“Well yes, but it’s more about the relationships they forge with each other than the, uhh, war part.” Caroline’s eyes were locked onto her handheld console, her face lit up by splashes of color flashing across the screen.
The two were sitting on Caroline’s bed while she played her favorite game, or rather she sat on the bed while Halesia curled up beside it, one of her arms draped over the end while she peeked over to get a good look at the screen. Supposedly it was a necessary element of the wellness check, but it sounded like a weird requirement to Caroline. That being said, she was more than happy for an excuse to talk about her most consistent hyperfixation.
“So, it's the romance you’re after?” Halesia slowly nodded her head, as if she understood completely.
Caroline’s gaze shot up to stare at her, dumbfounded, “W-what? No, that’s not-” She quickly tore her gaze away and back to the safety of her screen. She’d learned that looking into Halesia’s eyes for too long was dangerous. It gave her these warm fuzzy feelings that would linger around the edges of her mind, and she was nowhere near prepared to unpack whatever that meant.
Taking advantage of the situation, Halesia leaned in further and tapped at the screen with one of her vines, “I just couldn’t help but notice that you named the main character after yourself…” A silly little smirk had formed across her mask, neglecting to hide the delight sparkling within her crimson eyes for even a moment.
Pouting, Caroline turned a little further away and pulled Oliver into her lap, “It’s not like that! It’s just nice, like I’m a part of the game, you know?”
Taking note of her discomfort, Halesia quickly changed tactics, “There seem to be a lot of characters in this game of yours. Do you have a favorite?”
It worked like a charm. Caroline scooted in closer to and tilted the screen towards her. With a few twists of the joystick and button presses, she pulled up a character portrait of a woman with blue hair hanging down over her eyes, “This is Marianne. She’s the daughter of a really important noble, but she feels she isn’t good enough for anyone, that she’s cursed. She’s scared of getting close to others, and tries to keep her distance. Oh, but she loves talking to animals though!” Taking a moment to breathe, Caroline grinned up at Halesia, lost in the reverie of gushing about her favorite character, “She tries to push the main character away at first, but eventually you can win her over, and she thanks you for being such a good friend.” Her smile slowly faded as she glanced back down towards the character on screen, “I just like that I’m able to help her.”
“Oh Caroline, that is just about the cutest thing I’ve ever heard!” Positively brimming with excitement, Halesia reached out to smother her in pets before hesitating, “...Dear, would it be ok if I touched you?”
Caroline dropped her console, her eyes widening as she stared ahead of her, too scared to even so much as glance in Halesia’s direction. Pulling her knees up to her chest and squeezing Oliver tight, she tore words from her throat in a broken whisper, “Please don’t…”
Glancing up from over Oliver’s ears, Caroline glimpsed Halesia’s vines retracting to reform her hand, and what looked like disappointment flickering through her ruby red eyes. She felt a weight collapse onto her chest, her breath catching in her throat as her mind began to curl inwards. She’d done something wrong, something terrible. Why else would Halesia have given that look? What if she’d ruined the wellness check, what if that meant she’d failed and she was going to be taken away and forced to do all sorts of things she couldn’t possibly fathom!?! Worse. What if she hurt Halesia?
Caroline felt herself growing light headed before the smell of cherries reminded her to take deep even breaths. Everything was ok. Good thoughts. Blinking, she found herself staring into a familiar red glow. She quickly tore her eyes away, burying her face into Oliver’s fur before mumbling, “S-sorry.”
Halesia’s smile quickly returned, as if it had never left in the first place, “You’ve done nothing wrong, Caroline, don’t worry.” She’d been just about to say more when a sharp beeping sound came from within her sundress. Lifting her tablet up from between her vines, she silenced the sound with a quick tap, “It seems it's your bedtime already. Would you like any help getting ready, dear?” Her smile made it all too clear that she would be positively giddy if Caroline said yes.
Caroline refused as politely as was possible and dashed off a flustered mess, much to Halesia’s amusement. Once within the safety of the bathroom, she heaved a sigh of relief. It had been kind of nice to have someone around, she had to admit, but gods was it exhausting. She took an extra minute or two to collect herself, leaning against the door and allowing the tension in her body to melt between slow measured breaths. She was all right. It was normal to have people over, and it didn’t bother her one bit.
