The old lady called him Fhora. Both of them had no idea what their names meant in their language. Viktor had teased Nikolas and said his meant Fluffy. Nikolas had scoffed back that his probably meant Scrawny. Viktor had smacked him. Vok'Rul had scolded him, which caused Nikolas to laugh even more. Viktor felt his face heat up, but he was grinning regardless.

Nikolas told him that he had only seen a few other humans during his stay with the old lady, whom he called Sonja, but only from afar when she took him outside to run errands. He said they had waved, looking eager to interact with one another but they hadn't had the chance to talk to each other just yet. Viktor hoped that Nikolas would get the chance to do so eventually.

"I haven't run into anyone else. I live in this giant mansion that has a huge yard. It's got this awesome fruit! Well, they aren't really awesome, but eating one of those suckers after having those dry pellets and mush; I'd call it heaven," Viktor rambled, gesturing. "Vok'Rul had some earlier in his pockets. I swear, they're like, magical or something. The pockets, not the fruit."

Nikolas smiled, "I do not think these aliens know we are omnivores. They are carnivores themselves." Viktor nodded.

"That's what I thought, too. I got stuck outside earlier but found some of those trees with the fruit. I climbed it," he shook out his arm, grimacing slightly, "and broke my arm. I got some fruit, though. I think Vok'Rul noticed I must have eaten some, 'cause he was bribing me with it earlier."

Nikolas laughed, throwing his head back in a rare show of emotion. "Ha! Even in there, you were amenable to doing things if food was involved."

"I'm a growing boy," he lamented, throwing himself backward and collapsing on Vok'Rul's tail. The alien remained still, though he did hear a small, fond laugh coming from him. "Vok'Rul has these really delicious treats, too. What does Sonja feed you?"

The other man frowned in thought. "She just feeds me that jerky. Sometimes, she tosses me food off her plate. It is very good, though I miss Earth food."

Viktor thought of the time he tried to steal food off Vok'Rul's plate. He had honestly forgotten about that interaction, especially in the hectic frenzy that was the animal attack afterward. The feeling of betrayal ran through him, and he picked himself off the alien's tail, shuffling a bit closer to Nikolas. The other man frowned, immediately noticing the mood change.

"Are you okay, Viktor?" he asked.

Viktor shrugged, picking at the fraying edges of his black cast. "Yeah. Just remembering something." Vok'Rul wouldn't hurt him; they had both startled each other. Still, it was hard to shake the betrayal and fear he still felt when he remembered the exchange.

Nikolas offered him a weak, sympathetic smile. "I am finding it hard to adjust, too. I cannot go near one of those bear creatures." Nikolas had fought creatures much larger than any Viktor had had to fight. Most of the others had to fight larger opponents, probably due to their height and size. Viktor was thankful he had never had to go against some of the creatures they had described. They sounded horrifying. "Thankfully, they are not pets, here. Probably livestock."

"That's good," Viktor muttered, more uncomfortable with speaking about the arena than he thought he'd be. It was funny; he had wanted nothing more than to speak with someone about how to adjust and suppress his more feral urges, but now that the opportunity was right in front of him, he found that he couldn't reach out to take it.

Their conversation lulled for a moment before Viktor picked it up again, muttering a 'watch this' before getting to his feet in a crouch and pivoting to look at Vok'Rul. His arm was starting to throb again, which was surprising, considering he had just taken a pill before their trip here. He supposed he was starting to gain a tolerance for them. While it had diminished significantly since he had broken it, the pain was still slightly annoying. He had no idea how many pills the alien had left, but he'd take every single one gladly until they ran out. "Norish?" he tried, tapping the alien's tail persistently.

Vok'Rul jerked out of his thoughts, dragging his gaze away from the milling crowds of aliens. He looked at Viktor, confused. The alien opened his mouth, speaking with the familiar lull of grunts and clicks. His name was spoken somewhere in there. "Norish!" he tried again, louder this time.

Vok'Rul let out a startled laugh. Obligingly, he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a pretty beaten-up fruit and a small bag of treats. The pear ones, he noted happily, shooting a grin at Nikolas.

