Showgan -- Standing On Edge (Invitational)

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OOC:

Finally...

Finally, I'm done with the friggen' lab reports! ^0^ Well, almost. I've still got a few papers to fill in, but the bulk of the typing on computer stuff is over and done with, W00T! Seriously, if I could ensure that no-one in this world would have to write a single lab report ever again I could hold it proudly as my life's work and die happy. <.<

Oh well, I'm just glad that that ordeal is over. ^^

Moving on, that's awesome, Yibber. I wish we would have had manga in our arts class (Well, back when I still had arts class) but no...we had to do friggen' self-portraits...I hate self-portraits. <.< Anyway, I'll be looking forward to seeing your project when it's finished, then, good luck with the art. Oh, and the maths too. ^^

IC:

"Come on Zachary, please..." Rai whispered, "That punk doesn't bother me, so don't get into trouble for my sake."

"Pathetic?" Railey spat back at Zachary's words, rising back up from his slouching position and returning the boy's glare, "Big words for someone whose whole contribution to yesterday's battles was playing cheerleader for your little friends." he put on a mocking imitation of the boy's voice, "'Come on Kayley, you're doing good!', 'It doesn't change anything, so don't worry about that Rai.', 'You can do it Kaika!'" he concluded it with a mocking sneer, returning his original tone, "If you've got an issue with the way I do things, why don't we take it outside so we can prove who's methods are better, hmm? It would do that attitude of yours a world of good if-"

"We could get back to the matter at hand." Gwendolyn interrupted, her eyebrow once again raised alarmingly high. Not even Railey had the nerve to argue with that eyebrow, it seemed, and so he wisely kept silent, "I don't know or care what the issues are between you, but I'll expect you to put them aside for the moment. Is this clear?" she let her gaze travel to Railey and - after recieving a forfeiting mumble of confirmation - Zachary, "Now then..." the nurse continued, adressing all of them, her tone suggesting that the last topic was over and done with, "I imagine that you would want to know what you have been called here for. Sit down, if you please." she gestured towards a number of chairs by the table in a rather imperative way before settling down in her own one, located by the end of the table to ensure that she could stare over them all at the same time.

Not seeing any better candidates for the seat, Rai chose - much to his personal distaste - to pick the seat next to Railey, just in case Zachary would fail to keep his temper in check.

"You are of course aware of what has happened here?" Gwendolyn continued, still pretending not to notice the tension in the air.

Rai nodded, "Not really, ma'm." he conceded, "I know that the pokémon centre was attacked by something, but we don't know what or who. Oh, and..." he shifted uncomfortably, "Is it true that people have...gone missing?"

The nurse nodded, her expression dead serious and her inherent anger now seeming to be focused somewhere else than on the people present, "Yes." she replied at last, "I've heard the rumors, and I've ordered the trainees to perform a headcount. Thus far, five people are unaccounted for." she walked over to the far end of the room - which was largely dominated by a sizeable computer screen and its associated controls - and focused on the controls for a moment, pressing in a series of commands until the pictures of five distinct trainers appeared on the screen, "I believe one of these was your friend." Gwendolyn added, nodding towards the topmost picture, and soon enough, Rai's suspicions very fully confirmed by the picture of the girl with the pink biker's helmet and the name on its right - Silver Winphe, displayed right next to her trainer ID.

"I'm sorry." the nurse remarked in what was probably the closet to a compassionate tone she could muster.
 
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OOC:

No more lab reports? You do realize that people would practically worship you over that, right? xD I bet my non-living and non-projected-into thirteen-year-old plushie would back me up in that statement. ^o^ In case you're wondering, the plushie in question is indeed worn down beyond recognition. xD


IC:

Kayley could practically feel the negative emotions radiating from the door, much less the actual room. Once inside, it seemed that the threat of Nurse Gwendolyn's wrath was momentarily put aside, and all attention was shifted to.. Railey, who, unfortunately, happened to be on the other side of the conference table. Kayley instantly felt her jaw drop; Why isn't he on that huge mountain of his, instead of actually attending something concerning other people?

