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| Vale of the White Horse | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,391 Views) | |
| Marieke | 23 Jan 2010, 22:04 Post #391 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'Release me.' It was a mere whisper. 'I am this close from hitting you. Don't let that happen.' - 'A-abandon...' She held back the words. Instead, Briallen took a dignified gulp of air, raising her chin to face the standing woman. 'I think you know why very well, Eiluned. But if it must be spoken, I shall. This household has been keeping it secret for me that the man my uncle assigned as my husband is not...suffering headaches, he is...a monster. You have let me marry a thing, a creature. A non-human being that was ready to tear me to shreds!' |
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| Sonja | 23 Jan 2010, 22:13 Post #392 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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It took a while before she fully realized what he was saying, then Gwenllian took her hands off him as if he was a pot left too long over an open fire. Trembling, she took a step back and grabbed a hold of the cabinet for support. 'I - I don't..what happened?' - Eiluned was silent for a long time. 'Tudwrig is human,' she then said softly, 'as human as you are.' She could not say that he wouldn't tear her to shreds, because he would if the curse got too much control over him. The fact that Briallen was still alive proved that Tudwrig had had some degree of consciousness. 'It's a curse.' Her voice was hoarse. 'Ever since he was just a boy...' |
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| Marieke | 23 Jan 2010, 22:17 Post #393 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She left him some space. He was relieved. It was not that he wanted to hit her, but every touch would spur a myriad of sensations through his body now, most of them related to what he had done to the Roman officer. It would subside, given some time. He did not have much time. 'Nothing happened.' He began to pull off his sodden tunic. 'Nothing that is of concern to you.' - She waited, hands motionless in her lap. 'A curse. Since he was a boy. Go on.' |
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| Sonja | 23 Jan 2010, 22:23 Post #394 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Gwenllian opened her mouth to point out that something evidently did happen, but shut it again after a look on Rhywallon's face. He looked even more terrifying now than the first time she'd seen him. It made her feel like a deer in a trap. 'R-right.' She took another step away from him and sank on her knees, opening the cabinet to get a cloth out. She dipped it into the water, which turned a pale pink, and held it out to him with shaking hands. - 'At first he only transfigured once every few months, but as he grew older it got worse,' Eiluned continued, and told Briallen everything she had kept from her, though she glossed over the deaths of his two previous wives. She couldn't find it in her heart to tell her that, but she probably had it figured by now. 'I am so sorry,' she concluded. 'I have only ever tried to keep you safe.' |
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| Marieke | 23 Jan 2010, 22:27 Post #395 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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He stared down on her for a moment, then took the cloth. It was more to be rid of her fussing than anything, but as he pressed it against his arm, it did seem to stop the bleeding. '...Thank you.' - 'You...you could have told me, and I would never have tried to enter!' Briallen had never shouted at anyone, but this was close. She had drained to an even paler shade, she could tell that without her bronze mirror. In a whisper, she went on: 'I could have been killed! Like his last wives...' |
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| Sonja | 23 Jan 2010, 22:39 Post #396 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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She wanted to say 'you're welcome', but it sounded like an utterly ridiculous thing, so she simply shook her head that it was nothing and walked backwards to her bed. With her eyes still on his blood-covered form she sat down and braided her fingers together in her lap. She didn't consider herself squeamish and certainly didn't want to appear weak, but this whole situation had a nightmarish quality. The worst part of it all was that he didn't want her help. If the wound got infected... Gwenllian didn't want to think of that. - 'Would you have believed me if I had?' Eiluned asked. 'And if you accepted it as the truth, would you have stayed here to be wed?' She wearily shook her head. 'I have been against another wedding from the start, and Tudwrig did not want it either, but he could not refuse without consequences. Then you arrived and things started to improve. For a day, I had hopes that this would mark a turning point, but...' With a deep breath, Eiluned sank down on a stool and passed a hand across her face. 'He is genuinely fond of you,' she added quietly, 'and your sitting here proves that it's not a complete backsliding.' |
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| Marieke | 23 Jan 2010, 22:45 Post #397 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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He threw her a silent glance as he fumbled in his small bag for the deerskin. It was not the jug for water. Gwenllian looked very pale. She must be frightened. Or maybe she was condemning him. With a small effort he pulled off the cork and with two, three jagged movements he poured the alcohol over the wound. It was right beneath his shoulder. Rhywallon sucked in his breath like the hiss from a fire as the liquid burned into his flesh. Then he simply tore his shirt into shreds and began wrapping it around his upper arm. He would outlive this. He'd had worse. 'You can stop looking as if I will crumble to the ground now.' - She had began shaking her head weakly, but she wasn't even sure what she meant by it. 'You forget...I'm not staying, even though officially we have been wed now.' |
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| Sonja | 23 Jan 2010, 22:52 Post #398 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Gwenllian pressed her lips together and tore her gaze away. There was nothing wrong. She was being silly, and a bother. 'You'll have to excuse me, I didn't expect this,' she said, staring at her hands. 'Is it - will it happen more often?' - 'Briallen, please,' Eiluned implored, 'you cannot leave. It would endanger the treaty, and..and break Tudwrig's heart when he comes to again.' |
