Viktor woke up when the car stopped rumbling underneath him. He licked his lips, groaning as he moved his aching arm from its position across his chest. His neck hurt, and he stretched as well as he could while sprawled out on the floor. He heard Vok'Rul's soft "Kohgrash," and looked over at him blearily, blinking a few times to get the sleep out of his eyes. He must've been asleep for a while, considering how he was feeling.

"Wha'?" he grunted. Vok'Rul handed him a small dish. "Uh, thanks," he said dryly, squinting at it.

Before he was about to ask what the hell this dude expected him to do with a random dish, Vok'Rul filled it up with water. He fished out a white pill from his pockets and handed that over to Viktor, too. Grateful, Viktor took the pill and drank up the water greedily.

"Thanks," he said, getting to his feet when the door opened on Vok'Rul's side. He saw the driver bow lowly before opening the back of the car. The tall alien slid out gracefully, beckoning for Viktor to follow. He did so, wary and curious.

He wasn't out for long before Vok'Rul whipped out the harness from the back of the car, showing it to him for a moment before putting it on Viktor. The human cooperated, only giving him the stink eye when a leash was clipped on the back of it. At least it wasn't one of those stiff sticks. Small mercies.

They were at some sort of park. It stretched further than he could see. Right now, they were at some sandy parking lot, nestled between floating cars. He could hear some aliens out of sight chattering to each other. Further away, faint laughter from children. The wind rustled the tall tree branches, rattling them against one another like bones. If he squinted, Viktor could see small purple buds on some of the lower branches. Maybe some trees retained their leaves throughout the winter, just like Earth. He thought about the fruit already ripe and ready to eat.

Viktor decided that maybe it was just a quirk about this planet and to not think too hard about it.

He missed Earth fiercely, but this planet held its own beauty. The wind buffeted his hair, sending a chill down his spine. He was suddenly grateful for the extra clothing.

Vok'Rul was speaking to him, voice pitched low and quiet. Viktor tore himself from the view to look up at him. A gesture to follow and the pair were walking on a well-trodden path. The vegetation was brown, with hues of red and purple mixed in. The mansion's gardens were pretty by their own standard, but this wild nature had its own beauty.

The path curved, winding between trees and rocks. Viktor scrambled over a few very climbable-looking ones. The rocks were black, and they looked like basalt. He wondered if any scientists had been abducted. They were probably having the time of their lives if they were let outside. He slid down the fine-grained rock, returning to Vok'Rul's after a light tug at his back. He hoped every human was being treated well, but with his own beginnings in this world, he couldn't say with certainty that they were. Even he had been one of the lucky ones. Vok'Rul clearly appreciates him.

The tall alien was chattering lightly, idly swinging his arms. The leash in his hands was held loosely and long enough that Viktor didn't have to worry about being held back from his exploration. He did get tangled in some small bush eventually, pulling him to a stop when he went to inspect an interesting tree root. It was all curvy and loopy, he had absolutely no choice but to look at it. He grumbled to himself while pulling the leash free, glaring at Vok'Rul when the alien started chuckling.

"Shut up. This root is so cool. I wonder what the tree is called," he said out loud, poking his entire hand through one of the loops in the root. He wondered if the loops were just how the tree grew and if there were loopy roots under the ground as well, or if it had just been some odd growth above ground.

Thoughts like those followed him around as they walked through the park. The path even wound around a small pond, something Viktor was delighted to see. He had been ready to jump in despite the frigid weather and the likely illness that would follow after plunging into a body of water, but Vok'Rul had yanked back on the leash. Viktor had been abruptly pulled to a stop. Begrudgingly, he had followed after the alien when he kept to the path. It rankled his pride to be so stifled.

Eventually, Viktor pulled himself out of his sulk. There were too many new things to investigate instead of being annoyed at the constant reminder that he was nothing more than a mindless animal. He shook off the frustrating feeling. It only made him more resolved to learn how to communicate with Vok'Rul to tell him, anyway.

"Cho'k, cho'k," Vok'Rul was saying. Viktor gave him about as much attention as he normally did, which was about none. It wasn't until Vok'Rul said his name that he looked over with a frown. The alien was looking at him, a bit exasperated. It wasn't his fault the alien decided to call him all sorts of names. He had only heard that word once.

