[Adrian and Sypha's stressed laughter doesn't touch him. Hector watches the cremation, feeling oddly removed from the situation now. He will not think about how Rosaly had been alive for this. He won't think about how Isaac is spared the agony she felt.
He's always been much stronger in biology than physics, but he concentrates in the mental conversions of heat and force as Sypha burns the other Forgemaster. He knows how long it should take, the relative temperature needed, if not the exact degrees. It confirms his suspicion that everyone in the night world has the threat level absolutely wrong. They fear the Belmont, when they should be running in terror from the tiny Speaker.
Well, if she decides to turn her power on him, he's got nothing to lose now.
He doesn't answer Adrian, but starts walking in the direction of his cottage, giving them a quick jerk of his head to bid them to follow.
The cottage suffers from several years of neglect, but it's a roof and four walls that are still mostly keeping the elements out, so it'll do. The last visitor this place has seen was Dracula. It had been a humble but decently maintained home and workshop back then. Now, he's pretty sure a family of squirrels have taken over the small bedroom off of the main room, and he's had not the energy nor the inclination to chase them off.
He's got a bedroll in one corner of the main room, and Adrian's travel satchel still partially full with the rations he bought on the last leg of his journey. He only had two chairs- the hazards of being a hermit- so he drags in a log from his woodpile to use as a stool.]
I suppose there's no point in saying 'make yourselves at home'...
[The two follow quietly, saying nothing at all. What comes next is a terribly long road home, and neither of them are excited for that journey. It's the curse of the viewing mirror in so many ways - it allows for rapid passage to point A, but good luck traveling from there.
Walking into the cottage, neither of them is particularly disturbed by the state of it. Sypha's fingers brush over the doorframe. It's a tiny gesture, but one that seems to be reaching out to the shelter itself in a form of greeting.
Alucard stands only just inside the door. They're years on. His father's presence has long since faded from this place, but it is still important. Coming here was one of the last acts of traveling hat he did in his life before plunging Wallachia into darkness. It is only appropriate to take a moment to acknowledge it.
It's Sypha who replies to Hector's statement about making themselves at home, it's a Thank you, before she goes about examining what is even available in terms of glasses or some kind of bucket and a ladle for drinking water.
[A bucket shouldn't be too hard for Sypha to find. Hector's fetched water since his arrival, and everything is just sort of out, no longer having a place to be properly stowed away.
Hector looks at Adrian.] You can come in [he murmurs. He doesn't think Alucard really needs an invitation, but sometimes it's the strangest old wives' tales that turn out to be true. Better safe than sorry.
He shrugs.]
Back to fetch Cesar and his brothers, then...I don't know. There's nothing to keep me here or there. Maybe I'll go across the ocean, see if things are any different there.
How far east is east enough? There are empires upon empires after the Ottomans.
[The bucket is found, and if when Sypha brings it over, it's a little heavier and there's ice floating in it to keep the water chilled, well, so be it. As terrifying as all of her magic is, it's sometimes the everyday uses that help to make hard moments easier.
It's Alucard who walks over to where the bucket was to see if there are any glasses though. He's careful as he looks around, not feeling welcome to touch unless he finds what he's looking for.]
I didn't see any glasses over there, Adrian. Are there...?
[Hector shrugs again.] Maybe I'll know once I get there.
[Likely, nowhere will be far enough to escape the past.
Sypha and Adrian have too high of expectations for Hector, a barely functioning excuse for an adult. He's just drunk straight from the bucket since he returned. He frowns, then tries checking the old shelves and cabinets that once held a bachelor's mismatch of dishes. He comes back with a single wooden cup, freshly dusted with the hem of his torn shirt. He offers it to Sypha, not quite meeting her eyes. He is a terrible host, and Rosaly would be horrified.]
Here. I'll check my old workshop. I may have another cup in there.
Perhaps. And then there's always Russia if your gaze turns north.
