Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 21: In Destruction's Wake

[Dark Sage]

Alferis nodded and began held her leg while feeling the bone to see how it was broken. Once he did so, he began to push in the bone back into place, trying to be as gentle as possible and use as little force as possible. He gritted his teeth, knowing she'd probably yell out in pain.

"Keep calm, I'm just setting it back...keep calm..." he muttered over and over.

[Snowy_One]

Esphyr's teeth were gritted tight as pain shot through her leg as Alf reset the bone. It felt outright horrid! She had had bones broken before though, and was no stranger to the pain, yet it still hurt awful! She didn't scream out though until Alf was done. "There!" she said quickly. "It'ssetit'sset! Keep it steady! I need a healer over here!" She called out.

---

"Very high opinion. Though it is wrong." said Mana. A slightly disgusted look crossed her face for a moment before it returned to the happy look she often held. "He isn't quite that powerful. In this room, we are all more or less equal in power. Except for Howard. But Howard is stronger than either of you, and he's... well... a bull. O'Donnel, you are skilled in anima magic, and Ixion is powerful as a practitioner of the dark arts. I have my own skills which should be readily evident as well. Ixion. I am curious though. You see us all here as people who post threats to you, yet you use us for research and board. Does that not seem oddly... off? O'Donnel, forgive my ignorance, but whom is it that this castle belongs to? Is it you, Ixion, some third party I am unaware of? Also, will Lord Kliene be joining us for dinner as well?"

[Ether]

"Help with the wyverns? What kind of help do you need?" Aiya asked, as Irina addressed her. Standing up to get a bit closer, Aiya cringed and clutched her stomach.

'Ugh... what the hell did he hit? That hurts!'

Ulfhrahn gave a concerned groan as Aiya stood, and showed clear signs of pain. The blood was not flowing from her anymore, but her entire right side was covered with the sticky substance, glistening down her leg with a gruesome crimson gleam. The pool of blood on the ground was another remnant of her condition only moments prior.

With a second concerned groan, Ulfhrahn attempted to convince Aiya to sit down and rest.

[Mercakete]

As though to solidify Irina's point, a shiver ran down Tas' spine and he had to jolt his head away in time for a massive sneeze that sounded almost painful. "..Guh... Sorry.." he appologized, followed by annother sniff. He was holding his arms and shivering now. It was getting even darker and the cold was beginning to really get to him. He'd been more concerned about the wyverns than himself since even before he'd met this group, usually neglecting his own health. "Thank you, th-though, Irina. You have no idea how much I appreciate your help in looking after th--" Annother sneeze, though not as volent as the last one. Again, Tas was able to redirect it, "looking after them."

(Lady general? It can't be... Ah well. I'll worry about that pair later if they're even about.) "Whose horse is this, then?" Beau further inquired.

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte groaned and came to consciousness once again. People looked better than the last time she had been conscious at least. She managed to get up, holding her chest. Thankfully, the rain was washing the blood off.

Charlotte stumbled over to where various group members has assembled. "Everyone, I'm sorry. I doubt Alphonse, and probably Daneka too, would have attacked you all if I hadn't been here. Maybe Eric was right about me leaving the group." She looked around. "Where is Eric anyway?" she asked.

[Inactive Account]

"I said I donno her name," Tobe protested, a little of his former insolence managing to return. "I could prolly show you her, though, if'n' she's still alive... but... I don' really wanna go over there..." he added with a shudder. "She got dark hair, though, 'n' dark eyes, an' her skin's kinna dark too... oh, and her shirt was all bloody, but that prolly don't help now..." Tobe stared pointedly away from the bloodied clearing.

[Phoenix]

Irina

Irina looked both Tas and Aiya over. Then she frowned. She was the only one in decent shape it seemed. Asking Aiya to work now seemed like a bit much and Tas was already pushing himself too hard. What she really wanted was for Kiev to grow longer and more useful arms and help her while the two of them rested and recovered.

Irina: Here, let me hold the little one for now. I'll get him fed and I'll find something to keep him from having to put up with all the rain. Aiya, you look like you're not doing too well yourself. If you can help, great, but could you check with one of the healers first just to make sure you're alright?

Ulfhrahn's moans caught her attention as well.