Fishy's head fin seemed to perk up, the Mudkip stiffening in reaction to the tension between not only Zachary and Railey, but in the whole room in general. Kayley snapped her jaw shut again, patting Fishy on the head to distract him from any.. uncomfortable feelings. She said nothing, and neither did the Mud Fish, the two remaining silent as Kayley took one of the remaining open seats at Gwendolyn's request.

The air was heavy, still, as Nurse Gwendolyn proceeded to turn the conversation away from "other" topics, and back to the current issue. Kayley watched everything Gwendolyn did with serious eyes, for once paying attention, and glad that the nurse was directing her intense anger on something other than misbehaving Trainers and the like. Of course, the gladness didn't last long, because Gwendolyn had soon moved on to confirming everyone's worst fear -- people had really gone missing.. including Silver.

Kayley stared at the computer screen blankly, unsure of what to say at first. She wasn't looking at Fishy, but she could be sure that he was even more uncomfortable at this point, despite his silence. She clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly, the weight of the situation finally pressing on her heart and shoulders in an aching form of realization.

"Silver.." Truth be told, she hadn't really known that much about the biker girl, but nonetheless, she had been part of the group, and now that she had been so easily ripped away from them.. it seemed that a matter of life and death was truly at hand, and it was happening much too quickly.

"N-Nurse Gwendolyn.." Kayley began, unknowingly using her proper name, "What are we going to do?" After a moment, she added, "What can we do to save Silver? And those other Trainers?" It had been tough to switch from staring at the computer screen to looking Gwendolyn in the eye, but in this case, Kayley was willing to try.
 
OOC: Hey, I'm posting! XD And I must say, even though I love science, I hate writing lab reports. But who doesn't? I mean, it's work, and work stinks no matter what. ^^


Zachary
==========

Embarrassment has so many different levels, and Zachary sure was used to feeling it; but he must have hit some kind of record for himself. That Railey sure knew the right thing to say to make someone want to punch a hole through a wall. Feeling bad about disrupting the important meeting, he muttered a quick apology to Nurse Gwendolyn. Zachary then managed the angriest look he could muster as he complied with Gwendolyn's orders and sat down. He hoped the angry look would offset his reddening cheeks, but it probably wasn't helping any.

He couldn't really say anything as a comeback even if Gwendolyn hadn't interrupted; Railey had made a valid point. He had just been a cheerleader. He hadn't tried his hand at battling Railey. Though, he hadn't wanted to because Ron and Luka were his only pokemon. Luka didn't even like him, and Ron wasn't great at dealing with fire. He wasn't weak against it, but Zachary wanted more time to train.

Ron glared at Railey, then looked up at Zachary with a concerned look. {Rai's right; don't bother with him. He's just an idiot anyway,} the helmeted pokemon whispered discreetly.

Zachary closed his eyes for a moment, trying to force himself to focus on the matter at hand. He needed to listen to the things Gwendolyn was now telling them. He stared for a moment as she spoke about the unaccounted people. As Silver's picture popped up on the screen Gwendolyn was using, Zachary forgot his anger and suddenly felt quite foolish. Here he was imagining terrible things happening to Railey over a petty matter when Silver was... gone.

He watched silently as Kayley asked the nurse how they could save Silver. Trying his best to settle his oddly mixed emotions, Zachary spoke up as well.

"Yeah, we want to anything we can to help," he added, somehow succeeding in sounding calm.
 
OOc-

Ahem. Very, very late.

Happy Belated Birthday, Titan! =D

Wah. This week ate me up with last minute tests, and my small-though-still-important exams begin next week. I'll be cramming for them. Just thought I'd try and manage a post first. Um, in a rush though, bu don't worry Titan, I'll get your birthday pressie posted up as soon as I can! >D And a quick IC, sorry for the mean shortness! ;.;


IC -


There seemed to be so much tension in the air. Jena couldn't really think of anything else to describe what had taken place between the boys. The girl stiffened for a second as Nurse Gwendolyn directed their attention to the large computer screen, her hand twitched nervously as she found out that the worst had happened. Jena blinked as Silver's face appeared onto the monitor, pink helmet still concealing her hair underneath.

She had gone missing.

