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Post by Myst on Nov 1, 2019 11:57:21 GMT -5
They'd only been in the desert for two days as estimated. The rest of their travels looked the same to her, honestly. The demon had regained his sight gradually over the course of the second day, having fully regained the sense by the time night fell. He'd reclaimed his human visage around the same time, having finally regained enough energy to do so. There hadn't been any other events to take note of, though Kiran had considered seeing one of her great sphinx on the move an event. It'd taken a few days, but the group had reached their general destination.
Ereva was a gorgeous place, really. She'd only been here once or twice, but she appreciated the view each time she was able to come here. She always thought the kingdom interesting because a large portion of the city was found in the valley alongside it's smaller towns, and then the palace was built into the side of of the bordering mountains. Even still, the Zaestrin royal had to admit she wasn't a fan of the climate. She was used to the heat, the constant sun. Truth be told, she expected herself to be cold until she got back home. It wasn't as if the kingdom didn't have good weather, she just wasn't built for it.
Cruva, on the other hand, didn't care for the change in climates. The journey had been long enough that he was able to adjust his internals to match the temperatures. He'd been much more comfortable since regaining his sight, and the journey for him had become just another trip once more. Once in Ereva, he did note that they hadn't come across any guards or form of enforcement. Interesting... He also noted their varied natural species. He knew that they had the original and largest gryphon population, however it was another thing to see them flying about in their natural habitat.
He'd been summoned here once before - killed a noble upon the request of another. It had been an easy task for him, and the noble that summoned him was caught and executed. If you asked him, it had been a very productive day. Still, he hadn't really gotten the chance to wander about and appreciate the land.
The princess had been happy to finally enter one of their towns. This town was just on the border of Mithra, which was good. The tavern she wanted to start in was just on the border anyway. She glanced back at the small party grinning. "So, I say we've all earned a few drinks, yeah?" Was it the middle of the day? Yes, very much so. Did she care? No. While she wanted to genuinely start looking for information on this contact, she also thought that they'd earned at least a couple drinks.
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Post by Amber on Nov 1, 2019 14:06:15 GMT -5
Along with the mountains in the distance, the party was coming upon a town that was close to the Mithran border. Oswald couldn't help but gaze across towards the border. A pang of longing hit his chest as he quietly watched the area. He missed his home with its scent of the sea air and the melodic crashing of waves upon the rocks. He smiled fondly, though his brown eyes betrayed a sorrow. With a deep sigh, he pushed the thoughts away at Kiran's proposal. The prince grinned a little. Perhaps that's what exactly what they needed.
"Drinks sounds lovely. When we're done, we have a chance to resupply and probably get warmer clothes." He was used to the cooler temperatures of Ereva as his home kingdom was rather cool. However he knew the mountains would be freezing the further they went up. The clothes he had at least were made for hot desert travel and were far too thin to actually keep them safe from the icey temperatures of the kingdom. He turned his focus back towards Kiran and Cruva as they road ahead. The demon guard had regained his sight during their travel through the desert. He seemed to be doing better, which Oswald was glad for. They had a fighter back and it helped with Kiran's nerves.
The party soon entered the town, its streets bustling with people. There were vendors selling their goods, children playing their games, and thieves doing what they do best, steal. Kell knew how to avoid them with ease and could even beat them at their own game. She would definently try to do it before they left the area. Kiran had suggested drinks for the group. The thief was happy they were taking a stop, and a drink sounded enticing. Ultimately she didn't care what they did, though it would be a good opportunity to explore the area. She had been to the town once in the past, but things changed. It was bigger than she remembered and busier. It would be a good opportunity to stretch her legs and explore the area.
Kell looked through the crowd of people around. She was mostly keeping an eye out for thieves who could attempt to steal from her. Though most of them weren't skilled enough to properly go unnoticed by her, the less problems they had to deal with the better. Beyond that they were not the right people to steal from. In the eyes of the rest of the group, criminals were criminals and would be dealt with as such. Eventually the party reached a tavern where they could grab a drink and take a break from riding for a while.
