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 Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:04 pm
 Klopf, klopf, klopf.Aten was the one to knock on the door of Galan's dorm room. The entire family had made the trek down from their apartment close to Asterion University, curious about this young artist who seemed so interested in painting their son. While some of his parents were only mildly interested, Rhys was brimming over the edge with excitement. The small boy was bouncing on Smolder's back, eager to see his new friend once again. Their last conversation had been so stimulating and had offered Rhys so much insight that he could barely contain his joy when he got home that evening. And now, here Rhys was again, doing all he could to keep from screaming delightedly in anticipation. Smolder was trying his best to handle Rhys as the boy bobbed up and down on his dad's shoulders. The fiery fallen had himself leaned over to support the child's weight as he continued to shift awkwardly as he jittered and jerked about. Smolder just accepted that this was his fate. After all, he was the one who agreed to be Rhys' steed for the excursion. It was Smolder's own fault. He knew his son was high energy, and usually he had the energy to cope with Rhys' needs, but as Rhys was growing bigger and stronger Smolder was slowly finding himself less and less able to support Rhys' weight as easily as he once had. His wings felt ruffled and his shoulders had claw marks from where Rhys had gotten too over-eager in the past. Rhys had gotten so carried away in his make-belief at one point that he gripped Smolder's hair from the front and tugged hard like one would demand a horse to halt. Smolder had yelped quite loudly, and even the more reserved Aten had snorted as Smolder's misfortune. But now that they were here, Smolder felt he could finally justify putting his son down. "Alright," Smolder wheezed. "Your horse is tired. It needs a break. Time to get down and use your own little feet for once ... "Rhys pouted, but did as he was told and slid off his father's back just as Smolder lowered himself closer to the ground for easier access. "I was having fun ... " he murmured. They could hear the pout in his tone of voice, but Smolder entirely side-stepped it. "So was I, kiddo. But I ran outta fumes. Can you believe that? You're beating your ol' man already and you're only like. What. 30?" Smolder grinned as Rhys giggled boyishly at his dad's joke and shook his head as if to say 'no way!'. Aten couldn't help but to glance over at Smolder as he watched him passively. Smolder was still hunched over, trying to catch his breath from all the running as he smoothed out the feathers he could reach. Smolder and Rhys were usually evenly matched when it came to energy levels. After all, Rhys had inherited Smolder's indomitable spirit. But it seemed perhaps, finally, that the effects of having a child was finally starting to weigh on Smolder inch by inch. Good. Maybe now Smolder would feel more inclined to be the disciplinary even some of the time instead of always leaving it up to Cassie or Aten. One could only dream. "Rhys." Aten tried to capture the boy's attention to cut Smolder a little slack. As much as it irked Aten from time to time that Smolder didn't really pull his weight as a responsible parent, Rhys would likely never sleep if it weren't from all the play-time with his feathered dad, and for that Aten would be eternally grateful. He loved his son,but he loved his solitude too. "Your father's tired. Come stand by me so we can greet your Galan together."Rhys beamed one of his wide, pearly white grins and moved to join his imp dad, tucking in close to his side as Aten reached down without another word and lightly patted the child's hair. Panda Moor Post order: 1. Aten/Smolder/Rhys -- Ember 2. Cassie --- Moor 3. Galan -- Temius Cerl Temius Looks like Galan gets the whole family! Whoops~ Careful what you wish for! I put a posting order so we all know when to go next and to hopefully keep everyone involved and from getting confused. <3
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:15 pm
Cassie was usually not the one to make a trip to the Academy, wholly by preference. There was some things she was too busy to do, and others she simply had no desire to. Of course, now with Rhys and the other little ones on the way that would all be attending, it seemed to be getting more and more difficult in order to avoid it. Knowing her son, they were bound to get summons to speak to the teachers as well.
