A Different Kind of Integration [Closed]

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Madeleine Gosselin
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Joined: Sun May 26, 2019 3:54 pm
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Sat Jun 15, 2019 12:52 pm

25th Bethas 2719
The Dormitories, Brunnhold
Eirik wasn’t the only one surprised and pleased by his partner’s interest. Madeleine perked up a little more at Eirik’s question, smiling a little brighter.

“I don’t know,” Madeleine confessed. “Here at school, I can, of course. Confisalto is taught in a class, we meet for it regularly – it’s not exactly the same. You start out progressing through the levels, of course, even if you studied it before Brunnhold they like to make sure you know the basics. Then, after that, all the advanced students practice together in a big class. It's lovely, you can dance with different people, and try all sorts of new things. We have showcases too, twice a year. But…” Madeleine hesitated, the bright flow of words slowing as she tried to think of how to explain.

“After Brunnhold…” Madeleine was quiet. “I don’t think it’s so easy to have it for a hobby then. It takes a lot of practice, and mostly people who do it do it – professionally, they join a company and they dance in Vienda or some of them tour. It sounds lovely,” Madeleine grinned at him, almost sheepishly. “But I – I don’t know. Maybe I’m not good enough anyway, and I wouldn't like not to have a good reason to cast. Sometimes I’ve thought that I’d – I don’t know.” Madeleine cut herself off, eyes lowering, smile dimming for a moment before it returned, the focus of her attention shifting back to Eirik. It was one thing to admit that she liked to dance, and another thing entirely to discuss silly dreams. She was sure Eirik wouldn’t want to hear about them.

Still – he seemed so interested. Madeleine wasn’t used to it. His field flexed, softly, and she was awash anew in soft joy, an almost perfect mirror of her own. He was smiling too, and he looked almost like a different person, not the classmate she recognized. Madeleine wasn’t used to this sort of presence in her field; the heated emotions that she had felt so early on in their tutoring session had meant that there had been no hope for her to keep things to herself, not really, and now – now the presence of Eirik’s field slowly mingling more with hers felt natural.

It was almost like dancing, or rather it was a feeling Madeleine had only ever experienced while dancing – like a partnership, an understanding with someone else, of someone else, that didn’t need words. People said that confisalto mirrored the relationship of galdor with the mona, the give and take that was so necessary for any spell to be cast, and Madeleine had always striven to emulate that. With a good partner, there was a feeling of synchronicity, a feeling that you weren’t one any more so much as two. Conversation wasn’t the same, even with the mona adding a richer second layer to their discussion, but – Madeleine couldn’t have explained why, but it felt similar.

“A duelist?” Madeleine asked, wide-eyed. “Have you really – dueled?” she had never done it herself; she was sure it would be very dangerous for her, that she wasn’t nearly good enough with her casting. She didn’t seem to be the sort that others wanted to duel for fun, and no one was interested in fighting with her enough to drag her to the dueling field, and so – Madeleine had never tried it. She had heard that there was a dueling club, or maybe that there used to be one.

Eirik’s abrupt admission felt like a sharp change of subject, but an interesting one, and the sense of curiosity from Madeleine deepened appreciably.

“Oh!” Madeleine leaned forward almost without thinking, looking at the book. “Oh, that must be so difficult, I’ve never – real spells? And they work?” Madeleine took a deep breath. “May I?” She smiled at Eirik, extending her hands hopefully. If he let her, Madeleine would take the book on her lap, admiring the binding and skimming the monite on the page. She settled her finger on the ‘completed spells’ bookmark, and looked up at Eirik, waiting wide-eyed as if for permission. If granted, she would turn the page to look at them, reading curiously.

“… Would it be all right for me to try one?” Madeleine asked, looking up at Eirik again. It felt like a scandalously intimate question, and Madeleine regretted it the moment she asked, a sharp sour tang of fear spoiling her field – fear that he’d say no, fear that he’d laugh at her for even asking. They were so close together, physically and magically, that she knew there was no way he could have missed it. Embarrassment followed, quick on its heels, and Madeleine dropped her gaze, shoulders hunching in a little as she waited for the answer that she was sure would be a no.