"Huh?" he questioned, looking away from the alien to hop over a decent-sized rock. He cleared it, as expected. The fight he had had with that blasted animal had made him realize that he sort of missed moving around so much. This was much better than fighting for his life, though. His morning stretches could only entertain him for so long, and it wasn't like he had any obstacles to run around with in the mansion. Thinking about it, though... He could probably play a mean game of the floor is lava. Too bad he was pretty much completely isolated from any other humans. He hadn't even seen any other humans since leaving that pet store. Games were more interesting with others.

He decided to stop thinking about it, moodily kicking an odd-looking seed pod across the path. Vok'Rul was talking to him, and Viktor couldn't find it in him to listen, though he did try. Immersing yourself in a language was one way to learn it, right? He could barely pass his Spanish quizzes in school, so maybe learning this alien language wasn't going to be so easy, after all. He hoped some other humans had got saddled with important aliens that had a better knack for learning languages. He tried not to think about the fact that he may very well be the only human who had gotten an influential owner.

If he were the only one trying to convince these aliens that they were sentient, the task ahead was much more daunting than he had originally imagined.

Still, Viktor wasn't about to let those kinds of thoughts keep him occupied. He needed to have hope that he wasn't the only one working on this language barrier. Still, even if he did know that other people were doing the same, it didn't help that Viktor knew he was flying by the seat of his pants. He only knew pora and norish. He needed to learn more.

Vok'Rul let out a loud sigh, startling Viktor out of his thoughts. The human looked up in concern, but the alien had a small smile on his face. His tail, which he usually held up, dragged lightly on the ground, rivets of sandy soil marking his path. This was probably as relaxing for Vok'Rul as it was for Viktor. The human hesitantly reached out and tapped the alien's leg, walking beside him for a moment. Vok'Rul startled, looking down and breaking his gaze from the sky. The human smiled at the alien.

"Thanks for taking me out here. I know it was probably against everyone else's wishes. That one guard gave you a pretty good stink eye. It's good people stand up to you, though. Not that I really know anything about your planet's politics, but..." Viktor trailed off, stepping away from Vok'Rul to peer at a rock they passed. "You're a good guy so far. Even if you don't know I'm a real sentient being and are keeping me against my will." Viktor laughed dryly, feeling the familiar burn of frustration in his chest.

Vok'Rul spoke back as if he understand what Viktor was saying, stepping in close to bend down to pat his head. Viktor didn't bother swatting his hand away, just smiling hesitantly in return instead.

Shuffling further down the path broke the peace, loud voices reaching the pair. Vok'Rul murmured something to him, tightening his hold on the leash and slowing to a stop. Viktor looked up at him nervously. Tension lined his shoulders, and he slowly found himself bracing himself for whatever crested the hill they were atop. Vok'Rul crowded near him, placing his hand on his head. Viktor batted it away, but Vok'Rul crouched onto the ground, moving his hand to his back instead.

The voices got louder and louder, until they swelled, coming to a climax as a pair of aliens walked hand in hand. They were a paler red, much shorter than Vok'Rul, and harbored no tails. Viktor wasn't too concerned with their appearances at the moment, rather fixated on the leash they had in their hands. And the beast attached to the other end of it.

It was one of those club-tailed creatures! This one was a deep orange instead of the red one he had fought in the arena and had a slightly shorter stature. Viktor bared his teeth at the creature, feeling Vok'Rul slipping his fingers through the straps of his harness.

The aliens were startled when they noticed Viktor and Vok'Rul, hastily bowing low. Vok'Rul waved them away, gesturing to Viktor and telling them something. Whatever he said caused them to chuckle a bit uncomfortably, stepping in front of the creature. Viktor warily watched it, wanting to move around so that he had a clear shot at it.

The creature itself didn't look too threatening. Viktor had taken out quite a few during his time at the arena, so this one should probably be no big deal if it attacked. But still... the wary feeling in his gut lingered.

The club-tailed creature scuttled in between one of the alien's legs as they walked past, nearly causing them to trip. The creature ogled curiously at Viktor, stepping close. Too close. It was one leap away from getting Viktor first, and he wouldn't stand around and wait. Viktor snarled wordlessly, lunging at it. It backed up hurriedly, squealing. He was stopped by the fingers wrapped around his harness, a stern "Kohgrash!" and a sharp tug backward. The aliens were quick to respond, quickening their pace and moving along. Vok'Rul spoke apologetically, but it appeared that they harbored no ill will.

