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 Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 10:19 am
 Continuation of A Night Out and A Night In
Oh. Oh yay! Seeing that it was the male who owned the apartment, at least she was pretty sure he owned the apartment, she stood up more fully and her ears perked back up. She lowered the gun sheepishly, now the second time she'd had a weapon pointed at him needlessly, and only then realized her modest garment had been compromised.
Wheezing in dismay, Tayce ducked back down to readjust her towel, and then just sulked behind the couch. Embarrassed, though she wasn't even sure if he saw anything, she only risked a glance at him from across the room, her compressor hissing as she sucked in air.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 11:44 am
Caecilius eyed the couch cautiously, starting to wonder if the female had slipped back into her 'hold the fort' mode, seeing as how the guns seemed to be out of place from where he left them. He called out to whoever was there, though if it was his guest she wouldn't understand him, hence the choice of words.
"Honeeeeeey, I'm ho-"
Except she chose that moment to pop out of hiding, armed with a gun and wearing nothing but a towel. Or, mostly wearing a towel, and definitely female. He tried not to stare, but his eyes just didn't want to cooperate, and he felt his cheeks burn up. Finally averting his gaze when she realized her predicament, he scolded himself for not thinking ahead and setting out clothes or something for her, ears twitching as he heard the front door eventually close behind him.
Trying to ignore the female as best he could so as not to embarrass himself further, he turned away and set down the two boxes on a table at the other side of the small room, opening the first and sliding to the fridge to put the packed food away.
He tried clearing his head, which didn't really work, change the subject? Guns! He liked guns, more to look at than use, but he appreciated them nonetheless. What kind of gun did she prefer? Maybe she liked pistols the same as he did? Or maybe she'd just prefer his gun?
...This wasn't helping...
Sighing lightly to himself, he finished putting the last of the food in the fridge and leaned over the table. He thought about just taking off his visor, but he had no doubt his imagination would happily take over if he did, which wouldn't help in the least.
Steeling himself to snap out of it, he turned towards the couch again, spotting the female peering at him from behind the couch. Smiling timidly, he held his hands up in front of him like before, not sure how else to convey the idea. At least she had taken the opportunity to shower, living in that armor for at least a week couldn't have been fun.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 12:02 pm
Wheezing in her panicked embarrassment, she stared wide-eyed at him before slowly sinking behind the sofa again. Thank god for the bandana holding her compressor in place. She would've choked without the extra air, and that would've hurt. A lot. Maybe not as much as her dignity was suffering though. If only she could cloak... but her armor lay neatly on the bathroom floor. There really wasn't much in the way of clothes for her here, maybe she could steal a cushion and use that?
For how long though? Sooner or later she'd need real clothes, and who knew how long the polymers of her undersuit would take to dry.
Though wearing wet, tight clothes would perhaps be a bit better than a towel. Tayce shook her head. Actually, it might be just as bad, if not worse. Undersuits left little to the imagination as it was. Slicked with water? Yea, she'd be asking for trouble. Which, thankfully, the male seemed to be trying to avoid.
Smacking her forehead against the backing of the couch a few times, it took her a moment to realize she could smell food. Real, honest food. Whining in frustration, she tried to figure out a way out of this mess. Maybe she could dart off to the bedroom and wrap up in a sheet? But then she'd be in his bedroom, and that seemed a terrible idea. She could... sit and suffer. Great.
She gave her forehead a few more good whacks and just curled up where she was, completely miserable.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 1:30 pm
He listened as the female bonked her head into his couch, probably frustrated at being caught in just the towel. Or, perhaps stuck in the towel? He doubted she kept a spare change of clothes in her armor, that would just take up space that engineers could fill with other stuff, like more armor. He smiled a bit to himself when he realized she had figured out what the bandana was for though, glad it finally had a use.
