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Permalink Reply by 161srbcdp6t9k on January 9, 2020 at 21:32

Whoever had first expounded the notion that distance increased fondness was definitely on to something. Tati had almost always been with her family and hadn't really felt the sting of moving to places, but those few weeks without them had been strange. Though the circumstances that had made her leave Evermore weren't happy, at first she had been excited to be on her own. That excitement had soon waned and she felt herself at a loss, not knowing what to do anymore. Painting had been her shelter, but away from everything that had been familiar, even that held little joy. 

It was why, despite Aurelia's strict instructions to stay where she was, Tatiana found herself back in Evermore. 

Her family, however, wasn't the only people she had missed. A certain guard often featured in her thoughts and no matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to just forget him. He was the reason, Tati now found herself heading to a space she often avoided- the training room.

Though a Dhampir, she didn't really like the concept of fighting and violence but some of her beliefs had shattered with Vladimir's death. While she still wouldn't choose to pick up a weapon or train for war, she now understood the necessity of it. 

Her eyes flickered to the almost empty room and instantly found him. Her cheeks heated slightly and she shook her head at the way her heart started to pound.

'Lord, I am too old to have crushes' 

Though she grumbled, she couldn't help but approach him, covering his eyes. 

"Guess who"

And with a half-playful, half-sincere voice, she lightly sang the next lyrics; not meaning much but attempting to hide a lot:

In other words, hold my hand
In other words, darling, kiss me
Fill my heart with song

"Missed me Liam?"

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Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Liam Arbor on January 20, 2020 at 17:31

It couldn't be Tatiana. She'd gone away for her own safety. If she'd come back to Evermore, he had half a mind to drive her away again, oh, if only his heart didn't have a say. His heart skipped a beat in his chest and sent fuzzy and confused warmth down his limbs as the sound of her voice, like coffee on a cold day, filled his ears. She shouldn't be here, yet, he desperately didn't want her to leave. Liam reached up and placed his bigger, rougher, hands over her small ones which were somehow always covered in drops of paint that hadn't been washed away. He could remember that, even with his eyes closed. Of course, he had missed her. He'd done everything to try not to miss her: whether that was spend his time on his work, or his weights, or bury himself deep in thought of other things, but it always came back to the longing for her soft smile and bright eyes. "You..." He swallowed, turning around and only peeking one eye open. "are much more sneaky than I'd given you credit for, Tea."

"Finding your way back to a town that gave you little left to come home for." The guard turned, removing her hands from his eyes She was shorter than he was, by a good six inches, so he looked down her nose in a position that was almost...perfect.

What am I... He rubbed his eyes, stepping away and attempting to hide his smile in a cross posture and furrowed brow. Get a hold of yourself, Liam.

Taking a deep breath to hone his chi, settled for a hug. Those were friendly, right? "Welcome back, stranger."

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Permalink Reply by 161srbcdp6t9k on March 19, 2020 at 18:46

His nickname for sent a strange feeling of warmth to her heart, soothing a place she never really knew ached since the moment she had realised Vladimir had died. Tatiana was, in many ways, the baby of the family and Aurelia often (and with good reason) tried to shield her from the rash reality of their existence. But here and now, with this guy, she didn't quite feel like her old self and at the same time, felt like she was finally being who she always had been...

And it confounded her.

"You of all people should have known of my penchant for getting into trouble. Remember those training sessions? At times I was almost certain you'd sprout steam from your ears like those cartoon characters" She chuckled looping her hand through his arms- a gesture that she reserved solely for him. 

"I wouldn't go so far. They'll be mad you know. All of them will attempt to send me away, especially mom but.." 

Her eyes locked with him, a new intensity lighting them up.

"I just couldn't stay away Li. I just couldn't. You understand, don't you?" 

She wasn't sure if it was her locked up emotions or his rather open and affectionate manner with her, but as his arms came around her with those  whispered words, her throat tightened and she fought hard to keep the tears at bay. Hugs from him were very rare and this one just made her feel right at home.