Having been watching the antics with a quiet, she pressed her hand against the small of Smolder's back before shaking her head. "It's called look before you leap," she warned but it was in good nature, for she too had gotten caught over her head more than once on Rhys' schemes. She took up Smolder's side away from Aten and Rhys, her eyes wandering over the dorm halls. They were familiar to her, her dorm in the Academy having not been far off.
"Maybe we should take the poor boy out for a treat after," the pink-winged Fallen suggested on an off beat, leaning back the slightest to glance to Aten who most likely shared the most of her sympathies for Galan. She patted Smolder's back again as they waited.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 10:58 pm
The banging came on his door, and Galan jumped up enthusiastically. He set the clean palette down on his drafting table and swiftly dried his hands on a cloth. Crossing the open floor with easy strides, he climbed the short staircase to the hall. It sounded like Rhys had arrived.
Over the phone, a sober voice had informed Galan of the time that the Freshling would be dropped off. So, Galan had put on the kettle for a pot of tea in case whichever of Rhys' parents who had played chauffeur wanted a drink before heading out again. However, when he opened the door, there was an entire gang of adults crowded on the landing.
As first, Galan wondered if they were teachers whose classes he had missed or guidance counsellors here to upbraid him for lacklustre assignments. He felt a growing sense of panic, riveted on their diverse faces. He had not yet lowered his glance enough to notice young Rhys at all.
And so, in a warbling and timid voice he murmured,
"Erm.... Hello? May I help you?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 11:20 am
Smolder coughed as he choked on a rasp, trying his best to stand up as tall as he could muster as Cassie joined him at his side. He put his arm around her, a seemingly affectionate display, but in truth he was just attempting to stabilize himself and needed the extra support to lean on. Hoo! Smolder thought to himself as he sighed heavily. Apparently I need to work out more. Havin' a kid just doesn't cut it.The fallen was practically draping himself over his girlfriend in the most pitiful way, meanwhile Aten was still standing tall. Little Rhys had taken to tapping at the door with his little claws as he waited. He wanted to scrape at it, but he had been scolded enough times for carving in to the wall with them to know not to do it where anybody could see him or hear him. "You mean Smolder?" Aten teased Cassie coolly. "Yes, I suppose he deserves one. What do you think, Rhys?"The little boy nodded his head vigorously in agreement, opening his mouth wide to declare his opinion just as the door opened. Instead the gaping mouth lead to an excited gasp as Galan appeared and addressed them, the boy hopping up and down and clapping his hands. "Galan, Galan!!" he cried excitedly. "We're here, and I brought both my daddies and my mummy! I hope you don't mind!Aten lowered his head towards the young daydream with a bow, offering his usual greeting, while Smolder flailed a limb over his head -- probably his arm -- which immediately flopped back down to his side awkwardly, the fallen trying his very best to sound energetic. "Heeeeeeeeeey ... !" It was a long, sad, drawn out greeting. Not the sort of sad one would expect from someone who was depressed, but perhaps more from someone who was drunk. And while Smolder was not drunk, he was the sort of tired that made his body language very much seem that way. Aten seemed to take note of this without even having to look at his partner and gave a soft huff of breath through his nose, one that was barely audible. "So, you're Galan? The imp asked. "We spoke over the phone. I must apologize first and foremost for my partner here ... " He gestured to the fiery fallen. "Smolder entertained Rhys the entire way here. He might be ... how does he say it? A touch ... 'loopy'?" Aten shook his head subtly. "Secondly, I apologize if we're intruding. If I had known it was going to be the four of us all coming down to your dorm together, I would have given you ample warning. However, it would appear, as usual, little Rhys has plans of his own." Aten smiled down at Rhys then, who was grinning back up at his dad cheekily. "This is Cassie, Rhys' lovely mother." Aten motioned to the pink fallen as he introduced the remainder of the family. "And my name is Ahkenaten. You may call me Aten for short. Please ... let us know if we're intruding? We'll gladly disperse if you start to feel clausterphobic."