Quickly coming to realisation that she had yet to sit down, Jena quickly scurried into the remaining chair and seated herself as quietly as she could. The Coordinator's hands tapped silently on her lap as the others proceeded to ask about what was going to be done. Of course they had to help. Jena just couldn't find her tougue at this point of time, and chose to relay her opinion with a nod. The girl lowered her gaze as she continued to listen intently to the situation at hand. Terrifying thoughts of what had befalled of Silver and the rest of the four missing people plagued her mind. Or maybe they were all just lost somewhere.

Either way, she wouldn't be speaking for quite some time.
 
OOC:

Gah, Plushie is late as well.. However, there shall be no lacking of large, bolded font!


Happy Birthday, Titan~!

The insertion of one "~" makes it different. xD

Anyway, I haven't been feeling well lately, so I've been spending time on drawings while recovering (forget school xD). I present to you one present and one drawing inspired by Melissa. Photobucket is finally cooperating, yes? ^^

Anyway, I have to say goodbye for now~ I'll post again when I am not as sick, okies?
 
OOC: Nyu, no worries about the lateness. The important thing is that you remembered, yes? It's the thought that counts. Thanks so much for the birthday picture, Plushie (not to mention dragging yourself here even when ill), hope you get better soon. :3

Oh, and I really like the LA-inspired picture too. It has a lovely peaceful, relaxed mood to it and the colours are really nice. The girl is very well drawn, I also like the clouds reflected in the water for some reason. Great job. Your new theme owns too. ^-^

Also, good luck on the ebil exams, Yibber. Mocks are almost over for me now (Only Physics (*Shudder* Physics...@.@) left for me) so now I get free days for the times they have mocks on subjects I didn't take (Go History, Biology, and all the hugable things I didn't check on my subject selection form! Physics is only Thursday and Friday. ^0^), but I'm not flaunting my freedom, really not. ^.~ Seriously, may you ace your tests. ^-^

On a completely random note, has anyone here ever played a card game called bullshit (Actually, the finnish equivalent translates into 'cheat', which does sum up the game nicely)? The men in my family (That is, every one of us except mum) sat up and played it until like 1 AM yesterday. It's such an awesome game; you have to cheat to win. In fact, the rules are set up so that you basically can't play honest through the whole game. xD

IC:

Rai had been largely as shocked by the confirmation as the others. Although he had tried to mentally prepare himself for it, it didn't seem to make the impact of reality any less unnerving. Silver...he hadn't really been close with the girl, or even understood her, but-she had been part of the group. Not a very active member, mind you, but still...her sudden disappearance - for Silver to have been simply whisked from their midst like that - left Rai feeling so helpless and vulnerable. Still, he concluded as he surveyed the others in the room, he had gotten off easy. Kayley was visibly shaken by the ordeal, and Jena seemed even worse off, shocked to silence it seemed. Yes, Jena had been closest to the biker girl out of all of them, hadn't she? Rai suddenly started feeling even worse about the situation, seeing Jena act like that was just...no, he couldn't have that, and he refused to just act like a helpless wimp when someone abducted a group member and...well, he guessed that Silver was sort of a friend...or an acquintance at least. The bottom line was that this wasn't right.

"I concur." Rai spoke up, turning his gaze back to Gwendolyn as well, "We can't let whoever did this get away with abducting innocent people. I'll help in whatever way I can."

"I'm in too." Railey remarked, "Minus the soppy 'innocent people' bit." the gym leader's expression - Rai noted - was quite far from his usual smug smirk, it was serious now and a good bit angry as well, "This is my hometown." he explained without making eye contact with anyone, "And if the Neon Knights or whoever think they can mess it up and get away with it they've got another thing coming. Not only did they attack us, they even had the nerve to leave a calling card..." he passed the crumpled note on for Rai to read.

"Daven Springs?" the boy echoed, squinting at the chidlike handwriting for a moment before passing it on to Zachary.

"Your next destination." Gwendolyn filled in, "At least if you're all serious about helping out."

"But..." Rai began, "Isn't that what the police force is for? I mean, are we allowed to-"

"Seen any coppers around here, blondie-boy?" Railey cut in, "Everyone's got their hands full with hunting down the Neon Knights, and this note could just as well be a false lead." he shook his head in disgust, "Those police force pansies don't want to risk wasting resources on a false alarm."

