Zvonimir Tales - Jaded Ether [Iammelon/Eteru]

The gladiators of course started heading off towards the arena, calmly walking through the city streets primarily filled up by Valorian inhabitants of the city, with the occasional member of another Iammelonian species being seen as well. This would let Lynn see just how truly dominated by females Valorian culture was, based on the fact that they heavily outnumbered the males. The males were practically just one in twenty Valorians, all the others being females. They were mostly normal folks beyond that however, beyond the fact that each of them seemed to carry their own little axe or hatchet, always at their hip, even the males. This city was certainly not a marital place, holding only artifacts of a more militaristic time, such as the occasional old stone watchtower and the tradition of carrying weapons. But there was no true military presence here, only local city police officers and what were clearly other gladiators. The Arena was likely the only place most people in this city had ever seen true violence.

Quite willing to keep up the conversation, Telai spoke first and happily about her city, "The capital's is a bit better, but only by a little! Zuzros is a model city, second biggest on the planet! Perhaps we ain't the capital of the planet, but we are the best city on the continent for sure! As for my favorite match, hm... I liked a recent one I was in! It was a theme match, we redid a battle between the Zantines and Anubites, although with dumbed down weaponry, so everyone was still using swords and the like. Makes it better for the crowd, ya know? The Anubites had a small fortress built for them to try and hold, while the Zantine side had to storm and take it! Me and Valmira here were on the Zantine side, with Valmira taking on the role of a Rangian Vanguard, and I was an Imperial Markswoman. I was able to find a good spot, and I took out the Anubite commander, who was actually an Amurrak but still! That won us the battle!"

Her Taurus friend nodded, although she did roll her eyes at the end, "Yes, that was an interesting fight. But I preferred another one, the last fight we had before we left. It was a type of match where they change the arena, although the rules generally stay the same. In this instance, they brought in Ialao Druids to plant and quickly grow a forest in the arena, making the battle a rumble in the jungle, so to say. Telai got to climb trees for good positions, and I chopped down a tree so that it fell and crushed some poor fools! It was enjoyable, although the cleanup was lengthy. The Ialao refused the quick solution of cleanup, that being burning the forest, and instead the arena had to do the cleanup slowly so as to get the plants out, unharmed. The delay this caused is why me and Telai went out on a small vacation in the first place, although I believe they fixed it up a week ago."

---

As Lana was walking through the regrowing forest, she would enter into an a large clearing. An area that had been burnt out, previously forested, but now was exposed to the sun and had only grass in it. But there was somebody here who seemed interested in fixing that, a lone Ialao Lifepriest. He was wearing his certainly expensive robes and ritual garb, but they were rather messy with dirt. The explanation for that could be found in what he was doing. He had a bag with him, and was carrying a small shovel. He was kneeling down, using the shovel to dig up small holes, and then he soon after reached into his bag. From it, he retrieved a small seed, and buried it in the dirt. With the seed placed, he returned the dirt to where it was before. He pat the small mound and spoke softly, "Worry not, little one, the rain will come soon to nourish you. Have patience, and you will one day grow as old as the tree that created you." With that, he stood up to go and find another suitable spot, clearly not noticing Lana there at all.

Lynn listens to their tale as they make their way towards the Arena grounds. As expected the fights seem to be quite diverse. She’ll have to look up past matches on her own time to check out the variety. The spectacles aside, she notices the gender ratio of the Valroians. She didn’t give it much thought as it was hardly anything for her to think much about. Her thoughts were mostly mulling on other things. She kept a constant walking pace with her acquaintances. Absentmindedly looking about at the passing buildings and store fronts. When she gets vetted she should go see if there is some sort of beginner, basic armor given to new fighters. If not it’s no big deal. She’ll just go to a nearby store to get stuff. Besides, It was something she had done countless times before.

---

Lana paid the lone Ialao little heed. Before their so called war she never really came close to them. Generally leaving them be in their tree dens. Now she was disgruntled with them. Her anger is not as raw as it was a few years ago. The coals in her eyes long cooled down. A wrinkle appeared across the bridge of her nose. Preferring to ignore the druid she went around the clearing with the same graceful movements as before. While his words were caught by her sensitive ears they didn’t do much to faze her heart. It reminded her of one of her sisters. And she doesn’t trust that sister. In turn she has a hard time trusting those who sprout sermons.

