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Post by Jazz on Mar 26, 2006 9:04:25 GMT -5
[Outskirts of Corus, seven years back. Winter]
Emlyn of Brightleigh screamed in frustration as the aimed another kick at the door. However, the entrance's magical field held up; it didn't budge. That was nothing new. She been attacking the d**ned thing for the past half an hour.
She sat down on the cold, concrete floor, and buried her head in her hands. The knight of one year had gotten herself into some predicament. How could she have been this stupid? Emlyn pushed back the tears in her eyes, wishing she had a weapon of some sort, just for comfort.
Gingerly, she touched the wound on the side of her head. She'd cleaned it as best she could, but the wide gash bled sluggishly, and she was running out of tunic - and no way in hell way she going to ruin her shirt. She winced. The sharp pain hadn't lessened, and she couldn't even heal herself - she was completely, and utterly, drainind.
She'd always been too naïve for her own good, too trusting. This was what happened - people who were your closest friends betrayed you, they kept you captive, and they were going to kill you. What a lovely end to the day, wasn't it?
Once again, Emlyn let her eyes run over the room. It was no use, though. It was magically sheilded. The only way was in.
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Post by Claw on Mar 26, 2006 9:29:12 GMT -5
In the street nearby, Kale was busy. He had already relieved several people of their wallets, and was halfway through another when the person turned around.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Meeting the persons gaze, Kale sang quietly under his breath. The marks eyes rolled into his head and he fell. Kale waited a moment, then went to his side, shouting into the crowd.
"Help! Someones been hurt!!"
Immediately the crowd began to move into a frenzy, all pushing in on the knocked out man on the floor. In the fuss Kale slipped out, and moved onto a backstreet. Taking out his catches, he counted the money. Thity-two gold nobles. Pretty darn good. While he got his breath back, he heard a thump from a nearby building. Pulling on his climbing gloves, he scaled the wall quietly, pulling himself onto the roof.
Retrieving a hand drill from his belt, he bored a small hole in the roof and looked into the gap. Below was a person with a head wound. A woman too. Kale pulled back from the gap and frowned slightly. Well, he could always use some help with his next job. Attaching a rope to the gutter he abseiled down the wall, searching for a window. Spying one, he clambered across to it and looked in. Empty. He grinned. Glad for the fact he had decided to bring his belt, he drew a small vial of acid which he trickled down the window pane.
A moment later it fell outwards, and he caught it and climbed back to the roof, placing it there. Returning to the now empty window frame, he swung inside, detaching himself from his line. He was in a cold concrete room with an eerie feeling. One thing was for sure, when he was finished this building wouldn't be standing any more. Listening at the door, he heard no sounds of footsteps. Attempting to open it, he found it locked. Sighing, he removed a set of lockpicks from his sleeve and within a moment the door was open before him.
Leaving a small package in the room, he walked past the room where he had heard the noises, and proceeded to leave packages in as many of the rooms he could get into easily, before moving downstairs. From one of the rooms came voices, and Kale moved to the doorframe to listen, pressing up against the wall.
"- and it serves her right. Damn knights."
Kale pulled away from the wall, frowning. A knight caught by this bunch? Pretty amateurish. Leaving a couple more packages, Kale ascended the stairway, wary of any creaking sounds. Returning to the prisoners room, he inserted his pick into the lock. It melted.
"Bastards."
Kale swore under his breath. That had been a perfectly good pair of lock picks. Realising he had no chance in unlocking, he went for a more unorthadox method. Several minutes later the screws had falle from the hinges, and he literally wrenched the door from its hinges, making rather more noise than he had hoped. Downstairs the voices stopped, and Kale heard the sounds of chairs. Looking into the room he adressed the knight.
"You may want to leave. I made a tad too much noise in removing the door."
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Post by Jazz on Mar 26, 2006 9:54:55 GMT -5
By now, Emlyn had decided that she was in a pretty bad state. Her head was throbbing, she had no weapons, her magic was drained, and, even worse, she had no way out. The room was absolutely sound proof, so she had no chance in knowing what on earth was happening. She sighed, wondering how this could have happened. She was known as being the best in her year - how was she overcome by mere commoners? Simple. Brute force, the element of suprise, and being overnumbered six-to-one had an uncanny knack for besting the best of the best.