"I will try that with Sonja," the other man decided.

It wasn't medicine, but Viktor wouldn't deny food given to him for any reason. He pushed himself out of the crouch and snatched the fruit and bag triumphantly, enjoying the delayed look of slight bewilderment creeping on the alien's face. "Kohgrash," he scolded but made no moves to retrieve the items. Good, Viktor thought. Because he wasn't gonna give them to him.

Viktor scuttled back to Nikolas with a grin, tossing him the mushy fruit. He sat next to the other, pressing his knees against his. "Try it, tastes like sugar water. Still good, though," he encouraged, tearing open the bag of pear-flavored treats and crunching on some. He watched Nikolas take a hesitant bite after cracking it open, laughing as he devoured it in a blink. The man groaned appreciatively, smiling at Viktor.

"You were right," Nikolas said sheepishly, reaching out to pull Viktor in an awkward one-armed hug. Viktor returned it the best he could, grinning.

"Fhora!" They twisted around to see an alien walking towards them. Viktor was distantly aware of Vok'Rul quickly getting to his feet. He noticed that a pair of civilian-clothed bodyguards were slowly walking over, lingering nearby.

The alien was short, only just a bit taller than Nikolas himself. Her skin was a dull maroon as if age had wiped out the vibrancy in her. Her face looked kind, helped by the large smile she had when she found Nikolas. She had a small floating platform following after her, nearly touching the grass with the number of goods she had packed on it. Nikolas reluctantly got to his feet, pulling Viktor up by his good arm with ease.

Sonja started speaking to Nikolas, waving a finger in his face. Viktor got a bit nervous, grabbing onto the other man's arm tightly. He'd throw himself in front of him if it came down to it. Not that the Russian man needed any protection. Nikolas grinned toothily, giving Viktor a sideways glance. "She is probably irritated I left her side," he explained with a shrug. "She does not really mean it, though."

Vok'Rul spoke up, coming up behind Viktor and placing his hand on the teen's head. Viktor only slightly jumped. He called it a win. Sonja seemed to just notice him, and she hastily dipped into a low bow. Vok'Rul held up a placating hand.

The aliens were speaking over their heads. Viktor snaked his arm around Nikolas's middle, reluctant to say goodbye. They had only just met up again. The other man's muscled arm wrapped around his shoulders in response, squeezing hard. Embarrassingly, he felt tears behind his eyes. He sniffled and coughed to force them back. He felt Nikolas pat his arm, but the man said nothing else, for which he was grateful. He leaned heavily into the embrace.

The aliens stopped chatting, interrupted by his sniffling. They looked at him with varying degrees of concern. Viktor had never cried - openly, he guessed - in all that he had been in Vok'Rul's care, so it was unsurprising to see him alarmed. Sonja patted the taller alien on the arm comfortingly, saying something that seemed to mollify him. The taller alien nodded eagerly, smiling pleasantly at the older lady. Only Nikolas and Viktor seemed to notice the slight hand movement he did, signaling the bodyguards to back off from their slow approach. The humans shared a glance.

"We've been stuck inside for days," Viktor complained, voice still thick with unshed tears. "They're a little overprotective."

Eventually, Sonja had to leave, and Nikolas had to go with her. Viktor hugged the man as tightly as his strength could allow. The other man returned the sentiment, though he was much more mindful of the boy's cast. They parted with weak, barely-there promises of seeing one another again, knowing full well that they had no control over their own autonomy anymore; Viktor especially.

Dejected, but still slightly relieved that he had proof that Nikolas (and most likely the others as well) were alright, Viktor joined Vok'Rul as he started to walk around the field at a slow amble pace. The human walked on the side of the alien that faced the field, unwilling to be between something he sort of cared about should another animal attack. Too many times did a stray pet get uncomfortably close to them, only fleeing when Viktor shouted at them to leave. Slowly, however, Viktor grew used to the animals approaching.