Sliding off to his bedroom, he piled some of the stuff he had dumped on his floor back into their containers, enough so that he could reach his dresser at least. Accomplishing that, he rifled through his available clothes, looking for something she could wear. Something she'd want to wear would be nice too. He was old enough to know that asking a girl her sizes was asking for a fist, but it wasn't as if she would be able to respond anyway. He finally settled for a nice shirt with a stylized print of the roman god of war, shorts with the ever-convenient cargo pockets, and his favorite socks. He wasn't quite sure if he should offer her underwear, but might as well make the gesture, and dug out his most comfortable set of boxers to add to the pile. Folding all of these up, he made a neat stack of them as best he could, and made for the main room. Oh! And a belt, since he had a feeling her hips weren't the same size as his, grabbing one as he left.
He set the stack on the arm of the couch, wondering if he should have gotten basic necessities while he was out as well, or if she'd prefer to get them herself. One thing at a time though, clothing, then food. He spoke softly, mostly just to get her attention, before turning and heading back to his room.
"Here, try these on."
Figuring it was best to stay away while she changed, lest there be a repeat of the towel incident, he busied himself with cleaning up the rest of the belongings he had strewn across the floor and bed.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 4:32 pm
She could hear him shuffling close by and rocked back into a crouch, nervous. It's not like she really knew him after all, or trusted him. And where would she go if she needed help? Well, besides three inches away to the shotgun. She patted it fondly. At least if he did anything she knew she could kill him.
But he didn't come behind the couch. Or even looked for that matter. He said something quietly that she obviously couldn't understand and then moved away. Curious, she peeked around and saw that he'd left clothes balanced on the arm of the sofa. They didn't look like fatigues, or any military uniform. They certainly weren't female in design in either case.
Swiping them, she retreated back to her lair behind the couch and picked up each article in turn. Unfolding the shirt, she huffed air in an amused sound. Definitely boy-clothes. Beggars couldn't be choosers. Pulling it on over the towel, she stood up after making sure he wasn't in the room and tugged off the towel from beneath the shirt now that she was covered.
All the way to mid-thigh, in fact. Ears tweaking as she noted this, she tilted her head to the side and shrugged. It wasn't like she was surprised, being all of five feet tall meant that pretty much everyone was taller than you. And underestimated you. ... And then were deliciously surprised when you kicked their a**.
Grinning now, she ruffled through the other things. She knew what boxers were, but found that her hips were just too wide for his. Not exactly a shock. Curves and all that. The shorts on the other hand she managed to tug on, though they were loose around her waist. Tayce debated on the belt for a moment; it wasn't like the shorts would make it down her hips that easily, but the puckering around the waist was aggravating enough that she went ahead and used it.
And was just a little surprised when it fit. Oh, she was a notch or two below the most well-worn hole, and was slimmer for sure, but he must be on starvation rations. Poor. Which explained the condition of the apartment... and kind of made her chest hurt briefly.
He took her in and was trying to help her, though he had little. The realization made her suddenly very demure and shy. Sitting on the couch to tug on the over-sized socks, she looked down at them and then took them off again. She would just end up stepping on the extra fabric and tripping all over herself, though the gesture was sweet. But now she was just sitting... thinking. And feeling bad. Ears lowered, she padded across the floor to his room, peeking to make sure she wasn't intruding or interrupting anything.
Tapping his arm lightly to get his attention, she waited for him to turn before looking up at him in an apologetic smile before giving him a quick hug. It was the only way she knew to say thank you, and he definitely deserved it.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 6:59 pm
Turning when he felt a tap on his shoulder, he smiled a bit, relieved to see her dressed. Though baggy, at least she was wearing something besides her armor or a towel. It would suffice until she could get some new clothes for herself, since him trying to buy clothes for her would probably end badly, possibly with bloodshed. A lot more likely if he went with what he'd like to see her to wear, but with teeth as well as blood.
He was about to stand when she hugged him, thankfully it was quick enough that it didn't feel awkward. Especially since it was already bad enough that he could feel her pressed against him for that moment, his cheeks heating up a bit as he recalled the situation from minutes ago. He had a bad feeling that it was going to haunt him for a while.
