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Post by Pearl Dragon on Jan 28, 2018 14:12:05 GMT -6
Dipping, weaving, diving, and banking hard. Kira's flight was erratic and almost searching in nature. The night had worn on through the hours this way, the clouded moon peeking every so often from behind its foggy curtain.
Kira sent one wave after the next of echolocation out across the mountainous terrain that stretched out beneath her, carpeted with the bushels of green tree tops that rose and fell in hills before rising up into the sky, breaking apart eventually to make way for rock and snow at the mountain's peak. It had been a few days since she'd arrived here, and she'd been with Zavijah most of the time. But now, she was alone, and she had been airborne most of the night in her desperate, confused search for something familiar. Another Burbat, one of the factories, anything. The language barrier between her and the other had been overcome most times with help from Silence, but even he had to return to the sea for reasons of his own and she had wandered off in her usual curious manner only to eventually lose herself in a half-crazed panick. It was as if she started fresh, the world around her seemed just as alien that night as it did all the previous nights.
And then there were the strange, distant glowing towers. Her curiosity normally would have her soaring towards them, but with how she's felt lately, their alien glow was rather terrifying and she remained in the seclusion of the dark forest. However, even the dark forests frightened her with their odd noises, rustling shadows, and pin-prickling sensation it always gave her of being watched. So, she remained where she was certain she'd be safe. In the air, circling here and there, searching for answers to unknowns or at least something familiar. She felt desperately afraid, and the tone of fear would carry with the pitch of her echolocation.
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Post by kilnarak on Jan 30, 2018 13:24:24 GMT -6
Ash was in his bipedal scaled form, perched upon the branch of a large tree. Doktar Jeddy's home, where he had been staying, was not far - perhaps he should be there instead, where it was warm... But instead he sat here on this broad limb, scenting the night air for anything familiar. The trees almost smelled like home, but there was something just a little off about it - perhaps something in the air? And there were so many other foreign scents and sounds.
One such sound echoed in the dark, so high-pitched that it hurt. Some sort of insect maybe? He hadn't seen any that were especially large like those back home, but that didn't mean they didn't exist. He ground his teeth together and pushed himself to his feet, his claws scoring the wood of the branch as he rose. It was late, he should return - the walls of the Giant's home at least would block out any high-pitched bug sounds and prevent him from getting a headache.
As he readied to launch, however, movement in the sky caught his attention. There was something up there, something winged, circling erratically in the sky. His breath caught and he felt his heart pound in his throat. Was it another of his Eyrie that had also been brought here, somehow? It was larger than the birds he had seen thusfar, nearing the size of a small human - a nestling, maybe, not fully grown? The leaves of the tree shivered as he gathered himself then launched off of it and into the air, strong pushes of his wings gaining him height.
"Ava'yorn! Ava'yorn! Re wux...?" His voice was deep and booming, pitched to carry across the expanse of sky to the smaller figure - a nervous excitement colored his tone, his crest raised in an excited set. But as he pulled nearer to the figure, he found his hopes dashed. The figure's face was... wrong, it had no crest, the tail too short, the wings... odd, the scent unfamiliar. He paused abruptly, hovering for the moment, regarding the creature uncertainly.
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Post by Pearl Dragon on Jan 30, 2018 18:25:10 GMT -6
Of all the answers that Kira expected to hear from her calls, a male voice was not one of them. Especially not up here. Although, even as she banked tightly once more, spotting the small dark silhouette of an approaching winged figure, her heart leapt higher in her throat. Already fueld by her constant, underlying panic, the joy she felt at the sight of the winged being was immense. She'd finally found another like her! Surely, wherever she was, it was somehow connected to home, or at the very least something familiar like home. Maybe she wasn't the first or only one to wind up in this world?
However, as she wound closer and closer, zig zagging in her flight towards the figure, the other began to grow larger and larger. Much larger than that of a Burbat. Maybe it was like her? Larger rather than smaller, as she had always been a bit stunted when compared to others of her kind. But the features and body were wrong. This one had two pairs of appendages, one like her masters and one like her own, along with legs. The tail was much longer than hers, the face was not at all like a Burbat, and at the ends of each toe were curled, sharp talons that were very much unlike her own feet and hands.