Looking back on it, she'd put up a pretty good fight. Sadly, that wasn't near enough. Three out of six was not good enough. She clenched her fists, her eyes narrowing. There was nothing, nothing, in the world that Emlyn despised as much as failure, and that was precisely what had happened. She'd failed, hadn't she?
It was bad enough that she'd been hurt, really, but it was her own folly that had le-
"You may want to leave. I made a tad too much noise in removing the door."
The room being completely soundproof, she was utterly unprepared. Years of training were not futile, however, and as soon as the door was removed from it's hinges, she was up and ready. Trying to ignore the dizziness from her sudden movement, she nevertheless was alert as ever.
"I suppose I should say thank you," she commented, "But I should save my breath. You coming?"
And she was running up the stairs, making the correct assumption that if she went down, she'd have a number of unhappy people with weapons to face. She knew the building. She could leave by way of the roof - a useful bit of knowledge. But for now she had to concentrate on getting out.
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Post by Claw on Mar 26, 2006 10:20:33 GMT -5
"I suppose I should say thank you, but I should save my breath. You coming?"
"Clearly."
Kale caught up with Emlyn, sprinting upwards, preparing for the grand finale. Grabbing her by the arm, he nodded to a nearby window which appeared to have no glass in, due to an earlier incursion, which Kale was now extremely glad of. He hated running up stairs.
"I suggest taking that route. This place won't last much longer."
Running at the window he curled into a ball and soared through it, uncurling to land on the wall of the opposite building, gloves gripping the wall tightly. He turned, holding on with one hand while the other took yet another tool from his belt. This was magically constructed by a mage, and could send pulses of magic into the surrounding area as a way of detecting enemys. It could also do other things.
He beckoned urgently with his free hand.
"Faster! I can't wait much longer!"
You see, the device had many functions, inculding the aforementioned one. However, the main use in the current situation was the detonation of blazebalm, which had been the filling of all the packages Kale had so carefully layed in virtually all the rooms in the building, meaning the whole place was a deathtrap.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 26, 2006 10:35:38 GMT -5
"I suggest taking that route. This place won't last much longer."
She surveyed the glassless window with distaste as her supposed rescuer jumped out of the window. One part of her said: Pfft. That was nothing. I can make a neater landing. The other part said, more sensibly: No you can't. You can hardly see straight. You're almost fainting from blood loss and magic drainage. You're bloody insane. She was currently inclined to belive the latter, as her head was throbbing, and dizziness combined with light-headedness was never a good sign.
"Faster! I can't wait much longer!"
Her attention was brought back to the stranger. She eyes the window with uneasiness, but something told her to hurry - and that something was the smell of blazebalm. And blazebalm was never a good thing unless you were throwing it, or (preferably) far away from it. And so, she decided to listen to the first voice, and jumped out of the window. She caught onto the window pane of the opposite wall, and pulled herselft neatly onto the roof.
Her escape was, to her satisfaction, better than his.
But there was no time to think about that now. Ignoring the spots inf ront of her eyes, she looked down the side of the wall, offering a hand to her rescuer. Now, she had the time to be curious. Who was he? Where did he come from? Why did he save her?
"Emlyn of Brightleigh. Pleased to meet you sir," she said airily, remembering her manners. "Now I can say thank you."
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Post by Claw on Mar 26, 2006 10:53:32 GMT -5
She lept to his side and onto the window, pulling herself onto the roof. He smiled, and actually managed to flip from one hand onto the roof, choosing to ignore the offered hand being the show off that he was.
"Emlyn of Brightleigh. Pleased to meet you sir, Now I can say thank you."
Kale laughed, and winked at her.
"No need. And I'm no sir, just Kale."
