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| - Avid looks at Morganna, her skin will be blistered under this sun he thinks. He undoes his cape and stands with it. "You should wear something. Your skin will fry out here, it's allready getting red." he says, but he doesn't move. He waits for permission before deciding on how to proceed. Morganna looks at her arms and shrugs, seeing the red starting to form, she looks at the cape, and holds her hands out for it, sighing, "I Guess yer right..." Avid hands Morganna the cape and then takes his seat. "i was going out to think," he says...then he hears a stirring..in the distance. Morganna wraps the cape around her, she looks more manacing with it on than off. She leans back and finishes off her ration bar, "Thats why I was here." her voice is monotonous, "And noone would...." she pauses, head turning in the direction of the sritting, "Did you hear that?" she mutters quickly. Avid kneels and closes his backpack..He draws his blaster and lies it on the ground in front of him..*More noises..* At the other end of the canyon...He moves swiftly and puts the gear on. "I think we had better make it to high ground.." he says spotting a shape moving from rock to rock at the south end of the canyon. Morganna rises, and swfitly limps after Avid, she grunts softly, Yeah... maybe it's some sand people fleeing the sandstorm to the east... Or Jawas.." the woman's legft eye glows brightly as she catches sightl of the figuire, her hand rests on her blaster. More forms move...at both ends..The only path to safety now is the one leading to the lip of the Canyon. Avid moves up the trail, but doesn't leave Morganna behind..Half way up..they hear it..A scream of rage and sand people..at least 7 of them move from the south end after them. Even the scarred woman holds her breath, and scrambles up the cliffside after Avid, the woman is smarter than she looks, especially when people that could beat the crap out of her with more ferocity than even she can muster. Avid hurries to the top of the canyon..blaster in hand.. Choices? Move east Toward the storm, or north toward the area the sand people were or south..the same..Fight or flee. He continues to run at a jog, waiting for Morganna. Beggar's Canyon Here the sandy dunes blow up against the rocky canyon that streaches out in front of you. Red-brown cliff walls reach up shadowing the boulder covered canyon floor from Tatooine's heat. Caves, boulders and rocky plateau's provide ample room for hiding behind. There is no telling what lies within the walls of the canyon, form the deadly krayt dragons, or roaming war bands of Sand People, to the harmless Jawa's. If one searched long enough, they might be able to find a passage up the cliff. -=-=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=-=- => Avid -=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=- North leads to Dune Sea. South leads to Beggar's Canyon. Morganna winces as she manages to keep up with Avid, her blaster is now in her hand and she presses her back against a rock ledge, her breathing is paced, she's trying to keep her fear in check, but yes, the woman is frightened, she codoesn't have anyone to throw to the sand people.. she looks at Avid and growls top herself, throwing the thought from her mind. This time the humans will /not/ get away thinks the chief..his Weapon held high..around his neck are several small skulls,probably of human infants..This praticular band of Tuskens seem more savage then the usual, most are adorned with sometype of bone trophies..and in some cases scalps of black or blond hair. Their numbers grow as the group from the north arrive, 20? 25? who knows..but 20 against 2 is too much to fight. Avid Moves up away from the canyon now..he heads south trying to avoid the swirly storm to the east. "We have to get back to Mos Eisley or make it to Anchor head." he says trying to wrap his face from the driving wind and sand. Morganna wraps the cowl over her face and closes her right eye, her left eye glows softly, sand pelts against it and she doesn't flinch, she just curses, and looks up at the higher ridge, "Dammit.. blast it.. if we could get up there, we could skirt over the ridge to Mos Eisley.. but I don't know if I can climb that far.." she grutns, peering over her shoulder at the forms gathering below and behind them. Avid heads toward the high ridge..The storm is getting closer to them now. And the sand people have begun to emerge from the canyon too. Avid would risk a shot, but he doesn't want to slow down. He thinks of the ridge one more time and then says, panting now.."We...can't make the ridge..before they get..to us. We have...to go east.." Morganna half runs and half limps after Avid, the woman isn't panting as much as he is, she is being pushed on by adrenaline, and is twitching. She isn't used to backing out of a fight, but when the odds are this great, "yeah... who'd