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 11:36 am
Cassie chuckled softly. She had meant taking out Galan, but it was already said and done. The Fallen accepted Smolder's weight, just continuing to pat his back gently and affectionately. As the door opened, Cassie blinked, her blond lashes creating a small little blurr. She had not realized that Rhys had gotten himself a Daydream as a friend - not that she minded, but it was entirely unexpected to see a Goblin before them.
"What Aten said," she chimed, patting down her hair with her hand. She seemed completely unphased by Smolder, acting natural at his side. It was just a day in her life. "I'm Cassie," she greeted, but she didn't extend Galan a hand in offering or anything like that. It was still odd to her yet to put on the whole professional adult face. "Rhys was very excited he found someone willing to be his Big Sibling at the school." Her blues eyes shifted to her son that had bounded forward. "Though I agree that maybe not all of us were needed," Cassie chuckled.
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 10:52 pm
The spread of colour standing at his door was stunning. It was like a smorgasbord of delights! Galan stood, gaze roving over them with a sort of silent wonder. As each of them was introduced, he bobbed a little bow, saying their names in turn: "Aten, Cassie, Smolder, a true pleasure to meet you all." Then he turned his attention to Rhys and knelt down to him with a broad smile. "How are you, Rhys? Have you done any more paintings?"
Then he stood and stepped back down a step. "Please, do come in. And mind the stairs, I've put the tea on, if anyone wants a cup? I can put the kettle on for more if there isn't enough, I wasn't expecting--but it's fine, of course! I'm happy for the company..." Galan rambled softly as he led the way down the short flight of stairs. When he reached the bottom, the small Goblin spun on his heels with a glowing smile.
"Perhaps a family portrait? If you have the time, and the interest...?"
Behind him, the room was open-concept, with his captain's bed tucked against the right-hand wall, next to a tall bookshelf, reading desk and floor lamp. Before them, the edge of the partition wall was lined up with his studio space. His drafting table held a number of sketchbooks and school assignments, the easel set with a fresh canvas and a clean palette on his stool. To the left was a cluster of completed and in-progress canvases propped against a small hall table. The left-hand windows looked out over the school grounds, the natural light warming the room with its noon gloaming. A single chair had been set out between the easel and the windows for Rhys to sit, with another stool supporting the teapot and three cups. Galan had clearly not been expecting a full house, but he had enough space for them to make themselves comfortable without crowding his dorm.
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:07 pm
Rhys' moved his head this way and that as he watched the adults introduce themselves and talk. The way his eyes flashed made it obvious he was primed and ready to react himself if he was spoken to, as if waiting for the moment someone even so much as said his name. The hybrid's eyes locked on Galan with a big, dorky grin in place as his Big Brother knelt down to be closer to him, and the boy swayed with something other than shyness as he waited to hear what the Goblin would say to him. "I'm doing okay!" the boy nodded his head. "I got to play the entire way here, so I am happy! And I haven't been painting much ... though I did paint a picture of what I thought my new siblings would look like! I painted you in too but the colours got mixed together because they weren't dry enough yet and then and then and then ... I just had a mess! I big, splotchy mess! So I want to repaint over that spot. I'm hoping mom will buy me a paint set with proper brushes sometime soon! That way dad won't have to keep cleaning the walls ... "Aten's ears twitched a little at this as he glanced down at his son. The boy, as if sensing his father's gaze only looked up at him and grinned with a loud 'heeee' as he leaned against his dad, who only gave a soft sigh through his nose. Aten made no comment on Rhys' 'murals' as he liked to call them. Whenever the boy got in to a particularly creative mood, he would throw paint on the walls by the bucket full and smear his hands around to create 'art'. This only ever happened under Smolder's care, but Aten always had to clean up the mess. "Thank you, Galan." Aten said with a subtle smile in place. "Tea would be lovely. Your offer of a family portrait is quite generous ... if you are going to such an effort, perhaps we ought to pay you for your troubles."Smolder perked a little, finally pulling himself up from around Cassie's shoulder. "Do we ... need to sit still for the portrait?" The fallen asked a bit hesitantly, glancing at Rhys as his son peered back at him from over his shoulder. "I dunno how long I can sit still for. I need to keep myself movin'. I get kinda restless easy. But, then again, a family portrait does sound kinda cool and old fashioned! I'd be down fer that!"The trio followed Galan in to his dormroom at his direction, Aten reaching behind him to take Cassie's hand in his giant, fluffy one as he urged Rhys to take the lead and follow his upper classman. Rhys was all to eager to see what the big kids' dorms looked like, and peered around with wonder and amazement, expression drinking in his surroundings with widened eyes. Not only had he never seen an Academy dorm before, he had never seen a big kid's room, let alone a daydreams! This was all so new and exciting to him! "Coooooooooooool!" the boy cooed happily with admiration. "Your place is so neat! I wish my room looked like this!!"
