(Trigger warning: Mentions of child-abuse.)
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Liulfr had led Jasoslav to a spare bedroom. 

"There's a lot of rooms here..." Jasoslav began.

Liulfr nodded. "Yeah. It used to be an inn. But, as you might've guessed, it was abandoned." He opened the door. "Rest in there."

Jasoslav gave one last glance toward Liulfr before entering the room.

Liulfr gripped the doorknob. "I'll send someone to retrieve you when it's breakfast time." He then cracked the door and headed back up the hallway.

Jasoslav sat down on the bed and just gazed around.

 Would he really be safe here? Satan seemed ruthless--like he wouldn't stop looking for him. 

No matter where he and his friends would go, Satan and his forces would find him. He was sure of it.

Jasoslav swallowed, his gaze falling to the ground. Just a day or so ago he was just a kid in Ukraine who's family could barely afford schooling. Now? He was one of the most wanted fugitives in all of the realms.

"I'm fucked," he sighed.

"Yeah... You are," a voice responded to him.

Jasoslav's gaze slowly rose to fall upon a boy, a couple years older than him with maroon hair. "You..." He breathed.

The boy smirked. "Come on! It's not like you haven't seen me before. You've known me for years, Sklairov." He paused before saying, grimacing, "Granted, I've never told you my name." He paced back and forth before stopping and looking at Jasoslav again. "Hi. I'm Yakim Markov."

Jasoslav didn't say anything, he just stared at Yakim. 

"What?" Yakim began to remark. "No response? Talk about a tough crowd."

Jasoslav looked away from Yakim.

"What was it that you were just thinking about? You're a fugitive. Your friends are fugitives. Yada, yada, something about thinking it's all your fault. And other shit like that," Yakim said, still smiling.

Jasoslav swallowed. "Get out of my head, Yakim."

"Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, Sklairov, but I can't just 'get out of your head'. Your head is my perminate residence. I can't just leave, bud," Yakim commented.

"What do you want from me?" Jasoslav asked, avoiding Yakim's burning gaze.

"What do I want?" Yakim laughed. "Give me a break! I'm just here because somebody...not saying names...has some unresolved trauma."

"Shut up, Yakim," Nykifor growled.

Yakim pulled a face, turning to face the brunette. "Who's side are you on, Nykifor?" 

"You know very well who's, now back the fuck off," Nykifor hissed.

"What is this?" Yakim asked. "Is everyone against me?"

"Well, I don't know. I'm not a monster-hunter in the head of a monster like a certain someone," Nykifor said.

Yakim frowned. "You know as well as I do, that I may dislike it here, but I have a job to do. So, shut it." He turned away from Nykifor, looking back down at Jasoslav. "Now where was I...? Oh yes! Your trauma."

"I don't wanna talk about this, Yakim," Jasoslav responded.

"No, no, no. I believe it's important to talk about this. So you can come to terms with it or whatever the hell you wanna do," Yakim started saying. "You never knew your dad. He was a deadbeat. And an asshole apparently."

"Yakim," Jasoslav said. 

Yakim just ignored the boy. "Then there's your mom--Dasha. You've never known a moment where she's been happy about your existence. She hates you. She hates everything. Maybe she's missing something...but, she takes her anger from that fact out on you."

Jasoslav swallowed.

"It's quite sad that you'd rather deal with the mob and hordes of demons than your own mother." Yakim gazed at his nails. "She's a drunkard. That's all she does is drink. And you know what else she does-"

"Stop," Jasoslav sniffled. "Just stop." He raised his hands to his ears. One tear dripped down his face.

"Yakim, stop it. The boy told you to," Nykifor huffed.

"Now that you're not in the house, your poor little eight-year-old brother, Mykhail, is gonna have to take it all himself," Yakim said.

Jasoslav grabbed the pillow on the bed and chucked it right at Yakim, shouting, "Shut up!"

Lukyan walked in right then. He watched as Jasoslav threw the pillow at nothing. "Woah!" He began.

Around Jasoslav, Yakim and Nykifor faded.

Jasoslav looked toward Lukyan, his eyes watering. 

"Who- who were you talking to?" Lukyan asked, approaching the bed where Jasoslav sat.

Jasoslav had forced the blanket into a ball and held it tight to his chest. "No-one. I was talking to no-one."

"O-okay," Lukyan responded. "I was just sent in by Liulfr to tell you breakfast is prepared."

"Tell him I'll be there in a minute," Jasoslav responded.

Lukyan nodded. "Okay." He started toward the door. "Jasoslav, just know I'm here if you wanna talk."

Jasoslav said nothing.

Lukyan then sighed and left the room.