In Search of Home

Chapter 44

Nohkka stuck to him like glue. 

Wherever he went, she was right behind him. Only Vok'Rul could pry her off of him with something distracting, but it only lasted for a few minutes at most. All the kid wanted to do was pet him. 

It had been a little endearing at the start; her little tail wagged when she pet him, something he had never seen any of the aliens do until this point, and that had been really adorable. He wondered if Vok'Rul could wag his tail. The thought made him laugh out loud.

Regardless, despite her obvious desire to pat him, she only did so when he let her. She must have taken Vok'Rul's words to heart, because she never pulled on his clothing, tugged at his arms, or force him to do anything he didn't want to like he had half-expected.

After the encounter in the living room, the four aliens lingered for a while, just chatting. Nohkka had tried to get him to play with her, but his knowledge of their language was limited, and he hadn't a clue what she had been trying to ask. She seemed satisfied with his participation, though (he had just been staring in blank confusion at her and holding onto the weird toys she gave him), so he supposed he'd chalk it up as a win. They were sitting on the floor together, although Viktor kept his distance.

Viktor's stomach growled after a while, making both him and the kid pause. The kid looked confused.

"Tor'Rul," she said, pointing at Victor's stomach. "Kohgrash!"

Vok'Rul, distracted by whatever Kac was showing him on her phone, only hummed a question. Nohkka stood up, almost tripped over Viktor's leg (which he hastily retracted), and tapped Vok'Rul's leg incessantly. She spoke loudly, demanding the attention of all three adults in the room. She kept pointing back at Viktor.

Vok'Rul finally looked up, locking eyes with Viktor. "Norish, Kohgrash?" he asked, already halfway up from the couch. Nohkka excitedly jumped in place, pulling Vok'Rul up by the hand.

"I suppose," he responded warily, watching as Nohkka excitedly ran around the room before coming to a stop next to Viktor. He hurriedly got up before she decided to help him up, too.

Vok'Rul switched on the light in the office, gesturing for Viktor to follow. Nohkka had already left Viktor to run into the office, and he could see her running around in there, too. Viktor followed reluctantly, glancing back at Rukka and Kac. They were just sitting on the couch, unbothered. Clearly, the high levels of activity for Nohkka were completely normal. Fantastic.

He didn't particularly enjoy kids. He was never rude to them, of course - he wasn't a monster - but if he had to choose between spending time with shrieking children and getting run over by a bus, he'd choose the bus.

Vok'Rul was handing Nohkka his food bowl by the time he stepped foot into the office. He had to suppress the urge to go over and take it. He was not food aggressive, he reminded himself, wiping his palms on his sweater. He had plenty of food here. He knew where the bag of food was. He could get some at any time.

Still, seeing someone other than Vok'Rul grab his meager stash of possessions... kinda stung.

Viktor watched, slowly walking over to his dish of water, as Nohkka scooped a hearty helping of jerky from the bag. His stomach growled again at the sight of food. It had been a while since breakfast. He heard Vok'Rul make a noise of bafflement, then watch as he grabbed the bowl gently from her hands, gently shaking some of the excess jerky off, and give it back to her.

Nohkka dutifully walked over to Viktor, shoving the dish into his face. He flinched minutely before hastily taking it from her. He quickly retreated to his closet to eat, something he hadn't done for quite some time, now. Vok'Rul hummed his concern, but told Nohkka something, pointing her out of the office.