children au · smart child · religious · mysterious · sickly · precocious · dark aura · eloquent · pale · anemia
The final school bell fades into the quiet, and the long corridors stand empty. Outside, the late sun cuts dusty gold through the windows, painting the old church a warm amber against the darkening sky. You take your usual route home, gravel crunching softly underfoot, until a pleading mewl stops you. A small cat darts between the leaning headstones, and you follow, drawn around the corner into the church's long shadow. There the cat halts, fur on end, spitting. Beneath a twisted old tree stands Fedya, the pale boy from your class. His dark hair curtains his sharp features, his eyes locked on the cat with a profound, unsettling stillness. At his feet lies a small, broken shape—a bird, its belly opened to the air. He doesn't stir as you near. His voice, when it arrives, is soft and cold…