Comm50 Ch4 - One Step at a Time (Patreon)

A Flower in Need Chapter 4 - One Step at a Time

[Pre-chapter note: I know I haven’t given descriptions of how Fleur and Hazel look yet, and that is an intentional decision. Their appearances will be elaborated on when they look closer to how they want to look.]

Chapter contains exhibitionism, forcefem, hypnosis, shrinking, mermaid TF, and imagined pussy TF.

[This post is now for patrons only, to comply with patreon's TOS. It can be read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/209451986?show_comments=true&view_full_work=false#comment_1124164776]

—

As soon as her eyes were open, Fleur was back at it again trying to create her optimal body on her datapad.

It wasn’t as though the program was too complicated, and it certainly wasn’t as though it were too limiting; Fantasia had more customisability than Fleur could fathom, both in terms of its user interface and its extensive character creator. Hell, Fleur had even tried limiting the character creator settings so she couldn’t get lost in the little details, yet still she struggled to find the right form for herself. Despite all this, she still felt compelled to continue her search.

“Oh, petal…” Vayle’s gently rumbling voice drew Fleur’s attention away from the screen. Her affini was crouching down at her bedside with a concerned expression on her face. “You don’t have to find the perfect body right this moment. The opportunity to change your physical form isn’t limited, there will be time to explore your identity and expression.”

“I suppose, but… I feel like I’ve waited forever in a body I don’t feel comfy in! I just…” Fleur took a deep breath and glanced away. “I don’t want to keep putting it off…” Her mind wandered back to the past three months: three months living planetside under affini governance, with a brand new affini gender care clinic a five minute walk from their temporary hab! She and Hazel could have walked in there and gotten this care sooner, but they were both too afraid to take such a big leap on their own.

Vayle’s biorhythm hummed with thoughtfulness, care, compassion, and love. The affini’s pair of glowing, metallic eyes gently swirled pale greens and blues. “You don’t have to make every change all at once, darling. Even if you incrementally feel a little bit better with a change here and there, that’s still preferable to staying just as hurt as you were yesterday. So if there are aspects of yourself you know you want to have reflected on your body, those would be a good place to start; the rest can come later.”

“That makes sense…” Fleur squeaked shyly, sneaking in glances of the gorgeous, inhuman, metallic turquoise eyes peering into her soul.

Before she could get back to working on her appearance, a tender vine slithered over her hand while another gently lifted her chin to face her affini. “How about some breakfast and a nice cuppa, hmm? We can work through this together afterwards.”

—

With full bellies and comfy loungewear, Vayle’s two newest florets were cuddled up together under a soft blanket in her nest of vines. Both sophonts were clearly trying their hardest to acclimatise to her presence and her touch, which made Vayle’s core twist with conflicting emotions.

Both Hazel and Fleur evidently craved love and affection, but years of fear and social anxiety wouldn’t be healed overnight. They subtly cowered away from her touch before trying to ease their muscles and allow their affini to grace them with tender petting. On one vine, it was corebreaking seeing such precious cuties dealing with trauma and hurt; but on the other, Vayle was overcome with pride at how her little petals were actively trying to open up around her. She couldn’t wait for the day she could snuggle with all three of her beautiful girls without reservation, but settled for gingerly stroking their heads for the time being.

‘Soon enough,’ Vayle thought to herself, ‘they’ll be happy… Soon enough, their healing will begin in earnest.’

Before long, Fleur grabbed her datapad and once again opened up Fantasia. Vayle watched as the little cutie started with a blank Terran body template and immediately rushed to add a vulva - the save file of which she’d spent over an hour perfecting last night. From there, she was a bit slower and more thoughtful in her additions: a pair of modestly-sized breasts; a head of medium-length black hair; and a complete removal of all facial and body hair no matter how thin. It was after that where she froze up yet again.

“Would you like some help, petal?” Vayle conveyed feelings of affirmation and care through her biorhythm, speaking as softly as she could.

Fleur simply nodded shyly and let the towering plampt lady press a few buttons on her datapad screen. At lightning speed, a detailed model of Fleur’s current body loaded in and rendered. However, instead of appearing exactly as she did in real life, Fleur’s model had been altered to seamlessly reflect the features she added to the blank template moments ago. The affini could tell she was avoiding looking at the unchanged parts of her virtual body.

