Viktor's stomach growled, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. He let out a half-hysterical giggle at the noise, glancing up at Nikolas. "Don't suppose I can trouble you for some jerky, can I?" he asked hopefully.

Nikolas rolled his eyes, getting to his feet and helping Viktor up, "Of course, Viktor."

Nikolas led him around the furniture in the large room, seemingly comfortable in it. Viktor was glad that he seemed to be settling in as well as could. He supposed that Nikolas was right: being a pet couldn't be any worse than the arena.

He heard a chair scrape behind him suddenly, and he whipped around to see the source of the noise. It was just Vok'Rul, half stood out of the chair. His eyes were still trained on the teenager as he slowly straightened, carefully making less noise this time. Viktor forced himself to turn his back to the alien, quickly jogging after Nikolas. He heard the familiar footsteps of Vok'Rul and the lighter, less familiar footsteps of Sonja trailing after them.

Viktor ran face-first into Nikolas's back, letting out a soft "oof" as he stumbled back a few steps. Nikolas chuckled and let out a "sorry" that Viktor waved off, hooking a thumb over his shoulder and screwing up his face with a question. The older man shrugged.

"They are probably wondering where we are going, do not worry. Here, this is my dinner plate," he said the last word a bit dryly, gesturing to the bowl that had a word written on the rim. It was bright blue, decorated with little white flowers. Viktor let out a startled laugh.

"Dude, what! Aw, Ezekiel would have teased you forever," he chuckled, crouching down to snag a large piece of jerky from the blue bowl. "Dinner plate," he snickered to himself, gnawing off a chunk of the food. "I just have a plain metallic one."

"Sometimes I wish that I did, too," Nikolas replied dryly, cheeks turning a bit pink. He nudged Viktor with his foot, gesturing for him to cough up a piece. Viktor tossed one up without looking. "At least you are the only one who has seen it."

"Kohgrash?" Both Viktor and Nikolas turned around, though the older man at a less breakneck speed. Vok'Rul was crouched on the floor behind them, settled against the doorway. The blocked entrance made Viktor a bit uneasy, especially in unfamiliar surroundings. Nikolas nudged him and pointed to a doorway on the opposite wall. It seemed to lead to the kitchen where Vok'Rul and Sonja had been talking earlier. The knot of unease slowly loosened.

Viktor slowly straightened up, finishing up his piece of jerky in a few quick bites. "What?" he grumbled at the alien, shooting a glare at Nikolas when the man elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow, fine. Jeez." He tried to lose his distrustful stare, forcing his shoulders to drop from his defensive position.

Vok'Rul seemed happy that he was talking to him, however, and Viktor tried to ignore the twinge of guilt. The alien reached for his waist, and both Viktor and Nikolas flinched. Both humans cleared their throats awkwardly, sharing a humorless smile with each other. Vok'Rul grabbed a small bag from his belt as clearly as possible, slowly telegraphing his movements. Sonja stood behind him, saying something cheerfully. Whatever she said seemed to motivate Vok'Rul even more.

"Pora?" he whispered, his free hand doing the command half-heartedly like he believed it wouldn't work. It was less of a command and more of a question this time, which Viktor appreciated. He heard Nikolas mutter in confused Russian behind him. Viktor took careful steps over to him, stopping when he was just within arm's reach.

He opened the bag, pulling out one of those purple starfruits. Viktor immediately started salivating. God, he loved that stuff. He figured anything was better than plain jerky and mashed goop, though.

Vok'Rul took out a piece and held it out for him, looking hopeful. Viktor took it carefully, fingers brushing against Vok'Rul's claws. The same claws that had wrangled him into the carrier earlier today. He was starting to feel the bruises around his arms where he had been grabbed too roughly. They were the same claws that had kept him trapped in that ballroom, unwilling to release him.

But... they were also the same claws that had helped him up and down the stairs. The same claws that gave him food and water. They carried him gently when he couldn't get himself down the stairs. They carded through his hair almost reverently, when he let them.

Viktor took a bite of the fruit, squinting at Vok'Rul. Purple juice dribbled down his chin, and he wiped it away absentmindedly with his sleeve. "Fine," he sighed explosively after swallowing the last of the fruit, making Vok'Rul startle a bit at the volume. "I'll give you a chance. I don't wanna be manhandled like some toy, though. Or be put in that cage again. Not that you can understand me."

Vok'Rul must have read between the lines, though, or he was just happy to be talking with Viktor because he immediately started speaking softly to him. He fished out another piece of fruit and handed it to Viktor. Then, he tentatively brushed some of his hair out of his face, patting his head gently. Mollified by the fruit, Viktor didn't pull away.

"Hey, Nik, c'mere. He'll probably give you a piece of fruit, too. He got these from some alien last night. They're good," Viktor called, turning his head under the alien's hand to look at Nikolas. The older man picked his way over, smiling when he was rewarded with a fruit piece as well.