As they got closer to the grandiose arena building, Lynn would certainly be able to see the store fronts shift to be more like what she wants. Weapon shops, smithies, an armor forgery, a shop advertising magically enchanted gear, gyms, and martial arts studios. Various buildings all catering to services gladiators, both new and experienced, would want. Notably they all seemed flaunt a uniform sign, one that read "Arena Administration Approved Products!", making sure all could see that they had this apparent approval. She would see they were busy too, with a weapons shop owner, a Cuthian, haggling with a Valorian customer about a spear as a human in the distance tried out a set of chainmail armor. 

Valmira and Telai stopped a bit before they got to the arena itself, with Valmira looking to Lynn and speaking up, "The sign up process doesn't actually happen at the arena. It actually happens here, at this building." She pointed to one building sitting in a more open area of the streets. It looked to be a large office building with a smaller arena connected to it in the back, combining an oddly formal and corporate look in the front with the backside's more archaic and rough design. Valmira began to explain, "Arena administration center. They do all the boring things here, like paperwork, registration, official business meetings, and pay. Gladiators get used to this place, it's as important to us as the arena itself. The small arena in the back is the training area, where they do the tests to make sure you're capable as well as the first bunch of mock battles. Only for volunteers, of course. The Convinct-Gladiators stay in the arena entirely. A security measure, since they keep all the money here. Anyways, go on inside and get yourself registered. Me and Telai need to go announce the fact that we're back with the arena managers, so they can prepare a proper returning ceremony in the arena! Lots of potential hype there."

---

The Ialao looked back, noticing her now as she passed by a lonely tree. He seemed to recognize her, and decided that he wanted to talk. He was in fact a druid, and he held out a hand, speaking to the tree as she passed. She found herself suddenly blocked from moving forward as a large branch moved downwards, completely in Lana's way. The Ialao then walked towards Lana and spoke out, "You know, you never stuck around long enough for us to properly thank you. But from what I can sense, you do not like me. I cannot tell if it is because I am an Ialao, a Lifepriest, a Druid, or all of them. What troubles your heart, guardian?"

Lynn flashed a grin as she gave a wave. “Thanks for the help guys. I’ll see you two later.” She split from the group towards her destination. Now that she was alone her back muscles became less tense. The iron grip on her emotions slacken ever so slightly. Unease crept up her spine ever so slightly. Apprehension bubbling in her gut. The plain front of the building didn’t do much to distract her thoughts from going back to that night a couple days ago. The events were still fresh in her mind. Of that sacrilege of a pocket bible. Of being cornered in a room by her sisters. Grooming her with sweet nothings like a snake soothing words into a rodent ear about hugs and kisses only to snap its spine in a heartbeat. Then a rush of light and noise as an unexpected savior snatch her up from the viper’s den. Luan gave her a Cheshire smile as the house they were in lit the night sky with scarlet flames behind her. Her sister, a devil in the pale moonlight, saved her from a horrid fate.

A sigh left her when she thought about Luan. The last time she saw her was her retreating back as she went back inside to continue fighting their sisters. She knew they were fine and that the others were on their own now somewhere in Hoshizora. But it didn’t quell the guilt she felt when she agreed to Luan’s persistence that she get out of dodge. It wasn’t in her nature to run away like that. No, she was braver than that. Stronger than that. She had to be. Her thoughts died off when she got to the door of the building. Collecting herself she opened the door and strolled inside. The emotions that once stirred her gut were not replaced with determination.

---

The Ialao will notice that her mannerism was more akin to a feline at the moment. Her gold tail flick in annoyance when the damaged tree branch moved to block her path. She even made similar cat chattering noises to express said annoyance. Swishing around she went to go by the druid in a natural quadrupedal manner. On the pass-by he would get a good view at her back. Streamlined muscles like a panther yet her flesh seem supple and soft to the touch. Perhaps the Druid shouldn’t try to commune to her as a civilized individual. But rather in the same way he treats all beasts. It was clear that their guardian was more attuned to animalistic behavior than human ones despite her similar characteristics with them. If at all considering there have been reports of Lana taking on traits of other sentient species.