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| Marieke | 23 Jan 2010, 23:00 Post #399 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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He fastened the last bandage. 'It might. It is...nothing for you to worry about.' The hot rush of fire was finally leaving his blod. He felt calmer. Like he could see the room in another perspective. And Gwenllian. 'This was...unexpected. But I regret it was something more important that the money you pay me.' - 'Tudwrig - is a monster!' she said, rising unsteadily to her feet. 'Surely he does not know me long or well enough to suffer from a severe loss if I go away.' The words sounded very harsh; Briallen was taken aback herself, if only for a moment. The truth was...she had liked him a lot too. Enough for her to want the wedding night. And a dark part inside of her did feel pity for the young man who had lost two wives and his whole life not, as it turned out, because of a malady, but through a wicked curse. She moistened her lips. 'Think of how you will endanger the treaty if anything happens to me. I am a daughter of Maelgwn of Shadow Well and close kin to Gwilym of Salt Lake's Reach. Suppose I stayed. Suppose my husband ripped me to shreds as I assume happened to his other two wives...My maid will ride to my family and tell them what happened. How do you even suppose you could avoid damage, then?' |
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| Sonja | 23 Jan 2010, 23:12 Post #400 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'No, it's - you told me you'd have to take care of other things, too,' she muttered with a fixed stare at the wooden pannelling on the wall. 'Now I know what I can expect.' He should have told her this could happen, though. Being confronted with a Rhywallon covered in blood like this wasn't exactly reassuring, but she was starting to calm down now. Thank the gods. - 'He is not a monster,' Eiluned said quietly and got up as well. 'If you listen to me and don't go into Tudwrig's room when I tell you not to, nothing will happen to you. Don't make the same mistake as his other two wives.' |
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| Marieke | 23 Jan 2010, 23:16 Post #401 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'...Have I worried you? Gwenllian?' He sat down on the bed, elbow leaning on his knees. His wounded arm, he had to keep straight in the bandage for now. - 'Do not talk to me like that.' There was a dark warning in her voice. She noticed the change coming over her - a mixture of dignified pride, anger and a residue of fear. She fixed the housekeeper with her stare. 'I have not left yet, as as such am still the mistress of Caer March now, Eiluned. You are not to decide when I can see my husband or not. If you have a way of knowing when he is...safe, then so can I. I do not need you to take charge of this. From now on, for the remaining time, you shall be absolutely honest with me. Is that understood at all?' |
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| Sonja | 23 Jan 2010, 23:25 Post #402 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Not until you came in covered in blood.' Her voice sounded numb, and she felt the same. She attempted a brave little smile and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. 'There was so much of it, I thought you were bleeding to death.' - 'I have no way of knowing when he's safe,' Eiluned said in a cool, correct tone. 'I've simply been with Tudwrig since his youth, and he knows me even when he's under the curse. It is still a gamble to enter his room at these times.' She bowed perfunctorily. 'I shall be honest with you. I in turn hope that you will listen to the voice of experience and act accordingly.' |
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| Marieke | 24 Jan 2010, 13:30 Post #403 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'And how do you believe this marriage will merit anyone?' Briallen asked with a slight tremble, ignoring Eiluned's stuff tone and closed face. - He released a sigh as he let his body fall down on the bed completely. He stretched his legs, not bothinging to pull off his boots first. 'Most of it isn't mine.' |
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| Sonja | 24 Jan 2010, 13:44 Post #404 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Gwenllian shook her head. She was curious whose blood it was, but because it was none of her concern she kept the question to herself. 'So you'll be all right... Fit to travel tomorrow?' - 'It merits the people of Shadow Well and the Vale in these troubled times,' Eiluned said. |
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| Marieke | 24 Jan 2010, 13:52 Post #405 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'By first light.' He moved to blow out the candle. In the darkness, he saw only the shapes of the room. He kicked his boots off. - 'No doubt the Vale needs this,' Briallen said, a little softer this time. 'As for Shadow Well...I think my uncle will find other ways to provide for my father's chieftaincy.' |
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| Sonja | 24 Jan 2010, 14:03 Post #406 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Gwenllian took off her dress and slipped underneath the blanket, curling up into a tight ball. Her eyelids felt heavy and she gave a yawn. 'Goodnight, Rhywallon,' said she softly. - 'Briallen, please,' Eiluned started. 'I cannot help this situation, and I am only trying my hardest to make the best of it.' |
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| Marieke | 24 Jan 2010, 14:06 Post #407 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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He smiled in the dark. It would be invisible for her. - 'Eiluned, he is a monster. Cursed, you tell me!' Briallen tried to keep her wits together. It was hard. She understood the woman's position. Curse it, she even understood what drove her to make her stay! 'What do you expect me to do?' |
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| Sonja | 24 Jan 2010, 14:16 Post #408 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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The sun was hardly up when Gwenllian awoke. Rhywallon wasn't moving - he must've been tired after a few nights with hardly any sleep. She got out of bed as quietly as she could and slipped into her clothes. - Eiluned wished Briallen would stop calling Tudwrig a monster, but held her tongue. 'Tudwrig has changed so much in the past week that I have been wondering if this couldn't be the end of the curse. Perhaps all he needs is some time.' She brushed her hair back and looked at Briallen. 'If nothing more has changed within a month, we can send a message to your uncle to discuss a solution. Until then...' |
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| Marieke | 24 Jan 2010, 14:34 Post #409 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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When he woke up, a ray of sunlight was tickling his closed eyelids. His arm felt stiff and burning. Bah. He rolled to his side to see that Gwenllian's bed was empty. She opened her mouth to speak, but found she was lost for words. Instead she swallowed, looking at the woman, her maid, eyes dwelling over the interior of the room. 'In a month, I won't be able to go back, however much I would wish. The rains will have made the rivers too wild to cross.' Edited by Marieke, 24 Jan 2010, 14:37.