He only shouted when they got close enough to leap at him, pressing himself up again the alien's leg as he did. He definitely did not like having these things so close and how his heart stuttered in fear at the sight of them. He would prefer to go back to the safety of the mansion, even if they were locked up; at least, the mansion was huge and would be able to entertain him for a while. But Vok'Rul looked calm and relaxed for the first time in five days, instead of bored and constipated-looking. So he resisted the urge to collapse on the ground and feign sickness to get a ride home. It was a near thing, though.

It took him longer than he'd like to realize that Vok'Rul was trying to acclimate him to socializing with these animals. He must've gotten the idea from Sonja. Nikolas had looked a bit more comfortable with winding between the animals in the marketplace than Viktor thought he himself would ever be.

Every time an animal would get close and Viktor would fail to shout them away, Vok'Rul would give him one of the pear pellets. The alien had snatched the bag back when Viktor had dropped it to hug Nikolas goodbye, the sneaky bastard. Regardless, once Viktor had cottoned on, he stubbornly refused to even take the treats after he let one of the animals near. He wasn't about to debase himself like that! Even if it was for those delicious things.

He would still kill for a hamburger, though.

Once they had circled the outskirts of the field, Vok'Rul encouraged Viktor to come into the market foray with him. He and Viktor had different definitions of encouragement, though. Tugging lightly on the leash attached to his back, speaking softly, and shaking the bag of treats was not his definition.

But damn it, it worked. It didn't help that he was pretty hungry, either.

He clutched Vok'Rul's leg like a vice. It probably wasn't too comfortable for the alien with his nails digging into his leg, but he was the one who made Viktor go here in the first place, so he deserved it. They were on the edges of the market, so there weren't too many aliens or their nasty little pets wandering around, but there were still some. And they liked to look at him.

He felt the burning sensation of too many eyes on him, all at once. It was as if he were the great and mighty politician wandering around a casual marketplace instead of Vok'Rul. Yes, they gave him the customary bows and whatnot, groveling at his feet and speaking reverently to him, but they almost always reached out to touch him. Before Viktor could even snap or lash out with a fist at the offending hand, Vok'Rul always sidestepped the alien, positioning himself more firmly in the way between the two. He spoke firmly, if a bit threateningly, but it worked. Eventually, as they wandered around the edges of the market, people stopped trying to touch him, merely bowing at Vok'Rul's presence instead.

When they weren't in the presence of animals, Viktor found himself ogling the odd wooden stalls. They were positioned in rows in this section, and despite Viktor's first glance and assumptions that the marketplace was haphazardly scattered throughout the field, there did seem to be some sort of organization. They seemed to be in a jewelry section, though it must not have been very popular, considering most of the aliens were situated elsewhere. Despite this, though, Vok'Rul looked at all the stalls they passed.

The owners of the stalls seemed very flustered to have Vok'Rul examine their wares. The taller alien seemed to be looking for something specific, however, and would politely step away from the stall should they not have it. Occasionally, Vok'Rul would bend slightly, offering the piece of shiny jewelry to Viktor so he could inspect it. Viktor, having never worn or handled a piece of jewelry at all in his sixteen years of life, would wrinkle his nose and then go back to surveying their surroundings. He didn't really care what the alien did, so long as he started wrapping it up, soon. Viktor was getting a little bored.

"Kohgrash, ghorto byr lorka?" Viktor's attention from the nearby club-tailed creature was diverted to Vok'Rul when the alien spoke up.

"What?" he asked, reluctantly dragging his gaze away from the creature lying on the ground, squinting up at Vok'Rul. He had gotten a small box from this stall, and Viktor wondered what was inside. The alien slipped it into his pocket before he could inspect it any further, though.

The alien didn't answer his question, merely lightly tugging at the leash and leading him out of the marketplace. Viktor heaved a sigh of relief, slowly feeling his shoulders drop from the lack of tension. It would be nice to get away from all those aliens and animals. They went on the opposite path leading out of the field this time, and Viktor was a little surprised and disappointed that it was much shorter than the one they had traversed earlier. Though, his aching arm was slowly convincing him that it was a blessing in disguise.

