NODE: City of Spirit - Crystal Park

NODE: City of Spirit - Crystal Park
Date of Scene:	10 July 2014
Location:	The Homeworld
Synopsis:	Nozomi requests help to explore a part of her Node, the Crystal Park. Things are learned! To be continued, too.
Thanks to:	Abstractum.Net, as the GM.
Cast of Characters:	2, 63, 73, 219, 342, 347
Tinyplot:	When They Return

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Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
As before, opening the wrought-iron gates is easy - only Nozomi or TIGER can do it, fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately - and when she does, it simply slides open at her touch, revealing what looks like a heavily altered castle, like the interior of a modern palace. The hallway is long, looking like it's going to need to be walked along for a minute or so.

Along the walls are several mirrors, hung at regular intervals. One's own reflection is not visible in them, but rather, an empty hallway.

The door opens out into an exterior that really doesn't match the strange palace-like interior. It's an alleyway, albeit relatively clean. There's a dumpster here, but it's full of weird, discarded crystals alongside the usual contents of trash. If one heads out of the alleyway, they will find a relatively active city street. The ghosts of several horses, a chariot suffused in brimstone and fire, and what appears to be a carriage with a tree growing out of it are all stuck in a bit of a traffic jam with several perfectly normal, modern cars; walking alongside on the various sidewalks are mostly humans, but among them, wearing similar clothes and walking with similar purposes, can be seen a werewolf, a pair of walking skeletons, and something pale enough to be a vampire, just to name a few.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
Nozomi is here, hands folded in front of herself, with the large mechatiger known imaginatively enough as TIGER sauntering along beside her. She still walks in school clothes, her school having not yet let out for summer vacation; the reminder of the strangeness of this world is enough to give her pause briefly, bringing the girl to a stop just out of the alleyway. It isn't quite a loss of nerve, but she has, at the very least, dropped it for a moment and needs to collect it. "Ah, it's... I-I'd forgotten it was this busy," she murmurs. "And very supernaturally pervasive," TIGER remarks idly. "My sensors will never lack for readings, at least."

Ariel (219) has posed:
Well, the supernatural presences will mean Ariel's magical nature won't be in danger. This doesn't change the fact that the cloak and hood she wears - Diea and the Spirit Hood - are pulled up more than usual. The unicorn is in humanoid form, right now, but even covered as she is she can't hide the cracks and ugly, yellowish seams and marks all over her pearl green chitin. She got beat up pretty bad in her match yesterday.

Her spirits are still high though! "So, I guess we're looking for tension?" Or rather the cause of it, but she's simplifying. Despite the fact that it's the TRASH, Ariel is also going to slip over and pluck out one of those crystals, just to see what they are and if they have any sort of mystical significance.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
Given the request for help, Homura has shown up. She is still somewhat bruised and beaten from her fight with Tomoe, but both fighters had gone easy on avoiding serious injuries, so recovering was not too difficult. She is wearing plain black pants, with a white dress shirt and a bowtie. The red ribbon in her hair matches the red frames of her glass, which as ever show text and transcripted radio chatter on the lenses. She taps a button on the side to mute some of it, though.

The sight of a new Node is always worth a detour. This one's... weird, in its own way. She stares a bit at the traffic and the dissonance of that carriage and the spirits when contrasted with the cars.

"That is... normal, correct?" she asks Nozomi, just to be sure.

Kotoha Isone (63) has posed:
Speaking of school uniforms, Kotoha is here today in hers. "Seems not too different from the last time. You sure you're going to be okay here, Nozomi?" She obviously is not speaking about physical safety.

"I think it'll be fine, though. You have me and Taiga." The hanyou glances over toward Ariel, then Homura. "And two adorable companions along with us. Looking sharp there, Homura!" Leaning over slightly, she smiles at the unicorn and extends a hand. "And you I haven't met. Hi! I'm Kotoha, from Sakurashin Town."

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
"I think so," Nozomi replies with a little nod to Ariel. "It was... I think the place we wanted was this way," she adds, indicating the north. Kotoha's words confirm Homura's question, but nevertheless, she does nod to the magical girl. "Mn. It's kind of... I-I think it's Taiga's nature. Normal and supernatural. That's the kind of place this is." Kotoha's words also seem to have given the girl some courage. She gives the hanyou a little nod. "Yeah. I'll... I think I'll be fine."

