Parent Trouble

[Linkachu]

"There you are," the Lake City Pokemon Center nurse smiled cheerfully as she placed a tray holding Ceilidh's three occupied PokeBalls on the countertop.

"Thanks a bunch!" the teenaged trainer replied, quickly pulling the PokeBalls out and attaching them to her belt. She then grabbed for the metal chain around her neck and pulled it out from under her shirt to reveal the watch Prof. Cinders had given her, checking the time and cheering, "Great! Only 3:30. I've still got plenty of light to search around Route 2."

"Oh? Something in particular you wanted to find?" the nurse asked curiously.

"Yeah! A Dratini," Ceilidh beamed in response. "I know they're said to be rare, but I won't rest until I've caught one! Nothing's gonna get in my way."

"Dratini you say? Take care then," the nurse replied with a tinge of nervousness. "Lately I‘ve heard stories of people heading out with the same plan but running into a bit of a ... predicament."

"Heh. Don't worry about me! No matter what happens, failure isn‘t an option," Ceilidh smirked. "Anyways, thanks again!" And without even giving the woman's warning another thought the trainer turned away and exited the facility. Next stop: Route 2.

***

“Now, if I were a Dratini where would I be…?” Ceilidh murmured to herself as she pushed her way through the tall grasses. She’d ventured off the main path about an hour ago, scanning all directions like a hawk for some sign of the fabled Dragon type. So far she’d seen a few flocks of Taillow and Pidgeotto overhead, a couple of Minun playing in the grass - who took off as soon as they‘d noticed her - and had a close encounter with a bad tempered Ariados, but no sign of the dragon.

She checked her watch again. “Almost five... Still plenty of time to find something.” The anticipation was starting to get to her, though.

Making her way over a fallen log and continuing onward, an odd sight came into view. Dead ahead there appeared to be an area were the grass had grown up almost twice the height of the surrounding field.

“Looks funny… Better take a look,” the girl thought to herself. Thus she made her way towards the oversized grass, literally having to separate it with her hands to see what was on the other side. Her eyes immediately went wide.

Before her lay a small, crystal clear pond, a single Dratini curled up quietly by the shore. It seemed to be sleeping.

“Ohmygod! There it is!” Ceilidh whispered excitedly, reaching down for her belt to grasp her Mareep’s PokeBall. Taking a step forward, she grinned determinedly and added, “Here we go. Dratini, you’re mine!”

Suddenly something exploded from beneath the pond, water surging in all directions and knocking the trainer right off her feet. She quickly sat up and wiped off her face, cursing angrily, “What the heck?!” But when she looked back to the pond her blood ran cold.

There, hovering in the sky a few inches from the water, was none other than a Dragonite - and it looked down-right pissed.

Ceilidh gulped, her eyes wide with fright as she stared up at the magnificent creature. “Ni-nice Dragonite! I… Well… I was just-” The booming roar of the Pokemon drowned out her voice, and before the trainer could even climb to her feet the Dragonite attacked.

[Chloe]

"Treecko! Use..." A very flushed and out-of-breath Willow appeared out of the long grass, pushed Ceilidh just out of the way of the Dragonite's attack, released her Treecko - and stopped. The voice in her head was shouting panicked obscenities while her body stayed frozen to the spot as she gasped at the huge pokemon, which had just shot down a Pidgeotto. Half a second later, she realised Treecko was waiting for her. "...Anything! Use anything!" she shouted in alarm as she saw how powerful the Dragonite was. Treecko nodded and tried a Quick Attack; but it was far too feeble to do anything to the giant creature other than vaguely annoy it - and make it turn towards Treecko, Willow and Rosetta. Willow swallowed painfully as it started towards them..."RUN!!!" she yelled at the top of her considerable voice, and grabbing Rosetta's and Ceilidh's hands while Treecko clung to her neck, she set off at top speed away from the pond.

A few minutes later, they were all thoroughly worn out and wobbly, not to mention lost. Willow collapsed onto the soft grass and grinned; then suddenly, as if her bum was on fire, she leapt up again, and with a face of pure terror ripped open her bag. "Please be okay, please be okay," she whispered as she threw out her dinner, her map, her clothes... Finally, with a huge sigh of relief, she lifted out the object of her fears.

A small, rough, red and black pokemon egg lay on the grass.