He hummed in surprise at the taste. Viktor nodded, a bit smugly, "Told you! They're awesome. They taste way better than those sugar water ones I showed you earlier."

"Can see that," Nikolas mumbled, mouth full. Complicated emotions flitted across the man's usually stoic face. Viktor looked away to give him some privacy. The fruit tasted too much like home.

Sonja and Vok'Rul left them to their devices after that. It seemed that they were content with letting Nikolas and Viktor catch up, for which they were both grateful. Viktor didn't know if both aliens knew that they had been together in the arena, but it seemed likely since Sonja was talking Vok'Rul's ears off while gesturing to the humans. But maybe she just knew more about humans than he did. He was listening pretty attentively.

The white sun slowly rose and started to set during the time that Viktor spent in Nikolas's house. They spoke some more about what it was like living under nicer aliens than the ones they had been stuck with since their arrival on the planet. They both tried to talk about the arena, but none of them could muster up the courage to talk about the ringmaster out loud. Still, it was nice dancing around the subject. Letting out steam to someone who actually understood him helped Viktor realize that he wasn't as alone in this world as he once thought.

He had seen Nikolas twice in a little over a week. Surely, that bid well for his chances at seeing the others, too. Viktor could only hope, but it didn't seem like such a flimsy one as it had been once.

After talking for a while longer (Viktor had never had the greatest sense of time, but he was sure it had been at least a few hours), Nikolas stood up from where they had sprawled out on the floor. Well, Viktor was lying on the floor, soaking up the setting sun's rays that spilled onto the warm shaggy carpet on the floor. He had no idea what sort of animal it was made from, but it was similar to sheep's wool. Nikolas had been sitting on the oversized couch.

On his feet, the bearded man playfully kicked at Viktor's stomach. The teenager grunted, throwing up his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He squinted at Nikolas. "What d'you want?" he asked, rolling onto his stomach to get away from the foot.

"Sonja usually takes me outside around this time. I think she likes the excuse to go out. I do not think she has many friends," Nikolas said, helping Viktor up when the teenager threw up his hand.

"Like a dog," Viktor teased, ducking when Nikolas lunged to grab him.

"When was the last time you went outside?" Nikolas sniped back, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Viktor spluttered, crossing his arms. He was silent for a second too long, because Nikolas let out a laugh, saying, "That is probably why you are so grouchy."

"I'm not a plant! I don't need the sun," he defended himself.

The older man shrugged, "Maybe so, but that does not mean the sun does not make you feel better. Come on, you will probably join us, too. Sonja has been talking your alien's ear off."

Viktor muttered a petulant, "not mine," but trailed after the man anyway. Going outside seemed like a good idea. The last time he was outside was when they had gone to that marketplace and met Nikolas again in the first place.

Sonja let out a "Fhora!" along with a string of sentences that left Viktor's head spinning when they entered the kitchen where she and Vok'Rul were staying. It was no wonder that Nikolas wasn't fluent in alien-ese already. At least Vok'Rul spoke slowly to Viktor.

The alien in question had a bunch of papers sprawled in front of him on the creaky table they were sitting at. He was shuffling them together, and Viktor burned with curiosity about their contents. He looked at the humans curiously as they entered as if seeing them in a new light.

Sonja turned to Vok'Rul, gesturing to Viktor and Nikolas, her head tilting in question. Vok'Rul brightened but then shook his head after a sudden realization. Viktor saw Nikolas's shoulders drop slightly in disappointment and couldn't help but feel the same. He really wanted to go outside.

But Sonja made an odd clicking noise that didn't seem to be any sort of word before bustling out of the room. Viktor glanced at Nikolas, a silent question on his face. The Russian man shrugged. Viktor sighed. It was hard to follow along when you didn't know the language. Vok'Rul looked just as bewildered.

Sonja came back soon after, her arms full of... things. She dumped them on the table unceremoniously, and that was when Viktor could get a good look at them. He heard Nikolas make a sound of surprise as if he had suddenly remembered something.

"Those are the leashes Pink gave her when she bought me," he said, face scrunching when he spoke of his purchase. "She does not use them anymore. I do not wander."

Viktor's face colored as the alien gestured to the leashes, picking one up and showing it to Vok'Rul. "I'm kinda..." he hesitated, picking at his cast absentmindedly. He was going to wear a hole in it soon. "Kinda reactive to all these animals. I don't like that they can get so close to me. I try to scare them off."

Nikolas was silent for a second before he cracked a grin, saying, "Like a dog."

"Shut up!" Viktor smacked his shoulder, face warm but smiling nonetheless. "Not my fault that place loaded me up with trauma," he joked.

The good mood fizzled. Nikolas nodded solemnly, dropping a hand onto Viktor's shoulder and squeezing it, "You are right. It was not your fault."