"You will also have a measure of authority." Gwendolyn remarked, allowing his gaze to travel across the people gathered in the room, "Or rather...one of you has. According to the Showgan League stature, any qualified gym leader has the authority to act as a temporary police officer in times of crisis, and I think we can all agree that this..." she gestured towards the missing persons list, "...certainly fits the bill. The stature also states that the gym leader may bring assistants."

"Hold on." Rai began, "Are you saying that we should-"

"That's right." the nurse interrupted, "I expect you to put aside your chidlish quibbling and accompany Railey to Daven Springs as help in investigating and battle support." her eyebrow rose once again as she eyed them all sternly, "Is this a problem for you? If so-" she pointed a stern finger towards the door, "Then I have no need of your help."
 
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I have played a game called 'Cheat' before. Though I wonder if it's the same game. XD I usually manage to cheat my way up to two or one card's in my hand. I have won the game a few times when playing with my friend though. =D But, dang, I don't use my gift to cheat in real life, that's bad. XD

Titan's birthday pressie! Not the best, it's just a group of some of your favourite Pokemon banding together with Rozureido. The Unown look so cute wearing capes. XD;

By the by, Melissi's and Plushie's presents were very much pwnsome. I liked the comic and Plushie's colouring. So very nice and natural. =D

I need to go and study for the dreaded chinese and maths now. See you guys if the exams don't swallow me whole. And I hope Plushie gets better too.
 
OOC: Job... sucking up... energy! @.@ Never fear though, I can still post! >D

Isn't there a game on Neopets.com called Cheat? I believe that's the same game. ^^ I gave away hours of my life playing that game!! XD

Thankies for the comments on the piccie! Plushie, your Dunsparce ish cute! :3 And I like the other drawing! Yay, I inspired someone! ^-^ OMG Yibber, your drawing is too cute as well! *wuvs the Unown* :3 Such great talent we have here, eh?


Zachary
==========

The day's surprises were not over yet it seemed, as Railey began to actually show a bit of caring. Had Zachary not known about Kaika and Railey's feelings about toughening up pokemon, he may have begun to change his attitude about the boy, but... the way he had treated that sweet, little Vulpix was something he couldn't forgive. All he could see when he looked at the gym leader was a slightly nicer version of his old leader.

Zachary took the crumpled paper and had a brief flash of what his own homework assignments for school looked like. His cheeks tinging pink for a moment in slight embarrassment, he quickly passed the note on.

"Daven Springs...," Zachary said thoughtfully, "Isn't that where we were going anyway? Well anyway, I'm going no matter what so I'm in." He wasn't afraid of traveling with Railey, nor was he below putting aside differences. If she expected them to be buddies though, then Zachary would have a problem. He just wanted to find Silver, not find a friendship with the Vulpix abuser.

Ron frowned at the prospect of going to Daven Springs with Railey. The metallic pokemon just hoped that Zachary would be able to control himself. His trainer seemed to be having issues with that lately, and this mission was more important than some stupid grudge. Ron nodded to himself; he would have to remind Zachary of that fact.
 
OOC: Nyu...bloody home-taught support maths...I've just spent two jolly hours crunching probabilities, hence why I didn't get this post up earlier. Well, that and the fact that most of yesterday's computer time went into my Drache sign-up. Seriously, though, I've been waaaaay too inactive here lately. <.<

And I concur, that's an awesome picture, Yibber! The Unown are the cutest. Plus, they spell out AE (Yeah, I felt so smart when I realized that xD). I know it's kind of late, but thank you. ^0^ Yeah, I'm definitely lucky to have so many talented friends here. =D

As for cheat...well, there's two editions of it that I've heard. One is the lame kind where the whole deck is dealt out in one go and then you take turns to put down cards in numerical order, (Like with all forms, cards are played face down and you say what you put and how many of it, when/if 'cheat' is called the cards are revealed and whoever was wrong has to take all the cards from the table to his/her hand) which is very dull because you are very likely to be called out, and since there is no way for cards to leave the game someone basically ends up with a huge pile of cards and no prospect of winning, which sucks. Then there's the cool version where all players are dealt a hand of five cards at start. Whenever you have less than five cards in your hand you have to draw until you have five (or until the deck is depleted). Unlike with the lame, there is no restriction on what type of card you put as long as it is of a value higher than the last one was claimed to be (There are exceptions, but I'll get to that). As in the other kind, you can call cheat at any time - in which case the last play will be checked and whoever was wrong takes all cards - but because most of the cards start out in the deck, you have a far better chance of getting back in the game because your opponents will all have to draw cards as they play (So their hand size is constant) whereas you won't because you already have more than five cards in your hand. To further enhance the game, there's a number of special cards:

The Joker

Yes, this edition is played with jokers, and it's hands down the worst draw you can get. A joker has no value and is never an allowed play, even with an empty table, so if you get one you have no choice but to cheat it away. Typically, you'll want to dispose of these as soon as possible.