It was moving.

[Rosie]

Rosetta desperately tried to keep up with Willow and look behind her at the same time. When they came to an abrupt halt the girl crashed into Ceilidh, leaving both of them on the floor. "Sorry!" she cried, seeing the girl, who she had trampled, on the floor. "Are you alright?" Rosetta asked, getting up and extending a hand to help her up "I'm Rosetta and this is Willow. What's your name?" Then suddenly glancing at the girl she had introduced she noticed the egg. Her eyes widened "What is that?" she said, completely forgetting her manners.

[Chloe]

"It's a pokemon egg," Willow said, whispering for once. "I found it on my birthday..." Shewatched in awe as something began to crack its way out of the shell...

*

Meanwhile, Ki, Zelda and Epona had stumbled upon the Pidgeotto that the Dragonite had injured earlier. Ki's eye lit up - she had been needing something to ride so that she could keep up with Zelda and Epona. "Splash, go!" She released her Mudkip, which stood between her and the Pidgeotto, unsure of whether to attack or not. Ki was thinking the same: was it fair to battle a weakened pokemon?

Splash had already decided, and was now growling at the bird-like creature. "Okay, ues Water Gun!" Ki said. A large jet of water shot out at the Pidgeotto, who didn't even bother dodging - one hit and it fell to the ground, Splash letting out a celebratory whoop. Sighing slightly, Ki allowed herself to smile and threw a pokeball at the pokemon. The pokeball accepted it almost instantly and she tentatively released it.

"Pidgeotto!" it cried, and looked up at Ki reproachfully. "Um..." Ki hesitated, then smiled uneasily. "Can I...can I ride you?" she asked, hoping her new pokemon would respect her as much as she did it. The Pidgeotto regarded her disdainfully for a moment or two, then nodded and let Ki climb on with a laugh. She turned to Zelda on Epona. "Shall we?" she said cheekily.

[Rosie]

OOC: slight autoing but i cleared it with Chloe first

BIC:
"Perhaps it would be kinder to the poor pokemon to give it a potion" said Zelda in an almost patronising voice, but followed it up with one of her sly smiles and a raised eyebrow. Epona was getting more and more distressed and had started to fidget and snort. After Ki had used a potion they were off again. Pidgeotto flew above the trees and Epona cantered slowly underneath, occasionally jumping large clumps of grass. Pokemon scuttled, flew and skipped through the forest, alive with activity. As Epona landed from one of her jumps she swerved to avoid a weak looking Ariados, but it turned too, still blocked her path. "Are you challenging us?" Questioned Zelda, a flame appearing in her eye. The Ariados clicked its pincers excitedly as Zelda jumped off her Pokemon, back facing it. Suddenly she spun around screaming "FIRE SPIN!" Flames appeared in Epona's eyes as she concentrated. Soon huge masses of fire emerged from her tail and mane and surrounded the bug, spinning violently, trapping it in a painful cage of fire. The bug struggled for a bit, slowly getting weaker and weaker but when the attack wore off, after a lot of damage, it attacks right away with a poison sting attack. As it lunged Epona stood helplessly and took the attack, but luckily she was not poisoned and hit the Pokemon back harder with a stomp. Zelda felt a slight tingle in her leg as the Ariados attacked but shaking it off she concentrated even harder on trying to defeat it. Ariados hesitated for a moment but then, quite unexpectedly, used leech life, but took very little damage from the fire type. With one last command from Zelda, Epona had sent smaller flames towards the bug Pokemon and it had fainted. Zelda smiled briefly, a true smile this time, and was walking towards Epona when a strange light started to cover her. Zelda stepped back in amazement, as Epona slowly grew taller, stronger and brighter. When the strange glow faded away a Rapidash reared up and gave a huge neigh. Zelda rushed forward and gave the Pokemon a huge hug, unable to contain her excitement. Completely forgetting Ki, and the fainted Ariados, she swung herself onto the Rapidash’s much taller back and galloped off, testing the Pokemon for any faults.

[Linkachu]

OOC: Forgive me for the wait guys. After I got my internet back I didn't have the chance to thorughly read through your posts/make up a reply before my busy block hit (Wednesday afternoons to Friday afternoons are booked solid for me).

