The limo rolled to a stop slowly. Viktor, who had been slowly falling asleep on Vok'Rul's tail (it really made for a comfortable pillow, even with all the pointy jewelry), jerked awake as the soothing rumbling noise of the vehicle suddenly shut off.

"Where's th' fire?" he mumbled, sitting up to blearily look out the window. He squinted against the harsh morning light. He wished he could go back to sleep. He was not a morning person.

"Kohgrash," Vok'Rul said behind him. Viktor looked over his shoulder, still blinking hard against the light. The alien looked amused. He was holding something.

Oh! The harness. Viktor thought he might have forgotten it. He wondered when the alien had grabbed it.

Regardless, the human let out a big sigh, shuffling closer to the alien to let him secure the damn thing around his chest. It sat comfortably over his clothes, which was a relief. He could barely even tell it was there.

The door on Vok'Rul's side opened, and Viktor fought the urge to cower like one of those cliche vampires. No one here would get the joke, and he'd just end up looking like an idiot.

Both he and Vok'Rul jumped out of the car (Vok'Rul was way more graceful than Viktor, who felt like he was jumping from twenty feet up), and Viktor curiously looked at their surroundings. In front of them lay a giant building. It reminded Viktor of the United States' capitol buildings, as it had a giant ornate dome on the top. There were massive stone pillars that had engravings Viktor couldn't quite see from this distance. Large windows decorated the sides of the building, giving it an open, airy sort of feeling.

The most interesting parts of the building, though, were the large floating statues suspended in midair in front of it. They were definitely made of rock. Their polished white gleamed in the weak sun. But they seemed to be alive.

Snake-like in nature, the statues seemed to be fixed to one area, winding and twisting in patterns that Viktor couldn't decipher. As Vok'Rul ushered him along, Viktor watched as they connected, winding around each other before separating quickly, going back to their positions on either side of the building.

As they got closer, Viktor could see that while they looked like giant marble snakes from a distance, the statues were separated into large segments and only the end pieces were tapered to a point. Each segment had a small pair of wings connected to them that didn't seem to move, but looked beautiful, nonetheless. Words that he couldn't read were engraved onto each section, and Viktor desperately wanted to know what they said.

The most impressive thing, though, was that each segment was independently floating. They didn't seem to be connected to each other at all! There were small, barely noticeable rocks in the open space between the sections, but they were floating, too.

"Wow," he said, almost tripping over Vok'Rul's tail when the alien turned to look at him. His gaze was stuck on the statues. "Those are so fuckin' cool, man!"

Vok'Rul just smiled at him, and when they approached the giant steps (of course, there were steps, of course), Viktor didn't mind getting picked up so that they could get into the building a little quicker. It gave him a better view of the statues.

He turned and leaned over Vok'Rul's shoulders as far as he could go, trying to keep them in his sight. He sighed mournfully when they fully entered the building. Vok'Rul patted his back consolingly, setting him gently on his feet. Hopefully, he'd get another chance to look at them.

Now that he was closer to the pillars, though, he could see that they also had some words engraved on them. They looked more stylized than the snake statues, looping and falling often into some curvy design. Viktor had never been a big fan of architecture, but he could admit that most of this stuff was pretty neat.

The inside of the building was just as ornate as the outside. There were several large pillars inside, though these were barren of any script. Intricate designs that Viktor often saw in old buildings back on Earth lined the floor and ceilings. The walls were a pale cream color, which made all the aliens milling about in the building stand out.

And there were plenty of aliens. There were more than he had seen even at that marketplace he had gone to. There was a group of small ones crowding a few adult aliens, pointing and chattering with one another. There were multiple elderly aliens walking through the building with purpose. Others were standing around, waiting to catch of glimpse of something.

Or someone, Viktor thought, seeing as they immediately started converging on Vok'Rul's location. He pressed up against the alien, stiff and wary. Thankfully, his bodyguards seemed to materialize out of thin air and push back the crowd of likely well-meaning but excitable aliens. Vok'Rul merely smiled at them all.

They were asking him all sorts of questions that he didn't seem to be giving straight answers to, considering the way most of them exploded with another volley of questions after each response. Viktor could feel himself getting another headache. He grabbed a fistful of Vok'Rul's clothing tightly, hyperaware of the crowd. And its noise.

Vok'Rul threaded his claws through his hair, which drew the attention of almost everyone in the crowd. Their clamor rose, and Viktor gritted his teeth as he fought past the overwhelming urge to hide somewhere. He was not in the arena.

Vok'Rul lifted his other hand, saying something quickly. Most of the aliens dispersed at that, and the noise lessened considerably. Only a few lingered nearby, likely eager to speak with Vok'Rul. As they left, they offered him short bows. Viktor's shoulders dropped from where they had been nearly touching his ears. He hated crowds.