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| Sonja | 24 Jan 2010, 14:44 Post #410 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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There was only a very sleepy-looking waitress sitting in the taproom. Gwenllian asked for some breakfast on a tray and took it back to the room, quietly opening the door. 'Good morning,' she said when she saw Rhywallon had awoken and put the tray with food down next to the copper basin. - 'Two weeks, then,' Eiluned suggested. 'I'm getting old, Briallen. I cannot manage this household on my own anymore.' |
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| Marieke | 24 Jan 2010, 14:46 Post #411 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'We still need to buy a horse,' was what he said as greeting. He had forgotten. Completely forgotten. - '...I will think about it. You'll have my answer by supper. Please. Leave us now.' |
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| Sonja | 24 Jan 2010, 14:52 Post #412 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'We'll get on it right after breakfast,' she said and tore a bit of bread from the loaf. 'I've got everything else, from provisions to two extra blankets.' - Eiluned nodded and walked out of the room, Braegne closing the door after her. With her hand still resting on the doorknob, she looked at Briallen. She fel anxious about her. Staying here wasn't a good idea at all. |
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| Marieke | 24 Jan 2010, 14:54 Post #413 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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He nodded, eating his share of the breakfast in silence. Somehow, he could not concentrate on the girl at all. All that kept his mind occupied was the dead Roman. One down, he kept thinking, and his body ached for more. - 'You know, I do pity him.' She sunk back unto the bed now that the other woman was gone. Briallen hid her face in her hands. 'It can't be easy to be cursed. But he could have...they all could have told me!' |
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| Sonja | 24 Jan 2010, 14:58 Post #414 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'...Rhywallon?' - 'What are you going to do?' Braegne asked softly, sitting down next to her and putting a hand on her arm. |
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| Marieke | 24 Jan 2010, 15:00 Post #415 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'What?' he snapped up. 'Yes?' - She sighed. Two weeks seemed an impossible long time to sit this out. And even if they went away right after that, would it be still safe to make the journey back? 'I don't know...' |
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| Sonja | 24 Jan 2010, 15:06 Post #416 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'I asked how your arm was feeling.' Twice, actually. He seemed to be in a world far off with his mind. It had her worried a bit. - Braegne got up and started folding the clothes she was supposed to bring to the washing room, to have something to occupy her hands with. 'Maybe you should ask Eiluned to send a message to your uncle straight away. To let him know what's going on. All this secrecy can't be good.' |
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| Marieke | 24 Jan 2010, 15:13 Post #417 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'It does hurt a bit,' he muttered. 'He cut me fairly deeply before I knocked the light out of his eyes.' - 'Yes. Maybe.' She knew what her uncle would do: by the time the messanger reached him, it would be to late to dispatch an escort and have her back, but he would rage and send the treaty into the fire. Neither Tudwrig or his people would benefit from this. Eiluned must know this....Would she even agree to send a messanger? |
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| Sonja | 24 Jan 2010, 15:22 Post #418 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'May I take a look at it?' She had a feeling he wouldn't agree to see a doctor about it, but she knew enough about dressing wounds to at least make sure it would heal without too much risk of infections. - 'Can I do anything for you, Briallen?' Braegne asked, her hands resting on the stack of clothing. |
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| Marieke | 24 Jan 2010, 15:24 Post #419 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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He stared at her for a while, but pulled his tunic off. 'Go ahead.' There was a hint of a warning in his voice; he couldn't help it. To allow others to touch your wounds made one vulnerable. Of course, Gwenllian would not poison him. - She shook her head. 'I need to think. Need to get things straight in my head. It would...help if I could talk to Tudwrig. In his normal state.' |
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| Sonja | 24 Jan 2010, 15:36 Post #420 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Gwenllian peeled the improvised banding off the wound with careful fingers. It didn't seem to be bleeding anymore, but the old blood had formed a dark crust around the cut. She moistened her lips and got a clean cloth from the cabinet to wash it. 'It looks all right. For as far as wounds can look good,' she muttered and pulled her saddlebag close to take her smaller bag out. She had by no means as much things with her as a doctor would, but at least she could redress the wound with the linen bandages she used when the moon was on her. - Braegne nodded quietly. 'I'll pray that he will return to normal soon.' It was all she could do at this moment. The herbal draught didn't seem to help anymore. Braegne secretly wondered if it had ever helped at all, or if it had simply been Tudwrig's wishful thinking. |
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