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Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 6:35 pm
Cassie continued to lean into Smolder, a slight tilt to her head as she just listened with a perfectly bemused expression. She loved all the energy in their household, thought she knew one of these days she was probably going to stop being the sane man. They had three more on the way, and the more and more she thought about it, the more she feared disaster. "Maybe if Galan teaches you," the pink-winged Fallen cooed to her son, her own ears twitching the slightest. There were plenty of things Rhys could do with a full, proper paint set with brushes, and most of them didn't seem to involve actually painting in her head.
"Smolder," she chastised quietly, poking him between the ribs with a finger at his commentary. Cassie was well aware of how hard it was for him to sit still, but the polite thing to do was just suck it up. She shook her head, blue eyes bright despite the sigh that escaped her lips. "If that's what you want to do Galan, we are all for it."
She stepped away as the others lead inside, a new smile cropping up on her face as Aten took her hands. She gave his a solid squeeze back in return, taking up the rear.
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2016 7:02 pm
Galan's tail curled up behind him, pleased that they had acquiesced. He bustled about, pouring out tea for the three adults first, before scampering over to the stairs that led to the kitchenette he shared with his surrounding dorm neighbours. As he set the kettle on to boil, he listened to Smolder's concern about sitting still and couldn't help but chuckle. So that's where Rhys got it from!
"I'll do a sketch first!" He called up from the stairwell. "You can move around while I work on the other members of your family... Hopefully you don't mind if I arrange you back into your pose? For consistency's sake, you see..." Galan trailed off and scurried back to fetch one of the larger teapots and began rifling through cupboards for his looseleaf. He never could seem to find anything when he needed it in this kitchenette, and he was fairly certain some unknown dormmate was eating his condiments. Soon, he had the tea in the pot's strainer and a dish to pull the leaves, along with 2 freshly washed cups for him and Rhys. Then, precariously balancing the slightly too-full pot, the dish and one mug in his hands, and his tail curled tightly around the handle of the second mug, he made his way back to his floor.
As he shuffled a few things to make everything fit on the tray -- setting out his tea service on the floor near the window instead so that it would be easily accessible by all and fetching a number of pillows from his Captain's Bed for them to make themselves comfortable on -- he heard Aten's suggestion.
"Oh! I..." He fidgeted unsurely, looking around at his dormroom in embarrassment. "I'm no professional... It... It wouldn't feel right to charge you. I'm still learning, and my portrait might not...be to your liking." He cleared his throat awkwardly, scuttling over to pour himself and Rhys their cups of tea. As he handed the cup to his Little Brother, he offered a warm smile and clinked mugs with him before spooning in some honey from the tray and taking a sip.
"Well, shall we get started? Please, have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable! I'd like to get a general sense of the composition first, and then I'll have you sit in turns so that you can relax when I'm not working on your portrait." He offered them all an exuberant smile, clearly enthused for the opportunity.