Turning back to the building, he waited until a face appeared at the window, when a cruel grin broke across his face as he pushed the detonater. A muffled 'whup' came from one of the rooms, and smoke began to spiral from the building. In moments the whole building was blazing. Screams began to issue from the windows, and Kale chuckled softly.
People began to point at the building, and yells started to erupt from the gathering crowd.
"You've still got it Kale."
He murmered to himself, before turning to Emelyn, and looking her over. She had a fairly round face, framed by brown hair with highlights, presumably natural. In his experience most nobles were proud of their appearance, and she seemed to be no different. Her eyes were grey blue, not hugely unlike his own blue ones. She was also fairly pretty, which would be a huge bonus if he could get his plan working.
Like any chess player, Kale always planned several moves ahead and would never act without thinking things through, even if only for a moment. When he had heard the thumps he had jumped through several different courses of action, and was pleased with the route he had taken. It was proving to be more useful than he might have first thought, but it would take some work.
"How come they managed to get you then? I mean, you're not exactly an easy fight by the looks of you."
Ah, flattery. Kale had mastered the art now, since it came in so useful on his path of work. Charm was another quality which helped him on his path to greatness when he would finally show everyone what he could do. Along with the fact his clothes were fairly simple but stylish, allowing maximum movement and providing protection from weapon blows.
Even though Kale was inclined to hate nobles, he felt that Emelyn was unlike others. For a start she seemed slightly headstrong, which could be called a weakness by some, and a strength by others. For him it was a strength, meaning she would be more susceptable to his charm. (roguish charm, I might add.) Now to simply put the plan into action. Taking a blade from his sleeve, he held it handle first to the noble in front of him.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 26, 2006 11:16:51 GMT -5
"No need. And I'm no sir, just Kale."
"It's an honour, Just Kale," she said with a smirk, "Thank you." She carefully checked the wound on her head, cursing under her breath. It really was no better. "You haven't got any bandages on you?" she asked, while surveying this 'Kale' person. He was in good fighting condition, as he had wasted no time in proving. He wasn't bad looking, through unremarkable - a useful feature, she was sure. He was very slightly taller than Emlyn herself.
As the blazebalm went off, Emlyn felt nothing. This was strange indeed, for she had always been a hopeless, oversensitive, romantic. Still, the deaths of the building's inhabitants aroused nothing more that the confirmation that her rescuer was very skilled indeed. And competitive, by the looks of it. She didn't know whether to be ticked off at his skill, or amused at his competitiveness - so like hers.
"You've still got it Kale."
By now, she'd formed a solid assumption that he was a Rogue, probably an assasin or hitman. Oddly, she didn't feel the strenous need to bring him before the Provost. He had saved her life, after all. Which meant, she realized, she had a life debt now. Gods, this day was eventful...
"How come they managed to get you then? I mean, you're not exactly an easy fight by the looks of you."
She was jolted out of her thoughts by his question. Silently cursing herself for letting her mind wander, she answered with a callouness that was unlike her. "Thank you. I was outnumbered. Six-to-one. And of course," she said, smiling humourlessly, "I was naïve. I trusted the bastards."
She grinned cheerily before letting it fade, letting her gaze drift back to the burning building. "Who are you anyways? What am I to you?" Turning back to Kale, Emlyn was offered the knife. She took it, running her finger along the blade. "You want me to make the oath?" she asked softly. Now she understood perfectly well - she had a sharp mind.
His business was in people skills, she guessed. Charm, flattery, that smile... Bloody assasins. Now she was, ultimately, screwed.
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Post by Claw on Mar 26, 2006 11:50:24 GMT -5
"Thank you. I was outnumbered. Six-to-one. And of course, I was naïve. I trusted the bastards."
Kale laughed, and smiled again.
"Thats just the lesson. Never trust anyone... especially those who tell you not to trust anyone.."
He knew that the penny had dropped, and that soon she would either say yes, and then sink down from that point, or say no, in which case he would simply continue with the persuading until she said yes. And she would, as everyone always did despite their original problems. Morals could be washed away with a simple grin, and a few words.
"Who are you anyways? What am I to you? You want me to make the oath?"
