6 C:6 ...I hate Forests

Chapter 6: ... I hate forests

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Pov: Cinis

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I've been wandering aimlessly through the forest for six cursed days. Not surprising without a map or compass. I could just open a portal and travel somewhere else, but I wanted an adventure and alone and disoriented in a huge forest full of monsters and other dangerous animals fits this description very well.

Most of these animals are largely peaceful, but that is only the case until they become hungry, enter their territory or they feel threatened. William taught me the basics of wilderness survival a few years ago as I had no clue how to behave in the wild or in similar situations.

90% of it was about wild animals, monsters and plants and how to avoid being killed, eaten or mutilated by them and how to process them in order to be able to produce medicine or other useful items. About 9% of these were about finding safe shelter, building it or digging in an emergency and the remaining 1% identifying edible plants and finding processing or potable water. That I actually don't have to eat, drink or sleep was pretty much irrelevant to him during training.

At the time he answered my question with only a small but worried smile, "Who says that I only teach you all this so that you can survive in the wilderness and not in the unlikely event that you travel with mortal company?"

The two months that I then had to spend in the 'hunting grounds' of Hircine (his level in the realm of oblivion) as survival training were one long nightmare. Not just because his plain is a huge forest full of wild animals, poisonous insects, and huge trees, that was the good part. But when my 'uncle' Hircine started his hunt at night, the forest was teeming with predators, werewolves and other monsters.

That meant finding a new hiding place every night or fighting a pack of hungry, bloodthirsty or belligerent werewolves. Finding drinkable water was also a challenge. The slow, bigger but stronger predators like basilisks (Harry Potter version of the basilisk) or Lagiacrus (from Monster Hunter) control the rivers, ponds and lakes and they would never refuse a snack like me.

Now it's a happy, relaxed camping trip where I don't know where I am, but that's a good thing in my opinion. However, I have only eaten fruit and nuts for days and they are slowly getting on my nerves.

However, wherever I am, I'm still close to a battlefield where I killed dozens of soldiers using magic. So if a patrol finds me it'll just end in a fight and the last thing I want is to have a bounty on me.

That again means no fire with which I could grill meat. A stupid apprentice magician would just conjure up the food and after a few days he would be pretty dead. Summoned food makes you feel full, but consists only of magica and is therefore just as nutrient-rich as air and if you eat it in large quantities you get magica poisoning. However, it tastes like normal food and is therefore reasonably useful for a strictly monitored diet with few side effects.

Right now, however, I am offering myself a stare with an approximately 3m tall moose with blood-red antlers and gray-gold fur. It bears a certain resemblance to a Bies or Fiend from the 'Witcher' game series. However, it looks more like a cross between a moose and a wolf than the original Bies, which is a cross between a bear and a wild boar.

I am sure that it can also eat meat, because why would a herbivore need fangs or watch me and assess whether I am easy prey or not.

Fortunately, I don't seem like prey in the moose's eyes, and he turns and trots comfortably back into the forest. I have never seen such a type of moose before. Neither in the books about monsters and chimeras (man-made hybrids) nor those about rare or extinct species.

After making sure that there are no other monsters or other sources of danger nearby, I exhale with relief and lightly scratch my neck nervously. I look around the little meadow I'm standing on and then go to the edge of the clearing. I stop there and look at a small, grass-free patch on the floor.

With the help of a spell, I dig a small cave in the ground and then conjure up a sleeping bag that I put myself in. After I have made myself comfortable, I pull a leather bag about the size of a hand out of my pocket and take out of it a couple of cherry-sized fruits with a yellow-bluish tinge.

As I hold the fruits in my hand, I heat them up slightly with the help of a weak fire spell and they begin to give off a slightly spicy smell.

When I eat them one by one they have a slimy consistency and they taste like grilled potatoes with a pinch of pepper. The aftertaste, however, is slightly sour and makes the tongue tingle.

William taught me years ago that you should only eat these fruits after you have heated them, otherwise their poison causes tremors and slowly etches its way through the innards. But the fruits are harmless after a little heat treatment and incredibly healthy, at least if you are brave enough to eat them.

After my humble and almost disgusting meal, I seal the entrance to my cave with a magical but breathable barrier and lie down to sleep. At such moments I wonder why I decided to travel through 'Nirn' and not to live in luxury in my tower.