"Pora, cho'k," Vok'Rul murmured encouragingly to him, wrapping the end of the leash around his hand a few times. Viktor fought the urge to wrest it from him but knew that would probably only prove the alien's point. He wasn't some out-of-control animal. He could regulate his emotions.

Sort of.

"I still don't really know what that last word means," he joked, tone falling flat. "You better not be calling me cute." Viktor forced his hand open, releasing Vok'Rul's clothes and absently smoothing the creases his grip made in them. He walked as close as he could without tripping the alien, unwilling to be separated by the only familiar thing in this gigantic place.

They walked past what resembled an information desk, which was nearly overwhelmed with aliens, likely inquiring the poor worker what Vok'Rul was going to be up to today. As their little entourage walked past, most turned their heads on a swivel, tracking their movements, and Viktor was reminded that their species was predatory. Some of them, at least, were a little more subtle in their staring.

Around the desk was a wide set of stairs. Dismayed, Viktor's hopes that they were going to be taking some sort of alien elevator were dashed when Vok'Rul purposefully strode toward that. Viktor's legs were already working overtime to keep up with the tall alien. There was no way he would make it up those stairs on his own in a reasonable time.

Which is why he found himself in Vok'Rul's arms the second they approached the cursed stairs. One of the bodyguards behind them made a protesting noise, but Vok'Rul's icy gaze and even icier tone quickly made the guard shake its head, its eyes lingering almost fearfully on Viktor.

"What'd I do?" Viktor complained, wrapping his arms around Vok'Rul's neck as the alien lifted him up. The bodyguard who protested seemed even more appalled and worried when he did this. Another alien beside it clapped it amicably on the shoulder, whispering something in its ears. Whatever it said seemed to appease it, but it still looked wary.

The trek up the stairs would've been difficult for Viktor, but Vok'Rul made it seem easy, even with the ridiculous flowing clothing and an entire (almost) full-grown human in his arms. He wondered what the strength capacity was for these aliens. Did they need to work out, or were they just naturally strong? Viktor thought about how Vok'Rul had effortlessly lifted that paper alien by the neck. Maybe Vok'Rul was just naturally like that. Maybe that was why he seemed to be the leader here.

That was another thing. Viktor would never get his answers to his questions unless he could magically learn their language overnight, but was Vok'Rul the leader of just this town, or were there countries on this planet? How big was this place?

This building seemed pretty grand and important for just a town hall, but then again, Viktor knew little of architectural practices. Maybe town halls were supposed to be over the top. Maybe this city was the capital, and there was a big gathering for all the leaders today. That made sense. At least, it did to Viktor.

Viktor was brought into an expansive meeting room. In the center of the room, which was lined with large windows on the opposite side of the doorway with plants sprinkled in between them, lay the longest table he's ever seen. It could probably fit fifty humans on either side. As it was, there were only about twenty large chairs on either side, with one on the far end.

Predictably, Vok'Rul went over to that one.

They weren't alone in the room, either. As soon as Vok'Rul stepped foot inside, the bodyguards that had been guarding their backs fanned out to settle in the corner of the rooms. They were as still as stone, faces impassive. Though, Viktor noticed the wary one still giving him looks. Maybe it was just scared of humans. He didn't get an uneasy feeling as he had with the paper alien. Small mercies, he supposed.

Aside from the guards, there were some aliens sitting in the chairs, papers and folders sprawled out in front of them in equal parts messy and organized piles. Some were elderly, lacking in that vibrant color Viktor had come to associate the aliens with, and others were relatively young-looking, bright-eyed, and eager. As soon as they noticed Vok'Rul enter, they stood up, murmuring some sort of pleasantries and giving small bows.

Their eyes lingered on Viktor, and he had the sudden thought that he might not be allowed in here. But no, they were mostly looking at him in curiosity, and in the younger aliens' cases, awe, instead of derision. Regardless, he felt a bit cowed in the presence of so many important-looking aliens. He hoped he didn't make a fool of himself.

Vok'Rul set him down on the chair, and Viktor wobbled unsteadily on it for a moment. He threw his hands out to regain his balance. "What, am I in charge now?" he sarcastically asked the alien, raising his eyebrows. The alien just smiled at him. The teenager attempted to jump off (maybe Vok'Rul hadn't wanted to put him on the floor or something), only to be stopped by Vok'Rul's giant clawed hand on his chest.

Viktor pushed the hand away from him, wondering what the hell was up with the alien. He watched carefully as the alien raised his hands up to Viktor's face, slowly and deliberately. Not quite liking where this was going, Viktor ground his teeth together but held still. Vok'Rul wouldn't hurt him, but he was still less tolerant of touch than he had been before he had been abducted.