"I'm just Kale. And you're someone who needed help. And I don't do oaths. Its all your choice."
As he was speaking a trace of his song magic sank into his words, making them alluring and as though just agreeing would make everything seem brilliant, making the whole world stronger. For some reason his eyes seemed to glow, and he became almost godly to anyone hearing his voice, simply because of the way he spoke, conjuring pictures of power in the minds of those listening.
Kale smiled, and waited for the answer which was coming. He knew the answer already, just one of those things which he could simply work out off the top of its head.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 26, 2006 12:43:39 GMT -5
"Thats just the lesson. Never trust anyone... especially those who tell you not to trust anyone.."
That smile of his... No matter how charming the smile, Emlyn was a bright young woman, and she was not to be outsmarted. It was partly because is was pretty hard to outsmart one such as her, and partly because her policy against failure didn't allow for her to be outsmarted. Either way, Emlyn always ended up having the last word.
"Oh, I doubt that," she said calmly, "It's hard to make generilzations of that kind, you see. People may mean it with malice, or it may be particularly misguided advice. But the golden rule is to never trust those who tell you to, and to be indifferent to everyone else. Of course, those that say things like you do require special scrutiny. you can never be sure."
Well, that was quite a speech. Then again, that was what Emlyn did - she gave clever, if long, answers. And if Emlyn found his answer to be particularly good, then he was particularly clever. And Em had pretty high standards...
"I'm just Kale. And you're someone who needed help. And I don't do oaths. Its all your choice."
" 'My choice'?" she echoed, "Coming from the man who told me not to trust him. That is priceless. And for someone who doesn't do oaths, you seem pretty well prepared."
She tossed the knife into the air, snatching it out of the air, deep in thought. She would have taken the oath, nno questions asked. It was a rule - a life debt is the greatest of all. Your savior could choose to release you, but you generally owed the person your life. Hence the life debt. And Kale didn't seem like a person to turn down one of those. He did seem to be a little too good to be true. Saving her from certain death, apparently wanting nothing in return, and that smile...
And then she looked up.
Even when a persons magic is drained, they still retain the things that come with the package. The glitter of Kale's magic shone it he mind, and she scowled deeply. She was not to be trifled with. true, he was good - she never would have known if she didn't look up. But the fact that he was, essentially, cheating made her very angry.
"Stop it." She had already been caught be the magic, but she was putting up a valiant fight. It was, however, fruitless; she had no magic to fight with. "I said, stop it. I would have agreed anyway - it's custom. But that was just low."
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Post by Claw on Mar 26, 2006 14:28:04 GMT -5
"Oh, I doubt that, it's hard to make generilzations of that kind, you see. People may mean it with malice, or it may be particularly misguided advice. But the golden rule is to never trust those who tell you to, and to be indifferent to everyone else. Of course, those that say things like you do require special scrutiny. you can never be sure."
Kale laughed. He was growing to like her.
"But going by the fact you know I'm not to be trusted, it makes sense that following on that scheme I would have said it with malice, meaning that you do have to be particularly careful and it wasn't just misguided advice. And your golden rule is slightly off, since those that do not tell you to trust them or not (in my experience) means they're going to try something later. Of course, it depends on what view of the people you have. Mine is probably more down to earth."
Kale raised his eyebrows as an invitation to speak, to return the conversation back to him. He was actually genuinely interested in what she had to say.
" 'My choice'? Coming from the man who told me not to trust him. That is priceless. And for someone who doesn't do oaths, you seem pretty well prepared."
"Well, saying I am an assassin, I've gotta have some knives with me anyway haven't I? They're just useful for other purposes as well."
Kale watched as she tossed the knife, it spinning through the air, light glinting off the blade. Nobles. They were all the same. Although... Emlyn seemed different. More potential, which was a nice change. A very nice change, to be exact.
"Stop it. I said, stop it. I would have agreed anyway - it's custom. But that was just low."
Kale laughed, and winked once again.
"Lets be frank, you don't get lower than me."