When I close my eyes and relax, I am overwhelmed by it, but I don't sleep as usual. Instead, on the edge of my consciousness, I can perceive a barely audible whisper. Words of worship and supplication. Suddenly I can feel my consciousness detaching from my body and being drawn to a place I don't know.

Mom (Nocturnal) once told me that the Daedra princes all have one or more cults in which they are worshiped, whether they like it or not. Through certain rites or incantations, these cultists can contact their respective princes in order to receive orders, face challenges or ask for help.

Some also try to negotiate agreements, but these are binding on the mortal, often downright cruelly twisted and should the prince feel betrayed, most tend to punish more than just the 'traitor'. Whole cities have been destroyed, enslaved or kidnapped in such situations.

[A comparatively harmless example is a magician whose daughter was bitten by a werewolf and begged Clavicus Vile to heal her. Clavicus Vile consented on the condition that the wizard submit to him in life and in death. The wizard was so pleased that he immediately accepted the deal without thinking about it. Laughing, Clavicus Vile threw the wizard a silver ax and said with an evil grin, "Your soul for the healing of your daughter but only in death will she be cured of her lycanthropy. Now go and heal your daughter." Unable to withstand the command, the wizard killed his daughter with the silver ax and then withdrew to the mountains, half mad with grief. The entertaining thing about the story is that the ax is called 'the cure'.

An extreme example would be the case of the deep elves ('Dwemer' or 'Dwarfs') who have betrayed even the prince of knowledge (Hermaeus Mora) in their desire for knowledge. As a result, for the first time in Nirn history, an entire race was wiped out. In just one night, every single member of the Deep Elves disappeared across the continent.

But what actually scares the scholars and archaeologists is that clothes and armor are lying on the ground in the cities as if they had simply been dropped. The food is on the tables in the apartments, apparently ready to be eaten and in workshops and mines the tools are lying around as if they were just used, but no signs of a panic, escape or evacuation. Even centuries later, the golems and constructs of the deep elves patrol the quiet, abandoned halls deep underground and all of them have a fine, white powder of organic origin.]

When I finally appear in front of an altar with a ghostly figure made of smoke, I look around curiously. The altar consists of an obelisk that stands on a platform that is sprinkled with ashes. A small fire bowl lies in front of it and a red-violet flame burns in it. My 'body' consists of the smoke that slowly but tightly rises from the fire bowl.

The altar stands in a small clearing surrounded by trees, rocks and a hill. When I look at the group of people kneeling in front of me, they wear simple clothes and are surrounded by an aura of sadness and despair. The oldest of them stands up shakily and looks at me with a sad but hopeful smile.

"Lady Nocturnal has told me how to summon you and we ask your forgiveness. But you are the Princess of the Veil and we only ask to say goodbye to our dead." As the old man speaks, tears start to run down his face and the people around look at me in desperate hope.

I know that I can summon the spirits of the dead without harming them like necromancers do. And the fact that I am theoretically the embodiment of fire and ashes only underlines this title.

{AN: I am of the opinion that purely philosophically fire represents life while ashes represent death or what is lost. In life we consume the world and in death we nourish it.}

But even if the living can say goodbye to their dead, they only involuntarily let them go behind the veil of death. Few can accept that their dead cannot stay with them even when they stand before them.

That was probably the reason how the first necromancers came about. Grief or fear of death can drive someone insane, but at some point the wizard doesn't care anymore.

But the men and women in front of me are different. All they want is to say goodbye to loved ones because they couldn't do that in life. I've always had a soft spot for stories like this, so I'm more willing to grant these mortals their wishes.

I turn to the altar and slowly raise my left hand. The ashes that were scattered on the altar begin to move as if they were caught in the wind and rise up in a whirling motion. The upper bodies of about a dozen people of different ages are formed.

The price for my help will be the shed tears as they are full of pure, emotionally charged magic and therefore represent a strong solution in alchemy, albeit worse than Sanguine's alcoholic solution that he prepared especially for alchemy.

{Solutions such as water or alcohol are needed in alchemy when brewing potions. The purer the solution and the more natural magic it contains, the more effective the result.}

"You have 5 minutes to say goodbye." I say gently and my body of smoke collapses.

