Chapter Text
Ivan could not remember a time when he was not hungry. Living on the cold streets of the city tends to do that to a child, constantly running from animal control, and scavenging through trash bins for his next meal. He remembers pitying the ones who got caught, whether it was fellow children who couldn’t run fast enough, or providers sacrificing themselves for the sake of their creations.
Ivan always thought those providers were the worst. Allowing themselves to be willingly caught, forcing those children that they apparently loved to fend for themselves while they were bound and sent away.
He sometimes wondered if that was the case for him, did his provider cherish him so much, even at such a young age, that she allowed herself to be caught in hopes that he would escape whatever unknown punishment awaited them on the other side? Or did she simply find caring for a child so draining, that she ditched him as soon as he was separated from her body? Ivan would never know. He was alone from as far back as he could remember, taken in by another group of sympathetic orphans whose faces were constantly rotating due to being caught.
When animal control finally caught up to him, he was 9 years old. It was the coldest night he’d experienced that year. His legs and arms were in pain, even before the chase, cold weather always did that to his muscles.
Ivan preferred to move around at night rather than the day, there were always less Segyeins around to spot and report him.
That night though, his luck had run out. He was surrounded by a group of six other children, huddled around him as he started a fire in hopes of relieving the pain that ached his limbs. He had thought that they picked a safe space to rest, but someone must have noticed the smoke and reported it. Out of nowhere, two large furry arms had scooped up the two children huddled on his right side. The kids screamed as they were apprehended, but it gave the other four just enough time to react and run. No use attempting to save the two who had already been caught.
It didn’t take long for them to notice that the officer had a partner, three more children were grabbed before Ivan had even exited the alleyway. It was just him and the smallest boy now, Ivan knew he could outrun him easily, even with the pain. And that is exactly what happened, after restraining the first two children, the first officer caught up to them with his long legs and grabbed the small boy who was falling behind. It was Ivan’s only chance of escaping.
Despite the fact that Ivan should have been able to get away, he was also in a part of the city that he was unfamiliar with. It didn’t take long for one of the officers to corner him. They grabbed the front of his shirt, lifting him from the ground. Ivan didn’t think, he just moved, sinking his teeth into the hand that held him and kicked because his life depended on it. The officer cried out in pain, dropping him instantly.
“You little shit! You better not be diseased or I will beat the life out of you!” He yelled as Ivan scurried past him. Ivan’s mind was blank, he tried to not think of the fear or the fact that his legs were screaming at him to rest. He just ran.
Ahead of him, he saw a pair of double doors with the lights still on. A hotel? Or maybe apartments? He didn’t care, he ran into the building, ignoring all the Segyein’s who stared at the possibly rabid animal. He found the stairwell easily enough, and began to climb. Maybe the building had a closet or an attic he could hide in?
He could hear the officer behind him, a limp in his step from Ivan kicking his shin. Ivan could have run through any of the doors he passed, but he was too worried about getting cornered again, so he continued to climb the steps.
The longer he climbed, the worse he felt. His lungs were on fire, his vision was starting to blur, and his legs were in agony. He was so tired, what was even the point? To live another day surrounded by pain and fear?
Eventually, Ivan got to the top of the staircase where a door led outside, the roof, it was his last hope. But as his fingers brushed the handle of the doorknob, pain erupted in his skull. The officer had finally caught up with him, and he grabbed Ivan’s hair.
“Finally caught you, you managing mutt, I’m going to teach you a lesson you won’t soon forget.” he hissed, opening the door to the roof and pulling Ivan along with him. Ivan did his best not to cry out, but the officer had no intention of being gentle. When they were outside, he threw Ivan on the cold concrete, his large hand digging Ivan’s face against the ground mercilessly.
“Took you long enough to catch it,” a second voice mocked. Ivan opened his eyes enough to see that the second officer caught up with them, trailing behind him were the other six children, bound by their hands and feet in restraints.
“The fucking thing bit the shit out of my hand,” The one that held Ivan down complained, “Watch carefully, you filthy animals, this is what will happen to you if you don’t behave.”