[Cold and alone instead of hot and alone. One is not better than the other - just different.
Alucard's not sure why he expected a man who lived alone to have more than a single cup but...well. This is something, and Sypha takes the old thing with real gratitude. It's dipped right into the bucket (never mind any dust, Speakers have always had worse).]
It's all right. This is more than enough.
[And there's a clear insistence in the tone that he really, really need not do more.]
[Alucard's quiet for a moment. What is the plan from here on out? It's clear Hector doesn't have one, and in theory, this isn't his problem. Not anymore. Isaac is gone and the threat he represents gone with him. If anyone else is stupid enough to attempt to ressurect Dracula, they'll find their way to Alucard's door sooner or later. All he need do is wait, like a spider at the center of a web.
But it is his problem, in it's own horrible little way that Alucard vaugely wants to label projection. This kind of loss is an impossible thing to weather and rebuild from. It's the right thing to try and help someone else through it. To make sure that no one else goes Full Dracula.
Sypha passes the cup over to Alucard, and he takes it automatically.]
[Hector assumes Adrian's reluctance is in taking all of the supplies. Hector can survive off of the land if he needs to. Just as months before at Castlevania, the idea of getting help from someone else doesn't occur to him. He assumes Adrian and Sypha will see themselves home and think on him no more. They're already extending him more mercy than he merits in letting him free.]
Really? You can regenerate that quickly?
[He's never had a good filter, and he's too exhausted to think it through before he remarks.]
I don't understand why there aren't more like you. You have the strengths of the vampires with none of their weaknesses or cruelty. You could... [What? Rule the world? Save it? Be what Hector hoped the vampires could be? He can't find the right words, and ends up just shaking his head.]
[He takes the pause to dip the cup into the water and drink. It buys moments to think, and had Hector's thoughts about more like you come a second too soon, there may have been a spit take. Alucard's aware that Trevor's still watching this through the mirror, and those words? Those are words that make all three of them deeply concerned.
The glass is drained and offered to Hector automatically.]
I could do as I please, and that is not tie myself down to the personality or expectations of anything - only a sense of morals long since taught to me. [And if that sounds a little arrogant, it's because Hector's words have begged another question:]
[Hector takes the cup and turns it back and forth in his hands, not drinking.]
You can do whatever you want. Just...you’re stronger and smarter than humans. Are they afraid of you? Is that it?
[It always comes back to fear, doesn’t it? Hector can imagine a world with dhampir doctors and scholars, longer lived and more studied, helping guide humanity out of the darkness. Humans aren’t all bad, he’s learned. They’re just...fragile, and so easily swayed.]
I can. That doesn't mean I want to. The opinions of others isn't the point.
[Alucard can't guess where Hector has gone with this thought - a world of dhampir shepherds leading humanity to a new age of understanding. He'd recoil at the concept if he truly understood.]
[Right. Adrian probably wants to deal with people about as much as Hector does, which is not at all.]
I forgot, you're going to hide away in your f...in the castle, for the rest of your life.
[He puts the cup down on the table and looks away as he realizes what he's doing. He's trying to keep the focus on to Adrian so he doesn't have to think about his own future.]
It doesn't matter. [The world is always going to be a mess, and he's a fool to still think after all this time that there's someone who could come along and change it. How can he still be so desperate to have faith in something when everything he's ever believed in has disappointed him?]
Do you plan to rest before you sail out? It doesn't get cold here, but I'll start a fire to keep the animals away if you plan to sleep. [It's by no means a subtle dismissal of the conversation.]
[Alucard opens his mouth to respond to that, but there's an elbow from Sypha that stays his reaction and keeps it blessedly muted. This will devolve into fighting if they keep at it, and that's not ideal.
The dhampir sighs.]
We probably need to. Neither of us know the waters here, and it's a bad idea to navigate at night when you're unfamiliar with the seas.
