The rivet counting boredom that Sunny had hoped she wouldn't sink to did not take long to arrive, and when it hit, it hit with a vengeance. Sunny had never been able to counter boredom - she couldn't wait the half a minute it took for a video to buffer without checking her phone to keep her occupied. And so her thoughts turned once again to her roommate. He had been familiar enough with the plastic wrapped bars and water bottle, suggesting that wherever he was from, they were an advanced enough society, if somewhat too comfortable with nudity for Sunny's liking. Or maybe that was simply a trait reserved for Kilnor.

They were similar looking, too. Coming from completely different galaxies (Sunny refused to believe humans would have missed an alien species sharing the galaxy with them), Sunny would have expected an alien - she shuddered at the word - to look different. Green, she thought, possibly with tentacles - lots of tentacles.

But Kilnor looked, if not completely human, at least like the cousin of a human. His skin was a pale gold. Not the gold-bronze of a suntan, but the soft gold of old jewellery, shimmering slightly in the light. Brighter gold scales dotted his skin - swirling in thick, elegant patterns over his chest, with thinner tendrils reaching up to decorate his face and limbs. If his skin shimmered, the scales fairly glittered, though Sunny had the sense that the scales were duller than they should have been. His hair was the same colour as his scales, and it hung in matte clumps around his face.

Either Kilnor didn't like bathing - or he'd been here a while. Sunny was betting on the latter, which was not something that boded well for her.

She shifted, an ache beginning to pulse in her lower back. Kilnor twitched in his corner, his eyes meeting hers with a faint look of disapproval. Sunny glared back. It wasn't her fault she'd been dumped in here, and she was way past the kindergarten stage of sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. Her conscious twanged slightly, and she remembered it was highly unlikely Kilnor had asked for this either, and her face softened.

Sorry, she mouthed instead, hoping he would understand the gesture. If he did, he didn't reply, tilting his head back to continue staring at the ceiling. Seeing him stretched out like that, Sunny had briefly given it a go earlier, wondering if there was some logical reason behind it, but after staring at the blank ceiling herself for minutes on end, had decided the position wasn't for her.

Now, she simply stared at him, her back and head leaning against the sheet of metal that made up the wall. Maybe, if she was lucky, he'd do something interesting. Unlikely, but it would be entertaining. Even as these thoughts flitted through her head, Sunny knew she should be concentrating on making her escape. But if she'd put the facts together correctly - and putting facts together had always been something Sunny excelled at - the slight vibration of the cage and the fact she was sharing said cage with an alien meant she was most likely on a spaceship. Even if she did escape, there was nowhere to escape too, except maybe the cockpit of this ship, which certainly wouldn't do her any good. Unless... the thought trailed off in her mind as her stare changed to speculative. She certainly couldn't pilot a spacecraft, but that wasn't to say her roommate wasn't capable.

So escape was a slim possibility. But first, they'd have to plan. And planning usually required the use of a shared language. And of course, all of this was dependant upon a wild hope that Kilnor could pilot this spacecraft.

With the thought of possible escape buoying her, Sunny got to her feet, trying not to blush as the movement left the entirety of her naked body exposed. Hands placed strategically, she inched across the room to sit down at Kilnor's side, immediately repositioning herself more modestly.

Sunny could feel his eyes on her and, she flushed, endeavouring not to think about certain other parts of his body on hers.

He didn't move until she spoke.

"Hi," she said, giving him a bright smile.

He sat up slowly, his facial expression determinedly blank. He didn't respond to her pleasantries, but instead looked at her expectantly, clearly expecting her to continue. This close to him once more, Sunny was reminded how large and intimidating he was, standing at least a foot taller than her - if not two, and with shoulders twice the width of hers.

"So..." she continued, at a complete loss as to what to say next. "I guess you've been here a while, because no offence, but you are definitely not looking your best. Not that you look bad or anything but, that hair has definitely seen better days. I love the colour of it though - do you know how many people on Earth would kill to have that hair colour?"