Turns out, Vok'Rul just wanted to straighten some of his hair and brush off the random bits of dust and debris clinging to his outfit. After he had done that, in which Viktor was about zero point three seconds from leaping off the chair in his discomfort, Vok'Rul mercifully unclipped the harness from the leash. Viktor still had the harness wrapped around his chest, but at least he wasn't tethered anymore.

When Viktor leaped off the chair, there was no hand to stop him. He stuck the landing, wincing as he made quite the thump in the nearly silent room. Only a couple of the aliens turned their heads to look at him. Mostly, they were just busy with their papers.

Viktor watched as Vok'Rul settled on the chair regally. He did everything regally. Viktor had no idea how he did it, but he made every action look so fluid. It was kinda impressive. His tail swept to the side, laying the floor beside Viktor with a pleasant twinkling noise as his jewelry brushed together. His own hand traveled to his bracelet at the reminder.

Viktor tentatively wandered around Vok'Rul's chair, watching the alien as he took a few steps out of the alien's bubble. But there was no reprimand nor a command to stay, so Viktor figured that it was alright if he explored the room a little bit.

The table was big enough for him to crouch under, though he was a bit reluctant to do so. Viktor may have trusted Vok'Rul, but these other aliens could easily kick him if he did. His curiosity could be sated another time, he supposed.

Soon after he wandered over to one of the potted plants (it was a long-stalked plant that didn't seem to be flowering if it could flower at all. The stalk was a thorny purple, and Viktor decided he didn't want to know what would happen if he pierced himself. Probably alien cancer), the door opened, admitting in a few more aliens.

Viktor fought down his gut reaction to hide behind the sparse plant, though he did shuffle back to Vok'Rul's side as soon as the new aliens' eyes landed on him. They weren't hostile, per se, but they definitely made his skin itch. He wasn't used to so many new faces. At least in the manor, the faces had become familiar over the month he had been there, despite not knowing their names.

Well, he recognized only a few faces now, thanks to the paper alien. New staff had seemed to be inducted after the incident with it.

The door opened again, just as Viktor reached Vok'Rul's side. The alien in question was busy sorting through some of the papers he had been handed by his bodyguards. They probably doubled as assistants or something. He hoped they got paid well.

"Rukka!" Viktor exclaimed, surprised and slightly grateful to see someone he knew beside Vok'Rul in the room. Rukka looked over, offering him a small half-smile. She walked over and settled in the chair closest to Vok'Rul.

"Rohsh, Rul, Kohgrash," Rukka spared him another glance, looking a bit awkward to be talking to him. Viktor heard Vok'Rul rumble in a way that meant he was trying to hold back a laugh. He gave a little wave, parroting her hello. She began speaking, tone clipped but relaxed with Vok'Rul.

Rukka must have given the other aliens in the room the idea that it was alright to come over to speak with Vok'Rul, because in the next ten minutes, multiple aliens had wandered up to the head of the table. Oftentimes, they simply said hello in that formal way of theirs, dipping at the waist for a more personal greeting. Vok'Rul always humored them, chatting idly with them with words that were too quick for Viktor to follow.

What was annoying, however, was the fact that some of them glanced downward at him, obviously curious. And what was even more annoying, was that Vok'Rul seemed utterly delighted to speak about him. Viktor couldn't even wander off in the middle of their conversations, as Vok'Rul kept a relaxed hand on the top of his skull every time someone looked at him. Which was always.

He suffered through it, though. He had no idea if these aliens liked humans. Humans could be the topic of this meeting, even, if Viktor was present for any reason. It had, what, been almost a year since they had been taken here? The thought left him reeling, just a little bit.

He quickly recalled the months, chewing his lip. At least ten months have passed on this planet. Ten months since he had seen his dad. Ten months since he had seen Earth.

A loud sigh left his throat unwillingly. He saw Vok'Rul glance at him in the corner of his eye but didn't pay him any attention, feeling the familiar churn of frustrated anger in his gut at this alien race for taking him from his home.

He sat on the ground, cross-legged and leaning against Vok'Rul's tail for support. There was no point in being angry at them, Viktor told himself, fists balling up on his knees. They wouldn't be able to do anything for them at this point. It just resolved his desire to prove that they were an intelligent species.

The rest of the aliens took his sigh as a signal to meander back to their seats, which Viktor was grateful for. Most of the seats were filled up by now, with only a few vacancies. He dreaded the upcoming meeting, knowing that it would likely be boring as hell for him, especially since he couldn't follow the conversation.

The door opened for what he hoped was the last time. Thankfully, as soon as these last couple of aliens sat down, Vok'Rul stood up and behind speaking. Viktor propped his head on his hands, slouched over in a position that would probably get very uncomfortable very soon. Here's hoping this meeting went by quickly.

***

Vocabulary:

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

pora: come

rohsh: a friendly greeting, such as hello or hey