Taiga rumbles. "If we are to visit Crystal Park, I believe we should be moving. It was this way." Without further preamble, he starts off, and with a surprised little noise, Nozomi moves to fall in step.

Frederica (73) has posed:
Frederica blends in well enough despite lacking a school uniform. She's a girl after all, and she even has a hood drawn up around her head. Unlike Ariel's hood though, hers has pointy ears poking up from the top. Oh well, perhaps she's intending to act as a go-between from Ariel to TIGER or something.

She has no problem helping. Nozomi, after all, is a nice girl. Also someone Frederica's inclined to help more than most because she's completely unthreatening. Not that Frederica minds helping, and she's been meaning to do more work to help Shinrin and the rest of the Abstractum group.

Still, it's a bit odd of a place. She peers about curiously. "Crystal Park? Well, sounds delightful. Or warped, I suppose. These nodes never turn out to be entirely nice, do they?" she muses. "Things ARE friendly here, right?" she asks no one in particular.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
This is the same shopping and restaurant district that the group found themselves in before; it seems primarily dominated by various stores catering to the mythical side of things, all sorts of creatures. Like before, the group emerged from something near the back-alley entrance to some kind of ghost restaurant that serves what Ariel will find are crystals full of STRANGE GHOSTLY ENERGIES, and is across the street from a "vintage" (tastefully decayed) clothing store for undead, and there's a phone shop for ogres down the way.

That's not what you're here for, though, of course. Various taxies blare horns at obstructive traffic sorts as they go on by, making it clear that it'll be easy to get wherever you need to go. Despite being isolated from the multiverse, they seem to take multiversal credits! So you can get anywhere from anywhere else, probably.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
Nozomi looks at the taxis pensively for a moment, before turning to nod to Frederica. "Ah... kind of," she murmurs. "A-as friendly as anyone ever is, I guess..." Fidget. "Ah, in any case, it might be faster if we got a ride..."

Taiga looks amused. "The others can spend their money if they like. You, Nozomi Houken, have a free vehicle whose speed easily matches a taxi." She looks at him for a moment, confused. He simply arches one metallic feline eyebrow in response. "...o-oh. Right." Quietly, she climbs onto his back.

Ariel (219) has posed:
"Ariel," Ariel replies to Kotoha. It's with a smile despite injuries that are probably still aching. The hand is taken for a quick, slight shake before Ariel resumes poking around, then falling in behind Nozomi and Taiga at first, tucking the crystal away. "Diea, if we swap to Blue Chroma sometime tonight we should take a look at that together."

But not now. Now she has to get around town! "Ah... I'll just follow Taiga." She flicks her hood back and drops to all fours, taking unicorn form. Even injured, she can do this much. In fact it might do her good to gallop a bit.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
"I always look sharp," Homura tells Kotoha, before nodding to Nozomi and following along. Alright then, a world where these elements blend together then. Should be interesting, and in a different way than Psyber's too. That one is less... obvious? Overt? It's more subtle. And the factions are separate. Here it seems to coexist.

"I'll follow along, don't worry. I don't need a ride," Homura insists. If it comes down to it she will just do that time thing she likes doing and show up at the destination without the fuss of having to get there quickly.

She should really get a driver's license.
The idea of learning from Psyber kind of terrifies her though.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel looks over her shoulder. "Um... well I'm a little small for it, but would you want to ride on my back, Homura?"

Frederica (73) has posed:
Frederica sighs and shrugs. She's got no interest in running the whole way whatever other people do. She COULD, even if she might not be able to keep up, but then she'd arrive all sweaty and she hates that. Instead she peers out into the street and hails a cab. With a shrug she glances over towards Homura and Kotoha. "You're welcome to come along." she says offhandedly. Fortunately stinginess and selfishness aren't among her many flaws.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
"...M-Miss Akemi." Claire speaks up softly. "...I think this is the only chance we will ever get. T-to ride a unicorn, I mean." The ring stares dead on at Homura, as if expressing that this is a weighty moment.

