Chapter Text
He doesn't remember how he came aboard the ship, crowded among strange, alien looking prisoners in a large cell of some sort, all wearing similar garb from what he could tell with what little light was present. Earlier that day he was just at the beach with his family, the sun was setting and it was getting dark, his uncle and dad manning the barbecue as his mother and grandmother watched his other siblings carefully as they played near the water's edge. He doesn't remember how far he had walked before the sounds of the grill and his siblings squeals and shouts were quieted, there was just a flash of light and then darkness, and here he was now, an eight year old among complete strangers, all of which he was certain weren't human in the slightest.
He curled himself into a tighter ball, forehead falling onto his knees as he tried to appear smaller than what he was; to stay out of sight and hopefully not attract any attention to himself. The cell was dark and quiet except for a few murmured conversations here and there among the prisoners, the words sounding like gibberish to his ears.
There was a loud clang that woke him up, in what he assumed was hours later, and the sounds of many feet of all kinds shuffling towards the front of the cell. A few fights broke out, loud yelling and pained grunts which kept him from investigating what everyone was going towards the front for.
Soon enough the crowd dispelled and settled back down, aliens going back to their respected places. He noticed one that laid on the floor where the crowd had gathered, still and unmoving, something dark staining the floor beneath them. He hid his face back in his arms, trying to purge the image from his mind, or at least distract himself from it for a little while. A tap on his shoulder did just that, and he lifted his head to look up with glassy eyes at the strange face before him.
Multiple black eyes arranged like that of a spider's stared back at him. The alien was kneeling beside him, and even like that he knew they were larger than most grown human men, towering over him even in this position. The stranger had white skin, nearly glowing even with the lack of light in the cell, and their arms and hands seemed too big for their body. It took him a few moments to see that the stranger was holding out something in his claws. A flat, square looking thing, colored white and looking grainy.
He carefully took the thing from them, turning it over in his much smaller hands and sniffing it questionably. The alien chuckled, bringing it's own piece from its other hand to its mouth and biting down before chewing.
So this was food.
He took a careful bite, wincing when it was harder than he thought but nonetheless breaking off a small enough piece to chew. The alien smiled, sharp fangs gleaming in the unnaturally dimmed light before sitting next him, dwarfing him by a good few feet.
"Avre."
He looked up from biting another piece off of his square, blue eyes focusing on the alien as they spoke, a clawed finger pointed at their chest.
"Avre." They repeated.
It took him awhile to realize that they were telling him their name. And repeating the action he said his.
"Lance."
* * *
Days or weeks went by, he couldn't tell, when the entrance to the cell powered down, revealing a few guards who barked out orders, everyone stood up, including Lance, who after getting to know Avre, stuck close to their side like a child with their mother. Lance swallowed the lump in his throat, hastily wiping his eyes as they watered slightly, now was not the time to cry. He learned from the first body that hit the floor that you can't afford to be seen as weak here, Avre had helped to teach him that, hiding him from view whenever fat tears decided to roll down his face at the mere thought of his family.
Lance was handcuffed, as was every other prisoner in the cell as they all filed out. He winced as the bright light hurt his eyes, feeling sorry for Avre behind him, who was no doubt worse off with all of his extra eyes and such. When his eyes got used to the brightness however, he couldn't seem to open them any wider. The ship they had been in had delivered them to what looked to be a port, dark purple ships like the one he'd arrived in came and went, picking up or dropping off prisoners in a similar state as him.
There was no sky, only a black void with the twinkling lights of stars light years away. The port they were currently in was next to a bright, burning star.
The view didn't last long though, as him and the rest of the prisoners were taken and boarded on another ship, which immediately took flight. The prisoners were taken into a similar cell as the last, only this time a lot bigger and with more prisoners on board than the last. Lance clung to Avre's side, staying close to them and avoiding any stares directed his way.
They found a seat against the wall, a long bench set into it to accommodate the prisoners. Above it was rectangular cut outs, the only thing separating the prisoners from the vacuum of space was specialized thick panes of glass.
Avre must have noticed Lance glancing towards the small window with curiosity, the next thing Lance knew he was being lifted up in a giant clawed hand towards it. He didn't have time to be afraid however, especially when the stars glittered in a single stream of light as the ship flew by.
Lance's hands gripped the very edge of the window, breath fogging up the glass as he looked out in awe. After a minute or two he tapped the top of Avre's head, signaling he wanted to get down. Avre lowered his hand, allowing Lance to climb down and sit beside him. He smiled now, leaning himself against Avre's side, blue eyes half lidded as a yawn snuck out, eyes closing in sleep right after.
Avre wrapped an arm around the boy, tucking him into their side protectively as they awaited their next stop.
* * *
They were handcuffed once more and dropped off to another port a day or two later and earlier than normal, breaking the small routine Lance and Avre set up; a few minutes in the morning and night that Avre held Lance up to see the stars and any planets that passed by.
The planet they were currently on was a lot different than earth. The sky was a deeper blue than the ocean would ever be. The ground was colored in hues of red and gold sands, like fire beneath his feet. The prisoners were lead to the mines underneath the red ground, the cave walls a deep red with chunks of green rock or crystal in bedded in it.
Lance stuck close to Avre, who would gently nudge the child every now and again to keep him moving. It would do no good to have him punished now, before they even started their work.
The line of prisoners Lance was in was led to a large chamber littered with tools and stray chunks of rock across the ground. The line containing Avre and him was led to the far wall of the chamber, where they were uncuffed and told to start digging.
That was four years ago.