The Two

A two can be played on anything except a seven (see below) and anything except a joker can be played on a two.

The Ten

Tens have no special value, but if you successfully play a ten (or pass another card off as a ten) when there's at least one other card on the table then all cards on the table are removed from the game and you get to make another play. Even if someone calls cheat on a real ten and picks up the cards you still get to play again, but if you get caught cheating one you don't.

The Ace

Same as a ten but can be played on court cards. An ace on the table is considered to have a value of one.

The Seven

The best and hands down the meanest card. A seven can be played on anything and the only card that can be played on a seven is another seven. Thus, once seven is played someone will have to cheat at some point. The forced seven ends once someone is caught cheating.

In addition to this, there are two additional little rules that add fun to the game:

Advance draw

This can only be done when you have precisely five cards in your hand. Instead of playing a card from your hand you can use the card on the top of the deck (The idea being that you are simply using the card you would have gotten a bit in advance). However, if you do this then you have to play the card you get, regardless of what it is. Usually done when you want to preserve the good cards in your hand, but it's also good for head games. (Like playing a 'seven' on an empty table).

Stacking

Once you have played a card(s), you are allowed to stack additional copies of the same (or cheat in others if you're bold enough) before your turn ends. If cheat is called then all of the cards you played will be revealed, so you can't use this to cover up previous cheats. Also, if another play taps the cards on the table then you aren't allowed to stack on that turn. The idea is primarily to account for cards you draw after you've played or lucky topdecks from the advance draw. Also, having to be ready to tap is a good way to keep players awake. ^_~


Oh, and of course you have to make a play each turn, unlike with the sissy version where you can skip. In both, the first player with no cards in their hand wins.

And thus, I conclude that the version we play is cooler because there's always that uncertainity (Cards removed from the game are not revealed, so there's always uncertainity about what's left and what isn't) not to mention that you can play more than four cards a turn (Maximum of eight, four aces or tens and four of another kind) so the tempo is far quicker. Plus, both the rules and the cards are defined to promote cheating unlike the regular where you can win with a lucky starting hand. :3

IC:

"I-I as well..." Rai coneeded, if reluctantly, at Zachary's reply. He didn't much fancy the prospect of travelling with Railey, but - much like his friend - the boy realized that it was a necessary sacrifice. Besides, how bad could travelling temporarily with the lout be?

"Fine" Railey remarked, as if to answer the question, "Just remember who the real trainer here is."

"Maybe one of those who-" the boy began, but was cut short.

"Don't interrupt your leader." Railey remarked, smirking slightly at him, "That's our new group rule so you'd better learn it well, goldilocks."

Rai had half a mind to continue the squabble, but thought the better of it, "So, is there anything else you can tell us?" he asked, turning back to nurse Gwendolyn in an attempt to ignore the gym leader who was obviously enjoying the situation.

"Not much, I'm afraid." Gwendolyn replied, "But I can offer you this at least." she pulled out a small folder with a greyish white cover, passing it over to Rai, "That's the non-confidential information we have on the disappeared people. It's not much, but there might be something helpful in there if you look close enough. Besides, there are pictures at least."

Rai nodded, accepting the folder and carefully tucking it beneath his arm as he got up from his seat, "I guess we'll be going then." he remarked, casting a glance across the group in search of confirmation.

"You're still not getting it." Railey remarked, leaping out of his chair and onto his feet, "The group leader says when it's time to go." he paused, offering the boy a smirk, "And I say we go as soon as possible. You lot go and get yourselves ready then meet me by the eastern edge of town. You've got one hour before I'm walking out on you so don't dawdle. Now, you're dismissed." he waved a hand nonchalantly as he swaggered out of the room, slamming the door behind himself.

