The Autobiography Of An Alien

Interlude: Venomous Viktor, part 1

A/N: I had to split this part up because it was getting too long, haha. Expect part 2 soon! 

Also, it's called an interlude, which may lead to people wanting to skip it, but it's definitely integral to the plot! Or at least, part 2 will be. 

***

Draft #2

I haven't been on many vacations, especially not recently. Hell, Earth vacations with my dad were rare enough as it was. Alien vacations? That's a whole 'nother can of worms. Still, I am pretty excited for it, because frankly I am exhausted. Who knew that running a planet with an alien was so much work?

***

Court proceedings were, without a doubt, the most boring event that Viktor has ever been to. And he's waded through several eight am college courses.

They didn't happen all that often, and frankly, it had been worse when he had been Vokkra, but since he was a Lord, he still had to attend. Usually, he could beg off - something that got marginally easier with the introduction of little Vikka - but today, Vok'Rul had demanded his presence.

And since the guy let him live rent-free, fed him an obscene amount of food, and gave him the best little hatchling ever, he had to oblige.

Didn't mean he couldn't complain about it, though.

"This chair is so uncomfortable," he whined, trying and failing to get comfortable in the straight-backed, unyielding throne. It wasn't as grand as Vok'Rul's, thank God, but it was still unbearable.

"Hush," Vok'Rul told him out of the corner of his mouth, looking excited. He always liked hearing people's thoughts. "It hasn't even begun, yet."

Usually, the banquets were held in place of any official court, but for some reason, Vok'Rul decided he wanted to do things more traditionally this time. Viktor did not approve. First of all, there weren't any refreshments in reach. He could ask a servant to fetch him something, but it always made him feel a little funny. Second of all, now that he was forced to sit at Vok'Rul's side for no other reason than his title, he couldn't get away from the more annoying Vokkrus.

"Lord Kohgrash!" a voice called out to him as the proceedings started to pick up. Usually, Viktor wasn't at the center of attention, but ever since his stint at Vokkra, more and more people were acting friendly toward him. Likely just a ploy to get into Vok'Rul's good graces. Unfortunately, if they were genuine in their affections, it usually worked.

Viktor wanted to cringe but diplomatically left it off of his face. "Hello, Kyroh," he said petulantly.

"Oh, I am lucky to see you here today, Lord. I wanted to continue our conversation about the efficiency of certain engines that we had during the last banquet, do you remember? Oh, I've been trying to get a hold of you through the wire, but you must not have gotten them!"

Viktor, who had ended up classifying Kyroh's emails as spam to save his sanity, nodded along. "Yes, indeed, I haven't opened any." Not quite a lie.

Vok'Rul looked way too smug off to the side, and Viktor only barely managed to behave while Kyroh chatted his ear off. As soon as the Vokkrus decided that he had said his piece - several hours into the event, and only because they were beginning to start the real event soon - Viktor fled from his chair to get something to eat.

"Enjoying yourself, little beast?" Thruul asked, dishing out a plate for him as soon as he saw him approach. Vi'mrakka was strapped to his chest, and no matter how long Vok'Rul begged him, the cook would not give up his position as a server for the event to sit on Vok'Rul's other side. Lucky bastard.

Viktor shot him an unimpressed look. "Count yourself lucky," he grumbled, only brightening when Vikka poked his head out of the sling to peer at him.

"Ra! Ra!" he babbled happily, reaching out to him. Fondness filled him as he let the little alien baby grasp his finger. His tiny claws dug almost painfully into his skin, but that was okay, because Viktor loved him.

"Give me strength, Vikka," he said solemnly. Vikka matched his serious expression, grumbling a low, "Ra."

The actual court wasn't too bad. People from all over the planet came to the manor to seek advice or pleas from the Vokkra. It was overly crowded, though, and more often than not, Viktor saw Vok'Rul reach to his other wrist and cradle the bracelet he had gotten him.

Usually, these questions were sent through the Council, then to Rukka, then through him, and finally to Vok'Rul. They rarely made their way to him, though, and it seemed that everyone was willing to take advantage of the fact that Vok'Rul was here to take their complaints in person.

Some were serious, and Viktor took mental notes to get back to those ones. Others were... less serious.

"O Great Vokkra," one yellow-tinged Vokkrus knelt before Vok'Rul. "I come before you to plead my neighbor's case... They are being afflicted, night and day, by the sounds of my other neighbor's Flyhks!"

Vok'Rul looked mildly puzzled. "Have you contacted animal control?"

The Vokkrus looked shocked, as if that had never occurred to them. "By the Spirits! O Vokkra, thank you!"

"Jesus Christ," he couldn't help but mutter under his breath. Vok'Rul flicked him with his tail. He rubbed the stinging section of his arm testily.

But some were neither serious nor trivial. They were downright unpleasant.

Anyone could come to the manor, and anyone could plead their case. There were criminals, those who had not been imprisoned but instead put on monitored watch, and there were those who had been imprisoned, escorted by guards, and never allowed as close as the civilians could be. Viktor thought that was good for both parties.

Especially considering he wanted to wring this particular criminal's neck.

Lilac had her head bowed submissively, held down by three guards. She was shackled, but Viktor was still nervous.

No, he wasn't nervous, he tried to reassure himself. His hands gripped the arms of the chair he sat in hard enough to crack.

She both had and hadn't changed in the ten years he's seen her. Her skin was still the faint blue-purple he'd come to fear. Her tail was still long and dragging. But her shoulders had drawn in on themselves, hiding her away from the stares of the attendants. And when she raised her head only briefly to glance at Vok'Rul - please, please don't look over here, he thought - her eyes were dull.

With regret? With exhaustion? He wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"O Vokkra," Lilac spoke, and the simple sound of her voice made his heart rate spike.

"Denied," Vok'Rul growled with malice devouring his voice. Viktor's never heard him so pissed. "Get out."

Viktor had never asked what had happened to Lilac. She had been the only surviving member of his tormentors. Vok'Rul had told him that he hadn't needed to know back when everything had happened, and he had taken it to heart. He hadn't wanted to know, and yet, here she was. She must have been thrown in prison. It was almost remarkable that he hadn't heard about her for so long. Vok'Rul must have been pretty thorough with... whatever it took to keep someone in jail.

"Wait," the words tumbled out of his mouth before the guards even had the chance to stand her up from her position on the floor. "We should hear what she has to say."

He could feel Vok'Rul's eyes on him, almost burning with their intensity. He wondered if he, too, was thinking about the Buffet, how Lilac would appear whenever one of the Outkasts went to touch him. His throat felt a little too tight and his hands a little too clammy. But he wasn't going to let his personal feelings prevail over justice.

"Thank you, my-" Lilac started, looking hopeful.

The Vokkran words burst out of his throat with a painful reminder of his time in the facility, "Not yours."

She ducked her head, and Viktor found himself unable to say anything else. The lump in his throat was too large. Vok'Rul spoke with poorly concealed venom in his voice, "Say your piece. Quickly."

Lilac wanted to appeal her sentence. Obstructing investigation, consorting with enemies of the planet, high treason, animal abuse, animal cruelty, and a mess of other charges were laid at her feet, ensuring the highest sentence possible. Not to mention what the Mirror had done to her.

They deserved what they got, Vok'Rul had told him one day, several nights after he had woken up from his coma. His eyes had been flinty and nearly unrecognizable. But Fho deserved much more.

I don't think so, he had struggled to reply through his vocal paralysis. What did they do to her?

Vok'Rul had watched him for a moment before turning away, hiding his sneer. He couldn't hide it from his voice, however, They showed her mercy.

But mercy to a Vokkrus could mean many things, and Viktor had never figured out what he had meant. By the time he had really gotten his bearings back, he was on Earth, lightyears away from his best friend, and the conversation was just too heavy to send over text.

Soon, he had all but forgotten her. Until the Outkasts had brought her back to the forefront of her mind. And now, she was standing - or rather, kneeling - in front of him. In the flesh. It made him just a little bit sick.

"And what makes you think you deserve this pardon?" Vok'Rul said grumpily. His tone was ice.

"I have deep remorse for my actions," Lilac said haltingly. "I wish to change the past, to make up for my mistakes - nothing can excuse what I have done, what I have contributed to-"

Vok'Rul interrupted her icily, "You are correct. Nothing will make up for your actions. I do not wish to hear empty platitudes. You will-"

"Vok'Rul," Viktor said quietly, suddenly finding his voice. Both his friend's and his tormentor's attention fell on him, and he saw the former covering the bracelet with his other hand. "Lilac," he addressed her, a little surprised that his voice was remaining steady.

Lilac didn't reply, but her eyes were wide and hopeful. Something sour burned at his throat.

"You've hurt me," he said slowly. "You've hurt me and countless other humans. You tricked me and used your acts of kindness against me. You know what you did to me."

Lilac couldn't hold his gaze any longer and dropped it. Her shoulders hunched in further. Viktor bit the inside of his cheek.

"But you also helped me. Without you and your actions against," his breath caught in his throat, "the Ring, I would have never met Vok'Rul. You healed my wounds and helped me stay warm. It is why I pled your case against the Mirror."

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something. Vok'Rul shifted in his throne, and her eyes flickered to him. Viktor could only imagine his expression because she blanched and dropped her gaze to the floor again.

"I cannot forgive you," he said, the words oddly freeing on his tongue. "I will never forgive you. But it has been a long, long time since your crime. Write your letter of acquittal and send proof that you have become remorseful and perhaps next year, you will find freedom - limited it may be."

Lilac left with a rattle of chains and grateful words, but all Viktor was left with was a dreadful feeling in his gut. With a pleading glance at Vok'Rul, he managed to slip away from the rest of the event.

Stealing Vikka on his way out, Viktor retreated to the gardens, heaving a sigh in the mild air.

"Ra, ra, ra," Vikka said sagely, curling his fingers into Viktor's shirt and hair. The human tightened his grip on him, pressing his cheek to the top of his head.

"Yeah, I know," he mumbled. He looked skyward. "But you can't run from your problems, 'kay, Vikka? Just ignore what I'm doing right now."

"Mmhh," Vikka growled. Viktor smiled at him and got a gummy smile in return. The hatchling babbled some more, trying to grab any plant close enough and shoving it into his mouth.

Viktor didn't quite realize how late it had been getting until Vok'Rul sought him out in the gardens, looking weary and tired, and he noticed that the sky had gone dark with Vikka fast asleep in his arms.

Viktor mustered up a smile, "How'd the rest of it go?"

Vok'Rul hummed, expertly picking him up along with the slumbering hatchling. Despite the fact that Viktor was too terribly old to be held like this and that it should be awkward and unpleasant, he couldn't help but sink into his friend's warmth. He had forgotten to take a sweater with him. "As well as it could go, I suppose," he replied after a while, making his way back to the manor.

"That's good," he offered, resting his head on the Vokkrus's shoulder. The urge to cry suddenly became almost overwhelming.

"My little Kohgrash," and those words almost tipped him over the edge. He sniffled harshly. "You are much stronger than I, you know."

He snorted, looking up at the still strangely unfamiliar yet familiar stars before they were replaced with the high-rise ceilings of his home. "You can't believe that, man."

Vok'Rul pressed his forehead to the top of Viktor's head. He had the feeling that the alien wanted to say something about the Buffet, but the words were getting stuck in his throat. Viktor could relate to the feeling.

He was dropped at the table, and even Thruul's delicious cooking couldn't get his mind off of what happened. Vok'Rul sat at the head of the table, idly cooing at Vikka. Viktor pulled out his phone, hunched over the table, and haphazardly tapped the notes to a song in Piano Tiles. He had picked up the habit of playing repetitive games with Vok'Rul's absence after he had landed back on Earth, and now he found it somewhat soothing to lose himself in a song when he was stressed out. Getting the game - or any game, really - to work on an alien planet took some effort, but between Pedro and Blacksmith, they had gotten it done.

And well, now there was a whole bunch of businesses cropping up on phone technology. Several companies had reached out to him and Vok'Rul for endorsement, but Viktor just wanted to be left the fuck alone.

"Why don't you play a real piano?" Vok'Rul asked, eyes closed as he listened to the sound of the song coming from Viktor's phone speakers.

"'Cause I'd probably suck," he said, staring at his phone with great concentration. He was super close to beating his record.

"I'll buy you one," the alien offered.

"No way. Pianoes are like, a thousand bucks or something. They probably don't even sell 'em here."

"Kohgrash, I am the richest Vokkrus on the planet."

"You've got like twenty bucks in your wallet. I owe you twenty dollars, by the way."

"This is why I never carry coin on me," Vok'Rul replied dryly, kicking at Viktor's chair. He had to drop his phone to grip the table in order to keep his balance.

"Dude, my streak!" he yelped, looking mournfully at the red screen before glaring at the alien. He stood up in his chair, intent on launching at Vok'Rul to make him pay before Vikka blearily woke up and started fussing. "Saved by the baby," he said sourly, not able to keep the smile off his face.

"Stop roughhousing," Thruul announced, sliding a plate of food in front of Viktor and Vok'Rul before taking Vikka off his husband's hands to feed him. "Or no dessert."

Vok'Rul immediately stopped pushing his chair - Viktor mouthed, "Whipped," at him, delighting in his friend's confusion - and started eating. The human looked at his food and felt the return of the lump in his throat.

He ate like a bird, picking at the food idly. He didn't have much of an appetite. Once Thruul sat down with his own plate of food, he undoubtedly noticed how Viktor hadn't cleared half the plate like he normally does. He and Vok'Rul had a silent conversation with their eyes before Vok'Rul cleared his throat.

"So..." he started, trying to feign nonchalance and failing. "About that weak, pathetic traitor-"

"Rulshkka!" Thruul admonished.

"It is not my fault I want to wring her miserable neck," Vok'Rul growled.

"It's fine," he mumbled, not really wanting to talk about it. It had been naive of him to expect that he would never see her again - the real her, not some echo with galaxy-filled eyes looming over him and promising they wouldn't hurt him -

It was completely fine.

"I have good news," Vok'Rul blurted out loudly, likely feeling the increase in his heart through the bracelet and wanting to distract him. The alien's own heartbeat was a comforting rhythm on Viktor's skin. "We are all going to go on vacation."

Viktor perked up. "Really?"

Vok'Rul grinned at him. "Yes. I was going to tell you later in the week, but..." he trailed off with a shrug.

Well, the news certainly made him feel better. Which was the whole point. Viktor only woke up once that night in a cold sweat, heart nearly ripping itself out of his chest in its panic. He blindly got out of his bed, an embarrassingly terrified noise making its way out of his throat when he couldn't free his legs from his blankets.

Hands gripped his shoulders and the choppy Vokkran crawled out of his throat before he could remember that he was not stuck in the arena and about to be beaten for losing a fight, "No, Kohgrash not bad. Kohgrash sorry."

"Oh, my little Kohgrash," Vok'Rul's voice wasn't filled with pity but with grief-stricken empathy.

"Jesus," he coughed, allowing the alien to help him to his feet. He couldn't lift his head to meet his eyes. "Sorry I woke you."

Gentle claws raked through his sweaty hair. "I was already up. Planning the vacation. Want to help?"

Viktor loved Vok'Rul. So much that it almost hurt. His voice was meek but no less sincere when he said, "Yes."