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Post by Myst on Nov 2, 2019 17:08:40 GMT -5
Kiran grinned, nodding. “Awesome - we can tie up the horses on the side of the building.” She wasn’t worried about being stolen from. All of her valuables were in the pouches found in the front of her body. The pouches on her belt that lined her hips and backside were empty, only serving to indicate a change in pressure. That way, she could catch a thief off guard and get a good stab in if necessary. Still, she hoped that she wouldn’t have a problem with thieves, more so for their sake than for hers.
She lead them to the side of the tavern, spotting it easily based on its side and the larger grouping of people surrounding it. She dismounted easily, tying the mare to one of the conjoined posts. Kissing the animals nose before she turned away, patting herself down for briefly. Yes, everything was in the correct pouch, meaning none of it was in an a place she wouldn’t notice.
Cruva followed her lead, tying his horse up to the side of the building. Unlike her, he wasn’t worried about worried about being stolen from. One, he had nothing to steal. Two, bless the thief who thought they could lay a hand on him and get away with it. He didn’t take well to strangers who thought they could get something off of him, especially without him noticing. Then again, he didn’t take well to strangers at all.
He followed the freckled princess towards the entrance of the tavern, raising an eyebrow as she proclaimed that drinks were on her. Interesting - he didn’t remember her being one to drink a lot. Then again, this was much different than their typical circumstances, maybe she really did just want to unwind.
That, or she wanted to get some work done alone.
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Post by Amber on Nov 3, 2019 0:10:08 GMT -5
The prince grinned as he followed behind Kiran and her guard towards the tavern building. He tied up his mare to the side like they did before taking a quick look around. Would their horses be safe outside the tavern? He glanced towards his companions. Cruva and the Zaestrin woman didn't seem worried. His gaze then wandered towards Tempest. She was unreadable. Sighing, Oswald hoped for the best. If they didn't voice any concerns about their belongings, then it was likely alright. He silently followed the others into the large building.
As they entered, he could hear people chatting, some laughter, and a bard playing some tunes by a fireplace. The atmosphere was warm and even jovial. There was a surpring amount of patrons in the tavern considering the time. Oswald couldn't help but wonder how many of them were criminals between jobs or planning their next crime. He pushed the thoughts away as they found a place to sit. He became vaguely aware of the thief sitting elsewhere. He didn't pay much mind to it. As long as she didn't try to flee there was no reason for her to sit with them. He turned his attention away from the blonde woman as a young, plump barmaid approched.
"What can get you find folks on this day?" Her voice was cheery with a friendly smile to match it. Oswald smiled back.
"Can I get an ale please, ma'am?" The woman nodded. As Kiran and Cruva got their orders, Oswald continued to take in the room. Towards the back there were people trying to get rooms. The prince slightly frowned, missing the comforts of a bed. They had been camping since they left the kingdom. Although the half-orc enjoyed the expierence, he also missed a warm bath and a soft bed to go to after a long day. After the woman left, Oswald turned his focus back towards his companions. He took a quick glance around before leaning in slightly.
"Do you think we should ask around about Ga-Julei? I mean now that we're in Ereva someone might know what we're looking for." Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to ask about the mysterious figure. It could draw unwanted attention to the group. However if there was something to be found, he wanted to know what it was. If they could get a lead on the unknown person, it could lead them one step closer to answers.
Kell followed along on her horse as the princess led them to the tavern. Like the rest, she secured her horse to the side before following them inside. She let the other group get a few paces ahead before finding somewhere else to sit. She had to travel with them, but she didn't have to sit with them. Despite that, she still wanted to sit close enough to hear what they had to say. One of the employees approched and took her order. Instead of getting a drink, which did sound appealing to her, she instead ordered some stew. Across the past few days, she refused to eat with the group. She had brought enough of her own to ration and hadn't had a proper meal in days. She also didn't want to spend too much, so food was the main priority for the thief. The employee scurried away to get her food as the half-orc spoke up. She listened him mention something, or perhaps someone, called Ga-Julei. She hadn't heard the name before and wondered what significance it held.
