Lenore lets Gideon deal this time, instructing her on how to do it but letting her have that portion of control. They play a round, interrupted in the middle by one of the guards bringing two more blankets and a pillow, which are set down outside the bars. Lenore leaves them, for now. They'll be easy enough for Gideon to pull through the bars. The cell's cool but not freezing, but there was snow outside and the walls are stone, so it's obvious enough that the dungeons are heated in some way. Three blankets will still be thin comfort to serve as both blanket and mattress, but Lenore is aware it's still an enormous improvement upon cold stone.

After the second round, Lenore leaves the cards and rises. Her fingers linger briefly on Gideon's shoulder, and she bends to press a kiss to Gideon's temple. "I have a busy day tomorrow. I'll try to make time if I can."

She doesn't actually have a busy day tomorrow. The snows are high and Lenore is dead bored. They're all bored, which makes Carmilla vicious, Morana resentful, and Striga stony, so Lenore avoids them, sticking mostly to her cold and lonely room and wanting to spend time instead with her new companion. But she's aware that absence does make the heart grow fonder, and she wants Gideon itching to get out of that cell, driven to want more time with Lenore, to crave being at her side.