CHAPTER 6

Things weren’t going so well with Niko and Pakos. For all he’d said that their outing would bring them closer together, the Latian wolf had barely spoken to Niko all day, and when he had, he’d been short with him, and constantly disparaged every choice the mouse made.

After the museums, they’d gone back to the old district, but whether it was the time they’d gone or just Niko’s poor mood, it wasn’t quite as spectacular as before. They’d walked around for perhaps thirty minutes before Niko sighed and suggested they just go back to Pakos’ place.

“And do what?” Pakos had asked.

“I dunno. Just hang out? We can watch something, or play Demon Hunters or something. I dunno, man. I’m just not having a great time out here.”

“Like you even tried,” Pakos muttered as he turned to take Niko home. Niko didn’t have anything to say to that, and instead tried to distract himself with his phone. “What, you’re just gonna ignore me now?”

“What?” He looked up. “No, sorry, I wasn’t trying to ignore you. Did you want to talk about something?”

“Nevermind.”

“Are you sure?”

“Forget it! I said nevermind!” Pakos snapped.

Back at Pakos’ apartment, he flopped onto the couch and flipped on his TV, turning on some fantasy show about knights slaying dragons. Kelsen might have liked it, but Niko, with his predilection for science fiction, wasn’t particularly interested, especially when he’d prefer something about befriending the dragons instead. He didn’t say anything, though. It was Pakos’ house, after all, and he could watch whatever he wanted.

When it was over, Pakos stood and stretched, and headed for his bedroom. Inside, he started to reach into his pocket for Niko.

“Pakos!”

Pakos rolled his eyes. “God! May I pick you up? Fucking drama queen.”

“Yes. And you don’t have to be a dick about it.”

Pakos scoffed as he picked Niko up and set him on the floor, then took off his jacket and threw his keys and phone on the nightstand. “Whatever. Look, we gave it more time and hung out one on one, like you wanted. Can we get on with this or what?”

“On with...Pakos, I wanted to spend time together to get to know each other better. But all we did was bicker all day. No, we’re not doing anything like that.”

“So now it’s my fault? I did what you wanted! It’s about time you did what I wanted. You owe me!”

Niko was taken aback. “The fuck? That is not how that works! Are you even listening to yourself? You sound like a total psycho!”

“Don’t you fucking call me that! I’ve been nothing but nice since you got here! I took you places, I paid for you, I let you into my home, and I want one thing!”

“For fuck’s sake, you’re acting like a lunatic! I’m starting to see why your other ‘friend’ left!”

“SHUT UP!” Without warning, Pakos stepped forward and kicked Niko, who went flying into the wall, bounced off, and hit the ground, aching and stunned. Pakos’ eyes went wide, and his voice shook slightly. “I...look what you fucking made me do! Fuck, fuck...get up!” He leaned forward and down, trying to get a better look at Niko, who raised his head just a bit, still dazed. “You’re fine, you’re all right! Stop faking!”

Niko tried to get up, but groaned and rolled over, holding his ribs. “I...don’t...dizzy. Hurts.”

Pakos reached down and picked him up, ignoring his cry of pain. “Hey, you’re fine. Just...lie down. You’re not really hurt.” He set Niko on his extra pillow.

Niko couldn’t concentrate enough to even be frightened or angry; the room spun around him, and soon he closed his eyes, asleep or perhaps simply unconscious.

...

Ralia held Kelsen for a long time, and when she finally lifted him away from her face, it seemed that a barrier had been broken. He was no longer terrified of her touch. They moved to the couch and put on a movie they’d each seen multiple times before, less to pay attention to than to have something familiar and comforting on in the background while they enjoyed each other’s company. She sat on the couch, and rather than sit next to her or in her pocket, Kelsen sat in her lap, leaning comfortably back into her stomach.

“I texted my parents this morning.”

“Oh?”

“It...wasn’t good. I was really upset and couldn’t really get my thoughts together. I think I just made them worry.”

She hummed. “Well, I won’t try and tell you what to do, but you could call them now and tell them you’re doing better. You are doing better?”

“I...I am. I’m still worried and anxious and I don’t know how everything’s going to work out...but now I’m thinking, maybe there’s a chance it will, instead of being sure it won’t.”

“Well, that’s a start.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Um...I don’t think I’m...ready to call them. But I’ll send them a message that I’m safe.”