BIC:

It'd all happened so fast that Ceilidh hadn't had the chance to catch her breath. Now Dragonite was nowhere to be seen and she was on the ground with some strange girl, who'd just knocked her down, holding out her arm to help her up. It was all a bit confusing but she went with it anyways.
"Ceilidh. Thanks for saving me back there!" she replied to the girl 'Rosetta'. Ceilidh couldn't be sure if Rosetta had actually been listening, though, for the second she'd been pulled back to her feet Rosetta's attention had been stolen away by the other girl's - Willow's - PokeEgg. The action would've seemed a bit rude if Ceilidh hadn't been taken by the egg, too. It was about to hatch!
"This is always so cool!" Ceilidh exclaimed, more to herself than anyone. She immediately noticed that her Mareep's PokeBall was still clutched tightly in her hand, tossing it to the ground to release the small, wooly Pokemon in a flash of red energy.

"Reeep!" the Electric-type bleated happily upon looking up to her old friend.

"Alya! Lookie lookie!" Ceilidh grinned excitedly and pointed at the egg. For the moment she'd forgotten totally about the Dragonite situation. "I wonder what's gonna hatch?" Alya smiled at her friend's happy expression and turned to the egg for a look of her own. As a Pokemon she was also curious to know what new creature would be emerging.

[Chloe]

Ki watched, grinning as Zelda rode majestically off into the mist - "Hey!" she shouted, suddenly realising that she'd been left behind. She urged her Pidgeotto onwards, but she still couldn't see her...
She circled above the forest for a few more moments, then heard voices coming from a small clearing. Ki bit her lip and descended, hoping to find Zelda there.

*

The egg was almost completely broken now, with cracks running up and down the sides. Just a bit more, Willow thought in excitement, and I'll have three Pokemon! She concentrated on the emerging baby, not noticing the bird pokemon rapidly making its way towards them...

*

"AAAA!!!!" Ki yelled as she hurtled towards the ground: she didn't have the experience to properly control her Pidgeotto's descent. She eventually landed most ungracefully in the middle of the trees, mere inches from three girls crouching around a trembling orb. Flushing deep red, she returned her pokemon to its ball and ran over to the small group, who seemed completely entranced by the cracked sphere.

A few moments passed; the trees seemed to have stopped swaying, everyone had unknowingly held their breaths, and nothing moved.

Then, with a piercing cry, a tiny red and yellow pokemon baby emerged from the fragments of its shell. Willow gasped and picked it up, wincing slightly at the miniscule embers coming out of its mouth and nose. "It's...it's...OH MY GOD IT'S A MAGBY!!!" Loud rustling could be heard as half the surrounding pokemon jumped out of branches and ran half a mile away from the sudden eruption of noise. Willow's whooping continued, and she ran round in hysterics, pulling Rosetta, Ceilidh and Ki into a bear hug. Finally coming to herself, she checked to see she hadn't squashed her new pokemon and suddenly noticed - "...Um...Who exactly are you?" she asked awkwardly, as Ki made to sneak away and find Zelda.

"Err...well, you see...ummm..." Ki stuttered in a manner that her elders would have disapproved of greatly, but she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of the trainers she had just met. "Well...I was looking for my friend and...well..." She looked around nervously, hoping very much that Zelda would ride in and find her.

[Linkachu]

"That still doesn't answer who you are, like, y'know, your name?," Ceilidh smirked at the newcommer. She stepped forward to grab the girl's hand, giving it a violent shake and adding, "I'm Ceilidh! Nice to meet you; all of you!" Bending down to stare at the tiny Magby in Willow's arms she added, "Especially you, cutie!"

As she stepped back she looked down to find her Mareep standing by her side, grinning down at the Pokemon and saying, "We're gonna get ourselves a new teammate, too! Ready for another 'round at catching that Dratini?"

"Ma-reeep!" Alya replied determinedly.

"Great! But I wonder... How to deal with Dragonite?" Ceilidh murmured, scratching her temple under her white and blue bandana. None of her Pokemon were anywhere near powerful enough to take down something like that, but nothing was going to stop her from getting Dratini. Not even an angry parent. "Heh! I know!" Ceilidh finally smiled brightly. "We'll just talk to it and convince it to back off!"