Irina: Oh right. Ulfy's wings could come in handy too with this. We need to keep the wyverns out of the rain until we can get a proper shelter up.

Tense Dining

Ixion: (Let her say what she wants I suppose.)

His thoughts began to dwell on what he was aiming to accomplish in the meantime. Her question which was aimed at him snapped him out of it though there was no indication that he had been elsewhere.

Ixion: Odd? Hardly. We deal with threats to our person and to our goals every single day on average. It isn't something to be shied away from as a general principle. We're all civil beings here so I don't see us mindlessly and senselessly trying to thwart each other out of spite. As for why research a potential threat? I would ask why not? Risks, problems, failures, all mandatory. Solutions, accomplishments, and success are only optional. With my purpose laid out in front of me, that is all the philosophy I need operate on.

O'Donnel: Hm. I think what Etain here is getting at is why you would play with fire at all, open flame or a mere enclosed lamp?

Ixion: Because I am not afraid to.

O'Donnel: Huh.

As the food was brought out from the kitchen by several servants and placed in front of the dinner guests, O'Donnel decided to answer Mana's other question.

O'Donnel: The fortress? Well, I am in charge all magical research, Karina is the commanding officer and thus runs everything else. In truth though this fortress is IM property and therefore belongs to Ivanko. The deed has his name on it.

Ixion: (While I am here, the fortress belongs to me. It's as simple as that.)

The Awful Truth

Conrad had stood right where he was as Viveka walked over to the cases. He had other things to worry about at the moment. The group was infiltrated before he had even joined them. The possibilities were endless though at least nine within the group himself included could easily be excluded from most investigations. He took solace in that fact at least.

Out of the corner of his eye Charlotte emerged and spoke of Jace's officers. She seemed to be implicating them. He shook his head negatively at the thought.

Conrad: (She doesn't remember that it was Eric, does she? Poor girl. I had better tell her before Morgan does. Perhaps I can be a bit less insensitive than she would be, though I doubt even that will do much good.)

He was the first to approach her and he tried to let her know from the beginning that he had bad news by keeping a frown on his face. She deserved a chance to brace herself. No sudden shocks.

Conrad: Charlotte. Daneka and Alphonse didn't attack us.

He slowly placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. It was hurting him a little to have to say this. Charlotte's relationship with Eric didn't escape his notice.

Conrad: Eric betrayed us. All of these injuries were caused by him.

He had said the first part. He would hold off on mentioning that Eric was a demon for a moment longer. Best to let her swallow these horrible truths one at a time.

[-Cynthia-]

"That is a ridiculous assertion!" Charlotte exclaimed, removing herself from Conrad's hand. "Sir Eric would never do anything like this. He would never hurt the others, or me! How could you even say such a thing?" she said, looking at him in shock.

Tristan walked over to the boy on the horse talking to a slightly older boy with a staff. "Aren't you two a little young to be in a place like this? it's rather dangerous with this group you know."

[Balcerzak]

She hadn't had to keep vigil over him for very long. Almost immediately Luc began to struggle to sit himself up, causing a small smile to waft across Tessa's face, brightening it considerably. Before she'd had the chance to interject and to tell him to stay put, it seemed that the count's own body was advising him the same, as he slumped back down.

A small surprise had come when Fargo'd approached her, putting an arm around her―to steady her perhaps?―and proceeded to express concern. Impossible... I look as bad off as the wounded? Just a little tired, that's nothing compared to the kind of injury... Before she'd fully collected her thoughts of confusion, Luc had already reminded the man of who truly needed attention, and the cavalier had left her to go rummage through his supplies, providing a vulnerary for Luc.

