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 Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 11:25 am
Well, damn. It was still worth a try. Mal leaned forward with interest, apparently fascinated with the color that flushed Bilibaub’s face. “Oooo… that’s a nice color for you,” he commented, although he leaned back for another drink of whiskey, thus entirely missing Kaisa’s dramatic entrance. Well, almost completely missing it… Bilibaub wasn’t the only one who was surprised at the effeminate man’s more warlike side. Mal was plenty surprised himself. Although, really, he shouldn’t have been. After all, he hardly looked like the epitome of warrior-hood himself, but he could hold his own in a barfight.
Alright, fine. Maybe he was a little impressed by Kaisa. It took a very special type of man to interfere in a barfight. It was almost a pity that the fight was stopped by the girl from earlier, the one who had gone in the backroom with Shane. Maybe he ought to rile up the mountain-man again, just to see how Kaisa would react further…
“You know, when a man immediately uses ‘queer’ as an insult, you know that he’s gotta be a little confused about his own se--” whatever else Mal was going to say was cut off by Rem slapping him on the back of the head once more.
For some reason, Rem wasn’t quite as surprised as Mal was. “Shut up, Mal; you don’t want to start another barfight, do you? And, so help me, if you say one word about hoping to see someone’s shirt ripped off, I’ll hit you again but this time harder.”
Rem liked a future that lacked fights. He was, in some ways, more of an observer than a fighter. While Mal was busy watching Kaisa---God, could the man be more obvious?----Rem was busy watching Meshach. Was it just his imagination, or did the man relax slightly at the girl’s interference? It was more than just a feeling of ‘oh thank God, the fight is over’ type of relaxation. As Rem recalled, the man had arrived slightly after the girl…
Maybe they were somehow connected. It was absolutely none of Rem’s business, but he tended to amuse himself with things that were, in no way, his business.
“Do you two know each other?” he asked curiously, pointing a finger at Silence and then at Meshach.
Mal rubbed the back of his head and glared mildly at Rem. “Fine, fine, you old goat…” he swiveled his chair back to face Kaisa once more. “You want another drink? I’ll pay.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 7:13 pm
To be honest, Kaisa wasn't actually disappointed at the break-up of the potential brawl, but neither was he glad for it. He didn't have to waste his time trashing someone who had as much space between ears as he did between the sides of his helmet, and he was satisfied with that. He like a challenge, not a one-sided beatdown.
Whatever other weaponry Kaisa might have concealed he hadn't planned to use it, either. With the sword dropped he'd intended to retrieve his chain and next use it to wrap the brute's ankles. Nothing was more embarassing to a "man of honor" than being tripped up in a fight.
He yanked on his chain, still wrapped around the sword, and the weapon shot back toward him along with the glittering links. He sidestepped the blade and caught the hilt - so maybe he was a bit of a show off, so what? - and proceeded over to Silence. "Perhaps you should hold on to this until our large acquaintance remembers his manners... or leaves?" He was facing her directly, so there was no need for her to worry about being able to see what he was saying.
Weapon deposited - hopefully safely - out of reach he put his chain back on and clapped Mal on the shoulder. "I'm always up for more drinks!" And just for the hell of it he batted his eyes at Bilibaub in passing, smirking evilly as he returned to his seat. "What were we talking about before we were so rudely interrupted?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 5:34 am
Meshach couldn't help being impressed by the display Silence had put on. It couldn't have been easy for her to walk into the middle of a budding brawl and take charge, but she did it admirably. He scowled briefly at the mug in his hand, though, after she had asked why she suspected he had something to do with this. He scowled both because it was beer and he had wanted vodka, and because he resented how she immediately blamed him.
As Meshach heard Rem's question and Silence did not, it was Meshach who responded, and he answered, "We've known each other for a few months. We were travelling companions recently. Between you and me, I think the walking tin can's lucky she didn't chop him into little pieces. Her temper is fearsome."