Viktor was spared the awkwardness of explaining that it was just a bad joke when Vok'Rul stood up. Viktor jumped, just as he always did when one of the aliens suddenly moved on this planet and regarded Vok'Rul suspiciously. He was not going to be collared.

Thankfully, Vok'Rul seemed to be of the same opinion, pointing to his own neck and talking to Sonja. The elderly alien said something that made Vok'Rul laugh and nod, crouching down and calling for Viktor.

"If he puts a fuckin' collar on me, I'm running," Viktor muttered to Nikolas.

"I will help you escape, but I doubt that he will," Nikolas comforted.

Turns out, Vok'Rul simply tightened the collar around his cast-free wrist. Viktor thought that he'd rather have the harness. Though, at least he could hold onto the leash and possibly squeeze out of it if need be. The alien hadn't tightened it really well.

With the sun slowly starting to set - a bit surprising to Viktor, since he hadn't realized just how quickly time was passing - the quartet went outside. Viktor had twisted the leash in his hand, wrapping it around his wrist and palm. It reminded him of how he would walk his own dog before she passed away. Walking like this wasn't as bad as walking around with a harness on, now that he was out and about. The leash kinda chafed against his wrist, though.

Nikolas and he chatted about nothing as they wandered the streets. Viktor had never been in a neighborhood like this before, so his head was constantly on a swivel. The houses were spread apart, each with a large dull red fence separating them. The houses were boxy and pretty bland in color. There wasn't much flora on the ground, at least compared to the gardens that encircled Vok'Rul's manor. There were some trees scattered about, though. Still, it was different from the sights he was used to and so drank it all in.

As he was looking around, Viktor noticed that some of Vok'Rul's guards were tailing them. It's like they could teleport, seriously! He waved at some of the ones he could see. They didn't wave back.

The sun slowly set behind all the houses, and they were forced to retreat. It was cold on this planet, despite it being the tail end of winter. Even the sun, small as it was, helped warm the planet somewhat. But with it gone, Viktor found himself shivering. The sudden warmth of Sonja's house enveloped him like a warm hug, and he started to feel drowsy.

He supposed that staying up all night in a daze and then crying for what seemed like the first time in a year would do that to you, though.

Vok'Rul unclasped the collar tightened around his wrist, carefully unwinding the leash from his hand as he did so. Viktor wanted to tell him that he wasn't as fragile as the alien thought but figured he'd save his breath. Vok'Rul murmured his name, a few other words in which he caught "lorka," and turned to speak with Sonja.

Viktor turned around to find Nikolas leaning against the oversized couch. He walked over and threw his arms around the older man, squeezing him as tightly as he could with a broken arm. "I think Vok'Rul's taking me back. We'll probably see each other again, though," he said hopefully, resting his chin on the man's chest to look up at him.

The man's arms encircled him just as tightly as he looked down at the teenager with a smile. "It is likely. We will see each other later, Viktor. Remember to give him a chance. It is only you and him in that house, correct? You might as well try to enjoy your time there before we go back to Earth." He said it with such a conviction that Viktor had thought died in both of them in the arena. He supposed that being somewhere much nicer would probably make anyone more hopeful.

"I will," he said, hugging Nikolas for a bit longer before he was forced to let go.

Vok'Rul didn't put him back in the carrier. Viktor didn't even see where it went after he had gotten out earlier in the day. It wasn't even in the car when they both clambered in (Vok'Rul had a much easier time getting in than Viktor, the cheat), and Viktor couldn't help but feel relief. Nikolas was right, after all. It seemed that the alien did care about him.

Which was obvious, if Viktor looked at all the facts. Despite his semi-feral nature, reactivity, and his tendency to lash out before he could even think to calm down, Vok'Rul still stuck around. Viktor had bit the alien, punched him, kicked him, insulted him, and yet the alien still treated him nicely. The realization made his stomach churn with guilt, and he glanced up at the alien in question.

Viktor was sitting on the floor of the car, and Vok'Rul was staring at the papers in his hands, regally sitting in the backseat. At his movement, though, Vok'Rul's eyes flickered over to Viktor. The teenager offered him a hesitant closed mouth smile.

He cared for the alien too, he realized. Throwing himself in a rabid animal's path should've made him realize that, fully. His general distrust of the alien race made him doubt how attached he really was to the alien. Latching onto the first bit of kindness offered to him probably wasn't healthy, but at least Vok'Rul was true to his character. Imagining a day when he didn't wake up in Vok'Rul's company on this planet made him uncomfortable.

Vok'Rul smiled back, eyebrow ridges raising worriedly, tentatively reaching out to pet Viktor's hair. The teenager slightly leaned into the touch, wondering if it would be foolish to hope that this wouldn't turn sour.

***

Vocabulary:

lorka: home

pora: come