[More than that, it can force them both to drag Hector on the boat tomorrow. Or at least force him to talk about his future openly. One of the two.]
Take the bedroll. [He'll let them decide between themselves how and if they separate the blankets out. He's not sure what conditions they are used to when they camp.] There's an old bed through that door, but I doubt you'd want to fight the squirrels for it.
[He's thankful for the Speaker's intervention, and he really does wish he had more to offer her by way of hospitality.
...But maybe he does.]
I have something I can send with you tomorrow, to help you find your way. [Of all of his spirit-conjured creatures, the fairy is the only one whose body is still intact. She is better than a compass, and since he's taken her from the castle to the island, she should know at least the general way back. That is, if Hector doesn't end up press ganged into coming with them.]
Are you certain? Taking just the floor isn't a hardship.
[Sypha's a Speaker and can manage just about anything. Alucard knows that in wolf form, comfort isn't as important. Neither of them exchange looks this time, but there is a certain wavelength they both exist on.
Hector's absolutely getting press ganged tomorrow. But for now, the matter can be handled with more subtly and grace by Sypha.]
We'll focus on that tomorrow. It's been a long day, and right now we all need to rest. You too, Hector.
Just take it. [He wouldn't have offered it if he wasn't sure. Once his guests are asleep, Hector can pop outside and see if any of his old reanimated pets want to sleep beside him. They work just as well as a blanket for someone who doesn't mind the smell of animals and slight necrosis.
He wants to walk the length of the island until he's tired enough to collapse, but that's not a possibility with these two here. They won't trust him on his own while they rest.
He settles into the opposite corner of the room and sits, propped against the wall. He doesn't expect sleep to come, but within a few minutes of sitting, it does.]
[While Sypha and Alucard do take the bedroll, neither of them falls asleep immediately. Alucard is simply a wolf, curled up and quiet beside Sypha. There are gentle fingers that card through all of his fluff, although it's Sypha that falls asleep first.
The night wears on. At some point, Alucard nudges Sypha awake and they trade shifts. It's easier to do this with three, but it's fine. It means that when morning does come, Alucard is no longer a wolf but a person again. The bucket remains where it was left last night, but he's managed to forage a few pieces of fruit that are sat beside the bucket.
Nothing else has been touched. Alucard's cutting up the one apple he managed to find with a knife that's been laying around (and very much cleaned up), his hair pulled back and looking almost comedically domestic after the events of yesterday.]
[Hector wakes and blinks the sleep out of his eyes. He sees Adrian assuming the role of domestic goddess in the middle of his ruined cabin, thinks about commenting on it, and decides it is too absurd to even hazard a remark. How he looks so refined and noble after spending the night on a floor, Hector can't say.
He unfolds himself from his corner and stretches stiff limbs. His shoulders give a satisfying pop. Taking a quick glance out of the broken window, he sees a clear sky.]
It looks like decent weather to start your journey home.
[Really, there's nothing to it. The other two travel more. He looks after the house. His diet is more specialized, and so cooking in a way that balances human and vampire needs has always been a priority for Alucard. It's as normal as any other part of himself, and that's all there is to it.
Alucard moves onto the two pears he found, hardly missing a beat as Hector speaks.]
Tell me, Hector, when you lived here before, how easy was foraging and looking after your diet? I've noticed a lot of overgrowth, but precious few resources.
[Hector is baffled. Why is this the conversation they are having?]
I got by. The fishing's not bad, and I kept a little garden for tea leaves. [He wasn't willing to devote more time to a larger garden, so he'd prioritized the substance that would help keep him awake so he could keep working longer.]
I'd go inland for supplies before the winter. I never starved.
[The answer he's skirting around is, 'It's a miracle I survived on my own, and your father was positively exasperated by it.']
I see. [Alucard's tone makes it clear that he finds the response to be troubling, at the very least. He finishes cutting up the fruit, and he offers some of the pear over to Hector.]