Really, he was only doing this because she was a human in need, as he would with any other. If she turned out to be an Asari when she removed her helmet, she wouldn't be staying with him for sure, if he let her live. Though, if it was an Asari he'd probably have a real fight on his hand, something he would definitely be up for. At least until one of them died. He did wonder for a moment if he felt more sympathetic towards her because they shared a...handicap as well...
Still, she wasn't that bad looking, improved since she showered for sure. Not that he would look stellar either, after a week or more stuck in full-body armor. And given how quickly she had devoured the protein bar back at the warehouse, probably in need of food, which he could also offer. Even with only half of the contract payment he would be able to relax, at least for this week. It was a rather vicious cycle, being a biotic. He needed special food and drink mixes to keep himself 'powered', which cost credits. All so that he could take contracts and use his skills, in order to make credits. On top of that he still had the typical merc worries over weapons, keeping up with the latest tech, and keeping them in working condition...sometimes. Maybe he'd have Anahe tune up his pistol while he had the money to pay him...
Back to food! Since he was getting hungry, and she was no doubt worse off than he was. Standing, he skirted past her out of the bedroom, leaving his little cleaning project for now. Looking back at her, he held out a hand and motioned for her to follow, before continuing over to where he had put down the two boxes. Taking out the two containers that held the noodles, he set them aside, and dug through the other box for the protein bars. Grabbing a handful, he picked up one of the bowls and offered both to her with a tilt of his head, not quite sure what she was used to or preferred. For all he knew she might have a specific plan for how to deal with post-fasting, or something. She didn't use a known language, she might have completely different tactics or procedures...
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 7:24 pm
She kept her head down as he left the room, still not really comfortable with this. Not that she had much choice. Feeling more 'aware' of herself, she held an arm across her chest. She didn't need such supportive things normally; they were taken into consideration and built into her undersuit.
Shuffling after him in her borrowed outfit, her ears were to either side of her head and flat, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what she was feeling. Overwhelmed was probably the closest. She harkened to his beckoning and was rewarded for her obedience with an offering of food. She looked to the bowl, then the bar, and back to him, her eyes meeting his for the first time since the 'thank you' hug.
One of her ears perked up as she tilted her head in mirror to him, as if asking if he was sure it was ok. But really? He'd have to beat her off with a stick at this point. It just smelled so good. Quicker than was polite, she snagged both and made a beeline for the couch, though she'd already spit out the tube and had pressed the bowl to her lips before hitting the couch; but coughing overtook her.
Putting the bowl and bar in her lap, she hacked for a bit longer and blinked back tears from the effort of regaining her breath. She was too excited about eating and had rushed it, but... food damnit.
The second she was able, she was shoveling noodles into her mouth, barely chewing. Which of course resulted in more coughing. Frustrated, she put the bowl down and looked at it sheepishly. This just wasn't going well. Huffing her form of a sigh, she submitted and started to eat much slower, glancing at him once she was more in control, unapologetic about her bad table manners. If he'd been half-starved for a week she could bet that he'd be wolfing down whatever was handed to him too.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:52 am
He stared at his hands for a moment after she had taken off with the food, assuming she would choose one or the other, not both. Shrugging to himself, he just figured it was a procedure thing. At least, he thought that until she tried inhaling the noodles, she was just really hungry it seemed.
Suppressing a laugh, he grabbed the two sets of napkins from the noodle boxes...if they could even be called napkins at least, and the other bowl. Joining the female on the couch, he dropped one of the 'paper' napkins on her head, before plopping down next to her. He noticed the remnants of the clothes he had offered on the arm of the couch, pausing a moment as he realized what she was wearing, then trying not to think about what she wasn't wearing. Note to self, look up a place that sells clothes that she could shop at. Soon.
