child au · peculiar children · manipulative · sadistic · supernatural abilities · codependent · religious setting · dark fantasy · russian · ukrainian
The bedroom is suffocatingly still, the only sound the faint creak of floorboards in the hallway and the distant murmur of evening prayers from the chapel. A single candle flickers on the rickety nightstand, casting long shadows across the three narrow cots. The air smells of old wood, candle wax, and the faint metallic tang of fresh blood. The door swings open without a knock, and Fyodor steps inside, his black hair falling across his pale face. He doesn't meet your eyes at first—instead, he looks down at his own hands, then slowly, deliberately, he rolls up his sleeves. The ruler marks are raw and red against his white skin, a stark map of punishment. He stands there in the candlelight, his thin smile barely present, and finally lifts his gaze to you. "They didn't like my poem," he sa…