After that he'd turned to her, advising some rest before coming back, and starting to erect a tent. "Y-Yeah. I guess a little rest would do me good... and this tent is a great idea. Shelter for Count Altair, and for the others who still aren't moving... Just gonna wait a little bit, then I should probably go bring some of them over..."

~~~~~~

Drops of water landing on his face. Annoyance. A lingering burning in his chest. Helios opened his eyes, staring up into the gloom. It had happened again, had it? Cut down by a skilled swordsman. Just like in the canyon. This left a bitter taste in the prince's mouth, and he turned to the side and spat. Pushing himself to his feet, he looked around while trying to wipe the worst of the muck off his clothing. He'd clearly been healed, but there was no-one in sight who seemed to be responsible. Must have left him just laying there. Ingrates.

Making his way to a knot of the others, he heard Charlotte mentioning Alphonse and Daneka, and a frown slipped across his face. He'd hate to have to break it to her, but...

Fortunately, Conrad took care of that for him. The cleric was not convinced, however, and continued to protest. He couldn't stay quiet any longer.

"Forgive me, but... I've experienced Alphonse's sword first hand. This was different. Maybe it wasn't Eric... but it looked like him, and it fought like him. Conrad is at least definitely right on the fact that it wasn't Jace's men."

[Inactive Account]

Cold water on her face gradually woke Kelas up: it was still raining. She did not yet open her eyes, not sure she wanted to see what had happened yet. Slowly she assessed what she could without looking around: the sounds of fighting had subsided... it seemed like someone was holding onto her... "...Is it over...? What happened?" she asked groggily.

--------------------------------------

"I dint come with this group, I donno what I'm doing here--" Tobe began indignantly, before realizing who was addressing him. He recognized the prince from working around the palace, though he'd never actually met him. He hung his head, expecting a reprimand. "I mean, beg pardon, Highness-- I dint mean to end up in this."

[Mercakete]

Tas nodded. "Yeah. With this cold developing I don't trust myself to hold him exactly. Would you follow me? I'll show you where he is," the courier suggested as he turned part-way to face the direction of Namid, waiting for the women's reply. He understood that Aiya was hurt, so he wanted Irina to be able to choose what she did, which it was to take care of Aiya first or to go with him. Suddenly he snapped his head away again and sneezed. (This is getting tiresome...) He sniffed again.

Yes, it sounded like Kelas who the servant boy was describing. Unfortunately, he still was lacking on a direction. (He's of no more use to me. It seems I have no choice but to ask these various stitched-up quilt-patches where she and Arrin might be...) Beau began looking about as to who he might ask. That was when a man walked up to him. Looking up he realized this one hadn't recieved so much treatment. Then the younger - Tobe - called the man "highness." Was this...? Yes, this had to be the Prince of Septimus! Yet... Why was he here? Simply allowing the prince to remain injurred would not do. "Are you injurred, sire?" he asked, readying his heal staff, "I can use a heal staff and you do look a little worse for the wear. My name is Beau Adalgiso Bellmire, heir of Bellmire Estate in Elyisima. I am not with this group but stopped to help and to gain help for the one I purchased a ride from."

[Phoenix]

Support

Iso had been staying with Kelas for the longest time it seemed. His thoughts completely focused on her and her alone slowed things down considerably though it had only been a short while since the battle ended. She was in stable condition though, so there was little he could do but wait for her to wake up. Tiny movements clued him in and he looked down at her face expecting her eyes to open up. Instead she asked him if it was over and what had happened. He smiled. That was good enough.

Iso: Yeah, it's over. Arrin's okay. I'm okay. No casualties to speak of. I'm not sure what's going to happen with Charlotte though-

As soon as he had mentioned her, the shouting caught his attention. He looked over in the direction of the noise to see the obvious. Conrad and Helios were explaining the awful truth to her.

Iso: She's even worse off than I am ... at least Katie was real. Eric must have been working with them from the ... beginning? ... oh no.

He shut out the thought immediately! Eric was the one who had claimed the lives of Shanice and the fire demon. If he was a demon himself ... ... again he tried and failed to get the conclusion he was drawing out of his head. No luck.

Iso: He's ... still alive. Shanice is still alive.

Conrad

Conrad: Charlotte, you may ask anyone here. It was Eric who brought the party to its knees. Daneka and Alphonse were not involved. What worse, is that Eric claimed that he planned this. He is one of the demons, Charlotte. That is why he was capable of what he did. He isn't human. His skill in battle was nearly proof of that.