The walking tin can, better known as Bilibaub Hugriet, had downed his beer very quckly after Kaisa pretended to flirt with him and hurried out of what he was certain was a bar for queers and cross-dressers, leaving his weapons behind. As far as he was concerned, if the dragon went that way, it definitely deserved to die, but he could kill it elsewhere. To have remained in that place was an affront to his masculinity.
Meshach, while he was speaking, had moved to sit with Mal and the others. Drinking was best done with other people, he had observed on numerous occasions in his past. And it was even better done with people one liked. Meshach felt he could like these people quite a lot. He didn't have to be so serious with them as Silence seemed to require of him.
Silence, meanwhile, took the sword from Kaisa and put it behind the counter at his suggestion, though the knight had already departed. She wondered how he had known to speak to her thus, looking directly at her and all that. As far as she could tell, she had done nothing to give away that she was deaf. Perhaps she had missed something someone said to her?
Sorry it's short. I'm a bit short on creativity today. I just got back from DC and I'm dying of exhaustion.
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Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:10 pm
Rem smiled slightly at Meshach’s description of Silence. “It seems like all women have terrifying tempers,” he said, thinking about Nyhali and Laura. Oh, and his own sister as well, although she had generally selected less… obvious methods of revenge. It seemed like all the women that Rem knew had terrible tempers. If he was a stupid man who had no use for his legs---and other parts of his anatomy in that general vicinity---he would have made a comment that contained suspicious phrases like ‘month’ and ‘that’ and ‘time’. But, he rather liked keeping everything intact and kept his mouth shut.
“Traveling from where?” he asked instead. It was absolutely none of his business, but he had a tendency to get involved in that sort of thing. Besides, Mal was currently distracted and unlikely to get into too much trouble. In truth, Rem actually wanted to ask about Nyhali, but… well, he was a bit shy…
Luckily for him, Mal wasn’t shy at all, or at least he wasn’t when embarrassing other people.
“Actually, we were makin’ Remmy blush. But, it’s time for a new game… you know Nyhali? Never met her myself, but I’m curious. She must be somethin’ to make Rem sit up and notice.”
Rem’s hand automatically migrated to his face, hoping to cover up as much of his blush as possible.
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Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 7:00 am
"Other species which claim to be male-dominated actually are. Humans, who usually are male-dominated, seem ever to be held in terror by some woman in their life. In my life, it would seem to be Silence." Meshach smiled, hoping it wasn't too "toothy," as Silence called the way he smiled when he was pleased with something or feeling smug. "We were up in the Untamed Mountains. She used to live there. I think she's decided that she lives here, now, though."
Meshach raised his eyebrows. He did make an earnest effort to try to remember if he had met a Nyhali or no. Ah, yes. Silence had broken her arm. That had been some time ago. But could he recall the young woman who had come to their aid? He remembered her griffin, mostly because Kedri's presence and Trill's reaction had been one of the early signs of Trill's pangs of adolescence, which seemed universal in every species.
"Nyhali? Red hair, fair skin, and green eyes? Flirt of a griffin called Kedri? She's good-looking, I suppose, if you like red hair."
Coming from someone whose own hair was copper colored, this may have been an odd statement, but Meshach was not really particularly fond of the color of his hair, even if it was close to the color he had been as a dragon. It was not the same, and he resented the reminder.
Silence continued to stand behind the counter, though she had ceased to whistle some time ago, being unsure as to whether or not she was making any sound and not wishing to look like a total idiot by blowing soundless air between her lips.
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Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 8:54 am
Kaisa raised an eyebrow at Meshach. "You've seen her then?" He looked back at Mal. "I've heard guys compare her to a goddess... I usually compare her to a griffon, but then, I'm more fond of griffons than gods."
He spun the stool again - come on, it was fun! - and grinned. "She's got a griffon's temper, that's for sure. One to match that hair of hers. Let's see... she's common born, but on the high end of the food chain. Grew up along with the sons of the noble family she's been adopted into. Got adopted because of her temper, actually, though they labeled it "an act of bravery". She likes griffons, dogs, horses, and people who act like people and not social dolls. She also knows how to fight, but I guess Remmy saw that the other night."
