The marble had dimmed in both power and intensity since it first entered Mia's mana pool, but in turn it now sat nestled at the very core of her runic model. It was a steady foundation that stabilised the overly complex structure, the power within radiating out through revolving arms and ever changing geometric shapes. Any feeling of fragility was gone from her runic-model, and it now moved with speed and precision beyond what it had even before she had made it absorb a few too many runes.

As a downside, the marble was still there, sitting in her mana pool like a clump of heavy metal. It was a constant source of discomfort that Nikki admitted would only go away once she reached Rank 1 and her mana pool strengthened, her own mana reaching the same density as the marble's.

The benefits outweighed the downsides by a wide margin, though. One benefit was of course the increased speed with which she could assemble spell circles, another was the fact she could now once again add runes to it without having to fear slowing that speed, but neither was the reason Mia was absolutely thrilled with her accomplishment.

No, that went to the main benefit of upgraded runic-models: the ability to add in more complex and/or higher Rank runes.

She could now use the duplicate runes she had to make Rank 1 runes by infusing one rune with its duplicate, reinforcing both its structure and power as a result. Once she had a whole set of Rank 1 runes needed for a spell circle, the power of the spell itself would soar to new heights.

Thankfully, she still had the duplicate Lexicons she'd gotten from prior Rifts, so she could get started on that. Once she ran out though, she'd have to really start working on her mana manipulation skills because manually making her own duplicate runes would be the quickest and cheapest way to strengthen her whole arsenal of spells.

Every single part of this would be straining for her Rank 0 Spirit, which was why Nikki recommended only choosing a single spell to upgrade and make it her trump card.

Thinking back onto the tiny snowflake Nikki had made with her chanted spell, Mia thought it likely that spell was the ice mage's sole Rank 1 spell. A trump card of sorts for when casting a single powerful spell was worth it even if it left you with the spiritual equivalent of a severe hangover combined with a migraine from hell.

Mia's choice fell onto Spectral Blade. She would have gone with Arcane Blast, but the spell circle would be unusable until she had all of the included runes reinforced to Rank 1. Imbalance was dangerous in spell circles, so using the spell while some of its runes were Rank 0 and some weren't would be asking to get her hand blown off by the way of a backlash.

Which was also why she didn't use one of the Arcane Bolt variants. Too many runes were shared among those spell circles, so upgrading one would put all the rest out of commission until she got around to reinforcing the other few runes they had unique to themselves.

It was a bit of a pain in the butt, but she sadly had to go for the option, which would get her a trump card of her own as quickly as possible. The Rift delve loomed close. The location of it was known and today would be the day they cleared the way.

Multitasking upgrading to [Greater Multitasking] was a nice surprise too, though it didn't give anything really new. It just did the exact same thing as before, but better. Mia could more easily focus on more than one thing. She could focus on more things too, and despite splitting her attention in more ways, the actual brainpower she could give each task was greater. Basically, she could split her mind about three ways before, with each task getting 40% of her brainpower — yes, it didn't 'math' properly, but that was magical Skills for you — and now she could split it … ten times? Maybe a bit more? And each task would get about 50% of her total brainpower. It was kinda awesome, but extremely disorienting the first time she tried pushing the limits. She just plain wasn't used to her mind being stretched in the ways the Skill forced it to stretch.

Mia stared at the ceiling of her room, enjoying the warm sunlight on her face and the soft bed sheet holding her in its embrace. Camie slept next to her, her soft snores and steady heartbeat a calming rhythm that Mia had grown to love hearing. It calmed her on a subconscious level, letting her know she was safe and protected, that the cute redhead sleeping next to her was there.

Sadly, cuddling was infeasible in this weather. Only psychopaths and actors playing in sappy romance movies cuddled when it was midsummer. Mia was damp with sweat even without curling up around the warm body of another person like some koala.

Turning her head to the side, she watched the serene expression on Carmilla's face as she slept and smiled softly. She still couldn't be sure she wasn't just taking advantage of the girl. She wouldn't be sure until Camie got some societal common sense, but for now she decided to let things rest.

Camie liked her, maybe not romantically, but at least as a friend. Maybe she didn't even know what liking someone felt like.

Her mood turned a hint gloomy at that thought, so she forcefully redirected her focus. That was once again just her own greed showing its ugly face. The same greed that blinded her to Camie's naivety the first time around.

Maybe I should talk to her about it. Mia thought, squinting at the redhead sleeping next to her. Camie looked more … mature than her for sure. Would she take well to Mia insinuating that she was emotionally stunted? No, 'would she take well to' wasn't the question she should be asking. That was just thinking about herself again, trying to salvage this maybe-relationship. What I should be asking myself is whether talking to her about it would help? She is technically a grown woman. She should deserve to be talked to like one at least.

Mia took in a slow but deep breath and reoriented herself. She instead did a little mental exercise. If she was Camie, if she put herself into the vampires shoes, would Mia want to be talked to directly with everything put onto the table or be treated like a child whose opinion and decisions didn't matter? The deep grimace that drew deep lines across her face and the indignation twisting her stomach into a knot answered that question as clearly as day.