Irina

Aiya still seemed to need a little help so Irina hesitated for a moment, and then thought of a simple enough solution.

Irina: Okay Aiya sit down for a minute. Tas, can you hold on for just one second?

She then looked over at Kiev who was subtly defending the remaining chickens from the pink one. She was quite greedy and wanted to eat as many as she could fit in her stomach.

Irina: Kiev. Get over here.

The wyvern welcomed the relocation and trotted on over only to be directed to stay near Aiya while she followed Tas to retrieve the infant.

Irina: Guard Aiya, okay? At least until Ulfy comes over.

"Guard" ... that word coupled with a familiar name meant he was supposed to make sure that person stayed safe and attack anything that intended to harm them. A dangerous mission, but he proudly accepted and sat down by Aiya, the sudden rear drop causing the chickens to flutter about wildly in the cage.

Irina: Err ... I know they're going to die anyway but ... try to be more careful, Kiev.

She finally turned back to Tas and began walking up to him ready to follow.

Irina: Okay let's get him and then I want you to sit down for a bit too. I can get Lev to help out, don't forget.

[-Cynthia-]

Tristan scratched his head at being called Your Highness. "Err don't-never mind. It's hardly your fault that you've been dragged along, what with all the trouble that occurred in the capital. Do you know where your mum and dad are?" he asked the boy from the palace.

The other one asked him about his injuries. "Oh yes, I had sort of forgotten about my injuries." he said sheepishly. "Bellmire...you're someone important, right?" he said, vaguely remembering the name.

The Awful Truth?

"A demon attacked? Then it most certainly wasn't Eric. Eric is human, therefore Eric did not attack us. Perhaps it looked like Eric, but the man I *know* is no demon." Charlotte stated adamantly.

Charlotte's eyes fell upon the black horizon. "I remember that battle we had after leaving that awful town with those demons...a tree fell on Eric and he was crushed. It was a miracle he survived- divine intervention by The Lady. There is no doubt in my mind that the Goddess would not bring Eric back if he were some sort of...creature. So I know that the real Eric is out there...somewhere." she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

[Mercakete]

Tas was about to object when annother sneeze silenced his would-be argument. ...Though the stifling of the argument only lasted a short while. "Irina, you told me that you don't know exactly how to care for a hatchling. I'm going to have to at least instruct you," with a bit of a sigh, he relented a little, however, "Though I won't help out if you don't ask for it. I'll only explain things."

The traverse over to Namid didn't take very long and when Tas sneezed again, Namid blinked in surprise at his rider. Tas rarely fell ill, even to the common cold. Likewise, Namid couldn't remember ever being sick. The hatchling was atop the bundle of eggs, swaddled in Tas' own riding coat with his snout peaking out from the folds of cloth. Tas pointed to the little, red wyvern. "There he is. When you're holding him, he migth try to climb around on you, but that's not a big deal if you have some protection. Don't let your armor hurt him, though. His scales tear easily, especially since he's not a plains wyvern. Hold him closely to yourself to keep him warm and to make him feel like he's safe in a nest," Tas carefully instructed.

"I am the son of Duke Bellmire in Elyisima," Beau rephrased, sparing patience for this prince, who was proving to be less well-educated than Beau had expected. He applied his staff, beginning to heal the prince.

[Inactive Account]

"...oh hell..." Kelas muttered. "...Do I have to get up now?" It was cold, and Arrin was all right, so she didn't feel like moving, but...

------------------------------------------

"I donno my ma," Tobe told the prince, since he'd asked. "I'm lookin' for my da. Or I was, but then the lady I was goin' with got into this, 'n' then..." He shrugged, sniffled. "...I donno."

Edited November 1, 2010 by Kiryn

[Phoenix]

She Who Loves Wyverns

Irina carefully and gently picked up the little wyvern being careful to keep the rain out of his face and let him find a comfortable place to grip her clothing. Holding the little one completely changed her mood from worry and determination to a much calmer more relaxed one. She couldn't help but grin at him. Then she turned to Tas while still keeping the rain off of him using her own head as a shield.

Irina: Explaining things is helpful. I welcome that. I wouldn't mind you doing more though if you weren't sick. You're important too you know. Without you these wyverns wouldn't be alive, don't forget that. I'm sure they don't want you pushing yourself so just help me keep him comfortable for now. Hmm. We still need to do something about the cold getting near the eggs too. Lev really needs to hurry up with the tent. ... feels like we're stealing it though.

She let out a chuckle at the thought of carelessly taking a tent that belonged to Viveka's unit. Viveka of all people.

