Chapter Text
The calm of the Whispering Woods is just like any other day with the sound of the wind rustling its leaves and creatures going about their day as usual. The calm of the woods is so serene, the birds chirping and baby animals walking their first steps, the peace filling up the atmosphere in the most pleasant ways. Trees in every direction, running water coming from a nearby river, the bright sun shining above the forest without a cloud in sight. The vibrant green grass that feels soft on bare toes. The definition of a perfect and quiet day.
Suddenly a distressed rustle comes from a set of bushes and a little girl, no more than 7 or 8 years old, stumbles out. Her appearance is ragged and it’s clear that she was in some sort of struggle, one that she barely made it out of. With clothes tattered every which way, and scratches that can only be made from someone else, it is clear the girl is running away from someone; or some thing . The girl is panting as she frantically looks around for any form of safety. A rock to hide behind, a sturdy tree to climb up, anything! In the back of her mind, she knows it’s pointless because there is no hiding or running. What was she thinking, running in the first place?! Ahead of her, she vaguely notices what seems to resemble a wall with a large gate.
“A town?” She mumbles to herself. That would be as good a place to start as any. As she hurries herself towards the wall, she catches a shadow to her right coming closer. The girl starts moving faster, frantically trying to escape the shadow gaining on her, but her left leg refuses to cooperate, so instead she limps quickly. The woods seem to silence and nothing is heard, save for the heavy breathes of the girl running. A branch gets caught on her already torn shirt and she is taken down as she struggles to right herself with trembling little arms. The shadow inches closer and seems to be rushing towards the fallen figure in a hurry. The little girl pushes herself back up on her feet and looks towards the wall she noticed earlier. There seem to be 2 creatures standing in front of a giant gate, holding what seem to be long weapons for a reason she was not aware of.
“Help!” The girl desperately yells, hoping that she was close enough for the creatures to hear her. Thankfully, she notices they both turn their heads in her direction, so she tries to pick herself up and limp faster towards them and away from the shadow creeping closer to her.
“Help, please! Don’t let her get me!” The creatures seem to start running towards the little girl, and she notices that they have furry ears and long tails as their figures get closer and become more clear.. A wave of relief washes over the little girl just as she feels a cold hand grab onto her right ankle and she is met with the cool, mossy ground of the forest once again. The shadowy hand grips the girl's ankle hard and she winces from the cold pain that was all too familiar, the relief that once enveloped her body being replaced by the constant feeling of dread she had grown accustomed to.
I’m not going to make it. She’ll take me back and kill me for sure this time! was the only thought going through the girl's mind in that moment, closing her eyes and waiting for the similar sensation of being dragged back to that cold dungeon, empty of life. It was stupid of her to think that escaping would work this time. She would be taken back but after so many attempts, she wasn’t sure if she would be given another chance anymore. By the strong grip of the shadow, the answer was most likely not.
As she begins to accept her fate at such a young age, the girl barely registers the sound of footsteps coming towards her and a pair of growls aimed towards the untouchable enemy, before she feels a pair of furry hands grab onto her arms and the cold sensation on her ankle starts to loosen as another, stronger growl escapes the other creature that came to rescue her. Her eyelids grow heavy as she tries to open them to see her saviors and begins to thank them, but no words come out of her, only a low grunt as her right ankle begins to throb with pain from the tight grasp of what was lingering there just a few seconds ago.
She can barely make out what the creatures are saying as her vision begins to blur and her body grows heavy from fatigue. They seem worried, but she knows she’s at least safer now than she ever was, so she lets the promise of sleep take over and smiles as she realizes she is finally free for the first time in her life.
⚔️ 🌹
A blinding light interrupts the little girl’s peaceful slumber as she begins to rustle around in her soft surroundings. The girl suddenly freezes and shoots her eyes open to take in her current location, her fight or flight instincts quickly working into fight if she has to. But no alarm bells were ringing off to her, instead she feels safe somehow. She looks around and notices that she is in a huge room that definitely was worth more money than she had ever seen in her short life. She was sitting in a bed that seemed to be swallowing her up with how soft and fluffy it was. It was also double the size of her cell that she had just escaped from, so roughly about 10 of her could fit in this bed comfortably.