Kira veered sharply to the right as she came in close, nearly colliding with the other as she did so. At the closest, she could see he had no fur, and the light reflected from the surface of his body almost like he was made of metal. Circling around again, Kira chittered at him fearfully, still curious about the similarities and whether or not he might be some kind of extremely odd Burbat. She'd seen plenty of her own kind, hundreds if not thousands, but none had ever looked like this one. And those claws...
She dipped, came up from behind, landed on the back of his shoulders for all but half a second, before pushing off again and spiraling down towards the treetops. Sharp points of whatever this being was made of had jabbed into the sensitive skin of her feet almost immediately after she put her weight into the curious latch-on landing. Tree branches and leaves soon battered her face and wings as she plummeted for cover beneath the tops of the forest.
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Post by kilnarak on Jan 30, 2018 20:05:16 GMT -6
The other winged figure drew closer to him after his call and despite it's foreign appearance, a jolt of hope ran through him - had it understood him? It didn't seem frightened! Perhaps it had seen Sival before! He kept himself as still as he could, beating his wings to continue occupying this space of sky. It was sentient, wasn't it? Not just an animal? As it drew closer, he saw that it seemed to be wearing clothing, jewelry... although they were rather tattered.
He let it examine him, but when it abruptly moved around and tried to land on his back he startled, his scales and crest twitching up to stand on edge in a more defensive set. Just as abruptly as it had lighted on his back, it pushed away - perhaps detered by his 'armor' of rigid scales - and dropped. He felt a little bad for it - he hadn't meant to hurt it, but it had startled him.
He tipped his wings in a dive to follow it down, bringing up his arms to protect his face from debris as they dropped through the trees. When he had a chance to speak without getting a mouthful of leaves he called out, a touch desperate: "Itheik! Tepoha wux ocuirtor ir hefoc ve ghoros? Si tir ti tuor ekess ouith wux! Petranas itheik!"
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Post by Pearl Dragon on Jan 31, 2018 19:39:48 GMT -6
Kira landed, face and shoulders burning from the many thin branches that had dragged thin scrath marks through her fur as she decended. Almost as soon as she touched down, she rolled forward off balance, onto her side, and proceeded to pull her knees to her chest, turning one foot then the next skyward to investigate the sore areas where the being's reflective shoulders had mysteriously dug into the soft, sensitive skin of her feet. Thankfully, there was no broken skin, only red marks where the pointy texture had dug in painfully and soon she was pushing herself back up to a standing position.
At least until something dropped down nearby through the treetops, gliding towards her. The creature had followed her, it seems. Kira ducked as he flew overhead, calling out to her in a foreign language. She cowered in place, gazing after the winged figure and she shuffled her wings in tightly against her body, rooted to the spot where she huddled. Her eyes gazed widely after him, nose sniffling to take in his scent which was odd and unfamiliar. Part of her mind urged her to run, flee, but another clung stubbornly to the hope that whoever this was might know or even be some kind of distant Burbat relative. The hope was far and unlikely, but still there.
Tentatively, she chattered a few clicking, bat-like words to him as well, incomprehensible but evidence of dialect was present even in the animalistic sounds. She wanted to ask him if he knew where they were. Was he like her? And what exactly had happened to him to make him the way he was.
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Post by kilnarak on Feb 1, 2018 20:43:08 GMT -6
Ash cupped his wings to slow, then as he neared the ground, he tucked them in to drop, landing in a crouch within sight of the strange creature but not too close to it. It seemed frightened of him, and he didn't want to frighten it, not really... Perhaps he should have just let it be, but he was curious. He held himself still for a few moments, letting it get used to him being there, then slowly he pushed himself up a bit. He showed the creature his hands, their claws relaxed.
"Si tira ti jatil ekess ouith wux..." he murmured, his tone apologetic. He watched the creature's face, listened as it chittered at him - it's own form of speech? He didn't understand it and his crest drooped, falling flat against the back of his head and neck. "Wux tir ti kampiun ve, tir wux?"