Shoving the thoughts aside as best he could, he set about eating the noodles, trying to savor them as they were a bit of a treat for him. Paying more for food that actually tasted like food? Totally worth it. He didn't last long though, and quickly slipped into eating at a pace that rivaled her own.
So delicious...
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 1:37 pm
Feeling the napkin drape over her head, she paid it no mind at first, continuing to scarf down her bowl of pasta. There was something niggling at her though, the gesture made her chest tighten and Tayce suddenly thought of her brothers teasing her in much the same way and... felt incredibly homesick.
Putting the bowl down for a moment, she wiggled her ears back and forth under the napkin, causing it to fall. She reached out and caught it, her head tilting slightly at the thin tissue. Didn't look like it would absorb very much. She still held it against her mouth for a moment and closed her eyes, waiting for the horrible feeling to pass. There wasn't anything she could do about it right now, but first thing she'd go back to that warehouse and start looking for the way back out. Maybe it really was something experimental. A new kind of gate, maybe portable. Or even handheld. She hadn't thought of that before.
The sound of her couch-neighbor wolfing down his food made her turn and look at him with a tilted ear. She couldn't help but smile behind the thin napkin, her eyes crinkling as she wheezed in merriment. Guess it had been a long time since either of them had a decent meal. She lowered her napkin before patting his head, nodding in a silent thank you before picking up her bowl again and polishing off her meal.
Now she didn't know what to do with the bowl though, and looked around in confusion. She also had a feeling that eating the bar as well would be bad manners. She put it on the arm of her side of the couch and stood up, walking in a slow circle with the bowl, not sure where to go or what to do with it. Finally giving up, she looked at him with a tilt of her head.
Help, please?
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 5:29 pm
Pausing mid-bite, chopsticks stuck in his mouth, he noticed her watching him. Suddenly realizing how much of a savage he probably looked right now, he quickly tried to devour the noodles dangling from his mouth as if he was eating a squid, not really helping the savage look in the least. Deftly grabbing the cheap napkin, he cleaned up a bit, hiding behind it as he swallowed the savory meal. His ears twitched slightly when she touched his head, watching her nod at him curiously before going back to her own bowl. At least she seemed to enjoy it as much as he did.
Back to working at his own food, he did notice her get up but didn't pay much attention, until she started walking in circles at least. Noticing her dilemma, he scarfed down the last of his own noodles, cleaning off an errant spot of sauce from his visor once he was finished. Standing, he ruffled her hair lightly, before taking her bowl and stacking it on top of his own. He carried the stacked bowls to the...whatever it was called, incinerator almost, but not. Anyway, he placed them in the small box and pressed a button, the two bowls seemingly vaporized before another machine started up and turned the ash into an omni-gel base for later use.
That taken care of, he turned to face her and dusted off his hands, at a loss for what to do next. Showered, fed, what else did you do with a homeless soldier...whatever she was? Oh, duh, you give her the program you downloaded specifically for her. Smiling at his guest, he moved back to the couch, sitting down and lightly patting the cushion next to him. Turning his attention to his omnitool for a moment, he went about setting his up to transfer the program to hers.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 5:56 pm
Tilting her head even further as he stood after wiping off his visor, she presented her bowl to him with a quirk of an ear. Though she lowered it when one of his hands dropped on her head to muss the top of her bandana and hair. Letting out a puff of air in comfortable annoyance, she bounced a bit under his touch in an impatient gesture; bouncing with more energy when he took the bowl from her.
It was almost a little taste of childhood, or home. As if Jordan was here for just a moment to tell his sister that things were ok. Tayce knew it didn't make much sense, but... she felt better. More at ease. Like the week of nightmares before this was just swept away.
But there were things to see, and she didn't waste her time pondering on this feeling or that thought; no, especially with a machine that seemed to 'eat' whatever was put into it. Standing on tip toes as she watched behind him, Tayce started clapping in her amusement, ears swiveling back and forth as she grinned. Even her tail was bobbing in her mirth, backing up a bit to let him move again. Stilling her hands and letting them clasp together instead, she leaned her chin on her fingertips and rocked on her heels as he seemed to be debating something.
