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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2018 18:38:04 GMT -5
There was something else nearby. The scent of some more prey drifted past him and he narrowed his eyes. If his nose was telling the truth, then it was a shrew; it had probably wandered here from the Forgotten Lands, as they weren't native to the woodland. The prey was sparse here as it didn't have enough food to provide for various species. Above him, a crow cawed and he tensed, glanced up. He sighed and decided to continue his hunting trip, though he decided to carry the mouse with him solely because the ground would just freeze it.
That was definitely a loner scent, though. Redfeather growled low in his throat and picked up the pace. Forget the hunting trip - he had a filthy thief to deal with. The young tom picked up the pace until the fog seemed to lift a little, and a cat came into view. Definitely not DuskClan. He approached and was sure to step on a twig beneath the snow, causing both the snow to crunch and the dried-out twig to snap with a sickening crack. If the prey wasn't scared away by that, it was dead.
"You are not allowed that prey, outsider," he growled around his mouse, though his face lacked any real emotion. He was not a readable cat, that was for sure. "Stand down, and get out of DuskClan territory. You are not welcome here. Get lost."
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 11, 2018 18:41:16 GMT -5
Pepper tensed as she heard the branch break and then whipped around when she heard a voice. The tom in front of her wanted her to leave? No way. She had lived here since she was a kit. She stood up straight and was about to reply when a wave of dizziness swept over her and she stumbled to the ground, her legs no longer able to hold her.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2018 18:44:25 GMT -5
please give more for me to respond to, squirrel. there's no way for me to respond to that.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 11, 2018 18:53:21 GMT -5
Pepper tensed as she heard the branch break and then whipped around when she heard a voice. The tom in front of her wanted her to leave? No way. She had lived here since she was a kit. She stood up straight and was about to reply when a wave of dizziness swept over her and she stumbled to the ground, her legs no longer able to hold her. Despite this she still tried to stand back up and managed to at least get her paws back under. Another wave of dizziness came but this time she was prepared for it and her legs only shook a bit. Her eyes glazed over but she blinked them a few times so they cleared up. "I'm... n-not going anywhere. I've lived here all of my life and I'm not stopping now."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2018 19:00:45 GMT -5
Was she sicked? Seemed that way. Alright, so she was going to die soon. Maybe it would attract some rats, give some prey to DuskClan. He wrinkled his nose and narrowed his eyes, standing taller. Though not a particularly broad cat, Redfeather was tall - and it was often that he used his height to his advantage. If he had a wound, he would've shown his power; as it was, there wasn't much to damage himself on. Maybe the branch he'd broken.
It seemed his assessment about the snow having stopped was wrong, as flakes began to fall. They were large and would likely stick, though he wasn't sure for how long. Even as he stood, he could feel the snow settling onto his pelt. No point in shaking himself out yet.
"You are trespassing, so you will leave." his voice remained calm, his eyes narrowed. Though they were rather soft, there was a harshness to them as he stared down at the she-cat. "I don't care if you've lived here. You're not staying here."
Assessing the size and the supposed weakness, he had little doubt that he could drag her away. He unsheathed his claws and tensed his body, but did not move from where he stood. If he had to fight, he'd have to put the mouse down - and frankly, that seemed less appealing with the snowfall. His tail swayed back and forth lazily, ears half-flattening. Loners never think about the ones who live in this territory, his sister's voice told him in his mind, they're selfish. It definitely seemed to be proving true, considering the she-cat's words so far.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 11, 2018 19:10:53 GMT -5
Pepper stumbled again and shivered as snow settled on her pelt. She finally collapsed and her strength seeped out of her as she fell to the ground, Her eyes growing watery. She started to breath hard and she could feel her fever getting worse. "Please don't make me leave. I don't the strength to go anywhere else. I only get one piece of prey a day and throughout this leaf bare I've only been getting prey every other day. I know there are kits with your clan that need food more and so I try to not take much." She stopped speaking so she could catch her breath. "Please... I won't cause any trouble for the clan. I promise on whatever cats you believe in."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2018 19:26:44 GMT -5
He didn't move from where he stood, twitching an ear as he watched the loner. It didn't make sense how a cat like this had survived to this age - probably through some sort of help. His tail-tip twitched and he shook himself out again to remove the snow from his pelt, though this seemed to be to no avail. New-leaf had not yet come, he supposed, even if their customs had promised for better weather.