The girl begins to lift herself up from the bed, but a searing pain shoots up her left leg and right arm, so she plops back down on the fluffy bed that consumes half of her. She tilts her head to the right to see a giant window stretching from the ceiling to the floor where she can finally see where she is. Unfortunately, she’s not sure where she is exactly, but she can at least see the forest that she was just running in and the wall that she had seen before blacking out. Or at least she thought it was the wall she saw, it might have been another part of the wall and she wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. What she did know was that she was safe and far away from that evil woman, for now.
Birds were chirping outside her window, so that had to be a good sign, right? Just as she was listening to the melody of the birds singing outside, the sound of doors opening alerted the little girl and she whirled her head to her left as one of the creatures that had saved her earlier came walking in, behind 2 other creatures that looked similar to her rescuer, but they were not wearing armor or holding the long weapon. Instead they wore lighter clothing and something on their wrists that matched each other. Another one of them walked in behind the three others and was wearing a big white coat. Was it a healer?
“She’s awake. How are you little one?” one of the two creatures spoke as they turned their head to the one wearing a big white coat. “Could you check her vitals and make sure she’s stable, Orion?”
“Of course, your majesty.” And the one in the white coat started walking towards the little girl, but she flinched at the sudden movement, not sure and afraid of what might happen to her. The creature that spoke earlier noticed the fear in the girl's posture and raised a hand for the one in a white coat, Orion, to stop his movements.
The creature then slowly crouched down to the girl’s eye level. On further inspection, the little girl noticed that her fur was a vibrant tawny color. The creature was wearing a pair of black fitted slacks that were lined with a gold trim on the sides and a royal purple silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows to show stripes on her forearms that were a shade darker than her fur. The shirt was open in the front, down to her chest, to reveal a peak of a black bralette, which caused the little girl’s face to turn a deep shade of red as she quickly shifted her eyes to the creature’s head. Her hair was a darker brown shade, tied up in a messy ponytail which gave attention to her pointy ears. Her left ear seemed to be pierced twice and thrice on the right ear with the same small golden hoops that matched the gold on her slacks. A jingle rang in the girl's ears to notice a golden bracelet on the creature’s left wrist, with writing that seemed very elegant and purposeful, as she slowly raised her hand and began to speak to her in a calm and quiet tone.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe here. What is your name, little one?”
The little girl slowly looked into the eyes of the creature speaking to her, still a little nervous.
“A-Adora, ma’am.”
“Well, aren’t you a polite one, unlike my little kitten.” The creature gave a light chuckle, as well as all the other creatures, they seemed to know who she was talking about before she continued talking. “Well Adora, my name is C’yra II, crowned Queen of the Kingdom of Halfmoon. But you can just call me Cy if you would like. Can I ask you how you are feeling right now? My guards found you very hurt in the woods in front of our gates, so we brought you in to patch you up.”
Adora took a minute to process the words of Queen C’yra, before looking around the room and turning her eyes back on the Queen.
“I’m doing ok now. I’m sorry for causing you trouble, I promise I’ll be gone once I can walk again.” Her eyes fell down to the floor in disappointment. She wasn’t used to being taken care of, and when she was, it was always at a cost. If her life had taught her anything, it was that nothing was given for free.
Queen C’yra seemed to understand the uneasiness of Adora so she quickly shook her head in disagreement before responding, “Don’t worry about it little one, I’m glad my guards were able to find you when they did. Orion here said that you might not have made it if they had gotten to you a little later.” C’yra then shuffled closer ever so slightly, to not startle Adora. “Is it ok if he takes a look at you to see how to help you get better? You said you couldn’t walk yet, correct?”
Adora hesitantly nodded at Orion before he slowly started walking towards her to check on her health. Orion seemed to be the shortest of them all, his fur was different from the others because it was both black and white. The black covered most of his body that Adora could notice, with the white popping in small places around his arms, legs and chest. But his hair seemed to be so different from the rest, with almost a greyish color, standing out in all directions and having a bizarre bluish tint on the ends of the short hair. Orion wore light brown pants that reached his knees and the giant white coat that matched with a round metal piece, connected to rubber tubes that hung around his neck. Did he need that for hearing, maybe? As he began taking out items out of his bag, Queen C’yra started talking to try to distract Adora from his work.