Rai gave a tired sigh. Something told him that this was going to be a long trip, "Well, we'd better go get something to eat." he remarked to the others, "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not march with both Railey and an empty stomach."
 
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OOC: Alright, I know this is just a shameless OOC post, but I reeeally don't have enough time this morning to type out the post I want to, because PC ate my first attempt. >> So, later tonight I shall type out an edit to this. *smile*

EDIT: Or... I'll type out an edit in a couple of days. XD Yeah, um, my brother and I decided to take a random trip to San Francisco. We stayed at a hotel in Chinatown! ^^; It was fun. Tomorrow I get the day off, and I have nothing planned for it so hopefully I can get caught up with everything here already!

On a side note... where're Plushie and Yibber at? They haven't posted in this longer than I have. And that's saying something. o.o


Zachary
================

Unable to risk speaking aloud, Zachary had to resort to mumbling indisinctly to himself about Railey's behavior. 'That little freak, he doesn't know who he's dealing with! He thinks I'm just some grubby little kid with wimpy little pokemon. He doesn't know the things I've done in the past... the people I've hurt. He thinks he's so tough, but he doesn't know the strength it takes to be a kind person, and the guts it takes to be able to forgive yourself for terrible things you've been involved with,' he thought angrily to himself. It was all he could do for the moment. He didn't care if Railey was older or better at training than he was; Zachary learned some time ago that being a man didn't mean you had the stronger pokemon or more power.

Rai was right, it wasn't worth it to get angry. Zachary knew he wouldn't be able to just sit by and watch the little punk torment everyone though. There would be a time for Railey to learn his place soon enough, it just wasn't now.

Zachary turned his attention back to the conversation in time to see Rai saying that they should be going. Zachary made to get up, when suddenly Railey made it very clear that his gym leader head was swollen to the size of a Wailord.

As the gym leader exited, Zachary stood up. "Whatever," he commented flatly as he pulled his sunglasses over his head. Rai then made a great suggestion, and Zachary nodded with a smile.

"I second the motion! Let's go," he said, making for the door, "I am starvi-- oh!" He suddenly turned on the spot.

"Nurse Gwendolyn... ah... could you tell me if-if Amelia left already? I just wanted to kno--!"

Much to Zachary's displeasure though, the chair he had temporarily leaned on had suddenly fallen over, causing him to grab onto the conference table for support. This in turn made the small pitcher of water, that was most likely for guests to drink, fall over and spill out its contents onto the table.

"Uh, I got it! Um.. sorry...," he said in a pained voice, "F-forget it." Ron shook his head a little, though it was hard to tell if it was because he felt sorry for his trainer, or if it was that he was embarrassed.
 
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OOC: Yeah, I was wondering where your promised IC was. As for Yibber and Plushie...no kidding, they've both just up and disappeared as far as I can tell. o.o We've missed both their birthdays too; Plushie's was yesterday (unless the PC calendar is playing tricks on me) and Yibber's was some time early March. Looks like we've got a serious shortage of cast once again. *Sigh* Is this RP ever going to get anywhere? I'm starting to get serious motivational issues about it. >_<

IC:

Rai couldn't help flinching sympathetically as Zachary managed - yet again - to inflict property damage in front of Gwendolyn, probably efficiently ruining any chances of getting information out of the temperamental nurse. Poor Zachary, he sure...had a way with furniture. It really couldn't be put any more diplomatically than that. Well, at least he hadn't permanently broken anything this time.

Surprisingly enough, Gwendolyn actually seemed to take this into account, as after a few moments of her usual death stare she actually settled with the sigh of a solemn martyr, picking up the pitcher and placing it onto a nearby table, "Trainee Amelia is still here." the nurse remarked, "Doing the headcount last I checked. She was worried about you so she'll probably still be at it." Gwendolyn, shockingly enough, gave the boy something akin to a small smile, "If you hurry you might still catch her." she added with a small nod, "Just don't break anything on the way if you can help it."

"Thank you." Rai replied, deciding it best not to give Zachary any further chance of being clumsy over this happy surprise as he gently guided his friend out of the door. If there was one thing he was sure about at the moment, it was that Gwendolyn's good mood was not something to be tested.
 
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