Chapter 13.

Syl was wrenched out of sleep by a sharp pain in his neck and a cock slamming inside him. For an instant he thought it was Metyn. But the cock was broad and spiked, stretching him painfully wide.

"Re-ja." Syl choked out, breathless from the force of the Foll's thrusts. What was happening? 

Reja was rough sometimes, but this hurt. He hadn't felt pain like this since he had been stretched at the clinic.

Each bruise-hard punch into him made agony flare in his ribs and Syl whimpered. Reja bit down harder, pointy teeth cutting into the sore spot Metyn had gnawed on yesterday. 

Jesus, was the Foll trying to kill him?

Reja stilled, furred hips pushing against Syl's buttocks and then a hot jet of liquid flooded into him. 

Oh god. Syl's eyes flew open and his blood ran cold. Reja was pissing.

He knew the Foll liked to now and then, but it had always been a trickle, just enough to lubricate a thrust or slick up a cock. 

It had disgusted Syl at first, but in the heat of the moment, when he was hard and everything just felt so good, a bit of warm liquid only made it better. 

But this was something else. Syl wasn't feeling any pleasure and Reja was releasing his whole bladder inside, until the pressure began to ache.

"Don't you dare." Elvyre voices were like a frigid gust of wind, raising goosebumps on the human's skin.

Reja growled in response and pulled out. The human made a strangled sound when the wetness inside of him gushed out, running over the sheets and leaving a harsh stench in the air. 

Elvyre's furious voices were so loud Syl covered his ears, curling on his side like a small child. The movement made his ribs throb and tears welled in his eyes.

Hands lifted him and he clutched Cynen's broad shoulders, hiding his face against the alien's neck. He was probably smearing disgusting fluids all over Cynen's torso and that knowledge made him cry harder. 

Syl didn't lift his head when the temperature in the room changed or when he smelled something clean and citrusy. He gasped when warm water pelted down on his head, soaking him in seconds. 

Cynen's hands ran over him briskly, rubbing his back, his front, his backside and legs. Then the water stopped. 

"Lift your head."

Syl obeyed jerkily, but he kept his eyes down, vision blurry with tears. He ached all over and he was beginning to shake. His thoughts ran a mile a minute. 

What had Reja been thinking? Why had he done that? Was he angry because of Metyn? Was he scared? Territorial? Jealous? It didn't matter. Syl couldn't put himself in that mindset. Not right now. 

Syl had begun to think they were close. Closer than anyone he'd known back on earth. He had thought he was starting to predict the Foll's rapidly shifting moods. But now he felt like they were back to square one. And it hurt.

Cynen rubbed soap firmly over Syl's skin. Up until now, Elvyre had permitted Syl to shower alone. It was the only thing he could still do for himself and the only time he had any privacy. 

Maybe he should have objected, when Cynen's rough hand lathered up his cock and balls. Maybe it was important.

But instead, Syl was glad to have someone else do this. To be tended to. He didn't feel as if he had the strength for anything except tears and Cynen's chest felt good to lean on. Sturdy and warm, with a soft scrape of scales. 

The Talaya's palm ran over Syl's ribs, making the human cry out and flinch away.

"Was it Reja or Metyn?" Cynen's deep voices were low and Syl was faintly amazed that the Talaya was handling another drama so calmly.

When Syl only sniffled a hand folded around the back of his neck, palm large enough to craddle his skull as well. "When I speak, you answer."

Cynen's voices had hardened a fraction and Syl's gut jittered uneasily.

He wondered what Cynen's position was on the ship. Elvyre was a diplomat and his elegant hands were soft, but Cynen's were rough. He remembered the blades strapped to the Talayas backs. Was Cynen a soldier? A warrior?

"It was the kids." Syl muttered, throat sore from Reja's teeth. "They pushed me into a chair." 

The Talaya clicked his tongue, red eyes narrowing. "That's one more expense I'll add to the list."

Syl startled when Cynen pressed a tube between his legs. 

"You need to be clean here too." The Talaya explained and Syl bit back a cry when a nozzle nudged inside his aching ass. "Just relax." 

Syl tried to, but he whimpered when warmth trickled inside of him, for the second time that morning. At least this wasn't urine. 

He pressed his cheek against Cynen's chest as water filled him up, until his stomach began to cramp. He shuddered and groaned, sniffling. 

"Just a little more." Cynen's voices spoke above his head and Syl nodded against the alien's chest. 

After awhile, the flow finally stopped. 