be crazy enough to go into a sandstorm?" she spants sarcastically... " the woman curses a blue streak at her knee, but doesn't slow, "Maybe we'll find some shelter.." The sand people are vicious, but as is known easily startled and the prospect of going into a raging sandstorm..one that can eat the flesh from bones in a matter of minutes doesn't appeal to them..They redouble their efforts to snag their prey before it's too late. The faster ones break into a sprint, while those with blasters begin to shoot at the running pair. Avid hears the first wild shots pass by and begins to weave..making him more difficult to hit. The storm is closer now...the wind begins to drive and the pain of sand against the flesh becomes more than annoying..it becomes painfully harsh. Avid worries about Morganna. He casts a glance at her and wheels to fire at a Tusken closing on them..The shot hits the sand person in the abdomen sending it twirling to the ground. Morganna moves one of her scarred hands to her cowl and pulls it more tightly around her, as one of the blasterbolts flies past she tenses, restisting every trmptation to dive and return fire, the cape flies behind her, flappuing and proving to be more of a hinderance than a help. With a swift motion, she undoes the clasp and the cape billows back towards the sand people, drawing their aim away from her. Morganna continues her limp run into the storm, sand stinging at her already red arms, the woman slows somewhat. The flailing cape hits a sprinting sand person in the face..taking him off balance and to the ground..the two pursuers are gone now..leaving only wild shots and screams of frustration..they don't want to chance death in a sandstorm for a couple of good meals and trophies.. Avid lumbers under his pack, wishing that he did have a tent..the sand is pelting them hard and begining to eat into his cloathing..'we should have fought...he thinks..' that cape was our only chance'. He stops realizing that the sand people aren't following anymore. The massive storm is almost full force now, the wind is incredible. Morganna curses and races through the sand, it begins to tear at the flesh on her arms, she stumbles, and falls, taking in a mouthful of sand as she yelps. The woman places her hand against a nearby wall that she can see hazily though the sand, stumbling again as her hand misses thr wall and falls into a small hole, "Heeeey!" she calls over the deafening roar, "Cave!" Avid kneels down beside it..he can see the blood on Morgannas arms now.."GET IN!" he yells..it sounds like a whisper over the noise of the storm..He waits for you to crawl in. Morganna crawls into the cave, she doesn't need much prompting. The sand begins to eat into her arms, digging into the bloody flesh and making it all that more messy. She bumps her knee on the entrance aqnd curses, looks like she damaged it in the stumble. Inside the cave is cool, it isn't hude, but there is enough room to sit up, and lie down at her full length, but man, is it ever going to be uncomfortable. Several smaller creatures huddled in her squeak and scurry off to corners unseen, the only illumination comes from Morganna's eye. Avid begins to crawl into the cave when a blow knocks him to his belly...A Tusken did brave the storm..a youth..anxious to prove his rites of passage into adulthood with a trophy. Avid screams at the sharp pain in his back..It would have severed his spine if not for the pack..He rolls over onto his side..The tusken raises its arms in triumph, Gaderaffi held high when..in a smooth motion he is hamstrung buy the swipe of a vibroknife..The being goes down..Screaming horribly..almost like a child..He then plunges the blade into it's chest below the sternum and then raises it..but his strength is gone..he lies motionless.. Morganna wails in fear, but she, too is taxed, exhausted. she shivers uncontrollably as she stares at the sandperson's still form, the woman then looks at Avid, the man she was sent to kill.. the man that needs her now as much as she needs him just to survive. She looks at her arms, which are slowly oozing blood and closes her eyes, running a bloody hand down her face, she hugs herself and shivers as the storm rages outside. Her eye stops glowing, sending the cave into darkness. Avid raises a hand, but the strength is drained..he tries to pull himself in, but only manages to get his head and shoulders int he cave before resting his face in the sand. THe sand is already pileing up around his legs and the howling of the wind is /very/ loud. Morganna takes a deep breah and her eye flashes to life again, mustering the rest of the strength she can, she holds her hands out to Avid and grams him, dragging him into the cave, whilst ignoring the pain shooting through her entire body, "Come in.." she grunts, "Can't leave you.. out there.." Avid lies for a long time..motionless..still..he is unconciouss and completely at Morganna's