He let the words hang for a moment, then sighed and lifted one of his hands to scrub his palm over his face. Of course it didn't understand him. His claws twitched, caught at the scales at the beginning of his crest, then he dropped his hand from his face and shifted to a crouch again, his tail coiling about his feet, arms resting across his knees. He was trying to look relaxed and non-threatening, and he shifted his gaze a bit to the side, watching the creature with his peripheral vision rather than directly.
"Wux vorq woari, kiri. Si huven wux tiliw kampiun ve..." He made his voice soft, a touch mournful. "Tir wux tepoha vi ominak? Sini ui Ash." He looked to the creature again, meeting it's eyes a moment and holding the gaze, then glancing down again. He tilted his chin to indicate himself, then tapped his chest. "Ash. Ash. Vur wux?" He glanced at the creature again, then moved his hand, not quite pointing but gesturing to it, trying to pose his question.
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Post by Pearl Dragon on Feb 2, 2018 18:49:55 GMT -6
Kira twitched, almost as if to bolt, as the other creature dropped and landed within sight before crouching where they were a short distance away. She stood rooted where she was, even mimicking his movements with a small, ducking half-crouch of her own. Her ears pricked forward curiously, although she remained where she was, watching the other's slow and careful movements.
The sound of their voice was nothing at a all like a Burbat, and neither was their speech. Even as he held his hands out before raising them to his face and head, Kira ducked her head slightly once more out of pure reaction and uncertainty before straightening again. He didn't seem dangerous, and she wanted so badly for him to be something like herself. Maybe if she got a little closer?
Shuffling foward timidly, Kira chittered a few nervous, questioning words to him in answer to whatever he was saying. Little bit by bit, she drew near, winged arms still folded tightly to her sides at least until she was now only a foot away from him. Up close, he was still so much bigger than her, even where he was crouched and she watched him as he watched her from his peripherals.
"Wux vorq woari, kiri. Si huven wux tiliw kampiun ve...Tir wux tepoha vi ominak? Sini ui Ash." He said, tone mournful and soft, and Kira found that her heart only skipped half a beat rather than a whole beat before she was pulling herself back out of another reactionary flinching motion from the sound of his voice. She inched back closer again as he tapped his chest, "Ash. Ash. Vur wux?" An ear upon her head flicked as she looked wide-eyed at his motion, mouth partially open in stunned contemplation as she struggled to figure out what he meant.
Ash.
Ash.
A name? He had gestured at himself when he said it. Kira closed her mouth, swallowing the breath she'd been holding the entire time and tapped her own chest with the two fingers of her winged arm. Her voice and words, although still very bat-like in dialect, repeated what sounded like "Keera....Keera" She smiled at him a little hopefully. She fidgeted slightly with the tattered rags that hung from her body, and she reached out to Ash, running one finger across his arm. The texture was like that of bone and metal, smooth and hard, but it had some give to it. The appearance and texture reminded her of some of the extremely bad burns some of her kind might get from getting too close to the fires and heat of the factories. Perhaps....he had suffered a fate such as this? Her smile faded into that of a worried grimace. Her touch was lifted and she simply hovered a hand over the surface of his arm and shoulder, now afraid that the burns might still be painful. Her eyes darted fearfully from his skin to his face and back again, murmuring a few words to herself before she spoke louder to him with a questioning tone, pointing at his skin and then tapping the fur of her arm back and forth as if to compare the two.
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Post by kilnarak on Feb 3, 2018 22:16:15 GMT -6
The creature drew closer and closer to him and Ash held himself still, not wanting to startle it. It wasn't like him but... it reminded him of a nestling somehow. Perhaps it was its size, or its mannerisms. Either way, he didn't want to scare it off.
When it repeated his gesture and offered what must be a name, he smiled and bobbed his head, his crest lifting a bit with excitement. Well, at least they could communicate that much, and that further proved that this was a person, and not some sort of animal. "Keera," he repeated gesturing to indicate her. "Coi ui d'nag ekess tafiaf wux, Keera."