A few more thoughtful spins on the stool. "Let's see... she plays well with others for the most part. She's not much for nonsense. She's actually quite sweet most of the time, though she'd probably deny it. She doesn't like fancy clothes unless she has to wear them for a reason. She and Kedri are inseparable." He glanced slyly over at Rem. "She likes blondes." She was also affectionate when tipsy, but had a pretty damn high alcohol tolerance, and had been saving herself for someone special for as long as he'd known her... Though he was keeping those tidbits to himself for now. And the truth about her identity, but he wasn't going to spill that one even if he got drunk.
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Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 12:39 pm
Meshach nodded. Of course he had seen her. Would he have claimed it otherwise? Well, he might have, simply to amuse himself, but in this instance he hadn't.
"I'll be back in a minute."
A glance at his mug of beer had told him a distressing truth: it was empty. He wondered how high of an alchohol tolerance he had in a human form. As a dragon, alcohol was merely a fun way to breathe fire. Now seemed an ideal time to find out.
He walked over to Silence and stood directly in front of her. Actually, he leaned on the counter across from her so that there was next to no space between them. She probably couldn't read his lips that way, he realized and backed off a little.
"What does a person have to do to get another drink around here?" he asked.
Silence raised her eyebrows. "Pay for it. In advance." Her expression sweetened. "Do you have any money?"
Meshach blinked. And then he blinked again. What sort of a question was that? She knew as well as he did that he had no money. There hadn't exactly been an opportunity for them to swing by his hoard so he could pick up some expensive baubles and trinkets, though the idea was appealing once he considered it. Perhaps once he was sure Silence would be safe for some time he might make that trek.
"Isn't it free for friends of employees?"
"No. Sorry, Meshach."
Meshach sent her a pleading look at which she raised her eyebrows unsympathetically. When it became apparent that she was not going to change her mind, he began to trudge dejectedly back to where Mal, Rem, and Kaisa sat.
"She won't give me free drinks," he told them, smirking. The smirk didn't match the statement.
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Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 1:17 pm
“Everyone loves blondes,” Mal said with a shrug, while eyeing Kaisa’s hair. He couldn’t tell that it wasn’t the man’s natural hair color; if he had known, he probably wouldn’t have cared all that much. Maybe a little.
Rem had been carefully listening to each and every one of Kaisa’s words all the while trying to look like he was thinking of something else entirely. He didn’t do a good job of it, mostly because his expensive education had not included things like acting. Since it seemed like there was no more information about Nyhali to be learned from Kaisa, Rem said, “Can’t we change the subject?” in a pleading tone of voice.
Mal, being Mal, reached over and ruffled Rem’s hair happily. “See, that’s why everyone loves blondes. Because Rem is blonde. And it’s just not possible to hate Remmy. It’d be like kickin’ a puppy.” Even Mal liked him! And they had been on opposite sides of a war. “Ok, ok… in deference to Rem’s wishes, we’ll talk about something else…” Damn. What else could they talk about that would make him blush in an adorable manner?
…Actually, there was probably a whole slew of topics that could do that. That, Mal suspected, was probably one of the reasons why everyone liked Rem. He blushed easily.
Luckily for Rem, Mal had a short attention span and had heard about Meshach’s difficulty with the waitress. Drinks! Clapping Meshach on the shoulder in a friendly matter, he said, “Fine, fine… I’ll do the honorable thing and go get the drinks.”
Mal’s usual method of ‘getting drinks’ involved stealing from someone in the bar and then using that money to pay for the booze. Unfortunately, he knew everyone here. It was bad form to steal from people who he knew and actually liked. Fine… he had some of his own money. He made his way over to Silence and ordered the next round of drinks. He wasn’t quite sure what everyone wanted, so he guessed, mostly by choosing names that he liked.
Rem doubted that his blush was gone, but at least Mal had found something else to distract himself with.