Getting ready for bed was a simple routine that Caroline still found herself struggling with. Being reminded was nice, though. It made her feel like someone cared. Caroline quickly killed such thoughts, loathing the implications they dragged within reach of her overactive imagination.
After brushing her teeth, Caroline glanced down at herself and frowned. She was still wearing the floral dress Halesia had given her. It looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. Wait, where had all her clothes gone, anyway? Opening up the bathroom door, she peeked out towards where she’d left Halesia, “Umm…Where did you put all my clothes? I kind of need some paja-.”
A pair of soft fluffy pajamas fell onto her head, “Oh I got rid of all of those dear, they were in dreadful condition. Don’t worry though, I’ve picked out plenty of new outfits that’ll suit you perfectly.” A soft giggle almost akin to the sound of bells rang out from her.
Stunned, Caroline simply slipped back behind the door. All of her clothes, really? They couldn’t have been that bad. Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to be all that upset. She hadn’t been all that attached to any of them, and even if she’d never admit it to the scary pretty plant lady, the dress and these pajamas felt and looked so much better than anything she’d ever owned.
Slipping out of the dress and into the pajamas, she glanced in the mirror to see that the bright pink material was covered in little white flower petals. Were all Affini so into this level of cutesy? Sighing, she draped the dress over her arm and slipped back out to take her meds.
Sparing a glance at Halesia she mumbled a shy little, “Thank you” before plopping back down on the bed and popping open the pill bottle of thankfully no longer expired medication. It was her same dose of estrogen from before she’d lost the courage to even consider going to the doctor, but there were only enough pills here for a week. Frowning, she tossed one into her mouth and shrugged. Maybe they wanted to up her dose soon or something? Turning her attention back to the bedside table she froze. Where were her sleeping pills? How was she going to sleep, she couldn’t fathom drifting off without her drug-induced abyss! Turning to Halesia, she whimpered out a sad little plea, “W-where are my sleeping pills? I really can’t sleep without them.”
Halesia responded with a flick of her wrist, a silverbell bud on the tip of her finger blooming to reveal a long slender needle, “Oh dear, I think we both know I couldn’t trust you with those things. But don’t worry, I have a much better alternative.” Tilting her head to the side, she flashed the little cutie a grin dripping with adoration.
Caroline froze, her eyes locked on the needle as she slowly processed the precarious situation she was in. Ever so slowly she began to back up onto the bed, “I, ah, umm, well. That’s, you know… Is that really necessary?” Her voice was little more than a squeak. She’d seen the blissful faces of enough pets to have an inkling that drugs were involved, but she wasn’t a pet! Did they just do this to everyone? And what was wrong with her sleeping pills!?! She’d been taking them for forever now and she was- well, at least it was her choice to take them!
In the midst of Caroline’s frantic thoughts, Halesia had lowered herself to be eye-level with the scared little terran, her scarlet stare piercing straight through those emerald eyes to seize the brain beyond them, “Deep breaths, little flower. You are safe and in my care, you have nothing to fear.” Her eyes shifted in hues, spilling inward with the force of a riptide, dragging Caroline out into crimson seas.
Any resistance Caroline could possibly muster slowly melted away. Muscles relaxed, her breathing slowed, but a tiny spark refused to be drowned. A ghost of resistance clinging to the memory of life, “...It won’t hurt, right?”
Halesia pressed the needle against her skin, “You’ll only feel a little pressure before you drift off. Nothing more.” Before so much as the shadow of a thought could cross the confines of Caroline’s skull, a bright gentle darkness pulled her down into its depths and smothered all sensation.
_
Having another person practically living in her quarters was a surreal experience for Caroline. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d invited somebody over. Wait, had she ever invited someone over? Probably not, that sounded like the worst kind of torture imaginable. Speaking of which, having Halesia hovering over her nearly every second of the day was exhausting. She’d grown so used to being alone that seeing the walking plant everywhere she turned was more than a little jarring. Not to mention all the routines she’d put in place, the way she asked if Caroline wanted any help with showering or getting dressed, it all just made her more than a little uncomfortable. She could take care of herself, after all. At least, that’s what she continued to tell herself as Halesia tended to her every need. Caroline had even considered asking her to leave. After all, it'd been days since Halesia had first stepped into her life under the authority of a wellness check and very nicely asked her to get her shit together. And she’d done it! For the most part. With a lot of help from her wonderful case worker who was really nice and, well. Pretty. And it’s not like she’d fall back into her old habits and be back to rotting within this prison she called home by the end of the week. She had to believe that she’d be better after Halesia left, that she’d be able to prove once and for all that she would be just fine all on her own. If she couldn’t, well, she didn’t have the strength to so much as consider such an outcome.