The ride back to the mansion passed in brooding silence, at least on Viktor's part. He ruminated over his chance meeting with Nikolas, only wishing that it had lasted longer. If this market gathering was an annual thing, though, at least he could see Nikolas in a year. The idea of staying here for another year made him depressed. A lot could change in a year. Hell, nine months ago he was on Earth, wondering how much longer school would last until he could go home and play video games.

He never expected himself to be abducted with what was probably half the world, thrown into an illegal alien fighting ring with several other humans, make it out of the ring alive, and then become some rich guy's pet. Honestly, if Viktor had been made of lesser stuff, he'd have probably freaked out to the max by now. Or maybe it just hadn't happened yet.

He let out a sigh from his spot on the car floor. It was much warmer down here than anywhere else in the weird vehicle, though Vok'Rul had tried to get him to clamber up onto the seat. Viktor didn't like how cold the seats were or how they felt against his hands. He'd stay down here and be just fine, thank you.

He did want to look out the window, though. The only thing he could see from his angle on the floor was the sickly yellow sky. He wondered if he'd ever see the calming blue of Earth's sky ever again. He hoped so.

He startled awake when the vehicle roared to a stop, unaware that he had even fallen asleep in the first place. Mouth dry, Viktor licked his lips as he stood up to peer out the window. The sleepiness lingering behind his eyes faded when he realized they were at the mansion. A sarcastic 'home, sweet home' made itself known in his thoughts, and he inwardly scoffed at himself.

His home was a dodgy little apartment, not too far from school and not too far from his dad's work. The door only shut if the handle was twisted in the right way, and the windows could only stay open if they were propped with a stick. The air conditioning was weak, but the heater blasted out hot air like no one's business. The paint had started to peel in the bathroom, but his dad had promised him they would paint it over the summer, much to his dismay. Summers were for messing up your sleeping schedule and playing games all night, not for painting a bathroom. Right now, though, Viktor would give anything to paint a bathroom in a stuffy room with his dad, even if the man made terrible jokes.

His shoulders jumped when someone pressed a hand to the back of his head. The hand was too large, and the nails were too thick and sharp to be his dad, but Viktor tried to imagine it was him anyway.

The illusion was broken when the alien spoke up, calling for him to get out of the car. He hoped that, wherever his dad was, it was pleasant. Maybe he hadn't even been abducted. Maybe that would've been worse. At least, if he were on this planet, there would be a chance for them to meet again, just like he had met Nikolas again.

Well, he thought as he hopped out of the vehicle and suffered through Vok'Rul taking the harness off him, he would just have to hold out onto the hope that this would get better. His situation was already many steps up from when he had first stepped foot on this planet. The alien handed the harness to the driver without a backward glance, who took it dutifully, though it squinted at Viktor like he was poisonous. Viktor squinted back.

They went back into their personal wing, which Viktor was starting to suspect had been meant for servants or something of the like. It was out of the way, pretty small, and had that disastrous spiral staircase that was just itching to be involved in a lawsuit. Or maybe these aliens did it differently in this world, Viktor had no idea.

On the way, he felt his senses prickle uncomfortably. Well-versed in heeding the warnings his body gave him when he felt them, Viktor surreptitiously looked around the mansion, shuffling a bit closer to Vok'Rul's side. His steps slowed as he couldn't pick out the threat right away. He started to wonder if he was just tired when he locked eyes with the alien servant that had locked him out of the mansion nearly a week ago.

The alien sneered when it realized he was looking over at it, but its face was quickly smoothed back into a neutral expression as if it couldn't help the disdain it felt for Viktor come across its face. Its eyes were flinty with irritation and intrigue, and he felt worry bloom in the pit of his stomach. Viktor frowned, gritting his teeth in defiance.

He wouldn't call himself a genius; he hardly knew the language spoken here. But he knew a few things. How to punch, how to dodge, and how to judge a person. And what he did know was that that alien was bad news.

***

Vocabulary:

byr lorka: go home

ghorto: want (to)

norish: food