I'm worried that things might have changed in your absence.
[Yeah. Alucard'll just betray the hand that they ain't letting Hector stay here either. The argument has to start at some point.]
Eat. I doubt you've done much of that since arriving here.
[....yeah, dad had the right of it on that front.]
[Hector is immediately on guard. He takes the pear warily. The island has little to offer other than wild creatures and isolation. That is precisely why he was able to settle here; if it had been a rich, fertile land, not even his reputation as a necromancer would have kept the locals at bay.]
I have not had much of an appetite. I will be fine until I am ready to leave. You needn't worry.
[The pear is hard when he bites down on the slice, at the very first stages of ripeness. Fruit like this is a rarity on the island, and Hector's surprised Adrian was able to find one of the few fruit-bearing trees around.]
[They're words that are a little too frank. Alucard knows it, but he really doesn't care. Grief makes people do stupid things like not eat or drink, among the many options that the both of them know exist.]
You...do know we're not letting you stay here, yes?
[It's inevitable. Might as well get the fight started.]
It's none of your concern. [He's not going to repeat Dracula's mistakes, and he's not hurting anyone else. Adrian has seen that much for himself. He crosses his arms and sets his jaw.]
I'm not planning on staying here forever. I'll return for my pets. [He's being deliberately obtuse about Adrian's meaning. Hector's freedom is the only thing he has left. If Adrian wants to take it from him, he's going to make him own up to it.]
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He's always been much stronger in biology than physics, but he concentrates in the mental conversions of heat and force as Sypha burns the other Forgemaster. He knows how long it should take, the relative temperature needed, if not the exact degrees. It confirms his suspicion that everyone in the night world has the threat level absolutely wrong. They fear the Belmont, when they should be running in terror from the tiny Speaker.
Well, if she decides to turn her power on him, he's got nothing to lose now.
He doesn't answer Adrian, but starts walking in the direction of his cottage, giving them a quick jerk of his head to bid them to follow.
The cottage suffers from several years of neglect, but it's a roof and four walls that are still mostly keeping the elements out, so it'll do. The last visitor this place has seen was Dracula. It had been a humble but decently maintained home and workshop back then. Now, he's pretty sure a family of squirrels have taken over the small bedroom off of the main room, and he's had not the energy nor the inclination to chase them off.
He's got a bedroll in one corner of the main room, and Adrian's travel satchel still partially full with the rations he bought on the last leg of his journey. He only had two chairs- the hazards of being a hermit- so he drags in a log from his woodpile to use as a stool.]
I suppose there's no point in saying 'make yourselves at home'...
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Walking into the cottage, neither of them is particularly disturbed by the state of it. Sypha's fingers brush over the doorframe. It's a tiny gesture, but one that seems to be reaching out to the shelter itself in a form of greeting.
Alucard stands only just inside the door. They're years on. His father's presence has long since faded from this place, but it is still important. Coming here was one of the last acts of traveling hat he did in his life before plunging Wallachia into darkness. It is only appropriate to take a moment to acknowledge it.
It's Sypha who replies to Hector's statement about making themselves at home, it's a Thank you, before she goes about examining what is even available in terms of glasses or some kind of bucket and a ladle for drinking water.
Alucard is still in the doorway.]
Where shall you got next, Hector?
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Hector looks at Adrian.] You can come in [he murmurs. He doesn't think Alucard really needs an invitation, but sometimes it's the strangest old wives' tales that turn out to be true. Better safe than sorry.
He shrugs.]
Back to fetch Cesar and his brothers, then...I don't know. There's nothing to keep me here or there. Maybe I'll go across the ocean, see if things are any different there.
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[The bucket is found, and if when Sypha brings it over, it's a little heavier and there's ice floating in it to keep the water chilled, well, so be it. As terrifying as all of her magic is, it's sometimes the everyday uses that help to make hard moments easier.