OOC: ^__^

[Rosie]

Hearing the loud shout, and suddenly remembering Ki, Zelda turned Epona around and galloped back and toward the sound. When she got near to a clearing Zelda held the Rapidash back to a canter and leisurely came to a halt in the middle of a group of people, just as an excited looking girl finished talking. Epona snorted and moved towards Ki, breathing heavily from the exercise, and rubbing her warm head on Ki's shoulder.

[Linkachu]

OOC: *Pokes* Chloe! Really, really need you to reply right about now ;p

[Chloe]

OOC: ehehe
BIC:
Strengthened somewhat by the presence of Zelda and Epona, Ki smiled shakily at everyone looking at her. "My name is Ki, I am very sorry to have intruded on your meeting, so I will go now, um, see you all later, bye," she said very quickly, backing slowly away with each word until she was a good 3 feet away from the group.

[Linkachu]

"Huh?" Ceilidh scratched her temple a bit confused, "Hey! Nobody said you had to leave. We all just met for a first time a few moments about anyways... At least in my case." She looked down to notice her Mareep taking a few steps towards Ki and smiled to herself. That was Alya for ya. A brave warrioress with a big heart.

"Reeep!" the small Electric-type bleeted happily at the nervous-looking girl, nodding her head to the nearby Rapidash to show she meant no harm.

"Heh... Anyways, you introduce yourself," Ceilidh said pointing to Zelda, then added, "and afterwards someone can point me back in the direction of that Dragonite pond. I need to catch a Dratini no matter how tough it'll be! I'm sure I can convince the parent of my good intentions. They'll see to reason! We just... didn't get off on the right foot. Yeah! ... So, who'll lend a hand, or do I have to find it again myself?"

[Rosie]

Epona grunted and snorted at the Mareep, telling it to get lost, and decided to munch some grass. Zelda jumped off of the Rapidash's back saying "Your gonna persuade a mother Dragonite to give you her baby..... You're even more stupid than you look! my name's Zelda by the way. Not that you have the right to know.

Meanwhile Rosetta, who was standing in slight shadow, had her mouth wide open, staring at Ki. Quickly she tried to make herself more acceptable, straightening her hair and wiping the mud off of her skirt. Stepping slightly out from the shade of the tree Rosetta made herself a little more obvious and watched Ki closely.... trying to remember.

[Chloe]

Normally, in these kind of random situations, Willow would try to start conversations with everyone at once; but this time, she had the cutest lil baby red puffball of a pokemon in her arms, and she wasn't going to let it out of her sight for a moment. Willow smiled and let out her Treecko and Shroomish and, oblivious to the others around her, sat unusually still with her pokemon. There weren't many quiet moments in her life.

Ki looked down at the Mareep, careful to stay a little distance away - she and her sword were slightly more susceptible to electric attacks than most people. "Pleased to make your aquaintance," she smiled at Ceilidh. She did the same to Willow, who grinned and waved wildly back, then turned to the final person there. Realisation tugged at her mind, but she couldn't quite place the face... Hoping she wasn't wrong, Ki stepped forward and curtseyed. "M'lady," she murmured, glancing up to see the girl's reaction.

[Linkachu]

Ceilidh narrowed her eyes a bit at the Rapidash and its rider, "My name's Ceilidh, and you don't have to be so rude. Sesh..." She dropped her voice and grumbled to herself, "Some people have no manners. Guess it rubs off on the Pokemon, too." Stepping forward to scoop Alya up in her arms, she eyed Zelda one last time and grunted, "I hope the Dragonite is less of a jerk than you."

The girl didn't bother watching for Zelda's reaction, instead turning to Ki and saying, "Nice to meet you, too. You don't need to worry about Alya. She's pretty harmless unless a situation arises to act otherwise." Ceilidh gazed down at the fluffy Pokemon in her arms and grinned. "Kind, gentle, but brave and courageous... If only more humans were like you." The Mareep revolved her head to look back up at the girl and bleeted happily in return.

"Rosetta, Willow," Ceilidh started, looking from one girl to the other. "Thanks again for pulling me out of that jam. We should be okay from here on out. Hope we all meet up again sometime... Well, most of us." She gave Zelda one last glare, quickly replacing it with her usual grin and winking down at Alya, "Ready?"

"Reep!"

"Let's try this again then!" And with that the duo walked past the others and back towards what they hoped was the pond.

OOC: Feel free to call after her/follow and what not.