They retreated to the library, Viktor hitching a free ride on Vok'Rul's shoulders - he almost brained himself on the doorway before Vok'Rul remembered to duck at the last second - after they retrieved Viktor's laptop from their office. Vok'Rul claimed that if they woke Thruul up with their rowdiness - as if! - the alien wouldn't make them breakfast. Considering all Viktor could make was a mean piece of toast, he was all too quick to suggest the library.

"I don't like the library," Vok'Rul complained on the way there. They were being shadowed by a guard, but they were too far away from them for Viktor to tell who it was.

"How come?" he asked, tapping idly on Vok'Rul's head. "I like it." It had been a sort of safe haven during his time as Vokkra. Only Shul had bothered him there.

Vok'Rul muttered something about nosy servants and terrible meal service before he swiftly changed the subject by saying, "So, this vacation. I desire somewhere off-world. Preferably very far. And in the complete opposite direction of the Core."

"Well, lemme just pull up Google Maps and find out where that is," he mumbled under his breath. Vok'Rul heard it, though, since he was literally sitting on his shoulders. They jumped with laughter, and Viktor had to hold onto the alien's head for stability.

There wasn't much in the library concerning other planets, but Viktor simply waded his way through the dredges of Intergalactic space Internet. It was deep and expansive and, frankly, overwhelming. His Earthly laptop - equipped with Vokkran tech it may be - was honestly no match for it. The fans whirred in agony as it struggled to connect and browse through the sites. It was slow and sluggish, but it worked. Until Vokkran laptops could connect with Microsoft Office and all the other slew of apps he used to communicate with the human ambassadors, he was stuck with this thing.

Different languages peered up at him as his computer sought to translate them. Written languages were always pretty neat to look at - they reminded Viktor of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Some were bubbly and round, while others had sharp angles. There was an entire language comprised of simple dots. Seriously, the line of text that had read out to be "how can you sit there and watch TV all day?" in some forum he had clicked on had been made up of dot after dot. No matter how long Viktor stared at the text, he could see no difference. They were just dots!

His hands hovered over the keys before he piped up, "What kind of vacation are we looking at?"

Vok'Rul hummed. "When we were at the Core, you seemed rather taken with the Montet's planet, Kuy."

Viktor perked up, "Oh, yeah. They've got hella plants and shit over there. I think it'd be nice to have some more greenery around."

Vok'Rul grumbled under his breath, likely feeling put out that his own planet didn't have much in way of foliage. His expeditions for finding other life in uninhabited parts of space had slowed considerably after he found the humans, but he still tentatively searched for plants and things. It was a point of contrition for him, but after some encouragement from Viktor, he kept exploring.

"It's your thing as Vokkra," Viktor had told him once. Vok'Rul had scoffed.

"You're my 'thing' as Vokkra," he had replied. But he had continued his explorations nonetheless.

"What caught your interest?" the Vok'Rul of now asked. Viktor hummed.

"Porrafka told me they were trying out this new resort thing," he told him, typing the name into his browser. He watched with some disbelief as the browser loaded one line at a time. This wasn't the nineties! Speed it up!

There hadn't been much information on the resort at the Core, but considering it was a relatively new venture into the art of tourism - for the Montet, at least - Viktor couldn't blame them. Porrafka had been rather distraught at the lack of information, and even if the alien made some primal part of him deeply uncomfortable (he still suffered nightmares from his time at the facility, heightened by his stint at the Buffet), he knew the librarian meant well and hurried to reassure him. Since that meeting, though, Porrafka has sent him a number of emails with every reference of the resort he could find.

Porrafka was an overachiever, that much was for certain, but Viktor would stand for it if it meant he didn't need to do a lick of research. He hated research.

While the search results slowly loaded, Viktor pulled open several of Porrafka's emails and sifted through them sluggishly. Amidst proclamations that he was the best Lord ever to exist, the alien gave him a fair amount of information. He even included an itinerary for the most common resort package! Talk about above and beyond.

"I love Porrafka," he declared into the quiet library. Vok'Rul merely grunted, nose buried in several tomes.

After the pages loaded, Viktor goaded Vok'Rul into a discussion about the Kuy resort. It was called Loodruy, an up-and-coming relaxing spa-like vacation spot aimed at multiple species. Intriguingly, they even advertised for human-friendly facilities, which was surprising, especially since humans have barely branched out from Earth and A1-308. He wondered what their 'human-friendly' facilities consisted of.

Loodruy had spas, an amusement park, bars, restaurants, and even a casino. Viktor desperately wanted to know what an alien casino looked like. The resort boasted beautiful scenery in their secluded corner of the planet Kuy and hikes for any species of any age to enjoy. There were child-friendly haunts and some not so child-friendly. Still, it seemed like the perfect place to escape to.

The price made the broke college student that lived in Viktor to shriek in dismay before he remembered that he had been out of college for years and was living in the lap of luxury.

He was pretty lucky in that regard, he reflected. He scratched at the side of his face, feeling the rough tissue of scarring underneath his fingertips. And not so lucky in other regards.

"Cost is no issue," Vok'Rul said after he laid bare the resorts pros and cons - beautiful, child-friendly, different packages; pricey, possibly crowded, loud - and tapped his fingers against Viktor's chair as he peered at the email Porrafka had sent. "I have, frankly, been much more frugal than Bffgraah and have only increased the treasury's numbers."

Viktor gaped. "We've got a treasury?!"

Vok'Rul looked at him oddly. "Of course we do."

"Okay, where? I thought your currency was like, digital for the most part. Wait - how does your currency even work? I know there's credits and granules, but I thought you didn't have banks." Learning the Vokkran currency had been the most headache-inducing period of Viktor's life. When the delegation had communed with Earth's leaders and the subject of money had been broached, the whole world went into a frenzy trying to figure out the way it worked.

Viktor had been lucky - Rukka had dropped off about a hundred dollars worth of credits for him to look at with the nice threat to not lose Nohkka's hatching day money or else - and had learned the bare minimum before it had exploded with popularity. Everyone wanted alien currency. Despite the delegations exclaiming that hard currency was not the most favored way of getting what they wanted - for the most part, people exchanged favors and goods in equal value with one another before they resorted to cash; the only few exceptions were the festival, restaurants, and hospitals - no one seemed to care. They liked the pretty colors that came with it.

Credits were the dollars of Vokkran currency. They came in four groups; singles, divisible by twos, divisible by fives, and divisible by tens. Each set had its own color, yellow for ones, green for twos, purple for fives, and red for tens. The more credits one had the brighter the actual item.

Credits were, frankly put, a small orb of light. The light put off was barely noticeable if you only had one, but after a few several credits were put together (and they absorbed automatically in the hands of the owner) they grew in shine significantly. It was really no wonder everyone wanted their hands on one.

Granules were the shreds of credits - basically like cents - but they were pretty rare to see. Viktor had only seen a few on television when they were doing an information segment about Vokkran society, and it was kept pretty brief. They were going out of style as Vokkrus moved away from it.

"Banks," Vok'Rul scoffed. The man hated banks for some reason. "Why give your money to some third party to steal?"

Viktor rolled his eyes. "They keep it safe. C'mon, your currency?" he prompted.

Vok'Rul sighed, but his eyes were alight with fire due to his excitement. He always liked talking economy stuff. It usually bored the life out of Viktor, but he'd suffered through it for his friend. "There used to be more of a physical currency during Bffgraah's reign. Of course, it suited him just fine - he spent it like mad. But with the salaries geared toward Lords and Sirs and the Council, the spread of the planet's economy was uneven. There were numerous counts of poverty-" here, he grew a bit uncomfortable, and Viktor fought the urge to smile understandingly. He knew the alien was rather awkward with his past; even Viktor hardly knew what his life was like outside of his mother being a dickhead. "And when I took over, I sought to change that. Wiping the high salaries from the Council caused... quite a bit of backlash.

"Regardless, I introduced a trading system and for the most part, it seems to be doing well. Of course, there are always disputes regarding how much something is worth, but I delegated that to the Council. The entire Department of Economics has been doing rather well in its job. Still, physical currency has been making a bit of a comeback, since the humans' introduction," Vok'Rul explained, content to ramble forever.

"Most of the money was pooled into schools and hospitals, grants and scholarships, what have you. I've been seeing an increase in such. Not to mention, I've been spending my fair share of the treasury. Of course, nowhere near Bffgraah's amount." He looked quite disgusted at the mere possibility of being similar to his predecessor.

Viktor waited patiently for him to get back on track. "To answer your question," he continued after he finished ranting about the gaudy Vokkra, "Yes, we've a treasury. It's underneath the manor, and only the Vokkra can get into it."

Damn, Viktor thought. He should've robbed them blind when he was Vokkra!

Still, an underground vault sounded super cool. He put his best pleading expression on his face. "Can I see it?"

Vok'Rul harrumphed. "Maybe," he allowed, which was as good as a yes. Viktor tried not to look too externally smug, but he doubt he succeeded if the eye-roll that Vok'Rul sent his way was any indication.

Riveting economic discussions aside, since costs weren't an issue, Viktor amused himself by looking at the most expensive package he could find on the resort's webpage. It included free meals, a giant suite room that could host their entire family, express passes to the nearby amusement park, and interestingly, a two-week-long guided survival expedition. Viktor recalled Porrafka gushing about that tidbit, speaking of how interesting it would be to live in the wild.

He wondered if it wouldn't just be similar to camping outside. How wild could it really get?

As he scoured the website for more information, Viktor became a bit enraptured with the idea. He's always loved camping outside, and to do it with stuffy, prim, and proper Vok'Rul would no doubt be amusing. Plus, he could introduce Vikka to the wonder that was s'mores! Or, well, the baby could see it. He wasn't ready for solid foods just yet. Poor guy.

Apparently, they flew out into a designated section of the nearby wilds, far from trails and civilization to really get the feel of being isolated. 'Course, their guide would be a local and, Viktor leaned forward to squint at his screen, "fully intuned with the soul of the land," whatever that meant.

They encouraged species of all ages to try their expedition, going over how anyone was welcome to turn back the moment they felt ill-equipped. They cited their fully-staffed medical team that was well-versed in calamities and injuries for all species. Viktor was slowly becoming convinced that this was something he'd like to do.

It took some convincing on Vok'Rul's part, but after Viktor waxed poetic about how romantic it would be to watch the sunrise with Thruul near a lakeside camp and how much the cook would enjoy furthering his hobby over an open fire, the alien was hooked. Viktor forwarded all his research and the website about the resort to him and leaned back in his chair.

The library didn't have any windows and the only light source was Vok'Rul's small lamp. He was warm and relaxed, so it didn't surprise him when he fell asleep. He woke what felt like minutes after to a weird feeling in his head.

HELLO, the Spirits boomed loudly.

"Fuck!" he yelled, jumping hard enough that he fell out of the massive chair and fell in a heap on the floor. A blanket tangled up his legs, and he struggled to free himself. His laptop wasn't on his lap, thankfully. Vok'Rul must have put it on the table. The alien was nowhere in sight.

A tickling feeling of amusement flooded his throat. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he grumbled, getting over his fright quickly. He felt a brief surge of irritation that his sleep was interrupted but quickly smothered it since gods were rummaging in his head, and he didn't particularly feel like getting smote today.

WILL NOT SMITE THE CURIOUS LITTLE THING

Viktor felt his head start throbbing. He pressed his hands against his temples and braced himself. Talking to the Spirits sucked, but he had to admit that it was pretty cool. Even if it filled him with a lot of anxiety. Despite Its reassurances that It wouldn't outright kill him, he still couldn't forget the soul-filling awe he experienced the first time he met Them. And he hadn't even had his eyes open!

"Did you need something?" he asked as politely as he could. He wasn't in the presence of the Spirits, but he still felt the need to bow or something. He settled with bowing his head. Faint fondness surged in his heart.

ADVICE, It said, and Viktor was momentarily baffled. The Spirits needed his advice? That was out of his pay grade! But They kept talking, OTHERS OF DIFFERENT PLANETS MEAN NO HARM. IT WILL ALWAYS ASSIST ITS CHILDREN, EVEN GUESTS

Viktor's mouth opened in confusion, but before he could ask questions, the overwhelming presence of Them disappeared as quickly as They came.

"Okay," he said out loud to the quiet library. "That was weird as fuck."

"What was, Lord?" Shul appeared out of nowhere. Viktor jumped in surprise. Was everything on this planet out to get him today?

"Christ!" he yelped, whirling around to glare at the alien. He looked very unapologetic and stoic, but that was probably just his dumb face. "You scared me."

"Not my intention, my lord," he bowed politely. Viktor huffed and gathered up his things while Shul folded up the blanket Vok'Rul must have draped over him.

"What time is it?" he asked Shul as they walked out of the library. Vok'Rul must have left beforehand to go to work, but it was odd that he didn't wake him up.

"Nearing evening," reported Shul. Viktor stopped in his tracks, causing Shul to nearly bump into him.

"No way," he caviled.

"Way," Shul said sympathetically, bumping him on the shoulder to get him moving. "O Vokkra has requested your presence for dinner."

"I didn't know you lowered yourself to such things," Viktor teased, mood quickly improving with the promise of food.

"I am getting paid for this," Shul commented, trailing a half step behind Viktor as he started walking toward home again. "Even if it is to suffer your... charming presence."

"Why did you hesitate when you said 'charming'?" Viktor demanded with a grin. "I'm definitely very charming."

"Hmm," Shul hummed, sounding unconvinced. Viktor wanted to knock into his side in retaliation, but they were just upon a set of stairs, and he liked Shul too much to send him sprawling to his death.

Well, maybe not his death. Viktor would probably die on these stairs, but definitely not the alien. The stairs were still annoying to tackle, even years later.

"What do you think of being Vokk'kro?" he questioned during a brief lapse of silence. Shul cleared his throat.

"It's a great honor, Lord Kohgrash," he said professionally. "I am very flattered that O Vokkra-"

"Cut the crap, man, how are you really feeling about it?"

There was a pause, then, "I am terrified of messing it all up."

Viktor let out a weak laugh, nudged him in the side now that they'd tackled the stairs, and said, "I know the feeling."

From Viktor's understanding, Vokk'kro was only a placeholder. Shul wouldn't have to go through the hoops like Viktor did in order to prove his worth as Vokkra simply because the alien held little to no actual power. He was simply a placeholder until Vok'Rul got back. Rukka usually assumed this role when Vok'Rul went to Earth, but since it was expected of her to do so as his sister and a strong Vokkrus in her own right, there was hardly any fanfare to it.

Vokk'kros could only do one thing, really. Defend the current Vokkra's position from contenders. Any Vokkrus was welcome to challenge the Vokk'kro for the position of Vokk'kro itself, but they'd actually have to beat Vok'Rul to get the real title, so Shul probably wasn't going to see any challengers. The only thing Shul could really do in Vok'Rul's stead was sign low-priority papers that Vok'Rul had given to the Council for review, make Council-approved speeches, and make sure the planet didn't explode on itself in his absence.

Still, Shul was totally valid in feeling worried. Hell, Viktor would've been too. He had been. He had a fantastic support system during his reign, and it was too bad that he couldn't lend Shul his constant support during his planned absence.

So, when they reached Vok'Rul's wing, hearing the alien chatter with Thruul domestically, Viktor turned to Shul and reached out to pat his hand. He'd've gone for the shoulder, but, well, Shul had like four feet on him. He said, very sincerely and firmly, "You'll do great, Shul. Vok'Rul wouldn't choose just anyone. He believes in you, and I do too."

Shul blinked at him before his mouth curled into an uncertain smile. "Thank you, little lord."