When she reached for him he stilled again, curious. She touched his arm delicately, as if she expected it to hurt him. Or perhaps as if she expected to be hurt? His scales had poked her, before... He let her feel the ridges on the back of his arm, then flipped his arm over, offering the smoother wrist. "Coi ui throdenilt tokeq shafaer nomeno symba, ocuir?" His front was a safer option for grabbing onto - the scales were still fairly hard and a little pokey, but they didn't stand up quite as sharply as on his back. When she withdrew her hand, he frowned softly. Was it still to sharp?
"Itheik," he held a hand up, palm facing her in a 'stop' gesture, then he leaned back slightly and shifted, his hard scaled form flowing away like water and revealing his smaller and softer human shape - bronze-skinned and dark-haired, though his eyes were the same. The clothing he wore was a little big - things Doktar Jeddy had given him to, presumably, better fit in. Or perhaps so that his other garments wouldn't grow too tattered. He hadn't bothered with shoes today, more comfortable without them. He held out a now-smooth arm to her, smiling.
"Coi ui seltur, ocuir? Coi geou ti ouith wux," his voice was softer, too, higher pitched than the deep rumble it had been before.
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Post by Pearl Dragon on Feb 4, 2018 10:27:09 GMT -6
Intrigued, Kira reached out tentatively as Ash turned his arm to reveal a softer area of burned skin. She watched as the scaley textures shifted and folded in perfect patterns, unlike any burn she'd ever seen and how the sharper ridged areas seemed to blend perfectly into the smoother areas. The overall sight and feel of it confused her, and he seemed in no pain at all.
She was reluctant to physically touch the areas of his arm too much, still worried that the injuries if that was what they were, might still hurt when suddenly the very burns began to...melt? In fact, his entire body was changing! Kira recoiled, pupils dialating in surprise as she watched every inch of burned skin simply disappear before her very eyes. She rubbed her face with her hands, unable to believe quite was she was seeing, and when she opened her eyes again, it was as if the creature before her had been replaced with a completely different being. Soft, unblackened skin, furless, smaller but still relatively tall compared to herself, claws and talons gone, and even his wings had vanished. All hope that he might be somehow related to a Burbat disipated and she stared wide-eyed at his new image.
Even the arm that he held out to her invitingly was met with fearful hesitation. When he made no other move to betray his original personality which seemed to be the same, voice even a touch softer and higher pitched, did she then slowly reach out and touch the skin of his arm. It was indeed soft, not burnt, and she applied more liberal pressure to test whether it was an illusion.
With a soft chittering, she then circled her hands around the arm to grasp it and pull it closer to her where she turned it, moved it about and eventually let go. This was all so strange...
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Post by kilnarak on Feb 5, 2018 17:29:27 GMT -6
Ash made a small startled noise when she grabbed his arm and pulled it - and the rest of him - closer. He managed not to fall over, and instead scooted nearer to her, letting her examine his arm as much as she liked. "Coi geou ti ouith wux, ocuir?" he repeated softly, smiling at her.
"Shilta wux tir nomeno kiri, Keera? Shilta wux thirku?" He wondered if she could shift as well, or if she was like a nestling and hadn't quite figured it out yet. But... a nestling would not have learned to fly yet, and a fledgling should know... Of course, she clearly wasn't Sival, so perhaps it was different.
When she released him, he hesitated, then reached to gently touch one of her arm-wings. They were covered in short, soft fur - very unlike his own hard scales. But up near the base of her arm, the shoulder, there was a harder, black mark burned into the skin beneath the fur. He reached to touch it gently, wondering if it was some sort of decoration. It looked a little like his scales, maybe, but certainly wasn't as hard or sharp.
"Keera? Svaklar re wux de?" He took his hand from her fur, tilting his head slightly to the side, and gestured to encompass the forest around them, trying to convey his question: Where?