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Eirik Maste
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2019 4:06 pm
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Race: Galdor
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Sun Jun 16, 2019 10:14 am

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In truth, Eirik Maste never imagined a life beyond Brunnhold. All of the life that he could remember with ease was spent within the school, and well the rest, he didn't try to remember it at all. As Madeleine spoke on about confisalto and the way its classes were run, Eirik shifted his focus from that unknown future and instead allowed his senses to breach forward and into the cloud of the mona that permeated around the both of them. Now, he felt the vestiges of Physical and Static mona, but more importantly, he felt the relaxed nature of Madeleine's field. The tension had passed, and Eirik Maste couldn't help the smile that carved itself upon his visage.

The boy furrowed his brow as he listened to her continue, speaking wistfully of the dance company she'd join if she could. The conflict was present in her words, between berating her own abilities and dismissing the idea altogether. The jump within his field was obvious enough, but he didn't dwell on that.

She's giving up before she even tries? he realized before an inward look brought Eirik to a similar realization about himself. The introspection was a difficult thing, and the jump of fear that dwelled within Eirik's field grew as he thought to the future and the cloud of sickness that hung over him. Then, a question rang throughout his mind, and his lips parted before he even knew what he was saying,

"Why are these things mutually exclusive? There's... there's always a good reason to cast... At least, that's what I've felt. Not that I'm an expert or anything..." he trailed off, his voice wavering and softening until it was hardly a whisper that vibrated along his throat. The connection between the two wavered for just a moment before he turned into his own words, handing the grimoire off to Madeleine as he chuckled. The monic field threw a shiver along the senses as the negativity subsided and anew he was awash in a gentle, budding camaraderie that cleared his mind.

"It's a lot of trial and error, but I wouldn't call it... difficult? Time-consuming, yes. But also very rewarding. Most of them work. The ones in the back all do," he added, taking her question in good faith for what it was. Entangling himself in more and more negativity wasn't the way forward, for he felt the same budding fear in Madeleine's field that was just in his own. Nodding his head, he told her,

"By all means," he encouraged, offering Madeleine a smile as he looked over the pages as they turned and she searched for a spell to recite. There was always a component of will in a spell, and Eirik Maste didn't specifically mention what every spell he wrote did. However, he had faith in the girl's talents. After all, they'd been in a few classes together. Eirik nodded again, shifting his gaze between the dancer and his grimoire before he slid off of the hamper and towards his bed. He preferred to have a little distance, given the somewhat volatile nature of Static casting.

No one else has ever tried some of these... he realized, the flush set upon his features as he realized just how far in he was letting Madeleine. But at the same time, he didn't mind it. He let a wavering breath fill his lungs in anticipation, slowly reigning in the hammering tick within his chest.

"They're not in any particular order," he mused aloud, throwing his back against his bed as he breached outward, not with his eyes, but his field. He expanded it throughout, excitement building despite the trepidation that existed as well. Both were discernible without question, mingling within the depths of the sparse monic cloud that made up Eirik's presence.
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Madeleine Gosselin
Posts: 134
Joined: Sun May 26, 2019 3:54 pm
Topics: 9
Race: Galdor
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Writer: moralhazard
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Sun Jun 16, 2019 4:40 pm

25th Bethas 2719
The Dormitories, Brunnhold
"Isuppose I…” Madeleine was quiet. “It’s all right as a student, I think,” she told Eirik. “I mean, we cast spells all the time for learning and studying, even if we don’t really need to, and I think that’s fine! I mean, surely the mona understand, and anyway knowledge is a noble use, of course, and so I think it’s – close enough. But I… if I did confisalto, then I wouldn’t really be a student anymore, would I? And I – I wouldn’t like to use magic for selfish things,” unbidden, her eyes flicked to the closet door then back to Eirik, hesitation flushing her cheeks slightly.