Viktor, on the other hand, didn't relax until the creature was out of sight. Even then, he still faced the direction they had gone as if it could teleport and attack him from behind. Once they were out of sight, Vok'Rul released him, speaking quietly and running a hand over his head. Viktor rubbed his eyes with his hands, groaning. His hands trembled from the adrenaline burst.

Viktor knew that not everything was out to attack him or Vok'Rul. Objectively, he knew that they were all just animals, and most of them were probably pets. Still, his heart rate always sped up when he laid eyes on one of the creatures he had fought again. His hands always started to tremble with adrenaline, curling into lethal fists. He always found himself tensing, ready and able to dodge any attack, always analyzing his opponent's movements.

It would take conscious effort to break these habits, and Viktor didn't know if he would be able to do it on his own. He had no one to speak to about methods to break them. He wondered how the others were faring. Were they also having these issues? Their little room in the pet store had been blocked off, and they have been unable to see the other animals.

He missed them. His friends.

A light tug on his back. Vok'Rul was a few steps away from him, looking at him kindly. There was affection written on his face. At least, Viktor thought it may be affection. Reading the aliens' expressions had gotten harder as he got out of the arena. The only ones he really needed to recognize were anger and not anger. The ringmaster's face had told him what to do plenty of times. He was slowly getting the hang of it, though.

He kept beside the alien, slightly less enthusiastic about exploring. He simply took in the sights and sounds.

Eventually, the path ended, spilling into an open field. The brown grass was chopped short, accented by small purple flowers. Small bundles of spindly trees were sporadically placed all over the field. The small forest they had followed the path into enclosed the field, tapering off into a point across the field. A small path lay on that side, too. There seemed to be a festival of some sort here. Haphazard stalls of dull wood were scattered on one side of the field. Black woven baskets had goods spilling over onto the ground. Small hovering carts held other merchandise.

The most jarring thing about the field, however, was the sprawling mass of aliens and animals. They were everywhere. Viktor saw small children running about, weaving through the stalls to chase one another. Some were pulling their parents through the crowds. The empty side of the field was full of them. There were elderly aliens, ones he had never seen before. They were gaunt but lively. They did not wrinkle like the elderly on Earth but seemed rather dull in color compared to the younger adults.

Animals of all shapes and sizes were seen, rushing after children or obediently staying near an alien. He saw plenty of Oorah's species and the club-tailed species. There were some he had never seen before. Viktor began to grow nervous. Why had Vok'Rul brought him here? Surely, the alien would know that he didn't really work well with others?

Thankfully, Vok'Rul didn't pull him into the crowds or near the stall-less field full of children running about. They stuck near the edges of the forest. The tall alien settled under a spindly tree that offered little shade, sitting primly on the ground. Even outside of political events, the alien sat properly, Viktor thought with a helpless little smile. Vok'Rul patted the ground beside him, and Viktor obliged.

His tail curled around Viktor, barely brushing against the teen as he sat. His racing heart slowed as they were undisturbed, though he kept a wary eye out. He saw a pair of aliens walking along the perimeter, dressed a bit too professionally and walking a bit too stiffly to be civilians enjoying their day. There was another pair that emerged from the path they had just taken. After a while of observing them, he figured out that they were bodyguards, especially after he recognized one from their time at the school. He waved at them when he passed. He didn't get a wave back. Rude.

Relaxing came slower. Just because the bodyguards were here didn't mean they were going to be too useful if anything happened. They had been easily distracted at the school, and Viktor had had to take matters into his hands, after all. Still, it was hard to remain so stiff and alert while slowly being warmed by the sun.

He was pretty comfortable sitting here. Eventually, he leaned against Vok'Rul's tail, propping himself up on the large appendage. The tall alien reached out and rested his large hand on his head, carding his fingers through his hair. Viktor couldn't find it in him to shove him off, enjoying the ministrations. He closed his eyes.

"Viktor!" someone yelled.

How weird, he thought, sinking into the warmth that Vok'Rul's tail offered. He had never dreamed while half awake, but he supposed there was a start for everything. He heard Vok'Rul speaking and hummed in response, wishing he'd shut the hell up so he could take a nap. The trek over here had really tired him out. Vok'Rul's hand drew away from Viktor's head just as he was falling asleep, and Viktor grumbled.

"Viktor!" There it was again. He must be tired. It certainly sounded close, though.