On the other hand, that left the socially awkward Rem on his own, trying to make conversation with two almost-strangers. The thing about Mal was that he treated everyone---even people he just met---like long-lost friends. Rem had never mastered that art.
Well, there were always gryphons to talk about… that seemed like a safe enough topic. What Rem really wanted to ask about was Bilibaub and why he was so insistent on killing Meshach, but that seemed like prying. Actually, it just occurred to him that he didn’t know the copper-haired man’s name. To be fair, he didn’t think that Meshach knew their names either.
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Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 1:39 pm
In all fairness, blonde was Kaisa's natural hair color. It was the other colors he put in it from time to time that were fake. Even some other colors of blonde. Either he was like a vain griffon that liked getting his feathers painted, or maybe he was jealous of his birds... he never really delved into the matter.
Kaisa was being silently amused by Rem's blush and Bilibaub's swift retreat when Meshach returned and complained about not getting any more drinks. He didn't bother to disguise the fact that he was watching Mal cross the room to retrieve more, deciding offhandedly that he'd get the next round.
He then spun his stool and offered a hand to Meshach. "Kaisa d'Siriphine." He did things out of order, maybe, but he got them done. Almost as if reading Rem's mind he inquired, "So if you know the woman, do you know the griffons, too? I'm glad that big fella didn't decide to follow the little one inside earlier. Woulda been quite the mess."
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 6:37 am
Silence took Mal's order, remembering the names easily. This was due, in part, to the fact that she had a good memory. Mostly, though, it was due to the fact that the names were memorable, and sounded far more like things one might try with one's lover than drinks. She had never heard of any of them, which might have panicked her, since she wasn't even entirely certain she had read Mal's lips correctly, maybe the names were innocuous and she was mis-reading him?
"That'll be just a minute," she said, hoping that her worry didn't come out in her tone.
Then she fled briefly to the back room and saw, to her relief, a chart on the wall with all the mixed drinks a person could ever think to want. Admittedly, they were not in perfectly alphabetical order, being ordered instead by their components and then being ordered alphabetically, but she managed to find all of the drinks Mal had requested. She also managed to mix them, though she doubted that Shane would take so long in doing it. Shane was experienced. Silence was not. But she would learn.
While Silence was mixing drinks, Meshach was hearing Kaisa's self-introduction and inquiry about Silence's griffins.
"Meshach Draconne," he responded to Kaisa's introduction. Privately, he thought that Kaisa's name was one he would have enjoyed speaking in a dragon's form, with all the assonance in his second-name, but he didn't mention this. "And, yes, I'm well-acquainted with those griffins. They're both Silence's. The small grey one which came in here is Chade, and the oversized spotted one is Trill. And, knowing Trill, it would have been more like a disaster than a mess. He's curious and not always mindful of his tail and wings."
He winced to illustrate his point. Fond though he was of the large griffin which was so over-protective of Silence, it was an undeniable fact that Trill had reached a size where he took up a great deal of space even when not making any effort to do so. Had he charged into the tavern, ready to defend Silence from real or imagined foes, there would have been a great deal of accidental destruction.
Silence came over, then, with a tray and drinks. When Silence repeated back the name of each drink as she distributed them, Meshach's eyebrows shot toward his hairline. Apparently, Mal had been extravagant. The drinks had probably been chosen based on their names' salacious natures. That Silence could say them without batting an eye gave Meshach cause to wonder what sort of a life she'd really led before meeting him.
Meshach eyed his suspiciously. It was neon green on the bottom and hot pink on the top with an orange slice on the rim of the glass. It looked more like she was trying to poison him than anything else. He was reassured by everyone else's drinks' similar vibrancy. Unless she was trying to kill them all.
"Do you keep griffins?" he asked once Silence had left. He was looking at Kaisa, but wouldn't have been surprised if one of the others answered.
Okay, I swear I'm working on a sketch of Meshach, but he's not done yet. Here is a Silence pic, in case you've forgotten (or never knew) what she looks like.
