The ground still bore the marks of previous impacts when Victor repositioned himself before Carmilla, the air around them heavy not only with vampiric energy, but with the brutal repetition of trial and error that had been dragging on for hours. The technique she had demonstrated at the beginning seemed simple when observed from the outside—an instantaneous, almost elegant displacement, as if the body simply ceased to obey the linearity of space—but in practice it was something completely different. There was nothing smooth about it for someone who didn't yet understand their own body at the necessary level. There was only misdirected force, uncontrolled speed… and immediate consequences.
Victor advanced again.