“So, Adora, is it okay if I ask you what you were doing in the Whispering Woods? Normally people don’t just walk around in this forest, and even fewer are able to come close to our gates unless the Woods want you to. I can only guess that you were in danger and that’s why you were led here to us.” C’yra’s eyes seemed to be full of concern and not judgement, so Adora felt it was okay to at least tell her a little of why she was here.
“I’m not sure why I was brought here and I don’t want to remember her .” She took a deep breath before continuing, “But I was running away and I never want to go back there. Please don’t send me back, she was so angry that I ran, she might really kill me this time if I have to go back.” Adora slowly started coiling back into herself and her voice was steadily getting lower as she spoke. C’yra slowly rested her hand on Adora’s and Adora immediately shot her head up to look at the Queen’s eyes staring into her with so much sadness and concern for the little girl she barely even knew. Why was this lady so sad when she didn’t even know Adora? It confused her, but she didn’t question it and felt her entire body relax before noticing that her face was getting wet. A warm, furred hand slowly came to rest on her cheek as C’yra began to wipe the tears from Adora’s face, before she spoke in a low, calming voice.
“Don’t you worry, little one, you can stay here with us for as long as you’d like. No one can hurt you anymore. I swear it, as Queen of Halfmoon.” Her face morphed into one of determination and Adora knew that this woman meant every word she said. Adora slowly nodded her head in acknowledgement, as she turned her head to the guard that had saved her in the woods.
“Thank you sir, I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for you. I owe you my life.” The guard awkwardly scratched the back of his neck as he blushed from the formality from one so young.
“Don’t you worry, little miss, that’s what we’re here for. I’m just glad me and my partner were able to get to you in time. The name is Tiom, by the way, and you can come by the barracks anytime you want to say hi to us.” He gave the biggest, kindest grin Adora had been given. Tiom seemed to be wearing what a guard normally wears with a piece of metal on his chest and a pair of fitted black slacks, but not too tight to be uncomfortable when running around all day. His arms showed that he truly was a guard from all the training he must have gone through to gain firm muscles like that. The sandy brown fur also showed many scars up and down his arms from the fights he must have been in during his service. Tiom was also holding a helmet under his right arm that looked like it had two holes at the top for his ears to go through. With his helmet off, it showed off his dirty blonde locks that were almost in a mohawk, surprising Adora with the unique style. Tiom was definitely the tallest of the group, even with him standing all the way at the door, far away from the rest of the room.
This place seemed to be full of nice people, maybe she would like it here. It was then that she remembered a particularly important question, as she slowly turned back to the Queen, still crouched in front of her.
“Um, Queen C’yra? I don’t want to make you angry, but what are you exactly? I’ve never seen anyone like you or your people before.” C’yra let out a hearty laugh at the question, which Adora then let out a relieved breath. So I didn’t hurt her feelings. That’s good
“It’s ok, little one. We’re a hybrid species called Magicats. The Kingdom of Halfmoon is full of different types of hybrids, but most of us are Magicats that have been born here from many generations ago. My ancestor, Queen Cleo, was actually the first Magicat that created Halfmoon, here in the Whispering Woods because of its secrecy and the deal she made with the Woods to protect our people, in return for us protecting the forest when it can’t protect itself.”
Adora’s face was in awe at the history of this magical Kingdom. This has to be a nice place if the forest trusts them to protect it from outsiders. Adora then felt the healer shuffle from her right side, she had almost forgotten that he was there to be honest as he lifted himself up and began speaking to the Queen.
“Good news your majesty, the little miss seems to be healing well and as long as she doesn’t push herself too much, she should be able to walk around in a few days or so.” Orion was closing up his bag while speaking, getting up and moving to the other side of the room, with Tiom and the other Magicat she hadn’t met yet. As Adora’s eyes met the quiet Magicat, she slowly nodded her head towards Adora before speaking.
“Hello Adora, my name is Nova, I’m C’yra’s wife and the other Queen of Halfmoon. I’m glad that you are doing better and do hope that you take up my wife’s offer and decide to stay with us. I can already tell you will fit in nicely here.” Nova held a small, calming smile that reached her eyes but seemed to carry both happiness and sadness in them. It was as if she had looked right into Adora’s mind and knew exactly what had happened during her entire life.