He Who Burns Things

Iso: No way, Kelas. It's my turn to play you. Now you just relax and don't move around too much. I didn't get hurt in the battle so I can look after you for now. A lot of people are back up anyway so Arrin's got people looking out for him as well. (This must be how Arrin feels when she gets hurt.)

He Who Speculates

Conrad: Hm. Perhaps Eric was human at one point, but if that's the case then ... like Katie, he is probably dead.

He wondered what would be worse for the girl, Eric being a traitor playing her from the beginning, or having died without ever saying goodbye. These demons were truly evil, lacking any sense of morality, honor, or sentimentality. Regardless of Charlotte's feelings, Conrad was more motivated than ever to put them down.

[-Cynthia-]

Awkward Guardian?

"Oh well, uh, I'm sure we can help you find your father." Tristan said, patting the sniffling boy on the back. "Does Duke Bellmire know you're all the way up here? It's not really a safe time to be in Septimus right now." he said to the other one. Talking about fathers made him think of his own. Hopefully at least some people have their fathers by the time this is all said and done. he thought to himself.

An Inconvenient Truth

"I, well, he-" Charlotte stumbled over her words. "Please excuse me." she said, running back into the woods. She then begun to sob into the blanket Tessa had laid out for her.

Edited November 1, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[Inactive Account]

"...shouldn't have to..." Kelas began to mutter, but realized that she wasn't really in a place to argue. "...okay." Shivering slightly, she ceased her protests and just rested for the moment, curling up slightly due to the cold. Very quietly, she added in a mumble, "...thanks."

----------------------------------------------

"Don' mind me, Highness, I'll be all right," Tobe insisted. "Is all them gonna be okay?" he asked, managing to glance towards the scattered wounded now that people had begun to heal. "Is they horses all right? I could prolly help with those..."

[Mercakete]

Tas was a little surprised at his own surprise. I was so obvious, but he'd somehow missed it. Even the truth its self was taking him aback.

("You're important too you know. Without you these wyverns wouldn't be alive, don't forget that." )

(I've known that if I didn't take the utmost care that they would all die. They're the last ones... I guess, in a strange way... I'm one of the last ones, too. What a strange feeling...) Tas thought quietly to himself then smiled back at Irina. "I don't want to impo-- ...Thank you. I'm doing the best I can with the ggs. They're probably a little wet but the blanket should not have soaked through yet. For now, just try to wrap around the hatchling as much as you can to keep him warm, but be careful that he doesn't hurt himself against your armor. There's several reasons, after all, that we couriers wear leather instead of metal. Sometimes we have to handle small ones like these."

The hatchling himself was enjoying the warmth. He was too low on energy to crawl around, so he just curled up, nuzzling close to the heat. He was shivering a little, but being cradled really helped to warm him up. He clearly didn't like the metal of Irina's armor, though, instead trying to worm himself under it, not worried about the damage the edges could cause him and not fully understanding how the armor would crush him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was what Beau was hoping to avoid. Though it had seemed that Burgosas had been attacked quite severely with the royal family on the losing end, he hoped that the prince didn't hold enough power to inform his father of his warabouts. "No, my father doesn't know where I am. I wanted to go off on my own," he explained a little apprehensively as he withdrew his staff, "I don't want him to know, either. I will return to Bellmire of my own accord in due time. However, I am not yet done here."

The young heir hoped that would satisfy the prince. He didn't want to explain any more, though he had saved enugh of the less-important information in case he pryed so as to make it sound like those were his only reasons.

Edited November 1, 2010 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Extra Care and Concern

Irina took a moment to check her hands over. Her gloves weren't covered by armor like her torso was. The material wouldn't be too rough on the little one, but she knew her breast plate could pose a problem at some point. It felt awkward asking, but she wasn't taking chances for anything like that. She hoped the infant wouldn't mind being handed back and forth for a moment. After all, she was only making herself a more comfortable host.

Irina: Here. I need you to hold him for just a moment. I shouldn't even be wearing this armor while tending to him, but I don't want to risk dropping him while I take it off.

Setting Up

Once the poles were in place, Lev and the pegasus knights readied the large cover and worked it into position over the ground. A second and far thicker cover was placed inside the tent to keep the occupants from having to sleep on the wet ground. The tent would easily house around six people comfortably, sixteen rather uncomfortably. Lev slapped his hands across each other knocking away the dirt and grime with a smile.