[Rosie]

In a flash Zelda was on Epona's back and in front of Ceilidh. "No one says that to me and goes unpunished" Zelda snarled thought gritted teeth "What do you think Epsy? A good kick in the face? That should shut her up."

OOC: SOMEONE STOP HER! this could get ugly

[Linkachu]

OOC: Ugly can be fun ^^

BIC:

Instinctively Ceilidh wrapped her arms tightly around Alya, giving the small Pokemon the best protection she could. She stared back at the fire horse and rider and gave a snarl of her own. "Back off right now! I don't have time for this crap!" The girl stood her ground, narrowing her eyes sharply. "Got a problem with the truth? Too bad! I don't know where you get off thinking you're so high and mighty, but if you or your brute even touch my Pokemon there'll be hell to pay. Count on it!"

[Chloe]

Realising there was a slightly more pressing matter at hand than the strange Rosetta, Ki swilred around and in a flash placed herself between the two angry trainers. "Zelda, Ceilidh, please," she said quietly, her clear voice filling the air. She turned to her friend and remembered all the unofficial diplomatic training she'd had in her last life - the one she was supposed to have left behind; the one that kept returning no matter what she did, no matter where she went; the one that had suddenly reappeared in the form of a girl looking as confused as she was feeling...

Ki shook her thoughts away, hoping they hadn't shown too much on her face. "There is no need for insults or arguments at this time of day," she said finally, noting the pretty sunset over the treetops. "I say we find somewhere to eat and rest for the night - I doubt the pokemon centre will appreciate any more burned or electrocuted pokemon or trainers than is necessary."

"Yeah!" Willow suddenly interjected, her Magby having fallen asleep in her arms. "We could camp out and have a fire and tell scary stories and toast marshmellows and...do fun stuff!" she grinned at everyone. "So howabout it 'Setta?"

[Rosie]

"That would be.... nice" Rosetta replied, distractedly, still staring at Ki. It was all coming back to her now. Ki had once stopped an argument between some guests at a ball, which they had both been invited to, in exactly the same way. The pictures of that ball in her head reminded her of a much more memorable one and as she tried to push it out of her head a tear surfaced, but was caught by Rosetta's finger before it could emerge comepletely...

"You have no idea what a night in a forest is like do you?" Zelda snapped at Willow. Zelda had spent most of her life sleeping in fields, forests and anywhere she could find, since her parents died. "It'll be cold, damp and dark. You should enjoy it Ceilidh." Zelda added viciously.

[Chloe]

"Not necessarily," Willow countered, refusing to be cowed by Zelda's anger. "We've enough fire pokemon between us to keep us toasty for the whole night, and we all have tents...mostly," she bit her lip as she saw her mistake. "Well, we could go back into town to get some, I suppose," she said finally.
"If we are to return to Lake City, I suggest we stay there," Ki replied. "Zelda is right: it is too dangerous to stay here, especially with an angry Dragonite around." She looked round at everyone, her gaze resting on Ceilidh. "It is but a suggestion - I would not be at all offended if anyone were to go their own way," she finished in her respectful, matter-of-fact tone.

[Damien]

OOC: I'm sure Katie won't mind me joining but I feel really strange joining topics on here so let me know if you'd rather I didn't

Six crouched silently behind a particularly thick patch of grass. As he peered through a gap in the large blades of grass all he could do was sigh. He'd only come for a quiet walk, possibly add a new pokemon to his team when he'd heard shouting. Straight away he'd dived for cover, he was getting too used to being attacked randomly. Now he was sitting behind some grass listening to a girl they called Ki attempting to calm an argument between the two trainers he'd gathered to be Ceilidh and Zelda. The trainer didn't really want to interefere but he'd heard mention of a tough dragonite somewhere in the area. Six loved a challenge especially one that could give his pokemon a serious ammount of training. He couldn't decided whether it was worth the bother, plus the girls were talking about resting for the night. Six wasn't one for getting an early night he loved going out in the dark hunting for pokemon that you didn;t usually see by day. He felt safer in the dark too, he became invisible, escaping from or sneaking up on a pokemon became much easier. In the end the trainer decided to come out of hiding and confront the group of females. The trainer stood up and walked cautiously toward the girls, he didn;t want to be on the recieving end of a blast of fire or a jolt of electricity.