mercy. She could kill him now..if she wished..Blood runs down his side and soaks into his cloathing. And outside..the sand piles up..closing out most of the light. Morganna curses, and stares at Avid's still form.. she picks up the vibroblade in her shaking hand, rolling it over in her bloody hand and looking at Avid with a longing that can only nbe quenched by blood. Morganna raises the knife and brings it down, he arm veering off to oen side and missing Avid's head by a hair, the knife clinks to into the rock. Morganna sits motionless in that position for a while as something runs down her face, blood, a tear.. she doesn't know, doesn't care. The woman thorws the knife into the shadows and cralws back to her corner, culing up and whimpering in pain. After what may have been minutes..or hours to him Avid awakes..slowly..blurry.. He moans softly and after a momment he works his arm free of the pack strap. He rolls over letting it fall to the ground, then he hits the quick-release mechanism on the other strap. His back is soaked in sweat-thinned blood. He lies on his side silently, slowly pulling the mask from his face. His breaths are short and gaspy as if every breath brings pain. Morganna sits, huddling and shivering, as she hears the rustlign she cowers back a little more, as though terrified of some sort of retribution for her near murder. The woman coughs and niffs a little, she weakly asks, "You.. okay?" Avid , less dazed, says quietly (and dryly) "I think..It is only a flesh wound..I can still feel my....my legs.." It is now, nearly pitch black inside the cave.. "You..okay?" he asks shakily. Although it can't be seen, Morganna is shaking like a leaf, "My.. arms sting.." she coughs, "Space, they hurt.. my knee too..." Avid hears morganna's voice and crawls to it..slowly..he drags the pack along, using the strength and vigor of his synthetic arm to pull himself along. He crawls up beside you and sits up clumsily..tierdly..he can still feel wet, warm blood flowing down his back..but not as much.. "He reaches into his pack and feels the smashed food box, lamp, and his...medpack.. He curses at the wet..life giving fluid soaking into his pack. He withdraws a roll of bandages and a plastic tube of anti-biotic. "Here. He says giving it to you." The scarred woman illuminates her left eye, tha cave is lit by its eerie, dim glow. She looks down at the bandage with her slick, shaky hands and the tube. "I don't know if I can..." she says quietly, hands shaking intensely. Avid tears off a peace of cloth with /much/ effort and gently..wipes the excess blood from Morganna's right arm. Then he uses the large roll of bandage to wrap her arms. At severe lacerations he applys the salve. He finishes with the right arm. He winces as he tries to move..the wound in his back throbbing again.. Morganna winces and tenses, not at the touch, but at the pain, she wimpers almost like a child, "This... hurts so much.." she says through her clenched teeth, eye glowing even more intensely. Avid ,cursing at the pain, moves toward Morganna's left arm. He repeats the procedure but half way down her forearm he lapses into unconciousness. He slides down the wall and lies on his back, head propped up (chin on chest) against the wall. Morganna looks at her arm, and then at Avid.. she panics, weakly shaking the man, "Wake up..." she winces as she hits her knee.. "Turk....." she pauses, ".... damn you.. wake up before I kill you.." Avid lies on the ground. Saliva with blood mixed in it dribbles down his face from his mouth. Morganna closes her right ey tightly and shakes the man even more furiously, she doesn't know what to do, "Wake up!" she yells, "Wake up! don't leave me in this.. cave alone.." she seems terrified at the small space, her voice is choked. She looks at the entrance, blocked with sand. She is trapped, entombed. The woman holds her head in her hands and wails, "DOn't leave me alone..." --a shake---and a sobbing voice calling to him..this is what brings him out of the darkness...into, well, the dimness of the cave..he sits up says, "I'm here Morganna..I'm he...here." he says weakly.."Help me take my shirt off..please..I'm loosing too much blood." he says unbuttoning the front of it. Morganna sniffles, trying to control her fear,, but she is completely terrified. If avid could see her eye, he would see nothing but terror, she hesitantly reaches over and shakily helps Avid with she shirt, "What... do I do..?" she asks in a voice that is almost like that of a small child, repressed feelings coming back. Avid suffers through the motions..his back is slick with blood and a gapingly wide gash runs from right shoulder to mid-back. He says weakly..dreamily.."Wipe a..away.this blood and,.." he pauses as if forgetting what to say..."Then use the bandage on it." Morganna looks at the wound, and doesn't seem shaken by the blood, or by the deepness of it.. she's more concerned