“How do you like this so far?” Vayle could feel from her third floret’s biorhythm that she was pleasantly surprised seeing the virtual changes as they would look on her current form, but asked anyway.

“It’s definitely better…”

Sensing there was an unspoken ‘but’ at the end of that sentence, Vayle gently prompted Fleur to speak her mind. “This is simply a first step, petal. Every step is a step closer to feeling like yourself, whether they’re large or small. Are there any immediate feelings you have seeing this?”

“Yeah… it still feels too much like…” Fleur gestured to herself. “Like this…”

“Would you like me to make some edits to your virtual self and see if they feel better?”

Fleur nodded once again, then gently lifted her datapad from the little Terran’s lap. Vayle made feminising modifications with the screen out of Fleur’s sight, which was an intentional choice; she hoped to nudge Fleur to actively look at the parts of herself she avoided, and the best way to do so was make her search for the changes reflected on her digital form.

In practically no time at all, Vayle had rounded Fleur’s face and jawline, subtly narrowed her shoulders and widened her hips, shrunk her height by about ten centimeters, softened and moisturised her skin, and redistributed body fat in a way that compounded the changes already made by her estrogen doses. Not all of these changes may be what Fleur wants, but they were common body modifications made by other transgender Terran women in the compact that would hopefully help her make decisions one way or another.

When the affini handed the datapad back to her adorable little floret, Vayle watched as she examined the digital body from one angle to the next. Reading the Terran’s biorhythm told her that Fleur still felt like something wasn’t clicking, but was overall pleased with the changes.

“Maybe… A bit shorter?” Fleur asked rhetorically, reducing her height by a further ten centimeters. Without saying more, she shrunk her nose a bit, winced, then reset it to its existing size. Similarly, she shrank her hands to a subtly disproportionate scale compared to her body, sighed, then reset them back to how they were before as well.

“Before getting caught up in the details, how do you like this form compared to your current one?” Vayle hummed.

“Better.” She was confident in saying that.

“And how does it compare to before I made some adjustments?”

“Better…” She was confident in saying that too, but it was clear Fleur was still disappointed she hadn’t found the perfect body for herself.

“Remember what I said about one step at a time, darling? This doesn’t have to be your final, permanent body; all changes we make can be changed again, or even reversed.” Vayle emanated as much care and reassurance through her biorhythm as she could, and was rewarded with seeing both little cuties un-tense their muscles. “That being said, I know how scary this must be for you.”

Fleur nodded her head, and in a simply core-combusting display of love, Hazel comfortingly nuzzled her head against that of her wife. Vayle struggled not to collapse into a cuteness-overloaded puddle of plampt!

After a moment to recover from a nearly lethal dose of cuteness, Vayle continued. “I was originally planning to time your biomods to coincide with when you get your haustoric implants, but I have a suggestion: once you have your implants, it will be possible to give you a virtual reality experience nearly indistinguishable from organic reality. As such, you would be able to try on this body as easily as trying on a new outfit. Would you like to do that, Fleur dear?”

The sweet little Terran took a moment to contemplate, then gave her answer. “Yes please.”

“Of course, petal~” The affini rewarded her third floret with soft vine strokes. “Hazel dear, you can still have your body modified when you get your haustoric implant, but the choice is yours.” Even though her second floret was much more definitive and ready with what biomods she desired, Vayle had a feeling she would want to get them done concurrently with her wife.

“No thank you.” It was Hazel’s turn to be rewarded with headpats.

Fleur gave a confused expression to Hazel. “What? Why not?”

“I want us to do it together.” Hazel lightly squeezed Fleur’s hand.

“B-but you don’t have to wait for me!” Fleur squeezed back. “I want you to get the care you need!”

“And I will, but we’re in this together. We started transitioning together, we volunteered for domestication together, and we’re going to do this together. I’m not waiting for you, I’m doing this at my own pace; and that means taking every step with you.” Tears appeared in the corners of her eyes. “I can’t do this alone, and I can’t leave you behind. Besides, I think it’s a good idea to give my body a trial run in VR first, too.”

Fleur’s eyes were also watery now as she leaned in and warmly embraced her wife. Hazel swiftly returned the gesture, and Vayle did as best she could to radiate comfort, safety, and compassion for her newest florets.

—

Jess poked kits nose into the theater to see her new connivents cuddling up together with Vayle on one of the couches. The faint sniffles she heard told her they still probably needed some alone time, so she quietly withdrew for the time being.