(Wrote more than I had intended, but here you go.)
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Post by Myst on Nov 3, 2019 17:19:16 GMT -5
(I wanna write like a not gross reply from my phone so when I get on campus tonight I’m gonna reply)
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Post by Amber on Nov 3, 2019 17:21:24 GMT -5
(Sounds good~ Also writing from the phone is super diffcult, so I understand.)
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Post by Myst on Nov 3, 2019 17:32:36 GMT -5
(It is - I’ve got a love hate relationship with it cause like yeah it’s convenient but at what cost!)
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Post by Amber on Nov 3, 2019 17:53:50 GMT -5
(Exactly! Unfrotunately for me that's the only way I can reply currently because I don't have a computer to use yet.
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Post by Myst on Nov 3, 2019 17:55:35 GMT -5
(Lowkey feel that - I’m the weekend and certain days I don’t have true access to my laptop so I have to rely on my phone a lot)
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Post by Amber on Nov 3, 2019 18:05:52 GMT -5
(Yeah it's not fun. On the bright side, at least it's not the most terrible thing to use for writing.)
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Post by Myst on Nov 3, 2019 19:22:18 GMT -5
(Very true! I’ve used many worse things for writing and it’s highly unfortunate)
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Post by Amber on Nov 3, 2019 19:52:59 GMT -5
(Quite true. I'm just glad I don't use my phone to write essays. That would be a true nightmare.)
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Post by Myst on Nov 3, 2019 19:54:47 GMT -5
(I would have to blatantly fail all of my classes if I had to use my phone to write essays. Like I would just give up that would be the end)
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Post by Amber on Nov 3, 2019 20:00:09 GMT -5
(That would defnently make two of us. Or I would do it by hand to at least turn something in.)
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Post by Myst on Nov 3, 2019 20:09:21 GMT -5
(Ohh tru tru - tbh I don’t like writing by hand a lot only because my hand cramps up easily)
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Post by Amber on Nov 3, 2019 20:12:17 GMT -5
(My handwriting sucks, so if I can avoid writing something like that by hand, I will. It'll save the teacher/professor the trouble of trying to decipher my runes.)
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Post by Myst on Nov 3, 2019 21:45:17 GMT -5
(Honestly that’s such a big mood cause my handwriting is bad especially cause I don’t write in cursive but I also rarely lift my pen)
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Post by Amber on Nov 3, 2019 22:22:07 GMT -5
(Yeah I get it, I have a similar problem. I connect a lot of my letters together, which can make anything I write almost unreadable. It's bad when you can't read everything you put down.)
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Post by Myst on Nov 3, 2019 22:34:41 GMT -5
(Dude I feel that!! It’s why I gave up on hand writing my notes like three years ago)
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Post by Amber on Nov 3, 2019 23:22:16 GMT -5
(Haha. I only have means to handwrite my notes and I don't mind it until I have to go back and rewrite them.)
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Post by Myst on Nov 3, 2019 23:45:58 GMT -5
(my handwriting got so bad that i lowkey couldn't fully rewrite my notes cause I couldn't even read them)
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Post by Amber on Nov 4, 2019 0:02:25 GMT -5
(Aw man that sounds very rough. At least you found something that works for you.)
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Post by Myst on Nov 4, 2019 0:30:33 GMT -5
The freckled princess ordered mead for herself, grinning as the barmaid left. She hadn’t been completely joking about getting a drink. She was tired and genuinely wanted to unwind. The journey to the kingdom itself had been long enough, and just for a brief moment she wanted to forget about the reason for her travels. It’d been weighing on her mind so much, and it was interrupting her sleep patterns. Every dream she had somehow looped around to the party and she absolutely hated it.