When I open my eyes I lie in my sleeping bag and notice how some light falls through the cave entrance. Cursing loudly, I get up and pack my things. Not only that I was summoned, the whole thing lasted all night and I feel more tired than I have in years.

When I come out of the cave, squirrels and rabbits watch me carefully while I am about to throw fire, ice and lightning around me. Fortunately for the animals, I have relatively good self-control and instead scream in frustration.

Until now I hadn't even realized how fast these little rodents can run when they're scared. In seconds there was no animal to be seen except a rabbit who was either frozen in fear or had a heart attack out of panic.

I just turn around and walk with loud steps into the forest while the clearing slowly disappears behind me.

So while I am going on, I am making a plan so that the next time it is not me but a kind of magical confidante is summoned. Prefers something of low intelligence like an animal like Clavicus Vile did with 'Barbas' (Wolfhound).

Although Barbas is quite intelligent and can even talk. But it is also a kind of Daedra and, in fact, is also connected to Clavicus Vile's power. So maybe not.

That was the moment when I had a flash of inspiration. Looking for a clearing, I fought my way through a pack of wolves and several other predators. When I still haven't found a suitable place at sunset, that's enough for me.

I'm a goddamn Daedric lord. Fuck the forest. With a huge burning, kinetic wave, I destroy everything within a radius of 60m and now hover over a 9m wide, 4m deep crater.

I cry out in frustration and begin to swear like an eloquent princess who has found out that her maid sleeps with her brother. With colorful words I describe the forest in the worst possible way and how much I would like to torch it right now.

When an existence like an Et'Ada suffers from lack of sleep even though it does not have to sleep, it can be assumed that some catastrophe will occur and I am the irrefutable proof of that. Even if my outburst was pretty reticent.

After a while I calm down as much as possible and look at the clearing below in frustration. Apart from the crater, there are now burn marks and the ground below me is largely charred. With a jerky and angry hand movement, the earth begins to deform into a smooth surface below me.

After a good hour I not only straightened and hardened the ground, but also painted / drew a kind of huge magical formation with ashes and set up 72 small fire bowls at special positions.

In the fire bowls I put marbles made of Lirium which are inscribed with Daedric runes. Normally I would rather work without Lyrium as it is too unstable for me, but I am not sure if I can then successfully perform the ritual.

When I'm done with the preparations, the clearing I created looks like the wet dream of a Satanist with a nature fetish. Secunda and Masser (the moons over 'Nirn') shine above me and bathe me in their pale light.

With a throwaway gesture, my clothes fall apart and I stand naked in the middle of the magical formation. I hold both hands in front of me as if I were holding a bowl, and a deep red dwarf sun about the size of a football appears flickering between them.

The heat that is radiated from the dwarf sun ignites the trees and bushes on the edge of the clearing, but I don't care about that right now. Slowly I raise both hands towards the sky and the fireball begins to hover a few meters above me. The Lyrium marbles now burn in ghostly, pale blue fires and the shadows dance on the edge of the clearing in a fast and eerie rhythm. Every now and then even hands seem to want to reach out from the shadows or faces appear that scream in silence.

The ashes are now glowing and sparks rise from it as if it were about to start burning. A dagger appears in my left hand, so dark that it seems to absorb the light around it. With my right hand I grab the shadows that dance around me and some of them are pulled into my hand where they squirm and try to escape.

With the dagger I cut out some of the essence of the shadows and repeat the whole thing a total of 12 more times. When I'm done, 13 balls of pure shadow float around me, from which small tentacles shoot out trying to connect with the dancing shadows but the pale blue light of the Lyrium fire burns them each time just before they connect.

I drop the dagger and it crumbles into a shower of black light. The orbs of shadows try more and more desperately to flee while I reach for my own shadows. This does not defend itself and a shadowy copy of me appears in front of me.

She smiles slightly and nods to me. As if on a silent command, the balls of shadows fly into my own shadowy likeness and they merge with one another. The ghostly, blue light of the Lyrium marbles slowly goes out and the clearing is only illuminated by the two moons and my artificial, deep red dwarf sun.

Suddenly a shadowy owl flies out of my shadow and hovers just in front of me just to dive back into my shadow. Now the dwarf sun also goes out and I scream with joy.