The biomodded Terran exhaled slowly as she headed back to her room. Moments later, a subtle vibration in her pocket signalled a new message from her owner.

>> ValleyVayle: We’ll be ready to go for a walk soon, kitten. Thank you for giving them space, you’re such a good girl~

Vayle had a cybernetic implant in her core that allowed her to connect to the overnet and send messages with her mind. Jess figured she was going to make good use of its functionality now that she had triple the florets yet no additional vines to stroke them with.

>> ValleyVayle: I love you, kitten~ <3

>> PrettyKitty17: purr :3

Jess smiled weakly, but still felt a pit in her stomach. Seeing Vayle, seeing her owner, with two new florets stung in a way Jess had never expected. Kit knew Vayle wanted more florets, and was happy she found some. Stars, even Jess kitself wanted connivents, and Hazel and Fleur seemed nothing but wonderful! Yet despite this, jealousy still cast a shadow over her.

It wasn’t as if Jess held resentment toward her connivents or her beloved affini. It wasn’t as if she thought she were being replaced or forgotten. It wasn’t even as if she was afraid Vayle’s love for her was going to fade. It just felt… different.

For the past two years, Vayle and Jess had each other all to themselves. Everything they did together was special, their love for each other was unique. And Jess knew consciously that it was still special and unique, yet still the jealousy ate away at her.

Kit knew this feeling wasn’t permanent. Kit knew Vayle would help her through this. Kit knew she would grow close with her new family members and live without fear or jealousy. But none of that made it hurt any less in the moment.

For the time being, the catgirl entered her room, walked past her little garden, went over the bridge crossing her stream, and leapt into bed to burrow under the covers.

—

When Fleur stepped out of the hab with her wife, connivent, and affini, she had to do a double take; an entire biosphere existed around them inside the artificial gravity ring! It was like stepping out into a storybook, a fae settlement deep in the forest with biological buildings and organic structures scattered along a beautiful stone brick promenade. Multi-storey buildings appeared not to have been built, but to have been grown as their structures were all interwoven with flora of all shapes, sizes, and colours. The landscape around them gently curved upwards, ending not in a horizon but rather disappearing into the early morning sky impossibly far in the distance - surely another everyday miracle of affini technology and illusion. A simulated sunrise cast a gentle glow across all in sight, reflecting serenely off the rippling surface of a nearby lake. Having been carried in yesterday by their new owner while cuddling each other, she and Hazel hadn’t had the opportunity to really observe the environment aboard the Abiegnis until now.

“I had no idea how much colour there could be all in one place…” Hazel remarked in awe, holding her little kitty plushie close to her chest with one hand while using the other to lock fingers with Fleur.

“Yeah, it’s definitely a far cry from all the rusty metal inside the old freighter we lived on…” Fleur added.

“Oh darlings, that will all be a distant memory soon enough, I promise.” Vayle used a pair of vines to pull her three florets close for a warm hug.

Jess began to audibly purr while being squeezed by the affini.

Making their way along the promenade together, the group passed by an incredibly diverse array of sophonts. Terrans, rinans, and humanoid affini were most common, but there were also beeple, spectrum jellies, a mothtaur, and affini who had configured their viney bodies into shapes that could scarcely be believed. Many sophonts - including Terrans - were walking around stark naked save for perhaps a collar or other such accessory. Though Fleur and Hazel had no qualms with exhibitionism - far from it, in fact - years of Terran social norms ingrained in them made the pair instinctually look away.

Reading the pinnate pair like a book, Vayle used her dulcet voice and assuaging biorhythm to begin whittling away at said arbitrary Terran social norms. “You don’t have to avert your eyes, little ones. Those who partake in exhibitionism are there to be observed. Conversely, cuties who wish not to be perceived are easily accommodated, usually by snuggling inside their affini as if in a cozy cocoon~”

Gingerly glancing at the nearest nude Terrans, Fleur witnessed a pair of pretty collared ladies walking without an affini: one with braided brown hair and gorgeous rosevine tattoos along her arms, legs, and back strutted with confidence; the other with wavy red hair and almost-equally red cheeks waddled forward awkwardly, both hands covering her crotch.

“Jem, please listen! Th-this must be some mistake, you and I aren’t wearing any clothes!” The redhead pleaded with her presumed connivent, darting her eyes all around.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Livie. Can’t you see I’m wearing my favourite jacket and leather trousers?” The tattooed woman replied, seemingly believing what she said to be true. “And that companion dress may be so light it feels like you’re not wearing anything, but that doesn’t mean it is nothing.”