"You're killing them by taking even just one piece of prey," he said firmly, because it was true. "We were here first, and it is our territory. You trespassed, you're paying the price. You cause trouble by taking even the skinniest of mice. For what you eat, one of ours will go without, and one of ours will die. You do not have any right to this territory."
Redfeather's mind flicked back to his younger sister. Applepaw had died because she hadn't been strong enough, and she hadn't gotten the nutrition she'd needed. He didn't really want to see that happen to Fallenwater's kits, not after he'd already lost his mate. He exhaled slowly and tilted his head to the side, thought about what Vixensong would say in a situation like this. He hated that he relied on the thought of her for what to say, but it helped, he'd found.
"It's not like you're going to survive on a piece of prey every couple of days," he added, as a sort of musing to himself. It was quiet, but audible. "You need more food than you're getting, and we can't spare any. Why not go to the Forgotten Lands? Some twoleg can probably make you better. We can't, it's not our job to look after loners who can't take care of themselves."
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 11, 2018 19:34:42 GMT -5
Pepper's gaze steeled at that. "My mother went there to catch prey. One day she din't come back. I found her there with the stench of dog on her fur. She's buried where I found her and no matter what I will never go to two legs because I don't belong with them." Pepper started to cough after she finished speaking and knew she needed to get out of the snow quickly or else she would pass out. "Please. I'll take less prey and I will make sure to not cause any hindrances for your clan. Just let me stay here. My mother wanted me to survive and that's what I plan on doing for as long as I can." She then let out a chuckle. "Anyways, I won't last much longer. I was born with a weak body and get fevers constantly. I actually have a particularly high one right now. My body won't last much longer without proper care and I can't get that. I'll die soon. Just let me live here till then. At least I won't take anymore prey after that too and the kits in your clan will have more and then maybe they can survive to live on."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2018 19:48:49 GMT -5
Redfeather snorted. He hadn't asked for a life story, he'd told her to get out. Maybe she couldn't move - that would just be convenient. He rolled his eyes and backed up a little, to remain out of the she-cat's range.
"I really do not care," he told her. "One of my littermates died because she didn't have enough food, and y'know, it was probably your mother's actions that killed her," he rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "If you take even one more piece of prey, you're going to kill one of my Clan. You see this weather? You see the lack of reptiles?"
His tail-tip twitched. His sister definitely would've been better in a situation like this. Maybe she would've had the ability to end this cat's life without thinking about it - but Redfeather was fine with nature doing it for him. If he didn't need to bloody his paws, then he wasn't going to. Besides, his catch was getting colder as time went on, and he wanted to be able to go back. Maybe give it to an elder or the kits, he wasn't sure. Someone needed it. Someone always needed it.
"Sometimes, you have to draw a line and realise where your pride is going to get you killed," he said. "Looks like it's already happening, since I'm duty-bound to stop you from threatening our Clan any longer."
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 11, 2018 19:54:54 GMT -5
Pepper just sighed. "Fine. Don't kill me. I don't want to cause any kits to starve just so a sick cat who's going to die can eat. I won't catch anymore prey. Or you can kill me. My body is weak. I can barely move right now and the only cats who can help to save my life are in your clan but I'm not going to ask their help when I know herbs are hard to find. So just go ahead, end my suffering or don't. I don't care anymore." She had finally said it. Throughout her life she had never accepted the fact that she shouldn't eat or that she shouldn't get help. She had kept living only because her mother had wanted her to but now that her mother was dead, she had no reason to keep living. Especially if she was going to die from her weak body soon.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2018 20:07:18 GMT -5
"Glad to see we're in agreement," his whiskers twitched and he shook himself out yet again, glancing up at the snow. It seemed to be falling a little faster. He didn't really need to hunt more; he had no doubt that a hunting patrol would be sent out later, with cats who actually knew how to hunt in this weather. Redfeather wasn't really fond of hunting in the cold. "Our Medicine Cat can't help you. We have no herbs to spare," his breath came out in a puff of white, suggesting he had sighed. "You're out of luck."
He arched his back in a stretch and, after a moment, the tom began to move through the snow. It crunched beneath his paws and he paused, throwing a glance over his shoulder.