It's Alucard who walks over to where the bucket was to see if there are any glasses though. He's careful as he looks around, not feeling welcome to touch unless he finds what he's looking for.]
I didn't see any glasses over there, Adrian. Are there...?
[Sypha's gaze turns to Hector.]
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[Likely, nowhere will be far enough to escape the past.
Sypha and Adrian have too high of expectations for Hector, a barely functioning excuse for an adult. He's just drunk straight from the bucket since he returned. He frowns, then tries checking the old shelves and cabinets that once held a bachelor's mismatch of dishes. He comes back with a single wooden cup, freshly dusted with the hem of his torn shirt. He offers it to Sypha, not quite meeting her eyes. He is a terrible host, and Rosaly would be horrified.]
Here. I'll check my old workshop. I may have another cup in there.
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[Cold and alone instead of hot and alone. One is not better than the other - just different.
Alucard's not sure why he expected a man who lived alone to have more than a single cup but...well. This is something, and Sypha takes the old thing with real gratitude. It's dipped right into the bucket (never mind any dust, Speakers have always had worse).]
It's all right. This is more than enough.
[And there's a clear insistence in the tone that he really, really need not do more.]
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Right. You two can take the supplies with you when you go. I bought them with Adrian's coin, they're yours by right.
He doesn't want to think about Russia, or the ocean, or anywhere. Adrian's seen how Hector plans, which is not at all.]
How's your back? I thought I saw you take a hit.
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[Alucard's quiet for a moment. What is the plan from here on out? It's clear Hector doesn't have one, and in theory, this isn't his problem. Not anymore. Isaac is gone and the threat he represents gone with him. If anyone else is stupid enough to attempt to ressurect Dracula, they'll find their way to Alucard's door sooner or later. All he need do is wait, like a spider at the center of a web.
But it is his problem, in it's own horrible little way that Alucard vaugely wants to label projection. This kind of loss is an impossible thing to weather and rebuild from. It's the right thing to try and help someone else through it. To make sure that no one else goes Full Dracula.
Sypha passes the cup over to Alucard, and he takes it automatically.]
It's healed, thank you.
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Really? You can regenerate that quickly?
[He's never had a good filter, and he's too exhausted to think it through before he remarks.]
I don't understand why there aren't more like you. You have the strengths of the vampires with none of their weaknesses or cruelty. You could... [What? Rule the world? Save it? Be what Hector hoped the vampires could be? He can't find the right words, and ends up just shaking his head.]
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[He takes the pause to dip the cup into the water and drink. It buys moments to think, and had Hector's thoughts about more like you come a second too soon, there may have been a spit take. Alucard's aware that Trevor's still watching this through the mirror, and those words? Those are words that make all three of them deeply concerned.
The glass is drained and offered to Hector automatically.]
I could do as I please, and that is not tie myself down to the personality or expectations of anything - only a sense of morals long since taught to me. [And if that sounds a little arrogant, it's because Hector's words have begged another question:]
Why would you want me to do anything else?
[Why did you follow after my father or Carmilla?]
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You can do whatever you want. Just...you’re stronger and smarter than humans. Are they afraid of you? Is that it?
[It always comes back to fear, doesn’t it? Hector can imagine a world with dhampir doctors and scholars, longer lived and more studied, helping guide humanity out of the darkness. Humans aren’t all bad, he’s learned. They’re just...fragile, and so easily swayed.]
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[Alucard can't guess where Hector has gone with this thought - a world of dhampir shepherds leading humanity to a new age of understanding. He'd recoil at the concept if he truly understood.]
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I forgot, you're going to hide away in your f...in the castle, for the rest of your life.
[He puts the cup down on the table and looks away as he realizes what he's doing. He's trying to keep the focus on to Adrian so he doesn't have to think about his own future.]
It doesn't matter. [The world is always going to be a mess, and he's a fool to still think after all this time that there's someone who could come along and change it. How can he still be so desperate to have faith in something when everything he's ever believed in has disappointed him?]