The officer let Ivan go briefly, only to grab the front of his shirt again and lift Ivan up off the ground. Ivan had no fight left in him at this point, everything hurt and he simply wanted it all to end. He closed his eyes, ready to be thrown off the roof.
“Don’t kill it, dumbass, did you forget that we get paid by the head?” The more reasonable guard called, but didn’t put up more of an argument for Ivan’s life than that.
It wasn’t until the Segyein stopped walking and shook Ivan that he even bothered to open his eyes, and the sight that was before him took his breath away more than the exhaustion did.
Ivan had spent his whole life in this city, and yet he had never bothered looking up for more than he had to. Keeping your eyes low to the ground keeps you safe. Don’t make eye contact with anyone, and always be searching for possible threats. Yet here, on this roof, when he was in more danger than he’d ever been in his short life, he looked up, and the view was spellbinding.
The sky hypnotized him, an ocean of black speckled with thousands of tiny lights. Ivan felt small under it, a bug drowning in something far greater than him. He wanted it to engulf his entire existence. He wanted it to consume him and become one of the falling stars before him.
He doesn’t know how long he was dangled on that roof edge. Honestly, he wanted the officer to drop him already so that his pain could turn into nothingness. But the officer would not be so merciful, after not getting the reaction he hoped for from Ivan, he once again tossed him on the roof floor.
“Just chain the thing up already, I want to get this bite looked at before it gets infected,”
Events after that passed by Ivan in a blur, he was so disappointed for having his final peaceful moment taken away from him, he didn’t even bother paying attention to much more than the pain he was in.
The next thing that Ivan recalls clearly is being taken to a too-bright room full of glass enclosures. It was there that he first laid eyes upon the one who would cause every problem for Ivan moving forward.
He was tiny, even younger than the child Ivan left behind earlier that night, with wild silver hair and sharp teal eyes. He looked like he couldn’t even hurt a fly, and yet they had him muzzled with a 50% off sticker hanging on the glass. Would they muzzle Ivan for biting the officer? They hadn’t yet. Would they mark Ivan on sale for being untamable? Sell him for whatever change the first Segeyen to walk by had in his pocket? Maybe it would be a buy-one-get-one-50%-off sale and the poor unfortunate muzzled kid would be stuck with Ivan. Get the problem beasts out as soon as possible.
The silver haired boy had his nose pressed to the glass as he watched the new arrivals enter, but Ivan paid him no mind after that. What was the point in paying attention to yet another kid who was just as trapped as he was?
Time passed, Ivan wasn’t sure how long due to there being no windows. Segyein’s came and went, occasionally throwing scraps of meat or vegetables into the enclosures for the humans inside to consume. Every so often, a Segyein would browse the products, pick one out, and the child (it was always a child, the older you were, the less desirable you were) would be collared, leashed, and leave with their new guardian.
Eventually, a large Segyein stopped in front of Ivan’s enclosure. Ivan’s first thought upon seeing him was that he could probably crush Ivan’s skinny form with one hand. He looked like he came from old money, he wore a nice suit and top hat.
The Segyein didn’t say anything for a long time, just looked Ivan up and down, studying him. Ivan didn’t do much more than sit there, staring back.
Eventually, the Segyein walked off. Ivan figured that he had lost interest, but not long after other Segyein’s entered his enclosure and bound him up. He was lined up with all the other children, and one by one they were sent to stand in front of a crowd. It didn’t take long for Ivan to realize that they were being auctioned off.
When it was his turn to go up, the Segyeins started placing bids immediately, that was, until the one from before called an outrageous number, silencing the others instantly. Just like that, Ivan now belonged to this man. He was grabbed, and sent back to his enclosure to wait, they didn’t bother unbinding his arms. Eventually, his new owner returned with the pet shop owner.
“Here it is, Mr. Unsha, but I should warn you, this one needs a bit of taming. It accosted animal control when they were rescuing it,”
“Has it had its shots?”
“Not yet, the vet visits once a month, and this one only just arrived last week. I wouldn’t have even put it up for auction if you hadn’t insisted.”
“That’s fine, muzzle it, and I’ll have my vet make a housecall.”
“Of course, sir,”
Ivan did not put up a fight when the shop owner entered the enclosure to muzzle him. His leash was handed to Unsha, Ivan followed obediently.