"So..give me the latest news. How bad is it? How's everyone been? How much trouble have you caused?" The last one was said with a cheeky grin as Tati held on to his arms, tugging him towards the exit "You owe me lunch and some desserts. I need my strength in sweets before I have to face mom again. Maybe I'll use you as a shield?" 

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Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Liam Arbor on March 19, 2020 at 19:13

God damn it. He hated to see her cry. It felt quite a bit like the many times that he'd been knocked down during his first rounds of training with Dominic and Damien, only he had to keep a straight face and not complain, because she was sad. It wasn't exactly like it had been easy to miss Tatiana, it was only easier to know that she was safer not being there. Liam sighed as the willowy young woman wrapped her arms around his waist. She confused him, but he didn't know why. He'd had a girlfriend before. It wasn't like his innocence was left unstamped, but there was something about Tatiana and her big eyes that made him want to be better. He wanted to be better than he was because he didn't deserve someone life her. She was kind and pure and warm and he had anger issues that too often boiled up on the wrong people. Why did she have to come back? 

It had been almost easy to imagine her in a big city, somewhere. A nice apartment, that someday she'd share with someone special. A person who was the opposite of him. Someone at peace, someone with a good job that made plenty of money, but when they were together that image was so quick to disappear, and made him wonder how much he'd wanted it in the first place.

He did remember their training sessions. Tatiana was different than the other diviners and didn't really fight like them, but was the one who'd taught him how to be calm and think steps through before racing into battle. His mentors had almost given up when it had finally clicked. That had been all her. "I didn't forget." 

How could I forget that?

A half smile decorated his face, sheepish, and a bit annoyed. He still hadn't beaten her in a sparring session. The long hours in the gym had lead to some very peculiar moments. Being tackled by an attractive girl was now crossed off his bucketlist and it had taken a lot to not let that moment turn into something else. He'd tried hard to not cross boundaries, especially when it would have been so easy. "Are you saying you missed me?" He teased, gently running one finger under her cheekbone to catch the stray tear. "I'm flattered."

He was flattered, but he also dreaded putting her in danger. Were butterflies worth that?

In some ways, he was thankful when she pulled back from him, and lead him down the stairs. It was easier to think when they weren't so close together. Easier to talk too. "How many desserts are we talking? Five? And a sandwich?"

He laughed, holding open the door, as the exited the building. "I haven't had a cheat day in a while. It would be my pleasure to treat you, Princess."

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Permalink Reply by 161srbcdp6t9k on March 19, 2020 at 21:28

It felt easy to get back to things as they ambled along the sidewalk to their favourite cafe. It wasn't often that Liam really ventured out with her so today seemed like a day of many surprises. Initially, when she had been training there, she often got the impression that he avoided her purposely or assigned her someone else when he could have easily taken it up himself. That behaviour of his had often served as a catalyst for her outlandish actions. She'd go out of her way to tease him, bug him, hover around or debate with him giving others the distant impression that she disliked him though nothing could be further away from the truth.

It got better with time though her crush on him still remained, something the Dhampir did not want to often think about.

"You know me! Make it extra chocolate-y though and I'll resist teasing you too much" Tati quipped as she entered the shop and found their usual spot by the window empty. "And our usual sandwich please"

Grabbing the paper off the rack, she settled down and flipped to the crossword section. It had become their thing to always try it whenever they hung out at the place. It surprised her to notice just how many such actions had become their thing - like them taking turns to pay for the meal, her sending him memes instead of goodnight messages (though she hadn't done that since she had been away), having inside jokes and nicknames without even realising it and so many more.

Tatiana recognised she was jumping down the rabbit hole without any sense of security but she didn't want to stop it. From all that she had observed, he didn't really seem inclined to date and she had no inclination to make the first move and ruin their ready friendship.

But that didn't mean she couldn't subtly flirt with him though.

"You are lucky I know you. If you would have called another girl a princess, you'd find yourself with a girlfriend" Handing him the paper to do the down section, Tati instantly dug into her food "Living my myself was such a bore. Even my paintings were all half-hearted. What have you been up to though? Give me the inside scoop Li!"  