"Umm...Hello?" Six said stopping where he was. "I don't mean to interupt but did someone mention a strong pokemon nearby? I'm Six by the way." The trainer spoke again trying to sound as positive and friendly as possible. It wasn't an easy thing to do with such a tense situation threatening to erupt in to a full blown battle at any moment.

[Linkachu]

OOC: Dami! Hey hey! Thanks for joining ^__^

BIC:


Ceilidh had heard Ki's idea but didn't respond, her gaze still locked onto Zelda. 'You should enjoy it' ... Bah! Stupid... Pompous...

An unfamiliar voice from her right caught the girl off-guard, and she jerked her head to find a nervous-looking boy standing by. Ceilidh eyed him suspiciously as he introduced himself, her interests perking at the mention of a 'strong Pokemon'. "Six, eh? Yeah, there's a pretty damn strong Pokemon in the area and I've got my eyes set on its baby - so you better not get in my way!" Ceilidh soon felt guilty for making the sharp comment, though, realizing that this guy could possibly help her out. I don't want to steal Dratini away out from under the Dragonite's nose, but if this guy's around for back up... Heh.

"Sorry, Six. I didn't mean to snap. There's a Dragonite in the area that's hindering me from catching a Dratini. The parent is pretty tough, but if you can handle it maybe we could team up..." She paused and looked back to Ki, "Thanks for your concern, but I want to catch Dratini now. I'm gonna try my luck, darkness or not."


OOC: Word of caution, Damien. This Dragonite is supposed to be pretty strong and is naturally level 55+. I know you have Yoshi's Pokemon, but don't godmode that catch if you go through with it

[Chloe]

Ki nodded gravely. "Good luck in your quest," she said quietly, curtseying lightly to Ceilidh and Six. Turning back to the others, she decided to make her way to the nearest town, hoping very much that some of the others would follow. "I am afraid I know little of the area: would it be quicker to return to Lake City or carry on to Darnov? I am planning to spend the night indoors - as fun as camping may be," she said quickly, sensing Willow's disappointment," I would not wish to get in the way of any battles."
Willow sighed and nodded her agreement. "Fine, but only 'cos there are strong trainers and pokemon on the loose," she said, glancing at the mysterious Six. She picked up her sleeping Treecko and Magby, then suddenly grinned at everyone. "Where we off to then?"

[Damien]

"I guess we're going after Dragonite." Six said looking toward Ceilidh. If Dragonite was as tough as it sounded it could certainly give Six's pokemon some much needed training. Though if it was too strong Six could be in some serious trouble. Six's concerns were pushed to the back of his mind, he was sure the girls would be able to help if Dragonite did prove to be too much. He pulled a pokeball from his pocket and rolled it in his hand. Obviously Kabuto wouldn't stand a chance but with another pokemon as backup he coud still do some damage and hopefully gain some experience. Six thought about Garedevoir and Umbreon, Yoshi had trained them well. They could probably do some serious damge but by the sounds of the Dragonite it still wouldn't be easy to take her down.

[Linkachu]

"Well then, we're losing sun fast. Let's get a move on!" Ceilidh grinned brightly at her newest companion, her Mareep still held tightly in her arms. With one final farewell gesture to the girls she left the group in hopes that Six would follow and headed back into the tall grass; back towards what she hoped would be the Dragonite's pond.

It was evident as they trekked on, though, that the sun was setting fast. Ceilidh wasn't exactly sure where she was going, the sudden rescue having disoriented her more than she'd realized, and it was only adding to her frustration. It was all just more delays. More annoying delays! I just wanted to catch a Dratini... Was that so much to ask? Crazed parents... a rude trainer... now night time. Is everything out to get in my way?! For awhile she almost felt like they were going in circles, but then, after the sun had almost completely set behind the trees and a blanket of stars twinkled throughout the heavens, the landscape began to look familiar.

"Wait a sec... Yes... YES! We're close to the pond. Should be just a few more moments now," the girl cheered determinedly, and she was right. After no more than two minutes of walking the noticeably tall grass finally came into view once more. But something was wrong.

Ceilidh stopped dead in her tracks, a cold chill running down her spine. She gave a quick scan of the area but couldn't see much of anything through the thickening darkness, tightening her grip once more around Alya. "Be on your guard," she whispered darkly. "Something's watching us..."

OOC: Heh... For the record, the "something" could be anything.