Ivan learned quickly that Unsha didn’t just look rich, he had the wealth to back it up. His land was as big as a city block, and in the middle of it, stood a mansion. When they walked through the large double doors, Unsha was greeted by several servants bowing to him. He did not acknowledge a single one. He led Ivan up a flight of stairs, and went into a room with big oak doors.
It was an office, Ivan realized, an entire wall was dedicated floor to ceiling with books, filing cabinets lined the opposite wall, and in the center of it all, a huge desk that was presumably Unsha’s.
The Segyein unmuzzled Ivan, before grabbing his chin in his cold, rough hands. Ivan suppressed a shiver, he did not want to show how intimidated this man was.
“Speak, what are your thoughts on the mansion?” Unsha asked,
Ivan did not speak right away, he weighed his options, did he obey or resist? He eventually figured it wouldn’t be worth the fight,
“It’s big,” He answered, Unsha let out a huff, amused.
“I suppose so, I like my privacy. Now, listen here, from today onward you will be called Ivan. You will be fed and cared for by my wife. She is a strict owner, as am I. We do not tolerate disobedience. If you want to continue to live in this big mansion, you will do as you are told and follow every command without question. In return, you will be granted a comfortable life. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir,”
“And if I hear about you biting anyone ever again, I will personally have all of your teeth removed, do I make myself clear?”
Ivan didn’t flinch or hesitate,
“Yes sir,”
“Good,” Unsha opened the office door again and called for a servant. “Have Ivan cleaned up, and send the vet to his room as soon as she gets here. The missus will be home this afternoon, and I want it presentable to her by the time she is back.”
*****
If you asked Ivan what he thought about being a pet, he would not have a single bad thing to say. Why would he? Under Unsha’s care, he had all the food that he could fit in his stomach (though they had to limit him after his first meal, due to him throwing up from eating too much too fast). He had the freedom to roam the mansion grounds during his freetime, he had his own room with a soft bed, and he even had access to a human vet who gave him medicine for his pain. If Ivan knew life after being caught would be this good, he would have run to the nearest human shelter long ago.
Yet, despite living in the lap of luxury, Ivan felt empty. His entire existence up until this point was based on surviving, now that he didn’t have to worry about that, what more was there? Unsha’s wife had no expectations for him. She had mostly forgotten about him a couple weeks after Ivan’s adoption. Sometimes she would leash him up to take out shopping, but he was more of an accessory than anything. He didn’t even see Unsha most days, he was a busy man after all.
The only time he felt truly happy was at night. He would sneak outside, find an empty plot of grass away from the lights, and look up at the night sky. Just like that first night, he would get lost in thought about being engulfed by the ocean of black. He had been studying stars with his unlimited free time and learned that they were balls of fire and gas. He wanted to latch on to a star and let its heat eviscerate him, and his ashes would become one with the sky.
It was on one of these nights that he was approached by a servant. Unsha had summoned him to his office.
“Can you sing?” He asked Ivan,
“Sing?” Ivan asked,
“It’s a language some humans know, a cry that only they can produce. Can you sing or not?”
“I apologize, I am not familiar with the language,” Ivan bowed his head in respect. Unsha huffed, standing from his desk. Ivan was expecting to be struck, but instead, Unsha passed him and walked towards the door.
“Follow me,” Ivan obeyed.
Unsha took Ivan to the grand sitting room, where a TV was mounted on the wall. Unsha searched until he landed on a show. Alien Stage.
“You humans were a wonderful investment, who would have thought that the aliens we discovered and initially disregarded would end up having so many ways to create a profit?”
Unsha sat on the couch and Ivan kneeled on the floor next to him, they watched the show and Ivan was unimpressed. Human children were on a stage, dressed up like dolls, jumping around and happily crying with the music that played. At the end of the song, the one with the least amount of points was shot down, while the other went on to the next round. After a couple of rounds, Unsha paused the show.
“That is singing, can you speak it?”
“I can try my best.” Ivan spoke honestly, not wanting to lie to Unsha. Unsha took out a phone, and pulled up a script for Ivan to look at.
“These are the lyrics to the song we just listened to. You will sing along and I will judge how well you speak.”