“People are staring! And… Nnng, I c-can feel I’m getting close again-!!” The redhead whined mutedly, her hands halfway between shielding and stimulating her private parts.

Hazel and Fleur shared a confused glance, then faced their affini. Before they could ask, Vayle explained.

“They are Jemisha and Livia Viola, fifth and sixth florets respectively, and they are playing out a rather scandalous scenario they enjoy - aided of course by some hypnosis to really take their roleplaying to the next level~” Vayle hummed pleasantly. “This is a very common sight here in this part of the Abiegnis. I know their owner well, and I can assure you they are not facing any unwanted attention.”

Turning back to the hypnotised florets, Fleur’s imagination ran away with the fantasy of being a simple little pussy between the legs of her oblivious, hypnotised wife: all eyes scanning Hazel’s body, the pussy feeling them all eventually land squarely on her; twitching helplessly as her leaky, uncovered form garnered looks of confusion, arousal, embarrassment, and lust from all around; feeling a breeze over her heavenly soft skin as Hazel unreservedly walked forth; and being helpless to stop an unaware Hazel from walking around naked in front of people they knew… It all felt so blissfully horrifying!

It took a moment for the daydreaming floret to pull herself away from her fantasy and return to full awareness. Hazel’s face was adorably rosy as she, too, was likely captivated and inspired by the exhibitionism before them.

“Mhmm hmm hmm! You three are simply too precious!” Vayle giggled joyously as she instinctively lavished her pets in strokes and cuddles.

Jess, meanwhile, was seemingly just enjoying the view; she must have become rather accustomed to this sort of thing and grown comfy letting kitself enjoy it free from internalised societal stigma. Fleur couldn’t wait for the day when she could enjoy such willing exhibitionism without lowkey feeling like a creep in the back of her mind.

The newfound family of four continued their stroll down the promenade as the artificial sun continued to rise and the artificial sky grew brighter above them. To the surprise of Hazel and Fleur, they arrived at a pretty train station built in an olde-timey Victorian style the likes of which they’d only ever seen in ancient movies and documentaries. With all the very alien architecture around them, the station was not only anachronistic but also whimsical in a way distinct from the whimsical affini technology.

“What in the stars is this doing here?” Hazel gasped.

“This is a little passion project of the Abiegnis Rail and Train Enthusiasts, aka the ARTEs.” Vayle explained. “The little cuties love this old Terran technology and decided to construct their own railway. Before long they’d created complete loops in both of the Abiegnis’ rings, which are now the primary means of intra-ring public transit~”

Inside the station, a blonde Terran and an Affini composed largely of seaweed waved at them from a roomy reception area. A massive cylindrical fish tank featuring a submerged castle built into a chromatic reef was the station’s centerpiece, and cushioned seats of all sizes lined the walls.

“Hello everyone!” The Terran spoke in perhaps the softest voice Fleur had ever heard. Her outfit was seemingly a costume themed to match the train station they were in: a long black overcoat, formal white gloves, and a pristine cap fit for a railway official. “Welcome to Loch Thurso Station!”

“Greetings, Vayle Greetings, Jess” The station affini welcomed warmly. “And greetings, cuties I do not believe we have met. My name is Velma Bridgnorth, Forty-Fifth Bloom, and I use she and her pronouns. These are my pets Maven and Ariel”

“My name is Maven Bridgnorth, Seventeenth Floret! I use she/they pronouns. It is a pleasure to meet you!” The Terran bowed courteously.

“Hi, I’m Hazel! Er, Hazel Severn, Second Floret. Still getting used to the new name.”

“I’m Fleur Severn, Third Floret. Hi!” She waved awkwardly to the two visible sophonts, and looked around for the other - but to no avail.

“We’d like four tickets please, dear!” Vayle addressed the station floret on duty.

“Of course, Miss Vayle! Coming right up!” Maven beamed brightly as they grabbed an ornate paper ticket, pressed an old style stamp into a pad of ink, and stamped each one. She then placed them onto the counter and eagerly accepted strokes and pets from Vayle’s many vines.

“Why thank you, Maven~” Vayle hummed.

As Vayle handed a ticket to her, Hazel spoke up. “Wait, do we have to buy these tickets?”