The other Queen was just as breathtaking as her wife. Instead of a tawny color to her fur, it was a deep midnight, almost black color that somehow seemed to shine and glisten in the sunlight. Her hair was the complete opposite of her wife’s as well. Where C’yra’s was a bushy ponytail, Nova had black silky short hair, falling down to her chin. Nova wore a long, elegant dress, the same royal purple as her wife’s silk shirt, but her dress was much more modest and practically covered everything except her arms and had a small dip to show her collarbone. The dress was designed with a golden lace trimmed across the front and at the bottom edges. She also wore a sheer purple cape that was gold-trimmed on the edges and had a sort of golden shoulder pad to connect the cape to the dress. Nova seemed to only have a single pair of gold dangling earrings, but wore the same intrinsic golden bracelet that C’yra wore, except on her right wrist instead.
Adora couldn’t help but smile back and thank Nova for her kind words, this place seems to be far more caring than where she had left, but she still felt like a stranger. Adora’s smile drops a little as she realizes that she would need to leave once she was fully healed, and needs to find a real place to go, so she wouldn’t be a burden on anyone.
The queens notice Adora’s change in behavior, give each other a look and just nod in agreement, before C’yra slowly rises up and looks at Adora with kind eyes she still was not used to. “We’ll let you rest now little one, don’t be afraid to call any of the guards outside the doors if you need anything. You are a guest here and are more than welcome to stay for as long as you need” C’yra and Nova then bow towards Adora, before moving to the doors, followed by Orion giving a curt nod of his head and following quickly after.
⚔️ 🌹
Days pass by as Tiom stays with Adora and tells her stories of his training as a guard since he was a young kitten. Orion would stop by from time to time to check up on Adora’s progress and make sure she is recovering well from her injuries. After the end of the first week, Adora is feeling well enough to walk around and starts getting fed up with sitting in bed all day, so she turns to look at Tiom and hopes he will accept what she is about to suggest.
Tiom seems to be standing by the doors as usual, leaning on the wall and desperately trying not to fall asleep. That gives Adora a bit of a confidence boost for her question, “Hey, Tiom, would it be ok to walk down to the barracks and see how you train? All your stories make it sound so fun and I’m getting tired of sitting in bed all day” she tries to sound as casual as possible, but by the chuckle that comes out of Tiom’s mouth, Adora knows he heard the hint of excitement and hope in her voice.
While still chuckling, Tiom just straightens from the wall he was leaning on and begins walking closer to Adora with an amused smile on his face, “So you want to see how us warriors train, is that right, little miss?” He held out his hand for Adora to take, which she eagerly did as her face lit up with excitement. “Yes, please! I want to know how you use that tall weapon you always carry!”
Another chuckle came out of Tiom as he began to explain that the “tall weapon” was in fact a spear, and that there were many other types of weapons the guards used, depending on the position they held and what they were most comfortable wielding. The whole time Tiom was explaining the guards and what they did in the barracks, Adora became more intrigued with the Magicats and their different training regiments, and she was bouncing on her heels by the time they had reached the barracks.
When Adora looks around, it is like nothing she has ever seen before. Magicats of all ages are everywhere, fighting each other with (Adora guessed) the different types of weapons that Tiom was just talking about. The barracks itself is huge, it isn’t fancy like her room but there is a very big area that the Magicats are all fighting in. Sparring, that’s what Tiom called it earlier. As well as what looked like a longhouse, but the doors were cut in half and these animals were inside the little houses. I’ll ask Tiom about that later.
Tiom and Adora spend the day just walking around the barracks and learning more about how the Magicats spar and train, because every age is given more difficult tasks as they get older and rise in rank. Adora also learns that the animals earlier are called horses, and they are used to help carry bags when the guards have to travel for long periods of time. When they return to Adora’s room, her mind is filled with so much that she finds it hard to sleep right away. As she lay awake, she slowly dozes off while thinking about the training sets that Magicats are given around her age, thinking if she would ever get a chance to join them.
The next morning, Adora awakes to Orion knocking on her door for the routine checkup, before declaring she is fully healed and that there’s nothing more for him to do anymore. The news both pleases and devastated Adora, because that means that she doesn’t have a reason to stay in Halfmoon anymore, where it was just starting to feel like home. The Magicats were so nice and Adora had grown to look up to Tiom after just one week. As Tiom walks into Adora’s room, he sees that she is deep in thought and decides to tiptoe his way to her bed before loudly coughing and startling her out of her thoughts with a little yelp.