Not only that I now have a magical confidante who is conjured up in my place and can copy himself almost infinitely if necessary. She is also connected to the 'Khala' which allows me to contact her at any time and theoretically she is a member of the 'Darklings' race.

If I weren't so tired I would celebrate. Even when I'm alone in a forest and standing in an eerie clearing where a ritual was just held that most of the people in 'Nirn' would describe as abnormal. How many would voluntarily let a 'darkling' live in their shadow, even if his survival is tied to that of his host?

My next problem is where will I sleep tonight and what clothes to wear next. * Sigh *

{Darklings are a race of lively and intelligent shadows who live on the 'other side' of the world. This is often referred to as the shadow dimension, even if that is incorrect. It is more accurate to say that the darklings live in the shadow of the 'light' world. The only way to hurt darklings is with the help of magic or direct exposure to sunlight. The shape of a darkling is decided by himself. Even if they consist of shadows, they are able to interact with others on the 'light side' or even hurt them if necessary.}

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After my extremely successful ritual yesterday I slept in a hole in the ground again tonight and just wrapped myself in a blanket in the sleeping bag. As for my shame, I have almost no shame, because right now I'm standing naked in the forest and thinking about whether I should conjure up a hut or maybe a decent tent.

While I proudly stand around in all my nakedness and think, it thunders nearby. Something hits next to me at high speed and with a small explosion clods of earth fly through the area.

After I wipe a few clods of earth from my body and the painful whistling in my right ear fades away, a scroll slaps me in the middle of my face. I scream in surprise and stumble backwards, only to slip on a rock and fall over.

"Whoever is responsible for all this crap, I swear by my favorite underwear, I'll pay you back ten times as much." I scream loudly as I compare the person responsible with a certain part of the body.

When I get up on both feet again, the goddamn scroll hovers in front of me as if it wasn't the cause of my headache. The scroll is old-fashioned with seals and other such things. When I reach for it, it flies peacefully into my waiting hand.

I break the seal and open it. The scroll only says 'surprise' and a badly painted picture of a house. The wine stains on the parchment are deep red and smell strongly of wine even when dried.

Furious, I burn the scroll and look at the crater. Inside lies a sphere made of milky-white, glass-like material. Daedric runes float on the surface of the sphere and there is some kind of phantom of a house in it, but it is too shadowy to see any details.

Fortunately, I know what kind of enchantment it is and how to use such an artifact. It is a compression spell that reduces an object or surface and then enlarges it again later. In fact, this one is a permanent version of the spell that can be used over and over again.

So I put the sphere on the ground and activate the enchantment. The sphere lights up briefly and a bubble of milky white light appears and expands until it is about 25m in diameter. In doing so, it appears to be scanning the surroundings and destroying trees and rocks.

When the glowing bubble disappears, a house stands in front of me. It is about 20m wide, 8m deep and about 7m high. A typical European, medieval house with a wooden roof and stone walls.

It is 2 stories high with an attic and sparsely overgrown with climbing plants. The ground floor is also reinforced with iron, not to mention the innumerable enchants to protect the house. The front door is made of thick, heavy wood and is reinforced with iron.

As I walk to the door, I see a door knocker shaped like an owl. When I open the door, I see a bright room with tables, shelves and chairs. On the far left of the room is a staircase that leads upwards.

Small, colorful lanterns hang from the ceiling, which also gently illuminate the room in white, orange and red light. The room is fully equipped with books and alchemical tools as well as a work surface for enchanting. Some potted plants hanging from the ceiling decorate the room and one of the shelves next to the alchemical work surface is already filled with alchemical potions.

On the right side of the room, separated by a thin wall, is a modern kitchen with a large fireplace. In the wall next to the kitchen is a door that leads into a cold room that even has a freezer.

Curiously, I go to the stairs and see that behind it another staircase leads to the basement. I'll go down first and look around the basement. It is largely empty apart from boxes, cupboards and other containers full of ingredients and materials for enchanting such as crystals or preserved ingredients for alchemy. Here, too, there are colorful lanterns hanging from the ceiling that illuminate the room.