It may not have been the best choice to make, and maybe keeping Camie in the dark would be overall better for the girl in the long term. Maybe this too was just Mia trying to salvage her relationship with her, but fuck it, she was going to talk to Camie like she was an equal and not some stunted child. She deserved that much and more.

The only question that remained was the 'when'. Now should be good … we are alone and waiting until after the Rift would just be using her again. She should know this before deciding to risk her life fighting with us in th-

Mia's thoughts stumbled and crashed over themselves as the vampiress' eyelids fluttered open, revealing a pair of sleepy ruby eyes that zeroed in on her.

"Hey," Camie murmured, a sleepy smile spreading across her face. "Good morning."

"Y-yeah," Mia muttered, managing a shaky smile. Tonight. We should only be delving into the rift tomorrow, so tonight should be a good time to talk. Yep. Surely. "Morning."

That decision stank of cowardice, which was only made worse by the knot of guilt weighing heavily on her stomach.

"What are you brooding about now?" Camie asked with a suspicious frown, her languid stretch interrupted midway through as she caught some flicker of the emotions playing around with Mia's heart on her face. Or maybe in her scent. "Frowning like that doesn't suit you."

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"I'm not frowning," Mia said, reaching up to pat her face down for any wrinkles. "And I'm most certainly not brooding, I was just … thinking."

"Really?" Camie's eyes narrowed in suspicion as she rolled over to her side, her chin propped up on her palm as she stared at Mia. Her cute button nose sniffed and the look on her face darkened, with worry twinkling in her eyes. "Mia … you can talk to me, you know? That's what being your girlfriend means, right? That we will always be there for each other … right? You promised me just that, so the least I can do is to do the same for you, especially when you smell so miserable."

There was something in her voice, some mixture of determination, vulnerability and hurt that just barrelled right through all the walls Mia had built up around her heart and pierced right into it. Swallowing the lump that formed in her throat, Mia nodded slowly.

"Alright," she said in a voice almost too meek to be her own. "Okay. I was going to talk to you about it tonight anyway, but maybe it's better to get it out of the way. Just … "

Mia swallowed, the words 'please don't hate me' dying on her tongue.

"I'm listening," Carmilla said, sitting upright with her legs crossed and putting on a serious expression on her face, likely expecting some problem that needs solving. Mia jumped a little as the vampire snatched up her hands, holding both of them in her own and starting to draw gentle circles on the backs of her hand with her thumb. "Whatever it is, it'll be fine. Uhm … take a deep breath. That helps … I think."

Mia relaxed a bit, even a smile tugging at her lips at Camie's adorably awkward attempts at comforting her. She complied and took in a deep gulp of air, then let it out in a slow exhale.

"Thanks," Mia said. "I don't really know how best to say this so … I'll just go ahead and say what comes to mind. I feel miserable because I feel like I've been taking advantage of you. No! I know that I've been taking advantage of you."

"Eh?" Camie blinked, lips parting in surprise as the cogs turned in her head. "How? What do you mean? … did you lie about liking me?"

"No!" Mia said in a panic, her voice almost a shout. She took a moment to clamp down on the volume before continuing. "No, I didn't and I still do like you. I just … realised that you haven't had any experience with stuff like this. I mean, I knew that already, but I didn't really understand it."

"Okay?" Camie said with uncertainty, her previous hurt tone giving way to confusion. "I mean, didn't you say that you never had a serious partner before either? How's that different?"

"I had friends though," Mia said, choosing her words carefully. "Social connections, experience with people in general. With emotions and common sense. I … think being stuck in a hospital and then being dead for years might have stunted you a bit emotionally. You … looked desperate for companionship and I sort of used that because I wanted a girlfriend."

Camie's thumbs never stopped caressing her hands even as Mia looked down in shame at her admission. A thoughtful humm tickled Mia's ears.

"I was lonely, and you helped me, you were there for me," Camie said matter-of-factly. "How's that using me? You say you wanted a girlfriend, was that also not because you were just lonely? Just like me? What's wrong with giving each other what both of us want?"

"I … " Mia bit her lips, almost drawing blood as she chewed over Camie's words. It was sort of right, in a way. Mia wanted it to be right, but even her mother agreed that things were not okay. "Urgh. But you, I mean, it's just not- … it's not normal how attached to me you got. It's not normal how you panicked when I scolded you over you running off after I got shot and how easily you bent over backwards to accommodate me. I feel like you'd do anything I ask you to, anything at all just to make me happy and it's freaking me the fuck out."

Mia was breathing like a tired horse by the time she finished her little rant and her voice rose up again. Her hands trembled as Camie's soothing caresses stilled and she dared a glance up at the woman.

Carmilla still looked more confused than anything, but there was also a measure of hurt and naked vulnerability in her eyes that tugged at Mia's heartstrings.