She settled her paw next to him, and rubbed his shoulder with a finger. “Safe? What did you tell them before?”

“Er...that I wasn’t in Decegrad, and that I wasn’t with Niko. I didn’t say much more than that, though.”

Sighing, she shook her head. “Kel, I know you didn’t mean for it, but that’s just going to make them worry.”

“I know.” His phone buzzed, and he tapped at it. “I told them I’m okay and that I’ll call them tomorrow. Do you think...uh.”

“What?”

“Would it be okay with you if we call them together? I want to be honest with them.”

“Of course. Actually, I think it’ll be nice to meet your parents. How about we give them a video call?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

“And...” She paused, unsure how accepting he’d be of her idea. “Maybe, if it’s okay with you, we call my parents after. I know they want to meet you, and this way you can get to know them a little without having to see them in person.”

He thought for a little while, resting his arm on her finger. “All right. We can give it a try.”

“Great! Now come here. I want some more cuddles before bed.”

...

Niko spent a strange night moving in and out of consciousness. One moment, he was awake, looking up at Pakos’ face, full of frustration and a hint of worry. The next, he was dreaming about running down a long hall; at the other end, a faceless Latian chased Kelsen towards him, but no matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t get to his friend in time, and the Latian moved to stomp on Kelsen. Then he was in the dark, and Pakos was next to him on the bed, asleep. He tried to move, and found he could, though his chest was stiff and hurt if he twisted too much. He lay back down, and was almost instantly dreaming again, this time of his parents. “I told you, those Latians are no good,” his father said gravely. “We’re just not meant to mix. You need to come home so we can set you straight. No Latians, no fangs, and none of your queer attention-seeking nonsense!” He tried to argue back, but couldn’t speak, and then the dream was gone, and he was sleeping so deeply that he did not dream, or at least could not remember any more dreams the next morning.

...

After being smothered by Ralia, Kelsen had retired to the small Moccan house, and she to the couch, but he couldn’t sleep. Thoughts and emotions swirled through his head. On one hand, nothing had really changed. He was still a dependent loser. Still had few if any prospects. Still that same person he was used to hating.

But something was different now. Part of it was Ralia’s pep talk; he doubted even she had any idea the impact it had had on him. She’d said many of the things Niko would, and a few things he wouldn’t, or couldn’t. And she clearly cared about him, cared deeply. Maybe, if she loved him that much, there was something in him worth loving. And if there was something in him worth loving...maybe he could be more. He was trying, wasn’t he? He did come to Latia. He did have that data entry job. His grades weren’t great, but he was doing his best, and he was definitely learning.

As for his relationships...well, he was definitely still a vampire, leeching off the positive emotions of Niko and Ralia and his parents in order to have some semblance of positivity himself. But maybe he could work on that? Work on being more supportive, on being less needy? It wouldn’t be easy, but maybe he could try. With Niko and Ralia behind him...maybe he could make some progress.

He knew that Ralia’s love and support wasn’t a cure-all, and it certainly didn’t change the ‘facts’ in his life. But it made him feel like they could be changed, with great effort. And feeling like change was difficult but possible was a huge improvement over being sure that nothing would ever change.

He nodded resolutely to himself. He would try. He would try to be better, every day. And even if it was hard, and even if some days it felt like he made no progress at all...he had Niko and Ralia to rely on. Having made up his mind about that, he decided on something else, too, and got out of bed, grabbing his pillow.

It was dark, but he was able to navigate out and over to the couch, where he looked up. Ralia lay there with her eyes closed, both arms under the blanket she’d covered herself with, though she wasn’t snoring, so she was probably awake. Still, he whispered, just in case. “Ralia? Ralia?”

She didn’t stir, and only then did he realize he’d already taken off his voice equipment. He could go back and get it...but sleeping in it was incredibly uncomfortable, and he could text her if need be anyway. He raised his voice. “Ralia!”

This time, she opened her eyes, and looked around, bleary and confused, before noticing him. He waved, and motioned for her to pick him up. When she brought him up to the couch, she looked at him quizzically and said something in her native language, which he of course could not understand, though from her body language he surmised she was asking him what the matter was. It was a bit loud, but not quite deafening, and he motioned to his ears and mouth to show he was unplugged at the moment, at which she nodded and looked somewhat chagrined—though he couldn’t hold it against her, as she’d clearly not realized.