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Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Liam Arbor on March 19, 2020 at 21:52

Liam shoved his fingers deep into his pockets as they walked, trying to avoid the impulse to reach up and touch the piece of curly hair that was hanging just in front of her eyes and bobbing up and down as they walked. It was distracting, but adorable, frustrating, but too cute to be mad at. He again held open the door as they ventured into the tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant and took a seat at one of the windowed tables. Not that long ago, it would have been reserved for their lunch, but he'd gotten into the habit of eating cold sandwiches in the locker room again. It was nice, but also nerve wracking to fall into old habits so easily. He settled down in the metal chair and smiled as the newspaper was pulled from the holster. He'd never been very good at cross words, but was happy to give input as the puzzle waged on throughout the hours of 11 to 1 pm.  

The usual sandwich was divided in half, because even full grown humans didn't need twelve inch subs on a regular basis. It was half ham and pickles for him and half turkey, sans pickles, for her. "I sincerely doubt that you could paint anything terrible." He shrugged, trying to manage somewhere between laidback and supportive. "At least, if you have, I've never been privileged to see it."

Liam smirked and drummed his fingers across the wooden plank that stood between them. It was interesting to see a physical barrier. There had been distance first and then his own conundrums with dating. If there was someone out there, he would have liked it to be her, but things were complicated. He couldn't stand to take away someone from his sister by bringing more change into her already unsteady world. Perhaps, self-sacrifice was easier for him than self-indulgence, but this one time he really wished he could be selfish. 

"You're very lucky I don't have a lot of girls knocking on my door." He chuckled. "But, seriously, I suppose that life just kept going, you know? My sister found a therapist. I worked extra hours to make sure she can go twice a week. I kind of picked up whittling over Christmas, but instead of birds my lumps of wood really turned into some form of cryptozoology. And I..." 

Missed you like hell?

He nodded, looking over the upside down crossword. "Am glad you're back. Oh, bottom left is Romeo. I'm guessing the topic is famous plays?"

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Permalink Reply by 161srbcdp6t9k on April 1, 2020 at 19:32

It wasn't that the Dhampir had never dated in her life. She definitely had and knew the science of attraction- somewhat. But being constantly on the move had hampered anything from developing too seriously and coupled with her own hidden reservations about relationships, there hadn't really been anything that had affected her deeply.

Except for the man in front of him.

She simply couldn't understand why he made such a huge impression on her and why her thoughts often comprised of their actions or something he had said or done that had stood out to her from the sidelines. And he wasn't even a supernatural! 

There were times when Tati felt the inane urge to just outright flirt with him to drive it all out of her system. Maybe a kiss or two would do the trick and he would probably leave and avoid her. It was that thought of losing his friendship that held her in check. She had grown fond of his company, had spent days laughing at his jokes or debating over things. She simply couldn't give that away now.

Her eyes fell on the sandwich he had procured for her and with a laugh, she pushed it away "I am offended, Liam. Out of sight, out of mind? Is that it?" she teased taking a sip of the drink he had gotten to go along with the subs. "Do I mean so little? Ah! I am wounded" Dramatically clutching her heart, she pouted in his direction "You know well I am a vegetarian. So I can't have this. For shame Arbor"

A tinge of pink coated her cheeks at his praise. He had also been genuinely enthusiastic about her art and it pleased her to no end. "I'll bring it over tomorrow and you can be the judge of it. I can count on you to give me an unbiased opinion."

She was incredibly glad to hear about his sister and in a gesture of spontaneity, reached out and placed her hand over his and squeezed gently "This is good news. I really hope it will all go well for her. I am excited to catch up with her too. Afterall who else can help me devise devious plans to annoy you." A giggle broke out at the thought of him concentrating on creating birds "You are a good brother Liam. And..I want to see those non-birds. You owe me for not ordering right" 

A cheeky grin played upon her lips as her eyes met him, but the more she stared, something strange and warm began enveloping her heart, causing her to flush slightly and break eye-contact. It disconcerted her, this feeling and she took her hand away from his, pretending to be busy over the crossword.