Lana’s existence while known is still relatively a mystery. Having been around for supposedly over a millennium. One small theory that has been lambasted by the more popular one is that according to Zantine officials she was probably some escapee from Psion slave forces. The Ialao saw this as a thinly veiled attempt to justify hunting her down. To the Ialao they saw Lana as some sort of divine guardian sent forth from the great tree to deal judgement on the countless transgressions done against the Life Church. Beyond that there is little else known about Lana. She resides in the deepest of jungles and doesn't come out for years at a time. The times when she is seen is when she is out traveling across Freeforest in a myriad of different animal forms. Of course there had been numerous small reports of close encounters with Lana but no one seemed to manage to get any information out of her besides clues in her behavior.

Lana for the most part seems to mimic behavioral traits of other animals. She can be aloof like a cat as seen in the present. Amiable and enjoys belly rubs like a canine. And a variety of others. All of which seem to have no rhyme or reason when they manifest at the moment. There have been reports of her displaying the capability for speech. Albeit her speaking level is comparable to a young child. Making a bit difficult for people to get a coherent answer out of her. Instead they are left with dribbles of seemingly random things. But among the clear facts they know is that she likes physical attention, has a mate, and likes to eat people's food.

Valmira and Telai waved Lynn goodbye for now, and they went off to find the Arena Administration so they could setup a proper return match for fighters of their reputation, surely to bring in many ticket sales. Otherwise, Lynn was left to stew with her thoughts as she walked towards the registration section of the building, the door to which was handily marked. When she entered, she found herself in a large, well-decorated lobby. On the walls were pictures of former famous gladiators, but more interestingly below the pictures were the old weapons of those gladiators, preserved and displayed. A spear, a pair of axes, a curved sword, a plain gauntlet, and even a book, all hung on the wall to display how the gladiator had fought. There was a waiting area, but it did seem things were rather quiet right now. A bored Valorian secretary was looking at her comm-unit, flipping through news articles. She quickly noticed Lynn arrive however, and sized her up. Stretching her back, she got properly into a formal position at her desk, and waved to Lynn, "If you want to set up visitation or a tour, it's the door to the right. But if you're here to register, this is the place. You look the fighter type, so I'll assume that. Come on up, let's hear your name, and get all the papers done." 

---

The Druid did indeed recognize her, and knew some of the tales about this apparent guardian in the woods. He personally wasn't as sure, so he wanted to know more for himself. Although he did quickly also recognize that she was certainly more bestial, and not a civilized person. That, to him, actually made things easier. After all, handling the creatures of the forest was quite literally his job. Calmly, he sat himself down, assuming a relaxed position. He snapped his fingers once, to grab Lynn's attention, and then made a show of reaching into his bag. He soon took out a bad of raw meat, which he kept in case he needed to deal with Freeforest's various predators. He opened the bag, ripped a good portion of the meat off, and then calmly placed the detached bit down in front of him. He then waved to it, "All yours. Never good to waste good meat after all, and we Ialao aren't prolific carnivores." 

He would calmly wait, hoping that she would approach to eat. And once she was close enough and eating, he could conjure up a small phantasmal hand to scratch her behind the ears, just so he could see the reaction.

Even though Lynn was dressed in her red jacket and black jeans the Valorian could discern how she is built. Her body mass is the peak of which a human female body could reach under normal circumstances. Human women have to dedicate themselves to training their bodies a lot more than the men do in order to get and refine their body mass. Largely due to the fact that muscle building is directly proportional to testosterone. Alongside her physique she gave off the air of someone who experienced combat before. Coming up to the desk she set her attention on the Valorian. “Of the sorts. Name’s Lynn Zvonimir. I’m here for the whole registration thing.” She spoke in a nonchalant manner. Ready to deal with all the paperwork.

---

Lana’s ears flick at the noise akin to how a dog would. The scent of the meat made her turn somewhat. Watching the bag in the corner of her yellow eyes. Her nostril softly flared a few times seeing the scrap of raw meat placed on the ground. It didn’t seem to be appetizing to her. Not to say she has a problem with raw meat. Just that raw meat in particular tastes better when it’s still warm. Not cold and preserved. By that point she prefers it to be cooked. She dismissively turned her head away in a cat-like manner. Beginning to move away until she was stopped in her tracks by pleasure coursing through her body from the scratching behind her ears. A loud purr reverberates from her chest that could rival the sound of a car engine. Sitting as a cat would let the hand continue to give her attention.