Viktor scowled at him. "I'm not little; you're just huge."

"Of course, little lord." His smile grew much more certain, then.

"You're fired," Viktor said as he entered the wing.

"Enjoy your dinner, little lord!" Shul called after him.

"Shul never teases me like that," Vok'Rul commented with a huff, looking over his shoulder at Viktor as he came into the dining room with a short "hi".

"He is frightened of you, my dear," Thruul said, handing Viktor some plates as he walked into the kitchen to help. As soon as the alien's hands were free, he asked him with a ruffle to his hair, "Enjoy your sleep, little beast?"

Viktor grunted in pseudo-irritation, setting the plates on the table. Thruul had handed him three extra, and he briefly forgot that Rukka, Kac, and Nohkka were coming over for their weekly family dinners. Was it already that time?

Korat'ska's joined them a few times, much to Vok'Rul's obvious pleasure. He wondered when the elderly Vokkrus would visit next. He didn't make every dinner, but he tried to go once a month at the least.

"I am not frightening!" Vok'Rul protested mulishly.

"You literally told him he had to fight you or Tortair would've been thrown out of the Core. I wonder why," Viktor deadpanned, taking a seat in his chair. He immediately tried to take Vikka out of Vok'Rul's arms, but the alien stubbornly held fast. "C'mon, lemme hold him," he whined.

"No," Vok'Rul said with a grumpy glare. "I am so scary and mean, so I'm monopolizing my son."

"Be nice," Thruul called from the kitchen. "Vikka isn't a toy."

"You suck," he grouched after it became clear that the alien wasn't willing to budge in his possession of Vikka. "How come you didn't wake me up earlier?"

"You looked rather comfortable," Vok'Rul replied, opening a jar of hatchling food. The noise immediately got Vikka's attention, and he started shrieking with delight. "You were even drooling," he cooed at Vikka. Viktor smiled.

"You have no proof," he boasted.

Vok'Rul paused briefly in his hatchling feeding activity to fish his phone out of his breast pocket. He threw it over to Viktor, who scrambled to catch it. Slowly feeling dread pool in his gut, he navigated the ancient phone to the photo album.

"Oh, my God," he whispered in horror, eyes bugging out of his skull. "Why do you have so many pictures of me sleeping?!"

"You're cute!" Vok'Rul defended himself testily. "Perhaps you should not be so adorable. It's really your fault you coerce me into taking photographs."

"Victim blaming?! All your power is going straight to your fat, spikey head."

"My head is not fat."

"Coulda fooled me."

Claws knocked against his head, and he jumped in fright, whirling around to glare at Thruul. Vok'Rul opened his mouth to likely say something insulting before Thruul's claws clocked his head, too. Viktor's mouth curled into a mean smile that he swiftly wiped off upon Thruul's look.

How hard it must be, he mused, to knock some sense into a pair of abuse victims. Thruul looked like he wanted to do more than lightly clonk them both on the head, but they were spared a lecture when Nohkka burst into the room with loud exclamations of are we really going on vacation?!

"Who told you?" Vok'Rul complained loudly, twisting around carefully to squint at Rukka and Kac as they walked in.

"It's all the gossip outside," Kac commented, forgoing any respectful greetings to Vok'Rul (and the alien was really glad for that, even if a bit grumpy that his son was the cause of Kac finally losing her wariness around him) to coo at Vikka. The hatchling blinked up at his aunt blearily, scowling as his rest was disturbed.

The breath got knocked out of Viktor as Nohkka tackled him from his chair, and he missed the rest of the conversation. He wrestled her with an embarrassingly high amount of effort on his part, considering he still lost. Nohkka was just getting too big!

"Y'know, I liked you better when you were enamored with me," Viktor said into the hard floor, face smooshed against the cold wood as Nohkka crowed her victory over him. "You would feed me and play nice, harmless games with me."

"You don't like me?" Nohkka's voice wobbled dangerously, and it was only when Viktor spent thirty seconds flailing with raw panic that he'd made her cry that she gave up the act and grinned at him. "Maybe I liked you better when you were an animal!"

"Cold," Viktor sniped back, shuffling out of her grip. "You're an evil little demon."

"I'm gonna tell Mama you called me that."

"No!" Panic! "Don't - I'll give you my dessert!"

"Deal," she smirked at him and Viktor had the feeling he had gotten played one too many times.

"When did you get so mean?" he asked, beleaguered.

"When did you get so dumb?" she asked in return. Viktor squinted at her.

"Nohkka, come say hi to your uncles," Kac called. Nohkka got to her feet, grinning at Viktor.

"Gotta go, dum-dum," she said before scampering off, exuding an air of innocence. "Hi, Uncles!"

Viktor laid on the floor for a second, staring up at the ceiling and wondering when sweet, nice Nohkka turned into such a hellion. It was probably his fault.

The call of Thruul's delicious food pulled him out of his sullen reverie, and despite his lingering shitty mood from yesterday, Viktor had a great time. He didn't see Kac all that often, and Nohkka only showed up periodically through the year when both of her parents were unavailable to watch her, which he thought was a shame. They should have sleepovers more often. Even if she was a jerk.

He sluggishly crawled into his chair - despite sleeping most of the day away, which was only going to fuck up his sleeping schedule even more than it already was, Viktor was dead tired - and drummed his fingers eagerly on the table. He swung his legs in the air while he waited.

"Kohgrash," Kac said as she settled into her own chair. She had somehow wrestled Vikka from Vok'Rul, who was talking petulantly to his sister. Viktor did not burn with jealousy. He just also wanted to hold Vikka extremely bad. He loved that little guy. "How are you faring?"

Fantastic, he wanted to say. He also wanted to say how desperately he needed this vacation and how he hoped and hoped that nothing would go wrong on it, but he knew that something would, even if it was as small as losing his favorite shirt in the hotel room, or something. Honestly, that'd probably be preferable than getting lost on a hiking trail.

But Kac was almost as scary as Rukka and lying to her or telling her the truth - he didn't particularly want to bare his soul at the dinner table - did not seem to be on his list of options, so Viktor simply shrugged and said, "Hungry."

Kac made a low humming noise that sounded like she didn't quite believe him. "This vacation... how long have you and Vokkra Rulshkka been planning it?"

"It was his idea," Viktor mumbled into his arms as he rested his head on them. "But we did some research last night. We're thinking of something on Kuy. They've got a resort there."

As Viktor explained his ideas and thoughts about the resort, he could feel himself slowly unwinding from yesterday's fiasco and had to wonder if that was Kac's plan. By the time Thruul called for some help in getting the food out to the table, the knot that had settled somewhere deep in his chest at the sight of Lilac had dissolved. Even Vok'Rul was looking more relaxed. His claws hadn't tapped against the bracelet Viktor had gotten him for at least ten minutes.

And, he supposed upon seeing Kac's smug smile tossed at Rukka, who returned it with glee, that the pair of Vokkrus really did suit each other. What a dastardly plan.

"Alright, Rul," Rukka said as Viktor, Nohkka, and Thruul carried in their dessert - Alex, the bread-making human, had figured out how to make bread that even Vokkrus could enjoy, and Thruul had pounced on it with relish; their dessert was an interesting looking pie - and started passing out their slices. "Spill."

Vok'Rul harrumphed like he did every time Rukka demanded something of him. Honestly, Viktor thought with fond exasperation, he should be used to it by now. Sure, Rukka was bossy, but it was with good reason. Vok'Rul held up the foundation, but Rukka was the nail in each board keeping it together.

Viktor sullenly pushed his plate of pie toward Nohkka, who took it with relish. She gave him a tiny piece, though, and Viktor devoured it with vigor. Tasted like apples.

He saw Thruul roll his eyes, cutting his slice in half and dumping it onto Viktor's empty plate. Viktor thought he might weep with gratitude.

"Well, since no one can keep a secret on this planet, you know that we - Kohgrash and I - have begun to plan a much needed vacation," Vok'Rul began, squinting at Rukka like he knew she was about to interrupt him. Which is what she did.

"Someone must remain behind to run the planet," she said, drumming her claws against the wooden table.

"Shul's gonna," Viktor offered through a mouthful of food. He was given several disgusted looks, and he quickly swallowed. "As Vokk'kro."

"Hmm," Rukka said. "Well, good choice. Shul is competent enough."

There was a muffled thump outside their wing and Viktor smiled at his pie. Seems like the competent guard was listening in on their conversation. He wondered how much dirt the alien had on all of them.

Rukka eyed the doorway, somewhere between amusement and exasperation. "I'm assuming you both tested him."

After reassuring Rukka that, yes, Shul was an excellent choice for Vokk'kro and that he did know what it all entailed and was perfectly willing to uphold those duties, Vok'Rul continued with his plans. "Kohgrash found a resort on Kuy called..."

"Loodruy," he said.

"Yes, Loodruy. It is friendly toward multiple species, including humans. It has hikes, amusement parks-" Nohkka let out an excited squeal. "-and would, frankly, be a nice change of place from our barren planet."

"There's even a survival expedition! It's a guided tour thing," Viktor said excitedly. "I think it'd be really, really, really cool."

Rukka hummed, but it was Kac who said, "I think it sounds like a pleasant place to vacation. I haven't been off-planet in a while."

"Neither have I," Thruul said. "The last time was a few years ago in the SS System."

Jesus, that was years ago? Viktor was getting old. Regardless of the fact that he was only twenty-seven.

"Alright," Rukka conceded. Viktor was surprised. He had expected- "But I want your research." There it was.

"I'll email it to you," Viktor promised.

"When're we going?" Nohkka asked excitedly. "Soon?"

Viktor grinned at her. School was starting up again for the year. He'd want to go soon.

"Well," Vok'Rul said a bit apologetically. "I wanted to wait until Vi'mrakka was three years old."

Nohkka and Viktor let out matching groans of disgust. That was so far away! Well, it was a few months away, but still. He wanted to go on vacation now!

"Would you rather have Shul suffer the festival alone?" he asked. There was another muffled thump at the door, and Viktor swore it sounded rather panicked.

And Vitkor, who had suffered a festival alone - well, besides Rukka, of course - wouldn't want to wish that on anyone. Except maybe the ringmaster.

"No," he said sullenly, frowning at the thoughts of the ringmaster and Lilac swirling in his head.

"Cheer up, little ones," Kac said brightly. "The months will pass before you know it. In the meantime, you can brag to your schoolmates. How many Vokkrus do you know get to go to a resort across the galaxy?"

Disregarding the fact that Kac was speaking more to Nohkka than Viktor near the end of her cheering-up tirade, Viktor was so going to rub this in his friends' face.

Which was why, a week later, he was suffering in Blacksmith's sweltering forge and chatting Pedro's ear off. "And there's casinos, and I'm really excited to see what an alien casino looks like. Do you think there's alien cigarettes?! I know there's alien booze - and dude, that shit is strong, swear to God - but what if they got other alien drugs? Not that I'm gonna take any," he finished hastily as Pedro levelled him with an unimpressed look.

"Your dad would kill me if I let you do alien drugs," he said, picking up a box of tools and carrying it over to Blacksmith's table. Viktor trotted after.

"I'm not gonna do anything," he grumbled. Pedro pointed to a nearby stool and Viktor climbed on, watching from a safe distance as the man began spreading out various tools and got to work. Thankfully, whatever he was working on didn't require much hammering and otherwise noisy activities that would hinder their conversation.

Pedro started screwing sheets of metal into whatever he was building. "I think it'll be good for you," he said haltingly, tongue between his teeth. "You've been kidnapped way too many times lately."

"It's a talent of mine," he said, desperately trying not to think about the Buffet. His heart rate picked up and it was with no surprise that he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket mere moments after.

12:16:34 > Are you alright?! What is Trosk doing I will challenge her if she's upsetting you and she will feel my wrath

Viktor mused how funny it was that Vok'Rul lost all sense of punctuation when he was worried.

12:16:57 > I'm ok dude me and Pedro are just talking about the buffet

12:17:13 > (︶︹︶)

The emoticon wrenched a snort of laughter from him. Viktor had no clue when he had stumbled across the art of text emoticons, but he used them whenever he had the occasion. No matter what his opinion on the matter was.

12:17:30 > I am being very sympathetic. Appreciate me.

12:17:52 > ty

12:18:07 > Np.

12:18:15 > (⁠/⁠^⁠-⁠^⁠(⁠^⁠ ⁠^⁠*⁠)⁠/

12:18:45 > That is a hug.

12:18:59 > i got that thank u

12:19:30 > Np.

"Earth to Viktor," Pedro teased, prompting Viktor to look up from his phone. "Kids and their phones these days! Back in my day-"

"Aw, shuddup, man," said Viktor, rolling his eyes.

"So, when are you going to head out?" he asked, which led Viktor into chatting his ear off for the next hour or two about his upcoming vacation. He didn't quite succeed in making Pedro green with envy, but it made Viktor's odd mood completely dissolve, so he'd give that to the old man.

Nikolas, on the other hand, was practically jumping with excitement for him. He rattled on about the best odds for casinos and what to avoid completely - not even considering the fact that an alien casino was going to be wildly different from Earthly ones - before jumping to what he should buy as a precursor to any hike.

"I have camped on almost every continent," he boasted. His hands were busy cooking up some food for the Vokkrus he took care of - Sonja, though he rarely called her that anymore since her real name was Jhrsak - but he didn't let that distract him from retelling his adventures in some of the harshest conditions Viktor's ever heard of.

"No way," he breathed as Nikolas finished regaling him about the time he had narrowly avoided a grizzly bear attack by playing dead.

"I am Russian," Nikolas grinned over his shoulder. "Fighting a bear is practically a trial of youth, no?"

Viktor laughed, "Shut up, man! Don't feed into the stereotypes."

Nikolas finished cooking while they kept chatting, and Viktor left with a handful of tips and an armful of his favorite survival guides.

"I do not need them now," Nikolas reassured him after shoving guide after guide into a box. "I am quite content with caring for my friend. Wanderlust has fled me."

Sonja had smiled and told Nikolas he was more than welcome to take his own vacation, but he had simply replied that being on an alien planet was adventure enough for him. He'd much rather watch human-inspired soap operas with her than mucking it through a city made for beings three times his height.

"Take pictures for me," Nikolas had said after Viktor spent the evening with them and was on his way home. "It is not every day you are on an alien planet." Viktor rolled his eyes at that one.

That night, while Vok'Rul was working at his desk, Viktor lay on the floor with Vikka and read his new survival guides out loud.

"How To Survive the Wilderness, 100 Tips and Tricks," he told Vikka. The alien baby was fighting a losing battle to sleep, blinking blearily at him on the mat they had laid out for him. Vikka was struggling to get the art of sitting up under control. He could roll over by himself pretty well, but crawling and lifting his head up for more than a few seconds was beyond him. "Don't worry, you'll get there."

Vikka smiled at him, and Viktor smiled back. Fuck, he was cute! He had never been a baby person, but he was definitely a Vikka person. He loved this little dork.

He returned to his book. "Always be aware of your surroundings. Check. You don't worry about that with us paranoid fucks, Vikka. Search for running water. Knew that. Create a fire to keep warm. Duh!"

Viktor paused. Did he know how to make a fire? Ah, well, didn't matter much now.

"Help me with this," Vok'Rul said distractedly from his desk, scowling something fierce at his computer. Viktor pushed away all the toys in the now sleeping Vikka's reach and walked over to help, setting the book on top of Vok'Rul's desk as he climbed onto the alien's lap to peer over the absurdly large desk. That's what he got for befriending the tallest alien on the planet, he guessed.