“It’s just my opinion,” Madeleine hedged. It was true that it seemed like the rules on noble uses were pretty clear, but that – she supposed the mona really had the final say. Madeleine was sure that if one used magic wrongly, the mona would know and would help you. She thought about saying more. She wanted to say more. What if Eirik didn’t know that too much selfish spellcasting could lead the mona to turn on you? But something about the way his voice had gotten all quiet made Madeleine feel like she thought to be quiet too.

The topic of his spells felt much more comfortable. Eirik didn’t seem to mind her to look at the spells, and for all her fear he smiled at her at the question, and she felt nothing in his field to make her doubt his sincerity. Madeleine’s shoulders relaxed, and she bent studiously over the book once more, reading the spells with an intent focus, tracing the monite. Eirik did have quite a few spells; he seemed to like phase changes and molecular rearrangements best.

In a few places, he’d drawn little doodles, like guides to the spell. Madeleine looked up and giggled at the sight of the first one, then went back to the book, turning another page. She looked relaxed and happy as she read; it was very interesting. She had read many grimoires, of course, but she’d never read the grimoire of someone she knew, and it was really interesting.

The only problem was trying to choose. There were lots of spells that Eirik had written that Madeleine didn’t think she’d want to cast in the middle of his room. But there were others that she thought looked nice, some that looked very difficult too. If he knew they worked, he must have cast them; Madeleine looked up, only to realize that Eirik had moved away from her, keeping his distance now.

It didn’t feel like much of a vote of confidence, but Madeleine was a little glad. She would hate to hit Eirik with any runoff, especially when he was already sick. She turned a few more pages, then flipped back, slowly, then forward again, her heart pounding in her chest. What if she made a mistake? Static spells could go really wrong; Madeleine didn’t usually cast without supervision. She should never have suggested it. She would only embarrass herself in front of Eirik, and then he wouldn’t – he wouldn’t smile at her anymore, like she was interesting, like he wanted to listen to her.

Madeleine glanced up at Eirik again. His eyes were closed, and now even across the room she could feel his field reaching out, nervousness mingled with excitement. The excitement caught something in Madeleine, something she hadn’t known was there, almost contagious. Madeleine looked back down at the page, reading the monite silently in her head. It was an interesting variation on a molecular phase change spell, summoning and shaping ice from the air.

Madeleine took a deep breath, bringing her will to bear on the spell. He field was sigiled now, taut and ready. Her shoulders straightened, and she held on to her excitement as she began to speak the spell, calling the mona to her will. In front of her, on the desk, a small pile of nothing began to glimmer and glisten, ice forming from air and slowly stacking on the desk, glistening in the light. It grew larger and larger slowly, new bits of ice adding to bring it higher and higher, then swooping out and back.

When Madeleine finished her recitation, a small swan carved of ice sat in front of her. The carving wasn’t flawless; there was little definition on the feathers, and something about the shape of the back and head seemed a little off, but it was recognizably a swan, cold and still and glistening, beautiful in the faint light. It stayed solid too, no droplets of water rolling off it, sitting firm and cold on the bare wood of Eirik’s desk.

Madeleine’s teeth were chattering. Her fingertips and nose were blue with cold, her cheeks pinked, and she couldn’t seem to stop shivering, waves of cold rolling through her. She made a soft little whimpering sound, doubling over Eirik’s book, and hugged herself with both arms, trying rather desperately to stay warm beneath her skirt and jacket.

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Eirik Maste
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Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2019 4:06 pm
Topics: 8
Race: Galdor
Character Sheet: CS
Plot Notes: Grumpy Scribbles
Writer: Mythic
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Tue Jun 18, 2019 4:17 pm

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Eirik knew about the noble uses of magic. The noble practices that formed the basis of ideology of the galdori culture. Though the kingdoms all held their different beliefs and customs, it was in this (among other things) that they all seemed to agree on. Perhaps Eirik's youth was a factor to it, or his general disregard for authority, but he found himself taking stock in intuition rather than dogma. Eirik respected authority at the surface, played nice when he had to. While his field was a mess of emotions and broadcast to the world at large, his thoughts were entirely his own to keep.

