Smile.

After talking extensively with Rafi and Mr Dragon, I had just about all the information I was going to get. From there, I gave Vive enough schooling on dark magic that she could practice controlling the shape of her soul, or at least manipulating it. Meanwhile, Rune basically continued the same thing with her manna. Staring at them peacefully meditating… But being able to feel their powers was… Interesting. 'I'm creating monsters…'

Once they got tired, though, they just went back to playing like little girls, word games, card games… Another pillow fight when Vive got caught cheating. I was monitoring her soul the whole time, and it seemed like the real reason they got along so well was that her soul naturally took shape to complement those around her, just like a kid mimicking what they see and feel, only… A lot more literally.

On the one hand, it was a good thing… But on the other it made me start to worry about what might happen if she ended up around the wrong people. I had no idea how long it would take for her soul to solidify more permanently… And there was a war coming. Those were the thoughts that kept me up at night.

'In general… She needs to experience lots of things in order to figure out what kind of person she wants to be… So in that case, having her just be around Rune all the time won't actually do her any good… And might actually do more harm if she starts thinking everyone is as perfect as she is. Well… She still has most of her stats from when she was a demon, so it's not like she's weak… She regenerates rapidly and is crazy fast, even if she lacks strength… Ugh… It's morning already… Time for the practical… I'm glad that in this body I can rest without having to sleep.'

I sighed, looking down at her by my side. Her skin was starting to become less pale, as her body began to shift more and more towards a human, or at least, non-demonic appearance. Her hair started to become fluffy like Rune's instead of coarse and rough like twine, and even her teeth almost seemed less scary somehow as she slept with her mouth open, drooling all over her pillow. 'She still doesn't sleep very well, though, so it's not like she's a perfect copy or anything. She is still her own person… I wish I could somehow figure out how to give her peace of mind so she stops having nightmares even when I'm not around…'

She slowly opened her eyes, rubbing them and taking several slow breaths, almost relaxing more than when she was asleep. "Siya… Do you have to be so close?"

'Does she not like it?' "Well… Would you rather have scary dreams?"

She sighed. "That's not what I said at all…"

"I have to be this close at least to chase away the bad stuff. Once you get more control, and your soul starts to take on a real shape, you can sleep by yourself again… And I mean… You're the one who kept moving closer to me."

Her body straightened out like a pencil before she quickly got to her feet. "How long will that take…"

"Who knows? But… It's likely that the more you experience, the faster it will happen. So, hey, do you want to come watch my practical exam? I'm sure Rune is getting bored of staying by herself, so you can watch out for her while I'm being tested."

"Why would she need that?" She groaned, slowly getting to her feet with a yawn.

"Hopefully she won't, right? But… You should know this place isn't exactly favorable to people who are small and look weak. In her case, she actually is. She was bedridden for years. Even though she's been working hard, her muscles can't just get strong with only a few months of moving around again…"

I sighed, holding her tightly as I stood up as well, and we both got to work making breakfast while she stayed out like a light. "You, on the other hand, have the opposite going for you. Even after breaking free from being a demon, you retained most of the strength from the transformation. You've noticed, haven't you? Well… As far as raw strength goes, maybe it didn't go up so much, but you might even be faster than Mo, and she's one of the fastest people I've ever known. Maybe it's because you're regenerative capabilities allow your body to remove restrictions on the speed of muscle contraction for safety."

She squinted at me for a moment before rolling her eyes. A habit I had come to learn meant that I said something weird. "So I should look out for her because I'm strong? I don't get it… Why should I do it just because of that?"

'She really is almost like a blank slate, huh…' "Well, to be honest, that's not really a good reason to do anything. But think about it this way. If Rune got hurt, it would make me really sad, and it would make it harder for her to smile, too. She wouldn't be able to play with you anymore, much less make you laugh. I mean, just thinking about that, doesn't it make you sad?"

"I guess I don't know… My chest feels kinda tight…"

I grabbed the hem of her shirt as she tried to pull it off. "You can't just take you're clothes off because you feel weird. And it wouldn't help anyway."

"Ugh… Fine."

'Seriously… I can't believe I've already gotten used to this…' "That uncomfortable feeling is probably sadness… It has nothing to do with your shirt being tight… And trust me… Actually, feeling it happen is a whole lot worse than just thinking about it."

She furrowed her brow, looking over at Rune, who still didn't so much as move. "So… I should protect her smile… So then she can make me smile… And then I don't have to be sad… Sounds like a pain…" After a moment, her droopy ears began to suddenly point back sharply. "I'll do my best."

"Protect her smile?" I repeated before rubbing her head. 'So cute…'

Her cheeks turned a shade pink as her candy blood filled her face before she quickly turned away, grumbling. "Well, that's what you said wasn't it…"

'And thus, Vive has now become an older sister. Still, I can't help but wonder how this is going to actually turn out.'

Vive helped me finish making a simple soup for breakfast before we woke everyone up. Except for Mo, who was already awake… And presumably just felt like it would be awkward if she got up while we were talking…

Letting out a small groan, Mo stared across the table with an annoyed look on her tired face. "Isy, don't be so nervous. You'll be fine…"

Her hand was so shaky that she could hardly even eat properly. "Who says I'm nervous?"

"You'll be fine. I'll protect your smile." She said softly with a thumbs up, prompting Vive to nearly choke, as complete confusion plastered Isy's face so thoroughly that she actually calmed down.

"See! It's a perfectly normal thing to say!" Vive shouted, pointing at the two of them, her face even more red than before.

'I'm pretty sure she was just teasing you… But ok…' "In that case. I'll protect your smile, too."

Her eyes widened slightly as she quickly looked down, her hands twitching as if trying to find something to do.

'She really is starting to resemble Rune… Speaking of… I should probably put her down if I want her to wake up…'