Work, work, work, he was about ready to sleep for years. And even though Vok'Rul would let him have a few days off at his request, Viktor couldn't ask for more than one or two at a time without feeling terribly guilty. Especially since his best friend was a workaholic. So, he sat beside him and pulled all-nighters for as long as his body would allow him. It was exhausting.

Vok'Rul was seriously lucky he loved him. But this vacation could not come soon enough. Viktor sorta wished he hadn't been told about it - if only to make the time go by a bit faster.

In between working with the other ambassadors and babysitting Vikka, Viktor found himself absolutely devouring Nikolas's books. He ended up pestering Vok'Rul to take him to a nearby human-centered store where he browsed the -seriously lacking - literature section. The only wild book he found was on flower languages.

And, well, Viktor had already read all of Nikolas's books cover to cover several times over, so he thought why the hell not?

It was a lot more interesting than he thought. Apart from having pretty pictures of flowers and learning the names of several he had seen in the past - who knew that a flower called milkweed could look so pretty? - he found out that every flower had a meaning.

He knew the more obvious ones. Sunflowers meant happiness and roses meant love, but he had no idea that color also played a role in it.

"Did you know striped colors on a flower mean refusal in certain flowers?" he asked the room at large. They were taking a surprisingly rare day off together, sitting on the cramped couch and watching the TV. Well, the other two were watching TV. Vikka and Viktor were peering at the book with intense concentration. "Purple means royalty - though, I think I knew that. 'Cause it was an expensive dye to make back in the old days or something."

"Hmm," Vok'Rul hummed in acknowledgment, sounding half-asleep. When Viktor looked up, he wasn't too surprised to see him practically on top of Thruul, cuddling him half to death. Thruul had his arm slung over the other's broad shoulders, while Vok'Rul's head was tucked into the crook of his neck. Viktor looked down and smiled into the pages.

Vikka slapped his hands on the book, babbling for him to get on with it. He obediently flipped the page to orange-themed flowers. Vikka said something like, "Ahrarara," which probably meant 'wow, these flowers are super pretty.'

"So true," he kissed the top of Vikka's head affectionately. Vikka giggled, which made Viktor start peppering him with kisses. The hatchling erupted with laughter.

"How dare you torture my son," Vok'Rul said loudly, and Viktor felt the couch shift for a second before he was getting smothered.

"Hey!" Viktor yelped in surprise, hunching over Vikka in a bid to keep him from thieves. "He's mine."

Vikka enjoyed the tug-of-war that ensued between the two of them, but Viktor ultimately lost when the hatchling reached out to his dad in a silent demand to be held.

Viktor slumped into the oversized couch cushions and watched as the parents snuggled their son. Yeah, work might be exhausting right now, but these snippets of tranquility made it worth it.

"Hey," Vok'Rul said, holding out his hand. "Get over here."

Viktor grinned and joined the cuddle pile. Definitely worth it.

***

"Okay, and are you sure that you have everything in the car? Maybe someone missed something. Does Vi'mrakka have his food, his favorite rattle, and his socks?! Kohgrash, we cannot go if he doesn't have his socks-" Vok'Rul pulled apart their wing with increasing frazzledness, and Viktor mourned the loss of Thruul. The cook could calm down Vok'Rul pretty well.

But all Viktor could say was, "Lighten up, man." He was awful at comforting someone.

It took twenty more minutes of reassuring Vok'Rul that everything would be fine and that, yes, we had everything, and no, Vikka wasn't going to care if he had the red blanket or blue blanket. By the time they were in the car to the festival - with a whispered request of some house-cleaning to a servant on their way out - Viktor was well and truly hungry.

It sucked that Thruul hadn't been here this morning to make them breakfast - they usually forwent the food on the first day of the festival but both he and Vok'Rul had a feeling that the paperwork was going to be particularly gruesome on account of the new culinary inventions that popped up during the year, so they had choked down some stale, dry food bars - but he was desperately looking forward to finding his stall and eating his fill.

But first, the paperwork.

He and Vok'Rul breezed through it with alarming efficiency. Viktor was half-concerned that some clerk ghost had possessed him to get through all of it so swiftly. They were out of there in two and a half hours! It usually took them four!

After wading through the well-wishers and well-meaning if not overbearingly kind aliens who wanted to speak to them both, Viktor went up to the nearest stall and practically inhaled all of the samples they were willing to give him. It was spicy enough to make him tear up but it was delicious and food, so Viktor gave it a double thumbs-up. The Vokkrus running the stall looked so happy Viktor was half-afraid they'd faint on the spot.

They managed to find Thruul's stall by following the flow of traffic. To no one's surprise except for the cook himself, everyone wanted a taste of his food. And luckily, Viktor got to cut to the front of the line with a just as eager Vok'Rul right behind him. Sometimes, the perks of being friendly with royalty were too good to pass up.

"Thank you, thank you, excuse me," he muttered in a mantra as he carefully made his way through the throng of aliens. They were all so tall and Viktor was so, so short.

"Food, please," he begged Thruul as soon as he got to the front of the stall. Thruul, who was the best Vokkrus on the entire planet, already had two skewers set aside for him and Vok'Rul. "I love you."

Vok'Rul was too slow. Viktor ate his skewer in retaliation for making him do paperwork, easy as it had been this year. Vok'Rul made a show of loudly demanding the best food Thruul had to offer and that he would not expect anything less than perfection from the best chef in the Universe.

Thruul went purple, and considering the way Vok'Rul preened under his success, that had been his plan all along. Viktor thought they were both such saps and were liable to give him cavities with how sweet they were on each other, but he could admit that he would be all too eager to reap the rewards.

Half-sated with the mountain of food Thruul bestowed upon his 'favorite customers' - Vok'Rul had spluttered with embarrassment as the cook leaned over his stall to give the leader a Vokkrus kiss - Viktor demanded to hold Vikka.

"But why?" Vok'Rul complained. "You are so sticky and short. He'd never be able to see anything from down there. Spirits, you'd probably stunt his growth."

Which, that was so rude and uncalled for.

"I'm practically his third parent," Viktor said. "So fork him over! I promise I won't stunt his growth, you overgrown lizard." Honestly.

"Third parent?" he laughed. "You do not change him!"

"Is changing diapers all there is to parenthood?! I feed him, bathe him, and make him laugh!" Viktor retorted, a touch offended.

"I did not mean any offense," Vok'Rul soothed, picking up on his mood with startling ease. "You care for him just as much as Thruul and I. You could change his diapers more often."

Viktor wrinkled his nose. "He stinks so bad, though," he whined. "I've got a sensitive nose. And a sensitive stomach." Though, the thought of accidentally throwing up on Vikka made his blood freeze.

Vok'Rul blanched. "Yes, I suppose I can give you a pass for that."

Moving on from frightening topics, Viktor kept wheedling to hold Vikka until they finally met up with Rukka and her family at the pre-determined destination: the human food section.

"Finally!" Nohkka exclaimed upon seeing them. She immediately started tugging on Rukka's arm. "I wanna try a hot dog!"

Viktor grinned. This was gonna be a great festival. He could feel it!

***

"Fuck!" he shouted. Fuck this festival and everything about it!

Pedro laughed, "You need to work on your aim, kid!"

He stared balefully at the ski-ball machine. "This stupid game is fuckin' rigged."

His struggles with ski-ball notwithstanding, Viktor enjoyed the rest of the games day. After a bundle of hatchlings (and there should be a word for it, like herd or pod or something, but Vok'Rul insisted that there was no such thing and that, perhaps, a group of humans should be called a bunch of mongrels and well, they had devolved into a wrestling match that almost spiraled into a friendly, official challenge) had convinced him to play freeze tag, he was worn out. And currently enjoying being toted around on Vok'Rul's shoulders. He wouldn't let him hold Vikka, though.

"I wouldn't drop him," he huffed in offense.

Viktor could practically feel Vok'Rul roll his eyes. "I believe you."

"Was that sarcasm?!" he gasped. "I'm so impressed."

Vok'Rul reared backward like a horse, and Viktor had to frantically grab onto his face to keep steady unless he wanted to fall twelve feet onto the ground. "Jesus!"

"That's what you get for picking fights with him," Thruul defended his husband. Viktor stuck his tongue out at him.

"When Vikka grows up, he's gonna be in my corner," he told them. Vok'Rul tilted his head back like he was trying to look at him.

"You don't have corners?" he asked hesitantly, like he half-questioned the validity of that statement.

"Poor Vok'Rul," Viktor sighed melodramatically, patting his head. "After all this time, you really don't know?"

"Know what?" he demanded. When Viktor didn't answer, only sharing a secretive smile with Thruul, he asked again, "Know what?"

"Nothin'," Viktor said smugly. Vok'Rul was so stupid, sometimes. In a good way.

Vok'Rul harrumphed and pestered him while they strolled through the game stalls of the festival. Occasionally, they would stop when Viktor wanted to play a game or when Thruul decided to try his luck. Vok'Rul didn't partake all that often in games, holding Vikka, but sometimes when they'd pressure him, he'd cave.

He won several plush animals and prizes whenever he did, of which he gifted to Thruul, Viktor, and Vikka amidst their joyful exclamations smugly.

They went home that night drowning in prizes after saying goodbye to Nohkka, who was also similarly drowning in prizes.

"I need new socks tomorrow," he said to no one in particular after putting a sleepy Vikka in his crib. Viktor was pretty impressed. He had stayed awake almost the entire day. He supposed it helped that there had been no crazy stampede this year. The uneasy feeling surrounding the festival still lingered, but his gut told him that it'd turn out okay.

"Anything else?" Vok'Rul asked eagerly. Viktor rolled his eyes and gestured for him to follow. He whipped open his wardrobe (which was so bizarre, even after, what, five-ish years of living here? He was used to a simple dresser, but Vok'Rul had insisted on this old-timey box instead) and started cataloging what he needed, much to the alien's pleasure.

"But don't get crazy," he finished pleadingly. "I don't need a lot."

"Nonsense," Vok'Rul dismissed. "I never go crazy."

***

The dumb idiot went crazy.

"Sorry," he muttered to Thruul, who was pushing the slowly growing cart of clothes. Viktor had offered to steer it instead, but he could barely see over the top of it and felt rather like a kid pushing a shopping cart. The first time he had run into Vok'Rul's legs, the alien had whipped around with such a mom look that Viktor had struggled to keep his laughter in. He ceded to the alien's demands that Thruul was to take over the cart.

"We both knew what we were getting into," Thruul murmured back. "Especially since we skipped today last year."

Making up for lost time. Viktor could - grudgingly - understand that.

Despite Vok'Rul's tendency to spoil Viktor rotten, he definitely went way overboard when he realized that he could visit the hatchling section to get things for Vikka. And if Viktor thought that he had gotten a lot of stuff, he was sorely mistaken of how far the alien could really go.

They had to get three more carts. Three!

"What are we even gonna do with all this crap?" he whispered fervently to Thruul, who was looking just as flustered as he felt. "We don't have enough room in our wing for all this!"

"I don't know!" he said just as desperately.

Viktor could admit that the stuff Vok'Rul had found was cute, but Jesus Christ! Enough was enough!

When Vok'Rul had started to put things in the cart that Vikka wouldn't even be able to wear for years, Viktor and Thruul teamed up to put a definite stop to this.

"My lord, really," Thruul implored. "Vikka won't need these for a long time. Wouldn't it be much nicer to shop for him when he is grown?"

"I know what I am doing," Vok'Rul assured, not even glancing behind him as he handed the credits over to the star-struck vendor.

"You're addicted, man," Viktor said desperately. "If you don't stop, I'll... call Phlak and tell him I've seen suspicious people walking around!"

Vok'Rul finally turned around, squinting at him. Viktor puffed out his chest and straightened his posture in an attempt to look serious.

"You're bluffing," he said uncertainly. Viktor thinned his lips and glared at him. Vok'Rul's gaze moved past him and toward the four carts of clothes, jewelry, and anything else that had caught his fancy. Which had been a lot. "You're not bluffing."

"He's on speed dial!" Viktor insisted, pulling out his phone and hovering his fingers over the nonexistent call button.

"Okay!" Vok'Rul said hurriedly. "There's no need for such... drastic measures."

Thruul and Viktor shared a knowing glance. Yeah, right.

When they returned that day - Bhrak had to call for another car to pack up all of the stuff Vok'Rul bought and he had grudgingly admitted that he perhaps went a touch overboard - the look on the servants' faces as they saw the mound of merchandise made Viktor feel super guilty, but any attempt at helping out was thwarted.

"Lord, do not worry," Pyim said kindly, looking rather strained despite their words. "It is not the first time O Vokkra has come home with such grand displays of..." they struggled to find a polite word, and Viktor smiled helplessly at them.

"Frivolousness?" he offered. Pyim grinned.

"At least he is letting us put it away for him. Now, shoo, before you give him ideas."

Viktor obediently scampered off, but not before grabbing a pair of socks.

***

"Y'know, I think Korat'ska is warming up to me," Viktor said optimistically.

"He could stand to be more polite," Vok'Rul said apologetically, admiring the carved flower in his claws. It opened its petals periodically, revealing a small figure of a hatchling inside.

"That's okay," Viktor reassured him, looking back to his own figure. It was a cute little spaceship and when he moved the slat at the bottom of the stand, it moved up and down in a figure eight pattern. It was rather charming and probably took a lot of time to make. "Old people get a pass, like you."

Vok'Rul spluttered in offense, but before he could do anything than glare at Viktor, they were upon the theatre. Nohkka was, yet again, the star of the show.

Taking his seat on the opposite side of Thruul with Rukka on his other side (Viktor had almost laughed at the appalled, irritated face on Vok'Rul, who likely wanted to enact ruthless revenge on his jib at calling him old, but he refrained. Because he was polite), Viktor watched the show with glee.

It was fun to see the unknown sides of the previous Vokkras. He had read about Bffgraah's reign during his time as Vokkra and several others while researching what his big debut should be, but they had - obviously - made them out to be perfect saints of leadership. This show - childish and embellishing as it was - did show some insight to how the general public likely viewed its past leaders.

It was interesting! Plus, it was funny. Especially when they started pulling in human kids to act as some of the Vokkras, equipped with foam horns and tails.

The show gave him some dirt on Vok'Rul, too, since Viktor hadn't exactly been around fifty years ago to witness his entire reign.

"That was embarrassing," Vok'Rul complained once they got into the safety of their car. He had been the picture-perfect definition of supportive and encouraging to Nohkka's face, however.

"I think Nohkka reenacted it quite well," Thruul replied, amused.

"It was real?" Viktor laughed, grin becoming shit-eating. "You really tripped up the steps for your big debut?"

"I thought people had forgotten about it!" Vok'Rul lamented. "It hadn't been in the news and no one had challenged me for it! Spirits, strike me down."

"Is there a video?" he mock-whispered to Thruul, who grinned back at him.

"No," Vok'Rul growled, which was mimicked by Vikka. "I had it all wiped. Obviously."

Damn. That would've been fucking hilarious.

Later that night, when Vok'Rul was putting Vikka to sleep, Thruul hastily leaned over to his side of the couch and shoved his phone in Viktor's face. He watched, absolutely enraptured, as the video of Vok'Rul tripping up the stairs played on the screen, tinny and half out of frame.