“Oh, stars no.” Maven gasped, almost taken aback by the question. “Everyone may ride as much as they please, with no fee whatsoever.”

“Physical tickets are simply too adorable not to use~” Velma added with a flourishing gesture of her vines. “Besides, tickets make for lovely mementos!”

Fleur continued to look around as she took her ticket. “Um, I’m sorry, but… where’s Ariel?”

“Fufufu! My little Ariel is hiding in her underwater castle” Velma laughed boisterously. Her seaweed-like vines directed everyone’s eyes to the miniature aquarium, where they slithered into special access tubes and emerged from the simulated sea floor within. It didn’t take long for her vines to pull a tiny sophont barely five centimeters tall from the castle and into an emptier part of the fish tank.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared as though a mermaid had been shrunken down to impossibly miniature proportions! A heavily biomodded Terran girl with long, fiery red hair, proportionally-massive breasts only covered by one arm, visible gills on her neck, and a scaly turquoise fish tail in place of legs. Her other hand was being used to hide her genitals from sight.

“Would my sweet girl like to introduce herself?~” Velma asked with a hint of condescension.

“I’m not Ariel, and I’m not a girl! I’m Ariel! N-no, I’m Ariel! No th-that’s not my name, I’m Ariel and I’m a pretty mermaid!” The flustered floret huffed defiantly. Her voice was fully audible, surely due to more affini techno-magic. “Why can’t I say my own name!? What have you done to me, Mistress?” Upon referring to her affini as ‘Mistress’, a look of abject horror crossed her flushed face.

“Fufufufufu!” Velma giddily stroked her mermaid’s tiny head and held her in place despite her trying to swim away. “I used hypnosis to help you open up a little Now you can only refer to yourself the way you truly want to, deep down No more of that ‘free Terran man’ nonsense the Accord ingrained into you.” The affini’s eyes swirled with shades of pink and purple, her sharp teeth bared in a predatory grin. “And of course, I have conditioned you to refer to me as your mistress”

“I-I don’t remember that!!”

“Of course not, silly, you were being hypnotised” Velma slithered her body closer to the fish tank and positioned the mermaid floret such that Ariel was staring down her comparatively gigantic affini face. “This is oh-so very much better for you, would you not agree, my dear pet mermaid?”

“No, I’m a pretty mermaid! I’m a-! Nnng, I’m not-! I’m… Mmmm…” The fingers which Ariel was using to cover her nether regions were now slowly sliding past her soft little labia lips while her thumb stimulated her tiny clitoris. “...a p-pretty mermaid… Nnng, mmmmmmm…”

In near-disbelief at what her eyes were seeing, Fleur couldn’t help but drift into another of her fantasies. Her mind’s eye put her back at home between Hazel’s legs, except now, those legs were fusing together! The world around the sapient pussy seemingly grew even larger as Hazel shrunk down and transformed into a tiny mermaid like Ariel! The thought of Hazel’s beautiful moans ringing out through the pristine water, the thought of twitching with horny delight, the thought of Hazel’s gorgeous, lithe hand gently fingering her little pussy form-! It sent a blissful shiver through Fleur’s spine just imagining being naught but the pussy of a tiny woman living in a fish tank.

But as all good things must, her fantasy came to an end as she was tugged back to reality by a shrill steam whistle blowing in the distance.

“Ah, right on time! Let’s head onto the platform so you cuties can get a good view of the train!” Vayle hummed cheerfully. “Thank you again, Maven~” She gave the station floret another gentle stroke for good measure, eliciting a joyful whimper.

Once the pinnate pair, their connivent, and their affini were outside on the platform, they all looked down the track to see a black and blue steam engine speeding towards them.

“No way…” Hazel mouthed breathlessly.

“Is that…?” Fleur squinted to make out the incoming train in the distance.

Vayle and Jess simply grinned knowingly and let the sight speak for itself. As it swiftly approached, it became apparent that the locomotive heading the train was a Class A4; the fastest steam locomotive in human history! Hazel and Fleur were agape as they continued to watch the train slow down and pull into the station.

“Mhmm hmm hmm! You two are just so adorable!” Their affini squealed quietly, clearly trying not to smother her florets in strokes.

As the engine passed them by, an affini and a pair of florets in the cab waved to the four sophonts on the platform. On the side of the locomotive were the number 4468 and the name “MALLARD”.