Slumped against the kitchen counter, Caroline did her best to ignore just how empty the room felt. Halesia couldn’t stick around every waking second after all, she had to leave to bring her food or to handle paperwork regarding her case. Each time it felt like a weight was being lifted off her shoulders. It was a relief to be all by herself again, to let her guard down and finally relax. But instead all she could think about was how much she missed her. Which should’ve been ridiculous! It hadn’t even been a week yet and she was already some lovesick puppy waiting at home for- wait, no, don’t think about that. Good thoughts. This was a very normal reaction. Halesia was always nice to her, and she'd given her all these cute clothes and took good care of her and even helped her sleep with… whatever that stuff was.
Caroline lifted herself up from the counter and glanced down at the dress Halesia had brought for her that day. The fabric felt far too cozy, and the white and pink hues always reminded her of Halesia. She’d given in after the second dress, and was more than a little worried by the fact that she’d be rather upset if they stopped bringing her outfits. Sighing, she went to grab a glass of water from the fridge. She could do that much for herself at least.
“I’m home, my little angel!” Halesia let herself in, contorting her form to fit within the terran-sized space. Her antlers were always the most difficult part, as she had to twist them into her body to avoid taking a portion of the wall with her.
Caroline choked on her water, all but hacking up her lung in the process. She’d always been terrible at handling sudden loud noises, but having a plant lady twice her size barge into her quarters was a whole other level of alarming. That being said, her heart felt considerably lighter seeing the familiar field of silverbells swarm into her kitchen.
Setting a box on the counter, Halesia immediately rushed to Caroline’s aid, “Are you all right dear? Is there anything I can do to help?” Wearing a concerned expression, her vines moved into the usual dance of reaching out to touch the scared little sophont before immediately pulling away.
Doing her best to ignore her own faint flicker of disappointment, a new fun trend she’d added to the list of things she wasn’t allowed to think about, Caroline managed to push through her coughing fit enough to answer, “Y-yeah, sorry. I’m fine, I swear. Welcome back.” She smiled in Halesia’s general direction, avoiding any sort of eye contact. Instead, she glanced around her to take a peek at the box, “Is that pizza?” It certainly smelled like it. Halesia had figured out early on that it was one of her favorites, so it had become a fairly consistent treat for her “good behavior,” whatever that meant. The smell of it alone set her tummy to grumbling loudly. She’d been so occupied with running her mind in circles she hadn’t even realized how hungry she’d been.
Trailing vines around Caroline whilst respecting her personal space, Halesia carefully picked out a plate from one of the cabinets and began opening the box to toss some slices onto it, “It is indeed! I thought you deserved a little treat.” Before Caroline could respond, she held one of her vines up to intercept her, “And yes, it's plain cheese, perfect for my picky little petal.” Giggling, she shifted herself into a sitting position near the kitchen table and placed the plate down beside her. Pulling out one of the chairs, she patted the seat and waited expectantly.
With her face burning, Caroline refilled her glass of water and scurried over to the seat with a little more haste than she’d intended. Plopping down, she carefully set the glass on the table before glancing towards her meal. It looked delicious… Wait. How did Halesia get an entire pizza? Maybe one of those new restaurants she’d seen on her walk did takeout? Caroline quickly killed the thought. She wasn’t exactly fond of thinking about that walk.
“Would you like me to feed yo-”
“No thank you!” Caroline quickly cut her off and dug into the food. She’d gotten used to Halesia asking such questions at every opportunity, and become rather adept at avoiding them. That being said, it had crossed her mind once or twice. What if she said yes? Maybe she’d even enj- all right that’s enough no more thoughts.
Caroline reached for another slice only to realize she’d eaten all of the ones Halesia had set out for her. Glancing up with a sheepish smile, she did her best to meet that crimson gaze, “Umm, thank you for the food. It was really good.” She lasted another few seconds before her eyes sank back down towards the floor.