"Oh, my God," he whispered, trying to choke back a laugh. Thruul's eyes shined with amusement. "Dude, you're my fuckin' hero."

"Who's a hero?" Vok'Rul asked as he reentered the living room. Both of them jumped out of their skins, and Thruul frantically grabbed the phone and swiped off the video. "...What were you looking at? Tell me."

"Thruul was showing me, uh," he scrambled for a believable excuse, "these pictures of a cute Flyhk."

"You hate Flyhks." Fuck!

"This one was, um, really cute?"

Thruul smiled innocently at Vok'Rul while the latter looked to and from the pair of them, trying to sus out any sort of lie. "You are a terrible liar, Kohgrash," he finally huffed, collapsing into the couch.

Viktor beamed, relieved. That had been a close one.

***

With the festival coming to a very pleasantly uneventful conclusion, Vikka's hatching day was right upon them.

As with every year, piles of gifts seemed to appear at the front door, all from admirers hoping to get into the Vokkra's good graces. As always, Vok'Rul commanded some of his staff to inspect the gifts with great care - just in case someone sent something crazy. There hasn't been an incident yet, but Viktor approved of the 'better safe than sorry' route they were taking.

"I just do not know why they bother," Vok'Rul said, patting a sleepy Vikka on the rump methodically. "Vokkrus do not celebrate hatching days as vigorously as humans - only on their tenth and so on."

Viktor rolled his eyes. This dude was dense as hell, sometimes. "It's 'cause you're the Vokkra, my man," he explained, patting his elbow in solidarity.

Vikka looked quite pleased with all the gifts, though, and enjoyed sticking every single one of them into his mouth.

Rukka, Nohkka, and Kac all came over that afternoon to gift Vikka some of their own gifts. They (namely Nohkka, who had insisted to be known that she had wrapped it) got him an adorable onesie that looked like a Glouglossus (their looks had really grown on Viktor, even if their eyes were still a little creepy) with stubby wings sprouting out the back.

"It used to be mine!" Nohkka declared proudly. Viktor wished he had been around to see that. She had probably looked super adorable.

It was a pity she was so mean.

The hatching day party - if you could even call it that - was low-key, especially since Vikka couldn't even enjoy the delicious food Thruul had prepared! Viktor really felt for the little guy, even if he didn't know what he was missing out on.

"Tastes very creamy and smooth," he told the baby, who was sitting in a high chair. It was a rare occurrence, since Vok'Rul and Thruul preferred to hold him while feeding him, but they were occupied with cooking and chatting. Viktor fed him in between bites of his own dessert. "Like, um, the color blue."

Vikka glared at him, as if to say he didn't even know what that meant but probably because Viktor had yet to give him the spoonful of food in his hand. He obliged to the hatchling's unspoken demands.

"Ahhrrrrph," he growled, which Viktor translated as thank you very much, Viktor! You're so much cooler than my dads.

"You're welcome," he said smugly.

"Now that Vikka's three, can we go on the vacation now?" Nohkka asked beseechingly. Viktor was right there with her. The human ambassadors were less prickly than before but still irritating. Probably because of his age. Ugh.

"That was the plan, wasn't it?" Vok'Rul mused, eyes glued to Thruul. Who was literally just sitting at the table. That didn't warrant such a fond expression!

Rukka snapped her fingers in front of his face, and Vok'Rul flinched more than the action warranted. Based on the contrite and apologetic expression Rukka wore, she was thinking the same thing as he was. Stupid Korrashkka.

"Right," he said, voice thick with embarrassment. Viktor turned back to Vikka with a scowl on his face, wiping it away when the baby mimicked him immediately. He started making weird faces at the hatchling while the alien spoke. "We need a month to get our affairs in order," he said apologetically to Nohkka, "so you'll need to wait a little while longer, okay, little one?"

Viktor didn't need to look behind him to know that Nohkka had crossed her arms unhappily. "Fiiine," she sighed, defeated. Viktor agreed. This was going to be one long month.

***

"What do you mean you don't know how to speak with the Arnoxi ambassadors?" Viktor hissed irritably, trying really hard not to glare at Gabriella. It must not have worked, because she glared right back at him.

"I mean that I have never received any communications from them. It's all forwarded through you! How am I meant to pick up your slack when you go on vacation?"

Just how I pick up yours! he wanted to scream. They got two days off a week, worked only eight hours, and got to enjoy the regular human worklife. Viktor didn't really have that choice. "You didn't think to ask this, I dunno, a year ago?" he asked, barely restraining his annoyance.

She shrugged, "You handled it just fine. This month-long vacation is going to put real pressure on the rest of us, you know."

Maybe he should talk to Rukka and ask about replacements. No! That was abuse of power. But oh, so tempting.

"Yes, very unfortunate," he said through gritted teeth, thinking of all the all-nighters he's pulled to pick up the slack with Earth and A1-308. "I will reforward the email I sent to you with their contact information. And please, read up on their culture so you don't accidentally offend them."

Viktor thought the only reason Gabriella wasn't a bloody pulp smeared across the wall by now was because of the laws Vok'Rul had put in place to avoid any unwarranted abuse. Still, some nasty part of him thought that maybe, just maybe, they should rescind those laws for a second. The glare that followed the woman out of his barely-used office by Shul could kill.

He powered through the rest of his last-minute paperwork, forwarding emails and sending them right and left to ensure that things ran smoothly in his absence. Despite his irritation, he was excited. Tomorrow, they'd pack up and head out! To Loodruy!

"I do not understand," Shul said slowly when they were walking out of the Ambassador Embassy. It had been an added wing to the capitol building, so whenever he came in, it was usually because Vok'Rul was spending the day at the place, too. They were waiting for him in the lobby. Viktor felt dead on his feet, wishing he could just sit on the floor. "Why do you put up with that?"

"Perks of the human race, Shul," he muttered derisively. "People can be such dicks."

Shul harrumphed, looking like he wanted to say more but didn't want to offend Viktor with his remarks about humanity. Viktor huffed out a laugh, trying to relax. Vacation time was near, he reminded himself firmly. "It's alright, man. She's much less... aggressive over email." Well, they were more passive-aggressive. But words written on a screen were easier to ignore than in person, where he had to school his expressions. Plus, he always got to rant to Vok'Rul about the ambassadors' stupidity.

Speaking of which...

16:36:07 > hurry up me hungry

16:40:23 > Meeting is running long.

16:40:30 > ｡⁠:ﾟ⁠(⁠;⁠'⁠∩⁠'⁠;⁠)ﾟ⁠:⁠｡

16:41:02 > need saving?

16:41:57 > Yes, please.

"Alright, Shul, we got a Vokkra to save," Viktor said.

One frantic dash into the Council room later, acting skills that were Oscar-worthy, both Vok'Rul and Viktor were in the car on the way home. Vok'Rul couldn't stop chuckling.

"You were far too obvious," he chided between giggles. The alien would never admit to giggling, of course.

"No way," he said dismissively, grinning ear to ear. "I think I handled that perfectly."

After all, telling a council room of Vokkrus with little to no actual knowledge of the human body that Viktor was suddenly afflicted with Hungritis took skill. If you asked Viktor, it was true. He was hungry.

He packed with some company that night, having propped up a full and drowsy Vikka on some of his pillows while he pulled out all of the clothes Vok'Rul's bestowed on him.

"What do you think?" he asked Vikka, holding up a flowery shirt reminiscent of Hawaiian shirts. His shirt was milder, though. The flowers weren't so big.

The hatchling blinked at him before closing his eyes completely.

"I agree," he muttered, throwing it back into his wardrobe. Too touristy.

He made sure to pack up some durable clothes for the hiking. Long sleeves, long pants - multiple pairs of pants, too, based on all the advice he'd gotten from Nikolas - long socks, and even a wide-brim hat. He had no idea if the sun there was brutal enough to warrant it, but he packed some sunscreen, too. Just in case. Some steel water bottles were also tossed in.

He ended up having to trudge upstairs - making sure Vikka was actually sleeping and there was nothing around him on the bed (Viktor had read tirelessly about safe sleeping for hours and hours) - to ask for another suitcase. His two were filled up. Granted, they were much smaller than Vok'Rul's.

"Jesus," he laughed when he entered the room. "Are you gonna pack up the whole house?"

The bed was covered with Vok'Rul's (and Thruul's, though his only occupied a small corner) clothes, stacked high. Which was pretty impressive, considering the bed could fit two fully grown Vokkrus comfortably. There were about four suitcases already zipped shut (with incredible difficulty, he could tell) by the door, which Viktor had to shove away to get into the room.

Thruul laughed at his husband's expense while Vok'Rul spluttered, "Of course not! I'm merely preparing for all possibilities!"

"So, you're telling me it's possible to," Vok'Rul grabbed a thick sweater that Vok'Rul used when he visited Earth in the winter, "find ourselves in a raging blizzard on a tropical planet?"

"...Well, perhaps I can afford to remove that item," Vok'Rul sniffed. "Get out of here."

"Tell me how you really feel," he snarked back, grabbing an empty suitcase. Thruul nodded encouragingly, likely thinking that the fewer suitcases around, the less Vok'Rul would pack. "I'm stealing this."

"No! Bring it back!" he heard Vok'Rul shout as he fled the scene.

Vikka was still sleeping when he got back (and more importantly, breathing, as he ascertained by staring at him super hard until he saw his chest rise and fall), so he continued with his packing as quietly as possible. When he finished, he collapsed onto the bed next to Vikka, who grumpily woke up due to the movement.

"Sorry, baby," Viktor cooed, scooping him up and snuggling him close. "I gotta bring you back to your lame-ass dads, now. You can't sleep here."

He still had nightmares. Often times of the Buffet, sometimes of the arena. Mostly of the facility. The buzzing feeling of delria and klaxan haunted him. Regardless, he didn't want to be around Vikka for those, especially considering he sometimes woke in a panic and lashed out at whoever was near. Even the thought of accidentally striking Vikka made his stomach turn.

Viktor kissed him goodnight as he put him in the crib, watching fondly as the baby scrunched up to sleep. He was out like a light a second later. Thruul must have managed to get Vok'Rul under control, because the bed was clear of any extra clothes, and there were only seven suitcases packed instead of the ten he had seen strewn about.

The pair of aliens weren't in their bedroom, though, so Viktor snuck out of the room as quietly as he could to avoid disturbing Vikka and quickly found them arguing in the bathroom.

"-cause of that!" Thruul said with frustration. Vok'Rul harrumphed.

"Thruul, this is Kohgrash we speak of! There is no telling what may happen."

Viktor looked in, "What are you guys gossiping about?" And more importantly, why were they gossiping about him?

Thruul looked relieved, "Good. Kohgrash, tell him he is overreacting."

"I am not!" Vok'Rul defended himself. "I am not overreacting. I am taking the necessary precautions!"

Viktor quickly found the bag of medicine Vok'Rul had obviously packed - stuffed to the brim with shit that wouldn't even be a possibility during their trip, like - "Is that insulin?! Vok'Rul, I don't even have diabetes!"

"And?!" he fretted, snatching the bottle of expensive insulin from Viktor's hands and worriedly throwing it back into the bag. "What if you develop it? Then, you'll die! Because we have no insulin!"

"Dear God," he muttered under his breath. Louder, he said, "Vok'Rul, you don't have to worry about that, okay? They have medical supplies there. This is a vacation. I didn't use any of the medicine you packed for the Core, did I?"

"Yes, you did!" Vok'Rul said, pleased to have pointed out a flaw in his argument. "You used, um, that headache-reducer."

"Ibuprofen," Viktor sighed. "Yeah, I used that. You can pack that... and some bandages. But we don't need anything else! 'Sides, if you pack so much medicine, where are you gonna put Vikka's toys?"

Vok'Rul's eyes widened with fear, "Oh no. I forgot to pack his toys!" Viktor heard Thruul groan behind him, and he felt only marginally guilty.

"I packed some!" he lied hurriedly. "Plus, you can buy some at the resort! C'mon, man, it's late. If you aren't done, just forget it - it can't be that important."

But the look that Vok'Rul gave him was anything but reassuring, and Viktor soon found himself roped into helping him pack. Thruul looked just as miserable - even though there was some fondness lurking beneath his mask. Viktor couldn't say the same for himself. He was tired!

The next day, after a shit amount of sleep (really, he had just passed out on the couch upstairs after hours of repacking and packing Vok'Rul's suitcases. The alien must have felt terrible, because when he woke up underneath a woolen blanket he had not grabbed the night before, there had been a little sticky note on the table that read: sorry :( and well, Viktor couldn't really stay mad at him), they were finally going on vacation!

Trying to, at least. Viktor was desperately waiting for Rukka to arrive so she could knock some sense into her brother.

"Okay, do we have... my green shirt?" Vok'Rul asked, looking at the list he must have made up while Viktor slept. He wondered if the alien had slept. Based on the dark purple patches under his eyes, probably not.

"Mmm," Thruul hummed noncommittally, rocking a babbling Vikka. His eyes were shut. He probably hadn't slept either.

"Green shirt... check!" Vok'Rul muttered to himself.

"They have arrived," Shul announced at the door, the edges of his voice leaking with nervousness.

"Thank you, God," he exclaimed, abandoning his suitcases on the floor to race out to the car. "Rukka, please, help us."

"There is no helping you," she said solemnly as she stepped out of the car effortlessly. Damn, she was cool.

"Kohgrash!" Nohkka squealed, nearly knocking him off his feet with her energetic hug. "Are you excited? I'm excited! How long do you think it'll take us to get there? I hope not long, I wanna try swimming!"

"I thought you guys couldn't swim," he wheezed through her arms crushing his windpipe. Nohkka let go to grab her suitcase - a cute little thing decorated with stickers of various animals; he swore he saw a human sticker on there - and explained.

"Mama says we're able to but that there's no water for us to try. And she won't let me swim in the bath," she pouted. Viktor patted her shoulder.

Soon enough, everyone was ready to get going to the spaceport. Vok'Rul had attempted to unzip one of his suitcases, much to Thruul's dismay, in order to triple-check that everything was all in its place. However, with everyone ganging up on him that it would be fine, they managed to flee the manor without further incident.

Arriving at the spaceport had some fanfare - their vacation wasn't that secretive, what with the Council meetings being publically transcripted and offered to the public after every session - but Viktor was still surprised to see his friends.

"Hey, kid," Pedro said with a grin. Viktor hugged him tightly.

"Hi, Pedro!" he said cheerfully. "Didn't expect to see you."

"Thought I'd say goodbye," he returned.

"You better have a camera in all of those suitcases," Nikolas said from behind. Viktor gave the other man a hug, too.

"They're not all mine," he grumbled, looking over at Vok'Rul who was giving a nervous-looking Shul a vigorous pep talk. Though, he might've been nervous because of Rukka, who was also giving the alien a vigorous pep talk. "Vok'Rul went crazy."

"He is crazy," Pedro joked. Viktor slapped his shoulder.

"Treason!" he exclaimed.

After exchanging goodbyes and promises that he'd be careful and not get kidnapped this time, Viktor and his family were on the spaceship - an interplanetary vessel called the Pilgrim, which Viktor thought was hilariously translated as the Vokkrus word for it went something along the lines of one who walks far very quickly - and taking off.

Both surprisingly and unsurprisingly, the Spirits decided to say goodbye, too. Before Viktor was aware of their presence, Vikka started giggling and babbling, kicking his feet excitedly.

