In Search of Home

Chapter 29

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.