Shyly, he held up his pillow, and pointed at it and then at her. She stared at him blankly for a moment, and then smiled, more widely than he’d seen her since arriving on Latia. She wasted no time in cuddling him to her throat, positioning him just so he’d be covered by the blanket—and a fair amount of her fur—but have his head free.

This time, he fell asleep almost instantly.

...

“Hey. Hey. Wake up.”

Niko’s eyes fluttered open to see Pakos’ agitated face. “Hey. You’re okay. You’re okay?...”

He sat up, and did his best to stretch. “I’m...mostly just stiff. A little sore if I move too fast,” he said carefully.

“Thank god. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Pakos backed off a little bit. “You just made me so angry...” He ran a paw over his ears. “I’m not like that, really. I wouldn’t hurt you. I just got a little crazy. You shouldn’t have said that he...look, you just made me mad. But I’m not mad now. We’re fine.” He looked down. “We’re fine, right?”

Niko looked back at him. He seemed genuinely worried, and maybe even a little sorry. But he also looked frustrated, bordering on angry. And if last night had been him getting angry...Niko didn’t want to see that side of him again. “I, yeah, we’re fine,” he forced himself to say.

“Good. Good.” Pakos stood up abruptly. “Listen, I have to go somewhere. For work. Just for a while. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“...All right?”

“Yeah. You can just...you’ll be fine here. Just relax on your phone or something. I’ll be back as soon as I can, and we’ll hang out, and get dinner later or something. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” With that, Pakos left. Niko lay back down, grimacing at how sore he was. It was mostly in his chest, though the rest of him was starting to feel it as well. Had last night really happened like he thought? Pakos seemed so contrite. Like it was an accident. But it hadn’t seemed like an accident. Though he had been a jerk, calling Pakos names. Maybe things wouldn’t have gotten out of hand if he hadn’t been so insulting.

He shook his head, and took out his phone. He was surprised to see more missed calls and some texts from Kelsen’s mom. Confused, he called her. She picked up on the first ring.

“Finally! Niko, where have you been?! No, don’t answer. Where is Kelsen? Where have you two gone? Are you with him?”

Oh. Oh shit. “Hey, Gloria...no, I’m not with Kelsen right now. He’s with Ralia. Don’t worry, he’s okay.”

“Who is Ralia? Where are you two? I know you’re not in Decegrad!”

“We’re...abroad.” Had Kelsen really never said anything about Ralia to his parents? Niko knew he’d not talked about her much, but not at all? “Ralia is a good friend we’re staying with.”

“Abroad where? And why aren’t you with him? Niko, you need to tell us what’s going on! He sent us some very concerning messages and won’t answer the phone! He finally said he’d call today, but who knows if he even will?”

“Just...I think he should be the one to tell you. I’m staying with another friend. Just for a bit. We’re planning on meeting back up tomorrow.” That was sort of a lie, but he decided he’d make sure it came true. “I’ll make sure he’s doing fine and that he calls you, okay? I promise.”

There was silence from the other end of the line. “Niko, we’re counting on you to get him home safe. You know he can’t be on his own.”

He sighed. “He’s not. He’s with Ralia. And I will. Promise. I’ll call him right now and make sure he’s all right and that he calls you after, okay?”

“Please do.”

“I will. Uh, bye.”

He dialed Kelsen immediately, and was relieved when the latter picked up. “Hello?”

“Hey, you good?”

“I’m...I’m doing okay. What about you?”

Niko massaged his ribs. “I’m fine. Look, your parents are freaking out. They said you sent them some ‘concerning messages’.”

“Oh.”

“‘Oh’? What’s going on, man?”

“I...I got upset. But I’m doing better now. I told them I am and that I’d call them today.”

“Maybe make it sooner than later. They’re pretty worried.”

“All right, I will.”

“Good. Cool.”

“...Are you really doing okay? With Pakos and stuff?”’

“I’m...yeah, I’m fine. I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow. We should meet up tomorrow, by the way. And I’ll probably be coming back to stay with Ralia.”

“Oh. Did he not...”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow, all right? I’ll text you tomorrow morning about meeting up.”

“Okay. Sorry.”

“No, you weren’t being...I didn’t mean to be short with you. But I do need to go. See you tomorrow.”