"Hold it." Cynen commanded and Syl tried to. Clenching his lower muscles as tight as he could. 

Cynen lowered Syl onto a seat and braced him, resting large hands on the human's upper back and stomach. "Go on. Let go." 

It should have been humiliating. But the release of all that pressure felt so good, Syl's head spun and he grabbed Cynen's arm. A dizzying calm settled over him and sweat broke out on his skin. He leaned boneless against the alien's shoulder, panting. 

"There. All clean." Cynen's duo voices were gentle, as he lifted Syl and washed his skin a second time. This shouldn't have been a bonding experience, but the human's heart thumped, this time pleasantly. 

In their suite, Elvyre was trying to subdue Reja. The Foll was snarling and struggling in the Talaya's grip. 

Metyn was at the top of the tapestry, claws gripping the fabric, watching Reja unblinkingly over his shoulder. 

Cynen placed the human on a chair and changed quickly into a red, tight fitting body suit. He pulled back his long hair and cinched it with a black chord, then lifted Syl back into his arms.

"Where are you going?" Elvyre's voices were breathless and a tad uncertain. 

"I'm taking him to the clinic." Cynen spoke shortly. 

Surprise and what looked like relief made Elvyre falter and Reja leapt from his arms, racing towards the tapestry. Elvyre gasped and lunged to catch him. 

The door snapped shut and Cynen strode down the polished hallway, shoulders tense beneath the human's fingers. Syl was painfully aware that Cynen hadn't bothered to dress him and the conditioned air felt cool on his bare skin. 

Elvyre had only recently bought him a suit and he was used to being naked back home. But now they were out in public. 

Syl quickly looked away from a hulking red furred alien, passing them by. He wanted to ask for some clothes, but one glance up at Cynen's clenched jaw kept him quiet. 

He wasn't scared of Cynen, exactly. But the Talaya clearly wasn't as fond of his pets as Elvyre. He was never cruel, but Syl had the impression that he had been pressured into accepting them and that was a painful thought, because Syl liked Cynen. 

He had thought that they'd had a connection just now (if a fragile one) and also a few months back, when Cynen had allowed Syl to taste luceat and sleep on his chest. But now, he felt a distance between them again. 

What if his newly found family was falling apart? Then what would become of him? 

On their way to the clinic, a Bejí adult intercepted them. She was as tall as a Talaya, with broad black horns sweeping back from her brow. She stepped aggressively into Cynen's space, snarling alien words and flashing two sets of long fangs. Syl trembled and clutched Cynen's neck instinctively. 

Cynen's expression went stony. His reply rumbled through the lobby like thunder, making several aliens stop in their tracks and turn to stare. 

The female drew back sharply and stalked away. Syl saw her take an infant from a demure looking Bejí male, as she shot a last poisonous look towards Cynen. The child was the same girl Reja had bitten.

Ah. Syl chewed his lower lip nervously. Back on earth, he knew a dog could be euthanized for biting a child. Even if it had acted in self-defence.

"Is Reja in trouble?" He asked tentatively. 

"Of-course not. Bejí females just aren't used to being held accountable." Cynen narrowed his eyes at her and strode into the clinic. 

An orange alien greeted them and placed Syl on a soft padded table. 

"He's been in a scuffle?" The alien asked.

"Yes, with another pet and he fell against a chair last night." Cynen reached for a tablet on a shelf and took a seat by the door.

The orange alien touched the edge of the table and straps wrapped around Sylvester's wrists and ankles, making him yelp. 

"He's perfectly tame." Cynen looked up, pale brows furrowing. 

The alien hissed quietly and retracted the straps. 

Syl gulped to wet his dry mouth and tried to act perfectly tame, as a beam of blue light flickered on above the table and ran over him. 

"Contusions and a hairline fracture." The alien said softly, glancing up at a screen behind Syl, moving just one of his triple green eyes. It was unnerving.

He reached for Syl's head, gently turning it to examine the bite on his neck - and then he parted Syl's knees to stare between his legs. 

Syl fixed his eyes on the blue glass ceiling and felt a blush burn his cheeks. After everything he'd been through, he had hoped his sense of shame would begin to fade. But that didn't seem to be happening. At least, not with strangers. 

"Some tearing. He's already been stretched once, but I recommend a second treatment." The alien looked at Cynen, who nodded, eyes on his tablet.

The alien lifted Syl and placed him in a tank of the same pink liquid Metyn had been submerged in. It was warm and thicker than water. It made his skin tingle and his ribs sting. After a while the sting reduced to an itch and then to nothing more than a tingle as well. 