Satisfied, I go to the first floor and see a corridor with 3 doors and a ladder that leads to the attic. I climb the ladder first and look around the attic curiously. Apart from a few disturbing artifacts like a talking mirror in which a constantly changing face floats who wants to discuss your insecurities and secrets with you or a key that can open any lock but absorbs the lifetime of the user, nothing else can be seen in the attic except yawning void.

Slightly disturbed because the face in the mirror only looked at me sadly, I climbed down the ladder and stood still for a while in the corridor. Cursing softly, I go to the first door and grab the doorknob.

When I push it down and open the door, I see a modern bathroom with a shower, bathtub, a decent toilet with a flush and toilet paper and a washbasin with a mirror above it.

There are also 2 small closets in the room, one under the sink and one next to the bathtub. In and on the small cupboards are bottles with different contents, brushes, combs and other hygiene aids that I will probably never use, but it's nice that I have it anyway.

I close the door and go to the second room. This is a bedroom with a double bed, a large window, a wardrobe, a bookcase, a chest of drawers and a large mirror. I enter the room and go to bed. It is covered with silk-like fabric and the mattress is incredibly soft.

When I stand in front of the mirror, something incredible happens.

"Sweetheart, that's not really possible! Since the invention of clothes, being naked has not only been unseemly but also unladylike. Please go to the closet and take something out of there. Maybe the purple pants with the deep red t Shirt ... "suddenly my reflection begins to give a lecture and looks at me with piercing eyes.

My reflection not only uses my voice, but also the typical voice of a snooty, arrogant, female model and I quickly smash the mirror before she can continue talking and it gives me a headache. I don't think much of fashion because for me, usefulness and convenience have always been more important. Although I will always prefer dark colors like blue, green, gray, brown and black.

Talking mirrors with fashion tips that also behave like a chaperone are now on my 'Destroy if sighted' list.

With a slight smile, I leave my new bedroom, of course only after using magic to turn the shards of the mirror into dust and then throw the dust out of the window, and go to the third door.

When I open this door I see a library that is larger than the house it is in. Dozens of bookcases that are 3m high and 2m wide are in neat rows and there are some reading tables around. Bright orange lanterns hang from the ceiling and illuminate the room evenly.

What makes the library really impressive is that the books are not only magical, but also fly like birds through the area. Fortunately, the larger books are chained up.

Satisfied with the house, I go back to the ground floor and my 'darkling' is on the table. The owl shape is no longer shadowy, but physically solid with colors and such. On the back of my magical confidante you can see a backpack made of huge leaves in which she has packed various things. Three tail-like pieces of fur hang out of the backpack like small fluffy flags.

"I know I haven't talked to you yet, but my name is Athena. It's nice to meet you." Says Athena (the owl) and playfully salutes me with her right wing.

"Nice to meet you, but I'm a little confused why you're not so shadowy anymore?" I ask curiously and look carefully at Athena.

"I don't know, but I think it's great." Athena answers and looks at me curiously. Then she starts flapping her wings and flies up the stairs.

I follow her and see that she has flown into the bedroom.

"Cinis, do you already know that you are naked?" Athena asks from the closet and looks at me with her head tilted slightly to one side.

"Yes and? I've never felt so free. A bit fresh, but that's not really annoying." I answer with a grin and open the closet. Inside are garment bags with clothing sets that have been specially prepared for me.

I look at the clothing sets and choose one that I particularly like.

The color scheme is a forest green, a dark nut brown and a light black.

The set consists of black boots and brown pants, both made of a leather-like fabric. A long-sleeved black t-shirt made from a soft, light fabric. The same material that my underwear is made of. Therefore, the garments are not only soft and gentle on the skin, but also stretchy and tight-fitting like the fabric of yoga pants.

Then comes a coat-like dress that is then fixed with buckles and belts and an approximately knee-length cape with a wide hood. The gauntlets will be exchanged for gloves, the shoulder armor will be omitted and the sword will also be omitted.

It's dawn outside and I don't plan to travel any further now. So I take a shower and then put on a pair of underpants and throw on a bathrobe.

I think the clothing set looks incredibly cool and I wonder how long I'll wear this type of clothing before I change my style again.