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Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 12:50 pm
Rem, like Meshach, eyed the brightly colored drinks dubiously. There had to be something wrong with people when they drank things that looked like rainbow vomit. How was it possible to make those colors anyway? Mal, apparently eager to show off his money, had bought drinks for everyone, including Rem. Damn him for that… he knew that Rem didn’t drink. He especially didn’t drink things that could put butterflies into epileptic fits. His own drink, neon green and orange, was slid slightly further away, since Rem was half worried that it might attack.
“I’m Remiel Quillan,” he said, properly introducing himself to Meshach. “And he’s Malcolm Lansing.” Huh. He had to wonder if Meshach or Kaisa had heard the name before. Mal had certainly spread enough rumors about himself to warrant such a thing.
Mal was simply amused by the reactions and examined his purple and blue drink with interest. The stuff collecting on the bottom of the glass was a dark blue while the fluid near the top was a florid purple. Upon his introduction, he waved slightly at Meshach, as if the man wasn’t sitting three feet away.
“Gryphons? Yeah, I’ve got Aeron. He’s a handful.”
If Rem had been the type of man to snort, he would have snorted then. Since he wasn’t, he merely stared incredulously at Mal.
“A handful? Mal, Tali is a handful. Aeron’s simply…” he waved a hand in the air, as if trying to form a word by movements.
“Stubborn,” Mal said, putting it very mildly.
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Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 1:50 pm
Kaisa was more amused by the bright colors of the drinks than he was surprised by them. Especially since his almost matched his outfit. He shrugged and downed it. Only live once.
Several moments passed and he failed to topple over dead, so it seemed the drinks weren't poison. There might still be a question of if they were safe. "Two griffons of my own. Though I usually have at least five others on my hands at any one time. I train them." He pointed off toward the yard. "You might have seen Tiamat out in the yard, the big red and black girl. Though Trill makes her look small. If we're sticking with one word descriptions... hers would have to be imperious." He spun around on the stool once again, if briefly. "I didn't bring Fafnir with me this trip. His sister's brooding and her mate got killed by some wild griffons, and he's being... protective, to say the least. I'd sooner disturb a rabid wolf."
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:41 pm
Well, good. It seemed as though everyone was having a fabulous time!....Even if someone had threatened her shiny new building with several pieces of sharp metal.
Shane had seen everything, lingering just inside the threshold of the entrance to the back employee-only area of the bar. She hadn't interfered for a few reasons - one, she wanted to see how Silence (odd little name, but kinda cute in a way) could handle things. Two, the barkeep would have preferred to preserve her new outfit and not get into a tussle...selfish as that was. Oh well. And three, it was an excellent time to see if some hopeful-future regulars would abide by her 'Do Not Fight Inside' rule. They had - she liked them already~
Not that Shane hadn't been ready for trouble. Turning back to the desk, she tossed the few throwing knives she had managed to pick up onto the desk, along with the paper upon which Silence had described herself. Eh...best that she hadn't had to use those daggers. She wasn't the best student at throwing the damn things. Actually, she really wasn't good at all - sharp things meant for killing had always been the Princeling's area of expertise. But maybe if she had hit the armored guy, it could have been a good distraction...?
Sauntering out from the back with a pleasant smile on her face, she gave an approving pat to Silence for taking care of things - mixing drinks included; she could learn quite fast! - and continued on her way down the bar, heading towards the side door that led to the rooms. Her other guest was probably bored by now. And bored Caddie equaled not-safe males. Or not-safe Shane. And not-safe Shane made Shane unhappy.
Passing the group of boys sitting at the table, she gave them a cheery smile and wink. "Don't work my new little helper too hard, now!" she said before ducking behind the end of the bar.
Though, she didn't get very far when the person that could make a not-safe Shane prowled out from the private rooms. Stopping, the bar tender quietly backed herself back under the counter, and reversed her movements completely, mirroring the movement of the new female on the bar-room floor. Yeesh...she didn't look happy.