RETURN SOON, It boomed. Viktor was glad he was sitting down. Vok'Rul nodded and hummed a reply. The others looked at him strangely before they realized the Spirits were speaking to him. It always seemed odd to Viktor that they weren't able to sense Them. They were so loud.

Their presence solidified to a point on his forehead. He hunched his shoulders in preparation.

REMEMBER ADVICE LITTLE CURIOUS THING

Then, They were gone. Viktor blinked.

Vok'Rul frowned at him curiously, but his attention was recaptured by the pilot - who would be dropping them off and returning in a month's time more or less (time was super weird between planets. Viktor had lived on A1-308 for five years now, but based on Earth's time, it had only been about four and three-quarters. He was twenty-seven, nearly twenty-eight if he went off A1-308's time, but his biological age was probably around twenty-six. It was confusing. He tried not to think about it too much).

"What?" Vok'Rul yelled in the small cockpit. Only he, Viktor, Vikka, and the pilot were in it. The others were down in the belly of the small ship. "Give me that," he demanded, grabbing the mic and wrenching it toward him.

Viktor idly took Vikka from Vok'Rul's other arm, tickling the hatchling's tummy as he looked out the window, and yep - his suspicions were correct. They were flanked by several small fighter ships. He waved at one that got close. He vaguely saw the pilot wave back.

"Turn. Around. Now!" Vok'Rul growled. Viktor rolled his eyes.

"Apologies, sire," the intercom crackled. It sounded almost gleeful. "Acting on orders of Vokk'kro."

Viktor whistled. Shul wasted no time.

"Bastard," he heard Vok'Rul mutter under his breath. He smirked down at Vikka, putting a finger up to his lips.

"Don't repeat that, Vikka," he told him secretively. Vikka grabbed his hand and stuck his finger into his mouth. He was lucky the baby hadn't started teething yet.

Ultimately, Vok'Rul couldn't get their stalkers to leave, especially when Viktor chimed in that he thought they were a great idea. "You are transport only, understood?" he glared at the intercom like it had personally offended him.

A chorus of roger that's followed his statement, and Vok'Rul stepped away from the console in a huff. "Come, Kohgrash," he demanded petulantly. Viktor picked up Vikka's arm and made him wave at the pilot next to the window. They waved back.

Life had gotten much better when the Vokkrus had learned how to wave, he thought with a smug smile.

The trip to Kuy wouldn't be that terribly long. The Drive was slower due to him and Vikka, but they were still going at a pretty good clip, especially when they actually descended into the Drive. It always made him a bit woozy, but he'd deal. He'd handed off Vikka to Thruul, just in case.

It had been about two hours into the trip that Viktor realized one, terrible thing. He had to pee.

"Vok'Rul," he said, poking the alien in the shoulder. This ship wasn't that big. They were in the - albeit large to Viktor - cramped space at the bottom of the ship, which sort of reminded Viktor of a Star Wars cargo ship, sitting shoulder to shoulder and trying to pass the time. At least the seats were comfy. "Where's the bathroom?"

Vok'Rul looked at him. "Didn't you go before?"

Dear God. It was like he was back in school again. He said, the words practiced in his mouth, "I didn't have to go before!"

"This is a day trip, Kohgrash," Vok'Rul said. "It shouldn't last more then five hours! Can't you hold it?"

Viktor thought about it. "Um, no. I don't think so. Are there, like, interplanetary gas stations we can stop at?"

Vok'Rul sighed. Viktor smiled apologetically.

To his absolute delight, there was.

"Rules," Vok'Rul declared amidst several fighter ships landing beside the SS Pilgrim, momentarily drowning out his speech. Viktor barely heard him, too busy staring slack-jawed at the majestic sight in front of him.

Who knew space gas stations were so fuckin' cool looking?!

A multi-story building dominated the meteor it stood on. By some miracle, the building itself was twice the size of its foundation. It was square-ish in some parts, spherical in others, and completely, utterly bizarre. Ships of all sizes were chugging along the sides, fueling up and getting washed. There was a space car wash on a meteor!

The front of the building was a dazzle of colors, flashing brightly and hosting numerous advertisements. He couldn't read any aside from the Vokkran ads, few and far between those were. A string of text scrolled along a flickering screen above the multitude of doors, and Viktor was absolutely delighted to see that there was even a human-sized door.

"Got it?" Vok'Rul finished, earning a cursory yes! from Nohkka and some nods from the others. "Kohgrash?"

"Huh? C'mon, I gotta pee!" he said dismissively, already moving toward the doors.

"Spirits save me," Vok'Rul cursed, making Viktor smirk. Honestly. He wasn't going to get abducted in a gas station!

He did wait for the others to catch up before making his way inside, though - entering new buildings without someone else beside him made him nervous for some reason - and the interior was just as wild as the outside, perhaps more so.

If the front of the building had been plastered with ads, the inside was smothered. Ads everywhere! They were the most intriguing pieces of design he's ever seen, though, despite not knowing a lick of their languages. Ribbons of holographic text slid across the ceiling and walls, flashing prices and deals in the gas station.

Though, he figured as he took in the sights, it'd be more apt to call it a space mall.

There were dozens upon dozens of vendors selling their wares, though the biggest of them all was the one that bisected the mall in half. It shepherded ships from right to left, likely paying for their fuel. Tunnels wound their way above and below the expanse of space, allowing travelers and visitors to cross safely.

"Wow," he breathed in awe, feeling like a little kid at Christmas. He wanted to visit every possible vendor possible!

"Kohgrash," Vok'Rul said beseechingly, shaking his shoulder a little. When he looked up, Viktor saw that the alien had a death grip on Vikka and was plastered to Thruul's side. The repeated buzzing on Viktor's wrist was slowly increasing. Feeling both fond and guilty, Viktor tucked himself underneath Vok'Rul's arm, too, grabbing a handful of his tunic. "The bathroom is over there," he said, a little more calmly.

"Alright, let's go," he said, wondering what a gas station-mall bathroom would look like.

...Looked like any old bathroom.

Sure, the stalls were a bit different, and varying sizes of toilets, urinals, and sinks littered the room. The garbage cans were incinerators with loud, yellow text smattered across them, which were likely warnings to any Arnoxi. The room itself was a bright white that almost hurt his eyes.

"We'll wait outside," Thruul said kindly, tugging Vok'Rul out by the arm and ignoring his protests of, "No, Thruul! Imagine the dangers!"

"In a bathroom, darling?" was the reply. Viktor huffed and hurried to a urinal to do his business.

The soap smelled like... soap. He could almost taste it. It was very bubbly, too.

Viktor was drying his hands with soft paper towels (he assumed they were something similar at least; there was a pile of ashes in the incinerator accompanied by crumpled up towels on the floor nearby, because no one could aim, apparently) when Vok'Rul nervously walked into the room again.

"All done, buddy," he said reassuringly, showing him his crumpled up towel before tossing it into the trash can. It went in!

"Nice shot," Vok'Rul complimented him, looking less frazzled now that he had his sights on him. "Come on, Nohkka wants to go into a candy store. We can browse for a bit - no more than an hour, though."

"Aye aye, captain," he two-finger saluted him, much to the alien's brief confusion.

"You and your silly mannerisms. You humans have far too many of them," Vok'Rul grumbled, leading them out of the bathroom and meeting with Thruul and Vikka. They made their way to a nearby store - and frankly, Viktor understood why Nohkka had gravitated toward this store. It looked like a kid's dream come true. Candy lined the aisles, walls, and ceiling. It even spilled outside the small square room into the walkway. He picked up what looked to be sour gummies. Not that he could even begin to decipher the text plastered on the bag.

"-a human?" he heard a whisper behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see a fuzzy Straytex whispering to its companion. Upon his glance, it fluffed up in surprise. Viktor went back to minding his own business and tried to ignore the curious glances thrown his way by all sorts of species.

They quickly found Nohkka, who was arguing with her parents to let her have the current armful of candy she was holding.

"I even checked to see if it was edible," she said matter-of-factly. "And these were all Vokkrus-safe!"

"But do you really need that much?" Kac asked firmly. "There is simply no way you could eat that all."

Viktor winced. That was no way of deluding a kid to get candy - and yep, there was that determined glint in her eye. "Well, I can prove you wrong!" she insisted, voice pitching loudly.

"Get me this," Viktor said loudly to interrupt any oncoming tantrum, smacking Vok'Rul's arm with the bag of candy.

Vok'Rul grabbed the bag, peering at it skeptically. "This is extremely sour hard candies," he told him.

"You can read that?" he said, jumping up to snatch the bag back. "I thought it was gummy worms."

"Gummy worms?" he asked in return. "Do you want gummy worms?"

At Viktor's nod, he harrumphed and said, "Alright. I'll find some for you. Come on. Do you want sour ones?"

"See, Nohkka, Kohgrash is only getting one candy. You can choose one, alright?" Rukka told her kid.

Vok'Rul and Viktor left behind the arguing family in the care of Thruul and Vikka, who both looked mildly amused at the scene. Vok'Rul hunted for his candy with steely-eyed determination.

"Have you ever been here before?" he asked idly, looking through the shelves with curiosity. There were things moving in their wrappings.

"Mmm. No," he said distractedly, slowing to a stop in a very sour-looking aisle. "No, this is my first time here. But, it is the biggest fuel station in the galaxy. Not the only one of its kind, though."

Viktor hummed in reply, squinting up at the bags of candy. That blue one looked promising. He pointed. "What about that one?"

"Sour... apple... gelatinous... beetles?" he translated slowly. Viktor gasped.

"Sour apple?! For real? Grab it!" Viktor loved sour apple!

After making their purchase - during which Viktor watched with a grin as he bought the rest of Nohkka's candy behind her parents' backs as she pouted at the cashier's counter - they all went back to the ship with varying degrees of reluctance.

"We'll stop by on our way back," Vok'Rul promised him, and well, that was enough for Viktor to get back on the ship. He did want to get to Kuy sooner or later, after all.

The rest of the trip to the Montet's planet wasn't that bad. Nohkka and Viktor hid behind the mountain of suitcases they had stacked together to make a 'house', sharing their candy and generally feeling sick by the time the ship landed at the resort. But damn, did it taste good.

Rukka was none too pleased with Vok'Rul when she went to grab something from her suitcase and found them sprawled out with hundreds of wrappers strewn around them. Honestly, Viktor was just glad that he hadn't been pulled under the bus with the leader.

"But it is a vacation," Vok'Rul said imploringly, pulling the suitcases down the ramp. Their motorcade of spaceships had flown away with a message of goodbye upon entering the atmosphere. The only other Vokkrus besides their family was the pilot, who was going to be taking a vacation of his own. "She deserves some candy!"

"You are so, so lucky that Vi'mrakka isn't old enough to eat solid food," Rukka hissed at him, grabbing her own suitcase and glaring at him all the while. "He does not get a sugar rush!"

"Imagine all the revenge you can get in the future, my dear. Now move your rump off the ramp," Kac said sweetly.

"Phew, we dodged a bullet," Viktor muttered to Nohkka, who was pulling at her own suitcase.

"We should've saved Uncle Rul some candy for taking the heat," Nohkka muttered back. Viktor grinned at her use of Earthly slang.

"We can get some on the way back," he said.

A Montet bellhop came out with a large cart and they started stacking their suitcases on it. Viktor tried not to stare, but he couldn't help but sneak glances at the Montet. He hadn't really gotten to speak with their leader on the Core, as their circles just didn't cross.

They looked like sentient hedges. Their vines and leaves twined and shuffled with every movement, swirling over themselves. It looked like their true form was hiding underneath all those leaves, but perhaps that was just how they were shaped. This bellhop had extremely bright pink and orange flowers splattered about it. They looked very nice!

"I like your flowers," he said politely when he put his own three suitcases on the cart. To his surprise, several more pink flowers sprouted on the top of their head.

"Uhm, th-thank you!" they stuttered. "I am very flattered, but uhm..."

Oh, God, did he just accidentally flirt with them?! "I am so sorry, I just meant that you look really nice with them!"

More pink flowers. Fuck! "I- Just ignore me, I'm not trying to do anything rude! I was just trying to compliment your-"

"Please excuse my wayward Kohgrash, friend," Vok'Rul interrupted, grabbing onto Viktor's shoulder and pulling him backward slightly. Thank God. He needed rescuing. "Humans, you know."

The Montet perked up. "My friend's friend knows a human, and she states that they say the oddest things."

After they were checked in and heading to their suite, Viktor muttered petulantly, "Did you really need to make it sound like I was some sort of animal to be ogled at?" Sore spot.

Vok'Rul brushed his hair back with his claws and although comforting, he couldn't help but think it was just another way that the alien saw him as an animal - a pet. He jerked away. Vok'Rul frowned at him before smiling nervously. "I am sorry, my Kohgrash. I did not mean for it to come out that way. You are not an animal."

Obviously, he wanted to snap but instead opted to scrub his face with his hands for a solid few seconds. This was a vacation! There wasn't any need to get all mopey about shit that happened years ago.

Still, it definitely did not help that apparently no one here had seen a human before and stared at him like everyone would at the arena. Something new, something fresh.

When they finally got into their room, Viktor was relieved to get away from the stares. His irritation was soon washed away by the sight of their home away from home.

It was like a small apartment - the main room was a large living room, with large couches sunken into the floor circling around a television mounted to the wall. Large windows bracketed the television, showing off the stellar view. Wisps of plants and trees were all Viktor could see from here.

On each side of the large room were two doors - a bedroom and a bathroom. One for each side of the family. With no words spoken, Vok'Rul and Rukka peeled off from one another, the former going right and the latter left. Creepy twin stuff.

The bedroom was opulent - he expected nothing less considering the amount of money they had paid, but seriously, Viktor thought the chandelier was a little overkill - with an obscene amount of rich-looking decorations lining the walls and windows. There were two beds - Viktor pointedly chose the one not underneath the dangling death machine - with thick comforters and fluffy pillows. They were huge. Viktor would probably have to walk for days to cross his!

There was a small desk next to a table that held what Viktor could only assume was a microwave, a refrigerator, and a neat-looking lamp. It looked like tree sap was suspended in mid-air, and when Viktor flicked it on, it glowed a soft orange.

A dresser separated their two beds, complete with what looked like a rock but turned out to be a phone, a digital clock, and a smaller version of the other lamp. Vok'Rul dumped some of his clothes into the dresser - momentarily baffling Viktor, who had never once considered using the hotel dressers for what they were there for - and started making himself at home.

Viktor spurred into action, swiftly finding another dresser on the opposite side of his bed, for which he was rather grateful, considering they were going to be here for a month or so. He didn't really feel like living out of his suitcases for that long. He deposited his clothes swiftly, marveling at the new experience. He's never stayed anywhere long enough to warrant this.

Clanking noises brought Viktor out of his suitcase, and he turned around to see Vok'Rul struggling to put a bassinet out of one of the suitcases.

He put his hands on his hips incredulously. "Did you seriously pack a crib? Why didn't you just bring it on its own? Now you gotta assemble it here."

Vok'Rul blinked at him, looking confused. "That was an option?"

"I told you," Thruul muttered, showing Vikka what was out the window. The baby slapped his small claws on the glass, making tinkling noises. "But nooo, you had to disassemble it and shove it in a suitcase."

Vok'Rul harrumphed, but there was a smile on his face, like annoying Thruul was something to be proud of. Viktor rolled his eyes. Probably was, the sucker. "Will you ever forgive me, my dear?"