Meanwhile, of course, Diea is bright and positive about this. "Right, I'll make sure to take a look at it if we're on that chroma!"

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
"That is... ah..."

Homura stares at Ariel for a moment.
Well, it's that, or go with Kotoha, or just walk alone. Sigh. And then her Abstractum says that. Whyyyyy.

"I... suppose that's alright for this time."

She will ride Ariel, sure.
She probably used to want to ride a unicorn just like any other little girl at some point. She'll just justify it as being for her Abstractum though. Since she sounds like she really wants that.

Kotoha Isone (63) has posed:
"That's such a pretty name!" She gives Ariel another smile before straightening up again... then blinks in surprise. "Oh hey, now that is neat!" She lifts a hand to wave to Frederica on her arrival, then turns to Nozomi. "You and Taiga go on ahead. I can keep up."

A little laugh is given to Homura. "Darn right!" Kotoha reaches over to pat the girl's shoulder, but then withdraws it quickly and shakes it as if in pain. "Go on, you'll probably look really cute riding her! Really cool!" She said cool, not cute. Everyone heard that, right? Kotoha whispers a few words under her breath, and there's a very soft *click* sound, but the hanyou quickly turns toward the cab. "Sounds like a good idea! We'll meet you there, guys!"

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
It's not quite clear who's happy here, but it's gotta be someone.

The weird convoy of people head towards CRYSTAL PARK, a more upper-class part of town. Moving steadily north, they'll find the humans get less and less common, though they never truly become overtaken by the magical menageries. There's just a LOT of humans. This seems to be the part of town that's dedicated almost exclusively to the monsterous, the magical, and the supernatural, though; Crystal Park is named as such because the closer you get to its center, the more buildings start to incorporate crystal into their construction, in all sorts of colors and densities.

The buildings are tall, many of them residential, but some are more expensive department stores, this is the home of the largest public library in the city, and there's also a financial district on this side of town. It's dominated entirely by a castle-esque skyscraper made entirely of black crystal that demands attention intensely. But the whole district is available to anyone, and they can stop and find pretty much whatever structures you'd normally find in a city like this.

It is also a lot more noticable around here because of the lowered lighting that there's not one single star in the sky, even as it starts to descend into darker shades of evening and night.

Ariel (219) has posed:
While Ariel is a little small for Homura, Ariel is also much stronger than her size would indicate. So she actually doesn't have that much trouble trotting around with the schoolgirl on her back. Her head still sweeps side to side though, noticing a few things even in her normal wide-eyed innocence. Especially as it gets darker.

"That's really strange," she mumbles. "I wonder if that's normal? It's hard to tell with Nodes." She'll let one of the others do the actual questioning for Reasons, though.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
Taiga spends most of his time on the rooftops, though he does pop down to the street briefly now and then, either for the convenience of his chosen path or to make sure the others still know he's there.

Nozomi spends most of her time glancing back to Ariel and Homura.

But they come to Crystal Park eventually, and as they do, her attention becomes more and more drawn to the architecture. "...it's really pretty here," she murmurs to herself, although local radio probably picks it up. Eventually, Taiga leaps back down to the street and allows her to slide off; when he does, his rider turns to look around some... and her eyes come to a stop on the sky. "Ah, there's... a-am I seeing things, or are there no stars...?" Taiga looks upward, and then immediately begins sweeping the night sky with his sensors.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
Now to be fair, Homura's almost 17 and not in school anymore! Schoolgirl will only apply for so much longer. And she'll be in university in a month and some. That's going to be... weird.

Also whether or not she is happy is hard to read.
It's probably true SOMEONE is happy here.

Upon arriving at the Crystal Park, Homura dismounts, showing hints of a blush as she asks Ariel: "Let's... never mention this happened, yes?" She'll never hear the end of it.

"You're right. This place is beautiful. I wonder what it is with architecture and crystals that makes it... work." She can't think of an exception, at least any that she's been to. So far all of her experiences with crystalline structures have been good ones, in terms of eye candy.

