The ringmaster had his arm in an iron grip, claws digging into his fragile skin. They were long, dark, and sharp, and seemed to pierce every cell in his arm, straight down to the bone. Shockingly, Viktor couldn't feel a thing except for sick, burning hot hatred in his stomach and throat. The ringmaster twisted his arm, hoisting the human up onto his toes.

The ugly alien's lips were moving, teeth snapping dangerously close to his ears, but Viktor couldn't hear a thing. He all but snarled at the alien, baring his teeth and tugging uselessly on his arm. The ringmaster's claws tightened around his arm with every pull.

Tug, tighten, repeat. But Viktor couldn't stop struggling. He needed to be free.

Suddenly, the ringmaster started shaking him violently. Viktor started to hear him chanting his name, low and ugly. Face twisting with anger, the teenager lashed out with his other fist, finally finding the courage to do so.

"I'll kill you," he promised him, "I'll kill you, I'll kill you!" He began to shout, scream with everything he had. His fist was hitting its mark, swing after swing. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

His arm wrenched awkwardly as the ringmaster let go for a moment. Viktor felt like he had been submerged in mud with how slow he was moving. He wanted to twist away from the alien. Put some distance between them. But he couldn't even blink.

The ringmaster, with his cruel eyes, gazed at him. There was nothing but greed and scorn in his eyes. He reached out, slow and taunting. And when he gripped Viktor's arm, his world lit up with pain.

Viktor lurched forward, throat burning with the intensity of his scream. His arm was being shredded to pieces. Flesh, muscle, bone. Every nerve was on fire. This was worse than breaking it, worse than every scratch and bite from the arena, worse than those beatings the ringmaster viciously doled out on him.

His eyes snapped open, scream dissipating into breathy whimpers as the scenery around him changed abruptly. The familiar walls of the closet greeted him.

Heart pounding in his chest and still wired from his dream, he immediately noticed the pressure on his cast, and the harsh throbbing of his arm underneath it. His other hand was curled into a fist, nails biting into the soft flesh of his palm. Viktor's eyes flickered madly in the dim lighting, locating the threat to his person quickly. The transition from dream to reality had been abrupt, and his body was telling him to fight or die.

His arm followed the movements eagerly, ready to attack whatever was holding him. The cool metal of his bracelet slid down further onto his arm, slicing into his awareness. Bracelet? Viktor thought hazily, hesitating for just a second.

Reality crashed into him, then, and he slumped, all the fight leaving him. He had to smother the urge to cry.

"Kohgrash, Kohgrash," he heard Vok'Rul muttering soothingly, the clicks and grunts of other words filling the small closet along with his own harsh breathing. The alien was gripping his cast, claws digging into the material lightly. His arm was throbbing, as were his shoulders, elbows, and head. His thrashing must have woken the alien up. Viktor filled in the blanks of what happened next.

Viktor tugged weakly on his arm, grateful when the alien let go. He tucked it close to his chest, unable to swallow the whine of pain when he moved it. It felt like he had just fractured the thing.

Vok'Rul made a worried little noise in the back of his throat, carefully gathering Viktor up in his arms. He made a loud noise of protest, wanting to just curl up under his blanket and ignore what had happened. Vok'Rul hesitated for a moment, before lifting the human up into his arms.

Viktor pushed against his chest with his good arm, twisting his mouth in a half-hearted grimace. The movement jarred his shoulder, though, and he stopped his weak struggling. Resigned to suffering, he was deftly carried out of the office and into the bathroom. Vok'Rul switched the lights on, and Viktor couldn't help the displeased hiss that left his lips at the jarring brightness. He turned his head to face the alien's shoulder, finding his soft clothing a good barrier against the bright lights.

It was soft and warm and safe in Vok'Rul's hold, but every time Viktor closed his eyes, he would see the ringmaster's face under his lids. His heart still felt like it was in his throat. He was shaking.

Viktor heard something rattling, and he lifted his head, squinting against the bright lights. Vok'Rul was rummaging in the cabinet above the sink. Once his eyes had gotten adjusted enough so that he could actually see, Viktor was a little surprised to find something like the fridge downstairs in front of him. Vok'Rul was rapidly flicking through things in the cabinet as well as he could with Viktor in his arms.

He stopped on some sort of glass vial, oblong and dark purple. Vok'Rul rumbled something to Viktor before setting him down on the sink counter. The human pulled up his legs to his chest, resting his cheek on his knee and watching Vok'Rul. The alien was looking worriedly between Viktor and the vial.

Viktor was exhausted, emotionally and mentally, from that dream. He hadn't had one quite so bad in a while. Certainly not to the extent that he'd injure himself and wake up Vok'Rul. Viktor felt bad, really, for interrupting the alien's sleep. God knows he needed it. He only rarely took meals with all the time spent on the papers, as well.

"Kor," Vok'Rul told him quietly, face tightening when Viktor twitched more violently than usual. Viktor's arms tightened around his legs, but he remained still otherwise. It wasn't like he had the energy to go anywhere, anyway. Back to his bed so that he could just think about the ringmaster in the dark? Not likely.