"Ugh, save your flirting for when I'm out of the room. You're gonna make me sick," Viktor fake gagged.

It was Vok'Rul's turn to roll his eyes. "As if, Kohgrash. Don't think I do not see you smiling."

"Really? Could've fooled me with how lost in Thruul's eyes you get." Vok'Rul spluttered in indignation.

"Come here, you little hellion," he mock-growled, lunging over the half-assembled bassinet at Viktor. The human jumped over the Vokkrus and onto the bed, rolling off it and landing on his feet on the other side. Wow, he should be in the Olympics or something.

Vok'Rul pivoted on his heel quickly, and Viktor felt the faint brush of claws against his shirt. His laughter pitched up into a half-fearful, half-gleeful shriek as he made his hasty escape out of the room. He didn't stall in sprinting across the living room and ducking into Rukka and Kac's room, which was a mirrored version of theirs.

"Hide me," he hissed, ducking behind the bed farthest to the wall. There was a bemused, "What?" from Kac as Nohkka joined him.

"Hello," Vok'Rul said from the doorway, slightly out of breath. "You wouldn't have happened to see someone named Kohgrash, would you?"

"Doesn't ring a bell," Rukka replied dryly, rummaging around her suitcase. Viktor held up a finger to his mouth, shushing Nohkka, who looked like she was about to burst into laughter.

"How strange," Vok'Rul hummed. There was some shuffling. Viktor pressed himself closer to the bed. "I did not know you had a second furry child, Rukka." He ducked down farther.

"He is adopted," Rukka returned easily.

"Rulshkka, stop tormenting Kohgrash!" Thruul yelled from across the room. "Get back in here and unpack all of your clothes!"

Viktor chuckled meanly. "You heard the man!"

"This is not over," Vok'Rul swore playfully before he exited the room.

"Thanks for covering my ass," he told the dictator's sister. "Want some help unpacking?"

"I am not as materialistic as my brother," Rukka huffed.

"What she means is," Kac said, elbowing her mate, "is that we'd be glad for your help, Kohgrash."

Vok'Rul got his revenge later that night when he purposefully stole some of the delicious room service they had ordered after unpacking, ignoring all Viktor's attempts at getting them back. Sometimes, it was bad news to have a mountain of muscle as your friend, because his punches didn't do jack.

***

The next morning, Viktor was up before this planet's sun had risen. He carefully walked out into the living room, taking care not to wake up Vikka, who was sleeping peacefully in his crib, or Vok'Rul and Thruul, who were twined up so tightly he struggled to see which one was which.

Vok'Rul was right, he thought as he smiled.

He took a seat on the couches, slumping into them at least an inch or two. Cushy. He watched the sunrise.

Peace. Serenity. Tranquility. He needed this.

The outside view was breathtaking. There was a small stream that wound around Loodruy, ducking behind pillars of stone and feeding into waterfalls and ponds. Flowers, trees, bushes, shrubs, hedges, and everything plant-related Viktor could think of was littered across the grounds before it gave way to the wilderness that seemed to take over the entire planet of Kuy. Viktor only wished he could listen to the wind rustling the leaves and any birds or bugs that might be nearby.

He must have dozed off sitting on the couch, because he came to awareness when someone collapsed right next to him. He was barely awake when they tucked him into their side, wrapping an arm securely around his back. "Morning," Vok'Rul yawned.

Viktor harrumphed, relaxing into Vok'Rul's embrace. "What'cha doing up so early?" he slurred, struggling to find wakefulness.

"Looking for you," was the grumpy reply.

"Sorry," he said. "Woke up and stuff."

"So eloquent." Claws brushed through his hair in a repeated fashion. When Vok'Rul spoke again, Viktor decided that he was not going to get any more sleep and opened his eyes, "What do you want to do today?"

"Explore," he decided after a second. "This place looks sick as hell from the window. Probably looks even epicer outside."

"I think that is a good plan."

Breakfast was due to start in the lobby - a place they had zipped past in their quest to their room but had been no less regal when Viktor had glanced around - so they woke the others up with some grumbling and dodged swipes to the face. Everyone was so mean in the morning!

Once everyone had woken up some (it was really such a shame that Vokkrus couldn't ingest coffee, bar the fact that it was poisonous to a lot of species - it'd make everything so much easier), they were more than excited to branch out and explore the resort beyond their rooms.

"I wanna see the pool," Nohkka begged her parents. "And the amusement park!"

"Fine," Kac relented, "But afterward, we are going to go walk around outside, deal?"

"Deal!"

"Where would you like to go after we eat?" Vok'Rul questioned both Viktor and Thruul as he attempted to get the squalling hatchling in the sling. "Shh, Vi'mrakka, we are going to eat soon, I promise."

Vikka's cries were ear-piercing and it was only when Vok'Rul offered him a claw (that he immediately started chewing on) that he quieted down. "I'm good with anywhere. I wanna see outside, though." And the casino, he added mentally, but maybe that was a place to go after Vikka had gone to sleep.

"I would enjoy checking out what trails they have offered," Thruul said.

Vok'Rul nodded, looking a bit less stressed out now that they had a plan. "Eat. Outside. Trails. I'd like to see more of the interior myself."

"Sounds like a plan!" Viktor said. "Let's go, I'm starving."

The complimentary breakfast was a free-for-all buffet, and there were probably hundreds of species milling about and trying to get their fill. The seven of them stared at the lobby with varying amounts of trepidation. Viktor felt Vok'Rul's heart rate spike and said, "So... Should we go to a restaurant instead?"

"Yes," Vok'Rul said, relieved. "I think that is a much better plan."

There were a few restaurants open, and they finally found one with Vokkrus-friendly food several doors away from the slowly-filling casino. Viktor stole some glances at it. He really wanted to go in!

"Yum," he praised the food - there were only a few familiar Earthly options on the menu (a hotdog, burger, and fries) but none of which were suited for breakfast, so he had gotten the same as Vok'Rul. A kebab with what tasted like pork, Xrshak (which also tasted like pork, but just a little different), and something kinda spicy. "Not as good as Thruul's, though."

Thruul smiled at him. "Such high praise from the mighty Lord Kohgrash." Viktor rolled his eyes.

Nohkka ate like a machine and soon she was begging her parents to hurry up and go outside so she could get to the pool quicker. Rukka and Kac bid them farewell after checking if everyone had their keys to get back in the room (Viktor highly suspected they were disappointed that Thruul was the responsible one in this quartet of theirs if only to afford them the opportunity to lock them out for their own amusement).

They finished their meal at a sedated pace, content in each other's company. When they finally made their way outside, Viktor was impressed with the weather. It felt perfect! He wondered if they ever got rainstorms here - that was the one thing he sorely missed at A1-308.

They walked around the grounds, taking in the sights with an air of ease. By the time they had wrapped around the building - and it was massive; it took them a few hours to meander around it leisurely - Viktor felt well and truly relaxed. Even if his feet kinda hurt from the terrain.

They managed to see several of the trails on their walk, and Viktor desperately wondered about the wildlife on this planet. The Kuy pamphlet he had wrangled a copy of from Porrafka had focused more on their technological advances and economy rather than anything biological which was a shame if not as equally as interesting. He'd heard countless birds and bugs chirping and buzzing, along with an odd hooting noise far off in the distance.

"You think we'll be able to see some animals on that survival trip?" he asked idly, hopping onto a stone wall and walking along it before he was forced off as it curved away from the trio.

"It is very likely," Vok'Rul said dryly. "It is a survival trip, after all."

"I am rather excited about that," Thruul chimed in. "It will be nice to see how this planet handles its wilderness!"

Viktor grinned. "I wanna learn how to make a fire."

Vok'Rul scoffed, "Kohgrash, they certainly won't have fires. The Montet's mortal weakness is fire."

He frowned. That made a lot of sense, actually. "Shoot."

"You can make fires at home," Vok'Rul said placatingly.

"No, he cannot!" Thruul interrupted loudly. Viktor grinned.

They decided to find Rukka, Kac, and Nohkka and figured the best place to search was the pool. Viktor was pretty interested to see what it held - were water slides a thing on alien planets? - and eagerly led the way. They only got lost a few times before Vok'Rul pulled up a map on his phone. They were on the opposite side of the resort from the pool.

"Well, jeez, it's not my fault," Viktor mumbled. Vok'Rul snorted.

"No, it's just your complete lack of directional sense. Nothing you can do about it. Just like your stupidity."

"Hey! What gives?!"

The pool room was massive but the lack of chlorine smell made him feel a bit out of place. What do you mean there were places where the air didn't make your eyes water? It baffled him.

The room looked like it was carved out of rock by a raging river, smooth and sharp edges all in place - although the sharper edges were much higher than anyone could reach, so he supposed that had been a decor choice - and held what had to be the biggest pool of water Viktor's ever seen.

It was loud with children of all species shrieking and generally having a great time. The roar of rushing water filled his ears, and he saw Thruul slip his hand into Vok'Rul's out of the corner of his eye. Viktor took his other hand, too, just in case. His claws squeezed his hand.

To his delight, there were water slides, and they looked fucking awesome. He praised himself for remembering to bring his swimming shorts (even if his dad had made fun of him for packing them to A1-308, considering the planet was almost bare of water) because he was going to slide the fuck out of those slides.

They found Nohkka rather quickly - red stood out rather well against the water - and made their way over to her parents. Viktor carefully walked along the poolside, but whenever someone splashed, the water never seemed to stick. It was perpetually dry. Still, he's scraped his toes one too many times against a pool, so he remained leery.

"Swimming," Vok'Rul said disdainfully, likely remembering the one time Viktor had pulled him into a YMCA to show him the pool. It had resulted in the alien clutching his nose in disbelief and a hasty retreat.

"Hi, Uncles!" Nohkka cheered, waving from the pool. "And Kohgrash!"

"Why am I 'and Kohgrash'?" he complained, flopping onto a chair next to Rukka. Vok'Rul picked him up easily, stealing his spot and holding him tightly. To stop his revenge, he thought mulishly as he tried and failed to get his arms loose so he could smack him.

They enjoyed chatting by the poolside until dinner. No matter how hard he tried, Viktor couldn't convince anyone to join him and Nohkka in the pool when he escaped Vok'Rul's clutches. He couldn't even convince Vok'Rul and Thruul to let Vikka splash around in the super shallow kiddie area.

"No," Vok'Rul said, horrified, like Viktor had asked to throw Vikka off a cliff than sit him in one-inch deep water.

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?" he begged. "Look, Vikka wants to go in so bad." The baby was sitting mildly on Vok'Rul's lap, looking like he wanted nothing to do with Viktor or Vok'Rul, but he'd take it.

"No, Kohgrash! What if he falls down? And drowns?!" he nearly shrieked. Viktor quickly held up his hands in surrender.

Still, he protested, "But I'd literally be right there!" His voice teetered onto a whine, but when Thruul shook his head next to him, he gave up with a sigh. "Fine." He'd have the rest of the vacation to work him over.

He attempted to teach Nohkka all of the games he had played in the pool when he was younger, but she didn't quite understand them.

"But what's a mermaid?" she asked while they crouched in the shallow end of the pool to avoid the cool air.

"I told you," he said patiently. "It's just a half-human, half-fish."

"But then I couldn't be a mermaid. I'm a Vokkrus," she reasoned.

"Nohkka," he groaned. "They're fake. You can be a mermaid if you want."

"But... I'm not half a fish. What's a fish?"

They moved on from mermaids after that.

Unsurprisingly, Nohkka tired before he did, having swum for a while before he showed up. Viktor left the confines of the pool as well, noting that several different species had opted to exit and dry off. It was nearing the time most species had their evening meal.

They hadn't brought a towel for Viktor, but there were a few offered by the hotel itself, and he hurriedly wrapped himself up in one. Still, he shivered endlessly.

"Why are you shaking so much?" Vok'Rul asked fretfully. This wasn't going to improve his chances of getting Vikka in the water. He tried to stay still.

He swore a gust of wind buffeted him just as he managed to get his tremors under control. He shuddered.

"He has no hair to keep him warm, my lord," Thruul said.

"That is why he has clothes. Why don't you put your clothes back on?"

Viktor wrinkled his nose at the thought of putting his clothes on over his wet swim trunks and getting even more drenched. "No thanks, I like being comfortable."

"This cannot be comfortable!" Vok'Rul protested.

They came to the reasonable compromise of Vok'Rul forcefully sweeping Viktor off his feet and trying to warm him with hugs while they walked back to their rooms. Viktor couldn't put up much of a fight, since the alien was warm, and he felt much better in his embrace. Plus, he was tired from walking around the entire resort and swimming for hours.

"-put him down," someone whispered. "We'll bring him back something later."

"But he is so cute, right now. I don't want to let him go," someone else sighed. "And he wanted to go to that casino later tonight."

"To spend more of your money?" someone - Viktor groggily realized it was Thruul - laughed quietly. Casino? Yes, Viktor wanted to see an alien casino! But his eyelids felt like they had weights on them.

His body made the decision for him. Vok'Rul set him down in his bed, carefully tucking the blankets around him, and Viktor only woke up enough to smile and demand they bring him back something fruity. Then, he was out like a light.

***

The days passed lazily. Viktor didn't get the chance to go to the alien casino until they'd been at the resort for about a week. He was completely fine with that, considering he spent his days running after his family and generally having a great time. Gambling wasn't big on his to-do list (or at least, it certainly wasn't above spending time with those he loved).

They went to the amusement park one day, though Viktor thought amusement park was a bit of a misnomer. There were a few rides, sure, but it was mostly a glorified arcade. And what an arcade it was.

By the third hour they had spent in there, Vikka was overstimulated and both Vok'Rul and Thruul were itching to go somewhere quieter. With promises to her parents that they'd stick together, Nohkka and Viktor were left to their own devices. They shared a grin, all teeth, when their parents (and Viktor meant that in every sense of the word, Vok'Rul was a mother hen somedays) left.

"How much do we got?" Nohkka asked, prying open Viktor's hand that was filled with credits (Montet-friendly, of course).

"'Bouta hundred," he replied, digging his fingers into the pile of small coins and forking half of it over to Nohkka. "Meet back here in an hour for an update? Remember the call?"

"A sharp whistle," Nohkka confirmed, swiping the credits. "An hour. Later, Kohgrash! I'm gonna get way more credits than you, Flhyk-fur-in-brains."

Viktor grinned. Hearing Nohkka swear was just as funny as hearing the literal translation of the word.

They dispersed the moment they deemed it unlikely that the other Vokkrus were coming back, and Viktor got right to. He immediately veered to the game he had been torn from when Vok'Rul had wanted to leave - some cross between a shoot-em-up game and a water balloon popper. To play it, all you needed to do was fill up your own balls with water while simultaneously shooting your opponent's. It was tricky, and there was one particular being (who Viktor didn't know the species of, but they were long-limbed and reminded him of a cross between a snake and a baboon) who Viktor declared his mortal enemy.

"You are tough opponent," they clicked with humility after beating Viktor's ass for the fourth time in a row, words choppy like they were speaking a language not their own. "Thank you for play."

"Thank you!" Viktor said, extending his hand. Curious, the being grasped his in their own, and Viktor obligingly shook, grinning with his mouth closed. "I'm Viktor, a human."

"New species. Am Xxnnn-" his translator made a creaky noise over their words, "-nn. A Trikun. Nice to meet you."