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2016 10:35 pm
"In such a case" Aten began as he waited for his family to seat themselves first, motioning to Cassie to make herself comfortable on one of the cushions Galan had brought, releasing her hand after yet another small squeeze. He was accustomed to making sure everyone was organized and settled before he himself relaxed. "Why don't we see what the portrait looks like, and when it is done, if the family approves, we shall offer you a sum." Smolder looked a little hesitant himself. Not only was he nursing a sore ribcage from Cassie's death poke, but now he was only thinking of his hurting wallet if they paid Galan. He never much understood the value of art, but figured Aten knew what he was talking about. All that aside, Smolder did know what it was like to be stuck on a student's budget, and, heck! He was still stuck on one. While raising a child, no less. And while he understood what it was like to be a starving student, that same line of thinking left him a bit wary of giving someone else his hard earned money. As if Aten could sense his thoughts, the imp gave the fallen a stern look, and Smolder corrected himself mentally. Alright, alright! Aten's hard earned money! Well, I suppose it's alright then if he does pay him something for the painting ...
Putting his arm back around Cassie, Smolder gave a soft, barely audible huff, managing to pass it off as a teasing puff of air at Cassie's ear as if to ruffle her ear feather's.
Rhys excitedly took his cup from Galan, only to have it be clinked, the boy's smile still glued on his face as his eyes bulged as the hot liquid spilled on his shirt, thanks to his clumsy grip. The boy didn't seem to react, despite how hot it was -- he had suffered worse burns -- and isntead watched as the Goblin spooned honey in to his own cup, looking up at his mentor and the gooey, golden substance rather admiringly, expression becoming slightly more normal again. He had never had tea before. Or honey! He was curious to try the honey, actually, and peered at the honey spoon with a great interest.
"May I have some honey?" Rhys asked, reaching for the spoon. Aten without a word stepped in and took the spoon before Rhys could make an even bigger mess of himself, swirling the spoon in the honey a little to gather it up before spooning it in to his drink to sweeten him for it. Aten hoped to make a tea lover of his son yet, and he hoped sweetening the beverage unnecessarily would assist his young taste buds with the acquired taste.
"That sounds lovely. Who do you wish for first?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2016 7:52 am
"Consider it compensation for dealing with us then if it's not the case," the pink-winged Fallen chirped from behind her fluffy boyfriend's tall stature. She really had no qualms with following through with the idea. Galan at least seemed like a nice boy, and she took a step out to side in order to watch them all better interact. As she was tugged down, Cassie more than happily melted into the cushion Aten directed to, her legs tucked up and underneath her as she usually sat and relaxed.
She watched her son with bright eyes, giving Smolder a small smile as he came closer. She wiggled her ears in response to the ticklish breath, raising a brow as she looked to him. Her boyfriend was just a weirdo sometimes, but she leaned ever the slightest into him. Literally no reaction passed her face as she watched Rhys spill on himself - they did laundry multiple times a day in their home, after all. Of course, Aten couldn't let that happen even if it was on par with the course, and she shook her head the slightest. Cassie was sure Galan wouldn't bother to paint a stain, and it was her turn to do the laundry anyway. It was fine.
"Some of us take up more room than others," she teased to follow up Aten's comment as a reminder to the Day Dream, spreading out a wing to the side that Smolder did not sit.
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Cerl Temius rolled 1 4-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-4)
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2016 1:44 am
As the family settled, their colours washing against one another like a meeting of the seasons, Galan adjusted the angle of his easel and stool and began preparing his canvas. He let his gaze rove over them all in turn, smiling as his eyes fell on Rhys attempting to navigate his honeyed teacup.
Who to begin with? Even as he was pondering, his hand was moving over the canvas in long, loose strokes. He was merely marking things out in graphite and chalk at this stage, his loose lines each a different colour to represent each of his subjects. Red for Smolder, brown for Aten, green for Rhys, pink for Cassie.
Eenie meenie miney ming...
Catch a Fallen by his wing!
He decided with a small flick of his tail.