With a familiar tilt of the head, she followed after him, plopping down where he indicated with a questioning look. Suddenly feeling a little more shy and aware, Tayce grabbed her own tail and brought it in front of her, as if to hide behind the fluff now that there wasn't basic necessities demanding attention, and it was just them. Though now he was tinkering with the glowing sleeve again, and now Tayce could see that it wasn't the brilliant gold her faceplate suggested, but a more muted amber color. Still, she held up her right hand and waved it slightly, trying to show that she had no idea how to turn the damn thing on.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 6:43 pm
He smirked as she hid behind her tail, amused that she seemed to be acting a lot younger, perhaps from the food, perhaps from the head ruffling. Whereas he was forced to grow up quickly, his childhood pretty much over when the Systems Alliance rep first visited his family's home, telling them about how he would be better off with the Alliance. He couldn't really blame his parents, they had no idea what they would do to him and the other kids in the name of science. And even if he tried to tell them, his letters and messages were no doubt intercepted before they arrived, given the happy tone of any responses he ever got.
Looking down, he realized that he had stopped what he was doing, lost in thought. He shook his head, trying to clear the bad memories, he had more important things to do. Survive, make credits, get off this stupid rock to go find a less stupid one. And...figure out what to do with his new guest...roommate? If she was indeed homeless that would probably be the case for a least a little bit, especially given how out of place she seemed here. Different language, foreign looking armor, thankfully still human though. He could live with anything else.
Turning back to the task at hand, he ran the activation program for her omnitool again, waiting for the setup prompt to appear before typing in...something.
Name: _
Name: Heavy Armor_
Nah, too...military.
Name: New Girl_
New to what? His apartment? New to Omega? Who knew.
Name: Delta_
Change. Change from what? Being homeless? Probably best not to remind her of that.
Name: Alpha_
New, beginning. Here on Omega, the end of the galaxy. Someone he wouldn't mind fighting for the title of 'Alpha' either...
Having decided on a name, he entered it in, and was able to bypass the rest of the initial setup in order to transfer and run the tutorial he had downloaded. Once he ran it, the amber gauntlet around her arm went away, replaced with a simple animation. It was the default activation gesture, as an iconic hand demonstrated by holding out two fingers and running them along the underside of her arm, towards her wrist. The gesture could be changed later of course, but hopefully the visual instructions included the finer details, and not just the basic use. It would probably help if he put a translation package of some sort on there as well, but translate it to what? Something to figure out at a later time, perhaps.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 7:08 pm
She gave him a shy smile as he smirked, though it wilted when he slowed down, and then stopped moving. He was lost in his head, she knew what that looked like. Was it something she did? Whining, or more correctly softly wheezing, Tayce really didn't know what to do. Apologize? For... asking for help with the sleeve? Taking up resources?
Then he was shaking his head, and she returned his gesture from earlier, ruffling his hair in an attempt to comfort him. She let him focus on her sleeve thingy, leaning awkwardly so he could have a better angle at whatever he was doing to it. Typing, it looked like. Suddenly the light winked out, and she sat up a little straighter in surprise. Pulling her arm back towards her face to see better, she watched as something new was happening.
A holo appeared, repeating a simple gesture half an inch away from her actual arm. Tilting the appendage upright to watch it for the third time, she looked up at the male with a questioning glance, raising her other hand to mimic the animation. The amber light blazed back into life and she jumped away from her own arm with an uncertain hiss, regaining herself as the simple 'window' holo popped up, that hand now a lot smaller as it led her around the functions and use of the thing.
Not that she was following it very much. It kind of reminded her of the HUD built into her armor, so this seemed unnecessary and redundant. However, her armor couldn't unlock doors.
And she had no idea how to ask it how it managed that. Or the male, for that matter. She fiddled with it for a few minutes, repeating the motions presented to her and examining the results, before she yawned. Which, honestly, hurt quite a lot.