So what was getting a little tipsy? If it would help her sleep, then she didn’t care.
As the prince beside her spoke up, Kiran looked at him. “No – he’s not the kind of person you just ask about and get answers. At least, not from what I understood… Besides, I want to relax tonight. Something like this takes time, and I’m tired. I haven’t slept well, I’ve been stressed, and I kind of just want to be drunk right now.” Not the full truth, but most of it. She definitely wanted to be drunk right now, but she also knew this wasn’t the time. Truth be told, she’d wanted to take this journey alone, but she was never the type to deny help.
Cruva didn’t order anything, not quite seeing the point of it. Rather, he ventured off through the tavern to play some games. If they were here to relax, then he would do just that. He only so much as passed by the counter before a fight broke out between two patrons, and somebody on the opposite side of the tavern was currently being accused of theft. All it took was a little amplification of anger and doubt for these things to happen.
Yes, he was rather enjoying himself here.
The demon slipped into the back room, wandering around the area slowly. It was mostly storage, nothing really of note. As he took himself around the room, he took note of keys hanging on the wall. Room keys most likely. So he pocketed four of them with ease, figuring if something went wrong he could conjure up an illusion to fix it.
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Post by Amber on Nov 4, 2019 1:47:14 GMT -5
"Alright. That makes sense, especially if we want to keep our heads low. Anyway if getting a drink will help you, then so be it. I'll drink with you until you're done," Oswald replied with a smile. She had a point about taking some time to go easy and relax some after their days of non-stop travel. Beyond that, he wanted to support the woman. Even if it meant for her to get drunk and not worry about their duties for a moment. Although he didn't see it as the best course of action, he also could hardly blame her for wanting a break. She had been under plenty of stress since the night of the party.
Eventually the barmaid had come back with their orders. The half-orc paid before taking a sip of the warm ale. Their stop wasn't a terrible thing. Perhaps by sharing a drink with Kiran, they could find out more about each other. Despite being allies, Oswald didn't know much about the princess in terms of her personal life. And as far as he knew, it was the same with him. As he enjoyed his drink in silence, he was aware of a fight breaking out between some of the others in the room. Another patron was also accusing someone else of theft. His gaze slid over towards Tempest for a moment, concerned she was causing trouble. She was still sitting quietly at her table. He shifted his brown eyes back towards the Zaestrin royal. "So," he began after a moment, "is there anything you like to do for fun?"
Kell was aware of who was at the tavern. A few criminals, the general drunkards, and the party she was a part of. The demon guard had wandered off, likely to snoop around as Kiran and Oswald got their drinks. They all had more or less seprated. It didn't take long for her stew to be served. She grunted a thanks to the waitress and paid for the meal. Kell was quiet, simply enjoying her food. She appreciated the warm meal, especially because she hadn't had one in ages. As she ate, she continued to keep watch over the situation in the tavern. The brawl had been broken up by the employees and the customers kicked out. Meanwhile it seemed like the accused thief had made an escape. Despite that, tensions were clearly still high between other patrons.
Eventually Kell lost interest in observing the people in the bar and instead turned her attention towards the widow. A few people came in, but most just passed on by without a second look. As she watched the various townsfolk walk by. he gaze came across someone familiar. She took a quick look towards her companions. Oswald and Kiran were selling a drink while Cruva was out of sight and likely causing mischief of his own. The royals appeared to be focusing on each other's company and wouldn't notice her leaving. Probably. After quickly finishing her stew, Kell quietly got up from the table and slipped out of the tavern into the streets. The woman she saw was hard to miss. Tallest in the crowd with dark brown hair and two swords on her back, the thief would recognize her anywhere. Getting through the crowd would be diffcult without bumping into people, so the thief began to climb a building to trail the tall woman.