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Post by Jazz on Mar 27, 2006 11:19:17 GMT -5
"But going by the fact you know I'm not to be trusted, it makes sense that following on that scheme I would have said it with malice, meaning that you do have to be particularly careful and it wasn't just misguided advice. And your golden rule is slightly off, since those that do not tell you to trust them or not (in my experience) means they're going to try something later. Of course, it depends on what view of the people you have. Mine is probably more down to earth."
That forced a grin from Em. "Indeed," she quipped, "I'm sure you have oh-so-much experience when it comes to these things." When you're an assasin, she mentally added, You have to have good people skills.. "But then again, I am a noble. I tend to see much different people. So, I won't trust you, then, if you insist so forcefully." She winked, raising an eyebrow in return. Now, here was someone different. Her year-mates were friends indeed, but they didn't have that extra-something, that edge... It looked like she'd found it. Somebody that used their brain? This was a rare specimen indeed, though he was a show off. Emlyn wasn't a show off. She was merely competetitve.
"Well, saying I am an assassin, I've gotta have some knives with me anyway haven't I? They're just useful for other purposes as well."
"I'm sure," she said nonchalantly, turning her attention back to the dagger. It was a fine piece of work, with an edge to make any blacksmith proud. And the hilt... it was a work of art. She ran a finger along the length of the blade, but her thoughts turned to other things - mainly, the newcomer, her rescuer and a stranger - namely, Kale. Him being an assasin wasn't unexpected. It only made sense that he was so charming. She didn't know whether to be intrigued or severly annoyed.
"Lets be frank, you don't get lower than me."
"That's true," she said darkly. Frankly, he was being very annoying. She loved min games as much as anybody, but life debts were a way of the world - she didn't understand why he had to make that underhanded. Sighing, she made a sharp, clean cut on the palm of her hand, not showing any sign of pain aas the blood leaked out of it. She tossed the dagger back to him, not doubting that he'd catch it.
"Do hurry up," she said airily, "I'm tired."
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Post by Claw on Mar 30, 2006 2:14:50 GMT -5
"Indeed, But then again, I am a noble. I tend to see much different people. So, I won't trust you, then, if you insist so forcefully."
Kale laughed airily, voice carrying through the air to be drowned out by the crackling and screams coming from the fire.
"But you wouldn't take advice off someone you don't trust, because it would just be stupid, so you must trust me. If you didn't take my advice then you would have to trust me, because my advice was not to. So either way, you end up trusting me."
He grinned, and juggled some vials from his belt while he waited for a reply, watching each of them rise and fall in time with each other while waiting for her response to his classic question. It was one of his favourite set ups, often causing the person he was talking to to either laugh or groan. Laughers were better than groaners, since they often had no sense of humor and were more stubborn.
"I'm sure,"
Kale watched as she ran her finger lightly along the blade, most probably unaware that he had made it several years ago as a subject of conversation. It did have other purposes of course, mainly involving shoulderblades or window frames. When he had first made it the quality had been shoddy, and he had been forced to reforge it, which taught him patience, a quality which had been unfound in him for many years. A test of her trust:
"I made it."
"That's true,"
He raised an eyebrow at her tone of voice, as she was clearly annoyed. Strangely enough, it seemed that she wanted to have a life debt, which made a change from most rogues, who would simply try to worm out of it, or run. Both ended badly, since Kale had long since mastered the art of palming and throwing daggers without any sound or incredibly obvious movement. As she tossed the knife to him, he caught it by the blade, allowing it to cut his palm as he did so. His blood trickled down the blade slowly, mingling with hers at the end.
"Happy now? Apparently not, but hey. This is me."
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Post by Jazz on Mar 30, 2006 12:49:28 GMT -5
"But you wouldn't take advice off someone you don't trust, because it would just be stupid, so you must trust me. If you didn't take my advice then you would have to trust me, because my advice was not to. So either way, you end up trusting me."
She laughed, shaking her head. "That is not necessarily true, my good sir," she said with a smirk, "The fact that I don't trust you, doesn't mean everything you say is automatically discredited. Besides, I took your advice when I didn't not trust you. Now, it would probably be a particularly bad idea to listen to anything you say."