“See you.”

…

Ralia walked back over to the couch from the kitchen, shaking her paws dry. “What was that about?”

Allowing himself to be picked up, Kelsen shifted until he found an agreeable position on her lap. “Niko. He wanted to know if I was doing okay. He seemed a little frustrated, but said he’s all right. Wants to meet up tomorrow, and said he’ll be staying here for the rest of the time we’re on Latia.”

“Things not working out with Pakos, then?”

“I dunno. He didn’t like it when I asked.”

“Hmm.”

“Oh, and he said my parents are really worried, and I should call them soon.”

Ralia grinned. “Well, we’re not doing anything, and we said we would. Why not now?”

“Okay, yeah.” Despite his verbal agreement, Kelsen made no move to make the call until Ralia nudged him with her thumb. Sighing, he opened his contacts. “Fine, fine. Just know that this is going to suck.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“No. My parents are going to freak, and kill me when I get home. Then you for good measure.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine once they see you’re all right.”

“Doubt it.” His finger hovered over the phone before he finally forced himself to press the button. “Here goes.”

The second ring had barely started when his mother picked up. Her face was full of worry, and it seemed she hadn’t been sleeping well. “Kelsen! Finally, thank God! Are you all right? Where are you?”

“I’m okay, Mom. Sorry I made you worry.”

“Hold on. I’m going to bring your father in.”

It took only a few seconds for Kelsen’s father to join the call. From the looks of it, he was at work, on his computer, and not at home and on the phone like she was. His eyes were haggard as well. “Kelsen? Are you hurt? Where’s Niko? Where are you?”

“Hi, Dad. I’m okay, I promise. Niko is with a friend, but we’re going to meet back up tomorrow.”

“Where are you?” His mother made it clear that she wouldn’t ask again.

“I’m...with Ralia.”

“Where? And who is Ralia?”

“Um.” He glanced up. So far, he supposed Ralia’s shirt could be mistaken for the wall or some sort of furniture behind him, though what they thought his voice equipment was, he had no idea. At least it was high quality enough that they hadn’t even realized his voice was being translated twice at the moment—through his Micz from his own Moccan language into Ralia’s Latian language, and then from her Latian back into his Moccan through software on his phone, that being the same software he used to speak to Ralia. He had also had the presence of mind to translate their speech to her Latian, so she could hear it and understand it, and his Earplugz would allow him to follow along as well.

Technology was cool.

Ralia, meanwhile, was looking down at him somewhat sternly, and gestured for him to get on with it. Bracing himself, he turned his phone so that it showed his face, and Ralia’s in the background. She smiled and waved. “This is Ralia. I’m on Latia.”

His mother’s jaw dropped, and with a jerk, his father fell out of his chair and out of the picture with a muffled curse. He struggled back up, livid. “Whatever you’re doing, this is not funny! Turn whatever that is off and tell us where you are! You need to come home, right now!”

“What? You—Dad, this isn’t a joke. I’m not faking this...I’m not sure how I would even do that. I’m really on Latia, and this is really Ralia. My...girlfriend.” He blushed and looked away from the screen, where his mother continued to stare in shock, and his father sputtered meaningless words.

Ralia, on the other hand, was not embarrassed at all. “Hello! I’m getting the impression that Kelsen hasn’t told you much about me, but that’s okay. He’s staying with me during his time on Latia, and I assure you, he is safe and sound, and is doing very well here.”

Kelsen’s mother seemed to find her voice. “Whoever you are, you need to let him go, right now! I will not hesitate to call the authorities! I will come to Latia myself if I have to!”

“...Huh?”

Kelsen buried his head in his paws. “Mom, she’s not keeping me here! I came here to see her. That’s why I came to Latia.”

“Kelsen, you need to come home, right now. We can help you find a way back.”

“I have a way. The shuttle back is in a few days.”

She didn’t seem to be listening. “Oh, Kelsen. I can’t believe you would go so far away. Clearly, your father and I have not been involved enough in your life lately. I thought we could trust Niko, but if he’d let you go there, and leave you...”

“Mom, he didn’t just leave me. I’m with Ralia. And...it was originally my idea.”

“When you get back, you’re moving back home, do you hear me? You’re not ready to be out on your own. You just can’t handle it. I was afraid of something like this.”