A sharp yell from Vok'Rul had him jolting upright, gritting his teeth as his arm was jostled. He let out a short, high-pitched scream as something landed on top of him, squeezing the life out of him. Whatever it was quickly released him, as Vok'Rul grabbed it off him, pushing it away with effort.

As Viktor gained his bearings, heart thumping wildly in his chest, he realized that whatever had attacked him was no animal. It quickly got to its feet, unfazed that it had just been chucked a couple of yards. It turned around, and he saw...

"Nikolas!" Viktor shrieked in joy, smiling wide enough to break his face in two. He quickly got to his feet, intending to rush over to him. He was yanked back by the leash still attached to his back. "Nik-" he felt his throat close with tears, already feeling them burning at the back of his eyes.

Nikolas looked well. His beard was now neatly groomed. He looked fuller, shedding some of the gauntness that had come with malnourishment. Like Viktor, he had definitely put on some more weight since they had been rescued. He didn't look particularly healthy, but he looked better. He was looking at Viktor as if he had seen a ghost, pale and wide-eyed, but he had a big grin as if the teen was the best thing he had ever seen.

Viktor twisted around, grabbing the leash with his good hand and tugging. "Let go, please? Come on! I'm not attacking him!" He heard Nikolas laugh. He must've stepped forward because Vok'Rul stepped closer to Viktor, picking him up swiftly. "What the-! C'mon! Let me down."

"You are not so short, now!" Nikolas called, cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling like Viktor didn't have two perfectly good ears attached to his head. Viktor squirmed in Vok'Rul's grip, slapping his hand uselessly. Vok'Rul was talking to Nikolas firmly.

"Ugh! I guess we'll have to talk like this," Viktor wiped his eyes with his hand, grinning down at the big muscled man. "How have you been?! You got out of the pet store? What about the others?"

Nikolas nodded, sitting cross-legged on the ground and leaning back on his hands to look up at Viktor. Vok'Rul didn't seem to know what to think, probably confused over the lack of aggression. Viktor felt his hold loosen. "I am well. I stayed there a week and slowly got used to Pink. An old lady came by and wanted a big animal to protect her, so she got me. They are not so bad, the aliens." He turned around, pointing in the direction of the stalls. "Wanted to bring me along. She is over there, somewhere."

Viktor nodded along. He smiled. "Some glorious guard dog, now, huh? Do you know what happened to the others?" His smile faltered when Nikolas shook his head, but he remained cheery enough. "Pink wouldn't let them go to bad homes, hopefully. Plus, they're probably still in this city. I bet we'll see them soon enough."

Vok'Rul set Viktor back on his feet gently after Nikolas stayed put, keeping his hand on his head. It helped that Viktor had shown none of the aggression he harbored for any other animals in the area, he supposed. Viktor ducked under his hand, dropping onto the grass beside Nikolas. The older man pulled him into a crushing hug, patting his back roughly. Viktor heard Vok'Rul make a distressed sound.

"Saw you on those TVs," he said after a minute, face pressed into the teen's hair. His voice seemed a little watery. Viktor patted his arm weakly. "That animal. They did not show the fight, but I am glad you are unharmed."

"Yeah," Viktor muttered, slowly leaning into the tight hug. "Yeah, me too. It was going for Vok'Rul. I didn't want him to get hurt."

It felt good saying that out loud to someone who would understand his words. Nikolas only nodded, picking up on the fact that Viktor wanted to say no more about it. He released the teen, smiling at him. Viktor smiled back.

"Kohgrash," Vok'Rul called. Viktor looked over. Nikolas barked out a laugh, muttering something about how ridiculous it was that they were still calling him that. Viktor wanted to elbow him in the ribs but didn't have a good angle. He settled for scoffing. Vok'Rul said something else, gesturing to Nikolas. Viktor tilted his head, brows furrowing. He glanced at Nikolas, wordlessly saying do you know what he's talking about? in his glance. Nikolas shook his head.

Whatever it was Vok'Rul asked, it seemed his question was answered. The tall alien settled on the grass beside them. If Viktor pretended that he could speak their alien language, he imagined that they were all sitting on the ground enjoying the nice day. Vok'Rul's tail circled around Viktor, as if protectively. He didn't mind so much, eager to chat with Nikolas. It was nice to have someone who could understand him.

"So," Viktor started, looking back at Nikolas. "What does the old lady call you?"

Nikolas laughed and started talking.

***

Vocabulary:

cho'k: endearment, usually meaning little one, love; usually used for pets or small children