Do you plan to rest before you sail out? It doesn't get cold here, but I'll start a fire to keep the animals away if you plan to sleep. [It's by no means a subtle dismissal of the conversation.]
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The dhampir sighs.]
We probably need to. Neither of us know the waters here, and it's a bad idea to navigate at night when you're unfamiliar with the seas.
[More than that, it can force them both to drag Hector on the boat tomorrow. Or at least force him to talk about his future openly. One of the two.]
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[He's thankful for the Speaker's intervention, and he really does wish he had more to offer her by way of hospitality.
...But maybe he does.]
I have something I can send with you tomorrow, to help you find your way. [Of all of his spirit-conjured creatures, the fairy is the only one whose body is still intact. She is better than a compass, and since he's taken her from the castle to the island, she should know at least the general way back. That is, if Hector doesn't end up press ganged into coming with them.]
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[Sypha's a Speaker and can manage just about anything. Alucard knows that in wolf form, comfort isn't as important. Neither of them exchange looks this time, but there is a certain wavelength they both exist on.
Hector's absolutely getting press ganged tomorrow. But for now, the matter can be handled with more subtly and grace by Sypha.]
We'll focus on that tomorrow. It's been a long day, and right now we all need to rest. You too, Hector.
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He wants to walk the length of the island until he's tired enough to collapse, but that's not a possibility with these two here. They won't trust him on his own while they rest.
He settles into the opposite corner of the room and sits, propped against the wall. He doesn't expect sleep to come, but within a few minutes of sitting, it does.]
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The night wears on. At some point, Alucard nudges Sypha awake and they trade shifts. It's easier to do this with three, but it's fine. It means that when morning does come, Alucard is no longer a wolf but a person again. The bucket remains where it was left last night, but he's managed to forage a few pieces of fruit that are sat beside the bucket.
Nothing else has been touched. Alucard's cutting up the one apple he managed to find with a knife that's been laying around (and very much cleaned up), his hair pulled back and looking almost comedically domestic after the events of yesterday.]
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He unfolds himself from his corner and stretches stiff limbs. His shoulders give a satisfying pop. Taking a quick glance out of the broken window, he sees a clear sky.]
It looks like decent weather to start your journey home.
[A stunning conversation starter.]
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Alucard moves onto the two pears he found, hardly missing a beat as Hector speaks.]
Tell me, Hector, when you lived here before, how easy was foraging and looking after your diet? I've noticed a lot of overgrowth, but precious few resources.
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I got by. The fishing's not bad, and I kept a little garden for tea leaves. [He wasn't willing to devote more time to a larger garden, so he'd prioritized the substance that would help keep him awake so he could keep working longer.]
I'd go inland for supplies before the winter. I never starved.
[The answer he's skirting around is, 'It's a miracle I survived on my own, and your father was positively exasperated by it.']
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I'm worried that things might have changed in your absence.
[Yeah. Alucard'll just betray the hand that they ain't letting Hector stay here either. The argument has to start at some point.]
Eat. I doubt you've done much of that since arriving here.
[....yeah, dad had the right of it on that front.]
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I have not had much of an appetite. I will be fine until I am ready to leave. You needn't worry.
[The pear is hard when he bites down on the slice, at the very first stages of ripeness. Fruit like this is a rarity on the island, and Hector's surprised Adrian was able to find one of the few fruit-bearing trees around.]
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[They're words that are a little too frank. Alucard knows it, but he really doesn't care. Grief makes people do stupid things like not eat or drink, among the many options that the both of them know exist.]
You...do know we're not letting you stay here, yes?
[It's inevitable. Might as well get the fight started.]
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I'm not planning on staying here forever. I'll return for my pets. [He's being deliberately obtuse about Adrian's meaning. Hector's freedom is the only thing he has left. If Adrian wants to take it from him, he's going to make him own up to it.]
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