In lieu of anything sensible or helpful to say, Sunny just let forth with a running commentary of her thoughts. Kilnor's face took on a slightly confused tinge, but Sunny continued her stream of babble, hoping that he would understand, if not her words, her attempt to bond. And who knew, right? People learnt languages quickly when immersed in other cultures.

A tiny voice in the back of her mind that 'quickly' when referring to other languages wasn't a matter of days, closer to months, but she dismissed it like she had dismissed most of that little voice's statements in the past day.

"Do you think you can pilot the ship?" she asked. "Because my lifted spirits are kind of contingent upon that being a yes. And yes, I understand that you being able to pilot this ship doesn't necessarily mean you'll know how to get me home, but maybe it will have some form of onboard computer memory? They always do in the movies. And this definitely feels like a movie, well, a tv show anyway. Reminds me so much of Doctor Who - my brother is obsessed with that show; he'd probably kill to swap places with me, even with the whole naked and stuck in a cell..."

The stream of consciousness continued, and Sunny spoke about everything from her family to celebrity gossip. She wasn't sure how long she had been talking for - long enough for her throat to have gone dry, even after a few sips of water - when the dim lights cut out. She stopped speaking mid-sentence, unable to choke back a shrill scream.

With no lights whatsoever, the room was completely black, and whilst Sunny had been brave enough to cross the room and chat to Kilnor in the light, she found that her courage had completely deserted her in the dark.

A soft rumble emanated from Kilnor next to her, the sound she had earlier decided was similar to the purr of a cat, and intended to be soothing. She calmed some, but not enough to risk moving. The decision was taken out of her hands. Whilst Sunny sat frozen, Kilnor moved, his skin brushing against her as he moved. His skin was warm, the texture not unlike her own, though the scales were certainly a noticeable difference, and yet, as a patch slid across her shoulder, she noted that they were warm, and not cold as she had expected.

However, simply brushing against her was not the aim of Kilnor's movement, and his hand clasped around her upper arm. Surprised, Sunny jerked and tried to free herself, but Kilnor's strong grip had no give. His purr deepened, and with the burning imprint of his hand wrapped around her, she could feel the slight vibrations of the sound.

"No," she said hoarsely, twisting and turning, still fighting to free herself. "Please don't!"

"A'suaimhas," Kilnor said, without releasing his grip. "Ah a'suaimhas."

The foreign words only reminded Sunny that she wasn't at home, that she had no idea where exactly she was, and that she had been stripped naked and put in a cell with an alien male, who now had his hands on her during what Sunny presumed to be the night cycle.

The lump in her throat began to ache, and a hitching sob started in her chest, ripping through her without mercy. Unlike the delicate tears of earlier, Sunny began to cry properly, the grief escaping from her in messy, loud, gasping sobs.

The grip on her arm loosened momentarily, before tightening as Kilnor tugged her closer to him. Sunny felt herself being pulled into strong arms, her head being tucked against a broad, warm chest, and despite her almost incapacitating fear of rape, Sunny fully gave herself over to despair, the tension leaving her muscles as she stopped fighting, letting the strong heartbeat beneath her ear, and the large, unfamiliar hand stroking her hair give her some measure of comfort. Eventually, Sunny's hiccuping breaths slowed and evened out, as she drifted off into an exhausted sleep.

It was the sound of purring that woke her. Eyes still closed, and not fully awake, Sunny wriggled slightly, enjoying the warmth of the bed covers she was currently enveloped in. The purring of her parent's cat was a welcome sound, and for a blissful moment, Sunny was convinced that she was tucked into bed at her childhood home, just waking up from an awful nightmare.

And then her blankets moved.

No soft movement as befitting a small feline either. The warmth she had taken to be her favourite soft blanket tightened around her waist, the loud purring hitching in its rhythm. Stifling a gasp, she opened her eyes, and her nightmare returned to life.

A/N: Hey guys!  Hope you like the update, and please let me know what you think by voting and commenting!  On a side note, anyone participating in NaNoWriMo this year?