"This territory doesn't have well-running prey as it is. Your mother should've moved you both sooner. You would've had a higher chance of survival," he said, in an idle tone. It was an observation, more than anything. What kind of queen would see that her kit was struggling and keep it in these conditions? DuskClan could afford it, with their abilities and their teamwork. They had long learned various tactics to surviving this, though he would admit that this was a far harsher early new-leaf than he'd ever experienced. It didn't make sense, but he wasn't going to question it. He was more caught up on the fact that such a sickly cat had survived for so long. What a cruel fate, he mused to himself. Not suitable for Clan-life, that much he figured.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 11, 2018 20:12:30 GMT -5
Pepper nodded her head but let out a giggle. "She wanted to move us. I was what kept her back though. My body can't bear going extremely long distances and so we couldn't leave because we didn't know how far we would have to travel." Pepper then looked up at the sky as the snow slowly fell and she smiled. "I've always loved the cold. I use to daydream about taking my own kits and showing them snow for the first time. The whiteness of it. The way the light shines off of it. The way that it takes a land and turns it completely different to the eye than it was before." She felt her eyes tearing up. "Guess I'll never get to do that though." She then laughed again but kept her gaze on the sky. "Sorry, I'm rambling on."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2018 20:26:30 GMT -5
For a dying cat, she definitely had a big mouth. Redfeather rolled his eyes but listened regardless. He wasn't kind - but that didn't mean he was entirely heartless. It wasn't too out of the blue to return without prey; and besides, he knew how to dig if he scented something. He muttered something under his breath before he turned around and padded back to the presumably dying she-cat, eyes narrowing. After a moment's hesitation, he dropped the mouse next to her head.
"You're annoying, and you don't know when to stop talking and accept death," he said bluntly, "most cats know when to give up."
Was that too harsh? Ah, she could deal with it. He wasn't in the mood to sugar-coat his words - though it was not the sort of thing that came off as immediately noticeable. His tail lashed back and forth lazily, and his mouth felt rather empty without the prey.
"Here's the deal," he told her, with eerie calm. "You get better. You leave. I'll help you get better if you promise you're going to leave this territory once you're strong enough. Show your kits snow elsewhere, but you're not going to stay here once you get your strength back. Eat the mouse. Show me where your den is once you've eaten that." he sighed. She acts like a kit, so I could probably act like she's one, right? he thought to himself.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 11, 2018 20:31:32 GMT -5
Pepper snapped her head down and focused her gaze on RedFeather. She hadn't been expecting the tom to give her his prey plus tell her he was going to help her get better. She looked at the mouse and then back at him. "It's not right though. The kits in your clan need it more. How about you help me get better and I help you catch more prey before you go back. I have a good nose and even though my body is weak I don't mind the cold." She shivered a bit from the snow despite her words before looking at the mouse again. She actually did want to eat it but she knew others may need it more and so now she was unsure of what to do.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2018 8:35:56 GMT -5
Redfeather's gaze flicked to the crows that lingered nearby due to the smell of sickness, and he huffed quietly. It would be so, so easy to walk away and let this she-cat die. The body would be cleaned up, after all. He exhaled slowly and narrowed his eyes down at her. What a change of heart, after being stubborn enough to stay on the territory - but it wasn't good enough.
"No," he said firmly. "The deal is that I help you get better, and you leave the territory. One piece of prey won't kill them since there's a hunting patrol coming out later, but you have to leave the territory if I help you. DuskClan doesn't take well to outsiders, and you're in our territory. Once you're past the border, you're not our problem. Until then..."
He rolled his shoulders in a shrug. DuskClan had powers on their side - outsiders didn't. He supposed it was a part of how they had survived this long, really.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 12, 2018 8:51:31 GMT -5
Pepper sighed but agreed anyway. Bending down she took quick, small bites of the mouse. The juices in her mouth felt warm and delicious as she swallowed. Her ears were perked as usual to listen for anything as she continued to eat. When she was finished she buried the bones the best she could before looking up at RedFeather. "Thank you. I won't forget this." She then realized she had never told him her name. "Oh! My name's Pepper by the way."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2018 14:53:36 GMT -5
If this was a way to get the cat away from DuskClan territory, then that was fine. He waited patiently as she ate the mouse, and twitched an ear at her name. Pepper? It sounded like a kittypet name. Maybe he was thinking too much into it. He snorted softly and glanced over his shoulder, debating whether or not to tell her his name. In the end, it didn't matter. She'd leave soon enough.
"My name is Redfeather," he said after a moment. "Warrior of DuskClan."