The alien exited the room quickly, and Viktor heard him rummaging back in his bedroom. Maybe he gave up on me, Viktor thought sardonically, sighing into his knees. But Vok'Rul returned shortly, phone in hand. Rukka was already displayed above the circular device. Vok'Rul held it out in front of Viktor, and the human blinked, wondering what the alien was seeing on her end.

She sounded tired as she spoke, and more than a little confused. Viktor tightened his grip on his legs, fingers going white with the effort. He lifted his head from his knees and watched as Vok'Rul continued speaking, grabbing the vial from the cabinet and shoving it nearly frantic to the phone.

Rukka seemed exasperated but was nodding. Vok'Rul said, "Tokka," which Viktor was proud to say he recognized, though didn't quite know the meaning of (he thought it might be a thank-you), and hung up the phone. Rukka blinked out of existence before she could even respond.

"Kinda rude," Viktor told him in a hushed whisper, not wanting to break the quiet atmosphere that nighttime usually brought. Though, Vok'Rul was being anything but quiet. Vok'Rul's fingers brushed against his cheek for a moment before pulling away, grabbing the vial, and unscrewing the top.

Viktor straightened up, letting his legs hang off over the counter. He rubbed his cast a little, holding it carefully against his chest. It was still pulsing, radiating pain. He eyed the vial warily, glancing up at Vok'Rul in silent question. The alien, predictably, didn't answer him, merely holding it out to him to look at.

"I'm not taking that," he said, too loud in the small space. It made both of them jump. Viktor braced his good arm against the counter, scooting off and landing on his feet. It jarred every bone in his body. What had he been doing in his sleep that made him hurt this much? Vok'Rul tried to stop him but with the opened vial of... whatever that was, he wasn't able to get a good grip on the human.

"I don't even know what that is," Viktor told him, trying to stomp down the panic rising in his throat. It was likely nothing bad, obviously. It had been in his bathroom, for Christ's sake. But still, the dream had brought up less than pleasant memories.

It probably hadn't helped that he had seen all those pictures of himself earlier today. Lilac had been kind, relatively, in the arena, but her medicine had hurt. There was no way he knew that this medicine wouldn't do the same.

"Cho'k," Vok'Rul said pleadingly, crouching on the ground. Viktor's back was to the open doorway, thank God. Otherwise, he would've felt trapped, what with the way that Vok'Rul seemed to fill over half of the bathroom when he was down here. The alien reached out toward his good arm, no doubt wanting to grab him. He quickly took a large step back.

Shoulders hunching defensively, Viktor bared his teeth at him threateningly, something he hadn't done since those first few days here. Vok'Rul recoiled as if Viktor had punched him in the face instead.

They were both still for a moment. Viktor pressed his lips together, sucking in a long breath in an attempt to calm himself. "I'm scared," he admitted, feeling his stomach twist at the confession. He didn't know of what. Vok'Rul stared at him for a moment, worry written clear as day all over his face. It almost made Viktor want to cry. He blamed it on the dream.

Suddenly, Vok'Rul made a noise, as if he had solved a particularly tricky puzzle. He showed Viktor the vial again, and Viktor watched skeptically as he stood up, rummaging through the cabinet again. He pulled out a small cup. It was glass, or something similar at least, and reminded Viktor of the plastic little cups that were used for cold medicine.

Vok'Rul crouched back down, setting the cup on the ground and filling it up carefully with the contents of the vial. The purple liquid traveled sluggishly out of it and into the cup. When it settled, it started smoking.

Viktor made a noise of strangled protest, more resolved now than ever to not take that. "You're crazy, Vok'Rul, literally crazy," he said, pivoting on his heel to go back to the office.

"Kohgrash, kor, cho'k. Keti," Vok'Rul implored, grabbing the little cup. It was comically small in his hands, and Viktor wondered if it was for the children of their species.

"Keti?" Viktor repeated with a scoff, reluctant to leave with the promise of learning a new word.

"Keti, teyk. Keti, Kohgrash," Vok'Rul said, nodding and slowly bringing the smoking cup of purple liquid to his own mouth. Okay, Viktor thought to himself, keti probably meant look, or something similar. But it could've easily been medicine. Add that to his mental dictionary.

Viktor watched as Vok'Rul tipped the smoking liquid into his mouth and swallowed. He didn't even grimace in distaste. He waited for a few moments, but the alien didn't start to convulse with pain or otherwise show any emotion or indication that the medicine was harming him.

Still, he was skeptical. This alien had been able to lift another one completely off its feet without breaking a sweat. Who was to say that Vok'Rul didn't have a crazy high pain tolerance?

Vok'Rul was speaking, probably telling him how great he felt. He poured a smaller amount of the liquid back into the cup and pushed it across the floor to Viktor.

The teenager chewed the inside of his cheek, shifting his weight across his feet. He was in horrendous pain, he would admit that to himself. His arm throbbed from where Vok'Rul had grabbed it. He must have been hitting the wall with it to get it feeling like this.