Her attention was briefly distracted by the burning building, but not for long. It was odd, though. She wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as she thoughht she'd have been. She didn't really feel anything , sort of... indefferent, actually. Strange...
"I made it."
She raised an eyebrow, briefly looking up from the dagger. She was mildly, pleasnantly surprised but it wasn't a shock. It really was typical. "Oh? Not bad," she commented airly, with another smirk. "Most wouldn't like such, shall I say, fancyness. Still," she mused, "Some do like their art." She didn't look up to see it he caught it, examining the cut. She have been extremely surprised if he didn't catch it, though.
She looked up at the sharp pain in her palm, her quick eyes seeing the blood in his hand. Instananeously, the cut healed, and she simply sighed with a set indifference. She hadn't wanted this. But she was honour bound, and she wasn't going to run away from it. He had made it seem like she had a choice, but he hadn't officially released her from the debt. She watched him curiously, calculating. She still didn't know what to make of him, with his airs and his thought-provoking comments. He was still an assasin...
"Happy now? Apparently not, but hey. This is me."
It really was amazing how he could make it seem like she wanted this. Ah, well... " 'Apparently not' is true," she said, resigned. "And yes, it is you, or someone that looks incredibly like you. You want the debt paid off now?" she continued tiredly.
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Post by Claw on Mar 30, 2006 13:47:20 GMT -5
"That is not necessarily true, my good sir, The fact that I don't trust you, doesn't mean everything you say is automatically discredited. Besides, I took your advice when I didn't not trust you. Now, it would probably be a particularly bad idea to listen to anything you say."
He nodded in approval. She was good. A small smile forming on his lips, he spoke again, quit quitely, so it was barely audible over the crackling of the fire.
"Exactly. Most people deny everything, whereas you do not. You are more intelligent than most, Emlyn of Brightleigh."
The screams had gradually filtered away, leaving just the burning sound in the background, a sort of ambient sound. A strange feeling seemed to enclose Kale's heart, before loosening again. What, he was not quite sure. Most probably guilt, since he had been feeling it more recently.
"Oh? Not bad, Most wouldn't like such, shall I say, fancyness. Still, Some do like their art."
"Clearly, I'm not most."
Kales eyes held a spark, one not commonly found it people. It was a type of enthusiasm, mixed with a darker meaning which seemed to show. THe darkness which had long ago enveloped his own soul was beginning to spread, and he knew it. Others would simply see a strangley dark look, which would unnerve them slightly. All those years ago Kale had known his path, and now, the reasoning was beginning to come to light. The dangers of the path he had chosen were great, but he was risking it.
'Apparently not' is true, And yes, it is you, or someone that looks incredibly like you. You want the debt paid off now?"
"Indeed. And now, lets get moving..."
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Post by Jazz on Mar 30, 2006 14:03:23 GMT -5
"Exactly. Most people deny everything, whereas you do not. You are more intelligent than most, Emlyn of Brightleigh."
At that, she raised an eyebrow. Not in cool sarcasm, or curiosity, but in surprise. It was a strange thing to say... Indeed. But what she had thought to be playful banter, had turned out to be some sort of test. She liked that, a person who doesn't judge automatically. it was refreshing. "Why, thank you," she said, with a small smile. "I can quite honestly say the same for you, for all I distrust you."
Yes, this "Kale" was definately some food for thought...
"Clearly, I'm not most."
"Yes, quite clearly," she mused under her breath, speaking to herself. She looked up and their eyes locked and... she wasn't quite sure what she saw there. But there was something, definately something. For all he was an assasin, he was intellegent, he was charming, and he had that special something that set certain people apart. And this was the last place she expected to see it.
"Indeed. And now, lets get moving..."
She sighed. She did feel she was getting to like him, but she was a bit apprehensive. he wasn't a 'good man' , but then most people weren't. Still, this life debt made her extremely uncomfortable. "Fine then," she said, looking out over the rooftops. "Where to?"
(O.o.O. Short)
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