Formality worked well, he'd learned with past encounters. Loners and rogues did not pass often through this territory due to the sparseness of it and the lack of prey. Kittypets were more likely to stumble into the woods, but even then it was a rare chance. He'd been a new warrior, last time he'd met an outsider. How strange. His nose twitched and he shook his coat free of snow once again, padding forward a few steps.
"Come on. The snow is only going to get worse, so we will go back to whatever den you have for yourself."
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 12, 2018 14:57:56 GMT -5
Pepper nodded and took a breath. Her pelt was still hot with her fever and the cold had cramped her legs. She got up shakily, her legs almost giving out a few times. She gagged from the wave of nausea that washed over her when she had finally gotten up, almost throwing up the mouse she had just ate. She then took another breath and walked toward RedFeather slowly and gave him a shy smile. "Sorry."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2018 5:06:34 GMT -5
He was a patient sort of cat and he'd already been aware of that, and so Redfeather simply waited out as the she-cat stood up. He moved his focus away from her to the pale clouds of white that his breath came out as, and was rather glad that he had a longer coat. It seemed to be doing its job to keep him warmer, though he'd admit that having to shake his pelt out so that the snow didn't stick to him was frustrating. Once Pepper had finally stood up, he lashed his tail and moved from where he'd been standing, shivering a little from the cold on his pawpads.
"It doesn't matter. Let's just get you to your den for now," he mewed, nose twitching to take in the scents around him. Even with the snow like this, he didn't doubt that he'd be able to memorise the route they took.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 13, 2018 6:33:51 GMT -5
Pepper nodded before gazing around silently. her tail waving behind her. "My den is that way," she meowed finally, gesturing to their left side. She still felt bad but tried to ignore it as she started to pad in the direction. The forest seemed to be eerily quiet, with the sound of a bird taking flight every now and then. The fact if this had Pepoer's fur sanding up
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Post by α΄α΄Κα΄α΄Ιͺα΄Κ on Apr 13, 2018 16:26:19 GMT -5
Ehehe, putting this in my participated~ }}
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2018 9:44:38 GMT -5
[ hello, calamity~ i have everyone besides redfeather open at the moment, if you wanted to roleplay~
ross & lady macbeth, you're both going to be deleted for inactivity at 6pm EDT / 11pm BST. ]
After a moment's hesitation, the warrior followed, pausing every so often to check above them. It wasn't too unusual for the woods to be quiet; they were too sparse to be much use, and the snow meant that most of the animals would be hiding away, for now. Truth be told, he probably should've gone back. At least his fur was keeping him warm. Redfeather twitched his nose and shifted his gaze away from the tall trees, instead focusing on the direction they were going in.
He didn't see much of a point in conversing, and so he remained quiet. The sooner he got Pepper out of DuskClan land, the better. They couldn't afford to deal with a loner on the territory, stealing their prey. It didn't matter how little they took - it always hit the Clan in a relatively big way, especially in the colder moons where reptiles were a rarity.
Redfeather noticed that he hadn't seen (or scented) any prey, which was a cause for concern. The snow had stopped, now, and so he no longer needed to worry about his pelt being weighed down...but there was still a lingering worry about the future, a worry that the snow would not melt quick enough to help the Clan.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 14, 2018 10:05:25 GMT -5
Pepper kept padding forward, the snow cold under her paws. She stumbled here and there but righted herself quickly and kept scenting the air. She then stopped walking and perked her ears before padding over to a gorse bush. Using her paw she lifted some of the branches to reveal a tunnel that led into an abandoned fox den. "This is where I live."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2018 10:21:24 GMT -5
When they came to the gorse bush, he paused and narrowed his eyes. It didn't seem that well-hidden, but upon crouching and scenting it, he realised what it was. Foxes are rare around here, so I'm not surprised this den is abandoned, he thought, ears half-flattening. Redfeather studied it for a moment before he sat up straight and shook his head, tail-tip twitching.
"Alright. I'm assuming you need to rest, so do that." though the ground was cold, he realised that the air wasn't as cold as it had been. That was good. His claws dug into the ground beneath him, and he tilted his head to the side. "Once you feel better, we'll leave."