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Post by okami1reeka333 on Feb 5, 2018 21:39:28 GMT -6
Jedidiah:
Having heard screaming earlier, he had became concerned over what was going on. . . with growing concern as to what might of happened, he placed dinner on a low simmer as to not allow it to overcook. . .before finally going outside to see where the screaming was coming from. "Hey, Ash? You alright? " he called before setting out. . .while Ash had been staying at his place, he has been trying to teach Ash some English while he, himself attempted to learn Ash's tounge . . .he's learned a good amount of words, but sentences were still abit far off. . .with Ash, he hopes he was able to teach Ash around the same amount of words as he learned in Ash's tounge. . . but, only time will tell. . .for nao, he will keep going over with picture books with Ash to try and make it easier. . .he pondered abit as he walked. ." ahhh. . [Ash. . you OK? Hurt? Yes, no?] " he attempted.
He then stopped, hearing chittering? And Ash's voice. . . he paused for a moment longer before slowly approaching the direction of the sounds, before stumbling apon the two in the woods. ."oh, hi Ash. You alright? " he asked, keeping his voice calm and gentle. . .
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Post by Pearl Dragon on Feb 7, 2018 20:49:31 GMT -6
Even with this strange new version of Ash, Kira seemed to calm back down again, although she strained to understand what exactly the man was saying.
He ran a hand across her arm, mimicking her own motions and she fought the urge to shrink away when his hand passed over the mark on her shoulder, pausing there as if in question. He spoke to her some more, his tone inquisitive and gestured as if asking about the world around them. Kira tilted her head and looked at him with drooping ears, unsure of how to answer him. She assumed he might be asking about what world they were in, perhaps he too was new to it. She looked around, the old worried feelings creeping back into her face and eyes with every details she took in. It was the same every time she regarded it, it was both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. She looked back at him and was mid head-shake in a "no" as if to say she did not understand the world they were in when suddenly a voice sounded from nearby, causing Kira to start with a small squeak.
The figure was huge. Towering over the other two, and a shadow just as long. Kira dropped to the ground, heart suddenly racing a mile a minute, ears flattened to her skull and mouth open in a terrified grimace of blunt rodent-like teeth. The sight of the dark silhouette struck something in Kira that was not unlike an extreme automated fear response.
It was them.
They had finally found her and she was now going to be in SOOO much TROUBLE. Her and her new friend Ash. Kira flattened herself to the ground, pulling and pushing at the leaf strewn ground as if fidgeting might help her situation while desperately chattering apologies, begging forgiveness between hyperventilated breaths. She glanced, panicking, back at Ash and was even more desperately afraid when she saw he was not getting lower, not also following suit to appease the enormous humanoid. Surely he did not wish to be punished!? They were already incredibly far from home, and Kira felt no hope that they would not get out with some kind of harsh consequences, but at the very least she desperately wanted to explain that her sudden relocation was not the fault of her own. With every wide-eyed glance she shot back and forth, her explanations spewed forth with barely a pause between words, voice strained and gasping, full of despair.
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Post by Kurodaia on Feb 7, 2018 21:06:52 GMT -6
This didn't always happen but when it did, it was rather troublesome and that was just the icing on the cake. The fact was that she was lost, so much for a good night hike out in the woods. This was far from the suburbs as much as she could tell and rather remote. The thing to note, was she thought she could wander around and then go home, forgetting she was never really good with a sense of direction or had she been? Nevertheless, she was now lost in the mountains and it was night. Perfect.
In a situation like this, one might assume that the person would stay put and wait for help. She wasn't about to wait for people to come get her and would much prefer to get herself out of the mess she started. It was her fault though, she insisted on doing some walking while it was night time and this felt a lot more comfortable for her than being in broad daylight.
The girl decided to continue on the beaten path she started until she could hear, what sounded like voices to her. A groan escaped her lips as she was partially afraid it could possibly be ghosts of lost souls like herself trying to lull her into her death. Dying was not on the bucket list right now and joining more lost spirits was not something she wanted either.
Carefully making her way a little closer to the sound, the young merfolk managed to peak around a tree. People and the good thing is they didn't seem like ultimately bad people at that. It gave her a sigh of relief they were not spirits. She wandered out from her hiding spot and just tried to speak in her own tongue.