Eirik averted his gaze when she mentioned the selfish use of magic, looking to the pile of clothes he'd pushed into his closet, following her gaze. His features were heavy with color, his field flooded with embarrassment. Did she catch the feeling? He was certain she did because immediately she hedged her words with the qualifier of opinion. She was right if she listened to the noble practices. Eirik didn't disagree with her. However, he'd never felt the mona retreating from his use of magic. In fact, he felt closer to it than he had anything else. He was receptive and dependent on the mona. He berated his foolishness for a moment, and the conflict within was present in the monic cloud until he murmured,

"Arrogance is the enemy, in my eyes. When something is asked of the mona and then one believes it their own accomplishment, there's a sort of hiss in the air. Asking for a favor never feels innately selfish," he countered. Eirik's voice was soft as he thought deeper into the subject matter, abandoning the issue as Madeleine delved into the grimoire and began searching for a spell to make use of. When she reached the point of intercombination of concepts, she'd definitely see the amateurish doodles depicting images of animals and structures alike. Eirik didn't memorize these spells, for they were all variations of one another. When the girl looked up and giggled at him, part of Eirik wanted to pull the grimoire away.

They're there for a reason! he fumed in a knee-jerk reaction. However, the field that had permeated around him was one of amusement rather than beratement. And so, Eirik left it alone for her to peruse his grimoire. She took her time, pouring over the Monite in search of something... simplistic enough? Safe enough? Eirik wasn't watching, but he did feel her field shrink down in preparation for spellcasting. The air began to shiver around them, moisture pulled from the ambient environment and slowly shaping. Piece by piece, Eirik felt the mona write the ice into being, but he couldn't ascertain what shape she'd taken. He listened to her cast, rising up from his bed in a bit of wonder.

The room grew cold and dry, the beautiful swan that Madeleine created sitting on his desk. He noticed the shiver in her posture, a frown curling his lips. He moved over to his closet, pulling from a bit of shelving near the ceiling a blanket. He unfolded it before throwing it around Madeleine's shoulders, his field flexing to show the girl the bits of pride that clung to the monic cloud.

"That was brilliant! I've never had anyone use any of my spells before. Aside from me, of course," he interjected before he decided to give her a bit of an overview of her performance.

"Performing phase changes so close to you exposes your body to localized atmospheric changes... So I prefer, generally, to have more of open space in casting? Or at least, asking the mona to do the thing a bit farther away. But, as I said... that was very well done!"

Eirik offered Madeleine a smile before he hummed in thought. The boy really did feel a lot better, and what felt like hours had passed with the both of them in his dormitory. The open door coaxed open a slight breeze, and surely by this hour students would be returning to their rooms to change before making their way to club activities or social endeavors. A quick thought had Eirik pause before he slid past her to retrieve his grimoire.

"I'm feeling a lot better. If you'd like... maybe... we could go for tea? Or coffee? Get you warmed up a bit. I think we're all done with math, anyway," he added, the Maste's teeth closing over his lower lip as he tried (and failed) to keep the nerves out of his field.

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Madeleine Gosselin
Posts: 134
Joined: Sun May 26, 2019 3:54 pm
Topics: 9
Race: Galdor
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Writer: moralhazard
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Tue Jun 18, 2019 5:35 pm

25th Bethas 2719
The Dormitories, Brunnhold
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A blanket settled over her shoulders, and Madeleine clutched at it, reflexively, still shivering with cold. There was a pleasant, unfamiliar feeling drifting through her field as well, reaching out from Eirik to wrap around her. After a moment, Madeleine identified it: pride. It wove through her, warming her even more than the blanket did, leaving behind a lightness in its wake that was as lovely as it was unexpected.