"The black crystal is a little bit more ominous, though." She looks about, to see if there's a sign pointing at the castle identifying it by name or somesuch. She might even try wrangling information out of a random passerby, see what they know, if Nozomi hasn't already scouted the area.

Frederica (73) has posed:
Frederica's orders to the taxi driver, no doubt something suitably mystical, are simple. "Follow that TIGER." she says. When it turns out the TIGER isn't planning on going by way of roadside, she shrugs. "Follow that unicorn?" she says instead in much less grand fashion, gesturing to Ariel.

Orders given, Frederica sits back with her legs primly crossed, enjoying the ride. She's never had a problem reclining while others labour. She'll do her part of course, but that part doesn't involve travelling. She does peer about however, taking notice of the black crystal building. It's pretty. It's ominous. "It's pretty ominous." she says aloud.

Once reunited with the team, Frederica eases out of the cab with a sigh. Pushing her hood off her head and straightening her hair, she looks about more for form than for purpose. "So, what are we doing here anyways?" she asks. "Has the purpose of this node been discovered yet? Do we know where we're going and where the Them are?"

Kotoha Isone (63) has posed:
There may now be photographic evidence of Homura's magical unicorn ride. Said photograph may end up falling mysteriously into Madoka's hands. You know. Hypothetically. And certainly not the fault of any innocent young hanyou.

"Now that is pretty...." Kotoha peers out the window of the cab as it approaches. "Hey, Mister...." Since she doesn't know the name of the driver, she'll stick with generic titles. "What sort of crystal is that out there?"

From inside, she assumes the absence of lights in the sky is from a reflection... though once they arrive and she steps out, the hanyou's gaze travels upwards. "There really aren't any stars up there..." She walks over toward Nozomi and rests a hand on Taiga's head. "See anything up there we can't?"

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
The sky? Nada. Nothing. Nothing on sensors, no magic. Not even anything normal you'd see, like, you know, a moon, or stars! No radiation from them, zip. It's uncanny.

Any signage relating to the titanic black skyscraper-castle have an odd symbol, like a chess rook, and they seem ubiquitous enough that people are just expected to know what they mean. That doesn't mean people are particularly offended or think it's weird when asked though. Homura is told that it's the Valdearg building, whatever that means.

The cab driver says, to Kotoha, "Citadel Shards. Dunno what they're made of, but a few hundred years ago they were all together in a big Citadel. Not much chance of gettin' it put back together now, though." The human seems less than perfectly educated, but he's trying to be helpful and polite to what he assumes are people from out-of-town.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
"There is nothing up there which I can detect, at all," Taiga replies simply. "That in and of itself is abnormal. Ordinarily, stars have their own metaphysical presence, or at the very least metaphysical gravity, in that they affect things under the heavens in minute but noticeable ways." Nozomi, meanwhile, has come to be more concerned what they have come to be told is the Valdearg building. She looks up at it with a faint frown, and then walks over to Homura and the passerby who has been questioned.

Her own question comes out quietly, owing to the fact it's a stranger, but it still comes out. "Aah...w-what's... what exactly is the Val... Val-de-arg," she sounds it out, "Building? We're... from out of town, and all..."

Frederica (73) has posed:
"Right." Frederica says, shrugging. "I suppose that means we haven't discovered what we're doing in this node, and They haven't appeared." Bad news if they collectively know little, but at least it means she's not left ignorant compared to the others. In this place, at least.

She considers, frowning slightly. "If this is a world of crystal, the black crystal building seems to be exotic. Sort of an anti-world thing. Like... well, like we might expect our adversaries to be, wouldn't you say?" she offers to Nozomi. "Shiny, beautiful clear crystal everywhere, and then there's this black stuff. Shall we investigate it?" she asks cheerfully.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
Out of town works.
Homura will wait until Nozomi gets her answer; she too would like to know what this imposing black crystal building is. It looks important, though; and black, in Nodes, tends to mean... well.
She wouldn't be surprised if whoever rules that castle is a Pure.

Kotoha Isone (63) has posed:
"Citadel Shards, huh... Thanks!" Kotoha even adds a bit to the tip before waving the cab driver off. "That means there either used to be a citadel here or somewhere else..." She considers for a moment. "Or there was a place called Citadel that made these. Or a guy. Citadel's a name in some worlds, right?"