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Post by Myst on Nov 4, 2019 13:17:32 GMT -5
Kiran only grinned when he said she’d drink with him, though found herself raising an eyebrow at the statement. While she was still relatively young, she came from a family of, well, borderline alcoholics. She held her booze rather well, or so she liked to think. And she did, however she did tend to get out of hand at times. “I’d suggest non-alcoholic drinks then – my father was well known for his tolerance and I take after him.” It was typically the men in her family that drank, she just so happened to be one of the outliers. While she didn’t drink all the time, she could be found getting completely wasted on her less than royal outings.
As the barmaid returned, the freckled princess thanked her, taking her mead happily. She’d already drank a fourth of it by the time Oswald asked her a question. As of now, she didn’t care for the fight that broke out and was quickly resolved by staff, or whoever was accusing who of theft. Right now, she didn’t want to focus on problems. So, she put her mind on the question, tipping her head slightly to the left as she thought. “I usually sneak out at night for a joyride. Honestly, it’s some of the most fun I ever have. Otherwise, I put a lot of focus into music. Not that I’m the best singer – I’m more of a dancer,” she answered, grinning. Taking another sip of her drink, she nodded slightly in his direction. “What about you?”
The demon eventually let himself out of the back door of the building, finding that the fight had ended too quickly for his liking. It seemed that the staff were rather on top of what was and wasn’t happening in the tavern. Interesting, but it was killer in terms of his mood. It was also killer on his energy source. Still, there were people in homes simply waiting to be preyed on, and he hadn’t been told to stay inside. His summoner could handle herself, and all she had to do was call him and he’d find his way back.
The streets were surprisingly busy considering the time, though he did take into consideration the fact that he didn’t know much of Ereva’s culture. Zaestro was mainly nocturnal, though was known to operate during the day at times. While he wasn’t sure he could say the same for the mountainous kingdom, he would take his observations in stride.
Still, a large amount of people would be so fun to work with. So, he fell into step with the crowd, unaware of the thief’s whereabouts or that she was following somebody. No, this wasn’t his concern tonight. Would he be curious if he knew? Most likely - she was an interesting person for somebody he'd previously deemed nothing more than a thief, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to know who she was following. But he didn't know, which essentially equated to not caring. What was his concern was the street fight that was starting to pick up to his left between what now looked to be five people. His doing, of course, but that only meant it would’ve happened later. After all, the emotions had to be there for him to pick at.
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Post by Amber on Nov 4, 2019 15:28:53 GMT -5
The princess seemed a bit unconvinced of the Mithran's statement. Perhaps it was because he didn't appear to be the drinking type, at least that seemed like the most logical conclusion. He really didn't look like someone who drank a lot of alcohol and during his time at the Zaestrin palace, he didn't drink anything. After a moment, Oswald smiled. "I'll be fine. I can handle it." He took a careful sip of his ale as he glanced towards Kiran. Of course he was completely lying. He didn't drink too often and it didn't take a lot to get him drunk. He would just have to be careful with how much he drank, especially if they would be on the road again soon. It shouldn't be too hard, he thought as he took another sip of the warm drink.
As Kiran began to talk about the things she did for fun, the young man nodded along. "That sounds fun, but potentially dangerous. Does Cruva come on any of your joyrides?" He paused for a moment, thinking about her other hobbies. "I'm a terrible singer myself, so I get that," he chuckled. He briefly gazed at the princess as she mentioned dancing. He blinked in surprise for a moment. He hadn't expected her to be a dancer. "I wouldn't take you to be much of a dancer. I don't mean to be rude, of course."
When the question turned on him, Oswald smiled and thought about it for a moment. "Reading, studying, and general scholarly work. It's fun checking historical facts or reading books on things like the battle of Hangman'd Cove. Of course, some may argue that's already work. I suppose something I do for that's unrelated to work is cooking actually." He loved cooking and baking. He was hardly the best, but he had been doing both since he was young. He took another sip of his ale with a smile. He enjoyed talking with Kiran and was glad they got the chance to chat.