When I go downstairs to the kitchen, the fireplace is happily burning and a tea kettle is hanging over it. Next to the fireplace, Athena stands on one of the cupboards and patiently waits for the water to boil. Not the strangest thing in this house that I saw today or that will happen here in the future.

I get some beef, paprika, onion, carrots and garlic from the refrigerator. I cut the vegetables and fry the meat. I use rapeseed oil so that it doesn't burn.

When the meat is seared, I throw the vegetables in the pan and mix everything properly. I wait a moment and then pour some water into the pan so that some sauce forms.

After I'm done with all the cooking, I go to the spice cabinet and take salt, pepper, a mixture of herbs and some chilli powder (medium hot).

After seasoning, I clean up the spices and take a flatbread out of the bread cupboard. That pretty much any room or closet in this house can be put under 'stasis' is incredibly convenient.

After eating, the plates and cups begin to float and clean themselves. Entertainingly, the whole house can be tidied up or cleaned up in a similar manner.

Since there is unfortunately neither internet nor television and it is already dark outside, I go to bed for today. It is hard to believe that today I will sleep in a real bed and not in some hole in the ground, wrapped in my sleeping bag.

In an entertaining way, Athena sleeps in bed with me and I hug the owl as if it were a cuddly toy.

"Good night, Cinis." Says Athena and nudges me lightly.

"Good night to you too, Athena." I answer and give the owl a short squeeze.

Then I close my eyes and the tiredness, which I have been ignoring all day, overwhelms me and quickly takes me into the realm of dreams.

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When I wake up the next morning, I'm spread out in bed and Athena is nowhere to be seen. I look at the open window and the sun shines right in my face.

On the other hand, there is a folded piece of paper on the dresser and I reach for it. I unfold the piece of paper and it says in small, neat letters, 'Woke up earlier so don't worry. You can call me when you need me, otherwise I'll just fly around and watch the world. Greetings, Athena. '

A curious owl. Who would have thought that?

After I got up and freshened up in the bathroom, I put on the clothes I chose yesterday and put the strap of my shoulder bag over my right shoulder.

Only then do I put the cloak over my shoulder and close it with a silver leaf-like brooch decorated with star-like cut emeralds. This type of brooch is only allowed to be worn by people who have been trained as healers by the Mages Guild. Something that took me years to learn and still just barely managed.

The mirror that I smashed yesterday has been replaced by a new un-enchanted one and I'm as grateful as I am annoyed for it. That means that someone had access to the house while I was sleeping.

After reading the owner's manual for the house and having a light breakfast, I head to the kitchen fire pit. She is the burning heart of the house and from here you can control the house's enchantments.

{AN: Like in the movie 'Howl's Moving Castle'. A masterpiece in my eyes.}

I activate the compression spell and walk out the front door. After I close the door, the house begins to shrink until there is a hand-sized, milky-white sphere at the place of the house.

When I pick up the sphere, it is heavy and warm. After turning the globe a couple of times and trying to read the Daedric symbols floating in the sphere, they still don't make sense. Like alphabet soup.

Slightly irritated, I put the sphere in my shoulder bag and it disappeared into its shallows. Then I look around, hoping to find out in which direction civilization is going.

Unfortunately there are no clues and so I go aimlessly into the depths of the forest again, hoping to find a road this time.

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After two weeks of walking aimlessly in the forest, I finally came across a road. That I forcibly forged my way through the forest in the last few days can be recognized by the huge forest fire raging in the background.

While I happily follow the road, I see traders fleeing from the fire in panic and small patrols running to the forest fire accompanied by magicians. As expected, all the people I see are imperial (race) or slaves with heavy iron collars.

After hours of walking and the whining of the traders who walk in front of me, I finally come within sight of a small town. Unfortunately, it looks a bit shabby.

It was built on the edge of a river and partly up a cliff. At the foot of the cliff is a small harbor just big enough for a small two-masted ship. There is an estate on the cliff where the local nobleman probably lives.

The town has been properly planned and then built so that there is a main road that leads from the town gate to the nobleman's estate. To my surprise, the city has a complete, if damaged, perhaps 5m high city wall with defensive towers and a garrison.

However, from here I can already smell that the city does not have a functioning sewage system.

But fortunately there are a few spells and alchemical potions that can both mask the smell and simply cleanse the environment of impurities.

Finally some civilization.