"I rather have a Benedict than a Romeo. He is overrated" In an attempt to get back to her self, Tati began a passionate discussion on the character of Romeo, ending it, however, on a completely different tangent. "I wonder why you don't have girls though. It's not like people aren't interested. I bet the barista here, who has been eyeing you for a while, would jump at the chance. Don't tell me you are the polar opposite of Romeo who doesn't believe in dates!" 

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Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Liam Arbor on April 8, 2020 at 16:38

Liam ducked his head trying to hide the soft red tone that came to his cheeks as she teased him about her vegan preferences. In the moment, he had forgotten, which was slightly embarrassing. Although, it was true that sometimes Tatiana could talk at a mile a minute and he had to listen very carefully in order to keep up. He rarely minded. He had enough practice from engaging with Arabella on a daily basis. She'd been doing well these days and had even resumed her daily, "Did you knows?" with their breakfast. That was the only meal of that day that they shared, now that he was so often preoccupied with the guards, but Liam made sure that there were people who checked by the apartment on a regular basis. There was the counselor, Jim, who was the one who had helped her break out of the protective shell that she'd entered after the incident and there was Shelly, the nurse, who was helping her study for college entrance exams and coaching her through life skills despite the teen's autism. It wasn't easy to leave, but he knew it was necessary.

In order to fix their lunch, Liam quickly maneuvered the vegetables to one side of the sandwich and the meat to the other, before cutting it in half and shrugging. "My memory may be impaired, but this appears fixable."  

He couldn't deny that he was attracted to her. Good lord, he was. It was difficult sometimes, to maintain a serious conversation when all he wanted to was ask her what shade of lipstick she was wearing and if she wouldn't mind sharing some. The reason he hadn't dated anyone had very little to do with the young woman in front of him, or any woman in particular. Apart from Tea, he struggled to speak in front of the other sex in general. He found them frustrating and confusing. He wasn't sure that he was worthy of a truly good relationship like the one he thought Tatiana deserved. They were at different levels of wholeness. Hers was infectious and perhaps that was why he truly had a hard time staying away from her. She made him a better person, but Liam was nervous that if she truly got to see him more deeply than the daily crossword...she would run. 

He pulled a pen from the slot by the condiments and began doodling on the napkin beside his plate while he munched on his sandwich which was now both ham and turkey. "You're a natural artist. I don't feel like you need to worry. There's several studios downtown. One of them is new...perhaps we should visit sometime. I think it's by some French artist who moved here a few years ago." 

Liam glanced up, swallowing his food, and offering her a half smile. She was cute, with her long brunette hair, and big doey eyes. It was her effervescent and sometimes obtuse questions that knocked him of his feet. Honest was too simple of a word. Straight forward was more like it. Indeed, the barista had been clocking him. Very obviously too. Although, Liam couldn't tell if it was making Tatiana jealous. If she was, it was well concealed. The human He cleared his throat, attempting to laugh off the awkwardness that momentarily stemmed between two people who desperately wanted to kiss, but could not admit it. "Perhaps, I am just under cover." 

He placed his elbows up on the table, pushing their cleaned plates out of the way, and gazing at her, curiously. For just a moment, their eyes met and he felt an intense heat sweep over him. "Maybe I...am a selective person."

Selective. He liked certain people.

Far too much to ignore.

Liam bit his lip and struggled to look away. 

There was no way he was getting out of this cleanly. 

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Permalink Reply by 161srbcdp6t9k on April 10, 2020 at 18:15

When she had first been introduced to the training grounds, Tatiana had been wary. She wasn't a fan of violence and would rather have peaceful settlements than resort to weapons and brute strength. But she wasn't naive either. In the world they lived, especially with the threat of the supernatural always looming around, it was smart to be prepared and though she trained in using her chosen weapon, she wouldn't use it unless absolutely needed.

Vladmir's death had changed her perspective on a lot of things in life- plus the distance had simply proved to her just how imperative it was to always be prepared for any challenges that they might encounter. She had grown up, developed a more mature understanding on warfare and was in general ready to do her part.