At Tiom’s chuckle, Adora just looks up at him and huffs, but there is no anger behind it, just a bittersweet smile. Instead, she goes back to her thinking, making Tiom curious. “What has you so confused, little miss? Maybe if you tell me, we can figure it out together.” At his suggestion, Adora turns to look at him in surprise. She had slowly been getting used to the kindness of the Magicats, but it was still hard to believe that they never asked for anything in return. Adora trusts Tiom after spending basically all their time together this last week, and although a week might not seem like a lot, for Adora who has been starved of any form of kindness her whole life, a week was enough for her to know that Tiom was a giant cuddly kitty on the inside. So she decides to confide in him about her current struggle.
“It’s just that Orion said that I am fully healed and don’t need to be checked up on anymore.” Tiom lights up at the news but notices that Adora isn’t too happy with what should be good news, so he presses on. “Well, isn’t that good? Why are you upset about not being on bed rest?” he tries to pry with a calming voice, without seeming aggressive to the still worried girl. Finally Adora lets out a little sigh and sadly looks up at Tiom with slightly watery eyes.
“Because that means I have to leave, but I’m starting to like it here and everyone is so nice. I don’t want to go” Adora’s voice gets lower with every word, until the last few words are almost a whisper. But Tiom catches it all with his sensitivity to hearing, thanks to being a Magicat. Upon hearing those words, Tiom feels a little heartbroken that Adora thought she had to leave now that she was healed. But he knows that he can’t just tell her to stay for no reason. The last week has taught him that the girl was clearly raised somewhere that made her believe she had to be useful to feel like she was any good. Just that thought makes his blood boil and he wishes that he could have caught that shadow that hurt Adora in the first place.
But that isn’t the issue right now. Tiom taps his finger on his chin as he starts to think of a way to convince Adora that it is ok to stay here in Halfmoon, until he snaps his fingers and his face lights up with a wide smile. He leans down and whispers his idea to Adora and sees her face light up just as much as his when he had thought of the suggestion, before straightening up again and asking her, “So, ready for your audience with their majesties to suggest our proposal?”
⚔️ 🌹
The giant carved doors of the Queens’ throne room would definitely be intimidating, if Tiom wasn’t there with Adora. He gently lays a hand on her shoulder and gives her a reassuring smile when she looks up at him and returns it. “You’ll do fine, little miss. You’ve met them before, they are very kind Queens as you’ve seen”
“I know, I’m just nervous they won’t agree to our idea” Adora starts fidgeting with her hands, but Tiom just grabs them with his left hand and slowly brings them down as he kneels down and grabs her shoulders. “Listen to me Adora, I’m sure you were taught a lot of bad things wherever you were before we found you, about how you have to be useful for people in order for them to care about you”. At those words, Adora lets out a little gasp and looks down, frowning at her feet. Tiom just lets out a quiet sigh, That’s what I thought , before continuing “but that’s not true. This last week has been fun being with you and I’m sure their majesties will agree to our suggestion. But even if they don’t, that’s also ok and I would still like you to stay here with me if you want to. You can just be a kid like you’re supposed to, ok? I know it’s hard to believe it now but I hope with time, you will understand that you don’t need to prove anything to feel like you fit in.”
As Tiom lightly squeezes Adora’s shoulders, she begins to tear up a little and runs into his arms for a hug for the first time in what seemed like her whole life. After a few minutes, Adora releases herself from the hug and tries to hide the fact she had just been crying in Tiom’s fur. He isn’t wearing his armor today since it is his day off, but he is still wearing the black slacks since he said it is more comfortable for everything. As Tiom wipes a tear from Adora’s cheek, he gently asks her “You ready to go in kid?”
Adora just straightens up and has a look of determination in her eyes, before flashing him a wide grin “Let’s do this, Tiom”
As they walk into the throne room, both Queen’s C’yra and Nova are sitting on their throne, but Adora has to take a step back because of how different the thrones are from what she was expecting. She thought the thrones would be huge and gold like all thrones she was used to, to show how powerful and rich the royalty of that area was. Instead it seems to be more modest, but still shows the elegance that you feel when you are in their presence. The thrones are only a little taller than a normal dining chair and look more like a giant cushion with a tall back, than an actual chair.
