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Damian took his time cleaning, letting himself get absorbed in the work. He would much rather focus on simple chores than his own thoughts. Scary as she was, the spider lady was only making him do easy tasks, and for that he was thankful. He was nearly finished with his job when the shadow broke the silence. "You could really learn a thing or two from that woman…she has a strong presence, doesn't she? Maybe after she kills you, I can take her for myself." Damian ignored it, he didn't want to egg it on. The more he felt dark emotions like dread or hopelessness, the demon becomes more powerful. With that power, the demon can take over everything. It's been known to give him disturbing visions, influence his thoughts, and even control his entire body and mind for a short amount of time. Damian has learned to control himself to some extent, but situations like this made it a lot more difficult.

The demon continued, annoyed , "I don't mind waiting…soon enough you'll build up enough misery for me to take control again. And she won't have any of that…and once you're gone I--" The boy slammed his hands against the counter with a loud slam. "Shut up…", Damian turned to face his abuser. "If Im going to die, I'm going to do it myself. I told you before.", his voice was uncharacteristically unwavering and low. He opened the silverware drawer and picked up a knife. "I could do it right now, and the game for you ends. So, get me out of here alive and you can go back to making my life hell". For once, the demon wasn't smiling.

The woman caught his attention. Just before she entered, he had been glaring down at 'nothing' while holding a knife. He put it away guiltily, as if he had been stealing a cookie out of the cookie jar. He didn't have any more tasks to do in here besides put away the cleaning supplies. "What do you want me to do?", he asked in a wary tone. He still didn't have her name, not knowing when would be an appropriate time to ask. Might as well be now, "Uh…and what should I call you?", in a more shy manner.

Not getting an answer, he followed her to what appeared to be her bed room. With an entire wall being a mirror, the room looked much bigger than it was. As she lit a few candles, he caught sight of the many webs that decorated the area. It was pretty spooky. It matched her well.

When she spoke, he was surprised with how nonchalant she was, expecting to be called a title rather than a name. 'Why am I so shocked…she called me her slave before like it was nothing…'. With her command, he hesitated. The last thing he wanted to do was touch her, especially her spider parts. He wondered if this was just a trick to get him close enough to eat. It would make sense to guess that this is where she ate….seeing all these webs… Taking a deep breathe to prevent himself from speaking out in protest, he moved forward. Every fiber in his being was telling Damian that this was a bad idea, and that he should turn and bolt out the door. Instead, he approached her bed and took one of her legs in his hands.

Whatever he was expecting it to feel like, he was wrong. It was much worse. He had never massaged anyone before, and having it be a scary giant bug leg was making him even more uneasy. He was afraid of applying a lot of pressure, feeling like her armor like skin would crack like an egg. So, he was being gentle.

Damian was only slightly relieved to hear that he wasn't screwing this up. He probably couldn't afford to make another mistake, especially one that involved hurting her. With her question on his face, any relief he had felt was gone. He had no idea how to answer her. If he was honest, she could take offense. If he lied, she might see through him and think of him as dishonest. The consequences for both could just a well be the same death sentence. He felt that she was doing this on purpose just to watch him squirm. It's probably her plan to set him up to fail.

Maybe if would be best to avoid the questions all together. The boy gulped, looking up at the woman briefly, only to look back at his own hands. "Is my face bothering you…?"

Now he knew she was doing this on purpose, even if there was truth to her statement. Even still, Damian had to tell himself not to start crying in front of her. He had a feeling she would laugh. This was one of the most terrifying things he has ever experienced, and that says a lot. With trembling hands, he was still massaging her leg, not daring to stop now. While he was at it, he decided to speak some truth, even though his voice was a little shaky.

"You do scare me…", he started. "because I don't wanna die…not really."

He was surprised that she seemed to be taking interest in this. It wasn't the first time he struggled with the thought of taking his own life. Overall, he wanted to see the day the shadow demon gets killed, or the demon equivalent of death. After that, he wasn't sure how he would view his situation. He wasn't sure about a lot of things. Like, how much of his intrusive thoughts are created by the demon and how many are a creation of his own ill mind? No doubt living with a monster has taken a toll on his mental health.

"No, it's not you…"

He had to admit, he was a little happy that surviving was an option she mentioned.

He stared at her, processing her offer. Before long, he pulled away to concentrate on her leg. He looked a little annoyed, not really wanting to go into details about this topic with someone who would be happy to kill him.

"It's just…death itself that scares me, I guess. Aren't you afraid to not exist?"

In a round about way, dying would 'fix' his fear, but it definitely wasn't a reasonable option. He would much rather find a day where he didn't want to die, instead of just wanting to get it over with. He hoped asking her that question would keep the topic of conversation off of him. Besides, learning about her might help him get out of this situation.

The boy froze at her mention of a demon, his heart rate quickening. Not wanting to make it obvious, he continued rubbing the spiders leg. Still, Damian did answer her last inquiry.

"I didn't avoid your question that time…"

He knew he shouldn't be giving her personal information, but it's been sitting inside him for so long. It was surprising how nonchalant the woman was about hearing his confessions of suicidal desires. Maybe this was a part of her profession. That would make her a doctor? Maybe a therapist… The thought of her being in that position was unsettling. Even so, her reaction lacked sympathy. It could just be a reflection of her character, but it could be more than that. Perhaps in this realm, suffering, more specifically human suffering, was just a normal part of everyday life. All monsters could be just as bad as the spider woman and the shadow demon. Was it a mistake coming to Janhall to seek help?

There it was. The doubt the demon was counting on. The apparition hovered above the woman, then behind the boy as he tried to not let his eyes wander. "You're wasting your time….she's not going to help you…", the demon paused, letting that soak in his mind for a few seconds. "She would be much more satisfied feasting upon your dripping entrails while you watch until you take your final breaths", it spoke, it's words changing in volume and clarity.

It was hard to disagree with the demon.