As she hears Nozomi stumbling over the word, Kotoha rests a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "Yup! We're totally out-of-towners. But don't worry, we're the good sort of tourist!" The hanyou glances back toward Frederica. "So what're we looking for, anyway? Gotta be honest, I'm here to support Nozomi. Haven't really had time to study what goes on in here." Though she probably should have.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
The passerby - he is what appears to be a paper-elemental businessman of some sort - explains that it's the building that's the headquarters of the Valdearg Conglomerate. He seems to think that explains about all anyone would need to know, so he unintentionally implies that the conglomerate is probably a Big Deal around here.

Shinrin says, "We shouldn't jump to conclusions yet, Frederica, but you're right, it sticks out rather a lot and bears some investigation." A few firm nods from the eye on the medallion.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
Nozomi gives Frederica a little nod. "Yeah... i-it did kind of seem... like it had some kind of significance, I-I guess...?" She's all for investigating it, absolutely. Especially once she hears that it's the headquarters of some sort of conglomerate that sounds Important(tm). Taiga pads up next to Kotoha, and then as attention turns to the tower, he turns his sensors on it as well. It seems worth a scan.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
Massive amounts of magical power gush out of the tower at all times, visible now to Taiga, thought the gush of power seems to be intended to be subtle and unobtrusive, easy to set aside with the rest of the background magical noise, but never hidden. The tower seems to be a combination power-station for other magical relays in the city, collection center for magical power being brought in from some kind of external proxy source, and housing for what appears to be the most powerful magical creature in local space. Taiga will be able to recognize the signature as a fairly standard dragon, multiplied in intensity by orders of magnitude.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel has a thought, too, and shuffles over to flag down someone who looks smart. In humanoid form, now. "So these shards, do they have any sort of um... abilities, or are they just collector's items?" Maybe she can find one to examine as well. Like, with Sorcery. In fact, why doesn't she open up her senses a bit to that sort of thing right now? Feel the flow of the world, see if there's anything warping it. It's a long shot, but probably safer than trying it next to the forboding black building.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
Shortly after Taiga begins his scan, anyone the least bit familiar with him, or with the mannerisms of a predator, will be able to notice the difference. Ordinarily, his scans are casual, much like a cat simply scenting the air. But once he begins his analysis of that tower, he stills. Completely and totally, save for the miniscule twitch of his ears here and there. It is the freeze of a predator who has caught a scent, or perhaps scented danger. His tail twitches once.

"There is a dragon in that tower," he says after a moment. "One of extremely significant power. And it's absolutely awash with magical energy besides. Flowing in from elsewhere. Flowing out to the city. Not in torrents, but steadily nonetheless." Nozomi looks between Taiga and the tower several times, her manner becoming more nervous by the moment. "A-ah...?"

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
Ariel can feel a low, soft tugging in many directions, some sort of magically-charged energy being traded back and forth rapidly all around the city. Harmonious Diea quietly activates Mystic Drives and increases her precision massively, and Ariel, through the abstracted interface of her magical connection with the cloak, will come to understand that she just accessed the financial network for the stock exchange!

Now why would THAT be magical?

"Part of the homeland, from before it changed." What appears to be a literal devil - red skin, horns, the works - is having a bite to eat outside a nice little vegan coffee shop. He's answering Ariel casually. "Bit of history, they say it's good luck to have a building with a bit of shard in it."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
"What happened to the homeland?" Homura asks, idly, while mostly being a huge useless wallflower. Well, that, and she kind of looks towards Nozomi and Taiga as the idea of a dragon-- literal or otherwise-- residing in that castle comes out. Starting to look more and more like that castle is going to be worth, at least, a visit. Though, can they just go in?

Do people seem to go in and out of it freely, or only rarely? That's worth observing, though asking the locals might not hurt either. They'd know, if anything.

Kotoha Isone (63) has posed:
"Whoah, a dragon?" Kotoha looks at Taiga, wide-eyed, then back to that building. "I wonder if it's a good dragon or a bad dragon. We should go see either way! That's what we're here to find out, right?"

