In Search of Home

Chapter 53

When Viktor woke up the next day, face pressed against the cool material of the dresser and swaddled tightly in his warm blanket, it was to sunlight streaming directly on his face and the overwhelming, nearly painful sensation of silence. 

He blinked slowly, squinting against the sun shining right into his eyes. He groaned, slowly sitting up. His head knocked against the dresser, wrangling a muffled curse from him in the process. 

He sat on the backs of his legs, rubbing his eyes with his fist. Viktor yawned, looking toward the bed, expecting to see a Vok'Rul-shaped lump in the middle of it. His body went rigid when he saw that there was nothing except a pile of blankets on the bed. 

He stood up quickly, tiredness fleeing his body in an instant. Sick worry started pooling in the bottom of his stomach, and he quickly made his way out of the room, calling "Vok'Rul?" into the empty second floor. 

He looked in every room, but the alien was nowhere to be found. Heart nearly crawling out of his throat, Viktor sprinted down the stairs as quickly as he could. He missed a step but managed to throw himself onto the railing just in time to catch himself. 

"Kohgrash! Ne corfa, cho'k," Vok'Rul's exasperated but worried voice greeted his ears. 

Viktor's shoulders loosened, and he leveled a glare at the source of his anger, eyes wild. He clutched the cold railing tightly, trying to calm his breathing. "Listen," his voice wavered dangerously, and he cleared his throat harshly. Vok'Rul came closer with all the ease of someone who didn't know that Viktor had been about three seconds from crumbling. He lifted Viktor off of the stairwell easily, placing him on the ground. 

"You can't just," he trailed off, struggling to find the words that explained his panic. "Vok'Rul kor'kn Kohgrash," he said through gritted teeth, trying to look as calm as he could when he could still feel his heartbeat in his throat. 

"Teyk," Vok'Rul returned mildly. Viktor bit back a sigh, giving up on trying to tell the alien what he wanted. He didn't even know what he wanted. 

Did he want the alien to stay in his line of sight, at all times? While it certainly eased his panic and anxiety, especially if the alien were to get into trouble or if he were to suddenly decide that he no longer wanted Viktor, it wasn't practical. Nor was it particularly healthy. Viktor knew this. 

Baby steps, he decided, hands curling into fists at his sides. The next time - because there would certainly be a next time, what with how dense Vok'Rul was sometimes - Viktor woke up without Vok'Rul, he'd try to take it calmly. 

Keyword try. Viktor actually did sigh this time. 

There was some shuffling behind him, and Viktor jumped out of his skin, whirling around to find Thruul and surprisingly, Rukka, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. 

"Rul," Rukka greeted, echoed by Thruul. The three of them conversed for a while. They looked appraisingly at Viktor. Rukka spoke quickly to Vok'Rul, gesturing to the human. The alien turned with a frown on his face, peering down at Viktor. 

"What?" Viktor snapped, crossing his arms. The back of his neck prickled. He didn't like how they were staring at him. "You can't gossip about someone in another language right in front of them. That's, like, super rude." 

They didn't care, though. Vok'Rul hummed in thought, before swiftly going into the dining room, squeezing through Thruul and Rukka. Viktor automatically started following, wondering (with only the tiniest bit of worry) where the alien was off to. He hadn't even gotten breakfast, yet! 

Rukka and Thruul blocked him, standing stiffly in the doorway. 

"Move," he ground out, trying to squeeze around them. They didn't budge, however. His lips curled into a threatening sneer, stomping down the panic. It was just Rukka and Thruul. Realistically, Vok'Rul was just out of his sight in the next room, completely unharmed. There was nothing in this wing that could hurt him, so why was Viktor so damn worried?