It quickly became boring and Syl started to fidget. At that point the alien touched a familiar silver tool to the human's neck and shot a drug into his bloodstream. Syl braced himself against the chill and then relaxed as blessed contentment drifted over him. 

He didn't care when the alien lifted his hips and inserted a cool cylinder into his ass. With a quiet beep, it expanded, stretching his sphincter slowly, as it excreted a warm lubricant on his insides. It felt nice. 

Afterwards, he was dried off and sprayed with a mist that felt cooling. 

On their way out, another orange alien approached them, saying they had an opening at the groomers, if Cynen would like to move up his appointment.

"What for? A trim?" Cynen raised his brows sceptically and ran a hand over Syl's blonde head. "He barely has any hair! No. Cancel that." 

Syl blinked sleepily at the startled alien over Cynen's shoulder. It wasn't like the Talaya to be gruff with staff, but he'd had a rough morning. Or a rough month. A rough year, probably. 

Syl felt a surge of sympathy and kissed the alien's tense jaw.

Cynen's long fingers ran over Syl's back and scratched his scalp. It felt good. Syl kissed the alien's throat next and flicked his tongue out to taste that pale blue skin.

The Talaya tasted clean and slightly sweet. He smelled good too, like fresh ozone. 

"Settle down." Cynen rested his hand on Syl's nape, squeezing a fraction. It didn't hurt, it was just a warning. Syl let his cheek drop to the Talaya's shoulder and was rewarded with another scratch. 

Cynen didn't go back to their room, like Syl expected, instead they entered a restaurant. The walls were clear blue glass, leading up to arched ceilings that shone with pink water. It ran down the walls in rivulets and bathed everything in a pink-purple glow. 

The restaurant was crowded and if Syl hadn't still been affected by the drug, he might have been frightened by the many aliens seated around them. They were all different. Pale, dark, furred, scaled. Some were humanoid and other's looked more bestial or reptilian. 

Many of them had pets too, seated on cushions by their feet. Cynen lowered Syl to one and pulled a glowing strip from the wall, latching it around the human's neck. 

"It's protocol." He patted Syl's head lightly in apology. 

An alien arrived to take their order and shortly after three silver bowls were placed in front of Syl. One bowl was full of pink tinged vegetables and in the other was black meat cut into bite-sized chunks. The third bowl was a pale yellow drink. 

From below the table, he couldn't see what Cynen was eating, but he could smell something warm and spicy and hear the Talaya's cutlery clink against the plate. 

Syl wasn't given any cutlery, but he was used to eating without it now. He lifted a vegetable and took a bite. It was crisp and a little bland. The meat was grilled and juicy, but it lacked seasoning too. The drink was good, fresh and sweet, and Syl finished it quickly. 

A male Talaya approached their table and took a seat, without waiting for an invitation. "This planet is hot as an oven. I've half a mind to join her." 

Syl looked to where the Talaya gestured. A female pet with white fur was pulling against her leash, trying to reach a crystal fountain.
Syl didn't know if she wanted to drink from it or bathe in it. Maybe that was why the restaurant ordered pets to be leashed. 

Cynen huffed a laugh and ice clinked. "Have a drink, Amerin. Cetr helps." 

"Where's your pretty diplomat?"

"Occupied with his pets." Cynen sighed.

"As are you. I'll never get one. The last thing I need is more responsibility." Amerin leaned back in his chair to smile down at the human. He reached out and cupped Syl's chin, tilting up his head. "I haven't seen this kind before."

They talked about family and work after that, voices drumming and lilting. Amerin spoke fast and had a rich belling laugh. A jokester it seemed, but Cynen kept up with him easily. 

Syl tried to pay attention, but the stress he'd endured was beginning to catch up with him and he just wanted a nap.

He leaned against Cynen's leg and watched the other pets through heavy lids. One was smooth and obsidian with red hair. Another was feathered, like Aure. The white one was as fluffy as Reja, but she had a canine snout. 

Apart from a few pets, who were clearly the same species, the only thing they all had in common was their size; They were much smaller than their masters. 

He woke when Cynen undid his leash and lifted him. He pressed his brow against the Talaya's neck and closed his eyes on the walk back.

He dimly heard Elvyre's soft voices. Something about an event and a dinner. Syl was tucked into bed and he felt a warmth beside him. Silky and comforting and familiar. He snuggled close and was asleep in seconds.