He rubbed his face with his other hand, feeling worn out. Vok'Rul was looking at him pleadingly, gesturing to the cup again when they locked eyes. "Norish, Kohgrash," he lied, pushing the cup toward him another small millimeter.

"Fine," he hissed at the alien, hand curling into a fist. He wanted to hit something. He grabbed the cup roughly, ignoring the way his hand shook and watching as some of the liquid splashed onto the floor. He took a few fortifying breaths, and before he lost his nerve, tipped it back into his mouth.

It... tasted like grapes.

Not the normal grapes, but the unfortunate artificial replica medicine always tried and failed to get true. Viktor's face screwed up with disgust, but he got it down before he could think twice. "Ugh," he gasped out, angrily setting the cup down on the floor. It didn't break.

"Teyk!" Vok'Rul exclaimed happily, capping the vial in his hands and picking up the cup. Viktor stepped out of the bathroom while he put everything back, his hand rubbing his eyes tiredly. After a few minutes, which Viktor spent swaying slightly on his feet and trying to ignore the radiating pain from his arm (that was rapidly diminishing, thankfully), the alien came back out, tail dragging on the floor. The lights were switched off as he left, leaving only the moonlight (from a rather tiny moon) to illuminate the living room through the windows.

Viktor felt guilty again. He stepped close to Vok'Rul, offering him a small smile when the alien looked down at him. Claws gently lighted on his head, as if worried that Viktor might lash out. He stood on his toes, pressing his head firmly into the palm of his hand.

Vok'Rul meant well. And maybe it was the medicine that was slowly dulling his senses and dragging his body back into a state of tiredness, but Viktor didn't feel as drained as he did when he had been rudely awoken.

"Pora, cho'k," Vok'Rul spoke softly, pushing lightly on Viktor's head in the direction he wanted him to go. Viktor followed, curious why they were going into Vok'Rul's room. He spared a glance at the office. He wanted to go back to sleep, yes, but he also knew that no matter what sort of medicine Vok'Rul had given him, he was likely to stay up thinking about the ringmaster despite his best efforts.

The room was dark, especially with all the lights turned off. Viktor jumped when he felt large hands encircling his torso, and he was suddenly airborne. He grumbled his displeasure, smacking the hands as hard as he could with his good hand. Thankfully, he was dropped onto the bed quickly, and the hands left him.

Viktor could barely see Vok'Rul in the room, but he heard the alien shuffle toward the wall, and suddenly, the room was lit. He blinked a couple of times.

His bed was so soft. It felt as though he were lying on a cloud. Viktor rubbed his hand on the blankets, scratchy but soft, and wondered what it was made out of. He had only been on this bed once, right after he had fractured his arm. His pain had basically vanished by now, and he had to marvel at the medical technologies this planet had. Their stuff really worked.

"Cho'k," Vok'Rul murmured to get his attention. Viktor grunted his acknowledgment, eyes heavy. It was the middle of the night, and he was tired. This bed was perfect. It was huge. Well, it needed to be, considering Vok'Rul was like, 12 feet tall. Viktor could sprawl out on this one, instead of dangling his feet off the one that Vok'Rul had gotten him.

Vok'Rul touched his arm tentatively, emboldened by the lack of response he would've gotten if Viktor had been in any pain. He seemed pleased with the results, moving to pat him gently on the head. The alien spoke softly to Viktor, but the human was not paying much attention.

Viktor flopped backward onto the bed, curling up on his side. He shut his eyes tightly, pressing his face against the blankets to block out the light. He heard Vok'Rul rumble quietly before the lights switched off again. Vok'Rul was saying something in the tone of someone who sounded like they knew they were being handed the short end of the stick but surprisingly alright with it.

Yeah, Viktor thought, body humming with the warm pleasantness of painless contentment, this is my bed now and you can't do anything about it.

Vok'Rul left the room, only to return a few moments later. Viktor didn't bother cracking open an eye to see what he was up to - the whole no lights on made it difficult to see anyway. He got his answer in a few seconds when Vok'Rul threw his blanket over him. Viktor eagerly wrapped it around his shoulders.

The bed dipped as Vok'Rul climbed in and shuffled awkwardly under the blankets. It probably didn't help that Viktor was right in the middle of it. He heard the alien grumble under his breath before his hands settled on his shoulders, carefully picking him up and pulling him up to the top of the bed. Viktor grumbled as he lost his warm spot but didn't complain otherwise. He was just tired.

Miraculously, he started drifting off to sleep soon after. Vok'Rul was a reassuring presence at his back, despite his innate fear for their species. There were really only a couple he trusted, and even then, he still hesitated. But tonight... tonight, he'd trust Vok'Rul.

Every time his mind started to wander toward his dream and he would shift uncomfortably at the thought of the ringmaster, the alien's claws would card through his hair, and he would murmur reassuring words in a tongue Viktor didn't understand.

It was nice, Viktor thought, right before dropping off into unconsciousness. He missed Earth, his friends, and his dad, but right now, it wasn't so bad on this planet.

***

Vocabulary:

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

keti: look

kor: stay

norish: food

pora: come

teyk: yes