The Queens’ are sitting cross-legged in their thrones with a little Magicat jumping around between the two. The child looks to be around Adora’s age, maybe a year or two younger, but she looks like the spitting image of Queen C’yra. The main difference is when Adora looks at the child’s face and notices two different colored eyes. Where Queen C’yra had hazel brown eyes, and Queen Nova had more of a deep blue color, the little furball that stops to stare at Adora has one bright honey colored eye and one turquoise, almost ocean blue iris. They seem to stop Adora in her tracks and the only thought in her mind was pretty eyes , until Tiom gives a light cough from behind her to introduce themselves to the Queens, as well as snap Adora out of her daydream.
The Queens’ look at Tiom with a nod and then at Adora with a gentle smile, before C’yra begins speaking “What brings you two here? Has Adora been enjoying herself Tiom?” Tiom then straightens his posture and speaks in an almost soldier-like attention “Yes your majesties, Adora actually has a proposal that she wishes to run by the both of you, if you will agree to listen to her humble request” He then nudges Adora lightly to begin her little speech. Adora stumbles forward a little bit and, before taking a big gulp and letting out a nervous sigh, Adora begins to speak.
“Queen C’yra, I want to be useful to you and your Kingdom. I don’t want to leave Halfmoon, I’ve grown to really like it here and Tiom has been really nice in showing me how pretty everything is. But I also can’t just live here doing nothing.” Adora slightly drops her head at her last statement, remembering where she just ran away from, before shaking those thoughts away and getting back to the current topic. “Would it be ok if I could train to be a guard like Tiom and learn to protect the other Magicats?” C’yra looks taken aback by the sudden question, but Adora continues before C’yra can say a word “Tiom would be my mentor and I would be staying with him. Of course he has already agreed to this and I’m forever grateful that he would want to put up with me after only knowing me for a week. And I know that you don’t really know me and it’s possible that I could be a threat to the Magicats in the kingdom, so it makes sense if you want to put surveillance on me for a while, or forever if you think it’s needed. But I swear that I will work hard as a guard and I’ll be useful to you and your kingdom and--”
Before Adora could continue her rambling, C’yra had raised her hand to stop her, and Adora was ready for her to shut down the idea completely. But as she shuts her eyes for the final answer, C’yra slowly smiles and turns her head towards Tiom, who shrugs his shoulders with a wry smile, then at her wife Nova, who wears a similar smile before nodding her head in agreement.
C’yra then turns back to Adora before speaking, “Alright Adora, you can train under Tiom and learn to be a guard for the Kingdom of Halfmoon.” As C’yra is speaking, the little Magicat begins to run and jumps at Adora, to everyone’s shock. Adora is surprised, but quickly grabs onto the Magicat so she doesn’t fall and starts giggling as she wraps her tail around Adora’s leg and begins squishing her face in concentration. Adora just lets out a laugh at the antics before squealing out “Kitty!”
All the adults in the room just chuckle at the cute nickname that the little Magicat seems to enjoy, as she just purrs in response and starts rubbing her face to Adora’s. At that notion, both C’yra and Nova look at each other with a knowing but concerned look, then at Tiom with an amused look and a short nod before turning their attention back to the children in front of them.
Nova was the one to speak this time, “Her name is C’yra III, crowned princess of Halfmoon. Our daughter. I think both C’yra and I agree that we will accept your request Adora, but only on one condition.” Her tone turns a little serious at the end, which scares Adora, but she stands her ground and nods for Nova to continue. “You have to promise to protect our kitten when you’ve completed your training and are old enough to be a personal guard for our C’yra”
At those words, Adora lights up immediately. Not only was her request accepted, but she already has her first assignment before even starting training. She looks down at C’yra, C’yra Jr? We need a nickname for you , and feels an overwhelming need to protect that soft face looking straight at her. There’s a strange sense of familiarity and calm having her so close. You look like a cute cat, maybe Catra will work . “Catra?” She cautiously tests out the nickname, which is answered with a purr and another nuzzle from cheek to cheek. Adora just chuckles as she holds on tighter to Catra in her arms as she grins eagerly towards the Queens that are trusting the life of their child in her hands, quite literally.
“Of course your majesties! I promise I’ll do everything to be the best guard in all of Etheria!”