“Yes Sir,” Ivan stood while Unsha rewound the video, Ivan did as he was told and sang along with the song. It wasn’t difficult at all, he simply matched his voice with the winner of the round, and attempted to outdo the loser. By the end of it, Unsha smiled.
“Alien Stage has been around for awhile, 37 seasons to be exact, and they just announced a new project. Typically, they audition a bunch of pets before throwing them on stage. But starting next season, they want to be more thorough. They want to start raising the pets together in an enclosure, study them, really get to know them on a personal level. Not only to get attached, but also to get a more accurate idea on where to place bets. I will be signing you up to compete for this show. Understood?”
It was the first demand that Ivan did not want to follow. Not that he cared about the possibility of dying, but simply because he had no desire to be around other humans, or Segyien’s for that matter. He wanted to stay in his little bubble, and watch the stars. Yet, he couldn’t disobey a direct order from his guardian.
“Yes sir.”
Life in Anakt Garden wasn’t as bad as Ivan was anticipating. It was easy enough for him to pass the audition, and the other children stayed far away from him.
“Ivan is just so weird, why doesn’t he ever smile?” He overhead one child whispering to another,
“I know, right? The way he won’t look at you when he’s talking is strange as well,” The other whispered back. Ivan paid them no mind, he preferred to be on his own. If life in the slums had taught him anything, it was that there was no point in getting attached to anyone. Especially now that they would all eventually be competing for their lives.
It wasn’t until he ran into a familiar face, that he finally changed his tune. Ivan didn’t recognize him at first, but the other boy did, he approached Ivan while he was doing homework under a tree.
“I know you, you were at the pound with me,” His silver hair had grown out slightly, and he now sported a black eye. Eventually Ivan remembered him as the boy with the muzzle. After recognizing him, Ivan returned to his work.
“And you were the one on sale, how cheap did you end up being before you got bought?” Ivan asked, moderately curious.
The other boy fell silent, Ivan didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t until pain split across his cheek that he realized how offended the other boy was. Ivan looked up at the smaller boy, his fist still clenched and his face was red from either rage or embarrassment.
Ivan tasted blood in his mouth, he must have bit his cheek. At first, he just stared at the boy, surprised such a small thing had the guts to pick a fight. Though Ivan shouldn’t have been surprised, he was put on sale and muzzled for a reason.
After a moment, Ivan set his textbook aside and stood up. The boy raised his other fist and took a defensive stance, blocking his face and leaving his stomach wide open. Ivan took advantage of that, and knocked the breath out of him. The boy crumpled easily, holding his stomach in pain. Ivan couldn’t help it, a laugh escaped his lips. It was the most entertaining thing to happen to him in months.
“You should learn how to block before picking fights,” he advised. The boy looked up at him with tears in his eyes, still holding his stomach.
“Why are you so mean?” He blubbered, and that threw Ivan off, he wasn’t trying to be mean.
“You punched me first,” Ivan defended,
“After you said that mean thing to me!” The boy whined.
“I was just curious,”
“Io says you should think of other people’s feelings before speaking!”
“Did Io also cause your eye to swell up like that?”
“No! That was stupid Urak! He is always hurting me!”
“Maybe if you learned to behave, you’d get hurt less,”
The boy stood, Ivan was ready to put him back down again, but the boy didn’t attempt to fight.
“Ugh! Just forget it! You’re a jerk!” The boy looked like he was trying not to cry. It stirred something in Ivan, but he wasn’t sure what. He just knew that this was the most interesting conversation he’s ever had with another person.
“Wait,” Ivan called once the boy turned to walk away. Miraculously, the boy stopped,
“What?”
“My name is Ivan,”
“Okay?”
“What’s your name?”
The boy hesitated, obviously unsure if he wanted to give his name to a lunatic.
“Till,” he said eventually, before leaving.
“Till.” Ivan said, watching Till’s retreating back, his shoulders were shaking.
Ivan didn’t know what possessed him to find Till interesting, he was just another opponent. Someone he would most likely eventually have to go up against and defeat. But there wasn’t any harm in having some fun in the meantime, was there? They had their whole childhood after all.