Lev: We've got the big tent up!

Viveka shot him an annoyed look. She didn't much feel like sharing regardless of the situation, but she knew she was being a bit childish and quickly hid the dissatisfaction behind a blank look. Conrad walked back over having said what he could to Charlotte and stopped by the tent.

Conrad: Thanks for the help, Levski.

Lev: Don't mention it.

Conrad: I noticed Irina and that new fellow are having some issues with the rain. They're free to share the tent with us if they'd like.

Lev: Oh how generous of you ^_^

[Mercakete]

An alternative plan was quickly dashed from Tas' mind. For a fraction of a second the thought of his offering to simply help Irina with her armor flickered in his brain but was so quickly discarded at the obvious fact that she was...well, a "she" and not one of his fellow, male ranchers. It wouldn't be correct to suggest something like that. There wasn't much of a choice, then. "Alright. I'll do my best, then," Tas replied, inwardly chastizing himself for such a silly answer as he gently took the hatchling from Irina. The little one complained as Tas didn'f allow him to nestle into his torso as he usually did. He didn't want the hatchling to catch his cold, though the wyvern chick's instincts were telling him that this was a safe source of warmth. Why was the familliar human being so unfair? He never did that before...

(I hope she hurries...)

[Script]

Luc Altair and the Fargo

"You just let me worry about bringing some others over. I should at least do that," Fargo said with a hint of remorse in his voice. There were already other tents going up as well, but might he had to try.

Luc remained silent through most of the actions taking place nearby and away. Talking right now would just worsen matters, and there was nothing that needed to be said. Luc just concentrated on applying that vulnerary as best he could.

A Paul

So rainy, so wet. Bleh, he'd have to use some of his stolen goods to shelter him for the moment.

[Phoenix]

The Removal Worries

With a few quick pulls some of the belts holding her armor in place began to loosen and then come undone. First she undid the shoulder plates since keeping those on would be uncomfortable without the breast plate anyway. Once she'd removed all of them, she reached around to her sides and undid the belts holding both halves of her armor in place. Once the last belt came off, she quickly threw her right hand to her back, and kept her left out front to catch the falling pieces each in one hand. All that was left on her torso was her thick insulated crimson toned riding shirt. Lev soon showed up behind her and couldn't help but purposely draw the wrong conclusion.

Lev: Damn, Tas. You work faster than I do.

Instead of merely shooting him an angry look, she shoved her armor parts into his arms expecting him to hold them as well as giving him the look.

Irina: You're still helping out so ... umgh ... take those and put them in my saddle bags.

Lev: Yeah, yeah. By the way, you guys are free to use the tent for sheltering the wyverns. Conrad gave the okay.

Irina: Well that's good news. Oh right! Tas ....

She noticed that Tas wasn't fully embracing the little one, probably not wanting to sneeze on him or anything of the sort. It was likely a good time to take him back then. She held out her arms again ready to receive the little red wyvern and give Tas some relief from the responsibility.

[Mercakete]

Tas was glad for the opportunity to hand off the hatchling, figuring he would be quite comfortable with Irina now. However, Lev's comment had taken him off-guard and the realization of what Lev meant only took a moment to register. Luckily, he had to sneeze and so hastily turned his reddening face away for the symptom of his cold. "Thank you, again, Irina, for looking after h--" Tas' sentence was interrupted by annother of his sneezes, followed by a sniff. "--him." The thanks this time was for the perpose of subtly obviating to Lev the true situation.

Only now did Tas pay attention to Lev specifically, "The eggs are going to have to keep warm, so they're going to have to be in the tent for sure. If you have any warm, dry blankets, then I'd like to transfer them into that. I'll wrap them. I'm not sure what I'm going to do tho-- ACHOO!! Guh..." Tas sniffed again, "--though. I don't want to spread my cold to anyone, especially not when it will endanger the little one."

Edited November 1, 2010 by Mercakete

[-Cynthia-]

"You might want to ask someone else about the horses, I can't really tell if they're fine or not myself." Tristan said to Tobe. "Actually, I don't really know about the people either. I'm no good at this sort of thing."

Tristan smiled at Beau's explanation. "Don't worry, I won't tell. I was planning to do the same thing myself actually, Mother and Father always had the guards keep such a close eye on me though." Why do I keep thinking about them? I should try and focus on something else...