Halesia’s grin positively glowed, her hands clasped together as she leaned in closer to Caroline whilst her vines set about handling the cleanup, “I’m so very glad you enjoyed it, petal. Now, what shall we spend our evening on this time? Would you like to play more of your little game, or perhaps we could read another chapter from that adorable book!” Giggles rang through her core and the floral patterns on her mask glowed pink as she described it, “You know, the one with the adorable girls falling in love. You said it was some sort of Yaoi, correct?” Flower petals swept over her eyes, simulating blinking as her antlers began to shiver with excitement.
Caroline blushed a deep shade of scarlet remembering the hours Halesia had spent teasing her about her collection of what could only be described as wish fulfillment. At least she’d been interested enough to join her in reading one. Well, interested would be putting it mildly. The plant had gone feral when they’d made it to the scene where the two main characters first held hands, “Oh, umm. No, it’s called Yuri actually.” Gods, she had to look like the gayest girlfailure ever explaining this sort of terminology to her plant lady caseworker. She should just space herself now rather than- nope, intrusive thoughts. Everything is fine.
Halesia nodded thoughtfully, as if she would absolutely remember the distinction. Holding up Caroline’s console and a book with two women on the cover gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes, she provided her with an ultimatum, “I’d love to do either one with you, but first you have to give me something in return.”
Gritting her teeth, Caroline groaned internally. This was always her least favorite part of the day, when Halesia tried to get her to talk about her feelings. She was always happy to accept even a little morsel, but even that tended to be too much for her. Which inevitably led to prying her open with questions so her case worker could dig around in her head until she was satisfied, “...Do we have to?” Caroline lifted her legs up onto the chair, and hugged her knees to her chest, dreading the inevitability of the answer.
“You know the rules, my little angel. While I’m all too happy to spend every second I can with you, I am still here for a reason. Now, would you like to start, or should I?” Curling around Caroline’s chair, Halesia lowered herself to be eye-level with her. She gave the nervous little mess sitting beside her a couple minutes before taking silence as its own answer, “Has anything been bothering you Caroline?”
She could practically feel Halesia digging into her skull unraveling her with ease. If she let her scramble through her mind unobstructed it’d be a disaster. She needed to say something, anything. Come on Caroline, speak! Stop being such a worthless mess and just, “Does it upset you that I don’t feel comfortable with you touching me?” Caroline regretted the words the moment they left her lips. What the hell had she been thinking? Well, that was the problem, she hadn’t put a shred of thought into her words. Resting her head against her knees, she resisted the urge to scream.
Halesia was as shocked as Caroline had been at first but she recovered quickly, “You couldn’t ever upset me by expressing your boundaries, sweetheart. I will be honest, I am often tempted to pet you whenever you’re being extra adorable, but keeping you happy and comfortable is far more important to me.” She let silence linger between the two for a moment while toying with one of the silverbells on her arm. The floral patterns on her mask shifted to a light pink hue as she spoke up, “Does it upset you that I don’t touch you?”
Caroline shot up from her makeshift shell, emerald eyes wide as she stared up at Halesia, “W-wait, what!?! I, no. Of course not! That’s…” Of course she wasn't, why would she be upset when it’s what she wanted in the first place, right? Sure, she missed her whenever she wasn’t around and she got a little disappointed every time Halesia reached out only to pull away but that didn’t change anything. She just wanted… Well, what did she want? “I don’t know. I’m scared.”
“You feel cursed.” Halesia spoke, and thoughts clicked into place. The puzzle was missing a few pieces, but with the right touch they could be replaced, “Does it feel like it's easier this way?”
Caroline froze, the words clicking through her brain before she nodded slowly. She couldn’t pull her eyes away, but for once she didn’t want to. Spellbound, she stared into her scarlet eyes and hung onto her every word.
“But it’s cold, isn’t it? And it still hurts, even if you can ignore it sometimes.” Halesia drifted closer, holding a hand out towards her, “It hurts me to see you hurting, my little angel.”
Caroline’s lower lip quivered, tears following soon after. At first she reached out tentatively, fingertips shaking as she ever so gently touched Halesia’s hand. Her vines were so finely stitched together it was almost impossible to feel the seams that made up each of them individually. She felt soft and warm, like how it must feel to lay down in a flowerbed. The moment the sobs came, she dragged herself out of her chair and tumbled into Halesia’s waiting arms.