Madeleine looked up at Eirik, wide-eyed, and at his praise a bright smile spread over her face, the chattering of her teeth slowing to a stop as she beamed up at him. The word brilliant felt as if it was etched somewhere inside her. She could feel his sincerity in the twining together of their fields, and it prevented any fear she might have had that he didn’t mean the compliment.

“It was a very lovely spell,” Madeleine said, shyly. She still felt cold, and there was a pinkness to her cheeks still. Her eyes widened a little at his correction, and her field started to draw back, ever so slightly, but she didn’t sense any meanness in him, only a desire to help, and so Madeleine relaxed again. The charged remnants of the static spell seemed to allow her field to mix even more easily with Eirik’s than it had before.

“I’ll remember,” Madeleine shivered a little more, still gripping the blanket tightly. She really was cold! For a moment, right after she’d cast, it had felt like she’d frozen herself. Eirik’s enthusiasm was still catching, and Madeleine let herself bask in his excitement, only to find that she was excited as well. She had done it; she had cast an unfamiliar spell on her first try, with only a little backlash, and the mona had made something lovely. Madeleine peeked at the still frozen swan on the desk, setting Eirik’s grimoire down a little bit away from it, and leaned forward to admire it, carefully. She had made that – with Eirik’s spell. It was a wonderful feeling.

“Oh, yes, tea would be nice,” Madeleine said, brightly. If there was something to be read into the question beyond the obvious, it passed the small galdor by entirely. She didn’t hesitate in the slightest to accept, still smiling at Eirik. “I’m glad you’re feeling better!” A little surge of happiness bubbled through her field, rising and spreading up and out.

Carefully, Madeleine stood up from the desk chair. A last shiver wracked her, and she clutched the blanket tightly for a moment before, slowly, letting it slide from her shoulders. She still felt surprisingly cold, but Madeleine also felt she couldn’t walk around the halls with a blanket draped over her shoulders. It simply wasn’t done, even if one had suffered a bit of backlash. A little reluctantly, Madeleine draped the blanket over the back of the chair. She did her best to smooth out her skirt, hands tugging at creased folds with practiced (but ineffective) ease.

Madeleine packed up her things, leaving the notes from Professor Heissman behind. Her fingers were still faintly blue and unusually clumsy, but with a minimum of shaking she managed to tuck her notebook back into her satchel and settle the bag across her body. Her hands came up, reflexively, and took hold of the strap, keeping the bag still against her. She smiled at Eirik again, happy to wait for whatever he needed to do in order to get ready.

Only then would Madeleine step out of Eirik’s room, crossing the threshold back into the world of Brunnhold. For a moment, she felt a little disappointed. It was silly, she supposed, but she’d felt – Madeleine wasn’t sure how to describe how she’d felt in Eirik’s room. The word that came to mind was safe, but it didn’t make sense, not really; she wasn’t in any danger at Brunnhold. But… safe was how she’d felt, and she couldn’t quite shake it. Inside had been, for a few moments, their own little world, and it had been… nice. A nice place.

She was, Madeleine decided, being very silly. It was only a room, and probably she should never have gone in there anyway, it wasn’t in the least appropriate. But Madeleine didn’t regret it; she had taught calculus and done a new spell and Eirik still seemed to want to talk to her, even though she’d probably screwed up a dozen ways already. Another little pulse of happiness throbbed through Madeleine’s field, the young galdori relaxed and happy, a bright contrast from her usual pinched and serious face.

It wasn’t really properly tea time anymore, but it was still possible to get a cup and a biscuit in the cafeteria. The walk there passed quickly, Madeleine still shivering occasionally, her hands slowly uncurling as the numbness faded, her nose still a little pink at the tip. None of it diminished her happiness in the slightest, but all the same she let out a pleased little sigh when her hands finally curled around the cup of tea.