But that had not always been the case. She could still remember the first few days of meeting Liam and annoying him constantly with questions. His, used to be short monosyllabic answers and she'd bug him until he conceded to speaking a sentence or two. His sister had been an accomplice and often told her ways to get under her brother's skin. A broad grin lit up her features as she studied him now. He seemed to be resigned to enjoying or tolerating her company now.

"You always doodle on those things and never show me. That's unfair you know..like keeping oreo ice-cream in front but not letting me taste it" Gesturing towards the napkin, she mock frowned in his direction "Maybe you should doodle me someday like Jack does it in Titanic only..." she coughed cursing herself for running on without thinking first "..only you know..not like rose or eh..french girls. That'd be weird. Not that you draw people naked or eh..even think about them naked..but eh you know" her arms fluttered about as she tried to recover her faux pas.

"Anyways..eh let's come back to you. What do you mean by selective? What's your type?" Settling in her seat again, Tatiana took a long sip of her drink admonishing her brain for its filterless response. But she was curious to know the kind of girl he had dated in the past. Liam seemed so proper and put together, she couldn't really picture him trying to flirt or make out. Not that she wanted that imagery in her head. She was having a hard time as it were, concentrating on anything in his presence or absence. 

Picking up her now vegetarian sandwich, she took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. It was a good day that her mom still hadn't picked up her absence or any of the Guards or Aspects for that matter. She didn't know the consequence or if she would be ordered to go back for her safety. 

"What's the news around? Did they figure what had happened? And...how is my mother doing? And the others?" Tati knew that she could depend upon him to give her the uncensored version of the truth no matter what. 

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Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Liam Arbor on May 13, 2020 at 1:53

Liam didn’t always doodle on things, in fact unless he was with Tatiana or his sister, he tended to be more logical than artistic. So perhaps it was the women he was around who made him relaxed enough to indulge in the stick figure comics that had at one time decorated all of his math homework before he had to grow up. That seemed like ages ago, now, and he could barely remember when life got serious only that it had happened quickly and there hasn’t been a lot of time to adjust. He’d never talked to anyone about it until Dom started picking his brain about his inability to stay focused and his temper. Little by little, he’d been forced to open up about becoming a man at the age of twelve and not only juggling middle school and puberty, but paying the bills and making sure his first grade sibling got to elementary school on time. It had meant waking up at 4 am, and staying up until 2 in the morning to do his homework. Their dinners were mostly frozen, but sometimes those went bad when the power went out. After that it was crackers and spray cheese until the checks came again. Y

He bit his lower lip, tapping the pencil against the table as he surrendered the napkin to his friend. He couldn’t help but notice her long eyelashes as she took in the speech bubbles. Maybe his past was part of what had put him so far off relationships. They were about commitment and taking care of another person. He’d spent so long doing that. Liam wasn’t sure he was ready to let someone in or even if he knew how. Especially someone as innocent and beautiful as Tatiana. He couldn’t stand himself if he hurt her. She was just too special for him. Why did she not have any guys knocking at her door? She was beautiful, certainly, and funny.He sighed, stacking the plates as their meal drew to a close. He looked her in the eyes, sincerely, as clearly no was not an answer. He’d tried wheedling his way out of this question many times before. He’d even put up with the suspect from others that he wasn’t straight. “I...” Gosh, there was no nice way to say it and not sound like a pretentious asshole. “Don’t like taking care of others, Tatiana. I’m bad at it. I’ve been doing it forever.”

Liam looked down, his cheeks turning red. “Maybe that makes me a bad person, selfish, probably, but entering into something serious in a relationship means I only have to keep giving. I feel like I have little to do that with.”

The blonde cleared his throat. “I am not wealthy, I am a soldier for crying out loud, and I tend to be a little prickly around the edges. You just don’t mind those things. You’re...different. I don’t deserve you. No one does. Science needs to band together to protect you.”

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Permalink Reply by 161srbcdp6t9k on June 7, 2020 at 21:19

They had always had such a lighthearted, friendly and teasing banter- and although they did speak of serious subjects, it wasn't often in the context of a relationship. It was why Tatiana gazed at him attempting to mask her astonishment at his reply. She had presumed he'd have joked about not having the time or the perfect girl but this...this was something else entirely.