The Valorian was, as is only natural for her people, quite happy to look over Lynn. She could indeed discern that Lynn looked quite physically capable, and thus she felt quite safe in her assumption that Lynn wished to register, of which she was proven right. She gave a nod, "Right then, Lynn, first gotta get all the simple things down. First you need to fill in this here sheet, with all the basic information. Name, age, birthplace, whether or not you are an Iammelonian citizen. yadda yadda. But as for more important things on there, you need to also provide some proof you are fit to fight. You certainly look quite well built there, so I ain't disputing that, but rules are rules and we need some proof you can fight in a life or death environment. You can provide a military record, a recommendation from a security company, that sorta thing. Although if you lack official documents, or if your skills come from... Experiences that don't record such information in an officially accepted capacity, we also let you prove yourself in a fight! If you want to do that, we also need you to sign a few legal documents." She slipped over the registration sheet, as well as the legal waivers required. There were a few in there, one for the practice fights and others for the arena proper.

---

The Druid noted her dismissal of raw meat, as that was unusual for wild beasts. Most creatures of the wild preferred the raw meat, as it was closer to what they normally ate. This seeming preference for cooked foods was noted, and he guessed she had her own capacity to cook meals if that was the case. Still, as he could of course not cook the meat right now, he simply put it back into his bag. With that done, he got up to get closer, and if allowed close he would replace the magical hand with his own physical hand, giving her the attention and stimulation he expected she would like. Carefully, he would move his spare hand to scratch under her chin, to see if she continued to act like a cat here.

Lynn rubbed the back of her neck as she listened to the rundown. When she brought up military records she let out a noise of confirmation as she used her hand to dig around in her bag. The Iammelonian Civil War was a blessing in more ways than one. For many of her siblings including herself it had served as a great distraction to their crumbling relationship. Lana dealing with stuff on Freeforest, Lola micromanaging her assets, Lisa helping scientists combat Cyboar, and so forth. For her she dove into the war front to bury herself in the fighting. Hoping that perhaps her efforts will get their attention again to no avail. Now with the war’s end her family can’t ignore the elephant in the room for long. Then that fiasco with Leni tipped over the boiling pot resulted in them splitting up to do their own thing. Much like she is doing here. In her mind she believes that she can get their attention again. To bring them back. “I got some records from war.” She was nonchalantly speaking before halting briefly before it suddenly dawned on her that the Valroians were former Confederates.

Not to make the room awkward she cleared her throat and continued to chat. “Worked with the Watrike folks. Even got to know some of their Champions out in the field. It was a worthwhile experience with them.” Putting the documents on the table she went to fill in the papers presented to her. The document would show the usual identification form of a military personnel for the Union forces. It showed that she is a citizen to Iammelon. Her name was present but her age and birthplace were peculiar. Age was noted as ‘Speculated to be in mid thirties’ and her birthplace had the note ‘Unknown. Stated to be an orphan.’. But the spicy bit of information comes from what was written beside her marital status. It states that Lynn is in a polymorus relationship with three other people but not married. One of which was written down alongside his number given the military likes to have numbers of their soldier’s family members in case they need to call them in case something happened. The name reads as Lincoln ‘Abraham’ Zvonimir. Considering they are not married, having the same surname name can only mean one thing. “There we go. Got it all filled out.” Lynn spoke up as she set her pen down beside the completed documents.

---

Despite showing behavior like a cat moments prior she shifted to a more dog-like side as the druid would find his hand in the wet chasm that was her mouth. Nibbling on his fingers absentmindedly. Carnivorous teeth rub against the fur of his hand that was quickly being drenched in slobber. Lana just stares at the druid as she continues to nom on his appendage. There seems to be an inconsistency to her animal mimicry. Not mimicking one animal for long. Seemingly done with his hand she moved her head out. Letting the druid poor, soaked hand escape its tormentor. Giving her chaps a lick she went to wander off.