of the closed in feeling that's threatening to squeeze the life out of her. She uses the clean part of Avid's shirt to dab out the blood, she is none too gentle, its savfe to say that Morganna makes a better murderer than a doctor. She picks up the bandage in her shaking hand and wraps it over the wound.. it looks awfully messy..."Never thought I'd /save/ a life.." she says, her voice choked, distant. The blackness of the cave threatens to completely engulf the woman, to cause her to curl up and stop moving.. Avid doesn't say anything..he reaches into the pack and searches for something..adrenalin..has to be there..He curses as he feels the empty vile. He sighs and leans back against the wall beside morganna. "We..we'll be okay..when the wind stops..we'll leave for Mos Eisley.." he says quietly..He sits close to Morganna and can feel her shivering.."Its okay...morganna...you'll be alright..we both will." he says hopefully. By this time, the scarred woman has completely withdrawn, she hears nothing but the wind, she hugs her legs tightly and stares out distantly into the darkness, tears rolling freely from her right eye. Avid sits for a long time..hearing the weeping of the woman... the sad sounds of her fear and pain running down her face. He doesn't have anything to say and doesn't chance touching her as he so desprately wants to do. He just sits by her and rests..the painful throbbing keeps him awake in the darkness. Morganna stops shaking as the darkness completely engulfs her, she falls alseep, still curled up tightly in a fetal position, and shivering occasionally. For once, the woman is peaceful. Avid feels Morganna sleep..he knows by the steady rythum of her breathing..Sleep crawls upon..him. 'no, i must stay awake..the sand people will be back..' he thinks..He chances touching a lock of ber hair..gentely.. Then he lies down in the sandy floor of the cave and drifts away into sleep...all the while..the wind rages outside. Some time passes, the fierce wind has finally died down somewhat, but from the sounds of it, there is still quite a fury going on out there. Morganna opens her eye, and gasps at the intense darkness, she wakes up with a scream that could wake the dead, shaking and hudling back, pressing against the rock wall. Avid wakes at the blood curdelling scream..He says, "Morganna..morganna...calm down sweet heart." he says trying to sooth her. "I'm here with you." he says over and over again trying to calm her fears.. Morganna's voice cracks and she holds herself in the darkness, shivering, she slowly regains some control and she says, her throat parched, "I want out of here.." she sounds like someone truly desperate, this is worse than her desperation for freedom during the plague, much, much worse. Avid moves closer to the terrified woman. He brings over his canteena and opens it. "Here drink some water. We can't go out until the storm passes we'll die." he hands you the canteen slowly. "Do you want me to hold you?" he asks quite blatently, but what else can he do? Morganna takes the canteen with her shaking hand and raises it to her lips, she whimpers, her skin is tender, "I just want out of here." she doesn't answer the holding question, she merely huddles up more, placing the Canteen on the ground. Avid slowly slides his right arm around morganna, taking no answer as an affirmation. "We can't leave, not yet..be patient..your safe with me." he says his voice warm and tender. Morganna tenses, but doesn't fight, she's too terrified to fight, she closes her eye and sniffles, a memory she thought was long past resurfaces, a memory of her uncle comforting her in a similar way under similar conditions, the burnign of the arms, of the face... like that mauling 10 years ago. When it comes to you, it hits you like a ton of bricks..slave..this reminds her of that life..he puts his mouth close to her ear so he doesn't have to shout over the muffled howling of the wind outside.."You will never be a slave to anyone again Morganna, I won't let that happen while i draw breath...this cave is protecting us... everything will be okay. I promise you that we will get through this." he says tenderly. Morganna is tense, and sniffling, a curled up ball of nerves, pain, terror. The woman that was once so harsh, so full of hatred is the completely the opposite, as innocent and as vulnerable as a child, her cries turn uinto whimpers and she feels comforted for once. Avid draws her into his chest as close as he can without scareing her. Her suffering breaks his heart and he does cry too. One stream of tears flows down his cheeck from his left eye. He strokes her hair with his hand and says nothing..letting the howling of the wind and the beating of his heart be the only noise. Morganna sniffles, falling asleep in Avid's arms. Whether or not she will remember this when she becomes herself is another thing, she keeps any memory of herself in states like this