"What's so wrong with that?" Carmilla asked with a bit of defensive indignation. "I want you to be happy, I want you to think … to think it wasn't a mistake to date me."

Her voice was meek by the end, barely a whisper as her eyes grew misty.

"Normal people have a bottom line Camie," Mia said, forcing herself to say the words. "I'm afraid that you don't."

"I-" Camie started, her lips trembling before she took a deep breath. When her eyes once again found Mia's, there was no more confusion in there, determination and trust having taken their place. "I know. Which is why I trust you to have one, to tell me when I go too far. Being a vampire isn't fun Mia. I'm terrified of myself, terrified of what I could do if I gave in to some of my instincts. I told you my ancestors were horrible people, I don't want to become like them but I'm not sure I can manage that by myself. Not without someone to tell me when I go too far."

"Ah- … " Mia didn't have an answer to that. She didn't even know what she could say to a confession like that which wouldn't be some dumb and horribly awkward line.

"Is that why you insisted on those game nights?" Carmilla asked before Mia could gather her thoughts and formulate a response. Mia just nodded dumbly and Carmilla smiled gently. "That's what I mean. I got to know the others much better, I … think I'm also getting better at reading emotions and understanding why people might feel them. I wouldn't have thought of doing that, it just felt … like wasted time at first. But I did it anyway because I thought you knew better. I know that I'm not normal Mia, I know that I lack common sense and experience with many things but I also know that I am a Vampire, I know that I will never be normal. Which is something you seem to have forgotten about."

Have I? Camie's words hit Mia like a runaway truck. Had she really forgotten about the vampire variable in the equation? It was a pretty fucking important variable after all. I mean, me being a Halvyr didn't really change all that much about me, nor did anything all that substantial change with Mom and Mark. Did that make me internally downplay how much being a vampire could affect Camie's life?

It probably did, Mia decided. Even when she talked with her mother about the issue, Camie being a vampire barely even came up as something to consider. They had just entirely dismissed something the woman seemed to be downright terrified of.

Maybe she wasn't just scared of disappointing me, but also of losing to her vampiric nature? It must be terrifying, feeling yourself change and slowly losing what you are.

"I'm sorry," Mia said with her head hung low. There was nothing else to say, she had been a moron, she could only apologise and hope for forgiveness.

"Was that why you've been sorta distant these last few days?" Camie asked, resuming rubbing the backs of Mia's hands with her thumbs.

Mia looked up with a start and let out a short self-deprecating laugh. "Yes. I worried I was pushing you far too much to hurry our relationship along. I had practically forced you into it in the first place. I'd just been too … greedy and lonely to consider how wrong that was. Again … I'm sorry."

"I agreed, didn't I?" Camie said.

"Would you have wanted to be in a relationship with me had I not asked?" Mia asked, a part of her fearing the answer but another knowing she wouldn't be able to live with herself without asking.

"Back then, as I was?" Camie asked, shaking her head softly. "Probably not, no, I was happy to be just friends. But I like what we have now. I'm glad you asked me and I wouldn't change a thing, even if I could."

The vampiress finished her words with a beatific smile that stole Mia's breath away. She just looked so absolutely happy, almost blissfully so that Mia couldn't even think about doubting the truthfulness of her words.

"Just … ask yourself that question every so often," Mia said, hating herself a little for putting cold water over that sunny smile. "And know that even if you want our relationship to change, even if you just want to be friends and nothing more, that's fine by me, and I won't abandon or leave you because of it. Alright? I don't want to make you feel like I'm forcing you to do anything."

"Okay," Camie said with a nod and a soft smile. "If that's what makes you feel better, I'll be doing that. Was that everything you were worried about?"

"Yeah," Mia said after a moment, an invisible weight having been lifted from her chest. She finally felt like she could breathe freely again. "I'm sorry."

"You're so silly, there is nothing to be sorry about." Carmilla pulled her in for a soft embrace, then leaned close to whisper into Mia's ear. "You were just worried about using me and while it was a bit needless, it was nice of you. It just proved again that I was right to trust you. So thank you, but please just talk to me about it next time, we could have spared each other some worrying if you just talked to me."

Mia slowly returned the hug, burying her face in Camie's discordant mess of hair.

"Okay," Mia said meekly, trying not to let the pleasant tingles running down her spine from Camie's soft breaths caressing her ears make her voice tremble. "I promise."

"Thank you," Camie said, leaning back with a smile to stare into Mia's eyes. Mia only saw a flicker of hesitation enter into her blood-red eyes for a brief instant before determination took over and then the next thing she felt was a pair of soft lips pressing a lingering kiss onto her cheek. Then Camie leaned away again, a bashful smile on her face tinged with elation, like a little kid who'd just gotten to do what they'd been dreaming of for weeks. "That should tell you how I feel about our relationship."

"Y-yeah," Mia squeaked. A blush was creeping up her ears, while she was still absorbed in the lingering sensation on her cheek.

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