Cool. Aliens were epic. He could still hardly believe he was meeting all sorts of them, after all this time! Viktor bid them farewell and went hunting for another game, hopefully, one that he could win.

Several games later, and with an armful of tickets in his smug possession, he met with Nohkka at their designated rendezvous spot. A very loud, very bright flashing machine. His jaw dropped when he saw the mountain of tickets she was carrying.

"How?!" he complained. He could barely see Nohkka's shit-eating grin over the massive bundle of tickets.

"I found a game," she said excitedly. "And it is so easy!"

The game in question was a strength-tester that had a bit of a twist. Apparently, if you hit too many high ones in a row, the game forces you to hit with a moderate or light hit to make sure you weren't cheating. It reminded Viktor of the boxing contraptions he saw in bars. Regardless, Nohkka had been getting a workout and a pile of tickets, because the longer she worked the machine, the higher the multiplier went up. It was meant for biologically weaker species like the Montet and Zoue, not the muscled beasts that were Vokkrus. Even hatchlings.

"No fair," he whined. He couldn't rack up the points Nohkka had on that machine!

"Maybe you shoulda found something suited to mammals," she retorted. Viktor rolled his eyes at the name.

"I bet if we combine our tickets, we can get an epic prize," he wheedled and to his surprise, she eagerly agreed. They got what had to be the most annoying and entertaining toy in the entire Universe.

"Please, please, turn it off!" Vok'Rul begged, hands over his son's ears. Nohkka and Viktor were sprawled out on the living room floor, playing the game with intensity. It was a board game that reacted to voice commands. Every time a piece moved (via spoken word) it made an ear-splitting sound of confetti and celebration. Viktor loved it, and so did Nohkka. The others, not so much. Well, Vikka seemed to enjoy it. He laughed every time the sad noise rang (which only happened when their pieces were passed by each other).

"We worked hard for this!" Viktor protested. Nohkka nodded her agreement.

"Let us finish this round, pretty pleeeasee?" Nohkka laid it on thick, Viktor thought, but by God, it worked. Kac crumpled in the face of her daughter's pleas and fought for them.

"Oh, let it be. Our day was mostly peaceful anyway; we were bound to have some sort of chaos in the end." Well, it wasn't exactly what Viktor had in mind, but he'd take it. Rukka caved, and Vok'Rul followed soon after. Nohkka and Viktor shared a look, and they made sure they were as loud as possible before calling it for a night.

He slept well that night, even if his dreams were filled with the echoing sounds of the arcade.

When his first opportunity to go into the casino arose, Viktor took it with both hands. It had been about a week and a half - they had gone on trails and watched movies together in the meantime, spending their days with fun-filled relaxation, and Viktor was already dreading the time to go home - and he was practically burning with curiosity to know what was inside.

They had eaten at a diner one night when the table next to them had started to loudly speak of the casino's machines and other games it offered.

"-get you next time," the Montet said to their Arnoxi companion. "You just got lucky."

"You say that and you still lose to me every time we play jerek!"

"You cheat!" the Montet insisted, slamming their viney hand on the table. "There is no way that you can predict what I will pull!"

The Arnoxi bubbled with laughter.

"What's jerek?" Viktor asked Vok'Rul, who was attempting to shovel food into Vikka's mouth. The hatchling was more entertained with grabbing the food out of his mouth and smearing it all over his father's shirt.

"Uhh," Vok'Rul said before focusing all of his attention on Vikka and not answering Viktor's question. The human rolled his eyes and poked Thruul in the side.

"Ouch! Kohgrash, what gives?" he asked, rubbing his side. Vokkrus were so dramatic. He did not poke that hard.

"What's jerek?" he asked again. Thruul squinted.

"A card game. Created by the Arnoxi, I think. It's pretty new." Which could mean that it was hundreds of years old, since, as far as he knew, Thruul was about the same age as Vok'Rul. Who was literally 400 years old!

"How do you play?" he asked between bites of his food.

Thruul explained the game. If Viktor understood it right, it was a mixture between memory and blackjack. Cards - and Viktor took that description lightly; he had no clue if they were cards - were placed face-down on the table and shuffled. In order to win, one had to make a match with the cards and get a higher number than their opponents. They automatically lost if their total exceeded twenty-five. The trick was that, once you upturned a card, you had to find its match before being able to pick another card. If your opponent was lucky, they'd get matches faster than you. All in all, it sounded pretty interesting, if a bit confusing.

Though, he was sure that that was because Thruul kept getting distracted by the conversation around the table and trailing off mid-explanation. Viktor was sure he'd be able to pick up the game if he saw it in action.

"Alright," Vok'Rul said at the entrance of the casino. Just as Viktor expected, it was smoky, crowded, and loud. Vok'Rul wasn't going to come in with him, but he'd linger outside despite Viktor's reassurances that he'd be fine. "I'm only giving you a hundred. Gambling is no joke for your species! I've read all about addiction!"

"Oh, my God, relax," Viktor complained. "I'm not addicted to gambling."

"Not yet!" Vok'Rul said. Viktor grinned at him, feeling fond.

"You're so silly," he replied, snatching the credits out of his hand and quickly stuffing it in his pocket. Walking around with money visible was like asking to get robbed!

He entered a little self-consciously, but after taking a liquid shot of courage courtesy of the casino's bar, he loosened up enough to approach a game of jerek. And well, it just spiraled out of control from there.

The lights and sounds dimmed with each drink he knocked back, and the more courage he roused up made it easier than ever to make friends. It seemed like no one in the casino had ever seen a human before, so he amused both himself and his slowly-growing fan club with all sorts of tricks in between games. Burping his ABCs was a huge hit.

"What'dya mean you don't have karaoke?" he slurred to the bartender, who looked rather tired. He should go on a break.

"Respectable being," the address made him giggle, especially since most beings didn't have the binary gender roles that humans had - it was easier to go with respectable if one wanted to be polite. "Most species do not... sing-a-long."

"Lame," he moped, dropping his head onto the bar. He had won an extra fifty credits while in here, but as he got more plastered, the more mistakes he made. He was sitting with a shiny twenty in his pocket right now, and that was for drinks only! And maybe whatever that Zoue was smoking over there.

He wandered away from the bar, intending on heading over to the Zoue to find out what it was when he got distracted by a very pretty slot machine. Or, he assumed it was a slot machine. It wouldn't take his money! But the level went down, so he spent a while pulling that.

"What, for Spirit's sake, are you doing?" a voice behind him demanded. A hand grabbed his shoulder, and he whirled around, fists raised up sloppily. The ringmaster would be appalled with his form.

Too bad, he thought, the Spirits chewed him up and spit him out. He remembered seeing him recently, though... but with stars for eyes. Weird. Maybe he was drunk.

"For pity's sake," the voice murmured right in his ear. He startled. This guy was holding him! When did that happen? "You're wasted."

"Off me," he said, pulling his head up from the familiar shoulder and peering at the red figure. "Oh, hey." Vok'Rul! His favorite!

"Thank you," Vok'Rul said sweetly. "You are never going back to this place."

"Excuse me, Vokkrus. Human, do you know this guy? Vokkrus, please let him go," one of the staff, Viktor groggily realized, put a hand on Vok'Rul's chest to stop him.

"Get your hands off him," Viktor growled with clarity, eyes flinty.

"He is one of mine, I assure you," Vok'Rul said. His arms tightened around him, and Viktor hugged his neck tighter in return. "My species sponsor them, as you should know."

The staff member ignored him and asked Viktor again if he knew Vok'Rul. "He's my best friend," he said with as much offense as he could muster, but it probably just sounded fond. "Stop touching him or I kill you. I'm poison, you know."

Vok'Rul sighed, "I am so sorry. He is not normally so..."

But the staff harrumphed in what Viktor knew was their - the Clorklaxts - way of laughter. "So drunk? Do not worry, it is not the first time someone has threatened me. It is usually when I am kicking them out, though. Carry on. I can tell he's with you."

"Thanks," Vok'Rul said, hurrying out of the dark casino and into the bright-lit hallways of the hotel.

"Eww," he whined, pushing his face into Vok'Rul's shoulder. "Turn the fuckin' lights off."

"Actually, I think I am going to keep them on," Vok'Rul said. What a dick. "Tell me how you really feel, Kohgrash." Oops. Must've said that out loud.

The night was fun. The morning after... not so much. At least the tile in the bathroom was cold, relieving pressure for Viktor's poor headache.

"Come on," Vok'Rul said through the door. "I have your headache medications."

Viktor wrinkled his nose. He made it sound so weird. "It's called aspirin, man."

"Azzprin," Vok'Rul butchered it.

"Ibuprofen," he said, grinning.

"Ayybruprofin," Vok'Rul repeated. "Listen, you were not the most eloquent learning my language, either. Come out here and take these little pills."

"Painkillers are for the weak," he grumbled, practically crawling out of the bathroom and snatching the pills from Vok'Rul's outstretched hand. He took the glass of water the alien offered, too, just to be polite. Vok'Rul politely left him alone and didn't even smirk when Viktor returned to their bedroom with an empty glass.

"Kohgrash?" Thruul called from the living room. "Come out here, please."

Viktor shared a confused look with Vok'Rul but obeyed nonetheless. The door to the rest of the resort was wide open, and a buzzing Be'turian fluttered outside it. He'd never seen them before in his life. Thruul was chatting with them.

"Hello?" he said with confusion. "Thruul, what did you need?"

Thruul's face was suspiciously blank. "This is Ezzre." He said nothing else.

"Oh, um, nice to meet you, Ezzre," he said politely.

The Be'turian suddenly buzzed with anger. "Nice to meet me?! Is that what you say to someone you've proposed to in your culture?!"

Viktor's heart stopped. "Proposed to?!" he nearly yelled. "When- What! I didn't propose!"

"Then all that talk last night, along with your promises of devotion... were for nothing?" their buzzing grew high-pitched the more angrier they got.

Viktor looked to Thruul and Vok'Rul helplessly. Thruul was still blankly looking at him, and Vok'Rul looked just as confused as he was. "I am so sorry... um, what was your name?"

"Oh!" Ezzre's buzzing grew to a crescendo. "That is it! I do not want to be with someone like you! I knew it was too good to be true!" They stormed off without another word, and Viktor was left gaping at the empty hallway. Hurriedly, he slammed the door shut.

"Oh, my God," Viktor whispered. "That did not just happen."

Thruul broke into peals of laughter while Vok'Rul demanded an explanation. Viktor hurriedly tried to explain that, although last night was foggy, he would've remembered if he had proposed to a Be'turian!

Thruul's claws clasped his shoulder when he finally got himself under control. He was way too mirthful for a situation like this! It was only when the alien had enough air in his lungs, that Viktor realized he had been part of a dirty, dirty trick.

"Oh, Kohgrash, I cannot believe you fell for that. The look on your face," Thruul sighed contentedly.

"It was a joke?!" he screeched, launching himself at Thruul. The bulkier alien easily kept him at arm's length while Viktor smacked his arms. "Oh, you better watch your fuckin' back, Thruul! I was mortified!!"

Vok'Rul joined in on the laughter, then, saying, "You should watch what you drink, then!"

"This is not the topic of conversation!" Viktor said sourly.

He got ribbed for the rest of the morning, only managing to wrangle from Thruul a weak apology and that the Be'turian had been in on it - Vok'Rul had complained last night that Viktor worried him with the amount of alcohol he had consumed and Thruul had decided to do something about it.

Once Rukka and Kac had been dragged out by all the commotion, they, too, started teasing Viktor about it.

"This family sucks," he muttered, face warm. He felt utterly embarrassed. But he could see the humor in it. Sorta. "I didn't mean to worry you, Vok'Rul."

Vok'Rul ruffled his hair, "I did not mean for Thruul to take my complaints so literally."

"Yes, this is all his fault," he mumbled mutinously. He didn't dare speak up, though. They ate out most days, but the alien still somehow managed to get ingredients to make the most delicious of desserts, and Viktor would be damned if he let the opportunity to indulge pass by.

As the day progressed, and his hangover got worse with each step, Viktor vowed to never drink again. Somehow, they managed to pass by Ezzre not once, not twice, but three entire times, and each time, Viktor had to hastily hide behind a potted plant, an amused Vok'Rul, and even a giggling Nohkka, respectively.

"When's our camping trip?" Viktor groused in the safety of their hotel room. It was nearing nighttime, and he couldn't wait to go to sleep to get this headache to go away. His eyes burned with fatigue and nursing a cup of cold water did nothing to help how miserable he felt. "I gotta get away."

"We are already away," Kac pointed out, lounging across from him on the couch. They had fought for foot space on the table, but since Kac was an alien twice his size, she had won unfairly. He miserably let his feet hang off the couch. "Or is it that you want to hide from your fiancee?"

"Please, Kac, I thought we were friends," he begged, grabbing a pillow and shoving it on his face to hide from the cold, cruel world he found himself in.

Something heavy dropped on him, and the knee into his gut told him it was Vikka, trying to find where he had gone. Viktor peeked over the pillow, "Where's Viktor?" Vikka giggled upon seeing him.

"Ahrarara," he garbled, grabbing the pillow with his claws and tugging it toward him. Viktor let him have it. "Ahrrrrmm."

"Interesting," Viktor replied, sliding Vikka into the crook of his arm so that the baby didn't have to hold up his head by himself for too long. Though. he was really getting the hang of it now. "You are such a smarty-pants, huh?"

Vikka, in a show of affection, slumped against Viktor's side, thumping his head rather painfully against his chest. Viktor tried not to let it show that he was pained if only to avoid amusing Vikka and entice him to do it again. "So smart," he wheezed. Why did babies have such hard heads?

"The trip is in..." Vok'Rul said from the makeshift kitchen (it was really just a microwave, a bigger fridge than what was in the rooms, and one sink), disentangling himself from Thruul. Viktor blinked up at Rukka, who must have stolen Vikka from the parents' grasp and dropped him onto his lap. Rukka sat beside Kac, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Nohkka watched TV.

Vok'Rul shuffled through the multitude of papers and pamphlets he had gathered, both before and during their trip to Loodruy. "Let's see," he hummed, flipping through them.

Rukka nudged Viktor's leg with her foot. "In a week and a half," she whispered. "It'll wrap up just before we head back."

"Cool," he whispered back. Their conversation shifted to what interesting things they had done so far and what they still wanted to do. Viktor wanted to go back to the arcade and try some of the rides out, but Nohkka insisted they were for hatchlings. "Well, maybe I am a hatchling. I wanna go on the rides."

Nohkka crossed her arms. "You are super-mega-ultra lame."

Viktor grasped at his chest in offense. "Ouch!"

Kac wanted to try swimming and pushed for Rukka to do the same. Rukka looked incredibly apprehensive. "You have gone on the water rides in the SS System, have you not? This is no different!"

"It is very different, dear," Rukka sighed. "On those rides, I am not submerged up to my entire neck!"

"You can stay in the shallow end," Viktor reasoned, excited to go back to the pool and try out the waterslides. He convinced Nohkka to go on them with him, promising to ride with her for the first time. He told her that she wouldn't need him the next go around, but she didn't seem too convinced. "Or try the hot tub!"

"What is that?" Rukka asked.

"A week and a half!!" Vok'Rul shouted triumphantly, slamming a piece of paper down on the counter. It made everyone in the living room jump in surprise. Thruul just shook his head fondly.

"You're late to the party," Viktor said dryly.

Vok'Rul tilted his head. "What party?"