deeply repressed. Avid holds the woman in his arms, this is the closest he has ever been to her..he can feel her pulse on his arm and it seems that he will remember each beat..then he too drifts into darkness. The howling of the wind dies down..as hours pass..in which morganna sleeps . Avid wakes a few times, but she wakes before him in the end. Morganna jerks awake in the darkness, but this time, she doesn;t scream, but pries herself away from him, scutting off to a corner of the cave, finally crying in pain as she realises that she did her knee in again, the woman's eye begins to glow, and she looks up, coughing, "It's stopped." she says with a shaking voice. Avid wakes lieing on his side. He rises to a sitting position and says, "it has hasn't it." then he crawls over to the entry way..sand has totally filled the entrance. He begins to dig, with new sand seeping into where he has removed it. He Panics... Maker..please.."Maker.." he mutters as he digs..each scoop becomming more frantic. Morganna watches , her eye casting the only illumination, ehr stomach twists and she begins to panic again, "Are we trapped?" she says, voice qquavering, "Are we going to die here?" Avid looks over at morganna..in the darkness she doesn't see the fear in his eyes..'control..control' he thinks. He speaks in a calming voice, "No, we are going to get out of here. I promised you, and I keep my promises." he turns to dig with renewed vigor, ignoring the pain in his left shoulder and back. Morganna holds her arms close to her, they are throbbing with intense pain, a burning, awful sensation. As do the parts of her face that were blasted by the barrage of sand. The woman curls up and looks hopleess, lost, she whimpers, "I want to die in a fight.. not in a cave.." Avid grins at the show of warrior spirit and the seepage of hope back into the woman's voice. "Hopefully you won't die until you are old..." he digs.."With people that love you.." he digs.." you need to be loved.." he digs...then light..sunlight comes in...the morning suns of tatooine. Morganna jerks her head up as she sees the light,, ignoring the pain of her knee she scrambles towards the entance, eager to get out, she snorts, "Love.. ha.." although the former scorn she carried is less, probably due to the exhaustion, "I just want a warm bed and some cool stuff on my skin.." Avid holds his pistol in one hand and holds his hand up to Morganna, "There still could be some of them out there. Let me check first." he says his voice more commanding then friendly now. (But still careing) Morganna twitches with eagerness, just wanting out, "Okay.." she concedes, staring longingly at the sunlight, "Hurry.." Avid digs some more and then inches out, scooting on his back, blaster raised. He had put his shirt back on before going out to provide some protection for his wound, but the gash still gets clotted with sand that makes him wince. As he emerges he sees only blue sky...no one. He slides out and calls back to Morganna, "bring the Canteen and pack, it's safe." he says. Morganna takes the pack, she pushes up through the hole, "Take it.." she grunts, "I'll never get through this hole with it on." After the pack, Morganna pulls ehrself up through the hole, more sand becioming embedded in her raw arms and face, her knee sens jolts of pain through her entire body. Avid looks around..peace..but how long does peace last when Tuskens are on the war path. He takes the pack from morganna and groans as he begins walking east toward Mos eisley. The corpse of the dead Tusken still lies where he fell, only his feet are visible now. Morganna follows Avid, but moves slowly, her knee causing her a great deal of pain, she limps on regardless, but she has trouble pulling her leg through the soft sand with the knee so messed up, she collapses onto the sand and grunts, "I can't do it.." the woman is so full of despair, even her usual foolish stubbornness is gone. Avid , without speaking, wheels around and walks to morganna's side. He grabs the remaining canteen (thankfully, still full) and straps it to his belt. He removes some of the unsmashed ration bars and puts them in his pockets. Then he says calmly, "You're going to make it." he says, "If I die getting you out of here my promise is kept, but you will make it out of this desert. Undo your belt and leave what gear you have here." he says, "I need you to be as light as you can be." Morganna looks at her bely and undoes it, she leaves the legstrap on her blaster intact, she doesn't want to leave it behind, she also puts her credit pouch in a pocket, also.. a chip, /the/ chip.. the puts it in the pouch with the credits, the belt and the rest of its contents fall to the ground with a clunk. she reaches a hand up and sighs, feeling helpless, embarrassed, "Can you help me up?" Avid does more then help Morganna up, he picks her up, grunting more at the pain that shoots through his back then at