The Valorian Secretary was rather surprised with what she was presented with, shocked from multiple fronts with Lynn's rather notable collection of documents. First was of course her military records, quite acceptable, but of course it was clearly something the secretary was not all too happy with. Valai had been predominantly Confederate after all, with the exception of one particular group, and so they were of course not fond of the Warrior Lizards who had bested their troops. So hearing that Lynn had run with the Watrike was not pleasing, although it was certainly a set of combat credentials that one couldn't question. After all, the reason former Confederates disliked the Watrike was due to their ruthless abilities on the battlefield, there was a respect for their power. But that of course could be gotten past, at least more easily than what came next. The Valorian could quickly shrug off Lynn's oddity of birth and age, those could be explained by her being an orphan that eventually became an immigrant to Iammelon. Eskalivi were all too often terrible at keeping records after all. Her marital status however was more difficult to overlook, due to its rather distinct and clear implications. Lynn would be able to see the Valorian get a look of confusion and slight disgust as she read and interpreted what was almost certainly a polyamorous, incestuous relationship, mumbling "Goddess shield me from these damned Eskalivi..." Regardless of that, she did verify all of the papers, as they were in order and hit all the requirements. She put a stamp on the main paper and nodded, "And there you go, approved for training. Despite you being a rather odd person for this, you hit all requirements and are thus accepted for gladiator status. Just gotta get past a quick medical checkup and some basic training, and then we can get you in the arena. Fortunately for you, there is an instructor in the training grounds right now, so you can go in and handle that. I have to do some extra paperwork. Take the badge, it verifies you as an approved lass." She held out a bronze badge for Lynn to take, and then pointed out a door to her right. It was a large, metal door with the words "PROVING GROUNDS" inscribed on it.

---

The Druid was certainly not all too happy with his finger being covered in slobber and Lana simply walking away, but he supposed it was a good learning experience in a sense regardless. Helped him understand more about Lana's odd inconsistencies, even if it was in a less than comfortable fashion. As she walked away he cleaned the spit off his hand with a bit of cloth he kept in his bag, before he suddenly looked into the distance. Quickly he grabbed his staff and channeled power through out, once more giving commands to nature. Another large tree branch came down in front of Lana, speeding into position, but this time it was not to block her passage. It was to prevent a projectile from hitting her, as embedded in the bark of the branch was a sharp syringe carrying a dark blue liquid. The liquid was a powerful sedative, meant to bring down some of even the largest beasts this planet had to offer, more than enough to bring down even Lana. There was a muffled grunt of annoyance from the tree lines, and some shuffling as the shooter changed positions. Still, it was difficult to pin down where it had come from, as Lana would not be able to pick up any scent from them, and they had been virtually silent up until now. It was no normal poacher, that was for sure.

Moving up towards Lana and continuing to channel his abilities, the Druid spoke carefully, "If you understand me, be wary. Somebody is there, I only realized it because I sensed a disturbance from the trees themselves. And it looks like they are after you in particular, alive."

Her military records also had plenty of numbers for the secretary to call if she ever felt the need to to make sure they are authentic. In the clippings on the pages were small basic pictures you would find in this set of documents. Most notably she could see Lynn in a group picture with her squadmates below the Grand Drake himself. There was a hint of tiredness to his features. Possibly from the war or the fact he’s going through a long day of photo shoots. Her squad was predominantly composed of Watrikes but there were a scant few others who were of a different race. Like the Anubite in the second row furthest to the left or even a Arachain on the bottom row in the center. Lynn was a smack dab between two Watrikes who are not too taller than her. You need a balanced group photo after all.

If Lynn heard the mumbling she didn’t show acknowledgement to it. She gives a smile to the approved papers. “Much appreciated.” Her demeanor remains friendly. Putting away her stuff she reached out an arm to take the bronze medal.  Turning to the metal door she sauntered on her merry way. Leaving the Valroian to do her paperwork. The exchange didn’t go too poorly, she mused internally. Just the age old typical looks she got all her life. At the beginning many centuries ago it used to get under her skin. Now it just comes off as an old joke you heard a million times before. With that thought she went and opened the metal door to head inside.

---

Lana kept relatively calm when the branch came to block the projectile. She had noticed something off earlier but didn’t pay much attention to it as she was too busy tasting the Druid’s hand with her tongue. She likes salt okay? Shifting her yellow eyes to the tree line she squinted. Taking in the world’s scent around here. It’s an understandable misconception that a lack of sense helps one be hidden. In some cases that is true when those you are hiding from don’t have a strong of a smell. But to someone like Lana her sense of smell is much more refined. She may not smell the shooter scent but she can mentally see the void of where the smell should be. Her ear twitched at the sound of the Druid coming nearer. “They always are.” She grunts. Mostly to show the druid that she could understand what he’s saying and possess the capability to speak back.