“Mom…”

“To think, some Latian tricked you into leaving the planet!”

“Mom!”

“Ma’am, I did not ‘trick’ Kelsen into anything. He...”

“What kind of sick person deceives a child into visiting them? What did you have planned for him? I won’t let it happen!”

“MOM!” His mother finally seemed to take notice, and paused in her tirade. “Ralia didn’t trick or deceive or anything me into coming! I wanted to! If you insult her any more, I am going to hang up! Damn it, this is why I didn’t tell you! I knew you’d freak out!”

“Of course I’m upset! You went halfway across the galaxy without telling us!”

“Because I knew you’d try to stop me!”

“Because you shouldn’t have gone! It’s too dangerous! You’re not old enough!”

“I’m an adult. I can make my own choices!”

“Then obviously not mature enough, if this was your choice!”

“Oh, my god! This is why I moved out!”

“...What?”

Kelsen kicked himself mentally. “Nothing, nevermind.”

“No. What do you mean, this is why you moved out?”

“You’re always trying to control me! You treat me like a kid all the time! Every time I want to try something new, it’s too dangerous!”

“Going to Latia is extremely dangerous!”

Before Kelsen could respond, Ralia cut in, trying to calm things down. “I think we should all relax a little bit. Kelsen is not in any kind of danger here. And Kelsen, your parents are just worried about you. In this situation, I’d be worried too.”

Kelsen’s father glared. “You should stay out of this.”

She took a deep breath and let it out. “With all due respect, I will not. Kelsen and I are together, and he is staying with me while he’s here. I am a part of this situation, and will not pretend not to be or silence myself. That said, I don’t want for our relationship or our conversation to be contentious.” Her expression softened. “Can we please speak a little calmer?”

Both Kelsen’s parents regarded her gravely for a time. Finally, his mother cleared her throat. “You are well spoken, and correct that we have no choice but to involve you while Kelsen is there. Kelsen, we still have a lot to talk about, but tell me honestly: are you really okay?”

Kelsen opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. “Yeah, Mom, I’m all right. In fact, I’m good. I’m not going to pretend everything has been perfect, but I’m doing better than worse here. And staying with Ralia is very good.” He looked down. “I’m sorry I yelled.”

“I shouldn’t have shouted at you either. Your father and I are just very worried about your safety. Kelsen, whether or not you’re safe with Ralia, traveling to Latia is inherently dangerous.”

“It’s not...I’m not being careless. And I should have told you. I just wanted to do something on my own for once.”

His father shook his head. “Quite a ‘first’ step.”

“Yeah...”

“Well. We can talk more about this later when I’m off work. Can you promise to call us later? And update us while you’re there?”

“...Yeah. I don’t know if I’ll call every day, but I’ll make sure to send you a message, at least.”

“That’s something, at least,” said Kelsen’s mother. “Ralia? I apologize for my rudeness. I am very concerned for my son.”

“I understand. Apology accepted.”

“Please watch out for him while he’s there.”

“I wouldn’t dream of doing anything else.”

“Then...goodbye, for now. Kelsen, I love you.”

Kelsen’s father nodded. “Love ya, kiddo.”

“...I love you, too. Talk to you later.”

The call ended. Kelsen groaned loudly and slumped over. “I told you!”

Ralia smiled and shook her head. “That went much better than you expected it to.”

“Not really. They’re still gonna kill me when I get back.”

“No, they’re not.”

“I might as well update my will.”

“Kelsen.”

“Will you write my obituary?”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“I am dying. I am entitled to being dramatic.”

In response, she lightly tapped the top of his head with a finger. He feigned injury with a loud cry of pain. “Ow! I’m reporting you for abuse!”

They laughed. Ralia pulled him back into a sitting position. “Okay, my grievously wounded friend. Halfway there.”

“Halfway?”

“We still have another set of parents to call.”

“Oh, right. Ugh.”

“Do you not feel up to it?”

He checked something on his phone. “No, I do. But this time you get to do most of the talking.”

She snorted. “Don’t count on it. In fact, I expect them to ignore me and focus entirely on you.”

“Nooo...”

“You are the boyfriend they’ve heard all about, and haven’t gotten to speak with. I’m just their boring old regular daughter. They’ll probably ask you a million questions and repeatedly tell each other how cute you are.”

“Nooo...”