the weight of the woman. He begins walksing holding her to his chest like a parent does a child. He is still a very powerful man and even with the laceration on his back he manages to do quite well with her. Morganna tenses as she is cradled like this.. she didn't expect this, she more or less expected just to be helped along, the woman closes her right eye and shivers, her arms look as though the are already beginning to become a little on the danger of infection side, and the bandages are soaked with blood, the woman has lost alot of it.. and fluid. Tatooine Desert The harsh winds of Tatooine whip across the duned horizon with a force that all but lifts you off your feet. Here, in this baron land, under twin suns, nothing lives for long without some type of protection. If the hot temperatures do not force the wayfarer to succumb, the Sand People will. Time is of the essence.. Never stay motionless for more than a few moments. There is nothing to see and even less to do. -=-=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=-=- => Shuttle wreckage -=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=- West leads to Tatooine Rocks. North leads to Tatooine Desert. South leads to Dune Sea. The sun beats down..and even unwounded and fresh Avid would be at his end. To say he is at his end now would be an understatement. He must rest. When the shuttle wreckage comes into view he stumbles to it and drops to his knees, nearly dropping the sweating/bloody woman. In the shade he withdraws the canteen and gives it to Morganna first. Their lips are burned as is their flesh..lips cracked and bleeding. Morganna is as week as a Horansi kit, she shakily takes the canteen, barely able to hold it, and raises it to her lips, sipping the water in an lmost holy fashion, she croaks and hands it to Avid, "you deserve it more than Me.. I... I tried to kill you.." she admits looking down, her voice as dry, parched and weak as her skin and soul, "I... couldn't.." Avid takes the canteen and sips it. He doesn't say anything at morganna's confession, but he does say.."We'll wait until night, resting here..maybe someone will come by in a speeder or something." he hopes. The sun rises to it's blistering peak. Morganna lays back in the shade, closing her eye and curling up, shivering despite the heat. The desert is a dangerous place... at least Morganna wasn't alone... she would have surely died... if she doesn't die now. Avid stays away from Morganna..'IF only she would reach out to me..just once.' he thinks, then he takes a final sip of water wanting so much more, but knowing that they would need it in the night. He wants to say so much, but doesn't. A humming sound can be heard in the distance, whether its from Mos Eisely or Beggar's canyon is unknown, but it is a speeder, and it is getting closer. Morganna opens her eye and croaks, "Speeder..." she props herself up, shaking, but is too weak to rise and look for the source of the noise. Avid rises, the afternoon suns beating down on them..He unstraps his blaster just in case and crawls to his knees. He moves to Morganna and helps her sit up, cradelling her in one arm. "Drink the water, all of it." he says handing it to her. Morganna talkes the water shakily, siping it, trying not to spill a drop. She shivers and closes her eye, "The speeder.." she says weakly.." The sound of the speeder draws nearer. From the sound of it, it is heading to Mos Eisely and is moving at a fairly fast pace. Avid , standing tierdly, forces vigor into his arms. Stop..please stop..please stop..runs through his mind..the dust cloud comes closer. Avid staggers out to the middle of the roadway and holds his hands up waves them. The speeder rushes on withouth any signs of stopping, until the last minute. The be-goggled driver, leaps out of the speeder and curses, "'Ey, what in the sands are ya doin' out here, man, its the middle of the day, have ya gone sunmad? I could'a killed ya!" her holds his arms out and then peers at Avid, "Oh, ye don't look so good, ye need a lift ta Mos Eisley?" Avid can barely find his breath to talk...in fact his voice is totally parched away..he nods to the man enthusiasticly and points to Morganna. "injur..Tusken.." he manages to mutter dryly. Morganna tries to crawl from her place, but, when that fails, she calls, "Don't... leave,..." The man peers in the wreckage of the ship at Morganna and his eyes widen, without nary a word, the man steps into the wreck and scoops up Morganna, not knowing who she is, or what she could do to him, "Oh lordy... Don't ye people know th' desert's dangerous?" his tone is scorning, despite the concern, and he places Morganna in the back of the speeder, "Yee're lucky I came a long, she woulda died.." Avid nods slowly and climbs into the speeder, nearly falling over in doing so. He glances back at Moganna and then leans over on his arm.
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