“Would you – ” Madeleine looked wide-eyed at Eirik across the table, looked down at the cup of milky tea with hot steam curling from the top, then squared her shoulders, set her chin, and tried again. “Would you like to come to my showcase? The – I mean – my confisalto class's showcase, it’s – it’s in five days. I’ll be in two dances, I – I don’t know if you like confisalto…” Madeleine stared at him, wide-eyed, fear dancing at the edges of her happiness, trying to force its way in. She was almost holding her breath, waiting for him to respond, not quite sure why it mattered so much that he say yes – but aware that she very much wanted him to.

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Eirik Maste
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Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2019 4:06 pm
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Writer: Mythic
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Thu Jun 20, 2019 2:49 am

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More than any of the other conversations with the mona, it was Static that seemed to resonate with Eirik Maste the most. He crafted spells as a craft, waxing his knowledge and understanding of how to perform the spells as time permitted him. If Eirik truly thought on it, he could attribute his continued illness to the extent that he pushed his already limited fortitude with his pride.

Perfection at any cost, he told himself over and over again, even when he meticulously poured much of his adolescent life to the pursuit of more. He felt a wall rise between what he was and what he could be, the pressure of rigorous tutelage well past his year and the added pressures of his other classes both a curse and a blessing. So, for Eirik Maste, every opportunity he had a contemporary... especially one that could stand his presence was something to be valued.

When Madeleine assured him that she'd remember his advice, he nodded, bubbles of enthusiasm present in his field slowly coming to a halt. Only his nerves were left. Even when she accepted his invitation the nervousness boiled to the surface. Color painted across his cheeks up until he discerned a waxing heat that outpoured from Madeleine's own.

Joy was seldom a part of Eirik's life. Pressure and study were staples in the general student body, but adding his sickness and general unlikability to the mix made the prospect of enjoyment all too poor. However, he stood corrected now. The nervousness within Eirik's field was consumed by heat, flustered happiness that seeped from Maddie's field. It was electric, the monic clouds whirled about one another in a way that Eirik couldn't quite describe. His pulse ticked up again, and the pair of them absconded from Eirik's room after he took some time to properly prepare himself. Taking a jacket and adding it to his poor ensemble, Eirik and Madeleine walked together to the cafeteria.

Try though he might, Eirik Maste couldn't ignore the bubbles of conversation that lingered within. The two students walked in together. The two weren't known for their social ventures, and the way heads tipped away from them and voices lowered immediately brought an aura of unease that proliferated as the time went on. A shaky breath had Eirik taking a tea, taking no milk but adding lemon and honey to sweeten it. He stirred the cup, anxiety written upon his visage before he raised the mug to his lips for the first time. Pleasure mingled with the heat of the liquid, Eirik feeling the unease melt away and vanish from his field. The voices seemed to die down over time, and the Gioran listened to the way Madeleine's words - which had grown in conviction while in his room - seemed to turn to the unease that wilted her soft voice in their initial moments together. The Maste knew that sort of death, the fall from the confidence that the world seemed to keen to rip from the more fragile galdori.

Eirik counted himself among that minority, with his struggles of health and his fragile constitution itself he couldn't place himself anywhere else. However, to hear Madeleine with it so consistently truly wore at his soul. He didn't know quite why it bothered him so deeply, but he did his utmost to keep frustration from seeping into his monic cloud and instead took her invitation at face value. She spoke about confisalto earlier, and though Eirik Maste still wasn't quite sure of what it was... He decided to humor her invitation. He'd never been invited to anyone's anything, much less a performance! A small, but nonetheless discernible glow of pleasure bubbled up within him, and his lips curled into a soft smile as his head dipped in a slow nod. He'd had his lips curled around his mug when she asked, and he took another sip of the delightful tea before setting his mug down. Light pink orbs sought to catch Madeleine's own, the eye contact matching the sincerity that swept through his field before he answered,

"I'd love to."
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