She couldn't force her mouth closed over the tube to breathe in the deep breath, so as usual it resulted in a hacking fit that had her doubled over in pain. Squeezing her eyes shut, she curled in on herself for a moment while she tried to get back under control, blinking a few times here and again to prevent tears. It wasn't the pain, it was that deep breathing often resulted in making you cry, and damn if she understood the reason for that. Wasn't part of her basic medical training. (And that had mostly been, if you're bleeding that's not good. You should stop and do something about that.)
Waving her right arm frantically, she tried to turn off the amber holo, which obviously failed. Huffing, she leaned back on the couch and took hard drags of her tube, too ashamed to look over at the male.
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 7:22 am
He smiled at her a little in response to her returning the head ruffling, pushing his past aside, he had enough to worry about now without his biotic training haunting him. He watched as she went through the visual tutorial, satisfied that it seemed to cover the basic operation, but not sure if she understood it. Another thing to figure out later, as he saw her yawn, though a little concerned when she had a bit of a coughing fit. He was getting more used to her breathing problems, but it still bothered him a little how painful it sounded. Still, he couldn't help but smirk when she tried to shake the omnitool away, and cautiously reached over to repeat the activation gesture in reverse, drawing his fingers lightly up her forearm. She still couldn't operate the doors, but it seemed like she had been through enough excitement for the day. Maybe he should retire for the night too, hunt for another job in the morning. Though he had enough credits to be comfortable, he knew that if he slacked off now, there was a good chance he would end up worse off pretty quickly.
Letting his own omnitool fade away, he got up slowly and stretched, not quite sure what to do about the sleeping situation. Offer her his bed, or would that give the wrong impression, or get misinterpreted as him inviting her to sleep with him? Maybe... He went into his room, digging out a sheet for the couch, whoever ended up sleeping there. Returning to his guest on the couch, he waited until he got her attention and tried speaking while he signed to her, hoping that his tone would help her interpret his question. He pointed to the folded sheet, then the female, then the couch. Waiting a moment, he followed that with a lazy roll of his hand, not quite sure how else to sign 'or'. Finally, he pointed to himself and then the couch, before pointing to her and behind him to his room.
"Are you alright on the couch, or would you prefer a bed and I'll take the couch?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 8:32 am
Tayce lifted her head at the light touch, looking over in curiosity as the male slowly dragged his fingers along her forearm; eliciting goosebumps as he did so. She watched as the holo emitted from the sleeve winked out, and connected it with the gesture. So, on one way, off in reverse; simple enough. Except she had no clue what it was really for or how to make it do anything yet.
Flexing her arm to examine it from all angles, she was distantly aware as he stood and stretched, more concerned with the dilemma of whether or not it was safe to remove the glove. Were you supposed to leave it on at all times? The fabric seemed breathable enough, but what was the value of sleeping with it? Testing it with her other hand, she slowly peeled it off, laying it down carefully on the arm of the sofa. She heard him coughing politely to get her attention, and turned to see that he'd returned with yet another bundle.
Bedding? He was gesturing though, and seemed to be offering her the couch and the sheet so she could sleep. ....The handroll made no sense. Maybe if she wasn't tired. Then him and the couch? Her and the bedroom? Of course she didn't understand his words, but the tone was questioning. He was... asking her to pick sleeping arrangements. And now she was briefly wondering if that handroll he'd done was to imply something of an uncouth variety. Why indicate the couch for that though, when there was a bed right there?
You know what? Too complex. She had an easy solution for this.
Standing up, she dipped her head in a very slow nod with a smile, trying to say thank you as best she could. Taking the sheet from him, she shook it out and promptly wrapped it around herself as much as she was able; creating a little Tayce- cocoon before leaning over enough to fall onto the couch. It had the unintentional affect of causing her to wheeze from the force, but she was soon burrowing into the cushions and her thin blanket; extremely happy to have something softer than a metal floor to sleep on.
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