-0-
Kell continued to follow the orc from the buildings above. Carefully she went from roof to roof, unseen by people below. At least she assumed that was the case as no one made it obvious if they saw her. She kept her eyes out for any guards around. They would surely demand she get down if they spotted her. The thief kept her focus on the orc as she turned into an allyway. Gracefully, the blonde headed to one of the nearby buildings. Once she was safely on the roof, she peered down towards the other woman. With careful precision and a piece of metal she found, Kell managed to distract her attention to the ally's front.
With the orc woman was momentarily distracted with the noise behind her, Kell turned her attention towards a rod that connected to the building across the ally. Hanging her self by the knees, she grinned. Before she could get a word out, the woman spun around and swung one of her blades towards the thief. It barely missed her, swiping empty air as the blonde managed to scramble away. After a moment, the orc looked up and the anger in her expression melted away into joy. "Tempy?!" She gasped as she put away her sword. Kell smiled as she began to get down. She swung herself from the rod, did a flip in the air, then landed on one of the boxes pressed against the building.
"Hey, Cassandra!" Kell greeted merrily. She got down from the stack of boxes and looked up towards the orc mercenary. Cassandra was around six and a half feet tall with purple skin and made if pure muscle. The thief was glad they were allies. "How have you been?" As Kell asked, the larger woman wrapped her up in a hug, which the blonde returned. She was glad to see her sister again.
"It's been too long," the orc laughed with a grin. "Anyway, I've been good. How about you, Tempest?" The mercenary, of course, knew her real name. However when they were out in public where they didn't know who could listening, they always used their aliases assuming they had one.
"I've been good as well," the thief began. She hadn't seen Cassandra in a year and was eager to catch up with the woman.
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Post by Myst on Nov 4, 2019 16:30:07 GMT -5
Kiran grinned at him nodding at his statement. Well, he could could drink then she wouldn't object to it. As the conversation turned to what they did for fun, she downed another fourth of her drink, shaking her head slightly in answer as she did so. Swallowing the liquid in her mouth she grinned. "Not typically - he doesn't like to ride too much, doesn't really see the point. That, and I like to get away from everything sometimes, ya know? He was summoned to protect me, and he does it well. A little too well, sometimes." She couldn't help but chuckle at the end of her last statement. He'd gotten better at letting her be at times, though she found over the years that she screwed herself over just a little when she'd given him his task.
As he addressed the fact that she danced, she laughed. "Most wouldn't. I'm not super fantastic at it but I like to think I could be considered at least good." She was definitely more of a hunter rather than a dancer, but she thought that she did it well enough.
When Oswald answered the question she had returned, she nodded slightly. She didn't know much about that battle, though the cove seemed to have quite the name. As for his second answer, she perked up a bit. "You cook? that's so cool! What's your favorite dish to make?"
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The guard continued to wander the streets, grinning a bit as civilians around him turned on each other, picking fights and making baseless accusations. And just as soon as they were out of his vicinity, the feelings would slowly die down and they would be confused, yet left with a feeling of loathing for however their target had been. As it stood, he was a walking storm, preying on every little negative emotion he found in passing. For him, this was relaxing. Was it productive to their cause? Eh, not really.
Still, he was having fun.
(I was going to do soemthing with him and I literally forgot what it was cause class ruined my last braincell)
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Post by Amber on Nov 4, 2019 16:58:58 GMT -5
(That's rough. Hopefully it'll come back to you.)
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Post by Myst on Nov 4, 2019 16:59:57 GMT -5
(not gonna lie, I don't think it will lol So tbh im just gonna leave it for now and think of something else later)
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Post by Amber on Nov 4, 2019 17:07:34 GMT -5
(Ah yeah makes sense. On the bright side maybe you'll get a better idea.)
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