Another facet to her relatively calm yet ready demoner comes down to a sense of normalcy. It’s the rule of nature to eat or be eaten. To compete and survive in a land void of civilizational laws. And all bend to the apex that stands on that rock outcrop. The king of the wildlands. Lana could hunt the shooter down. Always had but felt the Druid would get in her way. After all, cooperation is the law of civilization. Her yellow eyes softly gave off orange luminosity. The Druid was attuned to the trees. Lana was attuned to the other side of nature.

The shooter would find himself becoming increasingly surrounded by insects. Streams of flying bugs from all angles coalesced onto their position. The ones that crawl would come up from below. Piling on their feet before making their trek upwards. Finding any sliver of opening in the garments to squeeze through. If they manage to dig through they would find any orifice to funnel into. On the off chance that the shooter has complete protective hearing the insects will still swarm onto them to obstruct their visibility and moment. Some of the insects would even try to find their ways into the gun to jam it.

The picture was certainly interesting, and she'd put it into the arena's records, just in case that was of interest to anybody. Otherwise, she didn't want to spend too much time on a Union Soldier, she still had some prejudice. Of course that was now behind Lynn as she entered into the training area. It was a mock-arena in design, with Lynn coming out in the spectator stands. While smaller than a real arena, it was still shaped as such, with an oval-shaped area in the center where the fighters were supposed to fight. It had a sand-covered floor, but there was stone beneath the sand. There were two large gates, but also four smaller mini-gates on the sides. There was no direct means however for a fighter inside the combat area to enter the spectator area, unless they could leap up the walls. As this was a training arena, the spectator stands were not very flashy, just a few lines of seats and one area where there was a control panel from which one could manipulate the arena itself.

Others were already here, four of them were in the arena already, all female Valorians. They were sparring with eachother, each carrying wooden quarterstaffs and dueling. While they all had the same bronze medals as Lynn did, strapped to the leather armor they were all wearing, they all did seem to know what they were doing, not amateurs in combat. Up in the stands, near the control panel, was another female Valorian, but she was taller and more muscular than the others. Wearing a suit of half-plate armor, without the helmet, and had a mace at her hips. She yelled out into the training fighters, "Control your footwork! Trip in the arena and you'll probably die, but that boring stance will earn you no praise at all! Put some damn effort into looking good!" With a grunt, she then turned around towards Lynn, allowing the Zvonimir to see her face. Notably, the fur around her eyes was tinted dark red, with the eyes themselves appearing black as the void. She looked over Lynn and then nodded, "Yeah, another prospective fighter. You look alright, but I suppose we'll see if you can move your feet better than the other newbies. Ah, right, I'm Valloi. The Night Prowler in the arena, in case you've heard of me. Don't mind the eyes, just contact lenses. Grab a staff and jump in, I'll tell you more while you're in there. And I do mean jump, there's no stairs. Get used to dramatic entrances, stick a good landing if you can." She gestured to a rack of training staves, and then returned to her console. 

---

As the bugs attempted to converge on the shooter, he simply hit a button on his suit, throwing up his shields. But in this case, it was a more specialized shield, one of coursing electricity that created a shocking field around him that incinerated the bugs on approach. Though with his position compromised, he leaped off the tree he had settled down on, landing himself on the ground and putting him in sight of Lana, allowing her to finally see who she was dealing with. The man was wearing an advanced suit of full-body armor, which was colored in camouflage colors for Freeforest. He was carrying a long hunting rifle, although it was a very much augmented one. No notable insignia could be found on him, nor was the armor design recognizable to any Iammelonian Faction. Regardless, his single-slit visor turned red briefly before he launched what looked like a large metal rod from a wrist-mounted gun. As the metal rod flew into the air, the shooter then activated a cloaking device in his armor, fading away from sight while his present activated. The rod shattered once it got high enough, breaking up into a number of small, rocket-controlled darts, which suddenly swung around towards Lana as they tracked her.

The Druid remained calm, glancing to his left. He grunted, speaking silently, "Keep walking, just that way." He turned to Lana, "You can handle the darts, just leave him be. Delviatu has gifted him with ignorance for one of his more dangerous children on this world." He gripped his staff, patiently waiting for something. Lana of course had another problem to deal with.