In Search of Home

Chapter 36

"Kohgrash, neyk," Vok'Rul scolded, sounding annoyed. 

"Neyk," Viktor mocked, sitting under the alien's desk with no idea what that word meant. Cross-legged, the human was perilously stacking up some of the random toys Vok'Rul had gotten him when he had first arrived here. He still had no idea what some of them did, but there were ropes, blocks, some balls (that didn't even bounce that high, much to his displeasure), and a few simple puzzles. Regardless of what they did, they were made of excellent stacking material.

There wasn't much to do in the manor, outside of interacting with Vok'Rul. When they had gotten back from Nikolas's house, Viktor had slept nearly the entire day. He had been poked awake by Vok'Rul multiple times during his extended nap, much to his disgust. A solid kick to his hand had stopped the concerned alien from interrupting his rest for the remainder of the night, though. 

It had been three days since they had reached some sort of mutual understanding. Whatever advice Sonja had given the alien seemed to have stuck. Vok'Rul never crowded Viktor, only initiating contact when the human went to him first. He stopped moving quickly whenever the human was in the room. He also gave him a lot more fruit than before. Oftentimes, he put some of those sugar water apples and purple starfruits in his dish along with the jerky. It was an interesting combination of flavors, to say the least. 

In return, Viktor kept his promise to Nikolas and tried to let Vok'Rul in. It was harder than he'd thought it would be, and there were certainly times when he failed. But, Viktor did try. He interacted more with Vok'Rul than he had before. It helped that the alien took his irritation and desire to stop more seriously than before. 

The trip to Nikolas and Sonja had helped them both. Viktor wouldn't say that they were best friends, but he was slowly beginning to trust the alien. He didn't need to look over his shoulder to keep the alien in his sights at all times, anymore. It was a relief, really, to be able to relax somewhere. 

Lost in thought, Viktor failed to realize that his tower was slowly sagging to one side. He looked at the fallen tower in dismay. "Damn," he muttered, thumping his head back onto the solid wood behind him. 

The desk was roomy underneath. It was similar to any human-made desk back on Earth. It reminded him of the US President's desk, grand and showy. As with everything on this planet, though, it was about twice the size of regular desks. Which meant that Viktor could practically stand (if he slouched and bent his knees a little bit) underneath it. 

There were a bunch of wires stuck to the walls of the desk. When Viktor had first touched them, they had felt slimy. He kept away from them after that. Weird alien electricity. They were connected to the computer on the desk, which Vok'Rul was using. Or he was trying to, at least. As soon as he noticed Viktor had claimed the underneath of the desk as his spot, he tried to give the human some space. Instead of comfortably sitting at the desk, Vok'Rul had turned the computer to the side instead. It was touching, really. 

The alien in question said something, likely in response to his failed attempt at a tower. Viktor stomped on the urge to chuck a block at him. Political assassination was not something he wanted on his resume. 

A knock on the door interrupted Viktor's second attempt at the tower (honestly, it wasn't really going that well. He could not get the ball to balance properly on this cube). He shuffled out from underneath the desk to peer around the desk suspiciously. Vok'Rul called out, and the door opened soon after, revealing Thruul. 

Viktor blinked, glancing away for a moment to remind himself that it was not the ringmaster in front of him. Thruul was nice to him. He was as far removed from the ringmaster as he could get.