"Smolder, I'll start with you, so that you don't have to sit still for too long, alright? Everyone else, keep your general positions, but feel free to talk or relax. Smolder, I'd like you to curve one wing forward over your shoulder...and prop one arm up on your knee? And look towards Cassie, just a little." He sketched furiously on his canvas and glanced back at his subject. "Yes, perfect, just hold that!" Galan declared excitedly, as the red chalk came to life beneath his fingertips, the form and shadow of Smolder resolving from the litch-scratch on the canvas.
Ember-Babe 2 - Aten, 3 - Smolder, 4 - Rhys
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 4:13 pm
Smolder was just kind of in that position already. He hadn't really needed to do much else to achieve Galan's desired position, but he did decide hamming it up would be the best possible thing he could. And so, the fiery fallen gave Cassie a rather dopey, puppy-dog look as he batted his long scarlet lashes at her. He was trying to make up for whatever it was he had apparently done wrong to deserve her 'Smolder'ing. "How long should I hold it for?" Smolder asked, suddenly trying really hard not to blink as if that might screw up the picture. One minute he went from looking cute and dorky to looking like a monster as he scrunched up his face, squinting heavily as he tried not to blink. But his eyes were getting so drrryyy ... ! "You can blink ... just don't move otherwise, and you'll be fine, Smolder." Aten tried to offer, keeping a watchful eye on Rhys as the boy started to wander around the apartment curiously. "This is SO COOL!! The boy restated before noisily slurping his tea. "This is what a big person dorm looks like, then! I probably won't live in a dorm m'self until I go to that big people school like dad and mum. Oh, that's that--!!"As Rhys bounced further and further away, Aten only managed to give a soft sigh before gently addressing the boy. "Rhys, come here. Your friend Galan is trying to do something nice for you and has requested you stay put. Come back, please."Rhys ... couldn't really argue with that. Galan [i[was his friend and was doing something nice for him. So he should have just listened and stayed where he was asked to. But Galan just had so many neat things! "Do you have any adult toys, Galan?"Smolder nearly choked on the tea he wasn't drinking. Aten glanced at Cassie, knowing that Rhys hadn't meant anything by it. "Do you still have Rhys' bag, my love? I can give him one of his toys out of that to help keep him entertained."
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 3:12 pm
She gave a short nod, pushing her fingers through her hair. She could do that. Almost immediately she caught Smolder's gaze, putting on a smirk of a smile. Yeah, the Fallen kind of was her ham. She relaxed the slightest, keeping still as Galan requested while making herself comfortable. She listened to him sketch, finding the noise of the chalk on the canvas slightly comforting despite the slight awkwardness around the whole encounter.
"Rhys, baby," she sighed, the same thoughts passing Cassie's mind as Aten's. She glanced to him instead, watching him with a curiosity. Galan didn't seem like the type to get upset and had to be used to the child by now, so her desire to reign him in was a bit more muted.
Her eyes closed at the comment, reacting a bit more subtly than Smolder. They were grades of seriousness, and she fell somewhere in the middle where a short chuckle escaped her. Poor Galan. Maybe he wasn't used to their child by now. "Rhys, you can have anything out of your bag you want, just don't touch Galan's things, okay?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 1:40 am
"I..." Galan faltered. Adult Toys?? Surely the child didn't realize what he was asking! And even if he did, unless his family were extremely free-loving and open about their sexual habits, it didn't seem the sort of thing to discuss in front of new friends! Even just thinking about it was making Galan's cheeks go mint with embarrassment.
Thankfully, Rhys' folks seemed to be on the same wavelength and were coaxing their child away from poking around. "I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of toys...but, if you like stuffed animals, I have a collection growing on my top bunk?" Galan offered. He was perfectly happy to let Rhys play with his plushies. They were soft, free of chocking hazards, and (most importantly) adorable.
Under his brush, the basic blocks of Smolder's form had been laid down, just key colours at this point, but they needed to dry before they could be worked. In the meantime, he was moving on to Aten. "Aten, You're next. Smolder, you can relax, thank you!" Galan piped cheerfully.
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