"I..eh" she began before stumbling a little in her attempt to speak "It's..I don't know...quite contradictory don't you think? You don't like caring but yet you care so much for your sister and have all your life. And for the members of the Ailward community too. You don't boast but we all know how much you have done" A small grin danced across her face "Unless it was all excellent acting on your part and you secretly wish us all to the devil. Maybe..you don't care about me either." 

Her gaze remained pensive but the remanents of the smile proved that she was still teasing him. "I can't understand how you can be bad at doing what you have done all your life or caring for people when you love them...unless of course laziness is involved but you aren't lazy at all." Resting her face on her chin, she mused at his words for a few moments, her cheeks flushing slightly on meeting his expressive eyes.

"You know what I think Li? I think you are tired of simply giving and not getting anything in return. That doesn't make you selfish, it makes you human. We aren't pots filled with unlimited supplies. We need to be replenished with what others can give too. I really hope you won't completely close your doors to the prospect of a good relationship. I think you should just relax back and let a girl just kiss and cuddle you"

A giggle burst forth at that imagery and she tossed the crossword paper in his direction "Such flattery! Honestly no one deserves me! I am a Princess afterall" Tati spoke loftily attempting to mimic the regency court ladies. "But I am not porcelain that needs protecting either you know." she expressed firmly a slight frown marring her features " I really hope you don't think all girls want rich, honeyed men. That'd be an incorrect generalisation and all I have you say to you is this- You will never know; and never convince me otherwise, unless you try"

Sitting up straighter on her chair, she looked at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes "I think you should flirt more, get some practice. Let me see how good you are at it. Maybe flirt with me. I dare you Liam."

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Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Liam Arbor on June 11, 2020 at 16:38

Tatiana and her ways with people were a mystery to him. He often felt left on the outside of understanding when it came to relations and communications. She was right. He was tired of of always giving, but over the years it had been hard to let his guard down long enough to let someone in to help him. In a limited capacity, his trainers had, but men did different things for other men than women did. They had comradarie and adventure but rarely was their discussion of the emotions. If there was, it was usually followed with beer and disgruntled nods over the fact that the previous conversations would not be spoken of again. When it came to his younger sibling, it was more that he kept her at arms length in regards to his own issues. Perhaps, Arabella was tougher than he gave her credit for, but she’d already lost so much, if being strong for her was the last thing he ever did, it was enough. He wondered what it would be like to live without his shoulders tense from strife and his eyes always keen on the door. Perhaps if he could ever relax that much, he could actually sleep. 
In the past few years, he’d used his brooding charm to his advantage. The wordless smolder seemed fairly effective. He hadn’t exactly had a problem with getting women, until he decided casual flings were no longer his thing. It was easy enough to swear off relationships when you didn't justify yourself at being very good at them. How many years had it been since he had flirted with a girl? Many more than he could count. The blonde looked up at his strawberry-cheeked counterpart and felt an odd amount of determination creep in. This was some sort of game, wasn't it?The way she would tease him just enough to elicit a response and then back down was fun for her.  Despite his confusion, it made him curious. He wanted to win. 

There were very few games he’d admit to having lost - competitive was both one of his best and worst traits.  

Liam crossed his elbows on the table and looked straight across it, looking down the nose of his best friend. She was clever, to be sure. Enough to entice him into something that seemed fairly dangerous. Curiosity had killed many cats, but right now Liam would rather have been a dead cat than not know why she looked at him the way that rang bells of starry nights and happy endings.  

He tilted his head. "Practice?" A subtle, teasing smile played at his lips. "Darling, I don't need practice. I can already tell that the waitress writing her number on this napkin..." He held up the napkin in between them. "made your toes curl." 

Who needed words when there was such a thing as eye contact? 

Liam's blue eyes focused on Tati's for a brief, but solid moment, before he looked away, a strange feeling rising in his stomach. Surely, that wasn't....butterflies.

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