"Urveh ik...Riv?" She asked politely. trying not to seem too lost but in fact she was far from home.
"Ahhh...Uhh..." She tapped herself and pointed to where she thought was the suburbs. "T'rih..." Lost
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Post by Ladybro-Meghan on Feb 7, 2018 21:40:07 GMT -6
Tobi; The Lost One
"I want to feel more than just sorry for myself."
The nightly breeze danced in the canine's mane as she lay reposing on a sizable boulder. The willows leaves sprinkled the forest floor, gently falling away from its branches. Their scent affluent in earthy tones. In the pale moonlight, she virtually seemed to shimmer. Unmoving besides fur. A ghostly, haunting image as the dim glow broke through the tree's canopy bathing Tobi in its glory. Thoughts beyond count clouded the shifter's mind. Ideas of home, old and new, a sense of not belonging clung in the depths of her head. Her chest ached with guilt. Defeated, her great neck craned downward. All the things given, all the things lost. What does she do now? These reflections were the very reason for emerging tonight, a fierce need to clear her head carried the shifter out here. And now here she lay.
Finally, movement, ebony tipped ears pricked back following a sound. A girl's voice. Peculiar gibberish rang in her throat. It felt familiar to her for some reason.. Tobi turned to track the voice's owner. Delicately jumping from her perch and keeping a safe distance she spotted a figure. It looked akin to a girl but nothing more. Why would anyone be out this deep in the woods this late? Massive sterling eyes looked the stranger over. Tobi made effort to keep undetected among the plant life but being so immense in size it was quite a feat. Unfortunately, Tobi found a branch snapping under her and panic set in. She hurriedly made for an uncoordinated ducked into the bushes. Hopefully, she would go unnoticed.
Tl;dr Tobi is hardcore stalking Lu when she suddenly pulls and idiot move.
WC: 264| Post #1
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Post by kilnarak on Feb 8, 2018 4:27:12 GMT -6
Ash startled a little at the familiar voice, straightening abruptly and peering over Kira's head toward the noise. He didn't want to call back, was worried the strange nestling would be frightened if he raised his voice. When Doctor Jedi found them anyway, he relaxed a touch, smiling up at the giant man.
"Hai. Am ohkei," he bobbed his head slightly, managing the word in heavily accented english. He had understood enough of what the other had said, had understood the other's... also heavily accented take on his own tongue. "Ava'yorn. Si mi kepatmasto," he repeated, in his language this time - it was sort of a game, trying to learn and teach at the same time.
Distracted, Kira's reaction to the doctor's approach hadn't immediately registered to him - he had noticed that she startled, but hadn't quite realized to the extent. When he looked back to her, he blinked to see her cowering amid the leaves. He shifted forward, reached for her and set a hand lightly on her back, frowning slightly. "Keera? Coi ui kepatmasto." His brow furrowed slightly and he tried again: "Iz ohkei..."
He would have spent a bit more time trying to comfort her, but another humanoid slipped out of the trees to move toward them, speaking. The language was unfamiliar, it didn't sound similar to what Doktar Jeddy spoke, but perhaps it was a different dialect? He patted Kira again on the shoulder, lightly stroking her fur, then straightened, positioning himself between the new person and the nestling. "Ava'yorn? Hai?" he tried, glancing in brief uncertainty to Doktar Jeddy, before returning his focus to the stranger.
The crack of a branch breaking sounded, but what caught his attention more was a pale blur of movement in the dark behind the small form of the stranger. Something large, likely a predator. His mind registered this before a second had passed, and he shoved to his feet, his form blurring as he shifted to his black-winged and scaled self. He moved quickly, gesturing for the newcomer to move behind him, toward Jeddy and Keera, as he placed himself between all of them and the presumed predator. His wings spread and his stance was wide, meant to threaten.
"Yth re ti pluvt!" his deeper voice boomed. Likely the predator wasn't sentient - and if it was it likely wouldn't understand him - but perhaps the loud noise would scare it off. Certainly, in this form he would make more daunting prey.
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