Some of the earlier bar occupants may remember the strange arrival earlier that morning. And the whole, 'I was ordered for someone?'-bit. Well, having gotten bored with sitting and waiting with absolutely nothing to do, Cadhla had decided that she'd had enough with playing along with her sibling's little schemes.
"Shaney-pie, drink please."
"Yes ma'am!" Aw, s**t, she was annoyed.
Smiling with a faux-calm and reserved air about her - the only way Shane was able to tell that she was mad - the woman took a seat at the bar counter, and mindlessly began twirling a few stray lockes of her auburn hair about her finger. Though, her blue eyes were watching Shane like a hawk.
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 6:17 am
Meshach nodded in response to the others' introductions and statements about their griffins. Apparently, while he was sleeping, griffin ownership had become much more common than it had once been. Well, he wasn't going to complain about that. It meant that they were in less danger of being hunted for the virtues of their feathers and claws and such. He did wonder if, in this day, anyone knew how useful griffin feathers could be when affixed to an arrow shaft.
"I think I did see Tiamat. She's impressive. Imperious would be apt, too, I would guess," he said to Kaisa.
He heard in the introduction Remiel made for Malcolm that he expected the other man's name to mean something to Meshach, but it meant nothing. He had not been seen in Xuan City for well over a century, and Malcolm had certainly not been alive at that time.
"I hope I never have to keep griffins," Meshach said candidly. "I know it would drive me mad, though, to be fair, I think the griffins keep Silence sane."
"I don't think I'm very helpful in that respect," he added under his breath. He couldn't possibly be, considering all the time she spent being unhappy with him.
"It's good for her," he called after the bartender's retreating back. To his mates he muttered, "It keeps her from yelling at people."
Silence, at the bar, was very pleased that Shane approved of what she had done and smiled to herself. She had surprised herself by managing to mix the drinks, but she suspected that the man who had ordered them had never tried any of them before, and wouldn't have known if she had made a mistake or not.
For that matter, Silence didn't know if she had made a mistake in the mixing of the drinks or not. The instructions had assumed a certain level of knowledge which Silence lacked. Some time she would have to ask Shane to explain the business of mixing drinks to her.
Sorry it's short. I'm a bit...eh today.
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Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2007 1:13 am
“Nah, I haven’t checked out the gryphon yard,” Mal said with a shrug, sounding almost a little apologetic for missing out on Kaisa’s Tiamat. ‘Almost’ being the key word here. The truth was that the man rarely apologized for anything and most of the time when he said it, he didn’t actually mean it anyway. “You’ll have to show me.”
No, he was not implying anything else… not really… not yet anyway. Alright, maybe he was suggesting a more private meeting later, but it was a subtle thing.
It was subtle enough to escape Rem’s notice anyway. This wasn’t too surprising. When it came to things like this, the normally sharp and observant man had incipient deafness, blindness, and some sort of brain rot, all quite spontaneously.
But, no brain rot today, so he was able to notice that Meshach didn’t recognize Mal’s name. Well, that was a relief; the poor man had been spending most of his time dodging nobles’ inquiries. It was kinda poetic, really… the man had tried to con his way into a noble family and ended up being suspected as part of a much higher one. And not just any family, but one connected to the throne of Albion… it couldn’t get much better than that.
Rem almost pitied the man, but it was just too hilarious. Things like that never happened in real life; it was much too real for nice little arrangements like that, but here one was.
“Women say that men are the number one reason for insanity.” At least, all of the ones that Rem had spoken to. It always confused him, why they would speak so candidly towards him on such subjects. Personally, he thought people in general were naturally insane. It was somehow built in.
Both men noticed the woman’s arrival. Mal vaguely remembered Shane---this was apparently his new hero’s name---telling the woman to stay in the room until sent for. Because of this, he found it a little odd that she left the room now. Also, called the bartender ‘Shaney-pie’. That was a bit… chummy, when you thought about it, which he did.
Huh.
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