In Search of Home

Chapter 41

A warm, heavy hand settled on his head, and it shocked him enough to suck in a startled breath of air. He looked up, feeling the hand move with him. Vok'Rul was watching him with a complicated expression, but he couldn't misread the kindness etched into his face. His heart was thumping almost painfully in his chest, and he had to wonder if he would end up dying of heart failure after all this stress. 

It would be alright, he told himself firmly, dropping his gaze onto the papers. No one outside of this room (plus the humans in the ring, he supposed, but that was alright) knew about this. It probably wouldn't be shared for a while. There was nothing to worry about it. 

Still, the uneasy feeling in his gut lingered. Viktor ducked his head out from under Vok'Rul's hand after letting it sit on his head for a moment longer. The alien regretfully pulled away. He grabbed the papers from Viktor, and the human hesitated for a second before letting him take them. He didn't really want to look at the pictures longer than he had to, even if there were some of his friends in there. 

Shortly after, Rukka finished speaking, her voice steady until the end. Wanting to focus on anything other than the squirming anxiety in his stomach, Viktor started to pay attention to the meeting. He was impressed, and a little jealous of Rukka's ability. He had always been pretty bad at public speaking. 

Vok'Rul spoke up after she had sat back down in her chair. His face was determined, tone a little bitter and self-deprecating. He occasionally said Viktor's name, causing him to look up. Viktor frowned up at him. It wasn't his fault. None of it had been his fault. 

Viktor quickly got to his feet, pausing only to stomp his foot on the floor a couple of times to wake it up. Vok'Rul, as well as a few other aliens in the room, looked over to him as he moved, but the taller alien quickly continued his speech. He gave a small comment while looking at him, his voice filled with the tone of someone who was trying to make a joke. The others in the room gave little chuckles. 

Viktor grabbed his arm tentatively, aware that this was one of the few times he initiated contact with the alien. He had to reach up to grab it, and his sleeve slipped down, revealing the ragged bite mark. He only glanced at it for a moment before meeting Vok'Rul's eyes. The alien hesitated for a second before moving his hand to push back Viktor's hair. The human closed his eyes against the touch.

The small noises of wonderment and adoration made him open them rather quickly, unused to an audience. Vok'Rul continued his speech as if nothing had happened, but there was a shift in the room that Viktor could physically feel. The other aliens in the room seemed more receptive to what he and Rukka had to say, and Viktor wondered if he had unknowingly played a part in that. 

He easily pushed it out of his mind, deciding that it didn't really matter too much. The meeting came to a close after that, which Viktor was thankful for. It had been a long two hours. The meeting wrapped up with the aliens raising their hands and nodding in what seemed like a vote. A little weirded out and confused, Viktor squinted at them all, hands wrapping around Vok'Rul's wrist to pull it away from his face.

The aliens all got up from their chairs simultaneously, which made Viktor jump in short-lived fright. They filed out of the door after bowing again to Vok'Rul. After a long few minutes, only Rukka, Vok'Rul, and Viktor were left in the room. And of course, the group of bodyguards they had come in with. 

Rukka and Vok'Rul immediately began talking, more excited than Viktor had even seen them. They said his name a few times. Rukka looked delightedly confused at him, and Viktor simply smiled back, just as confused. 

"What happened?" he said aloud, dropping Vok'Rul's wrist as the alien stood up. He deftly dodged the large hands wanting to pick him up (and to his relief, the alien didn't pursue him) but allowed the alien to bend down and pat his head instead. To his delight, he reached into his pocket and grabbed a small bag of treats.