He made a mental note to tell his sister about this den once he got back. It was one thing to get a loner to leave the territory, and another thing to keep them out.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 14, 2018 10:29:29 GMT -5
Pepper flicked her ears and sighed. "I'm sorry to tell you this but even if I rest I'll still be too weak to go long distances." She sat down and curled her tail around her paws, suddenly getting a confident and stronger air around her despite her weak body and raging fever. "That's the reason why my mother could not move us. She felt it was cruel to go to your 'clan' and ask for herbs that would help me make the journey and so we stayed here." She flicked her ears toward the den.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2018 10:35:57 GMT -5
"The deal was that you'd leave the territory, you're not going back on that now." his voice was cold and even, completely unmatched to the softness that he appeared. "It would be cruel to go to a Clan with no herbs to offer, but you still need to leave."
Redfeather glanced up and considered it for a moment. The border wasn't that far from here; the territory wasn't big. It was contained and small, though he supposed the sparseness made it appear much bigger. From this way, he supposed it would lead into uncharted territory. The longer distance would be the Forgotten Lands, but they were in the opposite direction, far away from here.
He stayed quiet as he considered the options. Worst come to worst, he could just drag her the entire way there - but that was a last resort. He didn't particularly like other cats too close to him. He exhaled softly and glanced to Pepper from the corner of his eye.
"All you need to do is leave the territory. This side's border isn't that far from here, so if you rest, we should be able to do it. Worst come to worse," he rolled his shoulders into a shrug, "we can stop to rest, since there's an old badger's set halfway between here and there. See? Easy. Once you're beyond the border, there are thicker trees and you can probably find somewhere else to rest."
Once she was past the border, it would be out of his paws. Something that he felt would be good. If he had to get Vixensong involved, this she-cat would be as good as dead. They were not, after all, a friendly Clan. Not anymore.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 14, 2018 10:47:05 GMT -5
Pepper sighed and hung her head. She hadn't wanted to admit this but she supposed it was alright to do so. "Okay. I don't want to leave because the presence of other cats close by keeps me from being lonely. Ever since my mother died I will have times where I'll get into really depressed moods and won't even move from my nest." She closed her eyes, ready for the tom to either laugh as her or not care and make her leave anyways.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2018 11:16:49 GMT -5
Why had he even bothered to try to strike a deal? He had yet to meet a cat who stuck to their end of the deal, and it seemed that Pepper was no different. His ears half-flattened and his claws dug further into the snow and the hard earth beneath it, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"You don't even interact with us," his voice remained cold and even; it was icy, even. "You made a deal, and so you're supposed to stick to it. You'll probably find other outsiders out there - you're not staying here."
Redfeather's tail lashed back and forth, pushing some of the snow aside. The brief thought of having this cat join DuskClan passed his mind - but honestly, it would kill her. He remembered when Cinderpaw, a complete outsider, had joined and gained his powers. They were weak and pathetic, and he had nearly died from it. That had been a healthy kitten at full-strength. This was a cat who couldn't even stay standing. She would die, and so he didn't even suggest it. Besides; Vixensong would probably skin him alive for it.
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Post by Jekyll on Apr 14, 2018 11:24:16 GMT -5
Pepper sighed and nodded her head. "I'll stick to my end of the deal. After I rest enough and my fever goes down I'll leave the territory." She looked up at RedFeather sadly. "Even though you're not very nice... it was quite pleasant to meet you. I actually thought I wad leaving my den today to just go die out in the snow that I love so much." She flicked her tail and her eyes filled with kindness. "Thank you for giving me a chance to live longer." She then turned and disappeared under the gorse bush, into her den for a long rest.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2018 11:38:41 GMT -5
Even though you're not very nice. Redfeather snorted quietly but didn't respond, waiting until she returned to her den. He hadn't been thanked for doing the bare minimum before - he didn't really think that he'd done much. Given a scrawny mouse to a dying cat after threatening her with death? He waited a moment to ensure that she definitely had gone into her nest, before he stood and turned in a full circle, taking a few moments to curl up into a tight ball, tail touching his nose and gaze focused on the bush.
After a short while, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to doze. It was a light doze and would be awoken by any movements or sounds near him, but it was something that relaxed him nonetheless. His mind was on the (short) journey ahead. It wasn't too uncommon for DuskClan cats to be away from camp for longer periods of time, so he didn't think it would be likely for him to get told off.
Unless he returned empty-pawed, but even that was just a matter of luck. If he came across something else on the way back from escorting the loner out, he'd catch it. If not, then it wasn't a huge deal.
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