Kotoha pokes out her tongue, and sparks begin to dance over it. "Shortcut: detective and helper!" With a small *poof* of smoke, a magnifying glass appears in Nozomi's hand, and a deerstalker cap on her head. An old-fashioned pipe appears in Kotoha's mouth, then begins to blow bubbles upward. And, of course, a monacle appears in front of one of Taiga's eyes. Don't worry, it's just a plain lens. "Right. Who else needs investigating gear?"

Frederica (73) has posed:
Frederica gives the demon a funny look, but doesn't make the obvious comment about the weird denizens of this realm. They're friendly, or at least not hostile. That's what counts.

"I really have no idea what's going on here." Frederica finally admits to Kotone, grinning as if saying she's clueless isn't a bad thing. "I'm here to help a friend, that's all. And my specialty is doing horrible things to horrible things, I'm afraid. I don't really have any special way of finding out what's going on here, besides looking. There's no psychic energies I can sense, but that doesn't exactly help us." she says. She can't exactly probe with telepathy or anything, considering she's about as far from telepathic as it's possible to be and still be 'psychic'. "So yeah... dragon. Black crystal fragment of a giant citadel. Seems like a plan." she nods. "I... I suppose I could use some investigating gear, if it'll actually help?"

Ariel (219) has posed:
A dragon! Oh dear. Well, Ariel isn't hearing that until after she's done her own business. She smiles, then gives a little bow, "Thank you, sir, that was most informative!" Then she spins around and trots over to rejoin the others to share some information. Under her breath, "Thank you, Diea. That really helped."

Now, to the others, Ariel pipes up when she's close enough for them to hear(or at least Nozomi) and not random passerbys, "Um... so it turns out that these Citadel Shards are good luck, so they try to build them in their own buildings. If you want to reassemble it you'll have to tear down the city, I guess. Oh, and... there's some kind of magical force running the stock exchange. I was afraid to try anything there, though. Partly because the most complex stock thing I know is the straddle."

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
Blink blink. Magnifying glass. Blink.

Nozomi stares at the new tool in her hand, then reaches up to her head to poke at the new adornment on her head. "A-ah... um...?" There might be a little color in her cheeks. What is this, she doesn't even.

Taiga does not react in the least to his dapper new adornment.

But then Ariel brings information. The shards of a citadel built into an entire city. But they're considered good luck. "...I-if people think they're lucky, we probably shouldn't... I mean, unless... u-unless there's some reason..." Taiga, meanwhile, quirks his ears, sweeping the city to try and get a look at the flow of magic. He's not really going to be able to decipher the stock market, but he can at least find the flow Ariel is talking about. "I'm afraid I can't help with financial matters either. They are somewhat outside the arena of ending supernatural threats."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
"Oh, not too much. It's still around, you know." The devil says, shrugging lightly. "It's not like it went away or anything, it's just... Well, it changed a whole lot when the humans got here, or that's what people say anyway. We took the Citadel apart as a show of good faith, but... Good to keep with our heritage, you know?" A grin and a nod to Ariel. "Happy to help, miss. I hope you enjoy your time in the city." What a polite devil.

Kotoha Isone (63) has posed:
"Right!" Kotoha looks at Frederica and taps her chin. "Let's see... Shortcut: other assistant!" Poof! A notebook and pencil appear in Fredrica's hand, and a fake mustache on her upper lip. It's easy enough to pull off if she wishes.

The hanyou blows a few more bubbles from her pipe and pulls it from her mouth. "I say we go in and see if he's taking visitors. He might be a nice dragon! Or he might be asleep." She's already walking toward the tower Taiga indicated. "Let's go! What's the worst that could happen if we go say hi?" She totally just said that.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
There's a lot of... Magic, but it seems more like the magic is an element of something more. In fact, it seems more like it's concentrated in, and emitted by, various assets of some sort, though it's nearly impossible to see what those are, just that, as Ariel found before, at least part of the stock market is in there. TIGER should find itself fairly precisely aware of its nature as connected to some abstractly exchanged quantities, though.